Money.
The very word conjures up wonderful pictures of riches and luxury. True, money is a good thing to have. It can bring you a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle. It can make your life wonderful. But there is always a flipside to the issue. So today in this post, I will be blogging about the positive effects about having money, and the negative effects of having money, and also touch on money related issues like greed and how money is not everything, and there are more important things than money in this world. So sit back, relax, and erm..... let the blogging begin!

In our modern and competitive society, everyone is materialistic and money faced as they face hectic lifestyles in order to earn that little money to ensure their survival. Everyone hopes to strike it rich and be able to live the life. Of course, I am sure everyone wants to be rich. When we are rich, we are able to do most of the things we want to do in life and accomplish many things which would not have been possible without money. Also, families which are poor are often the ones who needs money the most. Money can also be used positively by being donated to the needy as they are the ones who need it the most. Though donating a small sum may not seem like a very big effort, I am sure that the money will go a long way in helping the needy.

Money can give you a good life, but i think that money can also be a bad thing. Firstly, people who are desperate for money might resort to breaking the law and using underhand methods to get more money. They may resort to minor crimes like stealing or even serious and major crimes like kidnapping to get a ransom. As the saying goes, "money is the root of all evil". I find this saying rather true. For one, money motivates and encourages a person's greed. As time passes, he might become more desperate for money and resort to stealing to get money or when he finds a wallet or a large sum of money on the road, he will just pocket it out of momentary greed and not return it to the nearest police station. I feel that the fact that people are all desperate for money is largely due to the competitive society. When people compete for a job and a steady income, there will be those which are relegated and "kicked out" of the job interviews. When a person cannot find enough money to carry on with his life, he becomes desperate and will resort to other measures to get money. Though there is no way to actually solve this problem, there are ways to alleviate the issue like having societies that help the needy.

Thirdly, I feel that although money may seem to give you everything, it actually cannot give you everything. When you ever become an extremely rich person, it would soon come to you that money cannot buy everything, and it might seem meaningless if you cannot find people to share it with. In my opinion, it is still the care and loving relationship with your family that matters. If you have a united and warm family, I think that that is truly then you are the richest person in the world. To end off, I think that money cannot buy happiness in this world. Your family and friends are still the best assets you can have.

What is your perception of money? Leave you comments behind!

My Views on Singapore's Judicial system

Hello everyone. Today I will be blogging about the current judicial system of Singapore. So basically, a judicial system is a law system where justice is used. To put it even more simply, it is basically how the judges in court rule and give out sentences. I feel that the current judicial system is rather acceptable, though other countries view Singapore's judicial system as too harsh and brutal, where even trafficking drugs result in a death sentence, and graffiti on public property is punishable by caning. However, I do not agree with their views on why such punishments are "too harsh" when these crimes itself are unacceptable in the first place. I will be elaborating further in this post.

Firstly, I would like to point out that only with such grave punishments meted out, the perpetrators of law will then think twice about committing crimes when he looks at the consequences of being caught red handed and sent to jail. Such punishments act as a form of deterrence to the people who want to commit crimes, like drug trafficking or vandalism. I feel that Singapore is a rather safe place to live in. Crime rates are comparatively low as compared to the other countries. Even when crimes are actually committed, they are minor crimes like vandalism which do not actually endanger human life while in other countries, there are serious

cases like kidnapping and murder incidents. The reason for this safety, in my opinion, are due to two factors, namely the fact that there is nowhere to escape to in attempt to avoid the arrest of the police, and that people are all afraid of the cruel sentences, especially the life imprisonment and death row. Hence, I would in fact agree that Singapore's judicial system is rather effective, even though there are objections to it due to the fact that these punishments are inhumane. However, I feel that once again, crimes like murder and kidnapping are inhumane in the first place. There is no need to show any mercy to these perpetrators of law.

Thus, back to the question whether I agree with the current judicial system. I still stand firm in my belief that this current system is effective. As long as people abide by the law and do their duty as a citizen and resident of the country, there would be no need for such harsh and so called "inhumane" punishments.

Any comments on this matter? Please respond!

Do Computers Benefit us?

Most of us, the teenagers, who live in developed nations have a computer and we would spend most of our time on the computer as it keeps us entertained while we have nothing to do, allows us to do our research easily and store large amount of data without using much space. Surely there are more benefits that the computers can bring us but I would just elaborate more on these 3 benefits.

Firstly, the computer gives us entertainment anytime we want. We can just switch on the computer and search for any songs to listen to, for example, pop music, rock music, hill songs and many more. All we have to do is just to type the name of the songs we want. We also have access to videos to watch if we are bored and have nothing to do, we could also catch up on movies or television programmes we missed and watched them using a computer. We can also watch the movies that we like again and again without limit at all. Furthermore, we can play games when we have nothing to do. There are many different types of games on the internet that we could play using computer such as first person shooting games, role-playing games and so on. With the computer, we can play the games with good graphics. Hence, one of the benefits of the computer is the entertainment we can find in it.

Secondly, the computer has provided convenience to our lives. It allows us to gain access to information easily with the help of search engines like Google or Yahoo. With just a few words, we have more than hundred and thousand of links to choose from to find information for research or personal uses, enabling us to find what we need in a shorter time than to go to a library and browse through books for information. The computer has also allowed us to have easier communication with the use of Internet, instant messaging programs like window live messenger and social networking sites, such as Facebook. Through these 3 things, we are able to chat online with friends even if they are in another country or webcam with them, allowing friends to keep in touch with one another at the same time. We can also shop online and buy stuffs that shops do not sell. Hence, computer allows us to do everything from home, allowing us to have easy access to everything.

Lastly, we can store large amount of data without using much space. This can be a benefit not just to humans but also to the environment as it saves more trees to be cut down since we use less paper to store data or write down the information on it. Instead, we store the information in our computer and view it online anytime we want. This information can also be shared easily online and hence saving more papers since printing of information is not needed. By saving trees we are also saving ourselves in a way as trees are known to take in greenhouse gases, controlling the amount of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Hence, computer allows us to store information or data without using much space, saving the environment and helping us at the same time.

In conclusion, computers have brought us much benefit in our life, not just the three benefits that I have elaborated but many more like keeping up to date with current events and many more. Computers are just of the many things that we mankind cannot live without.

Mercy - Should it be allowed?

Mercy.

What comes to your mind when you see this very word? For me, it means to have compassion and forgiveness, and maybe a tinge of leniency as well. To have mercy on someone basically means to pardon his crime, or whatever he has done wrong. So, the main topic for today is whether the law should allow mercy. In my opinion, I still feel that mercy is not the way to go in law, and it should not be implemented nor encouraged in the field of law. There are a few reasons to why I disagree with the establishment of mercy in Law, which will be further elaborated on in this blog post.

The strict system of law only revolving around "evidence" has been in place for a long, long, LONG time. Be it in our modern courts or centuries ago, the judging is all based on evidence, hard evidence. When the sentence is ruled out after analysing the evidence and deducing the person in the wrong, the person will be punished accordingly. However, in this case, if mercy was used, the person who committed the crime would be pardoned and might just take a smaller punishment for his crime. Besides, mercy has no strict regulations nor limits and if the judge was lenient on the person, he would get away with his seemingly serious crime with light punishments. That person would only be further encouraged, when he is out of jail, to once again commit crime again, as he would only think again that he would be let off easily when he gets caught.

Secondly, this might also raise issues about fairness and equality. Since mercy cannot be measured, some judges may be more lenient on some people compared to others. People might be unhappy and feel that the judges are incompetent and fail to uphold equality and be fair to everyone and give the right amount of punishment the perpetrator deserves accordingly. Upon this, the law would have failed to give the right amount of punishment to each person, when he spares the person of the punishment he was supposed to get. The other party who was the victim might not get his justice and be on the losing end when the offender is not properly and rightly punished.

However, mercy may not be all that bad, if we view it in a different light. Firstly, if there was an offender on a death sentence, his death would be inevitable and if he was a young man, his future would be gone and his life wasted at such a young age. However, if mercy was shown by the judge and he is let off and might be just jailed for 20 years, he still has his remaining life to prove himself and carve a career and live his life. And if need be, he might still contribute to the society and can even choose to go on to educate young crime offenders and teach them not no go onto the wrong path and ruin their future. This way, by sparing a person's life, it benefits many others.

However, showing mercy is easier said than done. For the law to allow mercy means that people receive different treatment in accord to the crimes. They forgo their professionalism and this might also ruin their reputation for being unfair. Thus, I feel that it is not realistic to introduce mercy in our laws as it will only lead to further complications and them being worse than the current situation.

What do you think?
Leave your interesting and constructive comments on this post!

Home Learning Assignment - Task 2

Task 2

Complete the template provided below (Annex A), focusing on (1) Point of View; (2) Situation and Setting; (3) Language/Diction; and (4) Personal Response, and post your response to Task 2 on your blog. This template is based on John Lye’s ‘Critical Analysis of Poetry’, and you can make reference to this in Annex B when in doubt.

Rainbow Death

Hubert Wilson

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

1. Point of View

I feel that the poem is written from the point of view of someone who has suffered the devastating effects of coming into contact with Agent Orange. This is evident from how the poet states "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!" to end off his poem. The poet also very clearly describes the side effects of Agent Orange, and states that "America did not foresee" the harmful side effects of Agent Orange. This suggests that he is probably a soldier and fought in the Vietnam War, and had most probably first handedly witnessed the effects of Agent Orange.

2. Situation and Setting

The poem is set after Agent Orange was used. It might have been set several years after the Vietnam war, when not only the immediate effects but the long term effects of Agent Orange were witnessed. The harmful long term effects of Agent Orange are witnessed on the future generations of the Vietnamese like "birth defects" and even "prematurely dead". It could also probably be that "America did not foresee" these effects on the Vietnamese children and tried to hide the facts and truth from other people, as seen from "All the deceit continues to spread", which most likely implies that America had been hiding the truth about the side effects of Agent Orange from the public, and this was still ongoing at the time when the poet was still writing the poem.

3. Language/ Diction

The title of the poem "Rainbow death" is rather ironic. When we see the word "rainbow", we normally think of rich and vibrant colours or have positive thoughts. However, this is contrasted by "death", something negative and ominous. I also feel that the word "Rainbow" is a reference to the rainbow herbicides, which killed and harmed many millions of people. Maybe the poet chose such an oxymoron to be the title for the poem because he wanted the readers to see a contrast between the aims of the Americans in using Agent Orange and the effect of using Agent Orange. The poet also uses the word "potpourri" to symbolise the different mixture of herbicides used in the war, like Agent green, Agent pink, Agent purple. There is also alliteration in the poem, as seen from "thinking twice?", the letter "t" starting in both words. The "t" sound is a harsh tone which probably shows the poet is mocking America for using Agent Orange.

4. Personal Response

This poem leaves the readers rather disturbed, as the poet keeps putting in images of death and disaster throughout his poem. Phrases and words like "Rainbow Death", "Toll on the innocent and unborn", Generations untold WILL pay", conjure images of imminent deaths and disasters. The poet also questions America mockingly with "thinking twice?" and sympathises with the Vietnamese. The readers have to have at least some prior knowledge on the Vietnamese war before being able to understand the poem.

Home Learning Assignment - Task 1

Task 1

Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.

Rainbow Death
Hubert Wilson

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

After researching on the internet, I found out that this poem was basically talking about "Rainbow Herbicides", which was used in the Herbicidal Warfare Programme. Rainbow Herbicides caused tremendous suffering to the victims of it, and even the people who used or even just came into contact with the Rainbow Herbicides. The most prominent and commonly used Rainbow herbicide was the "Agent Orange", which is what the poet is mainly talking about.

Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and highly toxic defoliant(chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off) used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. The main aim of using Agent Orange was to reduce the dense jungle foliage so that Vietnamese troops could not use it for cover. It was also to destroy the Vietnamese people's crops so that they did not have food.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was the most widely used among the herbicides, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed to it. 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html

Widow builds children a life-size cardboard cut-out of their dead father

Hi guys.

I saw this article in the news recently which i thought interesting. It is about this British family whose father had passed away weeks after being diagnosed with not one, but two brain tumours in his head. Paul Challis, the father, had passed away at the young age of just 38. His wife and two children could not bear the fact that their father had died, and the mother decided to make a cardboard figure resembling their father, to keep him close to their hearts.

You can read the full article here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7651312/Widow-builds-children-a-life-size-cardboard-cut-out-of-their-dead-father.html

After reading this article, I had some thoughts about it. To me, it was just plain creepy. Why would they want a cardboard figure of a dead person for? Was the family being realistic? I feel that the family should just learn to let go and deal with the grief, and not use a cardboard figure to replace their father. The family have to face the music and accept the fact that their father is gone. All human beings die someday. The family should just accept it. The two children might not learn the proper way of dealing with grief, since they might just rely on the presence of their "living" father.

However, I also feel that it might just be the family's way of dealing with the grief of losing their beloved father. Well, a dead person is a dead person. They might as well just live with it. As the article quoted, "Telling the children was hard, they wanted to know why doctors couldn't make him better. "Molly, one of their children even asked, "can't we go on bike rides anymore? That's sad." This figure might just hinder the children accepting the fact that their father is dead.

What do you guys think? I really need comments!