Monday, September 27, 2010

ESPN & conference

Available on the following days: Sign up under comments. 3 pax max per slot.
21 Sep 2010
230-330:Marcus, Li Keen, Justin
330-430: Clarence, Ian, Alvin
430-530: Voo, George, Sheikh, Tze Yang
530-630: Erwei, Dawei, Gexiou
630-730: You Duen, Soo Wei, Zaki

23 Sep 2010
5-6: Tze Yang, Voo
6-7: Nat, Junyong
7-8: Ervin, Jianwen

28 Sep 2010
3-4: Tze, Voo, Weizhen, George
4-5: Li Hao

30 Sep 2010
4-5: Justin, Weizhen, Sikka, Abi Ta
5-7: Calvin, Jun Yew, Jinxiang

4 Oct 2010
3-5: Tze, Voo, Justin,

6 Oct 2010
4-530: Gerard, Youduen, Calvin, Josiah, Rama
6-730: Li Keen, Justin, Abi V
730-930: Khanh, Tea, Saw

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Sec 3 Term 4 schedule

Week 1: Rise of Facism/War in the Pacific
  • complete worksheet
  • watch The Last Emperor & Hiroshima

Week 2: Social Studies 2009 SA2 Practise
  • complete SBQ on Paris Riots
  • complete SEQ on Bonding

Week 3: History 2009 SA2 Practise
  • complete SBQ on Stalin's Show Trials
  • complete SEQ on Japan

Week 4: Social Studies 2008 SA2 Practise
  • complete SBQ on China-Tibet

    Administrators to blame for Games fiasco

    Danny Jordaan, the South African most responsible for pulling off a secure World Cup, offers proof that his country hosted the perfect games.

    'I have just been all over the world,' he says. 'And whether it was 10 Downing Street or the White House or the Kremlin... the first line was, 'This was the best World Cup ever'.'
    Sep 25, 2010
    Administrators to blame for Games fiasco
    By Rob Hughes, In Good Conscience

    CALL me naive, but did Singapore miss a trick this week?

    As one of the 54 member nations of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Singapore was in a unique position to rescue that crumbling, sorry organisation this week.

    To the horror of athletes, the shame of India, the Games went to the brink of being called off. The filth and squalor, the collapsed bridge and stadium roof, the threat of terrorism, and the fear that Delhi is no fit place for a massive celebration of sports is a terrible indictment on the organisation.

    We called these the 'Friendly Games', and I have attended enough to know that was once true.

    But what has this to do with Singapore?

    Your country has just hosted the Youth Olympic Games, taking care of 3,500 budding Olympians. Facilities prepared for a one-off event stand handsome, but largely idle.

    It may have needed great diplomacy but, when the Britons, the Aussies, the Kiwis and others threatened to pull out of Delhi, did nobody think that of all the member nations, Singapore is in perfect shape to rescue the Commonwealth Games from dire mismanagement?

    I don't suggest that thousands of participants suddenly divert from India to Singapore. But by, say, next spring, it could surely have happened.

    By rescuing a damaged, if not dying, ideal, Singapore would have gained monumental international prestige.

    By showcasing its cleanliness, order, safety and organisational powers, Singapore could have furthered its aim to be a hub of global attention. Sport would be the catalyst, but Singapore would benefit in so many ways.

    Facilities for the Youth Olympics - lamentably largely ignored in the international media - would be used a second time.

    Like every nation hosting major events, Singapore's costs spiralled threefold. As he was bound to do, Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan defended the US$285 million (S$378 million) spent on the YOG.

    Just weeks ago, he declared: 'I have no doubt we will recoup our investment, both on the tangible side and intangible side of the ledger.'

    The larger game plan, Dr Balakrishnan said, is 're-positioning Singapore... We now want to be one of the most exciting, happening, dynamic, vibrant places that cater to all needs.'

    For all I know, your government did quietly offer to save the Commonwealth Games. It would have taken care not to be seen as opportunistic or taking advantage of a fellow nation's calamity.

    But it is not going to happen.

    We Commonwealth countries are all in this together. From my side of the argument, Britain has enough on its plate trying to prepare for the 2012 Olympics in London.

    The former British Empire Games are, like the empire itself, a fading concept.

    Through sports, we sometimes see the state of nations, and the old colonial notion of nation-building on the playing fields is in a sorry state.

    If you followed the England-Pakistan cricket summer, you will know what I mean. Contaminated by alleged fixing, again close to being abandoned, the value of sport withered.

    England's tabloids are still bashing anything and everything to do with Pakistan. They are calling for the Delhi Games to be abandoned before a race is run or a shot fired (in the sporting sense).

    Games meant to build bridges threaten to bring them down, literally and politically.

    The real focus in all this should be on sports administrators.

    It is their duty, their purpose, to choose sound venues for their ever-growing jamborees. Once chosen, the administrations surely must sit on the local organisers every step of the way to ensure that the bridges, the infrastructure, the security hold up.

    How did we get to within one week of the opening ceremony in Delhi before the press exposed the infirmity of India's readiness?

    How many of us believed this week's rewriting of the World Cup by its organiser, Fifa?

    Fifa tells us that South Africa was perfect, and sets the benchmark for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, and beyond.

    It glosses over the dearth of goals, and dearth of great football.

    It thinks we have forgotten that in chasing its US$3 billion profit, it clamped down on individual freedom. A youth who stole a mobile phone was jailed for 15 years. Girls dressed in orange were removed from the stadium.

    They were accused of 'ambush marketing', a crime that does not exist except in Fifa's mind when protecting its profit from selected brands - in this case Budweiser beer.

    Danny Jordaan, the South African most responsible for pulling off a secure World Cup, offers proof that his country hosted the perfect games.

    'I have just been all over the world,' he says. 'And whether it was 10 Downing Street or the White House or the Kremlin... the first line was, 'This was the best World Cup ever'.'

    No doubt it was. Jordaan is a member of Fifa's inspection team that has toured the nine lands bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

    The bidders will say anything to gain votes. No doubt the Indian government also made persuasive promises to the Commonwealth Games Federation.

    stsports@sph.com.sg

    How did we get to
    within one week of the opening ceremony in Delhi before the press exposed the infirmity of India's readiness?

    Sunday, September 19, 2010

    Evidence, Proof, Right & Wrong

    Straits Times Sep 18, 2010
    Driver cleared of causing cyclist's death
    Judge doubts whether driver with right of way could have seen man
    By Selina Lum

    A MOTORIST who crashed into an elderly cyclist, who was defying all possible road traffic rules, was yesterday acquitted by the High Court of causing the 86-year- old's death through negligence.


    In overturning the conviction of Addie Razali Lau, Justice Steven Chong said he doubted whether Mr Lau, 37, who had the right of way, could reasonably have seen Mr Sewa Singh at all before the accident.

    The judge also doubted whether the accident could have been avoided even if Mr Lau, who was travelling at 60kmh, was within the speed limit of 50kmh at the time of the incident.

    On the evening of June 7, 2008, Mr Lau was taking his wife, two children and parents for dinner.

    He was driving along Eunos Road 8 towards Tanjong Katong Road, with the lights in his favour, when Mr Singh cycled diagonally across the junction, against the flow of traffic and into the path of Mr Lau's car.

    Flung across the windscreen, Mr Singh was taken to hospital with serious injuries and died nearly two months later.

    Mr Lau was charged with causing Mr Singh's death through negligence by failing to keep a proper lookout and driving above the speed limit.

    After a trial, he was found guilty by a district court, fined $6,000 and banned from driving for three years. The maximum penalty is two years' jail and a fine.

    Mr Lau appealed to the High Court to set aside the conviction.

    Yesterday, his lawyer, Mr Abdul Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, argued that while cyclists are vulnerable road users, they owed a duty to themselves to exercise common sense and steer clear of acts that would put their own lives in danger.

    'It is crystal clear that the deceased was the author of his own fate by blatantly disobeying and disregarding all traffic and road safety rules applicable to him as a cyclist,' the lawyer argued.

    The prosecution conceded that Mr Singh had cycled against the flow of traffic while the lights were in Mr Lau's favour.

    But Deputy Public Prosecutor Kan Shuk Weng said the fact that Mr Singh was not following road traffic rules did not mean Mr Lau did not owe him a duty of care.

    Otherwise, the DPP argued, it would lead to the 'absurd' position that a driver is entitled to run down a person who is jaywalking since he has flouted traffic rules.

    But in giving his decision to acquit Mr Lau, Justice Chong did not comment on Mr Singh's conduct.

    The judge said he disagreed with the lower court's conclusion that Mr Lau had failed to keep a proper lookout because he did not slow down after his wife, who saw Mr Singh through the left passenger window, alerted him seconds before Mr Singh collided with the vehicle.

    Justice Chong said it was not reasonable to expect a driver to be glancing at an extreme side angle while the lights were in his favour and his attention rightly focused on the traffic ahead of him.

    As for Mr Lau's breaching of the speed limit, the judge said there was no evidence to show that the accident would not have occurred if Mr Lau, who went over by just 10kmh, had kept within the speed limit.

    National Safety Council president Tan Jin Thong said cyclists should cut across the road only when the cars are at a safe distance or, better still, when there are no cars. 'Cyclists, especially the older folks, must take precautions because in an accident, they are always on the losing end.'

    selinal@sph.com.sg

    Monday, September 13, 2010

    Mock Exams

    Monday 20/09/10 Social Studies 0800-0930
    Monday 27/09/10 History Elective 0900-0930

    Sunday, September 05, 2010

    Recess classes

    3J: 6 Sep 1130-1pm (War in the Pacific replacement class)
    4H: 6 Sep 1330-1500 (SS Prelim review)
    4D: 6 Sep 1500-1630 (SS Prelim review)

    Apologies for changes. This is to accommodate as many folks as possible.