[MyAppleMenu] Feb 13, 2012

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Mon Feb 13 18:59:00 EST 2012

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Asks Fair Labor Association To Inspect Foxconn ****
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57376431-17/apple-asks-fair-labor-association-to-inspect-foxconn/?part=rss&subj=latest-news&tag=title>
Don Reisinger, CNET


> The iPhone maker announced today that it has asked the Fair Labor Association (FLA), an organization "dedicated to ending sweatshop conditions in factories worldwide," to investigate Foxconn facilities in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China. The first inspections have already begun in the Shenzhen factory, known as Foxconn City.

> "We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we've asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports."



**** Mongering Fear ****
<http://www.interactioned.com/post/17541110889/mongering-fear>
Amit Runchal, Interactioned


> No one is seriously suggesting Arrington’s straw man argument about Path cooperating with Egyptian authorities. But the way that companies both transmit and store data — whether it be Path, Instagram, Google or Skype — could have very serious, very real implications. It’s a conversation that we should be having. More importantly, it’s time that tech firms start being completely open about how they deal with data.



**** The Bigger Question Path Raises ****
<http://scripting.com/stories/2012/02/13/theBiggerQuestionPathRaise.html>
Dave Winer, Scripting News


> Can users store private information on iPhones and iPads and at the same time use apps?

> Pretty simple. It seems to me that the two actions are incompatible. If you install even one app on your iPhone or iPad, all your data is compromised. Since the tech industry is the predator here, we have to think for ourselves.



**** Disruptions: So Many Apologies, So Much Data Mining ****
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/disruptions-so-many-apologies-so-much-data-mining/>
Nick Bilton, New York Times


> A person’s contacts are so sensitive that Alec Ross, a senior adviser on innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the State Department was supporting the development of an application that would act as a “panic button” on a smartphone, enabling people to erase all contacts with one click if they are arrested during a protest.

> It seems the management philosophy of “ask for forgiveness, not permission” is becoming the “industry best practice.” And based on the response to Mr. Morin, tech executives are even lauded for it.






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** LEDs Could Lead You Right To A Discount ****
<http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39685/?ref=rss>
Rachel Metz, Technology Review


> ByteLight aims to use LED bulbs—which will fit into standard bulb sockets—as indoor positioning tools for apps that help people navigate places such as museums, hospitals, and stores, and offer deals targeted to a person's location.



**** Start-Ups Aim To Help Users Put A Price On Their Personal Data ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/technology/start-ups-aim-to-help-users-put-a-price-on-their-personal-data.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Joshua Brustein, New York Times


> The concept of treating data like currency has long excited certain computer programmers and academics. But to almost everyone else, it is boring. Personal data management has none of the obvious appeal of social networks or smartphones. But concerns about privacy may be changing that, Mr. Hoffman said.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Mysteries Of The Suicide Tourist ****
<http://nymag.com/print/?/news/features/46811/>
Phil Zabriskie, New York Magzine


> Recently, however, researchers stumbled on a striking fact about suicides in New York: A surprising number of people who kill themselves in the city come here from out of town, and many appear to come expressly to take their own lives.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Dogfood Bites Junior Education Minister ****
<http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/dogfood-bites-junior-education-minister/>
Alex Au, Yawning Bread


> What he apparently fails to grasp is that people are taking umbrage over (a) the tone, and (b) the implications beyond the fact.

> As media academic Cherian George pointed out recently at a seminar, this is to mischaracterise the issue. The people do not misunderstand what the PAP and its ministers have said. They have heard them loud and clear. They just don’t agree either with the position the PAP takes, the attitude it adopts or the paradigm it operates on. And until the party is prepared to re-examine all these, getting savvier with new media isn’t going to make much difference.



**** Alan Shadrake Is Right, In Singapore There Are 2 Sets Of Laws, One Locals, The Other Is For Ang Mo ****
<http://singapore-lighthouse.blogspot.com/2012/02/alan-shadrake-is-right-in-singapore.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fymrch+%28Singapore+Social+and+Political+Thoughts%29>
Singapore Social And Political Thoughts


> I do not blame the officers working in SPF, I blame the minister in charged then Wong Kan Seng and now Teo Chee Hean.



**** SDP Supports Govt's Idea To Build Eldercare Centres ****
<http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/5127-sdp-supports-the-idea-to-build-eldercare-in-woodlands>
Singaore Democratic Party


> At the same time, however, valid concerns of the residents must also be heard. Among these are the exact location for the void deck healthcare/eldercare centers. The locations should be decided through genuine consultation with the citizens rather than the usual top-down approach of the Government. We urge the authorities to take into consideration the views of the residents and find a position that is agreeable to all parties.



**** Void Deck Centres 'Benefit Public', Make Services Accessible ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_766051.html>
Shuli Sudderuddin & Tay Suan Chiang, Straits Times


> For a start, it helps them to be more accessible to the community. Some can even pay three to five times less in overhead costs.

The fact that void deck is cheaper is a nonsense argument. The space there is cheap because the space is subsidized.
If we, as a society, feels that welfare groups are important to be available within housing estates, we can make spaces available cheaply without touching the void decks. The government just need to not make as much money as they can with land sales.
See earlier: <a href="http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/bad-idea-to-lease-void-decks-to-mps/">Bad Idea To Lease Void Decks To MPs</a> (Alex Au, Yawning Bread)


**** 巴士地铁乘客量大增 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120213_001.shtml>
李静仪, 联合早报



**** It's The Vendor, Not Mindef, Who's Defending Docs' Patent Suit ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_765957.html>
Desmond Tan, Mindef, Straits Times


> The contract between the Government and the vendor provides, among other things, that the vendor shall indemnify the Government against any claim for actual or alleged infringement of any intellectual property right arising from the use or possession of the mobile BCS, including the conduct of litigation against any suit arising from such claims.

See earlier: <a href="http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120208-326565.html">Doctors Claim Mindef Infringed 'Mobile Clinic' Patent</a> (AsiaOne).


**** Will Toh Yi Studio Apartments Benefit The Older Generation? ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120213-0000039/Will-Toh-Yi-studio-apartments-benefit-the-older-generation?>
Angeline Tan, Today


> Now their only park, with its much-loved community garden, green space for exercise and jogging track, which they had petitioned for and got only about a year ago, is to go. It is a pity as the space is used by all, from toddlers to teenagers and the elderly.

> Is stripping away this last plot of greenery in the estate the best and only choice left? Was land not recently tendered for condominiums nearby? There is also an empty plot next to Bukit Timah Plaza, which would better serve the elderly since it is on level ground and closer to food and transportation.

Will HDB build a roof-top garden for everyone to use? Will HDB leave the void deck and perhaps even the first two or three level empty to build jogging tracks and playgrounds? Will HDB build a travellator on an overhead bridge that connects the studio apartment to amenities?
Will HDB insist that they cannot build money-losing facilities?


**** An Ageing Population? – Part 2 ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/02/an-ageing-population-part-2/>
Gordon Lee, The Online Citizen



**** Public Servants Have Moral Authority To Uphold: MPs & Public ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1182535/1/.html>
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia


> Members of the public and MPs say they are shocked by news that several public servants are involved in an on-going investigation into an online prostitution ring, including an ex-police officer and ex-principal.

> They said that public servants, especially those in senior positions or who work closely with minors, have a moral authority to uphold.

See Also:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/another-education-transgression-but-unnecessary-today-sensationalism/">Another Education Transgression, But Unnecessary TODAY Sensationalism?</a> (Guanyinmiao's Musings)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_766043.html">Clients Will Face Charges If Prostitutes Under Age 18</a> (Cheryl Ong and Jalelah Abu Baker (Straits Times): Prostitution is generally allowed in Singapore, but there are some activities that are against the law. Having paid sex with a girl under the age of 18 is a crime under laws that were tightened in 2008 to combat human trafficking. In addition, it has long been illegal to pimp sexual services. Patrons who engage prostitutes through vice syndicates could be called up for questioning as witnesses, lawyers said.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120213_004.shtml">若涉雏妓和工作守则 嫖客将犯严重罪行</a>(联合早报): : 受访律师都表示，一般来说，一男一女之间的性交易本身并不构成刑事罪，只要在私下进行，妓女与嫖客都没有法律责任。德尊律师事务所的黄庆健律师受访时说，不过一旦涉及未成年少女，嫖客则触犯严重的刑事罪行。</li>
<li><a href="http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120213_003.shtml">受访退休校长：难以置信</a> (陈能端，潘星华，陈宇昕 联合早报): 有些认为事件背后凸显了遴选教育精英过程不够全面的问题。也有人觉得，这名校长若确实做出逾越道德的事，明显是犯下错误，但至少他没有在学校滥用权力，应该不会对学生造成太大的负面影响。</li>
<li><a href="http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120213_005.shtml">家长感到失望气愤</a>(联合早报): 教育界对前校长卷入风化案件大表震惊，受访的家长则感到失望、气愤。有家长甚至感叹：“上梁不正下梁歪。这样的校长即使离开教育界，他的行为也会对教师和学生造成负面影响。”</li>
</ul>






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