"Tony Tan heckled; fellow candidates voice disapproval"

This article is taken from another edition of the Strait's Times. It is about a presidential candidate, Dr Tony Tan getting booed by supporters of other presidential candidates when he stepped up to the podium to make his Nomination Day speech, but mostly by supporters of Mr Tan Jee Say, the previous speaker. The hecklers chanted "Patrick Tan, Patrick Tan", the name of Dr Tan's son, whose 12-year disruption from National Service has drawn criticism. Some supporters of Dr Tan replied by shouting "Shut up", while others cheered in support for their candidate. At a press conference, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Mr Tan Kin Lian both voiced their disapproval at the booing. Dr Tan Cheng Bock said that he had told his supporters that there should be no booing while members of Mr Tan Kin Lian's campaign team told their supporters not to join in the heckling at the Nomination Centre.

I think that it is really very silly and childish of the supporters of Mr Tan Jee Say to heckle Dr Tony Tan. After all, if Dr Tan is so well-qualified as to even be able to run for presidency, what position are the supporters to heckle him? Also, they need to learn to not do to others what they do not want others to do to them. I am sure that they would not like it if they were giving a speech and the audience was booing them. Furthermore, this would leave others with a bad impression on Mr Tan Jee Say(no offence) on the type of supporters he is attracting, thus affecting his chance of getting elected as President. Also, if foreign visitors witness this scene, think of the impression this would make on them when they see that even elections for presidency resemble a wet market.

On the other hand, I think that it is very good that the other candidates, including Dr Tan himself, is handling the situation extremely well. Instead of lashing out at the hecklers, Dr Tan instead just simply says that "while different points of views are to be expected in a campaign. he was disappointed that some refused to listen to another candidate", according to the article. This is very true. Also, his attitude is very good. He does not show signs of being perturbed by the hecklers, showing that he probably is confident of his chance of becoming President, hence he is not affected by the hecklers. After all, let the hecklers heckle! Let them do whatever they want! In the end, the result is then what matters, and by heckling, the hecklers are just disgracing themselves in public.

I think that if the hecklers boo Dr Tan just because they do not like him, then the booing is really unreasonable and childish. However, if they really think that Dr Tan is unsuitable for presidency because of some particular reasons, they also should not boo him. If he really is unsuitable, he will not be able to win the votes of others and in the end, not be elected as President. At the end, the facts will come into light as to who is the most suitable and is able to win over the hearts and eventually the votes of the majority of the voters.

"See, he's a President's Scholar"

This article is taken from an edition from the Straits Times. It is about Hwa Chong's most recent President's Scholar, Aaron Koh. For some unknown reason, he did not get very good grades for his A-levels, although he was a straight A student usually. For the A-levels, he obtained 4 As and a merit for his other subjects but got a B in English Literature and C in Economics. This was a big blow for him and he said receiving the result was one of the "lowest points in my life". However, the PSC, the Public Service Commission, said that results are not all and also stated other factors in their decision to award Aaron the President's Scholarship.The PSC sited other reasons for awarding Aaron the prestigious scholarship. The reasons included all-rounded achievements, topping his midshipman course at Officer Cadet School and a good performance at the President's Scholarship Assessment Center, where candidates go through exercises to test their responses to challenges and scenarios related to public service work.

I think that the PSC's decision is very wise. To succeed in life, results and good grades are definitely not all. One must have both IQ, intelligence, and more importantly, EQ, which is one's manners, courtesy, and how one gets along with others. If one has extremely high IQ, meaning that he is very smart, even a genius, but has zero EQ, meaning that he has no manners, no courtesy, is not gentlemanly at all and totally cannot get along with others, who will want to employ him? No one!! I believe that not even a single person would want to befriend him. With no job, which means no salary, and no friends to count on to get him out of the sticky situation, how will one even succeed in life.

However, the opposite is also true. If one has extremely high EQ, gets along very well with others and makes everyone around him very happy and very willing to get along with him, but yet no IQ, meaning that he is extremely dumb, nobody would want him either. A certain standard of intelligence is also needed for one to succeed in life.

In conclusion, a mix of both IQ and EQ is needed for one to succeed in life. One must have a high level of intelligence and also be a gentleman or lady, extremely polite and get along well with others, not only to be the perfect President's Scholar and also to succeed in life.

'Mubarak spectacle captivates Arab world"

This article is taken from the Straits Times. It is about former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak's trial. He pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and complicity in the killing or protesters in the start of his historic trial last Wednesday.

There have been mixed reactions from the public. Some expressed satisfaction at seeing the tyrant get his just desserts while others expressed sympathy at seeing him in such a state in the hospital, confined to a bed.

True, Hosni Mubarak has been extremely evil. He has killed 850 protesters during the uprising. Most importantly, he was a tyrant. He has made the lives of Egyptians extremely difficult during all the years of his long reign. His government is corrupt, accepting bribes and whatnot. All tyrants should be treated with contempt. They have no right to make the lives of others miserable, especially the lives of their own citizens. What have they done wrong which warrants life like that of a prisoner? Therefore, one should feel satisfaction at seeing him get his just desserts and rejoice that he has been thrown out of power.

However, one has to look at both sides of the matter. For one, whatever accusations brought against Hosni Mubarak may or may not be true. There is no cold, hard evidence that he committed all these crimes, although he is guilty of being a tyrant. Moreover, one has to sympathize with the state he is in now. The picture of him in the newspaper depicts him as pale and haggard, confined to a bed. While many will accuse him of playing with the minds of others so that he will not be convicted, the judge ordered him to be held at a military hospital and overseen by an oncologist. This is a very strong sign that Mubarak has cancer. Therefore, one should not be over biased but should be fair and equal and consider both sides of the matter.

Blog Prompt: The Strauss Kahn Case

This case is about the alleged raping of a chambermaid by Mr Strauss-Kahn, the now fired IMF chief and who is running for the French presidency. He was sued by a chambermaid for attempted rape. According to the chambermaid, she went into his room to clean it, but then saw him standing inside, naked. According to her, she apologized, but he replied to her that she had no need to be sorry. Then, she forced her into his bedroom, saying that she was beautiful. Inside the bathroom, he forced her to her knees and made her engage in oral sex, holding her head so 'hard' that it hurt.

One must note that the above is the chambermaid's account of how things happened, and may not necessarily be entirely true. To have a clearer and unbiased view of things, one has to carry out an investigation into the backgrounds of both Mr Strauss Kahn and the chambermaid herself.

Firstly, we will look into the background of the chambermaid. Not much is known about it, except that she is from Guinea, is colored and has a sexual history. It is important to note the that the chambermaid is colored. This will greatly affect the decision by the court as the case is held in the United States, where most people are stereotyped against those who are colored. Also, since she has both a shady background and a sexual history, it makes it more difficult to believe the her story that she has been raped. Instead, it is easier to believe the testimony of Strauss Kahn's lawyers that she had consensual sex with Strauss Kahn. Also, she lied in her application to the USA. Even worse, her reason for immigrating to the USA is to seek asylum, meaning that she had done something wrong in her own country, which is why she has to seek asylum in the US.

Lastly, we shall look into the background of Strauss Kahn. Firstly and most importantly, he is a man of power and absolutely loaded with money. Hence, he is able to hire an army of top lawyers to help argue his case so that he will be acquitted regardless of whether he committed the crime. Also, he can also use his money and influence to destroy evidence, bribe or coerce with other key personalities to help clear his name. And this has happened in the past. Strauss Kahn has a history of sexual assault, but he has not been charged even once because every time, evidence has mysteriously been destroyed and hence there is insufficient evidence to convict him of any crime.

Therefore, the ultimate question comes to whether everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. Undoubtedly, the court will side with Strauss Kahn because of three reasons: he is a white and she is colored, and because they are stereotyped against her, Strauss Kahn has the advantage. Secondly, the court is made up of males, and therefore they will side with Strauss Kahn's lawyers' claim that because she was scantily clad, Strauss Kahn would want to have sex with her. This would also givve Strauss Kahn an advantage. Lastly, Strauss Kahn has money to hire the best lawyers in the world. He can also bribe and destroy other pieces of evidence. On the other hand, she is a chambermaid seeking asylum in the US. Hence, Strauss Kahn's story would be more believable in court and therefore there is a much higher possibility that he will win. This also brings us to the conclusion, which is: Justice and mercy lies with those who wield the power and money,

"Help, I'm in debt"

This article is taken from the Straits Times. It is about the rising number of people who are calling the Samaritans in desperation about gambling debts or harassment by loan sharks. Sixty percent more callers reached out for help between April last year and March this year as they were being plagued by illegal moneylenders. The number of those driven to call over gambling debts rose by half compared with the figure in the same period a year ago, according to the annual report by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). The report also showed that 352 people called in with loan shark problems between April last year and March this year, up from 218 cases in the same period a year ago, and 196 called in with gambling debt issues, up from 132. However, the good news is that the suicide rates fell from 401 in 2009 to 353 last year.

I think that these two results are inter-related. This is because it is likely that it is because more people are calling the SOS for help on their money-related problems, and hence fewer people die as their problems are shared with and hopefully solved by the SOS. However, according to a Today article, the number of calls received by the SOS are still worrying. This is because those with such financial problems usually possess "medium to high suicide risk" and hence even thought the SOS can get in touch with them, they are still very likely to commit suicide anytime and their conditions are extremely unstable. Furthermore, the SOS also said that the callers are also "particularly difficult to engage because their urgent need is for fresh funds to service their loans". Therefore, that is their main aim, not to seek comfort and encouragement. There is not much that the SOS can do to help them. In the end, the SOS still has to refer the callers to other community resources for additional help.

Again, this is the common lesson that is taught all over and over again but no one seems to listen. "Once bitten, twice shy" does not seem to apply to anyone anymore.

"Counterfeit lenses sold in shops"

This article is taken from a Times magazine and the Straits Times. It is about some counterfeit lenses being sold in shops. These lenses are imitations if "Freshlook ColorBlends" by CIBA Vision and have been found to be unsafe and of poor quality. Lab tests by the HSA, the Health Science Authority, have found colour pigments deposited on the interior of the lens rather than on the exterior, which causes the pigments to be in direct contact with the eyes. Also, a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes a serious eye infection, has been found in the storage liquid of the lenses. Using these fake lenses can result in serious complications like eye infections, corneal ulcers that open sores in the outer layer of the eye and blindness. After some investigation, various differences have been found between the real and counterfeit packaging of the corresponding lenses. Here is a list of the differences:

1) There are typographical errors on the counterfeit packaging. For example, commas in the real packaging may be replaced by full stops in the counterfeit packaging.

2) The fonts on the packs should have a clearer and more defined outline. On the other hand, counterfeits tend to have blurry text on the boxes.

3) Colour pigments on the real lenses are on the exterior of the lenses while the counterfeits have the pigments on the interior

I think that whoever producing these lenses are very inconsiderate and should be extremely ashamed of themselves. This is because to make money for themselves, they are putting the health of others at considerable risk. The bacteria found on the lenses are very dangerous and may even cause blindness to those who unwittingly buy them. I do not know whether these people know that the lenses that they are manufacturing contain the dangerous bacteria or not. If they really have no idea, then I would suggest that they first check what their products contain in explicit detail before putting them into market. This way, it would be better for consumers as their health would not be at risk and also the producers themselves, because if the products are safe, then the police would not be coming after them for selling not only counterfeit but also dangerous goods, as is happening right now.

However, if the producers of the counterfeit lenses do know that they are selling lenses which contain such a dangerous bacteria, then that would make it even worse. This is because doing so simply means that they are crooks who harbor evil schemes, either to harm as many people as possible because of their perverted minds or even to land CIBA Vision in trouble. Either way, if what I am saying is true, then I have no sympathy for these people and will dearly like to see them end up in jail.

'The Pessimism Index'

This article is taken from a Times magazine. It is about the overall pessimistic feeling in the United States through a series of questions asked to a number of people in the U.S. The poll confirms that the country is going through one of its longest sustained periods of unhappiness and pessimism ever, According to the article, teenagers hardly remember a time before the 9/11 bombing, the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq and constant economic upheaval. Baby boomers, the generation known for continuous reinvention, are filled with worry and doubt about their future and the future of their children. Even though the U.S usually bounces back after a few years of difficulty, such as the Vietnam War, Watergate or recessions, but the forces now aligned against the American people seem much more formidable than those which were surveyed; instead, the poll uncovered the minds of attitudes seen among Europeans during the decade after World War II.

The poll uncovered some unpleasant results among the American citizens. Here are some examples. Firstly, a poll asking whether the past decade has been progress or decline for the U.S as a country, 68% of those asked replied that the U.S was on a decline. Another question asked was how does the past decade compare with other decades in the past 100 years. 47% replied it was one of the worst, 32% said it was about the same while a measly 13% said it was one of the best.

I think that these pessimistic views show that this is the start of the fall of America. If the citizens are always so depressed, how then can they be motivated to work harder and produce better result so America can improve. Furthermore, if even the youth also are so pessimistic about the future of America, it is very scary thinking about how the next U.S president will be like. If he is so afraid and pessimistic, he will very likely bring down America into the slums instead of leading them up the road to improve.