Sunday, November 13

Paris 2005
Money is the root of all evil.France is being crippled - no, already crippled - by riots so terrible there are countless reports of its evil progress in the news every day.Every night - and most probably tonight - youths descended from African immigrants torch cars, burn schools, and hurl Molotov cocktails and other projectiles a riot police.All this was ignited on 27 October, when two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, were accidentaly electrocuted when they climbed onto an electrical substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, allegedly evading the police.The police have denied that they were chasing the boys, but such is the height of mistrust, racism, and discrimination in the outskirts of Paris that the boys chose to risk their lives rather than be caught, searched, and humiliated by authority.The rioters are mobs of angry deracinated youth who never thought of France as their home. They hate the French. The French hate them, which is why they are shunted off to run-down ghettos and are mostly unemployed - joblessness is double the national average at 19.6 per cent. More than 30 per cent of 21-to-29-year-olds are out of work, not because they are incompetent, but because they are ostracized and rejected by society. Incomes are also 75 per cent below average.The brusque way that the government, especially maverick Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, handled the situation, made everything worse - he denounced the rampaging youth as "rabble" and "scum".His rival for presidency Prime Minister Domonique Villepin has done better, calling emergency cabinet meetings and comforting bereaved parents.The mayhem has spread far beyond the flashpoint of Clichy-sous-Bois to Marseille, Toulouse, Toulon, Draguignan, Strasbourg, Nantes, and other cities and suburbs of France. Even in Germany, there're 10 cars burned out overnight but police rejected suggestions that Parisian conditions have spread to the country.This has sparked major countries like the US, Japan, and Australia to siiue travel advisories recommending caution when going to France.However, according to a report in Today, Singaporeans are not afraid to travel to France, perhaps because things are calm around tourist attractions like Eiffel Tower and the Musée du Louvre - so far.It is sad, really, how a cosmopolitan-yet-cultural city like Paris can be so easily reduced to cinders. But of course. Hatred can do terrible things, especially hatred that was sowed a long time ago. The bigotry of the French did not spring up yesterday. The cannot-stand-each-other attitide of both the rioters and the French is the result of a long-buried hatred, which, as everyone knows now, culminated in Paris 2005. Racism, unlike bio-terrorism, is not new. Racism is age-old, and has existed since the beginning of time. Quite recently, there are already a few examples which I know of - the Holocaust, the London Underground bombings, the alleged neglect of Katrina victims, and right here in Singapore, the case of the two bloggers who slammed Malays and Muslims.The movie The Interpreter reflects very vividly the state of unrest in Africa. It's a long story, but down there, corruption led to all the people living in poverty. The movie might not be based on a true story, but I think there are definitely real people out there in that terrible, terrible state where children, children are taught to hold a gun to your temple and pull the trigger without the slightest twinge of remorse. Now, if these aren't the future terrorists, then who are? These people have enough on their plates to worry about, and here we are being racist when we're supposed to help them. How bad is that? So, back to France now. They teach the proudly-held French beliefs, the National motto of Liberté, égalité, fraternité in schools but do not put them into practice in life.Well, let's just hope that this riot quickly ebbs awayand when the smoke clears and the dust settles, France and the world will wake up. Éveiller, la France.
posted by beyonddreams at 5:36 PM 48 comments links to this post

samedi, 31 décembre 2005

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I was at a New Year party yesterday - technically also last year. It was hosted by one of my parents' friends, and there were 48 guests crowding the house up.

Anyway, the younger generation - about eight to ten of us - were playing cards. We started with Bluff but the people who'd won already always split the pile with someone who hadn't, and when it was obvious the game wasn't going to end anytime soon, we decided to play something else.

We each held a card to our foreheads (seen by everyone but ourselves) and tried to persuade others to change their card. The person with the card with the least value has to do a penalty. The fun part is the penalty.

I was made to drink a vile mixture of vinegar and soy sauce, but I that gross concoction wasn't the worst. We started with beers (only the older ones drank, and some poor guy had to drink half a cup on my behalf). The person who'd just lost would get to pick what the next loser would drink. There were mixtures of gravy, salt, sugar, pepper, curry, mayonnaise and everything else available. The blob of mayonnaise formed litte, whitish disgusting globules over our concoctions.

Yuck.

Later, we drove to ECP to see fireworks, all five cars of us (some people had already left by then). We could see the fireworks quite clearly standing at Bedok Jetty. They were good, but we'd actually missed half of it.

Well, happy new year!

dimanche, un janvier 2006

The French are snobs.

Almost a month ago, there was a big discussion in French class about, well, the French. Benazir, the instructor, admitted that the people were very uptight. If, for example, you go to your best friend's house and say, make tea for yourself. The French would see this as rude, because they're very particular about these kind of things. When you're the guest, you're the guest. Don't touch anything, don't open the fridge.

Also, the French are generally brusque, maybe even downright rude. Especially Parisians. Maybe you're thinking, oh, of course, come on, Paris is a big city and big-city-dwellers are sure to be a little arrogant. I'll try my best to quote Benazir verbatim...it's something like: They think they're here *raised hand to eye level* and the rest of you are there. *drops hand*.

If you spoke English to them, they'll speak French back. If you stopped one of them on the street and asked for directions, they'll shake you off with a chépa. (Really, really short for 'I don't know'.) Well, I suppose that shows how busy Parisians are. Je ne sais pas is 'I do not know', but nowadays people mostly use Je sais pas - I know not, but Parisians have further shortened it down to chépa.

Of course, you probably shouldn't stop some middle-aged man with a briefcase (plus a paunch, a receding hairline, and a frown) obviously rushing to catch the the Métro, but even that young man over there doesn't know where the Notre Dame is.

Really. Why are they so disdainful? Yes, they have a beautiful language and culture to be proud of (though not in the arrogant sense proud). Yes, the City of Lights is a famed historical-yet-modern city home to many renowned art pieces. Yes, the wine, cheese, and food are incredible. Yes, France is a powerful country. But no, she is not the world.

Maybe France could bring in more tourist dollars if its people are more friendly? I heard that even the air stewardnesses of Air France can be cold and indifferent to foreign travellers.

But I suppose many don't really mind the aloofness of Parisians, it's their problem if they want to be so condescending, I am still going to enjoy my holiday. And that includes me.

Abolish Death Sentence? I have my reservations.

Australians are infuriated with Singapore's decision to hang Nguyen Tuong Van, despite repeat pleas of clemency from the Australian government. His case has hogged the headlines for weeks, and everyone has heard about him, courtesy of the countless media reports.

After Nguyen's death, many are wondering if the death penalty should be abolished. Mr Charles Tan (It's the one sentence you can't retract, Dec 6) certainly thinks so.

And with good reason too.

Let's face it: criminal proceedings are fallible. There have been criminals, facing the noose, exonerated just minutes before their execution. Other more unfortunate ones were dead before evidence clearing them of their "crime" was discovered. If there were no such thing as capital punishment, there wouldn't be innocents dying for nothing and also, mistakes made can be ammended. There would be no loss of human life.

The death penalty is a deterrent? Statistics show otherwise. Furthermore, if one were deterred by the prospect of death, wouldn't he be scared of life imprisonment, or, in fact, any punishment at all? And one not intimidated by death would not be stopped by anything else. Also, if criminals believe that they will pay with their lives for their wrongdoing, they would most certainly go to extreme measures to evade capture. That would probably increase the rate of violent crime.

Most people cannot afford legal representation and end up with a state-appointed attorney, whose credentials are distinctly mediocre at best. So, don't the well-heeled stand at an advantage then?

But, as many would agree, the criminal knew what would happen to him, such as in the case of Nguyen. He took the gamble, and had to pay. He brought it on himself - nobody coerced him into smuggling drugs. He should have found a better way to help his twin brother.

Capital punishment upholds the law, and it discourages revenge such as retaliatory murder on the part of the victim's family. If not controlled, things like that can lead to blood feuds or destructive vendettas.

Retribution. People who have lost a loved one would want the criminal dead. The public also thirsts for 'eyes for eyes and teeth for teeth' justice. A life for a life. People also think that someone vile enough to snuff out the life of a fellow human being does not respect life and has no right to it.

However, as much as we want to be magnanimous and spare lives by abolishing the death penalty, we know that, in our heart of hearts, that it cannot and will not be done here in Singapore. Our society is not ready to accept it.

Dec 2, 2005.

On that fateful day, Vietnamese-descended Nguyen Tuong Van was hung in Changi Prison for carrying 14 ounces of heroin travelling from Cambodia to Australia, despite repeat pleas of clemency from the Australian government.

Australian PM John Howard said that the execution would harm ties between Singapour and Australie. Indeed, there was a newspaper report that told of Australian students threatening to boycott Singapore products. Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock had earlier condemned the execution as "barbaric". But that was probably just because he comes from a country where there is no capital punishment, not even for the deadliest of criminals.So, was S'pore "barbaric" in its decision to hang Nguyen? He was, after all, carrying enough of the vile, addictive, analgesic drug to supply tens of thousands of individual doses. It would totally ruin countless families, or even a small country like S'pore. Also, Nguyen was aware that S'pore punishes drug smugglers severely. Announcements are made on the PA system of all planes bound for us. Nguyen took the gamble, so he had to pay.

But I still feel a pang of pity for the poor guy - don't we all? To die so horribly at the age of 25. And imagine how he must have felt when the sentence had been read out 3 years ago. Imagine the fear, the loneliness, and the regret, guilt, and anguish, of being put on death row, stuck in a cell with others of your kind. I'm sure that if you were to visit these prisoners, you could practically taste the tangible feelings in the air. No words could describe that.It's even worse for Nguyen. He had probably gotten his hopes up when his countrymen were all praying for him to be spared of the gallows.

Even his prime minister made pleas of clemency to President S R Nathan. The whole thing was even more heated up when his case hogged the headlines for days. But still, the Singapore Government was adamant in its decision to hang Nguyen. It does not make special allowances just because it has close ties with the country in question. If it did, how is it supposed to explain other hangings of foreign criminals? There would be an uproar.Nguyen had claimed to be helping his brother ease his backlog of debts.

How must his bro feel, knowing that his own kin risked - and ended up sacrificing - his life to help him? Would he comtemplate suicide? We hope not - in fact, he should make a U-turn in his life and start anew, afresh, so that Nguyen would not die in vain.What about Mrs Kim Nguyen? As a mother, she must feel terrible to watch her son suffering, knowing full well that she could only give emotional support all through to the end and nothing else. Singapore had made a small concession in this case - Nguyen's mom was allowed to touch him before he was executed, although a "farewell hug" that had been requested wasn't pemmitted.

Well, let's hope that late Mr Nguyen's family survive this ordeal well through their bereavement stage and that the world will learn not to bring drugs to Singapore.

May he RIP.

I'm home alone today, yeah, I'm a latchkey kid. Geraldyn's supposed to come over to swim, but she's down with something - most likely food poisoning. Her brother, father, and maid feel nauseous too. I've called her at her house but her maid said she's sleeping. Oh well, I hope she gets well soon and we can share a pizza for lunch and play tennis.

Oh...the cut-off point for NYGH is 262, and I'm short of just one point...

Okay, to prevent my French from turning rusty, let me do a bit of practice:

Bonjour, je m'appelle Wang Xiao. J'ai douze ans. Je suis Singapourienne. J'habite à Simei à Singapour, et j'habite dans un appartement. C'est fantastique!

J'aime aimer, j'aime la vie, et j'aime le partinage sur glace. Mes passe-temps sont du shopping, la lecture, la natation, et le cyclism du velo. J'aime jouer au tennis. Aussi, j'aime les voyage, la poesie, la bonne cuisine et écouter de la musique.

Dans ma famille, il y a trois personnes. Je suis célibataire et je n'ai pas de frères ni des soeurs. Mes parents, s'appellent LH et JP, qui sont très sympa. Elle a quarante-sept ans et il a quarante-neuf ans. J'aime beaucoup ma famille!

Ma meilleure amie s'appelle Geraldyn. Elle a les cheveux noirs, longs, et assez raides. Elle a les yeux marron foncé. Elle est assez grande, mais elle est de taille moyenne.

Geraldyn est un peu bavarde et sérieuse, mais elle est très sympa et amusante. Elle est aussi très généreuse.

Aujourd'hui, il fait beau. Il y a du un peu soleil, et le temps est nuageux. Aussi, il y a du un peu vent, mais le temps humide. Le température est environs vingt-six dégres, et il fait assez frais.

Aujourd'hui, je porte un T-shirt rose et un pontalon brun. Mon T-shirt est rose et gris. Je porte aussi des sandales blanche et marron claire. Je suis aussi un montre rogue et des boucles o'reilles bleu ciel, blanche, rose foncé, et mauve.

Carole: Salut Anne! C'est Carole.
Anne: Salut Carole! Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui?
Carole: Mardi.
Anne: Merci. Où es-tu?
Carole: Je suis à Paris.
Anne: Quel temps fait-il?
Carole: Il fait beau, mais il fait très froid. Il neige, il y a du vent, et il y a du brouillard.
Anne: Quelle température fait-il?
Carole: Moins quatre dégres. Et toi? Où es-tu?
Anne: Je suis à Singapour. Il fait mauvais! Il y a une tempête, il y a de l'orage, et il y a des éclairs. Le température est vingt et un dégres.
Carole: Qu-est que tu fais, ce weekend?
Anne: Je fais de la natation avec amies. Et toi?
Carole: Ranger la chambre.
Anne: Quelle heure est-il?
Carole: Il est trois heures moins le quatre de l'après-midi.
Anne: D'accord. Au revoir!
Carole: Au revoir à bientôt!

Okie, I think that's enough for today. Anyway, what I was talking about was this:

My name is Wang Xiao and I'm twelve. I'm a female Singaporean and I live in a condo in Simei. It's fantastic.

I love ice-skating, shopping, reading, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, travelling, good food, and listening to music.

There are three people in my family, and I'm an only child. I love my family very much.

My best friend Geraldyn has long, dark, and quite-straight hair. Her eyes are a dark chestnut colour. She's quite tall, but of medium build (what I'm trying to say's that although she's tall, she's medium-sized - not big, not small). Geraldyn's and a little serious and talkative, but she's very nice and generous.

Oh..this is taking a long time, scrolling up and down. I don't think you'd be interested to hear the rest anyway, so I'll stop here. The rest is, like I said, just practice. I'm not proficient enough in French to say whatever I want, but I'm working towards that.

Au revoir!

So. That's it then. 10 Tanjong Ru Road is where I'm going to spend the next few years of my life.

I've got the uniform and the books already, and there's a four-day orientation camp come January 2006.

Ma meilleure amie Geraldyn has been posted to SACSS, but she's appealing for TKGS. Sara's going to SACSS too, but she's staying. Geraldyn's got an aggregate that would easily put her in TKGS but she put the school as her second choice and SACSS her first.

Hopefully, her appeal will be successful, but TKGS is a popular school with the girls.

Anyway, there's a three-week break from French because the teacher was on sick leave last Saturday, and there aren't any lessons this Saturday and next because of the festive holidays. I just hope I won't be brain-dead when I return on the 7th, so I'm studying every day now. I'm also trying to memorise the next lesson - once school starts, it'll be crazy. Absolutely crazy.

To Singaporeans, there are now three letters synonymous with cheating. N.K.F. Should Durai ever be forgiven for the hienous crime he committed? Was it a crime? Will the New NKF ever win back the public's trust? Are lures of cash prizes and lucky draws good ways to ask the public for donations?

In a straw poll conducted by Today newspaper, almost 40% of those surveyed are pardoning enough to forgive, forget, and move on. Others felt outrage and betrayal at having been cheated of their hard-earned money when all they wanted was to help the needy.

The shocking KPMG report astounded everyone. He earns, no sorry, earned, nearly $600,000 annually. He jets about in the lap of luxury.

Only so little, so little of the donations go to the patients. Monies are, some say, squandered by the organization. But what about the twenty-odd state-of-the-art dialysis centres? The patients who have benifited (but I admit could have benifited more had there not been this scandal).

There wouldn't be so great an uproar if Mr Durai had apologised. But, yes, since charges are being pressed against him, it'd seem like he pleaded guilty of he said sorry. ...Really, sorry is the hardest thing to say.

Last night, Arts Central aired a special programme on the famed circus troupe, Cirque du Soleil. It was a great show documenting Cirque's successes with lots of important people (CEO of Disney, etc.) praising it.

I saw Quidam, and it was really spectacular. Awesome. Thrilling. Magnificent. Incredible. Phenomenal. I could really feel the circus magic as my dad and I were ushered into the huge tent. Inside, it wasn't like a tent at all. Everything was perfect, the air-conditioning, the lights, the sounds, even right down to the chairs we sat on - they were not unlike those in movie theatres. It's really amazing how they could erect such a large structure with everything flawless right down to the last detail.

The show was breathtaking. I was most enthralled by the diabolos and the German Wheel. There's lots of synbolism in the whole thing - sheer joy, sadness, death, anonymity.

Anyway, back to the TV programme I watched yesterday. It told of how Guy Laliberté founded Cirque. He had been a street performer before. Just another guy on the street eating fire with a collecting tin in front of him. But this guy - Guy - dared to dream, and turned his dream into a reality. With the help of a small group of kindred spirits, Guy managed to found the world's best circus. Today, Cirque du Soleil is an international organization, its scope of influences and activities astounding.

The hallmark of Cirque is the infusion of traditional circus with art. I loved the beautiful, haunting music in Quidam.

Cirque du Soleil has also created Cirque du Monde, for teens to learn a some acrobatic acts and to bond with each other.

Cirque du Soleil is truly unbelievable.

Experience the impossible...under the Big Top.

dione
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