An alternative to AWARE's war.

Presently, the women's advocacy group, AWARE, in Singapore is engaged in what amounts to a civil war - or perhaps a hostile takeover.

As any Singaporean reader will know, but no overseas reader would...AWARE has recently been hijacked by what appears to be an organized group of outsiders, who have moved in, and elected themselves into the positions of authority in AWARE. Basically, they have taken over the show...although none of them has a history of volunteering or working with AWARE before. Another issue to note is that they seem mainly to be associated with a Christian fundamentalist Church and to be strongly anti-gay. AWARE had previously spoken up on behalf of all women, gay or not. That non-discriminatory stance now appears to be in danger.

From what I understand, there is now a war on, at AWARE...and a dirty war it is too. The "old guard" and the new are fighting...and the incomers are doing everything they can - including such moves as changing the locks on the offices, to make life difficult for the old guard.

There is shortly to be an EGM at which a vote of no confidence has been called, in an attempt to thwart the incomers.

At this stage, it cannot be determined whether the incomers, led by Josie Lau the new President and Thio Su Mien (the ostensible puppeteer in the background, pulling the strings), will win out and push out the old guard for good. Perhaps, at the EGM, the new guard will be ousted. We will see.

I have, however, a suggestion to the losers: start a new organization. There is no need to fight over AWARE. The old guard, who say they believe in standing up for women, of all situations, and the new guard, who mainly seem to stand for stamping out lesbianism, clearly have incompatible views of how AWARE should be run. Clearly, they cannot work together. Were both groups to remain as part of AWARE, no work would be done, for all would be fighting each other. The answer is to split off and form a new organization. If the old guard lose, they can simply take their ideals and their experience elsewhere and set up a new organization, for themselves, with a constitution that doesn't allow outsiders a vote, or the ability to take it over.

The same applies to the new guard. If they strongly believe in something (other than a fundamentalist Christian God and gay bashing), then they can set up their own organization if they lose. However, I foresee one problem with this: the approach of the new guard seems to suggest that their primary interest is in suffocating the voice that AWARE represents, rather than expressing their own voice. So, perhaps, the new guard at least, wants control of AWARE precisely so as to snuff out that voice. The new guard would not be happy then, just starting a new organization, because that would not snuff out the voice they want silenced.

My suggestion, though, at least works for the old guard, who do have a voice they want represented. They can simply take that voice elsewhere and re-establish themselves. If they lose the vote, they should most certainly do this.

I don't know how AWARE is funded...but it would be interesting to see which way their natural funding will flow: will it follow the old guard, or flow to the new?

In my eyes, starting a new organization to embody the other voice, is an ideal solution. It is one that prevents a war and provides a peaceful solution.

The irony of this is that AWARE's strength was its weakness. In being open to all, they allowed outsiders to come in and hijack their organization. If they had been a more closed, less accessible organization, this could never have happened. Perhaps, unfortunately, they should give up some of their openness, should they reform and create a body that cannot be taken over, to maintain the voice that they wish to express.

I wish those who are sincere in what they wish to say, in all of this, the opportunity to be heard.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The end of Great Britain.

Britain is officially not "Great" anymore. At least, that is the implicit conclusion of a Unicef report on Child well-being in rich countries. Its message is clear: in short, the children of the UK be far from well.

Unenviably, Britain came LAST in the report which compared the well-being of children throughout the qualifying rich OECD countries. Not all such countries were included (for instance Australia was excluded) because there was insufficient data to come to a judgement about them. Out of the 21 countries examined, Great Britain (I use the adjective deliberately to emphasize its absurdity) came on average in position 18.2, in the six dimensions of child well-being researched.

The dimensions of well-being were: material well-being, health and safety, educational well-being, family and peer relationships, behaviours and risks, subjective well-being. The UK beat out all other competition across the OECD, to come bottom in behaviours and risks, family and peer relationships and second from bottom in subjective well-being. They were 18th out of 21 countries in material well-being, 12th in health and safety, and 17th in educational well-being. All in all, Britain's kids are a sorry lot.

Now, have a guess which other high profile rich country did badly? Yes. You guessed it: the United States came second to last, above Great Britain. This is below such countries as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Predictably, I suppose, given America's love of guns and using them, the USA came bottom of the pile for health and safety, at 21st position. They were second from bottom for family and peer relationships and behaviours and risks. Educationally, they did better than I expected, at 12th (way below Canada in second position, by the way). Surprisingly, given the mythology that America is a rich country, of loud and brash millionaires, the USA came in 17th position for material well-being. The Czech Republic was 11th in the material well-being stakes.

This survey confirms for me what has long been clear. The UK and the US, while once enviable nations that anyone would love to call their home, have rather lost their way. These are no longer ideal places in which to live, or grow up. Indeed, I am somewhat thankful that, by chance circumstance, I have ended up thousands of miles away in Asia - for it seems a better lot, for my children, in certain ways, than what they would face in the UK, at this time.

The UK apes the US. So it is unsurprising that both should show the same failings. The primary failing, I hazard, here, is that both nations in the past couple of decades, became too obsessed with work and material accumulation and forgot the simpler, more important things of family life, rearing children and creating a livable environment. All that was swallowed up by the drive for a bigger car, a bigger house and a "promotion" (for which read "gift" of less time for more money). In the end, what both societies have been doing is trading away the quality of life, for a whole society, in exchange for material goods. As any rational person could have told them, that is not a fair trade. Quality of life is far more important than wealth. Knowing your children and having your children know you, is worth far more than a larger house, by the beach. Giving your children the love and support they need, when they need it, has a lasting effect, for generations to come. A nice new Mercedes Benz doesn't have quite the same long-term effect on anyone's life.

The most interesting part about the survey is not that the UK and US were bottom of the list - but that poorer nations were much higher up. A child is MUCH better off in the Czech Republic, of all places, than in either of the great powers. I say this, even though the Czech Republic was only 15th on the list. It trounced the US and UK.

I fear for the future of the UK and the US. I fear for them because if their children are officially bottom of the heap, of the world's OECD nations...then might not their future adults be bottom of the heap in some way, too? Surely, unhappy children (for "well-being" is code for happiness), lead to unhappy adults? Is not a nation of unhappy adults likely to be one that somehow fails to thrive?

Though I am but halfway through an average lifespan, I fear that I may already have seen the greatest heights of the US and the UK that I am ever going to see. To come bottom on a survey of children's well-being is not such a "Great" achievement. Britain would do well to act now, to ensure that only one generation of children so suffers. The same applies to the US, as well. They could start by melting down all their guns...(to get them off the bottom of the health and safety rankings...)

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Fintan's knowledge of animals.

Fintan, five, likes animals. Though yet young, he seems to be developing somewhat of an expert's eye, where they are concerned.

A couple of days ago, the subject of snakes somehow came into conversation.

Fintan observed, to his mother, as if it had just come to him: "Mummy, an Anaconda is like a Python, in that both kill by constriction...but, you know, an Anaconda is amphibious."

She rather got the feel that he had pieced this one together himself, from information gathered at different times. It was delivered, not as an act of recall, but as an act of thoughtful observation - there was, in his voice, the air of a puzzle clicking into place.

It is a wonder where children's interests come from: why does Fintan like animals? Why does he seek to understand them? So, too, why did Ainan become interested in Chemistry at a similar age? What led him to such an arcane choice of subject matter for his consideration? I don't know the answers to these questions - but I do know this: it is ever a surprise to hear what Fintan knows about animals, just as it was with Ainan with regards to Physical Science.

At this stage, we cannot know if Fintan is going to develop his interest in animals beyond the level of a personal interest. We cannot know if he is going to be as interested in biological matters as Ainan is in physical matters. However, we can say this: they both came to a scientific interest of some kind, at about the same time, without any prompting from anyone else. Fintan chose his interest, just as Ainan chose his. We didn't do anything to guide him, or create the interest in him...it is emerging from within him.

Incidentally, Howard Gardner, of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences fame, suggested that there is a Naturalist intelligence, that determines the ability to make discriminations and have perceptions about the natural world. It would seem that Fintan has a fair measure of this, since, when very young, he was able to distinguish crocodiles and alligators from a brief flash on tv (a couple of years ago!)

We will see if this interest develops and persists. For now, I am enjoying watching his enthusiasm unfold.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

How to save money Chinese style.

Today, I bought a toy for my son, Tiarnan, three. It is a Power Ranger toy. Now, there is nothing unusual about that...but there was something unusual about the packaging. The toy and the package were in two different worlds.

I shall explain. On the toy box, it said that the "Power Rangers, Dinothunder" set contained: "Magnifying glass, Retractable measuring tape, Compass, Archaeologist's shovel, Tweezers". Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I found that what it actually contained was a mask, a sword, a badge and an action figurine!

What has happened here appears to be one of two things: either the factory packaging it, in China, had no-one who could read English and they simply packed them into the boxes they had been given, without regard to whether it was appropriate - or the factory was saving money, by using excess packaging for another product, for a different product.

I thought it most bizarre. It is the first time I can recall that the packaging on an item was clearly meant for a different item. It is telling, perhaps, that this should come from a product that says: "Made in China", on the box. Perhaps only in a country with such a reputation for quality, such as China has, could a product actually end up in an irrelevant box.

I intend to keep the box, for the sheer oddity of it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The Great Singaporean Expat Exodus

If you know a lot of expats based in Singapore, you would also have noted something else: a lot of them are leaving.

Over the years, my wife and I have come to know many people in Singapore's expat community. We are fortunate to have built up friendships with people from all over the world. However, my wife now seems to have a most regular and discomfiting duty to pay attention to: saying goodbye to our friends - for many of them are leaving.

There was always a low level of turnover among the expats, in that some would come to the end of their terms here, and move on. In recent months, however, there seems to be a great upsurge in departures. Companies are simply deciding that they no longer need, or can no longer afford operations in Singapore and are relocating - or firing - their staff. Hence, the expat exodus, with so many leaving the country, often unwillingly (since they have come to like it, for various reasons.)

Another common situation, these days is the company expense cutting ultimatum. It goes a little bit like this: either you accept a local salary package (in contrast to the expat package they are presently on), or you have to go somewhere else (relocate to a different country of operation), or leave the company. The problem with this kind of ultimatum is that they can't afford the international schools for their children and the rent on their homes, on a local package. It is equivalent to telling them, directly, that they must leave Singapore - because the alternative is not workable, for them. Thus, they generally up and leave.

What is usual with these departing expats is that they are highly skilled. Companies are getting rid of good people, because these good people are well paid, to cut their operating costs in difficult times. It seems to me, however, that they are weakening themselves in so doing. The skills of these staff are not being replaced.

Singapore is now the tenth most expensive city on Earth to live in. This information, combined with the upsurge in expat departures amongst our social circle, makes me wonder if Singapore is making itself too expensive to be internationally competitive. If companies can do business just as readily, elsewhere, for less, then they will relocate operations. Singapore will lose jobs and revenues if this happens. It seems on the evidence of what we see among those we know, that this is already happening. Even if companies don't completely pull out of Singapore, they do seem to be downsizing operations. That is, of course, just a first step to giving up operations altogether.

Were Singapore not the tenth most expensive place to live in the world - were it, for instance, the fiftieth or one hundredth most expensive place to live - then I don't think any of this downsizing and relocation would be occurring. (For comparison's sake, London is presently the 27th most expensive city in the world to live in. Singapore is considerably more expensive, now, than London.)

Personally, I don't think becoming one of the most expensive places to live in the world, is a sign of success. To me, it is a sign that something is going wrong. Many companies seem to think so, too...so they are relocating their staff.

As long as Singapore remains expensive to live in and expensive to do business, this expat exodus will continue. I wonder how long it will be, before the powers-that-be, notice that their economy is weakening, as a result of this talent flight? The big question, for me, is whether they will do anything about it. Or even, whether there is anything they can do about it. We will see. In the meantime, my wife and I have more goodbyes to attend to.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)