warning. this is a super long post. involves my view on a lot of things rangin from politics, scandals, entertainment and such. if ure ready for some thought provocative reading, please do continue reading by all means.
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im going mad.

over this whole nonsense that's going on, especially in the last week.

first n foremost, i guess i wont need to explain the furore that's been caused by a certain individuals among the american troops in iraq who took insulting images of the iraqi prisoners. it's sheer madness, just what the fuck is goin on? did they actually think that it was fun doing all that crap? it goes against the modern human rights code of conduct, never mind that, even if that did not exist, what were these people thinking?

and the leadership. its funny to see the bush administration point fingers at each other, when they're all part of a team. only after bush blamed rumsfeld, then there was a formal apology and acceptance of responsibility. is this the kind of leadership that the world is interested in? bush, cheney, powell, rice, rumsfeld and ashcroft are a team that runs a country, and yet it seems everyone is working independently when they should be working with eachother. i dont think an apology by the man himself was too much to ask for? was it? i mean, if someone from the top post had apologized as soon as it came out, it would have been an excellent damage control before all the talk and investigation took place, which also angered people across the world, not to mention especially iraqis who r totally embarassed. why cant bush apologize on behalf of everything? u claim you were not told, well, how many things are you not informed of, do u think that you will be told everything? i believe you ignored the 9/11 warning among so many other things, and now this. it is the end of the road for you. as his term ends, he has sacrificed, or in survivor term, backstabbed rice and rumsfeld in order to cover him up, simply coz if he were to testify, i think it'll turn out a lot worse.

and that's just the tip of the iceberg everyone. this is really crazy country, with a lot of crap going on.

lemme just highlight several cases highlighted in last week's NBC dateline.

one. american citizens are gettin paid to marry illegal immigrants so that they can secure an american green card which will allow them to stay in the country. clearly its illegal, but money drives everyone insane. and you'll be shocked at the amount that they agree on. for just US$10k or 15k, they're willing to commit and illegal activity, to save these illegal immigrants. isnt that just crazy? i mean, i thought a sum of 100k or greater was involved, but for just 10k, or according to some sources, it could go as much as 45k, which is slightly above the average annual income for americans, they're willing to sacrifice their marriage. for just that much amount of money. obviously people who get involved are usually those in dire need of money, but i dont think that amount is worth it. if i were to do it, i'd ask for a fee to supplement me for a good 20 years at least. its sheer stupidity. and there was one guy who was willing to do it for just 5000 bucks.

two. become a member, invest in our products, and recommend this program to your friends and you will get paid for referrals! it is a scam, obviously, but you wont believe the amount of people who fell for this thing. literally tens of thousands. its simple, they show u a promotional video, sayin if u participate in this program, u will get to live the kind of life u only imagined, big house, drivin in sports car, get ur very own yacht, cruise in miami, yada yada ya. just become a member, and you're on ur way to richdom! so what this company, quixtar did, is to ask these ordinary citizens to apply for a membership, which was in excess of 200 bucks, to get their starter kit, which includes some food products, books, audio tapes, etc etc. if u like it, order additional products. and of cuz tell ur family, ur friends, ur neighbours and they'll b rewarded the more they refer. so many people fell for it that it become a cult. people attend sanctioned seminars, gatherings, etc etc. n they encourage to eat their own products, read only their books, listen to their spiritual tapes repeatedly over n over n over again. i call it mental imprisonment. these people are getttin duped into the kind of mindset where they'll listen to anything that quixtar says. n the distance they go for this is amazing. thousands of people across the country signed up, and bought so many of their tapes, books and attend meetings, etc etc. and all were hoping to make the big bucks. the board of governers, who often gave the talks in conferences were revered like a priest, so much so that footage of their national conference seemed like a religious congregation. it seriously looked every everyone were such deep believers. but the truth, 99.5% of the members never made any money. but they kept pouring money in. most of the money was made by the distributers of the tapes and the books, and guess who they r? none other than the board of governers themselves, who earned quarter of a million dollars annually, so easily.

its so easy to fool the minds of many with promises like these. and even shocking is that so many people fall for this thing. it was shocking when one of the people being interviewed was a UC Berkeley Medical graduate. even those academically qualified falls for this kinda thing, which sheds a light on the question, are they really that smart? guess not.

there's so much more to everything, insurance companies charging medical practitioners so much interest premium that they go out of business, like i mentioned few weeks back and all. i can really go on n on.

knowing that this is whats happenin, it makes me sick. and people get away with these things.

moving on, even the television is evil. well, most shows. as friends ended and frasier comes to a conclusion, its the beginning of an era where reality TV takes full control of television. there still r so many sitcoms, but none can match the viewership and the popularity these two shows generated. and it is really the end. look at the number of reality shows that spin offed after survivor and american idol. to me, those are probably the only two things i watch. coz there were the prototypes and they were the pacesetters. the TV's filled wit reality shows that range from the diary of hopeful parents of child stars to a series about a women who's giving up her baby for adoption. take for example the new FOX series 'the swan' they take 16 'ugly ducklings' as they name the 16 women whose self confidence is at an all time low because they believe they r not physically attractive. so FOX gives them a complete overhaul of their physical self, though complete plastic surgery. its a sickening sight to watch the graphics when they air it right in the middle of dinner time. and every week, they change 2 women, and the twist? they kick one of the two person off the show. the other one gets to join a staged beauty pagent which will be conducted when 8 women's tranformations are aired. n then? they actually will conduct the beauty pagent itself to crown 'the swan' who's the best transformed women in the show. 'its the most radical show ever devised on television' (that's in their own words, seriously) and it sure is.

where has creativity gone? even TV is poisoned with brainless shows like these. and its everywhere, even to home improvement channels and such.

it is truly a sad thing. and this weekend capped it off. survivor finalist, rob, proposed to eventual winner amber on national tv. their romance hit it off durin the show n im still not convinced its true. i still think tt he used her to get into the final, as she did use him and the excuse is to share the million bucks coz he realized he wont win it, after being such a fucker during the whole series.

if i were to complete abstain from all form of stupidity, i'd hav to abstain from all form of entertainment, but im not that much of an hard ass. i was seriously bothered, but while talkin a friend about it, i was suggested i should juz not concern myself in all these. i mean where do i stand in all these? that's true. for once, i feel like its good to b ignorant of everythin that's goin on. but not ignorant because u cant b bothered to know. i wanna b ignorant because i hav a reason to b ignorant about.

i sound somethin like a serious anti globalizationist or some editorial commetator, but im juz expressin an opinion. hell, if i were, i wont wear adidas shoes, sport levi's shirt, carry sony handphones and listen to sony discman. i wont eat at macdonalds, i wont watch tv, i wont see a cinema, worse, i wont listen to records. i shant go on to explain each n every one of those things, mayb next time, but a simple example. as i was sittin i took a look at my levi's shirt. one tt my dad got me, coz i i thought its design was interestin. some of u might know, its the one wit rubber engravings that shape the word levis on a white tee. now lets break it down. i bet the white tee itself costs like a dollar or two. mayb less. n the rubber, less than a dollar for sure. i remember my dad paid SG$60 for that shirt. so that means we paid 55 extra dollars for the brand, levi's, when it would feel as comfortable without the engraving.

know wat im tryin to say? when i see celebrity shows where britney and co are goin on n on about how varsace or gucci feels so good on their skin, i almost want to run a reality show where we being several products that are of low cost and branded, but r almost identical and see if they can really identify correctly, juz to prove my point that its the brand tt feels comfortable, not the product. i really wanna contact some network over this idea, i think it would really work.

if i was extreme, i wouldnt listen to music, coz the record industry totally rips us off. artists get a chance to sing if the companies think their music will b profitable, not because they can sing well. that's the reason why im behind american idol, coz it identifies a true singer, even though its commercialised. i know i know, those who make it to hollywood are selected so that they're also considered that they will b popular to mass audience and im totally contradicting myself in that sense, but seriously, look at clay aiken. he was a geek when he auditioned and look what he has become. yes, he has been made over and his songs made to sell records, but he can sing. its sad to think that authors, script writers, actors and singers dont get a shot at major deals because they wont b profitable for the company, even if they're way more talented than the big timers. imagine, some one might hav the greatest idea for a novel, but he doesnt get it coz publishers dont think its profitable, even though its brilliant. some movies might contain the greatest story we'll ever witness, but no budget given (that's y i resort to low budget films coz most of the time they're excellent shows which are enriching and just too realistic) and the most talented singer wont get to share his/her voice to the world. these r juz mere examples.

but that's extreme. im not that extreme. but i like to know that i hav an informed opinion about these things.

and even if a lot of sitcoms r also filled wit no brainers, i will still watch reruns of friends (i realized tt were equal number of people who hated was as much as the number who loved it) and other comedies, coz the rest makes me fed up, angry and disillusioned. simply coz laugher it the best medicine. it makes u feel easy, and frankly, that's true entertainment.

i want to b away from it all. probably as i grow older, i'd only watch sports, sitcoms and occasional news, hey i cant b totally ignorant of wats goin on in this world. i really wanna liv like the life they portrayed in the french movie amelie. that's ideal. but nothin is ideal.

and i think i'll b content wit juz that.

people need to b educated about assessing everythin logically. so that they wont b forced into believing whatever they are made to believe. pros n cons, benefits and disadvantages, etc etc. and these singers and sportman who do nothin but practice their own trade r not encouragin kids to b educated, i juz realized. coz they unintentionally imply the message that so long as u're gd in whatever, u can make it, even if ure dumb. if u can deliver pin point crosses and free kicks, its okay even if u cant graduate from school. u guys should know who im talkin about.

too much madness goin on. juz too much for me to take. i shall end here for now, but u can b sure i'll b back wit more insights sooner or later.

i need to take a breathe for now.