Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - from "The Joy of Stats" on BBC Four.
An awesome 4 minute presentation of the statistics of progress of 200 countries in the last 200 years.
Big muscular ang moh forcefully dragged a helpless young Sg girl out of an MRT train, physically restrained and rough-handled her (for over 5 minutes), because (according to witnesses) she accidentally bumped into him but didn't apologize to him. Nobody dared to confront the muscular ang moh while the traumatized girl pleaded bystanders for help, and it required the physical intervention of three MRT staff before the ang moh agreed to stop hurting the girl. The police came, took his statement (he claims she tried to steal his handphone; would you try to steal a muscular guy's handphone on a crowded MRT train?) and let him go.
Photo (ang moh restrains girl in a wrestling grip on the ground)
http://news.omy.sg/OMYMEDIA/image/News/LocalNews/201012/20101209_sk_mrt-beating_img_main.jpg
Chinese article here :
http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201012091506-206356.html
As the article itself cautiously points out, this isn't a miracle cure-all for AIDS, but it does have important implications for Medicine in this area.
A huge story with implications that aren’t all immediately clear is emerging in Berlin this week: doctors treating an HIV-infected with leukemia believe they have, in a roundabout way, cured his HIV infection via a stem cell transplant containing cells that happened to be impervious to HIV infection. And while the story by no means indicates that a cure for HIV has been discovered, the unexpected finding certainly opens the door to further review and great optimism in a frustrating battle that has now spanned several decades.
The “Berlin patient,” an American citizen living in Berlin, received a stem cell transplant back in 2007 as a treatment for his leukemia. Before the transplant he received chemotherapy treatment and total body irradiation that eradicated most of his immune cells, and received further immunosuppressive drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the stem cells.
But these were no ordinary stem cells – a mutation found in just one percent of Caucasians in northern and western Europe causes CD4 cells to lack the CCR5 receptor, a receptor necessary for early-stage HIV to infect CD4 immune system cells. People with this mutation are more or less immune to HIV infection.
Those anti-HIV stem cells took root in the Berlin patient and repopulated there. At the same time, the host CD4 cells that hadn’t been destroyed in chemotherapy and radiation completely disappeared. After 38 months, doctors still couldn’t find HIV infection in the Berlin patient – in other words, it seems by all measures that his HIV has been cured.
Now, his road to recovery from HIV was excruciating and by no means should this single case of recovery be declared a cure. But it does provide a lot of hope and perhaps new mechanisms for deterring the spread of HIV in infected patients and perhaps, someday, a means to defeat the disease in vivo through gene therapy or transplants. More than anything, it defies the idea that HIV is incurable.
That’s not the only stem cell news coming out of Berlin this week. Researchers there have also grown the world’s first hair follicle from stem cells, creating a potential cure for baldness. We don’t mean to cheapen the HIV breakthrough by lumping it in with something so cosmetic as a cure for male pattern baldness, but rather to show just how much promise this branch of scientific research likely still holds. If researchers can find potential cures for both a life-threatening disease and a widespread condition affecting millions around the world in the same vein of science in the same week, imagine what other potentially life-changing discoveries may be hiding in stem cell science.
Life is harsh, with the ethically flawed monetary system ("rich get richer, poor get poorer") deeply entrenched on Earth. But at the very least, give the old man a chair to sit on during working hours! Any ethical customer/boss would completely understand and empathize.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/12/youre-too-old-you-cannot-work/
What if the SAF attempts a local version of this army recruitment advertisement? Oh wait, the SAF already did (see Mr Brown's parody).
[China] - "No English please, we're Chinese!"

China bans English words in media
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12050067
Shanghai seeks end to 'Chinglish'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8219427.stm
A Taiwanese production, this film is already worth watching just for the cute little dog. Yeah the movie's story about humans is all right, too. Stars Jessica Liu and James Wen. Channel U just screened the movie an hour ago (Christmas).
Synopsis / About the Movie :
http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/zh/tv/channel-u/programmes/lost-and-found.aspx?cp-documentid=4506196
30 seconds trailer (with subtitles) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3AUrjWn3PI
4 minutes trailer (no subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyj2RBWTvKI
Used in the film's soundtrack, SHE's Hebe's song titled, "Ji Mo Ji Mo Jiu Hao (Let me be the one to be lonely)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IZFK2FwonI
Hebe's "Ji Mo Ji Mo Jiu Hao" may be purchased online from StarHub Music Store online :
http://music.starhub.com
Note that a Singapore-issued credit/debit card is required.
Lawl..
Those smarts are so lucky can sleep in class
I HATE HOMEWORK
The victims who contracted, suffered from, and died from AIDS as a result of Bayer & Baxter's outrageously unethical profit-prioritized move, may number in the hundreds of thousands (including the ones indirectly infected from those directly infected).
NBC News Report :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eczDx4v01B0
Tis another sad day when a progressive Human and Women's rights champion who had the courage to speak out against extremism, oppression, exploitation, and abuse of power (in particular, he recognized that the blasphemy law was, and is still, being abused by religious extremists for their own murderous purposes, and courageously spoke out against and sought to dismantle such an oppressive & abused law, and for all his selfless efforts), was cruelly assassinated in a high profile killing, further striking fear and intimidation in people of an already oppressed nation.
Chalk up : one for intimidation, oppression and extremism; zero for human rights, women's rights, and religious minority's rights.
Abstract :
Pakistan's blasphemy law has come under greater scrutiny in recent days after a Christian woman was sentenced to death and executed for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Governer Salman Taseer, 56, one of the most progressive political voices in the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was gunned down by a member of his own elite security force in the capital.
'He was the most courageous voice after Benazir Bhutto on the rights of women and religious minorities,' said a crying Ms Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Zardari and a friend of Governer Taseer.
-----------------------------
Full Report :
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was dealt another blow yesterday when the governor of the politically important Punjab province was shot dead because of his high-profile opposition to controversial blasphemy laws.
Mr Salman Taseer, 56, one of the most moderate political voices in the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was gunned down by a member of his own elite security force in the capital.
The attack will likely add to Pakistan's woes, coming just a day after the PPP's governing coalition lost its majority in Parliament when its second-largest member walked out.
Mr Taseer's killing is Pakistan's most high-profile assassination of a political figure since that of former premier Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.
A member of the PPP and a close associate of President Asif Ali Zardari, Mr Taseer had spoken out against the country's blasphemy law in recent days. Hardline Islamists in Pakistan have defended the controversial law and slammed those who oppose it.
According to the police, the governor was stepping out of his vehicle in Khosar Market, a shopping centre popular with Westerners and wealthy Pakistanis, when a man from his security squad fired at least twice at him. As Mr Taseer fell, other police officials fired at the attacker.
'The governor fell down and the man who fired at him threw down his gun and raised both hands,' said a witness, Mr Ali Imran.
The attacker was taken into custody, though it was unclear if he was wounded.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the man confessed to the crime.
'He confessed that he killed the governor himself because he had called the blasphemy law a black law,' Mr Malik said.
The man had apparently worked for the governor on five or six previous occasions. Mr Taseer's security was provided by the government of Punjab, which is Pakistan's most populous province and is dominated by the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N.
Mr Malik also said the authorities would investigate the shooting to find out if 'it was an individual act or someone had asked him' to do it.
Mr Taseer, who was minister for industry and production under former president Pervez Musharraf and was a member of the Punjab provincial assembly, was appointed governor by the PPP-led coalition government in 2008.
'He was the most courageous voice after Benazir Bhutto on the rights of women and religious minorities,' said a crying Ms Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Zardari and a friend of Mr Taseer.
Pakistan's blasphemy law has come under greater scrutiny in recent days after a Christian woman was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Rights groups say the blasphemy law is often exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores, but Islamist groups have resisted attempts to change it. Under pressure from these groups, the PPP said recently that it would not pursue changes.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned Mr Taseer's assassination and appealed for calm. He also announced a three-day national mourning period. The Premier is under great pressure from the main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who said a 'fresh mandate' may be needed if Mr Gilani's administration fails to sack corrupt officials, lower prices and cut expenditure.
Yesterday, Mr Sharif gave the government three days to accept demands for a crackdown on graft and steps to lower prices, or face a campaign for its removal.
High inflation, electricity shortages and insurgencies have fuelled unhappiness with the Pakistan government, and are likely to hamper its efforts to pull new allies into the coalition, said analysts.
The political turmoil combines with the latest killing to add to the difficulties the country faces as it tries to push through economic reforms and combat the Taleban's insurgency.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, BLOOMBERG NEWS, REUTERS
Asiatrailer — September 24, 2010 —
EMP has just posted an official trailer for Shaolin, directed by Benny Chan, choreographed by Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak, starring Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Wu Jing, Fan Bing Bing, Yu Hai, Xing Yu, Xiong Xin Xin, Yu Shao Qun, Liang Jing Ke, Sang Wei Lin, with cameo by Jackie Chan, on Youtube. Shaolin opens in theatres in late January 2011.In the film, the proud and arrogant warlord Andy Lau is forced to seek refuge at Shaolin when his buddy Nicholas Tse turns against him. There, he is enlightened by an inconspicuous cook Jackie Chan. He is to make peace with the monks Wu Jing, Xing Yu, Yu Shao Qun that he previously sneered at, and lead them in rescuing the commoners from hardships, sufferings and oppression as Nicholas Tse wages wars on other warlords to expand his territories.
5 Famous Unethical Psychological Experiments
http://www.highestfive.com/mind/5-unethical-psych-experiments/
China's Got Talent
Each of these performers have a story to tell. Such performers exemplify the true beauty of such talent shows : the opportunity for people to tell their heartwarmimg personal stories.
China's Got Talent - Winner Liu Wei (who lost his arms in an accident)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Qut0Nrsiw
China's Got Talent - Gao Yi Feng (the man who once lost everything)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abnIJwbUseQ
China's Got Talent - The Man who does the Peacock Dance for his Paralyzed Wife [with English Subtitles]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZpWpWFQrY
China's Got Talent: Loving Husband acts as a Pig to Beg Judges To Let Wife Sing [with English Subtitles]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKvcJBVYH4
[Russia] - In self-defence, a fox shoots its hunter with gun
"I did it in self-defence, your honor."
http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE70C5Q220110113
Fox shoots man
Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:47pm GMT
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.
The unnamed hunter, who had approached the fox after wounding it from a distance, was in hospital with a leg wound, while the fox made its escape, media said, citing prosecutors from the Grodno region.
"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle accidentally pulled the trigger with its paw," one prosecutor was quoted as saying.
Fox-hunting is popular in the picturesque farming region of northwestern Belarus which borders Poland.
[Human Rights Atrocity] - Ongoing Maid Abuse in Middle East
http://www.imow.org/community/stories/viewStory?storyId=3133
http://www.google.com.sg/search?q=maids+middle+east
http://www.merip.org/mer/mer211/211_haddad.html
http://www.economist.com/node/16953469
http://www.hvk.org/articles/0802/135.html
http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=101797&d=26&m=10&y=2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4221954.stm
http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=75686&d=3&m=1&y=2006
http://tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=2931
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/08/24/lebanon-migrant-domestic-workers-dying-every-week
http://www.faithfreedom.org/op-ed/germany-refuses-to-help-slaves-of-persian-gulf-sheikhs/
http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=80144&d=1&m=9&y=2006
Posted by: Mary | May 14, 2009 at 09:31 PM
I spent three years working in Kuwait and can attest that all these articles are just the tip of the iceburg. Teeenaged boys bring their friends over to gang rape their maids - and there are usually more than one (maid), sometimes each child in the family having their own personal slave. Their slaves are powerless, having even their passports taken from them. I tutored in Kuwaiti homes where I was so sickened at the treatment I saw that I refused future work even at the $100 USD per hour prices Kuwaitis were willing to pay. They will even beat up their maids in public places, like malls, and no one lifts a finger to help - it's common. Pregnant maids are drowned or hanged - usually pregnant from a teeneage boy in the house or the father. Kuwaitis get away with murder and think nothing more of it than stepping on a bug. I could go on forever about the Kuwaitis and the their maids. I have absolutely no respect for any Kuwaiti - none. They are most dispicable people in the worst kind of culture. Their government allows Kauaitis to murder and rape, and no Kuwaiti is ever prosecuted. They are the worst people I have ever seen in my 25 years of traveling the world.
Watch the videos in the links below. Mexico represents an incredibly difficult situation (also mirrored in many other countries around the world, though not quite to this extent), in which criminal organizations have military and political power far exceeding the legal authorities.
Entire police force in Los Ramones (Mexico), quits after heavily armed gunmen attack headquarters with heavy artillery
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1236314/pg1
No police in Mexico town after last (female) police officer abducted by heavily armed criminals and never seen again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12085405
Slowly but surely, a Mexican Police Force Is Eradicated
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/world/americas/12mexico.html
[Video] - "Marisol Valles" Student, 20, named Mexico police chief
http://www.news.com.au/world/student-20-named-mexico-police-chief/story-e6frfkyi-1225941254960
[Video] - 20-year-old student "Marisol Valles Garcia" named police chief in Mexico town
(She was the only one who had the courage to accept job in violence-wracked part of country)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39760545/ns/world_news-americas/
Google for news on Malaysia and South Korea's "victories" against African pirates at sea.
http://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=pirates+malaysia+south+korea&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=
The problem of piracy (whether from African or Asian nations) has always been symptomatic of far deeper social, economic and political problems.
Piracy is motivated by poverty, which is perpetuated by corruption and warmongering in African nations. (A US president once said ruefully that 99% of foreign financial aid to poverty striken African nations go into the pockets of the corrupt officials and never reach the starving African man-in-the-street.)
Malaysia and South Korea's "victories" might seem a positive thing, but it risks backlash by angry pirates who feel victimized, and who now threaten to take-no-prisoners in future pirate raids on South Korean and Malaysian vessels.
Just as they say "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Similarly : Money isn't the root of humanity's evil, money merely gives humanity the opportunity to choose 'good' (ie. ethical) or 'bad' (ie. unethical) ways.
Poor dog "sushi". Evil tattooed man. Merciless internet vigilantes.
"This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube's Terms of Service. Sorry about that."
No problem, YouTube. Just search for "Doreen Loo" on YouTube.
http://ye5.blogspot.com/2011/01/he-bullied-dog-dog-abusers-doreen-loo.html
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000786306757&sk=wall
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002017483515&sk=wall
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=178322195537323&id=100000786306757
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Dog-Abuser-Doreen-Loo-Allan-Tan-into-JAIL/195559180457890
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-Michelles-Save-the-Poodle-Mission/160126524037293
By SIOW LI SEN
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Business Times - 29 Jan 2011
AS BT readers mull over their annual promotion and pay increment letters, many will be smiling because their employers are rewarding staff in line with the fastest growth Singapore that has ever enjoyed.
Spare a thought then for the least protected group in our community: the lowly paid foreign workers - the domestic workers, the construction workers and cleaners. They are more than likely not going to get any bonuses nor pay increments for their backbreaking, dirty and sometimes dangerous jobs.
Recently, there was a report of a raid on a workers' illegal living quarters. There have also been stories covering the proposed hike in salaries for Indonesian domestic workers.
According to the report, workers were seen cooking in makeshift kitchens overrun with cockroaches. On every floor of the building, workers could be seen setting up their 'beds' - cardboard boxes or rattan mats lined up in the corridors.
Stairwells were filled with racks of drying clothes, blocking off fire exits. Some workers slept on carpets on sawdust-covered floors, others in storerooms under staircases. Those who were luckier got to sleep in storerooms slightly bigger than the toilet of an HDB flat, which they had to share with another room-mate, sometimes two.
'If we house the workers in Jurong dormitories, it takes them one hour in the morning to reach Bedok,' a supervisor was quoted in the report, adding that 'staying here gives them one extra hour to sleep'.
It's time that Singapore take a leaf from what China has suggested for the bosses of companies who treat their workers like slaves: after raiding an illegal site, the authorities should get the boss and his family to spend a night there.
Better still, to root out such pernicious leanings from our DNA, get our school children to spend a few hours in the illegal living quarters of foreign workers as part of their community awareness programme. Each child will surely be shocked to learn of such cruelty in our midst, all in the name of Mammon.
Even as we plan how to spend our bonuses, reports that 17 employment agencies will increase the salaries of Indonesian maids from $380 a month to $450 - hardly a princely sum - to solve the shortage crunch, saw numerous complaints.
Those against it gave some of the following reasons: Will the quality of the maids improve? And won't this encourage the current group on lower pay to quit so that they can move to another employer for the new salary?
When we receive higher bonuses and increments, I can just hear the howls of protest if an employer dares to utter a word that better quality is expected from us. While it is common to think that we deserve every cent paid to us and more, it is also a fact of life that a pay hike is determined by several factors but seldom due to an improvement in productivity alone.
And don't we usually look with admiration when a colleague, relative or friend moves for higher pay. This, in fact, is the Singapore way.
* drives past..
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STOMPer Dana decided to study in Singapore so that she could be with Ben, who had to return from California to serve the nation.
Dana shares her love story:
"We met in early January 2009. I was having a small reunion with two of my friends and we were quite bored when one of them suggested we prank call one of her good friends, Ben.
"What was supposed to be a prank call quickly turned into a conversation that lasted for almost an hour. My people instincts have always been good, and I wasn't sure why but I felt a need to get to know Ben better and that we could be friends. Soon we started talking constantly over AIM and text messages, because he went to a different high school across town.
"A week or so later we met for the first time at the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco. And even before we dated, he did little things to show he cared, like when he came to watch a play I was in.
"When we first started dating on the 28th of February, I didn't know anything about Singapore, much less about National Service. Ben's family had moved to California five years previously, but he was supposed to be called back to serve after he graduated high school. The reality of this didn't hit me until I started university 2 hours away in August 2009 and he remained at home, waiting for his enlistment date.
"Seeing him while I was at university was hard enough, as I had to either hitch rides home or pay to take the train to and from school on weekends, but he was always there for me through the phone and computer. However, I wasn't sure that we would be able to keep up a healthy relationship for two years without seeing one another at all, and we began to fight more often as I started to push him away.
"There was one night I seriously began to contemplate breaking up with him, not because I didn't love him, but because I thought it would be best for both of us in the long run and couldn't see any other solution. Then the very next day I happened to walk past a study abroad table outside the school library. As it so happens, my school has an excellent study abroad program in Singapore (University of California--NUS).
"Whether you believe in those kind of things or not, I thought that it was a pretty clear sign. I made an appointment to see my counsellor the same day. The next thing I had to do was tell all my family and friends that I was going to study abroad in Singapore for a year. The most common response was, "You're going where?? Why?" I started to read up on Singapore and apply for some scholarships to make it easier for me to go.
"Ben ended up leaving to go back to Singapore in early February, missing what would have been our one year anniversary. I didn't see him again until April when he visited for one week, and then again until I arrived in Singapore late July, a total of almost 6 months.
"Every night he would make an effort to call me after BMT, even though he was exhausted, and I would get out of bed at 5-6AM to talk to him to avoid waking up my roommate. The only upside to this time was that I missed him so much so I just stayed home and studied, and ended up having a 4.0 GPA that semester.
"When I arrived in Singapore, I was scared and alone, but from the moment Ben picked me up from the airport he has gone above and beyond to look after me. Together we've explored all over Singapore. Maybe you've seen us together at the Zoo, Sentosa, Chinatown, Little India, on a bus or MRT, or even at a hawker center eating satay and drinking Milo.
"Ben lives with his grandparents, his aunt and uncle, and cousins, which at first was confusing to me because in the U.S. we generally start to leave home when we turn 18. In Singapore, it seems like dating and family is a package deal.
"Fortunately Ben's family has been incredibly gracious and kind to me, I can't thank them enough. They think it's funny that I now love the TV show Ai (from watching it with them so much), and that I wore Chinese dresses for my first Chinese New Year celebrations this year.
"Where we used to live, in the San Francisco-Bay Area, our relationship isn't as much of a big deal because Americans are of all different races, but here we get a lot of stares when we hold hands.
"Ben jokes that someone is going to crash one day because they'll be too busy staring at us walking by, or that someone will put a picture of us on STOMP just because we're an unusual couple. Well, I decided that before that happens I would surprise him and be the one to share our story.
"Not everyone understands why I went to all these lengths to be together with Ben. It's simply because he is the nicest, most caring person I have ever met and he deserves a girl who would follow him across the world.
"Even though it meant leaving everything I had behind, I didn't want to give up on our relationship because I didn't want to always wonder "what if" I passed up this great guy whom I love so much. Ben always thinks of other people before himself. The sweetest thing is how kind and thoughtful he around his younger sister and cousins.
"When he went back to the U.S. for a few days in January to take care of some important business, he stopped by my house to visit my mother and brought my 3 year old sister a birthday present. He is always considerate and says that I'm his first and last thought every day.
"Even when we were apart, he encouraged me to try new things and meet new people without being jealous or possessive. He gives good advice, has a sense of humour, and can put up with his sometimes moody girlfriend. He's my rock. What more could a girl ask for?
"I also know that no matter what happens, I made the right decision. Thanks to him, I've learned so much about Singapore, it's food, it's people, and it's culture, and I even changed my minor to Southeast Asia Studies. I'm also very shy, but I started learning Chinese so I could speak to his grandmother.
"Stepping out of my comfort zone has made me a stronger person, but it's not without challenges, and without Ben's support I wouldn't have grown to love him and Singapore as much as I do now. And even though we've both changed so much in two years, Ben and I are very happy enjoying life together and I can't wait to see what the next year will bring. Ben, I love you so much! Your girlfriend, Dana"
---------------------------------------------
On another Sg-based forum, Dana wrote :
Originally Posted by honeyy
Hi, Dana here, found this site after googling my name after realizing my story went on newasia. :/ I just wanted to agree that yes, I have big hips. I completely forgot that all men prefer women with no hips, butts, or boobs! My mistake. Oh and yeah, there are probably lots of more "chio bu" in Cali than I am... oh well. Plastic surgery can?? And I don't have an asian fetish. Like at all. I have no race preference for men.
She updated later :
I'm leaving in May when my Student Pass expires. Might take up an internship in China for a couple months, then swing back through Singapore again in July/August. I'm also only on exchange, so I have to go back and finish school at UC Berkeley (2 years), and then law school (additional 3 years). I've actually grown to like it here but there are some policies/practices wouldn't make it easy for me to live here permanently on my own (at least in the near future). I need to go back home, get my job back (NUS tuition isn't cheap), and finish my education before doing anything else. Also, I don't think I could live my whole life here being judged by my appearance and treated accordingly. It does get kind of tiring after a while. Particularly in San Fransisco, there's a much greater degree of interaction/cohesion between people of different races. As evidenced by some of the replies on this board, even people who've read my story miss the point (FYI, it's about overcoming obstacles, devotion, and loyalty to the person you love) and will still judge me (and him too). No way to win. On a side note, Ben's immediate family also still lives in California, so I'm sure he'd like to go 'home' too. Not to mention go to a great college, since he has the grades for it. Thanks for the welcomes.