Yuhui said:

This group was created in response to a comment by well known American blogger, Michael Arrington. In a blog entry, he claimed that Singaporean blogs are (largely) controlled by the government. [...] it is more likely that there are many more Singaporean blogs that are NOT controlled by the government [...].

Recommended by yuhui: "We need to educate people from around the world about the independence of our Singapore blogosphere!"

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Yu-Mei Balasingamchow said:

Amidst the annual scholarship fever and the flurry of applications, what the newspaper ads don’t mention, and what people don’t talk about enough in a meaningful way, is that the three or four years spent in university can change a person quite profoundly, all the more so if that university education is conducted abroad. I don’t mean having a British- or American-sounding accent, or having visited half of Europe in one summer backpacking jaunt, or learning how to cook the food you get homesick for. I’m talking about the kind of deep-seated change that can leave a person wondering how to reconcile what her old self agreed to do, with what her new self now believes.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "in retrospect: a government scholar looks back on the choices she has made"

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Taikiew said:

Such swift action can only mean that the government view this as a serious matter. While I certainly do not believe in online censorship, it could perhaps be the best cause of action in babying dedicate and immature Singaporeans from an possible civil unrest that could result from such publications.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "MDA blocks website swiftly after couple arrested for distributing seditious publications"

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groundnotes said:

In the letter, the Press Sec not only defended the government’s policy to eliminate dialects but also wrote: Many Singaporeans are now fluent in both English and Mandarin. It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or the NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.

One really wonders if such language and tone is called for. In a country that laments the dearth of people willing to speak up, surely the defensive stance is a sign of insecurity?

Recommended by arashinokoto: "Being a linguistics student, I agree with what the author says about the just recently letter to the ST forum from LKY's press sec.

I do not see why these Chinese dialects should be suppressed so that we can speak better English and Mandarin - at the expense of our language rights, at the expense of communicating with our grandparents, or at the expense of losing one important part of our culture."

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fireopal said:

New legislature forming to stop the streaming of 'live' Internet radio in Singapore?

Apparently so, according the Power 98FM website

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "New censorship?"

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Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested Singaporeans could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru.

It would be cheaper, yet be near enough to Singapore for family members to visit and for residents to return for medical care if necessary, he said.

He told Parliament yesterday that he recently visited a site in Johor Baru where a Singaporean investor was planning to build a 200-bed nursing home.

He asked the investor about the costs involved, and was stunned at how low they were.

He said: 'It is mind-boggling. The cost of land and construction cost is so low that my cost of putting up just a polyclinic (in Singapore) is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home (in Johor Baru).

'The monthly cost of keeping a resident in a private nursing home in Singapore, you can stretch it easily to pay at least 2-1/2 months of nursing home care in Johor Baru.'

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Kaffein-nated said:

Being a maid is a shameful thing. But working as a chambermaid is not. Huh?

To bring fear, you give me a glimpse of what happens if we have a bad government. Now with recession, you encourage my grandmas, aunties and perhaps even mother to work as chambermaids.

Maybe it's because the government can no longer feed them. Or perhaps the wonderful retirement plan (ie CPF) is a ticking bomb waiting to blow up in our faces.

So this scenario begs the questions:
Am I paying millions for a bad dose of government already? If yes, why am I still paying?

Aren't the women in Singapore working as chambermaids akin to being maids in foreign countries? Is there really a difference then?

Recommended by at82: "Are we getting our bad dose of government already?"

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Reuters said:

The sight would be nothing out of the ordinary in much of southeast Asia. But Singapore's last village, nestled in a forest clearing, is an oddity in the sophisticated city-state where skyscrapers and high-speed Internet are the norm.

Recommended by Selfrevolution: "A look at Singapore's last kampong, for those who never knew we still have one. "

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felix ker receives an email that compares Singapore's cabinet ministers with Malaysia's ministers.

PM Lee Hsien Loong Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1974) Harvard University - Masters (1980)

PM Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi
University of Malaya - Bachelor of Arts Honours (1964)

SM Goh Chok Tong
University of Singapore - First Class Honours (1964)
Williams College , USA - Masters (1967)

Deputy PM Dato’ Sri Najib Razak
University of Nottingham - Bachelor of Arts Honours (1974)

MM Lee Kuan Yew
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1949)

Minister of Foregn Affairs Syed Hamid Albar (can someone tell me his univeristy? )- Bachelor of Arts [ UITM ]

The list goes on....

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BBC said:

"I fear that, in this sense at least, it puts Singapore in a league with North Korea, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China," MEP Graham Watson was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

"What has happened today proves that Singapore is an authoritarian state," said Ignasi Guardans, a Spanish MEP.

Recommended by Lucian: "The stench of the linen is disturbing even the neighbours."

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Rambling Librarian said:

I went over to NPark's website and noticed that they've launched two blogs (listed as "Gardening Blogs"). One's called Garden Voices and the other's called Young Gardeners.

Recommended by ramblinglibrarian: "I don't mean to plug my own post, just that NParks has two blogs but no one single blog post to do a referral, heh. So since I've already written about them... "

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Tym said:

... While most comments promising to "e-delight" me would automatically prompt me to delete them comments forever, this one gets to sit there as an object lesson in how the current Singapore government is completely out of touch with the young people of the internet generation it's trying desperately to court...

Recommended by LMD: "It'd be really interesting to find out the source of the comment."

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Websg.org said:

In conjunction with their 21st anniversary, the Singapore Government’s Feedback Unit launched Reach. This included new features, most noticeably an avenue for citizens to blog about issues.

To start off, I think getting a new name (although I think the government should stop the incessant creation of acronyms) was a great move for the Feedback Unit. Having the “FU” solicit citizen feedback is irony that borders a little too close to the truth for some people.

Recommended by Lucian: "Create your first .gov.sg blog!"

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Tan Tarn How said:

This censorship principle finds application in many areas. In the arts for instance, the government is very jittery about the mainstream forms such as television and cinema. But it shows a high level of tolerance for fringe forms such as theatre or stand-up comedy. In the field of media, television and newspapers are considered mainstream, and the government’s strategy is to keep a tighter leash on them. There is even some differentiation between the newspapers, with articles printed elsewhere that would make some people very unhappy if they read them in The Straits Times. The political Internet in the form of blogs, although very active and often sharply critical, is seen as a fringe and has thus been more tolerated. If the political Internet becomes more mainstream in its reach, expect the government to start applying the vice.

Recommended by Mr Miyagi: "Tan Tarn How on dissent management strategy"

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mrbrown said:

Letter from MICA: "mr brown's views on all these issues distort the truth. They are polemics dressed up as analysis, blaming the Government for all that he is unhappy with. He offers no alternatives or solutions. His piece is calculated to encourage cynicism and despondency, which can only make things worse, not better, for those he professes to sympathise with..."

Recommended by dotaguy: "MICA slams mrbrown's TODAY article. Has mrbrown hit too close to home? And why is mrbrown suddenly a psuedonym he is hiding under? I thought everyone already knew who he is ?"

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tinkertailor: Don't forget to check out the new poll.

beconfused made a trip to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and took photos of the message board meant for the public to leave messages about Singapore's development.

I love knowing what people think of Singapore. Generally, people like Singapore. We grumble occasionally on our government – yes – but still we feel quite happy in this city.

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Cherub said:

Growth Dividends - You don't even need to go to the local bank or ATM to indicate that you want to cash out your shares. It is given to you as CASH.

$800 for most people (45% of citizens), $600, $400 or $200 for the rest, depending on income and wealth. $800 COLD HARD CASH leh..... Suddenly, I love the PAP already....

Recommended by cherub-evolon: "Alright, I'm a little paiseh because this is my own Blogsite. but hey, the Budget 2006 was released just a few hours ago, and I tot everything abt it screams "ELECTION"......

I love Election Budget."

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VisitSingapore.com said:

With our multi-racial background, it's not surprising that 'Singlish' borrows from the many different languages spoken in Singapore. Here's a collection of 'Singlish' terms which you might find handy on your visit to Singapore....

Pai seh (adj)
Pronounced 'pie-say'.
Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning embarrassed or shy.
Example: That's the third time I've forgotten her name. So pai seh.

Shiok (adj) Pronounced 'shee-oak' Derived from the Malay language (Straits Chinese) meaning fantastic or marvellous. Example: That prawn mee soup was shiok!"

Recommended by jasperthedummy: "The government has always appeared to us as being "anti-singlish", but now they are actually 'promoting' singlish on our official tourists' website like they are proud of that language!

Are they regretting for not preserving singlish as a "national asset"?

(and check out the article's title: Singlish Dictionary. Please lah, it's not even the full list lor...)"

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Transparency.org said:

The TI Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite survey, reflecting the perceptions of business people and country analysts, both resident and non-resident. It draws on 16 different polls from 10 independent institutions. For a country to be included, it must feature in at least 3 polls. As a result, a number of countries – including some which could be among the most corrupt – are missing because not enough survey data is available.

The Corruption Perceptions Index provides a snapshot, with less capacity to offer year-to-year trends. Nevertheless, time-series data for the CPI have been analysed for the first time this year by Professor Johann Graf Lambsdorff at Passau University in Germany.

Recommended by zhi yang: "Because Singapore is the fifth."

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coup de grace said:

Why celebrate diversity only through multiculturalism- and then limit it to four races? Reaching towards a unique Singaporean identity, a melting pot rather than collection of exclusive races, a more human identity, would indeed be a laudable goal. Why perpetuate race?

should the government put an end to classifying and separating by race? To what end would that serve?

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