Interesthink @ Climax

Part 1 in the previous post.

The next speaker was an environment activist. Grant Pereira is a lao jiao in the green movement in Singapore. Amongst the things that he’s campaigning is to prevent Genting to hunt for more dolphins for the IR, using the loophole in the government that says as long as it’s for “education” it’s ok. Here’re some of the random “facts” he was throwing at machine gun speed:

Need Al Gore to tell you about global warming. He stays in Tennesse, super hot sun, but doesn’t have a single solar panel. Didn’t feel that he’s as deserving as other environmental.

No Golf Course campaign – still have space in S’pore. 3 ishun new towns reservered. 88% to golf course, 12% to swimming pools. Can build a park through all the golf course for general consumption.

Bali is an example of 10000 delegates wasting resources to talk about global warming.

Politicians should be changed like diapers.

Like the concept on newater, an environmental gun for dealing with Malaysia.

Young people like to say change, but not change it themselves.

15000 tons of rubbish from drains everyday. Is the message not getting through? 6 billion dollar company to export solar panels instead for domestic consumption. Plastic is byproduct of the oil refining industry, which is a bread and butter of Singapore.

Brought Teo Chee Hean for a walk. How’s children in Singapore 3R: “Read, remember, and regurgitate”. Blackmailed by Indonesia to provide them equipment to fight haze.

NTU, SMU active in environmental projects. Elephant conservation with SMU. Replating in Thailand coz no land in SG.

There’s an eco house in Ubin. Zero emissions. Go check it out.

Education for cleaning the beach: teachers told the students to clean beach and then talk to their boy friends on their cell phones.

80% girls 20% guys in the vounteer groups. Some volunteers only want to give out forms in aircond shopping center, instead of going to replant the mangroove. For those who come only once

Singapore Environment Council – the first NGO formed by a GO. -_-

Take pictures. Caught a painter pouring paint into the longkang that flow to the api-api river in Pasir Ris. With pictures, called NEA and the painter kena fined $5000. And then the painter did again, and got fined $9000 again. Taking pictures is the simplest thing to do.

We subsequently had a 20 minute discussion

Alex Au, a gay activist and prolific blogger on yawningbread probably captured the imagination of the crowd the most.

Because he talk about the everlasting topic on Sex. Here’re some random facts (will clean up).

If have sex once a week, 52 times a year, 20 years of life, i.e. 1000 times, only get 4 kids, that’s less than 1% for procreative, 99% of the time is for recreation. We pay for bowling, why not pay fo sex?

Strip the notion of prostitution from its baggage. We should focus on looking at the associated ills instead.

Objectify the notion of everything we see, but for sex we violate body space. There’s where there’s rage etc.

Most people who do prostitution is doing it unwillingly, and the main reason is poverty. Unfortunately, associated with the “under world” of human trafficking and lost liberty (pimp keeps passport). Parents selling their daughters into prostitutions, such as in Cambodia. Women is treated as exportable commodities.

There are consequences on health, and when a child is born.

Take gigolo – usually men prostitutes are free agents, but women prosititues are subordinated. In fact men prostitutes are like cats, can’t keep track of their “stock”.

For each $200 nike shoe, only 55cents go to the women. For every $200 for sex, maybe $40 goes to the women.

75% of people who call the hotline were the men, who bought the services, but called in to free the girl. They are willing to pay for the services, but still outraged by the fact that they are trapped against their free will.

Trapped means blemmish cannot unblemmish. We look at prostitution as something they are wrong. But they are trapped because of our attitudes towards the trade. We made it so bad so that it is hard for people to share. E.g. A toilet cleaner can put on resume about toilet cleaner, but prostitutes don’t even dare to share to their new job.

Our attitutes, to allow people to talk about it, allow them to come out to the open, will help liberate them from this “trap”. e.g. A Pondan cannot find a job because he dresses like a female.

We tend to magnify “the other”, even though we have all offended people. Chinese boy rejected by Chinese girl, forget it. But when Ang Moh rejected by Chinese girl, will remember for the rest of his life.

Climax was over without most people knowing about it.

Breast cancer survivor Lim Choo Hin shared with us about the cancer and the experience being a survivor.

What is making a living and making a life? Make a living by what you get, make a life by what you give. Loving people unconditionally.

Are we helping the cancer community enough? Breast cancer, support cancer, global conferences and alliances.

Why all the advocacy about reminding ladies to do the breast self-examination? Reduces death by nearly 2/3, Mortality rate fell by 63% (2001 stats). In SG, 28% of the cancer cases for women is breast cancer. Insurance don’t pay for cancer prognosis (stage 1 and stage 2). Highest risk group is 40s. Highest risk race is Chinese (to verify if it’s absolute numbers or percentages)

susanlovemd.org – some have their breast removed. Some cases can wear breast prosthesis.

Some of the survivor is very positive, want to share the pain with the public. Try to bring up pictures of recurrence, such as being calendar girls. Done some stupid things like ask for funeral etc. Should have kept her diary.

Aim to help out support groups. In Singapore, main problem is about information. Only one page about breast cancer. After recovery, also got difficulty getting a job. Company would normally recruit healthy people.

This indian dude who was also a cancer survivor intercepted. Another problem is acceptance. For survivors, they need to have their confidence built back instead of being told they will die.

Just give some opportunity to these people. There will be a global conference on Chinese breast cancer patients on 1-3 Dec 2009.

to be continued.