Gender numbers in VCE maths just don't add up

Posted to The Age (14/12/2011) on 18/12/2011 at 1:20 PM
Commenting on "Gender numbers in VCE maths just don't add up"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/gender-numbers-in-vce-maths-just-dont-add-up-20111213-1otdc.html

Was there any study done to find out why less male students take up humanity subjects? Brain experts have researched and found out that male and female brains do not develop in the same manner.

The biological and physiological make up of male and female are different, and therefore will definitely influence the behavioural and mental processes, which in turn determine their choice career one intends to pursue.

The world will be such a boring place if male and female are identical in every aspect. Just look at the time when Mao made every citizen "equal".

Stress

Posted to Facebook on 18/11/2011
Title: Stress

Stress is self-induced. When faced with a difficult situation, do you think stress is going to make the situation better? I stress, as a natural biological response but only for very short time, because I know consciously stress does not make any difference whatsoever to get over any hurdle. Next time when stress knocks on your door, open the door and let it in. Why? When you open the door, fresh air comes in, and that will enable you to clear your mind.

Navy Seals reveal truth about raid against Osama Bin Laden

Posted to Perth Now (6/11/2011) on 8/11/2011 at 4:33 AM
Commenting on "Navy Seals reveal truth about raid against Osama Bin Laden"
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/top-stories/navy-seals-speak-out-how-we-killed-bert-laden/comments-e6frg12l-1226186932206

Is this an act of an eye for an eye? So what's going to happen to the US Navy Seals who killed Bin Laden? When is the killing cycle going to end? Is the world going to be a better and safer place after the three "evils" are killed (I intentionally not to use the word gone)? As long as hatred and suspicion continue to propagate, the human world is no different from the one roamed by animals which kill their prey by instinct.

Who are Australian soldiers dying for?

Posted to Herald Sun (31/10/2011) on 31/10/2011 at 3:06 AM
Commenting on "Who are Australian soldiers dying for?"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/what-are-australian-soldiers-dying-for/story-e6frfhqf-1226180901325

"We are in Afghanistan to rid them of the Taliban” – how, to capture them and brainwash them in captivity or kill them? If it is alright to kill them, then why can't they exercise “their right” to kill the intruders or foreign soldiers, no matter what their intension is?

In the Western's eyes, democracy is the go and they want to "introduce locals to the idea of democracy." Do Afghanis and Taliban want or choose democracy? China chooses Communism instead of Democracy. Is Communism far less superior to Democracy, and who is the judge? Is instilling the idea of democracy a form of indoctrination? If so, this is very wrong; because believers of democracy suppose to understand human rights.

End Part 1 of 2


Posted to Herald Sun (31/10/2011) on 31/10/2011 at 3:10 AM

Are the Western countries including Australia too hasty and impulsive to change Afghanistan? It took decades to change British Australia to become Australia the nation with the Queen of England as the constitutional monarch, and another few more to get rid of the post war White Australian policies. Australia then tossed between Socialistic Labor and Capitalistic Coalition, and now the direction Australia takes is in the hands of a few independents. Australians are still unsure of turning this country into a republic.

Democracy can be a pain in the rear – multiculturalism is divisive to say the least. Soon, in the name of multiculturalism, a Tower of Babel will be founded. Conflicts emerge as differences in religious beliefs, cultural practices, social behaviour, power struggle, etc divide Australia into "tribes"; no difference from Afghanistan.

US and its allies are not gods, and should not play gods. They must not "modify" other nations to their own image. If the do-gooders go to Afghanistan with the intention to kill the Taliban or terrorists, they will return fire because as far as they are concerned, the foreigners are the enemies.

End of Part of 2

Older mums are selfish and self-centred

Posted to Adelaide Now (4/10/2011) to 4/10/2011 at 1:39 PM
Commenting on “Older mums are 'selfish and self-centred'”
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/older-mums-are-selfish-and-self-centred/comments-e6frea8c-1226157838279

Many middle-age and younger people today have too much expectation and insufficient sacrifice. They started off with expensive wedding celebration, honeymoon follow by carefree life-style - dining out, expensive alcohol, merry-making parties, more than budget-permit rental apartments, branded goods, multiple home-entertaining systems, etc. They want a career, new car, credit card, holidays and new home! They spoilt their health, not because of genetic reason, but due to their indifferent attitude towards what real life is about.

Life is about sharing and compromise. Me-ism preachers have been giving the wrong messages, and forgetting the duty and responsibility as humans on this planet are not just to live for themselves but also leave behind offspring to ensure a continual existence of human race - healthy humans to be precise.

How are the kids with older parents going to tell their friends - parents or grandparents? Will this damage their mental development? Generation gap, I argue very often is created by older generation. Another 10 or more years’ gap can mean greater difficulty in relating to them and guide them. There are always exceptions to the rules – good luck!

AFL defends Meat Loaf

Posted to The Age (3/10/2011) on 3/10/2011 at 12:03 PM
Commenting on “Blame weather, not Meat Loaf: AFL boss”
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/blame-weather-not-meat-loaf-afl-boss-20111003-1l4gp.html

Posted to Herald Sun (3/10/2011) on 3/10/2011 at 12:24 PM, 3:14 PM
Commenting on “AFL defends Meat Loaf after widely criticised pre-game show”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/afl-defends-meat-loaf-after-widely-criticised-pre-game-show/story-e6frf96x-1226155745062

When goods are not delivered in a condition expected within reason, the consumer has the right to return the item or ask for a refund. If Australia wants to be in the world's league, then Australia should behave like a world leader and neither accept second grade "things" dumped to this country nor pay performers not up to scratch! Andrew Demetriou, don't defend; be a man to stand up for your country and speak the truth that the performance was NOT good enough for the $500000 cheque. Alternatively, demand the performer to give a free live-telecast concert as a form of apology!


Posted to The Age (3/10/2011) on 3/10/2011 at 12:20 PM
Posted to Herald Sun (3/10/2011) on 3/10/2011 at 12:26 PM, 3:15 PM

Andrew Demetriou should hand in his resignation. If he can't distinguish between good and poor performance - even the public has delivered a verdict, how can he distinguish what's good or bad for AFL?

Superfast net to change education

Posted to Adelaide Now (16/9/2011) on 29/9/2011 at 10:51 PM
Commenting on "Superfast net to change education"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/in-depth/superfast-net-to-change-education/story-e6frebvu-1226138893759

For higher ed, superfast broadband for education means superfast plagiarism and super slow brain work. For lower forms, superfast broadband means superfast internet games and super slow RRR's.

Visa rule reforms give universities a lifeline

Posted to The Australia (23/9/2011) on 23/9/2011 at 3:14 AM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on “Visa rule reforms give universities a lifeline”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/visa-rule-reforms-give-unversitieis-a-lifeline/story-fn59niix-1226144082762

Previously, some TAFE's and private colleges messed up the international education industry. They issued certificates to undeserving students, and fed sub-standard students to universities. When government polices changed in July 2010, many TAFE’s and private colleges started to offer degree courses.

The change caught many foreign students off-guard, and for those who hoped to apply for permanent residence after graduation had no choice but to enrol in the “high ed”. While the average number of foreign students may have fallen about 10% as reported during the last calendar year, the real figures in the second half was very much higher. After the announcement of the bad news regarding the changed policies, more than half of the potential foreign students mainly from India and China turned to other destinations, creating a big financial blackhole for the states and Australia. USA and UK benefited from another idiotic Labor’s policy-on-the-run, costing billions of dollars of “export income.”

The proofs are in the closure of many colleges and the slashing millions of dollars from the budgets of TAFE’s and universities. Many full time and sessional teachers, (including myself with 16 years of teaching/training experience) and administrative staff have been laid off. The proposed reform is nothing more than just following what UK is offering. It is important that the Government must NOT make another mistake. Overseas IELTS assessment should be treated with great caution, because money can buy good results in some countries.

I have written to newspapers on many occasions regarding prevalence of plagiarism in colleges and universities, but without any luck in getting my comments published. Some students do not have the English skill of a lower secondary student and yet they can get through the system studying Diploma courses.

Many foreign students are no better off than the asylum seekers queue jumpers trying to apply for permanent residence via the Visa loophole. The Government should not provide blanket Visa approvals and the right to two years of work after graduation. In order to be granted such privilege, students must achieve good scores or grades.

For goodness sake, don’t wreck the higher education industry!

Uni's a shock for students

Posted to Adelaide Now (18/9/2011) on 19/9/2011 at 12:16 PM, 4:20 PM, 4:50 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on “Uni's a shock for students”
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/unis-a-shock-for-students/story-e6frea6u-1226140351467

In general, schools prepare students to be Jack of trades and master of none.

Another problem is that there is always push for smaller class sizes and more teachers’ attention. While this may be alright for students below lower secondary, the change must begin in upper secondary as a transition to university. If students at this stage do not learn to compete academically, but still live in a protective cocoon, they will become lost souls in universities.

Unfortunately, many first year students tend to think that it is a honeymoon year with their new born freedom, after being treated like "kids" for the last 12 years or so at schools.

University is not a babysitting place and truancy is not monitored. Plagiarism is more prevalent in university, and attitude of lecturers varies according to their conscience and politics of the university.

Same argument can be said about universities not preparing graduates for future workplace environment and life journey. Don't be a baby, get over it Gen U.

When politicians start tinkering with education, you know your kids are in trouble

Posted to Malaysian Chronicle (1/9/2011) on 1/9/2011
Commenting on "When politicians start tinkering with education, you know your kids are in trouble"
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=18568%3Awhen-politicians-start-tinkering-with-education-you-know-our-kids-are-in-trouble

Posted on 1/9/2011 at 12:48 PM

"Plagiarism, cut-and-paste and the outsourcing of tasks and assignments have become the norm in the higher institutions of education – all due to the lack of proficiency in the English language. " is neither unique to Malaysia, nor due to lack of proficiency in the English language. This is NOT uncommon in Australia, and I had to fail many of my students (as high as 90% in one class), with the blessing my Departmental Director. In severe cases, they had to repeat the subject / module.

The problem is, what do the lecturers / tutors do when they discover plagiarism? Many will sweep it under the carpet and score the assignment / project accordingly, some will give them borderline pass, some will interview the students asking them why they do such silly things. Education is a business, and many colleges / universities don't like high failure rates. Teachers / lecturers are pressured to pass students despite poor performance. So the practice continues on.

Plagiarism is a no no, and is always stipulated in the college / university student diary or policy handbook. Students MUST BE reminded on the very first day they enter the classrooms / lecture halls the consequence of plagiarism. I'm not a very popular teacher / lecturer, but I do "produce" some excellent performers and achievers.


Posted on 1/9/2011 at 1:28 PM

Symbols used in Maths and Science are universal, and therefore the language of delivery is not important.

Germany, the largest economy in Europe uses German instead of English in their education system.

Many mainland Chinese students go to Germany universities to study, without knowing a word of German at the start. I met several of them on one of my European tours. They were very fluent with German, and spoke little English. How did I communicate with them? In Mandarin / Potunghua, of course.

I am thankful that my late father sent me to a Chinese-medium school up to Primary 6. That provided me a good foundation, despite the fact that I went on an English-medium school after that. I still write blogs in Chinese in Chinese newspaper, tell stories to the Australians about Chinese traditions and culture, and developed bilingual software in Chinese / English for HK clients.

Many overseas students from Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Burma, China, etc who come to Australia for Higher Education undertake a year or two of intensive English language classes. Many become just good as other English-speaking students.


Posted on 1/9/2011 at 1:38 PM

In respond to MARA, I did get away from being sacked. I took the policy handbook to the Director, and asked whether the policy was for real and I should follow it. No Director would ever say NO to policy written by the college / university in black and white as well as on the website. I then said to him that he had just given me permission to fail 90% of the students! This is effective negotiation!


Posted on 1/9/2011 at 3:15 PM

Only human students plagiarise when they do their assignments / projects. Tutors, lecturers or professors assess or mark the students’ submissions, and therefore they are not the culprits of plagiarism. As for colleges and universities, they cannot plagiarise because they are non-living things!

Bob Katter's gay brother speaks out

Posted to Herald Sun (24/8/2011) on 24/8/2011 at 4:26 AM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Bob Katter's gay brother speaks out"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/bob-katters-gay-brother-speaks-out/story-fn7x8me2-1226120710520

Posted to Herald Sun (24/8/2011) on 24/8/2011 at 6:58 PM
Commenting on "Gay marriage about the 'powerful force' of love says Greens MP"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/gay-marriage-about-the-powerful-force-of-love-says-greens-mp/comments-fn7x8me2-1226121110331

It is not a matter of redefining the word marriage, or anyone being out of touch with the millions of Australians or people all over the world, it is a matter whether human beings should change their mindset and accept robotic and laboratory-produce offspring.

I am not a believer of creationism, but I believe that the existence of men and women on this planet is to enable the human species to propagate. So many people worry about global warming, rise in sea levels, big tsunamis, monstrous earthquake and all sort of disasters; not that they are concerned about the planet Earth being destroyed but more so about the extinction of human race. If so, doesn't same sex marriage fall into the same catastrophic category of disaster that can cause human annihilation?

Somehow a line must be drawn on the sand where complex relationship ceases to go beyond and morality cuts in, no matter how much and deep the love is.

Many people jump onto the band wagon about human rights. "Children" of same sex couples have their human rights stripped off from the day the female eggs being fertilised by a sperm each. Shouldn't a child have the right to have a legally recognised male father and female mother?

Teenagers too tired to learn as schools plan a radical shake-up of timetables

Posted to Herald Sun (20/8/2011) on 20/8/2011 at 2:17 AM
Commenting on "Teenagers too tired to learn as schools plan a radical shake-up of timetables"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/teenagers-too-tired-to-learn-as-schools-plan-a-radical-shake-up-of-timetables/story-fn7x8me2-1226118515356

Please bring back compulsary national service and military training so that these so called teenagers can learn some disicipline. The teenagers' world is turning topsy-turvy, getting from stupid to sublime. Australians are fast becoming jelly fish, boneless and gutless. If these young people do not understand what discipline in life now, how can we expect them to run the country in the future, not that our PM and her mobs are any better.

We are not alone in this world, and if we keep slacking, we will be falling behind the rest of the world, and even the God who saves the Queen can't do anything to save us.

Are we going to relax the drug laws because they want to try hard drugs? Are we going to lower the age of consent because they want to be irresponsible parents at very young age? Are we going to increase the speed limit so that more hoons can kill themselves and other innocent road users?

If the schools start late, do you expect the teachers to watch their toe nails grow before 11 am? Teachers have families to go back to, and they need a life, too. If young people have short attention span, do something to improve it, not by kow-towing to these no hopers. Wake up Australia!

Visiting nursing home - my Thursday ritual

Every Thursday, I visit nursing home, and talk to those who are still mentally alert. I don't have any particular subject to talk about - travel, good old days, current affairs, foods familiar to their time, etc. In one nursing home I went to, there were former scientist, politician, accountant, university professior and very educated residents. I talked about politics, global warming and concrete jungle.

To many people, what I am doing is a waste of time and meaningless. However, the purpose of this exercise is to give these residents quality time, and as an attempt to stimulate their deteriorating mental state. We can't stop brain cells dying, but we can slow down the process.

I always come out of the nursing home NOT feeling tired, but recharged.

UNICEF - Gender equality - The big picture

Posted to Facebook on 26/7/2011 at 12:02 AM
Commenting on "UNICEF - Gender equality - The big picture"
http://www.unicef.org/gender/i​ndex_bigpicture.html

One woman cannot change the world, but one woman can influence and hopefully changes the mindset of another woman or more than one women. The process goes on.

To begin with, do not compare the differences between man and woman. It starts with what a woman wants to achieve in the near future, what's next after that near future, and what's next, etc.

Neil Armstrong could not get to the moon without the help of the scientists, technicians, factory workers, ordinary construction workers, cooks, tailors, shoe makers, etc. Most importantly, Neil Armstrong could never have the opportunity if no one ever came out with the suggestion that Man could land on the moon.

Women can do a lot of things, but what they fail to do is to come out with the suggestion that they are a better gender than the male counterpart. Without that as the goal, what hope do women have to excel.

Why should women be maniplulated and suppressed? Who defined equality - does it mean that women want men to do as much, or women want to do as little as the men? England is a small island by world standard, and yet it conquered large part of the world at some stage in history. Did England fight for equality to have bigger land mass?

An atom and the nucleus are very, very small, and when packaged in certain way, their explosive impact is unimaginable. As what I have said at the start, one woman cannot change the world. However, a woman can start a chain reaction, slowly but surely!

Government denies CPSU warning of job cuts in education department

Posted to Herald Sun (18/7/2011) on 18/7/2011 at 4:01 PM (Not yet published)
Commenting on "Government denies CPSU warning of job cuts in education department"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/cpsu-warns-job-cuts-likely-in-the-education-department/story-fn7x8me2-1226096633731

Many sessional teachers have already lost their jobs since the downturn of international education sector. TAFE's are not getting the students/trainees because they cannot compete with the private colleges due to TAFE's higher fees and more stringent assessment.

Many private colleges provide government funded courses and print off certificates for Diploma and other qualifications without assessing the students/trainees properly. Since many assessors are paid by the number of assessments they assess, and quality is inversely proportionate to quantity. Many students/trainees complete their courses by RPL or RCC (recognised prior learning or recognised current competence). Colleges still receive full funding from the government even though the students/trainees have little or no face-to-face interaction with a human trainer.

The current VET system is based on competency-base-training. Many graduates do not make the grades at all. Plagiarism is a disastrous phenomenon, and the quality of some submissions are worst than a Year-10 student's.

Trainers are pressured to "pass" the "clients". After all, education IS a business!

Sea levels to rise 1.1m

Posted to Herald Sun (5/6/2011) on 5/6/2011 at 1:09 PM
Commenting on "Sea levels to rise 1.1m"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/sea-levels-to-rise-11m/story-fn7x8me2-1226069302495

Mosses opened the sea and the people moved forward. Julia Gillard cannot open the sea, but instead the sea moves forward!

South Australia Government pays to train Vietnamese nurses to fix local shortfall

Posted to Adelaide Now (5/6/2011) on 5/6/2011 at 3:01 AM
Commenting on "State Government pays to train Vietnamese nurses to fix local shortfall"
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-funding-nurse-training-in-vietnam/story-e6frea83-1226069318627

Many refugees in detention centres are educated and can be trained in various qualifications. What a waste to "imprison" these people and let them rot in those hell holes!

Fr Kevin Dillon urges church to abandon serial sex abusers

Posted to Adelaide Now (2/6/2011) on 2/6/2011 at 10:43 AM
Commenting on "Fr Kevin Dillon urges church to abandon serial sex abusers">
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/fr-kevin-dillon-urges-church-to-abandon-serial-sex-abusers/story-fn7x8me2-1226067609738

Church is a place of worship, and religion is what people believe in and how they understand and practise it. Church and religion are not humans, and they can do no wrong. People with the wrong mindset who practice a religion are not examples of good believers. Single out the individuals not the religion or the Church!

PM Julia Gillard's own MPs in attack

Posted to Adelaide Now (2/6/2011) on 2/6/2011 at 10:14 AM
Commenting on "PM Julia Gillard's own MPs in attack">
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/pm-julia-gillards-own-mps-in-attack/story-e6frea6u-1226067563517

People with principles, conscience and integrity should never, ever vote on party line and lie through their teeth if the party’s policy is totally different from what they believe in. One must able to go to bed each day or night and ask whether they will have a good sleep without feeling guilty. Truth is easier said than lie, and it makes you feel good, too!

When will there be Peace on Earth?

When will there be Peace on Earth?

I must stress that I am not a sympathiser of anyone killing another fellow human!

Two nights ago, I was watching something very distasteful on television – the CBS “The Late Letterman Show”. It was really a sad and demeaning show in that Letterman turned the death of Osama bin Laden into a laughing matter.

Death is death and the deceased should be given at least some dignity, especially the way he was killed. Even the most evil person in world has loved ones and followers. They cannot and will not accept anyone to make fun of the deceased.

We must always remember good and bad are relative. The believers of an evil person (in the eyes of the good people) will always think that their clan leader / or partners are good and honourable people, and the so called good people are in fact their arch enemies. Whether the so called evil person is bin Laden or the world’s famous God Father, they are the top men their followers look up to.

In the world of the good people, in traditional sense, including those belonging to the non- "axis of evil", we do not make a mockery or make fun of people who get shot or killed, whether they are Presidents (John F Kennedy - USA, Benazir Bhutto - Pakistan) or just ordinary people (Carl Williams, a gangster – Melbourne gangland killings). The police, secret agency and Interpol will make every effort to get the culprits.

How do the "good" people feel about the soldiers being killed recently and the Taliban commander adorned the rogue soldiers and joked about the deceased? It is despicable and unacceptable, and good people will argue that the Taliban commander is not better than a wild animal.

Hatred and revenge will not cease, and wars will live on. Is that what we want? We do not need global warming or natural catastrophes to wipe human race off the planet. Stupid and insensitive human beings are doing a good job themselves.

Let us all work towards PEACE, let us all learn to LOVE, let us all LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Councillor backs religion education

Posted to Monash Weekly (30/5/2011) on 30/5/2011 at 4:31 PM
Commenting on "Councillor backs religion education"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/news/local/news/general/councillor-backs-religion-education/2178527.aspx

For goodness sake, spend the time more productively to teach subjects that are more useful, beneficial, non-controversial and universal, to help build better foundation for our children's future career and life.

Curriculum based around a whole variety of different religions is going to cause more divides, conflicts and bullying at schools.

Australia is running on two-speed economy, but the world is running on two-speed academy. One look at some of the textbooks in our current schools shocks me to no end that no wonder we are falling behind some of our more academically competitive neighbours.

Commonsense tells us that no one in this world can give a balanced view in all religions, or qualified enough in all religions to deliver unbiased lessons.

It's confusing enough for the young and old to work out whether Man was created or evolved, the world was created in 7-days (in what measurement), a religion NOT a religion (Buddhism), a belief becomes a religion (Taoism), a messenger becomes God or son of God.

There will be dispute as to which messenger was the true messenger of God, or my God is powerful than someone else's God.

History can be fudged, so can Religion Education.

Musharraf: Obama is arrogant

Posted to CNN (27/5/2011) on 29/5/2011 at 1:06 AM
Commenting on “Musharraf: Obama is arrogant”
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/27/pakistan.musharraf.obama/index.html

I'm definitely NOT sympathetic towards any terrorists or anyone who takes human lives cold-bloodedly. The way the mission was conducted was a violation of Pakistan’s sovereign right. If that could take place in Pakistan, it can happen to any other country in the future. It defeats the purpose of having national constitution, law and order.

FIFA rocked by fresh bribery allegations

Posted to CNN (25/5/2011) on 26/5/2011 at 9:26 PM
Commenting on “FIFA rocked by fresh bribery allegations”
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/05/25/hammam.warner.fifa.blatter/index.html

After watching Qatar's presentation for hosting 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, you will agree that with or without any bribe allegation, Qatar deserves to win. Great presentation! BTW, I'm from Australia, and we got only 1 miserable vote!

Give us a break to breastfeed

Posted to Daily Mail (26/5/2011) on 26/5/2011 at 12:40 AM
Commenting on “Give us a break, new mums tell bosses”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/give-us-a-break-new-mums-tell-bosses/story-e6frf7jo-1226062952766

Imagine a female pilot takes a baby to work in the cockpit, or female police in a high speed pursuit decides to have a break to breastfeed the baby. For goodness sake, public breastfeeding and public urination are not different - sometimes one just can't wait; but that does not mean that anyone can do anything in the name of freedom of action or freedom of expression (oops)!


Posted to Daily Mail (26/5/2011) on 26/5/2011 at 9:51 AM

Don't compare breastfeeding in Dubai and Qatar, they also have 5 other breaks for religious practices, too. There is no place for breastfeeding, and personal, religious beliefs or multicultural practices in public or workplaces.

Seventeen lost pyramids pinpointed

Posted to Daily Mail (25/5/2011) on 25/5/2011 at 11:17 PM
Commenting on “Seventeen lost pyramids among thousands of buried Egyptian settlements pinpointed by infrared satellite images”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1390667/Seventeen-lost-pyramids-thousands-buried-Egyptian-settlements-pinpointed-infrared-satellite-images.html

LEGO was invented by the Egyptians!

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the belief that when one dies, one's body decomposes, but one is reborn in another body. It is the belief that one has lived before and will live again in another body after death.

Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism believe in cycle of birth, death and rebirth, governed by karma - a moral causation.

Some people claim to recall past lives, while Church of Scientology accepts past lives and holds that all beings are truly immortal.

Advocates of past life regression (PLR) believe in reincarnation and claim that the experiences from previous lives can carry over and affect a person's current life. PLR is a process of retrieving supposed memories of alleged previous lives.

If reincarnation has been taking place throughout the millenniums, the population of this planet would have been static, probably the same number as the day it was created. Why then, the population on this planet is increasing everyday?

On the subject about people recalling their past lives, let me turn your attention to genes - the units of heredity in living organisms. The genes that exist today are those that have reproduced successfully in the past.

During reproduction, the genetic material is passed on from the parent(s) to the offspring. Genes encode the information necessary to construct the chemicals needed for the organism to function. Indeed, some offspring look and behave like their parents.

The controversial hypothesis, cellular memory, states that memories, habits, interests, and tastes may somehow be stored in all the cells of our bodies, and not only in the brain.

Is it possible that the genes in the cells also record other information like the experiences and history of one's "life"? If so, the genetic recording may be passed on from one generation to generation. Not everyone has the ability to unlock the stored information. For those who can do so, will probably be able to describe the past lives vividly.

Planking - practice makes perfect

Posted to Facebook on 17/5/2011 at 5:20 PM
Posted to Herald Sun (19/5/2011) on 18/5/2011 at 10:53 PM
Commenting on "Simon Hallam in coma after accident, but police rule out planking"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/simon-hallam-in-coma-after-planking-accident/story-e6frf7jo-1226058472796
Planking - the craze of today. It is the top item in a bucket list.

Choose the most comfortable position and the most exciting place to practise. Without practice, you won't be able to write in your will how you want to be placed in your coffin when you kick the bucket or fall from the 7th floor like the pioneer from Queensland.

Don't wait, do it now. Practice makes perfect!

56-year-old Dickinson's raunchy outfit leaves very little to the imagination

Posted to Daily Mail (15/5/2011) on 15/5/2011 at 11:11 PM (Not published)
Commenting on “Isn't it time to dress your age Janice? 56-year-old Dickinson's raunchy outfit leaves VERY little to the imagination”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1387114/Janice-Dickinson-56-raunchy-outfit-leaves-VERY-little-imagination.html

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder! If she feels good to dress that way, good on her. At least she has more guts than many people! Life is too short to bitch about, let's live life to fullest!

Health, education big losers in Budget

Posted to Melbourne Leader (9/5/2011) on 13/5/2011 at 12:39 PM (Not published)
Commenting on “Health, education big losers in Budget, says Pike”
http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/health-education-big-losers-in-budget-says-pike/

I really wonder all those successful early pioneers, scholars and business people asked for money from the Government for school reconstruction, improved community health centre or alike.

People of today lack the concept of self-sufficiency, creativity, sense of pride and dignity. People in power should be caned for wasting public money, making false promises, dishonesty, irresponsibility and lack of integrity.

Are people spending too much time in whinging and forgetting about doing constructive and productive work, like teaching the students the basic literacy and numeracy skills in order to build a good education foundation; keeping an eye on the children so that they become more responsible in what are doing rather than waiting for the police to put them away; looking after their own health so that a narrow mirror will be good enough to reflect their image; communicating with the business people how to grow their businesses instead of causing more misery to their lives and livelihood?

VET needs funding upgrade

Posted to The Australian (4/5/2011) on 8/5/2011 at 12:12 PM
Commenting on “VET needs funding upgrade”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/opinion-analysis/vet-needs-funding-upgrade/story-e6frgcko-1226049332247>

Skills funding is going to be another humongous news on how service providers ripping-off the system. According to a source, this is already happening, with at least one provider signing off and issuing two to three thousand certificates in a year with hardly any students require attending a class, online or otherwise.

The funding model is a joke, too. Some programs are receiving both state and federal funding at the same time, which was once a cardinal sin known as double dipping.

The demise of international students coming to “study” makes some surviving service providers to become smarter by offering degree courses, in order to accommodate the so called “competent learners” to hang around longer. Hopefully the degrees, some of which are not worth the paper that is written on, will help to these desperate ones achieve their goal in getting permanent residency PR.

Computer technology creates bigger crooks in the education sector, and plagiarism is so widespread and getting more and more difficult to detect. One wonders how many “trained learners” who are deemed competent and become professional, are developing computer programs full of bugs which cost millions of dollars due to downtime or customers going to competitors; providing financial advices causing huge financial write-down of large institutions and livelihood ruin of ordinary mums and dads; building houses that crack or collapse with small earth movement, etc.

In the name of perceived cost saving and following the Jones’ trend, many service providers offer online courses. In reality online learning system is a false economy - it wastes more precious resource known as time, encourages slap-dash assessment and worst of all no one can tell who is really at the other end attending the course or doing the work!

No longer only the VCE examination solutions can be purchased from Victorian market, so the story goes, post graduate thesis are written by professional for a fee. Honest system only works well with honest people.

David Stewart would have beat the hell out of Osama bin Laden, then shot him

Posted to Herald Sun (5/5/2011) on 5/5/2011 at 9:12 AM
Commenting on "David Stewart would have beat the hell out of Osama bin Laden, then shot him"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/cia-hints-gruesome-photo-of-dead-osama-bin-laden-could-be-released/story-e6frf7lf-1226050074126

If bin Laden's daughter witnessed her father and mother being killed unarmed, do you expect them not to take revenge? So, when is the world going to have peace? If the Pakistani's sovereign right is violated, and it seems other countries experience the same, we can be next. Military people or secret agents going round shooting civilians unintentionally are just no difference from terrorists. Shoot and kill is not the act of civilised people.

Osama bin Laden's death is not time to party

Posted to Herald Sun (4/5/2011) on 4/5/2011 at 2:38 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on “Osama bin Laden's death is not time to party”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/this-is-not-a-time-to-party/story-e6frfhqf-1226049441564

Was it a coincidence that the President of the United States of America, British strongest ally, was not invited to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine, and that the mission to kill Bin Laden was conducted after the world’s grandest occasion? The British Monarch and the family along with millions of people around the world would be up in arms (not military one) if the death of Bin Laden were to overshadow the wedding ceremony and celebration.

How can we be sure that Bin Laden’s body is at the bottom of the sea, or presumably has been consumed by some sea creatures? This is just another mystery as intriguing as the Roswell aliens.

Presumption of innocence until proven guilty is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial. We have never heard authenticated recordings about his admission of his masterminding the 9/11 disaster. Now that he is dead, so the world has been told, there is no way to hear his confession in person, or prove each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Closer to home, David Hicks who was convicted on charges in 2001 of providing material support for terrorism but finally released on 29 December 2007 should not have been prosecuted due to political interference in the case by the Bush administration in the United States and the Howard government in Australia.

1 May 2011 is a sad day for legal and judiciary systems for countries including Australia who celebrated Osama Bin Laden’s death.

Natalie Barr makes Sunrise 'virgin' on-air TV gaffe about life sized Barbie doll

Posted to Adelaide Now (19/4/2011) on 19/4/2011 at 10:18 PM
Commenting on "Natalie Barr makes Sunrise 'virgin' on-air TV gaffe about life sized Barbie doll
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/confidential/natalie-barr-makes-sunrise-virgin-on-air-tv-gaffe-about-life-sized-barbie-doll/comments-e6fredq3-1226041408073

A dose of good humour is beneficial to our body. Relax, that was a genuine slip of the tongue. After all, that was a real virgin anyway. A bet anyone all the money in the world to find me a doll that's not a "real" virgin!

Office gripes

Posted to The Age (15/4/2011) on 15/4/2011 at 1:00 PM
Commenting on "Office grips"
http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/management/blogs/management-line/office-gripes-20110409-1d8dw.html

Get a life, office whingers! Spare a thought for the astronauts whose work is really out of this world. What about many archaeologists who virtually live in the past, and geologists and volcanologists who have only rocks in their heads?

Count your lucky star that you still have an office to go to. Wait till you get the boot; you will be staying at home watching your toe nails grow, do not have to get up early nor travel to work!

For more Social Issues and Life topics, please follow the links
http://SinFongChanSocialIssues.blogspot.com
http://SinFongChanPhilosophy.blogspot.com

Yarra traders fume over smoking bans

Posted to Melbourne Leader (21/3/2011) on 25/3/2011 at 12:17 AM
Commenting on “HAVE YOUR SAY: Yarra traders fume over smoking bans”
http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/yarra-traders-fume-over-smoking-bans/

I strong disagree with Peri's view that "If I am not enjoying the atmosphere I simply move seats. It's called tolerance." No, Peri, it is called apathy.

Unfortunately, most people in the society take the attitude that “it’s not my problem”, “has nothing to do with me”, “let someone worry about it” and “who cares?” We read about whingers, and hear their moaning and complaints, and yet they don’t take their grievances to the authority, customer relation departments, consumer affairs, etc. During election time, they close their eyes and their hearts and simply voted some good for nothing representatives in the council, state parliament or federal parliament. If everyone continues to live for his own self-interest, our social fabric will decline to a state of no return! We MUST intervene!

According to Food Standard 3.2.3, Div 2, Para 3(d), "The design and construction of food premises must to the extent that is practicable – exclude dirt, dust, fumes, smoke and other contaminants." That paragraph alone is more than sufficient to support the banning of smoking at outdoor café.

We can make the future world a better place

What is the world's current situation in your opinion? Just describe it objectively and NOT emotionally, and you will find ways to solve the problems.

Far too often, we let our feelings rule and ruin our lives. We let our feelings come between right and wrong. We let our feelings cloud our decision making and complicate matters.

If you are exhausted after all the thinking, take a break from the worldly matter, and have a walk in a garden and enjoy the beauty and fragrance of the flowers, serenity of the surrounds, chirping of the birds. If you like children's laughter, go to your nearby kindergarten or primary school, and you'll soon be recharged. You will realise there is still plenty of hope and happiness left in this world.

We can make the future world a better place; so long if we don't throw our hands up and say "I have enough, and that's the end of it"!

An Unfinished Story - Part 2

Have you read An Unfinished Story - Part 1? Click here for An Unfinished Story - Part 1

An Unfinished Story - Part 2 starts now ...
Many insurance policies still refer natural disasters as "acts of god". It is amazing though that Satan got the blame for tempting Adam and Eve to eat the apple from the Garden of Eden, and yet all the disasters that had happened in history and in recent times have not been blamed as acts of Satan. More amazing is that god's believers or followers are silent about this, and the terms are still in use.

Does this silence imply that these are actually acts of God? If so, this also implies God has temper, and a very bad one, too. The interesting thing, though, is that God did play favouritism. Can you remember Noah, who saved his family and pairs of animals, by housing them in a big ark built to withstand the flood?

Recent Queensland’s flood peaked below 10 metres. How high did the water level rise to during Noah’s episode? Noah’s Ark storyline is far from sensible and logical. Noah could have built a big barn instead of an ark on higher ground. This would minimise the risk by not sailing in torrential rain subjecting to strong winds and lightning.

Can flood just happen at will? If so, greenies, scientists and weather gurus have been going on the wrong tracks or kept barking up the wrong trees in regards to climate change.

Gods of all religions are supposedly merciful and kind, a role model for the followers. It is unthinkable and unacceptable to flood the world as a form of cleansing, or burn sinners with hell fire because they do not repent. To carry out such acts of extreme heartlessness and cruelty are comparable to the terrorists who flew the planes into the towers with many thousands of occupants which took place during the 9/11.

With all these contradictions, no wonder religion has been blamed to be the reason for almost all the wars in our history. Strictly speaking, this is an untrue assumption because many wars including the two World Wars, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War were not religion related.

While I am not an expert in Chinese history, but I do know that wars were fought among kingdoms, and the most powerful king of the time eventually ruled China. Mongolians, under Genghis Khan, defeated Song 宋 Emperor and founded Yuan 元 Dynasty; similarly, Manchurians defeated Ming 明 Emperor and founded Qing 请 Dynasty. Foreigners fought and won for territorial expansion, and not because of religious differences.

To be continued ...

An Unfinished Story - Part 1

It is a non-issue what God does or doesn’t for His / Her creation. The crux of the matter is, for the believers of God, of whatever religious following, it is matter of faith, whether it is blind or not. Faith is unquestionable, unchallengeable and non-negotiable.

When I was in Form 5 back in Malaysia or Year 10 of Melbourne equivalent, class dismissed early on Friday afternoon. The Muslim students would to go to mosque or Christian students to the school chapel. Friday afternoon was a ball for me and some classmates. Well it was more of a Great Debate with a very staunch Christian classmate who definitely did not share our views. We debated about science versus religion, evolution versus creation, cause and effect versus His / Her actions. All of us were very serious about our non-wavering beliefs, and we always parted to “agree to disagree”.

I’m a thinker and have views on almost every subject, including religion. I have written many blog, and Notes in FB discussing about my views and philosophy. Unlike many firm religious believers take words, phrases and sentences from their religious books very seriously, I make fun of my name being having a “Sin”, probably the only “sin” I have while many other people having all the seven deadly ones. “Sin” is a phonetic translation of the second word in my Chinese name and has no connotation of “sin” which means “something that offends moral or ethical principle”, or in religious sense, “an act, thought, or way of behaving that goes against the law or teachings of a religion, especially when the person who commits it is aware of this”.

Do you believe that plagues, bush fires, floods, tsunamis, drought, famines, and other natural disasters are acts of gods? I don’t. I do agree that some are attributed to mankind’s stupidity of misusing and selfish mistreatment of our precious planet’s resources, but most are natural phenomena since day dot.

In the last paragraph, I use the word gods rather than God, because in mainstream religions, believers will only accept one and only Almighty, while others, which the mainstreamers think that they are just mythologies and cults, have many gods carrying out various duties, in a way similar to angels or archangels. As to the words “day dot”, I don’t really want to go into details about how it begins, and why humans are so interested or concerned about it.

What are humans going to do about these disasters? Immediate proactive mobilisation of human’s physical labour, invention, ingenuity, inner power and commonsense is paramount. On the contrary, no one should point his / her point finger at other’s wrong doing, if any; instead get down to fix the problems constructively, and ensure future problems can be avoided or destructive effects minimised.

To be continued ...

Click here for An Unfinished Story - Part 2