QUES: On to the Twentieth Century: The British extended their control over the peninsula by putting together the whole panoply of colonial administrationcivil service, public works, judiciary force, police force, post office, education, and land regulationwith teams of British administrators, teachers, engineers, and doctors to go with it. At the same time, the tin industry, dominated by Chinese using labor-intensive methods in the 19th century, passed increasingly into Western hands, who employed the modern technology of gravel pumps and mining dredges. Petroleum had been found in northern Borneo, at Miri, and in Brunei, and the Anglo-Dutch Shell company used Singapore as its regional depot for its oil supplies and exports. But the major breakthrough for the Malay economy was the triumph of rubber, when Singapore's new garden director, Henry Ridle ("Rubber Ridley" to his friends, "Mad Ridley" to all doubting Thomases) had developed new planting and tapping methods and painstakingly spread his faith in rubber around the peninsula. World demand increased with the growth of the motor-car and electrical industries, and sky-rocketed during World War I. By 1920, Malaya was producing 53 percent of the world's rubber, which had overtaken tin as its main source of income. The Malay ruling class again took a back seat. Together with effective control of the rubber and tin industries, the British now firmly held the reins of government. The sultans were left in charge of local and religious affairs, content with their prestige, prosperity, and security. The census of 1931 served as an alarm signal for the Malay national consciousness. Bolstered by a new influx of immigrants to meet the rubber and tin booms of the 1920s, non-Malays now slightly outnumbered the indigenous population. The Great Depression of 1929 stepped up ethnic competition in the shrinking job market, and nationalism developed to safeguard Malay interests against the Chinese and Indians rather than the British imperial authority. Though hampered by the peninsula's division into the States and the Straits Settlements, relatively conservative Muslim intellectuals and community leaders came together at the Pan-Malayan Malay Congress in Kuala Lumpur in 1939. In Singapore the following year, they were joined by representatives from Sarawak and Brunei. Teachers and journalists urged the revival of the common Malay-Indonesian consciousness, split by the Anglo-Dutch dismemberment of the region in the 19th century. This spirit became a factor in the gathering clouds of war.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Who was joined by representatives from Sarawak and Brunei in Singapore?

QUES: Washington (CNN) -- The Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to take in 17 Chinese Muslims held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the country's ambassador to the United States said Wednesday. The map shows the Pacific island nation of Palau in relation to China. Details of the transfer are still being worked out, Ambassador Hersey Kyota told CNN. But Kyota said his country, a former U.S. Pacific trust territory, has agreed to take in the ethnic Uighur detainees "for humanitarian reasons" and because of the "special relationship" between Palau and the United States. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly would not comment on the announcement, telling reporters, "We're still involved in ongoing discussions." The agreement includes some U.S. aid for Palau, Kyota said, but he said those details remained to be worked out as well. The country, with a population of about 20,000, is about 1,000 miles southeast of Manila, Philippines, and about 4,600 miles west of Hawaii. Palau has received nearly $900 million in U.S. aid since independence in 1994, according to congressional auditors, and depends on Washington for defense. The "Compact of Free Association" between Palau and the United States is up for review, but Kelly said any additional aid offer "is not linked to any other discussions we may be having with the government of Palau." The Uighurs were accused of receiving weapons and military training in Afghanistan.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What were the Chinese Muslims accused of?

QUES: Responding to a wave of public dismay over the first designs for rebuilding Lower Manhattan, Gov. George Pataki has sent word that it's time to go back to the drawing board. It is the right message, sent while it is still early enough to do something constructive about the disappointing quality of the work so far. The governor, like Mayor Michael Bloomberg, now seems committed to creating a better mix of uses for ground zero, and a 24-hour community in Manhattan's downtown. While rethinking the plans will delay the original rebuilding schedule slightly, it does not need to stall progress if the governor keeps the pressure on the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New York cannot afford to have a gaping hole that mocks the city and its process for rebuilding what was destroyed. Pataki openly questioned the Port Authority's requirement that any plan for the site replace all the office, hotel and retail square footage lost in the attack on Sept. 11. More than anything else, that specification limited the designs to the undistinguished options presented two weeks ago. Renegotiating that issue with the World Trade Center leaseholders should begin immediately. Opening the process to other designers, both here and internationally, will help separate this urban plan from the ordinary. The city also needs to begin openly discussing what happens underground, in particular with the transportation network. At this point, planners have focused on short-term repair of PATH and subway lines, with medium-range proposals being shopped in Washington that could untangle the disorganized web of subway lines downtown. Within the next few weeks the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the Port Authority should offer some bigger ideas about how to connect the downtown area better to the rest of the region. Lowering West Street alongside the World Trade Center site and building a park or esplanade on top is another option that has been popular with those reviewing the first six public proposals. But it would be expensive, and the governor, the mayor and their friends in Washington will have to look at long-range ways to pay the bill. Pataki's recent remarks are a sign that he understands how central the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan will be to his own political legacy. Now he needs to follow through with action, to keep demonstrating that his core concern is coming up with the best possible plan, not simply keeping the issue on hold until after this fall's election.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What was the gaping hole that mocked the city from?

QUES: We need natural resources for just about everything we do. We need them for food and clothing, for building materials and energy. We even need them to have fun. Table 2.1 gives examples of how we use natural resources. Can you think of other ways we use natural resources? Use Vehicles Resources Rubber for tires from rubber trees Steel frames and other metal parts from minerals such as iron Example iron ore Electronics Plastic cases from petroleum prod- ucts Glass screens from minerals such as lead lead ore Use Homes Resources Nails from minerals such as iron Timber from trees Example spruce timber Jewelry Gemstones such as diamonds Minerals such as silver silver ore Food Sunlight, water, and soil Minerals such as phosphorus corn seeds in soil Clothing Wool from sheep Cotton from cotton plants cotton plants Recreation Water for boating and swimming Forests for hiking and camping pine forest Some natural resources are renewable. Others are not. It depends, in part, on how we use them.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
What are some natural resource sources we can use as building materials?