Week 8 Blog Prompt:

For this week, you may choose any current affairs topic that you feel strongly about and write a 200-word reflection on it. The topic you have chosen may be any article or issue that you have been reading about inNewsweek, Time, The Straits Times or any other platform. Do not limit yourself to the ideas covered in class. Your entry should reflect insights and thoughts to the theme/topic- no superficial glossing over of ideas please.

The topic for this post shall be about the Rebekah Brooks and Murdoch scandal.I felt shocked to the core of my very being when I read the article about the News of the world having hacked into the phone of a then murder victim.The hacker deleted the messages in the phone, hoping for more messages to come in. This caused the police to believe that she was still alive when she was not and the police continued on investigations which were a waste of the time of the police. Most people then thought it was just a small matter as hacking in the media then was rife but when the story mushroomed the whole population were on fire.The story had blown up to epic proportions as not only just the celebrities and the royalty's privacy was disturbed but also the family of murder victims and those who perished in the 911 incident.I feel that going to such lengths for juicy gossip for tabloids is unnecessary, well come on whats wrong with sitting down in a comfy armchair with a book instead.Do not think that we do not have any part in this case, it is us the readers who buy such tabloids, come on i do not see what is wrong with settling down in a nice comfy armchair and read a book instead. It is us who have caused a demand in the market for such gossip to be published for us to buy. Our demand has caused them to resort to such underhanded and treacherous means in or der to obtain such stories , breaching norms of journalism

Also concerning Rebekah Brooks I am disgusted with her denying that she knew about the hacking but not to such a large extent as i do not know of any editor that does not know about the origins of the very own stories that they are going to vet and decide its newsworthiness

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Week 6 Blog Prompt:

Read up on the Rupert Murdoch phone scandal. You can find some links (from TIME online) I posted up in Week 6, as well as read up on the Newsweek coverage of the news. In relation to the news coverage on the scandal, answer the question: "The news media should be blamed for the unhealthy paparazzi culture and going to the extremes for sensational news. How far do you agree?"

The news media should be blamed for using such unscrupulous and underhanded methods in acquiring sensational and sizzling scoops for the paper , phone hacking and hacking of emails is way too extreme. Ultimately i feel its not the news media fault entirely, we also have a part in this.What they are trying to do is just to earn a living and suiting to the demands of the readers so it is us the readers who demand for secrets of celebrities and such. They are just merely doing their job to meet this demand. If we do not demand for such news there would not be such a need for such news and them resorting to underhanded ways.So in order to stop this we must start from ourselves, to stop this kind of behavior we have to stop purchasing such papers to read and lower the demand so that there is no such need for such news.All in all we must start with a change of our very being.

Week 5 Blog Prompt:

By the end of the trial scene, do you think true justice and mercy was achieved? Reflect and write on the following questions:

1. Is there true justice? Why?

2. Is there true mercy, as expounded by Portia? Why?

3. Justice and Law can be manipulated by people in power. Comment on this with reference to the text and other real-life cases and examples.

I do not think that there was true justice as i fully empathized with Shylock's plight as he rightfully deserved his pound of flesh from Antonio. As i believe what one owes one must return but Portia came with a play of words on the agreement stating that there was no blood to be spilt and Shylock has to cut a pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood else he would have broken the christian laws. Portia as a christian already has a biased opinion on Shylock as he is a Jew.But Portia and the duke had already given him 3 chances to do otherwise taking triple the amount Antonio owed him instead but Shylock refused till the end so Portia was faced with no choice but to force him to convert to Christianity and lose all his land and riches as i believed she did not want to do this , to hurt Shylock this badly. Justice and Law could be manipulated by people in power. Like the case in Merchant of Venice we see how the Duke of Venice said few words when Portia was speaking. Portia was disguised as a learned, young lawyer from Padua which Dr Bellario sent to take over him. Portia was the one who has the power to make the final verdict with only the Duke there as a representative of the Venetian Law to help grant Shylock's life. She bends the words and laws to slowly build her verdict.As in the modern world context justice and law is executed by humans and human in most cases would rather do things out of benefit for themselves not others but here is still some who would uphold the law fervently. It would really depend as humans can be manipulated, overcome with greed, as executors of Law so can justice and law be manipulated.

Week 4 Blog Prompt:

You probably have already heard that a Secondary Four student recently wrote a letter to the Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat, which generated much heated debate again about Singapore's much-discussed education system.

Read the article here:

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/

What are your views? Read the article and give your responses to the following prompts:

1. To what extent do you agree with the issues that the student has raised here? Point out some issues of agreement and possible contention

2. Examine her tone and attitude in this letter. Do you think it’s a well-crafted letter with the appropriate tone?

3. If you should write a letter to Minister of Education, what are some issues you would raise? Remember- your intention is to make the system better for society’s betterment via CONSTRUCTIVE ideas.

Yes I totally agree with Janelle concerning the matter that students nowadays are getting too rowdy and they do not get the freedom to express their views on a certain issues. Although its education system is top class but the teachers restrain us from expressing our thoughts even in tests on speeches we do not have the right to choose the topic that we are doing we have only a limited range to choose from.Teachers merely mark exam scripts with only reference to the answer script even though the answer may deserve some marks they just put a big fat cross in our faces.In terms of the letter i think that the level of politeness is indeed of an acceptable degree as it is an informal letter.She had been polite at the same time straight to the point spending no time on babbling nonsense.If I were to write a letter i would raise some of the problems more commonly faced by students example due to the stress inflicted on the students by their parents and peer pressure to do well or else they would be shunned and ignored by their peers. I would stress that the school were to have some counselling for cases like stated above.

Week 3 Blog Prompt:

In your opinion, is money important in a relationship? Consider the 'transactional' element observed in the relationships between the couples. Do you think there is an upward trend of relationships and marriages valuing money over other qualities? Provide examples for your responses.

In my opinion money is important in a relationship to a certain extent as one would have to have the money to pay for the gifts , the dinners also.But the sum need not be too big rather just a small restaurant with nice food and a nice setting would do fine.What is essential and of importance is that element of love where one could not do without each other. As money may not really be necessary but it can really bring up the rate of intimacy to a whole new level. But I do think that there is an upward trend of relationships and marriages valuing money over other countries as most parents want their daughters to marry to a financially secure man so that they do not have to resort to sleep on thee streets someday and they can provide for themselves.Since we also need money for virtually everything we need food water and also a good family home.For example in our present day society we do see young girls marrying to rich tycoons twice their age some more than THAT!!The people now would most probably see them as marrying her husband'[s money, as in marrying him just for his money but we cannot be entirely sure that she does not love him.

Week 2 Blog Prompt:

In your opinion, how has war evolved from the past to present? Please use examples to justify your opinions.

War is where millions die fighting for a cause which they support, some do not even have a cause they are just the innocent bystanders swept away in the heat of the conflict.War has evolved not only in the weaponry, from sticks clubs to swords and cannons to modern day war machines tanks ships submarines and and such. But not only the above have evolved but also the matters that we are fighting for most probably in the past in would just be warring lords and dukes challenging each other for a piece of land or trying to take over the country .In present time we are fighting to avenge the deaths of others , of people in power such as the man who was assassinated and therefore started WW2. Imagine the deaths of masses all because of 1 man being assassinated. We humans are rash beings declaring war just because of ones loved one being killed for no reason.

This is exactly why we have elections in our present day society, to let the people choose for themselves who they want to follow , who to make their decisions for them, who to lead them ,who could put the country before him or herself when in comes to the matter of the death of his loved ones, whether can he move on and lead the country as before or is he just a weak character shattered with just one blow.

Week 1 Blog Prompt: (Post reflection on "The Soldier")

Young men in Singapore, including you, will have to do National Serivce. Why do you think National Service is compulsory in Singapore and why is it important? In the poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country, England. Do you find this same spirit of passion and patriotism Singaporeans have for our country? Why? Do you have this same spirit of patriotism for Singapore? Why?

Consider your loyalty to Hwa Chong. Are you proud to be a Hwa Chongian? How have you shown your loyalty and pride as a student of Hwa Chong?

Yes, We do have to do National Service and my friends we have to do National Service in Singapore as in the case in Malaysia. Since I am Malaysia born i would be serving mine in Malaysia but that would not be much of a distance except maybe that we have to only serve a period of 3 months and both male and female are randomly selected to go for service but I guess It will not make much of a difference then. Well I think that National Service is compulsory in Singapore as we have a first handed experience the woe of not being able to defend ourselves and having to depend on others instead during WW2.It is also important in the case of Singapore, being a multicultural country there is bound to be quarrels between races with National Service serving as a platform to help them come together and understand each other.The spirit of patriotism can be found in Singaporeans but not all as they may see no point in defending it with the peace that we are having.In my case I am not really sure that whether I can be patriotic as actions are louder than words but I hope I would be able to be patriotic whenever my home country is facing threats.

Yes definitely I am proud to be a Hwa Chongian as I have sacrificed much to be here in the Hwa Chong Family losing sleep just to go to school and extra study time .How have I shown my loyalty? It would boil down to the definition of loyalty as there are many forms of loyalty but I shall strive to be one as I am not sure whether I have fufilled it, but anyway being loyal to your school is not jst a one time one moment onee deed matter it is ever lasting,