Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sec 2 Home-learning 2010 Term 2
Task 1: I will be doing my web research and report based on the conflict represented in Hubert Wilson’s Rainbow Death. Below is the poem:
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
By: Hubert Wilson
But before we embark on this poem, let me introduce the author of this poem to you. Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran (as are his four brothers) who served in the USAF Security Service. Him, along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in southeast Asia in 1970. About half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang!
Sadly, his health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian(Parkinson's Disease) type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. NO VA physician has ever rendered ANY medical assistance! My number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate( Agent Orange) toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure. Luckily, apart from some movement problems, he is still well and has been writing in his spare time.
You might be wondering what Agent Orange is, so let me give you a brief outlook of it. Agent Orange is the code name for an herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—used by the U.S. military in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War.During the Vietnam war, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed 12,000,000 US gallons (45,000,000 l; 10,000,000 imp gal) of chemical defoliants in South Vietnam as part of the aerial defoliation program known as Operation Ranch Hand. 20 percent of South Vietnam's jungles were sprayed over a nine year period. The first objective was to reduce the dense jungle foliage so that Communist forces might not use it for cover and to deny them use of crops needed for sustenance. In 1965, 42 percent of all herbicide spraying was dedicated to food crops. The second objective was spot clearing in sensitive areas such as around base perimeters. It was also used to drive civilians into RVN-controlled areas.
In 1963, the United States (suspecting the negative effects) initiated a study on the health effects of Agent Orange that by 1967 confirmed that the chemical caused cancer, birth defects and other serious health problems. The outcome of the study had no effect whatsoever on the use of Agent Orange. This chemical was horrifyingly strong, resulting in the genetic problems of unborn children, causing them to be mutated.
Now, a quote:
“From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.” -- Wikipedia
Thus, we can see from this quote why Hubert Wilson had written a poem entitled Rainbow Death. This poem, Rainbow Death, may remind us that wars actually are not over when the wars are over.
- 5:15 AM;
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Hope I don't screw up this term, last term was really screwed up. Really hope this term i do not screw up. AHH!!! Anyway, I am really concerned about the current situation in Greece. Even though I am not affected by it, still, it is actually quite worrying to see Greece suffering like that. Can only hope the European situation improves........
- 6:00 AM;
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Why is the life so unfair?
Why is Tom Robinson so prejudiced?
Shall I tell you this story from the song?
About the trial of Tom Robinson?
Do you know what Atiicus is fighting for?
Do you know what we are aiming for?
Does it take your breath away?
When you feel Tom Robinson suffering?
It was obvious when he was trialed,
but why everyone went up against him?
Is it true that they are racists?
And we feel that the trial was unfair.
Now I hope that we realise this.
I hope that the people will realise that they were wrong.
And seek forgivness from the soul....
- 7:04 PM;
- 7:01 PM;
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I feel that what the hijackers did was extremely wrong as the ship, carrying a cargo of timber worth US$2 million (S$2.9 million) and a crew of 15. Others who need the timber might be affected badly as they need it and the families of the people who were hostages will be very worried, too.'These hijackers boarded the Arctic Sea and, using the threat of arms, demanded that the crew follow all of their orders without condition,' news agencies quoted Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as telling President Dmitry Medvedev.
Thankfully, the crew of 15, was rescued without a shot fired, Mr Serdyukov said, adding that the crew were safe and had been taken aboard the naval vessel Ladny for questioning. The masked hijackers had boarded the freighter on the night of July 24 under the pretext that there was a problem with their inflatable craft. The armed hijackers then forced the crew to change course and turned off the freighter's navigation equipment.
- 8:20 PM;
Let me describe the origins of chicken steak first. The precise origins of the dish are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the nineteenth century who brought recipes for Wiener Schnitzel from Europe to the USA. Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains, claims to be the birthplace of chicken fried steak, as does Bandera, Texas.
However, chicken steak can be eaten and cooked in more than one way. Typically, in Texas, chicken fried steak is deep fried in a pan and served with traditional peppered milk gravy. The same dish is sometimes known as "country fried steak" in other parts of the United States, where it is subject to some regional variations. Often there is brown gravy, and occasionally the meat is either pan fried with little oil, or simmered in the gravy. In some areas, "country steak" may refer to Salisbury steak, a chopped or minced beef patty in brown gravy.
Other meats may be used, with chicken fried chicken having appeared on many menus substituting a boneless chicken breast for the steak. The dish known as "chicken fried chicken" differs from the dish known as "fried chicken" because the meat is removed from the bones, and cooked in the fashion of chicken fried steak. Another term is steak fried chicken. Boneless pork chops, usually center cut, are served in this manner, as well as beef cutlet (tenderized round steak), buffalo, or boneless chicken breasts.
Chicken steak is defined as tenderized cube steak coated with seasoned flour and pan fried. It is associated with Southern U.S. cuisine and hospitality. Its name is likely due to chicken fried steak's similarity in preparation to fried chicken, though the dish is also similar to the classic Viennese dish Wiener Schnitzel (known in Latin American cuisine as milanesa), a tenderized veal or beef cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs and fried.
Now, my friends, you can finally see why I like chicken so much!!
- 8:01 PM;
Monday, July 13, 2009
- 2:35 AM;