The biggest lie I ever told and its consequesnces

‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am you captain for today’s flight from Sydney back to Singapore, this will be a long flight, the temperature for today is 15C. Thank you for flying with Singapore Airlines and I hope that you will have a pleasant flight.’

Jack, the co-pilot and I started the normal drill, checking the normal flight procedures and whether everything was functioning normally. I had a bad night yesterday, I was awake for most of the time, watching the World Cup final. I was having a slight headache but I was meant to fly back to Singapore today so I just hanged on, wishing that there will be no turbulence and I can have a safe and comfortable flight back home.

Just before we are to take off, my co-pilot noticed that I was not feeling well and he asked me whether I was feeling bad, the traffic control also felt that there was something wrong with me as I sounded sleepy and asked me if I wanted to have a switch with another pilot, a taboo for a pilot that is to take off for a long flight. I lied to them and said that I was fine and that I had a long sleep last night. Everything was ready to go, and we took off, without much difficulty the plane has risen to the normal cruising height and it was switched to auto-pilot and soon, I fell asleep.

It was not long before I was awoken by a mayday transmitted by my co-pilot to the air-traffic control. The plane had flown into an ash cloud formed by an erupting volcano and the plane was plummeting fast. There was nothing that we could have done to save the flight. The plane fell fast and it crashed, out of control.

My co-pilot died, along with half of the 245 passengers, I should not have flown that day, I should not have watched the football match, I could have watched a replay, now it is all too late, and I will be behind these bars till I die.

Stomp

As many of would have known, there was a recent case of a student from Hwa Chong who went on Stomp, a website to share his story about how his whole class’ belongings were gone after they went for a event and only knew that it was one of the teachers who took all of the things as the class did not lock up their doors when all of them left for an event. The post was open to the public and many had commented and shared their views. Many agreed with the boy that the teacher should not have taken the students’ things although she wanted to teach them a ‘lesson’ for not safe-keeping their belongings by locking their classroom door, however there was also many who felt that what the teacher did was indeed the right thing to do.

Now, I would like to share my feelings and thoughts about this incident with you. The teacher who decided to take all the students’ valuables as they did not lock their classroom door when no one was in the classroom, an open invitation to people who wanted to steal them, later returned the belongings of the students, giving them warnings and also asked them to write a letter of apology. I believe this move was necessary to teach the students a lesson for leaving their valuables unattended, at least the students got their items back in the end, instead of if it was a real theft case, they will never get their things back.

Students in Singapore nowadays are very much over-protected, they think that as Singapore has a low crime rate, it means that they can leave their valuables lying around as no one will steal it, especially those in premium schools, thinking that they are well protected and safe in school. This idea is very much present in the students from elitist schools, they feel that they are so clever that they can outsmart the thieves so their valuables will still be safe even if they leave it lying around.

I do not think that what the teacher did was wrong, it was the right thing to do, the students deserve some punishment, some warnings. If the students already leave their valuables lying around when they are in school, when they grow up and start working they may even leave some company files lying around, creating a threat to the company if someone took it. That is why the teacher wanted to give the students some warning, their guard were down, they are not aware of the threat outside of their comfort zone, out of school, home. I believe that students nowadays need to really go out to the society and see how cruel it is out there, instead of always staying in their comfort zones, they should really see the outside world clearly and it is then when they will truly appreciate what the teacher did.

Although they are from elite schools, they don’t even have the common sense to safe-guard their things, their valuables, and this is what is so bad about the elitist schools, they focus in teaching the students how to be a leader, how to become successful but they don’t teach them life skills, assuming that they can learn it at home but the thing is this is what we go to school for, is to learn to be a better person. So what if he becomes the president in the future, he can’t even safe guard his belongings, he can’ even look after his own ass so how is he going to govern a country when he can’t even look after himself?

When war comes..

Looking at the current situation, with numerous countries having enough nuclear warheads to destroy Earth many times round, it only depends on when the war is to come. Many think that if we can have peace now, why can’t it continue to last and stay so. To answer this, allow me to quote one of Mitch Albom’s book, which tells us that, ‘War never stops, it only pauses’. As many countries have spent billions on its army, it only depends on when these countries decides to stretch its muscles, it also only takes one foolish man to do something foolish to spark off a great war. And when that day truly comes, will we really be ready for it? This is just what I am going to talk about with you.

As I have read from many sources, it is foretold that the 3^rd World War will be between the East and the West, mainly between China and America. When that day comes, every single country will have to take its sides and every one of them will be pulled into the war. Every single country now, are trying to train its people, teaching them combatting skills, most important of all, how to survive. Many countries also have mercenaries fighting for them but will they still help you if they are pit against his own fellow countrymen? No matter how high a price you are paying, they will still return to their own country, so in the end it will still be your own people that will fight for your country.

Many countries now have national service for its people, to train its people, to make them ready and able to fight for the country when war comes. However, the battlefield is heartless, no matter how skilled you are, it just takes a stray bullet to kill you. Also, there is no ‘save’ button in real life, which means that it is totally different from you playing computer games, from what you did during national service. Many will think that, ‘then we just prevent a war, stop it from ever happening’, that thought is naïve, wars are bound to happen, it only depends on how long before it happens again, and that whether we are ready for it.

When war really comes, it does not just depend on which side is better equipped, it also depends on how well a side is prepared. Looking at our current education, we are taught Science, Mathematics, Language, History, Geography, Computer skills, art and many more. However, when war comes, are these subjects that we are taught, tested on really going to save our lives? Is it really going to be much of a use during extreme circumstances. One may argue that we are learning these in order to have a brighter future. What I can tell you is that we need real life saving skills, surviving skills to be learnt, instead of these subjects that are supposed to give us a brighter future, a better job, bigger houses, more expensive cars and better aircraft seats. All these will not save you. One may say that by being an educated person, will make you make educated decisions and by doing these will stop you from making decisions to go to war, however, it only takes one guy foolish enough to start a great war, it only takes one technical error that misunderstands something else as a flying missile to start a war so why not be better prepared than to be naïve, thinking that war will never happen ever again.

I do not believe that by learning all these subjects that we are learning now keep us alive. By knowing how many bones there is in our body will not keep us alive, by knowing that NaCl is sodium chloride will not keep you alive, by knowing that light travels in a straight line will also not save you, by being able to speak more than three languages will also not save you. One may say that if you know your enemy’s language, you can tell him to spare you. Stop being naïve! That will not save you, the battlefield is bloodless, it will not save you even if you are crippled, this world is cruel so we must be better prepared for things that are to happen, even if it does not happen now, doesn’t mean that it will not happen in the future.

So why be sorry only when things happen when we could have been better prepared, don’t blame the people who started the war for all the deaths, blame the dead for not being better prepared, they could have kept themselves alive, if they had been better prepared, why waste time on stuffs that will not keep yourself alive, we are born not just to study, to have a good job, have a big car and definitely not to suffer because we are ill-prepared. Why not start now, start getting prepared for what that is to come soon, in the near future, we have enjoyed peace for decades and it has been too long, it has lasted too long, not long after it will end and when that day comes, don’t die because you are not well prepared, die because you tried but failed.

Task 2

Rainbow Death America did not foresee Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri! Expecting others to pay a high price. Now thinking twice? Toll on the innocent and unborn. Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn. Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead. All the deceit continues to spread. Nefariously America led astray - Generations untold WILL pay - Execrable effects of agent orange spray! Hubert Wilson

Point of view: Hubert, was one of the men fighting in Vietnam during the war, the area he was in was also one of the areas with high use of Agent Orange which causes health problems to those who are exposed to it. Hubert who was a Vietnam war veteran, witnessed the death, suffering caused by the Agent Orange, he realised that America was so desperate into winning the war, they did not think twice and they just went on with the plan of using Agent Orange, as the writer wrote, 'Now thinking twice'. Situation and Setting: America could not win the Viet Cong fighting against them, due to their guerrilla warfare. As the America had no more ways that they can think of to best counter the Viet Cong, they decided to use the Agent Orange although it doesn't seem to be the best way. When the Agent Orange was use, the problem came. Everybody who came into contact with it was affected by it. The American's plan backfired, as it not only brought pain and agony to the Viet Cong, it also brought pain to the soldiers who came into contact with it and also innocent civilians, as can be seen when the writer said, 'Toll on the innocent and unborn'. It also affected generations and generations after, as can be seen, 'Generations untold WILL pay'. Language/Diction: potpourri- a mixture of dried petals of roses. In this poem, it is referring to the different combination of colours of the Agents. omnipotent-almighty or infinite in power, as God deceit-the act or practice of deceiving nefariously-extremely wicked or villainous execrable-utterly detestable Personal Response: After reading this poem, I feel that wars are meant to kill and bring suffering to people involved in it. There is nothing called a end of war, there will only be pauses but wars will never truly stop, one war may have ended but there will always be another, and that even when one war has stopped, ended, people involved in it will still suffer, no matter it is the soldier or the civilians. Generations of the civilians will suffer, as the Agent Orange case, generations after the war, the civilians are still suffering, through the effects on people who came into contact with Agent Orange, as the writer said, 'birth defects and prematurely dead'. The writer is witnessed the horrors of war, the after effects of it and he hopes to tell us by writing this poem, to tell us that war is cruel, and people involved in it will also turn evil, no matter how he was before the war, as they only want to win, not thinking about the consequences.

Task 1

The author

The author of the poem, Rainbow Death, Hubert Wilson, was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Hubert along with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates, prepared for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.
His health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. No VA physician has ever rendered any medical assistance. During that time, the author’s number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since his brain still functions moderately well (and he had mobility issues), the author turned to writing just like his late Father and the late singer (and writer) Johnny Cash.

The Poem

The poem speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering – not only to its intended victims, the Vietnamese people, but also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with “Agent Orange”.

Wikipedia reports, “Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War.

According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.”

This poem may remind us that wars aren’t over when the wars are over. Hubert wrote this poem to tell us that, although the war is already over, and that America has so called 'win', suffering is still going on, and it is still going to last for many more generations, that with conflict, war, comes great suffering and sacrifices. Hubert hopes to tell us that no matter which side wins in a war, both will suffer, and that it will last for a long time.

References:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow

http://www.poemhunter.com/hubert-wilson/

Education

Have you ever wondered, why is it that we are all still stuck here on this planet Earth?

That there have not been any major new inventions nowadays?

Well for this two simple question, we have also a simple answer, all that is to be blamed is ourselves, the sense of envy which is deeply rooted into every one of us, the education system now, is also another cause to it.

You may be wondering, why is it that it is the education system that is the cause to no major new inventions, only modifications. The education system now, is always teaching us on past knowledge, what the ancients knew and what our forefathers invented. It is always showing us what our forefathers have achieved, the knowledge they have acquired. However, this kind of education is limiting our imaginations, our thinking. It is putting all of us into one small room of a big mansion, stretching over miles and miles. It is limiting us, only allowing us space to explore one small piece of the whole puzzle, keeping the rest away from us.

All of this may not come to sense to you, but there is only one main idea here, that everything that we have here, is limiting us, only allowing us enough space to breath, but not to stretch ourselves until our limits.

Envy lies in every one, and it is only how far to an extent one can control it. Some who can control it, lives in happiness despite living in poverty, some who can’t, will always be on their feet, always planning to strip others of their possession and make it their own and this is the exact situation, going on in our very own society.

As I have said earlier, our education system now, always shows us and tells us what our forefathers have achieved, or rather telling us about great inventers, those who invented things that we can’t live without, and many of those who came out of this education system, no longer hold what the ancients possess, they no longer have the ability to think freely, as their brains are now affected by what they learned, on what others created and many of this education no longer hold the ability to invent but rather they could only improve on what the ancients or our forefathers have created.

It is not that I am saying that this education system now is bad, it is not bad, it have nurtured great thinkers, who are skilled in improving, spotting mistakes and making inventions of our forefathers, better, but it no longer nurtures great inventors, free minds, who think freely, who have the ability to think out of the box, not restricted by the invisible box, created by the now education system.

What I am trying to say here, is that the education system now, is only nurturing thinking minds, minds that study the past inventions and tries to improve it, making it even better. The education system now is somehow teaching the young that what we have now is what we can have, that we will not get more, only better. Look at the cars, we keep on getting newer designs, newer engines, which are modified, improved, but we are not getting new ideas, new inventions.

Look at the past, there wasn’t much education but there were a lot of inventions, the people then had free minds, they pursued their dreams, and made their imagination into reality. I am not saying that the people now don’t have dreams, imaginations, but I am saying that the people now no longer have the ability to think out of the box. Maybe it is those that have great dreams, imaginations, their dreams were rejected by the researchers, saying that it is just not workable, that it is just not possible because science doesn’t say so.

Ah, and this is just what the education system now nurtures. It nurtures people that goes strictly according to the book, people that only believe in things recorded down in the books, and treating everything that is not in there as blasphemy, that it is not acceptable and not true. However, don’t you realize that everything that is in the books we are reading now, was once only merely thoughts, imaginations, dreams of our ancestors, forefathers.

This fact is always forcefully rejected, or somehow ignored by the scholars, that everything the ancients recorded down is true. However, they are ignoring the truth that once people thought that the Sun was rotating around Earth, until someone stood up and say that it was actually the Earth that is rotating around the Sun. The people then objected and rejected this fact, but slowly accepted this truth when everything was clear. However, this will not happen in our times, as it is very clear that the education system now is somehow insisting that every tiny bit of information we are learning now is undeniably correct and there is no space for us to question it.

Look at the greatest inventor, Sir Tom Edison, he was thought to be an idiot during his school days, he spent most of his time out of the classrooms, and therefore he did not receive much education but look at him, he invented so many great things when his teacher thought that he was a complete idiot, so how can the education be possibly right, usable when people that are supposed to be idiots, compared to the standards set up by the education system, was one of the greatest inventor of all times?

This tells us that what this education system nurtures, is thinking minds, minds that tends to improve things, makes betterment, but not minds that holds the ability to think out of the box, minds that have no thinking boundaries, minds that can think freely and are not restricted by the invisible boundary set up by the education system. However, this creates a social balance, or somehow generation balance, the past had been times of somehow unlimited new initiatives, inventions and after such long time of inventions, now is the time for betterment, time for people to improve on past inventions, a time to improve on things that were invented in the past, and some time in the future should once again be a time of inventions and when that time comes, this education system should be able to change, to adapt, or it would be overwhelmed by minds that do not, and will not accept and go through this education system and the world will collapse, it will die of brilliant minds, as I believe those minds will find a way to escape this prison, this invisible box that is limiting us, to somewhere far away, where they can think freely, and be accepted, maybe they would be taken away, or follow some still unknown being to us, to a much more free space, where minds can still think freely.

And when that day comes, all will mourn on the loss, but to only know that all of this is already too late...

Tests

They are meant to test your intelligence, your knowledge on certain things but realistically, it does not come out it is supposed to be. Do you know what I am talking about? If you know the answers to this question, ‘congratulations, you are not a mugger or you are a mugger who knows what the non-muggers face. If you do not know the answer, I have only one word for you, that you have no life and continue mugging, for you do not have a future.
I am not trying to insult or scold the muggers but I am just trying to express what is deep down in my heart. The answer to the question is ‘tests’. Why do I say that they are not testing and knowing our intelligence and knowledge on certain things? This is because in tests nowadays, you could easily score a distinction but do you really know what it was talking about and what it really meant?
In tests nowadays, all the answers to the questions could be found in their notes, in the textbook so how could it really be to test our intelligence and knowledge when it is very obvious that everyone could pass with distinction if they study and memorize everything given? Also, you just need to analyze and predict what the teacher is going to give in the test and memorize all the examples given by her or go to the internet to find an answer. It is very ironic to say that it is to test our intelligence and knowledge when it is very obvious that it is testing our mugging skills? Why not call it the arts and acts of mugging or reading your teacher’s mind?
Also, the tests also test your skills of not making mistakes. For example, when you are doing science you wrote the correct chemical name, you remembered the chemical number but forgot to take the 2s away when there was ‘2’ on both sides and you got 0 marks. Doesn’t this show that the teacher doesn’t care about whether you know what the chemical is and that you only made a careless mistake, at least I remembered the chemical symbol and power right? This further showed that the teacher nowadays only care about your answer and that they only cared about your answer, they want you to give an answer that they want and there you go, you got the marks, even if you are to forget all the things after it.
Also, the tests also tests whether you have enough time to study and that what CCA you are in. If you joined a CCA that only requires you to go one day and you have no extra lessons, then you can stay at home mugging but for many, their CCAs require full commitment, they must attend their CCA and when they go home at night, they had already lost off to those who had already started mugging at home as they had nothing to do at school. Having extra lessons also makes you have less time to study and have more subjects to study for but for many, it is worth it to go through the trouble as they get to learn new things.
From all that I have said, we can draw a conclusion, a conclusion that tells you that even if you have good exam grades, it does not mean that you truly understand it., having good exam grades does not mean that you will have a bright future waiting for you, that good exam grades will bring you jobs, bring you food because in the community now, it is not what you can knows that matters, it is what you truly understand, what you can achieve and how you present yourself that matters. If the current system of study is not changed, I believe that in the near future, it will no longer be the academics that matter, and that the exam slips will become trash, something that is totally useless.