Would you buy products that contain GM foods for consumption by your family? Why or why not?

Yes, I would buy products that contain GM foods for consumption by my family as they are already in the market and so far, there have not been much problems about its use. Moreover, the availibility of GM foods in the market such as soya bean milk would mean that it is tested and approved by the health authorities and safe enough for consumption.

Despite the bad press surrounding GM foods and the widespread sentiment in Europe that it is not safe for consumption, I would not be too concerned about the dangers involved in eating GM foods as many people have eaten GM foods, including seedless oranges. Hence, it is a norm here, although people do not specifically want their food to be genetically modified. Therefore, I would still buy such products even with the awareness of their potential harm.

As one of the country’s decision makers, would you advocate the use of GM crops? Why or why not?

I would advocate the use of GM crops as the benefits to gain from such crops outweigh the potential harm it may do to consumers. Around the world, many countries face a shortage of food and hence it's people have to go hungry and as a result, are malnutritioned and prone to getting diseases. By allowing the growth of GM crops, these people in third world countries will be able to have a larger supply of food as GM crops have a higher yield than normal crops. As such, people who live in those third world countries will not be deprived of food. Thus, this is one of the benefits of growing GM crops in the country.

In addition, GM crops are easier to grow and they can be resistant to pesticides. This will be useful for countries where crops often are destroyed due to bad weather conditions or attacks by pests. Hence, there will be a reliable source of food for people to consume instead of depending on nature to go their way.

Furthermore, GM foods can be modified to contain additional vitamins, meaning that they can help to provide nutrition for the people in the country who have lived with insufficient vitamins. It will be greatly beneficial as doctors do not have to be around to administer the vitamins to them and will improve their general health and well being.

However, the downside of growing GM crops is that it may be potentially dangerous to consume as not all GM crops are tested and often, GM foods are not labelled properly. This may result in allergies in certain people.

Despite this, GM foods can benefit people in many ways and hence I would advocate its use.

"What are your views on abortion?"

Personally, i think abortion is just wrong. It means killing a living human. Even a foetus has life and a heart that is beating. By aborting it, the woman is literally killing something that lived inside her.

The decision for an abortion is usually not valid. For example, a couple had pre-marital sex and feel that the baby is a liabilty, so they choose to abort it without considering that they just created Life. Many other couples want to have their own children but are unable to do so. If a couple had an unplanned child, the mother of the child should at least carry him to the full term. After that, it will be up to her to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. This way, the baby would have a happy home and continue to live.

After all, the baby should not be punished for his parents' mistakes. If the parents choose abortion, they are killing an innocent life. Parents, be it married or unmarried, should be responsible for their own actions and know of the consequences before they do anything.

However, there are times when the reasons for abortion is justified, like the mother who had a high risk of losing her life if she continues her pregnancy of if she had a miscarriage. In the former case, if she goes for an abortion, at least she would not lose her life. Even so, there are many downsides to abortion. Abortion may be harmful to the mother if the instruments used are not well sterilised. Moreover, some women suffer psychological illnesses when they think of the aborted child and may be left infertile after the painful procedure.

If killing people is wrong and a foetus is a form of human life, isn't killing a foetus as bad as killing humans? Thus, abortion is wrong and should not be made legal to those who just want to get rid of the baby.

"In the modern world, image is everything." Discuss. (2000)

In the modern world, image is deemed to be very important as people become more self concious and at the same time, form their own opinions about others based on their portrayed image. As such, people are affected by the constant judgement from others and want to create a better image of themselves. This applies to many aspects of one's life when dealing with others, such as in one's family, social life and career. However, image is not everything as how a person looks may differ from what he really is like in the inside. Hence, image is important but not everything.

Image is almost everything when starting one's career. In interviews, people often try to look their best and show a sense of confidence to the interviewer. In doing so, they try to lead the interviewer to think that they are indeed capable and thus suitable for the job. How a person dresses for interviews is also important as it reflects on the person and shows how important they feel the job is. For example, if one man turns up in jeans while another dresses more formally, the latter is more likely to secure the position if they have the same qualifications. Hence, the first impression made by the interviewee would serve to either impress or have a negative impact on the interviewer. Moreover, in a job itself, it is usually those who are seen to be putting in a lot of effort that are promoted or given a raise. This shows that the image portrayed to one's boss will affect how the employer views a person and hence influence his decision on who to promote or favour. Therefore, image means a lot in climbing the corporate ladder as how one carries himself could affect the opinions of his superiors.

“There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.” Comment

I disagree with the statement. Interest can be changed as the years go by, but friends remain despite the changes in their individual interests. Up till now, many students still keep in touch with their primary school friends even though they may be in different schools and have different interests. Even as their interest changes over the years, they can still come together as a group of friends. They may even grow up and remain friends for life despite their varied interests. Therefore, it is possible for permanent friends to exist without permanent interests.

In addition, a group of friends may not necessarily share the same interest. For example, a group of good friends may not all share a liking for sports. However, they are still friends who would stick through thick and thin for each other. This shows that interests need not be the same for friends to be made.

Moreover, friendship is built on mutual trust and respect for one another. If the trust and respect two friends have for each other stays the same, they can be permanent friends. This is regardless of their interests. For most people, making friends is part and parcel of life. Friends help you through difficulties and are there to support you when you need it. Making friends is not for a particular interest or reason. Instead, it comes naturally when two people get along together and are able to understand each other. Hence, there can be permanent friends without the same interest.

In conclusion, friends that remain through your life is possible even without having the same interest anymore as an individual’s interests can change over the years and friendship is formed on more than a common interest.

Different views on whether the education system should allow exceptionally bright students to skip grades

I agree most with Dr Lee Siew Peng that there are ‘good reasons not to allow grade-skipping’. His letter to the Straits Times Forum section states that ‘all-round development is important’. I agree with the statement as grades and academics should not be the only aspect of a child’s life. Even if the child is gifted, he should not be pushed to accelerate through the schooling curriculum. Instead, he should be given time to develop his own interest and have as much fun as the average child. Personally, I feel that the childhood years of a person are very important as it is during this time that they spent their most memorable times. After a child grows up, he will often not have as much time to enjoy himself due to the heavy workload in schools. Hence, he should be allowed to spend his childhood years freely and not be tied down academic studies. Therefore, grade-skipping should not be allowed so as to give the child time to socialise and explore his interest. In this way, he can grow up to be an all-rounder and not just good academically.

The other letters to the Forum sent in by Siti Aisha Mostafa, Lai Ee Sa and Thomas Anthony encourage grade-skipping. However, I disagree with their views as I feel that grade-skipping would put too much pressure on the child as he is expected to perform well academically. Too much pushing from his parents may rob him of his fun and joy in his childhood years. Furthermore, he may be unable to take the stress that the environment puts onto him. He may also not be able to accept and deal with failure as well as the average child due to the mindset that he has to do well. In addition, he would be happier playing with other children his age than being forced to study a more challenging syllabus. Hence, I feel that grade-skipping should not be encouraged and disagree with them.

My views on advertisements

Advertisements are important to companies as it is a way for them to promote their goods. Without advertisements, the public will be unaware of the various goods that are available in the market and hence will have less choice. Advertisements grab the audience's attention and sometimes even develop a curiosity in them. Moreover, advertisements bring out the good qualities of a product and hence, a potential customer may be interested in trying it out. For example, an advertisement on a new burger sold in McDonald's will result in people buying it to taste what it is like.

Money spent on advertisements is worth it as advertisements are needed to inform the public of a good in the market. If the public knows that the good exist, they are more likely to buy it, than if they were totally unaware of it previously. Hence, the sales for an advertised product would be better than one that is not advertised. Therefore, the company would be able to benefit from the increased profits earned, making the use of advertisements worth it.

Despite the many benefits and usefulness of advertisements, they have a downside too. Advertisements that portray only the good effects of the good, like commercials on slimming products often seen on the television, are deceptive as the side-effects of the product are not known to the consumer. In addition, some advertisements make use of people's body in order to attract attention from the public. Personally, i feel that such advertisements are uncalled for and should not be allowed as they may have an adverse impact on young children. As advertisements are seem by the general public, their content should be appropriate and i believe that it is up to the government and the companies creating these advertisements to restrict them so that it is suitable for everyone.

"What is one value or belief that you hold on to in life? Why?"

I believe in living life to its fullest. Life is short and we never know what will happen. Hence I feel that we should treasure life, the people around us, and the memories we have and pursue our dreams. Furthermore, there is a huge world out there and many new things for us to learn and experience.

Personally, in my life, there were people who left me. One of them is my grandmother. She took care of me when I was a toddler as both my parents are working. Then one day, she suffered a stroke. I never got to tell her how I felt about her and thank her for all she has done for me and my sisters. But even if my grandmother is not with us now, the memories I have of her will stay with me forever. Thus, now as a teenager, I think that we should speak our minds because you will never know if it is too late when you finally tell someone something. Also, I have learnt to cherish the people around me.

In living life to its fullest, I feel that we should pursue our dreams. Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. Hence, no matter what, it is important to have dreams and ambitions for us to follow. When we follow these dreams, we will be doing things that we want to do. And at the end of it comes the satisfaction of achieving something you want.

Moreover, time waits for no man. Therefore with whatever little time we have, we must learn to make use of it and experience new things. Only if we try to live our lives fully and do what we want to do, can we be happy in life.

...

ok this is created just for the gp topics thing.. haiz.. derno lar.. will try not to pollute it.. =/ so yar..