Very Sticky Issue: Are Lives or Political Interest more important?

Read and pen your thoughts about this issue in the Comments. Use PEEL to structure your opinion.

Why No One Wants The Rohingyas

MAY 15, 2015 2:39 PM ET

The spectacle of thousands of desperate Rohingya Muslim "boat people" being denied landfall in Southeast Asia has laid bare the region's religious and ethnic prejudices as well as its fears of being swamped by an influx of migrants.

'No Stomach' For Migrants

'A Horrible Mess'

An estimated 6,000 or more such migrants are stranded at sea in Southeast Asia. Most of the people on the overcrowded and unseaworthy boats are thought to belong to the 1.3 million-strong Rohingya minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Others are believed to be from Bangladesh.

Reuters reports that while nearly 800 migrants on one boat were brought ashore Friday in Indonesia, other boats crammed full of people were turned away.

Such refusals underline "the hardening of Southeast Asia governments' stance on the boatloads of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar," Reuters says. The Rohingya practice a blend of Sunni and Sufi Islam.

At best, the migrants have been received with resignation — at worst with contempt — even by the region's Muslim nations. As we've reported recently, many are victims of human traffickers.

The Thai and Malaysian navies have both turned away refugee boats in recent days. Indonesia has taken in some migrants but is now refusing to accept them.

Predominantly Buddhist Thailand has been battling an Islamist insurgency in its south for decades and has "no stomach" for bringing in more Muslims, says Lex Rieffel, a nonresident senior fellow and expert on Southeast Asia at the Brookings Institution.

In any case, the country has a long history of dealing with unwanted migrants fleeing conflict in Cambodia and has no desire to repeat that, Rieffel says.

"If they break the law and land in Thailand, how can we take care of them?" Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters Thursday. "Where will the budget come from? That money will need to come from Thai people's taxes, right?"

For Indonesia and Malaysia, both Muslim-majority countries, the issue is less clear-cut, Rieffel says, but they are also interested in avoiding the appearance that they are opening the gates.

"We will try to prevent them from entering our territory, otherwise it will create social issues," Reuters quotes Indonesia's military chief Gen. Moeldoko as telling reporters. "If we open up access, there will be an exodus here."

"What do you expect us to do?" Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Jafaar was quoted by The Guardian as saying. "We have been very nice to the people who broke into our border. We have treated them humanely, but they cannot be flooding our shores like this."

Michael Buehler, a lecturer in comparative politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, points out that Indonesia has taken in several hundred Rohingya migrants in Aceh Province. Even so, Indonesia — like Thailand and Malaysia — also fears "an uncontrolled influx."

Australia, which has dealt with its own influx of economic migrants fleeing Indonesia, says it is providing millions of dollars in urgent humanitarian aid to help cope with the problem.

"There are no easy answers on any aspect of this horrible mess," Rieffel says.

The United States, for its part, has called on regional governments to work together to save lives, but State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke stresses: "This is a regional issue. It needs a regional solution in short order."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called his Thai counterpart Friday to urge Bangkok to give the refugees temporary shelter, according to the department.

The executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, has implored the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, to do something. Rieffel says that's unlikely to happen.

Unlike the European Union's response to migrants fleeing the North African coast on boats across the Mediterranean, he says, "the reality is that ASEAN is not the U.S. or the European Union."

ASEAN is "not a regional body and it doesn't have a budget or a mechanism for dealing with this situation," Rieffel adds.

And some experts say that simply towing refugees back out to sea may be illegal under international maritime law.

"These boats carrying overcrowded refugees and migrants are typically rickety wooden trawlers and hardly seaworthy," Eric Paulson, executive director for the human rights group Lawyers for Liberty, tells Bloomberg. "Turning or towing these boats away is as good as signing their death warrant as the occupants are normally starving, dehydrated, sickly and in dire need of immediate assistance."

Lawrence B. Brennan, a professor of admiralty and international law at Fordham University, agrees. "Historically, maritime law has the concept of 'port of refuge' for ships and people in peril at sea. There is a long-standing tradition of providing aid and comfort to people who are in danger," he says.

But enforcement is "murky," says Brennan, a retired captain in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps. Jurisdiction is national, not international.

Then there's the issue of time: "The courts have time. Refugees don't," he says.

Read more:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32740637

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32718238

How are you nurturing your love of a subject?

Read and pen your thoughts about this issue in the Comments. Use PEEL to structure your opinion.

Calculated Moves

Published on May 17, 2015 4:28 PM

Parents of mathematics whizzes try to nurture a love of the subject in their children with games and puzzles

Primary 5 pupil Winston Yang (above) is taking weekly Math Olympiad training at a private 
centre, after his parents discovered last year he has an aptitude for mathematics. -- 
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOAN YANG

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/parenting/story/calculated-moves-20150517#4

Do we need Moral Vigilantes?

Read and pen your thoughts about this issue in the Comments. Use PEEL to structure your opinion.

Moral vigilantes subvert justice
PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 2015 8:54 AM  4 1 0 0


THE three-week jail sentence handed down to Neo Gim Huah for slapping teenage blogger Amos Yee demonstrates the severity with which the Singapore courts view vigilantism.

It has to be curbed because of the pernicious nature of what drives vigilantes - believing they are acting in the public interest, they tend to go overboard. Neo said that he had taken offence at portions of a video posted online by Yee which he found disrespectful to Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. And he believed that it would be difficult for the criminal justice system to deal effectively with Yee because of his age. However, by taking the law into his hands, Neo challenged the authority of the very law which he felt ought to be upheld in the case of Yee. By punishing Neo for his excessiveness, the court has made it clear vigilante justice is a contradiction in terms.

There are good reasons for this implacable view. A fundamental principle of justice is that it cannot be meted out by an aggrieved party in a case but must be administered by an impartial entity which has no personal interest in the outcome. Otherwise, law would degenerate into vengeance, which would invite retaliation. That would ignite a cycle of violence which could lead ultimately to anarchy and undermine the very rationale of law as the basis of order.

A related reason is that the law exists to protect the weak from the transgressions of the strong. Vigilantism represents the opposite principle. Usually, it is the physically or socially more powerful who attack the weak. This is evident particularly when a group gangs up on a person or persons believed to have committed a wrong. Yet another reason for acting against vigilantism is its unconcern for consequences. Road or air rage as a way of settling scores, for example, endangers the safety of people unrelated to the dispute.


Vigilante acts in the digital world are often no less reprehensible than vigilantism in the physical world. The mob-driven shaming of individuals whose acts or views are deemed disagreeable, particularly the release of information that identifies their whereabouts in the real world, is a form of public lynching. While the victims might have initiated the spiral of vendetta through provocation, good netizenship requires respect for privacy and the law. Flaming targets online is a temptation that must be resisted at the personal level. When conduct is egregious, the full weight of anti-harassment laws should be applied.

Personal security and public order are intrinsic to the quality of life in Singapore. They have been achieved by adopting a non-negotiable approach to law. No matter what the provocation, real or imagined, vigilantism is never the answer. (Conclusion to the CLAIM)

See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/opinion/more-opinion-stories/story/moral-vigilantes-subvert-justice-20150518#sthash.8n9zJQC5.dpuf


Words in blue: For Collocation : Phrases, phrasal verbs (Verbs and Prepositions)

Words in Red: Check on-line dictionary to learn vocab

Sit or Squat Toilets : Have you thought about it?

Note: This topic is inspired by an article in Sunday Times May

Toilets: a brief history

In the third millennium B.C., there is archaeological evidence of primitive sit-down toilets made of bricks with wooden seats and chutes through which waste fell into drains and cesspits. These toilets were only used by the wealthy. Most people squatted over pots in the ground or used open pits.

According to the Sulabh Toilet Museum (India) website, the “eighteenth century was a century of toilets.” During this time the water closet, invented in 1596 by John Harrington, came into more widespread use. In 1738, JF Brondel introduced the valve-type flush toilet, the technology of which gradually evolved into the cantilever type toilet. From the late 1800s the emphasis was more on aesthetics, a trend that continues even today.

Squat or not?

So, is one type better – hygiene-wise, health-wise – or is one type cleaner? Personal preferences aside, are there objective reasons to choose one over the other?

There is much written about the health benefits of the natural squatting position for elimination. A sit-down toilet allows for constriction of the rectum by the puborectalis muscle and thus necessitates straining to force it open. Some hypothesize that, because this sitting position causes incomplete evacuation, waste then backs up into the sigmoid colon, putting continuous pressure on the sigmoid colon. This may be a significant factor in causing diverticulosis and hemorrhoids, both of which are seen in much higher numbers in Western countries.  Additionally, straining requires pushing down with the diaphragm while holding one’s breath. Repeated straining is also thought to be a factor in the relatively higher incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernias in the West. Straining during defecation has also been linked to cardiovascular events.

In contrast, squatting pushes the colon against the thighs by force of gravity, thus providing the pressure needed for expulsion. Instead of pushing down with the diaphragm, squatting allows one to push upward with the thighs. The weight of the torso naturally compresses the colon. Squatting also causes relaxation of the puborectalis muscle and allows the rectum to straighten, allowing ease of evacuation.

Many non-westerners consider the sit-down toilet to be filthy and unsanitary. Since squatting eliminates any direct contact with the toilet, the sit-down toilet requires the added step of either using a paper cover (not often available) or extra toilet paper to cover the seat for more sanitary conditions. One can always stand over the toilet rather than sit on it, but that involves its own host of inconveniences.

Toilet-transmitted infections: fact or fiction?

And, what if you did sit directly on the toilet (ewww!) – can you pick up infections from a toilet seat? 

In general, the answer to this is NO. The toilet seat is not a common vehicle for transmitting infection. While infectious organisms can survive on inanimate objects for minutes or days, most microorganisms  cannot survive for long outside the human body. Furthermore, in order to acquire infection from the toilet, one would have to have direct contact between the seat and one’s urethra or genitals, or organisms could be transferred into a cut or wound on the skin. 

Good toilet hygiene practices

One is more likely to pick up germs from doorknobs, urinals, tap handles and contaminated areas around sinks than toilet seats. Poor personal hygiene, not washing hands properly, is the bigger cause for concern. Rather than the seat, one is more likely to pick up germs on the toilet stall handle (think about it – we use the toilet, then flush, then open the stall door, THEN wash our hands).

If possible, flush the lever with your foot, and avoid touching anything. After washing your hands, shut the faucet with a paper towel, and use the towel to let yourself out through the bathroom door! Your immune system and good hand washing techniques are your best defenses against contracting infections in public restrooms. About 80% of infections are spread through touch, yet statistics from research by the British Toilet Association shows that 30% of the general public does not wash their hands after using the toilet. Of those that do, 64% do not use soap, and 88% do not wash their hands long enough to kill germs! Don’t let this be you.

Another problem is that germs can be released into the air when the toilet is flushed, so it’s not a bad idea to close the lid (on a sit-down toilet) and leave the stall ASAP. Leaving the lid up when flushing can release a plume of bacteria into the air, which will settle on surrounding surfaces. However, even with the lid closed, bacteria can seep. In a University of Arizona study, bacteria were found on surfaces as far as 32 inches away from the toilet after flushing. Therefore, toothbrushes, hand towels, contact lenses and the like should be kept at least 3 feet from the toilet, or better, in a cabinet. Also, towels should be changed every few days. Toilets and surrounding surfaces should regularly be cleaned with bleach and hot water.

Enjoy your porcelain express

Whichever type is your preference, it’s important to know that we are still among the privileged to have toilets at all. Sadly, large parts of the world still lack proper sanitation, and stand alone toilets are a completely unknown entity. According to a U.N. report, half the world’s population lacks access to a toilet or clean latrine.

So before you turn your nose up at the next public facility, take a moment to be grateful that you have a private place to find relief.

http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/china-public-health/sitting-or-squatting-lets-talk-toilets/