Sex For Grades?

The current "big" case that has been going on for the past few weeks is that of a law professor who slept with his student. This itself is not a "big" issue per se as I am sure there are many people in this world guilty of this. However, she bought him expensive gifts and her grades, that were supposedly mediocre, were superb under him.

In any case, he was charged for all six counts of corruption, ie sleeping with the girl and giving her good grades. He was terminated by the university with immediate effect after the verdict was out. No report on the girl, but I think she could lose her practitioner's license.

The thing is, why must this be splashed out everywhere? Does it serve a purpose to have the guy's face and the girl's face splashed everywhere? No doubt the guy is a scumbag, but the girl herself also consented. Okay, maybe to her it was her love for her lecturer, and that she thought it was right to give him expensive stuff and even have affair with him to show she loved him. She is still young and inexperienced, and now she made a big mistake she had to pay for it.

But the guy is middle age, she was his student, and he should know better. He is so much older and more experienced, must he respond to her just because she was showing some fancy and interest? Furthermore he has a wife and a kid. How will his family feel?

This incident is another typical incident that shows just how scummy men can be. But then this also shows the value systems of the younger generation. Is getting good grades, having more money, etc, everything that people think of nowadays? What happened to all the ethics and moral values of doing things the proper and right way? Must you play some tricks and whatnot just to get ahead in life?

Just like the girl, despite the mistake she made, her parents immediately sought to sue the guy and even paid for the most expensive and prominent defense lawyer for her. I wonder if it is due to her upbringing or influence that caused her to be like this? I am not saying I do not understand her situation, she is still young and lots to experience, but perhaps if her parents had questioned where those money went to and who she gave all those expensive gifts to instead of just giving her the money and letting her do what she likes without question, perhaps the entire situation could have been nipped in the bud.

I really worry about the younger generation if this is what they are growing up to be. I hope I will not make the same mistake if I ever become a parent.

Prankster Targeting Public Transport

People are getting so terrible! Yesterday someone got burnt by a substance while sitting on the train. Last week someone got hurt by acid poured onto a seat at a bus stop while sitting down waiting for a bus at that particular bus stop.

I wonder what people are thinking nowadays? Why does anyone want to do any action that deliberately hurt others physically? It is one thing having grievances with someone, but it is another thing altogether to hurt an innocent party one has totally no connection with.

Seems like even taking public transport is dangerous nowadays! What can one do? Take horses? Or carriage rides? I kind of like that idea actually. Imagine cruising through the countryside in a horse-drawn carriage. 

Who am I kidding? What countryside? There is nothing here but tall, modern, fierce-looking buildings! No more countryside and no more old buildings since money and power are more important than history and culture! What a waste!

Hopefully the people who did those pranks will get caught soon! They need some help as soon as possible to ensure they get treated for whatever illness they are suffering from.

Free Travel For Early Birds?

Last week, the "big" news floating around is that come late June, those commuters who managed to tap in and out of the train station by 7:45am will be entitled to free rides. In other words, the government is encouraging people to take the train earlier so as not to jam up the trains during the hours of eight and nine.

 

It makes me wonder, will people really find this appealing? Personally, I rather have my sleep than to wake up so early and reach office so early. As it is, I am already reaching office earlier than everyone else, even if I reach aronud half past eight in the morning!

 

The thing is, people being the way they are, will most likely grab hold of this opportunity to have a free ride everyday. I can understand that. Imagine if you spend S$1.50 travelling to work everyday. S$1.50 means S$7.50 a week, totalling to around S$30.00 a month. S$30.00 saved a month could buy a week's lunch, or some groceries, or just accumulate aside for a rainy day.

 

Hence, in the long run, it is pretty appealing, where dollars and cents are concerned. However, due to this, the trains will suddenly become very jam-packed during the hours of the free rides. Then suddenly the "peak" period will no longer be between eight to nine but seven to eight instead. In which case, people are going to work earlier yet still staying later, which is totally not in line with the family friendly and worklife balance policy the government is encouraging lately.

 

Furthermore, it still does not curb the problem of trains being jam packed, just that instead of after eight, the trains started being jammed much earlier. Due to this, more trains have to come at shorter frequency to cater to the massive jam during those times.

 

So does it really solve the problem of curbing the massive jam during peak hours? This is not a permanent solution though. This solution is only on a one-year trial, which means after the year, this solution may or may not be continued. Maybe if they feel the solution is working out, then perhaps it will continue, otherwise may be scrapped totally? Who knows?

 

I will definitely welcome any solutions to our transport problem. And the government is aiming to increase the population even further. Unless our country's land mass gets bigger, otherwise I really do not see how to solve this overcrowding and overpopulation in the near future.

Ode To Boston Bomb Victims

Today the first news I heard when I woke up is the bomb blast at the Boston marathon event, leaving two people dead and dozens injured. Now the death toll has reached twenty-three, at last count, including an eight-year-old child.

 

This is so sad! The President of the United States has labelled this as a terrorist attack and the government is trying to trace who the mastermind(s) is. Whoever who did this ought to be punished severely! Anyone who can play with anyone's lives like that ought to be executed! Why can they not leave children alone as well?

 

Due to this, suddenly Dow Jones plummeted and the Euro market went down as well. Luckily my investments are still safe. But I really wonder, who would want this to happen? Apparently, after the twin blastings, the library nearby also caught fire, but it is uncertain if these two incidents are related.

 

To mourn this event. the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra has cancelled their concert, and the Boston Red Sox has cancelled their game. People over the world have probably known about the news and mourning together with those victims.

 

I really wonder who did this? And what is the purpose? What satisfaction can anyone gain from seeing people dead like that? What is the message the person is trying to get across? But whatever it is, one should not claim innocent lives like that, is it not?

 

My heart really goes out to the families of the victims. They must be all so devastated, especially to the parents of the poor child. There are also others who got their legs blown off yet still alive. It must have been a horrifying sight and experience!

 

To all those who died innocently, may they rest in peace. And I truly hope and pray that the mastermind(s) will be caught soon! Those who mess with people's lives just deserve to be shot on sight!

"Milking" Dry ...

This year is a year of new rulings, especially in terms of heavy ticket items like car and housing. For a country who charges exorbitant prices for cars and housing, the news is definitely not welcomed by the general population.

 

Just imagine this. The salaries we make is barely sufficient to make ends meet. I am not even talking about luxurious lifestyle like fine dining, going first class, staying in a mansion and driving fancy cars. I am talking about a mere small two-bedroom apartment, small hatchback car, and grocery shopping or eating at hawker centres. Yet most people still struggle with dual incomes.

 

For instance, the cheapest car around, a Suzuki Swift, cost around S$68,000.00 or thereabouts. I am quoting the estimated price because I have no idea how much the cars cost nowadays. This is for a new car. But in order to own this car, one needs to have the certificate of entitlement of say S$10,000.00. So in total, a small car like this can cost S$78,000.00 or thereabouts. I believe with this price, one can own a fancy car or even two cars overseas already!

 

It was still bearable in the past because you just need to purchase the car with a loan and then pay off as much as possible after that. However, with the new ruling, those who intend to buy a car needs to have a forty percent downpayment first before the bank loans can start. Which means one now needs to pay S$27,200.00 plus S$10,000 of the entitlement to even own a car, making it a flat payment of S$37,200.00 before the loans can start taking into effect.

 

S$37,200.00 to own a car! And this is only the downpayment! This amount probably equates to a full car ownership in some other countries! How many people can come up with this amount first hand? Unless you are the rich and famous, otherwise this amount equates to many people's yearly income.

 

This also includes buying second hand cars, which means even if the car is older, one also needs to pay the full flat fee of forty percent downpayment before being able to own a car. Looks like the government's efforts of restricting cars on the roads are finally going to succeed, to the uproar of the public.

 

It may still not be that bad if one does not have a house to pay off. However, if one needs to pay off housing loans as well, then it is really practically impossible to own a car now. Living expenses are really getting more and more difficult to sustain in the near future. Housing prices will only increase, despite the flats getting smaller and smaller, and location getting more and more inconvenient. No longer do we have the luxury of owning a big flat in a good location, because the newer estates are all in the undeveloped areas that is so far off from everywhere, with hardly any transport and amenities, and yet the flats are being built with smaller spaces.

 

Now comes the new ruling for flat ownership. It used to be that singles who have reached the age of thirty-five, are not able to buy new flats on their own. They can only buy resale or old flats, and only limited to three-room flats, which means two-bedrooms and one living room. Why? Because new flats are exclusively reserved for those with families. Why are we being punished just because we happen to marry late, or do not get married for whatever reason? It is as if it is a sin being single and unmarried.

 

With the new ruling, singles who have reached thirty-five and earning a maximum of S$5,000.00 a month can apply for new flats. However, the catch is that the new flats must be in non-mature estates, which means developing estates, which means somewhere out of the way from everywhere else. And they are only restricted to two-room flats. Which means the bigger flats are reserved for those with families.

 

Does it mean just because one is a single, one is not entitled to a bigger flat? What if someone likes to live in a bigger place with more rooms? What can one do with just one room? What if they have guests coming to stay? Afterall, if we are going to pay so much for a flat, are we not entitled to choose where we want to stay? A flat, like marriage, is supposedly a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and if we buy a good place and build our dream home, would it not be much better than to shift again if there is any change in status or family?

 

Sometimes I really wonder if our government is milking us dry. Where else is there such restrictions on things like housing and cars? I have never heard of anywhere else that singles cannot buy their own place until thirty-five. Does it mean once you reach thirty-five, you are certified left on the shelf and no hope for a family anymore? Then I should start panicking, is it not, since I am close reaching that age and still will not be married by then.

Local News To Start The New Year

Last year, immediately after the Lunar New Year, two top civil servants got charged for corruption, in the famous sex-for-corruption cases that has been on-going for the past year. Due to this, more people were arrested for trading sex for various favours. I seriously wonder what the younger generation are thinking of right now? They can just talk about sex and use it so freely just like that.

 

In any case, now that a new Lunar New Year has come and gone, the verdict of the more famous trial is out. And he is NOT GUILTY! As in, he did have an affair, but he did not give the lady favours in return for sex. Hence, he is not guilty of corruption, but morally he is wrong.

 

This is going to spark off controversy. I believe objectively, many people will be happy that he is let off scot free, because the corruption officer did use some underhanded ways to extract information from the lady, who claimed they had sex and that he would buy her products if she gave him sex. Seems like even the corruption officer is corrupt himself!

 

However, due to this, does it mean that anyone can go around having affairs, and behave loosely as they think they can now get off scot free and that the judge will listen to the man but not the woman? If that is the case, then the world is going to be a very sad place to live in, if it is not already the case!

 

Personally, I do believe the law is just, and if the corruption officer did not screw things up, the plaintiff could have been charged for corruption and sex-for-bribes. But then one's moral issues is not the same as legal issues. Under the law, he did not do anything wrong, but morally, and perhaps in the eyes of God, he did mess up big time.

 

That is always the thin line here, whether you do things morally wrong and legally wrong, and often than not, people tend to tread a fine line between these.

Should Guns Be Banned?

After the elementary school shooting incident that kind of shook the world, the one question that was being asked is that, should there be a revision to the gun laws? If I am not mistaken, in certain states of America, everyone is allowed to carry a gun for self-defence or security purposes. I can understand because not everywhere is safe, and sometimes it is better to have self-defense.

 

However, if people abuse the law, what then? Personally, I am never an advocate of any arms. Arms and dangerous weapons should only be carried by those licensed and trained for it, like the police or military. They should never be allowed on a lay person, because things like these do more harm than good.

 

This is not the first school that had incidents like these. There have been other schools, including the famous Columbine High School, where Michael Moore did a documentary on the school shooting. Jodi Picoult also wrote a book on school shooting in her novel "Nineteen Minutes". Even though that is fiction, it was a masterpiece on the aspects of school shooting and the effects and consequences involved.

 

The thing is, after all these incidents, the distress of the parents, the innocent victims and the clean up by the local police, should the government not do something already? This time round the victims are so young. What can a six-year-old harm you with that you have to kill him? And the teachers and staff who protected the children were killed too.

 

How many more kids have to be innocently killed before someone actually steps in and put a stop? Why not just put a nationwide ban on the buying, collecting and storing of firearms for lay people, unless one is licensed to carry a gun or work for a unit that needs a gun? Guns are for self-defense, but when innocent people, especially children, are involved, then it becomes an abuse of weapons and the perpetrator should be charged and executed, if he is not already dead.

 

I really hope the American government can take this issue seriously and not cause anymore innocent deaths of schoolchildren. The issue of firearms is really going to get out of hand if this continues.

Is There A Need To Pry Into Scandalous Affairs?

Yesterday the "big" news is on a politician resigning due to his confession of an extramarital affair with one of his staff. Does that kind of remind you of the unfortunate Bill Clinton and the intern? Ever since the news broke out, immediately the letter of resignation, speech from the other ministers and press conferences were published in major newspapers and online media.

 

Last night, the girl in question was found out, and her name and photo was published. Today the messages they sent to each other were published. I seriously wonder what is it with our local media nowadays? Yes, he did something wrong, yes, he regretted his action, yes, he decided to resign to atone for his mistakes, but honestly, must people dig out their entire story and broadcast to the public?

 

Can anyone imagine the distress to the parties in question and their families? So why must the media flashed out everything to remind the parties in question about what transpired, when they probably only wanted to forget this incident and start over anew? Is people's private lives so important to anyone else?

 

I am not saying that what he did was right. He should not cheat on his family in the first place, but then he is human after all. Everyone makes mistakes. Even though as a woman, this kind of mistake is unforgiveable and unacceptable, still, if his wife is willing to forgive him, that is all that matters, is it not? Why must others then pry into their affairs when they are already going through this difficult period?

 

I feel it is very brave of him to even stand up and admit to the mistake made. Not every man will do that. Most men will deny and give excuses, but he actually admitted his mistake and willing to take responsibility and face the consequences of his action. For that, I salute him for being a true man. So now that this is done, must people then distress the family and the other party further by digging up everything and flashing it as some "juicy" news?

 

For God's sake, leave them alone already! It is not the end of the world! How many of you men out there dare to say you would never cheat on your family or have never cheated on your family? Of course it is not the right thing to do and it is a blatant betrayal of your marriage vows, but everyone, men or women, may fall into temptation and succumb to weakness anytime. Would you then like the whole world to judge your actions when you are truly repentant?

 

I wish our local media would really report on true news instead of broadcasting people's private lives to everyone. It is really no one's business what transpired, and I really hope people can realise that - it is not their business and be more considerate to other's feelings and not judge and pinpoint mistakes that were already made.

From Prank To Suicide

Last week, the newly pregnant Princess Kate was hospitalised due to acute morning sickness. Prince William, as a good husband, visited her everyday, was with her when she discharged, and even cancelled some of his engagements to be by her side.

 

Honestly, I really do not see why this kind of thing is also considered "news". Afterall, it is their own private life, and when a woman is feeling so sick, she would not appreciate people updating about her status all the time.

 

To make matters worse, some idiots in a radio station thought it would be a good joke to impersonate the Queen and Prince Charles on air, and called the hospital, asking about the princess' condition. The nurse on duty thought it was true, and so updated the "Queen" and "Prince Charles" about the princess' condition.

 

I am sure she did it in all innocence. No doubt she should not be disclosing a patient's medical status, but on the other hand, if she really thought it was the Queen calling, I guess she felt obligated to disclose the medical condition of the princess. Little did she knew it was just a prank. When the hospital found out, they did not blame her and instead tried to see how situations like this could be improved. A few days later, her body was found in the nurse's quarters, most likely from suicide.

 

What started off as an "innocent" prank, albeit done in very bad taste, is now the indirect cause of an innocent person's death. What was originally a joke now became an international case, as the two radio personalities were put off air, hidden from sight, and now Scotland Yard is looking all over for these two pranksters to assist in their investigations of the nurse's death.

 

In the first place, why would anyone want to create this kind of mischief? I can just imagine the fury of the royal family. Yes, they are celebrities, but are they not entitled to their own privacy as well? Can people not let a pregnant lady in peace and not aggravate her? Afterall, her state of health and unborn child should be the utmost priority, is it not, rather than "sensational" news?

 

I have never condoned people for creating mischief. I mean, I am all for a good joke and whatnot, but a line has to be drawn. First, we should not take someone's life and experiences and create a joke out of it. Second, we should not take what someone say to you in confidence and treat it as a joke. Third, we should not even impersonate a real living person and take the real living person's sob stories and make a joke out of it.

 

One can just imagine the distress caused by someone else who wants to create that kind of mischief. This kind of prank is childish, in bad taste, and totally inconsiderate and oblivious of other's feelings. The two perpetrators really ought to be given a warning and stopped from ever presenting on air ever again.

Striked Down!

An update to my previous post on the bus strikes. The case is closed. The main perpetrators have been punished. Five have been charged, about thirty had their work permits revoked and sent back to their own countries with immediate effect, and the rest received warning letters. The general public is happy with the conclusion, and I guess no one would dare to pull that stunt for a while. I also hope that there will not be anymore shallow people who try to take law into their own hands again!

Striking Hard?

The "big" news this week is on a group of bus drivers going on strike to ask for more pay. This group of bus drivers is another batch of "foreign talent" who were unhappy about the pay raise, as they felt the company discriminated against other "foreign talents", so they went on strike on Monday. Coincidentally, the chief executive officer happened to be on vacation so this was handled by other officials.

 

Come to think of it, even though we do not really have a strong union that protests against everything, most of us are relatively well-behaved, as in we go to work, go home and so be it. We accept overtime work without pay, accept whatever benefits and welfare of the company even though some may not be as impressive, and accept whatever vacation we were given. Besides, all companies have to adhere to local labour law, which, in my opinion, is pretty reasonable where employees are concerned.

 

However, this group of strikers wanted to take matters into their own hands. Yes, no doubt in their own country, they could strike whenever they felt things were unfair. But this is not their own country. Here, strikes are illegal, and for a tranport company which falls under "essential services", all the more they will be charged and made examples of.

 

But this strike does serve as a wake-up call that we should not be taking things for granted. We live in a relatively sheltered society, which is why whenever things fall out of the norm, we kick up a big fuss as we think things like that can never happen. But the fact is, all these things do happen, and they happen a lot in other countries, just that many people here are too narrow to realise that.

 

Case in point - the recent blaring out of racial-related stuff on one's personal page that went viral, causing the perpetrator to get terminated. I am not saying that is the right thing to do. Yes, her act was downright insensitive, but then again, in other countries, there are worse stuff being written on walls, houses and yelling on the streets.

 

Yet those people take it in their strides and accept it as part and parcel of life. It is only here that people make a very big deal out of it because things like that have never happened, hence they should not happen and those who behaved "out of the ordinary" should be spat upon, and oh, everyone should know who this person is and what the person looked like so we could throw daggers at the picture.

 

Is this really necessary? Ok, the person had done a wrong thing, ok, the drivers are on strike, so what next? Striking is illegal here, and if their demands were given in, then everyone else would strike, but if their demands were not given, then what? Some people would then think we are an unfair society who only wanted our own way. Either way, it is hard to come to a consensus.

 

What will happen to the drivers in question? They may end up losing their jobs. They may even be charged. But whatever it is, I believe the authorities will make an example out of this case to prevent others from doing similar things. I hope this case comes to a conclusion soon as I am really interested to find out how the authorities will handle this.

Spitefulness Of Women

In this time and age, nothing is secret anymore. After all the scandals of two of our high-ranking military personnel involved in a corruption-turned-pornography case, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency had to resign because of a sex scandal. In all of these cases, if it was not because someone blew the whistle, no one would find out.

 

So who blew the whistle? Chances are it would be the women involved. Yes, women are spiteful. Yes, they seek out revenge. And yes, if you cheat them or break their hearts, they will bring you down no matter what. Afterall, there is not greater fury than a woman scorned.

 

Of course, most women also have common sense and magnanimity, so most women would just take it as a lesson and let things go. However, there are some who would turn sour and go all out to let the man suffer, especially since he is a prominent figure. She knows how to strike him at his worst.

 

In all these cases, no doubt the women should not have done things so drastic. Afterall, whatever transpired was consensual, they are both adults, they both knew what they were getting into. And it is very easy for women to "manipulate" men to get what they want using their sexual prowess.

 

Still, if the men are grounded and do not succumb, then the whole issue would never have blown out, is it not? The thing is, women knew how to get men, and some will not hesitate to get what they want from men. But I am pretty sure men knew exactly when the women are getting something from them. Then it is up to their own prerogative to just put a stop to it, is it not, instead of playing along?

 

When things happened, to men, they may think it is all fun and both knew what they were getting into. But to women, it is beyond that. When a woman gives her body, she also unconsciously gives her heart and soul. Physical intimacies is never separated for a woman. Yes, women can go for one night stands and sleep with different men, and even if she did not think much of that, deep down, she always wished one of the men would respond to her and not think of her as just "used goods".

 

Whereas men, they have no qualms sleeping around because to them, physical intimacies is just that - body and action. There is no strings attached, no emotions involved. Hence, men can take it as if nothing happened.

 

But not women. So when the whatever relationship ended, and women suffered emotionally, she would then turn sour and wanted to teach the men a lesson. Likewise, if a woman makes up her mind to date a guy, she will only be dating him exclusively, because when she is ready to give her emotions fully, she would do that. No matter how the guy is like, she would still stick with him because she made her choice, hence would tolerate every nonsense and bad habits the man has.

 

But I know men will not do that. Men will pick on little things to determine whether the woman is worth his time. Even if the woman laughs a little louder, walks a bit more roughly, all these "minor" issues will be blown up and men would just say because of these, the woman is not for him, as he always expects the woman to be perfect. And because of these, he will start seeing other women, or worse, string several women aloing before he makes his final choice, if he ever does.

 

I guess that is why men are from Mars and women are from Venus! Both genders are just wired differently.

The "Little Emperor" Syndrome

Recently, a video featuring two teenaged boys has gone viral. Online and physical media has picked up on the story and bloggers and netizens have slammed the two boys for what they did. Essentially, they refused to give up the nursing room in a library when a mother who needed to nurse her baby requested, and were even rude to the mother.

 

I really wonder, is it due to the progression of society or upbringing that kids are behaving in such ways nowadays? As I said before, nothing is secret anymore. Every little action you do, no matter how little, will be taped down and broadcasted to the whole world. I always find that unethical because it is one's own private affairs after all, is it really necessary to involve the whole world?

 

Human nature is such that they crave on "juicy" news, even if it did not happen to them. That is why when so and so quarrelled in public and they were unfortunately taped and uploaded, suddenly they found themselves in the middle of some sensational news. Is it really that necessary? What pleasure and satisfaction can one derive on seeing other people's private affairs?

 

In this case, the mother in question taped the two boys. The boys knew they were being taped, and even warned the mother from sending the tape to an online forum. Personally, I would just tell the boys to adhere to the rules regarding nursing rooms and get the librarian to help if need be. That would be about it. Why should I go through the hassle of taping and broadcasting? It is my affairs after all, not anyone else's, and if I come across someone unpleasant, well, that was my unlucky day then.

 

Still, what the two boys did were wrong. In the first place, they should not even be in the nursing room, let alone having their own party there. That is the reason why nursing rooms are called such - they are meant for mothers to nurse their babies when need be. We come from a society where people are shy and not used to breastfeed, nor see mothers breastfeeing, their babies anywhere in public, hence many buildings have nursing rooms for this purpose.

 

Are the boys trying to say that they are so important that they are the only ones entitled to use the room and no other person can, even a crying hungry baby? And still behave so rudely when they were politely asked to leave so the hungry crying baby can be fed milk by the mother? What do these boys drink when they were young? Devil's milk?

 

Sometimes I think when our society progresses, people's ethics and morals also went down. Are we so busy chasing material goods and academic results that we totally forgot about character education? Is being rich and being top everything people think about now, and that by being rich and smart, one thinks they can get away with everything?

 

I guess also because nowadays with families getting smaller and kids getting lesser, many of these kids come from one- or two-child families. By the time they were born, they would have around seven adults fussing over them - their parents, their paternal grandparents, their maternal grandparents, and their domestic helper. Since young, they were the kings of the world, what modern society now calls the "Little Emperor" syndrome. Is it any wonder those kids grow up thinking of nothing except themselves, and that the world should only revolve around them?

 

I feel so sorry for the boys' parents. They are minors, so ultimately people will blame their parents for not bringing them up properly enough. But actually, nowadays parents can bring up the kids so well, yet the kids themselves do otherwise. So are the parents really at fault if the kids think they are too smart for their own good?

 

Personally, if those are my kids, I would be so ashamed of myself and them. I would punish them and write out a public letter of apology. If parents do not discipline their own kids when young, who is to know what they will do when they get older? That is why the thought of parenthood scares me because when you have a kid, you really worry endlessly how the kid will turn out to be!

How Did A Corruption Case Turn Into A Sex Scandal?

In the past year, there had been many cases of very established men being charged due to sexual-related crimes. In one high-profile case, a group of men, some with high statuses, were charged for running an underground underaged prostitution den.

 

Early this year, a chief of a military unit fell from grace for corruption - having intimate relations with a female vendor and giving her the services of the organisation to boost her sales. Just a few months back, a law lecturer at our number one university was investigated for giving the girl good grades in return for sexual favours, which he alleged the girl volunteered.

 

But the most high profile case in recent weeks is that of another chief from one of the police units, who also allegedly had intimate relations with a female vendor in letting her boost her sales by giving her the contract of his organisation.

 

The thing is, he was charged for corruption. Corruption, in any form, is still corruption, and being a chief in a discipline unit, he of all people should uphold the law. Hence, by having sexual relations with the lady and giving her the contract, that is corruption, as he favoured her company due to the relationship he had with her.

 

However, during the trial, and what the newspapers flashed out, the case somehow became a sex scandal, and to a certain extent, pornography. In the first place, is that really necessary to describe in graphic detail everything that transpired between the two accused? Secondly, there are kids reading the newspapers too, and by describing everything in such detail, it is rather inappropriate for the kids who are reading, is it not?

 

How did a corruption case turn into a sex scandal? Our reporters cater to what the mainstream wants - juicy news. And sex sells. But to me, it is deviating from the actual case at hand - a corruption, and sex-for-contract, which was what he was charged for in the first place, and not some kind of pornographic film where people have no qualms flashing your private life to the whole world.

 

Honestly, what people do with each other is really no one's business. So why must others indulge in these kind of news? Does it satisfy anyone to know which position, how many times, etc, the two of them did?

 

I am not saying what those two did are right. He, being a high-ranking civil servant in a discipline unit, should know better, especially since he is married with a family. She, too, should know better, especially since she has a family as well. But she wanted the sales so went all out, and he just abetted instead of resisting.

 

Which makes me wonder, are people's values and ethics degenerated to such an extent that they are willing to do anything, even cheapening themselves, just to get what they want in order to get more money? Personally, I rather have less money than have less morals.

 

It is sad indeed that so many of these high scholars have turned out this way. Is money and success everything that people's morals just go down the drain now? If that is the case, I rather be poor all my life and not be successful if that is what it entails to climb the ladder.

Another Pervert!

Why are there so many perverts lately? First there was the case of the local government scholar studying in England getting caught having a fetish for child pornography (apparently some of those were rated four out of five for hardcoreness).

A search into his background indicated he was ever punished back in school for being a peeping Tom when he was caught in the girl's toilet. However the school thought he had been punished, hence decided to give him a second chance, so this was not put on record, which was why he could get the scholarship in the first place. Does it mean as long as your grades are good you can then get away with murder?

Then I was kind of violated on the bus on Monday. And I still have not forgiven DC for just laughing off the matter and teasing me the whole night instead of showing me some care and concern! His girlfriend got violated, for goodness sake! Does he think it is a very funny matter?

Then there was the report yesterday on the male principal of a very prestigious boys' school here, who was suspended but now fired. Apparently he was coming onto a male teacher, who reported him for sexual harassment.

Today I received an article about this guy working in the police force. He took photos of his female colleagues, masturbated to their photos and dropped his semen into their drinks when they were away, and secretly filmed them drinking their drinks mixed with his semen - all during office hours!

Then he was caught trying to take a photo up his colleague's skirt and she managed to wrestle the phone from him and saw the incriminating photos, hence made a report. A search on his harddisk showed the clips he filmed.

In the first place, did the girls not find their drinks looking or tasting funny and still drank the whole thing? In the second place (not that I am condoning his actions), why was he so stupid to do all those in the office and save into his computer, instead of being discreet? Of course he will sure be busted!

So now the psychopaths are government scholars, school principals and police officers. Goodness, what is the world coming to?

And the common factor in these? The perpetrators are all MEN! Am I then right to say that men are bastards and women's problems occur because of men? Come to think of it, if there are no men, perhaps our lives will be much easier and not suffer so much!

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What Constitutes Proper Upbringing?

Lately there seems to be an influx of problems involving youths. Just when five youths hacked another youth to death on Halloween night, in a matter of weeks, there have been more youth slashing incidents in two parts of the country. When interviewed, there are youths who said they bring knives out "just in case". Just in case of what? In case they do need to kill someone?

Last week there was another incident involving a scholar. Due to his outstanding grades and curricular activities, he won a Ministry of Education scholarship to England to further his studies. But he was caught on campus surfing pornography involving children as young as six, indicating pedophilia tendencies. A background search indicated that he was caught peeping at girls in his school's toilet before, but because he had been punished, the school never put it on record, hoping he would change.

Now because of this, his scholarship would be terminated. His future is as good as gone. I am not sure if he would be charged since in general, the world frowns heavily upon pedophiles. One can commit murder but once one molests or rapes a little kid, he would be ostracised by everyone, even the hardcore prisoners themselves.

All these incidents made me rather sad indeed. What are the kids coming to that they think it right to do as they please? I wonder is it because of the lack of discipline, or the lack of control? Or is it the parents themselves simply have no time to monitor the kids, and as long as the kids do okay in school that is all that matters?

It makes me wonder, will I be able to cope if I ever do have kids in the future? How will my own children turn out to be? What is the success of a parent? People always say the success of a child is on how he turns out in life, but would that not be the success of a parent if he / she is able to bring a child up properly?

What, then, constitutes a proper upbringing? Why would two kids from exactly the same family and upbringing turn out different? Is it really to do with the parents or just the character and personality of the child?

A Wrong Baby?

Today's newspaper reported on how a couple who went for IVF ended up with the wrong baby because the hospital injected the wrong sperm into the woman.

How is this thing ever possible? The couple in question is a mixed couple so it seems that the baby turned out a different colour. When they took the blood test, the baby has a different blood type from both parents. A DNA test indicates the mother's DNA but not the father's.

In other words, no one knows who the father is. If I am the couple in question, I will feel so pissed! Imagine if you are the couple who spent the time, money and effort in trying to have a child. The pregnancy is finally successful and you spend a happy nine months preparing and awaiting the birth of your child, only to find out it is the wrong baby at birth, how would you feel?

Luckily the couple in question has a kind heart. They have fallen in love with the baby and both husband and wife are willing to raise the child as their own. Of course the mother will want since she is the one who gave birth to the baby, but I like the father for being able to accept a child that is not his too. Afterall, it is not the baby's fault in the first place.

If this ever happened to me, I wonder what I would do? It is my child after all, but yet not from my husband. So what can I do about it? What will my husband do about it? Give the baby up, or raise him like his own?

I know if this happens to any other man, they will get so angry that they will sue the clinic in question. One does not spend the money, time and effort only to end up fathering another man's child. I think it will be very hard for any other man to accept it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What Is Happening To Youngsters Nowadays?

The past few days, the news going around is these few kids hacking another kid to death at an amusement park on Halloween night. What happened was that there were two kids (actually they are about nineteen years old) who happened to cross eyes with a group of four kids around the same age, so the group went after them with choppers, hacking one to death due to a staring incident.

In the first place, why would anyone go out with choppers? By doing that, were they not already have the intention to look for trouble?

The kid that was hacked died upon arrival in hospital. A young life gone just like that. It makes me really upset to think about this and I pity the poor parents who had to cope with the loss.

When the police caught up with the four youths who hacked the poor boy to death, one of them tried to escape, fell, hit his head and now undergoing surgery for brain damage in the hospital. Shall this be retribution?

Apparently all would be sentenced to death since they are past the age of being charged in a juvenile court. This is first degree murder. They can never argue that they have no intention because they brought choppers out and all four hacked one person. Even the defense of self-defense and provocation will not be valid. Furthermore, when they were arrested, they did not even feel remorseful.

Now five kids would die. Due to what? Just because they were not happy at being looked at? Five sets of parents are going to be heartbroken.

Which makes me wonder, what is happening to the kids nowadays? How are they being brought up now? Psychologists will say it is because their parents were violent and caned them often, hence they became like this.

That is so ridiculous! How many of us were not punished or even caned by our parents when young? Does that mean we all grow up being violent and going around being mass murderers?

In my opinion, it is precisely because the parents leave them alone to do as they please, did not punish and cane them nor supervise them in any violent games, hence they become like this.

Kids nowadays have some violent streak in them, probably due to the kind of computer games they play. Even for my own Cathechism kids, at the age of ten or eleven, some are already talking about killing those who offend them, assassinate someone, murdering someone in whatever way. I shudder to think what they will do when they grow up.

So is the upbringing at fault? I really do not know. But if the youths nowadays think they can feel belonged and empowered only by going around killing others, then I seriously worry for the younger generation.

It makes me worry for my future kids too, if I ever have any. At times no matter how we try our best to bring up the children, they may still end up doing the wrong things. Whose fault is it then, in this case?

Distressing News Over A Week

This post is a bit late, as I was busy with the Youth Olympics, then it was back to rushing assignments again. In any case, last week, within a week, I came across two cases which really depressed me.

The first was on a dog being bashed to death. Apparently, it was done by someone mentally unsound. He threw and hit the dog against the wall, and the dog died of internal bleeding. I am always full of anger whenever I hear of any form of animal abuse! What made it worse is that the unfortunate dog looks so much like my own dog! How can I then stand anyone killing a dog?

What made me angrier was that there were eye witnesses! There were actually people who went to see what the commotion was about, saw the guy killing the dog, and just stood there and stared without doing anything! If it was me, I would have rushed to save the dog, no matter what happened! What was the worst that could happen? I could get beaten up by the mad man, but I would not have died from injuries, because I am so much bigger size than that poor dog!

Have the people here become so robotic that if no one told them, they would not take the initiative to do something right? Is something cruel happening in front of them just a show to them?

Some time ago, I wrote about staring incidents, where people witnessed an accident and the poor guy was lying bleeding on the street, yet no one went forward to help, and all only stared and did nothing, as if staring could help the poor guy get back to life. By the time the ambulance came, it was too late to save him.

This case of the poor dog is the same - people just stared without doing anything. Or is it because they deem that a dog's life is not valuable? Who is to judge which living thing's life is more valuable or not? Personally I much prefer a dog. A man can let you down, but a dog will always be loyal.

When men cheated me and played me out, my dog was the one who comforted me when I was down, who stuck with me when he knew I was upset, who tried to be nice even when I was angry and lost my patience, who waited for me and bounded up whenever he heard me coming back home. Just looking at him perks me up.

I believe most, if not all, people who have ever owned or currently have a pet will feel the same way. So I can never imagine how anyone can ever have the heart to kill a dog, or just witness a dog being killed without doing anything about it! In my opinion, these people are all equally cruel and under the law, they can be considered accomplices to a murder!

Just two days later, there was news about a gunman holding a tourist bus hostage, and the ensuing riot caused about eight deaths. People I know are in an uproar over this matter. Alright, he was dismissed, he felt frustrated, he was in a fury, but did he think he was the only one who was in that position? How many people have been dismissed from their employment?

Even my company had cut headcount and quite a number of my former colleagues were asked to go, just like that. They did not do anything wrong. So in this case, would they then have to take the company hostage and threatened to kill the rest of us just to get their jobs back? In what way could this help their situations?

Reading articles like these really sadden me, that human beings are supposed to be the most intelligent of the animal species, yet some behave more cannibalistic than other animals around.

Should Our Mother Tongues Be Dropped?

In the latest news, there is now a debate going on about the new proposed revamp of the Chinese syllabus and examination structure. This is to help those who are not proficient in their mother tongue and to give them a choice whether to take the subject into account if they do well for all the other subjects.

This is good news for the English-speakers who struggle with their mother tongues. But what about those who are more proficient in Chinese? Would it not be unfair? Or would it be because the English-speakers are generally the more affluent and better-educated, and the Chinese-speakers are not, hence the focus is on the better-educated and not on the not-so-educated?

For your information, my parents are Chinese-educated. They were from Chinese schools, when the Chinese medium still existed here before all schools became standardised into the English medium. They did all their subjects in Chinese. They did Chinese Literature. They only did English as a second language.

But did my parents lose out? Definitely not. They still achieved enough grades to go to the university for English-school students, instead of entering the university for Chinese-school students. Did they struggle? Definitely. My mum told me of professors from England who speak English with a thick accent and she always had to try to follow what they were speaking of.

There were no lecture notes, no slides. The professor spoke and the students just had to take down notes. Photocopying was unheard of in those days as one sheet was very expensive. Textbooks were unaffordable. The only alternative was to camp in the library and take down notes from textbooks.

But did she fail? No. She went on the Dean's List every year and graduated with top honours, outshining even those from the English-medium schools. So who said one need to be proficient in a certain language to survive?

Okay, the context here is on the Chinese language. The thing is, this is not the only generation of students who struggled with the Chinese language. Ever since the seventies, more and more people are becoming more and more educated, thus speaking only English (the language of educated people) and stopped speaking Mandarin. Hence their younger generation grew up not that proficient in the Chinese language.

But we still survived. We struggled, we cursed and swore, we had funny way of pronouncing words, we used words in all the wrong context. But we still passed in the end. Even though our (as in me and some of my friends) proficiency of the Chinese language is still very shallow and superficial as compared to say my parents, still we did not do that bad a job out of it.

Now with modern technology and students getting smarter and more outspoken, are you telling me they cannot cope when we could?! I find this totally ridiculous. So if students then struggle with Mathematics, is anyone then going to take that out of the examination altogether? Or struggle with science, or even English, would these subjects then be taken out?

The irony is that more and more Westerners (Americans, British, et al) are dying to learn Chinese. Some even want to major in Chinese in university. Now the China market is booming, in order to carve a niche, one must be proficient in the language.

Here, we are given bilingual education since young, and people are saying they want to drop the Chinese language because they find it hard to cope? Which subject is not hard? I find all my subjects hard. I find examinations a torture. But we still gritted our teeth and went ahead. Or has society grown to such a state that people give up at a slight difficulty? What kind of message are we giving the kids? There are harder things to deal with when they grow up, if they give up over such a small thing, how are they going to achieve bigger things then?

I have a cousin who is also English-speaking. He could not speak Mandarin to save his life. His parents sent him to Australia to study before he even finished his secondary school. Yet when there was an opportunity for him to go to Shanghai to work, he took it. The last I conversed with him this Lunar New Year, he was rambling away in Mandarin. I would not say his Mandarin is that perfect, but it is much better than before, even with a bit of the China slang.

So who says one can never master a language? It only depends on how determined you are and how you choose your life. I only regret I did not take up a third or fourth language, otherwise I could at least make conversation in a few other languages instead of being almost mono-lingual.

There are so many people in the world who wants the opportunity to study Chinese. We really should count our blessings and not take the education we have for granted.