general paper

2008-01-14T03:54:00.000-08:00

Terrorism

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments to bring about a change, often for ideological or political reasons.

Often use as a last resort to force the government to implement changes.

Reasons for such acts:
Political
+instigate the correction of a flawed system, foment the creation of a new system
Resilence agaisnt the dictators/gov bodies
+attacts on gov bodies
+attacks on military

Economical distress
poverty, unemployment, and land tenure problems
+ draw the gov's attention so that the gov can implement policies that may eventually lead to growth in the country.
-create chaos so as to make use of the opportunity to steal from shops in the midst of the chaos hoping to improve one's SOL

Social
-kills innocent (violates human right of victims) - innocent victims often worst of than the gulity
-threaten national security
-motive motivated by passion and belief which can result in irrational behaviours
-revenge to self's problem
-agaisnt moral values
+terrorist often used to represent people
-greed - uses weapon of disruption to rob.

Religious
-Religious fanaticism
When adherents to a religion get involved in a pattern of violently and potentially deadly opposition to anyone they do not agree with, they are sometimes branded as religious fanatics by their detractors
Basically violent opposition to people who opposes the terrorist's religious beliefs.
internation herald tribune- religious fanaticism

Prevention
Terrorism can never be wiped out, but there are some ways to prevent or counter possible acts of terrorism

Peace talk - diplomacy
Rise awareness
Increase national security
Be prepared - deter possible terrorist
Educate young - reduce social difference
Be more socially aware of people needs
Sometimes, government not giving in to previous acts of terrorism may reduce future acts as it does not give the citizen the idea that terrorising is the only way to get the things they want.

terrorism on a small scale, used as the sole method of struggle in order to provoke the masses into revolutionary action, is ineffective and often counterproductive and hence, cannot be justified. However, terrorism employed in conjunction with guerrilla warfare in a protracted war of liberation may well prove useful and therefore justified, as it did in Algeria and South Vietnam. (For an earlier statement of the same view, see Trotsky 1961: 48-59, 62-65.)

The Arts

2008-01-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

-A broad subdivision of culture

---Visual. Performing. Language. Culinary. Physical

Functions --> Authors' : Self expression
Perspection of the world around him
transmit information, values
To entertain, educate
as a tool to influence, propaganda
binds people of common interest together
social commentary.
Common forms of the arts: dance, music/songs, drawings, plays.

Question to self: Every nation should invest in the arts?
Using maslow hierarchy of needs:

This diagram shows Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more primitive needs at the bottom.

The development of the arts in a country is related to the economic growth, govt piorities and whether the people in that country has attain the most basic neccessities (maslow hie of needs) before the govt will use their funds to invest in the area of arts.

eg. Developed country like spore. govt has fullfilled most of the population basic needs.
govt build esplanade and many cultural centres
use funds to develop the arts in singapore.

Developing country like africa
govt will not invest in the arts.
people still lack physiological needs, therefore govt cannot afford to invest in art centres.
However, such country can also be rich in their own traditional arts and culture. Therefore, thats another reason why the African govt do not have to invest in the arts since they have a very rich arts culture.

ISSUES AND CONTROVERIES.
different people have different opinion about an art piece which may be dangerous.
-every art piece tells a msg - maoism - mao killed many artist. afraid they might sent out subtle negative comments bout him and his policies through their art works.
-opposes the mundane
-creates new perspective
-challenges people to think and reshape their views

Singapore and the arts.
Various awards adn events govt hold to promote creation of art works
NOISE singapore
Golden Point award
Poetry Slam

Media Development Authority
National art councils

Singapore film festival
singapore arts festival

Media- art central - tv program - front.
all these shows the govt and public support for the arts in singapore.

AS compared to singapore a decade ago, there is more emphasis on the arts now probably becuase the population is enjoying a higher standard of living and can thus afford more time and investments on the traditional and cultural part of their lives.

2007-09-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

war and terrorism
biodiversity and environment
globalisation and culture

Is same-sex marriage a practical consideration in this age of globalization?

2007-09-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

Same-sex marriages have been a highly dichotomized issue world wide. Since marriage is an interpersonal relationship with governmental, social, or religious recognition, usually intimate and sexual, and often created as a contract, or through civil process (wiki) or simply a legal union between two people, the only thing that should matter in a marriage is love. However, due to strict religious beliefs that consider homosexuality as a sin and in addtion, since religious issues are usually too sensitive a topic to be debated on, many parts of the world have yet to legalise same-sex marriages.

In the age of globalization, the world is progressing at a rapid pace. Economical development is considered one of the main factors that enable a nation to prosper and progress. According to a study (Inter@ctive Week, August 30, 1999. Pg. 20.), the US gay community consists of over 19 million people with an estimated buying power of $800 billion. Thus to tap on the “Gay Market”, a country should legalize gay marriages, allowing homosexuals to be gradually accepted and blend into the society. Although many will resist change initially, eventually, when the citizens finally start accepting these individuals, advertisers can then start focusing on advertisement that direct at the “Gay Market” as gay men and lesbians express a definite preference for advertising that specifically reflects their mindset and sensibilities. Thus, allowing same sex marriages is a practical consideration as it will increase boosts the economy considerably.

Since homosexuality is an accepted lifestyle nowadays with a proven biological causation. We cannot change the sexual orientation of such individuals, thus in the age of globalization where people constantly preach human rights, everyone should have the rights to who they want to marry. Furthermore, homosexuality is an accepted as part of our lives, we should acknowledge them as any of us and not deprive them a chance of a legal union. Since they have been living together for many years getting married is just a form of security that their partner will be taken care of if anything were to happen to them. Same sex marriages is practical here as many a times, as gay couples are not legally married, they are not given the spousal benefits many couples are given and they cannot make their partner their legal beneficiary. To give them such an advantage, a same sex union should be legalized.

However, above all these orthodox religion and tradition restrictions still do affect people’s view on gay marriages. People who are more conservative consider gay unions as a taboo or against the biblical rules set out by the Christian churches. Therefore, in my opinion, gay unions are not practical here as we have to consider that cultural and religion is deeply inculcated as part of people’s everyday life. Many of them view the “words of Jesus as the ultimate key to the meaning of the Bible.” If the large majority is against same sex marriages and we cannot change such conventional mindset, one will be discriminated if they were to be engage in a gay marriage ceremony, then I do not think this decision is realistic. A leeway can always be made as to who you want to be your insurance beneficiary without having to be legally married. Although many US states claim to have accepted same sex marriages, gay couples still do not get the same benefits as a heterosexual couple would receive. So why do we have to go through all these discrimination and predicament and in the end, not acquire the benefits we initially set out to find?

Overall, I think whether same-sex marriage is a practical consideration in this age of globalization depends on the country one live in and how tolerant the people around them are. It is no doubt that homosexuality is still not widely accepted even in a globalized nation and thus even more people will consider same sex marriages as undesirable. Hence, I think same sex marriages is not practical now but in the long run, for nations that want earn the “gay dollar” and to give equality to individuals, it will be a practical consideration for these country in the age of globalization.
“Lead to unorthodox unions may be allowed to marry an immediate relative such as a sibling, marry multiple partners, marry a child, or even marry a pet.”
I don’t understand why a man who can be so “pro gay” to be against such unions. To quote him “the only thing that should matter in a marriage is love” then if I love my pet, why cant I marry it? They practice this in china right??? I mean if to him such unions are unorthodoxal then what make a gay union right? weird guy. Shrugs. Hee. Im mad.
http://www.statoids.com/essays/samesex.html
http://www.gaymarketexpress.com/

Animals rights

2007-08-22T06:14:00.001-07:00

Animal experimentations.
why do we put animals on death rows?

while some think it is necessary....
1. is it more humane or feasible to sacrifice oneself or a close relative to be part of an experiment in place of an animal?
We need a cure for bird flu, let’s just grab a random sample of 1000 people and see what happens.” After all, it’s all for the greater good……to help billions of others. and as a matter of factly, who would do that?

2.without such experiments on the animals, there woiuldnt be cough mixture and antibiotics that are safe for human consumption.

3. everyone will visit the doctor during some point of their lives. who will be willing to pay the doc for medications that are not tested?

4. will it be feasible to allow millions to die from a virus outbreak just to safe the lives of thousands of animals?

5. to go back to the fundermental idea of "the fittest survive". since humans have the say and the ultimate power over these animals, they then have to be sacrificed.

others are strongly agaisnt the idea...

1. animals are cramped in a small, dirty cage wasting their lives away "queueing" to be part of the next potential fatal experiment to be conducted on them.

2. anesthetic are often not administrated on these animals so that the experiment results will be more accurate without the effects of the anesthetic. these animals have to bear intense pain during the experiments..

3. most animals are left ailing and suffering after the experiment has been conducted on them. they are usually not cured and left to die by the disease that we humans have deliberately administed on them.

4. animal testing should be BANNED for cosmetics.. why take another precious life for the sake of beauty, vanity and money?

5. "Why Animal Experiments Must Stop" by Dr Vernon Coleman, Britains best- known medical writer, who says that "Vivisection is unbelievably barbaric and unforgivably cruel. It is worthless, inaccurate, wasteful, uninformative and dangerously misleading. The truth is that animal experiments kill people"

6. since humans and animals alike are sentient being, why then are animals often looked down upon by humans? why should animals be allowed to suffer in place of humans? dont we have animals rights?

i feel like i have a spit personality after trying to be in the shoes of the pro and anti animal testing activist. So when cursing the people who conduct animal tests, why not thank the scientists and the animalss that help millions of people live?

ponder power
When you think only animals are suffering from such selfish act..
Ever wondered why the UN spend millions of dollars sending medications to people in Africa? Ever thought of why millions still die after "proper" medications are given to them.
Is the UN's intention only to help save the people's lives? or do you think theres more to that?

hee. no evidence to prove.. but some random thoughts and personal opinions (dont sue me :))..
ever came across to you that they might be sending medications there to make use of the ailing people from these third world nation to test and research on their newly invented pills and vaccines before they are sold to the rich? i mean if this isnt one of the way they do it, then why how do companies claim that their products are tested and proven safe?

this bring us back to the question.. No human rights or is this another case of discrimination agaisnt the poor. dont the poor and sick have the rights like any other to be given tested and medications that are certified safe..

the unspoken truth? or another silly assumption? shrugs... god. cant believe i did this.

2007-08-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

“The mother of revolution and crime is poverty"(Aristotle)
Do you agree?

Revolution and crime usually occur when a person or a particular group of people demand a change to their current economical state, standard of living or to simply voice out their discontentment to the authorities.

Revolution involves uprising or rebellions of a group of people with a common purpose. Their main objective is to force the government to quickly resolve their pending problems. Revolutionists are usually the lower class citizens who are powerless and therefore have little or no rights to interfere into the government’s decisions and thus, have no other means to improve their livelihood other than to resort to such desperate measures to seek attention from the authorities. Such revolutions generally lead to economical standstills, damaged properties and future economical problems as the finances that may be used to improve the country have to be channeled to repairs and humanitarian works. However, a revolution is inevitable and is also often deem as the most effective way if one want to bring about a change to one’s society.

Crime is viewed as a deviant behavior that violates the norms, prescribing how humans ought to behave. (wiki) A crime can be a trivia case of theft or a comparably more serious case of terrorism. Similar to the start of a revolution, a crime is usually committed by people who are in frantic desire for something, usually to improve ones life financially.

To a large extent, I agree that “The mother of revolution and crime is poverty". Poverty is usually the trigger that gives rise to revolutions and crimes. Finances are one of the most fundamental requirements one needs in order to fulfill basic needs to survive. When one is trapped in the vicious poverty cycle, the basic human instinct would set to think of alternatives to free oneself from such routine.

Revolution is a way how people show their defiance to the authorities when they are dissatisfied with their living conditions or when they want to bring about a change to their lives. As the saying goes, “united we stand; divided we fall”. As locals unite to create chaos within a country, to end further damages, the government is forced to listen to the opinions of the people and set about changes to improve their lives. This is clearly the most effective way for the government to meet the demands of locals. For example, the 1917 October revolution in Russia is sparked off by discontentment of the lower class citizens in Russia as there are serious cases of food shortages, unemployment and in short, people are living in poverty within the country which the local government did not attend to. The revolution had proven successful as after a week of rioting and confrontations, the authorities gave in and brought about changes to their lives. This shows that poverty is indeed the main trigger of a revolution and without it, the authorities might not give attention to the problems the poor are facing.

Crimes are often committed by people in their desperate attempt to obtain money in the fastest and simplest ways.

Poverty is defined as the state of being poor and lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts. Therefore, the lack of finances for one to live a mediocre life causes one to be irrational and seek different illicit methods or crimes in a desperate attempt to obtain money in the fastest and simplest way. Base on a research study, there are evidence to date that low wages and unemployment make less-educated men more likely to turn to crime. (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/crimwage.htm). Another major crime that one may commit due to poverty is terrorism. For example, Iraqi militants are offered US$1 million dollars by Osama to give up their life as a suicide bomber during the 911 attack murdering thousands. In a third world country where hundreds die everyday due to hunger and poverty, who can resist the million dollar offer to free their family of the poverty cycle forever? This evidently shows how severe poverty can cause one to submit and sacrifice their lives to a tyrant that masterminds the mass murder of thousands of New Yorkers.

However, other than poverty, there are other factors that give rise to crime and revolutions. Some factors are greed, socio political instability, religious and racial concerns. These troubles normally drive people to the edge and compel them to react impulsively or illogically. When one is beleaguered, we often think unwisely leading to undesirable behaviors that generally lead to unexpected actions like committing a crime out of a spur moment of desperation that will cause a lifetime of regret and guilt. Though there are other factors leading to revolutions and crime, most of these factors are also caused by poverty itself as be it political, social or religious instability, when one is poor and have no other alternative methods to improve their lives, they would resort to violence leading to religious, political and social instability. Thus, since the poverty is also the root causes these instabilities; I agree with the statement that the mother of revolution and crime is poverty.

OH GOD! I have no idea what I’ve jus written!!

Discrimination

2007-08-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

1. Lookism
Lookism is discrimination against or prejudice towards others based on their appearance. The term is not in widespread use, though it appears in major English-language dictionaries.[1]

Lookism relates to preconceived notions of beauty and cultural stereotyping based on appearance as well as gender roles and expectations. Important economic considerations include the question of income gaps based on looks, as well increased or decreased productivity from workers considered beautiful or ugly by their co-workers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role

2. Ageism
Ageism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age.[1]
"My boss ... looks for specifically younger people because they're cheaper," one IT worker told the Employers Forum on Age.
BBC news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2975754.stm

3. Disablism
It is used to describe inherent discrimination against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not disabled. An ableist society is said to be one that treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of ‘normal living’, which results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby inherently excluding those with various disabilities.
Articles on disablism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/200705/b

logging_against_disablism_200_1.shtml

4. Discrimination against Foreigners. (xenophobia)
4.1 As with all phobias, a xenophobic person is aware of the fear, and therefore has to believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from racism and ordinary prejudice in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different nationality.
4.2 Additionally, in the world of science fiction, xenophobia may refer to a fear or hatred of extraterrestrial cultures or beings.
Example
Xenophobia in Japan
From 1641 to 1853 Japan had a policy of exclusion of virtually all foreigners (not merely an avoidance of foreign relations), known as 'national closure' (sakoku 鎖国). In the early 19th century Mito scholars (水戸学者) advocated jōi (攘夷), the forceful expulsion of 'barbarians', though almost none existed there. By the middle of the 19th century, with outside pressure mounting, some Japanese scholars and leaders tied 'Western Learning' and 'Nativist Studies' (kokugaku 国学) toward the project of nation building.[2] Nihonjinron, a widely popular type of nonfiction literature emerging in the second half of the 20th century, has been described as xenophobic.[3], though most of the works in the genre cannot by any description be so defined.
Currently, the only legal protection foreign citizens enjoy from xenophobic practices is Article 14 of the Constitution, which states: 'all of the people shall be equal under the law,and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin[...]'. Japan ratified the ICERD in 1995, but has failed to enact appropriate legislation as directed by Article 2b, simultaneously using 'freedom of expression' rights as a shield against the stipulations of Article 4a and b. The 2006 report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Racial Discrimination, Doudou Diène, was highly critical of current Japanese xenophobia and on-going discriminatory practices, which include difficulties in access to housing, accommodation (hotels) and other commercial establishments open to the public (spas, bars, night-clubs, restaurants and others) based on physical appearance and myth, and bullying at school of foreign-looking children.[4] The current Japanese word for xenophobia -外国人恐怖症, (gaikokujin kyoufu shou, lit. 'Foreigner fear condition') - interprets it as if it were a medical condition, revealing a lack of proper understanding of the concept.

White supremacism

a racist paradigm based on the assertion that white people are superior to other races. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates social and political dominance for whites.

White supremacy, as with supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony. It contains varying degrees of racism and xenophobia. White supremacy is often associated with ethnic cleansing and racial separation.

White supremacy has often resulted in anti-black racism and anti-Semitism, although it has also involved prejudice and discrimination against a wide variety of "non-white" groups, including Arabs and the various Asian peoples.

Not all white supremacist organizations agree on which group is the greatest enemy. However, many white supremacists consider Jews to be the gravest threat to their cause, and accuse them of manipulating other minority groups for their own gain.

A bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from his or her own. Bigot is often used as a pejorative (belittling) term against a person who is obstinately devoted to prejudices even when these views are challenged or proven to be false.

2007-07-02T05:18:00.000-07:00

In the context of Singapore's multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism, which author's view should be adopted?

The writers of both the articles have managed to convince me and clearly argued out their stand. However, base on the context of Singapore's multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism, I believe that Szilagyi's view on social responsibility is more crucial and should be adopted in Singapore as compared to Singer's view on the freedom of speech.

Singapore is a cosmopolitian society, therefore with people of different races and religion living so closely together, racial and religious tensions and insensitivities are very often virtually inevitable. With many being over confident about themselves and their beliefs, if the media or the citizens are given the freedom of speech, they will be given the chance to challenge the beliefs or values of other religions or races that will very often lead to racial tensions and social insecurities. For example, racial tensions between singapore and malaysia occured when freedom of speech was granted in malaya's media which many malaysians eventually misused it and gave tactless comments on other religion and races. This gradually led to rioting and the eventual separation of Singapore and malaysia. Therefore to prevent history from repeating itself, local government learnt that though freedom of expression is important in a country that uphold democracy, one cannot be given total freedom of speech. To ensure racial harmony and cohesion in singapore, newspaper articles are scanned before they are published and every speech made at the speakers' corner must be approved by the government.

Social responsibility is often emphasized and should be constantly practiced in this multi-racial country. We should be tolerant to other races practices and habits that might be of inconvenience to us and make it a point to explore the culture of other races. Most importantly, do not offend others by making indelicated remarks about other races and religions.

Overall, to prolong the existence of racial harmony in singapore, we have to apply social responsiblity to our daily lives. Once the social fabric is torn, it cannot br easily sewn together again. Therefore, since limiting the freedoom of speech can help reduce the probablity of racial tensions and promoting social responsibilty can help maintain a good relationship between various racial groups, i strongly believe that Szilagyi's views should be adopted in this multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism.

Even then both should be used together??!

2007-05-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Euthanasia active and passive
prolife-prochoice
ritual suicide
Jack kevorkian
Local search: advanced medical directive.

Consider the merits and demerits of censorship and state your reasons why you think it is un/necessary.

2007-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Censorship in our society has remained as an controversial issue. While one population believe in liberty and freedom of material published, another have a more conservative adn traditional approach as to what is released into the eyes of the public.

As of today, politics and racial problems remained as one of the highly debatable issues worldwide. Therefore, censorship came about to removed all the materials that are unsuitable for viewing or perhaps as a threat to national security.

Impleting censorship to various media sources is a way a country like singapore choose to cover some important information from the public. Some might say this is unfair as a democratic country like singapore should allow the freedom of press and expression. Also, though the singapore government often boast about the freedom of speech they have given to the citizens by giving us Singaporeans "freedom" to convey our thoughts to the public at the speaker's corner. They do employ professionals to read through and edit the speech, censoring away all the anti government statements or insults before we are allowed to make the speech.

Likewise, sources with pornography,vulgarities and violent content is also always prone to censorships in Singapore. While the USA loosen their grip and allow the such explicit content to be easily available to the masses, Singapore as a traditional asian country with the majority still having a traditional conservative mindset, held back this freedom.

I feel that although singapore has implemented a lot of restrictions to what meet the eye of a singaporean, we must understand that singapore unlike the united states is a multi-racial country. Any insensitive racial comments said or published might caused instability in singapore like what had happened before our independance. However, i think to a certain extent we should expose the locals especially students to more information instead of keeping them shelted away from all the "bad stuff". Overly protected children will grow up to be naive, guillible and will not survive out in the competitive society.

One way to solve this to educate the children what is right from wrong instead of banning the such content completely from them as usually it will only arouse more curiosity and the chances of the child viewing it for fun and leisure will be higher as it will only be a matter of time one will have the chance to get into contact with such contents.

Another example is Japan. The Japanese government tries to cover up all the cruel acts the Japanese soldiers did during the Japanese occupation by censoring all the books that has got to do with the war and only allowing textbooks to published the heroic acts the Japanese soldiers did. This led to a generation of people who thinks what their ancestors did is right. Will this then led to a world war four or world war five since the younger generation only get to see the Japanese side of the story that they are heros that are coherced by other nations into war?

This is a negative showcase of censorship as although Japan have the right to tell their citizens what they want to, they should not blindfold their people by putting up false information that may trigger anger in another generation that may want to revenge their forefathers and probably start another war.

Overall, i feel that censorship as a whole is very neccessary to our society but it is what the country should censor adn expose to the public which is important to the growth adn well being of a nation.

Sorry mdm loh for the late work!

The death penaty is murder and should be abolished, Do you agree?

2007-04-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Different methods of execution have already existed since the ancients time. Most of which are usually carried out by priests or people of high authority in the name of god. These punishments are used to counter the act of defiance and used on a person to scare the rest into submission.

Nowadays, although many country preach democracy and human rights, death penatly are still carried out in many of them. This remains as a controversial issue worldwide. The various methods of execution used are suppose to give the innate an instant, painless death. However, as shown in this website, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/06/12/
deathpenalty/main204759.shtml, there are errors with up to 68% of the death punishments conducted in the United States.The mistakes are commonly caused by the carelessness of the prison guards and will cause the convict to suffer up to 30 minutes of intense pain before they pass on. Is this then right in the eye of democracy to inflict pain and deliberately plan to kill a person when he has a right to live?

One reason why the death penalty should be abolished is that firstly, the death sentence will usually not show the convict himself or the public the mistakes he has done. Many convicts die thinking that what they did is right considering the fact that they can make up their mind to commit such a serious crime, they might have considered the death sentence they have to face and giving them a death penalty might be giving them what they actually wanted. At any point in time, a death penalty given might also spark off debates and stir up unhappiness in the public that might even lead to rioting in the country.

One alternative is to perhaps give them a life sentence, counsel the convict and let them know what they might have done wrong and get them to contribute or redeem themselves by doing community work. Since it wouldnt be cheap to keep the convict in prison, they can be made to work at perhaps assembly lines or in a factory that has the necessary security in place so that they will not escape. This will enable them to work, at the same time go for counselling, and to contribute the funds to keep them in prison instead of using the tax payers money.

On the other hand, perhaps with the death penatly, people might tihnk twice before they commit any serious offences. This sentence tackle the human weakness - death and use it as a deterrance towards any potential criminal.

In conclusion, many believe that life in given by god, therefore, only god can claim one's life. However, i feel that the death penalty is actually trying to stop murder by murdering. This is like the United States trying to stop war between Iraq and Kuwait by starting a war with Iraq. How can we teach the convicts not to kill by killing them and convey the message that a possible solution to a problem is to kill?

Therefore, the death penalty should be abolished as it would not solve the problem and instead might cause more defiance and unhappiness amongst the people.

How does the media and its subjective perception affect the way this incident is handled.

2007-04-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

govt control mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. (wikipedia)
Since the ancient Greece, the mass media has been widely used by philosophers, politicians and people of influence to effectively communicate or propagate a message to the society. Till this very day, with the help technological advances, the mass media has remain as a very powerful tool in terms of shaping the mindset of the society into believing what they want us to and not to believe.

According to the article "Singapore swimmers in hot water" a reporter snapped pictures of two local national swimmers smiling when national television reported that the swimmers' American competitors were being disqualified from the competition. After all, seeing is believing. After the papers were published, many saw the shot of the swimmers smiling, without questioning, the readers immediately believed the reporter's assumption that the singapore team's reaction as one of happiness.

Why did the reporters blow up such a small matter when there are other more important news out there for them to report on? It is perhaps due to people's curiosity on racial issues? The media portrayed the local competitors as mocking their American counterparts and thus conveying the message that Singaporeans have no respect for the other sportsmen and hence putting singapore's reputation at stake.

The media's subjective perception has made a mountain out of a molehill by showing the masses and making them believe what the reporters want them to believe. Although the local swimmers did smiled at the reports, the reporters did not interview the reason why they do so and started painting a picture that they were mocking the other participants. This matter has escalated to the extent where national sport council and other major authories need to interfer and clarify the matter. Hence, this article showed that the one sided view of the media can stir up the emotions of the people and bring such a personal matter up to a national level.

Do you think professional parenting is the way to go for Singapore?

2007-03-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

In the past, the responsibility of bringing up a child will no doubt goes to his parents. However, as the rapidly changing society quicken its pace, adult spend more time at work and thus, this very responsibility of child raising that parents are holding on to for decades is slowly slipping out of their hands into the hands of other professionals.

In the 21st century, parental love for many people around the world is no longer about staying at home watching their children grow up and spend quality time together. Nowadays, parents show their love by giving their child the best of everything they can get. Therefore, as parents spend more time working and away from their children, many feel that they do not have the ability to give their children with enough love and time and hence, they have resorted to seeking professional parents to bring up and spend adequate time with their children to induce a better character in them.

Although I have to admit that it is not easy to juggle both parenthood and work simultaneously. I personally feel that it is the parent’s duty to raise their own child. Especially in Singapore, where many are still rather conservative, people here still believe in raising their children themselves rather then to give up their children to professional parents that will raise them in a researched and fixed method so that these children will grow up to have good character. Aren’t we then producing an era of robots with similar character and thinking?

Due to the proximity in Singapore, most parents, no matter how hectic their working live is, can still manage to put aside some time for their children. Thus, other then leaving their children in child care centers for temporary care, Singaporean parents generally does not forgo their duty to raise their children to professional parents.

Furthermore, as local authorities implement the five day week and various programs like family week to encourage family bonding, it is very difficult for locals to just say they do not have time for their family and shun away from the responsibility to spend time with their children. Therefore, with the authorities so actively trying to create opportunity for family to spend time together, I think professional parenting will not be to make a way in Singapore.

Lastly, as Asian, we believe in raising our own children and spending time together as a family over meals everyday. Therefore, with these strong traditional values and mindset in hand, professional parenting will still have a long way to go before it can be accepted as a form of upbringing for local children here.

Question: The family plays a critical role in our society and in the training of the generations to come. Is this true of your society?

2007-01-26T23:51:00.000-08:00

For generations, the family plays a vital role in developing, nurturing, supporting, disciplining and procreating the society's future generation. Since the very day we were born, our family, the people closest to us has been showering us with their utmost love and concern. Hence, we developed close ties with these people and as we grow, we look up at them as role model, mimicking their actions and behavior and unknowingly these behaviors we learnt eventually become who we are and how we will actually contribute to the society. Thus, i agree that the family plays a critical role in our society and in the training of the generations to come. However, with the recent advances in technology, we become more exposed to the world around us through the internet and mass media and thus, today, these sources too hold important roles in the training of the future generations in our society.

Nowadays, children spend up to twelve hours a day away from home or attending school. The time they spend in school interacting with their peers and teachers far exceed the time they spend at home with their family members. Therefore their friends and teachers become important part of their lives. Children go through a huge phrase of their lives in school -- from learning basic moral values through civics lessons to training how to be a better friend or person through peer interaction during the preparation of class projects. Thus, the educational programs prepared for the students will have an great impact on developing and training the individual and the future generations to come.

In today's Singapore, the authority indicated that 74% of households own computers at home and a large population own other electronic medias like the television. Hence, under the heavy influence of the media, we are digesting alot of information be it good or bad from such sources we are in contact with and they do play an important role in shaping and training a generation and the way they think.

In conclusion, as asian society, the people here still have very strong ties with their family and no matter what happens to us, ultimately, we will still return to our family for support and advice. Morever, the government implimentation of the 5 days week to promote family bonding also show that in our society, the government and people believe that the parents should spend more nurturing their children. Thus, this shows that the family do indeed plays a critical role in our society and in the training of the generation to come.

"The family unit plays a critical role in our society and in the training of the generation to come." —Sandra Day O'Connor

2007-01-26T23:05:00.000-08:00

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