Being humane

Never laugh at one’s aspirations, because it will show others the manners you lack. (This too comes from Desperate Housewives Season 6 Episode 7 [I think], which also indirectly puts teachers and foreign workers on a pedestal!) Having manners like being polite and tactful are a rare quality in social animals called humans nowadays. Perhaps the Americans might be readily blamed (by the British), for such degeneration which parallelled the simplification of the language.

This ecareers.sg portal is a wonderful initiative by the Ministry in helping children plan ahead, and the formality of the portal does reflect the kind of manners required in a job hunt. (That’s why I give it a place here in this post, instead of a spot on the blogroll on the right, which is where you can find the link to my clinic opening hours.)

School is the place to start the habituation of good manners. When things go wrong in future, for instance one’s failure to observe the good manner of “verbal hygiene” (to borrow the term from Deborah Cameron) or to abide by the law (think of acts like graffiti or sexual crimes as futher degeneration of the lack of manners and morals), prison is the only place where your ‘problems’ will be rectified and good manners re-instituted.

Whether or not this particular prison makes sense is your call:

Norway Builds the World’s Most Humane Prison

By William Lee Adams

May 10, 2010

By the time the trumpets sound, the candles have been lit and the salmon platters garnished. Harald V, King of Norway, enters the room, and 200 guests stand to greet him. Then a chorus of 30 men and women, each wearing a blue police uniform, launches into a spirited rendition of “We Are the World.” This isn’t cabaret night at Oslo’s Royal Palace. It’s a gala to inaugurate Halden Fengsel, Norway’s newest prison.

Ten years and 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($252 million) in the making, Halden is spread over 75 acres (30 hectares) of gently sloping forest in southeastern Norway. The facility boasts amenities like a sound studio, jogging trails and a freestanding two-bedroom house where inmates can host their families during overnight visits. Unlike many American prisons, the air isn’t tinged with the smell of sweat and urine. Instead, the scent of orange sorbet emanates from the “kitchen laboratory” where inmates take cooking courses. “In the Norwegian prison system, there’s a focus on human rights and respect,” says Are Hoidal, the prison’s governor. “We don’t see any of this as unusual.”

Halden, Norway’s second largest prison, with a capacity of 252 inmates, opened on April 8. It embodies the guiding principles of the country’s penal system: that repressive prisons do not work and that treating prisoners humanely boosts their chances of reintegrating into society. “When they arrive, many of them are in bad shape,” Hoidal says, noting that Halden houses drug dealers, murderers and rapists, among others. “We want to build them up, give them confidence through education and work and have them leave as better people.” Countries track recidivism rates differently, but even an imperfect comparison suggests the Norwegian model works. Within two years of their release, 20% of Norway’s prisoners end up back in jail. In the U.K. and the U.S., the figure hovers between 50% and 60%. Of course, a low level of criminality gives Norway a massive advantage. Its prison roll lists a mere 3,300, or 69 per 100,000 people, compared with 2.3 million in the U.S., or 753 per 100,000 — the highest rate in the world.

Design plays a key role in Halden’s rehabilitation efforts. “The most important thing is that the prison looks as much like the outside world as possible,” says Hans Henrik Hoilund, one of the prison’s architects. To avoid an institutional feel, exteriors are not concrete but made of bricks, galvanized steel and larch; the buildings seem to have grown organically from the woodlands. And while there is one obvious symbol of incarceration — a 20-ft. (6 m) concrete security wall along the prison’s perimeter — trees obscure it, and its top has been rounded off, Hoilund says, “so it isn’t too hostile.”

The cells rival well-appointed college dorm rooms, with their flat-screen TVs and minifridges. Designers chose long vertical windows for the rooms because they let in more sunlight. There are no bars. Every 10 to 12 cells share a living room and kitchen. With their stainless-steel countertops, wraparound sofas and birch-colored coffee tables, they resemble Ikea showrooms.

Halden’s greatest asset, though, may be the strong relationship between staff and inmates. Prison guards don’t carry guns — that creates unnecessary intimidation and social distance — and they routinely eat meals and play sports with the inmates. “Many of the prisoners come from bad homes, so we wanted to create a sense of family,” says architect Per Hojgaard Nielsen. Half the guards are women — Hoidal believes this decreases aggression — and prisoners receive questionnaires asking how their experience in prison can be improved.

There’s plenty of enthusiasm for transforming lives. “None of us were forced to work here. We chose to,” says Charlott-Renee Sandvik Clasen, a music teacher in the prison and a member of Halden’s security-guard chorus. “Our goal is to give all the prisoners — we call them our pupils — a meaningful life inside these walls.” It’s warmth like that, not the expensive television sets, that will likely have the most lasting impact.

*

When something makes you laugh and think, it should be something you will remember for a longer time than the knowledge of what you ate for breakfast. At The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Saturday, while I was enjoying my Salmon and Egg Sandwich and coffee, and marking, something dawned on me: I was actually not displaying proper manners! I was multitasking, eating and marking. I was reading through the lines when I stumbled upon the one which talks about the hectic daily grind and how people walk and eat or work and eat. While there isn’t much of a choice for us, it may actually not be bad manners if it is something that has been largely accepted by society, especially that of an urban one and such capability is actually a concrete jungle survival skill.

And so it is much ado about survival that people here have been reminded so frequently that we don’t have any natural resources but ourselves to build a prosperous future. And unfortunately, we are not reproducing fast enough over the decades. The ruling party’s policies have been deemed as ineffective by many, but there’s nothing much the policymakers can really do. Perhaps we need a new party…sex party.

Sex Party promises ‘real action’ for Australians

The Australian Sex Party on Tuesday promised to spice up campaigning for next month’s elections with a manifesto “unlike Australia had ever seen before”

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 20/07/2010

Party chief Fiona Patten launched a risque national campaign at a Melbourne bar, saying her policies “would make (opposition Leader) Tony Abbott’s hair stand on end and would turn (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard’s hair grey”. prospective

“We’ve always been forward and we actually enjoy real action,” Patten said, mocking Gillard and Abbott’s “Moving Australia Forward” and “Stand Up For Real Action” slogans.

The party’s policies include legalising euthanasia, decriminalising all drugs for personal use, and watering down strict anti-pornography laws.

Although sure to attract criticism from church groups and other conservative elements in society, Patten said it was time an Australian political party pushed the boundaries.

Patten said personal freedom issues affect people’s lives more often than tax or immigration, and wanted to break down “nanny state” policies that she said had been built up over several decades by the major parties.

While the party will struggle for mainstream support, Patten remained confident of at least one Sex Party candidate being elected to the country’s Senate.

“In the privacy of the polling booth, anything could happen,” she said.

The Sex Party is running a candidate against Abbott in his Sydney electorate, a comedian who has offered to doorknock voters wearing a “mankini” — a type of bikini designed for men.

*

Humour or not, I don’t want to know what’s happening down under.

But seriously, such a topic has become blatant and brazen in contemporary time, and formality has been deemed by some to be an attempt at elitism and discrimination. When there is a “high variety” and a “low variety” of some thing, like language or humour or music, snobbery is rife (according to some, while many would kindly refuse to comment).

This good essay (a really long read) sums up the history: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/allen/ch5.html (THE REVOLUTION IN MANNERS AND MORALS).

CAM Elective in May 2010

This is a public announcement for anyone who is interested in knowing more about CAM. The elective will be offered in May 2010 (venue, specific date & time) will be announced at a later date. This is a must-go event for those who dislike Maslow.

In the meantime, here’s a Straits Times report on CRAP (Culture, Romance, Art, Politics):

Mar 27, 2010

Denmark’s Little Mermaid to guest-star at Shanghai Expo

SHANGHAI: For nearly 100 years, the heartbroken Little Mermaid has been sitting on a rock looking out over Copenhagen’s port in Denmark, but now the sculpture based on the famous fairytale is heading for China.

The 1913 bronze statue, created by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen, measures 1.65m and weighs 175kg, and is a major tourist attraction in Copenhagen.

But the Little Mermaid’s life has not always been easy. She has been beheaded twice, had her arm cut off once, was blown off her rock in 2003, and was dressed in a Muslim headscarf two years ago in a protest.

Still, she had never left her native country – until now.

On Thursday, hundreds thronged the Copenhagen harbour, dancing, singing and waving flags to bid farewell to the Little Mermaid sculpture as she was lifted from her perch by a crane and lowered into the back of a truck.

She will be the star guest in the Danish Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai, in eastern China, which opens on May 1 and runs until Oct 31. Details about her journey were not revealed due to security issues.

Mr Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of the City of Copenhagen, said in a statement that the loan of The Little Mermaid was part of a cultural exchange between Denmark and China, even though the plan created a heated debate in Denmark when announced.

‘I am convinced that she will be an excellent ambassador of Denmark, particularly since the Chinese are already very fond of Hans Christian Andersen and his fairytales,’ he said in a statement.

Danish author Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, published in 1837, is a sad story about a mermaid who falls in love with a prince and gives up her life in the sea and her tail for legs.

But the prince marries someone else and she is left broken-hearted, throwing herself into the sea and dissolving into foam.

The fairytale has been adapted many times into stage shows and into a Disney movie.

Her departure from Copenhagen will not leave the harbour empty.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has created a video installation to fill in for her. The multimedia artwork will include a live broadcast of the statue in Shanghai.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

* For a picture of the beautiful mermaid, check out the previous post!

Consultation Booking Facility Now Available

http://akbywerk2.checkAppointments.com

That’s the place and you know the rules. An addition here is that you are now allowed to book up to 3x the consultation slots than before!

One thing to note is that on Wednesdays, there might be official meetings that can last till 3.30pm. We’ll scale the time downwards when that happens.

Second thing to note is that I need to recharge my battery from 11.30am-1.30pm typically so don’t book those slots!

Don’t have to worry about the three tags (Paper 1, Paper 2, Life) when you schedule the consultation. If you have no clue what you want to discuss, click “Life”.

Please report any flaws to me when you encounter them.

(My login: http://checkappointments.com/checkAppointments/index.html)

Modus Operandi

You have read many a times how climbers often reach the peak of a dubious mountain only to find that the answers to their questions are those that they can get if they had just attended Mr K’s classes.

They seek the Meaning of Life, the Way of Peace, the Art of War. You seek the Way of GP. They are, as a matter of fact and fiction, the same.

Post your doubts at The Unknowns and you are expected to have climbed the files in your house before you even dare seek the answer here in this blob of the Blog.

Emergency! Slots Conserved!

The bookings will be available on the IVLE by 4pm, 21 Aug 2009. You know where to find it. This is the best solution for the situation and it should satisfy everyone else. *Terms and conditions still apply!

With Apologies,

I really want to help to the best of my ability those whom want to be helped.

As I didn’t remember that it is a crime to hold consultations on Saturdays , I went ahead with making Saturday consultations available. Since I have just been ‘informed’ that I cannot do so–and on top of that, for ‘Truncated weekdays’ students cannot be seen talking to me after 6pm–I will have to make another round of changes.

Here are the possibilities; the outcome will be uploaded shortly: just keep checking back.

(1) I will be speaking to my Head to request for permission to miss Wednesday’s department meeting.

(2) Sign ups with 43 after-school slots will be made available on the IVLE so that it is fair game, and you will have to sign up.

(3) Converting the double-period class time into consultation slots. Priority for the weaker students.

(4) I change my urgent personal plans on 28th Aug. How, I do not know (yet!)

Of course those (six only) who missed the first consultations will still be barred unless they have valid reasons.

See your Doctor if you are feeling…

…burning sensation in the form of questions

…a heavy burden upon you due to your extra GP work done

See me for consultations! Hurry! Last round before your Prelim!

Your days are numbered. (Numbered, literally. Refer to IVLE for bookings.)

Ed: Fight! Fight! Fight on!

That’s what the “L” is about (“laban” in Tagalog). Certainly not L for Loser or Lamer. Thanks to contributions from Perry and http://kuyakevin.blogspot.com/2009/08/cory-aquino-and-l-sign.html.

Great Singapore Sale! Final Consultation Slots.

Final Consultation! Hurry hurry hurry!
26 June 2009
Fri
5.30pm to 6.30pm (2 slots)

Make your appointment here, walk-ins are also welcomed on a first come first serve basis.

Do come with some work for us to talk about.

Taboo-inspired research

This is a quick link to a quick research inspired by today’s episode of Taboo. It is unfortunate that I can’t get a copy of the series from okto; I guess acquiring it from Australia is going to be too expensive.

http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Th-W/Wet-Nursing.html

That’s something I didn’t know, but France and Japan have been fascinating me recently.

Consultation Slots in the ‘Holiday’

Dear 0408, 1508 & 2208,

The long-awaited moment is finally here!

The venue has been booked, the days have been decided. Are you decided?

Come join us for a wonderful time in AJC this September holiday for a most fascinating ride to GP Land!

Here are the details:

Destination: Rm 424

Dates: 1 Sep 2008 (Mon) & 4 Sep 2008 (Thu)

Time: 7.45am to 11.45am & 1.15pm to 5.45pm

Please come at least in pairs, at most in threes. (There’s a reason for everything.)

Each consultation will take half an hour. There wouldn’t be extra-time for late-comers.

Finish all your assignments (including Sem 1 assignments)–that is the prerequisite.

Prerequisite #2: Bring your up-to-date reading file. You should have at least 24 reading articles by the time you meet me.

Bring along anything you need help in,  or any extra work that you had done (for this, let me know in advance).

So what are you waiting for? C’mon! Sign up now!

Free! Pat-on-the-back for the first 10 participants. While stocks last.

Yours truly,

Doctor K.

*Sign up through my course page’s Forum on IVLE; a new forum has been set up for this booking. Remember to indicate who are coming along for a particular slot.

For those who feel there aren’t enough materials for you to work with, check out the IVLE GP main course page: