Mi Choza De Nipa

From TODAY, Voices Friday August 8, 2008 I once served as a counsellor at a secondary school, and one afternoon, I saw a student, whose name was Manny, in the hall crying uncontrollably. I invited him into my office where he told me what was bothering him. Manny said: “In the whole world, I don’t have one friend. Not one. There’s not a person alive who cares whether I live or die. I don’t go to school parties or football games because there’s no one to go with. I never have anyone to even talk to, and sometimes, I think I can’t stand it anymore.” A year later, I was talking to the vice principal in charge of discipline at that same school, and he said: “Hey, do you remember a student named Manny, who used to follow you around campus? Well, he did the strangest thing today. He’s never been a troublemaker, but another student said something insulting to him, and he picked up a knife and stabbed the boy. “I wonder what would make a good kid do something like that, especially when he’s nev...

From TODAY, Voices Thursday August 7, 2008 FOCUS ON THE FAMILY By Dr James Dobson I confess that if I could spend one afternoon with any famous person who had ever lived during my lifetime, I’d spend it with Mr Winston Churchill. Mr Churchill had a pitiful start in life. He was born premature, and was a weak and sickly boy with a speech impediment. He received virtually no affection from his parents, and he was at best, a mediocre student in school. He had more failures than successes in his political career, but his persistence paid off: He eventually became Prime Minister of Britain. Up until then, the media had ridiculed him because of his opposition to Hitler. What I admire most about Winston Churchill was his dogged determination to do what was right, against all odds. His first speech as Prime Minister to the House of Commons (May 10, 1940,) is legendary. “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat ... You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, s...

From TODAY, World Thursday August 7, 2008 Mr Dan Kaminsky (picture) was typing in bed in February when he discovered a design flaw that could turn the Web into a playground for criminals. He called his girlfriend, Web developer Crystal Williams, the Seattle Post Intelligencer website reported. “I broke the Internet,” he said. “What do you mean you broke the Internet?” she asked. Mr Kaminsky, 29, hadn’t really broken anything. But the researcher for cybersecurity consultancy IOActive had uncovered a flaw in the Web’s virtual address book, also known as Domain Name Services. You might think you’re logging into your bank, but you’ve actually been redirected to a bogus site. Suddenly, there’s no money in your balance. Mr Kaminsky, whose job title is “director of penetration testing”, announced his discovery on July 8. By then however, he had assembled a group of experts who worked in secret on a solution involving patches — software tweaks that cover the security hole. But Mr Kaminsky wor...

From TODAY Thursday August 7, 2008 Internet Flaw Experts fear open season for virus attacks, fraud scams SAN FRANCISCO — A giant vulnerability in the Internet is allowing criminals to silently redirect traffic to websites under their control. The problem is being fixed, but its extent remains unknown and many people are still at risk. The security hole enables a scam that targets ordinary people who type in a legitimate Web address. But hackers can manipulate the machines that help computers find websites. If the trick is done properly, computer users are unlikely to detect whether they’ve landed at a legitimate site or an evil twin run by someone bent on fraud. The flaw was revealed nearly a month ago. Since then, criminals have pulled off at least one successful attack, directing AT&T customers in Texas to a fake Google site. The phony page was accompanied by three programmes that automatically clicked on ads, with profits for those clicks going to the hackers. Said Mr Paul Vixi...

Asians in the US From TODAY, World Thursday August 7, 2008 All because of his poor command of English... WASHINGTON — One Asian had the wrong leg amputated, while another was thrown in jail for not taking her medication — all because of their limited English proficiency in the United States. The cases may seem appalling but they are not uncommon to Asian Americans. More than 30 per cent of 14 million Asian Americans — most of whom are foreign born — are weak in the English language, making them less likely to understand explanations of medical procedures and medication instructions, officials said. They also risk losing equal access to voting rights and education and other government services because of the language barrier. An ethnic Hmong American “had the wrong leg amputated in a surgery”, said US House of Representatives lawmaker Mike Honda. Mr Honda has introduced legislation with bipartisan support aimed at honing the English language skills of immigrants. “Because no translator...

From TODAY, Voices Wednesday August 6, 2008 Why do boys harass and intimidate each other in school or on the playground? The Journal of Developmental Psychology recently conducted a study of 452 boys in upper primary, and it revealed that those who taunt weaker peers and are rebellious at school are often the most popular children in their class. Dr Phillip Rodkin of Duke University explained the dynamic with this statement: “These boys may internalise the idea that aggression, popularity, and control naturally go together, and they may not hesitate to use physical aggression as a social strategy because it has worked in the past.” In other words, bullies are rewarded socially for harassing children below them in the pecking order, which explains why so many of them do it. As parents, it’s our responsibility to preserve the mental and physical health of our children. I don’t buy the old argument that children should be left to work out their problems on their own. If a child is being ...

From TODAY, Voices Wednesday August 6, 2008 Direct transfers the better way This way will benefit lower and mid-income households, senior citizens and students Letter from Chin Sau Ho Director Corporate Communications & Services Ministry of Finance CONRAD Raj (“The right time to step in?”, Aug 4) called for the Government to come up with measures to help Singaporeans cope with higher inflation, and suggested a cut in the GST rate. His article omits mention of the Substantial benefits that the Government is providing to the majority of Singaporeans this year, including the middle-income groups and not just “the very poor amongst us”. Budget 2008 provided Growth Dividends, Senior Citizens’ Bonuses, Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Topups for families with children, and Medisave top-ups for older Singaporeans. Furthermore, the GST credits, Utilities-Save rebates and Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates that were introduced in last year’s GST Offset Package conti...

From TODAY, Business Monday August 4, 2008 MONDAY BLUES Hurt by rising costs, SMEs and man on the street would welcome every bit of help CON RAD RAJ editor-at-large conrad@mediacorp.com.sg THE current economic slowdown brought about by the United States’ sub-prime crisis and high oil prices is causing much hardship to the less well off and to many businesses, especially smaller ones. So, is it time for the Government to step in and come up with measures to alleviate their suffering? The public at large would say yes, while the Government continues to stress that one shouldn’t panic and tweak the economy at the first sign of a storm. But then again, when is it a good or right time? Inflation, at 7.5 per cent in June this year, is currently running at the highest level in more than 26 years. As a result, many have called for a cut or rollback of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 7 per cent now to its previous level of 5 per cent. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in April he...

From TODAY Voices Tuesday August 5, 2008 By Dr James Dobson Yesterday, we talked about blended families and the special challenges they typically face. Our focus was on the kids and their difficulties in accepting a step-parent or living with new siblings. But the more serious problem common among reconstituted families concerns the way the new husband and wife feel about their kids. Each is irrationally committed to his or her own flesh and blood, while they’re merely acquainted with the others. When fights or insults occur between both sets of kids, they’re almost always partial to the ones whom they brought into this world. The natural tendency is to let the blended family dissolve into armed camps: Us against them. If kids sense this tension between their parents, they’ll exploit it to gain power over their siblings. Unless there are ways to work out these issues, some terrible battles can occur. Given these challenges, it’s clear why the probabilities of second and third marriages...

From TODAY Health – Eating Disorder Tuesday August 5, 2008 Yearnings could be a sign of nutritional deficiencies EVELINE GAN eveline@mediacorp.com.sg WHILE other expectant mothers crave for things such as decadently rich sweets, well-greased steaks and preserved plums, I found myself crunching on ice — something which I had never craved for — throughout my pregnancy last year. So obsessed was I with ice that I actually chipped a tooth filling from all that grinding. Was it merely pregnancy hormones, or was the ice craving a sign that I had a nutritional deficiency? According to nutrition experts, it might have been the latter. Said Ms Yondi Lee, a holistic nutritionist from Ascension Healing: “The mechanisms of cravings are still not well understood by scientists, but it is possible that cravings could mean that your body is lacking in something.” Ms Nehal Kamdar, a dietitian at Raffles Hospital, added that because expectant mothers require better nutrition, cravings may be a sign that...

From TODAY Voices Monday August 4, 2008 By Dr James Dobson Here is some advice today to those who are planning to remarry. When children are involved, this is called a blended family, and it poses some very unique and unsettling challenges. I can tell you that the Brady Bunch is a myth, although many blended families do eventually adjust to their new circumstances. Initially, at least, one or more kids in a blended family may see the new step-parent as a usurper. Being intensely loyal to the memory of their departed parent, they will not welcome the step-parent with open arms. This places the step-parent in an impossible bind. It is also common for one child to move into the power vacuum that is left by the departing parent. That youngster begins relating to the remaining parent more as a peer. The status that comes with that supportive role is very seductive, and a youngster is usually unwilling to give it up. These are only two of the landmines that can threaten blended families. We ...

From TODAY Voices – I Say Monday August 4, 2008 Prompting people with campaigns and rules can only achieve so much Subana Hall MEDIACORP’s Class 95 Presenters have worked very hard at trying to pin down the good and the ugly Singaporean. In a contest which ended recently, they roped in Singaporeans to record videos of good and bad behaviour. I really hope that their efforts were not in vain. It has been almost 30 years since the National Courtesy Campaign was launched, in 1979 by then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. I am not entirely sure if much has changed within the society since then. The campaign was aimed at creating a pleasant social environment, with Singaporeans being considerate to each other and thoughtful of each other’s needs. It was hoped that this would be achieved in about 10 years from that time. Singapore has had various mascots and media advertisements to promote positive mannerisms. A Singapore Courtesy Council was even set up in 1993 to spearhead the campaign. Howe...

From TODAY News - EDUCATION Monday August 4, 2008 Awareness up, but the ‘vast majority’ not getting treatment: Dyslexia group Sheralyn Tay news@newstoday.com.sg WORDS made no sense to her and she grew up thinking she was slow and stupid. But Ms Wahida Remahl got the help she needed for her dyslexia when she was about eight-years-old, thanks to an alert teacher. “I got lucky,” admits the 26-year-old, who was diagnosed in 1989, two years before the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) was founded and when the problem that impairs the ability to learn to read was not well recognised. Ms Remahl, who now teaches dyslexic children, managed to do much better in school due to early intervention programmes. But is Singapore still in danger of most dyslexic children not getting help? According to the Ministry of Education, there are 2,000 students identified with dyslexia in mainstream schools from primary to junior college level; about half, the highest proportion ever, are enrolled in DAS p...