According to a report from CNA

SINGAPORE: 39,490 babies were born in Singapore last year, but not all were born of Singaporean parents.

In fact, only 59 per cent of them have both a Singaporean mother and a Singaporean father. But if births where at one parent is a foreigner were included, then the figure goes up to 82 per cent.

Perhaps what is of great significance is that records of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) show that Singapore men fathered 75 per cent of all babies born here, while Singapore women account for just 65 per cent.

Climbing the career ladder is one reason sociologists give for the low fertility rate among Singapore women, particularly among those with degrees.

Associate Professor Angelique Chan, assistant head of Department of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, said: “A woman puts a lot of effort, time, overtime, into her work in her early 20s, mid-late 20s, then she gets to be about 30 years old and then she is thinking about marriage but it’s hard for her to find someone (at that age). The older you get, the more entrenched you get in your lifestyle….and it gets harder to adapt to another person.”

If Singapore men are fathering more babies than Singapore women are giving birth to, then who is delivering the goods?

6,071 babies were born to Singapore fathers whose wives are Malaysians, Indonesians, Chinese nationals, or are from other countries in the region.

Some women from further afield have also been increasing Singapore’s birth rate.

Singapore’s Total Fertility Rate - which measures the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime - currently stands at 1.29.

Among the Malay and Indian communities, their birth rates have fallen steadily from year 2000 to 2006.

While the birth rate among the Chinese community has crept up very slightly, it still remains the lowest of all the three races.

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One day the perfumes and deodorant may not be so widely available causing prices to escalate and then the piorities of men may changed from vanity to sustainabilty.

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The much anticipated dark knight release has been on my mind ever since I watched the film.It seems that now even batman theme  has a philosophy dealing with our world with a book I saw somewhere in a bookstore.

This sequel starring  Christian bale and the departed heath ledger has a plot that seems to be lacking in the depth that was in the first batman beginning.Even good acting cannot really spark the much interest needed from the audience in the cinema and add to that,it is running on a longer duration.

Ok to sum up the storyline, it’s about Batman who wants to quit the hero business and get back to life as a billionaire chairman of wayne enterprises. Harvey played the White knight who supposed to clean up Gotham for good and marry Bruce childhood sweetheart.But psychopath Joker spoilt everything and you get the idea from there.

Maybe we should take a cue from joker”Why so serious?” afterall it’s just a film .Just spent the weekend afternoon and be entertained

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Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.

GK chesterton

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The fossil fuel decline is the greatest security threat of modern man yet few have really address this looming crisis despite the rising oil prices.Without fossil fuel , no security measures can be effective as our modern society crumbles along with in.The talk of finanical security runs hollow too as fiat currencies that the fossil economy holds up run over our monetary system that’s supporting it over the last century.

The meaning of security changes with time, 3 meal a day and a roof over our head was considered real security during the days of our serf peasant forefathers time.But now with the modern era, insurance coverage,retirement funds and other plentitude of goods and services becomes security of our daily life too.

Indeed man has come far and perhaps need to ask ourself what security in life really means instead of going along with the whims and fancies of changing world that’s going to give us a rude awakening in the post oil world.

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I’ll be taking a course this week regarding security so will not be posting but will be back

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Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated.

GK Chesterton

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And with the high oil prices this days, Americans will no doubt find relief once again the crude energy that they may have to drill in alaska are be in abundence in their backyard.And the oil is easier to refine compared to Alberta tar sands.This all come at a time when US exploration for oil seems to be going no where.

Big oil and gas companies already rushing into the region of north dakota for drilling and the results seems to be positive in the long run.The Bakken basin has been confirmed by the US government having a big oil formation.This would release American being beholden by Saudi Oil and also create fortunes for the local landowners there as well.

I guess the environmentalists will have a say on this matter.Meanwhile the royalties in Dakota will be around for some time.

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Scramble view:

a)World leaders cannot find the will to follow up on their promises to reduce carbon emissions as lower consumption of energy will affect the socio economic living many developed countries enjoyed and developing countries aspire.

b) Using biofuels for our energy needs but drive up our food prices by doing so. Many poor in our world will find it impossible to get cheap food.

c)Survival politics will be more frequent than ideologies in an oil scarce world.Coups will become more common in third world and volatile region.The fight for remaining oil resources will sour ties even between once cordial relations between countries.

Blueprint view :

a)Awakened giant China will become more concerned about her role in climate change and respond to it in a positive sustainable manner.She will use the revenue from the auctioning of emission permits which will distribute to other nations in the future.

b)Oil rich countries like the middle east and russia playing a bigger role by exporting more oil for more profits, they’re able to do this as their domestic demand drops in favour of alternative energy.

c)Enviromnental friendly financial markets and insurance develop and cash in on the emerging green trend and governments become more green due to a eco friendly populace.

The above scenerios by Shell shows how the leaders and her people in the world can make a difference between confrontation and cooperation in the energy scacre planet.I personally feel that our world may be going into a hybrid of the duo outcome hopefully with the blueprint weighing more in the process

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The sequel to the hulk movie is better than the first directed by Lee Ang starring eric bana as the green giant.This time Edward norton played the role of the freak incident that turn him into a unlikely green muscled hero.

Some scenes were shot in Brazil slums, one can see the disparity of wealth in that country and also the environmental degradation formed by the unstructured dwellings the underclass live.Ed norton having that frail look seems to suit the role better than banna and also the plot seems more palatable than the first that relied more on CGI .

Overall I would give this 3.5 out of 5 due to the sequel lack of continuity from the first.It scored in the subtle view that give us a look at how the problems in developing latin countries would somehow catch up with the developed world like the US if one would disconnect the hulk movie from the favelas scene.

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