December 05, 2004

• Oh great. Bush is going to try this here now. Oh, wait. Heteros don't get hiv. *head slap* AIR, prostitution is a major player in Singapor's hiv numbers (I'd have to look it up, but there numbers were astounding a few years ago). Dunno what they'll do with a + result. (Bzzzt! Thanks for playing, fucknut. Off to jail with you.) Singapore's kinda weird with what they say they do vs. what they really do. Huh, kinda like the puritanical US? My guess is it will do not much good at all for the folks who get a + result --state-inflicted shame and embarrassment -- and it won't do shit to deal with prostitution, men on the down low, or other extramarital sex. But Singapore's big on public shame and maybe they're thinking this will scare people into "sexual purity". Singapore's government needs a cockpunch stat.
• This is not so strange. To get a marriage licence in many states, you have to get a blood test for syphillis and gonorrhea. List of states here. I could not find any information about what use the test results are put to, which may account for the tests' being phased out in many states. Maybe they were just a heads-up for the applicants concerning their prospective spouses.
• erebus, I believe that, once they found treatments for syphillus and gonorrhea, you had to go to the doctor, get treated, and bring back a certificate saying you were "clean" before they'd give you a license. Also, it *is* a nice heads up for the couple, and these tests went far to stem the tide of STIs. Syphillus only made a big comeback after these tests stopped happening. Since you can't cure HIV/AIDS yet, I guess these tests would serve as only a heads-up? The infected person could get treatment, and take steps to avoid infecting their partner and any prospective children. This is not a bad thing, if the test results aren't used to punish (not a sure thing in Singapore -- or anywhere, really).
• I am so not going back there.
• Singapore's run by the guys who ran China. What do expect it to be? Not fascist?
• I passed through Singapore once. The airport was clean and organized, the cab driver was uniformed (complete with driving gloves!), the streets were well-maintained, the hotel was multi-storied, the conference hall had perfect acoustics and a really appealing neo-classical design. Almost everyone was well-mannered and punctual. I'm sure one could tell time by the trains. If Fascism can exhibit such spit and polish, can we really call it evil?
• You can get the same thing in Switzerland, without the fascism.
• Chewing gum is illegal there. Enough said.
• Singapore is like hell. Visiting is fun, but residing there...
• Singapore's run by the guys who ran China. No. Unless you mean that they're mainly Chinese, then yes. But Singapore's government was virulently against Communism. You can get the same thing in Switzerland, without the fascism. And that's who we try to emulate, most of the time. Many of our later MRT (Underground or Metro equivalent) stations were modeled after the Swiss light rail system. Our light rail system however, has been quite an embarrassment, as it keeps breaking down. We're not exactly fascist, to my mind. Heavily socialist, but without the strong welfare system, and extremely patriarchal. Singaporeans have been so used to the government telling them what to do (on hygiene, procreation, recreation, spending, etc...) that we're largely politically apathetic people who toe the line slightly more out of habit than actual fear of punishment. Although the punishments in Singapore are very hefty. It's one of the few countrie where if you were convicted of something, the judge could impose a penalty higher than the legal maximum put down in the statutes; and if you appealed, you were more likely to get your punishment compounded rather than alleviated. Chewing gum is illegal here. Excellent example of the efficiency of our lawmakers. Days after a piece of discarded gum fouled up the automatic doors of a MRT station, chewing gum became illegal to sell or buy. You can still possess it. And now, after a trade agreement with US, chewing gum can be sold on prescription for health purposes. apologies for long comment.
• It isn't actually a long comment (and I should know). Also, it's good to hear from someone who knows the country well, thank you.