The eight terrible years of the failed Bush administration has finally broken the finishing line. America's first black president, since legendary great traveller Columbus first discovered the continent, Barack Hussein Obama, has finally taken office on January 20th of 2009. It not only signifies an end to a presidential administration, but also an end to all the almost or certainly useless policies implemented by George W. Bush, who almost got hit in the face by two flying cowboy boots during a recent conference in Iraq. One example of his toilet policies was to send his 'friends' of the US army on a trip to the Middle East, whereby they were stationed in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Just a few words, this saw no benefits to both parties.
The plan for the troops to be rooted in these countries was hatched after four air carriers catastrophically crashed into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the famous 911 incident.
In relation to the Mumbai terrorist attacks by Pakistani militants on its famous landmarks, we can clearly see how 'successful' the plan was. Code name Kids Next Door can come up with a better one. Not only have the troops been unable to prevent any further tragedies, more of them have sprouted.
The recent Gaza War in the Middle East is another example.
Luckily for now, Iraq has shown that it has been able to take full control of its own security, administrations and policies, thus allowing them probably to become independent once again. The Iraqi government hopes to chase the American forces out of their grounds. However, it still relies on votes to decide if the army would never set foot in their country ever again. If votes agree, the US troops would be withdrawn within a schedule of three years. If votes fail, troops would be allowed to stay till the summer of 2010, but president Obama has the complete decision of whether to withdraw the troops at any point of time.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sarkozy meets Dalai Lama
When French president Nicholas Sarkozy announced that he would be meeting the Dalai Lama by the end of 2008, anger rose amongst the people of the Chinese capital. The person of the highest rank in France was faced with strong protests and threatening actions such as scrapping a China-EU summit in France and a multi-billion dollars trade deal between the two countries.
Nevertheless, the president did not put an eye on these issues, and met the Dalai Lama on 6 December in Gdansk, Poland.
He is the first European Head of State to meet the exiled Tibetan leader while holding the EU’s rotating presidency.
Minutes prior to the meeting, Mr. Sarkozy said “One must approach this calmly.” He further added that the world needs an open China that participates in global governance and China in turn needs a powerful Europe that provides work to the Chinese enterprise. The big man of France explained that he never hesitated whenever the subject was brought up.
No kinds of start of boycott of French products were recorded so far, a French official said. The official also expressed the fact that France and China need each other especially during the economic crisis. This is similar to what the Dalai Lama said during the meeting.
“The Chinese believes that the French have the power to implore strict discipline among the countries of the European Union, however, the French are actually not the teacher of the European classroom.” said the French official during a conference with reporters in Paris.
Nevertheless, the president did not put an eye on these issues, and met the Dalai Lama on 6 December in Gdansk, Poland.
He is the first European Head of State to meet the exiled Tibetan leader while holding the EU’s rotating presidency.
Minutes prior to the meeting, Mr. Sarkozy said “One must approach this calmly.” He further added that the world needs an open China that participates in global governance and China in turn needs a powerful Europe that provides work to the Chinese enterprise. The big man of France explained that he never hesitated whenever the subject was brought up.
No kinds of start of boycott of French products were recorded so far, a French official said. The official also expressed the fact that France and China need each other especially during the economic crisis. This is similar to what the Dalai Lama said during the meeting.
“The Chinese believes that the French have the power to implore strict discipline among the countries of the European Union, however, the French are actually not the teacher of the European classroom.” said the French official during a conference with reporters in Paris.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
What I do not want to do when I grow up
That guy in the laboratory shrouded in white cloaks geared with a pair of big white goggles had been renowned for finding the remedy towards extreme backside pain, which earned him the Annual Nobel Prize Award- a million dollars and a specially designed toilet potty that ensures his buttocks do not go “Ouch!”
And then there is this person who made millions out of milking and selling cows in a remote countryside on his dairy farm. People called him Mr Cow Gates, his famous nickname.
Finally, more than four hundred years ago lived this Englishman who wrote a pyramid full of plays and bought a nice, wonderful cottage with his wife who was eight years older than him. His plays are still studied today.
However, not all of them succeeded eventually. It was said that the scientist died a most regretful death from excruciating backside pain, something even his own findings availed to nothing. The farmer eventually went bankrupt after wolves from the nearby forest had his entire 101 cows for dinner, and his nickname was changed to Mr Cow Brains.
Only the playwright lived a happy life and died on his own birthday late one summer, his name and plays never forgotten for the rest of four centuries.
Therefore, from a young age at three and still wearing diapers, I never dreamt of becoming the guy who invented what I wore down there, the ‘miraculous’ stuff that makes sure I do not get drenched between my legs. At five, my dad told me I was going to be the next Aristotle after I got my first full marks for a Kindergarten Mathematics test. I was not ‘over the moon’ at his words though, I said “Me is me. I am what I am.”
And I am certainly not the mad ‘Eureka!’ guy who rushed like thunder down the streets without his undergarments on after making an interesting scientific discovery in his bathtub.
I never wanted to be people like Obama, Albert Einstein, Pythagoras or even Lee Kuan Yew. No, I just wanted to be a tiny micro-organism, absent from the sight of the naked human eye. In this context, the naked human eye refers to the world, being absent from it meant that I certainly do not want my name to appear in The Straits Times or any other newspapers, or Newsweeks.
One can become Superman in society without really letting others know you are one. Take the most ideal character in society, a teacher, for example. A teacher contributes towards society by nurturing, educating and caring for the young ones, thus setting the mark for the country’s future. His or her name rarely appears on the headlines of newspapers or magazines. And even if it does, he or she must have really done a splendid job in the teaching career.
Another example would be the cleaners of the streets who rise from bed even before the break of dawn. Their contributions, although neglected by most people of today, are however, important to the society. Singapore might never have attained the title ‘Clean and Green City’ without the presence of them. Their names never appear on the news, except for the cleaner from the Singapore Zoo who was killed by a white tiger after allegedly jumping into its enclosure in a recent incident.
I have yet to decide what I want to do when I grow up, which I probably will do one day in the toilet while answering nature’s call. But I am totally conscious of what I do not want to do when I grow up, and that is to make myself known to the world. Major characters in society have every of their actions monitored closely by the world, one mistake and the bucket is kicked ‘halfway down’. Examples are like Taiwan ‘big man’ Chen Shui-Bian and father of failure George.W.Bush.
I want to be a Paramecium, an Euglena, a bacteria or a DNA molecule.
And I am certainly not altering my mindset.
And then there is this person who made millions out of milking and selling cows in a remote countryside on his dairy farm. People called him Mr Cow Gates, his famous nickname.
Finally, more than four hundred years ago lived this Englishman who wrote a pyramid full of plays and bought a nice, wonderful cottage with his wife who was eight years older than him. His plays are still studied today.
However, not all of them succeeded eventually. It was said that the scientist died a most regretful death from excruciating backside pain, something even his own findings availed to nothing. The farmer eventually went bankrupt after wolves from the nearby forest had his entire 101 cows for dinner, and his nickname was changed to Mr Cow Brains.
Only the playwright lived a happy life and died on his own birthday late one summer, his name and plays never forgotten for the rest of four centuries.
Therefore, from a young age at three and still wearing diapers, I never dreamt of becoming the guy who invented what I wore down there, the ‘miraculous’ stuff that makes sure I do not get drenched between my legs. At five, my dad told me I was going to be the next Aristotle after I got my first full marks for a Kindergarten Mathematics test. I was not ‘over the moon’ at his words though, I said “Me is me. I am what I am.”
And I am certainly not the mad ‘Eureka!’ guy who rushed like thunder down the streets without his undergarments on after making an interesting scientific discovery in his bathtub.
I never wanted to be people like Obama, Albert Einstein, Pythagoras or even Lee Kuan Yew. No, I just wanted to be a tiny micro-organism, absent from the sight of the naked human eye. In this context, the naked human eye refers to the world, being absent from it meant that I certainly do not want my name to appear in The Straits Times or any other newspapers, or Newsweeks.
One can become Superman in society without really letting others know you are one. Take the most ideal character in society, a teacher, for example. A teacher contributes towards society by nurturing, educating and caring for the young ones, thus setting the mark for the country’s future. His or her name rarely appears on the headlines of newspapers or magazines. And even if it does, he or she must have really done a splendid job in the teaching career.
Another example would be the cleaners of the streets who rise from bed even before the break of dawn. Their contributions, although neglected by most people of today, are however, important to the society. Singapore might never have attained the title ‘Clean and Green City’ without the presence of them. Their names never appear on the news, except for the cleaner from the Singapore Zoo who was killed by a white tiger after allegedly jumping into its enclosure in a recent incident.
I have yet to decide what I want to do when I grow up, which I probably will do one day in the toilet while answering nature’s call. But I am totally conscious of what I do not want to do when I grow up, and that is to make myself known to the world. Major characters in society have every of their actions monitored closely by the world, one mistake and the bucket is kicked ‘halfway down’. Examples are like Taiwan ‘big man’ Chen Shui-Bian and father of failure George.W.Bush.
I want to be a Paramecium, an Euglena, a bacteria or a DNA molecule.
And I am certainly not altering my mindset.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A Dark and Stormy Year
Lest you have been living on another planet for the last few years, or stuck in somewhere barren surviving barely on worms and flies, you would know that the word 'successful' does not exactly top the list of best words to describe 2008CE.
Yes, 2008 just went right down the toilet.
Why are we still dwelling on something that has gone down the drain? The answer is simple. The sewage is just hard to forget.
The year 2008 has been dark and stormy and there is certainly no denying to that. Natural, financial and man-made disasters have prevailed like wildfire, or slammed after one another.
The cyclone Nargis disaster was the first to strike Earth that year, which left up to 134, 000 people either dead or missing and 2.5 million people without a roof over their head. Merely ten days later, one of the world's highest magnitude earthquake brought the Sichuan province in China to its knees, killing tens of thousands of innocent victims and 4 million people were left homeless.
This is catastrophic.
On 12th September 2008, a serious mudflow occured in Java, which though did not result in casualties, displaced more than 50, 000 people after homes, factories and schools were submerged by the hot, noxious mud.
It is currently still flowing at a rate of 100, 000 cubic metres a day.
The collapse of world renowned American bank Lehman brothers brought about the start of the financial crisis. The tumble of Wall Street and the scam of sly investor Bernard Madoff worsened the entire situation.
This might carry on for a lengthy period of time before everything returns to status quo.
Terrorism activities included the Islamabad Mariott bombings on September 20, the war on terror in Afghanistan, and the Mumbai terror attacks. The milk scandal in China and escape of Jemaah Islamiah detainee Mas Selamat Kastari were amongst the string of man-made tragedies of 2008.
With all the events that have been stated above, would you want another 2008?
Think.
Yes, 2008 just went right down the toilet.
Why are we still dwelling on something that has gone down the drain? The answer is simple. The sewage is just hard to forget.
The year 2008 has been dark and stormy and there is certainly no denying to that. Natural, financial and man-made disasters have prevailed like wildfire, or slammed after one another.
The cyclone Nargis disaster was the first to strike Earth that year, which left up to 134, 000 people either dead or missing and 2.5 million people without a roof over their head. Merely ten days later, one of the world's highest magnitude earthquake brought the Sichuan province in China to its knees, killing tens of thousands of innocent victims and 4 million people were left homeless.
This is catastrophic.
On 12th September 2008, a serious mudflow occured in Java, which though did not result in casualties, displaced more than 50, 000 people after homes, factories and schools were submerged by the hot, noxious mud.
It is currently still flowing at a rate of 100, 000 cubic metres a day.
The collapse of world renowned American bank Lehman brothers brought about the start of the financial crisis. The tumble of Wall Street and the scam of sly investor Bernard Madoff worsened the entire situation.
This might carry on for a lengthy period of time before everything returns to status quo.
Terrorism activities included the Islamabad Mariott bombings on September 20, the war on terror in Afghanistan, and the Mumbai terror attacks. The milk scandal in China and escape of Jemaah Islamiah detainee Mas Selamat Kastari were amongst the string of man-made tragedies of 2008.
With all the events that have been stated above, would you want another 2008?
Think.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My first attempt
The english teacher Miss Mary Jane Fox has just assigned me an important task, no, not cleaning toilets after class, but a simple( that is what most modern teenagers think) and quick( not for me)job: to set up a blog. Well, that is why I spent the whole night sitting on the toilet bowl thinking of just how to go about it until my grandfather slammed the bathroom door with his walking-stick and asked if I was suffering from diarrheoa. With much difficulties, I eventually managed to set up this oh-so-wonderful blog. Ask me if I just started blogging, my reply would be a definite 'yes'. Yes, you might have created your own blog since you were 3 and wearing diapers with much help from your grandmother who was 80 then. But to be able to set up the first blog and making the first post when you are 14 can be considered a satisfying achievement, it is just like when you step into the toilet after what seems like a few centuries, you would have difficulties doing your business, the achievement is made when you finally tear out a strip of toilet paper and wipe the residues away from your body's "underworld".
P.S.Above are some photos taken during my AEP trip to Pulau Ubin in March. Look out for me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
