Sunday, November 2, 2008

Some last minute defination

1. Cold War
The Cold War refers to the political, ideological and economic rivarlry that emerged after World War II betwen US and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies.

It is one of the reason for the causes of conflict. e.g. will be the Korea War bettwen North and South Korea. (Can be used for causes for conflict Textbook. pg 163)



2. The COD Wars

The Cod Wars, also called the Iceland Cod Wars were a series of confrontations in the 1970s between the United Kingdom and Iceland regarding fishing rights in the North Atlantic. The name of the conflict may be derived from a pun on the term "Cold War", possibly via the British tabloid press (Can be used for causes for conflict Textbook. pg 161)




3. Peacekeeping Force





Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace."[1] It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking.
Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Beret because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, civilian police officers, and other civilian personnel.
4. Armed Conflict
War and armed conflict are often treated as synonymous terms. War can be describedas the extreme form of armed conflict and usually takes place between states. Armedconflict implies the pursuit of objectives through violence. The Red Cross definition ofarmed conflict is: “any difference between two states leading to the intervention of themembers of the armed forces is an armed conflict.”
Read the following article and see if you can find the principles of good governance.




Marina Barrage

Singapore's Latest Water Icon

Built across the mouth of the Marina Channel, the Marina Barrage creates Singapore’s 15th reservoir, and the first in the heart of the city. With a catchment area of 10,000 hectares, or one-sixth the size of Singapore, the Marina catchment is the island’s largest and most urbanised catchment. Together with two other new reservoirs, the Marina Reservoir will boost Singapore’s water catchment from half to two-thirds of the country's land area.

The Marina Barrage is the result of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's vision nearly two decades ago when he envisaged damming the mouth of the Marina Channel to create a freshwater reservoir. (What principles of good governance is this?)

3-in-1 Benefits
Water Supply
Flood Control
Lifestyle Attraction

Water Supply
The Marina Barrage is a 350-meter wide dam built across the Marina Channel to keep out seawater, forming Singapore’s first reservoir in the city and 15th reservoir. Marina Reservoir combines with the future Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs will increase Singapore's water catchment areas from half to two-thirds of Singapore's land areas.

With the barrage in place, the Marina Basin will turn into a body of freshwater through natural flushing in one two to years. The freshwater will then be treated using advanced membrane technology before consumption.

Local catchment water is one of the Four National Taps, with the other three being imported water, NEWater and desalinated water.

As one of the pillars of local water supply, Marina Reservoir will meet more than 10% of Singapore’s current water demand.

Flood Control

The Marina Barrage is part of a comprehensive flood control scheme to alleviate flooding in the low-lying areas in the city such as Chinatown, Boat Quay, Jalan Besar and Geylang.

During heavy rain, the series of nine crest gates at the dam will be activated to release excess storm water into the sea when the tide is low.
In the case of high tide, giant pumps which are capable of pumping an Olympics-size swimming pool per minute will drain excess storm water into the sea.

Lifestyle Attraction

As the water in the Marina Basin is unaffected by the tides, its water level will be kept constant all year round. This is ideal for all kinds of recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing, kayaking and dragonboating etc.




answer: Anticipate change and stay relevant. Principle of being forward looking.