Bird flu 'two steps' away from pandemic

The Sunday Times, Feb 12th 2006

I am utterly horror-stricken to know that the bird flu virus is only two mutations away from a form that can spread easily among humans, sparking a pandemic which could lead to the death of millions!!! I am frightened to know that in the near future i would one day wake up to a world where that dreadful form of bird flu virus has already mutated. Each day i would live in fear of catching that virus and would have to constantly watch what i eat and do, to ensure i am not in anyway making myself vulnerable to the virus. I dread that there will be a day where all the birds had to be culled and there would be none left in the entire world, also the thought of never ever being able to eat chicken again scares me as it has always been a common dish in my diet. I have never felt so scared and panicky before in my life since the SARS incident. Looking back more than 10 years ago, i can hardly remember there ever being a serious case of a likely pandemic then. However, 10 years later down the road, things seem to have worsen. In the previous years there have been many serious outbreaks of new illnesses like SARS, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease and now this current bird flu. So many new kinds of viruses that were unheard of just 10 years ago are now common to most of us now. It is really scary to know how fast these virus mutate and evolve into such deadly threats to us humans. It makes me wonder whether we humans are still safe living in this world, where there are many forms of viruses and diseases that threaten our survival.

96% of Singaporeans back the death penalty

The Sunday Times, Feb 12 2006

A survey done recently shows that majority of Singaporeans support the death penalty for heinous crimes. Personally, i feel that the death penalty is a suitable form of punishment for criminals who are so ruthless and evil and have commited unforgivable acts such as murder. These criminals have no compassion at all and are those who will never turn over a new leaf, such criminals deserve the death penalty. As for drug trafficking, i feel that the death penalty is a suitable punishment as it greatly deters crimes associated with drugs. With such a heavy penalty, one would really think twice before thinking of committing a drug related crime, and this helps in keeping Singapore drug free. However, i believe that some young teens who are caught drug trafficking are not really sure of what they are doing, some are either forced by gangsters to carry out their drug trades while others blindly engage in such activities, not knowing the seriousness of the crime. For such people, i think that the death penalty is too harsh on them, some of these teens are just being made use of to trade drugs and most of them do not really know that they were dealing with drugs. A lighter sentence on these people would seem more appropriate. For me, i think that for carrying out terrorist attacks, the criminal deserves the punishment of a death penalty as a terrorist attack is really serious. A terrorist attack affects not only one but many people and even many countries. It totally disrupts the lives of both people and country, and instils much fear among the people. Many deaths and unpleasant incidents have occured due to terrorist attacks, and it is one of the main threats that the world is trying to completely get rid of. Although the death penalty seems like the only working solution right now to detering others from committing the same crimes, i think that a life sentence is a more humane way of punishment. Being sentenced to life imprisonment is also a harsh form of punishment. The criminals are locked up for the rest of their lives with no hope of getting out, their freedom is gone and they are like living a meaningless life, just waiting for death to come. Though the death penalty is inhumane and harsh, i do belive that the cruelest and most ruthless of criminals derserve the death penalty as they are too dangerous to let live. To use the death penalty as a means to deter crime is acceptable to me, but in all honesty, i believe that only the worst of the worst kind of criminals derserve the death penalty.

New move to cut use of plastic bags

The Sunday Times, Feb 12 2006

I think that the National Environment Agency's(NEA) move to cut the use of plastic bags is a good one and i support it. By cutting the use of plastic bags, the NEA helps to save resources for Singapore and also the problem of space shortage when plastic bags are dumped in landfills. Currently Singapore's average of 1.7 bags per person a day is better than some countries but not up to par with those in America and Australia. The NEA hopes to reduce the use of excesive plastic bags, as carelessly disposed plastic bags can end up as litter and collect water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. To encourage the use of reusable bags in supermarkets and some stores, the NEA works with some supermarket chains and offer incentives to customers who use reusable bags. I feel that the incentives are very appealing and it is an effective way to get people to start using reusable bags and less of plastic bags. I believe that this idea will indeed work for a short period of time. However in the long run, i think that the people will eventually get bored of the incentives and would not bother to use reusable bags and revert back to using plastic bags. This can be seen from previous years as there have been stores that encouraged the use of reusable bags but the response was not that great. But with more campaigns and emphasis on the use of reusable bags, i believe that Singapore will one day be able to reduce the number of plastic bags used. All it takes is just time for the people to get used to the idea on using reusable bags.

Nearly 100 detainess died in US custody

TODAY, Thursday Feb 23 2006

I cannot believe the large number of deaths there are of detainees in US custody. Most of the detainees who died were held custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were reports that among the 98 deaths, some were deemed suspcious and some were believe to be tortured to death. This makes me belive that these detainees were specifically targeted upon and intentionally abused. I am horrified to know that there are also videos potraying the inmates being subjected to torture such as being attacked by guard dogs, and the army officers in charge of the inmates are actually enjoying watching the inmates being abused. I feel so ashamed of these US army officers who abuse their authority and seek fun in the abuse of their charges. The inmates are humans themselves and they deserve a certain amount of respect too. The US army officers have no right to judge the inmates and look down on them, as they too must have done some kind of wrong in their lives too. If they are really guilty of causing such pain and humiliation to the inmates, i hope that the US officers would be arrested and charged for their crime of abuse, and that they will receive the just punishment that they deserve.

Toddler dies after falling nine floors

The Straits Times, Sat Feb11 2006

Amin Mohamad Jamaluddin, a two year old boy, was jumping on his parents bed when he bounced out the window. The boy survived the fall but died a few hours later in a hospital.

I am really sad to hear of the tradegy that befell Amin, and i feel really sorry for his parents who must be really heartbroken. The death of Amin must really have been a blow to his parents as just a minute ago he was happily jumping on the bed, and the next he was flying out the window. I think that Amin's father must really be feeling terrible as he had lunged forward to grab Amin but just could not reach him in time. Amin's mother said that the latch of the window was broken and she had tried to get the owner to repair it many times but he refused, and now it has led to such a misfortune.
Reading this article, i wonder if this accident could have been prevented. If the window had been installed with metal grilles, little Amin might still be alive today. The presence of metal grilles in windows is actually quite important and useful as it not only makes it safer for the children who live in high storey apartments, but also it prevents robbers from sneaking in and robbing the house.
Therefore i believe that all apartments units, especially those located at higher levels, should install metal grilles on their windows to prevent any child playing near a window from accidentally falling out. In addition, it would be much safer for maids to clean the windows of such high storey apartments with the grilles installed, as in the past years there have been quite a few cases of maids falling out the windows while trying to clean them.

Pups turned into heroin couriers

The Straits Times, Friday, Feb 3 2006

I am quite disturbed to learn that there are actually people who are cruel enough to resort to such inhumane ways just to smuggle drugs. These drug smugglers went to the extent of surgically implanting packets of liquid heroin into the bellies of 10 puppies, the packets of heroin were estimated to be worth US$200,000. I am in disbelief at the things people are willing to do to get drugs smuggled into a country. The poor victims of this drug smuggling case were rescued during a raid, and out of the 10 puppies rescued, 3 died from infection, and that is really very sad and disheartening to hear. These puppies had just come into this world a few months ago and they had barely even enjoyed and experience life yet when they became involved in this drug smuggling case which ruined their lives. The few that were rescued and survived are truely the lucky ones as they now have a chance at a new lease of life. Some are even adpoted by the police and trained as police dogs!
Nowadays, drugs is becoming a bigger issue in our lives. Now not only does it affect and ruin human lives, it has now reached a point where even the lives of animals are not spared, an example is the puppies used in this drug smuggling case. Drugs is really a terrible thing as it also affects the lives of the family of the drug addict, and so far uncountable lives have be loss because of it. Therefore i support my country's, Singapore, decision for giving out such a heavy penalty to serious drug smuggling offenders: the death penalty. I believe with such a harsh punishment many people would think twice before wanting to smuggle drugs into Singapore.
I really wonder whether the problem of drug smuggling will ever be taken care of one day, and whether isit possible and not just wishful thinking on my part, that in the future there will be a world free from drugs, and i do hope i will live to see that day.

More parents hiring PIs to spy on teens

The Straits Times-Home, Feb6 2006 Mon

This year, the number of parents hiring PIs to spy on their children has increased by a significant number. I am quite surprised to learn that there are so many parents out there who are suspicious of the company their children hang out with and the things they do, that they even have to resort to spying on them. I am quite shock to learn of some of the things that PIs find out about teens, some of them are actually prostituting themselves in order to earn extra pocket money for their spending. It really saddens me knowing that there are such people who do not treasure their bodies and are willing to sell it just to satisfy their material wants, i really look down on such people as they do have a choice in doing what they do.
Personally i think that parents hiring PIs has it advantages and disadvantages. In this present, modern day and time, privacy is the most important thing to a teenager, and i do believe that teens deserve to have their own personal space and we should respect that.Therefore if the teen finds out that his parents have been spying on him, it will break the trust the teen had in his parents and strain the relationship between them. However hiring PIs has its advantages too. By hiring PIs, parents will be able to monitor their child's movement outside the house and see what he is up too. If the child is mixing with bad company, the parents will be able to interfere quickly and try to bring their child back on the right path before he is influenced by them.
This article on parents hiring PIs to spy on teens greatly highlights the issue of communication problems between parents and children. Nowadays more and more teens do not confide in their parents and keep matters to themselves, leaving the worried parents clueless about their childrens' lifestyles, thus they resort to spying to find out more about their children.
I believe that communication problems between parents and children is a serious issue and that we should all try to address this problem. By doing so, parents will be able to interact better with teens and also understand them better, and need not resort to hiring PIs to spy on them anymore. This way both parties will be happy as i believe that parents themselves do not wish to have to spy on their own children, while the children will enjoy their new found privacy.

SPCA: We're not just a home for unwanted pets

The Straits Times-Home, Sat Feb 4 2006

Nowadays, more and more people seem to think that owning a pet is a thing not to be taken seriously, and often, after the novelty of owning a pet wears off, the pet is usually 'dumped' in the SPCA, which is also known as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I feel really angry that there are people who are so irresponsible out there, who think that they can just get a pet as and when they feel like it and give it away when it has outgrown its cuteness or they are no longer interested in the pet. A pet is also a living creature, one that has feelings of its own and can think for itself. I believe that even pets deserve a little of our respect, and we should learn to look at it as a friend and not just a mere plaything that we can abandon when we grow tired of it.
After reading this article, i am apalled at how many people take the SPCA for granted, leaving all their unwanted pets behind for the SPCA to handle. The SPCA does not have the budget to care for all these animals and those that are unable to be relocated to new homes are often put to sleep as a final solution. I find this really disheartening as i know that if the owner had been more resposible, the animal would probably still be alive. Majority of the people think that all the SPCA does is to take in stray animals and nothing else, however that is not true. The SPCA actually specialises in 4 main services: education, adpotion, sterilisation and cruelty investigation. Therefore i support the SPCA's move on creating awarness among the public of its services, and also to spread its animal welfare message by giving talks in schools and allowing group visits to the SPCA centre by schools and other organisation. By educating the public, i believe that there will be less pets abandoned and hence less strays on the road, which will result in many animals' lives being spared from being ruined by irresponsible owners.
I am glad and relieved to see that the efforts of the SPCA in promoting awarness among the public has paid off, as the number of abandoned and stray animals has decreased in the past two years. But sadly, the figure of stray and abandoned animals received by the SPCA still remains high.
Someday in the near future, i sincerely hope that the figure of stray and abandoned animals will reach an all time low, and eventually reach a point where the world will be free from strays. This way, the world would be a much better place to live in as we would not have to worry about stray animals that may carry rabbies or other diseases, and we all will be happy to know that each and every pet in the world now has a safe and loving home that they can seek refuge in, and not wandering out on the streets, all alone and without hope.