Week 4

Running out of time ......



US commander's advice to Obama: Boost the effort in Afghanistanor pull out of it



The article is by by Simon Tisdall on Sep 23, 2009

In all, decisions made in the White House communicates pretty much through a Linear Model to the US citizens and the whole world.

General Stanley McChrystal had made a breakthrough by "speaking truth to power", making the communication between the White House and the US military in Afghanistan somewhat an interactive one.

We know that problem will arise when people communicate to us differently. General McChrystal did not delibrately make his speech tactful. It was direct to the point. In this case, the world media is highly focused on the type of move President Obama will make.

President Obama is still in his early terms of presidency and the weight of the world lies on his shoulders. He may be eager to prove himself, but war is always a delicate issue to tackle. By sending more troops to Afghan, many more lives would be sacrificed. It would also contradict his promises to the Americans.

However, if the number of troops are not increased, boys sent to fight in Afghan will continue to be sent home in body bags.

Faced with such dilemma, what can Obama do to balance the scale?

While the war drags on, it takes a toll on US's resources. Afghan no doubt will suffer their own heavy share of war casualities, many of them innocent civilians. Does it weigh heavy on Obama, the countless souls that will be lost if the war drags on? Even though he was not the one who declared war.

Week 3

Yen Ling and family walking around a certain supermarket a few days after MJ's demise...

Background Music: Beat It by Michael Jackson

Okay, they are playing the songs in memory of MJ, that is very nice!

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I am not a fan of MJ. However, I still feel that MJ was one of the greatest man in the music industry in our time. He had communicated to us through his music, his ideals for the world. It may seem too unrealistic to many, but we all had a part in shaping the world into how it is like today. His lyrics comes attached with meanings, reflecting his own thoughts, giving us a glimpse into the mind of the King of Pop.

Perhaps the previous generation was more affected by MJ. By using the power of language, MJ was able to write songs which are extremely meaningful and catchy.

Perhaps he was tired of living his life as the King of Pop, didnt wish for recognition everywhere he goes. The final concert was meant as to bid farewell to his fans. But it became too 'commercialised' when there are people who tried to make this farewell event into a major money-spinner.

This Is It concert would have been the best concert in 2009, but it was not meant to be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks later at the same supermarkert...

Background Music: Black or White by Michael Jackson

Hopefully with the final release of THIS IS IT, this will really be it. The King of Pop should be allowed his peace.

week 2

It is relatively common to be see on our local channels advertisments for skin whitening products. But what really caught my attention is that the advertisment is actually targeted towards people whom genetically have dark skin.

The advertiser has perceived that their target audiences are actually keen to join the current fad of using skin whitening products. But in truth, this perception may have its grounds based on actual case studies. Many marriages in these areas are still arranged by parents and matchmakers thus physical appearance is really important so that one can 'market' themself to their potential future spouse. Having fair skin, surprisingly, is a common requirement on many of these marriage-seekers lists! It appeals to logos more than anything else if we were to analyse this up and coming trend from this angle.

However, this is a topic for debate. While one might want to be cool and keep up with the trends, using whitening products to lighten your genetically dark skin may not be acceptable to all in you culture! Westerners have their own ideals, so does the Indians. The subtle, or perhaps not so very subtle differences between people of different cultures and races are what sets us apart. Outrage are mainly due to the part of the population which intepreted this fad as Westernization and racism.

Why can't they be dark skinned and beautiful?