LA Learning Log

Expediency
1. the quality of being expedient; advantageousness; advisability.
2. a regard for what is politic or advantageous rather than for what is right or just; a sense of self-interest.
3. something expedient.

Some stuff that happened in Myanmar yesterday that prompted people from Myanmar in Singapore to protest against the baised rules towards the military regime
"I'm going to vote 'no' because the draft constitution is for a sham democracy," the university student said. "It's not for a true and real democracy as all the terms in the constitution are biased toward the military regime."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/27/asia/AS-GEN-Singapore-Myanmar.php

Myanmar made a rule that 25% of the govt must be made up of the military. At the moment 100% of the government are made up of the military.

Issue: concept of rights.
Is there such thing as political rights.
Myanmar - Military embedded constituition; the military is guaranteed a place in the government.
If a ruling party, XX of country X, decides because it is a ruling government, to change the constituency, that in the future govt 25% of govt must be made up of party XX.

Is there rights?

What is political rights?
Political freedom?

Political rights: a right to participate in the political scene of the country.
Political freedom: Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression. The members of a free society would have full dominion over their public and private lives. The opposite of a free society would be a totalitarian state, which highly restricts political freedom in order to regulate almost every aspect of behavior. In this sense ‘freedom’ refers solely to the relation of men to other men, and the only infringement on it is coercion by men.

Do they have the right to vote? In myanmar, not everyone is allowed to vote, not everyone have the right to vote.

Human rights: Human rights refers to the supposed "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled."Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood"
- Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.

It is at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (At least i think so. Paul Tan don't seem to agree though.)

Myanmar - case study.
Is human rights existant/native to their language?
Westerners think very strongly about human rights.
When other countries try to say: Look myanmar, what you're doing is wrong.
It becomes a mistruth that this is an infringement of Myanmar's sovereignty.

George Bush: War on Language (Terrorism)
Sunday Times, 27 April.
He said: " Al Qaeda by Al Qaeda and don't say that they are waging a jihad because all these make these terrorist groups legitimate."

Sometimes, i feel like shit after reading some blogs.

it only makes me feel how much i've missed in other people's lives and how much i'm wrapped up in my own.

but then again, this post shows again how much i'm wrapped up in my own disgusting life.

LA learning log

Sweatshop:

- any business that makes use of labour (cheap labour), under very atrocious/appalling conditions.

- many companies in the world use this.

- a working environment with very difficult or dangerous conditions, usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation. This can include exposure to harmful materials, hazardous situations, extreme temperatures, or abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers are often forced to work long hours for little or no pay, regardless of any laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labor laws may also be violated. often associated with third-world countries, sweatshops can exist in any country. Sweatshops have existed in several cultures, including Early American culture beginning in the 1850's. Sweatshops can produce many different goods, from clothing to furniture.

- has social, economic and political implications.

- some Nike comes from Indonesia. (recently indonesian workers of nike held a strike, they wanted more pay.) Reason for people to write stuff like boycott Nike? (Look at the source) but cost of living in indonesia is low.. so how can ppl say that Nike is mistreating the people there? What is the difference between fair and sufficient? Fair and sufficient have a very thin line between them. Labour is a very impt part in shoe production. Shoes are a couple of bucks, but labour, you need one entire day. "I pay 200++ bucks for Nike but 2 bucks go to the person who physically made it... is it FAIR?" "Money goes to design and marketting?" "Still don't add up to 200 bucks per shoe." this is the cost of entrepreneurship. If a person wants to do business, he takes a risk, when he takes a risk, he can either succeed or fail. the risk itself can be quite painful. the cost of entrepreneurship is to reward the entrepreneur for this risk.

- $2.60 US a day in india (10 hours) , while in US $8-11 US dollars per day (may not be 10 hours a day).

- low overhead cost, no factory, no air-con no blahblahblah.

- EXPLOITATION

rights? is it possible to have equal rights for everyone? (children, adults..) there's always a will and an option, no one force them to work for low wages. if there's no demand there will not be supply.

Inconvenient truth.
question assumptions, examinine evidence.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060524-global-warming.html
scientic flaws
Experts emphasize that neither Hurricane Katrina nor any other single event can be linked to global warming. blahblah evidences that Al Gore's Inconvenient truth is not true, and is biased.
http://www.slate.com/id/2142319/
moral flaws
http://www.wunderground.com/education/gore.asp
general info
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/gore-j15.shtml
al gore's motive..
running for presidency, when it was first shot.

political mileage. certain people do certain things for certain reasons. what is obama and hillary clinton doing for political mileage.

al gore's argument is based on the thesis,
the globe is warming because of CO2 emissions. the more we produce the more temperature would rise.
is this true?

BECAUSE.
DETERMINATION AND WILLPOWER IS EVERYTHING.

i will get less than 2.0 msg for my 2nd block test and a1 for my math. I CAN DO MATH.

OKAY I WILL DO WELL WELL WELL. GOOD GOOD GOOD.

i think ohno looks like an angel in some poses. he's so pretty =3

LA LEARNING LOG

Foreign policies
- the action that you adopt based on your objectives when dealing with oither countries.

- A country's foreign policy is a set of goals that seeks to outline how that particular country will interact on an official basis with other countries of the world and, to a lesser extent, non-state actors. As well, an entire range of factors relating to those other nations - including economic, political, social, military, etc. - is evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. Foreign policies are designed to help protect a country's national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through aggression, war and exploitation.

- social/political/economic.. objectives (then you decide what you want to do with other countries)

Singapore foreign policies
(learnt from vietnam, malaysia and indonesia)

- according to singapore

http://www.mfa.gov.sg/Internet/foreignpolicy/foreign_policy.htm
1. as a small state, Singapore has no illusions about the state of our region or the world.
President Dr. Habibi in an unfriendly mood once called Singapore 'the little red dot.'

2. we need to maintain a credible and deterrent military defence to underpin our foreign polities.
there is no permernant friends, but there are permernant interest.
deterrence - concrete defence, not just talk
3. we must promote and work for good relations with our neighbours in all spheres.
diplomacy
need to be careful - press releases, how we phrase our sentences.
eg, we want to be friends with China and the US
prosper thy neighbour - make neighbours happy, have good relationships.

4. we are friends with all those who wish to be friends with us.
diplomacy II
(what about friends with a not so good track record?)
are we opening ourselves up?
it's better to make friends than to open ourselves to enemies...

5. we stand by our friends who have stood by us in times of need.
6. we fully support and are committed to ASEAN.
7. we work to maintain a secure and peaceful enviroment in and around Southeast Asia and in the Asia Pacific region.
8. we must work to maintain a free and open multilateral trading system.
9. we are ready to trade with any state for mutual benefit and will maintain an open market economy.
10. we will support and be active in international organisations such as the UN.

- according to foreigners

haha i quite like this picture from scarlet =D


paul tan anyone?


i know soggae's getting tired of this HAHAHA


=D eunice looks taller than audrey lor.


HAHA LOOK. KOEL IS SO CUTE RIGHT!


my other "student" besides koel. HAHAHA i cannot remember his name.


zi an XD

there's nothing better than taking random photos. because photos won't disappear but the people in your life will, the things in your life will. so. therefore. keep your photos.

actually.

if i don't care anymore i won't hurt anymore right.

if i stop hoping, i won't get hurt anymore right.

maybe it's time to give up and let go. maybe i am destined to not have a community to be involved in. no matter where i go, school, cca, church, guitar, tkd, family.. i still feel so alone, as if i'm looking through a window and so separated from everyone. probably people don't really know, but it's gotten so bad lately. i keep seeing people who have a sense of community, who have a group of friends they can ultimately trust say that they're upset about their lives. how do you think i was feeling at that point of time. in the end, i decided to suppress those emotions that threatened to bubble out of this empty shell of mine. it's rather useless to keep searching for a place where i can really trust people, it's useless to hope that i'll have a group of people that i can talk to. maybe someday, i'll find this group, but just not now. these feelings threaten to overtake. and i'm still alone after all this. so what's the point. company, friendship. they're all so meaningless now.

how much more meaningless can this life get. i spent most of my time in school but lately i've been feeling so so so left out in school. it's like everyone finally has found their dream friends, dream clique and i'm just left behind, trailing in the dusty path that had been trampled by these very people. sure, nothing's wrong. I'm really happy with my life now. bullshit. how i would like to believe that i'm really happy with my life now. no one really knows how i really feel now. not even my family. do you think they care? do you think they even want me?

of course. my sister is still the precious one. the only one for them.

i wish i was important to someone. but i guess this wish is simply too selfish to be made.

because no matter how much i wish and pray for it

there's always nothing.

placing others before self is tough but seeing others above you is more difficult.
especially if you're like me. irritated and too engrossed in my own little self-sufficient world.

i guess it'll be better to start learning how to see others as above you, how to see that rubbish collector as above you and more mature than you, as better than you.

maybe then, my heart wouldn't get broken so many times, shattering into tinier pieces each time it breaks. maybe then, i can be selfless and be better in God's eyes.

the dull ache won't reside.

LA learning log
talkingcock.com (Colin Goh; Came up with the movie Singapore Dreaming; Writes columns in the Sunday Times; raises certain issues [writes in humourous way O_O] )
pac-mat game

Maslow's hierarchy of needs;
from needs to family, to esteem & luxury goods... self actualization

Enviromnmental issues:
concern for 1st world countries? Not 3rd world..
If 1st world countries cannot even achieve the 1st level of needs [SAVE THE PLANET]; how can we even go for self actualization or esteem?
Is it (SAVE THE PLANET] something that 3rd world countries cannot do? Is it a luxury to them?
Do not kill a lion? Is it possible to tell this to a 3rd world country citizen? They need to kill the lion to survive? How do we bring in hierarchy of needs?

Triangle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.svg

My facade is breaking.
I just said things that i would never ever say to ahwee. Sorry. I really didn't know what came over me.

ah. anyway this really sucks.

sometimes i feel as if i dunno i'm just watching the world go by through a window and everyone around me is in the house, in a party that i've been left out of.

Sometimes when i think back on how i could have been, how i could have acted, i think i could be so different. If only i could start over again and erase everything that i've done.

Yet
everything's so meaningless.

I can't see myself growing up.

The damage have already been done.

Actually, i want to be cared for too, no matter how i look like on the outside.. why doesn't my family care?

actually it's quite pointless.

keep telling myself that i love myself.

It's so difficult to be around you now
Maybe it's good that you've found yet another person.

It doesn't matter if I'm just breaking into pieces.

It's so difficult to make them happy now
Maybe it's good that they have the other daughter.

It doesn't matter that I'm crying myself to sleep.

It's so difficult to keep this facade up
Maybe it's good that I'm going to shatter soon.

It doesn't matter that no one really cares.

It's so difficult to keep waiting for someone
Maybe it's good that I'm loosing hope.

It doesn't matter if I'm not important to anyone.

walao this is super sianning. to think that we'll be seeing him so many times a day. =( mighty boring. esp when we're peer editing. =((( i think the person that i'm peer editing for is a china prc so her compre right is quite long and wordy, i feel that my compre is very inadequate when it's beside hers coz mine is always super short =(

the devil is always on the left shoulder. so cool. haha it's a art history thingy
then in all the museums the devil is always drawn on the left shoulder. quite cool
then can see ghost when you look over the left shoulder. hoho
abit scary.

super sianning.
okay i must play DEVIL MAY CRY i think it's pretty cool lor. =D
im going to go for mommy's house to steal her brother's computer thing thing XD

Summary

One reason tourists find Nepal delightful is because of the huge variety of authentic culinary feasts. Furthermore, the city offers interesting and beautiful pieces of art that can be seen by the quaint customary houses. Magnificently decorated traditional temples are also a common sight. Additionally, a large range of unusual historical souvenirs, precious gems and woolen clothing can also be bought all at affordable prices. While trekking to view the Himalayas, the highest mountains on earth, tourists can also observe the unique cultural diversity and lifestyles of villagers that have developed with tradition. Moreover tourists can visit the varied landscape that caused cultural diversity. Unfortunately, it takes a week to travel through the habitats. Pokhara may be an easier option that offers accommodation, convenient transport and enough diversions and scenery for a pleasant stay. In Nepal, visitors would receive a warm welcome and are allowed to bask in its splendor and its unusual traditions.

(144 words)

Ok I think this summary is quite well done because you managed to cover all the points without losing the original meaning/content etc. Connective words are aptly used :D

Summary

One reason tourists find Nepal delightful is because of the huge variety of authentic culinary feasts. Furthermore, the city offers interesting and beautiful pieces of art that can be seen easily. Magnificently decorated traditional temples are also a common sight. Additionally, a large range of unusual historical souvenirs, precious gems and woolen clothing can also be bought all at affordable prices. While trekking to view the Himalayas, highest mountains on earth, tourists can also observe the unique cultural diversity and lifestyles of villagers that have developed with tradition. Moreover tourist can visit the varied landscape that caused cultural diversity. Unfortunately, it takes a week to travel through the habitats. Pokhara may be an easier option that offers accommodation, convenient transport, enough diversions and scenery for a pleasant stay. In Nepal, visitors would receive a warm welcome and are allowed to bask in its splendor and it’s unusual traditions.

(148 words)

I'm lamenting over the fact that i can't seem to talk to anyone anymore.
maybe it's just me.

sucker.

60% + 60% = 100%

MY MATH IS GOOD

Sometimes when you think about it, humans are actually very fragile.
One stab into the heart, you die. One hurting word, your heart shatters. One slap, you get devastated and angry.

=( Looking at the past few weeks, i haven't been feeling too happy. The reason? I guess there's no particular reason at all.

What can i say? Maybe closing oneself up is better than just doing what i'm doing now. Isn't closing yourself up to emotions better than opening yourself to negative emotions. Maybe i should distance myself. If you distance yourself, you'll be protecting yourself right?

I think I'm just running away.
How is running away going to make it better? But the only thing i can do is to run away now. What can i do? what can i say?

Smile? it's so meaningless now. half the time i'm smiling but i don't know why im smiling. maybe i'm not even smiling.
How can a shell smile?
How can a shell feel?

Sometimes i feel like hating the world along with everything that is contained within it. yet what can a mere person like me do?

i can't even make anyone happy, much less change someone.

i can't even speak to my parents anymore. why?

being positive is a joke. why be positive when you know that sooner or later you're going to lose something you strongly believe in to someone who just wants it because of a whim.

sometimes i feel like blaming everything that has happened in this miserable world on the world itself. so many things can be achieved, so many things can be solved. and yet why? why are we not solving them? selfish human nature? is that the reason that we all give.

the world is a dump. and the future is a blank.

i worry for the survival and existence of mankind.

HELLO!!! :D:D:D:D
THIS IS HAMSTER AND PINKY AND PINKY IS NOT GOOD AT SHOOT THE BIRD BIRD GAME
i chew off her head.
sunran rocks MORE

my answers to compre.
paul tan sucks


When exploring the diverse landscape of Nepal, one should walk or trek on foot.

The author feels that any visitor that comes to Nepal would find something that they are very interested in, thus becoming an enthusiast for this small Himalayan kingdom.

Kathmandu has a variety of stores that offer many things from ornaments to clothes to pieces of arts at an affordable rate.

The words are “nostalgic voyage”.

Kathmandu’s cultural identity is influenced by the west.

Nepal’s location is extremely inaccessible as it is surrounded with high mountains and passes, rugged terrain, there is only a small strip of jungle, thus, this isolation causes the rich cultural detail to be preserved and not be influenced by other countries.

The conditions are extremely rough.

A pathway that was built to allow other countries to have access to Kathmandu caused it to be “trust into the twentieth century”.

It is dangerous but .

The development of Nepal was extremely abrupt.

Kathmandu’s inaccessibility prevented it from being part of the modern world.

From a underdeveloped country, it has turned into a developing country. Markets now sell more developed goods

Kathmandu is famous for plastic art that can be found almost everywhere, from windows to doorways to statues of gods, so that even a normal house can become a tourist attraction.

The monkeys are unusual pieces of art that would intrigue a person thus the journey there would be worth it when the person finally manages to catch a glimpse of this exceptional piece of art.

breath – variety
glimpse – sight
authentic – genuine
allay – put to rest
envelops – surrounds

the school classroom computer is super evil. they don't want let me play neopets. they dont want to let me blog also.

i hao bu rong yi then can open this page. I WANT TO PLAY NEOPETS.

so boring. i think the destruction o war thing hung again =(

siwei nicolea and the rest are downstairs playing basketball but since i'm too lazy i dont wanna go down + i dunno la. playing destruction o war is so much more fun than playing basketball coz don't need to move O_O

ah can play le HAPPY =3

but im very lousy at it.

szemin says the same thing. =D

aiyo. dont tell me that it wont load. there's this dinosaur thingy ohman

well done

for the all comers meet right, i'm in shot put flight 1 out of 3.
and i think it's the scariest of the 3.

and im the first thrower.

actually im quite excited.

i dont think i will ever get the chance to throw side by side with wan lay chi, ong mei xuen, zexin and zeena.

so i'll go there with the attitude to throw above 9.
it doesnt matter if i get the last but MUST GET PB.

jiayou jiayou jiayou

Subversion and Containment theory
Subversion and Containment is a means of control. At its simplest level this is achieved by manipulating the fact that another has doubt in their beliefs. The doubt is dubbed Subversion and control of this is Containment. Where this process is calculated, the Subversion is created by the party that wishes to Contain it - Producation, Subversion and Containment. This takes on many different forms

Chemistry (SPA skill 3)
- aim
- general strategy
- variables
- apparatus and chemicals
- preliminary calculation
- set up (diagram)
- procedure
- results
- calculation
- conclusion
- precautions

O_O HAHA this MV is SUPER hilarious.



Sakura Sake - Arashi

Sarcasm is a form of irony.
But the tone is different from irony.

Irony;
Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs

Sarcasm;
Bitter or harsh derision

Figurative language;
Includes literary devices, e.g. puns, similes, metaphors

Subversion;
what is it O_O

Sometimes i really wish i have someone that i can call and bother 24/7 with the exception of God. I feel rather selfish for wishing for this but thinking about it,
it's really just human nature to want someone by our side.

humans are creatures that cannot live by themselves. and i'm one of them. i don't want to be alone, and yet so many times im forced to be alone. even if im surrounded by a crowd of people, i'll still be alone. because i dunno. it's like i feel as if everyone has someone.
siwei has nick and xingxuan, nick has siwei and xingxuan,
sarah has siwei or yumi, then yumi has i dunno liwen or sth, zong has her theater club friends, sok has jomain and jomain has sok, her squadmates and zihui, zihui has jomain and quite a lot of other people, xinyu has portia, yingyan and her greenclub friends, portia has bella and huiqing, and huiqing has huifun and yuxin. the list goes on.

i USED to be closed to quite a few people but recently everything's just drifting apart. it's like everyone's also preoccupied with their own problems. even if they aren't, who am i to disturb them just because i have no one to talk to.

sometimes i wish i could be different, a little smarter, a little stronger, a little more talented. the list again goes on.

but these wishes dont come true. im still stuck with this person that i've been since forever.
as i quote carol, maybe God is trying to get me to trust him through all these. and is trying to make me see that He's the only one i need for life to go on.

i wish satoshi ohno was real and i knew him. but even if i did, i dont think he'll want to be a loser's friend.


oh the woes of being a loser.

i like this:
Koi wa todokanai toki wo keiken suru uchi ni
Tsuyoku natte yuku mono da ne setsunai mune sa