e pur si muove

Another blog bites the dust. This time, it’s the blog of one Wee Shu-Min. Exactly one day after she apparently wrote a scathing critique of a “whiny” complaint from one Derek Wee about his increasing frustration with the sitch in Singapore, the blog has apparently imploded, leaving only a teeny stub (of sorts).

In chronological order, this weekend’s reading assignment is:

1. Peh Shing Huei, “PM to young: Help make S’pore better”, The Straits Times, September 24, 2006. The article can be found (for example) here.
2. Derek Wee’s original post.
3. Wee Shu-Min’s rant, as archived on Sammyboy.
4. A curious postscript at Wei Kiat’s.
5. Even more interesting, perhaps, is her father’s defense of her basic criticism, if not her tone of voice, as published as a letter to the ST Forum on Oct 24. See, for example, here.
6. Coverage in the Straits Times is making its rounds about how Mr. Wee has ‘counselled’ his daughter over the incident.

« tomorrow.sg

From the corporate site of A*STAR:

Mr. Philip Yeo (59 years old) will be stepping down as Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) A*STAR at the end of March 2007. On 1st April 2007, he will assume Chairmanship of the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore), and also be appointed as Senior Advisor on Science and Technology to the Minister for Trade and Industry.

LG(NS) Lim Chuan Poh (44 years old), an officer of the Administrative Service, will take on the additional appointment as Deputy Chairman of A*STAR with effect from 1 November 2006. He will relinquish his appointment as Permanent Secretary (Education) to assume the appointment of Chairman A*STAR from 1 April 2007.

[...]

The success of this model is evident in the tripling of the BMS industry’s manufacturing output from S$6 billion in 2000 to S$18 billion in 2005. BMS now accounts for 18% of manufacturing VA and 10,200 jobs.

[...]

The prestigious A*STAR scholarships (launched in 2001) leading to PhD studies have seen 6 cohorts of our best and brightest students taking up the challenge to get an education that will prepare them to tread the path of science and research. We have 612 scholars to date; and this talent pipeline will be a precious resource for the country over time as the scholars return to contribute to A*STAR and Singapore.

Am I the only person who finds it odd that the chairman of a very high-profile agency is going to lead one that is arguably less so?

See also the SPRINTER press release [pdf], esp. para. 12:

Said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: “Philip has made many outstanding and lasting contributions to Singapore[...] At A*STAR, he assembled a dedicated team and in the span of just six years, they grew the biomedical sciences sector at a frenetic pace. Philip’s relentless drive and boundless energy has always been directed to just one goal: to do the best he can for Singapore, to bring in more jobs, more employment opportunities for all Singaporeans.

Let’s see what the next few years will bring. Specifically:

1. Whether A*STAR will consider relaxing its controversial adherence to the 3.8 GPA criterion in favor of a more diverse collection of metrics, e.g. participation in undergraduate research, written feedback from faculty advisors and science-related extracurricular activities.
2. Whether Singapore’s biomedical sector can grow and support jobs beyond the entry-level “keep ‘em fed” jobs that so many recent bachelors’ level graduates have clamored for, and sometimes in vain.
3. Whether A*STAR will be able to convince the general public that their S$1m price tags are well worth the public dollars spent, as the first generation of A*STAR scholars graduate with Ph. D.s and are placed in positions where they can show their true mettle.

Looks like this Facebook group might be getting a name change soon. Heh.

So Kevin pointed me to Ms. Dewey, the sexiest search engine alive.

Ask her to take off her clothes. The result is pretty hilarious.

Like gecko said, it’s amusing but the novelty factor wears off really quickly. Just like Ms. Dewey, it gets irritating quickly. (She gets bored easily too.)