Religious Freedom in Singapore
In some news forums and on facebook, I sometimes notice people highlighting the religion of this or that minister. I wonder if that is wise or useful. Unless that minister was acting in his capacity as a member of that religion or bringing his religion into Parliament, otherwise, it may be prudent to not single out his or her religion in posts.
In Singapore, the state, government and politics are secular in nature. Consequently, the state, gov and politicians carry out their duties and service to the nation regardless of the religion of the citizen. This allow citizens to exercise religious freedom within their personal space without fear of discrimination.
Likewise, politicians and civil servants should be allowed to serve the nation regardless of their religious choice as long as they exercise their religious freedom within their personal space and not let it influence their judgements while carrying out their official duties. The onus is on them to be impartial and to rise above their personal religious choices while serving the people without discrimination.
Just imagine if you go to CPF, ICA or HDB and your application or enquiries are rejected because of your religion. Just imagine.
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity
and progress for our nation.
Remember our pledge. This is our pledge. Our solemn pledge to the flag, the state, the nation, to every single citizens of Singapore, to work together regardless of race, language or religion.
It is a not a pipe-dream. It is a reality that has allowed us to live together in harmony all these decades. Life is tough enough without such discrimination. We don’t need more discrimination.
Do it not to win some international award or to show other people. Do it because it is our pledge to one another. Do it because it is the way forward.
Which Would You Eat? Carrots or Rabbit?
I’ve met some folks who shared their thoughts on vegetarianism with me. They reason that vegetables are alive as well and if Buddhists do not eat animals out of compassion and do not wish to have a living thing killed for their food, they should not eat vegetables as well.
I present to you Carrots and Rabbit.
I know, I know. This is an imbalanced comparison. For most people who are omnivores would not eat rabbits anyway. But the principle is this. Given a choice, which would you pick?
Between vegetables and animals, when I ask a number of people to choose one to kill, cook and eat, most people would choose to eat carrots. The answer is unanimously because it is easier to ‘kill’ carrots, cook and eat it. When asked further, why it is easier to ‘kill’ carrots, they replied that because it is comparatively less alive than the rabbit. I’ve not had one person choose carrots simply
because they don’t eat rabbits. But I digress.
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How about the following? Is it because we have been conditioned to accept certain living beings as food for the table?
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Or is it because both do not exhibit life? Is that why it is somewhat easier for people to choose between carrots and meat?
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References
Pictures from the following respective sites
http://vegetablezone.blogspot.com/2011/04/carrots-daucus-carota.html
http://www.wallcoo.net/animal/rabbit/html/wallpaper29.html
http://sylbestine.blogspot.com/2007/11/luncheon-meatbanned.html
Millions of Americans Oppose SOPA and PIPA Because These Bills Would Censor The Internet … …
Heard of SOPA and PIPA? These are two bills that U.S. Congress is deliberating over and if passed, may vastly change how the internet will be.
It makes me wonder. How can one country pass a bill that affects the whole world without any input from the rest of the world?
Several companies and non-profit web sites are speaking up about this, amongst them, Google.
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you
feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
How I Started Learning Programming: Me & My Micro (with Fred Harris)
In the mid 80s, there was a TV programme called “Me & My Micro”, a production by British Broadcasting Corporation with Fred Harris.
That is how I really started learning programming at home when I was studying in secondary one.
In the programme, he would showcase some new technology or software written by a guest and have a section where he introduces programming concepts and source codes in BASIC.
Here are two clips. Enjoy!