Israel’s pager attacks have changed the world

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For qns on privacy, and whether tech has made us safer.....

Singapore population crosses 6 million mark

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Singapore’s total population stood at 6.04 million as at June 2024

having nearly one in three people being a non-resident was “not a shockingly high number” for most global cities

Janet Jackson repeats false claims about Kamala Harris’ race

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Good example to show that celebrities sometimes cannot be trusted and are accomplice in spreading fake news....

Depression, anxiety, stress: 1 in 3 youth in S’pore reported very poor mental health, says IMH survey

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Nearly a third of young people aged 15 to 35 reported symptoms that included feeling empty, tense or upset most of the time,

social media exposes them to constant comparisons, intensifying concerns about body image...The anonymity of the online world has also given rise to cyber bullying, which adds a new dimension of harassment that can be relentless and far-reaching.

Gender equality is not just a women’s issue

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The thinking at that time was that it’s not cost-effective to train girls because they’ll eventually get married and quit working to have babies

This was also the era when graduate women were encouraged to get married and have more babies; while less-educated mothers were given monetary incentives to undergo sterilisation. The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) was forged and created in 1985, in the heat of this unpopular edict.

In South Korea in 2022, conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol won the presidential election largely on an anti-feminist platform, garnering a majority of votes from men in their 20s and 30s. He also pledged to abolish the country’s ministry of gender equality and family.

the four men who pleaded guilty in Singapore of conspiring with three other men to drug and rape their wives over a period of seven years, in 2022. None of them saw anything wrong with assaulting unconscious women.

Fr qns on gender and equality, discrimination....

Trump says ‘I hate Taylor Swift!’ in Truth Social post

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Amplification of political agendas on social media fans flames of pre-existing tensions in real world

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Social media platforms like X and Facebook were created with the idea of bringing people closer together, but are instead destroying social cohesion through misinformation and disinformation online

Societies, communities, are standing on a very delicate tightrope, and social media has the ability to tilt the balance instantaneously, sometimes by providing misinformation which can be taken as the truth. It just spirals out of control, it snowballs...where social media has added firewood to the fire

social media algorithms corral people into echo chambers that magnify occasional incidents as if they are ubiquitous.

even the way in which social media platforms presented conflicts was problematic, because of what he termed their “bite-sized content...Consequently, many come away thinking of themselves as knowledgeable about the world, even though they have only superficial engagement with it.

In the European Union, laws have been institutionalised to hold platforms legally liable for unlawful behaviour by users if they are aware of it. In contrast, in the US, social media companies are protected from being treated as the publishers of any content they distribute unless they create it...In Singapore, amendments to the Broadcasting Act were passed in 2022 to make social media platforms liable if they fail to protect local users from online harms

it would be dangerous if social media comes in and amplifies the fault line into a chasm

For qns on social media....

‘Look up’: Push to curb light pollution has Australians enjoying the night sky again

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Qn: Has living in the city become less attractive? (VJC Prelim 2023)

Ohio city unnerved by bomb threats, conspiracy theories in wake of Trump’s false claims

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Interesting example to grab attention:

Ever since former president Donald Trump claimed on national television that immigrants were stealing and devouring the household pets of Springfield – “they’re eating the dogs”, he practically shouted, “they’re eating the cats” – the rhythms and routines in the city have not been the same.

“I saw that information in social media networks, and it’s not real,” he said, referring to Haitians stealing neighbours’ pets for consumption.

For qns on fake news and social media, etc....

Why Taylor Swift’s support could win the race for Kamala Harris

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But US political campaigns court celebrities, not necessarily to change people’s minds but to raise excitement around a candidate and prod people to pay attention to a political race. They’re great for overall political engagement, which is why they also make huge juggernauts in mobilising resources, volunteers and voters.

Just the sheer number of her 283 million Instagram followers she can potentially influence today makes her a formidable cultural force.

For qns on celebrity influence and politics....

In broadening the definition of merit, let’s continue to celebrate success

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A good read if u r doing the EJC Prelim 2023 compre on excellence vs 'good enough' and lying flat/'tang ping'....

Adding fuel to the fire: Global methane emissions keep rising, stoking climate change

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Methane is responsible for around 30 per cent of the current rise in global temperatures.

Major sources of methane are from agriculture, such as the digestive tracts of cows and sheep, and the extraction and use of fossil fuels. Methane emissions come from natural sources such as wetlands, tropical soils and rice paddies, where it is produced by bacteria breaking down organic matter. It also comes from landfills, natural gas extraction and processing, and coal mines.

“The fastest-growing emissions come from fossil fuels and landfills, with emissions from fossil fuels now comparable in size to emissions from livestock

Koalas, other wildlife under threat as forests in Australia cleared for cattle

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The end of impunity for tech giants?

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Note the opening using a list of examples....and how the conclusion makes reference to this opening...

In France, Durov was charged with complicity in enabling fraud and the distribution of drugs and child sexual abuse material on Telegram, as well as with failure to cooperate with law enforcement.

In the case of TikTok, a federal court in Pennsylvania ruled the company could potentially be held liable for harm because its algorithmically generated “For You Page” showed children “blackout challenge” videos depicting people choking themselves until they passed out. Several children died attempting the challenge.... TikTok’s algorithm proactively promoted the damaging content to its users.

‘Would they harass my clients or my family today?’: Victims of cancel culture in S’pore speak out

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Cancelling and cancel culture have to do with the removing of support for public figures in response to their objectionable behaviour or opinions. This can include boycotts or refusal to promote their work....The reason for cancellation can vary, but it usually is due to the person in question having expressed an objectionable opinion, or having conducted themselves in a way that is unacceptable, so that continuing to patronise that person’s work leaves a bitter taste.”

Its rise coincided with the 2017 start of the #MeToo movement, where women called out powerful predators. Numerous actresses, notably, named and shamed former film producer Harvey Weinstein for a litany of sexual assaults.

But thanks to the advent of social media, the aftermath for today’s cancelled can be devastating and can cross over into harassment and cyber bullying. What began as a movement to raise awareness about a problem has become more contentious, as online mob behaviour can sometimes escalate beyond reason, ruining careers, reputations and lives.

In 2006, Ms Wee, then an 18-year-old Raffles Junior College student on a humanities scholarship programme, found herself in a storm of controversy after posting what were viewed by many Singaporeans to be elitist, naive and insensitive statements in response to a post by blogger Derek Wee...telling Mr Wee to “get out of my elite uncaring face”. 

At the start of July 2024, there were 5.17 billion social media users around the world, equating to 63.7 per cent of the total global population.

In 2012, Miss Amy Cheong, a former assistant director of membership services at NTUC, made an expletive-filled post on Facebook about the noise from Malay weddings held at void decks of housing estates. She also mocked the divorce rate of Malays.

“Whatever goes online will always be there; a Google search is all they need. It’s a perpetual sentence in a virtual prison 

troll culture and cancel culture are two sides of the same misshapen coin”. Trolling includes incendiary or irrelevant comments and personal attacks that target race, culture, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Like cancelling, the ultimate aim is to shame, discredit and silence someone.

Enacted in 2014, Poha stipulates that a person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person can be jailed for up to six months, or fined up to $5,000. 

“It doesn’t mean that we should encourage apathy, but recognise that there is a line between calling out something that one feels is wrong, and harassing an individual.”

Qns:

1. Assess the extent to which all people in your society have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. (Cam. 2023)

2. ‘The quality of human interaction is diminished by modern communication devices.’ How far do you agree? (Cam. 2023)

Fear and living during the Hungry Ghost Month

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Some believers take part in rituals to pray and intercede for their departed loved ones to ease their suffering in the netherworld. 

So instead of ghosts and hauntings, the festival is, in essence, more about filial piety, remembrance of the dead and charity towards the less fortunate.

Qn: How important is it for people in your society to retain a sense of tradition? (Cam. 2010)