Blog Prompts 8 - What are the qualities you look for in a potential MP/ Minister?

Personally, I feel that a potential MP/Minister should have:

• Empathy

I'm pretty sure that anyone out there would know why a future leader of the nation would need empathy. What other reason is there than to empathize with the very people they serve? Notice my use of the word 'serve', not 'lead'. Personally, I believe in servant leadership, and that brings me to the next quality I would look for in a potential Mp/Minister:

• Humility

As always, a leader must learn humility, as must everyone else. A leader must be able to accept that he/she does not know absolutely everything and must admit that everyone makes mistakes, including themselves. And of course, a future leader of the nation must have:

• Experience

As a lot of people apparently think so from all the online 'slamming' I've seen against Tin Pei Ling, age is a crucial factor in choosing a candidate. I partially agree with that thought, but I would like to modify it to experience. So what if someone is young? I feel that it is not the age that counts, but the years of experience. An 80 year-old man might not have as much experience in politics and serving the people than a 30 year-old man. If age is a deciding factor in choosing a candidate, why not get a 1000 year-old man (who would have the unfortunate coincidence of being dead) to be our next Prime Minister? Of course, a dead person would be sorely lacking in the next quality and that is:

• Drive

A leader must have the passion to succeed, the drive to bring the nation forward as one, then only can the country succeed. Without the same passion and drive, the country would not be able to grow and enter the global market. It would forever remain stagnant and in this competitive world, to remain stagnant is to be forgotten in the ruins of antiquity. And last but not least:

• Integrity

As the famous saying saying goes 'power corrupts'. An MP/Minister should have the integrity to not fleece of money from the government's funding for his/her own purposes. For when the people finds out that the MP/Minister has been taking their money for selfish purposes, the Mp/Minister would instantly lose all the trust and rapport the people had with and in him/her and he/she would never be able to earn it back as long as he/she lives.

After all that explanation and stuff, I'm sure you know why those are the qualities I look for in a potential MP/Minister. If you have any thoughts or comments on this issue, or any other qualities you would like to see in a potential MP/Minister, just comment on this post but NO SLAMMING PLEASE!!! This is a neutral blog post that does not intend to cause any harm to anyone in this world at any point in time. So please respect that ideology.

Online Lesson Wk 2 - Descriptive Piece on War

I can feel their eyes on me. I know how I must look like, with my deep, sunken eyes, eyes that have lost all hope, eyes without life. War does that to you. Having seen countless people dying, the survivors shuffling among the ruins of their former homes, living yet dead, this old soldier have seen enough of war. War is not glorious, nor is it clean. War is gory, war is messy, war is not knowing whether it's the last second you'd ever live, war is seeing your platoon-mates, people you have trained, fought, done practically everything together, die in the blink of an eye. War is hell.

After all these things, is it surprising to lose all hope of life? To lose the belief that tomorrow would be a new day, a new beginning? To give up living? For what else is there to live for? What are we but pawns to be sacrificed in a politician's game? We are expendable. We can easily be replaced, for many do not know the truth about war, many are clamoring for the chance to fight in this 'holy' war, the war to end all wars.

No, I must continue living, if not for myself, then for the green recruit they would send to replace me, for those who still do not know the truth about war, to bring the light of knowledge to chase away the darkness of ignorence in those people's minds, to let them know the truth about war...

Blog Prompts 7 - Should we care about what happens in places far away from where we live in general?

Well, I feel that we should care about what happens in places far away from us. "Why?!" many of you may cry. "Those things happen in places far away,they do not affect us! They only happen there! They won't happen here!" But that's where you are wrong.

Any incident that happens anywhere on Earth can happen just as quickly, just as mercilessly anywhere else. There is no such thing as an isolated incident or event that will only happen once and at that particular place. As George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." And so we too must learn from both past and present challenges and use that knowledge to avoid such incidents in the future. Anyway, it just happens that one particular incident happened today that I would like to bring light to. A few people who I will not be naming (*ahem*losers*cough*) were caught playing computer games in class today after school. For many of them, it was their second offence. Like I said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I only knew of this as I have lent my laptop to one of those who were caught. But its alright people, I will be getting it back tomorrow and the blogging shall continue. I'm blogging this on a 7 year-old (at least) computer (I'm not joking). Anyway, back to the topic.

Those people have been given a warning and have already gotten their laptops confiscated for a month, yet they persist in their behavior. If what George Santayana said is true, and I believe it is so, then these people would keep on getting their laptops confiscated again and again unless they learn from their mistakes and do not commit such 'crimes' in the future. All in all, I feel that this is why we should care about what happens in places far away from us so as to learn from their mistakes and take precautions against making such mistakes in the future. Illuminano il buio!

Movie Review: 'V for Vendetta'

This movie is set in the near future, just a few years down the road. The government rules the people with an iron fist and the people live in constant fear of the secret police, also known as the 'Fingermen'. 'V' is a freedom fighter who fights against the totalitarian government using terrorist tactics and has gained extraordinary speed and reflexes through a secret government project to create a biological weapon. V's preferred weapons are knives which he straps all over his body. One night, V rescues Evey, a girl who works at the state-run British Television Network, from the Fingermen and brings her to a rooftop to watch his destruction of the Old Bailey. This is preceded by the tune '1812 Overture' being played on the public announcement system. I find the destruction of the Old Bailey particularly funny and you can see for yourself why by just visiting YouTube in your spare time. Thank goodness for modern technology, huh? It's one of my favourite movies not just because of the great storyline and the special effects(it was made by the creators of The Matrix after all), but also for the significance of the movie in our present day society.
The movie deals with issues such as corruption, freedom and liberty with a dash of symbolism. This movie is quite similar in concept to the recent uprising in Egypt and thus is relevant in today's society even more because of that. I hate to ruin a good movie but V died in the end and I want to make a point about that. My point is that we, as human beings, treasure life a lot but for the right cause, we are prepared to die. Not that I am encouraging anyone to sacrifice themselves for the 'greater good' but that that should be the only reason why we kill fellow human beings or ourselves, to serve a cause greater than you or me can complete alone, to do so so that future generations will benefit from your actions. That is your legacy.
And now my last few words. Search 'V for Vendetta ' on YouTube and the 1st one is the trailer, the 2nd V's introductory speech to Evey with an insane amount of alliteration, the 3rd his speech to London after he hijacked the television broadcasting station and the 4th the final fight scene which has really great special effects. If you want to see the Old Bailey getting blown up, search 'V for Vendetta Old Bailey' and click on the 1st one. V seemed quite insane as he laughs when the Old Bailey explodes. Towards the end of the final fight scene, there is a sentence V said that I would like to quote to end my 'review'. "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof."

Blog Prompt 6 - "Where Is The Love" by the Black Eyed Peas

Today, we will be discussing the song "Where is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas. You know, the one that was very popular a loooooong time ago. Click here for the lyrics. The issues discussed are war, hatred and discrimination which are all closely linked and are still quite prominent in today's society. Well, it is really as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. How more paradoxical can you get?
Anyway, I feel that the root cause of the problems above, mainly discrimination, is that we can't differentiate the information which are given to us. Now in the modern age, all of us are getting spoofed information over the Internet and the majority of us, myself included, are unable to differentiate true or false information. The Internet is, electronically speaking, an enormous platform and thus people would be hard pressed to find the reliability of the information we see on the Internet. Most of the information we get over the Internet is one-sided or biased and this leads to us forming stereotypes which leads to us becoming biased, prejudiced and eventually, discriminating. If you do not know the difference between stereotype, bias, prejudice and discrimination, look it up on Google. I'm not going to just spoon-feed you the information.
Anyway, the presence of discrimination makes it easier for wars to get started and this would lead to hatred and even more discrimination. Also, it is quite a nice song and you should listen to it on YouTube if you have not yet.

Blog Prompt 5 - Can students from poor families can succeed in life?

Today, we are discussing the topic of whether students from poor families can succeed in life. Apparently, MM Lee says that people with a PhD should marry other people with a PhD so as to produce intelligent children who will then succeed in life. But ask yourself this, what is success? There is no definite answer and so let's just take that to succeed in life is to make lots of money. Personally, I feel that to succeed in life is to be happy and to die contented and peacefully in your sleep but let's not go there now. Anyway, the basis of the theory in my second sentence is based on the assumption that parents with good genes will pass them on to their children. However, this goes against meritocracy, which is encouraged by the government and means that if you work hard, you will succeed. Working hard, the basic essence of meritocracy, is also the only way to break the poverty cycle which is depicted below:





Though, it is rather pixilated, the basic idea is that a poor parent would not have enough money to send their children to a good school and thus the child grows up to be rather uneducated and this results in a poor parent as he/she would not be able to get a good job due to their low education and the cycle repeats itself again and again. BUT, rich and talented parents do not guarantee a successful child. After all, talent is nothing without hard work. As Albert Einstein once said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." My opinion mirrors his on this issue. Even if one has the money to buy assessment books or pay for tuition fees, that is not a sure-fire way to ensure that your child succeeds in life. Hard work and determination is the only road to success. And that is all I have to say on this matter. Thanks for reading. Please comment=]

Description of Atmosphere

The sun rose from the east and shone its golden rays upon the earth. The clouds blushed a rosy pink and then dispersed like wisps of mist in the morning sun. The gilded rays filtered through the silent trees, casting an orange sheen over the entire forest ground. The rising sun struck the morning dew on the trees, making them glow and shine with an inner light that turned the trees into priceless trunks of topaz. Jake turned his face towards the rising sun, feeling its warmth on his face. The sun rose upon the first day of a new world. There was a new hope, a new day.

Blog Prompts 4

As of 2010, only 67% of Singaporeans say they have close friends of a different race, religion or nationality. I feel that this is really a pity though Singapore is mostly made up if Chinese (74.2% of Singapore's population is Chinese - 2009 figures). In that case, a non-Chinese would have to have at least 3 Chinese friends to reach a 100% figure. That is, of course, possible. I feel that we still need to understand other races even though we are the majority as it would be easy to misunderstand someone if you did not understand their culture and religion. Moreover, to understand someone else's religion would be taking the 1st step to forming good life-long relationships with that person

Mind Map - The American Civil War

Blog Prompts 3 - Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Today, we are discussing about this article about 'Chinese' and 'Western' parents, their methods and the pros and cons. The article can be found here. Those kids sure have it tough! I feel that the examples the article gave are rather extreme and stereotypic and though most people think that way, the truth is that most parents are neither completely 'Chinese' or 'Western' and are in fact somewhere in between. Both methods have their pros and cons but I feel that a combination of both is the best. For example, the author wrote that 'Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue (that their child is fat), talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image'. In this aspect, I feel that the 'Chinese' parent's direct and blunt way of just telling their child that he/she is fat is better as the child might not even realise that he/she is fat and if you, as parents (if you are) do not let your child realise that, he/she would just grow fatter and fatter and most likely will get ridiculed in school. Perhaps this is the reason that 'Western' kids end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image.

24th January's Home Learning

The theme of this comic strip is partly humor and partly to demonstrate that our advance in technology is not an advance in our morals, in fact, it is a degrade in our social morals. The white dove(or pigeon) represents the past when we where more advanced in our morals and the black rabbit represents the present where our advance in technology pulls us back and caused our morals to degrade.

I choose the dove(or pigeon) to mostly be white to show that it is 'purer' than the rabbit, which is mostly black. The black rabbit lost the race as it stopped to answer it's phone which I used to show that technology is pulling us back. Thanks for reading!

Blog Prompts 2

Is it better to have not known something than to have known something and to ultimately lose it later? Well, to know something and then to lose it would be very painful and might cause you a lot of heartache but, you will know the happiness and joy of knowing the something and that could be enough for you to carry with you throughout your whole life. Some people might not want to know the something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it. To those people I say this: if, by your definition, it is better not to know something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it, than what is the point of life? You will lose everything in the end anyway and besides, nothing is without risks. If you still have that mentality, then why are you still living(not that I'm suggesting suicide)? You know life the moment you are born and you will ultimately lose it. There is no escaping this fact. The fact that you are still alive and reading this shows that you do not really believe that it is better not to know something in order to escape the heartache that will come with losing it. Ciao!

Blog Prompts 1 - Have you ever been excluded from a group of people, or been in a group of people who excludes other people?

Two year ago when I was in Primary 6, there was this guy my class who was severely overweight and was the subject of much casual bullying. one day during PE, we were required to run the shuttle run which was 4 x 100m. When it was the overweight guy's turn to run, he ran quite slowly and clumsily as he could not stop properly. The bullies in the class laughed and some people just followed due to the so-called 'mob-mentality'. I cannot say that I defended the student but neither did I laugh and that was a source of comfort for him. From that day onwards we were friends but both of us were quite quite so I did not know much about him beyond the surface. He loved Science and got me much more interested in Science that I was at that time.

Debate: Is Lying Justifiable?

So, is lying justifiable? Most of you will say 'Yes. it is.' since all of us have lied before and will not want to be caught in a spot if we say no. I feel that the answer should be sometimes as there are these so called 'white lies' which people claim that are told for benign reasons. Benign is an adjective that means kindly, by the way. But are telling 'white lies' good for the recipient? Say the your aunt is slightly plump and when she asks you whether she is fat, do you say that she is fat or that she is just perfect to make her feel happy? However, if you keep on telling her that she is perfect and then suddenly one day someone not so considerate tells her that she is fat and then your aunt would be crushed as all the time she was thinking she was perfect because of you and suddenly someone tells her that she is fat! If this really happens, should you have told your aunt that she is perfect? You think about it. Of course, if your aunt is severely overweight, you should just tell her the truth, that she is really fat, as it will be good for her health.

In this case, one can argue that you did not tell the 'white lie' with the intention to harm your aunt. By this definition, telling a lie is justifiable until you hurt someone by telling the lie. But then how will you know whether your lie will hurt someone or not? Think about this the next time you are going to tell a lie('cos you will, believe me).

2011 Target for LA

What went well last year?

The poetry segment was pretty good considering the time and ranks somewhere in the middle between the poetry, composition and comprehension segments.

What went wrong last year?

There was too much irrelevant stuff in compositions and I took too long to write it leading to less time for the poetry segment.

What is my target MSG?

Below 2.0

How do I intend to achieve this?

Practice writing more compositions so as to get higher marks and use less time to write it.