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ONLY ONE

[]Name: diabolique
[]Aged: go figure
[]blah, sarcastic, cynical, paranoid, indifferent
[]vegan/children/elderly eater a.k.a cannibal
[]green tea
[]music in free time

[]Loves:
[]backstabbers
[]hypocrites
[]twits
[]overbearing, arrogant, snobbish people
[]slowpokes, physical ones and mental ones

[]Point:who doesn't?

[]Really:
[]God
[]friends
[]music
[]shopping
[]procrastinating
[]PUNS! yay!

ONLY WANTS

[]below 15 for L1R5
[]MarcEcko: The TurnStyle/E900/The Niche/Ecko ID/Two Timer/The Encore
[]much, much MUN-NEH
[]my own digital camera
[]ipod nano
[]my own tuba

PLACES OF INTEREST
Ashton
DesignSponge
FlowerfieldUnity
FreeIndie
GiantInThePlayground
GingerDead
LancerLord
MollyMeek



YESTERS
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
August 2008





Credits
Hosted: Blogger, PhotoBucket
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
MollyMeek FTW

MollyMeek FTW

One particular quote made my day night.

" 4. Best Sleight of Hand

Winner: NMP Thio Li-Ann

Winning Move: Arguing that we can recognize racial minorities, but we cannot recognize “sexual” minorities like gays.

Quote: “Race is a fixed trait. It remains controversial whether homosexual orientation is genetic or environmental, perhaps both. There are no ex-Blacks but there are ex-gays. The analogy between race and sexual orientation or preferred sexual preferences, is false.”

Molly’s adaptation: “Race is a fixed trait. There are no ex-Blacks, but there are ex-women. The analogy between race and sex is false and women have no right to demand equality. We cannot allow them to hijack a noble cause for their own use.” "

The gahmen may ALWAYS win, but that doesn't stop anyone poking fun. No pun intended. HOHO.

P.S. Wait. Can MJ be considered a ex-Black?

P.P.S By the way, FTW is "For The Win". Just in case.


1:02 am

Tuesday, October 23, 2007
lol@[blah]377a.com

I'm thinking about setting up a new site, right next to repeal377a.com, keep377a.com and support377a.com. It shall be known as whatever377a.com.

All the hype over whether to keep 377a or not is really just...whatever-ish.

Regardless of how many names each camp has on their petition, the winner won't be any of them. Okay, so one of them will win but the thing is, you really think that their petitions make even the slightest dent in the gahmen's decision?

Like hell no?

Eventually, the side that wins is the gahmen.

One might argue that there are to fractions in the gahmen itself and they've been having heated debates of this issue. What? you think them MPs can just sit around and do nothing? They obviously have to have debates to show the people that they're actually doing SOMETHING.

SO you see, the side that eventually wins is STILL the gahmen.

End of story.


7:37 pm

Monday, October 15, 2007
So Draaaama. NOT

I swear, Channel8 serial dramas belong to the pits. The scripts are so flawed and silly they might as well have been written by 10 year olds.

For the lack of better things to watch, I had to resort to Channel8 and suffice to say, my flabber was gasted. And here's 3 examples of how retarded the scripts are, all of which took place over a short span of what, 2 minutes?

So there's this guy running away from the police. And they eventually enter a multi-story carpark. This ALWAYS happens, doesn't it? If you thought that's stupid, wait, for here comes retarded-ness one.

They're running in the carpark and lo and behold, a man pushing a trolley comes along. The chaser and the chased then proceeds to jumps over the trolley. Is that stupid or is that stupid? I would understand if it were a whole line of trolleys but ONE?! HOHO. Can't they just like side-stepped?

Then the chased heads for the ramp and so happens there's a on-coming car. He proceeds to grab on to the beam above him and swing himself to the side. Now that's a good idea and would have made an exciting stunt if only they didn't show how wide the ramp entrance was. He could have simply, once again, made a slight adjustment in the direction in which he was running and just avoid the on-coming car completely. It's like how you would walk at the side of a road when you have to go against traffic.

The chased then runs into a tunnel. Surprise surprise, he gets trapped. A fight then begins of which can only come out of a video game. They could have shot fireballs at each other and it wouldn't seem, in the slightest, out of place.

Did I mention that there was a lot of crying? Whoever wrote the script must have been thinking it would be great to bank on the Korean wave thingy. In any case, BAD move.

All I can say is. Try harder.

Sigh. I don't know if it makes sense to you but it does to me.

I need cable desperately.


9:30 pm

Sunday, October 14, 2007
Random Thoughts XVI

Friendster. The converting machine that converts friendship into something tangible. And a whole lot of other things.

You know why they changed the "Testimonials" function to "Comments"?

That's cause someone finally wised up and decided that "let's go out soon" and the like don't constitute as testimonials.

Smart.

Have always wanted to blog about it but being lazy spares me a lot of posts, so it has been swimming in my head until today and decided the time when I should be doing work is the best time to ooze out of my ears, trickle down my shoulder and control my arm. I suppose I subconsciously chose the lesser of the two evils.

And I finally realized why I've been eating so much these few weeks and my stomach doesn't seem to grow. Just when I thought I had worms in me gut, which isn't exactly a bad thing really, the brutal truth hit me. HARD.

All the sins simply bypass my belly and goes straight down to my butt and thighs. I officially have thighs the size of turkeys and a butt the size of the globe when put together.

The next thing you know, my left butt cheek will be waging war with the right and trying to conquer it for all the oil it has. Wait. That sounds familiar. Oh, it's already happening, just not on my butt yet.


7:19 pm

Putting Words In My Mouth

"it's late.. i should be sleeping.. but for some reason, even though my eyes are closing and my head feels heavy, i feel weighed down by all the thoughts running around inside that head of mine..

which is probably why i'm blogging now, since long ago i decided that this blog wasn't meant to be private. but since i just changed the url, and haven't updated properly in ages, i don't think this'll be read by many people anyway.

things change in an instant.. no matter how much i tell myself that there are some things that you can hold on to in this world where everything just seems to rush by in the blink of an eye.. people are gone, moments are lost.. and they will never come back to you again.. or at other moments time seems to slow and you're stuck in a painful moments, watching the world go by and trapped in your own existence.. limited.. weighed down.. and unable to break free.

i don't know what i want anymore, i feel like i'm being split into a person i don't recognize anymore. sometimes i wonder, if i were to look through the eyes of another person, what kind of person would they see when they look at me? it feels like i'm changing.. and yet, with this change it feels like i'm growing further away from the things that matter and drifting..

is it all part of growing up?

so.. very.. tired. i don't know if i can muster the energy to plod to the end of vce and still give it my best shot. part of me knows i would hate to regret not working hard enough, the other part simply can't pick up the pace and mug like nuts.

all i know is that, i'm feeling increasingly unprepared to deal with the world out there. i wish i could go into an oyster shell, become that pearl and emerge to take the world in a stride.

the sad reality is that the only constant in life is change, and sometimes you need to be out of your comfort zone to gain a few more experiences, and learn and grow from them.

i just pray that the realisation will hit me before it's too late. and with that realisation, the unwavering faith and trust that God will send me where He wants me to go."

Xinni wrote this. And it's exactly what I feel.

If you read this Xinni, read this.


1:36 am

Saturday, October 13, 2007
Badminton And A Whole Lot Of Thoughts

I went to Jo's place today for badminton. As strange as that sounds. Well, Salvin, Benjamin, Wyncy, Emmanuel went as well though Alyssa was supposed to join us as well but she had to go meet her other half. I'm pretty happy that I've the chance t get to know them better, as cheesy as that sounds but they're really fun people to hang around with. And besides, chances are, I'll be in the same class as them some day.

It's times like this that makes me grateful I didn't skip CampRad. If I did, I wouldn't have met Jo or Lina, which obviously means I wouldn't get to know any of Jo's classmates, or ex-classmates rather. You gain some, you lose some I suppose. And unless you're close to me, which you probably are cause this blog is pretty much close to unknown and unvisited, you probably won't know what that means.

Anyway. Since no one in Poly has ever seen me doing sports of any kind, I think it came to Jo as a mild surprise that I could actually hold myself in badminton quite well. So they said. My reply was that just because I don't like sports doesn't mean I can't do it. Wyncy and Jo both agreed that I should do sports more often.

So what's the point?

The point is, I felt happy when they said that. Nobody, as far as I can remember, has ever "encouraged" me as such.

It's a bit late for me to say this but back when I was in Kuantan, there were games going on and well, I never really got to play much. Not play-play per se, more like no-one-passes-the-damned-ball-to-me play. The thing was, if I didn't go and fight for the ball, no one would have passed the ball to me unless they had no other choice. Then it kinda hit me that you write your own story. Because I was never the sporty kind of person, I avoided sport of any kind by providing excuses like how I'm not good at any sport and the whole nine yards. I suppose it grew on people and they assumed that I suck at sports so they'd rather not count on me when I'm involved in a game.

Then the whole thing just makes it worse cause I don't enjoy the game which leads to me further rejecting my participation in sports. And then it just dwindles down to "Sherwin sucks at sports, like totally."

I'm not blaming anyone. It's my own fault. I wrote my own life and now I have to live it.

Then Wyncy and Jo come along says something like that and it just makes me feel well, happy. And I felt like I actually enjoyed the game. Which is rare, VERY rare.

I know it doesn't really make sense but to me it does. I realize I'm not very good at putting my thoughts down in words but it's okay, cause it's my blog and as said before, no one really reads it anyway.

I want more friends like them. Even though it was, officially, only the second time I hung around with them, I felt like I had been friends with them for the longest of time. So maybe that's exaggeration but you get the gist.

Sigh.

I'll be off now. My butt and right arm hurts. Wonder why. Oh right, that's cause I haven't done any exercise in ages.

Thanks guys.


12:39 am

Thursday, October 11, 2007
No Way

I have Richard for 2DArtFun. And I'm in a class in which I've nobody that I'm close to.

On a lighter note, my life sucks.


11:23 am

Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tarja VS Anette

I like Anette. She gives the band a new voice quite literally but but also metaphorically as well.

I like Tarja too. She has an unique voice and it was because of her style of singing that I became interested in Nightwish.

But poor her, got kicked out she did. Anette's too pop in relation to Tarja and she has some strange dance moves.

It's opera VS pop, and womanly grace VS weird,-pop-ish punk chick whatever.

In conclusion,

TARJA FOREVER!



She should go solo.

Still, for the record, Nightwish is Nightwish is Nightwish. I will always support them.




























By pirate-ing their albums.

HEY! They're hard to find in Singapore okay?


12:23 am

Saturday, October 06, 2007
Blah Blah

I've said it before and I simply just can't emphasize any more how blah my life really is. It's just so....BLAHHH.

I need to join a new CCA or something. Something else besides school-home-school-home.

It's not that I don't already have a CCA but the TPJCG is really a lame excuse for a CCA. No offense. By the way, that's Temasek Polytechnic Japanese Cultural Group. So maybe it's my fault that I don't really go for their events but the thing is, traveling one and a half hours to school just to catch the screening of some anime is just well, stupid. It's not like I can't watch it at home or anything. And why must their events always be held on Saturdays?

So why did I even join in the first place? Well, they were telling us how fun and whatnot the people in JCG were, which turns out to be completely untrue, if you ask me. And they said they have manga lessons or something to that extent which gave me the impression that they would actually teach you how to daw manga or something but alas. All they do there is sit around and play games. Only a few of them really do draw and on the occasion they do, they don't actually do it. Okay, not making sense.

Sigh. I wanted to join Kendo but application closed earlier than I expected. Quite sad really.

I need to get a life. I need something new in my life. Maybe I'll pick up the guitar or maybe I'll join a new CCA. Or maybe I'll laze around and do nothing. Or maybe not. Or maybe.

I'm completely gut-less when it comes to change, decision making and whatnot.

I shall now go back to writing cover letters and resumes.

How fun.


10:07 pm

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Booze

My inbox is going to burst with all the notifications I've been getting about Huiwen sending me booze.

Facebook. Fun. Tiring.

And I'm supposed to be writing my cover letter and resume.

Quaint.


7:49 pm

Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Tagged Replies I

Jo and Chrys: Don't worry! Maybe we'll be in the same class next block =D Start praying. Hoho.

Becks: I'll hold you to your word. And don't worry, it'll be holidays again before you know it.


7:58 pm

By Request

By request of a good friend of mine. How true what the author has written, I don't know. Whatever the case, peruse it and repost it if you will.

Here goes:

Debt of Honour: Singapore’s Ties to Myanmar’s Junta
By
Benjamin Cheah

The crisis in Burma is escalating. For the first time in two decades, the people are taking to the streets. It started with protests against the doubling of fuel prices, and the sharp increase in prices of essential goods and services. *1 It has now become a call for democracy, and freedom. The military has seen fit to respond with tear gas, arrests, beatings, and live rounds. State television claims that there are nine dead. Witnesses believe that the true toll lies in the hundreds. *2

The source of this turmoil lies with the junta in power. After seizing power in 1962, the then-State Law and Order Restoration Committee embarked on the ‘Burmese Road to Socialism’, an economic policy that has done nothing but to impoverish the people. The people are kept in line through intimidation, systematic rape, arbitrary detention, forced labour, and other tools of state terror. The junta and its cronies virtually control the nation’s wealth, making tremendous profits from sales of drugs, gems, and timber. This combination of poverty, inequality, and repression has exploded into the situation we see today. *3

That the regime was responsible for this is not in doubt. However, it could not have accomplished this without the assistance of other governments. In particular, one country has provided significant economic and military assistance to the junta, enabling it to restore ‘law and order’ while fattening its bank accounts. That nation is the Republic of Singapore.

Above the board, Singapore has done a lot of business with Myanmar. SingTel was the first firm to provide Burmese businesses and government offices with the ability to establish inter- and intra-corporate communications in over 90 countries. At the same time, all computers, software, e-mail services and telecommunications devices in Burma must be licensed, a nearly impossible feat in itself. Coupled with the prohibitively high cost of computers in Burma *3 , and it can be inferred that the regime is intent on denying communications technology to the Burmese political opposition. This act serves to further enrich the Myanmese elites, and strengthen their grip on power.

Singapore invested S$1.57 billion in Myanmar in 2005, making her the largest direct foreign investor from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Since 1988, Singapore has invested about S$2 billion in Myanmar, mostly in tourism and the military. *4 Given that the junta’s cronies virtually control the legal economy, it’s safe to say that these monies have gone into their wallets, and into producing arms and ammunition. A substantial portion of Singapore's investments has gone into Asia World, a Burmese construction company, which is owned by drug traffickers and money launderers. *3, *4, *5

Lo Hsing Han is the chair of Asia World, founded in 1992. Ostensibly a successful businessman, he has served as ethnic advisor to former Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, and continues to oversee his drug operations in Burma. It has been alleged that Asia World has been used as a front for drug trafficking. *3, *5 His son, Steven Law, is the firm's managing director, and runs various other firms, which happen to be subsidiaries of Asia World. *3, *5 He also reportedly handles his father's financial activities. *3 Steven Law married his Singaporean business partner, Cecilia Ng, in 1996. Using her connections to the government, she allegedly launders money for Burma's drug barons, in addition to other legitimate business dealings. *3, *5, *6, *7

It has been further reported that Singapore allows Burmese drug barons to travel freely, the junta's generals to visit Singapore for medical treatment, in addition to turning a blind eye to shady financial practices. *3, *5, *6, *7 There is no doubt that a connection exists between the junta and the government of Singapore.

This is not the end. The Singapore government has armed the regime. Singapore Technologies has built a state-of-the-art cyber warfare centre in Yangon. With it, the regime’s secret police can intercept a spectrum of communications, from telephone calls to faxes to e-mail, from over twenty countries *3, *5, *9, allowing them to keep track of political dissidents. On October 6, 1988, hundreds of mortars, munitions and military supplies were shipped to Yangon. They were marked "Allied Ordnance, Singapore", which is a subsidiary of Chartered Industries of Singapore *3, *8, *9 , now part of ST Engineering. The shipment also included license-built Swedish rockets, violating an agreement with Sweden that required authorisation for arms exports. *3, *9 The following year, Singapore acted as a middleman for a shipment of grenade launchers and anti-tank weapons from Belgium and Israel. *3, *8 In 1992, Singapore brokered a $1.5 million shipment of mortars from Portugal, violating a European Commission arms embargo. *3, *8, *9 In 1995, Chartered Industries of Singapore built an arms factory in Burma, now used to produce weapons for the Burmese military. *9 Singapore has armed the regime.

These incidents are just the ones documented in the public domain. There could have been other shady deals in recent times, one of which could have surfaced to sting Singapore.

On the 27th of September, a Singaporean was shot by Myanmese riot police. *10, *11 According to a photograph of a recovered rubber bullet *11, there are two legible English words inscribed on it: 'control' and 'rubber'. The official language of Myanmar is Burmese, with little attention paid to the English language; it is therefore highly improbable that the round was made produced locally. Europe and the United States have enforced sanctions against Myanmar, and have no reason to ship non-lethal ammunition to Burma. China, India and Thailand, Myanmar's largest trading partners, probably would not use English markings on ammunition, because there is little reason to mark ammunition in a language that ordinary workers probably could not read. But Singapore uses English markings on ammunition. Therefore, I suspect that the round was made in Singapore, and exported to Burma. There, it was used to shoot a Singaporean in the leg. If nothing else, this must be poetic injustice.

The Singapore Government has allowed the junta and its cronies to get richer and richer, while the people have to bear with Third World living standards and systematic oppression. Singapore has turned a blind eye to international criminal activity operating out of Myanmar, whose ringleaders visit Singapore every now and then. Most damning of all, Singapore has sold weapons to Burma, the same arms that the authorities use to keep the junta in place. Singapore is therefore indirectly responsible for the current state of affairs in Myanmar.
The world is watching. Singapore currently holds the chairmanship of ASEAN. ASEAN has condemned the junta’s response to the protests. *13 Singapore, in particular, is engaging in ‘quiet diplomacy’, and is backing United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari in his attempt to defuse the situation. *14 But this is not nearly enough.

If Singapore truly wishes for an end to the crisis, and is genuinely concerned about the people of Burma, it is her duty to send a strong message to the junta. Singapore must declare, and cease, any and all arms exports to the military regime. Singapore must also impose economic sanctions on Myanmar, in particular targeting strategic resources and supplies destined for the military and the police. Singapore must withdraw all investments in firms linked to the regime, and its cronies. Singapore must also investigate all reports of money laundering on local soil, and prosecute the guilty to the fullest extent of the law. All assets belonging to the junta and its cronies must be frozen. Finally, Singapore must bar the Myanmese drug barons and junta members from setting foot in Singapore. These actions would send a more direct message to the junta than any other action by most other nations.

Singapore owes the people of Burma a debt of honour. Singapore has the means to expunge it. What she needs is the political will to clean up the mess the government has created.

“I, Benjamin Cheah, hereby release this essay into the public domain. I give full permission to anybody who wishes to reproduce this essay, in any form, to do so, so long as I am duly credited for the work.”

Benjamin’s Cheah’s blog is at http://leounheort.blogspot.com/

Sources:
1.) "Q&A: Protests in Burma." BBC News. 27 Sept. 2007. 30 Sept. 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7010202.stm.
2.)"THE TORRENT OF BAD NEWS." Yangon Thu. 29 Sept. 2007. 30 Sept. 2007 http://www.moeyyo.com/MM/archives/001004.html.

3.)Kean, Leslie, and Dennis Bernstein. "The Burma-Singapore Axis: Globalizing the Heroin Trade." Covert Action Quarterly (1998). 28 Sept. 2007 http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Global_Secrets_Lies/BurmaSingapore_Drugs.html

4.)"The Associated Press: Foreign Investment in Myanmar Dropped 12 Percent in 2005." BurmaNet News. 11 Jan. 2006. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www.burmanet.org/news/2006/01/11/the-associated-press-foreign-investment-in-myanmar-dropped-12-percent-in-2005.

5.)Ellis, Eric. "Web of Cash, Power, and Cronies." The Age 29 Sept. 2007. 30 Sept. 2007 http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/web-of-cash-power-and-cronies/2007/09/28/1190486569946.html?page=fullpage.

6.)McKenna, Michael. "Singapore's Hand in Golden Triangle: Australian." Singapore Angle. 23 Nov. 2005. 28 Sept. 2007 .

7.)Casanier, Francois. "Kun Sa's Surrender, a Narco-Dictatorship in Progress." Khun Sa's Surrender, a Narco-Dictat. 13 Jan. 1996. 29 Sept. 2007 http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/reg.burma/archives/199606/msg00168.html.

8.)Ashton, William. "Myanmar and Israel Develop Military." Myanmar and Israel Develop Military. 29 Sept. 2007 http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/reg.burma/archives/200008/msg00005.html.

9.)Barnes, William, and Bruce Hawke. "The BurmaNet News: July 23, 1998." The BurmaNet News. 29 Sept. 2007 http://www.burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199807/msg00515.html.

10.)"MFA Says It's Appalled by Violent Act Towards S'Porean." The Straits Times 28 Sept. 2007. 28 Sept. 2007 http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_162149.html.

11.)Htike, Ko. "Ko Htike's Prosaic Collection." Ko Htike's Prosaic Collection. 28 Sept. 2007. 28 Sept. 2007 http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/.

12.)DSCF7041.JPG. 28 Sept. 2007 . (From source 11, under post on 28 September)

13.)Pereira, Derwin. "Asean Rebukes Myanmar Over Use of Force." The Straits Times 29 Sept. 2007: 1.

14.)Pereira, Derwin. "Important to Avert Violence: Goerge Yeo." The Straits Times 28 Sept. 2007: 7.


7:53 pm