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The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

This line comes from the famous Melian dialogue, in which a powerful Athenian navy besieges Melos. The Athenians thus speak from a position of power. "...we shall not trouble you with specious pretenses---either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of the wrong that you have done us---and make a long speech that would not be believed; and in return, we hope that you, instead of thinking to influence us by saying that you did not join the Lacedaemonians, although they are colonists, or that you have done us no wrong, will aim at what is feasible...since you know as well as we do the right, as the world goes, is only in question between equal power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." Melos attempted to argue from a "law of equality", of humanity at its best. Athens argued with reality. Melos, being weak, has no capability at all to discuss anything in equality. Singapor
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When AFP contains errors

Agence France Presse is a major recognised news aggregator. But as with anything produced by humanity, bias or errors creep in. False GPS signal surge makes life hard for pilots This link from Channel News Asia was last viewed by author on 12 March 2024, Are my students able to find out what the error is? Hint: Chinese students or military fans may have a better chance of knowing this. Leave your answer in the comments!
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On Politics and Chinese Double-Entende

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A prominent politician in Taiwan DPP Zhao Tian Lin was recently exposed to be having an affair with his Chinese mistress. The Taiwanese media had a field day. And since journalists are people whose pen is mightier than the sword, double-entende are all over media. The very first was the tease that Mr Zhao, well known for his hardline stand on China issues was actually 亲中. The play on word on 亲 being both "close to" and "kiss" was plastered all over. He was obviously NOT "close to" China but was definitely "kissing" a Chinese! And then came the infamous tweet. On the surface, the tweet says "To take a hard stand against China, to use the sticks of flesh (a metaphor for sacrifices of soldiers) to protect Taiwan against China, to enter deeply into the den of the enemy!" The double-entende was unfortunately, very obvious and also intended, "To harden (referring to the penis) against China, to use the fleshly stick (again referring to t
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When Youths Do not See Hope

 A good post in Quora: https://qr.ae/pyLVmK Basically when the youths of today no longer see they have the same hope for a better life that their parents have, the nation goes boom.
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The Realistic Parable of the Mexican Fisherman

I got this from an entrepreneur DJ DeMarco. It is so good I need to share it. BREAKING NEWS: The Mexican Fisherman has filed for bankruptcy. Beware of romanticized stories that convince you to adopt a  dangerous financial strategy  devoid of any reality in today's world. One such story is the Mexican Fisherman parable I scrutinized in  Unscripted  over 5 years ago. Today, this parable is being enthusiastically circulated around the web as some modern "lifestyle doctrine" you should adopt without question or critique. However, for most people, this parable has become a risky and convenient excuse for sloth and poor financial planning.  If you haven't heard the Mexican Fisherman parable, it goes like this: A businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish. "How long did it take t
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Generational Dynamics and the Rise of Fall of a Nation

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I have previously written about why Singapore (and in fact many nations) are going through difficult times politically. I have found a nice graphic recently that displays this very well. I encountered this graphic when reading about the rise and fall of dynasties in China. Singapore, like China then, started from a lower wealth and population base back when we started our journey as a nation. Under capable men, backed by a population willing to make the necessary sacrifices for their future, Singapore grew rapidly...and ran into the present situation. Singapore's relative productivity level (relative to what it was in the growing years) has fallen as our population numbers and demands grow beyond what we can provide for. Population demands is especially interesting - what used to satisfy no longer does, and the populace clamour for bigger, better things. It is like the satiation effect of a drug. You want more and more as the previous "high" no longer satisfies. Wealth c
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Modern Education is Stacked Against Boys

It is not just America's educational system that are failing its boys. This claim was made from an article I read, which squares with what I have encountered in the modern educational system. Virtually all modern humanistic public education systems are stacked against their boys. I do not agree with all the points written by the author (since I believe they are irrelevant to the topic of boys being failed), so I shall only point out the ones I agree with. 1. Boys mature more slowly compared to girls. The modern educational system requires a lot of early maturity to achieve early. Early reading. Early attention. Sitting down and not moving. All these require maturity early. 2. Boys are innately more competitive compared to girls. The modern educational system is de-emphasizing grades and sports achievements, both areas where the innate competitiveness of boys come out. They are being set up not to do as well, in an environment which emphasizes collaboration. 3. Education now require
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