*excerpts from a NYtimes article*
“We want to tell students, ‘Don’t wait until you have built up your career,’ ” said Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, the minister of state for community development, youth and sports, at a news conference in March. “Sometimes, it is too late, especially for girls.”
The courses are an extension of government matchmaking programs that try to address the twin challenges embodied in a falling birthrate: too few people are having babies, and too few of those who are belong to what Singapore considers the genetically desirable educated elite.
Over the past 25 years, the mating rituals organized by the government — tea dances, wine tastings, cooking classes, cruises, screenings of romantic movies — have been among the country’s least successful social engineering programs.
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“Teaching our youth in school how to fall in love” is a good solution, wrote Andy Ho, a senior writer at The Straits Times, a government-friendly newspaper that does its best to help out in Singapore’s many campaigns.
In 1991, for example, when the government began offering cash bonuses to couples with more than two children, the newspaper printed tips for having sex in the back seat of a car, including directions to some of the “darkest, most secluded and most romantic spots” for parking.
It suggested covering the windows with newspapers for privacy.
(to read the entire mortifying article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/world/asia/29singapore.html?ex=1210132800&en=a8e257f63e1e73d2&ei=5070&emc=eta1)
And... this is why i love my country:
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ok that was written like, 2 nights ago in a fit of boredom.
in other news... here are some updates on life, in efficient point form:
- christine has very nicely booked the hotels in greasy!!!!!! i am excited until can pee!!!! omg! the pictures are BLOODY beautiful but for... security and privacy reasons (heheheheheheh) i shall not post links here
- my japanese drumming concert is this sun! excite!
- the weather is shit.
- i have so much work it is not funny.
- i skyped nat last night
- i am in love with cristiano ronaldo and his red cheeks again
today was a nice day. went for lunch in jap restaurant with eric, had nice (for shitty angmoh faux azn restaurant) seafood udon soup, went for class where professor now hates me and isaac cos we were sniggering for a good part of the lesson, hung out with somin for a while, took nap, did some homework until linda dan elena and siyou invaded my room for a late night visit.
BUT THEN THE DAYS UNTIL THE 16TH SHALL REEK OF HELL.
ok night.
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