This is a response to the article:
http://news.sg.msn.com/topstories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=313935

Reports have surfaced of a Thai passenger jet which crashed on the resort island of Phuket not too long ago, killing 88 people in Thailand's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Though the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, the plane's two flight recorders have been found, and results are expected in a week or so.

Orient Thai, the parent company of the budget carrier, will definitely be reeling from the disaster. The reputation of their company hangs directly on the outcome of the analysis; for now all Orient Thai can do is wait. If they are found to be at fault, government imposed fines and a huge amount of bad press will head their way. Be it poor workmanship or inferior materials, they would have a lot of explaining to do. Orient Thai will be taken to task by the government, for ruining the reputations of not just their airline, but many other Thai airlines as well. Thailand's economy, already stagnant since the military Coup D'etat, would suffer yet another crippling blow.

In fact, the entire budget carrier industry will be implicated, not just those based in Thailand. Budget airlines, still a relatively new industry, lack the confidence and trust of consumers. People still prefer to stick with tried and tested, established airlines with long but accident-free histories. It tends to be the less affluent or those with reduced circumstances who do not seem to mind the risk which budget airlines are so commonly associated with.

All these are, sadly, still no consolation to the grieving families. Though Thai Airways is "sending a family assistance team to Phuket to help deal with relatives," a customary course of action, matters can still get messy, with disagreements over the amount of compensation leading to lawsuits filed against both parties.

It would certainly be best if the crash never happened, but the thing is it has, and many innocent people have died. Orient Thai has to find out exactly what happened and clean up its act. Other budget airlines have to do the same: learn from this aviation disaster, and make the necessary changes. The budget airline industry is still a burgeoning one, and unless such tragedies are averted in the future, it will not take flight.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

This is a response to the article:
http://news.sg.msn.com/topstories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=287585


The United States people want their sons back. Four years into the war and there is still no end in sight. Baby-steps taken towards a democratic government are marred by corrupt and inefficient members who comprise the "transitional government" which does not have the support of its people, and wields no real power. More casualties sustained on both sides.

Unsurprisingly, "most public opinion polls [show] the US public two-to-one opposed to [Bush's] strategy." The people are tired of sending troops to the dangerous foreign land that is Iraq. Each day means more danger for their sons, more gunfire and fighting.

Bush desperately needs a plan which works. Having promised the American people to "pull some 21,500 combat troops from Iraq by mid-2008," he cannot afford futher set-backs in the Iraq War. Democrats, though pacified for the moment, would not accept delays beyond the timeframe as accorded by Bush.

Still, the practicality of such a promise is questionable. Will this deadline be kept? A withdrawal of US troops is certain; they cannot run Iraq for the Iraqis. What holds us in thrall is the matter of time. One in four American soldiers think an immediate and complete withdrawal is needed, which is out of the question. Withdrawing now would tantamount to waving a white flag: the insurgents have won. The US is unable to sustain the frontline of its global war on terror. Encouraged by the insurgent victory in Iraq, the domino theory of the Cold War will be in action.

Many parties fail to see the long-term prospects of this "quick fix" to the War. The credibility of the US as a global power, or indeed as "the world police" would take a severe blow. Which comes at an especially bad time, with China poised to assume position of "world power" at any time.

This course of action only strengthens America's perceived unreliability, something already grounded by the embarrassment of the Vietnam War.

To go one step further, many people fail to see that a withdrawal of troops before Iraq bears the remotest semblance to a democratic state capable of fending itself, translates into the considerable war efforts up to now all amounting to nothing. The US cannot risk an unsteady Iraq on shaky foundations; this war has to successfully transform Iraq for the better, not leave it war-torn and more devastated than when under Saddam.

Sloppy post-invasion work has led to unneccessary casualties and postponement of a withdrawal date. Bush did not give details of this new plan to finally free Iraq and themselves of the burden, but if Bush thinks more soldiers and money is the key, he has evidently failed to learn from the past.

A long, bitter road lies ahead, its length and turns in the hands of one man. But he needs his countrymen's support, needs them to put aside preconceived biases against their leader and consider the impact of the war on the world. He needs the United States of America to stand united.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

I do not find museums all that interesting.

Yes, the merit and value of ancient artifacts are considerable to the curious mind, but what of minds less inquisitive of the past, like mine?

Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy learning journeys to places like the Ancient Civilizations museum. But what I find caught my eye was a particular article in Today:

“In a bid to reach "couch potatoes" and get more people to visit museums,
Singaporeans and people abroad can access some 6,000 images with Singapore's
first online collection of national artifacts and artworks at http://www.sgcool.sg/.”

Evidently, the National Heritage Board is trying hard to, “-to let people know that museums are not sleepy, dusty and old-fashioned."

In this age of technology, the museums themselves are gradually becoming the very things they house: relics of the past. As reliance on the Internet for information grows, the rather conspicuous truth is that museums will and are dying out.

But they will not go gentle into that good night. Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, recently urged the NHB to, instead "leverage on the power of the Internet to reach out to even more people".


Hence the initiative allowing visitors to, “-after getting a taste of the artifacts online… visit the museums and experience the real thing,” paving the way for more convenient access to the museum’s library of knowledge while generating awareness at the same time.

Yet, I do not share sentiments of any one having his interest aroused through browsing these pictures, which, to exacerbate matters, are “of a low resolution to avoid copyright issues.”

Only enthusiasts would likely be surfing on the waves of information pictorial. He who is planning to visiting the museum but wants more information would find his time well spent here. The average person, however, middle-age or teen, would simply not bother. He would be drowned in a most boring fashion by this online flood of knowledge, which effectively puts out any sparks of interest he might harbour.

Appealing to those who do not frequent museums would be a better course of action. To stimulate the teenager’s curiousity, perhaps revolutionizing the museum as a hip, cool place would be effective. Personally, this is a rather novel notion. I wouldn’t mind paying a visit.

The same goes for the average adult much too busy for a museum visit. Launch specific programs and exhibits which pertain especially to them.

But all these are easier said than done. My point is that currently they are appealing to the wrong audience.

I do not frequent museums. It is not somewhere I deem “fun”. Educational, yes, but not in an enjoyable sense. Like school. Like an online collection of pictures of ancient manuscripts or precious vases.

I applaud their bid to reach a wider audience, but they will have to adopt more effective practices. The National Heritage Board will likely find that the online collection leaves visitors bored, and that only aficionados need apply.

Link to the article:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=38862421&postID=6527520203491978288

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I read with considerable interest an article recently featured on the front page of the “Home” section of The Straits Times. “Drink Driving,” the heading read simply.

Apparently, The Straits Times “-joined the police at two road blocks–”, one in Tampines the other at Outram Road. The latter checkpoint was just outside the Health Sciences Authority, which also happens to be where the bodies of road accident victimss are taken. It was not mentioned if the latter location was deliberately chosen for any particular reason whatsoever.

Now, what stirs me, is not merely the fact that these people are breaking the law. Granted, that is something worth griping over, but what stirred me to blog was this paragraph:

“The Straits Times observed during the road blocks that the drink drivers’ primary worry appeared to be that they would get caught - and concerns about posing a danger to other road users were far from their minds.”

I find it disgusting that these drivers can stoop to such a low level. It’s unbelievable that there exist people who possess such apathy for other people. Do they not know that drink driving is not just about them?

I understand that being fined or jailed is definitely not a nice ordeal. I also understand that breaking the law holds severe repercussions and affects your future greatly. But I also understand that these preventive measures serve as a deterrent to potential law-breakers. In this context, they are there to avert drivers from drinking. They are there to remind drivers: drink driving shatters lives.

But back to reality. We still see drivers failing breath-analyzer tests. We still see people swapping seats in a bid to evade punishment. We still see lives, innocent lives, lost in road accidents.

More often than not, drivers are indignant about having to pull over. I quote from the paper:

“-one driver asked to stop and wind down the window, did so with the utmost reluctance. He refused to make eye contact with a police officer who asked him questions-“

Why do they do it? Alcohol impairs one’s judgment. The driver assumes a false sense of confidence about his driving ability, hence “-making it harder to persuade him not to get behind the wheel.”

Yet, I still feel a twinge in my chest. I cannot help but wonder if things could be different, had the same driver who staggered precariously into his vehicle understood better the life-changing effects caused by one, just one more drink, please. Perhaps if the authorities had emphasized more that drink driving kills, not just you.

"So why do people do it, knowing that it ruins lives?
But now the pain is cutting me like a hundred stabbing knives.
Someone should have taught him that it’s wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his mom and dad had, I’d still be alive."

-Somebody Should Have Taught Him, retold by Jane Watkins

Drink driving shatters lives. I feel sorry in particular, for the innocent ones.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Perhaps you might pass off an article on the closing of certain Community Children Libraries (CCL) as trivial news which does not matter.

But read on, I urge you, read on.

I am referring to the recent news regarding some parents in Bukit Timah whose efforts to keep one such library in Toh Yi Drive open, have paid off, if only momentarily. I quote from The Straits Times:

"After putting together two petitions and writing to the press last week, they
won a promise from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Yu-Foo Yee Shoon that it will stay open - but only until March next year."

This course of action is, I persnally feel, of a particularly bittersweet nature. Oh, we understand the importance of such libraries, hence we shall delay their closure by another year.

How very ambiguous and unsatisfying.

Apparently, the reason behind these libraries' imminent closure is, I quote again:

"-a declining number of visitors and book loans in the last six years."

Basically, these libraries are losing out to the newer, bigger regional libraries. The general trend lately has been to construct modern, multi-story libraries with wireless capabilities, enlarged capacities, all that jazz. It is of no surprise that these multi-plexes we call "libraries" appear more attractive to the general public.

Yet, the issue here lies not in making the CCLs as popular as the colossal regional libraries. It does not rest on the fact that these CCLs are becoming lonelier places. The crux of the issue lies not in the phasing out of these CCLs.

Rather, the matter with closing these libraries is that of the children who actually visit them.

Let us explore this in further detail.

The mammoth libraries and the comparably shabbier CCL, though similar in the sense that both provide reading material for the general public, differ in another. The former is a contemporary hub of knowledge, boasting futuristic services hip and cool enough to draw Singapore's literate crowds.

The latter is, bluntly speaking, where children living nearby visit, due to its convenience.

Perhaps a child would have had the embers of his innate love for reading ignited from a trip to these libraries. So what if their facilities are out-dated? They have accessibility, and as long as they have that, they have served their purpose well.

Granted, from a pragmatic point of view, these CCLs are not very cost-efficient. With dwindling loan rates and few visitors, the practical and straightforward thing to do would be to end their services.

But were they not designed in the first place, for children as gateways to more magical worlds? Convenient gateways, more importantly. One young child might be inspired all because he was bored one day and decided to visit the library downstairs.

Have you heard the story of a boy throwing starfish stranded on the shore back into the ocean?

Perhaps keeping these libraries open might not matter much to all the other people, but it matters to that one child.