As quickly as we embarked on a COVID-endemic strategy, Singapore has tightened restrictions on social gatherings once again. It’s not the first time we’ve clamped down to reduce the spread, but why is there so much more frustration this time? In other news, the co-founder of indie bookstore BooksActually, a longstanding bastion of Singapore literature, was accused by several female ex-employees of misconduct in a bombshell exposé published by Rice Media over the weekend. Was the SingLit community complicit in letting this open secret slide?

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Singapore tightens COVID restrictions

• Singapore reports a record 1,939 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths - CNA

BooksActually co-founder accused of misconduct by ex-employees

• Built on uneasy compromises: The young women behind BooksActually speak up

Our one SHIOK comments

➤ Thread on YLB Ep #210 

➤ Comment by kish_speed

Here are our one SHIOK things!

➤ Zircon Lounge - Strangers

➤ Vienna's Radical Idea? Affordable Housing For All

And we thought our jobs were tough! This week, we speak to Paul Laurence, a Singaporean who clears unexploded RPGs, landmines and IEDs in war-torn countries for a living. After a long career in the SAF, Paul has worked as a deminer in places such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq, Somalia and Papau New Guinea. We read about him in an eye-opening feature in Rice Media, and really wanted to know: what does he now think about the stuff we complain about in Singapore?

Find us here!

• Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

The Rice Media feature that got us talking!

• Meet Paul, The Singaporean Who Cleared Taliban Landmines In Afghanistan

Here are our one SHIOK things!

• Dante Chen vs. Trey Baxter: WWE NXT 2.0, Sept. 21, 2021

This week, Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim wades into the argument on whether SG should continue its mask mandate in a FB post, triggering a fierce debate online. We also spoke to MMA fighter Victoria Lee, the teenage sensation who burst onto the scene in 2021 with 2 consecutive victories in ONE Championship. With heavy expectations weighing on the 17-year-old’s shoulders as Angela Lee and Christian Lee’s younger sister, we discuss the pressures of juggling school work and fighting, and what a normal day is like for a family of fighters.

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Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

Opposition MP Jamus Lim questions masks outdoors

• Jamus Lim's FB post

We talk to MMA fighter Victoria Lee

• Victoria Lee's next fight for ONE Championship this Fri, 24 Sep

• YLB Subreddit thread for Ep209 (about the SAF general)

• Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Trailer

At the end of the year, a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) General, Tan Chee Wee, will be appointed chief executive of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). We debate whether a high-ranking military officer really has the competence and knowledge to oversee SG’s pre-school sector. Also, an enrichment centre behind a PR campaign involving clowns loitering around outside primary schools has apologised for the panic caused. What gives?

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Find us here!

➤ Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

➤ Our YouTube channel to see our FACES!

SAF General to head SG's early childhood agency

• SAF's first inspector-general to oversee S'pore's pre-school sector from Dec 15

Clown PR stunt gets backlash from public and police

• 'Viral marketing nonsense': Speech Academy Asia apologises for clown stunt outside primary schools

Our one SHIOK comments

➤ Comment by u/Pillybaxtoodles

Here are our one SHIOK things!

➤ Super League rage, Ronaldo mania and the fight for the soul of Manchester United

➤ A throng of Internet sleuths are on the Gabby Petito case. Why has it sparked so much interest? (not really a "shiok" thing, reader discretion is advised)

Since the bombshell news about the closure of Yale-NUS, we’ve not heard directly from actual students about how they’re coping with the loss. So we connected with Ethel Pang, a final-year student at Yale-NUS, to find out what she and her peers have been doing since learning of the school’s imminent closure. Also, she shares her views about Minister Chan Chun Sing’s explanation in parliament about the issue, and gives a glimpse of what Yale-NUS students and faculty are planning for their next steps.

Find us here!

• Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

The Yale-NUS Closure

• Merger of Yale-NUS, USP will mean more affordable, accessible education, says Chan Chun Sing

Here are our one SHIOK things!

• This Is What The Surface Of Venus Sounds Like

Till next time, peace!

Since the bombshell news about the closure of Yale-NUS, we’ve not heard directly from actual students about how they’re coping with the loss. So we connected with Ethel Pang, a final-year student at Yale-NUS, to find out what she and her peers have been doing since learning of the school’s imminent closure. Also, she shares her views about Minister Chan Chun Sing’s explanation in parliament about the issue, and gives a glimpse of what Yale-NUS students and faculty are planning for their next steps.

Find us here!

• Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

The Yale-NUS Closure

• Merger of Yale-NUS, USP will mean more affordable, accessible education, says Chan Chun Sing

Here are our one SHIOK things!

• This Is What The Surface Of Venus Sounds Like

Till next time, peace!

At the recent livestreamed parliamentary debate, a hot mic caught part of a private conversation between several MPs, in which Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had allegedly labelled opposition politician Leong Mun Wai “illiterate”. The minister has since written a FB post revealing that he has apologized to Leong for his remarks, so why are SGeans online making a ruckus about this? Also, we discuss the new copyright laws that will grant rights to photos taken to the photographers by default, rather than to the commissioning party. How will this affect your wedding photos?

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➤ Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

➤ Our YouTube channel to see our FACES!

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s “illiterate” insult goes viral

• S'pore Parliament session lasted 13.5 hours till 12.30am on Sep. 15, 2021

SGeans worry about how the new Copyright Act will affect their weddings

• Rights to wedding photos will belong to photographers by default with Copyright Act changes
  

Our one SHIOK comments

➤ Comment by muffinmaaan 

➤ Comment by OK-Maintenance-4414

Here are our one SHIOK things!

➤ Power Rangers on YouTube

➤ Craig Ferguson fun with guests compilation - part #1

A recent feature by CNA highlights a trend of more young, single Singaporeans moving out from their parents’ homes to live in their own rental spaces. We discuss if this is a good idea, how COVID has changed things, and delve into our own experiences for answers. Also, athlete Soh Rui Yong has supposedly angered commando soldiers with his open challenge to run 2.4km in under 7 minutes. But is this spat just a further extension of this viral marketing stunt? 

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➤ Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

➤ Our YouTube channel to see our FACES!

Why young, single SGeans are moving out earlier

• The Big Read: Affluent and craving space to grow, more single millennials leave the nest for greater freedom
  

Athlete Soh Rui Yong’s publicity stunt angers commandos

• Soh Rui Yong issues challenge to run 2.4km in less than 7min

Our one SHIOK comments

➤ Comment by LeStench

➤ Comment by [deleted]

Here are our one SHIOK things for this week!

➤ Emma Raducanu discusses winning the 2021 US Open

➤ Ronaldo strikes as United hit Newcastle for four

We talk about the recent calls for Singapore’s Paralympians to be awarded the same sweet $1,000,000 reward that Olympians receive for winning gold. Also, Simu Liu and Shang-Chi might get cancelled in China for something he said in an interview 4 years ago. Is the anger justified?

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Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

Paralympic gold only worth 20% of Olympic gold?

• Yip Pin Xiu has 5 Paralympic gold medals, but her total award is equivalent to 1 Olympic medal. Why?

Simu Liu might get cancelled in China

• Simu Liu Accused Of “Insulting China” After 2017 Interview Shows Him Calling China “Third World"

• Comment by u/AI_Killeu

• "SELFIE" by Porta dos Fundos

From conspiracy theorists group-buying ivermectin, to even PM Lee’s wife Ho Ching herself publicly questioning MOH’s decision to stop announcing the number of unlinked cases, it seems like everyone has differing opinions on Singapore’s COVID strategy. Are Singaporeans ready to live with COVID? Also, a series of bad online reviews of restaurant Mentai-Ya leads the business owner to uncover a smear campaign that implicates one of his competitors. 

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Our #YLB Subreddit for show notes

Ho Ching questions MOH decision

• MOH to stop providing number of linked, unlinked COVID cases

Fake F&B reviews exposes smear campaign

• Internet bullies led business owner to some disturbing findings

• Comment by marcwjacob

• "Informer" web series by VICE