Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, September 30
SINGAPORE: Former opposition MP and former Secretary—General of the Workers’ Party, Mr JB Jeyaretnam, died of heart failure early Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
He was 82—years—old.
His son Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam told Channel NewsAsia that Mr Jeyaretnam, who had a pre—existing heart condition, had complained of breathing difficulties at about 1.30am on Tuesday.
He was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital but doctors were unable to revive him.
He died of heart failure with both his sons, Kenneth and Philip, by his side.
A lawyer, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam was the first opposition member to win a Parliamentary seat in 15 years when he defeated the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Pang Kim Hin and the United People’s Front’s Harbans Singh in the Anson By—Election in 1981.
He retained the seat in the 1984 General Election, but had to vacate it in 1986 after he was convicted on charges of mis—stating his party’s accounts.
Barred subsequently from standing for office, Mr Jeyaretnam returned to Parliament following the 1997 General Election.
That year, he was part of a 5—member team from the Workers’ Party who contested in Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and garnered 45.18 per cent of the votes against the PAP’s 54.82 per cent.
A Non—Constituency MP seat was offered to the Workers’ Party for turning in the highest votes by an opposition party, and this was taken up by Mr Jeyaretnam.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, the fiery opposition member faced several defamation lawsuits brought against him by PAP leaders, among them Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
In 2001, Mr Jeyeratnam was declared a bankrupt and disbarred as a lawyer.
As a bankrupt, he was also barred from taking part in the General Election held that year.
Later, in October 2001 he left the Workers’ Party he had led since 1971.
After he was discharged as a bankrupt in 2008, a new political party, the Reform Party was formed in July by the 82 year old.
Mr Jeyaretnam leaves behind two sons.
The family later said in a statement that the family is overwhelmed with grief and will make further announcements after the necessary arrangements have been made.
According to the statement from both his sons, Mr Jeyaretnam had spent his last hours at the Evelyn Road apartment of his son Kenneth.
"Earlier this evening he and I had enjoyed a light dinner and chatted and then he sat out on the balcony for a while before retiring."
The statement went on to say that the family was woken up at about 1:30am by Mr Jeyaretnam who was "obviously in distress" and was rushed to hospital.
"But unfortunately the medical team working on him were unable to revive him despite their lengthy and strenuous attempts. My brother Philip joined me at the hospital and we were then informed by the doctor in charge of his care that he had passed away" said the family in their statement which also gave thanks the medical team."
PS: One of our founding fathers have passed on, i wonder if we are strong enough to carry on their legacies and mantles.
~ 4:40 AM
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Why Men Cheat
By Constance Holden
ScienceNOW Daily News
2 September 2008
Like meadow voles, some men just don't seem to be built for monogamy, whereas others, like swans, mate for life. New research hints that some of the difference might be due to a single genetic variation.
The gene in question, AVPR1a, governs a receptor that regulates the brain's production of vasopressin, a hormone that contributes to attachment behavior with mates and offspring. A few years ago, scientists found that when they added extra copies of the AVPR1a gene to the brains of promiscuous meadow voles, the animals began acting more like monogamous prairie voles, spending more time with partners and grooming offspring. A similar role for the AVPR1a gene has been observed in chimps and bonobos.
Might such a simple switch be found in humans? A team led by Hasse Walum of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, sequenced the AVPR1a gene in about 500 pairs of adult same-sex Swedish twins, all of them married or cohabiting for at least 5 years, and their partners. One variation of the gene was particularly common; about 40% of males had either one or two copies of a version--or allele--of the gene known as "334."
Although not simply an analog to the polymorphism found in prairie voles, allele 334 seems to have a similar effect on the stability of human relationships, as measured in interviews and questionnaires. The tests included a Partner Bonding Scale containing items that reflect affection and cooperation, such as "How often do you kiss your mate?" and "How often are you and your partner involved in common interests outside the family?"
Scores on the test were significantly lower for the men carrying either one or two copies of allele 334 than for those without it, the researchers report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The highest score possible is 66; those without the allele scored an average of 48, whereas carriers of one copy of allele 334 scored an average of 46.3. Carriers of two 334 alleles had the lowest scores of all, averaging 45.5. Although the score differences seem small, Walum says they are statistically significant. (No connection was observed in females.)
More striking were the answers to questions as to whether the men had experienced a marital crisis or threat of divorce during the prior year. More than one-third of carriers of two 334 alleles said yes, compared with only 15% of those with no 334 allele. What's more, 32% of those with two alleles were unmarried, compared with 17% of those who didn't carry the allele. Evaluations of the relationship by the men's partners tended to correspond with assessments reported by the men themselves.
The behavior appears to be somewhat heritable. Because the researchers were dealing with a population of twins, they were able to separate genetic and environmental influences. They found that about 28% of the behavior could be chalked up to inheritance, which is similar to what other studies have estimated for the heritability of marital satisfaction and of divorce.
Larry Young of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, whose team found the association between the vasopressin polymorphism and pair bonding in voles (ScienceNOW, 9 June 2005), says that assuming the finding can be replicated, it shows how a brain system developed early in mammalian evolution has been retained over the millennia and continues to play "a critical role in social relationships in both rodents and man." Geneticist Simon Easteal of the Australian National University in Canberra adds that "the effects of the ... polymorphism may be greater than these results indicate" because the study didn't cover single men, who presumably are less inclined to fidelity than those in relationships.
Personal Comments: The scary thing is that it is inheritable. Hope some guys don't use that as an excuse to cheat.
~ 7:02 PM
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
all the best to you berbatov...
thanks for these two years of excellent service to Tottenham and hope you will win your champion league's football silverware soon.
PS: Please don't score against us lol.
~ 7:25 AM
Monday, September 01, 2008
~ 7:09 AM