::Homework Crapbox:: (version 2013 & 2014 & 2015 & 2016)

last SG · 2013-03-29T04:53:00+00:00

Check out the hundreds of visitor comments : https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-s-pink-dot-gay-rights-rally-draws-thousands-of-people-amid--unprecedented--d...

UltimaOnline SG

[Sexuality] - Female Logic from a Man's Perspective

The more accurate it is, the more hilarious you will find it. Judge from your own laughter.

More posters here :
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/how-female-logic-works-according-to-men

UltimaOnline SG

Syria allies: Why Russia, Iran and China are standing by the regime

By Holly Yan, CNN
August 30, 2013 -- Updated 0101 GMT (0901 HKT)

(CNN) -- Allegations of a chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime last week have heightened tensions internationally. There's been tough talk from Western leaders and a flurry of activity by the United States -- all of which seem to suggest that a military strike against the regime could be in the offing.

But through it all, Syria seems to retain the support of some good friends.

Why do Russia, Iran and China continue to support a regime that's accused of slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians in the 2-year-old civil war?

Here's why.

RUSSIA

Why it cares:

Two main reasons: One has to do with economics; the other with ideology.

a) Economics: Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms suppliers.

Syrian contracts with the Russian defense industry have likely exceeded $4 billion, according to Jeffrey Mankoff, an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Russia and Eurasia Program.

He noted the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated the value of Russian arms sales to Syria at $162 million per year in both 2009 and 2010.

Moscow also signed a $550 million deal with Syria for combat training jets.

Russia also leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus, giving the Russian navy its only direct access to the Mediterranean, Mankoff said.

b) Ideology: Russia's key policy goal is blocking American efforts to shape the region.

Russia doesn't believe revolutions, wars and regime change bring stability and democracy. It often points to the Arab Spring and the U.S.-led war in Iraq as evidence.

Russia also doesn't trust U.S. intentions in the region. It believes humanitarian concerns are often used an excuse for pursuing America's own political and economic interests.

"Russia's backing of (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad is not only driven by the need to preserve its naval presence in the Mediterranean, secure its energy contracts, or counter the West on 'regime change,'" said Anna Neistat, an associate program director at Human Rights Watch.

"It also stems from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's existential fear for his own survival and the survival of the repressive system that he and al-Assad represent. In Putin's universe, al-Assad cannot lose because it means that one day he, Putin, might as well."

What it's saying:

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insists there's no proof yet Syria's government is behind the chemical weapons attack. And any plans to strike Syria would challenge provisions of the U.N. charter, the ministry said.

The ministry accused Washington of trying to "create artificial groundless excuses for military intervention."

On Wednesday, Russia walked out of a U.N. Security Council meeting where Britain was expected to pursue a resolution to authorize the use of force against Syria.

"The West handles the Islamic world the way a monkey handles a grenade," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted.

Why it matters:

Russia is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. It has the power to veto Security Council resolutions against the Syrian regime and has done so repeatedly over the past two years. So, if the United States and its allies are relying on a U.N. mandate to greenlight a military strike, they may be waiting a long time.

IRAN

Why it cares:

Iran and Syria are bound by two factors: religion and strategy.

a) Religion: Iran is the world's most populous Shiite Muslim nation. The Syrian government is dominated by Alawites, a Shiite offshoot, and the rebels are dominated by Sunnis.

That connection has bound them for quite a while. Iran counted on Syria as its only Arab ally during its eight-year war with Iraq. Iraq was Sunni-dominated.

The last thing Iran wants now is a Sunni-dominated Syria -- especially as the rebels' main supporters are Iran's Persian Gulf rivals: Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

b) Strategy: For Iran, Syria is also a strategically key ally. It's Iran's main conduit to the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, the proxy through which Iran can threaten Israel with an arsenal of short-range missiles.

In 2009, the top U.S. diplomat in Damascus disclosed that Syria had begun delivery of ballistic missiles to Hezbollah, according to official cables leaked to and published by WikiLeaks.

So, it's in Iran's interest to see al-Assad's regime remain intact.

Western intelligence officials believe the Islamic Republic has provided technical help such as intelligence, communications and advice on crowd control and weapons as protests in Syria morphed into resistance.

A U.N. panel reported in May that Iranian weapons destined for Syria but seized in Turkey included assault rifles, explosives, detonators, machine guns and mortar shells.

Ayham Kamel of Eurasia Group believes the Iranians must be alarmed that the tide is turning against al-Assad.

"Iran probably has excellent information regarding Assad's position. That information would make clear that Iran is increasingly likely to lose its only ally in the region, greatly reducing its strategic reach," he said.

What's it saying:

Iran has cast events in Syria as part of a much broader ideological battle. It's a "war between the front of hegemony and the front of resistance," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said.

Iran's position, as outlined by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and new President Hassan Rouhani, is that the Syrian government is a victim of international plots.

Iran believes the West and almost all Arab countries are in cahoots in an effort to implement regime change in Syria. Iran says the main objective of this plot is to make the region safer for Israel.

This week, Zarif warned of "graver conditions" in Syria is attacked.

"If any country attacks another when it wants, that is like the Middle Ages," Zarif said Wednesday.

Why it matters:

Many believe Iran is Washington's greatest threat in the region, especially with its nuclear potential. It's unclear how Iran might respond if Syria is attacked. But the rhetoric certainly has been ominous.

"Starting this fire will be like a spark in a large store of gunpowder, with unclear and unspecified outcomes and consequences," Khamenei told Iranian Cabinet members this week.

"The U.S. threats and possible intervention in Syria is a disaster for the region and if such an act is done, certainly, the Americans will sustain damage like when they interfered in Iraq and Afghanistan."

CHINA

Why it cares:

China's relationship with Syria is more nuanced.

Some say it wants to maintain its financial ties. It was ranked as Syria's third-largest importer in 2010, according to data from the European Commission.

"Beijing's renewed interest in Damascus -- the traditional terminus node of the ancient Silk Road ... indicates that China sees Syria as an important trading hub," according to a 2010 report from The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based research and analysis institute.

But there's a bigger factor at play.

China has said foreign countries shouldn't meddle in Syria's internal affairs -- and perhaps for good reason. China has had its own share of international controversies over its policies with Tibet as well as allegations of human rights violations.

Finally, China doesn't want to reprise what happened with Libya.

It abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution on that one, clearing the way for a NATO military intervention in Libya.

"It was rather disappointed with the payoff," said Yun Sun of the Brookings Institution, writing in the East-West Center's Asia Pacific Bulletin. "Neither the West nor the NTC (Libyan National Transitional Council) showed much appreciation for China's abstention."

So, he says, China has "formulated a far more sophisticated hedging strategy" when it comes to Syria.

"Rather than siding with either Assad or the opposition and standing aside to 'wait and see,' Beijing is actively betting on both."

What's it saying:

China said it is firmly opposed to the use of chemical weapons and supports the U.N.'s chemical weapons inspectors.

It also said it wants a political solution for Syria -- though some say hopes for such an ending have waned.

"A political solution is always the only realistic means to resolve the Syria issue," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Like Russia, China also walked out of Wednesday's U.N. Security Council meeting where Britain planned to pursue a resolution on Syria.

Why it matters:

China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. And like Russia, China has repeatedly blocked sanctions attempts against the Syrian regime -- leading to a perpetual stalemate at the U.N. body to take any serious action on Syria.

CNN's Mariano Castillo, Catherine E. Shoichet, Ben Brumfield and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

UltimaOnline SG

Ex-RJC girls Symone & Stephanie's dance routine of SNSD's The Boys :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKxQDAe4iPg

UltimaOnline SG

http://www.heyaosun.com/

http://caritas.meridabadajoz.es/media/sunwhore.html

UltimaOnline SG

A man who has been jailed for raping a woman is waiting to find out whether he has contracted HIV from her.

Richard Thomas was sentenced to five years and four months after admitting raping the woman at her home in Leigh, Greater Manchester.

He knew she was ill but did not know she had HIV and collapsed when police told him, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Thomas, 27, of Sandringham Drive, Leigh, raped the woman after she had taken a sleeping tablet.

He said he had been drinking heavily and taken drugs, and could not recall the attack but believed the woman, the court heard.

Thomas had let himself into the house uninvited in the middle of the night and the woman, who had taken a sleeping tablet, awoke to find him raping her.

Harry Pepper, prosecuting, said: "She froze and no words were exchanged. He pulled up his shorts and left."

Judge Mark Brown described the crime as "dreadful".

Thomas is due to find out whether he has contracted HIV later in the week.

His barrister, Virginia Hayton, said: "It is his own fault, if he had not committed this offence he would not have placed himself in this position."

UltimaOnline SG

Six months ago, 55-year-old Billy Ray Harris was homeless. He lived on a street corner in Kansas City, holding out a cup and asking passers-by for spare change. But then, one day, his life changed.

In February, Sarah Darling passed Harris at his usual spot and dropped some change into his cup. But, unbeknownst to her, she also accidentally dropped in her engagement ring. Though Harris considered selling the ring — he got it appraised for $4,000 — he ultimately couldn’t go through with it, and a few days later, he returned the ring to Darling.

“I am not trying to say that I am no saint, but I am no devil either,” he said at the time.

As a way to say thank you, Darling and her husband Bill Krejci started a fund to raise money for Harris to help him get his life back on track. “We set a goal for a thousand dollars,” Darling told TODAY in March. “We set it up because a lot of people who had been touched by the story expressed interest in helping Billy Ray.”

The fund raised far more than any of them expected — in just three months, people donated more than $190,000.

Harris talked to a lawyer, who helped him put the money in a trust. Since then, he’s been able to buy a car and even put money down on a house, which he’s fixing up himself.

And that's not all: After he appeared on TV, his family members, who had not been able to find him for 16 years and had heard rumors he was dead, were able to track him down. They were happily reunited, and Harris is now working on his relationship with them, including nieces and nephews he hadn’t even known existed.

"When I think of the past, I think, thank God that it's over," he told TODAY. "I mean, I feel human now."

And the Kansas City community hasn’t forgotten about Harris and his good deed. “I still see some of the same people,” he says, “but only now, instead of coming up and giving me change, they're coming up shaking my hand and, you know, saying ‘hey, good job’.”

Since the fateful day that Darling’s ring landed in his cup, Harris’ life has done a 180. “This is what they call the American Dream,” he says. “I want to thank all the people that helped me out. I want them to see where all their efforts, blessings and kindness is going.”

And he has lifelong friends in the couple whose ring he returned.

Krejci and Darling now have a 20-month-old daughter, and they look forward to introducing her to Harris and explaining the role he played in her parents’ life. “I’ve talked to other mothers about this,” Darling says. “It gives [other moms] a real tangible story of really teaching kind of the difference between what’s wrong and what’s right."

Harris isn’t only good luck for the couple — he also appears to be good luck for the local baseball team! Krejci and Darling have taken Harris to six Kansas City Royals games, including one for Krejci’s recent birthday, and every single time the home team won.

“Overall, it just makes me feel good,” Darling says of the generous outpouring of support for Harris. “A lot of people came together to change this person's life when he is someone who really deserves that.”

UltimaOnline SG

[Advertisement] - Earth shaking LG 84 inch HDTV ad
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/what-happens-when-a-meteorite-lands-in-the-middle-of-job-interview

UltimaOnline SG

[Inspirational] - Photos and captions of touching examples

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/get-inspired/these-touching-pictures-will-make-you-want-to-be-a-better-person

UltimaOnline SG

Two upcoming comedies with a related criminal theme.

The Millers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vsy5KzsieQ

We're a nice normal family
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJp3zpBBsug

UltimaOnline SG

[Singapore] - Ris Low's upcoming movie's trailer just released

Name: rismain_0.jpg Views: 0 Size: 13.5 KB

Watch the trailer here :
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/ris-low-impresses-with-dramatic-performance-in-local-revenge-movie

UltimaOnline SG

During the meeting, she said: "No, I'm not going to break it off with the man. I want to be with him."

She has the moral courage and strength to stand firm and courageously in her love for this man, even if she knows it will cost her the job (which she badly needs as she's pregnant with no man to support her).

UltimaOnline SG

Ikea at last cracks China market, but success has meant adapting to local ways
Furniture giant has bent over backwards to accommodate Chinese keener on sleeping than shopping.
Sunday, 01 September, 2013, 6:10am

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Ikea's flagship mainland store - one of the world's largest - is abuzz with people. Walkways guiding visitors from one showroom to the next feel more congested than the road outside, and almost all 660 seats in the canteen are occupied. Yet the lines to the cashiers are refreshingly short - most are not here to shop.

The store is gripped by a kind of anarchy that would rarely be seen, or tolerated, in its country of origin. There are picnickers everywhere - their tea flasks and plastic bags of snacks lining the showroom tables. Young lovers pose for "selfies" in mock-up apartments they do not live in. Toddlers in split pants play on model furniture with their naked parts coming in contact with all surfaces.

On a king-size bed in the middle of the largest showroom, a little boy wakes from a nap next to his (also sleeping) grandmother. When the old woman casually helps the boy urinate into an empty water bottle, dripping liquid liberally on the grey mattress under his feet, most passers-by seem not to mind or even notice. The exception is a young woman who elbows her disinterested boyfriend: "Look, he's peeing into a bottle!"

Most endemic, however, is the sleeping. After a few, rare clear days, the city's notorious heavy smog has returned, and is made worse by a sticky, dusty heat wave striking northern China. Weeks earlier, a photo of people napping in a Shanghai shopping centre to escape the searing heat went viral, but in the capital, it is Ikea's cool, conditioned air that is salvation for tens of thousands of its inhabitants.

The bedroom and living room sections on the store's third floor are the most popular. Virtually every surface is occupied by visitors appearing very much at home. Older people read newspapers or drink tea; younger visitors cuddle or play with their phones. Most, however, are sound asleep.

On an average day, the 42,000 square metre store lets 28,000 visitors through its doors - though this day might be particularly busy. And every day, Jason Zhang, who works in the bed section, patiently wakes up about a hundred of them.

"Excuse me, you can't sleep here," he says politely but firmly, waiting for the verbal abuse that often follows as he redirects them to a designated section near the canteen. "Other customers need to try the product. The resting area is just over there."

His efforts are mostly in vain. In the bedroom section, the few customers actually interested in buying mattresses struggle to find space to try them. Almost all the beds have people sprawled on them, or tucked in under colourful duvets, their shoes kicked off on the floor. In one showroom, two women and a baby are fast asleep in a bed, with a man, presumably the father, knocked out in an armchair next to it.

"I think it's just that shopping behaviour in China is very different," says Zhang, shrugging at the mayhem around him.

UltimaOnline SG

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/underage-china-girls-ordeal-of-rape-and-forced-prostitution-in-spore

An underage girl from China who went in search of a better-paying job to help clear her late father's debt was instead drugged, raped and forced to become a prostitute.

The 17-year-old Shandong native's ordeal, described by District Judge Low Wee Ping as "heartbreaking" and "horrific", was revealed in court on Wednesday (Sep 11) when three Singaporean men were sentenced to 11 weeks' jail each for having paid sex with her.

The judge also chided their actions, telling one of the accused, Low Kia How, 50, that he is "a consumer of what we call international trafficking of a minor for prostitution".

According to a report on The Straits Times, the court was told how the minor came about to be in her current plight.

Her father had succumbed to cancer in October 2011, leaving behind a RMB100,000 (S$20,000) debt owed to relatives and loansharks for his medical treatment.

The girl and her mother then seeked employment to pay off the debt, with the former landing a job at a hair salon.

There, the owner suggested she work in a casino in Macau to earn more money, and brought her there. However, she could not find work there as she was below 18.

It was then that she was tricked into meeting a Tang Huisheng, who drugged her with methamphetamine (Ice) and raped her. He also treated her as a sex slave, demanding her for sex every few days and forcing her into it by beating her if she refuses, reported The New Paper.

He then told her he was taking her to Singapore to work as a prostitute so that she can earn more money, and that he would be her pimp.

When she refused and begged him to let her go home, he locked her up in a room instead.

She tried to escape by jumping out of the room, which was on the fifth storey, but ended up injuring her back and legs. She was caught by Tang and subsequently punished by him as he hit her on the back and chest.

He then bought air tickets to Singapore, promising to let her return home after she worked as a prostitute here for two months.

In Singapore, she was told to stand around Geylang to get customers and at the end of the day, he would take away all the money she made from prostituting herself.

She worked in Geylang from May 18 to June 1, when she was arrested at about 5.10pm on the suspicion that she had been providing commercial sex while being below the age of 18.

Tang is expected to be tried soon.

UltimaOnline SG

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/you-wont-believe-what-stole-the-show-at-at-nasas-latest-rocket-launch

UltimaOnline SG

Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose traditional Hawaiian name comes from her late husband, said she would never consider using a shortened version, and so used local media to press officials to take action.

"I love the Polynesian culture I married into, I love my Hawaiian name. It is an honour and has been quite a journey to carry the names I carry," Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose maiden name was Worth, told AFP.

For years she has carried two forms of identification: her driving licence, which only has room for 34 characters, and her official Hawaii state ID card which in the past had room for all 35 letters.

But the problem came after Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele's state ID was renewed in May -- and came back the same as her driver's licence, with the last letter missing, and with no first name.

Then a traffic cop pulled her over. "The policeman looked at my licence and saw I had no first name. I told him it is not my fault that my licence and state ID are not correct and I am trying to get it corrected.

"He then told me 'Well, you can always change your name back to your maiden name.' This hurt my heart," said Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, who was originally from New York and worked on Wall Street until 1991.

"Over the last 22 years I have seen Hawaii is being bulldozed and the culture of Hawaii being trampled upon and this policeman treated my name as if it is some mumbo-jumbo," added Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose friends call her "Loke."

Exasperated, she took her case to a local TV station, KHON-2, who publicised the problem, putting pressure on the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DoT).

Within days, authorities, who had previously told her it would take two years to change and the surname character limit would remain at 35, had decided they could act more quickly.

"We understand how she feels and are working to correct the situation," Hawaii's DoT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter told AFP.

"By the end of the year, we should have the new character limits in place which will be 40 characters for the first and last names, 35 characters for the middle, and 5 for the suffix," she said.

- AFP/xq

UltimaOnline SG

[USA's War on Syria] - Americans strongly against Obama's war proposal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm1EMF8fiTc&feature=player_embedded

UltimaOnline SG

A new London skyscraper has been blamed for reflecting light and heat from the sun onto buildings in the next street, scorching the sidewalk, dazzling passersby and melting parked cars.

Business owners and motorists hit out at developers of 20 Fenchurch Street in central London for starting fires, causing damage to paint work, cracking tiles, and smoking a carpet.

According to an article in Amusing Planet, one journalist even managed to fry an egg on the hotspot.

When the sun reaches a certain position in the sky, a beam reflects from the concave south side of the building.

This phenomenon apparently lasts for around two hours a day and will come to a natural end in about three weeks’ time as the autumnal sun stays closer to the horizon.

As a precautionary measure, the City of London has agreed to suspend three parking bays in the area.

The developers of the tower had been aware of the risk of the curved glass building acting as 'a giant magnifying glass', but had concluded there would not be a problem.

“We are consulting with local businesses and the City to address the issue in the short-term, while also evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future,” the spokesperson added.

UltimaOnline SG

Eyewitness account by "YourLauBu" of an altercation at Eunos coffeeshop involving 1 lau angmor, 1 sialan beng, 1 lau hero

sialan beng chope the whole table, lau angmor tried to sit down, ensuing conversation leading to fight

sialan beng: "hallo, cannot sit!"

lau angmor: "why cant i sit here?"

sialan beng: "becos i say cannot!"

lau angmor: "but theres no one sitting here, this is a public table"

sialan beng: "kaninacheebye FUCK YOU! *bang fist on table*

lau angmor lan lan walk away find another table to sit. boss/tao chiu of kopi tiam 1 lau beng came out, ask his people what happened, walked over to sialan beng

lau beng: "li terng simi toh teng?, toh teng si li eh ah? arn chua pak lang buay sai zher?"

sialan beng: "arn chua? buay song ah?

lau beng: "CHEEBYE! LAI LAH! *bang fist on table*

sialan beng: "LAI LAHHH

scuffle breaks out between 2 bengs, someone called police, patrol car comes, take down statement

UltimaOnline SG

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/loyal-dog-searches-buses-daily-for-missing-owner

This article was contributed by the STOMP Team.

Every day for the last two weeks, this dog named Huang Huang has boarded buses to search to find its missing owner in Chengdu China.

According to Huaxi Metropolis Daily, the dog scours the vehicle from seat to seat, hoping to pick up the scent of its master.

Each day, it waits patiently in line for the bus to arrive, then boards with other passengers to repeat its routine.

Drivers say he spends up to ten hours every day searching for its owner.

As night falls each day, it gives up and disappears into the darkness, only to return the next day to start anew.

A bus conductor named Fung believes that he had seen Huang Huang standing with its owner in the carpark about a month ago, but the man has since disappeared.

Fung has considered taking Huang Huang home with him but feels that it may be too early to do so yet.

UltimaOnline SG

The report by Wealth-X and UBS said that 50 Ultra-High Net Worth (UHNW) people in Singapore made it to the ranks of the super rich after property prices kept rising, rising, and rising last year. The Wealth-X mission statement: Provide our members with intelligence that allows them to acquire new relationships, expand existing ones, and eliminate compliance hurdles.

UHNW individuals are defined by Wealth-X as having total assets of at least
US$30 million (S$38 million). On average the 1,355 UHNW Singapore residents have US$180 million in total assets. Together they have a combined wealth of US$160 billion. Singapore has a ratio of billionaires per capita 3 times higher than
that of the United States, with one billionaire for every 200,000 residents.

Of course, not all their money is made from property asset enhancement. The
government has made sure the rich get richer, through measures such as:

Throughout the course of history, the flow of migration has always been
directed towards destinations where there is perceived freedom and prosperity.
Nobel prize-winning economist and champion of laissez-faire economics Milton
Friedman referred to this as “people voting with their feet”. It works both
ways. Singapore is very welcoming and inviting to the über rich, it is also
getting very hostile to those struggling to make ends meet. The tragedy is that
the poor are too tied down by debt servicing to make the relocation with their
feet.

A Mr Tan, 71, who has a postgraduate in mathematics, actually pleaded with
his doctor to end his life and his wife’s two years ago. Even he could not do
the math, caring for his dementia afflicted wife, a son with
obsessive-compulsive disorder and a daughter with schizophrenia, all on the
pathetic financial assistance and food rations from the community development council. There’s no report on the ultra destitute individuals in
Singapore.

« Previous Page Next Page »