http://utopianmystery.spaces.live.com

ok, finally back here after the prelims, hope all is good, can get all As. anyway i would have to get back to studying very soon, as the As are just around the corner and i need and want all As and distinctions, anyway on to the topic.

im sure most of you have heard about the US credit crisis and how its affected the world and all. during the prelims period i was tuning in to CNN almost everyday for the democratic conventions, and then this thing hit, together with hurricane katrina and Ike. so those were the top news in the states. I made the following comments on a friend's blog.

"

    

    
Visit UchihaSasuke90's Xanga Site!
hey jim, im taking some time off all the studying since there is this 2 days gap in my exam timetable. meanwhile, let me go over some points. it was about the same time i was doing my econs paper 2 that lehman brothers filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and i think the bank of america took over merill lynch for 50Bn, thats why its good to choose Morgan Stanley, or JPmorgan instead. i have been studying the campaign trail and the US economy for a few months now, and its due to their risky lending that lead them to what we call a recession. US government refuses to bail them out listing moral hazards, i will elaborate more on this on my blog after the prelims are officially over. hope your exams are fine and doing good.

anyway just a note, remember that economics cannot solve everything, is just a way of explaining certain phenomenon that we see in this world. thats why i prefer politics. let me give you a simple example. im sure you know what is comparative advantage. that idea seems simple, but never in real life. many economics principles postulates that if the US switch over to industries it were comparatively better in, their problems of unemployment and trade deficit will be solved. all seems good on paper. but as students we must read beyond what we are given, to better understand the situation. In the US, there are many small towns that form the heart and soul of the United States. these small towns have been around for ages. only recently have they lose their comparative advantage to countries like china for certain labour intensive production, etc. the town thrives primarily on that production to survive. sure we could very well force them to move off to high tech industries to regain their CA, but in doing so, years of culture and heritage that goes into the art and skill of their production will be lost, and this forms part of the american spirit that i believe is worth protecting. which is why protectionism is justified. anyway will elaborate later, gota sleep now."

i think ultimately, people are always going to desire for more money and in that course will make more risky bets on certain processes, i guess that the americans loves to take risk, but this is just an unlucky situation where their venture just turns on them. the best way forward would be to learn from this lesson that even seemingly stable institutions can fall overnight given this increasingly competitive world with china and india coming up as powerhouses economies and other countries just doing whatever they can to stay relevant and competitive. perhaps the new administration will take better reign of the financial institutions and more regulations without compromising incentives would be desirable.

given the diversification of today's global economy, i believe that it is still unlikely that the whole world will plunge into a depression, hopefully china can support part of the world's economy so that the weight on the US will lessen.
Posted 9/17/2008 12:34 PM by UchihaSasuke90 - reply


    
Visit dragon_vampire88's Xanga Site!
affirmative. let's hope that the current administration could make things better before the new ones come in. Hope this crisis would be over as soon as it starts. and most of all, Obama Rox! hahaha.
Posted 9/17/2008 3:41 PM by dragon_vampire88 - reply


    
Visit rikachan_forever's Xanga Site!

OMG man this's by far one of the longest comments. So, finish ur prelim now eh? how's it?

Z's very very analytical and resourceful indeed lol How r u Z???
Posted 9/17/2008 7:28 PM by rikachan_forever - reply


    
Visit dragon_vampire88's Xanga Site!
Prelim is fine, result should be fine as well. haha.
I think Z is going to be a politician SOON! lol.
                                                                                                                                                       "

ok i shall start the elaboration.

1) WHY THE US BACKING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IS A MORAL HAZARD

158yr old lehman brothers crashed, Merill Lynch forced to join up with Bank of America to survive, Nationalisation of Mortgage lenders freddie and fannie mac, and more stress on taxpayers as uncle sam(picture on top) backs AIG. All of these problems should be familiar to you. Before lehman fell, i was already studying the US economy and the mortgage crisis as i stick with the campaign trail and understand how the Presidential Candidates are going to correct the economy. i mean how can you make a decision on who is good, if you don't even know what they are talking about in the first place right? Anyway McCain's policies are quite similar to that of Bush's and i doubt there will be any form of change. Obama's policies are better anyway.

alright on to the topic. before uncle sam spent billions to correct its financial institutions it cited moral hazards. i agree that these moral hazards exist. This is due to uncle sam helping too many firms survive and these firms will grow reliant on government backing and will not be efficient, in fact such backing may be seen as supporting inefficient firms which will otherwise not survive in this competitive world. this was the primary reason why the fed did not want to save lehman brothers, so the seemingly stable and strong financial firm crashed and its securities were worthless overnight. Although i agree with this theory, i do believe though that the backing of AIG was absolutely necessary, and was right when they poured in 85Bn dollars to save it. AIG is an international insurer and its downfall will cause other firms to go down together with it creating a domino effect and the whole economy will suffer. Times magazine explains this well in its latest issue so go read it if possible.

2) why economics cannot solve everything.

as above i gave a good example as for why economics cannot really solve everything. this is my first year reading economics, and will continue to understand it further. anyway the stuff we learn in school is rather limited, hence its very important to supplement what we learn with external research and real life applications. Don't treat everything learnt in books and notes as the gospel truth, but instead question their reasoning and use in our world, this way your perspective will mature and you will have a more "seasoned" view of our world and will serve you well in all your endeavors. by the way the example was achieve with some help from obama's book the audacity of hope.

another example would be, positive sentiments towards the economy, or confidence as we know it, need not necessarily be good. This is seen in this crisis, the really top executives screw up real bad. As people feel that the economy could only get better, they are more likely to take risks, leading them to lose a lot when they find out the situation aint as rosy as they thought it was. another bad thing is the poor regulation of these institutions. Lehman brothers borrowed 35 times its capital, so when lenders cannot pay up, it just went straight down from there. its a huge gamble, and you can blame it on the lack of regulations. it was thought that less regulations meant more innovation and more freedom. that obviously is false. in fact, not less regulations but less obstructive regulations and more "safeguards" regulations can ensure sustainable and stable growth, and will lessen the probability of such a crisis happening in the first place. i have always believed that the government and the economy must work hand in hand to achieve progress.

Anyway continue to watch this saga continue, and if you happen to have some investments in any financial institution at risk, its better to just leave it, as a rush to cash in policies will just force the banks to come up with money they don't have. more banks will close and we'll be doomed.

Hey guys,

              today i shall write about my trip to the PSC scholarships fair at orchard hotel, and maybe some other stuff that came up along with it. Anyway this fair was of a moderate size, i would not say that it has too many or too few organisations or boards offering scholarships. Some organisations were more popular than others though, which meant that some of the talks had full attendence, while some were less than half filled. i attended one of those less popular talks, because its just too crowded in the other rooms, and the gifts were better elsewhere anyway. Also attended the talk by the Singapore Legal Service (at least not so crowded). The guy graduated from Oxbridge and Havard, wow not bad at all. Anyway i quite agreed with him than the study of law is a rather logical process, will elaborate later.

           Oh ya, i forgot to add in some funny stuff that happened. Hari came along with me to the MHA talk, which was the one that was rather empty. the good thing was that they gave us these goodie bag which included a water bottle (nike shape). Haha, Hari said he wanted to give it to chen for his birthday present, because he thought that since chen did not attend the talk, he might not be able to receive the free bottle. Apparently, he was wrong because chen went around the huge ballroom looking for free stuff, and managed to compile all the free stuff together and threw those which he felt would not be of much use to him. LOL, when he told me that he also found the bottle, we had to ditch our plans. I said i would give him tissue paper instead, anyway we will see if he needs anything else besides these 2 items.

         Ok jokes aside, i shall now focus on my future career choice. Yesterday, after the scholarships fair, we decided to chiong 1 movie before meeting up with our other friends since we were supposedly quite early and had little to do. we rush to get tickets for Hancock, even though chen watched it already, lol. Anyway, before the movie started we talked about the day's events and shared about the talks that we attended, so we could learn the most from each other's experiences. My friends asked me i think for the 2nd time why i chose a career in the law, and what if i had to defend someone who was guilty of murder.

Friends: Er, what if you were made to defend someone who has murdered someone?
ME: How did you know if he killed someone, are you making an assumption?
Friends: Then how did you know he didn't kill anyone?
ME: did i say he didn't kill anyone? im not making any assumptions here, you are.
Friends: OK, lets just say that he did murder someone and you had to defend him in the court of law.
ME: Alright, then it would be my legal duty to defend him to the best of my ability.
Friends: What if you won, what would it be to the victims of the crime?
ME: Sometimes life isn't fair and you just got to live with it, besides these cases are rare, just pretty darn sad. I understand where you're coming from. But if you cannot take the stress from all these moral dilemas, then you just aren't build to be a lawyer.

         Maybe my answer was not satisfying enough, because i mean how could you expect me to provide a good answer with limited time and in a dark theatre? So, i have decided to write my response here, in greater detail my perspective.

Firstly, let me start off on one of the basic principles of human rights. Man has the right to life, liberty and pursuit of Happiness. This is just one of the principle of the fundamental rights of humans, and how do they come about?  Well, humans have a common understanding and repect for one another. it is intrinsic and natural. It remains universal, and only a unique minority will disagree with these principles, such as the right to live. If you dun believe me, then try this: just a few days ago, chen sent me an email entitled: monster killer. Now for those who read it, almost all expressed their hatred towards the killer, and was offended by the mail. If you were not at all offended in any way, then you might be a minority. im not saying its impossible, just not very possible. OK, now having established that, why do we all hate this criminal? Because we believe that it was downright gross and disgusting, and simply inhumane. This brings about my point on the system of law in our society. the rule of law has been around for ages since the time of men. People understood the need for some rule to establish a peaceful and stable state of being to ensure the success and progress of a society. we simply cannot allow killers to go around killing people and not giving a damn. Therefore the need for law and order was there, and so it was established, a system whereby justice will prevail to lead the world to progression.

Secondly, the rule of law today is so wide and huge, that some laws are less universal, and not many people agree with their existence in the context of today's world. Therefore, in order to ensure that the laws of the land remain relevant, constant change is necessary, decisions made after proper debates and discussions. Even today, the law remains relevant because of this. We are no longer using just laws of old, but also new laws that govern many from the property of space to bioethics, and it will only increase in time to come, with the interest of the socierty.

Thirdly, the inalienable rights of man remains today. One of which is the right to remain innocent unless proved beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty. This simply means we cannot assume that someone is guilty or not, we must adhere to a strict system, that of the rule of law to ensure that the status of that person. He must be given a fair trial and a chance to prove his innocence. That is what we fundamentally believe in, and we should never take this away from the rights of men. Having said this, i agree that mistakes can be made in the course of events, due to unforseeable or uncontrollable circumstances, however we are not god, and cannot trully know the truth, therefore we can only with the help of a proper and effective system like the rule of law prosecute and determine if the party is indeed guilty of such a crime.

In conclusion, i agree that the rule of law is not perfect, but it is the most effective system to date that will allow us to make that distinction, via the use of logic, evidence, statements, and analysis to determine the innocence of a party. We simply cannot act upon assumptions as they might be wrong. What we can do however, is to constantly improve the system to allow it to remain relevant to the world. To believe the system, and to have faith in it, have faith that it WILL bring justice to all who respect it. I guess then if you have no faith in this system, then the study of law is simply not for you.

Thats it, my answer for your questions. i might update or change the text as i deem necessary.

rules:
* People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs.

* These people must state who they were tagged by & cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by. Continue this game by sending it to other people!

Chen thought it would be interesting that i tried this; i thought likewise, so lets go!!

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
   Well, i would feel darn sad, then again we gota move on in life. im a cancer, so i would have lost a life partner as well wouldn't i?

2. If you can have dreams come true, what would they be?
   World Peace, Have my own island, a few yatches + private jets, did i mention a mansion? maybe just my aspirations coming true would be enough.

3. What will your dream wedding be like?
   Chen might have cope this idea from me... anyway its in space, let me show you the brochure (im not kidding)
 
  

4. Are you confused as to what lies ahead of you?
   Nope, sure and confident of my destiny!!

5. What’s your ideal lover like?
   i guess this leaves to be discovered, most probably someone who can match my personalities and likes.

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
   loving someone. "To love is better than never getting loved at all"

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you really love?
   Depends on the situation, not too long in fact.

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
   Move along.

9. Is there anything that’s made you unhappy these days?
   Stressful JC LIFE!

10. Is being tagged fun?
    Its ok, since we can learn more about others.

11. How do you see yourself in ten years time?
    Maybe more successful in life? working for UN OR AIUSA in brookyln, NEW YORK CITY!

12. Who are currently the most important people to you?
    Friends, respectable folks and likes of that.

13. What kind of person do you think the one who tagged you is?
    INquisitive + curious + too much time on his/her hands

14. Would you rather be single & rich or married but poor?
    i rather the first than the second

15. What’s the first thing you do every morning?
    Make me bed.

16. Would you give it all in a relationship?
    Most probably, im a cancer.

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
    Depends. Who sets these questions anyway? can i set mine? Whats the difference between democrat and a republican would be good.

18. What type of friends do you like?
    Like and dissimilar. so i get to know many kinds of folks.

19. What type of friends do you dislike?
    those whoose true intention differ far from true friendship.

hey guys,

im here to blog about the first quarter final of the euro 2008 matches, GERMANY VS PORTUGAL.

i placed my hopes in Germany, and they took the win with a 3-2 score. Germany is my second favourite nation for soccer, only after Italy, the azzuri, which is my first. So i shall be supporting these 2 nations. Try to catch croatia vs turkey tonight. Croatia will most probably win, but who knows, the odds might change!!!




Here's bastian, the man of the match! OK!

Heyya people,

it has been some time since i updated the blog, but since many people keep saying i rarely update, i decide to spend some time to write about some of the significant happenings that i am paying some attention to. This is how it works. Every week, i will scour the INTERNET and newspapers and magazines to find interesting stuff happening around the world. These news are not necessarily well known, but i chose them because im very interested in them. OK lets start!!

1) The house of lords!!

article here










ok this is about a top briton hacker, Gary McKinnon, who supposedly carried out the largest, "biggest military computer hack of all time".
This case has been presented to the house of lords, who are the top in the judiciary in the UK. In case you do not know, the house of lords deal only with the most significant and important cases. Apparently his lawyers are claiming that extradition to the US might violate his human rights. As an aspiring Human Rights lawyer, i believe that there are grounds to exercise this claim. It is disappointing to find that the high court judges deem it otherwise. Go read it !!




2) Swedish Left Party Wants to Legalize Piracy

Here is 1 controversial topic. For all those who believe strictly that piracy is a definite bad thing, here is a different perspective which you might want to look at first, maybe for an overall view?

alright, on to matters. this article is interesting. we all know that piracy in sweden is a very hot topic. some quotes from the passage.

“To many of us in the Left Party, file sharing is something positive in the same obvious way that public libraries are,” the motion read, going on to describe the general opinion on file sharing in Sweden.

“We obviously want to be the cultural workers’ party in the future, but legislation which makes the majority of the adult population criminals must be changed,”

We now see a younger generation questioning copyright more and more, and with that there will be demands for updated copyright legislation. We need a legislation that is accepted by as many as possible, says Annie Johansson, the Center Party’s spokesperson on copyright.


O, and please discuss, i hate seeing pathetic and retarded comments on my board, the reason why i got the board was to allow discussion.

ok just a quick update today, this post is actually just to focus on an event which shocked me when i looked at the headlines, will proceed to talk about it soon.

Firstly, an update on Barack Obama. Since everyone knows I'm supporting him, they tried to get my hopes down by saying he lost kentucky today... So just to reassure everyone that this lost most probably will not affect him in any way, here's the news from bbc.co.uk.

Mr Obama has won the most delegates in the primary contests so far

Senator Barack Obama says he is close to securing the Democratic Party's nomination to run in the US presidential election in November.

Full report here

ok on to the the issue i was talking about. Apparently, Eleven women accused of being witches have been burned to death by a mob in the west of Kenya, read report here. 

it is surprising that even in this modern age, such events are actually still happening. witches being burnt. There are many serious violations of human rights in this issue, will address them when i have time.

Today, i met old friend Jim at the A div soccer finals which we lost 2-1, because the opponents cheated(their goal post was smaller). lol just kidding. Anyway it was a good game, maybe they deserved it, our players were just not on form, just look at the passes!! Maybe next year huh? By the way, im only adding this in because my friends commented my blog was too political, even when i told them its a political and intellectual blog... i shall try to add more of my personal life, but most of my life is about politics anyway, so wt.....

hmm, LOL Chen blog compete in the top blog award, totally joke. ok now im talking abt other people while on my blog, should stop this. Singaporeans, remember to watch out for our Pedra Branca on Friday. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver its decision on which country has sovereignty over the island and its rocky outcrops, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. So exciting , LOL! 

Here's a picture of one of my favourite books,
full report here at Newyork times.


With the endorsement from Edwards, i believe that Obama will get the democrats vote and move on to defeat McCain, thereby claiming the white house on Nov 4th. I already expected this when he got those many votes on super tuesday.





Hmm i can't think of anything else to write, so i shall post a pigeon video. HAHA! go check it out on the video section.

Hey people!

its the Common test week, so i shan't be taking too long to do this entry as i have a whole string of work to do, starting with the super-time consuming H3 lab report... omg! alright, on to my Topics of the moment.

i was talking with my friends about the creation of all existence just this week, of course i believe in the big bang theory. Others didn't care or simply return to their religious faith to explain the beginning of everything, simply just to disagree with my points! Anyway coincidently, an article on the big bang theory was published this week. i shall put part of it here. taken from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/02/qa_turok
and
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=119760

For decades, physicists have accepted the notion that the universe started with the Big Bang, an explosive event at the literal beginning of time. Now, computational physicist Neil Turok is challenging that model -- and some scientists are taking him seriously. According to Turok, who teaches at Cambridge University, the Big Bang represents just one stage in an infinitely repeated cycle of universal expansion and contraction. Turok theorizes that neither time nor the universe has a beginning or end. It's a strange idea, though Turok would say it's no stranger than the standard explanation of the Big Bang: a singular point that defies our laws of physics, where all equations go to infinity and "all the properties we normally use to describe the universe and its contents just fail." That inconsistency led Turok to see if the Big Bang could be explained within the framework of string theory, a controversial and so-far untested explanation of the universe as existing in at least 10 dimensions and being formed from one-dimensional building blocks called strings. Within a school of string theory known as m-theory, Turok said, "the seventh extra dimension of space is the gap between two parallel objects called branes. It's like the gap between two parallel mirrors. We thought, What happens if these two mirrors collide? Maybe that was the Big Bang."

Turok's proposition has drawn condemnation from string theory's many critics and even opposition from the Catholic Church. (Hey james, Look! the catholic church criticized Neil!, lol looks like you got to choose a side) But it's provoked acclaim and wonder, too: He and Princeton University physicist Paul Steinhardt published Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang last year, and Turok -- also the founder of the South Africa-based African Institute for Mathematical Sciences -- won 2008's first annual TED Prize, awarded to the world's most innovative thinkers.

The string theory is possibly one of the most popular area of physic interest at the moment, according to Chang Yang, the chairman of physics society. Anyway this is an interesting discovery i guess, using computers and all seems to help us find certain answers. i have yet to give my opinions on this issue though it looks quite real. will post back when im still interested in This after common test.

The Next part of my entry will be on the countering Radicalization convention i attended today. It provided a rather interesting perspective of the whole issue on Islam, terrorism, society, trends. It was a great learning experience. Even though i already knew quite a bit on this issue. im not suppose to be talking so much on this issue, since we are forbidden to document certain parts of the convention. However i would just like to say that it is a very real threat in the new age, and that we must remain vigilant and resilient, united and strong to overcome and change this wrong ideology and perceptions. Only less than 1% of people are extremist, quite unlike the mainstream society.

I would like to point out something i just realised when i got home, and hence did not managed to ask the presenters. In today's context, many radicalized groups are using unconventional and immoral methods to achieve their warped goals. For example, the christian Evangelicals have created an army of children in response to that of in the islamic terrorist groups. they termed it the 'army of god'. Key terrorist groups have started to recruit children to conduct front-line terrorist activities with the support of the parents. Doing so, they hope to hit a soft spot in the mainstream society and harm us greatly. This is a cause for concern and might be a potential security threat, even though there are very few of such groups and only take up a small percentage of the population, it is possible that such trends continue to grow.

On a more personal note, this week in school has been very amusing. Someone has admitted to doing something bad, and has yet to give us an apology. LOL anyway otherwise it has been a stressful week.

No part of this entry is written to offend any party. If i have written anything unacceptable, i will remove such objectionable content as soon as i am informed of it.

Hey readers! today i have decided to start using my blog to practice my GP, after reading that other students in other jcs are using this platform to practice, i thought it was a great idea. anyway the questions was thought out by me, so not really GP questions, but it still allows me to express my views, and PRACTICE! ok here goes!

SHOULD THE DEATH PENALTY BE ABOLISHED?

Resources:

http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/death_penalty.shtml
http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/index.html
http://wiki.idebate.org/index.php/Debate:Capital_Punishment#Background_and_Context_of_Debate:
http://www.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Crime_and_Justice/Death_Penalty/
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=144

The death penalty is a punishment rolled out to criminals who have performed or executed severe forms of malicious crimes, including espionage, first-degree murder, treason, Sexual battery or attempted sexual battery with injury of a child, etc. It was in the early 1960s, when it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Therefore, it was suspended in the US. However, after certain reforms of the law, and support from advocates saw the Supreme Court reinstating capital punishment. Today only 14 states in the United States do not practice capital punishment. Those who do have certain limitations of the punishment. it cannot be applied to those with mental illnesses and juveniles. It is often said that Capital Punishment can be used to deter others from attempting to carry out their heinous crimes, and to maintain the law and order of a state. However i beg to differ. Capital Punishment is murder and should be abolished due to the difficulty of executing this punishment without bias and in right of justice.

Arguments for Capital Punishment include it being a deterrent, to prevent people from committing certain crimes. However, this is not true, as most criminals who commit such heinous crimes are often under duress, or in an irrational state of mind to make a rational choice. this includes being intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. In these cases it is not fair to assume that they have that malicious intent to harm and kill, and will continue to have that intent into the future.

The death penalty is not a deterrent because most people who commit murders either do not expect to be caught or do not carefully weigh the differences between a possible execution and life in prison before they act. Frequently, murders are committed in moments of passion or anger, or by criminals who are substance abusers and acted impulsively. As someone who presided over many of Texas's executions, former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox has remarked, "It is my own experience that those executed in Texas were not deterred by the existence of the death penalty law. I think in most cases you'll find that the murder was committed under severe drug and alcohol abuse."


Even with capital punishment, the crime rates in America did not drop. the two states with the most executions in 2003, Texas 24, and Oklahoma 14, saw increases in their murder rates from 2002 to 2003.  Both states had murder rates above the national average in 2003:  Texas - 6.4, and Oklahoma - 5.9.  The top 13 states in terms of murder rates were all death penalty states. The murder rate of the death penalty states increased from 2002, while the rate in non-death penalty states decreased. The death penalty is no more a deterrent than is life imprisonment. Hence this argument is flawed.

Moving on to why the capital punishment should be abolished. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN general assembly in 1948 proclaims that the life of an individual have the right of protection from the deprivation of life. Also it states that no one be subjected to cruel or degrading punishment. the death penalty violates both of these rights. The death penalty prevents the criminal from ever returning to a good and normal life. One that we should expect from past criminals. We cannot determine that the convict be unresponsive to reformative training and deny him the right to live. Moreover, it is hard to determine if a person is really guilty of the serious crime he is charged with. There are cases where people have been sent to the gallows and were after found out to be innocent people. in such a case who can be responsible for the life lost? So irreversible is this punishment that it is impossible to make up for it.

In addition, it was found that the death penalty was not fairly used, and there is discrimination among the different people. There is evidence that 80% of death penalties in the US is due to a white victim, while far less when there is a african or latino victim. Not only is there racial discrimination, but there is also discrimination between the rich and poor. where the poor are more likely to be executed by the death penalty due to their inability to hire an attorney to defend him. It is arbitrary when someone in one county or state receives the death penalty, but someone who commits a comparable crime in another county or state is given a life sentence. Prosecutors have enormous discretion about when to seek the death penalty and when to settle for a plea bargain. Often those who can only afford a minimal defense are selected for the death penalty. Until race and other arbitrary factors, like economics and geography, can be eliminated as a determinant of who lives and who dies, the death penalty must not be used.


Many people think that the death penalty is necessary for retribution. This is not necessary a good thing. Revenge should not be supported in a civilised state. Capital punishment does not alleviate the pain of the victim's family and can actually add to it Even if there is revenge, the emotional impulse for revenge is not a sufficient justification for invoking a system of capital punishment, with all its accompanying problems and risks.

Many victims' families denounce the use of the death penalty. Using an execution to try to right the wrong of their loss is an affront to them and only causes more pain. For example, Bud Welch's daughter, Julie, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Although his first reaction was to wish that those who committed this terrible crime be killed, he ultimately realized that such killing "is simply vengeance; and it was vengeance that killed Julie.... Vengeance is a strong and natural emotion. But it has no place in our justice system."

The notion of an eye for an eye, or a life for a life, is a simplistic one which our society has never endorsed. We do not allow torturing the torturer, or raping the rapist. Taking the life of a murderer is a similarly disproportionate punishment, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. executes only a small percentage of those convicted of murder, and these defendants are typically not the worst offenders but merely the ones with the fewest resources to defend themselves. Creating 2 wrongs do not make a right, therefore this is not the right way to go. Instead resources should be directed at ensuring that the culprit does not commit such crimes in future by using less harsh methods of punishment and observation.

In conclusion, the act of passing down the sentence of death penalty is murder, no matter who authorizes it. This is due to the irreversible nature of the sentence, and its severity will make it difficult to account for in a situation of mistake. Furthermore, economical, political and social issues create discrimination and bias. This will make the passing of such a sentence difficult to justify. The passing of such a sentence should only be done when such problems and obstacles are eliminated, and the culprit can be charged on fair grounds. Till then, the pros of capital punishment today does not outweigh the cons of executing this punishment, hence it should be abolished worldwide.

     

Hey People!

         Some of you might have realised that i placed the title of this entry on my msn nick, on feb 5th, when i saw the results of super tuesday. Not that Obama won that day, but i just know that his momentum will build and till today, i have not changed that notion. Obama will take the White house!  

Just some results from the various news agencies...

Super Tuesday

Hiliary:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee

1045 delegates

Barack Obama:
Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah

960 delegates

News have just came in that obama won in Nebraska and Washington by almost 2 times in both contests. That's great news, also expected, with all the support he has by the Kennedy family. Also if you read the news, more famous people are starting to support barack obama's campaign and i strongly urge you to join the revolution! Moreover stop asking me why I'm so obsessed with this issue of politics, because this is a question that i have answered many times, and if you still dun get it you should shoot yourself!

However, all this aside, i would like to point out that more voters are participating in the polls and elections! This is great news, people are starting to get involve in deciding the future of their country, and to be part of this new era! More young people are getting interested in politics and what their leaders represent. They have stopped being politically apathetic, and learning what they can do to contribute and to make a difference. This shows that they know of the impacts their leaders can make, and understand the importance of the issue at hand.

Personal Life:

ok this week is Chinese New YEAR! WOOT! ok so anyway i was just back from malaysia and shall be uploading some videos of the fireworks we played! Anyway it was a great CNY! i also managed to visit my uncle's pub and karaoke. Most importantly, i received some red packets!! lol lots of cash (just kidding). Anyway, the mood is just about over as we return to the busy schedule of J2 life! H3 lectures resume next week on tuesday WTF! and got spa, e-assessment, CT1, SAT.....

anyway i have decided to pull out of nylf(med), because i decided that i will be too busy during the june holidays for me to actually attend this thing, and still get good marks for my CT2. it doesnt really matter anyway, since im more interested in doing LAW than medicine, and VJC doesnt provide the program for nylf(law)....

More on this week; i went back to victoria school on wednesday, after CNY celebrations. i had feelings of nostalgia as i walked through the campus, and reminiscent about the times i had with my good pals that somehow couldn't come back on that day. Anyway, i had a good time with my 4D pals, talk to Mr Chan, then we went on down to east coast park, was a great day anyway. Ha, i can still remember the Chen Ziyang part, LOL OK I SHALL RE WRITE THE INCIDENT HERE.

someone: wah christopher you really can drink. ( referring to his desire for daxter's cup of coffee)

Eric: the only person i know who can drink more than you is Chen ZIyang. Every lesson have to go toilet!

*laughs*

ok some more stuff abt chen. but i gota quote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights first.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

ok article 19 stated and represented by the UN general assembly, i shall continue.

this happened more than once.  i was talking to person A, when he said something like :" All my friends are not here." (referring to an outing) and i was appalled! This shows that it is very easy to obtain what someone truly feels about a situation. All you got to do is to get him talking quickly, and somehow the truth pops out. you will know when he starts trying to take back his words, ok that shall be all, cya in time to come!

Heyya! 

         Before i start i just want to introduce this pictures taken from the daily mail.           http://www.dailymail.co.uk. these photos were from spirit, and maybe i could discuss this more interesting topic. if you were to look carefully, it actually does look like a human woman, though it maybe a rock....


"
Perched on a rock, she could be waiting for a bus. But if so, she could be in for an awfully long wait. This photo of what looks remarkably like a female figure with her arm outstretched, was taken on Mars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it has set the Internet abuzz with claims that there really is life on the red planet. Others may well feel that it is simply an optical illusion caused by a landscape. The image was among many sent back to Earth by Spirit, Nasa's Mars explorer vehicle which landed there four years ago. Initial inspections revealed nothing unusual, but closer examination by amateur astronomers has thrown up this intriguing picture. As one enthusiast put it on a website: "These pictures are amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars." Another, dismissing cynicism about the somewhat stony look of the "alien", wrote: "If you show me another rock in another photo from Mars, or Earth, that naturally looks like that, I will reconsider.

" A third contributor, who might have come closer to the majority view, said: "Ah, the human eye can be tricked so easily."                                          
                                                                                                                          "

i took the above passage from http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com. anyway this really baffles and shocked me, the possibility of alien life and existence happening just a planet  away. i always believed that there will be other forms of extraterrestrial life beyond earth, but never thought it would so close!! I Yearn to see the day when Humans and Aliens could exist and survive harmoniously in this world. how great would it be to go to school with a totally different species. just imagining this is mind-blowing, it would be a great milestone in human history. I believe that im not the only one who wants to explore space and such other possibilities. This makes our lives more interesting anyway. But before we can integrate our lives with aliens, i think its more important that we learn to co-exist harmoniously together with people of our own species first. There is just too much racism and many different forms of biasness and discrimination that prevents us from achieving a much stronger unity with one another. Without sufficient trust in others, how can we expect ourselves to bond well with our fellow humans, let alone aliens... alright, i think my idealistic ways are coming about, but they do make some sense, perhaps something to think about?

THat covers the alien aspect, i guess, and now on to my People portion.

I dun need someone to tell me im an idealist, it has already been a while, so i was not surprised when my 16PF report showed similar results. Idealist means...

"someone who believes that ideals can be achieved, often when this does not seem likely to others" 

and realist means....

"someone who hopes for or accepts only what seems possible or likely, and does not hope for or expect more"

(aboved definitions and meanings taken from cambridge dictionaries online)

my closest friends will know that im an idealist, and since there are few of us, its not difficult to spot one. i Believe that the reason why our ideals are not being used is mainly due to the fact that there are so many more realists in this world, compared to idealists, and its my opinion that this is so because its much simpler to be a realist. its not difficult to see this phenomenon. just take my class, and already 2 of my good friends are realists. i know this because i was debating with them on several occasions the implications of not being a transparent being, and how this can affect society in general. i, for one, supports the idea of people being 100% or near that transparent. Because of this, my friends think im a visionary, and this cannot be possible. we were discussing on the level of transparency we should adopt in normal situations, and i believe that should we maintain a certain level of transparency about our feelings and thoughts, then maybe life will be much simpler and easier to live, of course with a touch of sensitivity. My friends believed that they be entitled to their rights of deciding who should receive certain information and who shouldn't. this clearly leads to distrust! If you decide to share some information with someone, you should not be afraid of letting the whole world know that information. This is different from choosing who should be that first person who knows that particular information. it is only logical that people would choose the people closer to them to reveal more sensitive information. Imagine if everyone could try to be truthful with one another, that way our world would be with less misconceptions and distressing ambiguity that only serves to complicate things. An Ideal is not achievable, but that does not rule out the possibility of trying to achieve it, since doing so will definitely be better than not trying it. HEY thats something to think about!! It has to start somewhere if it were to go anywhere in the first place.

All of the above are of my own personal and humble opinion. No way is any of the above written to offend anyone of any relation to the situations mentioned. Intellectual and friendly discussions are encouraged, otherwise not.

Hey peoplE!

             i shall start this entry with a quick summary of the recent U.S. presidential race. In nevada,  Obama lost to Hiliary  45% to 51%. but somehow he got more delegates. anyway we will be looking at south carolina where 50 % of the people there are black, however that does not necessarily mean they will vote for obama, and there has been some controversy over his true racial identity. Women may also vote for hiliary as she has done much for them. so i believe it would be a close race. i shall be rooting behind obama as usual. Lets see into power a new leader that can bring the country of america together to get over its tough times and back to being an influential and respectable world power.

          On to closer but related note, school work has started to gain momentum, and its getting as busy as usual. H3 biophysics is also starting to be fun. Parliament is sitting this monday, and im lucky enough to be able to watch this gathering. i shall be looking at how the issue of inflation will be addressed, and also certain issues closer to home. With our efficient government, i expect everything to be great as usual. the energy level in VJC seems to have died down a little, maybe due to post-orientation blues? anyway hope the J1s are fitting in just fine. i think this year alot more boys, especially from vs. lets hope they all do well for their O's. i expect my life to get more stressful as i tackle more events this year. that includes some more CCAs dedication, SAT, J2 work, A levels(must GET ALL A!!, ESPECIALLY GP!), thinking about future carrer choices, future prospects(i still want to go to law field), and what i want my life to be. this involves a lot of thinking and self-reflection and therefore, i shall post more about this when im clearer about this. Anyway the fields im interested in are: creative field, Law, Medicine, Finance(not too sure abt this), Engineering (only as a core discipline to guide me along my life).

          In future i shall also be touching on various issues other than the US presidential race, including stuff like "Does a Person Looks COUNT?" or " Who decides how much Liberty is Enough for a person?" right now i go play gunz.

Well i guess you can't win them all.

In case you dunno what im talking about, Obama just lost to Hiliary in New hampshire Primaries. this indicated that opinion polls conducted earlier were very off their mark. Once again the information taken here are from the bbc site. http://news.bbc.co.uk/

NEW HAMPSHIRE RESULT

Hillary Clinton - 39%

Barack Obama - 36%

John Edwards - 17%

Bill Richardson - 5%

Source: Associated Press

You see! we lost by 3% only! thats quite sad, but i believe Obama will perform better in other states. the Next is Michigan on the 15th. Super tuesday is also approaching!!

Well, school has started, and i guess i shall get back to my busy schedule again, anyway everything looks good right now. Met my junior class 08S56, mainly boys, because got computing folks, but photog have amazingly many girls, i dunno why. ok i shall leave this at that.

This week i also discovered a new band called lonestar, and i just love their music, its great. i shall try to upload 1 song so maybe you can try it.

Hey Guys!

               this is supposedly the 2nd entry of the new year 2008! i woke up today with many of my friends informing me about the Obama Iowa caucuses win, which i already knew the day before as i use the Internet for information with a network of renown news network like bbc, and papers like the new york times, international herald tribune and washington post, while they use the local newspaper. apparently there was a front page issue on this win. its great to see some of my friends warming up to the issue despite the effect on them being minimal. maybe its due to my hype about this elections, hmm anyway its a GOOD THING! ok first things first the results of the Iowa caucuses. Mike huckabee and Obama took the stage!









Images taken from bbc site http://news.bbc.co.uk

By the way, edwards is also not bad, but i still think Obama is better and is the leader to lead the states out of the current mess it is in.

OK next state is New Hampshire. go to barackobama.com to show your support!
i think that obama was a favourite in Iowa, but i dunnoe about New Hampshire, i wish him the best of luck.


KEY DATES

3 Jan: Iowa caucuses

8 Jan: New Hampshire primary

15 Jan: Michigan primary

19 Jan: Nevada caucuses; South Carolina primary (Rep)

26 Jan: South Carolina primary (Dem)

29 Jan: Florida primary

5 Feb: some 20 states including California, New York, New Jersey

Information taken from bbc site.

HEY PPL!

              Its the new year and my new year resolution is to get all As in my A level, and to excell in all my endeavours, o yes, also my SAT. Anyway i shall try to get those photos of the fireworks all round the world and post it should i be free.

Hello!!
 
       I was doing some math homework today, and found how dry and boring it was. Hence, I tossed it aside, and started on my KAPLAN SAT premier program. It’s a book I bought to prepare me for the SAT, which I might be taking (I know I have not registered). While registering the book online, I thought, well since I’m taking the sat; why not check out the universities in the states, and what course I might be interested. I started choosing some prominent courses, and ticking off those which I found too boring or simply not my taste. I sort of ended up with business studies, management and law. Law is a course I have been eyeing for a while, but I don’t want to rush into things, and want to keep my choices open. I know that to practice law in Singapore its kind of hard to choose a university in the states to study in, since you need a doctor of jurisprudence and there are only 4 Singapore-approved U.S universities which u can get it from before u apply for the graduate diploma to practice law here.

 

"Studying law is both difficult and rewarding. Law students have to be prepared to work hard to develop an understanding of not only the rules and systems of law but also the theories underpinning them. A good law student will be interested in society and in questions of philosophy and morality. Furthermore such a student will be willing to express his or her opinions and to listen to and engage with the opinions of others. Also because law affects all societies and cultures, it is interesting to people from all societies and cultures. The sharing and discussion of solutions to legal problems by students from a variety of backgrounds is a rewarding process."

     I took the above paragraph from http://www.surrey.ac.uk/law/undergraduate/is-law-right-course.htm  and I got to say it’s what I have always wanted to study and major in, since I’m always discussing social issues with my friends and encouraging them to engage ourselves in such activities. However, I shall continue to consider other choices I may have. If this course is what I want, I most probably will not go to the states to study, or I might study something else in the states, and then take the J.D. then practice in Singapore which I estimate takes 7 yrs? I’m not sure, I’ll go work this out.
   

Hey guys,

              Christmas just passed and the new year is almost upon us, anyway my christmas isn't too fancy or anything, so i wouldn't discuss much about it; just went to a fellow classmate's house to meet up with some of my friends and spend christmas eve together. Upon looking and viewing other blogs, i feel that most people are narcissistic and think that their lives are great and wish to share it with everyone, and thats a Good thing, it promotes positive psychological developement. However, i feel that such blogs have little meaning to the reader ( no offence ). Hence, in addition to my posts of my life, i shall be discussing certain issues which may not only affect me, but YOU the reader, hence you would feel more connected while reading and i would try my best to promote interactivity in my blog regarding these issues.

     Alright first things first, i would want to wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR 2008!! HOPE YOU GOT ALL THE PRESENTS YOU WANTED, may it be a new house or a yatch.

      Ok now on to the issue of the week. I have been looking closely at the U.S. presidential elections 2008 for 3 months already, and this shall be my starting issue. In case you dun already know, i am a support of Barack Obama. you can visit his site on barackobama.com. I know some of my readers dun care who is the next president of the U.S. but i strongly welcome them to join in with this discussion as this would greatly broaden their minds. Anyway i cannot give too many opinions on this issue as apparently, im a writer for GP soc's newsletter and their first issue is also on this.

1. Why I THINK Barack Obama should be President:

1.  He understands his limits and abilities.
2. He represents hope for the American People
3. He exudes confidence and looks to be a promising leader

1. He is 100% against the iraq war and will bring back all troops
2. He understands Islam well and is the optimal leader to bridge the gap between Christianity and Islam.

There are many more reasons but im afraid i might bore you.


Trivia:
OK now for the more interesting part. Knowing our candidates better. im still updating this, feel free to comment.




PS: All copyright holders retain their rights, nothing has been written to offend or to harm anyone or thing in any possible way. Any offence experienced is totally unintentional and i sincerely appologise.

Hey Folks,

                 i have decided to reuse/reopen this blog, as many of my friends have a blog, and i wish to share my wonderful life with others, anyway this will be one of my many other attempts to start a blog, and mind you, i have failed all till now, so lets hope this one will be a success, anyway its great multiply makes posting easy, and i dun have to go through the coding stuff on blogspot, because somehow my dreamweaver codes dun fit. Anyway have fun!