Sunday, March 30, 2008
IRAQ WAR

IRAQ WAR otherwise known as the second gulf war
is initiated by the United States(US) on 20th march 2003. It started with a allegation that Iraq possess and had been actively producing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and therefore posed a threat to US security. However they were proven wrong when the invasion found no WMD within iraq. US continued invasion claiming that the Al-Qaeda and president saddamn hussien had been collaborating in creating WMD but there has been no clear evidence of any form of collaboration between them. Yet, saddam hussien was captured in 2003 and eventually executed in 2006. it was then when a temporary government was established in hope to stabilize iraq. However, not only did it not serve its purpose in bringing peace and stability to the country, it brought much more trouble into the country for example the iraq insurgency, civil war and increased Al-Qaeda operations.

Personally i do not feel that the rationale behind the invasion of iraq by the US is mainly to destroy the WMD that they have claimed iraq to be in possession of. probably a small part yes but to a larger extent i believe that US is more intrested in the oil reserves in iraq. We in an example, the invasion of kuwait by iraq. US sent help to get rid of the iraq forces in kuwait and in return, kuwait has to pay for the expenses of the army in the form of oil. And so to a certain extent i believe that US main aim behind the invasion of iraq is to obtain the oil reserve for we see that if US was successful in their invasion, they would be able to ask iraq to pay for the damages incurred during the time of invasion in terms of oil. Thus we see that US has been providing all sorts of reasons such that they have a reason to invade iraq and achieve the final aim of asking for compensation in oil. And so i feel that the picture best represents my feelings towards the iraq war. It is a simple picture of a petrol pump being used as a pistol yet it tells much. because of US demand of oil, they invade iraq disrupting the peace in the country creating more trouble than before. Moreover, this invasion has caused a high death toll for both sides and many innocents life has been sacrificed. thus i feel that there was no need for this war for the US invaded iraq based on an allegation that was proven to be untrue later on.

Friday, March 28, 2008
My feelings on Iraq War

With a death toll of more than 100000 people over the past five years, it is needless to say that the Iraq War is a total failure.

In 2003, president of America, George Bush, invaded Iraq for possessing and developing weapons of mass destruction (later found out to be a false claim), and to free the Iraqi from the supposed brutal reign of Saddam Hussein. These, in my opinion, were simply excuses to capture Iraq's oil-rich land.

Whether or not it was for the oil reserves in Iraq, the war has had many innocent lives sacrificed. The selfish act of Bush has caused thousands to lose their homes and families. Not only that, it has created havoc in Iraq socially and economically and it is now doubtful if Iraq will ever regain her peace and stability.

One of the reasons Bush claimed for invading Iraq was to free the Iraqi from sufferings. Ironically, the invasion has graven the situation by putting more innocent lives at stake. Obviously, Bush isn’t sincere in solving the situation here. The war has dragged on for so many years and even with the death of Saddam Hussein, no signs of improvements were shown, only empty promises were made.

To conclude, I think that the Iraq war is totally crap. Stated in the caption of the picture above is, “2000 American soldiers killed in Iraq. WHY?” The purpose of the Iraq war can never be justified as it has created more problems instead of solving problems. The sacrifices made by the American soldiers to free the Iraqi were indeed in vain. They were killed simply because of Bush for the war was started by him for his self-interest.

Shi Xiong (9)

The Iraq War

The Iraq war was a war that shouldn’t have happened. It was caused by a series of bad judgment and wrong moves which sparked off the battle. Ultimately, those who suffered were the young, the old, the women and the innocent. I pity those whose lives of their family members were lost. They were punished for a deed that they have not done. This applies to both the Americans and the Iraqis. The photo above shows children in a Baghdad orphanage. Most of them have lost their family due to the war and they are the ones who suffered. The children appeared to be lifeless and death is just a thin line away. I sympathise with their fate and I feel that the lost of innocent lives is a major reason which makes the Iraq war so horrible.

All this happening in Iraq has many implications to their society. Imagine a generation of children wiped out and only a few are left. Not only that, those who are left lack the proper education and maybe they are not even healthy as seen in the photo. This will cause a snowball effect and the generations following this will also be hit by the same problem. Iraq’s economy might not even recover in the next 50 years! It is very difficult to solve this problem and it will be a big headache for current and future leaders.

I feel that resources spent on the Iraq war is all a waste. The U.S is spending about US$12 billion each month in Iraq as of 2008. Imagine what will happen if all this money was spent on helping Third World Countries around the globe or maybe used to spend USA’s own domestic problems. If this was so, the world will be so much a better place.

The photo depicts the kind of situation Iraq is in now and it expresses the grievance of most people in the country. This issue on Iraq war not only affects Iraq and USA but in fact, it affects the whole world. Any major events happening due to the war may cause panic to be felt all around the world. So it is crucial to try to put everything right. The journey will be arduous and tough but I feel that if people all around the world sacrifice a little to help, it will be so much easier.

-Tan Wenjie

GP Iraq War.

The objectives of the invasion on Iraq, according to U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. former PM Tony Blair were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people." However, the war has accomplished none of the above. Iraq was found free of weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein still supports terrorism and instead of freeing them, the Iraqi people are even worse of. So if the motivation for war not the above three, what could be a possible reason?

Here’s my opinion on the matter: Operation Iraqi Liberation. Or better known as OIL. The President of the United States is sending troops into Iraq for the purpose of getting oil. Without a doubt, I feel that the purpose of the invasion is unjustified, if the sole purpose is just for oil. Not only would that be selfish, it would also be immoral. Many lives were lost during that period of conflict, both of Iraq and American origin. If U.S. President George W. Bush is willing to sacrifice lives for the sake of oil, he is even worse than the man that he had been preaching against. The man also known as Saddam Hussein.

Labels: Oswell did this.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
How different is Bush from Saddam?

Bush has started the war against Iraq based on false statements in his propaganda to the American people to gain their support. Immediately after 9/11 the American people were led to believe that Saddam Hussein somehow was responsible for the attacks. The fact that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were enemies, not friends, was kept from the public by the media and Congress. Even today many Americans still are convinced of an alliance between the two. Saddam Hussein never permitted Al Qaeda into Iraq out of fear that they might challenge his secular government. Yet today we find that Al Qaeda is currently present in Iraq and causing chaos as well. Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein was a threat to Americans with his weapons of mass destructions like nuclear, biological and chemical. This was obviously a lie as there were no major counter-attacks by Iraq when the Americans invaded and no weapons of mass destruction of any form were found. Saddam Hussein never had the ability to attack the Americans. The final reason was an economic reason that did not even concern saddam, oil. The Americans thought they would enjoy cheaper oil if they took over Iraq; however, this was not to be. The plan backfired instead and Iraq is currently producing half the amount of oil it used to leading to soaring oil prices.

The war is responsible for the deaths of more than 2000 American youths and 20 000 severe casualties. The death toll will just keep rising since history has shown that Iraqi Muslims have always been determined to resist any foreign power on their soil and that is happening at present. America is trapped in a stalemate since they cannot just withdraw from Iraq after the disaster they have caused. Iraq will be in chaos without a leader or figure of authority to guide them back to prosperity. Saddam’s dictatorship may have been cruel and should have been stopped, but war was not the answer. The Iraq war has created more problems instead, thus Bush is actually no different from Saddam as he started the war and thus caused the deaths of thousands in a single stroke.

Sunday, March 23, 2008
Is Winning Important in Sports?

I strongly believe that winning is not important in sports. The objective of winning a sport is to receive the fame and prestige that comes with the title of being number one. However, this status does not last forever. Someone will bound to come along and take all of it away. This particular trend has been observed in the course of history, even in major competitions such as in the FIFA World Cup, where no nation has ever held on to their position as number one for more than 3 years consecutively. Since it is more or less set in stone that one cannot win forever, it would be pointless to place winning as one of the top priorities.

What would be important when it comes to sports is not winning, but the sportsmanship. Put simply, sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward team mates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in losing. If an athlete or team wins through unethical means, the victory would have been pointless. Although they might have won in name, they have already lost when it comes to being a better and more resposible person.

However, some people believe that winning is important in sports. The general consensus of that group of people is that if you do not win, all your hard work and sweat is wasted. But the truth is far from that. When athletes go through hellish training and make sacrifices, they are disciplining themselves and are pushing their minds and their bodies as a whole. In the long run, they become stronger both in mind and in body. The fame and recognition that comes with winning is only an added plus. Therefore it is absurd to say that just from losing, all the efforts put in will go to waste. Remember the saying “You reap what you sow.”

-Oswell Chan (7)

Labels: GP.

Friday, March 21, 2008
Is winning important in sports?

I think that winning is definitely important in sport. To say that winning isn’t important is utterly an absurd. Without the motivating desire to excel and win, would sportsmen even train that hard just to compete with others?

For fame, recognition and even money, most sportsmen have tried all orthodox means to strive to win. They spent their days training mindlessly, regulating their diet, and even sacrificing their time that could have been better well-spent with their family and friends. If one would to say that winning isn’t important in sports, does it even makes sense to sacrifice that much and put in so much efforts? If it isn’t important to people, I will definitely see no need for major sports events like Olympic Games, World Cup and PGA World Tour. The competitiveness amongst the competitors wouldn’t be there as sportspeople would simply be playing for “fun” or leisure sake, not for the goal in mind to win and stand out in the competition. Even to colleges’ extent, students trained hard in their sport CCAs, sacrificing their time and even school works just to win. Why would we want to join a sport competition and train so hard prior to it if we do not desire to win? It doesn’t make sense!

However, to say that winning is important in sports doesn’t means that winning by unorthodox method is correct. Some sportsmen took drugs to improve the performance so that they could stand a higher chance to win in the sports events. Obviously, this means of winning is clearly wrong. Although winning is important, winning by such foul play will reflect badly upon the wrongdoers and be unfair to the other competitors, which point us to another aspect of sports -sportsmanship. A good sportsman holds the importance of winning and at the same time possesses qualities such as fairness and being a cheerful loser. Even if one desires to win, one should never use foul means to fulfill their desire, but to compete fair and square with others. These also point out that though winning is important, it is not everything. There is no need for foul play just to win.

Chew Shi Xiong (9)

Is winning important in sports

Winning in any case is definitely important and it matters even more in competitive sports. Although we often hear winning is not everything, its the process blah blah blah...but is it really true? Well to me its nothing more than some comforting words to tell ourselves its perfectly alright to lose. Surely we wouldn't want the effort that we have put in to go to waste. I mean who doesn't enjoy winning, and as a matter of fact who wouldn't want to win. i believe those top notch athletes train almost every single day preparing for the tournaments, improving themselves constantly only for one reason, to win. So at the end of the day, i feel that winning is definitely important in sports be it at a professional level or even in small scale competition, I'm sure that everyone possess that burning desire to win in any sports be it at a leisure level or at a competitive level. Thus i feel that winning is important in sports.

Although winning is important in sports, is sports all about winning? A firm resounding no. Sports in any case is not all about winning. A friend once told me winning is definitely important but the journey is always more exciting than the end point. Sportsmanship is part of the journey in sports that is not to be missed . Wikipedia states "Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward team mates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in losing" Yet to me it just means not being a sore loser. Whatever it is, sportsmanship is a quality that i deem of extreme importance in life that should be developed in every single person for it tells much of a person. We see that in minor and major sporting events, they put in place strict rules for the athletes to adhere to for a simple reason to ensure fair play to ensure sportsmanship. So i feel if we are able to perform simple acts of being modest or not using underhand methods to achieve our aim in our everyday lives we are already displaying sportsmanship.
Through sports not only do we get to develop sportsmanship, we get to forge strong friendships and build teamwork. Many sports, teamwork is extremely crucial. For example sports like basketball, baseball or soccer requires huge amount of coordination between the players. However u may wonder does it applies to sports like golf? Definitely! though there may not be any teamwork involved in sports like golf, you get to extend your circle of friends by getting to know people of similar interest.
"when the going gets tough the tough gets going" a cliché often used but it expresses perseverance in the most simplistic way. I always believe that if the will to win is there, nothing can stop him/her from achieving the top. Everyone has equal opportunity of being that outstanding person in their sports and everyone has to go through the same tough journey, but only when one is able to persevere through the tough process, is one able to eventually rise above others and emerge as the champion for only the toughest survive in competitions.
Yet at the end of the day, no matter if you are like red sanders, the football coach, and believe that "winning isn't everything; its the only thing" or you are like grantland rice, the sports journalist, and believe that it is "not that you won or lost but how you played the game" i believe that we should just have fun and enjoy ourselves in the competition.
zhaoqin

Is Winning important in Sports?

Yes. Winning is important in sports. For many competitive sports, winning is the ultimate goal for most individuals and teams. It is no doubt that people train hard and play hard to win, which is the most important reason why they want to be involved in sporting events.
Sportsmen want to win to gain fame and recognition. In the world of sports, only the strong survives. Professional players train so hard to win and to gain their deserved recognition. When they win, they will be the centre of attention for the media and people around the world. Sports enthusiasts all over the world will be talking about them. Their victory will be reported on every form of media. They will be considered as a “celebrity” in their field of profession. This greatly increases morale and encourages players to perform better in the next season. This way, their level of expertise will be brought to a higher level. For example, in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Houston Rockets recently bagged a 22 win streak. This gave them recognition from people around the world through the use of media. They had since gained the attention from many people and it has been a hot topic on many internet forums. Even within a small group of people, being able to win will gain oneself recognition. Friends and family will recognise one as a winner within their own social group
Of course, sportsmen aim to win to gain the prize money. In many major events, the prize money is a very attractive. Money is always tempting to most people and that includes sportsmen. However, the prize money is more applicable for major events and not within a small group of people. In the recent HSBC’s Women Championship held in Singapore, the grand prize was US$2 million dollars, with the winner, Lorena Ochoa, getting US$300,000 and other prizes like jewellery. It is no doubt that the attractive prize motivated the golfers to play hard.
Although winning is important to most sportsmen, it is also to take note that one must win fair. In any kind of sports, there are always a set of rules to adhere too. Sportsmen must keep to the rules to ensure fairness. Play fair and win fair. Many organizations are very strict in this area too. For example, the Medical Commission of the Olympics will conduct checks to ensure that they do not take any drugs such they can perform better when committing. This anti-doping movement has been successful and players have been banned for playing if they were found guilty. In the recent 2004 Athens Olympics, 27 athletes were being banned.
However, to some people, winning is never important for them in sports. This has to do with their objective for playing a sport. For example, one may just be participating in sports to relax from a hard day of work. If they met this objective, they will be happy enough and glad even if they lose.
In conclusion, I feel that to most people, winning in sports is important. That is the reason why they play hard. Men are born selfish and they will expect something in return and that is to win. However, there can only one winner and athletes should be prepared to lose as winning is really a great deal. Maybe to some people, playing a sport is not just about winning, but, it is still important to a smaller extent. So, whether winning is important is relative to different individuals, but to the majority, winning is definitely important.

-Tan Wenjie (23)

Is winning important in sports?

Yes, I feel that winning is important in sports, especially for professional athletes. Most professional athletes start an intensive training from a very young age. Some of them even forgo their education and just concentrate on their sport, for example, Wayne Rooney joined Everton for a youth contract and began training at the age of 10. At the age of 16, before his 17 birthday, his professional career as a soccer player started when he was sent on in a match against Arsenal where he scored the winning goal. At such a young age, he definitely has not completed his studies and as a professional soccer player, it would be extremely difficult to find time to study since he has to train as well. After spending so much time and effort on his sport, he will naturally want to win something to show for all the hard work he put in. By winning something, on top of the prize money if there is one, he would also gain recognition and fame like when he scored a winning goal against Arsenal the first time he played. He became famous overnight. Nobody cares about the other people in a race, they only care about the winner, even if you come in second, nobody will know you. All your time and effort would have gone to waste. What is worst is that more and more athletes are starting to train from a very young age to excel in a particular sport like Wayne Rooney and Maria Sharapova, totally giving up on their studies. They have dedicated their whole life to a particular sport and if they do not win, it would all go to waste. Therefore I feel that winning is very important in sports.

By Benedict Chua

Thursday, March 20, 2008

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