A New Record at Do Dragao!

2 -2 at Old Trafford, Manchester. That was the score which was on every United player's mind. They knew they had to do something almost impossible, win at the Do Dragao which no other English team had managed to do. Porto, on the other side was high in confidence since in Manchester earlier they proved that they weren't pushovers. And playing in front of their home crowd, it looked like for 5 minutes into the game that Lady Luck was on their side. 

Why was it only for 5 minutes? Since the first five minutes of the game were filled with tremendous strikes by Porto players. Bruno Alves almost got lucky when his pass went directly into the net but unfortunately for him, Edwin van der Sar was there to clutch it and to save it. Lady Luck seemed to be smiling on to the Blues that night but a devil cast Lady Luck to shift her attention to the lads of Manchester. Started by a pin-point pass from Anderson, intercepted by Ronaldo and from 40 meters, Ronaldo struck the ball with huge confidence and without thinking and to everyone's surprise, the ball curled and ended in Porto's goal. Helton, the goalkeeper tried as hard as he could to reach the ball but that ball was beyond reach and was pure magnificent. "That was one of the best goals I've ever seen in the world", Sir Alex said and he was correct. That magnificent strike silenced the whole crowd at the Do Dragao, putting them all in a state of amazement. The Wonderkid from Portugal had done it again!

After the goal came, players of Man United knew it was their ticket to the semifinals. Realizing that they could be the first English team winning at the Do Dragao, Man United played an unusual style of defensive playing. They were threatened by numerous attempts from the Portuguese side but the calmness and the magnificence of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the back kept the players of Porto unable to score. Also, Edwin van der Sar was there too to secure his first clean-sheet since the 11th of March. Therefore, Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were the ones to thank for this massively huge win. 

It was the quitest game that night in Europe. Only one goal scored and only  3-2 on aggregate, Man United were through to the semis with the lowest goal productivity. But as Scholes had said earlier before the game, "It doesn't matter if you concede as long as you score more goals than you concede goals. It doesn't matter not to have a clean-sheet as long as you win the game." Those words surely inspired Man United that night. A rock solid defense and a brilliant strike ended Porto's run this year. Jose Gomes, Porto's manager said after the game, "To lose like this is not embarrassing. To lose to probably the best team in the world can't be reckoned as shameful. We were beaten by a brilliant strike by today's best player in the world. This is probably the best way to lose to a champion."

Now, it's Man United vs Arsenal and Chelsea vs. Barcelona. Finals in the semifinals. The Road to Rome is still opened and 2 teams from these 4 are to compete there, to be crowned as the 2008/2009 Champions League winner. Which are those 2 teams? We'll see about that and finally, SEE YOU in ROME. MAY GOD BLESS THE CHAMPIONS.  

The Brilliance of Youth at the Emirates

1 - 1 was the score at El Madrigal, Spain. Wednesday, 15th of April 2009 at 20.45 was the time for Arsenal to face the Yellow Submarines, Villarreal. Monsier Wenger, the manager of Arsenal picked a team with an average of 23, the youngest team playing in this year's Champions League quarterfinals. On the other side of the field, Manuel Pellegrini picked a team fully loaded by South American talents, a team which looked promising to provide a shock here at the Emirates. 

The match started then and it was fully loaded with brilliance. Early strikes from Van Persie, Walcott, Adebayor, and Nasri was not enough to break Villarreal's wall. Diego Lopez, as the keeper, was also on his top form. Those early strikes were breathtaking but Lopez was always capable of saving his net and keeping his clean-sheet in those early minutes. All sounded well but a pass from Eboue to Fabregas was continues with a back heel pass to Walcott who managed to escape from the off-side trap. Then, what happened was a beautiful lob, high and accurate ripped apart Villarreal's heart since Walcott put an early end to Lopez's hope for a clean-sheet. "The Brilliance of Youth", the commentator described about this goal and it was magnificently splendid for it showed that you can win with kids.

The rlast 30 minutes of the first half was also filled with actions. Strikes from various players from both teams really test both goalkeepers, Lukasz Fabianski of Arsenal and Diego Lopez of Villarreal but to everyone's disappointment, there weren't any more goals during the first half. 

The second half started 15 minutes later and Villarreal was more determined than ever to turn things up. Shots filled the first minutes of the half but at the 60th minute, a clever on-ball move by Robin van Persie dragged 2 players to him then he smartly passed the ball to Emmanuel Adebayor, who was unguarded. He then calmly performed a shot with the outer side of his right foot, smashing the ball into the corner of Diego Lopez's net. 2 - 0 for Arsenal and everyone knew it was approved. Arsenal were through to the next round.

But Arsenal weren't satisfied yet. A smart move by Walcott in the penalty box provocated Gonzalo to foul him and to everybody's surprise, Wolfgang Stark, the referee pointed to the spot. Penalty for Arsenal and to worsen things, Eguren was booked for the second time and he was awarded with a red card. Manuel Pellegrini was hopeless. Most likely to be 3 -0 down in just a matter of seconds and with only 10 players, this was a mission impossible.

IN! Robin van Persie executed the penalty perfectly, sending the ball beyond Lopez's reach. 3 -0 at the Emirates and everyone agreed, "We're going to see an all-English semi here!" The game then ended 21 minutes later and Arsenal were through to the semifinals, facing either Man United or Porto as their opponent. 

Bavaria Reigns No More!

4 - 0 at Nou Camp. FC Bayern Muenchen were on an almost difficult task at the Allianz Arena where they had to at least score 4 goals to ensure their chances of qualifying to the next round. 60000 supporters packed the Allianz Arena in Muenchen to provide an intense atmosphere for both teams. Juergen Klinsmann, said that it was still possible to turn things over but the stats weren't behind him.

The match started at 20.45 German time and only within 6 minutes, Luca Toni almost provided Muenchen an early hope. His timely header touched the ball but sent the ball into the wrong direction. For once, the crowd were silenced. Muenchen then after realizing that they can still snatch something here kept being offensive. Luca Toni was almost hailed as the savior if his goal hadn't been disallowed by the linesmen. 

Time was tickling and it was tickling slowly. Barcelona, who showed to the world that they can be both good in defensive and offensive, didn't try to snatch a goal here. They were just playing safe and to no one's surprise, they did it brilliantly. But Barca's brilliance were then questioned when a tremendous through ball got intercepted by Franck Ribery and his calmness put the ball into the net. Barca was not calm any longer. Things weren't like they wanted them to. They needed a goal here and that goal by Ribery, was more than enough to tell Barca that they needed to do something here.

Apart from Barca's awakening, Muenchen had other problems too. Their offensive lines weren't offensive enough to penetrate through Barca's defense and their appetite for a second goal left a large hole at the back. Seydou Keita, from the edge of the box, took advantage of Muenchen's failure to clear off the ball by smashing an accurate strike into Hans J Butt's net. It was game over suddenly for the Bavarians. For once they thought they might be lucky enough to get goals, the next moment they realized it was the end. 5 -1 on aggregate now and Barca was on their journey to the last four. 

Then, to Muenchen's devastation, the last 27 minutes of the game were not on their side. They couldn't do anything to at least provide another shock for the Catalans instead they were drowning in their inability to convert chances into goals. Then at the 90th minute, the sound of the final whistle put an end to Muenchen's great run in this year's Champions League. They were out and Barca on the other side was dancing jubilantly. Barcelona next, are to fact to Chelsea on either the 28th of the 29th of April. Surely, the semifinal involving Chelsea and Barcelona could be this year's early final. 

Chelsea vs. Liverpool, the Greatest Champions League Game Ever!

Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 3. That was the score before the match started. That was the score which showed Chelsea's brilliance at The Kop 6 days earlier when they thrashed Liverpool 3 - 1. At The Kop, Chelsea was pretty dominant and Liverpool was hoping that the match would end quickly. But, at the day of the match at Stamford Bridge, London, things weren't the same. Guus Hiddink's team, were looking to defend and to maintain their lead while Rafael Benitez's men were looking to be offensive and trying to keep their chances of qualifying to the next round high.

The match started. Chelsea, playing a bit defensive, were threatened by early efforts from Liverpool's greatest talents. Yet again, Chelsea were caught napping. A few minutes after that, following a foul by Lampard, Liverpool was given a free kick. Cech and other Chelsea players were hoping for a lob from Fabio Aurelio to the penalty box where the ball would be scrambled away but Fabio Aurelio had another thing inside his mind. Judging that Cech was a little bit to the left, he cleverly kicked the ball and placed an accurate shot into the near post. Cech who had gone to one way, didn't have enough time to go to the other way. One nil for Liverpool. The crowd went into pandemonium as the crowd began to think that Liverpool might just have the chance to pull one back and to get level on the aggregate. 

Liverpool got lucky again few minutes after that. Branislav Ivanovic committed a foul after holding on to Xabi Alonso's shirt, avoiding him from smashing the ball to the net. It was seen by the linesman and Liverpool were awarded with a penalty. Xabi Alonso, the one who was fouled, didn't give any chance for Petr Cech to guess the right direction. The ball went to the right while Cech went to the left. 2 - 0 Liverpool, level on aggregate and only the away goals rules putted Chelsea's nose still a little bit in front.

Second half was promising. Guus Hiddink brought changes. He replaced Salomon Kalou, the Nigerian with Nicolas Anelka, the Frenchman. Anelka then brought a sudden impact on the team. His penetrating run on the left flank of Liverpool's defense, exposing their weaknesses resulted in a cross into the penalty box and a slight touch from Didier Drogba made Reina look clumsy and foolish. Instead of trying to tip away the ball, Reina tried to catch and this decision proved lethal since he instead of catching it, he putted it into his own net. 2 -1 for Liverpool but no longer level on aggregate. The lead was now swinging back to Chelsea's favor and Liverpool were forced to be more offensive.

2 -1 didn't stay long. A free kick from Alex went over the wall of Liverpool's player, heading right into the centre of the goal and it went it. Reina, who once were flying and trying to tip away the ball didn't actually manage to do it. Liverpool's players were in a deep shock while Chelsea's players were dancing in jubilance. 2 -2 now and everything can happen. Chelsea has surely got the passport to the last four.

Lampard then provided the third blow. His shot from 3 yards out, was blocked by Reina but wasn't completely blocked. It slipped through Reina's arms and now, it was Blue at Stamford Bridge which turned into a pandemonium. 3 -2 for Chelsea. From 2 - 0 down, now 3 -2 up. But, Liverpool weren't out. Lucas Leiva, made a shot into the net but it was deflected by the chest of Essien which sent the ball into the net, leaving Cech in a deep state of disbelief.

Then, like it was not enough yet, Kuyt smashed a header into the net for the fourth time. 4 -3 now and the momentum had shifted back into Liverpool's favor. They felt that they could actually finish this job here! But, at the 89th minute it was a no-go. Lampard, smashing a shot from the edge of the penalty box, went right into the post of Reina's goal, bounced into the other post and surely went in. 4 -4 now and only one minute left in normal time. Liverpool were out surely and it proved to be so, since there were no more goals at the end of the match. 4-4 at Stamford Bridge, 7 -5 on aggregate. Chelsea cruised to the next round with poise. 

KIKO was Definitely the KEY

Hooray!!! At last!! A win at the Stadium of Light, provided by the magical Kiko Macheda!! A name most of us wouldn't have heard 2 weeks ago is now the provider of Man United's last 2 wins at the English Premier League. This 17-year-old is truly magical. Recruited from Man United's U-18 team, he could now be an important sub for the Red Devils. 

The game was a devastating game from start to finish for the Devils. An early effort from Man United was only putted away from goal by a block done by Calum Davenport. Moments later, Djibril Cisse, the Frenchman, almost gave Man United a shock when he made Foster do his best to keep his net clean. However, it didn't take long for Man United to find the first breakthrough. The mix of young talent, great striker, and a flamboyant midfielder - Rooney, Berbatov and Scholes, gave Man United the first lead at the 19th minute. It was a well-earned lead but yet vulnerable. 

Vulnerable yes indeed. After the first goal, the Black Cats Sunderland grew in confidence and plenty of shocks filled the game, with both goalkeepers feeling completely gifted not to concede any goals. Man United was put into a state of fear when 3 chances of Sunderland went too close and Craig Gordon, at the other side, was also relieved not to pick up a ball from behind his net. 

The first half then ended, assuring that the second half would only be much better.

11 minutes into the second half, a shock for Man United came. Jones, from Sunderland, converted a magnificent cross into a goal, leaving Foster to his amazement. But, Man United was again incredible. The crown turned into pandemonium when a long-range effort from Michael Carrick was blasted and ricochet off Federico "Kiko" Macheda, leaving the helpless Craig Gordon who went the wrong way. Deliberately or not, it was a gift for Man United and now they had earned back their vital lead.

The last fifteen minutes of the game was suspense but still, the brilliance of Man United put them 2 points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League. Another game down, another 3 points got. 7 games left. Who will be the champions of England? Man United surely looks to be the greatest contender for the title. Let's just hope that there will be cheers at the end of the season at Old Trafford.

Viva Man United!

Glory, glory, Man United

Glory, glory, Man United

Glory, glory, Man United

And the reds go marching on, on, on...

Angels and Demons, from Kevin Dominique's perspective..

The book Angels and Demons caught my eye at Changi Airport, Singapore.. I bought that book, author Dan Brown, at Times News Link store in Singapore and once I arrived at home, I started to read it. At first, it was nothing really, nothing special but time passed by and I suddenly realized that this is not an ordinary book. It can be said a mere ridicule to the Roman Catholic church since in that book, there were stories that I had never heard of about the Roman Catholic church and most of the stories were about the negative sides of the church. I tried not to believe those stories but I don't know how and why but I simply started to believe that some of the facts presented in the book were truth.

The book was incredibly great from start to finish. It provided tensity and great atmosphere that made me keep reading page after page of the book. The story was actually quite simple. A group called the Illuminati were trying to eradicate the Roman Catholic church from the face of the world by placing a bomb in the Vatican city, at the heart of the church itself, beneath the St. Peter Basilica, next to the tomb of St. Peter himself. In the story, Robert Langdon as the main protagonist tried to solve the mystery before the time ran out by tracing the traces of ancient Illuminati clues. It was a hard and tense journey but at the end, he with other members of the Vatican authorities managed to find the bomb and dispose it. It was a startling journey from start to finish, I can say. The story was full of revenge, anger and conspiracy but on the other hand, it was also about love and friendship. 

About the language used in the book, I could say that it was pretty interesting since it was not hard but also not easy. It was moderate and no extra efforts are needed to understand the  whole story of the book. All in all, it was a great book and surely a great entertainment for book readers out there. But, I have something to tell you that it is not a book suitable for those who are looking for easy entertainment. There are facts in this book and most of these facts are facts that can be said, are against the laws and accepted facts. Also, there are facts that are against the church so that you'd better have a deep understanding about the way the church of Christians work before you read this book because whether you realize it or not, it can somehow brain-wash you. But, apart from this phenomenon, this book is still full of suspense and a book worth reading..

See you! In my next book report! hee hee!! 

Where are you going Man United?

This could be the most unpredictable run of Man United I've ever seen. A few weeks ago, they were thrashed by Liverpool 4-1 at Old Trafford. An unbelievable score that shocked everyone, including me. Then a week after that miserable lost at The Theatre of Dreams, Man United travelled to Craven Cottage, where they had a match against the Londoners, Fulham. Yet again, Man United's defense were broken down and as the consequences, they were beaten by Rob Hodgson's side 2-0. Devastating and yet miserable. 

Then it came. Last week, 4th of July 2009, at Old Trafford Stadium Manchester United went back to their sacred home ground facing the mighty Villas, Aston Villa. Stunned by an early strike by Villa and also Villa's performance that putted them 2-1 leading at the first half, Man United reacted in a way that had been lost for quite a while. Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico "Kiko" Macheda brought the game beyond hand and into Man United's favour. 3-2 the final score and Macheda was haled as the man of the match. A perfect debut, a perfect goal and a perfect performance by the youngster. 

Then another disappointment came for the fans. A 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Tuesday night against Porto caused fans to become more and more disappointed. I was disappointed too since I was actually hoping for a comfortable win for Man United. Tevez's late strike at the 85th minute wasn't enough to shift the momentum to Man United's side. In my opinion, they were still not the best team that night. There was something missing from them which I can't actually describe. A boost in morale maybe since after that big loss from Liverpool, it has always seemed hard for Man United to get things back to their normal condition. 

I am praying right now that God would give Man United a win at the Stadium of Light tonight. At the moment I'm writing this posting, the score is still level at 1-1 and I can hope for nothing but a goal for Man United. I can only hope that tonight's match can end Man United's drought, hunger and thirst for a comfortable and convincing win. 

WHERE ARE YOU GOING MAN UNITED? I can only hope that you're still going on the right patch, the path of champions. Good luck... and remember, Once a champion, always a champion! Even though you might not see where you're going right now, try and keep trying so that you can still on the path of glory, triumph and joy!

Viva Man United!

The True Gift, The Tragedy, The True Solution

What's a gift? A gift is something given. It's a simple as that. But, how about the true gift? In Christianity, the true gift is very simple but also very complex. The true gift in Christianity if salvation. Why is it called "The True Gift"? Are there any other "true gifts"? For Christians, there is not. Why isn't there any other true gifts? It's because the true gift is from God. God only gives us one way, one chance to restore the broken relationship between Him and us and the way and the chance is through salvation. Only one way. Only one chance. Only ONE TRUE GIFT. 

But, the tragedy behind the salvation from God to human occurred just after God created man. He created Adam and Eve, together they lived side by side, supporting each other. But, the tragedy came when the serpent, a snake, came and convinced Eve to break God's law. Strangely, Eve never hesitated to break the law because she, after meeting the snake, went unsure about God's commands ad she doubted it. The rest is history. Eve ate the fruit and then she gave it to Adam and they both sinned. They were punished and because of their sin, we now have a sinful nature. 

What's the meaning of sin actually? The Greek word used to describe "sin" actually means "to miss the mark". So, we can conclude that by sinning, we have actually missed God's intention in creating us. We have failed to obey God and by missing the mark and the commandments of our Creator, we are to be punished and we deserve it. But, the true solution then came. Man can only earn salvation if he's sinless. But, no man is sinless. We are all sinful. So, God gave us the solution for this problem. It's our Lord and the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, salvation for man was made possible. Through faith in Jesus, we can redeem ourselves and God's solution, by sending Jesus Christ to this sinful world, has reconciled man and made man acceptable once more. 

But, is the true solution free? It's free, when you believe in Jesus. That's the thing which is amazing about our God. He's so holy, sovereign and just but He's also loving and merciful. How could He actually sacrifice His own son for creatures that are not even worthy enough to be a part of God's concern! But He cares about us. He has already loved us before we even knew He existed. Before we even realized His presence. He has already been our and only Father. 

So, what I can say here is that as a Christian whose life has been saved through faith in Jesus, we should be grateful. Not just grateful but most grateful. The salvation is so priceless that we can't pay for it yet God grant it for free! If you were a man  with high IQ knew about Christ, I would love and surely say that you are a stupid if you don't believe in Him! So, think about it and remember, today could be your last day on earth. Why risking going to hell if you  can go to heaven? It's easy. Just open your heart and say, I believe in you, Jesus and I want you to be my savior and my one and only Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-9

  

For it's by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it's the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast.

What the Indian government do...

To stop the illegal drug trading market in India, there have been several rules and legal laws made to stop this market. However, the appliance of these rules are still far from success and there are still a lot of things need to be done. But it'd better to mention them right here so that you know Indian government's response towards the issue. They are:

1. NDPS Act ( 1985 ) is applied more intensively to the drug offender

In the NDPS Act there are also some points need to be highly underlined because of their importance. They are:

- The cultivation, production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation, warehousing, consumption, inter-State movement, transhipment and import and export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is prohibited, except for medical or scientific purposes

- The Central Government is empowered to regulate cultivation, production, manufacture, import, export, sale, consumption, use etc of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

- The State Government is also empowered to monitor and take various actions about the cultivation, production, manufacture, import, export, sale, consumption, use etc of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

- All persons in India are prohibited to take any part in the business of illegal drugs.

substances.

2. India has announced a so-called grade period as a transition period for phasing out traditional drug use

3. Also non-medical or non-scientific use of cannabis is to be discontinued as soon as possible

4. Heavy fines and penalties are applied to the ones proved to be consuming and trading illicit drugs

By reinforcing the laws and applying these rules on the people of India, it's highly hoped that these rules can take major effects on the growing and continuing drug trading market in India.

God bless you! Wish me luck guys!

P.S : I've been writing this as a warm - up to test my knowledge for the PMUN.. hehe

Why can't India get out of the Illegal Drug Trading Business?

India has a long history of drugs. From the use of drugs in many of its traditional Hindu rituals to the production of pharmaceutical drugs, India is a country which has transformed the use of drugs into a way of life. But, the growing issue nowadays is not about the use of legal drugs but the growing and spreading use of drugs by the people of India. Cannabis, a traditional drug in India was only used as a drug in rituals until a few decades ago when the immigrants came and started to export the drugs out of India. From this export, there are conversions of drugs from legal to illegal and this is the thing that is a major issue in India right now - THE CONVERSION OF USED TO LEGAL DRUGS TO ILLEGAL DRUGS.

So, there must be some ways we can stop this illegal drug trading process. There are actually, such as reinforcing the rules in India but statistics have proved that it's no use. So, there must be a question in our mind, asking, "Why can't we do it correctly? Is it an indestructible issue? NO! But it's more because that the use of drugs in India has been going for more than 3000 years and to stop using it instantly would be a big NO GO. HOwever, a part from this reason, there are a few reasons explaining the phenomenon. It's because:

- the first is that drugs, especially cannabis, are only allowed to be manufactured in a small amount even in the context to be manufactured into medicine while actually there are so many people in India each year who need it because of their diseases and other legal reasons. The reasons are completely logical and are supported by their medical histories but their appeals don't seem to be responded in the way they want by the Indian government. So, to accomodate with the demands in India itself, a lot of people secretly smuggle drugs from outside India into India so that the unbearable pain these patients have can be reduced by consuming these highly addictive but still pain-removing drugs. This is the most likely reason for the illicit drug trade to occur in India.

- the second reason is because of the security of the borders. The borders of India are not really guarded and this proved to be lethal since India, geographically is located between 2 regions which are widely known as the golden areas because of their massive cultivation and production of illegal drugs – the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent. Automatically, taking advantage of the present fact of the borders, illegal smugglers often use India as a transit for drugs before they travel to other parts of the world.

- The third reason why India is heavily connected with the drug trade is because of the exposure to other cultures. Many scientists have realized this problem and come up with a shocking conclusion. The conclusion is that exposure to these cultures actually are worsening the conditions in India. The exposure is believed to be the thing responsible for the change in patterns of drug consumption in India. For centuries even millenniums, cannabis was the only known drug to most people in India but affected by other cultures, this fact has drastically changed. The change is that Indian people are not only consuming cannabis but mostly the drug-addicts are not heroin addicts. As we know, heroin is a very addictive and dangerous drug which is derived from morphine, firstly intended to be used in medical world. But because of its highly addictive nature it’s now mostly prohibited by countries around the world, even for the use in medical world. It’s highly addictive properties actually change the patients to drug-addicts after they leave the hospital. This is why heroin is highly restricted to be consumed by any people but as we know, heroin-addicts are now pretty a lot and serious efforts are needed to be taken to stop this.

So, what has India done to stop the drug trade. You can read it in the next posting..

See you!

Illegal Drug Trafficking

Illegal Drug Trafficking

The world we are living in now is fulled of drugs. Drugs are used in many different forms and in many ways. Drugs are used numerously in life-threatening situations and drugs are responsible for many deaths and lives of people. But what are drugs actually? Drug is actually a substance that affects the function of living cells mostly used in medicine to diagnose, cure, prevent the occurences of diseases and disorders and to prolong the life of many patients. Drugs defined here are legal drugs. The production and the use of this drugs are highly kept under strict policy and to be able to consume it, a prescription from medical authorities are compulsary. But, in the world today, there are always 2 sides of things. The legal one, which has been mentioned and the illegal one. In the illegal world of drugs, you don’t need prescriptions to get these drugs and in contrary to the legal ones, the main point usually found in illegal drugs are to harm people even though people often don’t realize this main objective.

The same with the fact that there’s a global market of legal drugs, there’s also a global market of illegal drugs. Here illicit drugs are transported freely often disguised as legal. This is what is called as illegal drug trafficking.

The world we're now living in is filled with drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs, most commonly, are the drugs used and prescribed by the doctors to treat their patients. These drugs bring the best of life to the patients who are suffering from serious diseases since they bring hope for those who relatively hopeless. But just like other things, drugs also have 2 sides. Just like a coin with 2 sides - one is the picture and one is the number or the value of the coin. Drugs are similar to coins n that form of way but there are 1 major difference. In coins, those 2 sides are both good. None of the sides bring harm to us but drugs are different. One side of drugs available in this world is the legal drugs. These drugs are protected by the law and their production and their manufacture are completely monitored. But the other side of drugs is the illicit drugs. These are illegally cultivated, manufacture and consumed drugs that harm the economy of a nation. If it's illustrated as a disease it can be called as a melanoma. Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer and even though it's normally quite harmless it is still a form of cancer and it's very disadvantageous. Same as a melanoma, illegal drugs work in that same kind of way. It may seem look harmless at first but after a moment and after you know more about it, it becomes clear that this form of trading is a very disturbing issue for a country's socio-economic development. It affects the social part of a civilization by demoralizing the civilization itself. This is very serious considering that the issue mostly affects the young of a country and when the young have been infected by this serious kind of addiction ( addiction to drugs and psychotropic substances ), the condition can be defined as the point of no return. Even though you may find ways to return or to stop from your addiction, many addicts find it difficult not to use drugs any longer. Like an addict once said that even though he may not be using drugs at the moment, but he is sure that drugs will keep haunting his live and maybe someday, somewhere his addiction may start again and the drugs will then continue robbing his life.

So, as educated people whose job is to solve problems and come up with solutions, what can we do? First, we have to encourage people ( addicts ) around us not to continue risking their life. We can do this by keep motivating them to stay away from dangers and informing them how valuable their lives are. Remember, these addicts often repeat the same mistake again because they consider their lives worthless. We can stop them from repeating the same mistake by keep telling them that their lives are a gift and a priceless gift too that should always be respected and honored. Remember, our lives are a gift from God and we shan't do things that will upset our creator. Second, we have to tell them not to hang out or interact with the people who got them in the massive addiction. This change may have some influences on the behavior of the addict at first but after he/she can accept it as a way to provide him / her with a better future, he / she will do it on his / her own intentions. Third is to keep them not away from God. By fulfilling someone's spiritual needs they often reach a moment when they want to spend their lives as well as they can. They value their lives more and if you've reached this stage in helping other people, it means that you're not far from your triumph against the illegal drugs.

Well, keep doing your best guys and remember, IT'S BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

P.S: The internet connection at Changi Airport is massive! It's just great and I love it!

Hello from Singapore!

Hey guys.. What's up?? Hello from Singapore to all of you guys! Well, I'm in Singapore right now since my parents asked me to come with them and also there are some things need to be done here in Singapore so yeah, I'm living the good life here. When everybody's brain is working to its maximum capacity I'm actually enjoying the weather and the malls in Singapore. It's a great pleasure, you know, to yeah just to take some time off. ( don't worry! I've informed BPK 1 and I've also give the notification letter to Ma'am Yenih so that the teachers know that I'm here ).

Well, this trip to Singapore is far from tranquility. I've brought my laptop so that I can still keep in touch with the folks in Bandung. Also, it's because that I still need to do my job as a member of the Indian delegation team for the PMUN that I still need to improve my knowledge and in Singapore while my parents often go the malls I can stay in the hotel and just surf the Internet hoping to find good and comprehensive articles, report and statistics about the illegal drug trafficking.

It's a quite interesting material and I'm loving the moments I spent to search the Internet for the articles relating to this subject. Well, I've got to go now. I'll post my postings later on and I'll make sure that the postings will be much more interesting than this one. Hahaha.. See you.

Some people think football is a matter of life and death - it's much more than that!

Some people think football is a matter of life and death—I can assure them it is much more important than that.

Bill Shankly (1913 - 1981)

Scottish soccer manager.

The Sunday Times (London)

For some people, football may sound nothing. For ordinary people who just don't do sports, football can be a completely unknown world. Famous names such as Pele, Maradona, Beckham, Cruyff may sound just ordinary. Not more than that. But for some people whose lives are about football, football can mean more than just a kind of sport. It can be their desire, passion, and love which drives them crazy and makes them fall in love over and over again. Fall in love with who? It's not a "who", it's a "what". Some people just love football too much that they are willing to sacrifice everything they have just to be a loyal fan of a team. 

If you are a cable TV subscriber, there's a show in Star Sports which tells us about these magnificent fans. These fans are mostly single and divorced. Most of the reasons behind their divorce is because of their true passion for football, more than their passion for their family. It's strange but it happens. 

The statement above was by Bill Shankly, a former Scottish team manager and also a former Liverpool manager. For a true football fan, sometimes football is the only treasure to seek in life. They are willing to spend all of their money just to be able to watch their beloved team playing and even though this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, it's actually their own choice. 

What does actually Bill Shankly mean by that sentence? What he was trying to say was that football is not only a kind of sport. It's a way of life. A lifestyle. Something that drives people alive. Football is magical. Football is  so priceless that you just can't live without football. Simply, you're going to die if you don't have football in your life. It's the way some people think about football.

So, the question now does football really that priceless? For me, yes! My life would be boring if I never knew football. I am pretty grateful for the one who taught me to play as a goalie and I'm pretty grateful for knowing football. Football can be defined as the love of my life. Life without football will surely be dull. 

So, that's why I've been writing so many articles and postings about football in this blog. I just consider football so priceless for me that I do consider it as an important thing to be written in articles. Football has transformed my life really. From a naughty kid who knew nothing about football, who weren't even able to kick a ball straight, I have now changed a lot and become a fond football player who just loves to admire and play this beautiful game.

VIVA FOOTBALL

For football is the name!

For football is the beautiful game!

For football is the language of the world!

No Cheers... A lot of Tears..

                A mere disaster happened last night at Old Trafford. The biggest league loss since 1992 happened last night when the Red Devils' were beaten comprehensively by the Reds. 4 - 1 was the score and this score proved to be a disaster and a score that devastated the Red Devils even more. Not only the team was devastated, but all the fans in the world also demanded not just a quick but an express response from the Red Devils since looking at the schedule, these 3 months are going to be pretty tight and hard. 

                The Red Devils were made hopeless and made to look like a bunch of school kids who didn't know how to play football. The brilliance of Torres, Gerrard, Aurelio and Dossena were more than enough to silence the constant chanting of Stretford End. Ronaldo, who opened the scoring didn't actually manage to do anything since the brilliance of the Red Devils' trio was suffocated by the wall of Liverpool's tight defense. 

                I, as a fond fan, was terribly disappointed with the score. The Red Devils' had been pretty brilliant before this game started and I was hoping for a win but my hope never actually turned out to be true. Those 4 scorers up there scattered apart the dream of most fans to end Liverpool's title run. According to the official site of Man United, the spirit and determination of Liverpool may have been caused by the introduction done by the match officials. Man United was introduced as the Champions of England, Champions of Europe and Champions of The World. Many football pundits reckoned this statement as a double motivator for Liverpool to finish off the magnificence of United's recent form. 

                As a fan that’s not directly related with my team, I can only wish that they could lift up their morale and start a new beginning in the title race. I do remember that they're still 4 points clear at the top but this lead could mean nothing if Man United starts to perform below their standards. I must say that I'm pretty impressed by Liverpool who were able to show themselves to be capable of winning their first trophy in 20 long years but as far as I'm concerned, the title will still be Man United's, as long as they can show the true qualities of a champions. 

 

Viva Man United! 

Keep chanting o Stretford End...

For this loss doesn't mean anything..

When it's you who has the last laugh. 

 

Cheers in Manchester? Hopefully....

     Saturday, March 14 2009. The headlines are clear. The statistics are true. The atmosphere’s right and it’s the time for the clash of Titans. It’s not those David vs. Goliath matches but a pure match of anguish, anger and history. It’s the match between Manchester United, the 17 English Premier League titles holders, against Liverpool, the 18 Division 1 titles holders.  The match kicks off at 12. 45 PM GMT and it’s going to be around 8 o’clock here in Indonesia. Yet still, the atmosphere felt by the fans of these 2 teams is the same both in England and in here.

                The houses of betting anywhere in the world favorite Manchester United to be the one winning this clash. But still, the chances of Liverpool winning aren’t so far making the clash is even tighter and more immense than it has been before.  Manchester United are now 7 points clear at the top of the Barclays English Premier League and after looking at this gap Liverpool will surely be more determined and more thrived to make the gap between them and the current holder smaller.

                Ryan Giggs, a member of Manchester United earlier said in www.manutd.com that this could be the most important Manchester United vs. Liverpool clash ever. “The atmospheres are building up and this is the perfect moment for us to finish off Liverpool’s attempt on chasing us.” said a member of United’s board today. They sure got confidence right there. Liverpool going into this game with a 5-0 aggregate win over Real Madrid. Meanwhile Man United thrashed Inter Milan 2-0 a day after. These 2 teams are well prepared for this clash. Man United, with the gaffer’s brilliance and Liverpool, with the Spaniard’s intelligence are surely going to make the atmosphere at Old Trafford unbearably magnificent. The difference is only the morale of these 2 teams. Will a 2-0 aggregate win by Man United over Inter Milan be enough to overcome the impact of a 5-0 aggregate win has on the Liverpool team? Only time and the magic of football could tell.

                So, what is the most likely result to happen at Old Trafford tonight? I would surely up for a win for Man United. A 2-0 win would be decisive and would be very destructive to this year’s Liverpool league run. I would say that Rooney would be the first scorer and either Giggs or Scholes would finish them off tonight. But, I still fancy Liverpool to be up to some chances of heating things up here. If they managed to get the first goal in this game, then the clash would be much more intense. Getting a draw would be enough and getting a win would be magnifico.

                So, let’s just keep our minds and hearts ready to accept whatever results turns out at Old Trafford tonight. A win for Man United would make them 10 points clear at the top of EPL but a win for Liverpool would make the gap between these two titans smaller. Whatever the result is last night, Man United will still be on top of the EPL for at least 1 more week. However, a loss’ impact on Man United could be severe while a win for Liverpool would double their strength and spirit of winning this year’s league. We’ll just wait and see. Stare and watch. Hope and pray that tonight in Manchester there will be cheers not tears.

 

 

Can the Stretford End keep chanting? .......... They can surely do!

Man United, the current champions of the Champions League, are through to the next round, which is the quarter –final, after beating the Italian title-holder, Internazionale Milan. They are through with a not so commanding score, which is only 2-0 but still, they won the game. Inter however,  came to Old Traffod on Wednesday with high hopes of continuing their amazing progress by thrashing the one hailed by Europe, Man United.

High hopes and recent forms do count in statistics but they never count in football. When you’re talking about football, everything can happen. You might find things you don’t expect to but you may also find miraculous things that you can often only wish for.  Well, as a true fan I never consider my favorite team’s win to be a coincidence. I wished for a win but actually I didn’t need to wish for it since the quality and the true colors of Man United directly came out at Old Trafford since the first whistle was blown.

Nemanja Vidic, who could be the world’s best- known defender gave the Red Devils an early advantage in just 4 minutes! Giggs played a long lob into the penalty box from a corner and out of nowhere, Nemanja Vidic manage to escape Vieira’s marking and head it towards goal. 1-0 to Man United. Minutes passed and both teams really played neck – on – neck. Ibrahimovic headed a cross towards Edwin van der Sar’s goal but devastatingly, it hit the bar and went out of the field. For a second, Man United’s hope appeared to be destroyed and torn apart but a second later, it was Inter’s hope which was scattered and torn into bits! A number of chances were produced then in the half but the score remained at 1 -0 for Man United. Then it was the half time.

Shortly after the game restarted, the second breakthrough came from the most-likely source. Cristiano Ronaldo, winner of Ballon d’ Or and the FIFA’s World Player of the Year headed in a cross brilliantly provided by Rooney. Julio Cesar, the goalie of Inter could just stand and watch his team suffering another great goal from another great player. The crowd cheered and the Stretford End turned into a pandemonium! Cheers and the crowd kept chanting, “Viva Man United! Viva Man United!” wildly. No one could blame them actually. Their cheers were the sign of Man United reaching the quarter – final of the Champions League, keeping their hopes of a back to back title alive.

Jose Mourinho, the one claimed himself as the Special One, later said after the game, “They can do it!” What can Man United do? They have kept the strive to win 5 titles a year all this time and things look pretty good for them. Man United can do it! They are now the favorites to win the Champions League for the second time in 2 years, something the crowd hasn’t seen for at least a decade happening in Champions League. Man United surely  can do it! We’ll just wait and see. We’ll just watch and enjoy the power of passion and thrive Man United has to clean – sweep all the obstacles in front of them and to reach their wildest dream to be crowned as the one and only Kings of Europe!

English Simply Can't Be Replaced!

English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last or French is in the present age.

 

John Adams (1735 - 1826)

U.S. president.

 

John Adams said that statement when he was the second president of the United States, more than 200 years ago but still his words are true. English has transformed itself into a worldwide language, wider than the use of Latin in the Renaissance and French in the early ages of colonization.

As you might want to know, Latin was the world language and was widely spoken in Western Europe until around the 18^th century. Latin actually originates from the word Latium since the language Latin originated from ancient Rome and specifically the neighboring territory of Latium.  During the Renaissance and until its end in the 18^th century, Latin was considered as the language of scholars and diplomats since it was once thought that if you could speak or read Latin then you would be considered as a well-educated person. Also, Latin was the language in poets and widely used in romantic plays. However, since it was very hard to learn let alone to master Latin , the language of Latin didn’t actually grow into a widely spoken language, since only the scholars, the diplomats, the aristocrats and the kings and queens who could master it. Until now, the language of Latin does still exist but it’s not barely spoken by people, even by its creator, the people of Latium ( the name of a place in ancient Roman empire ).

Then the language of French emerged. As you might want to know, French was actually the official language of England from 1100 A.D. until about 1300 A.D. Pretty shocking eh? Well, French is originated from the language of the Gaul, the inhabitants of today’s France. The Gauls at early times spoke a Celtic language, from which Irish, Welsh, Breton, and other modern Celtic languages were derived. French was widely spoken during the 18^th and 19^th century but its use by people was ended by the emergence of English.

English as you know is the language of all people. English actually is not actually ‘a’ language. It’s actually a language which words are from various languages. We can say like eau de cologne ( cosmetics), a la carte ( separately priced ) which are from French, aura ( actually from Latin ) and many other examples. Words in English are mostly derived from languages around the world so if you look through the words in an English dictionary, you will find similarities with other languages. Most English words are from other European languages, such as Greek, German, French, Italian and etc.

So, the statement which John Adams made more than 200 years ago is completely matched by today’s world conditions. I’ve said many things in my previous postings why English are the world’s language but I never mentioned the true reason, from the linguistic point of view, why English are so popular and easy to learn.

The reason is because English is a mixture of languages. Even Batik, a word in Indonesian, is now known as an English word. English takes words into its possession even though it doesn’t claim it’s its own creation but English has been widely recognized as a language of languages. You can find mostly anything in English since one of the biggest possibilities is that English may not exist if one of our languages doesn’t. English exists and will always exist since all of our languages support it to exist among us.

So I sometimes hate when people often say, “Later, Mandarin will replace English’s role in world’s communication.” That statement sounds perfectly stupid to me. Mandarin is a language of Chinese only while English is the language of the world. In my opinion, NO MATTER HOW HARD PEOPLE TRY TO REPLACE ENGLISH WITH CHINESE, THEY WILL ALWAYS FAIL BECAUSE THERE’S ONLY ONE LANGUAGE THE WORLD KNOWS TODAY THAT CAN UNITE THE WHOLE WORLD AND THAT’S ENGLISH. CHINESE ARE NOT CAPABLE ENOUGH TO DO THAT AND BELIEVE ME, ENGLISH WILL ALWAYS REIGN SUPREME!!!!

 

Pink Panther 2 : A Must - Watch Movie!

Pink Panther 2 is definitely a movie worth - watching. This is the second movie after the Pink Panther Movie but the Pink Panther 2 has not lost the first movie's brilliance. I watched the first movie when I was on a flight back from New Zealand and you know what? I laughed all the way since for me it was just so funny. Steve Martin, the leading actor was so smart and incredible that he could transform himself from an English-man with a British accent into a French guy who could barely speak fluent English.

In the first movie, the main story was about the Pink Panther diamond which was presumably stolen by a Chinese mafia. But the story then proved that it was not stolen by a Chinese but it was given by its rightful owner to someone. No stolen ring actually!! Now, in the second movie the story was about a master thief who could steal anything he wanted. The Magna Carta from the British Museum, The Shroud of Turin from the Museum of Turin,  the Royal Japanese blade stolen from Kyoto, The Pink Panther Diamond stolen from the Petit Palais in Paris and also the Pope's Ring were all things that the Tornado, the thief's name, stole. That's why these nations form a group of super - detectives called the Dream Team and they had asked the clueless, yes that's right CLUELESS, Inspector Jacques Clouseau to be the leader of the team. Sweeping from Paris to Rome and back to Paris, the team actually couldn't find anything. In this journey from Paris to Rome and back to Paris, Inspector Jacques Clouseau behaved stupidly. He accidentally burnt a restaurant, which he had burnt a few years earlier. He also messed up a lot during the journey, destroying places and goods. HIS TRADEMARK. 

But once again, his wild and sometimes stupid instinct proved to be the key in solving this mystery. When all of the members of the Dream Team were absolutely sure that they had caught the master thief Tornado, he was the one who was pretty sure that the thief was still on the loose. He was laughed by the world for making such stupid conclusion but still, he was the one who laugh the last. 

He solved the case when the rest of the Dream Team were having a dinner party at the Petit Palais, celebrating their 'success'. Out of nowhere, Inspector Jacques Clouseau came out and said that the thief was actually a member of the Dream Team itself. He said that Ms. Solandres, a writer of many Tornado articles, was the thief. For one moment, it appeared to be a joke but  a moment later it was the fact. Ms. Solandres was actually the thief and you can guess the rest. Inspector Jacques Clouseau managed to arrest her and he showed the evidences that lead him to her. Also, he managed to deceive the master thief by replacing the Pink Panther diamond with its replica. Again, THE PINK PANTHER DIAMOND WAS NOT STOLEN! It's just great and my jaws dropped when I saw this scene. We were all made to think that the Pink Panther was now stolen but yet, it was not! 

For me, this movie still provided me with a lot of things to be laugh about. The actors, the mustache, the scenes and the stupidity in this film still make this film worth watching. Believe me, if you're a man with sorrows and you're looking to end your sorrows, watch this film and when you come out of the auditorium, I can be pretty sure that you have a smile on your face.

Perfection = A Big NO For Humans!

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.

George Orwell (1903 - 1950)

British writer.

Shooting an Elephant, "Reflections on Gandhi"

The essence of being human is that one doesn't seek perfection?? Is it true?? Well, in my opinion it does seem absolutely true. Humans aren't perfect. It's the nature. It's the fact and it'll always be like that. Humans can't be perfect since the first father and mother of human kind sinned thousands of years ago. That's why we're all sinful, because our ancestors were also sinful.

Then, the sentence was about the essence or nature of human that isn't perfect. It is also mentioned that if you want to be a real human, you don't seek perfection. What?? In contrary, everything around us is actually the opposite of the sentence. Every person wants to be perfect and so do I. I always want to get perfect grades, finish my projects brilliantly, speak flawless and fluent English and many other things. But what I learn from my effort to be perfect is that the harder you try to be perfect, the more imperfect you become. How can that be? Since usually people often say, the more you try to be perfect, the more perfect you become. But my experiences say the contrary. It's because the more I try, the more I realize that I can't be perfect. I've tried all these times to get perfect grades but then I realized that I just simply couldn't do it. There are always obstacles on my way, whether it's from myself or from others, such as laziness ( from myself ) and also invitations to do other things ( like hang out with others ).

So, the point is if you want to be a 'normal' human, you don't seek perfection. Why is it said like this? Since humans are not perfect. No matter how hard a person tries to be perfect, he will stay imperfect all the time. If we link it to the Bible, then it's obvious. There are a number of verses about this condition of humans being imperfect but the easiest and most obvious one is Rome 3 : 23.  Rome 3 : 23 says that "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". It's clear right? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are all sinful and if you are a normal person, then you accept the fact that you have sinned. 

So, as a 'normal' person who doesn't seek perfection, what can we do we still want to be perfect? Well, nothing actually. We have known from the Bible that everything we do doesn't bring us closer to perfection. It only draws us further from perfection. So, everything we do in our life today and tomorrow and until we die is actually imperfections. 

After we know that everything we do is actually imperfections then we can conclude that everything we do is sinful. Imperfections are sins. So, the truth is coming clear. People are always imperfect and can't have perfection because everything a person does is sinful. 

So, to conclude this posting I only want to say:

A man doesn't seek perfection because he can't. The essence of human is not to seek perfection because perfection is unreachable for anyone. This imperfection is caused by our sins and because we are sinful creatures, all things we do are sinful and imperfect. 

THERE'S NO USE OF TRYING TO BE PERFECT SINCE YOU CAN'T BE A PERFECT CREATURE. TRY TO LIVE YOUR LIFE SO THAT YOU CAN IGNORE YOUR IMPERFECTIONS AND MAXIMIZE THE TALENTS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. BY MAXIMIZING YOUR TALENTS, YOU ACTUALLY BECOME WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BE.

The Contest between English Football and Italian Football

It's drawing near!!! The last sixteenth stage of the Champions League 08/09 is coming and starting from the 24th February 2009. I, as a fond football fan, is very ecstatic and excited since I can now watch my favorite team, Man Utd again competing in the league of the champions. On the 24th of February 2009 Man Utd are against the defending champions of Italy, Internazionale Milan. A match worth to savour since no one can predict how it's going to end. Some people said to me that the most likely result in San Siro, Milan  is a draw. I doubt it. These 2 teams are highly offensive team and their managers are always competing. Perhaps for you who don't know football, these things are called RUBBISH. But for me, it's a TREASURE.  Yeah right.. Someone's trash is another one's treasure. Simply correct! Okay, back to our main point. Inter Milan is now on the hands of Jose Mourinho, a man who named himself as The Special One. Alex Ferguson however is called the "gaffer" and  the "gaffer" is the oldest manager in the English Premier League. Simply the most experienced one. 

These 2 teams, Man Utd and Inter Milan are both doing well in their own leagues. Man Utd are on top of the EPL with 5 points clear of Liverpool with the chances of being 8 point clear if they could win tonight. They are on a difficult mission against the Rovers, from Blackburn. Inter Milan however is experiencing what could be their greatest moments this season. They're 11 points clear of their closes rival, Juventus the La Vecchia Signora. Inter Milan are now the strongest possible champion of the Serie A since their competitors doesn't seem to be capable enough to compete with the defending champions.

Now, about the predictions, I can only say that the chances are pretty likely that Man Utd are going to take the advantage in this game. They would either play safe or they would go on the offensive. These 2 possibilities are likely to happen but for me, I would love to see Man Utd go on the offensive. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez are the backbones of Man Utd in attacking and against the Italian catenaccio, I still think that they're capable of breaking that wall. 

VIVA MAN UTD. GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!

When we're just by ourselves, we are nothing. But when we're one, we are something!

I once watched an A1 GP on Star Sports and the commentator that time said something that made me pretty ecstatic. Not because it was pretty good or like that but it was pretty patriotic. The commentator said, "Gentlemen, for the pride of your nation, start your engines!" Wow, that suddenly lit a fire inside my heart and I was of desire. It was pretty great for me since the commentator wanted to say that you have to be proud of your nation and when you are competing in a competition like the A1 GP, your nation's pride is at stake. If you do well, you'll be a hero in your nation but if you do bad you'll turn from hero to zero and your nation will actually be like humiliated. 

I once heard a friend of mine said, "What can we expect from our country? Nothing!! We can do nothing! We can hope nothing! Our country is hopeless!"At first I was a bit angry but after I thought for a while, what my friend just said was actually kinda reflects the truth of this nation. We all know that our country gained its independence approximately 63 years ago, but actually like a historian once said, we never actually gained our real independence. It was an independence because the Dutch and the Japanese left the country. It was only a symbol of 'independence' but it never actually reflected our real independence. 

Why did I say "real independence"? Because actually there's not very much different between now and the times before the 17th of August 1945. Our country is still a developing country without any prospect at all of becoming a developed one. Well, maybe there's a prospect but our dream future maybe can only be established like 50 to a century from now. We are still dealing with various kinds of problems. A high rate of inflation, about 6 %, is a perfect example. 6 maybe seem little but it's' actually big. 6% per year will actually be 60% in 10 years and you can actually imagine what a 60% inflation will do to our country's economy. 

So, what can we do to gain our real independence? If we are just by ourselves, we are nothing. But when we're one, we are something. When we are together we can be the instruments of change. We can do things to revolutionize this country. I know that I know little but I do know how to get out of this problem. First, we are to support our government. We believe that our government is the best that we can get right now. Second, education should get our largest attention. By having educated people, we can actually retrieve what we have lost! We can build our country once again and we can make things count. Third, our morality should be revolutionized. We need to have a burning spirit in our heart that we want this country to be a mature one. How can we do that? By doing those 3 major steps. 

Can those 3 major steps provide us success? I don't know since only time can tell. As people often say, times change and people change. Let's just hope that this change brings our country success and wealth so that its people can get out of poverty and start living a worthy life. God bless you all.

The 'experts' of hunger??

The outrage of hunger in a world of plenty will never be solved by 'experts' somewhere. It will only be solved when people like you or me decide to act.

Frances Moore Lappé, contemporary US writer, nutritionist, and co-founder of Food First

Wow!!! That statement is absolutely correct!! Today, the world is suffering from a life-threatening and also life-ending hunger that will actually be lethal to a country's population. Take African countries for example. Hunger has been a major issue there for years and it has shown its effects on them. Hunger has killed million of people in every year and this could prove to be harmful to a country's development process. 

Well, if you look to that statement actually there's a very interesting part. This part is actually in the first sentence. It said that the outrage of hunger will never be solved by experts somewhere. It then lit up something in my mind. By whom will it be solved? If it can't be solved by experts, who can? Then the second question is, why can't they solve it? Why can't experts do something? Are they hopeless? Are they afraid? Are they stupid? NO, it's much simpler than that.

Maybe the simplest reason why the outrage of hunger can't be solved by experts is because most experts never experience hunger. Most experts are people who are "blessed"!! They never know hunger. They never experience hunger. They never actually recognize the problem they're facing.  So, because they don't know what they're facing and how to face it, they can't solve it. It's just like a man who's trying to perform a heart surgery but instead he is actually a dentist. Both of them are doctors but dentist is not specialized to perform a heart surgery. That man would be stupid if he actually like performed that surgery. This kind of condition is actually the same with the condition of 'experts'. They maybe are called 'experts' but they are not like that. They are good in theory but they are worthless when they have to solve everyday problems.  So, to conclude what I've just said, I would like to say that 'experts' are kind of helpless when they have to solve  serious problems. So, once we've got our conclusion, then we have to think once again. Who can solve it??

This statement never actually mentioned the 'solvers'. It only mentioned about a solution. This statement actually said that we are the ones who have to act first. What?? Why should be us? Well, it's because problems are solved from their roots and we're actually the roots of our country. A country is like a tree. It has to have roots so that it can stand and grow. We are the roots and we are the ones who determine the fate of our nation. Okay, then.. What can we do? There are a pile of things that we can do, for example : 

- we can be a member of organizations specialized in solving hunger

- we can donate money so that the level of poverty can be decreased

- we can also be less wasteful and be more economical so that the needs of other people can also be fulfilled

Well, that's all I can say now. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see", we also have to be the ones who react and act first wherever and whenever. God bless you folks.  Have a nice weekend. 

I Love You

Hey guys... Valentine's near and a lot of us want to do special things to our loved ones. Well, for this occasion I wrote a poem. It was a poem I wrote a few years ago with my friend but I have perfected it and am hoping that you all will like it. Check this out:

Time passed by…..

I felt nothing but a deep hole in my heart…

When I looked to the sky…

 I can’t see anything but the emptiness…

 

Then you passed by…

It seemed that I had been just given a new life

A miracle…

A spirit of life…

 

Then I realized, I shouldn’t waste my time…

Because in you,  I see my future…

Lies beneath your skin…

And it’s a definite future that I have in you…

 

You are my power and my soul…

My spirit of life that can’t be replaced by anything…

I put my faith in you…

Wondering could you feel the same…

 

I think this is the time…

The craziest time in my life…

The time that I’ve been waiting for too long…

The moment to say a simple word…

That I LOVE YOU……

WHEN THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY!

"When there's a will, there's a way"

You must have heard this proverb before. Maybe it sounds old-fashioned but it's actually the ultimate truth. This proverb is very brilliant because it tells us that if you have any willingness for doing something and you try to fulfill your willingness, there must be some way to fulfill it.  Personally, this proverb has encouraged me a lot in most of my experience of studying.  Many times I’ve felt that I can do nothing but every time I look and read this proverb, it reminds me that actually I have the capability and what I need is a single will. 

Many examples can be shown to support the rightfulness of this proverb.  For example is an American inventor, whose name was Thomas Alva Edison.  We all know that T.A. Edison was the inventor of the famous electric-powered light bulb.  What is extremely interesting was the fact that he had done more than 300,000 experiments before he managed to invent the famous light bulb.  Another example was Marie Curie, who was a brilliant Polish scientist.  She discovered the elements, which are polonium and radium.  She worked hard with her husband just to discover the elements which is now known to be radioactive elements.  

These 2 examples can show us that their will to study and to help the human kind has succeeded and it shows that these examples which refer to the proverb are perfectly matched. 

So, the question now is how can I practice this proverb?  We have known the facts, the truth about the proverb but we still have to know how we can practice it because without action, an idea is useless.  In my personal opinion, there are some ways to practice it, which are:

-          don’t give up, because giving up is why so many people fail when they face difficult challenges

-          if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again, because by trying more and more you become smarter and has been able to make your experience as your number one teacher

-          focus on what are you doing, because if you focus, it means that you can’t be interrupted and focusing could play a major and crucial part in you success

-          Don’t look behind, but look forward, because if you look behind it means you don’t have any confidence on what you are doing.  Have faith! It’s the number one factor why people can succeed

-          the last but the most important is you have to involve God in every thing you do because He’s the controller of our life

So, what I could say about the way we practice the proverb is “everything started with a single will but the effect of the will and the way we try to get to our point could be a massive one, which could widely affect the world around us.” There have been a lot of examples and there is no doubt that this proverb could play a major part in your success.

THE USAGE OF LANGUAGES

English is a form of speech and a language spoken by millions of people. Language as the principal means used by human beings to communicate with one another, knows no limit in communication. A language can go beyond the borders of anything, even the borders of human hearts. Sometimes, language is the friend in need when we’re facing troubles and need some relaxations.

But, actually, the need of languages doesn’t seem to be understood by most people. Mostly, they will always say that learning more than 1 or 2 foreign languages is rubbish. They don’t say these kinds of things because they really think that way, it’s actually because that the laziness that conquers their deepest desires. I’m pretty positive that everyone loves to be able to speak more than one language, but the fact tells the contradiction, for people are just too damn lazy to get up on their feet and start learning. That’s why people often ask me, “Why do you have such desire and such push in your heart to be able to master those kinds of languages? You actually don’t know whether you’ll need them or not!” I always try to be patient when I’m confronted into these kinds of interrogative, heart-stabbing questions because they just don’t appear to have an ending. These kinds of questions are meant to get us down when in contrary; having the desire of mastering foreign languages is actually a miracle. It’s a miracle that provides time to savor and not many people have this kind of desire.

In first, the usages of languages are to be described.

A language is a complex mixture of linguistic signs and arbitrary meanings. It’s also a perfect tool to discuss a wide range of topics. Humans are fools when they don’t have any languages; so then languages are the ones that differentiate humans from others.  A language is also able to unite the whole world. England, for instance, is united with English. The whole world actually is united with English, since England was the ruler of the 6 continents around the world. Languages can also be personal identities, able to determine the educational state of a person, whether he/she is well-educated or not.

Now, why do we need to learn languages?   There are several answers, which are:

-        mastering languages is important because we’re in the middle of the globalization era

-        we have to maintain the existence of Indonesia by becoming a high – quality and well – educated people

-        mastering languages can lead you to personal success in life, like earning bigger salary than others

-        languages exist to be used by humans to communicate, so by mastering languages, actually you’re expanding your range of communicating.

-        Languages don’t come easily, so actually by learning languages, you’re actually enhancing your credibility.

-        It increases your understanding to the whole world of communication.

 

So, if I were asked whether I regretted learning English or not, I would say NO and mention that people who don’t have the desire to learn new things are just plain cowards. They’re no use at all because learning is an ever-lasting process which takes a life time to try mastering it. Learning is essential and learning languages is also pivotal. Languages, such as English, are there to be learned and mastered.