Band of Brothers. A 10 part miniseries which was nominated for nineteen Emmy awards, and won six of them, including "Outstanding miniseries," "Outstanding Casting for a miniseries, Movie, or a Special," and "Outstanding Directing for a miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.". The miniseries also won a golden globe, an American Film Institute award, and won a 2003 Writers Guild award.

The miniseries basically details the real-life exploits of Easy Company during World War II over the course of ten episodes, starting with their jump training at the Currahee training site in Toccoa, Georgia and ending with the capitulation of Germany.

I believe that Band of Brothers does not romanticize either the story of Easy Company or World War II in general. Band of Brothers shows how Easy Company manages to conquer the different challenges and obstacles it faces, for example, the battle for Foy, Operation Market Garden, and Normandy. The Band of Brothers does not romanticise the story of Easy Company, as it also depicts men losing some of the best friends, sometimes all, in the process of fighting the Germans.

Moreover, during the various conflicts between the Allied forces and the Germans, the miniseries shows in detail the injuries sustained by the men during the battles, the corpses lying on the ground, sometimes even with missing limbs. The miniseries also shows what the characters in the story go through emotionally. For example, Lieutenant Buck Compton lost most of his best friends during a German shelling attack on their position. Due to that he was deeply affected emotionally and had to be sent away from the line as the officers felt that after experiencing such a trauma, he would not be able to fight well again.

With regards to the fact that the US army sponsored The History Channel’s on-air broadcast of Band of Brothers, I feel that the US army is paying tribute to the men who died in the line of duty during World War II, and expressing their gratitude to the men who fought in World War II, but are still alive. Without those people, the USA would not be what it is today, and the world would also not be what it is today. On a side note, by sponsoring the broadcasting, the viewers might be inspired to join the US army.

Upcoming General Elections 2011

This year, the General Elections being held in Singapore has the most number of seats being contested in both SMCs (Single member constituencies) and GRCs (Group representation constituencies) since the independence of Singapore. In fact, all the SMCs and GRCs are being contested by the opposition, all but Tanjong Pagar GRC, where MM Lee Kuan Yew helms the team. The opposition had originally intended to contest Tanjong Pagar GRC, but as the candidates did not submit the papers on time, they were disqualified. To quote MM Lee Kuan Yew, the opposition had made a "feeble effort to show that they wanted to contest".

One GRC that has gathered the most attention is the Aljunied GRC, where the PAP is up against the Workers' Party. The Workers' Party is fielding its "dream team", which includes Chairman Sylvia Lim, Secretary General Low Thia Khiang, who left his stronghold of Hougang SMC, and Lawyer Chen Show Mao. The PAP's team includes Foreign Minister George Yeo and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua. 

This will certainly be an intense fight, because the team led by Workers' Party Chairman Sylvia Lim won 44% of the votes in the previous General Election. So with the addition of Party Secretary General Low Thia Khiang, the opposition might very well win themselves a GRC in this General Elections. As said by Mr Low Thia Khiang, "This is a a watershed election. We may end up with no elected opposition MP...the stakes are high, the risk is very high".

Spanish bull rampage

Yesterday, in Spain, a raging bull jumped out of the arena at a Spanish bullring and ran around in the crowd. Once it had jumped out of the ring, the bull tried to make its way upwards. The spectators that were in its path hurridly got out of its way, and in this confusion, some spectators were injured. The spectators tried to enter the ring to escape from the bull. Eventually, after a while, the spectators restrained the bull and after a few minutes, the bull was brought under control and was killed.

In the confusion, approximately 40 people were injured but there were no casualties. Most of the injured were treated for cuts and bruises, said officials in the northern town of Tafalla. However, 9 of the injured were sent to a hospital and among them was a 10-year-old boy who apparently suffered multiple bruising when the bull fell on him, and a 24-year-old who was gored. 

Analysts say that bulls occasionally leap security fences at bullrings but they rarely make it into the crowd. This particular incident comes at a time amid intense debate in Spain over the centuries-old tradition of bullfighting in Spain. In a recent opinion poll, 60 per cent of Spaniards said they do not like the spectacle, which ends with the death of the bull from a well-placed sword.

I feel that bullfighting should be banned. This is because bullfighting is essentially making fun of a bull by making it run here and there in an arena. The bull will then be killed with a sword. Moreover, the matador in the arena with the bull has a very high chance of being either injured or killed by the bull whenever something goes wrong. 

This is evident in the incident that happened during April this year. One of Spain's top bullfighters was badly gored during a fight in Mexico. The extent of injury is shown when he needed to be immediately operated on at the scene due to a punctured vein and artery. He was bleeding so badly that officials appealed over loudspeakers for compatible donors to come forward from the crowd.

This shows even experienced bullfighters can get badly injured in a fight, so what are the chances of less experienced bullfighters being free of injury after every fight? So in conclusion, I feel that bullfighting should be banned for the benefit of both the bull and the matador.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8642637.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11022260

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/19/2987218.htm

First poll in Burma (Myanmar) in two decades

Burma Coat of Arms

Burma, or otherwise known as Myanmar, will be holding its first general elections on 7 November 2010. This was announced yesterday by ruling generals, ending months of speculation. The poll is the first since pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in 1990. The military never allowed her party to take power, and it was disbanded. Ms Suu Kyi has been either in jail or under house arrest in the past 20 years, and has been barred from standing because of past criminal convictions, as are many other pro-democracy activists.

Critics of the elections say that it will be a sham, due to the poll laws which are in the favour of the authorities. The law states that those with criminal convictions and members of religious orders cannot take part, ruling out many activists and monks. A new consititution reserves 25% of the parliament for the military, and some of the parties that have registered for the polls are seen to be proxies of the military. 

One party not linked to the military has already complained to the Election Commission that its members are being intimidated. Ironically, the members of the Election Comission are handpicked by the Burmese military government.

I feel that this election is a complete sham as the current military government seems to have removed any loopholes that might be exploited by the opposition, thus reducing chances that any party that could gain an overall majority of the votes could register. Moreover, even if the
military's worst-case scenario happens, they would still be in control of 25% of the parliament. With the new constitution stating that any constitutional change would have to garner more than 75% approval of the parliament, it meant that the military would effectively still be in control of the parliament.

Despite this, there are still people that feel that this election, however flawed, could be the start of a process of much-needed change.

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10961366

Former Cuban President - Fidel Castro, warns of nuclear "holocaust"

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban politician and former president. One of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, Castro served as the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then as the President of the Council of State of Cuba and the president of Council of Ministers of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008. He currently serves as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, a position he has held since its inception in 1965.

Yesterday, he mustered enough strength to address the country's parliament, for the first time since his health crisis four years ago, to issue a dire warning of a nuclear holocaust. Castro said it would be up to US President Barack Obama to issue an order to carry out such a strike, but that, if he realised the consequences of this action, "he would not give it". He stressed that should nuclear war be unleashed, "the existing world order would not survive and would immediately collapse". 

I agree with Fidel Castro. This is because if we look at the past (1945, to be exact), when the US dropped the nuclear bombs onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day". This shows the devastating impact nuclear bombs has on the targeted country/city. Combined with the dense population the world now has, I am sure the casualities of the nuclear war will make the casualties of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seem negligible. Moreover, it will be the innocent civilians that will suffer the most from the nuclear war. So, I feel that nuclear war should be avoided for the sake of mankind.

Sources:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1074095/1/.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro

Vulnerability in Apple's Operating System

Apple's operating system for the iPhone, iPad tablet computer and iPod music player have been discovered to have two vulnerabilities, says security firms. The vulnerability could be exploited by remote attackers to take complete control of a vulnerable device. However, at present, experts say that the threat only exists on paper but Apple has to address this issue before it becomes a reality.

Apple said that the company was aware of the report and was investigating. One vulnerability is caused by a glitch triggered when a user views data in Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. As Apple's Mobile Safari automatically opens PDF files, a hacker could embed malicious codes into this files.

However, ironically, the only way to prevent Mobile Safari from automatically opening PDF files is by jailbreaking a phone and installing an application called PDF Loading Warner. That application asks for permission everytime the browser tries to open an PDF file. 

Now, it up to Apple to release a patch that would either prevent Jailbreak from working or close the highlighted security flaw. But, in retrospect, Apple has been slow to fix problems on their mobile browsers.

Personally, I feel that Apple, now, has to change the way it faces problems, and fix this current one as soon as possible. This is because once the threat becomes real, it will be even more difficult for Apple to prevent it, and the unknowing users might fall victim to the hackers.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10865288

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/1073721/1/.html

Founder of WikiLeaks denies "blood on hands"

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has rejected U.S. claims that he has blood on his hands after releasing 90,000 leaked classified documents on the Afghan war. Julian Assange said that there were no evidence that any infomants had died as a result of the leaks. He then accused the Pentagon of trying to distract attention from the thousands of lives being lost in the war.

The White House has appealed to Wikileaks not to publish another 15,000 documents it is thought to hold, and the U.S. denied Mr Assange's assertion that he had asked the US government to help vet the documents to protect lives.

In an interview with the BBC, he directly addressed comments made by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who sharply criticised WikiLeaks. "One must consider why the Pentagon is focusing on the hypothetical blood that it says might be on our hands - although there is no evidence of that - compared to the 20,000 lives that have been lost in Afghanistan that are documented and exposed by our material."

Despite the appeal made by the White House to WikiLeaks, Mr Assange has pledged to continue the release of documents. 

I personally feel that Mr Assange should not continue to publish the documents as it will only continue to serve as a tool for the enemy. Publishing those documents only compromises the lives of the people involved. The damage done so far is irreparable, as "once a document published it is essentially impossible to censor,", according to WikiLeaks. So, instead of publishing the remaining documents, they should be either be deleted or remain unpublished.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10825183
http://thenextweb.com/files/2010/01/Wikileaks_3_1.jpg 
http://www.wikileaks.com/wiki/WikiLeaks:About