Say no to piracy

Have you ever had the temptation to download music off the internet illegally without even paying a single cent? Recently, in Minnesota in America, there was a woman who had been brought to court for downloading 24 free songs off the internet illegally, and was fined a whooping 1.8 million dollars. She was shocked at the fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents. Now this leads us to the fundamental question – is it justified to punish someone so harshly just for a few illegal downloads off the internet? No matter how absurd it may sound, I believe that it is correct to implement harsh and strict measures to curb piracy (illegal downloading). Despite the arguments that it is not worth it to buy a music CD, piracy infringes copyright laws and results in the many adverse effects on industry, and thus it should be prevented.
There are definitely arguments supporting piracy. One of which is that music CDs are not worth buying, mainly because of it high price and having only a few good songs. “The public thinks albums have too much filler”, containing too many average songs and having only a few good songs. Furthermore, the high cost of the CD only sets to exemplify the problem. Since there are other alternatives such as to download the good songs for free on the internet, it is definitely not worthwhile to waste the money on an expensive CD just for the few good songs. Also, the majority of the population who buy music CDs are the young people. They would not have too much money on their hands when studying or starting off their careers and the only possible way to obtain music is to download it freely off the internet. This suggests that downloading free music off the internet is a more pragmatic option to get music rather than to waste money to buy the music CD which is not worth its cost, and thus piracy should be allowed.
However, getting music tracks are worth the money, and the lack of financial means does not justify the other option of downloading free music off the internet, which is equal to stealing music. In addition, CD prices have been coming down in the recent years, including a large average drop of 3.1% in prices in 2004, making CDs more accessible and affordable for music lovers. Hence, we can see that music lovers should buy the music CDs and not resort to underhand means to get their music free.
I will now talk about the arguments against the piracy. Firstly, illegal downloading of music infringes copyright law. Sharing and downloading of music files is just like stealing a CD from a store, since you are getting it at a much lower price you are supposed to get it for. If such piracy is rampant, the education of the children will be affected and they would have the mentality that music is meant to be cheap or free and that downloading music illegally for free is a perfectly alright thing to do. Furthermore, intellectual property law such as copyrights and patents have existed for hundreds of years, and it already recorded in the constitutions of many countries, like in the US constitution. Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, once said that "there looms the onrush of a collision between copyright rooted in the Constitution...and the rowdy, assertive babble of those who are determined to shrink and possibly exile the concept of copyright in order to grab creative material without paying for it." All the above evidence sets to show that piracy strongly infringes copyright laws and thus should not be allowed at all.
In addition, there is also the factor that piracy largely affects the industry. This is very evident as the recording industry is having declining sales, and one of the contributing factors to this decrease is the increasing trend of people downloading music files off the internet. “Each sale by a pirate represents a lost legitimate sale, thereby depriving not only the record company of profits, but also the artist, producer, songwriter, publisher, retailer, … and the list goes on”, highlighting the diverse impact illegal downloading of music has on many different groups of people. Furthermore, “the industry loses about $4.2 billion to piracy worldwide”, which equates to a loss of a few million dollars per day due to illegal downloading. The entire economy is losing out, including the artists, industry workers and record stores, because of the sharp decrease in demand for music. At the end, creativity will ultimately suffer, because no one would be willing to take the risk of pursuing a music career, since it is very difficult to earn profits and sustain a living out of writing music. Hence, we see the serious negative impact of piracy that would finally affect everybody in the records industry, including the artists themselves, and thus it is pertinent to go all out to prevent piracy. In fact, it will also affect music lovers, because there will be no more music if there are less music artists around, which may become a reality if demand for music CDs decrease and a career in music is thus not feasible.
In conclusion, despite some arguments for piracy, it is definitely important to note that piracy strongly infringes copyright laws and affects the records industry very adversely, eventually suppressing creativity by music artists. Hence, I feel that it is important to by all means curb and prevent piracy from taking place. If you do not agree, think about the possible future without any music.

Review of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, with comments to the New York Times book review

The novel, The White Tiger, is an eye-opener as it manages to unfold the rather quiet and unknown story in the backstage of India’s growing economic prowess. Aravind Adiga’s novel vividly talks about the low life experienced by India’s rural poor, while strongly criticising the political and social system in India. It is a largely critical novel, consisting of several letters to the Chinese premier about to visit India, encompassing both subtle humour and sarcasm, and tells of Balram Halwai who manages to emerge from poverty to become a successful entrepreneur.

After reading the New York Times review for this book, I largely agree with it. This novel is definitely ‘penetrating’, as it paints a very lively picture of the backward lives of rural Indians, in contrast to the comfort luxuriously enjoyed by the richer Indians living in large, modernized cities. Furthermore, I also feel that this novel is rather unique. The author creates Balram, a fictional character, who was born into a poor family in the rural countryside, and tells the story in the eyes of Balram. Balram not only explains the extent of poverty in India, but also shows his contempt for the rich who do nothing to ameliorate the situation. In the start, we read about Balram’s childhood and learn about the landlords who “fed on the village… until there was nothing left for anything to feed on”. From Balram’s childhood, we also know of the lack of education facilities, and the immense hardship that takes a huge toll on the breadwinner to support his family financially. Then, after moving to Dhanbad, a slightly bigger city, and getting employed by the rich, we see the modernized India through Balram’s curious and inquisitive eyes, and the experience Balram goes through serving under harsh and arrogant employers. In addition, as Balram narrates the story, we get to listen to his frequent criticisms and complaints filled with both anger and sarcasm. For instance, he condemns the despicable political system where bribing is commonplace, also telling of his experience where his employer bribed the authorities to exchange for a determined election result.

The New York Times further commented that the characters in the book are ‘superficial’ and this ‘reduces the characters to symbols’. It also commented that there is an ‘absence of human complexity’ when Adiga tells the story of Balram Halwai. I greatly agree to this. It is quite unbelievable for Balram to make a decision to kill his employer without much consideration, to the extent of not being pitiful for him, who just split up from his wife. Many of the scenes are largely overdone with excessive details and this, I feel, is rather exaggerated. For instance, when Balram managed to sneak into a shopping center in Delhi, he “saw an elevator going up and down that seemed made of pure golden glass”, which cannot be quite believable since an elevator is just made of metal. Hence, I agree that these excessive details make the characters just representations in the Indian system. For example, Balram Halwai represents rare members of the rural poor trying to become successful and rich like the landlords controlling the villages. Upon his arrival into the cities, these rare few begin to get corrupted by the many different vices in the city, such as smoking, as Balram often finds himself drinking alcohol and smoke when he begins to live in the city. Balram’s employers, instead, represents the higher richer class that cruelly dominate the lower classed rural poor, and even to the extent of ruthlessly treating their servants. For example, there was an incident where, due to Balram’s employer reckless driving, got him into an accident. Yet, in the end, Balram was forced to take the blame by confessing to the crime of which he took part in no role of complicity.

On the contrary, I do not really agree with the New York Times book review when it claimed that ‘detailed descriptions of various vile aspects of Indian life are relentless — and ultimately a little monotonous’. Although this may be so to the writer of the book review given that the books are filled with abundant complaints and criticisms targeted at the Indian system, I cannot agree with the writer when he calls it ‘monotonous’. I feel that despite this, Adiga still creates an atmosphere of humour as he describes India. One of these significant comical analogies is that the rural poor are caged in a “Rooster Coop”, and only a Rooster “prepared to see his family destroyed – hunted, beaten, burned alive by the masters” can “break out of the coop”. This rather witty yet simple analogy that Adiga introduces into the story perfectly illustrates the rural poor. They do not dare to offend the landlords or the rich, because by doing so, their family would be targeted at and possibly killed, and it is quite obvious that no member of the family would wish to see that happen, maybe only Balram, who murdered his employer. Another interesting description that Adiga brings in is the “India of light” and the India of darkness”. He describes coastal cities with thriving businesses owned by the rich as the “India of light”, as it is the stereotype most people from foreign countries look at the growing Indian economy and the rising standard of living in India. However, on the contrary, there is the “India of darkness”, where the stories of the rural poor remain covered by the success stories of Indian great entrepreneurs. He then says that the “India of darkness” was because filthy Ganga River, where it is filled with “faeces, straw, soggy parts if human bodies… and seven different kinds of industrial acids”. Definitely, such wit cannot be labeled as ‘monotonous’, but rather as ‘creative’.

In conclusion, the White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, in my opinion, is an extremely successful and intelligent novel filled with ingenuity and wit that makes it a must-read for all book lovers out there. Although I only generally agree with the New York Time review of the book, I have to admit that I entirely concur with the review that this book is an excellent read and I strongly recommend it to those who are thirsty for a good novel.

Click the link below to view the New York Times book review for this book:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/books/review/Kapur-t.html

The evolution of GOODNESS

In my opinion, I believe that human beings are willing to do good for others mainly because of several factors.

A factor is that the recipient of the goodness and its giver are related in a certain way, either by blood or by acquiantance. This form of altruism is actually inherent in every one of us and it is very natural to be altruistic to someone very close to you in need of help. Tink about it: Will a mother not give the best for her child? Will a man not wish for the best for his wife? It seems quite obvious that this forms of altruism are present, possibly in our great oblivion, in our everyday lives. Not only in humans is this for of altruism present. Another instance for this is bees that sacrificed themselves to protect their hives, becuase they are protecting blood relatives in the hives.

The Hamilton equation manages to summarize the relationship between genetic relatedness between individuals, benefits and, cost of the act of giving of altruism between the giver and the recipient.

Another is that of the act of reciprocacy. When an act of altruism is done onto someone, it is expected for that goodness to be done unto you back in return by that someone you had given it to. For example, if you help someone in need, you would expect some reciprocacy in the future, or maybe something more abstract like help from others when you are in need. In other words, doing such acts of altruism is beneficial to oneself too because of what the recipient may do for you in the future, thus expectation of this act of reciprocacy is also an impetus for acts of altruism onto others.

In my personal opinion and experience, such acts of giving are also done because one feels happy after doing so. For example, if you had helped a person in need, you will feel satisfied because you have done your part to give assistance to him. This is also seen by some people that when they do something good, their God will be very pleased with them and shower his blessings on them in the near future, and that their lives will greatly improve after commiting in an act of altruism.

Can you hear me?!!?

Music is beautiful. The IPod is such a fantastic thing, enabling you to listen to music when you want to at any time and at any place. I love the IPod. However, one day, I was nearly knocked down by a bicycle but fortunately for me, the cyclist swerved onto the grass patch beside the pavement I was walking on. That gave me a real shock.

These incidents where pedestrians and drivers alike use their cellphone and music players on the road are very commonplace in Singapore. However, I feel that listening to music or using cellphones on the road is an extremely irresponsible act that can lead to unthinkable consequences, and hence should not be encouraged in any circumstance. I will show that such acts will not only endanger oneself to potential accident, but also render oneself as a danger hazard on the road, thus being a very inconsiderate and irresponsible act.

Firstly, I will talk about how the above act can endanger oneself to a potential accident. According to a finding by the RAC foundation, a British non-profit organization, sending text messages on the cellphone while driving reduces the driver’s reaction by a huge 35%. Security guards, whose job requires a high level of alertness, are also not encouraged to use cellphones or listen to music during work. Furthermore, the USA Track and Field, America’s national governing body for all track and field events, even barred runners from using headphones or audio players during a race. We can see that this is a very concerning issue that cannot be neglected. Even in a race, where there is an unobstructed path, precautions are even taken to prevent any accidents, lest youngsters on a busy road where the oncoming traffic is largely unpredictable. Hence, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is definitely not encouraged.

A possible counter-argument to rebut my stand is that it is a youngsters’ free choice to do anything they want on the road, and that any accident is their own responsibility. But consider this, a youngster who is oblivious to the surroundings can obstruct traffic and cause accidents to happen. A “How alert are you?” test was conducted by the Straits Times on 60 people spotted sending text messaged or listening to music on the streets. Reporters deliberately either walked into them or rang a bicycle bell behind them. The results were that many of the people tested were not aware of the oncoming traffic and continued walking the same way, while some only realized at the last moment and swerved just in time to let the traffic past them. This survey show that when a person does acts of listening to music or using their cellphones on the road, they pose a potential hazard to oncoming traffic, especially cyclist who also use the pavements and may not be able to dodge in time due to their fast speed. Hence, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is definitely not supported at all as it may lead to accidents.

Lastly, such acts are also very irresponsible to members of the public. One must remember that the road does not belong to oneself, rather it is a public facility that caters to all the commuters. Although some people may say it is merely a form of entertainment on the long journey home, one must consider how the other commuters fell and be considerate. I encountered one such incident on the way home. I saw a youngster, who was listening to his IPod, jaywalk across the road where there was quite heavy traffic. At that moment, the car just appeared from the corner of the road, and the driver, fortunately for the youngster, stepped on his brakes instantly, avoiding the youngster by a few centimeters. The youngsters turned around and looked shocked and spewed some vulgarities at the driver. Instead, should the youngster take the blame instead? He was inconsiderate and should be thankful the driver did not drive right into him. Hence, we can see that he was being very inconsiderate by listening to his IPod and did not care about other road-users.

In conclusion, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is an irresponsible act that may lead to unthinkable consequences and hence should be opposed against. Maybe those listening to their IPod should do some self-reflection and stop being so self-centered. Caring about others on the road can definitely make a huge difference to the pedestrians’ safety and can help save lives, so why not start now?

Article: Deaf to the World --- What is it about?

This article talks about the increasing trend of youngsters using their cellphones or music players on the road, as well as the use of cellphones by drivers, resulting in a greater risk of accidents. Youngsters interviewed said that these help to entertain them as they walked, and this has become a habit that is hard to kick, while being oblivious to the serious possible consequences. Recently, there have been many incidents of drivers and cyclists who just swerved away in time in order to avoid these youngsters, and an increase in summonses issued for the use of cellphones in the car.

Another intro........

Have you been to Singapore? Then you should have heard of Orchard Road. Orchard Road is one of the premier shopping streets in the world and it is know to some Singaporeans as the heart of Singapore. It is visited by huge flocks of tourists every year and there has been a lot of positive feedback. It has been a factor for all tourists that want to come to SIngapore for a vacation. If you were the Singapore government, would you give Orchard Road a new facelift? How much would you spend? In an effort to make Orchard Road a better place, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced its plan of a $40 million makeover for Orchard Road. However, I feel that the ridiculously huge amount of money pumped into this expensive project has not been put into good use because this project has a minimal impact on tourists and may even backfire. I will show that there are more important priorities for Singapore instead of a lavish Orchard Road facelift, and that the project will have a minute impact and what it achieves will eventually contradict its aims.

New edited introduction

Have you been to Singapore? Then you should have heard of Orchard Road. Orchard Road is one of the premier shopping streets in the world and it is know to some Singaporeans as the heart of Singapore. It is visited by huge flocks of tourists every year and there has been a lot of positive feedback. In an effort to make Orchard Road a better place, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced its plan of a $40 million makeover for Orchard Road. However, I feel that the money pumped into this expensive project has not been put into good use because this project has a minimal impact on tourists and may even backfire. I will show that there are more important priorities for Singapore instead of a lavish Orchard Road facelift, and that the project will have a minute impact and what it achieves will eventually contradict its aims.