Watched Fahrenheit 9/11 at Lido today...in case those who still wish to catch it it's still screening...but ONLY at Lido...anyway it's not bad...not your usual kind of entertainment...gets a bit dreary at times (face it, it's documentary) but it still possesses a wicked sense of humour tt makes it pretty amusing at certain parts...have to do a bit of hw on 9/11 to fully understand e film thou (which I didn't=<) Anyway some of e interesting points Michael Moore listed which showed Bush was practising a sort of "double standards" in his handling of e 9/11 incident...

1) MM starts wif Bush attending an elementary scool class in a bid for publicity...at 9:03 September 11...he was informed by one of his senior consulates tt a plane had crashed into the World Trade Tower...but he apparently appears disinterested and continues a reading session wif e elementary class till 9:15...and e one of the explanations tt MM offers to Bush's 12 minute inaction is tt he has vested interests which brings us to e second point...

2)The Bush Family has business dealings and a close relationship wif *gasp* bin Laden's family and e Saudi Royal Family as well as many Saudi oil tycoons...Several incidents listed by MM serve to illustrate Bush's reluctance to adopt a hard approach on e Saudis as a result of his personal relationship with them...
a) on SEPT 13 24 Saudi personnels...many of dem bin Laden's relatives...were allowed to leave US by plane...baffling top US security personnel...
b) Bush Senior was part of a trading group called the Carlyle Group...which the Bush administration had a major share along with many Saudi tycoons...They were then undertaking a project which involved building an oil pipeline from Saudi Arabia through the Middle East all the way to Afghanistan (can't remember exact details may have got e locations wrong)...Discussions had been made before 9/11 but Bush Senior blatantly pushed and actively pursued e plan after 9/11...which led to protests as e Americans saw Saudi Arabia as a base for terrorism and they feared any profits made by the Saudis would be used to fund et terrorists...Saudis pulled out in e end...but Bush's warmth towards e Saudis and oblivion to e American attitude raises concern (and a few eyebrows)...
c)A Question of Bush's military credentials leads him to dig out and publish his previous war records...but MM notices purposeful alterations to the original document...of which e most significant is tt of an omitted name of James R. Bath from one of the war records...Bush's purpose was to hide his close relationship with Bath during their army days for fear if Bath were to come under investigation, it would reveal tt Bath had been the one doing trade (illegal?) secretly with e Saudis for Bush...
d)Bush invited Osama's half brother to his house to have a personal chat with him...after 9/11...enough said...

3)Bush's attempt to shift responsibility away from e Saudis...
a) Announced tt Osama Bin Laden was in Afghanistan and tt e Taleban government was harbouring him...Sent all of 11,000 US personnel into Afghanistan to hunt him down...less military personnel than u'd find in Michigan alone...took 2 months to reach Bin Laden's location after intelligence reports revealed his whereabouts...Was it incompetence of e US President...or other reasons?
b) Rejected Congress idea of setting up a research and investigation Committee for 9/11...attempt failed...Bush later suspended e setting up of an INDEPENDENT committee...citing reasons tt spies might infiltrate these committees

4)Bush's attempt to ride on the 9/11 incident to boost his standing and wealth
a) Two days after a company Unical was awarded e rights to build up US defence...Bush announces a proposed hike in defence expenditure...and the Bush family has a stake in Unical...
b) Rode on e wave of terrorism to declare war against Iraq...citing e accumulation of weapons of mass destruction by Saddem...None were found...and Bush den changed his tone saying Saddem had violated human Rights in his inhumanitarian rule of e country...more importantly, US immediately sub-sontracted out building projects in Iraq to major US companies after Iraq was defeated...

5)Other incidents:
a) deduction of wages of US soldiers...and an absurd incident where a soldier had his monthly pay docked by five days worth because he had died on May 26th and did not complete a month's work...
b)Reporters barged in during Bush's golf practice for comments on 9/11...Bush juz threw a "Nations have to stand up to the threat of terrorism" and den asked reporters "how do you find my golf swing?"
c)Out of 300+ Congressmen...only 1 of dem had their children enlisted in Iraq...MM decided to inquire if he could "persuade" more of the congressmen to let their children be enlisted...He stopped them on the streets...gave them brochures and pepped talk dem...thou as expected none took up e offer...

still got other stuff but can't recall dem at e moment...but I think MM's film juz further reinforces my view tt Bush is juz attempting to use e 9/11 incident to increase pple's fear so as to garner support and cement his position in the US by presenting himself as a dependable and firm president...and tt he sux

Recollections of e past few days:
Thursday
Physics prac was first highlight of e day...chan yang ling was stunned by me during e prac...cuz I was sitting on e left side of e bench which was e electricity experiment...but I didn't know e format of e prac (nvr attend lec) and i happily started to get to work on e first experiment (e clamp 1)...was happily drawing tables and stuff...E fun part came when I asked her where they put e G-Clamp n long ruler for e first experiment...I tell u...e shocked/stunned/disbelieved look tt she gave on her face was...Priceless...nearly collapsed in a fit of giggles...after tt she constantly monitor my progress throughout e prac test liaozz=p

Rucker-puck after prac...it was fun!! hahaz rucker-puck juz means e bballers coming together n play ball lah...juz give it a cool name tt sounds like some street bball competition...hahaz it adds to e fun anyway...anyway it was Best bball I've played in months...

Friday

Went out wif Shiqin...wanted to watch 13 going on 30 at first but ended up watching Collateral...quite a cool show...thou there ain't much of a story inside to talk about...but e back-to-back action is fantastic...pretty humorous at times too...esp. e part when Max went to meet Felix...anyway hey hey it's juz 80+ days before ya Nic baby finally comes back...hang in dere!!

Went to play some bball at teck whye neighbourhood after getting my pay...a bit sian they dun have decent players dere...had e satisfaction of nearly dunking thou (rim dere bit lower i think)

haben studied e last 3 days...hahaz due to a combination of Olympic bball, warcraft and great Indian movies on Vasantham Central...I feel so dead now=p supposed to meet sin yee to study today but couldn't make it due to chest pains...yeah tt's gd study time gone too cuz I know I'll juz slack at home now...I guess I'm those kinda persons tt will only study well wif pple who r motivated n focused on studying...myself being 1 of poor discipline and possessing a careless attitude towards academic results I find tt if u study wif focused and motivated pple somehow their focus actually infects u n u concentrate better...Xuwen is 1 I would enjoy studying wif...hahaz those times at e Jurong Library really count as my more productive study times...Hmmzz as for studying wif Sin Yee...well she's really adorable n great company=>...however whether u r productive or not MAY depend on her moods...if she's esp. in high spirits due to a recent outing or if bcuz she has met a new frenz den u can bet much of e time will actually be spent chatting...but she's quite serious most times lah...hahaz also u'll definitely be impressed by her flawless organisation of her learning materials...if u make full utilisation of her notes u'll find revision is a breeze...

studying sux man...I'll go watch some Vasantham Central...

hmmmzz my head was literally swimming today...didn't get anything done...n e weather today was crappy too and had a mind of its own...rained w whole morning...at lunchtime when it finally stopped I thot I finally could get a dose of fresh air I so badly needed and mebbe go arcade play a little mahjong (I'm getting pro at it 50 cents can last me a half hour=>), but after I bathed and changed and all ready to go out it immediately started to pour again...it's almost as if e weather had a tiny cunning mind of its own...

today Ah Peng's b|rd-DaY...happy b-day brother...next time we play mahjong at ya house to celebrate for ya yeah? zao1 cai2 into ya house=p

Hmmzz not tt school's out I've been thinking more n in e process hurting a little more...In e hustle n bustle of school life I haben had e chance to properly have a quiet moment to myself without having to re-focus my energies on much more pressing stuff...So well I'm extremely glad at e solitary moments tt I'm getting now...some pple probably think I am a sucker for taking so long to get over sth tt didn't last more than a few months...or tt now I shud really brush away unimportant things from my mind and focus on my exams...but I think it's bullshit if pple think tt feelings r sth tt u can juz chuck on a shelf when u dun need it n retrieve it when u have a use for it...I mean if u r feeling shitty tt day...everything seems shitty tt day...if u feel shitty tt day n yet everything seems so wonderful and normal I can only come to a few logical conslusions:

i) tt u r not in a really shitty mood
ii) your heart has got a strong safe wif extra locks
iii) tt u r on the IMH patients' list

hahaz OK of cuz I'd say it's dumb if u get totally carried away by your emotions...things have to be done wif e correct balance of intuition and practicality...like wat e Ng said...some things whether u like it or not...u juz gotta do...Yeah of cuz I'll study for my exams but it'll juz be less thorough, less prepared n e process will be extremely torturous...but I'm fine wif tt...if it actually keeps me in sync wif my emotions and I know I'm not deceiving myself by being all happy juz bcuz pple wish me to...tt's wat I think shud be e essence of life...to be true to yourself...anyway back to my main point I'm juz glad to have these solitary moments which I feel I need to allow me to cope better...=>

hahaz wah feeling hungry liaozz...n it's only less than 2 hours after dinner? hahaz hate to admit it but I think there's some disorder wif my digestive system...I ultimately have this unusually huge appetite when I'm sick...like e feeling tt ya stomach doesn't seem quite filled n ya mouth is juz itching for a little smozzle of food...not tt I dun have a huge appetite during normal days but it juz gets better when I'm sick...n if not for some self-restraint (I'm proud I'm able to do tt=p) I doubt if I'll ever stop eating...yeah take tea-break for example...after much self-restraint I still downed 4 slices of bread, 3 digestive cookies, a cup of Milo, a wedge of cheese, a packet of instant noodles, an almost finished bottle of peanut butter...yeah glad I'll be going sch tml...at least can take my mind off food for a while...*phew*

oh yah speaking of sch...all e best to everyone for prac tml

1 paper down...lots more to go...I dun think I'm ready for exams...when mabel was asking me during assembly if I was nervous for e GP paper...all I could offer was a nonchalant "No"...I even tried to search and dig out any emotions remotely related to anxiety n nervousnessbut found nothing...this brings me to e conclusion tt I'm not ready for exams because if u r sitting for an exam n u've put in adequate effort obviously u will feel a certain innate anxiety as u will want to make all e hard work count and do well in e exams...So it's either I've not been working hard enough or I do not think tt my marks better...hmmmzz reflecting on myself mebbe it's a combination of both ba4...take this GP paper for example...I know I wun do well for this GP paper cuz it was tough...but I also know I wun fail this cuz (I think) no matter wat I can at least grind out a pass...I know it's e wrong attitude to juz be contented to have my marks hanging in a precarious position but I really dun have e mood to do anything bout it...so Let It Be...

Hmmzz the turtle that me n eugene rescued from e bball court has been having an exceptionally healthy appetite lately...e first day I gave it a piece of cai xin dun even want to eat...but today give it a whole bushel of kang kong it settle within a few hours le...hahaz it's really active sometimes it makes so much noise (by constantly banging its container) tt I juz let it run around e bathroom at its own discretion...hmmmzz haben really decided to permanently keep it...Siew Sze's interested in keeping it so i may give it to her (provided u take gd care of it=p) either tt or I'll let it go at Bedok Reservoir...hahaz but a bit she3 bu4 de2 it's really quite cute...hahaz shud look at e way Nic went gaga over e turtle the other time...

feel like playing table tennis now...went Nic's house to play but e table occupied *sigh* anyway Kim Kyung Ah's a really great player! muz learn all her cut moves...

off to play warcraft le...

hmmmzz watched table tennis comp today...bet at least a quarter of Singapore's 4-million strong population (which is yeah 1 million) did...hmmmzz yeah jia wei played great...inspired me to play better table tennis n use more evil strokes to kill Nic n company!! hmmmzz to say e least she wasn't really in best of form lah...lacked a bit of mental steel too...u look at e North Korean...when she was down 3-1...everybody thot tt she was down n out...but she probably thot..."No!! I cannot lose!! I dun wanna go back n kanna tortured by having to smack cement ping pong balls everyday!!" (think: Uday Hussein n Iraqi soccer team) OK whatever...but yeah she was tough...probably had to go thru so much more in N.Korea I guess...Singapore juz lack a little up dere (pointing to brain)...whether was it Li or Susilo...but den hey no qualms about their effort n desire to win...they played great n inspired many...so well done all e sg peepz in Athens! n oh yah to Li jia1 you2 for e bronze man...for it will be sg's 2ND Olympic medal n it's worth $250,000!! E ultimate souvenir to take back from Athens...

Speaking of e third-fourth placing battle...Li will be playing against this South Korean...hahaz so looking forward to it...bcuz e South Korean is a CUTTER!! hahaz dere's nothing more entertaining than watching a cutter play a smacker in a Table Tennis Game...in fact it's hilarious...for those who watched her play Zhang Yining...I tell u Zhang was seriously pissed off by her lor...hahaz yeah can't wait for tml...Cutters rule!!

sigh hyper mood gone for no reason l|aozz...sign off ba...

P.S. wth S'ton beat blackburn by a LAST MINUTE PENALTY!! I nvr have any luck in soccer betting...

Lost money for my bets this week...next week muz chiong back man...didn't do too bad for fantasy though...5th in the Lee Hsien Long Group:p

wun be going school tml because got violin exams...one word to summarise it *tough*...hahaz yeah muz admit music ain't in my blood...CLASSICAL music esp...hahaz yeah guess I do have to be prepared to be disappointed...this whole 1 year preparing for Grade 8 i'd rate it as one of my most pressurising moments...partly because I really do want to do well in it but more because my parents have really sacrificed quite a bit to pay my fees (Music is Ex man)...but den I'm not e exam-oriented kind...which makes it tougher..plus like what Ben Foo says...To have exams for music is totally an oxymoron because how do you really put into numbers sth tt u feel wif e heart? Of Cuz things like technique and presentation matters n influences a music's quality...but den tt's not e beauty i see in music...

Sometimes the simple stuff pple do for u can really make your day...whether izzit a msg a call a treat a chat...it's tt thot n tt little sacrifice tt really makes a difference...*Sacrificing does not mean that u lose something...it juz means tt u have passed on your gift to someone else* Today a few msgs we shared really made my day...even thou they were mere simple encouragement...but still they felt really sweet...I teared...for I no longer felt alone...

*I thot I could forget you...but it was merely an act of attempting to remove a vital organ from my body...futile and painful...My heart still beats for tt organ...to nourish, to cherish it*

Hmmmzz I'm stunned today...I was out wif my Mum n happened to see e soccer odds at Singapore Pools...wanted to place some soccer bets to up e ante for today's EPl (come on fantasy soccer ain't thrilling enough man)...so I juz casually approached my Mum when she went to buy 4-D...wasn't really expecting any positive responses...at first she asked me how accurate I was wif my predictions...I said bout half e time (Ok so I screwed up Euro 2004 but hey tt's juz a minor setback)...den she juz told me to fill up e coupons n give it to her den she'll help me buy...way cool man...hahaz kinda lucky I was kinda disappointed actually when I found I didn't have time off alone today so could not go off to buy=( well anyway for starters I juz bet $10 on a draw between Man U n Chelsea n a Fulham victory over Manchester City...Show me e money Man!!

Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||| 33% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||| 69% Type 3 Image Focus |||||||||||||| 58% Type 4 Hypersensitivity |||||||||||| 49% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||||| 68% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||| 45% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||| 49% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||||| 54% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||||| 69% Your Conscious-Surface type is 2w3 Your Unconscious-Overall type is Omni

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Conscious self	Overall self

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Global Personality Test Results

Sensate (56%) moderately high which suggests you are emotional, sensitive, and subjective. Perfectionist (23%) low which suggests you tend to be very unreliable, lazy, careless, and unmotivated. Extrovert (36%) moderately low which suggests you are quiet, introverted, and aloof.

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In e com lab slacking n listening to qi li xiang now...hmmzz I guess when u have 5 CDs all e same style it gets a bit repititive...but nonetheless it's still a great piece of production...hahaz hmmzz have been chatting a lot wif d|d| recently (or rather playing minesweeper flags)...seems like she's settled well in e US...hehez come to think of it tt should be e least of my concerns...she's e only 1 I knew in Dunman who can juz go up to a complete stranger n ask..."Hi, I'm Maris..wanna intro?" so yeah social life shud be pieceacake for her...More pressing questions will be like "How is she coping wif e super-sized meals dere? (yah lor cannot always pig out in front of e TV ah!!)" or whether she has met some nice caucasian guys (i v long nvr eat wedding dinner liaozz lor:p) *evil grinzz* sch starting liaozz muz hao3 hao3 gambate wor...got time i jio u for minesweeper flags tonight:)

Watched M. Night Shyamalam's E Village today...it is great...seriously...e story is v unique...n Shyamalam's a great storyteller...doesn't say more than he needs to...lets u follow n understand e story n yet constantly keeps u in suspense...n he often tricks u into predicting a mainstream conclusion n juz when u feel it's getting predictable he suddenly pops up and thrills u with a completely different scenario...great stuff=>

hmmmzz was in a great mood to play my violin juz now...it's one of those rare times when i feel inspired n my feelings and emotions juz row together wif e music...tt's e time when e music feels n tastes e sweetest=>

Hmmmzz after today's violin exam dere will juz be 1 more violin lesson left before I quit...dun really wanna quit actually but den my parents wun let me continue...they even say they'll give me more pocket money to make up for my *loss* in income...hmmmzz it's some consolation but den not really wat I want ba4...money is but a small factor of wat I really enjoy in e job...I'll miss those guys man...hahaz malvin was asking me if I could teach him private after I left e school whilst xena apparently dun wanna change teacher either...mebbe cuz e other teachers all fiercer than me ba4:p hahaz I guess it's this kinda things tt make all our teachers here slog so much for such miserable govt pay ba4=p

I'll looking to find sth else to occupy my friday nights...suggestions anyone?:p

Hiyo slacking in cm lab now...hmmmzz later hope to go steamboat party at marina bay to celebrate mabel n sin yee's b-day...yeah hear tt immune system stop slacking man! having this flu bug for a week le...yeah it's starting to cause respiratory probs...I'll go see a doc soon if it does not turn out well...hmmmzz feel like playing my violin now yesterday play for 2 hours so happy...hahaz think I'm catching on Ben Foo's affection for their music instruments le...