DEVELOPING INTELLIGENCE, PROBLEM SOLVING AND A THINKING NATION

We are in the 21st century and globalization is on the rise. Globalization brings about a wave of innovation, advancement in technology, more entrepreneurs setting up businesses and barriers in communication being broken down. There will be greater competition between countries and cities. It will be a no holds barred competition. Whichever country that retains its competitive advantage edge will survive.

Knowledge and innovation will be important. The recent development of a computer programme called Deep Blue which beat Gary Kasparov in chess was a great achievement in human innovation. Companies use the latest technology that is available to them to their advantage and organize themselves in a way that their workers can use their creativity in order to accomplish their task. In this way, they can be more competitive and survive for a long time.

Our future will be a changing one. There will be rapid changes. New technology will come and go at a blink of an eye. The cycle will continue until the world cease to exist. As these changes can be unpredictable we must prepare ourselves for the future.

An Education and training culture must be created for us to prepare for the future. How countries and communities will distinguish themselves from the rest will be how well their citizens can learn and adapt to changes. Therefore the main task of education is to provide the fundamental skills and knowledge for our youths to survive in the future. It is also to help them to cultivate the habit of learning and how to be more creative.

Some people are more creative than others. The same goes with intelligence. People with good imaging abilities tend to be more creative. In being creative, people can be good at solving problems. There are various ways in solving problems. One of the common ways in solving problems is by trial and error. In an era of high speed computers, many trial-and-error solutions are best left to machines.

Another way of problem solving is by understanding the problem. Even if one discover the general properties of a correct solution, it is still not enough to guide further action. It could be followed up with other methods of problem solving like trial and error methods.

Some people solve problems by recollecting pass solutions. They have insightful knowledge on how to solve the problem. Therefore the ability to remember is very important. One good way of developing a good memory is by doing mind mapping. By mind mapping the solution you will be able to recollect how to solve the problem in the future.

The saying easier said that done is quiet true when it comes to problem solving. Some people have problems in problem solving. The problems are due to emotional barriers, cultural barriers, learned barriers and perceptual barriers.

Emotion barriers are inhibition and fear of making a fool of one self, fear of making a mistake, inability to tolerate ambiguity, excessive self criticism. For example, an architect is afraid to try an unconventional design because he or she fears that other architects will think it is frivolous.

Some people hold certain values like being playful which is only meant for children. Pleasure and humour are bad or have no value in serious business planning. Therefore when a corporate manager wants to solve a business problem, he becomes stern and angry when members of his marketing team joke playfully about possible solutions.

Learned barriers. They are conventions about users, meanings, possibilities and taboos. A cook doesn’t have any clean mixing bowls and fails to see that he could use a frying pan as a bowl. Their thinking is fixed. They cannot find alternatives. This is bad for problem solving. There must always be alternatives to problem solving.

Some people have habits that lead to failure to identify elements of a problem. For Example : An artist concentrates on drawing a vase of flowers without seeing the empty spaces around the vase are part of the composition.

Children with high IQ are considered to be smart, socially matured and well –adjusted. They tend to be very successful in life. However, most do not make genius-level contributions because these depend on a combination of intelligence, creativity and motivation.

Some research emphasizes the role of training and hard work to achieve eminence, but many theorists are reluctant to dismiss the importance of innate talent.Even the brightest may make wrong decisions. This is due to his or her experience thinking rationally. Their emotional intelligence is low. Some people might be high in Intelligence quotient but low in emotional quotient.

Thinking schools need to be developed in order to educate these youths to be leaders and harness their intelligence. They must learn how to put their intelligence into good use.

To learn something and applying it to life are two different things. Schools must develop future generations of thinking and committed citizens, capable of making good decisions to keep their country vibrant and successful in future.

Schools must develop a curriculum where thinking skills and learning skills are more emphasized. Students and teachers must spent more time doing more projects in order to help them develop these skills.

Lessons must be taken beyond the class room. On the job training is required for the students to gain insightful experience. Getting good grades in school is one thing but if they graduate with good grades but are unable to think and make good decisions than they might as well not study. In reality we only use 15% of what we learn in school when working in the outside world. The rest is by gaining experience by making good decisions and on the job training. Thinking schools must encourage more innovation.

A country must be a learning nation in order to cultivate a learning culture in the country. It must go beyond schools and educational institutions.

Learning goes beyond simply maximizing an individual’s potential. A nation’s culture and its social environment will shape what learning means. Environment does play a part in developing one’s own intelligence.

The other part is heredity. Researches have done experiment on the intelligence on identical twins. They have discovered that identical twins that develop from the same egg have identical genetic inheritance. Therefore if IQ is influenced by genes than the identical pair should have similar IQ compared to fraternal twins.

Other experiments were done on twins that were reared with different backgrounds. One being looked after educated parents and the other being looked after the orphanage. It was discovered that the one who was looked after by educated parents had greater IQ than the other one. I would say that genes and environment both are responsible for one’s intelligence.

A learning nation must begin by recognizing that education is a continuum, starting with the early pre-school years and continuing throughout life. Research on brain development in the last decade indicates that the early years in a child’s life are critical for developing the foundations of future intellectual and social development. The nation must train parents to provide their children with rich experiences to help them develop during their initial pre-school years.

There must be innovation at every level of society. Companies need to encourage innovation.

If students are encouraged to innovate in schools and later join a company that encourages innovation, they can apply their knowledge in innovation. It is a win-win situation. We acquire more skills and the company prospers.

Governments must get companies to be more involve in the educations of the young as part of a total environment. Many of the leading American companies have invested significant amount of their professional employees’ time in educational outreach activities – taking students from schools and giving them hands-on experiences and interesting them in real world technologies.

In encouraging creative thinking, we can change our mindset that only the top should be thinking and the job of everyone else is to do as told. By applying creative thinking to our work, we can do our job better. We can always think of improvements and better ways to accomplish our jobs.

Therefore developing one’s own intelligence and thinking is very important. It would lead to innovation and we will be to able adapt with society better. We as humans are constantly learning. Our brain is continually developing and growing more neurons!

Intelligence and creativity can be developed. We need not have to be born with it but those are that born with, well, it is a blessing. With the right teaching policies we can develop our intelligence and creativity. Therefore I hope all of you out there will use your intelligence and creativity more often.

HACKED BY A USB THUMB DRIVE

Scenario

ABC company is a top-notch car-making manufacturer. Recently they came up with plans to create a car that can think, talk, jump over a truck and many more incredible feats that a normal car cannot do. They were on a blink of success and were ready to launch their super car in June 2004. Unfortunately a rival company, DEF, outsmarted them. They released the same kind of car that ABC had designed in May 2004.

Just imagine the look on the management staff when the car was released. All department heads were taken to task. The CEO shouted“ HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO US!!!! OUR DESIGN IS EXCLUSIVE!!!” HOW COULD ANYONE GET HOLD OF OUR BLUEBPRINT!!!”

Even the CIO was puzzled. He was wondering how such an unfortunate event could happen. They had a top-notch internal and external security system and they were right. ABC ranked no 1 in computer security and was the most difficult company to hack. They had a good and sound security policy. The CEO instructed the CIO to solve the problem and if he did not come out with an answer in two weeks, he would be FIRED!!!

Out of desperation he hired a detective to solve the problem. The detective managed to infiltrate the rival’s company ( how? I do not know, it’s their job anyway) and discovered that a former disgruntled employee of ABC had stolen the designs by storing them in five USB 2.0GB thumb drives!!!! Apparently he was the first person to design the blue print but it was given to somebody else to complete the job. He was not given the due recognition for his design.

Some organisations have no policy in place for detecting USB drivers or regulating their use. It is relatively easy for a visiting customer, technician, consultant, disgruntled employee, or anyone clever enough to gain access to a PC. Then they can plug a USB drive into any USB port and download dozens or hundreds of files at one go when nobody is watching. USB drives have surpassed 2GB of storage and are still growing. They are easy to hide as they are tiny. You can put it in your top pocket of your brand new shirt.

Another threat is that files infected with virus can easily be transmitted into networks through USB drives, completely bypassing anti-virus gateways or e-mail servers. Hackers can store a bevy of sophisticated tools on these tiny devices, including port scanners, spyware, password crackers, and keyword loggers.

A hacker can then use social engineering techniques to gain access the company and access a computer that has a USB drive to do all kinds of sinister attacks. Lastly, if any of these devices are lost by staff members, anyone who find it has easy access to all the stored files.

Preventions

1. Educate the staff on the proper and improper use of USB drives.

2.Have a good and sound security policy on the proper and improper use of USB drivers.

3.Permission needs to be asked first before the usage of USB drives

4.Store USB drives in a safe place.

5.Have a sign in and sigh out book for the USB drives.

6. Make sure all files store in the USB drives are encrypted. Therefore when any of the drivers are lost and found by someone else. The files would not be able to be accessed.

7. Make sure the screen-saver password-protect feature are implemented on all PCs. Locking out PCs when not in use after 3 to 5 minutes.

8. Set up anti-virus system to scan all drives and removable media for viruses and other malware. Confirm that the scanning takes place or run a manual scan before transferring files to the desktop.

9. Disable USB ports. You can do so via the system BIOS settings, which can be password protected.

10. A keep text file with the user name and phone number should be kept on the USB drives. This file need not be encrypted. To be access by anyone who has found a USB drive and return it to a appropriate owner. Extra information Third party utilities are available for locking a desktop.

They are :

1 TopLang Software’s Desktop Lock

2. Ixis’s PC Lockup

3. Spytech Software’s SpyLock

4. Tomorroware’s StayOut.

Provide users with secure USB drives. Media JumpDrive Secure is a USB flash drive with built-in password protection. SanDisk offers CruzerLock software with its USB flash drives, letting you password-protect and encrypt individual files. Sony offer products with fingerprint authentication.

SecureWave’S SecureNT lets you control end-user access to any number of I/O devices including USB flash drives, by using an access control list of company-approved devices, deny access to devices not on the list, and monitor the use of all such devices.

The uses of slang terms

The uses of slang terms in society have been common since modern man began speaking. The usage of slang terms have been so common that it has been taken for granted. The degradation of one has been ignored when a slang term is used to describe or narrate one’s activity in life. For example, the use of the word Niger to describe a person of black ethnicity used to be an offending word. It is now more acceptable among the younger generation but the older generation still finds the word offending. During the apartheid days, blacks were separated from the whites. Lines were drawn to designate where blacks could or could not roam. The most common slang term to describe them was Niger. It was used by the whites to discriminate against the blacks.

The use of slang terms also describes whether one is a minority or a majority in society. In this instance, those that seldom use slang terms are thought to be educated and refined. The opposite is also true. For example the use of the word "pop” to describe a birth process. The word pop means to appear suddenly. It hardly describes the giving birth process of a human being. To the blacks, this word may be offending as it describe them as being of low class and hence giving birth out of wedlock. To some it is offending because to have a baby involves an intimate human activity and child is a symbol of love so therefore to use the word popped to describe the birth of the child means that their child was unplanned or it could have been conceived out of wedlock. One may argue, that some births are conceived out of wedlock, however, as humans we must always respect the integrity of the birth process of a human being.

Seldom do we notice slang terms in the press. Even if it use, it is in inverted commas. It is to indicate that slang terms is no part of the English Language. Journalist and Editors stand ten poles away from slang terms because by using them it would degrade their status. One of the main objectives of the press is to protect those that own the means of producing news and the media industry on the whole. Even governments fear the use of slang terms. In Singapore, there was a trend to use slang terms after Gurmit Singh, actor from the sitcom Puah Choo Kang popularized it. Instantly, our Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew mentioned the disadvantages of using slang terms as it would degrade the status of oneself and one country. However, Gurmit Singh was defended as being a person in having the right to use slang words because he was educated. The underline meaning of the defense comes in two folds. One is to protect the image of the media industry which is under the control of the government and to minimize the degradation of the status of an educated person if he accidently uses a slang terms. The non – educated is however not protected at all. The government knows that the eradication of the usage of slang terms in Singapore is totally impossible. So in order to minimize any damage, it is better to protect the elite than the non – educated Singaporeans. First impression last.

The use of slang terms is acceptable if it used appropriately. We must however use our discretion in using them. Some words may be insulting to different people of different races, religion and ethnicity. Some Governments use the power of language to protect the status quo through the power of the press. I do hope that Singaporeans do continue using “Singlish” but do so with restraint. Take care and have a good day.

My Eating Habits

If anyone knows me, they would know that I love eating hence the reason why I am plump. Eating has always been my favourite pass time. If I have the time and sufficient expenses to spare, I indulge in occasional fine dining. Yet there was a time that I refuse to eat. Surprise? This essay will be on how I developed my eating habits.

When I was around six years old, my parents realized I had a difficulty in eating. I refused to have lunch or dinner. Even during breakfast time, I would try to hide my bread or throw it away. Whenever I was caught red-handed, they would either scold or cane me.

However, it came to a point that they realized that I had an eating problem. Therefore they made an appointment for me to meet with a psychiatrist to solve my problem. On the day of the appointment, they did not tell me that they were going to bring me to see a psychiatrist. One reason is that I was always afraid of hospitals. I viewed them as morbid institutions associated with death and sufferings.

After I was aware where I was going. I started crying and began to throw tantrums in the car. My dad shouted at me and at once I kept quiet. We walked silently towards the psychiatric clinic. In the meantime, my imagination was going wild. I thought my parents were going to abandon me. Tears flowed down but my mother comforted me and wiped away my tears. Somehow I always felt safe in my mother’s arms. I did not like the psychiatrist. He looked very stern. He is someone who you would not want to meet in a dark alley.

The psychiatrist just wished me good morning and told me to follow him. I looked at him in a daze. I refused to move an inch. My parents decided to follow me. I walked very slowly with my parents beside me. I felt like a condemned man meeting his end. The psychiatrist brought me to a children’s ward. The children looked very under nourished, like they were from some refugee camp. I was shivering with fear. The psychiatrist then spoke. I said to myself “Oh WOW!!! He could speak!!!!”. He told me that if I continued not to eat my meals I would have to stay in the ward for sometime. At once the thought of staying in this ward scared the hell out of me. I told my parents that I would start eating. This was the define moment that started my love for food.

I went home and started eating my meals. However, the meals that I ate were hawker food and I began to love them!! My parents thought that I would love eating hawker food like hokkien mee, fried kway teow, chicken rice, kway chap, fried rice and etc. They were not wrong. I grew very fond of this kind of food. My weight started to increase. My mother use to take me to hawker centres to eat hokkien mee and kway chap. These dishes were her favourite as well. My dad took me out to eat wanton mee, fried kway teow and chicken rice mostly. My dad and I also started an eating competition whereby we would see who could eat the most food. My mom did not like the idea and always chided my dad for initiating the competition. Therefore, everytime I went out with him I ended up eating more then one kind of food. However, there were consequences.

As one problem was solved, another one was created. I began to dislike eating home cook food. I only liked hawker food. Even at weddings or parties, I did not like to eat the food that was prepared. I began to reject the food my mother was cooking also. Some of you may be surprised that I would reject my mother’s cooking as my mother is rather known to be a good cook herself. To rectify the problem, I was prohibited from eating hawker food for two months. I hated it. I would sulk during lunch and dinner. The only thing that made me eat the food was the fear of being caned. Gradually I began to like home cook food and started to appreciate it. My parents were delighted and my mother always made a point to cook the food that I like.

I am going to side track a bit and write about how I got to like durians. At first, I hated them because of their smell. However, one fine day in Malacca, my dad forced me to eat a durian seed. Up till today, he considered what he did as one of his biggest mistake in life. Why? Well because I got to like it so much that at every durian season I would demand for durians.

My appetite kept on improving but I still stayed away from fast food as I only liked to eat Chinese hawker food. I only began eating fast food when I was in secondary one. I presumed I was getting more matured and was getting less fussy with food. As time went on, I became more adventurous in trying various kinds of food. I began to look forward towards going out with friends and relatives to try various kinds of food cuisines. For example, I love going to out to eat seafood with my food eating kakis. One of the best seafood restaurant I have been is Jumbo and for western food Morton’s gets my vote.

My favourite food cuisines are Chinese, French, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Indian, Eurasian and Brazilian. I will give a write up on the various kinds of restaurants I have visited and the various kinds of food that they serve in my next post. I do not intend to give my food tasting adventurous so for the meantime to all food lovers out there, be merry and keep on eating. Of course look after your health and weight also. Pot calling the kettle black.

The Plight of The Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has for decades been rocked with scandals of sexual abuse. It has been faced with criminal law suits. These scandals have deeply damaged the creditability of the church. However, as an open institution the Roman Catholic will always be open to scrutiny. It has to maintain it’s creditability as a Holy Place of Worship. Most scandals relating to the Roman Catholic Church were sexual abuse cases against minors.

Here is a list of sexual abuse cases committed by Priests around the world. The list is not exhaustive.

1. May 2009 – There was a report that priests abused children for decades in Catholic run Institutions.

2. Nov 2009 – There was a report on child abuse cases in Dublin from 1995 to 2004. The Church Authorities covered up the cases of child abuses until the mid 1990’s.

3. Feb 2004 – Independent researchers said 10,667 people accused US priests of child sex abuse from 1950 to 2002. More than 17% of accusers had siblings that were abused.

4. Germany – More than 250 people in Germany were abused at church – run schools in past decades.

5. Switzerland – The Diocese of Chur in Eastern Switzerland was investigating around 10 complaints of abuse cases committed by at least 3 monks. No action was taken.

6. Netherlands – 3 priests from Salesian order abused pupils decades ago at a boarding school near Dutch – German border.

7. Austria – A wave of reports of child sexual abuses were reported in Austrian Catholic Institution. The arch – abbot of Salzburg’s St Peter’s monastery in March admitted to sexually a boy 40 years ago.

8. Mexico – Legionaries Of Christ founder was discovered to be a sexual molester. He fathered atleast a child with his mistress.

Some of these cases were unreported to the civil authorities. Some of the offenders were reassigned to other locations at which they again had contact with minors. Psychiatrists believed that people with pedophile behavior can be cured through counseling.The Church has compensated in monetary terms to those that were abused. The Vatican have asked the Church in US to Institute reforms to check on the backgrounds of priests, church employers and volunteers.

These reforms should have been implemented along time ago so that child sexual abuses might not have occurred. It has been very unfortunate that the Church has to face such scandals. However, I think these scandals are not only confined to the Church. It can happen at any organization. There have been cases of sexual abuses at child care centers as well. However, as the Roman Catholic Church is a symbol of place of Worship, the impact face by the church would be greater than other organizations.

The media also gives extensive coverage on such cases. This aggravates the damage done to the Church’s reputation and creditability. One of the reasons why priests sexually abuse children is due to the strict code of celibacy observed my them. It is believed that Priest would be able to live a life celibacy through pray and the trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Though this practice sits well with most priests, there are some priests that may be exceptional to the course. Priests are after all human. The temptation of the flesh would definitely affect them. As many priests are assigned to orphanages and catholic run child care centers, young children are their easiest target to relieve their sexual attention.

Covering up of child sexual abuses by Priests that hold high ranking positions can occur just like in any organization. If this cover up goes undiscovered, it will be detrimental to the reputation and creditability to the Church. It is good that reforms have been implemented to curb sexual abuses from occurring but it will not eradicate the problem totally. Why? Because, humans are a difficult subject to study. We cannot know a person in a few days. It takes months and years to study a person’s behavior.

There is a substantial amount of people that are very angry with the church for covering up child sexual abuses for a very long time. Due their anger with the church, some have left the catholic faith or wish not to be associated with the Catholic Church. They have blame the way Bishops are appointed in the church as a factor to the occurrence of child sexual abuses.

As the Pope appoints who is to be a bishop, there is no check on the Bishop’s background and behaviour because he has been with the church for a good period of time. They feel that the public should vote the appointment of Bishops. However, would it solve the problem of eradicating child sexual abuses? I do not think so. How would you know that the Bishop chosen by the people is not a pedophile or a homosexual. Humans can easily hide their behaviors. For example, gays nowadays portray normal heterosexual behavior in public as not to be discriminated.

Some of the child sexual abuse offenses occurred long time ago. I feel it is because that the catholic community were not prepared to face such circumstances that they were greatly shocked when child sexual abuses were made known publicly. The fact that it is still occurring makes one lose further confidence with the church. The Catholic Community ask questions like how could the church let such offenses happen? Have they learnt their lesson and have measure been implemented to prevent these offenses from happening?

The Catholic Church is doing their best to stop these offenses from happening. They have implemented measures like doing background checks on their staff and volunteers, however, whether these measures are carried out is another question. There are so many Catholic Institutions around the word. Whoever is running these institutes must be responsible in implementing the measures passed down ny the Vatican. Integrity must be observed. It is like what is happening in China. The central government can pass laws and reforms but the country is so huge. It is up to the officials in the other states in China to carry out the laws and reforms properly. However, this is not done so.

Now is the time for us as Catholics to unite and preserve the good name of the Catholic Church and spread the Lord's word. We should not abandon the church just because of the set back's that it is facing. These set back's are just cause by a few rotten hats. In which organisation are there no rotten hats? Do you just abandon the church because of these set backs? Where is our faith and loyalty towards the Catholic Church? If Jesus was around, he would be very sad and he would all want us to support him in his grieve.

Let's look at the Catholic Church in totality. It has done more good than bad. The goodness that it has done outweighs the plight that it is now facing. I think Catholics can contest to that. We need to continue be good catholics and defend the name of the Catholic Church whenever we are called upon. I have made with so many good and warm friends at the Catholic organisations that I have joined. One of them is called Choice. By joining these Catholic Organisations, my faith has also grown. I do agree that asians tend to place greater importance towards their catholic religion then westerners. Just go to the Catholic Churches in Asian countries and compare it to the western catholic churches and you will know what I am talking about. The congregation at Asian Churchs are usually alot but in Western churches it is only a handful. Even so, I think we must never stop losing our faith and keep on defending the Catholic Church's name.

On this note, I wish for the lord the always look and shower his blessings upon you and you family.

How I Took up Sociology and How It Has Effected My Course of Life

I undertook my Sociology course at Sim University in the year 2006. It was divine intervention that made me take up Sociology.

Sociology has always been a subject close to my heart. I first cross roads with the subject when I was taking a Diploma in Economics in 2001 at Stansfield. At first, I was baffled with the subject. I did not understand anything that was going on. Even the debates that my fellow classmates were indulged in were Greek to me. I found myself in a Labyrinth.

I searched for somebody to help me understand the subject. I found help in a retired Sociologist lecturer. She opened my eyes to social happenings occurring in society that I had never noticed before. The seed of interest in Sociology was planted in me on that very day. However, I think the seed was planted long time ago but I never knew it, it was when I was around 6 years old. Whenever my dad took me out, he would always ask me to look around me and ask me to describe the behavior of people. I read my dad's psychology books. Actually, I preferred to looked at people’s behaviour collectively and not as an individual. I regarded studying an individual's behaviour to subjective.

I knew what I wanted to be in the future. Class did not become a bore anymore. On the record, I am the only one that passed the subject. I searched for a course that only catered to Sociology. Unfortunately, the only courses that catered to Sociology were conducted only at NUS and NTU. I was not eligible to go to these institutions.

Therefore, I gave up the idea of studying Sociology and took other courses. In 2005, my life hit a crises. I was at a total lost but the only person that made me carry on was Our Lady. Somehow she was making me live through my life eventhough I was facing many obstacles.

On one faithful Sunday, a course on being a youth leader was announced in church. At once something in me told me to join the course. I was very reluctant. However, a voice kept disturbing me by telling me to join the course. It went on for a week until I could not take it anymore and decided to join. Only then did the voice stop disturbing me.

I never regretted joining the course because it was at the course that I found my life back and the life I was suppose to lead. An aspiring and powerful priest helped me to find my life back. During the prays, God spoke to me. He told me that my purpose on earth was to make known the inequalities and sufferings that society was facing. I asked him how in heaven’s name am I suppose to accomplish the task he asked me to do.

The answer came to me when I went home. Strangely, a sociology textbook which I have not read for 4 years laid on my bed. I opened the book and started reading it. I could not put the book down. Suddenly, my interest in Sociology was rekindled. I knew how to go about accomplishing the task he asked me to do, however, there was another question. How am I going to specialize in Sociology? If anybody was to publish my writings, I needed to be somebody who had good Sociology credentials. I decided to search on the internet to see whether there were any schools that were conducting Sociology courses besides NUS and NTU. Truth behold, SIM University was going to conduct a degree course in Sociology. I instantly jumped at the opportunity.

It has already been three years since I have been studying the subject. I totally immersed myself in the subject as a result I have become the subject itself. It actually changed my life because nowadays whenever people speak to me or whenever I view my surroundings, I start to analyze and evaluate them. I wonder whether it is a blessing or a curse. I have yet to find the answer.

This behavior of mine has not met with favorable response. People have told me that I have stopped being a human. Not everything in life needs analyzing and evaluating. That I have to separate what I have been trained for in order to communicate with other people. That I always impose my will on others and never listen to them. I am trying to correct these problems but find it very difficult to do so because I cannot see the problems myself. For all I know, I do listen to people and try to understand where they are coming from and then I give my opinion. Maybe it is because I refuse to bulge from my opinion but then again I do give in also. I am really at a crossroads because I really do want to interact with people and improve relationships with them.

I am still not giving up hope in improving my relationships with others. I am also very determine to accomplish the task God set for me. I can only now pray to Our lady to help me have a better life and also help me to be more human and understanding. On this note, I wish everybody Happy Easter!!!

Karl Marx : Biographical Sketch ( A Tribute to Karl Marx – 127th death anniversary )

Karl Marx was born on the 5th of May, 1818 in Tier. Tier was a commercial city in Southwestern Germany Rhineland.

Marx’s father was a secularly educated lawyer so was Marx. When France ceded Rhineland to Prussia after defeating Napolean, Jews were faced with a repel of the civil rights granted under French Rule. In order to continue his practice, Marx’s father converted to Lutheranism in 1817.

Karl lived in a middle class home, he studied as a law student at the University of Bonn ( 1835 ) and at University of Berlin ( 1836 – 1838 ). He also studied history and philosophy.

In Berlin, Marx joined the Young Hegelians. It was a group of radical thinkers who followed the teachings of Georg W.F Hegal. They developed a powerful critique of Georg W.F Hegal. Georg W.F Hegal ( 1770 – 1831 ) was a dominant German Intellectual figure of day and one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century.
Marx constructed the basis of his theoretical system, historical materialism, by inverting Hegal’s philosophy of social change. In 1841, Marx earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena. However, Berlin Ministry of Education black listed him due to his radical views. As a result this circumstance, he could not continue his education.

Marx accepted an offer to write for the Rheinische Zeitang, a liberal newspaper published in Cologue. He became an editor of the newspaper. He wrote on the social conditions of Prussia. He criticized the government’s treatment of the poor and exposed the harsh conditions of peasants working in Moselle wine producing region.
However his reports brought censors and condemnation by the Prussia government. He was forced to resign from his post.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Jenny Von Westphalen ( daughter of a Prussian baron ). They moved to Paris during the fall of 1843. Paris was the centre of European Intellectual and Political movements.

Marx became acquainted with a number of leading socialist writers and revolutionaries. One of them was Heri de Saint – Simon. Heri de Saint – Simon ( 1760 – 1825 ) ideas lead to the creation of Christian Socialism.
Christian Socialism is a movement that sought to organize modern industrial society according to the social principles espoused by Christianity.

To counter the exploitation and egoistic competition that accompanied industrial capitalism, Saint – Simonians advocated that industry and commerce be guided according to an ethic of brotherhood and cooperation.

By instituting common ownership of society’s productivity forces and an end to rights of inheritance, they believed that the powers of science and industry can be marshaled to create a more just society free from poverty.

Adam Smith believed that any and all are free to enter and compete in the market place of goods and services. Under the guiding force of the “invisible hand”, the best products at the lowest price will prevail.

Consumers will dictate what will be produced and bought. In the process, the potentially destructive drive for selfishly bettering one’s lot is checked by a rationally controlled competition for markets.

A system of perfect liberty is thus created that both generates greater wealth and promotes the general well being of society.

Marx shared much of Smith’s analysis of economics but Marx insisted that from establishing a system of perfect liberty, private ownership of the means of production will bring about alienation of workers ( more on that later ).
David Ricardo ( 1772 – 1823 ) wrote on a number of subjects including the condition of wages, the source of value, taxation, and the production and distribution of goods.

A leading economists in his day, his writing’s were influential in shaping England’s economic policies. It was from his critique of these writers that Marx would develop his humanist philosophy and economists theories.

Marx also began what would become a lifelong collaboration and friendship with Friedrich Engel’s, whom he met while serving as an editor of the Zeitung.
Marx stay in France was short-lived as his journalism inherited the irked of the government. He was expelled in January 1845 from the country at the request of the Prussian government for his antiroyalist articles.

Unable to return, he renounced his Prussian citizenship and settled in Brussels with his family until 1848. Marx extended his ties to revolutionary working – class movements through associations with members if the League of the Just and the Communist League.

In Brussels Marx and Engles produced two of their most important early works, The German Ideology and the Communist Manifesto.

1848, workers and peasants began staging revolts throughout much of Europe. As the revolution spread, Marx and Engels left Brussels and headed to Cologue to serve as co-editors of the radical Neve Rheinische Zeitung, a paper devoted to furthering the revolutionary course.

For his part in the protests, Marx was charged with inciting rebellions and defaming the Prussian royal family. Marx was forced to leave the country. He returned to Paris but soon was pressured by the French government to leave the country as well.
Marx and his family moved to London in 1849. In London, Marx turned his attention more fully to the study of economics. Spending some 60 hours per week in British Museum. Marx produced a number of important works including ( 1867 ), considered a masterpiece critique of capitalist economic principles and their human cost.
From 1851 o 1862, he was a regular contributor to the New York Daily Tribune, writing on such issues as political upheavals in France, the Civil War in the United States, Britain colonization of India and the hidden causes of war.
In 1864, Marx helped found and direct International Working men’s association, a socialist movement committed to ending the inequalities and alienation or “loss of self” experienced under capitalism.

The foundation had branches across the European Continent and the United States and Marx’s popular writing and activism gave him an international audience for his ideas.
In 1876, the Foundation disintegrated. Marx could not support himself. His health worsen. His family health was also worsening. Marx’s wife died in 1881, his daughter died of starvation a year later and Marx himself died on March 14, 1883.

His Intellectual and Core Ideas

By mid19th century, the industrial revolution that began in Britain 100 years earlier was spreading throughout Western Europe. Technology advances in transportation, communication and manufacturing spurred an explosion in the commercial markets for goods.

It resulted in the birth of capitalism and the middle class owners, better known as the bourgeoisie, to economic and political power. The size of the manufacturing force soon rivaled and then surpassed those working in the agriculture industry.
The change from Agriculture to Industrial was more prominent in Manchester, England. In Manchester England, its population exploded to 1000%. The extremely growing fast rates meant that families had to live in make shift housing without heat or light and in dismal conditions that fueled the spread of diseases. Conditions in the mechanized factories were no better.

The factories were poorly ventilated and lit. The environment was hazardous to one’s well being and factor owners disciplined workers to monotonous rhythms of mass production.
A 70 hour work week was not common for men and women. Children as young as six often worked as much as 50 hours a week. Yet the wages earned by laborers left families on the blink of beggary. The appalling living and work standards lead Engels to describe Manchester as “ Hell On Earth”

It was in reaction to such dire consequences the Marx sought to forge a theoretical model intended not only to interpret the world but also to change it.
He centered his analysis on the middle class. For Marx, classes are group of individuals who share a common position in relation to the means or forces of production. These refer to the raw materials, technology, machines, factories and land that are necessary in the production of goods.

Each class is distinguished by what it owns with regard to the means of production. Wage labourers, capitalists and landowners constitute three big classes of modern society based on the capitalist mode of production.

Under capitalism, there are “ the owners merely of labour power, owners of capital and landowners where respective sources of income are wages, profit and gound-cent
While wage owners are free to quit or refuse a particular job , the nevertheless must sell their labour power to someone in the capitalist class in order to live. Labourers have only their ability to work to exchange for money that can be used to purchase the goods necessary for survival.

However, the salary earned is far exceeded by the profits reaped by those who control the productive forces. As a result, classes are pitted against each other in a struggle to control the means of production, the distribution of resources and the profits. For Marx, this class struggle is the catalyst for social change and the prime mover of history.

This is because any mode of production based on private property bears the seeds of its own destruction by igniting ongoing economic conflicts that inevitably will sweep away existing social arrangements and give birth to new classes of oppressors and the oppressed. Indeed, as Marx states in one of the most famous passages in “ The Communist Manifesto”, “The history of all hitherto existing society, is the history of class struggles.”

Marx developed his theory in reaction to lassie – faire capitalism, an economic system based on individual competitors fro markets. It emerged out of from the destruction of feudalism in which peasant agricultural production was based on subsistence standards in the service to lords and the collapse of merchant and craft guilds, where all aspects of commerce and industry were tightly controlled by monopolistic professional organistions.

Labourers sell not only their labour power but also their souls ( alienation ). They have no control over the product they are producing while their work is devoid of any redeeming human qualities.

Although capitalism produces self-betterment for owners of capital, it necessarily prevents workers from realizing their essential human capacity to engage in creative labour.

In highly mechanized factories, a worker’s task might be so mundane and repetitive that she seems to become part of the machine itself. Here is the concept of alienation.

For example, a student once said she worked in a job in which she had a scanner attached to her arm. Her job was simply to stand by a conveyer belt in which boxes of various sizes came by. She stuck her arm out and “read” the boxes with her scanner arm.

Her individual human potential was completely irrelevant to her job. She was just a “cog in a wheel” of mechanization. Marx maintained that when human actions are no different than those of a machine, the individual is dehumanized.

Capitalism is inherently exploitative. It is the labour power of workers that produces the products to be sold by the owners of businesses. Workers mine the raw materials, tend to the machines and assemble the products.

Yet, it is the owner who takes for himself the profits generated by the sale of goods. Meanwhile, worker salaries hover around subsistence levels, allowing them to purchase only the necessities sold at a profit by capitalists – that will ensure their return to work the next day.

From the point of view of the businesses owner, capitalism is a “dog eat dog” system in which business owners must always watch the “ bottom line” in order to compete for market dominance.

Business owners can never rest on their laurels – for someone can always come along and create either a better or newer product or the same product at a lower price.
Business owner must constantly think strategically and work to improve her product or reduce her costs. Cutting costs can increase a business owner’s profit either directly or in-directly. Directly ( as she keeps more money for herself ). Indirectly ( enabling the businesses owner to lower the price and sell more of her products ).

Competition between capitalist may lead to greater levels of productivity, it also results in a concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands.
One of the basic truths of capitalism is that it takes money to make money, and the more money a business owner has at his or her disposal, the more ability he or her has to generate profit-making schemes.

For instance, a wealthy capitalist might temporarily underprice his product in order to force his competitors out of business. Once the competition is eliminated and a monopoly is established, the product can be priced as high as the market will bear.
The business owners who are unable to compete successfully for a share of the market find themselves joining the swelling ranks of property less wage earners or the “proletariat”

This brings not only economic consequences such as those just mention, but political consequences as well. Marx points out that the former capitalists bring with them a level of education not possessed by typical wage labourers. This adds to the revolutionary potential of the working – class movement in two ways.

First, the proletariat is transformed into an overwhelming majority of the population, making it class interests an irresistible force for change.

Second, those former members of the bourgeois class translate their resentment into a radicalization of the proletariat by further educating the workers with regard to both the nature of capitalist accumulation and the workers’ role in overthrowing the system of their oppression.

He sought to generate class consciousness – an awareness of the part of the working class of their common relationship to the means of production. Marx felt that this awareness would be the first step in instituting social change. More specifically, the development of class consciousness was a vital key in the evolution of society toward an ultimate, utopian end : communism. He believed that the epoch of capitalism was a necessary stage in this evolution – and the last historical period rooted in class conflict.

The class antagonism between bourgeois capitalist and the wage earning, property – less proletariat would climax in a communist revolution that would transform the proletariat in to the ruling class.

Using the power of the state to further its own class interest, the proletariat would wrest control of society’s productive forces from the hands of the bourgeoisie and create a centralized, socialist economy.

Socialism, however, would be but a temporary phase, as classes and class conflict would soon disappear. Capitalism would create the capital and technology needed to sustain a communist society, the final stage in history.

In this utopian society, the production of goods will be controlled collectively and not by private business elites. Without the private ownership of the means of production, society would longer be divided along class lines; and without antagonistic class interests, the social conditions that produce conflict, exploitation and alienation would no longer exist. Finally, without class conflict, the fuel that ignites social change, the dialectical progression of human history comes to an end, leaving individuals to cultivate their natural talents and actualize their full potential.

Many consider Marx’s theory as obsolete as the internal contradictions of capitalism has been checked by a number of practices and ongoing government interventions in the economy. None other the less, Marx theory on communism still does spark interest various intellectuals and it still holds certain truths.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a wonderful year and another great decade ahead!

~ From W & C

Happy Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone, from both of us! May your year be full of splendour, peace, joy, happiness, and those who have not found love find it, and those who have found love, may your relationships blossom and grow!

Have a wonderful 2010!

Euthanasia – Is It Good or Bad

Euthanasia is known as mercy killing. It is chosen death chose by terminally ill patients. It refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. It may be volunteered, physician assisted or without consent. The use of Euthanasia has been in a centre of controversy for many years. Few countries have legalized Euthanasia. They are the Netherlands, Switzerland ( physician assisted suicide only ), Belgium and US ( Oregon ).

In Holland, in the event that a doctor has to perform Euthanasia on a patient, he or she can defend him or herself if theses conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are :-

1.) The request for Euthanasia must come from the patient and must be entirely free and voluntary.

2.) The patient’s request must be well – considered, durable and persistent.

3.) The patient must be experiencing intolerable ( not necessarily physical ) suffering, with no respect of improvement

4.) Euthanasia must be the last resort. Other alternatives to alleviate the patient’s situation must have been considered and found wanting.

5.) Euthanasia must be performed by a physician.

6.) The physician must consult with an independent physician colleague who has experience in the field.

In Singapore, Euthanasia is illegal but Singaporeans can still sign the Living Will if they wish not receive treatment if they become terminally ill and death is imminent. By signing the Living Will, patients authorize their physicians to remove them from the life support machine or stop taking measures to keep them alive . Relatives cannot stop the physician from carrying out the instructions requested by their patients once they sign the living will.

There have been a lot of debates on whether Euthanasia should be carried out on a terminally ill person. Some people support the use of Euthanasia some do not. The various debates that have been laid on the table regarding the use of Euthanasia are :

1.) It should not be done because only God has the right to take one’s life away.

2.) Will a terminally ill patient choose Euthanasia to end his or her life in order not to place any financial burdens on his or her family?

3.) Will a doctor take his or her own initiative to decide whether a person should die or not? This is in the case where an incompetent patient due to his or her own illness is not able to make any decision in how to relieve his or her own intolerable suffering

4.) Will a patient choose Euthanasia due to physical disorders?

5.) Will a patient choose Euthanasia because he or she thinks that he or she would die in dignity if they choose it?

6.) Do relatives have any say in deciding whether a terminally ill person should die by Euthanasia?

I shall address these issues one by one.

It should not be done because only God has the right to take one’s life away.

Euthanasia is rejected by various religious organizations. I will concentrate on Christanity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Christianity

The three major monotheistic religions of the world – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – all have definite theology related to issues of death and dying. Christianity is the largest of these
and, in fact, the largest religion in the world. Although Christians may be divided in many ways over issues of theology, they do hold the same core values and beliefs. One of these is that there
is an afterlife in which believers will spend eternity with God. Although there may be dissention over smaller matters, in issues of life and death, there tends to be more common ground. Sickness, suffering, and death are viewed by many Christians through their understanding of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection. Christians also believe that God participates in the affairs of humanity, another tenet that informs their views of death and dying. The New Testament teaches that one’s body is the temple of God, so most Christians believe that life is sacred, although not necessarily to be preserved at all costs. For example, in questions of withholding or with drawing treatment, the official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that there is a distinction between ordinary measures (i.e. those medical treatments that are intended to preserve life such as medicines, treatments, and operations that offer reasonable hope for preserving life and that can be obtained without excessive
expense, pain, or other inconvenience) and extraordinary measures (i.e., medicines, treatments, and operations that do not offer reasonable hope of preserving life and which cannot be obtained without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience). There is, of course, no list of procedures that easily fall into one category or another; all such treatment needs to be made with informed consent on an individual basis by the patient or family. For example, a feeding tube or mechanical ventilation at one stage during the course of a disease or illness may provide
sufficient time for other measures to take affect and enable the patient to life; given at another time, however, it may only preserve existence with no hope of recovery.

Islam

The second largest (and youngest) major monotheistic religion is Islam. Although Islam has legal rulings or fatawa (sg., fatwa) about life and death issues such as organ donation and euthanasia,
there is not widespread agreement about these issues between Muslim jurists from different schools of Islamic law (Sachedina, 2005). In general, however, Islam teaches that death
comes to us all and that how we die is of importance. According to Muslims, God is both the origin and destiny of life so that life is therefore sacred. According to the Qur’an, death does
not occur except by God’s permission. Therefore, in Islam, it is necessary to do everything possible to prevent a premature death. The question of preserving life at any cost, however, is the subject of much debate within Islam. Although on the one hand there is the obligation to save or even prolong life, on the other hand there is the argument that one should limit life sustaining
treatment if there is a lack of resources. Further, in Islam, the decision of life-prolonging treatment is not the decision of the individual alone. Islam emphasizes the link between the welfare of the individual and his/her family and community. Decisions about whether or not an aggressive or invasive treatment can prolong life without causing further harm, therefore, is a matter of concern not only for the individual but for all associated with him/her. Regarding pain, the approach of most Muslims is to act in such a way as to alleviate pain through actively removing its cause. As in Christianity, the human body is seen as a temple of God. Therefore, Islamic law does not recognize a patient’s right to die voluntarily (e.g., suicide, assisted suicide, or other types of active human intervention). There are, however, exceptions to this general principle depending on the circumstances: Specifically, the administration of medication to relieve physical and mental suffering in a terminal patient that has the side effect
of shortening life or the withdrawal of futile treatment after informed consent (Sachedina, 2005).

Judaism

The smallest, albeit the oldest, of the major monotheistic religions is Judaism. As with Christianity and Islam, the Jewish religion holds that the body belongs to God. This means that human beings have the obligation to seek both preventative and curative medical treatment. However, as also with the other two religions, Judaism recognizes the fact that all human beings are mortal. Similarly, there is not widespread agreement across all
Jewish traditions about how this is to be interpreted. In addition, culture (in the form of country, generation, or family) may also affect the interpretation of these matters. Because the individual
belongs to God, Judaism does not condone suicide or the enlistment of aid to end one’s life. Judaism has its own criteria for determining death. Traditionally, these have been the cessation of breathing and heartbeat (although sufficient time must be allowed before burial to determine that this is a permanentcondition). After the development of the Harvard criteria forbrain death, Conservative rabbis accepted these criteria as fulfilling the traditional requirements. Criteria for the acceptability of withholding life-sustaining treatment varies, with the strictest
interpretation being the prognosis that the patient will die within 72 hours or less and more liberal interpretations allowing for withholding life-sustaining measures if the patient will
live up to a year or more. However, most rabbis view artificial nutrition and hydration to be the equivalent of food and liquids required by everyone to live, and require them to be used even
when other life-sustaining treatments are withdrawn. Regarding heroic measures, most view these as permissible as long as there is some hope of a cure; however, such measures are not
required and the decision is to be made based on the risk/benefit ratio, the patient’s best interests, and the patient’s desires. Jews are allowed to sign advance directives for health care to specify their wishes in such cases should they not be able to communicate their desires at the time. Pain control, palliative care, and hospice programs in which the goal is to make the patient comfortable but not to cure are all acceptable under Jewish tenets. Further, Jewish tradition holds it to be an obligation to visit the sick, treat them with respect, and pray for them. Ethical considerations continue even after death. Regarding autopsy and organ donation, the ruling principles are that the dead body should be honored as the property of God and that one has an obligation to save the lives of others. Because of the first principle, autopsies are not routinely performed unless required by civil law, three doctors agree that the cause of death cannot be otherwise ascertained, that the autopsy might helps save the lives of others with similar illnesses or that the results of the autopsy might be of benefit to surviving family members with a hereditary disease. These criteria, however, are debated. Although the donation of
cadavers to science or of organs to save others is permitted by most rabbis, there is also disagreement about the circumstances under which these actions are permissible.

Hinduism

Not every religion is monotheistic, however. In fact, the second largest religion of the world is Hinduism. Although this religion does not have an institutional framework or demand adherence
to particular doctrines, most Hindus do hold certain tenets in common that apply to death and dying. Most Hindus believe that a living being (either human or animal) possesses a soul that
moves on from one life to the next. In addition, most Hindus hold that there is a difference between a good death and a bad death. The former occurs in old age either on the banks of the sacred Ganges River or on the ground at home. (For this purpose, many Hindus keep a container of Ganges water to be offered to the dying person and placed on the lips of the corpse.) Hindus prepare all their lives for a good death and enter into it consciously and willingly.
A good death requires the correct rituals in order to speed the soul on its way. Bad deaths, on the other hand, are premature, violent, or uncontrolled, happening at the wrong place and time
(often signified by vomit, feces, urine, and an unpleasant expression). The worst type of death in Hinduism is suicide that happens for selfish reasons. There is a long tradition of voluntary death in Hinduism, typically where such an action is linked to a specific purpose such as gaining freedom. However, Hinduism makes a distinction between the willed death of an individual. Suicide for selfish reasons is considered to be morally wrong and cannot be sanctioned with the appropriate rites of death. Some Hindu authorities also argue that human beings should not take their own lives because of the karmic effect on the next life. In general, Hinduism stands strongly against involuntary euthanasia primarily because it goes against the principle of autonomy and can be easily abused. However, in all these matters, it is difficult to generalize the Hindu attitudes toward death and dying because they are highly correlated with education, class, and tradition.

Buddhism

Another major polytheistic religion (one, in fact, with more adherents than Judaism) is Buddhism. In this religion, the inevitability of death is recognized and emphasis is placed on the psychological preparation necessary to accept death with calmness and dignity. Buddhists place great value on mindfulness and mental clarity because they believe that it can affect the quality of their rebirth. This fact impacts their philosophy of dying. For example, some Buddhists may forego pain relieving drugs or sedatives so that their mental facilities can be unimpaired. The Buddhist definition of death involves the loss of three criteria: vitality, heat,
and sentiency. Although determining the loss of heat is a rather straightforward matter, determining the loss of the other two criteria is not, particularly given the tradition of yogic trance in which life signs may not be observable. On the other hand, there is no disagreement between Buddhist tradition and modern medicine on the status of patients in a persistent vegetative state: Individuals in this state are clearly alive according to both views. From
the Buddhist perspective, irreversible damage to the neocortex is no different than damage to another organ when making ethical decisions regarding treatment. This typically means that unless there are secondary complications, the person should continue to be given nutrition and hydration. Further, Buddhists do not believe in taking a life. Therefore, they do not condone suicide or the incitement of someone to commit suicide. This prohibition also extends to assisted suicide and euthanasia, even though these actions might spare the person unnecessary pain. On the other hand, due to the Buddhist belief in the inevitability of death, Buddhists do not condone attempts to prolong life beyond its natural span through technology, but encourage adherents to prepare to accept death calmly when it comes. This, however, does not preclude hospice or other palliative care.


Will a terminally ill patient choose Euthanasia to end his or her life in order not to place any financial burdens on his or her family?


Some older folks may choose Euthanasia if they become terminally ill. They may choose it as a way to relieve the financial burden’s of their family in looking after them. Their views were aired in a debate that was brought up by the Singapore government in whether they should legalize Euthanasia. At the present moment it is illegal but Singaporeans can still sign the Living Will to authorize their doctor to stop all treatment and let them die if they are terminally ill.

Readers wrote to Lianhe Zaboa calling for Euthanasia to be legalize. They claim that it is better for them to die in dignity when they are terminally ill. It will also be better for them to die in this manner instead of burdening their family members with high medical bills and care giving responsibilities.

My fear is that if Euthanasia is legalize in Singapore, the elderly may use it as an excuse to relieve their family financial burdens of taking care of them. Some family members may even encourage their elder family members to opt for Euthanasia. Why would they do that you may ask? Well there are two circumstances that may encourage some family members to encourage their elderly family members to opt for Euthanasia if they are terminally ill. They are:-

1.) As Singapore globalizes, the income gap between the rich and the poor will widen. Medical cost would increase. There will be those that will not be financially stable and will not afford the medical cost of looking after their terminally ill family members. They would encourage their elderly family members to opt for Euthanasia if they are terminally ill.

2.) As more Singaporeans become career minded, they may become self-centered and may neglect their elder family members. They may send them to the old folks home. They may become lonely and dejected in life. They may consider the use of Euthanasia when they become terminally ill because they will feel that there will be no one to look after them.

Therefore, even though I support Euthanasia, I think Singaporeans are not really ready for the legalization of the use of Euthanasia. I would encourage the government to create a way that would allow all Singaporeans to obtain medical insurance cheaply which would be able to cover their medical costs fully. Presently, Singaporeans can use their medi-shield to pay for their medical cost but it only covers 60% of the medical cost. If free medical coverage can be given to the British citizens in Britain, I do not see what Singaporeans cannot enjoy the same privilege.

The government always say that there is no free lunch in life but when it comes to medical care, I feel that the government has the duty to take care of the citizens and covering their medical cost fully is one way.

Will a doctor take his or her own initiative to decide whether a person should die or not? This is in the case where an incompetent patient due to his or her own illness is not able to make any decision in how to relieve his or her own intolerable suffering.

Critics have argued for the possibility of “ slippery slop” to Euthanasia without request. Doctors would be able to decide to perform Euthanasia on a terminally ill person without his or her permission. Doctors may deem them incompetent to make any decisions on their well being due to their nature of their illness. Doctors may thank that their decision to perform Euthanasia on their terminally ill patients is the best. They can also persuade their patient’s family members to agree with them on the use of Euthanasia.

According to Keown (1995) using data from the Remmelink Commission & Van Der Mass Survey :-

• Of the 1000 cases of Euthanasia performed without request : 14% were totally competent. 11% partially competent.

• Of the 8100 cases of accelerated death by palliative drugs, 60% of those indicated life termination were conmpetent.

• Of all cases where treatment was withdrawn or withheld without request, 11% were competent and 21% partly competent.

Therefore, there is a danger that doctors may make their own decisions on the life and death of their patients. Religious bodies like the Catholic Church are against these. Even though countries like Holland have strict guidelines in the use of Euthanasia, it may still be not enough to prevent doctors from making their own decisions on the life and death of their patient . The data above proves it.

Will a patient choose Euthanasia due to physical disorders?

There have been research that some terminally ill patients who choose Euthanasia had some psychological disorder.

A study was done by the researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University and found that 28 out of the 58 patients that were terminally ill suffered from depression and anxiety. They opted for physician assisted suicide or contacted an assisted death association. Of these 15 met the criteria for depression and 13 for anxiety. The number may be small but there is still a chance that the numbers may increase.

1.) Doctors may persuade them that by choosing Euthanasia they will have a dignified death.

2.) The terminally ill may find that it is the only solution for them.

However, is suffering from depression and anxiety a good excuse to choose Euthanasia? Is choosing Euthanasia a good way to die in dignity? I will address these issues in the next question.

Will a patient choose Euthanasia because he or she thinks that he or she would die in dignity if they choose it?

Some people define their quality of life according to how they can perform in life, serve society fruitfully and live a good life.

Examples of how people gauge how they perform in life are :-

1.) Their ability to take up sports.

2.) Their ability to support their family.

3.) Their ability to perform well in their job.

4.) Their ability to be recognized in society.

5.) Their ability to go on holidays.

6.) Their ability to do well in their studies.

However, once they are stricken down by a terminal illness or are born differently ( example without limbs ). They become depressed and may chose to die in dignity. There are some people even though they were born abnormally have found a way to overcome their depression and live in dignity. Here are some examples of how people have managed to overcome their difficulty & those who choose to end their life due to illness and depression.

One good example is Nick Vujicic. He is a 26 year old man who was born without limbs. He faced a lot of challenges. He even fell into depression when he was 8 years old. However, he found strength to survive. He attributed his strength to survive to God. God have given him a purpose to share his experience with other people who are experiencing depression due to loss of their limbs or born without them. He conducts seminars for them to encourage them not to give up on life.

Nick can now swim, do surfing and conduct talks. He has met some prominent people like Sir Richard Branson and Madeline Albright. He can now live in dignity.

However, there are other people who did not find the strength to survive like Nick. One example is Ramon Sampedro who was paralysed from a sea accident. He became depressed. He felt like he could not live in dignity. He asked his relatives to end his life. They refused. He then asked his girlfriend to feed him poison. There is a movie made about him. It is called the Sea inside.

Another example is Jean – Dominique Bauby. He was 43 years old and editor – in – chief of the world famous fashion magazine called Elle. He was living a good life. However, one day he suffered from Cerebro – Vascular accident which totally paralyzed him. He could not talk. He laid motionless but still could use his mental abilities. He only could use his left eye. He felt useless in life. Loss his dignity to live. Fell into depression. In 1997, he chose to die. A movie was made about his accident and life. It is called the Diving Bell and The Butterfly.

People may choose Euthanasia for different reasons. Reasons differ from people to people who have different belief value systems. Some are strong enough to overcome their difficulties and pain. Some cannot.

Do relatives have any say in deciding whether a terminally ill person should die by Euthanasia.

This question is basically a moral issue face by relatives of those who want to choose Euthanasia. Some relatives may be against the use of Euthanasia like in the case of Ramano Sempredo. However, in a country where Euthanasia is legalize, once a patient gives his or her consent to perform Euthanasia on him or her. Their relatives have no say in it.

In Singapore, where Euthanasia is not legalized, there is the living will for Singaporeans to sign in order to give their physicians authority to stop all treatment if they become terminally ill. If the will is signed when they are competent, accompanied by two witnesses, the will cannot be contested. 10,000 Singaporeans have signed the will.

Doctors may also persuade the relatives of terminally ill patients to let them carry out Euthanasia. They may persuade the relatives that it is the best way out.

Euthanasia is a very sensitive topic to debate on. There are a lot of issues to consider before Euthanasia can be legalized or performed. There is the issue of disapproval of Euthanasia by various religious organizations, whether Euthanasia carried out by doctors will be done ethically, whether relatives of terminally ill patients would have a say in the use of Euthanasia and whether Euthanasia would be carried out against the will of the person because he or she is incompetent to make any decisions.

If a country is going to legalize Euthanasia, then there should be strict guidelines in order to foresee the proper use of Euthanasia. Strict penalties must be imposed on doctors who perform Euthanasia unethically.

I do support the use of Euthanasia but I want it to be used properly and ethically. Doctors must obtain the permission from their patients to perform Euthanasia and family members must have a say in the use of Euthanasia on their terminally family members. It must also be used as a last resort.

Lessons That Can Be Learn From The Movie 2012

Lessons That Can Be Learn From The Movie 2012

On Sunday, my darling and I went to watch the movie 2012. It is presently one of the hottest movies in town. However, I think New Moon will usurp it from it’s number one spot once in it is shown in Singapore in December.

Well, I enjoyed the movie a lot. It was an exciting movie. Nothing can go wrong with Hollywood’s creation of special effects. Technology used in creating special effects for movies have advanced so greatly that we can now stare and admire it’s wonder! The movie was pretty dramatic also. It really could capture the audience attention.

As I watched the movie, three questions came to my mine. They are as follows: -

1. ) Will the end of the world really be like the way the movie depicted it to be?

2. ) Will only the rich, intelligent and successful survive?

3. ) Will the government officials around the world put their interest first and try to save themselves first?

Let me address the questions one at a time. Various groups in society have predicted the end of the world in different ways. Some have predicted that the end of the world would be at the turn of the millennium.

Some religious cults have predicted that the end of the world would occur when the Hailey’s Bopp Comet fly across the earth’s surface making it visiable to the naked eye. This phenomenon resulted in a mass suicide conducted by a religious cult.

For example, there was a suicidical death of 39 members of Heaven’s Gate in California when they sighted the Hale Bopp Comet. Heaven’s Gate programmers posted a message on their website saying, “ We are happily prepared to leave this world.”

With all the predictions, the world is still around. If you are religious, you most likely think that God has a plan for us and that the end of the world is actually inevitable but it will happen according to God’s time. The bible has mention that the world will end in Mark 13: 24. It states what will happen when it happens. It is not as dramatic as depicted in the movie. The example of the description of what will happen when the world ends as stated in the bible is as follows (Mark 13: 24 ): -

“ But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darken and the moon will not give it’s light, The stars will fall from the sky and the heavily bodies will be shaken.”

If you are a believer in the religion of Science, most likely you will be busy calculating for the rest of your life which year the world would end.

So would anyone ever know when the world would really end? Well you guess is as good as mine.

The second question is whether the rich, intelligent and the successful will be the only ones that would be save?

In the movie 2012, Arks were made to protect the rich, intelligent and successful. The cost of getting a place in an ark would cost you one billion euros. Therefore only the rich and successful would be able to afford it. The question here is that would there come a time when saving lives would be attributed to monetary value? If it comes to such a state, then it would be utterly sad. How low can mankind get?

Some may argue that space is limited and the importance of the continuation of human kind must take precedence above everything but to me even though there is truth in the argument, I find it lame. When it comes to saving lives, no monetary value should be attributed to it.

The words of Karl Marx comes into my mind at this juncture. He said that the rich would always exploit the poor and have an upper hand. They will always have an advantage in life. Sadly it is very true. Many people may link to Karl Marx to communism but it was not him that laid the foundation of communism. It was Lenin. I see knives been thrown at me!! To me, Karl Marx was man who could understand what was going on in society and he was right about it.

Government leaders around the world have the right to look after the welfare of its citizens. In the movie, the America President was selfness and refused not to join the rest in the ark. How many world leaders would actually do this selfness act? If I was at the APEC meeting, I would definitely ask them this question.

Now in the world of the rich and powerful, people are ranked according to the power and wealth that they have. There are internal scrabbles between them. As I have written earlier, they had to pay one billion euros to book their place on the ark. However, they still had to wait for their turn to board the ark. Those with high ranking accreditations in the government were allowed to board the ark first. Then when there was eminent signs that the government officials would be in danger of being drowned by a devastating tsunami, they decided to launch the ark despite that there were still a great number of “rich and successful folks” still waiting to get on board. When they realized that they were being left behind, they paniced and rushed towards the ark resulting in some deaths. Well, eventhough how rich and successful they were, they were still human.

It took a doctor to convince the government leaders to let them in. It would be sad if it ever reached to a stage where government officials would only think of their own self - interest. Luckily this situation was only depicted in the movie. I hope all government officials would watch this movie. They may be alive or dead when the world ends but there are lessons to learn from the movie. They are:-

1.) First Lesson : Always be prepared for the possibility of the world ending. Do not predict. Just prepare. Do good while you are alive.

2.) Second Lesson : When in crisis, be it the end of the world, earthquakes or tsunamis always include the whole population of a country when it comes to saving lives. Do not segregate, Do not treat one more equal than the other. Do not attribute monetary terms to saving lives.

3.) Third Lesson : Do not let self-interest cloud your judgment. Be selfness and think of others.

On the whole, the movie was a very good and entertaining movie. I would encourage my readers to go and watch the movie. If you can’t, there is always the DVD or VCD to purchase and borrow in order to view the movie. Take care and Carpe Diem.

Communism and Capitalism

Communism and Capitalism

The word Communism comes from the word commune. The meaning of commune is a group of people who live together and share responsibilities. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in being a Communist. Unfortunately, society did not implement the true concept of Communism properly. They underestimated the true nature of the human race. There can never be equality because human beings have different needs and wants. No two people are the same. At most Communism can achieve short term successes.

The founder of Communism was Karl Marx. He was born into a comfortable middle-class home in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany on May 5, 1818. His theories were based on the exploitation of the working class ( Proletariat ) by those that controlled the means of production ( Bourgeoisies ). They were being exploited by being paid low wages whereby the owners took full advantage of the profits made by their company. Unions were formed in order to persuade the workers to accept whatever rule the owners implemented thus creating a false consciousness. They were persuaded to think that they were doing well in their jobs and that the company that they worked for cared for them.

These union leaders were chosen by the owners themselves therefore the workers had to obey them. He also stated that the workers also felt alienated in their work because there was no room for innovation. He envisaged that the workers in order to overcome their exploitation must first be aware of their exploitation. They must form unions to fight against their exploitation. The difference this time is that the unions that would formed by the working class would have leaders appointed by the working class and not the owners. They will take over the factories and the government. Ownership of private property will be shared out equally. All will have equal education. They will have to innovate and make changes to their lifestyle. However, innovations and changes to their lifestyle must be made across the board. There cannot be any inequality. As you can see, these concepts are actually short lived as equilibrium between man kind wants and needs can never be achieved.

Communist ideologies are actually short term ideas. That is why Communism was successful in the Soviet Union for a short period of time before the period of social unrest developed because the government of Soviet Union became a dictatorship. Influential leaders from various countries at one stage was romanizing the way Soviet Union was governed despite that there was repent poverty occurring. Even though there was repent poverty, most Russians had jobs and food compared to the times they were under the Tsar ruling. Men like Antonio Gramsci and Mao Zedong, strong believers of Marxism, saw the short term success of communism. They wanted to implement it in their respective countries – Italy and China. However as history has it Stalin twisted the concept of communism and became a tyrant. Executing those who oppose him including the Jews.

Dictatorship has been so internalized in Russian that when in became a capitalist country, their leaders like Boris Yetsin and Mikhail Gorbachev pivoted the country into deeper turmoil. These leaders , even though made changes to their countries, were still trained in the communist doctrines and were members of the Soviet Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin fired his government when they did not meet up to his satisfaction. At least it is better than killing them like what Stalin or Leon Trotsky did.

China had more success in implementing the concept of capitalism and communism. They have had rather a good success in implementing the concept. However, great economic inequality still do exist. In Shanghai, where there are tall sky-scrapers, there are also many poor people living on it’s streets. There are still provinces in China where people are still hungry and living below the poverty line.

Russia has accreted their ideology of dictatorship by attacking Georgia. There are sentiments of wanting to become a superpower. Will there be another Cold War? History repeats itself so do not be surprise if there is another Cold War or World War 3 in the future. With so many social unrest happening and nothing being done about it, embargoes may be implemented on violent – prone countries. Countries that are affected by the embargoes may go to war in order to survive. For example, in World War 2, Japan went to war with America because there was an embargo place on their oil exports.

The concept of capitalism encourages competition between business. Governments using the concept of capitalism to run its economy also promote democracy. However, even though a government can practice capitalism in a country , it does not mean that it can be totally democratic. For example, Singapore, even though its economy is based on capitalism it is not a very democratic country as it does not allow it’s laws to be challenged. It also increases the income gap between the lower and upper income population. Thus creating poverty. Therefore whether one uses Communism or Capitalism to govern a country , it is inevitable that poverty would be formed. For example in Britain, even though majority of its population are doing well, there are still areas in Britain where poverty flourish. Social unrest still occurs in countries that adopt capitalism. Another country in mind is India.

Discrimination between races and jobs also occur. For example, in Singapore, there was a call to segregate foreign workers and to do away with job advertisements that only advertised for Chinese workers. The latter is now not encouraged but there is no law against companies to choose what kind of race it wants to employ. Which concept works best? The answer is none.

Communism and Capitalism are theories that each different individuals theorize the best way to run a country. However both are without their flaws. The former would not work because there can never be equality in the world. The latter would not work either because capitalism feeds on man’s greed more one gets greedy. The most one can do is try to even the odds which implies the concept of Communism. Total balance in people’s socio economic status can never be achieved but a leverage to increase their status in economic terms can be achieved ( for those in the lower income region ). There must be more equality in the distribution of resources among the various races in one’s county and between the lower and middle income families.

Do note that I have left out the upper income, this is to reinstate my call for the welfare of the lower and middle income families to be more on par with the upper income families. The lower and middle income population however can never be on the same level playing field as the upper income as those with the money would generate more income for themselves. Of course , it can be argued that lower and middle income can rise to the level of the upper income with a sudden surge of monetary income ( striking the grand price of a big sweep and successfully investing in a business are two examples ) but how many would have such luck. I am more concern to those that are perpetually trapped in the lower and middle income range level. To govern a country properly, the concept of communism and capitalism must be applied.

First Attempt At Cross Posting

Now that I have left my footprints here, hopefully it will make some variety to this space. I have been writing in my other space for a long time now, and this is my first time posting to someone else's space, so hopefully my efforts will not be too laid-back or extreme.

I must remember this is not essentially my own space, so I have to be careful what to say and what to divulge. All I can say is, my life is very happy of late. You know what others say about making the right choices in life?

This year I have made several right choices in life. Choices where if you go deep into them, they may not turn out good on surface but may turn out even better on hindsight. So I am very grateful to God for helping me make the right choices in my life!

Till then.... hope to see you soon!

A Poem Dedicated To My Darling

Dedicated To My Darling

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember you were cooking as I stood near you to admire your beauty and kindness

Once in a hot afternoon, I wish so much to hug you while you were cooking and to tell you that I LOVE YOU

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember sitting beside you eating our noodles and wish I could feed you

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember my heart beating profusely just by looking at you

Once in a hot afternoon, I realized that the person I wanted to be with was by my side

As I remember walking home one night, my heart felt a lot of pain because I wanted to be with you

As I remember walking home one night, I sat down to think about the times we spent together. They were the best times of my life.

As I remember walking home one night, I teared because I was afraid I would not be able to see you again

Once during a normal office day, I sat in my office chair, staring blankly at my PC thinking about you

Once during a normal office day, I was trying very hard to think how to tell you that I liked you

Once during a normal office day, I went to the back of my office to imagine me being by side you and living our lives together.

Once during a normal office day, I expressed to you how I felt about you and when you agreed that was the happiest day of my life

Now in the care of morning, the first thing on my mind is about you.

Now in the care of morning, the first thing on my mind is to wonder how you are

Now in the care of morning, my first concern is that you are doing fine and having a good journey to work

Now in the care of morning, I wish I could also go to work with you together

Now in the care of morning. my heart beats very fast whenever you sms me or reply to my e-mails

Now in the ember of the night as I go to sleep, I always think about you and imagine you lying next to me

Now in the ember of the night as I go to sleep, I imagine hugging you to sleep and whispering in you ears I LOVE YOU

Now in the ember of the night, thinking of you makes me happy and me being happy because I am thinking of you is something I desire the most

Now in the ember of the night, I wish I could be with you forever as there is always sadness in my heart whenever I have to leave your house.

Oh dear, I pledge to you that I will always love you and be by your side
May thunder and lighting strike me down if I go against my word.
My love for you will always be eternal.
I love you dearest, my one and only, my desire and my one and only person I want to spent the rest of my life with

Time After Time ( A Song I listen Often )

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
And think of you
Caught up in circles confusion
Is nothing new
Flashback warm nights
Almost left behind
Suitcases of memories,
Time after

Sometimes you picture me
Im walking too far ahead
Youre calling to me, I cant hear
What youve said
Then you say go slow
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows youre wondering
If Im ok
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

You said go slow
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

Time after time
Time after time
Time after time