Damn the animal abusers!!

article!! : http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0502/nat6.html


Basically this article is about crime and punishment and the crime that we are facing now is the abuse of animals and the punishment given is just mere fine of about S$347 and a one month jail term due to appeal to high court. The Singaporean renovation contractor Seah Kian Hock beat his neighbor’s small brown dog to death with it is being chained up. Though in his defense, he claims that the animal posed as a threat to hurt his son, however, how true can he be when he is trying to avoid justice that could involve a longer jail term as he killed a canine.

I seriously doubt his words, tell me, how dangerous can a chained small dog be? According to the law under “prevention of cruelty” section of Animals and Birds Act, he was only fined that trivial $347 out of the maximum $500. Moreover, since no torture was present, there was no jail term involved, till the sentence has been handed down by chief justice at the high court when the case was filed on appeal.

What is the meaning of torture then? Torture means infliction of hurt on someone or something as a form of punishment. Can I say in my stand that, the canine killer had inflicted the hurt onto the dog as he was punishing it for being a threat to his son and in case, killed him? Animals have their own life and rights too. Think about it, human are also animals. We strongly fight for our rights and liberty, but animals do not know how to communicate with us in our way, have to live with our way of judgment. In this case, the dog was killed, the appeal was made and the sentence was not heavy enough. Why? This is so as it only involves animal. Is this prejudice, against the different forms of livings? What if the case now involves human? I doubt the sentence would be as light.

Therefore, I feel that how heavy or light the sentence should be, on such cases of cruelty to animals should be of the same as that of a human being. We should not level down the degree of fairness for the small beings on our earth. I feel that the same punishments for crime involving murder and assault should be meted out for animal abusers.

=)’
396words! yippee

CUNY Seeing Fewer Blacks at Top Schools

Article Here

Tougher admission policies at City University of New York have apparently seen the number of black students fall. This is made even more shocking as the falling numbers are significantly huge. At two of the campuses, there was up to 10% decrease in black students being enrolled. Although the number of black undergraduates has risen since 1999, the issue at hand however, is the falling numbers of black students being enrolled.

"University officials attributed the declines to several factors, from their admissions policies to greater competition for top minority students from other colleges to students’ own preferences about where they want to study" While it is true that tertiary education is now thrown open to all the various parties to make their own choices, I can't help but wonder why is it that only the black minorities are the only ones who are experiencing this phenomenon. Yes, students regardless of race, can make their own decisions on which colleges they would like to pursue their tertiary education and colleges today are also free to set their own admission criteria. Also, colleges are also out to compete with each other to get the best students so that these students can raise their public profile and their ranking. However, why are the other races not facing such an issue?

One factor mentioned in the article is that the admission policy is tougher now. CUNY used to have an open admission policy which meant that many students could be enrolled regardless of their abilities. However, now with the new changes, only those who have passed approved modes of testing are eligible.“These tests are hardly draconian, ...They are measuring very, very basic skills in reading and writing. It is not placing undue expectations on someone to show a very modest level of literacy.” I can understand the need for tough admission criteria as the reputation of the college is at stake. Moreover, with tougher policies, it would also ensure that the college would only enrol students of quality and that these undergraduates are ready to handle the workload and demands of a college education. But what about those who are not inclined in standardised testing (in this case the black students) but are willing and want to put in the hard work? I feel that this is not really fair to these parties.

The issue at hand here, I feel is the need to balance to the racial diversity of the college and the college's intention to stengthen its standards. Racial diversity is extremely vital especially in college. At college, students are basically left on their own to handle their multitude amounts of work and activities. I feel that it is important for students to work with others of a different race to cultivate tolerance for others who are different from them. Moreover, at this age, I think that the students are more matured and able to handle the delicate issue of racial differences. It would also serve as a good learning experience as these undergraduates would have to work with people from different backgrounds in the later years.

I have to agree with Mr Crain that universities “should really take another look at the admissions process, and put more weight on factors that really do predict success, like grades and motivation.” I believe that for universities to be truly outstanding is to be accepting of students who are not only able to pass their entrance exams but instead able to rise above their difficulties and are talented in the other aspects other than academia. The best universities are not those who can produce marvellous results year after year but are willing to take the chance on students who have great potential in acheiving their full abilities. It is important to have high standards as colleges are the pinnacles of all educational institutions but being able to help unpolished gems become leaders of tomorrow is even better.

Thus, it is heartening to know that black students are now doing better in college and that these colleges are going to do more to create awareness to students about their respective colleges and put also to put in more effort to recruit them.

New initiative announced to help teaching, learning and speaking of standard English

ARTICLE!


Singapore is once again embarking on new initiatives to improve our standard of the English language. It is inevitable that everyone must know how to speak English, it being our global language. In most countries, English is used as a communication tool between to non-english speaking countries. Thus, I can understand why the education ministry has been finding ways and means to improve the teaching and learning of language. The emphasis would mainly be for future use. Currently, there are many of us in Singapore who do speak English, however how many of us speak standard English that is universally understandable? This is the problem that our government is tackling with.

It is easy to say ‘I can speak English’ however, not many would dare say that they do speak in a standard of English though some think they do. The government is trying their best to improve the standard of English not only through reviewing the current syllabus, it is also stepping up on more trainings for the teachers. I feel this is better because often, its not always the students alone who are the cause of this, it could also be perhaps that the teachers way of teaching may not be as effective for the students. The student may be hardworking but from a non-english background, if the teacher is unable to teach effectively, the student may not benefit fully. On the other hand, the curriculum could be too easy. Nonetheless, both should be reviewed. One way they are doing this is to have retired english teachers to go back to observe and mentor the younger teachers who are more inexperienced. This I feel is a good method because with these teachers’ experience, they are most likely, to give wise advices on how to teach and can contribute to more ideas as well. The new teachers would also feel more confident with a mentor by their side and will possibly find better ideas through communicating with these experienced teachers. This way, the retired teachers themselves are also able keep their minds lively, after all, being retired they must enjoy mentoring again!

The main problem however, is because of we are a diversified country, there are many whose first language is their mother tongue. Our main language is English so that all can communicate with a common language to avoid any language barriers or sorts. Thru our diversification over the many years, the English that we speak has already been corrupted and therefore is not of global standards. ‘Singlish’ is what we called it- English with a mixture of other languages here and there. This form of English that we have; simply cannot be understood globally can it? But this ‘singlish’ is uniquely Singaporean! By inculcating standard English in Singaporeans, would this language that we speak vanish into thin air?

With that said, we also cannot ignore the fact that to survive globally, it is essential to be understood by being able to speak standard English and not some language that only we can understand. However, it is possible that we may try to be versatile and use ‘singlish’ and English at appropriate times so that we may be understood better in different environments.

In Singapore coffee shops, ‘ ah peks’ (old uncles) say coffee as ‘kopi’ whilst if in a high class café, ‘kopi’ could just be too inadequate. Therefore, it is definitely good if we are able to be versatile and change the way we speak at appropriate times. This can only be done if we are really efficient in the English language. Already there are so many who do not speak the standard English, how then will they be able to switch as and when they like? In my opinion, this is something Singapore will struggle with throughout the years because of our multiracial community.

639 words!

Crisis prompts Japan to cut heavy reliance on Middle East oil

ARTICLE!

Regarding the issue of Japan’s need to reduce its heavy reliance on oil from Middle East, since the Middle East Crisis, I feel that it is another concern of a country being overly dependent on another. In this case, Tokyo relies 90% of its oil imports from Middle East.

I feel that is too much as we all know very well that the political stability in the Middle East is often in an unrest situation, foreign investors-in any case- would probably source for another alternative country to invest on.

Same goes for the provision of natural resources, a country would have to consider the many factors- especially political stability- before signing a long term agreement if they would want everything between the 2 countries to be smooth sailing. These are probably common things like tourism, trade, ties and connection etc.

Today the Middle East is characterized by strong internal political tensions like the issue of the Israeli-Arab conflict, the issue of rights to water resources, as well as Syrian presence in Lebanon, border disagreements between Syria and Turkey over the Hatay Province, between Egypt and Sudan over the Hala'ib Triangle, between Saudi Arabia and Yemen over the geography of Saudi Arabia, the civil rights of religious minorities in Iraq and Bahrain and the security of Christians in Egypt. All these are important conflicts that contributes to the divided country.

There are also substantial tensions between the Middle East and external regions, especially with the West, the issues arising from the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the nuclear program of Iran, the US involvement in the Somalian civil war, and the allegations of state-sponsored terrorism on the part of several Middle Eastern nations are all specific examples of issues that the Middle East has, resulting in the risk to venture in or even rely on the country.

Now in the case of provision of any natural resources, it is sad to say that it is unfair to many other countries if a country itself is on a land that has unlimited resources. For example De beers has been allegedly accused of misusing it’s dominance in the market to control supply to manupulate prices via monopolistic practices.

To prevent being controlled by a dominant supplier, one country must step out to prove her own independence probably find solutions to lower its dependence, either sourcing for another alternative supplier or generating its resources herself like Singapore-Malaysia water issue. One country must not depend solely on another as the latter will take advantage of the situation to exploit to their own benefits. Therefore, a country must be able to maintain its wellbeing by understanding the ties between one another so that it does not get used or use others for their own benefits.

500 words.
Sorry for being so so late.

Coffeeshop Smoking Ban

ARTICLE here

Singapore is moving towards having a better, cleaner and healthier environment. The Singapore government has made a step towards achieving this goal by implementing a smoking ban that prohibits smoking in coffee shops and hawker centres.

Personally, I feel that this smoking ban is a good measure to slowly eliminate smoking in public. Although the introduction of the smoking ban may have roused unhappiness among many smokers and perhaps some stall holders, I think that this is for the benefit of the society as a whole. It is definitely a good way to curb smoking. It is for the society’s well-being that smoking at coffee shops and hawker centres is banned. After all, smoking poses a lot of health problems and tends to shorten one’s lifespan. One can develop lung cancer and may suffer heart attacks due to smoking. Also, passive smokers are more exposed to health problems as they are the ones inhaling the unfiltered smoke given off by the smokers. Some may not realise just how bad smoking is, may it be for their own selves or the public.

I think that the demarcation is a rather good way to distinguish the smoking zone between the non-smoking areas. This is not by any means, discrimination against smokers, but merely providing an area solely for smokers so that they can enjoy their smoking without disturbing the non-smokers who patronise the coffee shops and hawker centres.

Although a smoking-free environment is very much desired by many, having non-smoking areas is a good start. The coffee shop smoking ban enables Singapore to have cleaner and fresher air and environment. The lesser the people smoking in public, the better it is for non-smokers and the society’s health.

Overall, I feel that the coffee shop smoking ban is a good and rather effective way to curb smoking in public. I think smokers should slowly quit smoking and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Timor Leste 's ruling party gathers as president hopes to put end to crisis

You can read the article here. The links to related news to help you understand the article better can be found on the page itself.

I kind of admire Timor Leste because they persist to be independent. They could have given up and just be ruled by Indonesia. They did not. They did not turn back at all. Their effort to build a strong nation seems like a fantasy to most. It just seems to be impossible. However, are they really working towards it? Read the following comment, "We are trying to convene a meeting, but we don't have enough people". What do you think about it? To me, it implies that some of the people in the ruling party just cannot be bothered. That is not the attitude that Timor Leste needs right now. Look at the people themselves. "Rival factions of the country's security forces battled each other and gangs waged warfare on the streets". As if it is not enough to have political problems but social problems are springing up now. With a lot of Timorese fleeing their homes, what is going to become of Timor Leste? A country not only needs stable governance but also people. I am placing a strong emphasis on people. Decisions are made by people. Decisions are full of consequences that can prove to be disastrous. In the words of Rahimah Rahim, a contestant of Singapore Idol, "If I make one wrong move then, that's it." In this case, if since the election upsets the people, they are going to continue on rioting until they get what they want. A bit selfish on their part.

I think Gusmao is a good president. He really is trying very hard. Ensuring that civilians do not posess weapons is a good move. Smart. Start with internal security. A way to get Timorese to return to their homes. It saddens me however, that he wants to step down. Goes to show how humble he is. Undoubtedly, Timor Leste needs leaders like him. With his resignation, the future of Timor Leste becomes blurred. Think about it, why does a great leader like him quit? Maybe he cannot take it anymore? Does that mean that conditions in Timor Leste is never going to improve? This article raises so many questions that it is giving me a headache.

London hospital plans world's first full face transplant

ARTICLE HERE!
Gustave Le Bon, a french social psychologist, once said: "Science has promised us truth. It has never promised us either peace or happiness." Till this day, this testament has remained true to its words. The wonders of science and its results are only wonders to us because we deem it so, because we see it that way. It is basically our perception that plays the final card in saying whether something fits or not. It is from here that we tell our mind whether we will be happy or not based on the outcome. As such, in the case of incorporating the world's first full face transplant, there are split opinions.

Man has already taken great leaps in advancing himself, and taking another one and planting a new root in history may seem easy enough. But the trouble is that many underestimate the possible problems that may occur from such a transplant should anything go wrong. It would be best for one not do something foolish than to do it in the name of making a name for themsleves and end up ruining it. In this case, considering that this is a world's first, performing such a delicate operation requires its own fair share of extensive research and experiments to ensure that every step and every detail is perfected.

As such, doctors should not attempt to drop the gun by rushing to complete the transplant and earn themselves a name in the Guiness Book of Records. In other words, they should not attmept to rush be the first to do such a transplant without continuing and gaining substantial data. However, some may argue that the time when people dreaded things like operations and surgeries are long gone, thanks to the advancement of technology which leads to the reduction in the number of such operations gone wrong tremendously. Man has acheived success after success in this field that some suggest that it has been almost perfectly mastered. However, one must realise the fact that such a field of practice is still not perfectly mastered, which paves the way for possible areas of problems in the future when they least expect them. As such, they should prepare themselves to be ready for the worst and do their research to substantiate their claims. Otherwise when things go wrong, they will also end up losing the trust of their clients and patients.

At the same time, a handful have welcomed the surgery as a blessing in disguise for them to finally correct their disfigured faces. For them, the end result would give them a new leash on life as they finally can look in the mirror and not be disgusted or saddened by what has happened to them. As an added bonus, their self-esteem would increase and they will feel more confidetn of themselves. For them, this could possibly be the fastest and easiest way out of their dilemma. However, some may think that by opting to go for such a transplant, they might just be luring more trouble along their way. As such, the possibility of the transplant causing more damage than good is quite high, given that this is being carried out for the first time in the world. Even with normal minor transplants, major complications might arise without any precedented expectations. This goes to show the amount of risk involved in such a fine and delicate transplant method. Even so, one must realise that those who decide to go through with such a transplant already know what the possible complications might be. Even if they do not, they have already made the choice to go through with it. The choice is therefore up to them to make, and they will thus have to contend with the end result, whether they like what they see or not.

In conclusion, Man has no doubt proven his worth time and time again. This time, he has done it again with bringing about a full face transplant deemed to be the first of its kind in the world. If all goes well, London will no doubt be under the limelight for its work and will be regarded as having advanced greatly in the field of medical science. But whether that will be become reality is another matter altogether.