LONDON (AFP) - - Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan said human nature made another global financial crisis inevitable, in an interview with BBC television on Wednesday.
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"They (financial crises) are all different, but they have one fundamental source," Greenspan said.
"That is the unquenchable capability of human beings when confronted with long periods of prosperity to presume that it will continue."
The belief that markets would continue to rise led people "to take speculative excesses with the consequences that have dotted the history of the globe basically since the beginning of the 18th or 19th century."
He added: "No two crises have anything in common except human nature."
Speaking as the global economy is showing signs of recovery a year after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, Greenspan predicted the world would also "get through" the next crisis.
He said that while the current crisis was triggered by the trade in US sub-prime mortgages, any factor could have been the catalyst.
If it were not the problem of these toxic debts caused by people's failure to repay the loans that were granted to homebuyers with bad credit histories, "something sooner or later would have emerged," Greenspan said.
He added that the world's financial institutions should have seen the looming crisis.
"The bankers knew that they were involved in an under-pricing of risk and that at some point a correction would be made," Greenspan said.
"I fear too many of them thought they would be able to spot the actual trigger point of the crisis in time to get out."
Greenspan has been blamed by some for failing to do more to prevent the crisis, but he denied any responsibility for the problems gripping the economy.
"It's human nature, unless somebody can find a way to change human nature, we will have more crises and none of them will look like this because no two crises have anything in common, except human nature," he told the BBC.
To avoid a repeat of the situation, financiers and governments should look to clamp down on fraud and force banks to hold more capital to cushion themselves against financial shocks, the former central bank chief said.
But he urged governments to steer clear of protectionism because applying strict regulations could hamper global trade.
"The most recent endeavour to re-regulate is a reaction to the crisis. The extraordinary impact of these global markets is making a lot of financial people feeling they have lost control.
"The problem is you cannot have free global trade with highly restrictive, regulated domestic markets."
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Religion a force for unity - ST May 10
Religion a force for unity, Pope tells Muslims
Pontiff urges Muslims and Christians to come together as 'worshippers of God'
Amman - Pope Benedict XVI yesterday condemned the 'ideological manipulation of religion' in a speech to Muslim leaders in Jordan, as he pressed for inter-faith reconciliation.
Religion should be a force for unity, not division, he told his audience, which included Christian prelates, in Amman's huge Al-Hussein Mosque on the second day of his tour of the Holy Land.
On his first visit to an Arab country as pontiff, he urged Muslims and Christians to unite as faithful 'worshippers of God' because of 'the burden of our common history' that has often been marked by misunderstanding.
The Pope was eager to mend ties with the Muslim world after a 2006 address in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted a mediaeval Christian emperor who criticised some teachings of Prophet Muhammad as 'evil and inhuman'.
In his speech, the Pope acknowledged that 'tensions and divisions' between followers of different faiths exist.
He noted, however, that it is often the 'ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tensions and divisions - and at times even violence - in society'.
The Pope, who expressed his 'deep respect' for Islam on Friday, fell short of a full apology yesterday. But Prince Ghazni bin Mohammed, the top religious adviser and cousin to Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the Muslim world 'appreciated' the Vatican's clarification and accepted that the Pope was not expressing his own opinion in 2006 but making a historical citation.
He also praised the Pope for his 'friendly gestures and kindly actions towards Muslims' since then.
In one section of his address at the mosque, Pope Benedict referred to God as 'merciful and compassionate', using the formula Muslims use when speaking of God.
Mr Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Common Word, a group of Muslim scholars promoting dialogue with Christians, said the Pope's speech yesterday would not erase his Regensburg address from popular memory.
But he noted with approval that Pope Benedict had stressed that Muslims and Christians worshipped the same God.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said yesterday that the Pope did not remove his shoes or pray while in the mosque, as he did during his first visit to a mosque in Turkey in 2006.
Instead, he paused for 'a respectful moment of reflection'.
The Pope did not remove his shoes as his hosts did not ask him to, the spokesman explained.
Catholic conservatives criticised the Pope in 2006 after he prayed towards Mecca with the imam of a mosque in Istanbul.
The Pope arrived here on Friday on a Holy Land tour that will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Earlier yesterday, he called for reconciliation between Christians and Jews during a speech at Mount Nebo, where the Bible says God showed the Promised Land to Moses.
'The ancient tradition of pilgrimage to the holy places also reminds us of the inseparable bond between the Church and the Jewish people,' he said.
'May of our encounters today inspire in us a renewed love for the canon of sacred scripture and a desire to overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation.'
Israel and the Vatican have clashed recently over the papal decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop and over moves to beatify Pope Pius XII.
AFP, AP, Reuters
Pontiff urges Muslims and Christians to come together as 'worshippers of God'
Amman - Pope Benedict XVI yesterday condemned the 'ideological manipulation of religion' in a speech to Muslim leaders in Jordan, as he pressed for inter-faith reconciliation.
Religion should be a force for unity, not division, he told his audience, which included Christian prelates, in Amman's huge Al-Hussein Mosque on the second day of his tour of the Holy Land.
On his first visit to an Arab country as pontiff, he urged Muslims and Christians to unite as faithful 'worshippers of God' because of 'the burden of our common history' that has often been marked by misunderstanding.
The Pope was eager to mend ties with the Muslim world after a 2006 address in Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted a mediaeval Christian emperor who criticised some teachings of Prophet Muhammad as 'evil and inhuman'.
In his speech, the Pope acknowledged that 'tensions and divisions' between followers of different faiths exist.
He noted, however, that it is often the 'ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tensions and divisions - and at times even violence - in society'.
The Pope, who expressed his 'deep respect' for Islam on Friday, fell short of a full apology yesterday. But Prince Ghazni bin Mohammed, the top religious adviser and cousin to Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the Muslim world 'appreciated' the Vatican's clarification and accepted that the Pope was not expressing his own opinion in 2006 but making a historical citation.
He also praised the Pope for his 'friendly gestures and kindly actions towards Muslims' since then.
In one section of his address at the mosque, Pope Benedict referred to God as 'merciful and compassionate', using the formula Muslims use when speaking of God.
Mr Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for Common Word, a group of Muslim scholars promoting dialogue with Christians, said the Pope's speech yesterday would not erase his Regensburg address from popular memory.
But he noted with approval that Pope Benedict had stressed that Muslims and Christians worshipped the same God.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said yesterday that the Pope did not remove his shoes or pray while in the mosque, as he did during his first visit to a mosque in Turkey in 2006.
Instead, he paused for 'a respectful moment of reflection'.
The Pope did not remove his shoes as his hosts did not ask him to, the spokesman explained.
Catholic conservatives criticised the Pope in 2006 after he prayed towards Mecca with the imam of a mosque in Istanbul.
The Pope arrived here on Friday on a Holy Land tour that will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Earlier yesterday, he called for reconciliation between Christians and Jews during a speech at Mount Nebo, where the Bible says God showed the Promised Land to Moses.
'The ancient tradition of pilgrimage to the holy places also reminds us of the inseparable bond between the Church and the Jewish people,' he said.
'May of our encounters today inspire in us a renewed love for the canon of sacred scripture and a desire to overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation.'
Israel and the Vatican have clashed recently over the papal decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop and over moves to beatify Pope Pius XII.
AFP, AP, Reuters
Monday, March 2, 2009
Spare the rod, spoil the child - ST 28 Feb 2009
Spare the rod, spoil the child
British parents cite reasons for lack of discipline in schools
LONDON: - Parents in Britain believe that corporal punishment was an 'effective method of control' when they were at school, says new government research.
The parents said the decision to outlaw physical chastisement contributed to a fall in discipline, The Telegraph has reported.
The study, backed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, comes just months after a fifth of teachers in the country called for the cane to be reintroduced to restore order in the classroom.
It follows another report published earlier this week by Ofsted which suggested that traditional discipline methods such as suspending hundreds of troublemakers at a time and banning children with shaven heads and designer trainers were good deterrent measures.
Britain abolished corporal punishment including the use of the cane and rule in state schools in 1987. In the fee-paying sector, it was abolished in 1998.
In the latest study, the Department for Children, Schools and Families held in-depth interviews with 48 adults to gauge their perception of behaviour among young people.
When asked to describe what they felt was behind a decline in discipline, they made a series of observations.
These included the 'increasing demands on teachers - paperwork, planning, etc - leaving them less effective to teach and discipline effectively'.
The group, which included 32 parents, also cited the 'suitability of some teachers to the profession', suggesting that some lacked an ability to 'instil respect and good behaviour amongst teenage students'.
They added that 'the removal of corporal punishment in schools, which many felt had been an effective method of control in their day', also affected discipline standards.
Ms Margaret Morrissey, from the campaign group Parents Outloud, said: 'I really do believe that the problem for the deteriorating behaviour is the political correctness of the last 10 years that has told children to stand up and complain the moment someone tries to tell them off.'
In the study, parents also blamed the fact that 'children and young people (were) becoming more vocal and demanding and at the same time less afraid of authority'.
Increasing pressure on children to be academically successful was also cited, The Telegraph said.
A survey of more than 6,000 teachers last year found more than a fifth believed the cane should be brought back.
One supply teacher told researchers: 'Children's behaviour is now absolutely outrageous in the majority of schools. I am a supply teacher, so I see very many schools and there are no sanctions.'
But Ms Morrissey said she was not convinced that corporal punishment will make a comeback in the present climate. 'Can you imagine the number of compensation claims it would lead to?' she pointed out.
Mr John Dunford, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'Thankfully, corporal punishment is no longer on the agenda, except in the most uncivilised countries. I am sure that this barbaric punishment has disappeared forever.'
British parents cite reasons for lack of discipline in schools
LONDON: - Parents in Britain believe that corporal punishment was an 'effective method of control' when they were at school, says new government research.
The parents said the decision to outlaw physical chastisement contributed to a fall in discipline, The Telegraph has reported.
The study, backed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, comes just months after a fifth of teachers in the country called for the cane to be reintroduced to restore order in the classroom.
It follows another report published earlier this week by Ofsted which suggested that traditional discipline methods such as suspending hundreds of troublemakers at a time and banning children with shaven heads and designer trainers were good deterrent measures.
Britain abolished corporal punishment including the use of the cane and rule in state schools in 1987. In the fee-paying sector, it was abolished in 1998.
In the latest study, the Department for Children, Schools and Families held in-depth interviews with 48 adults to gauge their perception of behaviour among young people.
When asked to describe what they felt was behind a decline in discipline, they made a series of observations.
These included the 'increasing demands on teachers - paperwork, planning, etc - leaving them less effective to teach and discipline effectively'.
The group, which included 32 parents, also cited the 'suitability of some teachers to the profession', suggesting that some lacked an ability to 'instil respect and good behaviour amongst teenage students'.
They added that 'the removal of corporal punishment in schools, which many felt had been an effective method of control in their day', also affected discipline standards.
Ms Margaret Morrissey, from the campaign group Parents Outloud, said: 'I really do believe that the problem for the deteriorating behaviour is the political correctness of the last 10 years that has told children to stand up and complain the moment someone tries to tell them off.'
In the study, parents also blamed the fact that 'children and young people (were) becoming more vocal and demanding and at the same time less afraid of authority'.
Increasing pressure on children to be academically successful was also cited, The Telegraph said.
A survey of more than 6,000 teachers last year found more than a fifth believed the cane should be brought back.
One supply teacher told researchers: 'Children's behaviour is now absolutely outrageous in the majority of schools. I am a supply teacher, so I see very many schools and there are no sanctions.'
But Ms Morrissey said she was not convinced that corporal punishment will make a comeback in the present climate. 'Can you imagine the number of compensation claims it would lead to?' she pointed out.
Mr John Dunford, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'Thankfully, corporal punishment is no longer on the agenda, except in the most uncivilised countries. I am sure that this barbaric punishment has disappeared forever.'
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
IRO Turns 60 - ST 12 Jan 2009
Inter-faith NGO turns 60
By Goh Chin Lian
NEW immigrants and the young generation can take a leaf from the founders of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) 60 years ago.
They knew the importance of dialogue and face to face interaction in building trust in a diverse society, and on Monday night they were praised by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng for their 'wise foresight' in founding Singapore's only inter-faith non-government organisation.
Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister, reminded more than 280 representatives of religious groups and members of the diplomatic corps that the ability of different religious communities to live peacefully together in Singapore did not happen by chance.
'This is not something in the DNA of Singapore. It is the effort of purposive and determined cultivation and is maintained by disciplined vigilance against anything that threatens it,' he said at a dinner reception at the Raffles Town Club to mark the IRO's 60th anniversary.
He called the Government a 'worrier' who takes nothing for granted when it comes to matters of race and religion.
This is why it started the Community Engagement Programme in 2006 to build up ties among leaders across various communities such as schools, businesses, unions and arts groups to reduce tension in case of a crisis.
This is also seen in the Government taking a serious stand on all who purvey extremist or seditious views, or actions.
He said: 'The robustness of the Government's response and its clear message that we will not extremism from any group is the reason why groups exercise restraint even when they encounter provocation, often from occurrences outside Singapore or on the Internet.'
Mr Wong also paid tribute to the IRO, which represents 10 different religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Skihism and the Baha'i Faith.
He put on record its work in promoting inter-religious understanding and goodwill through seminars and public talks, as well as publishing books on religious customs and practices.
The IRO and its members who are leaders in their own communities, he said, also 'set a bold and powerful example for others to follow in inter-faith dialogue and mutual understanding'.
On Monday night, he presented the IRO Award to one of its longest serving member, Venerable Chao Khun.
The Chief Abbot of the Wat Ananda Temple has been involved in the IRO for more than 20 years, providing guidance for key IRO events and being a regular member of its prayer team.
Mr Wong said the IRO has become 'both a symbol and a working reality of religious harmony'.
'I would like to place on record the Government's appreciation of the contributions of the IRO and its members over the many years.
'They have helped to preserve and enhance the ethnic harmony which Singapore has come to showcase as one of its most valuable and precious feature.'
By Goh Chin Lian
NEW immigrants and the young generation can take a leaf from the founders of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) 60 years ago.
They knew the importance of dialogue and face to face interaction in building trust in a diverse society, and on Monday night they were praised by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng for their 'wise foresight' in founding Singapore's only inter-faith non-government organisation.
Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister, reminded more than 280 representatives of religious groups and members of the diplomatic corps that the ability of different religious communities to live peacefully together in Singapore did not happen by chance.
'This is not something in the DNA of Singapore. It is the effort of purposive and determined cultivation and is maintained by disciplined vigilance against anything that threatens it,' he said at a dinner reception at the Raffles Town Club to mark the IRO's 60th anniversary.
He called the Government a 'worrier' who takes nothing for granted when it comes to matters of race and religion.
This is why it started the Community Engagement Programme in 2006 to build up ties among leaders across various communities such as schools, businesses, unions and arts groups to reduce tension in case of a crisis.
This is also seen in the Government taking a serious stand on all who purvey extremist or seditious views, or actions.
He said: 'The robustness of the Government's response and its clear message that we will not extremism from any group is the reason why groups exercise restraint even when they encounter provocation, often from occurrences outside Singapore or on the Internet.'
Mr Wong also paid tribute to the IRO, which represents 10 different religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Skihism and the Baha'i Faith.
He put on record its work in promoting inter-religious understanding and goodwill through seminars and public talks, as well as publishing books on religious customs and practices.
The IRO and its members who are leaders in their own communities, he said, also 'set a bold and powerful example for others to follow in inter-faith dialogue and mutual understanding'.
On Monday night, he presented the IRO Award to one of its longest serving member, Venerable Chao Khun.
The Chief Abbot of the Wat Ananda Temple has been involved in the IRO for more than 20 years, providing guidance for key IRO events and being a regular member of its prayer team.
Mr Wong said the IRO has become 'both a symbol and a working reality of religious harmony'.
'I would like to place on record the Government's appreciation of the contributions of the IRO and its members over the many years.
'They have helped to preserve and enhance the ethnic harmony which Singapore has come to showcase as one of its most valuable and precious feature.'
The Catholic High Story - ST 12 Jan 2009
Curriculum change helped
Student-focused system is more flexible, caters to interest
By Cheryl Ong
OF THE 35 top Secondary 4 Chinese students in last year's GCE O-level examination, about one-third came from Catholic High School.
All 12 of them scored nine A1s, a jump from last year, when only three Catholic High students made it to the list of top Secondary 4 Chinese students.
Catholic High's principal Lee Hak Boon attributed the marked improvement partly to a new curriculum the school adopted in 2006.
It allows students to take subjects they want to study rather than choose from fixed subject combinations.
'What we've done here is open up a lot of options and give students leeway to do what they are interested in.'
He added that the teachers' commitment to their pupils also contributed greatly to the good results this year.
O-level students need to take a predetermined number of subjects in language, science and the humanities.
Students at Catholic High were able to take any combination they liked as long as they met the requirements.
The resulting total number of combinations came to nearly a hundred, according to the Head of Department (English) Mr Edwin Heng, and the school coped with this by 'banding' subjects in the timetable together.
For instance, during two hours of humanities subjects in a timetable, students attend the respective classes of whatever subjects they signed up for.
'I think the school programme has certainly helped,' said Chan Hua Peng, 17, one of the top students at Catholic High. 'If you study what you like you'll naturally want to do well.'
Interests aside, the flexible system also let students like fellow top-scorer Chua Kah Hoe, 17, take subjects they can ace.
'I chose mainly the subjects I would do well at,' he said of his combination of three science subjects, two maths, geography, social studies and a history elective.
'But it all depends on how much hard work you put in, and the teachers, of course.'
Bolstered by the school's achievements, Mr Lee aims to raise the number of distinctions for English from 65.4 per cent this year to 70 per cent.
'We are looking for new breakthroughs next year,' he said.
Student-focused system is more flexible, caters to interest
By Cheryl Ong
OF THE 35 top Secondary 4 Chinese students in last year's GCE O-level examination, about one-third came from Catholic High School.
All 12 of them scored nine A1s, a jump from last year, when only three Catholic High students made it to the list of top Secondary 4 Chinese students.
Catholic High's principal Lee Hak Boon attributed the marked improvement partly to a new curriculum the school adopted in 2006.
It allows students to take subjects they want to study rather than choose from fixed subject combinations.
'What we've done here is open up a lot of options and give students leeway to do what they are interested in.'
He added that the teachers' commitment to their pupils also contributed greatly to the good results this year.
O-level students need to take a predetermined number of subjects in language, science and the humanities.
Students at Catholic High were able to take any combination they liked as long as they met the requirements.
The resulting total number of combinations came to nearly a hundred, according to the Head of Department (English) Mr Edwin Heng, and the school coped with this by 'banding' subjects in the timetable together.
For instance, during two hours of humanities subjects in a timetable, students attend the respective classes of whatever subjects they signed up for.
'I think the school programme has certainly helped,' said Chan Hua Peng, 17, one of the top students at Catholic High. 'If you study what you like you'll naturally want to do well.'
Interests aside, the flexible system also let students like fellow top-scorer Chua Kah Hoe, 17, take subjects they can ace.
'I chose mainly the subjects I would do well at,' he said of his combination of three science subjects, two maths, geography, social studies and a history elective.
'But it all depends on how much hard work you put in, and the teachers, of course.'
Bolstered by the school's achievements, Mr Lee aims to raise the number of distinctions for English from 65.4 per cent this year to 70 per cent.
'We are looking for new breakthroughs next year,' he said.
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