Tamil village praying for return of bronze idols from Singapore

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stolen antiques may be “just idols” for countries that keep them, but they are “part of India’s soul and faith”. 

Antiques are a window into our history, and our own children in India should have access to them, whether to worship, study as art or history,

Qn: 'Works of art which have been removed from their country of origin should be returned.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2018)

The case for a new open door policy - for Japan and China

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Note how the closing BANG of Mr Stimson echoes an earlier reference....

Was there something else that Mr Stimson did not reveal about Kyoto that led him to be so protective of this ancient city? Possibly. It seems, as governor of the Philippines in the 1920s, he had become a fan of Japanese culture. What’s more, Kyoto had been his honeymoon destination.

 the story about Mr Stimson is a useful reminder of the importance of people-to-people relationships in helping to calm bilateral wrinkles between nations.

The cordial welcome they received in a country that many Chinese are taught to regard with suspicion would have earned Tokyo more brownie points than all the money it could have expended on advertisements that seek to mould Chinese public opinion. 

Just as important as it is that the Chinese travel the world is that the mainland should also take in visitors. 

these visitors went home with tales of the development miracle unfolding in front of their eyes – a miracle that is of global value, and therefore, makes it easier to comprehend why it needs to be defended.  In short, a better understanding of China.

In this kind of environment where there is a strategic reordering under way, the risk of miscalculation or miscommunication is far greater than it’s ever been before, so cultural relations actually allow us some opportunity to avoid that

Qn: Are global tourism and travel still necessary when everything can be experienced or achieved online? (Cam. 2021)

Nearly 100 scientists call for health-centred response to climate change: Report

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Extreme weather events have also shortened the growth of staple crops by up to 10 days, compared with a few decades ago, reducing yield and harvests.

By 2045, temperatures in Singapore could hit 40 deg C on some days, compounded by the urban heat island effect.

There are more vulnerable populations we need to protect – delivery workers, healthcare workers, underground workers. Thermal discomfort can compromise learning in schools. 

The Republic is also at risk of worsened dengue outbreaks, since warmer weather allows the Aedes mosquito to breed more quickly.

For qns on climate change...

Qn: ‘Urban development cannot co-exist with environmental protection.’ How true is this of your society? (YIJC Prelim 2022)

Bills tabled to repeal Section 377A, amend Constitution to protect definition of marriage from court challenge

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a Bill to amend the Constitution was introduced to protect the current definition of marriage as being between a man and woman – and laws and government policies made on that basis – from being challenged in the courts on constitutional grounds.

repealing a law requires just a simple majority of MPs, while any amendment to the Constitution has to be supported by at least two-thirds of MPs, excluding Nominated MPs.

Most people accept that a person’s sexual orientation and behaviour is a private matter, and that sex between men should not be a criminal offence.

significant risk of S377A being struck down by the courts in a future challenge to declare the law unconstitutional on the grounds that it breaches Article 12, the equal protection provision of the Constitution. Article 12 states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. As the Constitution is the highest law in the land, any law enacted in Parliament but found to be inconsistent with it could be struck down by the courts.

The constitutional amendment..will introduce a new Article 156 (Institution of Marriage) clause to the Constitution. Article 156 states that Parliament can define the institution of marriage, and make pro-family laws on the basis of that definition... Should the amendment pass, any change to the heterosexual definition of marriage and laws made on that basis can happen only through Parliament and not through the courts

the Bill does not codify or enshrine the definition of marriage into the Constitution.

Qn: ‘Traditional marriage is an outdated concept.’ To what extent is this true of your society? (Cam. 2014)

Forum: Chasm between what S’poreans know and actually do about climate change

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The common responses are that the ramifications of climate change will be felt decades in the future, so there is no need to worry about them now, and that industry and corporations are responsible for most of the damage, so the onus should be on them to rectify it.

possessing the requisite environmental knowledge does not necessarily translate into environmentally responsible behaviour.

It is insufficient to resort to passive, top-down methods which leave little room for autonomy and self-responsibility.

#LookAtMe film by Ken Kwek barred from being screened in S’pore over potential to cause social division

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#LookAtMe film as having exceeded the Film Classification Guidelines because “it denigrates a religious community”.

The film is set in Singapore and revolves around the protagonist, who is offended by a pastor’s stance on homosexuality. The film also indicates, in its opening frame, that it is “inspired by true events”,

the film has the potential to cause enmity and social division here as the Singapore pastor preaches against homosexuality but engages in behaviour that goes against his religious teachings.

the film is a “work of cinematic fiction” that seeks to “entertain and encourage conversations on important social issues that are relevant to Singapore”.

For qns on the arts, films and censorship.....

Soaring US dollar leaves food piled up in ports as world hunger grows

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Qn:‘Science is the only answer to global hunger.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2019)

Last surviving Bali bomber's apology rejected by victims

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When people are in a bind they will say anything to get out of the problem...He said that because he was sentenced to life.

It's part of his survival mechanism. This is something he has to say

Relate to 2020 AQ topic on apology...and qns on punishment vs rehabilitation

The prize-winning skill that many Nobel laureates share

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Relate to 'Renaissance man' like da Vinci, who is not really a scientist, but also a skilled artist (think Mona Lisa and The Last Supper). A modern day equivalent can be Steve Jobs, who had one foot in tech and another in calligraphy, the latter giving rise to the beautiful fonts we take for granted in Apple products today....

What has lace-making got to do with medicine? The combination offers a clue to the sort of boundary-breaking researchers who end up Nobel winners.

likely to be what we call "creative polymaths". That is, they purposely integrate formal and informal expertise from widely varied disciplines to yield new and useful ideas and practices.

Many of these laureates discover problems by looking at topics in new ways, or they solve them by transferring skills, techniques and materials from one field to another. ...n one notable example, Dr Alexis Carrel won his Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1912 by adapting lace-making and embroidery techniques to transplant surgery.

I can always view my hobbies as part of my research."

the vast majority of laureates have or had formal - and often also informal - education in more than one discipline, developed intensive and extensive hobbies and changed fields....they have intentionally sought out useful connections among their diverse activities as a formal strategy for stimulating creativity.

Our analysis finds that scientists who win a Nobel Prize are about nine times more likely to have training in crafts such as wood- and metal-working or fine arts than the typical scientist.

In sharp contrast to typical professionals who view their hobbies as irrelevant or even detrimental to their work, Nobel laureates perceive their varied interests and hobbies as important stimulants.

having a persistent, intellectually challenging hobby - such as musical performance, acting, visual art exhibition, competitive chess or computer programming - is a better predictor of career success in any field than are grades, standardised test scores or IQ.

Link also the the arts, esp how the arts complement the sciences, esp how the radically different perspective it affords the sciences can be fruitful....

Qns: 
1. Education should only be concerned with what is useful in life. Discuss. (Cam. 2013)
2. Consider the value of hobbies.

Decoding Putin's annexation speech

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the West was blamed for every conceivable crime, from seeking to destroy Russia back in the 17th century to promoting gay rights and sexual reassignment operations.

And, yes, he needs to exaggerate the threats Russia supposedly faces, if only because this justifies the unpopular military draft and the other sacrifices he may be demanding from his nation.

The words "they" and "them" predominate in Mr Putin's latest speech and are the real object of his anger. "Them" - the Westerners - stand accused of engaging in "multi-secular Russophobia", a relentless and prolonged hatred of Russia stretching back centuries, allegedly designed to make Russia a "colony".

"Do we want to have, here, in our country, in Russia, instead of mom and dad a 'parent number one', 'number two', 'number three'? "Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed on children in our schools from the primary grades? To have hammered into their ideas that there are supposedly other genders besides women and men, and to be offered a sex change operation?" 

The TikTok test

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to several Western governments, including in Washington, the app poses real national security risks. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese IT company, and Western concerns fall primarily along two lines: that the app harvests too much data from users, and that the Chinese government can access this data and use it for nefarious purposes, if it wishes.

And India banned the app over national security reasons in June 2020, in response to a border clash with China.

TikTok is also forming a bigger part of Americans' news diets - according to Pew this year, 33 per cent of adult users say that they regularly get news from TikTok...Given this ubiquity, one concern has been that TikTok was censoring and moderating content, including on issues sensitive to China, and that Beijing could use TikTok to bolster its public image in the US....TikTok had engaged in censorship on topics ranging from LGBTQ+ issues to the repression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.

TikTok's own privacy policy states that it automatically collects users' approximate and precise locations, keystroke patterns, biometric data such as faceprints and voiceprints, and even information identifying objects and scenery that appear in image and video uploads.

"Once accessed by personnel in Beijing, there is no check on the... Communist Party (of China) using the extensive, private and sensitive data about US users for espionage activities because compliance with the People's Republic of China's 2017 National Intelligence law is mandatory in China

Qn: Is privacy becoming a thing of the past in today’s world? (SAJC Prelim 2022)

India court widens definition of 'family' but society yet to catch up

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recent landmark decision by the Indian Supreme Court that expanded the definition of family to include households with unmarried or same-sex couples, single parents and others who are atypical. This legal recognition also means that atypical families are entitled to social welfare benefits like their traditional counterparts.

 the courts have taken the lead in recent years, challenging patriarchal views on sexuality and gender while better reflecting changes taking place in society. The Supreme Court in 2014 recognised transgenders as a third sex with access to social benefits. Four years later, it decriminalised consensual gay sex by striking down Section 377 of the Penal Code, a colonial-era law similar to the one repealed by the Singapore Government in August.

"The reality is forms of family are changing. You see many different forms of family - single mother, single father and same-sex families who are also having children."

"There is a huge gap in what is legally acceptable and socially acceptable. But society will have to move in that direction. Otherwise it is doing something illegal."

Consider the idea of whether the law should take the lead in changing social attitudes or whether it should just reflect social attitudes (i.e. wait for the change to occur first before the law is changed to reflect the changes on the ground)....How does this compare with the recent controversy in Singapore about the repeal of 377A?

Jokowi orders probe after 125 killed in East Java stadium stampede

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For qns on:

=sport

=violence

=excessive powers of the police [c/f/ police who killed George Floyd]

Qn: Should the police have unlimited powers to deal with crime today? (RI J1 Mid-yr)

Pound gains after UK government U-turns on cut to top tax rate

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Qn: ‘Power these days lies more with the people than the politicians.’ To what extent is this true? (Cam. 2021)

Social media firms face fines, blocking in S'pore under new Bill to tackle online harm

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the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill ... may attract a fine of up to $1 million, or a direction to have their services blocked in Singapore.

Under the Bill, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will be empowered to issue orders to block or take down egregious content in the event that it is accessed by local users on major social media platforms. These orders will not be issued for private communications.

Egregious content includes posts advocating suicide, self-harm, child sexual exploitation, terrorism and materials that may incite racial or religious tensions or pose a risk to public health.

aimed at regulating online communication services, which include major social media firms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Relate to the idea of how businesses cannot just focus solely on profit and ignore the effects of their business on society, coz this will attract intervention by the government which could have a severe impact on their profits.

Harmful online content: British teen Molly Russell fell into a deep, dark rabbit hole of despair

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she took her life after suffering through what her father described as a "demented trail of life-sucking content" peddled by social media.

It's a ghetto of the online world that once you fall into it, the algorithm means you can't escape it and it keeps recommending more content. You can't escape it

There were photos and videos that romanticised self-harm and suicide.

It's time the toxic corporate culture at the heart of the world's biggest social media platform changed… It's time to protect our innocent young people, instead of allowing platforms to prioritise their profits by monetising their misery.

For qns on youth and impact of social media on youth....