1. "What happens at India's transgender convention - WSJ.com 2 July 2015
With a shimmer on her black painted nails and heavy makeup that belied her husky voice, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, called upon a convention of transgender people in Delhi this week to continue their fight for equal rights in India.
Ms. Tripathi played a key role in the successful movement to gain legal status in India for transgenders, or hijras as they are known, just over a year ago. India's Supreme Court ruled in April 2014 that transgender people like her could identify themselves as members of a third gender on official government documents like passports and voting papers. But that, the gender-rights activist says, doesn't even amount to "a drop in the ocean" against the deeply held prejudice against her community.
Ms. Tripathi is critical of the government's efforts in "investing in advocacy and awareness" about transgenders, who are often regarded to hold lower social status than Dalits, at one time known as untouchables."
In the LGTB debate, I am MOST sympathetic towards this Transgender group as I assume they are what they are due to natural genetic mutation. I mean they did not choose to be born a transgender.
As they exist and are going about their way without imposing it on the majority, let them be equal to the majority. They are just transgender human being.
2. "PM Lee tackles questions on governance at SG50+ conference - CNA 02 July 2015
SINGAPORE: Singapore should seek to maintain a system where the interests of the majority of the people are to support a good government, which will develop policies that help most Singaporeans, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
a. Mr Lee made this point at the opening dinner for the SG50+ conference on Thursday evening (Jul 2), organised by the Institute of Policy Studies and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He had been asked by CNN host Dr Fareed Zakaria who was moderator for the Q&A session, why Singapore has not transitioned like several other advanced countries politically.
"In most other countries, the governments do not develop policies which are meant to help everybody equally. If you're Republicans, it's quite clear whom your policies are meant to help. Mitt Romney said 'Well it's 55 per cent, and the other 45 should take care of themselves'. If you're a democrat, you also know what your constituency is and you take care of that constituency. If you're the senator of Montana, you know you're supposed to bring the bacon back to Montana.
“But in Singapore, the Government's job is to look after as large a proportion of the population as possible, while still giving people incentive to vote for this Government so that they will get some benefit from it. And if we take the view that if you voted against me, I shall help you first, because that shows my largeness of spirit, then I think we will go extinct as a Government.""
MY TAKE:
The USA political system is NOT what we want. We are Singapore and we are unique in that we want a government that will take care of the MAJORITY of the people. For the top 70%, including a 40-60% middle class, of the population, let them be. For the bottom 30%, help them to help themselves. It HAS TO BE, naïve you may say, 'for the benefit of the majority'!
b. "On the issue of racial and religious harmony, Mr Lee said maintaining this will be a challenge. This is the case, especially with the advent of social media and the threat of terrorism.
“You know that the French had this murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist in Paris earlier this year. Freedom of speech, 'I am Charlie Hebdo'. We have freedom of speech too, but we also acknowledge restraints when it comes to denigrating somebody else's faith, when it comes to proselytising and trying to persuade somebody else to come over to your faith. Or even when it comes to how you express your own beliefs so as not to cause offence to others and some of these are written down and in extremist, we have to take a person to court.
“It's happened with this young man Amos Yee recently. But most of the time really, you need some way to tap the person on the shoulder or tap his religious leader on the shoulder and say do you really want to do this, is it wise. And fortunately we have religious leaders who have been wise and so we've avoided having to use the law very often."
MY TAKE:
The Western version of: 'total freedom of speech' is what some of them want. In Singapore, we want: 'responsible freedom of speech'. Express your opinions based on facts while also praises your own religion, race and language, etc. AT THE SAME TIME, never PUT DOWN another religion, race and language. Even sexual orientation! You can say how good LGTB is BUT NOT how everyone should be LGTB otherwise they are BAD or WRONG!
c. "“But with social media, it becomes a harder problem because the restraints are less, the possibility of giving offence and the ease of taking umbrage is so much greater. Overnight you can wake up, you can find that somebody has been unwise and everybody has become upset and we have to run around putting out fires. It's happened more than once and I'm sure it'll happen again.” "
MY TAKE:
Amos is different case really. Enough had been said and written about this case by the 'pro-' and 'against-'. Suffice to say: the present treatment against this 'wayward' and 'mentally challenged' young person is overdone.
d. Mr Lee was also asked how the country can accommodate younger Singaporeans who have grown up with an open media culture, are more autonomous and have a stronger sense of identity, and live in an age of peace and prosperity.
"I think the politics will change. It's a new generation. They have different aspirations, different interests. You look at the causes which they have adopted - some are religious, some are green causes, some are social causes, all sorts of things.
"So they have passions, they are pursuing them and we have to find, they have to find leaders who will be able to marshal enough of them to form a core to lead the country, and a majority of them to support the system which will work.”"
MY TAKE:
The YOUNG will have their own agenda. YET, some basic fundamental must and will exist, for anyone to be successful and effective on a sustainable basis: 'creating greater good for the majority of the people'. It CANNOT be about: 'Me' and 'Me' alone! They NEED to challenge the STATUS QUO to be able to INNOVATE truly.
Their aspirations hopefully go beyond: FAME and FORTUNE. Otherwise, they WILL FALL as they will DO ANYTHING just to hold on to the FAME and FORTUNE they 'earned'.
e. MY TAKE - of course, the other topic that PM Lee TOUCHED ON a day or two earlier was not mentioned above: will the young want to get married and have 2-3 kids? The reality of costs of bringing up a kid with a HDB flat and those 'tuition fees' need to be dealt with besides simply exhorting the young to just get married, have kids and live happy ever after!!
With a shimmer on her black painted nails and heavy makeup that belied her husky voice, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, called upon a convention of transgender people in Delhi this week to continue their fight for equal rights in India.
Ms. Tripathi played a key role in the successful movement to gain legal status in India for transgenders, or hijras as they are known, just over a year ago. India's Supreme Court ruled in April 2014 that transgender people like her could identify themselves as members of a third gender on official government documents like passports and voting papers. But that, the gender-rights activist says, doesn't even amount to "a drop in the ocean" against the deeply held prejudice against her community.
Ms. Tripathi is critical of the government's efforts in "investing in advocacy and awareness" about transgenders, who are often regarded to hold lower social status than Dalits, at one time known as untouchables."
In the LGTB debate, I am MOST sympathetic towards this Transgender group as I assume they are what they are due to natural genetic mutation. I mean they did not choose to be born a transgender.
As they exist and are going about their way without imposing it on the majority, let them be equal to the majority. They are just transgender human being.
2. "PM Lee tackles questions on governance at SG50+ conference - CNA 02 July 2015
SINGAPORE: Singapore should seek to maintain a system where the interests of the majority of the people are to support a good government, which will develop policies that help most Singaporeans, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
a. Mr Lee made this point at the opening dinner for the SG50+ conference on Thursday evening (Jul 2), organised by the Institute of Policy Studies and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He had been asked by CNN host Dr Fareed Zakaria who was moderator for the Q&A session, why Singapore has not transitioned like several other advanced countries politically.
"In most other countries, the governments do not develop policies which are meant to help everybody equally. If you're Republicans, it's quite clear whom your policies are meant to help. Mitt Romney said 'Well it's 55 per cent, and the other 45 should take care of themselves'. If you're a democrat, you also know what your constituency is and you take care of that constituency. If you're the senator of Montana, you know you're supposed to bring the bacon back to Montana.
“But in Singapore, the Government's job is to look after as large a proportion of the population as possible, while still giving people incentive to vote for this Government so that they will get some benefit from it. And if we take the view that if you voted against me, I shall help you first, because that shows my largeness of spirit, then I think we will go extinct as a Government.""
MY TAKE:
The USA political system is NOT what we want. We are Singapore and we are unique in that we want a government that will take care of the MAJORITY of the people. For the top 70%, including a 40-60% middle class, of the population, let them be. For the bottom 30%, help them to help themselves. It HAS TO BE, naïve you may say, 'for the benefit of the majority'!
b. "On the issue of racial and religious harmony, Mr Lee said maintaining this will be a challenge. This is the case, especially with the advent of social media and the threat of terrorism.
“You know that the French had this murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist in Paris earlier this year. Freedom of speech, 'I am Charlie Hebdo'. We have freedom of speech too, but we also acknowledge restraints when it comes to denigrating somebody else's faith, when it comes to proselytising and trying to persuade somebody else to come over to your faith. Or even when it comes to how you express your own beliefs so as not to cause offence to others and some of these are written down and in extremist, we have to take a person to court.
“It's happened with this young man Amos Yee recently. But most of the time really, you need some way to tap the person on the shoulder or tap his religious leader on the shoulder and say do you really want to do this, is it wise. And fortunately we have religious leaders who have been wise and so we've avoided having to use the law very often."
MY TAKE:
The Western version of: 'total freedom of speech' is what some of them want. In Singapore, we want: 'responsible freedom of speech'. Express your opinions based on facts while also praises your own religion, race and language, etc. AT THE SAME TIME, never PUT DOWN another religion, race and language. Even sexual orientation! You can say how good LGTB is BUT NOT how everyone should be LGTB otherwise they are BAD or WRONG!
c. "“But with social media, it becomes a harder problem because the restraints are less, the possibility of giving offence and the ease of taking umbrage is so much greater. Overnight you can wake up, you can find that somebody has been unwise and everybody has become upset and we have to run around putting out fires. It's happened more than once and I'm sure it'll happen again.” "
MY TAKE:
Amos is different case really. Enough had been said and written about this case by the 'pro-' and 'against-'. Suffice to say: the present treatment against this 'wayward' and 'mentally challenged' young person is overdone.
d. Mr Lee was also asked how the country can accommodate younger Singaporeans who have grown up with an open media culture, are more autonomous and have a stronger sense of identity, and live in an age of peace and prosperity.
"I think the politics will change. It's a new generation. They have different aspirations, different interests. You look at the causes which they have adopted - some are religious, some are green causes, some are social causes, all sorts of things.
"So they have passions, they are pursuing them and we have to find, they have to find leaders who will be able to marshal enough of them to form a core to lead the country, and a majority of them to support the system which will work.”"
MY TAKE:
The YOUNG will have their own agenda. YET, some basic fundamental must and will exist, for anyone to be successful and effective on a sustainable basis: 'creating greater good for the majority of the people'. It CANNOT be about: 'Me' and 'Me' alone! They NEED to challenge the STATUS QUO to be able to INNOVATE truly.
Their aspirations hopefully go beyond: FAME and FORTUNE. Otherwise, they WILL FALL as they will DO ANYTHING just to hold on to the FAME and FORTUNE they 'earned'.
e. MY TAKE - of course, the other topic that PM Lee TOUCHED ON a day or two earlier was not mentioned above: will the young want to get married and have 2-3 kids? The reality of costs of bringing up a kid with a HDB flat and those 'tuition fees' need to be dealt with besides simply exhorting the young to just get married, have kids and live happy ever after!!
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