Ugly Men for Drinks Ads; 37th Chemistry Olympiad; The farmer-scholar divide

This is probably one of the most ridiculous piece of news I have read today. What next? Fat and unattractive women for car ads?

Ugly Men Called In For Drinks Firms Ads

(UK) Drinks companies have been ordered to use uglier men in their advertising campaigns.The Advertising Standards Authority believes "balding" and "paunchy" men would be less likely to encourage women to drink to achieve social success.The new advertising code stresses that links must not be made between alcohol and seduction.

A campaign for popular sparkling drink Lambrini has become the first to fall foul of the new rules.

The Authority objected to a poster which showed three women "hooking" a slim, young man in a parody of a fairground game.

The industry regulator instructed the firm: "We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive - ie overweight, middle-aged, balding etc.

"In its current form we consider that the ad is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls.

"If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed from the ad."

Lambrini owner John Halewood said the Authority should not be in the business of defining who was and was not unattractive enough to star in ads.

He said: "It makes some very understandable rulings to encourage sensible drinking but we're not sure they're qualified to decide for the nation who's sexy and who's not.

"Sexual attraction is happily one of the few things in life that can't be governed."

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XXXVII International Chemistry Olympiad. I wonder what is Singapore's standing.

Asia Dominates Chemistry Olympiad
South Korea and Vietnam place high, while U.S. performance declines

AALOK MEHTA

South Korea received top honors at the 37th International Chemistry Olympiad, which took place in Taipei from July 16 to 25, with each of its four participants earning a gold medal. Vietnam snagged second place with three gold medals and one silver, while Iran, Russia, and host team Taiwan placed third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, with two gold and two silver medals apiece. Once again, Alexey Zeifman of Russia garnered the top individual score.

The U.S. team of high school students continued to place in the middle. Allen Cheng, Jacob Sanders, and Nicholas Sofroniew received silver medals, while Scott Rabin earned a bronze medal. Last year’s team received four silver medals.

Olympiad organizers reported that 225 students from 59 countries took part in the competition, which featured five-hour practical and theoretical examinations. A total of 26 gold, 48 silver, and 79 bronze medals were awarded. Traditional powerhouse China, winner of the previous three competitions, did not participate this year.

Students and visitors also toured local attractions and museums and participated in cultural and social activities during the contest, though the midcompetition appearance of Typhoon Haitang put a damper on some of the festivities.

The next Chemistry Olympiad will take place in Gyeongsan, South Korea, July 2–11, 2006.

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Zyl talks about the scholar-farmer divide in the Civil Service. This was also covered by stray_cat in the YPAP forums previously, although I can't seem to find that particular thread.

Anyway, the gist (with exceptions of course) is that:

Farmer graduates (in their mid-late 20s) normally start off as "Senior Officer", while returning PSC (overseas) scholars frequently get emplaced as Assistant Directors in their first postings (for the ladies this would mean they are about 23; for guys 25) plus accelerated promotions.