ST Feb 8, 2005
Strong family ties matter, says PM Lee
AS FAMILIES get together this evening for the traditional Chinese New Year reunion dinner, Mr Lee Hsien Loong has underscored the importance that families continue to play in Singapore.
In his first Chinese New Year message as Prime Minister, he recognised that changing social norms and globalisation increased the pressure on the role families played - and gave the assurance the Government would be there to help.
But he said that the measures which the Government takes 'can only complement the family's traditional role, and not supplant it'.
'To be a resilient society, we need strong and close families. Ultimately, helping out relatives who are in need, and bringing up children into upright, productive adults, are acts motivated by kinship bonds and emotional ties.'
Families have always had a central role in Asian societies, he said.
When the tsunami disaster struck, for instance, survivors turned instinctively to their extended families for food, shelter and comfort.
Families also provide encouragement and support to couples to produce and bring up the next generation, passing on values and attitudes that stay with the young for life.
'However, our social norms are shifting,' he said, noting that new couples juggled their time between work, family and leisure.
'Globalisation is creating new opportunities and prosperity, but at the same time, it is generating new pressures on individuals and families. This is increasing the pressure on the traditional roles of the family,' he added.
Extended families have given way to nuclear families. So when someone falls ill or loses his job, he cannot always depend on the extended family to help him through.
Competing demands also meant that couples delayed marriage, settled for fewer children, or had none at all.
'In these changing circumstances, the Government is strengthening social safety nets to help families protect the vulnerable, and encouraging couples to have more children to live balanced, fulfilling lives,' he said.
It was a reiteration of a pledge made in Parliament last month that the Government would offer lifelines of aid for the old, poor and jobless.
This included the revamping of the medical insurance plan MediShield, and building up Medifund, which pays medical bills of the poor, from $1 billion to $2 billion.
ComCare, a $500 million endowment fund that will be built up to $1 billion, supports programmes that help families get back on their feet.
Government policies also aim to make Singapore 'a great place for families,' said Mr Lee, a father of four. Procreation policies introduced last year are showing some encouraging signs. He said: 'It is too early to assess results, but I have met many couples carrying young babies, who tell me happily that they are collecting the Baby Bonus.
'And hospitals have reported that this year there are more pregnancy consultations, and many applications to use Medisave for antenatal packages.'
Mr Lee said Chinese New Year is a good time 'to remind ourselves that the traditional role of the family remains relevant in our modern society'.
The Year of the Monkey which ends today was a good year for Singapore with strong growth, lower unemployment and returning confidence and optimism. 'As families gather for reunion dinners, as young people visit their elders to pay respects, and as we welcome the Year of the
Rooster amidst firecrackers and lion dances, let us keep these traditions alive and look forward to a good year ahead,' he said.
'I wish all Singaporeans a prosperous Chinese New Year.'
i do agree wif e pink words tt having children do indeed make ur life more fulfilling.....was chatting wif my sis last nite....she was asking me if i wld encourage my husband(-to-be) to donate his sperms....i wld only if e sperms r used 4 research purpose, not as smebody else's procreation needs.....4 1 thing i do not 1 my kids 2 bump into 1 o their siblings outside w/o knowing!!!! but tt's not my main concern....cos i feel tt there r so many children out there w/o a home, w/o a family.....it'll b more worthwhile 2 adopt these kids, then 2 spend a ton o $$$ doing artificial insemination......if u truly love kids, it wldn't matter if they r ur own or not....
if i can afford it, i wld 1 2 adopt a kid.....
swing said smething e other time tt made me changed my view abt having children....i told her tt i wasn't ready 2 have kids cos i really dunno how 2 teach or raise 1.....then she said tt her parents r still learning 2 b parents up until now....it suddenly dawn on me tt e most important thing is 2 really have love 4 e kid, & 2 have e responsibilities.....teaching him/her rite or wrong isn't tt impt....there is no perfect parent....
hopefully i can b a gd enough parent smeday.....not in e near future though....i'm scared o e responsibilities....but if i do find sme1 who share e same idea o being a parent, it may not b tt far away.......tmr's e new year.....hope every wish will come true.....4 every1....
Monday, February 07, 2005
she will be loved...maroon 5
Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else
I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore
It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rainoh
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
And She will be loved
And She will be loved
I know where you hide
Alone in your car
Know all of the things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
She will be loved (repeated)
Please don't try so hard to say good bye.
love them.....love tis song....a lot....my fav song 4 a long long time...since it came out.....
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else
I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore
It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rainoh
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
And She will be loved
And She will be loved
I know where you hide
Alone in your car
Know all of the things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
She will be loved (repeated)
Please don't try so hard to say good bye.
love them.....love tis song....a lot....my fav song 4 a long long time...since it came out.....
ST Feb 6, 2005
Nine Japanese die in latest charcoal-burner group suicides
TOKYO - NINE people were found dead in two cars outside Tokyo yesterday in what were believed to be the latest in a series of suicide pacts involving charcoal burners in the country.
Six people - three men and two women, mostly in their 20s, and one 40-year-old woman - were found in the morning in a rented minivan, police said.
The vehicle was parked along a farm road on the scenic peninsula of Miura at the mouth of Tokyo Bay.
Hours later, the bodies of one man and two women, in their 30s and 40s, were found in a rented sedan on the grounds of an empty villa in Higashi Izu, some 100km south-west of Tokyo.
It was not immediately clear if the two cases were related. The vehicles were about 100km apart.
Police found several charcoal burners inside the two vehicles.
There has been a spate of group suicides using traditional terracotta charcoal burners in Japan.
Many of the suicides involved strangers who met over the Internet and agreed to die together.
The charcoal burner is rarely used in Japan except at traditional-style Japanese or Korean restaurants.
Nearly 50 people have died in similar suicides since early October last year. -- AFP
haizz......ending ur lives.....have life become so unbearable???? when do u decide u 1 2 die????have u ever considered how lucky u r 2 b alive???? how many r struggle 2 b alive.....how do i tell u tt life can b wonderful???? when u hit a rough spot, can u see beyond tt.....tt there is a paradise smewhere....a paradise where u r still living in.....a paradise where many hope 4 but never got a chance 2......it's tough 2 b down....who doesn't hit a rough time.......
Nine Japanese die in latest charcoal-burner group suicides
TOKYO - NINE people were found dead in two cars outside Tokyo yesterday in what were believed to be the latest in a series of suicide pacts involving charcoal burners in the country.
Six people - three men and two women, mostly in their 20s, and one 40-year-old woman - were found in the morning in a rented minivan, police said.
The vehicle was parked along a farm road on the scenic peninsula of Miura at the mouth of Tokyo Bay.
Hours later, the bodies of one man and two women, in their 30s and 40s, were found in a rented sedan on the grounds of an empty villa in Higashi Izu, some 100km south-west of Tokyo.
It was not immediately clear if the two cases were related. The vehicles were about 100km apart.
Police found several charcoal burners inside the two vehicles.
There has been a spate of group suicides using traditional terracotta charcoal burners in Japan.
Many of the suicides involved strangers who met over the Internet and agreed to die together.
The charcoal burner is rarely used in Japan except at traditional-style Japanese or Korean restaurants.
Nearly 50 people have died in similar suicides since early October last year. -- AFP
haizz......ending ur lives.....have life become so unbearable???? when do u decide u 1 2 die????have u ever considered how lucky u r 2 b alive???? how many r struggle 2 b alive.....how do i tell u tt life can b wonderful???? when u hit a rough spot, can u see beyond tt.....tt there is a paradise smewhere....a paradise where u r still living in.....a paradise where many hope 4 but never got a chance 2......it's tough 2 b down....who doesn't hit a rough time.......
ST Feb 5, 2005
SLAIN TWINS
Dad pleads guilty, gets 8 years and cane Murder charge reduced, judge gives 'compassionate' sentence
By Elena Chong
THE father accused of killing his month-old twin babies yesterday pleaded guilty to reduced charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The 27-year-old unemployed man, originally accused of murder, was sentenced to eight years' jail and six strokes of the cane after he admitted hitting the babies on the head with an ashtray on Jan 21 last year.
His change of plea came after a 12-day trial, half of which was spent on a trial-within-a-trial to determine if several of his statements to the police were voluntary.
After it was ruled that they were, his lawyers, Mr R.S. Bajwa and Mr Mahmood Gaznavi, had the case adjourned till yesterday to make representations.
Having considered those representations, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Cheng Thiam told the court the prosecution had decided to proceed on reduced charges on 'compassionate grounds'.
DPP Chong Li Min said that while the accused was alone in a room with his twins, he grabbed a helmet-shaped ashtray from a table and hit the younger baby on the head after turning him face down. He then went to the other side of the bed and hit the other twin on the head.
Later, his mother came to the flat with some letters.
After reading a letter about the baby bonus, his wife said she wanted the baby bonus money to be credited to her father's account. The accused did not reply, but returned to the bedroom and later came out carrying the younger twin, who was crying, and handed the child to his mother.
The woman said her grandson was cold, and his head swollen and soft.
The accused's wife then went to the room and found the other baby lying motionless on the bed with his head tilted to the left.
Later that afternoon, paramedics pronounced the babies dead from severe head injuries.
Describing it as a very tragic case, Mr Bajwa said his client loved the babies very much and often got up in the early hours to feed and comfort them.
The lawyer said his client had committed the crime on the spur of the moment, having been disturbed at the recollection of 'not very nice' things his aunts had said about him.
The accused's 25-year-old wife - who was with her son and other family members in court - had forgiven and still loved him despite what had happened, the lawyer said. The family cannot be named in order to protect the other child, who will be three this year.
Mr Bajwa said his client even 'patted' his twins to sleep after hitting them, thinking nothing serious had happened.
In passing sentence, Justice Tay Yong Kwang said: 'You know what you have done. It is not an easy case for me to sentence.'
He told the accused - who appeared impassive - that 'by a measure of compassion' for him, he would make the sentence of eight years and three strokes on each charge concurrent, not consecutive. He also backdated the sentence to Jan 28 last year .
The maximum penalty for culpable homicide not amounting to murder is life imprisonment or a jail term of up to 10 years, or a fine and caning as well.
ST Feb 5, 2005
CASE OF FATHER BEHEADING TEEN
Man surrenders but girl's head still missing
HONG KONG - A 66-YEAR-OLD man who went missing after allegedly beheading his daughter with an axe following a heated quarrel, surrendered to police yesterday, it was reported.
Li Chi Pang showed up at a police station yesterday morning and was being questioned, according to a police spokesman.
Police said that they were still searching for the 16-year-old girl's head which, some newspaper reports said, had been taken away by the father.
According to Hong Kong newspapers, Li had intended to dismember the body in a bid to destroy evidence.
The girl was naked and had a long and deep cut on her thigh, Ming Pao Daily News reported.
Li also attacked his 20-year-old son with an axe when he returned to the family flat a few hours after the grisly murder of his sister. The attack left the young man with slash wounds to his forehead, the back of his head and his left hand.
The motive for the attacks was still unclear, police said.
According to Ming Pao, the girl's mother, who went to identify the body on Thursday, said that her daughter had a poor relationship with her unemployed father, who was physically abusive.
Mrs Li, dressed in a red jacket and looking calm, told reporters that her husband often beat the girl. Since young, she had frequently been smacked on the head by her father and she grew up hating him, the mother added.
The family lived on the HK$4,000 (S$850) Mrs Li brought home every month as an odd-job worker.
She said though Li was not a compulsive gambler, he often used whatever little spare money there was to bet on horse races and the lottery. But he did not drink and quit smoking a few years back, she said, adding that he would do the housework and cook for the family.
According to some reports, the father often scolded his daughter for being lazy and refusing to look for a job.
He apparently turned violent on Wednesday after his daughter refused to give him money, reports said.
Li reportedly fled with the HK$2,000 to HK$3,000 that he had snatched from his son after attacking him.
The case shocked neighbours in the Shun Lee Estate, who described the family as friendly.
Criminologist Dennis Wong believed the father committed the crime in a fit of anger. He could have resorted to violence because his daughter's hatred for him hurt his pride badly, he said.
'I do not think the murderer is a mental patient. He just did it on impulse.
'He will probably blame himself for the tragedy he created once he calms down.'
ST Feb 5, 2005
Bus passenger saves 5 babies from traffickers
Surprised to see newborns on long trip, woman gets friend to call cops
BEIJING - AN ALERT bus passenger rescued five newborns from baby traffickers by sending SMSes to a colleague, urging him to call the police.
The woman, identified only as Ms Yang, had found it suspicious that a group of fellow passengers had taken along five babies, all looking no older than two months, for the long bus journey.
And coincidentally, all were wrapped in similar blankets.
Thanks to her quick thinking, the bus was stopped by police officers at a toll station along its route, and the five infants - three girls and two boys - were saved from the baby smugglers, the
Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.
The bus was travelling from Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia, to Linyi city in east China's Shandong province on Wednesday.
The babies' umbilical cords were still attached, which showed that they were less than a week old, the report said.
Around the time that the arrests were made, news broke that the Chinese police had cracked another case of baby trafficking in southern China which involved a 104-member syndicate.
The gang operated out of Putian city in south-east China's Fujian province and had purchased or sold 70 babies in six provinces and neighbouring Myanmar in the past decade, the Beijing News said. Seven of the babies were from Myanmar.
In an indication of how common and organised the black market trade in babies has become, the culprits in this case were mostly village women, including midwives and matchmakers who saw the opportunity to make money and seized it.
Some were in charge of working with hospital staff to purchase unwanted newborns, while others were in charge of transporting and feeding the babies and making contact with cohorts in other provinces.
The women, often working with their relatives and friends, used their connections with government departments to produce fake identification cards for the babies.
Police said the network had sold more than 70 newborns, of whom 44 have now been recovered.
Twenty-nine of them have been matched with their real parents, reported BBC News.
To avoid raising suspicions, breast-feeding women were recruited and the babies were given a little time to become familiar with the women before they were transported on buses.
China's one-child policy, which makes it illegal for couples to have more than one child, has led to the abandonment of female infants. This has resulted in a lopsided ratio of boys to girls that experts predict could, in the decades to come, leave tens of millions of men without wives.
The shortage has prompted some parents to acquire future brides for their sons and infants are cheaper to buy than a teenage bride.
In 2003, police uncovered the country's biggest baby-trafficking case in the southern region of Guangxi, bordering Yunnan, when 28 newborn girls were found in nylon bags on a bus with their arms and legs tied. One of the babies later died.
More than 60 syndicate members, convicted of selling at least 200 babies in the same case, have either been executed or otherwise punished. -- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE REUTERS
ST Feb 6, 2005
US couple accused of torturing adopted kids
INVERNESS (FLORIDA) - A FUGITIVE couple accused of starving and torturing five adopted children - including pulling out their toenails with pliers - were captured in south-eastern Utah after police tracked them through their cellphones, officials said.
John and Linda Dollar were jailed on Friday in San Juan County, Utah, on Florida warrants of felony aggravated child abuse.
The family included seven adopted children between the ages of 12 and 17. Five of them said they were tortured, subjected to electric shocks and beatings with hammers and had their toenails yanked out with pliers.
The abused five had physical injuries to back up their claims and were severely malnourished.
'They looked like the photos that we've seen of Auschwitz,' said a sheriff's office spokesman, describing 14-year-old twins, one weighing 16kg, the other 17kg - about 35kg below normal.
They told of being forced to sleep in a closet with a chime that sounded if they opened the door because the couple accused them of stealing food and misbehaving.
The other two children were favoured by the Dollars and unhurt. All are in state custody.
John Dollar, 58, is a real estate appraiser and his 51-year-old wife taught the children at home.
Doctors alerted investigators two weeks ago when the couple's 16-year-old boy, who weighed just 27kg, was treated for head and neck injuries. \-- AP
ST Feb 7, 2005
Immunisation key to saving poorest children
By Yoweri Museveni and Jens Stoltenberg
AS NATIONAL leaders - one in Scandinavia, the other in East Africa - we awaken each day to dramatically different realities. Consider, for example that a newborn in Uganda cannot hope to live much beyond the age of 46, compared to a life expectancy in Norway of 79 years.
In Africa, the struggle to survive starts early. For every 1,000 children born, more than 170 die before they turn five, often for want of vaccines that could easily have saved their lives. In contrast, in 2002, Norway lost four children under the age of five per 1,000 born.
There are significant and seemingly intractable economic and environmental reasons for this gap, but there is also great promise. With the proper investments and political will on the part of national and international leaders, immunisation can save the lives of millions of children in the poorest regions of the world. Among the most important and cost-effective public health tools ever invented, vaccines should be seen as a cornerstone of international development.
Yet in 2003, more than 27 million children - most of them among the world's poorest - missed out on key vaccines during their first year of life. It is unacceptable that, also in 2003, almost 1.5 million children died from diseases for which vaccines are available and routinely administered to children in wealthier countries.
Governments of both rich countries and poor have boosted the amount of money they give for vaccines. The United Kingdom, for example, just last week promised as much as US$1.8 billion (S$3 billion) over the next 15 years, if its innovative financing plan is approved and other nations agree to participate. Such generosity must become the norm, as much more support will be required to cover the long-term commitment that vaccine programmes need.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported recently that the world is far from meeting the internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goal of reducing childhood mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Given current trends, the UN agencies say that the immunisation coverage rates needed to achieve this goal will not be met until 2037.
A major infusion of resources is required to reverse decades of under-investment in health service delivery systems and to support countries in crisis. The WHO estimates that an additional US$12 billion is needed over the next decade to provide vaccines against yellow fever and hepatitis B, and strengthen routine immunisation coverage in the poorest countries.
We have a proven solution for how such resources can be used efficiently and effectively, as demonstrated by a ground-breaking new global immunisation initiative, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
The GAVI alliance and its financing arm, The Vaccine Fund, bring together under one umbrella a unique group - national governments from industrialised and developing countries, Unicef, the WHO, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the vaccine industry, public health institutions and NGOs.
Their common goals are to increase access to essential vaccines among children in poor countries, to improve injection safety, and to accelerate the development and introduction of new vaccines for diseases such as rotavirus and pneumococcal pneumonia, which together accounted for more than two million deaths in 2002.
By the end of 2003, GAVI support for immunisation in low-income countries had averted an estimated 670,000 premature deaths among children born from 2001 to 2003. Hepatitis B vaccines are now being funded in 50 of the more than 70 countries that GAVI supports.
Uganda and Norway have played an integral part in GAVI's initial success. Norway, which has already provided more than US$100 million to GAVI, has announced that it will give almostUS$300 million more through 2010 and Uganda has committed its resources to dramatically increasing the immunisation rate among Uganda's children.
The achievements of GAVI and its partners were recognised most recently with last week's announcement of a second US$750-million grant over 10 years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Nine countries and the European Union have also contributed significant resources to this alliance. However, increased resources and political will are still needed.
What will it take to create a world in which a child's chances of living past the age of five will not depend so strongly on which country he or she calls home? The answer is more money, a commitment on the part of rich countries and poor alike to place vaccines high on their public health agendas, and a proven system, like that of GAVI, for channelling new funds to the people who are most in need.
Yoweri Museveni is President of Uganda and Jens Stoltenberg leads the Norwegian Labour Party and is a former prime minister of Norway. He is also a board member of The Vaccine Fund.
children.....innocence......i followed e 1st story quite closely.....was really wondering who e murder was.....as it turned out, e dad......wat went wrong???? e 2nd 1......so grisly.....3rd 1, pple r selling babies away while others r killing them......haizzzzz in barely 3 days o news, so much things on abuse & neglect o children.....these r only e bare few which i've posted.....haizzzz....wat is tis world coming 2......
SLAIN TWINS
Dad pleads guilty, gets 8 years and cane Murder charge reduced, judge gives 'compassionate' sentence
By Elena Chong
THE father accused of killing his month-old twin babies yesterday pleaded guilty to reduced charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The 27-year-old unemployed man, originally accused of murder, was sentenced to eight years' jail and six strokes of the cane after he admitted hitting the babies on the head with an ashtray on Jan 21 last year.
His change of plea came after a 12-day trial, half of which was spent on a trial-within-a-trial to determine if several of his statements to the police were voluntary.
After it was ruled that they were, his lawyers, Mr R.S. Bajwa and Mr Mahmood Gaznavi, had the case adjourned till yesterday to make representations.
Having considered those representations, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Cheng Thiam told the court the prosecution had decided to proceed on reduced charges on 'compassionate grounds'.
DPP Chong Li Min said that while the accused was alone in a room with his twins, he grabbed a helmet-shaped ashtray from a table and hit the younger baby on the head after turning him face down. He then went to the other side of the bed and hit the other twin on the head.
Later, his mother came to the flat with some letters.
After reading a letter about the baby bonus, his wife said she wanted the baby bonus money to be credited to her father's account. The accused did not reply, but returned to the bedroom and later came out carrying the younger twin, who was crying, and handed the child to his mother.
The woman said her grandson was cold, and his head swollen and soft.
The accused's wife then went to the room and found the other baby lying motionless on the bed with his head tilted to the left.
Later that afternoon, paramedics pronounced the babies dead from severe head injuries.
Describing it as a very tragic case, Mr Bajwa said his client loved the babies very much and often got up in the early hours to feed and comfort them.
The lawyer said his client had committed the crime on the spur of the moment, having been disturbed at the recollection of 'not very nice' things his aunts had said about him.
The accused's 25-year-old wife - who was with her son and other family members in court - had forgiven and still loved him despite what had happened, the lawyer said. The family cannot be named in order to protect the other child, who will be three this year.
Mr Bajwa said his client even 'patted' his twins to sleep after hitting them, thinking nothing serious had happened.
In passing sentence, Justice Tay Yong Kwang said: 'You know what you have done. It is not an easy case for me to sentence.'
He told the accused - who appeared impassive - that 'by a measure of compassion' for him, he would make the sentence of eight years and three strokes on each charge concurrent, not consecutive. He also backdated the sentence to Jan 28 last year .
The maximum penalty for culpable homicide not amounting to murder is life imprisonment or a jail term of up to 10 years, or a fine and caning as well.
ST Feb 5, 2005
CASE OF FATHER BEHEADING TEEN
Man surrenders but girl's head still missing
HONG KONG - A 66-YEAR-OLD man who went missing after allegedly beheading his daughter with an axe following a heated quarrel, surrendered to police yesterday, it was reported.
Li Chi Pang showed up at a police station yesterday morning and was being questioned, according to a police spokesman.
Police said that they were still searching for the 16-year-old girl's head which, some newspaper reports said, had been taken away by the father.
According to Hong Kong newspapers, Li had intended to dismember the body in a bid to destroy evidence.
The girl was naked and had a long and deep cut on her thigh, Ming Pao Daily News reported.
Li also attacked his 20-year-old son with an axe when he returned to the family flat a few hours after the grisly murder of his sister. The attack left the young man with slash wounds to his forehead, the back of his head and his left hand.
The motive for the attacks was still unclear, police said.
According to Ming Pao, the girl's mother, who went to identify the body on Thursday, said that her daughter had a poor relationship with her unemployed father, who was physically abusive.
Mrs Li, dressed in a red jacket and looking calm, told reporters that her husband often beat the girl. Since young, she had frequently been smacked on the head by her father and she grew up hating him, the mother added.
The family lived on the HK$4,000 (S$850) Mrs Li brought home every month as an odd-job worker.
She said though Li was not a compulsive gambler, he often used whatever little spare money there was to bet on horse races and the lottery. But he did not drink and quit smoking a few years back, she said, adding that he would do the housework and cook for the family.
According to some reports, the father often scolded his daughter for being lazy and refusing to look for a job.
He apparently turned violent on Wednesday after his daughter refused to give him money, reports said.
Li reportedly fled with the HK$2,000 to HK$3,000 that he had snatched from his son after attacking him.
The case shocked neighbours in the Shun Lee Estate, who described the family as friendly.
Criminologist Dennis Wong believed the father committed the crime in a fit of anger. He could have resorted to violence because his daughter's hatred for him hurt his pride badly, he said.
'I do not think the murderer is a mental patient. He just did it on impulse.
'He will probably blame himself for the tragedy he created once he calms down.'
ST Feb 5, 2005
Bus passenger saves 5 babies from traffickers
Surprised to see newborns on long trip, woman gets friend to call cops
BEIJING - AN ALERT bus passenger rescued five newborns from baby traffickers by sending SMSes to a colleague, urging him to call the police.
The woman, identified only as Ms Yang, had found it suspicious that a group of fellow passengers had taken along five babies, all looking no older than two months, for the long bus journey.
And coincidentally, all were wrapped in similar blankets.
Thanks to her quick thinking, the bus was stopped by police officers at a toll station along its route, and the five infants - three girls and two boys - were saved from the baby smugglers, the
Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.
The bus was travelling from Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia, to Linyi city in east China's Shandong province on Wednesday.
The babies' umbilical cords were still attached, which showed that they were less than a week old, the report said.
Around the time that the arrests were made, news broke that the Chinese police had cracked another case of baby trafficking in southern China which involved a 104-member syndicate.
The gang operated out of Putian city in south-east China's Fujian province and had purchased or sold 70 babies in six provinces and neighbouring Myanmar in the past decade, the Beijing News said. Seven of the babies were from Myanmar.
In an indication of how common and organised the black market trade in babies has become, the culprits in this case were mostly village women, including midwives and matchmakers who saw the opportunity to make money and seized it.
Some were in charge of working with hospital staff to purchase unwanted newborns, while others were in charge of transporting and feeding the babies and making contact with cohorts in other provinces.
The women, often working with their relatives and friends, used their connections with government departments to produce fake identification cards for the babies.
Police said the network had sold more than 70 newborns, of whom 44 have now been recovered.
Twenty-nine of them have been matched with their real parents, reported BBC News.
To avoid raising suspicions, breast-feeding women were recruited and the babies were given a little time to become familiar with the women before they were transported on buses.
China's one-child policy, which makes it illegal for couples to have more than one child, has led to the abandonment of female infants. This has resulted in a lopsided ratio of boys to girls that experts predict could, in the decades to come, leave tens of millions of men without wives.
The shortage has prompted some parents to acquire future brides for their sons and infants are cheaper to buy than a teenage bride.
In 2003, police uncovered the country's biggest baby-trafficking case in the southern region of Guangxi, bordering Yunnan, when 28 newborn girls were found in nylon bags on a bus with their arms and legs tied. One of the babies later died.
More than 60 syndicate members, convicted of selling at least 200 babies in the same case, have either been executed or otherwise punished. -- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE REUTERS
ST Feb 6, 2005
US couple accused of torturing adopted kids
INVERNESS (FLORIDA) - A FUGITIVE couple accused of starving and torturing five adopted children - including pulling out their toenails with pliers - were captured in south-eastern Utah after police tracked them through their cellphones, officials said.
John and Linda Dollar were jailed on Friday in San Juan County, Utah, on Florida warrants of felony aggravated child abuse.
The family included seven adopted children between the ages of 12 and 17. Five of them said they were tortured, subjected to electric shocks and beatings with hammers and had their toenails yanked out with pliers.
The abused five had physical injuries to back up their claims and were severely malnourished.
'They looked like the photos that we've seen of Auschwitz,' said a sheriff's office spokesman, describing 14-year-old twins, one weighing 16kg, the other 17kg - about 35kg below normal.
They told of being forced to sleep in a closet with a chime that sounded if they opened the door because the couple accused them of stealing food and misbehaving.
The other two children were favoured by the Dollars and unhurt. All are in state custody.
John Dollar, 58, is a real estate appraiser and his 51-year-old wife taught the children at home.
Doctors alerted investigators two weeks ago when the couple's 16-year-old boy, who weighed just 27kg, was treated for head and neck injuries. \-- AP
ST Feb 7, 2005
Immunisation key to saving poorest children
By Yoweri Museveni and Jens Stoltenberg
AS NATIONAL leaders - one in Scandinavia, the other in East Africa - we awaken each day to dramatically different realities. Consider, for example that a newborn in Uganda cannot hope to live much beyond the age of 46, compared to a life expectancy in Norway of 79 years.
In Africa, the struggle to survive starts early. For every 1,000 children born, more than 170 die before they turn five, often for want of vaccines that could easily have saved their lives. In contrast, in 2002, Norway lost four children under the age of five per 1,000 born.
There are significant and seemingly intractable economic and environmental reasons for this gap, but there is also great promise. With the proper investments and political will on the part of national and international leaders, immunisation can save the lives of millions of children in the poorest regions of the world. Among the most important and cost-effective public health tools ever invented, vaccines should be seen as a cornerstone of international development.
Yet in 2003, more than 27 million children - most of them among the world's poorest - missed out on key vaccines during their first year of life. It is unacceptable that, also in 2003, almost 1.5 million children died from diseases for which vaccines are available and routinely administered to children in wealthier countries.
Governments of both rich countries and poor have boosted the amount of money they give for vaccines. The United Kingdom, for example, just last week promised as much as US$1.8 billion (S$3 billion) over the next 15 years, if its innovative financing plan is approved and other nations agree to participate. Such generosity must become the norm, as much more support will be required to cover the long-term commitment that vaccine programmes need.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported recently that the world is far from meeting the internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goal of reducing childhood mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Given current trends, the UN agencies say that the immunisation coverage rates needed to achieve this goal will not be met until 2037.
A major infusion of resources is required to reverse decades of under-investment in health service delivery systems and to support countries in crisis. The WHO estimates that an additional US$12 billion is needed over the next decade to provide vaccines against yellow fever and hepatitis B, and strengthen routine immunisation coverage in the poorest countries.
We have a proven solution for how such resources can be used efficiently and effectively, as demonstrated by a ground-breaking new global immunisation initiative, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
The GAVI alliance and its financing arm, The Vaccine Fund, bring together under one umbrella a unique group - national governments from industrialised and developing countries, Unicef, the WHO, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the vaccine industry, public health institutions and NGOs.
Their common goals are to increase access to essential vaccines among children in poor countries, to improve injection safety, and to accelerate the development and introduction of new vaccines for diseases such as rotavirus and pneumococcal pneumonia, which together accounted for more than two million deaths in 2002.
By the end of 2003, GAVI support for immunisation in low-income countries had averted an estimated 670,000 premature deaths among children born from 2001 to 2003. Hepatitis B vaccines are now being funded in 50 of the more than 70 countries that GAVI supports.
Uganda and Norway have played an integral part in GAVI's initial success. Norway, which has already provided more than US$100 million to GAVI, has announced that it will give almostUS$300 million more through 2010 and Uganda has committed its resources to dramatically increasing the immunisation rate among Uganda's children.
The achievements of GAVI and its partners were recognised most recently with last week's announcement of a second US$750-million grant over 10 years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Nine countries and the European Union have also contributed significant resources to this alliance. However, increased resources and political will are still needed.
What will it take to create a world in which a child's chances of living past the age of five will not depend so strongly on which country he or she calls home? The answer is more money, a commitment on the part of rich countries and poor alike to place vaccines high on their public health agendas, and a proven system, like that of GAVI, for channelling new funds to the people who are most in need.
Yoweri Museveni is President of Uganda and Jens Stoltenberg leads the Norwegian Labour Party and is a former prime minister of Norway. He is also a board member of The Vaccine Fund.
children.....innocence......i followed e 1st story quite closely.....was really wondering who e murder was.....as it turned out, e dad......wat went wrong???? e 2nd 1......so grisly.....3rd 1, pple r selling babies away while others r killing them......haizzzzz in barely 3 days o news, so much things on abuse & neglect o children.....these r only e bare few which i've posted.....haizzzz....wat is tis world coming 2......
i'm so tired.....it's tiring having 2 tink abt wat others r tinking......i dun bother abt wat others r tinking when i talk usually.....cos i juz say wat i 1 2 say.....but it's rather immature & unthoughtful 2 do tt i know....but it's really tiring & it's not me anymore.....it's irresponsible but i dun 1 2 bother so much....i've tried but it's taking a toll......i dun 1 it anymore......it's an art which i dun 1 2 master......
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Another personality test.... if u r interested in it, i'll send e file 2 u...juz email 2 me...or leave a comment
You are the fruity fragrance type....
You radiate independence and happiness, always immersed in fun-seeking activities, like an innocent child. You always manage to bring life into the party, thus you are indispensible to parties. Although you are cheerful, well-liked by most, others think that it is difficult to be good friends with you, because the impression that you give is one of a comedian. Some thinks that you like to make a fool of others and are dependent on others, so they are reluctant to be close to you. But, you are actually mature and firm. There are few that truly understands you, leaving you with few bosom buddies.
You are the fruity fragrance type....
You radiate independence and happiness, always immersed in fun-seeking activities, like an innocent child. You always manage to bring life into the party, thus you are indispensible to parties. Although you are cheerful, well-liked by most, others think that it is difficult to be good friends with you, because the impression that you give is one of a comedian. Some thinks that you like to make a fool of others and are dependent on others, so they are reluctant to be close to you. But, you are actually mature and firm. There are few that truly understands you, leaving you with few bosom buddies.
fr http://www.tigerbeer.us/horoscope/
i'm a sagittarius monkey....
You posess partner- oriented energies, which makes you a highly devoted, charming, and entertaining spouse-once you decide to settle down, that is. Your search for the right person may last for years-but that doesn't mean it'll be unpleasant. You know exactly what you want, and what you don't want, and while you may not find the right person right away, you'll gain something from each and every encounter.
In all matters, you'll show an integrity, dignity, and nobility that will win you admiration and esteem. Your presence commands respect in many circles, and your friends are likely to be a diverse, interesting crew, all of whom you think of as more like family than acquaintances. In relationships, you're on the lookout for someone as partner-oriented and capable of commitment as you are. Direct your energies toward Scorpios, Librans, or sturdy 'Taureans, all of whom share your longing for a long-term situation.
Your gift is your ability to make and keep a promise. Your challenge is to be honest with yourself as well as with your admirers.
2 gd 2 b true......but e last pt abt e challenge 2 b honest wif myself is indeed wat i tink is my greatest fault.....i'll try my utmost 2 b true 2 myself!!!!!
ytd while i was walking along chinatown, i saw quite a few kan xiang de....all e stalls had pple sitting there having their fortune/fate read.....i've never tried it b4....mayb i shld try it sme day....there were all sorts o patterns o kan xiang.....by ur handwriting, by ur birthday, by ur palm etc etc...actually in USA, i did see tt they offer a course in psychology where u specilize in reading handwriting.....it shld b a prettty interesting cos.....actually my hemispherity o face study which i did half-way was also sparked off by e interest in all these kan xiang....
i 1ed 2 do a study while i was in nus abt how e age-old art o kan xiang may actually b more than a hoax....but there being min studies on it, & cos it was juz an undergrad study, my sup didn't tink it was an appropriate topic....
anyway....i really need 2 find time 2 do my things......i dunno y time seem 2 juz fly by......
a quarter o a century old oredi....
i'm a sagittarius monkey....
You posess partner- oriented energies, which makes you a highly devoted, charming, and entertaining spouse-once you decide to settle down, that is. Your search for the right person may last for years-but that doesn't mean it'll be unpleasant. You know exactly what you want, and what you don't want, and while you may not find the right person right away, you'll gain something from each and every encounter.
In all matters, you'll show an integrity, dignity, and nobility that will win you admiration and esteem. Your presence commands respect in many circles, and your friends are likely to be a diverse, interesting crew, all of whom you think of as more like family than acquaintances. In relationships, you're on the lookout for someone as partner-oriented and capable of commitment as you are. Direct your energies toward Scorpios, Librans, or sturdy 'Taureans, all of whom share your longing for a long-term situation.
Your gift is your ability to make and keep a promise. Your challenge is to be honest with yourself as well as with your admirers.
2 gd 2 b true......but e last pt abt e challenge 2 b honest wif myself is indeed wat i tink is my greatest fault.....i'll try my utmost 2 b true 2 myself!!!!!
ytd while i was walking along chinatown, i saw quite a few kan xiang de....all e stalls had pple sitting there having their fortune/fate read.....i've never tried it b4....mayb i shld try it sme day....there were all sorts o patterns o kan xiang.....by ur handwriting, by ur birthday, by ur palm etc etc...actually in USA, i did see tt they offer a course in psychology where u specilize in reading handwriting.....it shld b a prettty interesting cos.....actually my hemispherity o face study which i did half-way was also sparked off by e interest in all these kan xiang....
i 1ed 2 do a study while i was in nus abt how e age-old art o kan xiang may actually b more than a hoax....but there being min studies on it, & cos it was juz an undergrad study, my sup didn't tink it was an appropriate topic....
anyway....i really need 2 find time 2 do my things......i dunno y time seem 2 juz fly by......
a quarter o a century old oredi....
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Superman by Five for Fighting
Superman by* Five for Fighting
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird...
I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me
Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd...
but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...
but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me
Up, up and away...away from me
It's all right...
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy...or anything...
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
It's not easy to be me.
every1's trying 2 find tt special thing inside.....trying very hard 2 live up 2 expectations......but smetimes we really need 2 take a step back, take a breather.....even superheroes need a break....
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird...
I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me
Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd...
but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...
but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me
Up, up and away...away from me
It's all right...
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy...or anything...
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
It's not easy to be me.
every1's trying 2 find tt special thing inside.....trying very hard 2 live up 2 expectations......but smetimes we really need 2 take a step back, take a breather.....even superheroes need a break....
Dun get offended when i call u a birdbrain...it's a compliment!!!!
ST Feb 2, 2005
You call me a birdbrain? Thank you!
WASHINGTON - BIRDS are not stupid and their brains are not primitive, so it is about time the scientific world gave them full credit, experts said.
An international group of experts yesterday published a call for scientists around the world to switch to a new set of words to describe the various parts of the avian brain. It would be a wholesale revision of terms that is rarely seen in science and the first total makeover of bird-brain anatomy in more than a century.
The current system suggests a bird's brain is mostly basal ganglia and that this area controls primitive brain function and instinctive behaviour.
In fact, neither is true. The bird brain more closely resembles the human brain and the basal ganglia is not a primitive region, said Duke University's Mr Erich Jarvis, who led the study.
'Stop calling people birdbrains meaning stupid. Take it as a compliment,' he said.
The neurobiologist, who studies how birds learn vocalisations such as songbird songs and imitated speech in parrots, said their behaviour can be surprisingly complex.
They can use tools and songs, imitate human language to communicate and count.
'They can lie. You can teach a pigeon to do something that will have another pigeon get food for a reward. You can find a female pigeon that will pretend a reward for food is coming and then she eats it instead of her mate,' he said.
He said some birds had evolved cognitive abilities that are far more complex than in many mammals.
'We should be able to get more insight into how the human brain works, too,' he said.
For instance, 'primitive' regions of avian brains are sophisticated processing regions similar to those in mammals, the researchers said.
'There is strong interest across neuroscience in using birds as models for learning and development, and migratory and social behaviour.'
The researchers published their argument in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. \-- REUTERS
ST Feb 2, 2005
You call me a birdbrain? Thank you!
WASHINGTON - BIRDS are not stupid and their brains are not primitive, so it is about time the scientific world gave them full credit, experts said.
An international group of experts yesterday published a call for scientists around the world to switch to a new set of words to describe the various parts of the avian brain. It would be a wholesale revision of terms that is rarely seen in science and the first total makeover of bird-brain anatomy in more than a century.
The current system suggests a bird's brain is mostly basal ganglia and that this area controls primitive brain function and instinctive behaviour.
In fact, neither is true. The bird brain more closely resembles the human brain and the basal ganglia is not a primitive region, said Duke University's Mr Erich Jarvis, who led the study.
'Stop calling people birdbrains meaning stupid. Take it as a compliment,' he said.
The neurobiologist, who studies how birds learn vocalisations such as songbird songs and imitated speech in parrots, said their behaviour can be surprisingly complex.
They can use tools and songs, imitate human language to communicate and count.
'They can lie. You can teach a pigeon to do something that will have another pigeon get food for a reward. You can find a female pigeon that will pretend a reward for food is coming and then she eats it instead of her mate,' he said.
He said some birds had evolved cognitive abilities that are far more complex than in many mammals.
'We should be able to get more insight into how the human brain works, too,' he said.
For instance, 'primitive' regions of avian brains are sophisticated processing regions similar to those in mammals, the researchers said.
'There is strong interest across neuroscience in using birds as models for learning and development, and migratory and social behaviour.'
The researchers published their argument in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. \-- REUTERS
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
When Mr Right comes at the wrong time part 2....
fr ytd's blog on e article on "When Mr Right comes at the wrong time".....
there's a 3rd category o pple...those who wait & wait & wait......i belong 2 tis 3rd grp at least up til tis moment....i'm not sure 5 yrs down e road wld i settle 4 Mr No. 2.....mayb i wld.....it's tiring 2 wait....it's tiring 2 pursue.....
as atomic princess wld put it, u never know he's e 1 unless u die.....morbid.....but seriously e qn comes again 2 when do u know if he/she is e 1????
it's always a gamble i tink......it's really how much risk u r willing 2 take.....fr an economist's pov, r u risk adverse, risk loving or risk nuetral when it comes 2 love?????
difficult 2 quantify & qualify.....mayb i cld come up wif a study on this??? mayb it'll b my masters thesis....quantifying & qualifying pple's risk adversity in love....wonder if any1 has done it b4......shld do a lit search on it.....
my other personal research on hemispherity o facial features & personality....i haven done anything more on it since i started work at scs.....it's tis study which landed me my current job....i shld prob start dooing smething abt it....
i've so many ideas....cross my fingers & let my csew go smoothly & finish by tis yr!!! then i can start on e rest.....
there's a 3rd category o pple...those who wait & wait & wait......i belong 2 tis 3rd grp at least up til tis moment....i'm not sure 5 yrs down e road wld i settle 4 Mr No. 2.....mayb i wld.....it's tiring 2 wait....it's tiring 2 pursue.....
as atomic princess wld put it, u never know he's e 1 unless u die.....morbid.....but seriously e qn comes again 2 when do u know if he/she is e 1????
it's always a gamble i tink......it's really how much risk u r willing 2 take.....fr an economist's pov, r u risk adverse, risk loving or risk nuetral when it comes 2 love?????
difficult 2 quantify & qualify.....mayb i cld come up wif a study on this??? mayb it'll b my masters thesis....quantifying & qualifying pple's risk adversity in love....wonder if any1 has done it b4......shld do a lit search on it.....
my other personal research on hemispherity o facial features & personality....i haven done anything more on it since i started work at scs.....it's tis study which landed me my current job....i shld prob start dooing smething abt it....
i've so many ideas....cross my fingers & let my csew go smoothly & finish by tis yr!!! then i can start on e rest.....
CSEW
had been so stressed over CSEW 4 e longest time.....however, when i looked at e development of CSEW fr sept 04 to jan 05, i can c e tt i've not totally done nothing....i can c e progress....i'm not as depressed as i was last wk abt e study......
was so upset last wk tt many things were done so half-heartenly.....finally i can c e light in front....hopefully everything will work out well tmr.....i seriously 1 everything 2 work out......
i 4got 2 ask if he blogs....i hope so.....it'll b interesting.....
i busted my budget again....2 tops, 1 skirt......altogether 2 tops, 3 bottoms, 1 pair o shoes......more shopping 2nite......haizzzzzzz.......i know i shld stop, but it's great therapy 4 e heart.....
when shld i go down 2 nie.....
was so upset last wk tt many things were done so half-heartenly.....finally i can c e light in front....hopefully everything will work out well tmr.....i seriously 1 everything 2 work out......
i 4got 2 ask if he blogs....i hope so.....it'll b interesting.....
i busted my budget again....2 tops, 1 skirt......altogether 2 tops, 3 bottoms, 1 pair o shoes......more shopping 2nite......haizzzzzzz.......i know i shld stop, but it's great therapy 4 e heart.....
when shld i go down 2 nie.....
another new staff.....
e turn over at scs is really high.....i've oredi lost count o e no. o new staff oredi.....in my centre alone, almost 90% have worked here 4 less than 1 yr.....
make me tink abt e entry posted by KJ on e new waves o pple.....i really hope tt e current grp tt i'm working wif dun move off 2 fast....at least stay until e nov conference is over......
make me tink abt e entry posted by KJ on e new waves o pple.....i really hope tt e current grp tt i'm working wif dun move off 2 fast....at least stay until e nov conference is over......
fear & zhi zhu...
ytd a tot came into my mind.....
only when we learn 2 b afraid then we can b zhi zhu.....cos unless we r afraid 2 lose smething then we'll appreciate them.....but it's only when we lose them do we appreciate them.....but then we wld have lost them......
only when we learn 2 b afraid then we can b zhi zhu.....cos unless we r afraid 2 lose smething then we'll appreciate them.....but it's only when we lose them do we appreciate them.....but then we wld have lost them......
Monday, January 31, 2005
i'll stand by you.....
Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don’t be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
’cause I’ve seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don’t know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
So if you’re mad, get mad
Don’t hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I’m a lot like you
When you’re standing at the crossroads
And don’t know which path to choose
Let me come along
’cause even if you’re wrong
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you
And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
You’re feeling all alone
You won’t be on your own
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
tis song's by e pretenders originally but i tink girls r loud r doing tis song also...heard tis song quite a lot on radio recently....& i tink it speaks o how i feel towards 3 o my closest friends......even though i may speak w/o tinking & hurt ur feelings u know i dun mean it....i may not b able 2 solve ur problems but i can listen if tt is any consolation....i may not know a lot o things but i can stand by u......
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don’t be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
’cause I’ve seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don’t know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
So if you’re mad, get mad
Don’t hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I’m a lot like you
When you’re standing at the crossroads
And don’t know which path to choose
Let me come along
’cause even if you’re wrong
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you
And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
You’re feeling all alone
You won’t be on your own
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I’ll never desert you
I’ll stand by you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
Won’t let nobody hurt you
I’ll stand by you
tis song's by e pretenders originally but i tink girls r loud r doing tis song also...heard tis song quite a lot on radio recently....& i tink it speaks o how i feel towards 3 o my closest friends......even though i may speak w/o tinking & hurt ur feelings u know i dun mean it....i may not b able 2 solve ur problems but i can listen if tt is any consolation....i may not know a lot o things but i can stand by u......
ST Jan 31, 2005
When Mr Right comes at the wrong time
Timing is everything, even in love. And when you are not ready to commit, you could end up regretting it
By Janice Wong
SOMETIMES, timing rather than love decides who we end up being with - or without.
Only some lucky people marry the loves of their lives. The rest marry the most suitable person who comes along when they are ready to settle down.
A friend in his 20s came to this conclusion after confiding in me that he had recently met a woman who is more attractive than his wife, and so occupies his thoughts more often than his wife does.
'If only I had met her before I got married,' he said wistfully.
But I think even if the love of one's life appears when one is single, one may not be in the right frame of mind to recognise him or her as such.
And then love passes by.
Life is littered with near misses and lost opportunities.
I attended my ex-boyfriend's wedding last month, which triggered many memories.
We met five years ago when I was 23 and he 31. It was love at first sight.
He had an established career, was down-to-earth and steadfastly religious.
I was then working as an air stewardess and my head was - literally and metaphorically - in the clouds.
I was also - well, let's put it this way - not religious.
Despite our differences, we were soulmates. We had the same quirky sense of humour and shared long, intense overnight conversations.
But human nature is perverse. When someone is excessively nice to us, we start taking things for granted, instead of appreciating them even more.
My ex sent me to the airport, fixed my PC, reminded me to take health supplements - and go to church.
He had everything I could want in a husband - except that I was not looking for one. A boyfriend was all I could cope with then.
I loved fast cars, danced wildly at Zouk and took off on shopping holidays at a whim. My life revolved around I, me and myself.
In the six months that we were together, he popped the question several times and talked ad nauseam about having children. He wanted us to enrol for a Christian marriage preparation course.
Yes, I did often fantasise about a Vera Wang wedding gown, but I was at that stage of my life when I was more interested in Guess than Baby Guess.
And where - dare I admit it? - I still wanted to meet other men.
So I was a 23-year-old with the emotional maturity of a 13-year-old. Responsibility? Wasn't that for adults?
In short, I met Mr Right at the wrong time.
The more he talked about marriage and religion, the more I felt pressured and the more pressured I felt, the more irritable I became.
I was too impatient to compromise. Every trivial matter blew up as a big deal. My mood obliterated the good in our relationship and reached a point where I just wanted out.
He was heartbroken; I was sad but relieved. He still called me regularly, beseeching me to change my mind.
The calls stopped finally after a year. Now and then, we say 'Hi' via e-mail.
I had a few painful relationships after that. Served me right, as those rude wake-up calls were necessary for me to realise the meaninglessness of my hedonistic high life.
I missed the tenderness of my ex and began having second thoughts.
Perhaps I also felt more urgency to find someone marriageable before my biological clock reached zero hour. It dawned on me that I am not a pixie like Peter Pan who can flit around forever. One day, I'd wake up sick and alone when my fair weather friends flit away.
But I was too proud and too unsure of my ex's reaction to call him until last year.
The first thing he told me excitedly was that he had found The One. My heart tumbled to my feet. So, that's Fate.
If only I could turn back time. If only I had met him later. If only... what feeble words.
These days, I am more circumspect. I have come to terms with my loss. There is nothing I can do about timing, but I can do everything about my choices.
Sometimes, when the nights get lonely, I toy with the idea of marrying a platonic friend of mine, who often assures me earnestly that, if the worst comes to the worst, he'd be willing to marry me.
But I always dismiss that. I have already made one mistake. I should not make another by settling for second best merely for the sake of getting hitched - only to regret it soon after, as the guy who confided in me did.
Hopefully, the best is not over but yet to be.
When Mr Right comes at the wrong time
Timing is everything, even in love. And when you are not ready to commit, you could end up regretting it
By Janice Wong
SOMETIMES, timing rather than love decides who we end up being with - or without.
Only some lucky people marry the loves of their lives. The rest marry the most suitable person who comes along when they are ready to settle down.
A friend in his 20s came to this conclusion after confiding in me that he had recently met a woman who is more attractive than his wife, and so occupies his thoughts more often than his wife does.
'If only I had met her before I got married,' he said wistfully.
But I think even if the love of one's life appears when one is single, one may not be in the right frame of mind to recognise him or her as such.
And then love passes by.
Life is littered with near misses and lost opportunities.
I attended my ex-boyfriend's wedding last month, which triggered many memories.
We met five years ago when I was 23 and he 31. It was love at first sight.
He had an established career, was down-to-earth and steadfastly religious.
I was then working as an air stewardess and my head was - literally and metaphorically - in the clouds.
I was also - well, let's put it this way - not religious.
Despite our differences, we were soulmates. We had the same quirky sense of humour and shared long, intense overnight conversations.
But human nature is perverse. When someone is excessively nice to us, we start taking things for granted, instead of appreciating them even more.
My ex sent me to the airport, fixed my PC, reminded me to take health supplements - and go to church.
He had everything I could want in a husband - except that I was not looking for one. A boyfriend was all I could cope with then.
I loved fast cars, danced wildly at Zouk and took off on shopping holidays at a whim. My life revolved around I, me and myself.
In the six months that we were together, he popped the question several times and talked ad nauseam about having children. He wanted us to enrol for a Christian marriage preparation course.
Yes, I did often fantasise about a Vera Wang wedding gown, but I was at that stage of my life when I was more interested in Guess than Baby Guess.
And where - dare I admit it? - I still wanted to meet other men.
So I was a 23-year-old with the emotional maturity of a 13-year-old. Responsibility? Wasn't that for adults?
In short, I met Mr Right at the wrong time.
The more he talked about marriage and religion, the more I felt pressured and the more pressured I felt, the more irritable I became.
I was too impatient to compromise. Every trivial matter blew up as a big deal. My mood obliterated the good in our relationship and reached a point where I just wanted out.
He was heartbroken; I was sad but relieved. He still called me regularly, beseeching me to change my mind.
The calls stopped finally after a year. Now and then, we say 'Hi' via e-mail.
I had a few painful relationships after that. Served me right, as those rude wake-up calls were necessary for me to realise the meaninglessness of my hedonistic high life.
I missed the tenderness of my ex and began having second thoughts.
Perhaps I also felt more urgency to find someone marriageable before my biological clock reached zero hour. It dawned on me that I am not a pixie like Peter Pan who can flit around forever. One day, I'd wake up sick and alone when my fair weather friends flit away.
But I was too proud and too unsure of my ex's reaction to call him until last year.
The first thing he told me excitedly was that he had found The One. My heart tumbled to my feet. So, that's Fate.
If only I could turn back time. If only I had met him later. If only... what feeble words.
These days, I am more circumspect. I have come to terms with my loss. There is nothing I can do about timing, but I can do everything about my choices.
Sometimes, when the nights get lonely, I toy with the idea of marrying a platonic friend of mine, who often assures me earnestly that, if the worst comes to the worst, he'd be willing to marry me.
But I always dismiss that. I have already made one mistake. I should not make another by settling for second best merely for the sake of getting hitched - only to regret it soon after, as the guy who confided in me did.
Hopefully, the best is not over but yet to be.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
double double double double....
i'm gg 2 overdose on happinesss.......
ytd was a great day!!!! everything juz sort o fall into place w/o me planning anything.....a great end 2 ytd was 4 doubles 4 tkd!!!!! all e junior belts got double & all e senior belts passed!!!!!
yay.........
i'm so overdosing on happinesss.....stop being so smug!!!!!!!!!!!!
ytd was a great day!!!! everything juz sort o fall into place w/o me planning anything.....a great end 2 ytd was 4 doubles 4 tkd!!!!! all e junior belts got double & all e senior belts passed!!!!!
yay.........
i'm so overdosing on happinesss.....stop being so smug!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
he's cute btw....heehehheee...
shld have asked more qns but i didn't....there'll b a next time!
i 1 2 finish my article by 2day...but i doubt my own efficiency.... it's juz 2 cold down here 4 me 2 really concentrate on wat i shld b writing.....shld i go grab another coffee???? i shldn't b drinking so much coffee.....bad 4 my throat & i've running nose......
1 2 hear sam's voice!!!! i missed it tt day!!!!! hahhaaaa.......ultra r u still in cloud 9?????
i was down in e pits e last few days but 2 day i put all o CSEW behind.....i'm gg 2 concentrate on reliability........
shld have asked more qns but i didn't....there'll b a next time!
i 1 2 finish my article by 2day...but i doubt my own efficiency.... it's juz 2 cold down here 4 me 2 really concentrate on wat i shld b writing.....shld i go grab another coffee???? i shldn't b drinking so much coffee.....bad 4 my throat & i've running nose......
1 2 hear sam's voice!!!! i missed it tt day!!!!! hahhaaaa.......ultra r u still in cloud 9?????
i was down in e pits e last few days but 2 day i put all o CSEW behind.....i'm gg 2 concentrate on reliability........
Monday, January 24, 2005
smetimes i dun understd myself.....y i did things i've done.....y i feel e way i m......i'm so tired 2day....i tink i feel a fever coming up......i shldn't have binge on e Mcdonalds......i shldn't have stuff myself wif food 2 feel beta.....i dun feel any beta after all e food.....tmr's gid.....if i'm a bitch or if i'm not responsive pls 4give me......i'm really not in e mood....
i'm supposed 2 not take it personally but i did.....y can't he c my pt???? y r e others not replying???? i feel so shit.....made me doubt myself.......i tink i juz got off e wrong side o my bed.....i'm juz dwelling 2 much.......haizzzz.....sore throat....shoot......i hate it man......
how shld i make my next move?????is there smething wrong wif my research style????
i'm supposed 2 not take it personally but i did.....y can't he c my pt???? y r e others not replying???? i feel so shit.....made me doubt myself.......i tink i juz got off e wrong side o my bed.....i'm juz dwelling 2 much.......haizzzz.....sore throat....shoot......i hate it man......
how shld i make my next move?????is there smething wrong wif my research style????
Jan 24, 2005, P 8
Grief for brain-dead girl unites Taiwanese
Four-year-old dies two weeks after being beaten by father and rejected by hospitals
By Lawrence Chung
Taiwan Correspondent
TAIPEI - MOST Taiwanese forgot their political differences yesterday to grieve for a four-year-old girl finally declared brain dead after two weeks of fruitless treatment.
A group of doctors and prosecutors determined the girl - denied treatment by several hospitals in Taipei after being severely beaten by her drunken father - was brain dead and said her heart, livers and kidneys would be donated to others 'with the agreement of her parents'.
Soon after the announcement by Mr Tung Jui-nien, head of the Tungs' Metro Harbor Hospital in Taichung, operations began to save the girl's vital organs for designated recipients.
Her tearful mother had taken about 24 hours to agree to signing the organ-donation letter.
'Before she signed, she touched the girl's little hands, her feet and body again and again,' said a second hospital spokesman.
The media reported that her father, awaiting trial in jail over the case, had tremblingly said he regretted what he had done to the girl, surnamed Chiu, when told of her possible brain death on Saturday. He will now face a manslaughter charge.
Dozens of concerned parents - total strangers to the girl - who had gathered outside her hospital room cried upon hearing she could not live.
Cards, flowers and toys from well-wishers had packed the girl's room since Jan 10 when news of her plight broke over local television.
It detailed how the father had smashed her against a wall until she fell into a coma and how she had subsequently been rejected by Taipei hospitals.
Six hours were wasted before the girl was finally admitted to the Metro Harbor Hospital. Later it was discovered there had been rooms available in Taipei's other hospitals.
Two doctors from Jen-Ai Hospital, where the girl was sent immediately after the violence, could be facing a jail term. They were on duty on Jan 10 but decided not to admit the girl.
The reports sparked a public uproar, forcing Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou to replace the city's health director and cancel his own trip to Australia, his popularity dented.
A sullen Mr Ma said yesterday: 'This unfortunate case has triggered public concern over the severity of the child-abuse problem...and the need to reform Taiwan's medical system.'
But he said Chiu's brief life had not been a waste if every Taiwanese could learn a lesson from her tragedy.
Mr Ma's city government has ordered that no hospital in Taipei is to arbitrarily transfer seriously ill or injured patients.
A welfare system has also been set up to help abused children and ensure good hospital treatment.
On Saturday, President Chen Shui-bian, a political rival of Mr Ma, urged government agencies to apply to the hilt laws and regulations on children's welfare and provide youngsters with better health care and treatment.
i hate it when pple say e words highlighted in pink.....we learn a lesson fr a tragedy....do things have 2 turn bad b4 we can learn smething? i hate tis rationale.....
Grief for brain-dead girl unites Taiwanese
Four-year-old dies two weeks after being beaten by father and rejected by hospitals
By Lawrence Chung
Taiwan Correspondent
TAIPEI - MOST Taiwanese forgot their political differences yesterday to grieve for a four-year-old girl finally declared brain dead after two weeks of fruitless treatment.
A group of doctors and prosecutors determined the girl - denied treatment by several hospitals in Taipei after being severely beaten by her drunken father - was brain dead and said her heart, livers and kidneys would be donated to others 'with the agreement of her parents'.
Soon after the announcement by Mr Tung Jui-nien, head of the Tungs' Metro Harbor Hospital in Taichung, operations began to save the girl's vital organs for designated recipients.
Her tearful mother had taken about 24 hours to agree to signing the organ-donation letter.
'Before she signed, she touched the girl's little hands, her feet and body again and again,' said a second hospital spokesman.
The media reported that her father, awaiting trial in jail over the case, had tremblingly said he regretted what he had done to the girl, surnamed Chiu, when told of her possible brain death on Saturday. He will now face a manslaughter charge.
Dozens of concerned parents - total strangers to the girl - who had gathered outside her hospital room cried upon hearing she could not live.
Cards, flowers and toys from well-wishers had packed the girl's room since Jan 10 when news of her plight broke over local television.
It detailed how the father had smashed her against a wall until she fell into a coma and how she had subsequently been rejected by Taipei hospitals.
Six hours were wasted before the girl was finally admitted to the Metro Harbor Hospital. Later it was discovered there had been rooms available in Taipei's other hospitals.
Two doctors from Jen-Ai Hospital, where the girl was sent immediately after the violence, could be facing a jail term. They were on duty on Jan 10 but decided not to admit the girl.
The reports sparked a public uproar, forcing Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou to replace the city's health director and cancel his own trip to Australia, his popularity dented.
A sullen Mr Ma said yesterday: 'This unfortunate case has triggered public concern over the severity of the child-abuse problem...and the need to reform Taiwan's medical system.'
But he said Chiu's brief life had not been a waste if every Taiwanese could learn a lesson from her tragedy.
Mr Ma's city government has ordered that no hospital in Taipei is to arbitrarily transfer seriously ill or injured patients.
A welfare system has also been set up to help abused children and ensure good hospital treatment.
On Saturday, President Chen Shui-bian, a political rival of Mr Ma, urged government agencies to apply to the hilt laws and regulations on children's welfare and provide youngsters with better health care and treatment.
i hate it when pple say e words highlighted in pink.....we learn a lesson fr a tragedy....do things have 2 turn bad b4 we can learn smething? i hate tis rationale.....
i was supposed 2 b so happy tis morning.....had a wonderful weekend.....
but.......
e 1st email i read tis morning.....made me feel so sad.....so angry....so disappointed......i worked so hard.....i admit i shld have cleared my doubts rite fr e beginning but how was i supposed 2 know wat i was supposed 2 know???? i wldn't know wat 2 ask until i've read/researched......
so upset......
his email sounded like i shld have done my research properly......tt i didn't put in effort 2 do my work properly.....he asked if i received his latest email.....regarding mtg on sats....he make me sound so stupid.....so unorganised abt e schedules....i didn't 1 2 b impolite so i wrote in my email tt 1 o e RAs didn't 1 2 have it on weekends...can't he read between e lines??? i'm trying my hardest 2 b polite......
y m i so upset????
haizzzzz.....
tis is e shittest day ever since i started work at scs.....
feel so sad........juz 1 email & i feel so bad......mayb it's juz tt i'm tired....didn't sleep 2 well last nite.....mayb juz tt i'm not feeling 2 well....been staying up late, staying in e sun 2 much & not eating properly......
but.......
e 1st email i read tis morning.....made me feel so sad.....so angry....so disappointed......i worked so hard.....i admit i shld have cleared my doubts rite fr e beginning but how was i supposed 2 know wat i was supposed 2 know???? i wldn't know wat 2 ask until i've read/researched......
so upset......
his email sounded like i shld have done my research properly......tt i didn't put in effort 2 do my work properly.....he asked if i received his latest email.....regarding mtg on sats....he make me sound so stupid.....so unorganised abt e schedules....i didn't 1 2 b impolite so i wrote in my email tt 1 o e RAs didn't 1 2 have it on weekends...can't he read between e lines??? i'm trying my hardest 2 b polite......
y m i so upset????
haizzzzz.....
tis is e shittest day ever since i started work at scs.....
feel so sad........juz 1 email & i feel so bad......mayb it's juz tt i'm tired....didn't sleep 2 well last nite.....mayb juz tt i'm not feeling 2 well....been staying up late, staying in e sun 2 much & not eating properly......
Thursday, January 20, 2005
excerpt fr conversation at swensons....
"u take e banana & i'll take e balls...."
sounds sinister???? hahahhaaa.....
they were talking abt e banana crumble & e chocolate malt ice cream....hehheee but taken out o context...really hmmmmm....
hehheeee...
sounds sinister???? hahahhaaa.....
they were talking abt e banana crumble & e chocolate malt ice cream....hehheee but taken out o context...really hmmmmm....
hehheeee...
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
mutton, lamb, sheep, goat.....
fr dictionary.com
sheep:
Any of various usually horned ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis in the family Bovidae, especially the domesticated species O. aries, raised in many breeds for wool, edible flesh, or skin.
goat:
Any of various hollow-horned, bearded ruminant mammals of the genus Capra, originally of mountainous areas of the Old World, especially any of the domesticated forms of C. hircus, raised for wool, milk, and meat.
lamb:
a. A young sheep, especially one that is not yet weaned.
b. The flesh of a young sheep used as meat.
c. Lambskin.
mutton:
The flesh of fully grown sheep.
so wat do u call e meat fr a goat???? mutton????
so when we have e mutton curry, which animal is it from???
sheep:
Any of various usually horned ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis in the family Bovidae, especially the domesticated species O. aries, raised in many breeds for wool, edible flesh, or skin.
goat:
Any of various hollow-horned, bearded ruminant mammals of the genus Capra, originally of mountainous areas of the Old World, especially any of the domesticated forms of C. hircus, raised for wool, milk, and meat.
lamb:
a. A young sheep, especially one that is not yet weaned.
b. The flesh of a young sheep used as meat.
c. Lambskin.
mutton:
The flesh of fully grown sheep.
so wat do u call e meat fr a goat???? mutton????
so when we have e mutton curry, which animal is it from???
Monday, January 17, 2005
if u dun 1 2 go pls say it out straight....dun have 2 go 1 big round....
waste o my time.....
so tt's y i'm offline....
seriously i dun really 1 2 care abt how u feel loh.....
i dunno if u know i'm so pissed.....
i dunno y i must b so pissed.....
dun even bother talking 2 me......dun waste my time.....i tink i can do much more things.....
i sound so angry.....i dunno y but really dun 1 2 bother....dunno if u know who i'm referring 2 but i juz 1 2 voice it out.....
waste o my time.....
so tt's y i'm offline....
seriously i dun really 1 2 care abt how u feel loh.....
i dunno if u know i'm so pissed.....
i dunno y i must b so pissed.....
dun even bother talking 2 me......dun waste my time.....i tink i can do much more things.....
i sound so angry.....i dunno y but really dun 1 2 bother....dunno if u know who i'm referring 2 but i juz 1 2 voice it out.....
ST Jan 15, 2005, P 10
Trauma shows up in drawings and hallucination
GALLE (SRI LANKA) - PALESTINIAN children drew pictures of Israeli helicopters spitting gunfire when the intifada began; under the Taleban, Afghan children drew pictures of Islamic militants gunning down civilians.
In Sri Lanka these days, they are drawing dead bodies floating in giant waves.
'It's normal, children draw what they're experiencing,' said Dr Ajith Durusinghe, medical officer in charge of the Unawatuna psychiatric hospital in the tsunami-battered southern town of Galle.
'Children can't verbalise their feelings, so they use crayons and paper instead. It's an emotional release.'
Nursery school principal Chandra Koralage said the four-year-olds in her school, attached to the Kovillagodalla Buddhist temple here, had been 'unusually quiet'.
'They don't say much at all. They quietly play with handicrafts - and they draw a lot.'
Psychiatrist Manoj Kumara of Galle's Karapitiya Hospital said no one was sure of the Dec 26 tsunamis' long-term impact on the children of Sri Lanka, where more than 30,800 have been killed and nearly a million left homeless.
With relatives missing, homes swept away and familiar neighbourhoods turned into wastelands, it is clear that there has been great trauma.
Many people will develop what is called post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms include nervousness, insomnia and excessive worrying.
With children making up the biggest number of casualties, parents are expected to be wracked with guilt.
'If it's a case of a mother having been forced to give up one child to save another, the stress will be tremendous,' said Ms Linda Lam, a professor of psychiatry at Hong Kong's Chinese University.
In Thailand, tales of ghost sightings in the six worst-hit southern provinces have become endemic.
Spooked volunteers searching for bodies in the resort areas of Phi Phi Island and Khao Lak are reported to have looked for tourists heard laughing and singing on the beach, only to find darkness and empty sand.
Experts warn that it could be a result of mass trauma after living through the deadly waves and witnessing horrific scenes in their aftermath.
'This is a type of mass hallucination that is a cue to the trauma being suffered by people who are missing so many dead people, and seeing so many dead people, and only talking about dead people,' said Thai psychologist and media commentator Wallop Piyamanotham. \-- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ytd, my parents were talking abt e ghost-sightings at e disaster-hit places....i was rather sceptical abt it.....as it is, being psychology-trained, i didn't really tink there was such a thing as ghost...rather, i believe in dimensions.....when u die, u die....however there may b another u in another dimension & u r still very much alive there....smetimes we can accidentally step into e other dimensions & tt's when pple tink they r seeing smething supernatural.....i believe tt when u r emotionally & psychologically overloaded, u start 2 imagine a lot o things.....e neurons in ur brain r firing ever so fast & rapid tt e receptors may get all screwed up....all e hormones may also b cocked up....so tt's when u sense so many things which may juz b some hallucinations/illusions.....& i tink pple's minds r very active, they can conjure up anything......e sightings....i believe it's more o a psychological thing rather than supernatural.....
Trauma shows up in drawings and hallucination
GALLE (SRI LANKA) - PALESTINIAN children drew pictures of Israeli helicopters spitting gunfire when the intifada began; under the Taleban, Afghan children drew pictures of Islamic militants gunning down civilians.
In Sri Lanka these days, they are drawing dead bodies floating in giant waves.
'It's normal, children draw what they're experiencing,' said Dr Ajith Durusinghe, medical officer in charge of the Unawatuna psychiatric hospital in the tsunami-battered southern town of Galle.
'Children can't verbalise their feelings, so they use crayons and paper instead. It's an emotional release.'
Nursery school principal Chandra Koralage said the four-year-olds in her school, attached to the Kovillagodalla Buddhist temple here, had been 'unusually quiet'.
'They don't say much at all. They quietly play with handicrafts - and they draw a lot.'
Psychiatrist Manoj Kumara of Galle's Karapitiya Hospital said no one was sure of the Dec 26 tsunamis' long-term impact on the children of Sri Lanka, where more than 30,800 have been killed and nearly a million left homeless.
With relatives missing, homes swept away and familiar neighbourhoods turned into wastelands, it is clear that there has been great trauma.
Many people will develop what is called post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms include nervousness, insomnia and excessive worrying.
With children making up the biggest number of casualties, parents are expected to be wracked with guilt.
'If it's a case of a mother having been forced to give up one child to save another, the stress will be tremendous,' said Ms Linda Lam, a professor of psychiatry at Hong Kong's Chinese University.
In Thailand, tales of ghost sightings in the six worst-hit southern provinces have become endemic.
Spooked volunteers searching for bodies in the resort areas of Phi Phi Island and Khao Lak are reported to have looked for tourists heard laughing and singing on the beach, only to find darkness and empty sand.
Experts warn that it could be a result of mass trauma after living through the deadly waves and witnessing horrific scenes in their aftermath.
'This is a type of mass hallucination that is a cue to the trauma being suffered by people who are missing so many dead people, and seeing so many dead people, and only talking about dead people,' said Thai psychologist and media commentator Wallop Piyamanotham. \-- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
ytd, my parents were talking abt e ghost-sightings at e disaster-hit places....i was rather sceptical abt it.....as it is, being psychology-trained, i didn't really tink there was such a thing as ghost...rather, i believe in dimensions.....when u die, u die....however there may b another u in another dimension & u r still very much alive there....smetimes we can accidentally step into e other dimensions & tt's when pple tink they r seeing smething supernatural.....i believe tt when u r emotionally & psychologically overloaded, u start 2 imagine a lot o things.....e neurons in ur brain r firing ever so fast & rapid tt e receptors may get all screwed up....all e hormones may also b cocked up....so tt's when u sense so many things which may juz b some hallucinations/illusions.....& i tink pple's minds r very active, they can conjure up anything......e sightings....i believe it's more o a psychological thing rather than supernatural.....
Thursday, January 13, 2005
wonderful colleague :)
tt's how she describe herself lah.....i dunno wat i shld describe her la....i'm teaching her abt blogs & she 1s 2 know how 2 post smething on e blog....ok she is looking at me type all these things....ok we'll try posting now.....
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
hoping for gd news 2nite....
everything sucks 2day!!!! i was pretty happy & ready 2 go 2day when i came into office....but things juz didn't turn out as gd as e day went by......1st i knocked myself on e desk....a big balugu i got.....ouch.....still painful.....juz as things were looking up, my boss say probably send me or another colleague 2 USA 2 attend a conference....i hope it'll b me but tt will mean a lot o extra work.....i've oredi have a huge load on me.....wat wif my pri study gg a slightly different direction, an article waiting 2 b edited b4 being published, & o cos e conference at e end o e yr......& e tsunami relief work by e dragonboat community....i shldn't b doing so much things......y does things always come at e same time???? i'm so stressed.....& tis stupid article doesn't have e scale 1 1ed!!!! wat a waste o all e effort i put into finding it!!!!! 2 mtgs tmr....i hope everything ends well.....another mtg on fri......stressed......& e result 4 y tis day sucks!!!!! cos e stupid email doesn't work!!!! & my emails which i was rushing cldn't get 2 my boss!!!! then tt stupid cybersite pple & e lanworks pple went on their taichi moves!!!!! i was so angry!!!! i shldn't have got myself involved cos i'm not e IT person in my dept......wasted half o my afternoon away......now i've 2 4go a free ride 2 my tkd 2 do my things which i was supposed 2 do if i wasn't caught up wif e IT!!!!!! shoot.......& i'm 2 stoned 2 do work now......& i'm wasting my time blogging.......shoot........
i hope tt there'll b gd news at tkd 2nite.....i hope there're sme doubles after e grading......i hope.....
i hope tt there'll b gd news at tkd 2nite.....i hope there're sme doubles after e grading......i hope.....
Sunday, January 09, 2005
wat m i doing....
at my sis' place.....my nephew's bday......had tkd grading 2day....finally over....seniors said out o e 4 o us bound 2 've at least sme1 getting a double......i hope it's me but i dun tink i did very well.....
anyway, there's a whole load o pple inside tis room playing rummy-o while i'm blogging away down here....1 o my bro-in-law's niece is watching me as i type tis blog......
anyway, i'm rather sleepy cos i woke up early....was rather stressed last nite cos o e grading.....waited 4 quite sme time 4 my grading, e grp in front o us was unusually slow....e examiner kept asking them 2 re-do....wah liao.....brown belt leh.....they kick like shit....but they r kids la.....so ok loh.....
anywayz.....pple wayching me blog a bit stress....beta log off.....
anyway, there's a whole load o pple inside tis room playing rummy-o while i'm blogging away down here....1 o my bro-in-law's niece is watching me as i type tis blog......
anyway, i'm rather sleepy cos i woke up early....was rather stressed last nite cos o e grading.....waited 4 quite sme time 4 my grading, e grp in front o us was unusually slow....e examiner kept asking them 2 re-do....wah liao.....brown belt leh.....they kick like shit....but they r kids la.....so ok loh.....
anywayz.....pple wayching me blog a bit stress....beta log off.....
Friday, January 07, 2005
wat do u do....
wat do u do when e man u r gg 2 marry cheats on u????
it's been in a span o last than 6 mths, & i came across 2 friends who found out tt their man cheated on them.......
it's been in a span o last than 6 mths, & i came across 2 friends who found out tt their man cheated on them.......
fr my boss--3
probably wld b useful 2 any1 working wif children......since e disaster affects not juz those directly hit by e tsunamis.....
There are many websites dedicated to dealing with trauma/disasters, including this one. http://www.trauma-pages.com/pg5.htm
Also, Ricky Greenwald's - he specialises in treating children. http://www.childtrauma.com/index.html
The way in which people process such traumatic events normally is to go over and over them in their minds, tell the story over and over until the feelings are all worked through. Some people go through this process without developing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or needing therapy. With the enormity of this disaster and with the losses and subsequent stresses, such a process may take many months or some years to fully work through. The children who are suffering from acute stress mayor may not develop PTSD.
In my experience when I work with children, I find that they often know best how to work through their memories, emotions, grief and fears given adequate support. Some approaches I use include the following, depending on the child (and these could be used with groups)
1. Cognitive Behavioural approach to trauma (older children). An adult outlines the basic facts of the story of what happened (basic info about the fact that there was an earthquake, an earthquake of the magnitude that rarely occurs, and that it caused the huge Tsunami, so that the missing knowledge is supplied and the children understand better. It is important that the information is factual and does not minimise their experience, grief, suffering or fear, but also normalises their reactions. Address the exact questions asked, briefly and clearly to prevent confusions and misunderstandings. These questions are likely to move into the details of the affects of the Tsunami. Keeping this at a cognitive level as much as possible at first, helps prevent further trauma. Then each of the children can begin to tell the story from their personal perspectives, gradually putting it all together and making some sort of sense of it.
During this stage for healing to occur it is essential that each child feel sufficient emotion for processing, but NOT be overwhelmed by emotion/pain etc. or secondary traumatisation may occur. Every child will move at his or her own pace of course.
2. Drawing or other play approaches for younger children. Again, each child needs to know the basic facts. Each child drawing the event from his or her own perspective and doing whatever he or she wants to the drawing ensures that individuals deal with their feelings at their own pace. They may need to draw many pictures over a period of time. Some may want to "re-enact" the event with water etc. in a sand pit. Again the level of arousa lneeds to be monitored and enough individual support provided (by a significant adult if at all possible). Some children may choose to use symbolic things to deal with their traumatic experiences (for there would be many related to the Tsunami).
3. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can be most effective if there are counsellors trained to use it.
4. Narrative Therapy is another approach.
probably wld b useful 2 any1 working wif children......since e disaster affects not juz those directly hit by e tsunamis.....
There are many websites dedicated to dealing with trauma/disasters, including this one. http://www.trauma-pages.com/pg5.htm
Also, Ricky Greenwald's - he specialises in treating children. http://www.childtrauma.com/index.html
The way in which people process such traumatic events normally is to go over and over them in their minds, tell the story over and over until the feelings are all worked through. Some people go through this process without developing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or needing therapy. With the enormity of this disaster and with the losses and subsequent stresses, such a process may take many months or some years to fully work through. The children who are suffering from acute stress mayor may not develop PTSD.
In my experience when I work with children, I find that they often know best how to work through their memories, emotions, grief and fears given adequate support. Some approaches I use include the following, depending on the child (and these could be used with groups)
1. Cognitive Behavioural approach to trauma (older children). An adult outlines the basic facts of the story of what happened (basic info about the fact that there was an earthquake, an earthquake of the magnitude that rarely occurs, and that it caused the huge Tsunami, so that the missing knowledge is supplied and the children understand better. It is important that the information is factual and does not minimise their experience, grief, suffering or fear, but also normalises their reactions. Address the exact questions asked, briefly and clearly to prevent confusions and misunderstandings. These questions are likely to move into the details of the affects of the Tsunami. Keeping this at a cognitive level as much as possible at first, helps prevent further trauma. Then each of the children can begin to tell the story from their personal perspectives, gradually putting it all together and making some sort of sense of it.
During this stage for healing to occur it is essential that each child feel sufficient emotion for processing, but NOT be overwhelmed by emotion/pain etc. or secondary traumatisation may occur. Every child will move at his or her own pace of course.
2. Drawing or other play approaches for younger children. Again, each child needs to know the basic facts. Each child drawing the event from his or her own perspective and doing whatever he or she wants to the drawing ensures that individuals deal with their feelings at their own pace. They may need to draw many pictures over a period of time. Some may want to "re-enact" the event with water etc. in a sand pit. Again the level of arousa lneeds to be monitored and enough individual support provided (by a significant adult if at all possible). Some children may choose to use symbolic things to deal with their traumatic experiences (for there would be many related to the Tsunami).
3. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can be most effective if there are counsellors trained to use it.
4. Narrative Therapy is another approach.
guidelines for wellbeing of children--tsunami disaster....
fr boss---2
Psychosocial aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
What you can do to support children in disaster areas
§ For children, being able to trust at least one adult who can take care of them can pull them through stressful times. Therefore, helping children to maintain relationships with a family member or known person is very important.
§ It is not always the event that can have a psychological and emotional impact on the child, but the lack of emotional support, separation from parents or family, taken out of familiar context and community, and grief and distress of parents and adults in the aftermath of the disaster event.
§ Do not remove or separate children from family members. Do not separate siblings. If family members are missing try to keep the child with someone he/she knows and trusts and support that caregiver and child.
§ Identify informal care systems that exist in the community (relatives or neighbours taking care of children), and find out if traditional care systems have been affected by crises/disaster.
§ Moving a child from such informal care arrangements provided by the community or other family members could bring additional distress. A child should be moved only if the assessment shows that the child is suffering from emotional or physical abuse, exploitative labour, neglect, poor care or abandonment from these new care givers.
§ Provide economic, social and emotional support to these informal arrangements so that the child can remain in familiar surroundings and within relationships that they trust.
§ Children should be informed of care arrangements and be consulted in decision-making processes about their care.
§ Be honest and open about the disaster. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know” and keep discussions about the their experiences open and honest.
§ In cases of children being separated from family members or siblings collect as much information as possible from the child, from the people the child was found with, and relatives/friends/school teachers. Give this information to groups documenting and working on missing people. If possible take a photograph of the child and attach to the file.
§ It is important to document all possible information as soon as the child is found. Please register separated children with relevant government authorities such as child probation offers, local police stations, divisional secretariats, etc. Record the following information: Name and pet name(whatever the child remembers), Age, Sex, Address or Village name, Names of family members, relatives (in the area and outside the area), friends and neighbours, Name of school, occupation of parents, where the child is located currently and where he/she may be moved.
§ Show the child to adults and children from the area that may recognise him/her before moving the child anywhere.
§ Establish a location where adults can also provide information about missing children and maintain detailed database on this.
§ If children are being moved for some unavoidable reason provide children with identity tags (with the above information), provide drivers of vehicles transporting children with rosters of names and other details of children, register children in location they are being moved from and give clear information about where they are being moved to. At all times, attempt to keep children close to their homes or at least within the town or district.
§ Try to involve older children and adolescents in activities carried out in the camp/displaced community – such as distributing goods, documenting information, caring for younger children etc.
§ All notices and information provided should be in simple language so that a child of 12 years can understand and follow it.
§ Be sensitive to special needs or adolescent girl children, such as menstruation, special clothing and undergarments, toilet facilities and safety.
§ Try to maintain a daily routine (however basic such as regular eating and sleeping times) for the child as much as possible.
§ If someone comes to claim a child, make sure that the child is able to identify the person. In all cases, take down information (ID number, address, contact details) of the person claiming the child prior to handing the child over. Remember that some people may be trying to take advantage of the situation to exploit such vulnerable children.
§ Anxiety, crying, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, restlessness, withdrawal, being very active, grief, shock, emotional numbness or expression is part of any normal human response to extremely stressful or dangerous situations.
§ Important: These are normal and expected reactions from children and should not be treated as a major psychological trauma or pathological reactions needing professional help.
§ Respect children’s responses and allow them time and opportunities to express them in a way that they are comfortable with.
§ Attend to immediate needs of the children and be supportive.
§ Be sensitive to children with special needs, such as children with disabilities.
§ Be kind, calm, and attempt to explain everything that is being done, even if you are not sure that they understand you.
Reference: Separated Children: Care and Protection of Children in Emergencies A Field Guide. Save the Children Federation 2004
This document has been drafted by the Psychosocial Support Programme of the IWTHI Trust. Please send in your comments and feedback to pspcp@eol.lk. If you have any concerns or clarifications, please call 011 4516408 or 0777423445.
31st December 2004
Psychosocial aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
What you can do to support children in disaster areas
§ For children, being able to trust at least one adult who can take care of them can pull them through stressful times. Therefore, helping children to maintain relationships with a family member or known person is very important.
§ It is not always the event that can have a psychological and emotional impact on the child, but the lack of emotional support, separation from parents or family, taken out of familiar context and community, and grief and distress of parents and adults in the aftermath of the disaster event.
§ Do not remove or separate children from family members. Do not separate siblings. If family members are missing try to keep the child with someone he/she knows and trusts and support that caregiver and child.
§ Identify informal care systems that exist in the community (relatives or neighbours taking care of children), and find out if traditional care systems have been affected by crises/disaster.
§ Moving a child from such informal care arrangements provided by the community or other family members could bring additional distress. A child should be moved only if the assessment shows that the child is suffering from emotional or physical abuse, exploitative labour, neglect, poor care or abandonment from these new care givers.
§ Provide economic, social and emotional support to these informal arrangements so that the child can remain in familiar surroundings and within relationships that they trust.
§ Children should be informed of care arrangements and be consulted in decision-making processes about their care.
§ Be honest and open about the disaster. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know” and keep discussions about the their experiences open and honest.
§ In cases of children being separated from family members or siblings collect as much information as possible from the child, from the people the child was found with, and relatives/friends/school teachers. Give this information to groups documenting and working on missing people. If possible take a photograph of the child and attach to the file.
§ It is important to document all possible information as soon as the child is found. Please register separated children with relevant government authorities such as child probation offers, local police stations, divisional secretariats, etc. Record the following information: Name and pet name(whatever the child remembers), Age, Sex, Address or Village name, Names of family members, relatives (in the area and outside the area), friends and neighbours, Name of school, occupation of parents, where the child is located currently and where he/she may be moved.
§ Show the child to adults and children from the area that may recognise him/her before moving the child anywhere.
§ Establish a location where adults can also provide information about missing children and maintain detailed database on this.
§ If children are being moved for some unavoidable reason provide children with identity tags (with the above information), provide drivers of vehicles transporting children with rosters of names and other details of children, register children in location they are being moved from and give clear information about where they are being moved to. At all times, attempt to keep children close to their homes or at least within the town or district.
§ Try to involve older children and adolescents in activities carried out in the camp/displaced community – such as distributing goods, documenting information, caring for younger children etc.
§ All notices and information provided should be in simple language so that a child of 12 years can understand and follow it.
§ Be sensitive to special needs or adolescent girl children, such as menstruation, special clothing and undergarments, toilet facilities and safety.
§ Try to maintain a daily routine (however basic such as regular eating and sleeping times) for the child as much as possible.
§ If someone comes to claim a child, make sure that the child is able to identify the person. In all cases, take down information (ID number, address, contact details) of the person claiming the child prior to handing the child over. Remember that some people may be trying to take advantage of the situation to exploit such vulnerable children.
§ Anxiety, crying, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, restlessness, withdrawal, being very active, grief, shock, emotional numbness or expression is part of any normal human response to extremely stressful or dangerous situations.
§ Important: These are normal and expected reactions from children and should not be treated as a major psychological trauma or pathological reactions needing professional help.
§ Respect children’s responses and allow them time and opportunities to express them in a way that they are comfortable with.
§ Attend to immediate needs of the children and be supportive.
§ Be sensitive to children with special needs, such as children with disabilities.
§ Be kind, calm, and attempt to explain everything that is being done, even if you are not sure that they understand you.
Reference: Separated Children: Care and Protection of Children in Emergencies A Field Guide. Save the Children Federation 2004
This document has been drafted by the Psychosocial Support Programme of the IWTHI Trust. Please send in your comments and feedback to pspcp@eol.lk. If you have any concerns or clarifications, please call 011 4516408 or 0777423445.
31st December 2004
Psychosocial Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
Got e following fr my boss....
Psychosocial Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
What You Can Do Right Now to Support Wellbeing
People in these areas may be experiencing many different emotional and physical responses at this time. Some of these responses include confusion, fear, hopeless, sleeplessness, crying, difficulty in eating, headaches, body aches, anxiety, and anger. They may be feeling helpless; some may be in a state of shock; others may be aggressive, mistrustful, feeling betrayed, despairing, feeling relieved or guilty that they are alive, sad that many others have died, and ashamed of how they might have reacted or behaved during the critical incidents. There may be some experiencing a sense of outrage, shaken religious faith, loss of confidence in themselves or others, or sense of having betrayed or been betrayed by others they trusted.
These are all normal reactions to extremely dangerous or stressful situations. They do not mean that these people are traumatised, mentally disturbed or mentally ill.
You may be able to support people get through these normal reactions while meeting their basic and other practical needs by following the suggestions below.
DOs
§ Do listen to people who share their stories, if necessary again and again.
§ Do be friendly, compassionate and caring, even if people are angry or demanding.
§ Do give practical help or assistance to people as and when required.
§ Do help people to contact others either through post or making telephone calls on their behalf.
§ Do engage people in meeting their own needs.
§ Do find out where the government and non-government services are located and direct people to the appropriate services available in the area.
§ Do understand the emotions of people who have suffered losses, and take them seriously. There is no right or wrong way for people to feel, given the horrific situation.
§ Do give reliable information about what tsunamis are and how they occur. This will help people understand the situation.
§ Do protect people from further harm, as they may be vulnerable to assault and abuse by those who are taking advantage of the chaotic situation.
DON’Ts
§ Don’t force people to share their stories with you, especially very personal details. If they don’t want to talk much, do not disturb them.
§ Don’t tell people what you think they should be feeling, thinking or doing.
§ Don’t make promises about what you will do for them, if you are not sure about this.
§ Don’t give simple reassurances to people, saying ‘everything will be ok’, or ‘at least you have survived’ or ‘others have suffered more than you’.
§ Don’t tell people why you think they have suffered, especially giving reasons about their personal behaviours or beliefs.
§ Don’t tell people what you think they should have or could have done, whilst in the critical situation, especially to save loved ones.
§ Don’t criticise existing services and activities being carried out in these areas, especially in front of people who are in need of these services. Support the service providers to make the services better.
§ Don’t separate surviving family members and relatives from one another, if possible, especially children.
§ Don’t label people as traumatised.
This document has been drafted by the College of Psychiatry, Colombo and the Psychosocial Support Programme of the IWTHI Trust. Please send in your comments and feedback to pspcp@eol.lk. If you have any concerns or clarifications, please call 011 4516408 or 0777423445.
Psychosocial Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster
What You Can Do Right Now to Support Wellbeing
People in these areas may be experiencing many different emotional and physical responses at this time. Some of these responses include confusion, fear, hopeless, sleeplessness, crying, difficulty in eating, headaches, body aches, anxiety, and anger. They may be feeling helpless; some may be in a state of shock; others may be aggressive, mistrustful, feeling betrayed, despairing, feeling relieved or guilty that they are alive, sad that many others have died, and ashamed of how they might have reacted or behaved during the critical incidents. There may be some experiencing a sense of outrage, shaken religious faith, loss of confidence in themselves or others, or sense of having betrayed or been betrayed by others they trusted.
These are all normal reactions to extremely dangerous or stressful situations. They do not mean that these people are traumatised, mentally disturbed or mentally ill.
You may be able to support people get through these normal reactions while meeting their basic and other practical needs by following the suggestions below.
DOs
§ Do listen to people who share their stories, if necessary again and again.
§ Do be friendly, compassionate and caring, even if people are angry or demanding.
§ Do give practical help or assistance to people as and when required.
§ Do help people to contact others either through post or making telephone calls on their behalf.
§ Do engage people in meeting their own needs.
§ Do find out where the government and non-government services are located and direct people to the appropriate services available in the area.
§ Do understand the emotions of people who have suffered losses, and take them seriously. There is no right or wrong way for people to feel, given the horrific situation.
§ Do give reliable information about what tsunamis are and how they occur. This will help people understand the situation.
§ Do protect people from further harm, as they may be vulnerable to assault and abuse by those who are taking advantage of the chaotic situation.
DON’Ts
§ Don’t force people to share their stories with you, especially very personal details. If they don’t want to talk much, do not disturb them.
§ Don’t tell people what you think they should be feeling, thinking or doing.
§ Don’t make promises about what you will do for them, if you are not sure about this.
§ Don’t give simple reassurances to people, saying ‘everything will be ok’, or ‘at least you have survived’ or ‘others have suffered more than you’.
§ Don’t tell people why you think they have suffered, especially giving reasons about their personal behaviours or beliefs.
§ Don’t tell people what you think they should have or could have done, whilst in the critical situation, especially to save loved ones.
§ Don’t criticise existing services and activities being carried out in these areas, especially in front of people who are in need of these services. Support the service providers to make the services better.
§ Don’t separate surviving family members and relatives from one another, if possible, especially children.
§ Don’t label people as traumatised.
This document has been drafted by the College of Psychiatry, Colombo and the Psychosocial Support Programme of the IWTHI Trust. Please send in your comments and feedback to pspcp@eol.lk. If you have any concerns or clarifications, please call 011 4516408 or 0777423445.
singlish.....so damned funny....
fr http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php?op=LexView&lexicon=lexicon
CORRIGHT
The proper and correct Singlish pronunciation of 'correct'; illustrates how Singlish can combine two related words, creating a new word with improved potency. Often used as a response when the truth is glaringly obvious.
OR-BI-GOOD (Contributed by Roger Ng)
Not the name of a Singaporean Jedi Knight, this is a Singlish term which is used to express that someone deserves his current predicament. Often said while making an action like a chicken flapping its wing, with arm curled, and the elbow hitting one's side. Of unknown derivation.
"Ah Seng is such a ya-ya papaya. Now he fail his 'N' Level, or-bi-good!"
BIN CHOW CHOW
Hokkien phrase literally meaning, "smelly face". Used to describe someone with a grumpy look and sour disposition.
"I do'wan to talk to him, lah. He always so bin chow chow one."
CORRIGHT
The proper and correct Singlish pronunciation of 'correct'; illustrates how Singlish can combine two related words, creating a new word with improved potency. Often used as a response when the truth is glaringly obvious.
OR-BI-GOOD (Contributed by Roger Ng)
Not the name of a Singaporean Jedi Knight, this is a Singlish term which is used to express that someone deserves his current predicament. Often said while making an action like a chicken flapping its wing, with arm curled, and the elbow hitting one's side. Of unknown derivation.
"Ah Seng is such a ya-ya papaya. Now he fail his 'N' Level, or-bi-good!"
BIN CHOW CHOW
Hokkien phrase literally meaning, "smelly face". Used to describe someone with a grumpy look and sour disposition.
"I do'wan to talk to him, lah. He always so bin chow chow one."
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
happy....
i'm quite happy wif my job at SCS......(i hope i dun jinx it....) i'm busy wif lit search & also e numerous journal articles tt i've 2 read......but i'm happy wif it actually......i'm weird!!!!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
050101
didn't get 2 c e stars.....didn't get 2 c e sunrise.....but i was happy, contented, & a really serene peace enveloped my heart when we left 2 have lunch......smehow i tink i started 2005 wif smething really gd!!!! i started 2005 wif peace in my heart.....even though i shed my 1st tears, i felt really gd.....my eyes stung when i cried.....i didn't know y i cried in e 1st place.....then i cried cos e others were crying......
i dunno y we have such camaraderie.....e 4 o us....smehow we seem 2 have endless 2 talk abt.....smehow i can speak fr my heart wif u......e 4 o us......so different......i dunno how 2 describe e 4 o us......we can b so lame at times yet speak wif so much truth & enlightenment.....i tink we have mo qi......take e WLD game.......no matter how ugly e drawings r, we seem 2 know wat 1 another is drawing.......
i'm glad tt i've such a friendship......i doubt any1 in e world cld b as fortunate as me......
i've grown up a lot......talking 2 u......i tink i grew up.......
i seriously hope tt we can have another overnite chat.......everytime we talk i grow up......i become more aware o myself......
torchic---e 3 pple i mention in ur letter, i tink e 1 i took advantage o, i tink i may not 1 2 treat as a friend only.....i was a little sad & worried 4 him when i know where he went.....he's a gd person....is it compassion or smething more? i dunno.......
ultra---who did u get 2 know more???? us???? or sme1 significant?????
owl---i'm glad tt u took e step......i dunno if i'm in any position 2 tell u abt love......but u can count on me 2 lend u my shoulders......
P.S. shld we pop down 2 bintan 1 o these days???? i 1 2 c e stars........e shooting stars......
i dunno y we have such camaraderie.....e 4 o us....smehow we seem 2 have endless 2 talk abt.....smehow i can speak fr my heart wif u......e 4 o us......so different......i dunno how 2 describe e 4 o us......we can b so lame at times yet speak wif so much truth & enlightenment.....i tink we have mo qi......take e WLD game.......no matter how ugly e drawings r, we seem 2 know wat 1 another is drawing.......
i'm glad tt i've such a friendship......i doubt any1 in e world cld b as fortunate as me......
i've grown up a lot......talking 2 u......i tink i grew up.......
i seriously hope tt we can have another overnite chat.......everytime we talk i grow up......i become more aware o myself......
torchic---e 3 pple i mention in ur letter, i tink e 1 i took advantage o, i tink i may not 1 2 treat as a friend only.....i was a little sad & worried 4 him when i know where he went.....he's a gd person....is it compassion or smething more? i dunno.......
ultra---who did u get 2 know more???? us???? or sme1 significant?????
owl---i'm glad tt u took e step......i dunno if i'm in any position 2 tell u abt love......but u can count on me 2 lend u my shoulders......
P.S. shld we pop down 2 bintan 1 o these days???? i 1 2 c e stars........e shooting stars......
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