Don't Let My Kid See Me Like This

The New Paper
20/08/06
Sunday pg 2

French Chef Francois Fabien Mermilliod stood in handcuffs and the first thought he had was "don't let my kid see me like this". Its really sad when one gets stuck in such a situation. The devastation it brings not only to the person's life but to the life of the person's loved ones..is very horrific. I mean seriously, why do people want to do drugs? Illegal drugs and even the legal ones, people somehow, one way or another manage to abuse it. Cough syrup, subutex and dormicum, isn't it frightening how drug abusers can twist and abuse them? Why dp people still do it knowing that everything they have could be taken away in just an instant? More so for those who have families with young children. Its something to be really concerned about.

Society frowns upon such behavior and relates drug taking to the poor and homeless and so on, but these people are high powered individuals with good paying jobs and flashy cars and yet they cannot be satisfied and take drugs? What satisfaction does taking drugs give someone? Some people use it because their forced into a scenario, others use it because of the environment and the upbringing that has encouraged it, some just take it to escape their life. Which is quite funny because once the high and the effects wear off..they will still wake up facing the same problem and find themselves stuck in the vicious cycle. Funny how singapore is so strict about drug trafficking laws and finding so many people pushing drugs. How ironic..

Drugs Aplenty

The Straits Times
pg 5
19 Aug 2006

Anyone can look around and take a good look and see, how much social degredation has creeped in. One of the most recent cases has been about drugs. Why drugs? a vicious cycle that many cannot break away from, it takes over and controls one's life. So what can anyone do to help? If someone knows that an individual cannot fight temptation then the best way is to stay away. Drugs cause harm not only to the person but also to thrid parties. Such as family members, friends, loved ones. Also it decreases the social status of the country as well. For it to be a ILLEGAL drug, it must be able to affect the lives of many. Singapore a very secure country, as well as a fine one, many would think that the world's drug cartels stay away from singapore. The very thing is, the drugs are actually produced in this region, including singapore and distributed all over the region and to other countries elsewhere. It is such a daunting task for anyone to do and its rather difficult. The only way may be through harsher punishment and educating the people, hopefully this might help.

ISRAEL vs HIZBOLLAH

The Straits Times
Pg 27

Okay, so the wars of the world escalate and this shouldn't be any different. As a student, being far away from all the war and trauma i wonder what it actually is like to live in a war torn country like israel. I mean ALL the newspaper articles i've read all pinpoint israel as the cause and the problem of all the fights, that its ISRAEL'S FAULT for spoiling the beaches and creating such a huge catastrophe.

But what i really do feel is, that it isn't israel's fault. I mean yes definitely it takes two hands to clap and that things do happen but no, i don't think blaming israel for everything is right. It was the hizbollah fighters that so decided to kidnap the israeli soldiers and that they decided to do something stupid after the ceasefire was called. So why are they trying to save their own skin by going out in a smear campaign against israel? Putting israel in a bad light, is very very unfair. I mean they only lobed missiles over simply because they knew that they would not get their soldiers back by simply going for talks because lebanon's and the other surrounding muslim nations and their allies will stand by lebanon and not israel and it would not be fair AT ALL. So hard and fast tactics work the best, and they did it in self defense and preservation.

People show that the missiles and so on is causing damage to lebanon and that its beaches are totally ruined, but if the hizbollah fighters didn't cause this ruckus will there be a need to destroy all the lovely beaches? Plus, if they are doing damage then wouldn't it just show that israel's artillery and weaponry are far more effective than that of the hizbollah fighters? The hizbollah fighters were given a chance to do the same but they inflicted less damage because of the low grade weaponry and have the cheek to blame israel for damage. WORLD PEACE!! WORLD PEACE! where is it when you need it..

ill Molester spared jail, caning

The Straits Times
August 17
pg 23

Judges have the discretion to mete out the lowest sentence allowed under the law in cases where criminals suffer from terminal illness. This i find a rather reasonable new law, but to everything good there must also be a bad part as well.

The good bit, i think yes it is fair for those who are mentally ill and cannot think straight hence they get themselves into any messy crime be it from small scale to large. However coming to think of it, if the person had the inclination to kill someone in the first place wouldn't the violent behaviour of the person wave some little red flags up in the air? If someone had the sanity to kill then it just shows the planning and so on has been there and therefore the person is not quite sick. This part i am unsure, many patients can feign to be sick with some kind of illness worse still pay off some doctors that willingly take the bribe. Which is rather sad. I'm not saying it happens in singapore because we are known to be the least corrupted government and such but anything is possible. I am a little worried that murderers and rapists and so on can just roam the streets when the judge gives a verdict of not guilty due to illness. Isn't that scary? i certainly think so!

DEAD BABY FOUND IN STAFF LOCKER

The Straits Times
aug 15th 2006
pg 2 & 3

The first thing that came across my mind when i saw the words jumping out at me was OH MY GOSH. seriously, who would do something like that?! i was just stunned and shocked at the same time. Everyone knows that people eventually die yes? and that babies are aborted all the time. Things that one see's in CSI or in police detective shows just plays out before your eyes and you can't help but wonder..why?

A poor innocent baby was stuffed into a locker. Is that anyway for a baby to die? Firstly who would do such a horrible thing and like there are plenty of support groups if a person cannot cope. Its so silly to just end a life that doesn't belong to the mother. Just because the mother gave birth to the baby does not mean the baby doesn't have a right to live. As i think about the baby now in a better place i start to wonder about the mother. How old was she? maybe she had her reasons. She could have been a teenager or a maid afraid her parents or employers would find out or simply because this woman was scared and couldn't handle it. Well whatever it is, we'll never know.

On the Trail of Liquid Bombers

Today Papers
August 12 2006
Pg 1 & 2

24 terror suspects have been arrested on charges of trying to blow up passenger jets with liquid explosives. The simple plot involves, passengers carrying one simple ingredient to make a bomb onto the aircraft. The ingredients could be carried on board in regular containers such as toothpaste tubes and water bottles. As many as four plotters board the plane and are seated throughout the cabin. At a predetermined moment, the four meet in a washroom. Each of them hand over their ingredient to the leader. Inside the washroom, the leader mixes the chemicals, and attaches an electronic trigger such as a mobile phone or an iPod. Once the bomb is complete, the leader returns to his sear and triggers it, killing himself and destroying the plane.

It is so scary to think, that normal household items or harmless electronic devices to us, becomes a weapon in the hands of such skilled terrorists. It is rather alarming and yes even though i applaud their genius minds i am very apalled by what they are planning to do. How can they fight their "holy war" claiming to rid the world of bad influences when they themselves are blowing people up and on the whole, portray themselves as the bad influence! have they no guilt or shame? the many innocent lives, taken away i mean hhow can their views become so skewed? It describes these people as 'normal' and they live their lives without a hint of them being terrorists. Its soo scary that these people are living incognito in our own society. Can one imagine the amount of security checks and paranoia of western countries (especially) and other countries around the world. Medicine bottles, shampoo bottles, flasks, hair products can all be used to contain the materials. So what now? when we board a plane you mean to say they will start testing whether the product inside the container belongs to it? Nothing is safe anymore is it? trains, planes, buses, cars and ships. Seriously i don't think they are helping anyone but they are actually moving us steps behind in the world's development. So public transport is no longer safe..what now walk on water? Violence is never the answer to any problem, i can never understand why the bombings :( WORLD PEACE! hahaha..

Disabled but still going strong

The Straits Times
pg 7
10 aug 2006

Eight disable climbers will be going to scale Mt Kinabalu, with help of course. Certainly an amazing feat for some that are blind, deaf or mute. Being deaf, may seem like it is not as important as having one's sight taken away. However, if the individual is deaf, it becomes dangerous because they cannot hear warnings from team mates. If there is an emergency, the assists have to catch the deaf person's attention, and converse with the individual in sign language. For a blind person, it is definitely more dangerous because much of the person's view has to rely on the guidance from such assists. One wrong move, one wrong step can cause the deaths of any of these courageous people.

I truly commend the effort these disabled people have put up. It is not easy scaling a mountain, yet alone doing it when they're disabled. Truly, i am impressed. It just shows anyone of us that even with a difficulty, it can be overcomed and to be thankful for the things we have in life. "You don't miss the water until the well runs dry" how true it is. The disabled people can carry on living life as it was and how they can be unpreturbed to scale a mountain. No complains but a willing and voluntary heart.

1.4b slumdwellers by 2020

The Straits Times
14 June 2006
pg 22

By 2020, if nothing happens is done, 1.4 billion people the equivalent of the population of china will be living in slums and shantytowns. Big "uh-oh" to the many countries encouraging the growth of such slums and shantytowns. The rates at which the people reproduce in such areas are overwhelming and the vicious cycle of poverty and malnourishment and everything else
has caused much more damage. Not only that the living conditions are bad and the move and multiplication of diseases very widespread. Alot of it is hard to contain as much of the living conditions are very far from the standard set. As the governments try to stem the flow of such migrants staying in slums and shantytowns, the problem only gets worse because they carry on trying to block the people off while the money and time used in that could be brought forth and used in trying to develop areas for the slums and built low cost housing or something of that
sort. Unfortunately they need to realise the problem and start soon before the world gets filled
with slums and shantytowns with 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE living impoverished and lives that
are unfulfilling

Student unrepentant over fake suicide bomb stunt

The Straits Times
World pg 22
Aug 5 2006

A student was caught for apparently pulling a prank of a bomb. The student afterwards said that the government was making too big a fuss about it and that they shouldn't respond so anal retentively to the joke, but is it really a joke?

I don't think so. in this present time where war and so much strife is abundant..it scares me so much to think that anything could happen anytime. Plus now with the liquid detonation bomb it makes things even worse. So the so called joke..the student should just take it back and shove it. He does not know the seriousness of the sitaution. Just like the times in the story where the boy had cried wolf, he might make the people complacent and not worry about bomb threats. This may end up being a backlash to the people when they become complacent and take threats in future as a joke. This student did not only just cause the balance of a country to dangle precariously but to actually cause people to be complacent and not prepared should anything happen in the future. Scary? yes..i think so :S