Surviving the first week in university, nostalgic and complex

With mixed feelings of inquisition and apprehension, I rode through a busy first week at university. It was a strange feeling returning to school after a gap for more than a decade. Still capable of staying awake and attentive most of the time during the three hourly seminars, keeping pace with the taking down lecture notes, and more importantly, learning something useful.

The international diversity of university student composition. Even for someone who is raised in a multicultural background, this is an exciting and interesting exchange with peoples from all parts of the world with different education and work experience as this is a second, third or fourth degree for many.

What struck me most were comments by some fellow students that they would only read the bare minimum of recommended readings. They are modest in their ambitions and only aim for a pass. The other grades are credit, distinction and higher distinction. Even for those pursuing technical and science or pseudo / social sciences at undergraduate level, it would not be sufficient to rely on one major textbook. Though in most cases, it is a matter of application once you have grasped the main concepts, every student is encourage to read widely if time and ability permit.

Of course there were others who were more reticent and studious. As the saying goes, "still water runs deep". Some are very focussed in doing their best and make full use of their time there.

This is actually a busy year with other family and personal commitments to fulfil. Some would think I am crazy to add more work and stress to existing heavy responsibilities . But there is never a best time to do what you wish, only how skilful one is to balance and manage your priorities and achieve your goals. Time and tide waits for no man. Upon reflection, we often lament over the many missed opportunities. Sometimes having a more positive attitude would help to energize and motivate oneself to do wonders. I do hope to survive not just weeks but the years ahead.

Australian whistleblowing cases - more protection for the righteous who unveil irregularities

Some whistle blowing cases in Australia.

Ted Harris and Qintex
the Westpac Letters
Wilkie and the Iraq War
sanitising Australian tobacco?
the 'Dibber-Dobber' and the Transformers case
whistleblowing, the ACC and Australian oil companies
Konrad and Australian Police
One.Tel
Fraser and Camden Hospital
Kessing and Customs
McLaren and ACT Health

http://www.caslon.com.au/whistlecasesnote3.htm

Despite legislation to protection of whistleblowers, these measures are not enough to ensure adequate anonymity and immunity against the powers to be. Some rich and powerful may not follow the word of the law and rely on their influence and network to penalise those who squeal against their bosses or errant colleagues and business associates.

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2004-05/05rn31.pdf

A brave Australian gentleman who speaks the truth against the odds

News and history can sometimes be distorted by the media and politicians to suit their purpose and agenda. Whistleblowers, truth seekers, champions of the poor have often been suppressed and wronged. I take my hat off and bow to those who have the courage to expose misinformation and wrongdoing.

One heroic gentleman is Dr Gregory Clark. He was an official assigned to work in the East Asia division of Australia's former department of external affairs. His encounters with the bureaucratic set up were both frustrating and shocking when reporting on the Sino-Indian border clashes in the 1960s. His account gives us a glimpse of how officials could disregard facts and sex up reports to toe a certain line and fit the mould of policies and mindset. It therefore comes as no surprise that intelligence failures and erroneous assessments that led to major strategic blunders, terrorist attacks, loss of lives and missed opportunities could happen.

The Cold War may be over but the same tactics seem resurface now and then, and risk misunderstandings and hostilities.

Details can be found on the redcliff website.

Ashamed of your past?

Whether we have convict, labourer, Irish, Chinese or Indian ancestors is only a point to take note of but should not greatly affect our current status and contribution to the country.

Everyone has a past. We can't depend solely on the glory of our ancestors to make us successful. The endurance of powerful families and scions are symbols of nepotism. Are these well earned or ill gotten wealth. In earthly human terms, material wealth that is not well managed will vanish in half a generation or less.

Australian history has shown that foundations for a strong nation hinge upon its people, how we give them opportunities for growth and a second chance to make good. Pine not for the transient things in life but walk tall knowing that only our good behaviour and achievements could truly define who and what we are.

- clear glass

Too afraid to know - why do humans tend to close their minds where information is freely available

Why is reality described as hard? The truth is usually more difficult to swallow than our fantasies and wishes yet to be realised.

We like to point fingers at others for their timidity to acknowledge the facts and do nothing to solve problems. But these bodies are in fact microcosm of individuals who are in denial. Afraid to know if we have any chronic disease, we tend to postpone or skip medical tests. How else can we treat an ailment and arrest a problem before it worsens if we do not find out early. Many individuals are afraid to find out the harsh realities but have no qualms about making allegations based on guess work. Why?

The massive explosion of information on print media and cyberspace can be mindboggling. As humans, we scan, screen, sieve out information that suit our preferences and agree with our thinking. Thus, the tendency is to reinforce mindsets and attitudes and not learn anything new and useful.

No doubt there is a lot of rubbish and noises that we must discard and focus on the useful, much of the informative resources have either been neglected because they are on the priority list of search engines or deliberately ignored because it disagrees with one's prejudgement. This has happened to readers who have a strong command of language to comprehend what they see. This spans over all age groups and nationalities though some tend to be more stubborn than others. It is precisely because of the mindset of defining things in terms of black and white with no grey areas which make many people susceptible to misinformation by politicians and the media.

It is ironic that some of us who live in the free world are willing to surrender the right to access to knowledge and conveniently believe what is presented because they just don't want to know the complex harsh realities. A self imposed information black out does not bode well for our future.

- clear glass

Migrants who gripe about old and new homes are losers

While most people gain insights and widen their horizons by having varied and rich life experiences, some folks prefer to dwell on negativity wherever they are.

By the second and third year, most migrants would have developed the maturity and circumpection. Seen the pros and cons of different worlds and better able to strike a balance between extremes and strident viewpoints. Quite naturally, they would moderate their strong views which compelled or motivated them to move on.

Some individuals who are inclined to gripe about their country of birth or the places they departed from could have had traumatic experiences such as refugees escaping wars and upheavals. Some asylum seeks may have an incentive to play up their sufferings from persecution to gain acceptance in the new land or avoid being sent back to their country. However, majority of the migrants are classified under economic and skilled category. Many came for a better lifestyle if not for improvement of employment or business prospects. Their incessant bashing of their former country may be partly to justify why they had left and explain away the trade offs and sacrifices made, usually in terms of family ties, financial security and economic opportunities.

Yet there are others who would blame their less than satisfactory status in their new host country. In the age of internet and lightning speed information dissemination, it is not difficult to research and brace oneself physically and mentally for some imperfections or differences in the way of life.

Another group of complainers are Aussie residents who justify their move to find work and business opportunities in another land. I had an encounter with one years ago who has a long list of negatives about Australia. Good riddance to one less un-Australian. While Australia is not perfect (no country in the world is), it is a great place to build your home and raise a family. There are areas that are in need of improvement such as social services but we have to keep trying to make things better for everyone and not give up easily.

These groups of complainers are not mutually exclusive. The target could either be the place of disembarkation, or the place of arrival, or both. Some folks just can't stop wallowing in self pity or try to appear patronising to others. Those who complain that life is tough will always point their fingers at others such as unfavourable cultural or political factors. It is really up to the individual whether to open doors and make the best of what they have.

- clear glass

Misinformation and Mindsets

Intelligent people can sometimes fall into traps of prejudices without knowing or acknowledging the fallacies of their own doing. The proliferation of myths on cyberspace despite avenues to verify and authenticate information. Many a time, we mislead by spreading misinformation. Some of us have inadvertently become messengers of falsehood and enjoying it. Imagine good old village gossips multiplied a million times over.

Since the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, we have been taught that logical thinking entails believing what you could see, feel and prove, and not on hearsay or what has been cast in stone. However, we often encounter people who would rather search for the slimmest clues which may remotely resembles or are totally urelated to fit into a theory or belief.
Instead of studying the evidence to arrive at a sensible and educational assessment, they love to base on hunches and assertions.

While history sometimes repeats itself, it is never the same every time. One cannot always look at the present and future by examining previous chapters that have closed. Just like the analogy of a flowing river over time. When one marks a point in the river at different times, can one say with certainty that this is still the same river as before and in future?

Unlike reverse engineers who deserve some credit and respect for putting in the hard work, misinformers who unknowingly or deliberately fabricate or tweak evidence are intellectually dishonesty. Liars could cry wolf for a while but their credibility will be dented. Contrary to common belief, life can still be interesting disseminating facts instead of sensational tales. Humility and open-mindedness would help to our ability to discern and promote better understanding.