littleworkpage

I just heard a really powerful poem. It's called 'For Eli'. It's a the following link: http://www.andreagibson.org/poems/poems_foreli.html It is on youtube as well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCOb2YlTJkw truly incredible stuff.

Concerning Former American President Jimmy Carter's visit to the Middle East and in particular his meeting with Hamas, the American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said this: "We counseled President Carter against coming to -- against going to the region, and particularly against having contacts with Hamas." "We wanted to make sure that there would be no confusion and that there would be no sense that Hamas was somehow a party to peace negotiations." The Carter Centre has now released the following official statement: President Carter has the greatest respect for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and believes her to be a truthful person. However, perhaps inadvertently, she is continuing to make a statement that is not true. No one in the State Department or any other department of the U.S. government ever asked him to refrain from his recent visit to the Middle East or even suggested that he not meet with Syrian President Assad or leaders of Hamas. Before l...

There are many of us sports fans and purists who just love to see a sporting event unfold dramatically with lots of on the field and off the field stories to digest. But, there is one sporting event that always seems to attract off-the-field drama of a different kind. The Olympic games seem to be pursued by politics all the time. Now, it is China's turn to face the music. Hosting the Olympics is a matter of pride for any nation. Certainly in the case of this emerging power, it is an opportunity to showcase the arrival of China as a nation of significance economically and politically. But, it was inevitable that in this Olympic year some political issue would have grabbed the limelight. I was having a conversation the other day with a friend about mixing politics with sport. This friend was insistent that the Tibetan issue should be kept out of the Olympics and the torch relay should not have been marred by the disrespectful pro-Tibet groups. I believe that we are not in a pos...

What a pity! When I viewed my profile yesterday morning, there were 97 views: 2 more than the last time that I checked and blogged about it. So, there was someone else who had checked it out. So, I thouhgt to myself.... 3 more to go and I will hit the century. Guess what, my profile views hit 109 last nght when I checked again. 12 views - by persons other than myself. There are people out there reading my rants? Interesting. But, I have been deprived of my bat raising opportunity. All I can do now is throw my hands up in the air because of the fact that the century has gone totally unnoticed by me. :-(

My profile has been viewed 95 times. That must be the number of times that I have hit my own profile to view how many times my profile has been viewed. I am going to hit a century (just five steps away).... I must not forget to raise my bat and salute the crowd (in this case, my self-congratulatory ego).

Following closely on the heels of my blog's renaming from the clumsy 'withandwithouteyes' (that nobody was really reading) to the succinct 'article14' (an attempt at cyber CPR for that unrealised Constitutional right), the Law Society of Singapore has announced the formation of the Public and International Law Committee.... a sort of Human Rights Committee minus teeth and any other sharp objects or objects that, though not sharp, may be sharpened or though not sharpened, may be able to inflict the damage (or a fraction thereof) that could be inflicted by sharp objects or any damage. Ok... That's clearly not in keeping with the plain English drive... Incidentally, my blog's name change did not in any way, shape or form (or formless form) influence the Law Society. I have no idea what motivated the Law Society. Let us hope some constructive work from the Committee.. For now, although it has not been launched yet, this is my favourite committee within the ...

I'm rather late in posting this. But, the appointment of Walter Woon as the Attorney General warrants some comment. This is a legal mind within the Singapore landscape that I admire deeply. I view him as a man of tremendous intellectual honesty from what little I have read about him over the years and the comments that have emanated from him. Definitely, congratulations are in order. My only hope is that his intellectual honesty would engender the introduction of some fresh air into Singapore's legal climate. Of course, I can't help but note some irony in all of this. If I remember correctly (and I may be wrong as I am working purely from memory, which is not too efficient these days), there was long time ago that Professor Walter Woon made a remark about the then Attorney General's statement regarding an alleged offence under the Parliamentary Elections Act. Chan Sek Kiong was then the Attorney General. During the 1997 elections, the Workers' Party had alleged...

A rule is a tool for the diffusion of conflict. It is an impersonal external reference point, which eliminates the emotional dimension of a dispute between individuals. This impersonalisation of a dispute assists in the creation of order, stability and tranquillity. It does not ensure the creation of the same but merely prods the social organism in that direction. A retrospective law does not appear fair or just because it fails to some degree to provide an impersonal external reference point. A nagging suspicion that the rule has specifically targeted an individual or group of individuals for the behaviour introduces a personal dimension to the rule. The personalisation of a rule occurs when the rule is intended to target or perceived to target an individual or a group. The rule then does not operate as a rule and acquires the character of an order (with the accompanying lack of moral legitimacy) directed at an individual. This personalisation renders the rule questionable. If r...

Prophesies are always fascinating. Whether or not one is willing to accept the likelihood of prophetic statements having any truth in them, one must say that they have some amusement value. Here is something I came across in Wikipedia...It seems that there was this priest by the name of Sabdapalon during the reign of the last Majapahit king. The king, Brawijaya the Fifth converted, to Islam in 1478 and was cursed by his priest Sabdapalon. Sabdapalon then promised that he would return 500 years later (that would be 1978). At the time of his return there is supposed to be political turmoil, etc, etc... (the usual apocalyptic stuff contained in prophesies, i guess). He would return and usher in an era when Islam would be wiped off the majapahit lands and hinduism would be restored. There is then the assertion in the wikipedia post that some of the first new Hindu temples were built around 1978 (e.g. Pura Blambangan ). There is also the assertion that Mt Semeru erupted around the same...