No pop bands for schools!!!

Have you ever wondered why peasants sometimes can be so politically apathetic? I think I have found the reason.

Recently there is a big hoo ha over at PLMGSS as students are unhappy that the principal has rejected a surprise visit by a pop band that the students have won in a contest for the school. Looking at the reply from PLMGSS, I had a sense of deja vu

Accusation 1: Are schools in Singapore so inflexible that students are not allowed to join contests using the school name?

"It is not a question of flexibility or inflexibility, but of choice. There are all kinds of contests and a choice has to be made to decide which ones to take part in and which to decline”

Not a question of flexibility or not, it is about choice, of which you have none.

"This is not true. Pupils have a lot of say in the school. There are various platforms to hear the pupils. Pupils can request to speak to the school leaders and have often done so.

"There is also the pupil suggestion box, focus group discussions, climate survey and pupil needs survey carried out throughout the year.

Having pupil suggestion box, focus group discussions, climate survey and pupil needs survey shows the pupils have a lot of say in the school plus they also have various platforms to hear the pupils, it’s just that no one is listening to what they have to say.

"Pupils are constantly taught that there is always a right place, right time and right way to say what they want to say. This is part of educating a generation of people who will have the right social and emotional competencies to contribute positively to the stability and progress of our
community and country. "

“Pupils are constantly taught that there is always a right place, right time and right way to say what they want to say.” And the time is not now.

So having a pop band visit your school is going to erode the right social values and emotional competencies and will lead students to contribute negatively to the stability and progress of our community and country.

Hmm… This is getting all too familiar.

ERP again

ERP rates going up again for third time this year
By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 October 2007 2045 hrs

SINGAPORE: Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates are going up again for the third time this year.

There will also be new gantries erected.

The highest amount will be charged at the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). The gantry affected is the one at the slip road into the Central Expressway (CTE).

From November 5, motorists will pay $3.50 from 7:30am to 8:00am. The amount charged goes up to $5.00 between 8:30am and 9:00am. This is a $1.50 increase in the 8:30am to 9:00am period since February this year.

The latest hike comes just days after the opening of the Kallang-Payar Lebar Expressway (KPE) Tunnel.

The KPE is expected to ease congestion on the CTE when it opens fully late next year.

ERP rates will also go up by 50 cents at six other gantries.

The CTE gantry north of Braddell Road will cost $2.50 between 7:30am and 8:00am.

Three CTE gantries south of Braddell Road will cost $4.00 between 8:30am and 9:00am.

Those travelling along Bendemeer Road will have to pay $1.50 from 8:30am to 9:00am, instead of the current $1.

Drivers on Thomson Road will also have to pay $1.50 between 8:30am and 9:00am.

New ERP gantries will also start operating on November 5.

There will be one on the north-bound CTE just before the PIE exit, and two along the east-bound ECP before the Rochor Road exit and Ophir Road slip road.

There is also another one on the south-bound Bukit Timah Expressway after the Dairy Farm exit before it joins the PIE. - CNA /ls

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/308462/1/.html

“The latest hike comes just days after the opening of the Kallang-Payar Lebar Expressway (KPE) Tunnel.

The KPE is expected to ease congestion on the CTE when it opens fully late next year.”

Hmm… sometimes, I feel that I am stupid too. We have a new expressway opening up to ease traffic congestion so the rationale of the rise in ERP is??? To further ease the traffic congestion? That must be the case and this shows how efficient our government is and the foresight that they have. It has been pointed out by Lucky Tan that the rise in charge coincides with the start of the school holidays, where traffic is lighter due to the school holidays. Our government is thinking for their citizens. In November, when there is lighter traffic, they can do more experimenting and find solutions to problems should they arise. E.g. if in November, the traffic conditions don’t change, they will do another revision.

Don’t you know that ERP has resulted in an increase in car ownership? Haven’t you learnt the lesson that when prices go up, they tend not to come down? So to maintain the status quo, ERP charges have to go up to make up for the shortfall in the COE revenue. Bearing in mind we are peasants, we shouldn’t be allowed to own so many cars.

Sometimes I wonder whether this is a ploy to increase the productivity of peasants. The only way to avoid the charges is to go to work early and leave work late. This way, we get to work longer hours and avoid the charges altogether, a good way to contribute to the economy. Peasantland FTW!

The poison that Traditional Chinese Medicine can be

On the topic of TCM again, many people tend to assume that the herbs used in chinese medicine, of which many are plants, are safe. Many tend to associate natural products as safe and that man-made chemicals are always bad. Nothing can be further away from the truth. The only way to know if these herbs are safe is to test them. Some may think that since many others have taken these herbs previously, the safety of these herbs should be apparent. However, I would like to quote Dr Ng Eng Hen "The relationship is not so simple".

There are many reasons why toxicity associated with plants often escape, well, association with the plant. For example, the effects of toxicity may be cumulative and only show up after prolonged usage of the causative agent. Or the effects are delayed, resulting in clinical signs showing up after many months have passed. Or it can be that the timing of the exposure plays an important role. It could also be that the toxic agents originate from parasites infecting the plant in question, so the plant will be toxin free most of the time but not all the time. With all these factors coming into play, it is very difficult to link toxicity to the causative agent.

So what are some examples of poisonous plants and the effects they cause?

Nerium oleander

This plant here is deadly. Chewing on just one leave can kill you.

Acacia georgineae

This tree here is deadly too. It produces fluoroacetate which shuts down the metabolic pathways in your body (TCA cycle), killing you in the process.

Gastrolobium

This pretty looking plant produces fluroacetate too.

Lolium perenne

This plant alone is non-toxic. However when it is infected by the fungus Neotyphodium lolii, the fungus produces toxins like ergovaline (causes hyperthermia syndrome and gangrene of your limbs) or other toxins that cause diarrhoea in animals at least.

Veratrum californicum

This plants here is amazing. The classic example of how the timing of ingestion affects the outcome. If ingested by a pregnant sheep at day 14 of pregnancy, this is what you get

Cyclopia

Yes. Cyclops do exist. By extrapolating this onto humans, you might get this

Not that I'm trying to scare you. But the fact is that drugs used in "western" medicine are all tested for safety and efficacy. It is a legal requirement. TCM herbs on the other hand...... well let's just say I have not been able to find data on safety and efficacy for most of those herbs. Given the difficulty in associating the clinical signs of toxicity with the herbs, and the fact that alot of chinese herbs are not tested for safety let alone efficacy, I would say it's better to stick with your "western" doctor. At least "western" drugs have been tested rigorously on lab mice, rabbits and Guinea pigs as well as humans, so that we know how safe and efficacious they are. Furthermore, you can sue your doctor if he gave you a sugar pill instead of anti-neoplastic drugs (for treating cancer) to treat your cancer. As previously pointed out by Angrydr here and here, it's hard to sue a geomancer or a priest conducting exorcisms since fengshui and ghosts are not proven to exist you can't say that they are negligent. Cancer treatment with TCM is not supported by any research studies. So how would you know if your TCM practitioner gave you the "correct" treament? Let's leave the toxic herbs out of the equation first. Can you even sue your TCM practitioner for giving you a sugar pill in the first place? "Western" doctors will be in a legal fix if they did that.

Given the prevalance of poisonous herbs (no real suprise since plants evolve defence mehanisms to protect themselves), the diffculting in establishing a link with toxicity and causative agent and the lack of data on safety as well as efficacy it would be unwise to turn to TCM.

So why are there so many people who swear by TCM?

1) Dead patients can't tell you that TCM didn't work for them.

2) Group think (mutual influence in a group of people)

3) The placebo effect

4) Many diseases are self limiting, giving the illusion of a cure

5) Concurrent "western" medical treatment that was actually doing the good work, also giving the illusion of cure by TCM

ST forum letter promoting Quackery? Decide for yourself

Letter from ST forum

TCM centre at SGH a boon to cancer patients

THE news on '$2.8m TCM centre at SGH from Nov'' and 'Meeting of East and West in research'' (ST, Oct 20), moved me to tears.

The great moment - my hope for the day when our local public medical institutions/hospitals can support the use of both Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of cancer is likely to come true.

As the founder of Cancerstory.com, a volunteers' initiative, I strongly feel that cancer patients should not be deprived of a chance to survive if medical science cannot help them.

In reality, there are some patients who are already 'sentenced to death' by their medical doctors but who have survived cancer after receiving some form of safe and reliable complementary treatment such as TCM.

TCM treatments have been shown to help relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life by lessening the side effects of conventional treatments and providing psychological and physical benefits to the patients.

Many cancer patients feel that no doctor will be pleased to learn of alternative life-saving antidotes that may threaten the 'supremacy' of Western medicine. When things go wrong, the doctors are also likely to put the blame on any form of complementary methods that their patients might be receiving alongside conventional treatment.

As a result, some patients decided to hide the fact that they were taking Chinese medicine even in instances when they were coping and progressing well during conventional treatment. Some doctors were amazed at the good results, but failed to discover the truth - that is, the efficacy of Chinese medicine.

However, I always encourage cancer patients to be truthful to their doctors. Lack of communication about TCM treatment and dietary supplements creates an information gap between doctors and patients that may result in poor cancer management.

Let's hope that the collaboration goes smoothly. To me, it will be the greatest gift to people living with cancer in the Remaking of Singapore - receiving true comprehensive cancer care and equal opportunities to fight cancer in their own stride.

If this happens, cancer patients no longer need to be concerned if TCM clashes with conventional treatment when treated by the 'East Meet West'' specialists in SGH.

Many cancer patients will no longer need to fork out hefty sums to consume expensive 'healing mushrooms'' such as lingzhi, yunzhi, maitake and agaricus.

A competent TCM practitioner/specialist is unlikely to treat cancer using an expensive single herb prescription.

Lee Soh Hong (Miss)
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"In reality, there are some patients who are already 'sentenced to death' by their medical doctors but who have survived cancer after receiving some form of safe and reliable complementary treatment such as TCM. "

Erm...... claiming credit for the efficacy of real medical treatment for cancer? How did you know it was the TCM herbs that sent the cancer into remission and not real medical treatment that was doing the job?

"TCM treatments have been shown to help relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life by lessening the side effects of conventional treatments and providing psychological and physical benefits to the patients. "

That's a pretty big claim. But I wondered why you did not cite the research studies that suggests that TCM treatments can do all of those.

"Many cancer patients feel that no doctor will be pleased to learn of alternative life-saving antidotes that may threaten the 'supremacy' of Western medicine. When things go wrong, the doctors are also likely to put the blame on any form of complementary methods that their patients might be receiving alongside conventional treatment.
As a result, some patients decided to hide the fact that they were taking Chinese medicine even in instances when they were coping and progressing well during conventional treatment. Some doctors were amazed at the good results, but failed to discover the truth - that is, the efficacy of Chinese medicine. "

Doctors would be delighted if Chinese medicine were really efficacious for this would mean that the active ingredient in the herbs can be isolated, adding to the repertoire of anti-neoplastic drugs they have. The question is where is the evidence that demonstrate the efficacy of Chinese medicine?

This was what one study published by the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology said:
In conclusion, Chinese cancer patients, willingly, rampantly and non-selectively seek out and consume alternative medications, with almost total ignorance of the medication consumed, oblivious to any potential side effects, and with little subjective benefit.

Personally, I feel it is absolutely irresponsible of ST to publish such a letter that might skew the decision of a cancer patient towards using TCM rather than real medicine. All this letter is, is really an advertisement for TCM with misleading/dangerous/unsubstantiated claims. I mean where the hell are the studies that demonstrates the efficacy of TCM for cancer?

Heterosexual sex to be banned in the future

Many years from now, after S377A has exerted its deterrent effect on homosexual sex , the homosexual population will have a lower rate of HIV infection than the heterosexual population. Which means that the heterosexual population will have a higher rate of HIV infection than the heterosexual population. Once we reach that stage, we should have an NMP make such a speech during a parliamentary debate:

"Sir, public health and safety is a legitimate purpose served by a ban on heterosexual, anal and oral sex. All these practices are efficient methods of transmitting sexual diseases and AIDs / HIV which are public health problems. These are not victimless crimes as the whole community has to foot the costs of these diseases.

Anal-penetrative sex is inherently damaging to the body and a misuse of organs, like shoving a straw up your nose to drink. The anus is designed to expel waste; when something is forcibly inserted into it, the muscles contract and cause tearing; fecal waste, viruses carried by sperm and blood thus congregate, with adverse health implications like rectal prolapse, anal cancer and cervical cancer. ‘Acts of gross indecency’ under the ban also covers unhygienic practices like “rimming” where the mouth comes into contact with the anus. Consent to harmful acts is no defence – otherwise, our strong anti-drug laws must fall as it cannot co-exist with letting in recreational drugs as a matter of personal lifestyle choice

Same-sex sodomy is harmful, but medical studies indicate that opposite-sex sodomy carries a higher price tag for society because of higher promiscuity and frequency levels. The New York Times reported that even informed heterosexuals return to unsafe practices like bare-backing and heterosexual bug-chasing after a health crisis wanes. A British Study showed that the legalization of heterosexual sodomy correlated with an upsurge of STDs among heterosexuals. Common sense tells us that with more acceptance, any form of consensual sexual behaviour increases. Anti-heterosexual sex laws have some deterrent effect."

So how can Singaporeans procreate? Artificial insemination, duh! Yes, this is how retarded it is.

S377A again: The sky is falling!

Lately, some of my readers think that I've been resorting to ad hominem attacks on NMP Thio. Some think that I am rude. Or disrespectful of a highly regarded person. Or merely trying hard to deconstruct NMP Thio's arguments without backing it up with substantive arguments (ie. NMP Thio is wrong therefore I am right). So without further ado, let's clear this shit up.

I am rude

Yes I am rude :(

Ad hominem attacks on NMP Thio

There is a difference between ad hominem and calling a spade a spade.

An ad hominem has this basic form:


Person A makes claim X
There is something objectionable about Person A
Therefore claim X is false


It is different when Person A first points out the flaws and silliness in Person B's argument before calling Person B a twit. At most it may be considered rude.

Lack of respect for authority

It doesn't matter if one has PhD in law. Or became a full professor at 38 years of age. You can be a Nobel prize winner, but once you engage in cow dung thinking/logic, you are fair game for criticism and ridicule. The esteemed Einstein had refused to accept quantum theory despite the accuracy of it just because of "aesthetic" reasons (the non-deterministic nature of it). As a result, he was ostracised by the scientific community late in his career. Remember, you are right only if your logic and evidence is sound and not because of how authoritative you are. .

Not backing up my arguments

As for this point, I do admit that I've only engaged in debunking the lame arguments against repealing S377A. And I do know that just because your opponent is wrong doesn't make you right.

So here's my version of why S377A should be repealed.

This rests mainly on the innocent till proven guilty principle. If the pro377A camp can get S377A to be retained by accusing homosexuals to be a hazard to society and then shift the burden of proof onto them to show they pose no harm to society, think about the kind of precedent we are setting. Perhaps it may be justifiable to do this if the potential for harm is really that great to society. Perhaps it may be justifiable if repealing S377A will lead the end of Singapore. Then again, Denmark has had same-sex unions for almost 20 years. Did their society crumble? A case of Chicken Licken running around shouting "The sky is falling!"?

Thank you PAP for giving Singaporeans more chances to own cars

ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars: Minister THE use of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars. Responding to a question for written reply in Parliament on Monday, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said this is reflected in the growth of Singapore's car population from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006. Dr Fatimah Lateef, MP for Marine Parade GRC, had asked the Minister if the ERP scheme has met the objectives that it was meant to achieve and if it has improved the traffic flow on expressways especially during peak hours. In his reply, Mr Lim said since its implementation in 1998, ERP has been effective in maintaining average travel speeds on priced roads within the optimal speed range through regular reviews and rate adjustments. For example, average speeds on the expressways have remained at above 45km/h during peak hours. "The use of ERP to manage traffic has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars than we otherwise could, and our vehicle population has grown from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006," he added. "It has also allowed the Government to rely more on car usage charges and less on car ownership taxes to manage traffic demand, and as a result, vehicle ownership taxes have been reduced." The Ministers said the government will continue with a holistic and integrated approach using all the tools available to keep the roads smooth-flowing. These include building more roads, regulating vehicle growth, implementing traffic engineering solutions, managing traffic demand through ERP and promoting the use of public transport We should be thankful to our million dollar ministers for allowing us to own more cars. It is to their credit that we are now able to drive to work instead of taking the public transport. I just realised that only Singaporeans buy cars as "The use of ERP to manage traffic has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars than we otherwise could, and our vehicle population has grown from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006," he added." This means that the vehicle population is directly attributed to Singaporeans. But as we all know, Singaporeans is such an all inclusive term nowadays that anyone can call themselves Singaporeans. This is necessary as we seek to benefit from "Globalisation" and reap the "economic benefits" from it ERP is such an effective system that they should have implemented it long ago. They charge you a fee for using the expressway so that it won't be congested and we can have "average speeds on the expressways have remained at above 45km/h during peak hours." For use of the term "express" in transportation today, we have to pay a premium because it is necessary. Like the Express buses that SBS provides us, we should pay a premium because it brings us to areas that no other buses are able to bring us there in that amount of time even though it uses roughly the same routes as other buses. Then when they find that peasants get used to the thought of paying a few dollars to use the expressway, they increase review the fees so that they realized they are peasants and should not be using the expressway they can manage the traffic flow of the expressway better. If you are wondering what the link between ERP and vehicle ownership, the link is that instead of charging you a lump sum fee for buying a vehicle, you get to pay a lower lump sum and be charge small amounts each time you use your vehicle. This makes it more affordable for you to own a vehicle.