Singapore Musings

Perhaps the greatest utopia would be if we could all realize that no utopia is possible; no place to run, no place to hide, just take care of business here and now. -J Carroll

By Veni,Vidi,Vixi

Singapore
The fact that the impact might be limited speaks volumes about Singapore's waning reliance on the US, says NUS Business Sumit
channelnewsasia.com - Sumit Agarwal
SINGAPORE: When the United States Federal Reserve moves on interest rates, the markets listen with bated breath. That was the case when Fed Governor …
University of Hong Kong
The trouble with trying to turn Hong Kong’s young people into ‘patriotic youth’
South China Morning Post - Kinling Lo
When Kathy Tang (not her real name) and her fellow Hong Kong interns arrived at the Palace Museum in Beijing’s Forbidden City in 2017, they received …
World News
Smoke From The Burning Amazon Rainforest Plunged Brazil's Largest City Into Darkness In The Middle Of The Day
buzzfeednews.com - Stephanie K. Baer
A record number of wildfires have torched the Amazon rainforest this year as deforestation soars under Brazil’s far-right president. Brazil’s largest …
Taiwan
US approves $8bn sale of 66 F-16 fighters to Taiwan
Al Jazeera
Taiwan's plan to upgrade its air defences comes amid increasing Chinese military incursions into its air space. The US State Department has approved the sale of 66 F-16 fighters to Taiwan, in a move expected
North Korea
North Korea now able to miniaturise nuclear warheads – Japan defence report
The Guardian - Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Japan’s government will reportedly state that North Korea is capable of miniaturising nuclear warheads in a forthcoming defence report, it has emerged. Tokyo will upgrade its estimate of the regime’s capability,
Singapore’s first on-demand driverless shuttle buses to ferry passengers around Sentosa from Aug 26
channelnewsasia.com - CNA
SINGAPORE: Visitors to Sentosa will be able to get around the island for free on on-demand driverless shuttle buses from next Monday (Aug 26), after …
Myanmar
'Not without our rights': Rohingya refugees refuse to return to Myanmar
The Guardian - Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Shaikh Azizur Rahman
Muslim Rohingyas housed in sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh are refusing to return to Myanmar, United Nations and local officials have said. Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner, Abul Kalam, said on
Aging
Why does no one ever tell you how brilliant ageing can be?
The Guardian - Suzanne Moore
It started with a tweet. I wondered why people like the Edinburgh fringe so much, when it sounds like my idea of hell: loads of “theatre” (with capital-letter ACTING); audience interaction; comedians;
News (Hong Kong)
Twitter and Facebook crack down on accounts linked to Chinese campaign against Hong Kong
The Guardian - Kari Paul in San Francisco
Twitter has removed nearly 1,000 accounts and suspended thousands of others tied to a campaign by the Chinese government against protesters in Hong Kong, the company announced on Monday. Twitter disclosed
Greenland
What Greenland Might Have Taught Trump about Warming
scientificamerican.com - Chelsea Harvey, E&E News
In an apparent disappointment for President Trump, the Danish government has made it clear: Greenland is not for sale. The Wall Street Journal first …
Aging
Why US firms are desperate to retain ageing workers
BBC News - Katarina Stefanie
When Roger Klug told his employer he was retiring, there was a shiver of panic among the bosses. Now 70 years old, Mr Klug is in his 47th year at Alexandria Industries, an aluminium company in rural Minnesota.
UK News
The Family: 'Raised in a doomsday cult, I entered the real world at 15'
bbc.co.uk - Miriam Annenberg
For the first 15 years of his life, Ben Shenton lived in a doomsday cult that thought the world would soon end. Instead the police arrived one day and plunged him into a new and unfamiliar world… the one.
China
The World Needs Chinese to Care About Climate Change
Bloomberg - Adam Minter
The world's biggest emitter of climate-changing carbon is China, but Chinese people don't seem overly worried. According to a first-of-its-kind …
Greenland
Danish prime minister calls Trump's interest in buying Greenland 'absurd'
CNN - By Paul LeBlanc, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The Danish Prime Minister called Donald Trump's interest in buying Greenland "absurd" the same day the President confirmed he had discussed the possibility of the US purchasing the --
UK News
The people policing the internet's most horrific content
bbc.co.uk - Ivana Davidovic
In this digital self-publishing era people can record and produce their own content, a lot of horrific stuff that clearly breaches websites' taste and decency guidelines. A growing army of moderators the
Environment
Australian power stations among world's worst for toxic air pollution
The Guardian - Lisa Cox
Power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and New South Wales’s Lake Macquarie region have been named on a list of the world’s biggest hotspots for toxic air pollution. A new report by Greenpeace, published
Social Entrepreneurship
What You Think Of The Jerk Who Cuts You Off In Traffic Matters More Than You Think
Forbes - Devin Thorpe
How do you feel about the driver who cuts you off in traffic? What do you conclude about the character of the driver? Is your first reaction that the driver is someone you’d love to grab coffee with? you’re
Nobel Prize
Why we lie about being retired
BBC News - Ian Rose
Search the word "retirement" on the internet and your screen is filled with images of silver-haired folk dancing in their kitchens, surfing, getting into ridiculous yoga postures and cuddling grandchildren.
Monetary Authority of Singapore
It will be the end of Singapore if people who lack “honesty, dedication and competency” run the Government, says ESM Goh
theonlinecitizen.com - Kiara Xavier
While speaking at the Marina Parade National Day Dinner on Saturday (17 August), Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said that it’s getting …
Singapore
Battle of the elderly tissue sellers: 5 of them within 10m at Woodlands MRT station
straitstimes.com - Cherlynn Ng
Competition is fierce among elderly tissue sellers at the MRT station and the bus interchange in Woodlands, with at least five of them within a …
Death Row
Notes from inside death row in Singapore
malaymail.com - Pannir Selvam Pranthanam
COMMENTARY, Aug 19 — I was sentenced to death on May 2, 2017. The judge said that even though my involvement was just as a courier, he has no any …
Politics (Singapore)
“It is not clear that the PAP has the ability to come up with practical solutions,” says SDP’s Dr Paul Tambyah
theonlinecitizen.com - Kathleen.F
“It is not clear that the PAP has the ability to come up with practical solutions to the challenges we face in the future,” said Dr Paul Tambyah, …
Singapore
Singapore is prepping itself to face climate change through these three practical methods - Science - Mashable SEA
Mashable
In Southeast Asia, Jakarta would not be the only city that would submerge underwater due to climate change and the rising sea levels. Singapore is facing the same conundrum as well. In fact, 30% of land
Singapore
Sushiro: Japan's bestselling conveyor belt sushi chain opens first outlet in Singapore
esquiresg.com - Joy Ling
Another sushi chain? You ask incredulously, except it's with anticipation and not annoyance because you're Singaporean, and Japanese cuisine is one …
Peninsular Malaysia
Johor to not depend on Singapore for treated water by 2022: Malaysian minister
channelnewsasia.com - CNA
PUTRAJAYA: Johor will not be dependent on the supply of treated water from Singapore by 2022, said Malaysia's Water, Land and Natural Resources …
Carrie Lam
Singapore’s successful housing and education policies point to Hong Kong’s real enemy
South China Morning Post - Letters
In comparing Singapore and Hong Kong, so often done superficially, Andy Xie (“A tale of two cities”, August 1) laid bare the astounding inequalities …
Singapore
Singapore’s ‘Fake News’ Law: An Exchange
nybooks.com - Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, reply by Salil Tripathi
“Singapore: Laboratory of Digital Censorship,” NYR Daily, July 19, 2019 If Salil Tripathi’s claims in his essay were true, it would scarcely be …
Dentistry
'I've had patients take their own teeth out': dental anxiety and the treatments that can help
The Guardian - Ammar Kalia
At 18, Finn James went to get a tooth removed, and the anaesthetic failed to mask the pain. “The dentist just kept going,” says James. “I didn’t go back to the dentist for decades after that.” Dental is
Arianna Huffington
Meritocracy Harms Everyone
The Atlantic - Daniel Markovits
Meritocracy prizes achievement above all else, making everyone—even the rich—miserable. Maybe there’s a way out. In the summer of 1987, I graduated from a public high school in Austin, Texas, and headed