Why does the human brain create false memories?

Are human beings hard-wired for war?

WAR is in the air. Sad to say, there's nothing new about this. Nor is there anything new about the claim that war has always been with us, and always will be.

Soviet officer may have averted nuclear war 30 years ago

MOSCOW - Thirty years ago this week, a potential nuclear disaster was averted, thanks to Mr Stanislav Petrov.

Online comments: Kill them or fix them?

POPULAR Science is closing comments on its articles. Citing "trolls and spambots", the 141- year-old American magazine has decided that an open forum at the bottom of articles "can be bad for science".

UN breakthrough on Syria chemical arms

UNITED NATIONS - The five permanent members of the deeply divided UN Security Council have agreed on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons, but there will be no automatic penalties if the Syrians fail to comply.

Myanmar can 'learn from, not copy S'pore'

EVEN as she seeks to learn from Singapore's institutions, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says her country should not copy them wholesale.

Why people like sad music

SADNESS is an emotion we usually try to avoid. So why do we choose to listen to sad music?

Should scholarships go to wealthy kids?

When I applied for a scholarship to go overseas for my university studies in 1971, I gamed the system. I looked at past records of which particular course had the most number of scholars and picked it to increase my chances of success.

Tuition too prevalent to ignore

There was widespread incredulity last week when Senior Minister of State for Education Indranee Rajah declared that tuition is unnecessary.

Chin Peng: A divisive figure even in death

Few people knew where exactly Chin Peng lived. But friends and followers turned up in Bangkok anyway, bearing what pleasures the frail octogenarian could still enjoy: Chinese meals, ice cream, and short trips to nearby provinces like Chanthaburi.

A long week: Putin's diplomatic gambit

Middle East - Shortly after 10 o'clock last Monday morning, US Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged the scale of the difficulties facing the United States. President Barack Obama had decided to launch a punitive strike against Syria, following an alleged chemical weapons attack in an eastern suburb of Damascus, but he had also taken the surprising step of asking Congress to authorise military action.

The Great Depression in Economic Memory by Jean Pisani-Ferry - Project Syndicate

PARIS – The dispute that has emerged in the United States and Europe between proponents of further government stimulus and advocates of fiscal retrenchment feels very much like a debate about economic history. Both sides have revisited the Great Depression of the 1930’s – as well as the centuries-long history of sovereign-debt crises – in a controversy that bears little resemblance to conventional economic-policy controversies.

What to Make of Putin's Odd Op-Ed, and Other Syria Observations - Bloomberg

What to Make of Putin's Odd Op-Ed, and Other Syria Observations

By Jeffrey Goldberg Sep 14, 2013 12:49 AM GMT+0800

Two quick notes on two interested parties in the rolling Syria debacle.

THE 'privilege' OF suffering

HUNDREDS of Syrians are apparently killed by chemical weapons, and the attempt to protect others from that fate threatens to kill many more.

A child perishes with her mother in a tornado in Oklahoma, the month after an eight-year-old is slain by a bomb in Boston.

You can't have it all, but you can have cake

Those magical moments when what you want and what you have match up - that's what 'having it all' is about

Ms Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook is the current guru in negotiating this imperfect paradise. With her enviable job, helpful husband, two children (not to mention her bestseller), right now she is Queen Have-It-All.

Learning through inquiry for humanities

GEOGRAPHY and history students are going to learn how to do detective work, under a revised upper secondary school curriculum that places a bigger emphasis on inquiry-based learning.

What atheism really means

IN LAST Saturday's Supper Club interview ("'I told the minister to send me to jail'"), pastor Lawrence Khong was quoted as saying "an atheist is very religious. He has a belief system. He believes there is no God".

As the founding president of the Humanist Society (Singapore), I call myself an atheist, as do many of our members, and we find Mr Khong's understanding of the term both incorrect and misleading.

Bring fairness back to the COE system

MOST people will agree that vehicle population control is necessary for a small, land-scarce country like Singapore.

What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria - NYTimes.com

A Plea for Caution From Russia

What Putin Has to Say to Americans About Syria

By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN

Published: September 11, 2013 

MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.

Medishield

MEDISHIELD LIFE

Should those with high-risk habits benefit?

Published on Sep 07, 2013

SENIOR health correspondent Salma Khalik suggests calling upon wealthier Singaporeans to subsidise the proposed MediShield Life premiums payable by their less well-off compatriots ("Healthy opportunity for generosity"; Thursday).