Smoke and fires don't respect borders

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A good concise read.....

Brazil will hold S. American meeting on Amazon wildfires

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Note how saving the envmt cannot be done alone sometimes and need the assistance of other nations....but politics can sometimes get in the way of doing what is right and necessary for Mother Nature...

sovereignty of the nations that share the Amazon had to be respected, while Mr Bolsonaro said Brazil's sovereignty had "no price, not even US$20 trillion".

welcomed international aid and in recent days has stepped up efforts, including hiring the world's largest firefighting aircraft, the Boeing SuperTanker 747, from the United States.

Some of the blazes are down to natural causes ... but most are started deliberately by farmers clearing land for agriculture. "If tropical dense forests are affected by forest fires, they need many, many years to regroup. It will alter the climate, the local climate, the national climate and the regional climate. It will also have an influence on the global climate,

Qns:

1. ‘In the global village we inhabit, there is no justification for national boundaries.’ How far do you agree? (Cam. 2018)

2. Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam. 2017)

Use of AI in the Classroom

If u can read Chinese, here's a case of how the use of AI infringes on freedom and privacy....but the original intention is for the AI to use the data collected to devise or come up with an effective teaching methodology...

Qn: To what extent does the use of artificial intelligence enhance human life?

Climate Change’s Most Pressing Obstacle Is Getting Our Older Generation To Care

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Relate to the AJC prelim 2017 compre AQ on envmt for those of us who did it recently....

Welcome wearing thin for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

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Locals blame them for everything from increased pollution to a rise in petty crime to a lack of work.

the enforced "idle and workless" lifestyle of the refugees has made them "unstable"...."They are receiving all sorts of aid, but they have ample idle time as they don't have any other work," he said, noting that this is driving many into the hands of drug gangs.

For qns on opening doors to migrants....

Twitter, Facebook dismantle Beijing-backed HK campaign

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The accounts were suspended for violating the social networking platform's terms of service and "because we think this is not how people can come to Twitter to get informed", a senior company official told the Associated Press.

With respect to the qn below, the general arguments goes that on social media, users have greater control as we are the content-creators and self-publishers, so we get to decide what gets published on our social media platforms for all to see, without having to get the approval of traditional media companies. Think how celebrities try to wrestle control over how they are protrayed in the media by the paparazzi by creating their own social media platforms....Think also how Donald Trump bypass traditional media by publishing on his own twitter account, as he accuses traditional media of trying to demonize him by spreading fake news and twisting his words....On twitter, no one gets to twist his words, and he gets to craft them all by himself without going through an intermediary party...

BUT now, in the article below, we are shown how users' power over their social media platforms need not be all-encompassing....the social media platform owners (i.e. FB, twitter) can intervene to close or ban users' accounts, hence aborting the users' ability/power to use their own self-generated content to influence the minds of the reader. Think Russian meddling in the domestic politics of other countries, and terrorists using social media for their own nefarious activities.....

So while users of social media may exert considerable control over their own platforms, this is only insofar as the users are allowed to continue using the platform by the owners of that platform, or if they subscribe to certain terms and conditions spelt out by the owners.....

Qn: 'Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.' Do you agree?

National Day Rally 2019: Major engineering works under consideration to tackle threat

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Note these measures to keep the rising sea water at bay:
Strategies being looked at include carrying out empoldering, a land reclamation technique, along Singapore's eastern coast, as well as reclaiming a series of offshore islands there...

Calm or chaos in Kashmir? Contrasting reports emerge

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the present Indian government is way more "efficient and effective" than previous ones at being able to squeeze out the media narrative it wants...."This is because of new technology (such as the rise of social media) and the effectiveness of this government in managing this technology," he told The Sunday Times...."But in my view, it is still foolish to assume that the narrative on Kashmir can remain under control, especially in a digital age...

Yet, the concern that the Indian authorities harbour about fake news leading to potential violence in Kashmir is legitimate. Many Twitter handles from Pakistan, including those of its political leaders, have been putting out either fake or old videos to portray an ongoing brutal crackdown on Kashmir.

Qn: Is regulation of the press desirable? (Cam. 2017)

Three-pronged approach to tackling climate change

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A MUST-READ!!!

Note also the visual section in the article entitled: What Singapore is doing to tackle climate change [click HERE]

3-Prong Approach: UNDERSTAND -- MITIGATE -- ADAPT

Sea-level rise poses threat to S'pore

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A MUST-READ!!!

Note budget: S$100b over 100 years!!!

Note also the interesting comparison of climate defence to military defence:
We should treat climate change defences like we treat the SAF - with utmost seriousness. Work steadily at it, maintain a stable budget year after year, keep your eye on the target, and do it over many years and several generations. That way, we can afford it, and when we need it, we will be ready. Both the SAF and climate change defences are existential for Singapore. These are life and death matters. Everything else must bend at the knee to safeguard the existence of our island nation. There is one difference between the two. With the SAF, we hope never to go to war, and if you have a strong SAF, you may deter threats and avoid having to go to war. But with climate change, we know for sure sea levels will rise. The only uncertainty is whether they rise a few decades earlier, or a few decades later.

Hollywood's cold front on climate change

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Note how blockbuster movies raise important issues....useful for opening/closing BANGs in ur essays...

Qn: Do films offer anything more than an escape from reality? (Cam. 2014)

Living Well: When a cert is more important than a cheque

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A very good read....try it....

Btw, for those still taking ur 'O' level oral exams this week, note how the writer weaves in his personal experience to make a point....

Qn: Do awards and prizes serve any useful purpose? (Cam. 2011)

MAS warns of 'highly misleading' website soliciting investments

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Information on the website is "highly deceptive and misleading", MAS said yesterday, adding that comments on the fake website attributed to PM Lee are completely false...The website is also designed to look like it is linked to Singapore Press Holdings.

Convenience stores going high-tech to stave off competition

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new unmanned convenience store concepts that will debut this year....They include using palm scanners to enter stores, radio-frequency identification (RFID) to track items taken off the shelves and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to track shoppers' movements.

These innovations are part of ongoing efforts by the sector to hold its own against rising competition from online retailers and to cope with difficulties in hiring workers.

How to force social media platforms to clean up

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A safe harbour provision of a statute or a regulation specifies that certain conduct will be deemed not to violate a given rule. For social media platforms like 8chan, Facebook and YouTube, the most important of these is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states: "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."

Changing the safe harbour laws so that social media platforms are held accountable for the content their users post would incentivise Facebook and YouTube to take things like the deep-fake video of Ms Nancy Pelosi and the Christchurch shooting videos more seriously.

n the wake of the Christchurch shootings, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remarked about the social networks: "They are the publisher, not the postman. There cannot be a case of all profit and no responsibility."

Qn: "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." Do you agree?

Editing DNA of plants to produce hardy crops

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Qn: Is effective farming possible without science? (Cam. 2005)

World needs a climate of change

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Some of us did a compre recently on how agriculture is anathema (i.e. very harmful) to the envmt....u can get some background here....GM is supposed to be a godsend in reducing the need for pesticides and herbicides (which can pollute the soil and water), until we know that it creates superbugs and superweeds ...

For qns on environment and technology....

Qn: Is effective farming possible without science? (Cam. 2005)

Why rising appetite for durian fuels planet-warming emissions

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Young activists planning 'green dot' gathering on Sept 21

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Looks like Singapore is starting to have our own version of the Swedish environmental teen activist, Greta Thunberg..
Note the example of the Green Dot Movement.....compare with Pink Dot....

Relate also to 2018 'A' level compre AQ on youth interest in causes....

Helping ex-offenders reintegrate into society

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Qns:
1. Rehabilitation, not punishment, should be the purpose of the justice system.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2017)
2. Many developed countries are paying increasing attention to the needs of the disadvantaged. How far is this true in Singapore? (Cam. 2008)

Buddhist temple in Japan puts faith in robot priest

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interesting example for ur BANGs for qns on AI...amazing how AI can encroach into areas of spirituality and religion!

Victims fall prey to fake news sites promoting investments

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The fake news and advertisement scam may be the latest in a series of scams which saw people in Singapore lose at least $99 million in 2017. 
Those who click on the advertisements are directed to the websites, almost always hosted overseas, which falsely feature well-known people advocating cryptocurrency investments, travel offers and overseas restaurants.

Note how scammers make use of people's trust in reputable websites to set up bogus versions of such websites to entrap them....(rebuttal to the point that as long as we stick to reputable websites, we should be safe):
there is too much faith that the user is "astute enough to realise that redirection in websites is usually fraudulent"...Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese newspaper division, CMG Newshub, said it had received "more than 15 reports from our readers" when the Lianhe Zaobao masthead was used in fake advertisements.


Note how trust in established personalities is also exploited by using such personalities to endorse the products without their consent....among the casualties include numerous local celebrities and politicians like PM Lee, Tharman, DPM Heng, and even President Halimah Yacob
[See HERE: President's image among those used by scammers]
These fake articles have been circulating on social media, riding on the popularity of international stars and personalities in Singapore to fool the public into putting their money into various investment schemes.

Hate speech can destroy trust in society: Minister

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An instance of how racism can be generated through the media....and the danger of free speech (make the comparison with the US, as the minister has done)
There is also more hate speech, which is more openly expressed, often without shame or a sense of wrong.

Singapore is different compared with the US - citing conflicts between the Black Lives Matter movement and the Blue Lives Matter counter-movement, and "videos of anger and frustration, attacking the majority or minority - all in the name of freedom of speech".

allowing hate speech to become the norm here would change the values of society, and how people look at each other. "It will fuel extremist ideologies, which existed on fringes but increasingly occupy centre stage in political discourse worldwide."

More laws, policing not helpful in easing racial tensions

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The idea that deep-seated prejudice (our mindset): may be hard to eradicate, but it is possible to curb discrimination (our actions)
only when we acknowledge a problem can we begin to address or redress it....an immediate need for concerted public education, for sensitising programmes to make us all aware of our biases and prejudices on race/ethnicity....We may not eliminate deep-seated prejudices entirely but we can at least begin to curb ourselves when they arise.

The limitations of using legislation to curb prejudice....it may be able to curb discrimiantion but maybe not prejudice, esp in the short run...legislation 'silences' and 'punishes', in the process creating greater resentment and blame, not to mention slamming shut the window that allows dialogue, which could have led to a more complete understanding, rectifying the misconceptions we have that lead to the prejudice in the first place....
If our objective is to educate and sensitise our citizens to live together in harmony in a multicultural environment, legislation is not the way to go: Legislation silences and punishes, and will not encourage dialogue.

For qns on free speech, equality, racism, etc...

Qn:  In your society, how far is equality for all a reality? (Cam. 2012)

Discuss race issues openly, work to make things better: Shanmugam

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Sizeable portions of the public prefer that such concerns be discussed behind closed doors and not brought out to the public..Because we don't talk about race much, many people don't have the vocabulary or the sensitivity to deal with these issues.".... Singapore does not have a history of severe oppression or ongoing discrimination like police brutality similar to the US, to warrant the "in your face", confrontational methods used in some societies like America.

Qn: How far, in your society, should unpopular views be open to discussion? (Cam. 2013)

UN urges S-E Asia to phase out coal plants and end fossil fuel subsidy

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South-east Asia is the region with the third-highest number of coal plants in the pipeline, after China and India

the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well under 2 deg C above pre-industrial levels.

Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas are contributing to this warming. Their combustion releases gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where they act like a blanket in trapping heat. This causes weather patterns to change and increases the likelihood of extreme weather events.

Coal is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel. Its com-bustion releases heat-trapping gases and also contributes to pollution, which could impact the health of people living nearby. Yet, it has been the energy source of choice for many developing nations because it is considered cheap.

Singapore is powered mainly by natural gas, which is a cleaner form of energy but still a fossil fuel nonetheless. However, the Government is also investing in solar energy, and is trialling the installation of solar panels on water bodies to overcome space constraints.

under the Agreement – Singapore pledged to become greener economically and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to achieve each dollar of gross domestic product by 36 per cent from 2005 levels, come 2030. It also pledged to stop any further increases to its greenhouse gas emissions by the same timeline.

Qn: Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam. 2017)

Saudi Arabia ends travel restriction on women

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The landmark reform erodes the longstanding guardianship system that renders adult women as legal minors and allows their "guardians" - husband, father and other male relatives - to exercise arbitrary authority over them.

Women in the kingdom have long required permission from their male "guardians" to marry, renew their passports or exit the country.

reforms include the much-celebrated decision last year allowing women to drive, as well as allowing women to attend soccer games alongside men and to take on jobs that once fell outside the narrow confines of traditional gender roles.

For BANGs and qns on gender....

Humanity's next test: Feed 10 billion without ruining planet

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Land use, including agriculture and deforestation, accounts for around a quarter of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Meat is a major problem, as is food waste. It is estimated that as much as 30 per cent of all food produced ends up in landfills - with a carbon footprint to match.

"We need to move away from harmful industrial agriculture that relies on chemicals, drives deforestation and releases emissions,

Note the figurative language/idiomatic expression:

"The writing is on the wall for big agriculture corporations."

Qns:

1. Consider the view that we do not take enough responsibility for our own well-being. (Cam/ 2018)

2. Longer life expectancy creates more problems than benefits. Discuss. (Cam. 2016)

3.  How far should medical resources be used to extend life expectancy? (Cam. 2011)

4. Should medical science always seek to prolong life? (Cam. 2003)

Debunking myth of the sleepy fishing village

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We keep talking about what 'white men' did as though the Malays did nothing but fish, and the Bugis did nothing but piracy..."The way we handle our history is so neo-colonial and is such an insult. We need to move beyond this colonial gaze once and for all. If there is any way to do this, it should be through the Singapore Bicentennial, if we are truly mature in wanting to look at our longer history in the region."

If u have done the 2018 compre AQ on the value of the past (i.e. history), try recalling the points about how studying history is deemed to be of no value as it is biased, not an accurate capture of the past.....

Some thoughts:
-what was taught in history in our schools (esp in the past) can be deemed misguided as it gave the impression that Singapore only came into existence after the British came in 1819.
-yet it is through a study into history (i.e. greater inquiry) that we can debunk existent versions that are inaccurate or incomplete....
-other than this thing about how Singapore's birth commenced only with the arrival of the British, another example of a contentious part of our history is with regard to Operation Coldstore, where the govt's narrative/version is that the opposition Barisan Socialis are communists, and hence a threat to Singapore during that time......But this has brewed skepticism in some quarters, compounded by how Tan Pin Pin's alternative version of the incident in her documentary film "To Singapore With Love" was banned by the govt.

Widespread use of tech changes nature of Hong Kong protests

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There is provision for u to link this to the 2017 and 2018 'A' level GP AQ:
2017 - sharing of data and swarm mentality, where there is no one single decision-maker
2018 - youth are not apathetic when it comes to politics
And of course, the role of social media in all this is pretty evident....

The movement is still largely leaderless...Much of the action, including acts of civil disobedience like obstructing train service during rush hour, has been initiated by mostly young protesters who do most of their planning on the Reddit-like LIHKG forum, as well as in chat groups on secure messaging app Telegram.

"This is like the Wikipedia of protests that individuals are free to contribute in whatever way they like, and where there is no central organisation or group directing the efforts," 

"There is a constant evolution and refinement of techniques because everyone is allowed his own iteration of how to deal with the problem instead of having a main organiser deciding how things will go," 

"This new group of protesters, they don't want to be told what to do,"