TR EMERITUS

WP MP Lee Li Lian's baby girl born on 1 Jul via cesarean section (Photo: Li Lian's Facebook page) Punggol East MP Lee Li Lian, 36, who is also a WP MP, gave birth to her first child yesterday morning (1 Jul). Named Karys Koh, the baby girl weighed 3.02kg at birth. Li Lian wrote on her Facebook page yesterday [Link]: "Welcome to the world, little one! There is no doubt that she is going to be the most amazing and gorgeous part of our lives. We are still cracking our head on her Chinese name. Anyway we are given 2 weeks to register her birth I would like to take this opportunity to thank many residents who had offered their best wishes and advice during this period. Going forward, like many mothers, I will have many challenges to face as well and like them, I will persevere to get through these obstacles!" She also wrote in Mandarin, "After going through an unstable pregnancy, enduring frequent pregnancy rash, and after nine months of waiting, we finally welcomed our daughter's arrival today!" Like her mother, the baby was born in the Year of the Horse. Congratulatory messages were pouring in onto Li Lian's Facebook page from netizens: According to a Facebook post by her husband, Ms Lee worked until the eve of her delivery, turning up for her Meet-the-People Session (MPS) on Monday night (30 Jun). In fact, according to sources, Li Lian was advised to deliver her baby via cesarean section. She scheduled her delivery yesterday, 1 day after her MPS instead of before, so she would not miss Monday's MPS. During her confinement period, both WP chief Low Thia Khiang and Hougang MP Png Eng Huat will take turns to cover her MPS duties. She posted the following on her Facebook page yesterday: Announcement: This is to inform that I have smoothly delivered my baby girl this morning. During my confinement period, both MP Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat will take turns to cover me for Meet the People Session (MPS) duties. Like always, I am contactable via email at [email protected] or if you prefer to speak to me please call 6686 6221 during office hours and leave your contact details. I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Indeed, Punggol East residents must be very blessed to have such a hardworking MP, who is even willing to work during her confinement period through emails and phone calls. Both MP Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat are, of course, only covering Li Lian's MPS duties temporary. After her confinement period, no doubt, she will be going back to her MPS duties of meeting the residents and helping them to settle their problems. Some PAP MPs, however, are luckier. They are able to get other people to cover them for a very long extended period of time: (Source: http://www.tptc.org.sg/meetmp.html) Notices are even printed to inform the residents: One Tanjong Pagar resident said:   Editor's note: On behalf of TRE, we would like to congratulate Li Lian for giving birth to her baby girl. We are glad that both mother and daughter are doing well :)    Read More →

Ruling Communist party expels Xu Caihou, the most senior figure to be snared by Xi Jinping's campaign, to face bribery charges (30 Jun) - A spreading anti-corruption crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping snared its most senior figure yet on Monday when a former top Chinese general was expelled from the ruling Communist party to face bribery charges. Three other senior officials, including a former deputy police minister, were also expelled from the party to face corruption charges. General Xu Caihou, a former deputy chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, which controls China's military, is accused of taking money and property in exchange for promotions and other favours, said a party statement reported by the official Xinhua news agency. It said his case had been handed over to military prosecutors. Xi, who took power in 2012, has vowed to root out corruption that has fuelled public anger and, as he has warned, could threaten the party's grip on power. But the campaign also appears to be aimed at neutralising a retired senior leader, Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the party's ruling standing committee. He stepped down in 2012 in a transfer of power to younger leaders. The latest people expelled from the party were close to Zhou, suggesting Xi is on the verge of trying to have him expelled from the party, said Willy Lam, a politics specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.   More in: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/30/chinese-anti-corruption-crackdown-former-top-general    Read More →

Ouch: Luis Suarez clutches his teeth after biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini (Photo EPA) The United Nation’s decision to hand Minister Louse Souless – aka Souless Louse - a four month ban for baiting Italian defender Gorgeous Chili Ini has sealed Souless’s place as the villain of World Club 2014. The incident has provoked outrage across the globe, with many saying the punishment is too lenient for such a heinous crime. But where does this behaviour that we find to be so unsportsmanlike come from? Souless is not the only culprit: skiving, dirty tackles and other foul behaviour takes place on the polity pitch that leaves us wondering why politicians sometimes act this way. Polity psychology research shows that clearly there are some personal characteristics that predispose politicians to cheat, but the social environment also plays a key role. The aim of the game in polity is winning, with the World Club Accolades being the pinnacle of the profession. Unsurprisingly, cheating is largely driven by a desire to succeed. There are two types of success: objective and subjective. Objective success is measured by the number of elections a party wins, which determines who wins the game. But there is also subjective success. This can apply in the face of defeat and is where politicians have their own definition of success, which they develop over time through socialisation with significant others such as family and mentors. Politicians who cheat often have big egos, and a disposition to define success in relation to others. For these players, satisfaction with accomplishment is dependent on doing better than others. In contrast, other politicians are predisposed to feel successful when they accomplish victory through hard work and achieve a personal best. Success for these politicians has value and meaning when achieved not through cheating but through personal effort. Politicians who prioritise ego tend to cheat and injure others, whereas those who value tasks are more likely to play by the rules. Politicians differ in the importance they place on being a moral person. Some feel that certain traits such as being fair and honest are an important part of their identity and this motivates moral action. In one study, we found experienced politicians who had a strong moral identity reported low frequency of anti-social behaviour such as skiving, deliberate glad-handing (to greet in an insincerely effusive manner), and trying to injure an opponent while playing football: some politicians like to kick opponents when they are down and out. It's unlikely that Souless would fall into this camp: the camp with strong moral identity. Although individual differences distinguish politicians who cheat from those who don't, the most important influence comes from the team environment, particularly the mentor. Through the rewards they give and the way they interact with players, mentors communicate what is important in polity. For example, when mentors reward only the best players, and pressure players to win, they send a clear message that winning is everything. Similarly, when mentors encourage their politicians to skive, they send the message that this behaviour is acceptable. This makes politicians who contemplate skiving and dirty tackling actually engage in these acts. In another study, we asked politicians to read scenarios that referred to hypothetical situations in polity, such as skiving to fool the electoral and dirty tackles. Politicians who perceived that their mentor encouraged this behaviour and favoured the best politicians also reported cheating. Interestingly, these politicians also thought it was right to do so: that is, they did not have reservations about the acceptability of skiving or dirty tackling. We observe the same politicians cheating over and over again - Souless, for example, is on a third charge of baiting an opponent and he's trying to play down its significance. Many are shocked at the apparent lack of guilt or shame on his part, which are the emotions that typically deter people from immoral behaviour. How do these villains on the pitch act the way they do without feeling bad? Behaviour is justified through moral disengagement, which is a set of mechanisms people use to justify cheating or other forms of inappropriate behaviour. For example, politicians may displace responsibility for their actions to their mentor, by saying that the mentor told them to do it; they may blame politicians of the other party by claiming that they provoked them; they may say that they did it to help their party; they could downplay the consequences of their actions for others; or they could say that "everybody does it". These justifications enable politicians to minimise negative emotions that are normally experienced when one cheats. In several studies we have found that politicians who report high moral disengagement also report high anti-social behaviour. The answer to better on-field morals lies in the politicians' immediate social environment - that is, their teammates and leader. Mentors especially play a pivotal role in behaviour. The way they respond when a politician cheats sends a message to the politician of whether this behaviour is acceptable. Souless received strong backing from his mentor, teammates and much of the Singalong press. United Nation's decision to give Souless a four month ban, curtailing his involvement in his country’s World Club campaign, sends the message that this behaviour is unacceptable. But this is not the first time Souless has acted this way and been punished. Given that this behaviour is recurring, a more severe punishment would have been more likely to act as a deterrent for future anti-social behaviour. Clearly though he would also benefit from a social environment that doesn't encourage this kind of behaviour as well.   Apolitical * Submitted by TRE reader   Bites, dives and dirty tackles – what makes a footballer break the rules? http://theconversation.com/bites-dives-and-dirty-tackles-what-makes-a-footballer-break-the-rules-28524 (27 Jun) - FIFA’s decision to hand Luis Suarez a four month ban for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini has sealed Suarez’s place as the villain of World Cup 2014. The incident has provoked outrage across the globe, with many saying the punishment is too lenient for such a heinous crime. But where does this behaviour that we find to be so unsportsmanlike come from? Suarez is not the only culprit: diving, dirty tackles and other foul behaviour takes place on the pitch that leaves us wondering why players sometimes act this way. Sports psychology research shows that clearly there are some personal characteristics that predispose players to cheat, but the social environment also plays a key role.  Read More →