Ha. Instead of advising me, you guys should be congratulating me.
Results for my 6th frame:
88/100(88%)
=Marksman=
Sorry for posting late. Otherwise you guys would be showering me with your praises gwaahhahahahahaha!
May 27, 2007
May 25, 2007
Received a scolding from ASP Dominic for not performing my duties. I am starting to understand how it is like to be working in the real world.
Lessons today were cancelled again because our Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister are visiting the Home Team Academy today and I reckon my lecturer is involved in the event in one way or another.
My 6th frame is going to commence at 1430 hours. This is the final frame. If I pass, the next range for me will be during my ORD period. If I fail, I would have to retake the thing and it would be reflected in my testimonials.
Luckily the range complex is air-conditioned, unlike the feverish range in Tekong...
Lessons today were cancelled again because our Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister are visiting the Home Team Academy today and I reckon my lecturer is involved in the event in one way or another.
My 6th frame is going to commence at 1430 hours. This is the final frame. If I pass, the next range for me will be during my ORD period. If I fail, I would have to retake the thing and it would be reflected in my testimonials.
Luckily the range complex is air-conditioned, unlike the feverish range in Tekong...
May 24, 2007
Talk about pleasant surprises.
We had another round of PDP rehearsal in our parade square this afternoon and the entire Guard of Honour contigent performed beautifully according to my FI and the overall in-charge of the rehearsal.
"What more could the Commissioner of Police asks for? This is beautiful."
"Your Hormat just now was very nice. Especially the single piak sound."
"You did well just now but it could have been better. You're the best of the best which is why you're appointed Guard of Honour. So go out there and give your best!"
"The rehearsal just now was fantastic! Lets keep it up and impress the Commissioner of Police on the actual day!"
"3 cheers for GOH! Hip hip hurray!!! x3"
Its a very big contrast isn't it. The comments given to us today and those given to us on Tuesday. I guess we were simply just off form on Tuesday, resulting in our terrible performance. I just hope we can maintain the benchmark.
I failed to collect the squad's pocket book and gave them to my CM on time. According to my chairman, who just had a meeting with him, he is not very happy about it. He wants to see me tomorrow morning.
Lets pray that nothing serious would happen.
We had another round of PDP rehearsal in our parade square this afternoon and the entire Guard of Honour contigent performed beautifully according to my FI and the overall in-charge of the rehearsal.
"What more could the Commissioner of Police asks for? This is beautiful."
"Your Hormat just now was very nice. Especially the single piak sound."
"You did well just now but it could have been better. You're the best of the best which is why you're appointed Guard of Honour. So go out there and give your best!"
"The rehearsal just now was fantastic! Lets keep it up and impress the Commissioner of Police on the actual day!"
"3 cheers for GOH! Hip hip hurray!!! x3"
Its a very big contrast isn't it. The comments given to us today and those given to us on Tuesday. I guess we were simply just off form on Tuesday, resulting in our terrible performance. I just hope we can maintain the benchmark.
I failed to collect the squad's pocket book and gave them to my CM on time. According to my chairman, who just had a meeting with him, he is not very happy about it. He wants to see me tomorrow morning.
Lets pray that nothing serious would happen.
My FI came over this morning to check our Number One and fortunately, mine fits me fine. That means I don't have to go and alter it and go through all sorts of... red tape? Some of my mates aren't so lucky though.
I feel that the Police Number One is not exactly the best looking ceremonial dress around. The Navy's N0. 1 would be the best looking of all in my opinion with its sleek whiteness and white boots. Its kind of pro-PAP as well...
Lessons were scheduled to start at 9am but something cropped up and our lecturer had to atend to that something first. SO, the lesson would be pushed back to **am(OSA!). While I can't reveal the time, I guess you smart people out there would be able to figure out that by yourselves considering the fact that I can blog such a short blog now.
After this, I shall go and DS my time away...
I feel that the Police Number One is not exactly the best looking ceremonial dress around. The Navy's N0. 1 would be the best looking of all in my opinion with its sleek whiteness and white boots. Its kind of pro-PAP as well...
Lessons were scheduled to start at 9am but something cropped up and our lecturer had to atend to that something first. SO, the lesson would be pushed back to **am(OSA!). While I can't reveal the time, I guess you smart people out there would be able to figure out that by yourselves considering the fact that I can blog such a short blog now.
After this, I shall go and DS my time away...
May 23, 2007
Wa hey!
Yesterday's mishap was compensated for by today's consummate acomplishment!
As I said before, I was chosen along with 19 others to be flag bearers for the ASEANAPOL conference. Today was our 1st official reheasal and we did our part well. Not that its totally perfect but at least its of some substance unlike the PDP rehearsal...
And I am carrying the Singapore flag! OUR State Flag!
I have unknowingly taken a liking to slow marching now cause it makes us look suave and slick and cool! Its even graceful! Yes! There were unexpected changes to some of our movements upon the request of some colossal shot and the changes were definitely not for the better in my opinion. But we can only learn to accept it since its a "request" by this colossal shot whom I presume knows nothing about the Art of Marching.
Though it was generally fine, some of us did messed up once in awhile. After planting the flags onto the flag holder, we were suppose to march down the platform and go out through where we came in. Upon descending from the platform stairs, I lost count and ended up psycho-motoring in the middle of nowhere. GOsh. That was really embarassing because we had some "fake" audience watching us rehearse haha. I think I can hear them giggling at me. And thats not because I am cute~
The final rehearsal today was taped down by some videoman and the recordings would be sent to some bigger-than-colossal shot to see. I doubt we have much to worry about cause after the rehearsal, the in charge came over and praised us for a job well done. yay! it always feels good to be praised.
During our break, SSS ******* came over and shared a couple of his jokes with us. OMIGOSH. I think I finally found the man who can guide me and bring my Lame-fication Order to the zenith! I am so gonna ask him to take me as his disciple so that I would be able to glorify his jokes... ahem.. skills I mean.
1)a mama, a dog and a child
2)heart got legs
3)heaven. leg or head first?
4)chinese names
5)a bhai? and an ang-moh girl?
6)origin of thailand
-and much more to come in the future-
One more thing; I received my Number One Ceremonial Dress today!
but it looks so you-gee-al-why!
Yesterday's mishap was compensated for by today's consummate acomplishment!
As I said before, I was chosen along with 19 others to be flag bearers for the ASEANAPOL conference. Today was our 1st official reheasal and we did our part well. Not that its totally perfect but at least its of some substance unlike the PDP rehearsal...
And I am carrying the Singapore flag! OUR State Flag!
I have unknowingly taken a liking to slow marching now cause it makes us look suave and slick and cool! Its even graceful! Yes! There were unexpected changes to some of our movements upon the request of some colossal shot and the changes were definitely not for the better in my opinion. But we can only learn to accept it since its a "request" by this colossal shot whom I presume knows nothing about the Art of Marching.
Though it was generally fine, some of us did messed up once in awhile. After planting the flags onto the flag holder, we were suppose to march down the platform and go out through where we came in. Upon descending from the platform stairs, I lost count and ended up psycho-motoring in the middle of nowhere. GOsh. That was really embarassing because we had some "fake" audience watching us rehearse haha. I think I can hear them giggling at me. And thats not because I am cute~
The final rehearsal today was taped down by some videoman and the recordings would be sent to some bigger-than-colossal shot to see. I doubt we have much to worry about cause after the rehearsal, the in charge came over and praised us for a job well done. yay! it always feels good to be praised.
During our break, SSS ******* came over and shared a couple of his jokes with us. OMIGOSH. I think I finally found the man who can guide me and bring my Lame-fication Order to the zenith! I am so gonna ask him to take me as his disciple so that I would be able to glorify his jokes... ahem.. skills I mean.
1)a mama, a dog and a child
2)heart got legs
3)heaven. leg or head first?
4)chinese names
5)a bhai? and an ang-moh girl?
6)origin of thailand
-and much more to come in the future-
One more thing; I received my Number One Ceremonial Dress today!
but it looks so you-gee-al-why!
May 22, 2007
today's PDP rehearsal was abyssmal.
the guard of honours just can't get our act together!
i believe we have become the laughing stock of the whole parade.
"Guard of Honours? What! Them? Look at the way they march! They can't even lift up their legs!"
"Would you just look at them; they can't even swing their hands together!"
"Take your dressing! For the last time please TAKE YOUR BLOODY DRESSING!"
"Stop rushing! STOP RUSHING!!!"
"You guys are too SLOW! March properly LAH!"
"You call YOURSELVES the Guard of Honours with this kind of standards?"
"Everything was fine; except that the Guard of Honour sucks."
.....
Previous rehearsals were not so disastrous. I wonder what happened this time round. Are we too confident? Complacent? Or simply cant be bothered anymore? I believe our failure to perform up to expectation has cause serious disappointment to our FI. He looked so listless and lost on our way back. He din't even utter a single word to us. I don't blame him. He has put in a 110% effort to coach us on our drills. He has fulfill his part. There is nothing more he can do to help us if we dont help ourselves by putting in more effort.
I really hope we can pull up our socks next time. Not literally. Otherwise we may risk getting replaced by the other regular squads. The "cream of the crop" cant even be the Guard of Honour? How ironic. And disgraceful for us OCTs.
Not only that, we might disappoint our FI even more because all his efforts and dedication would have gone down the drain.
the guard of honours just can't get our act together!
i believe we have become the laughing stock of the whole parade.
"Guard of Honours? What! Them? Look at the way they march! They can't even lift up their legs!"
"Would you just look at them; they can't even swing their hands together!"
"Take your dressing! For the last time please TAKE YOUR BLOODY DRESSING!"
"Stop rushing! STOP RUSHING!!!"
"You guys are too SLOW! March properly LAH!"
"You call YOURSELVES the Guard of Honours with this kind of standards?"
"Everything was fine; except that the Guard of Honour sucks."
.....
Previous rehearsals were not so disastrous. I wonder what happened this time round. Are we too confident? Complacent? Or simply cant be bothered anymore? I believe our failure to perform up to expectation has cause serious disappointment to our FI. He looked so listless and lost on our way back. He din't even utter a single word to us. I don't blame him. He has put in a 110% effort to coach us on our drills. He has fulfill his part. There is nothing more he can do to help us if we dont help ourselves by putting in more effort.
I really hope we can pull up our socks next time. Not literally. Otherwise we may risk getting replaced by the other regular squads. The "cream of the crop" cant even be the Guard of Honour? How ironic. And disgraceful for us OCTs.
Not only that, we might disappoint our FI even more because all his efforts and dedication would have gone down the drain.
May 17, 2007
Ok. Just finished my provost duties. Since its already well past our swimming lesson, we (my buddy and me) figured that we will just wait in the barracks for the rest of our squad to come back and then proceed to our lesson together. In the meantime, I decided to blog since my DS ran out of battery.
Morning provost just now was fine. Its quite a smooth sailing job which also means slack. Most of the squads will have PT in the morning so most of them will only come for breakfast after 8am.
=TIME OUT=
My squad just returned from their swimming lessons! (8.20am)
=TIME IN=
As I was saying, most of the squads will only come for breakfast after 8am and provost personnels are supposed to leave at around 8.1oam to prepare for their next lessons. The overall provost IC (someone from the admin. staff) will be responsible after we left. So yeah.
=TIME OUT=
I just saw **a* H** in his swimming trunks inside his bunk. I think his going to bathe first before changing into uniform. (8.23am)
=TIME IN=
The flag raising was fine as well. I think we did well in raising the flag (Yours truly was raising the State flag. Hail Singapore!). It wasn't really that nerve-wrecking to be standing in front of the entire academy after all. Just need to concetrate and get the flag up the pole. Yep. All is over in like 3 minutes.
The mess IC brought a piece of Holland chocolate, which her daugther bought for her while travelling across Europe, to share with us. Goodness, it taste so velvety! Mama-mia! But I still prefer Snickers bars. I guess that made up for our cmi breakfast - fish porridge with excess fishy smell. If you want to know how it tastes like, do this:
-Grab a piece of dry salted fish and soak it in water till the water tastes of salted fish.
-Boil that salted-fishy water.
-Add in rice.
-Cook till rice becomes soggy.
-Enjoy the exquisite taste of HTA's Deluxe Fish Porridge.
I would rather they force me to eat 100 durians then let me eat one bowl of fish porridge.
I had a good chat with my seniors (a pair of seniors and a pair of juniors did provost together). Both of them would be applying for NTU which means that I might be university mates with them in the future (I got into Aerospace. Remember?). They also shared with me their experiences during their attachments.
*u ***n was attached to "G" Division Headquarters and the first case he handled was a suicide case --- on the MRT tracks. According to him, he was the first police officer at the scene and he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the body was still in one piece. The person was still breathing though. Next, he went to raid an illegal massage salon in the Geylang vicinity. He was chosen to disguise as a patron haha. As he entered the store, the mama-san was like "Ah di lai lai!" haha. Then when he confirmed that the coast is clear, he signals the raiders to come in. He said that he actually grabbed one of the female masseur by the hair since he could not come into bodily contact with her. Ouch. Many of them were crying. So sad. But we are upholders of the Law! So must be hard hearted.
Alright. I guess I better to expel my bio toxins now. Have been kekking since this morning. Must release before lesson time if not later must kek for another 3 hours -.- Bad for health sia.
Morning provost just now was fine. Its quite a smooth sailing job which also means slack. Most of the squads will have PT in the morning so most of them will only come for breakfast after 8am.
=TIME OUT=
My squad just returned from their swimming lessons! (8.20am)
=TIME IN=
As I was saying, most of the squads will only come for breakfast after 8am and provost personnels are supposed to leave at around 8.1oam to prepare for their next lessons. The overall provost IC (someone from the admin. staff) will be responsible after we left. So yeah.
=TIME OUT=
I just saw **a* H** in his swimming trunks inside his bunk. I think his going to bathe first before changing into uniform. (8.23am)
=TIME IN=
The flag raising was fine as well. I think we did well in raising the flag (Yours truly was raising the State flag. Hail Singapore!). It wasn't really that nerve-wrecking to be standing in front of the entire academy after all. Just need to concetrate and get the flag up the pole. Yep. All is over in like 3 minutes.
The mess IC brought a piece of Holland chocolate, which her daugther bought for her while travelling across Europe, to share with us. Goodness, it taste so velvety! Mama-mia! But I still prefer Snickers bars. I guess that made up for our cmi breakfast - fish porridge with excess fishy smell. If you want to know how it tastes like, do this:
-Grab a piece of dry salted fish and soak it in water till the water tastes of salted fish.
-Boil that salted-fishy water.
-Add in rice.
-Cook till rice becomes soggy.
-Enjoy the exquisite taste of HTA's Deluxe Fish Porridge.
I would rather they force me to eat 100 durians then let me eat one bowl of fish porridge.
I had a good chat with my seniors (a pair of seniors and a pair of juniors did provost together). Both of them would be applying for NTU which means that I might be university mates with them in the future (I got into Aerospace. Remember?). They also shared with me their experiences during their attachments.
*u ***n was attached to "G" Division Headquarters and the first case he handled was a suicide case --- on the MRT tracks. According to him, he was the first police officer at the scene and he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the body was still in one piece. The person was still breathing though. Next, he went to raid an illegal massage salon in the Geylang vicinity. He was chosen to disguise as a patron haha. As he entered the store, the mama-san was like "Ah di lai lai!" haha. Then when he confirmed that the coast is clear, he signals the raiders to come in. He said that he actually grabbed one of the female masseur by the hair since he could not come into bodily contact with her. Ouch. Many of them were crying. So sad. But we are upholders of the Law! So must be hard hearted.
Alright. I guess I better to expel my bio toxins now. Have been kekking since this morning. Must release before lesson time if not later must kek for another 3 hours -.- Bad for health sia.
May 16, 2007
Hi guys. Some of you might be surprised why I can blog today when by right, I should be in camp since its a weekday. Well, I am not about to tell you guys why because I am bounded by the Official Secret Act! To be frank, I am not sure whether the reason for me being able to blog today comes under the OSA but just to play safe, I shall say no evil.
"See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in CIA's War on Terrorism" tickled my interest in the spying industry. I did some googling and yahooing and discovered that Singapore do have something like the CIA. OK. Maybe not exactly identical but somewhat similar organizations. Its called S******* and **********c* D****i** and its under the wings of Ministry of ******* (OSA!). Rumours have it that this organisation discreetly contact Arts and Social Science graduates to see if they are fit to be recruited into the spying ranks. Cool isn't it. All the secrecy and mystery...
Yes, I am interested in the spying industry but I don't think I can join it. I guess I am those type of people that thinks spying is cool and stuff but can only think. Asking me to join the spying business would be a no-no. I am just not cut out to be one though Alfonsus might beg to differ since he feels that I have a ex-convict face. As for how I can utilize that ex-convict face of mine, I seriously have no idea.
I was selected today to be flag carriers along with 19 others for the ASEANAPOL. For those outsiders, ASEANAPOL is basically a gathering of all the police chiefs in ASEAN where they will come together to discuss about security matters, bilateral co-operation and the likes. I would be carrying one of the ASEAN nation flag and march in. Not just any march. Slow march. Actually its not exactly as hard as it sounds. Just need to keep in tempo and maintain balance and its like we are marching normally. I would say we look quite cool marching slowly haha. Plus, we would be wearing our Number One ceremonial uniform which we should be getting in a day or two. The event would be held at one of the many hotels in Singapore which I am not going to divulge. OSA lah. Cannot risk letting trouble makers get hold of the venue and wreck havoc there. But its definitely not Hotel 81 Opera, neither is it Fragrance Hotel Balestier. So trouble makers out there don't bother combing the above hotels I just said. But Red Lights Hotel... hmmm
Its my turn to do Provost today and I have to admit I sucked at it. I just can't bring myself to shout and scold people who cannot march to the mess(cookhouse) properly. Neither can I reprimand them for not keeping quiet when in files. Above all, I just can't bring myself to correct anybody for doing the wrong thing. Hai. I just feel that its quite bad to be so demanding. Its all thanks to my kind-natured personality. But towards the end of dinner, FI Firdaus sort of enlighten me with a few golden words. I think I would know what to do tomorrow. Its time to shed light on my darkside...
But before that, I would need to wake up at 5.30am tomorrow to do collect the State flag and Home Team flag from the the g*****h*****. Thereafter, I would proceed to do flag raising for the morning assembly.
Swimming's our first lesson tomorrow. Its been a long time since we last swam and its been a long time since our swimming instructor last seen us. Tomorrow would be a better day... I hope.
May 13, 2007
its so sudden and i wan to post a blog so badly but i got no time so i decided to post the book review i did for the book i read.
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism
Robert Baer may seem like a normal man. He has an average desk job, drives around in a Nissan Sunny, dresses in casual jeans and shirt and lives in an apartment in downtown Washington. But in reality, Baer is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer. His real job is to traverse the world to steal secrets and harvest classified information from other nations and foreign groups for his native land, the United States of America. In other words, Baer is a spy.
In “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism”, Baer paints a chilling picture of how terrorism works on the inside and provides startling evidence of how Washington politics sabotaged the CIA’s efforts to root out the world’s deadliest terrorists, allowing for the rise of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. A veteran case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in the Middle East, Baer witnessed the rise of terrorism first hand and the CIA’s inadequate response to it, leading to the attacks of September 11, 2001. In this review, I shall discuss how America has failed in its dealings with modern terrorism.
With all the veiled women and men walking around in flowing robes, Edgeware Road resembles any other street in the Middle East. But Edgeware Road is not in the Middle East, it is located in central London, an area that has been taken over by Arabs and other Middle Easterners. Despite the similarities, there is a subtle difference between Edgeware Road and the Middle East; the Arabic bookstores. In most parts of the Middle East, bookstores are forbidden from selling radical Islamic tracts that openly advocate violence but in London’s Arabic bookstores there were racks of them. One glance at the bold print and you knew what they were about: a deep, uncompromising hatred for the United States. Thus, it would make perfect sense for the United States to pay more attention to that area since the Muslim communities living in Edgeware Road would have a higher risk of being recruited for Jihad, or holy war, between Islam and America. But the United States did no such thing. As a matter of fact, the CIA office in London does not even have a single Arabic speaker and as such, it was unlikely for any CIA officer to wonder down Edgeware Road. Even if someone had, he would not have been able to read the venomous headlines on those books. Furthermore, the CIA was prohibited by British authorities from recruiting sources, even Islamic fundamentalists, in their country.
The CIA should not be impeded by the British in carrying out its clandestine activities. After all, the CIA specializes in spying. Otherwise, the presence of a CIA office in Britain is ironic because it is prohibited by the British from recruiting any sources there but yet they are still there and not doing anything. Since the office in Britain does not even have a single Arabic speaker, I would think that America is not keen in tackling the Muslim populations there.
The United Kingdom aside, CIA offices in Europe has been dwindling in general. The offices in Paris, Bonn and Rome were shadows of what they had been during the Cold War era. They lacked adequate officers to go after the vast Middle Eastern communities and those that did have the manpower too often lacked the inclination, training and in some cases, the incentives to do so. This, in my opinion, is a perfect combination for trouble. Europe, today, has opened up its borders and many migrants are entering the continent. A small percentage of these migrants might be radical sectarians that are planning to carry out acts of terrorism from or in Europe since it is a close ally of the United States. The recent Madrid bombings, London bombings and the thwarted massive flight bombing in Britain are examples of what terrorists want to do; instill fear in the population and disrupt the peace in Europe.
The situation in the Middle East is not any better. Often, there was only one or two CIA officers assigned to a country. Rather than recruit and run sources – foreign agents – CIA stations in the tinderbox of the world spent most of their time catering to whatever was in the fashion in Washington at that time: human rights, economic globalization, the Arab-Israeli conflict. The CIA deemed running its own foreign human sources as being too messy and stopped doing it. Instead, CIA depended largely on their European and Middle Eastern allies to provide information on any Islamic fundamentalists that threatens American soil. But, like what Singapore has learnt in the past, depending on others to protect yourself is akin to digging your own grave. Nobody warned America that Muhammad Atta, the presumed leader of the hijacking teams on September 11, was recruiting suicide bombers in a Hamburg mosque. As a result, the World Trade Centre buildings collapsed and thousands of Americans lost their lives.
On December 21, 1988, PanAm flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all the 259 passengers on board. This act of terrorism was carried out by the terrorist organization known as Population Front for the Liberation of Palestine/General Command (PFLP/GC). That is what it looks like on the surface. In reality, Iran ordered PFLP/GC to destroy the aircraft. The rationale for Iran’s orders? Revenge. On July 3, 1988, the US Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian Airbus in the Gulf accidentally. The hardliners in the Iranian government refused to believe that the act was purely accidental. Since it could not take direct actions against the United States, Iran resorted to employing terrorists to do the dirty work. The United States are facing great difficulties in securing Iraq today due to insurgents and terrorists which are believed to have, in one way or the other, received assistance from Iran. This goes to show that terrorist organizations can be employed by rogue nations for the right price and a combination of both, the terrorists and the rouge nations, is a lethal mix. With aid from the rouge nation, terrorist group will receive funding and even professional trainings from its host. This would enable them to carry out much more catastrophic acts and they will also be able to strike in more places.
Due to Washington politics, the CIA revealed the identities of several of its agents, rendering them useless and exposing them to danger. Not only that, the CIA also dismissed many of its seasoned officers who had spent their careers overseas in the many no-man’s-land of the world. In 1995, the agency handed the title of director of operations - the man officially in charge of spying – to an analyst who had never served overseas. He was followed by a retiree and the retiree by an officer who had risen through the ranks largely thanks to his political skills. In addition, inexperienced officers were assigned to direct field officers abroad on how to run their cases. Like what Baer said, “It was like assigning a hospital administrator to head the surgical team.”
The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Yes, it is true that the Europeans and Middle Easterners failed America for allowing the September 11 bombings to occur. But most of all, America failed itself. It did not have the intelligence they needed or the means of gathering it. Correcting these mistakes is not going to be easy but it can be done. The way to start would be by putting CIA officers back on the street, by letting them recruit and run sources in the mosques, the casbahs or anywhere else we can learn what the bad guys’ intentions are before they break into horrible deadlines and unbearable film footage.
I always thought that terrorism is something new and that it made it debut for the first time in 2001. I also believed that the terrorists carried out their acts in an impromptu manner. All that misconceptions changed after I read this book. Terrorism has been around since the early 1970s. The bombing of the US embassy in Beirut in 1983, the PanAm Flight 103 bombing in 1988, the Saudi National Guard facility bombing in Riyadh in 1995 and the Khobar barracks bombing in 1996 are just some of the many examples of terrorism that has taken place way before my time. Not only has terrorism been prevalent since the past but the terrorists also planned their operations meticulously before executing them in order to guarantee success.
The CIA took well over a decade to find out who was the culprit behind the 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut. The perpetrators left no trails behind; they used excessive explosives to ensure that everything, including themselves and the vehicles they were riding in would be blasted to non-existent so that there will be no trace for investigators to follow. It was only by chance the CIA came across an important agent later on which helped them solved the case. Iran was the mastermind and the Iranian government ordered Fatah, Yasir Arafat’s terrorist organization then, to carry out the task. CIA’s investigation showed that Osama bin Laden had been suggested to the Iran that they drop their efforts to undermine Central Asian governments and instead, join him in a campaign against the United States. That was in late 1997. Osama has planned for 4 years before finally dealing the blow to America in 2001. As of now, America is still in the midst of apprehending Osama and his accomplices.
It is quite disheartening to know that Ziyad Samir Jarrah, a Lebanese and one of the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed into the Pentagon during 911, came from a wealthy secular family and he attended Christian schools in his youth. He took aeronautical engineering in university and even went to take flight training in Florida. He even had a Turkish-German girlfriend.
All 4 culprits responsible for the London tube bombings are British citizens. Having sworn allegiance to Britain, they still fell to the lure of terrorism and committed an act of treason against their country. Worst of all, one of them is a teacher, someone that should have the mental capacity to know that killing himself and others for the sake of a religion is something absolutely absurd! All 4 of them have received education up till the secondary level.
All this shows that everybody and anybody, not just the poor and the uneducated, are susceptible to jihad. Yes, even woman are being employed by terrorists to carry out their sacred task. This makes it even harder for us to combat terrorism and it also made terrorism much scarier and dangerous. That pregnant woman that we just saw passing by might be concealing a bomb underneath her clothes on the pretext of being pregnant. The child that just walked past us might have a bomb in his school bag. The line has become blurred that we can no longer be sure who is a terrorist and who is not. It might sound unpleasant but truth is, the world is no longer as safe as before.
The book also highlights several illegal channels whereby the terrorists get their weapons. Several rogue nations, most notably Iran, are supplying terrorists with weapons. Corrupt officials in countries like North Korea and Russia are also willing to sell contrabands to terrorists for the right price. To make matters worst, Iran and North Korea has been conducting nuclear weapons testing for quite some time. It would be unthinkable what horrors can arise should a terrorist organization get their hands on a nuclear weapon. Small countries like Singapore would get annihilated in the blink of an eye. The radiation fallback following the nuclear explosion would affect many people for generations to come. World peace will be broken and war will ensue. The world will descend into chaos.
Interestingly, the famous French seer, Nostradamus, prophesized that by the year 2012, a rouge nation will acquire an incredibly powerful weapon, presumed to be a nuclear bomb, and will unleash it upon a city along the Mediterranean Sea, which is presumed to be Rome. Whether this prophecy is true or not, we will never know. Some of Nostradamus’s prophesies has been correct, most notably the rise of Adolf Hitler and the dissolution of the Soviet Union but some of it did not take place as well. There are two things we can do though. Wait to see if his prediction will occur or take actions now to try to change his predictions.
Singapore is in a tough neighborhood. We are surrounded by nations that are many times bigger than us and these nations are populated predominantly by Muslims. We also have our own share of Muslim population.
So if we want to keep safe, we must cut all ties with United States and her allies.
OK. No.. I am just kidding haha!
Thus, it is imperative for us to preserve the racial harmony in our country as well as the region. I have read enough articles to know the human toll which such racial hatred can take. Singapore has done well in maintaining cordial and peaceful relations with our neighbors. That way, we can always have the options of resolving conflicts and problems through diplomacy. We cannot afford to slacken in this area and so, we have to continue preserving our friendly relations with our neighbors. Singapore has seen its fair share of racial riots to know that racial harmony is crucial to our survival as a nation. Our government has succeeded in getting the different races to co-exist harmoniously. We only need to continue preserving this precious racial harmony that we enjoy today.
I believe Singapore should establish an organization similar to the CIA to help collect information to ensure our security. We are now living in a troubled times where conventional wars are no longer prevalent and unconventional war such as terrorism are. No amount of weapons can help us in our fight against terrorism because terrorists are like waterfalls; no matter how many of them you managed to catch or kill, there will always be replacements to take over the fallen martyrs instantly. Terrorists have no territories for us to invade, no infrastructure for us to capture and no citizens to protect. All they have is the unmoving determination to carry out their tasks, to die for their god. Since they are not afraid to die, it is pointless for us to have powerful weapons. Information, in my opinion, would be our best bullet against them. With information regarding their activities, we would be able to thwart their plans and prevent them from succeeding. Most importantly, we would be able to protect our citizens and our sovereignty.
We might have ruined their plans in the Yishun MRT bombings but that does not mean they would not try again. Like most people, terrorists learn from their mistakes. They will regroup again and devise another plan to hit us harder the next time round. The 911 incident has shown that terrorists will bide their time and strike when the time is right. They might make a move after 1 year, 2 years or 10 years? We will never know. Even while you are reading this passage, a terrorist might be lurking in the dark, waiting for the chance to catch us off guard and deal us a critical blow.
Even the world’s superpower is having a hard time eradicating the terrorists that have infested Iraq. What makes us think that we can do better than them militarily? Therefore, we should have an intelligence organization that is responsible for collecting information for us.
In conclusion, “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism” has opened up my horizons. It showed me the dark side of the world and enlightened me of the dangerous situation that all of us are in. It has triggered my interest in the spying business. Most importantly, it provided us lessons which we can learn from the failures of the CIA.
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism
Robert Baer may seem like a normal man. He has an average desk job, drives around in a Nissan Sunny, dresses in casual jeans and shirt and lives in an apartment in downtown Washington. But in reality, Baer is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer. His real job is to traverse the world to steal secrets and harvest classified information from other nations and foreign groups for his native land, the United States of America. In other words, Baer is a spy.
In “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism”, Baer paints a chilling picture of how terrorism works on the inside and provides startling evidence of how Washington politics sabotaged the CIA’s efforts to root out the world’s deadliest terrorists, allowing for the rise of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. A veteran case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in the Middle East, Baer witnessed the rise of terrorism first hand and the CIA’s inadequate response to it, leading to the attacks of September 11, 2001. In this review, I shall discuss how America has failed in its dealings with modern terrorism.
With all the veiled women and men walking around in flowing robes, Edgeware Road resembles any other street in the Middle East. But Edgeware Road is not in the Middle East, it is located in central London, an area that has been taken over by Arabs and other Middle Easterners. Despite the similarities, there is a subtle difference between Edgeware Road and the Middle East; the Arabic bookstores. In most parts of the Middle East, bookstores are forbidden from selling radical Islamic tracts that openly advocate violence but in London’s Arabic bookstores there were racks of them. One glance at the bold print and you knew what they were about: a deep, uncompromising hatred for the United States. Thus, it would make perfect sense for the United States to pay more attention to that area since the Muslim communities living in Edgeware Road would have a higher risk of being recruited for Jihad, or holy war, between Islam and America. But the United States did no such thing. As a matter of fact, the CIA office in London does not even have a single Arabic speaker and as such, it was unlikely for any CIA officer to wonder down Edgeware Road. Even if someone had, he would not have been able to read the venomous headlines on those books. Furthermore, the CIA was prohibited by British authorities from recruiting sources, even Islamic fundamentalists, in their country.
The CIA should not be impeded by the British in carrying out its clandestine activities. After all, the CIA specializes in spying. Otherwise, the presence of a CIA office in Britain is ironic because it is prohibited by the British from recruiting any sources there but yet they are still there and not doing anything. Since the office in Britain does not even have a single Arabic speaker, I would think that America is not keen in tackling the Muslim populations there.
The United Kingdom aside, CIA offices in Europe has been dwindling in general. The offices in Paris, Bonn and Rome were shadows of what they had been during the Cold War era. They lacked adequate officers to go after the vast Middle Eastern communities and those that did have the manpower too often lacked the inclination, training and in some cases, the incentives to do so. This, in my opinion, is a perfect combination for trouble. Europe, today, has opened up its borders and many migrants are entering the continent. A small percentage of these migrants might be radical sectarians that are planning to carry out acts of terrorism from or in Europe since it is a close ally of the United States. The recent Madrid bombings, London bombings and the thwarted massive flight bombing in Britain are examples of what terrorists want to do; instill fear in the population and disrupt the peace in Europe.
The situation in the Middle East is not any better. Often, there was only one or two CIA officers assigned to a country. Rather than recruit and run sources – foreign agents – CIA stations in the tinderbox of the world spent most of their time catering to whatever was in the fashion in Washington at that time: human rights, economic globalization, the Arab-Israeli conflict. The CIA deemed running its own foreign human sources as being too messy and stopped doing it. Instead, CIA depended largely on their European and Middle Eastern allies to provide information on any Islamic fundamentalists that threatens American soil. But, like what Singapore has learnt in the past, depending on others to protect yourself is akin to digging your own grave. Nobody warned America that Muhammad Atta, the presumed leader of the hijacking teams on September 11, was recruiting suicide bombers in a Hamburg mosque. As a result, the World Trade Centre buildings collapsed and thousands of Americans lost their lives.
On December 21, 1988, PanAm flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all the 259 passengers on board. This act of terrorism was carried out by the terrorist organization known as Population Front for the Liberation of Palestine/General Command (PFLP/GC). That is what it looks like on the surface. In reality, Iran ordered PFLP/GC to destroy the aircraft. The rationale for Iran’s orders? Revenge. On July 3, 1988, the US Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian Airbus in the Gulf accidentally. The hardliners in the Iranian government refused to believe that the act was purely accidental. Since it could not take direct actions against the United States, Iran resorted to employing terrorists to do the dirty work. The United States are facing great difficulties in securing Iraq today due to insurgents and terrorists which are believed to have, in one way or the other, received assistance from Iran. This goes to show that terrorist organizations can be employed by rogue nations for the right price and a combination of both, the terrorists and the rouge nations, is a lethal mix. With aid from the rouge nation, terrorist group will receive funding and even professional trainings from its host. This would enable them to carry out much more catastrophic acts and they will also be able to strike in more places.
Due to Washington politics, the CIA revealed the identities of several of its agents, rendering them useless and exposing them to danger. Not only that, the CIA also dismissed many of its seasoned officers who had spent their careers overseas in the many no-man’s-land of the world. In 1995, the agency handed the title of director of operations - the man officially in charge of spying – to an analyst who had never served overseas. He was followed by a retiree and the retiree by an officer who had risen through the ranks largely thanks to his political skills. In addition, inexperienced officers were assigned to direct field officers abroad on how to run their cases. Like what Baer said, “It was like assigning a hospital administrator to head the surgical team.”
The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Yes, it is true that the Europeans and Middle Easterners failed America for allowing the September 11 bombings to occur. But most of all, America failed itself. It did not have the intelligence they needed or the means of gathering it. Correcting these mistakes is not going to be easy but it can be done. The way to start would be by putting CIA officers back on the street, by letting them recruit and run sources in the mosques, the casbahs or anywhere else we can learn what the bad guys’ intentions are before they break into horrible deadlines and unbearable film footage.
I always thought that terrorism is something new and that it made it debut for the first time in 2001. I also believed that the terrorists carried out their acts in an impromptu manner. All that misconceptions changed after I read this book. Terrorism has been around since the early 1970s. The bombing of the US embassy in Beirut in 1983, the PanAm Flight 103 bombing in 1988, the Saudi National Guard facility bombing in Riyadh in 1995 and the Khobar barracks bombing in 1996 are just some of the many examples of terrorism that has taken place way before my time. Not only has terrorism been prevalent since the past but the terrorists also planned their operations meticulously before executing them in order to guarantee success.
The CIA took well over a decade to find out who was the culprit behind the 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut. The perpetrators left no trails behind; they used excessive explosives to ensure that everything, including themselves and the vehicles they were riding in would be blasted to non-existent so that there will be no trace for investigators to follow. It was only by chance the CIA came across an important agent later on which helped them solved the case. Iran was the mastermind and the Iranian government ordered Fatah, Yasir Arafat’s terrorist organization then, to carry out the task. CIA’s investigation showed that Osama bin Laden had been suggested to the Iran that they drop their efforts to undermine Central Asian governments and instead, join him in a campaign against the United States. That was in late 1997. Osama has planned for 4 years before finally dealing the blow to America in 2001. As of now, America is still in the midst of apprehending Osama and his accomplices.
It is quite disheartening to know that Ziyad Samir Jarrah, a Lebanese and one of the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed into the Pentagon during 911, came from a wealthy secular family and he attended Christian schools in his youth. He took aeronautical engineering in university and even went to take flight training in Florida. He even had a Turkish-German girlfriend.
All 4 culprits responsible for the London tube bombings are British citizens. Having sworn allegiance to Britain, they still fell to the lure of terrorism and committed an act of treason against their country. Worst of all, one of them is a teacher, someone that should have the mental capacity to know that killing himself and others for the sake of a religion is something absolutely absurd! All 4 of them have received education up till the secondary level.
All this shows that everybody and anybody, not just the poor and the uneducated, are susceptible to jihad. Yes, even woman are being employed by terrorists to carry out their sacred task. This makes it even harder for us to combat terrorism and it also made terrorism much scarier and dangerous. That pregnant woman that we just saw passing by might be concealing a bomb underneath her clothes on the pretext of being pregnant. The child that just walked past us might have a bomb in his school bag. The line has become blurred that we can no longer be sure who is a terrorist and who is not. It might sound unpleasant but truth is, the world is no longer as safe as before.
The book also highlights several illegal channels whereby the terrorists get their weapons. Several rogue nations, most notably Iran, are supplying terrorists with weapons. Corrupt officials in countries like North Korea and Russia are also willing to sell contrabands to terrorists for the right price. To make matters worst, Iran and North Korea has been conducting nuclear weapons testing for quite some time. It would be unthinkable what horrors can arise should a terrorist organization get their hands on a nuclear weapon. Small countries like Singapore would get annihilated in the blink of an eye. The radiation fallback following the nuclear explosion would affect many people for generations to come. World peace will be broken and war will ensue. The world will descend into chaos.
Interestingly, the famous French seer, Nostradamus, prophesized that by the year 2012, a rouge nation will acquire an incredibly powerful weapon, presumed to be a nuclear bomb, and will unleash it upon a city along the Mediterranean Sea, which is presumed to be Rome. Whether this prophecy is true or not, we will never know. Some of Nostradamus’s prophesies has been correct, most notably the rise of Adolf Hitler and the dissolution of the Soviet Union but some of it did not take place as well. There are two things we can do though. Wait to see if his prediction will occur or take actions now to try to change his predictions.
Singapore is in a tough neighborhood. We are surrounded by nations that are many times bigger than us and these nations are populated predominantly by Muslims. We also have our own share of Muslim population.
So if we want to keep safe, we must cut all ties with United States and her allies.
OK. No.. I am just kidding haha!
Thus, it is imperative for us to preserve the racial harmony in our country as well as the region. I have read enough articles to know the human toll which such racial hatred can take. Singapore has done well in maintaining cordial and peaceful relations with our neighbors. That way, we can always have the options of resolving conflicts and problems through diplomacy. We cannot afford to slacken in this area and so, we have to continue preserving our friendly relations with our neighbors. Singapore has seen its fair share of racial riots to know that racial harmony is crucial to our survival as a nation. Our government has succeeded in getting the different races to co-exist harmoniously. We only need to continue preserving this precious racial harmony that we enjoy today.
I believe Singapore should establish an organization similar to the CIA to help collect information to ensure our security. We are now living in a troubled times where conventional wars are no longer prevalent and unconventional war such as terrorism are. No amount of weapons can help us in our fight against terrorism because terrorists are like waterfalls; no matter how many of them you managed to catch or kill, there will always be replacements to take over the fallen martyrs instantly. Terrorists have no territories for us to invade, no infrastructure for us to capture and no citizens to protect. All they have is the unmoving determination to carry out their tasks, to die for their god. Since they are not afraid to die, it is pointless for us to have powerful weapons. Information, in my opinion, would be our best bullet against them. With information regarding their activities, we would be able to thwart their plans and prevent them from succeeding. Most importantly, we would be able to protect our citizens and our sovereignty.
We might have ruined their plans in the Yishun MRT bombings but that does not mean they would not try again. Like most people, terrorists learn from their mistakes. They will regroup again and devise another plan to hit us harder the next time round. The 911 incident has shown that terrorists will bide their time and strike when the time is right. They might make a move after 1 year, 2 years or 10 years? We will never know. Even while you are reading this passage, a terrorist might be lurking in the dark, waiting for the chance to catch us off guard and deal us a critical blow.
Even the world’s superpower is having a hard time eradicating the terrorists that have infested Iraq. What makes us think that we can do better than them militarily? Therefore, we should have an intelligence organization that is responsible for collecting information for us.
In conclusion, “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism” has opened up my horizons. It showed me the dark side of the world and enlightened me of the dangerous situation that all of us are in. It has triggered my interest in the spying business. Most importantly, it provided us lessons which we can learn from the failures of the CIA.
May 05, 2007
I have finally finished reading my Deathnote 13 and as such, completed the entire Deathnote manga series. It really was an intriguing and thought-provoking manga. I am beginning to hope that I will one day chance upon a Deathnote while walking home. I will then make friends with the Death God and utilize the Deathnote to its fullest potential. Really, someone please bestow upon me a copy of the Deathnote... Maybe I should go buy those mass-produced Deathnote from the shops and hope that out of the millions of Deathnotes produced, one of them is the real thing and I would be lucky enough to purchase that real note. Hah.
This past week in the Home Team Academy is the same as before. Lessons, physical trainings, drills, meals, PDTs, PDP and range. I wonder when I would get to run my SOC. Can't wait to explore it. I am now officially a Bobo-shooter for I failed my 2nd and 3rd frame for my range! For my 2nd frame, I shot 35 rounds and 11 rounds dunno disappear until where. And the reamining 24 rounds are spread out like stars on my target card; they are all over the place. For my 3rd frame, I shot 55 rounds and this time, there is timing, meaining you will have a time limit to shoot a specific number of rounds(For example, 12secs to shoot 5 rounds at 23 metres and 3 secs to shoot one round at 15 metres). Out of the 55 rounds, 30 rounds dunno fly to where and the remaining rounds, as usual, are spreaded all around my target card.
I think my problem lies with aiming. Thats what most of my instructors say anyway. I also tend to get kan-chiong under the time limit. As a result, I will just point the gun forward and fire off. Other factors include my grip on the pistol grip and my breathing blah blah blah. Lets hope I can do better for my 4th frame. Lesser dissappearing rounds? More precise and accurate shootings? I dunno which one I should aim for. Perhaps both. Oh by the way, one of my instructors cut his hair short and he looks better IMO. Not that I like him or wat. Just telling you guys. I was told to do finger push-ups everyday as that will train up my fingers and allow me to pull the trigger better. But finger push ups.... no easy job siaz. If your not careful you might just break your fingers. So do at your own risk. Hmm...
For one of our PT sessions last week, our dedicated FI, Eddie, made us do 9 different styles of jumping jacks! NiNe siaz. And frankly, I like the different styles of jumping jacks! Its almost like dance moves liddat. I really adore it. I think I can go play DDR or Para Para at the arcades already mwahahahaha! Apparently, he still have alot more styles up his sleeves. Ha. Cant wait for him to teach us more.
We had our second PDT(Police Defense Tactics) lessons last week and the bloody warm up resemble our first swimming warm up. Damn... but the rest of the lessons was a breeze. We just have to execute and practice the moves shown to us by our instructor. Looks quite stupid some of them but we still have to do it. We learnt the different methods of carrying our T-baton, shuffles, pivoting, blocks and attacks. Basic stuff. I cant wait for the slamming and locking part. There is a Black Belt First Dan guy in my squad. Ha. Dint ever thought he was a black belt... coz he dint look like one! No offence tho. This, I believe, is what they called 真人不漏相. I tink I should start praticing my Krav Maga soon as well. I shall become a Grand Master! And I can keep dreaming..
Some funny incidents ... and oh my gosh! -time out-
= I turned my head and saw our Prime Minister having a dialogue with the President Bush! For some reason, it just caught my attention. Perhaps its because Bush is willing to listen to the leader of some 4 million people? I dunno... But then again, how often is it do one get to speak to the President of America? Power sia... If only I have the chance, I tink I will freaked out and screw the entire dialogue? I dunno. Ha. The stuff they are talking about, terrorism, Iraq, ASEAN-US relations etc. etc. =
-time in-
*Ahem* As I was saying earlier, some funny incidents occurred in the Academy this past week. However, I cant divulge any further because I am bounded by the Official Secrets Act.
Talking about secrets, I am reading a book for my book review. Its titled "See no Evil: True story of a ground solider in CIA's war on terrorism". I have only finished reading Chapter 1 (the book has 4) and I feel that its a bloody good book! It tells me how the CIA works; how it recruits spies, what are their trainings, where they are stationed etc etc. Some of the operations narrated by the author(he himself is a distinguished CIA officer) is very thrilling as well! A movie has been filmed based on this book. It is called "Syriana". I am gonna get my hands on that film.
Because of that book, the notion of joining the CIA as an officer there came to me. I tink living the life of a coveted CIA officer is very the cool. Yes. Its something that I like. I get to spy on other nations and am given access to the secrets of America... But sadly, I am not american. Haiz... HMm.. maybe I can consider immigrating there. Seriously, alot of my career ambitions have to do with America. Maybe I should immigrate there.
Heh.
Huat ah. I successfully entered the course of Aerospace Engineering in Nanyang Technological University! They are inviting me to a tea-party next Saturday to know more about the campus and the course. Its held at Meritus Mandarin Hotel... my Prom Nite hotel. Deja vu? I think not haha. Anyways, I dunno whether should I go anotz coz I am not really very into such events. If chia seng and kenneth are going then I might consider. I am really happy that I managed to get into Aerospace because its my first choice of course and its something which I want to do. Hurray!
Nintendo DS rocks!
I feel like learning the dance moves in Madonna's Hung Up MTV. And wear her pink costume as well. Gwahahaha.
This past week in the Home Team Academy is the same as before. Lessons, physical trainings, drills, meals, PDTs, PDP and range. I wonder when I would get to run my SOC. Can't wait to explore it. I am now officially a Bobo-shooter for I failed my 2nd and 3rd frame for my range! For my 2nd frame, I shot 35 rounds and 11 rounds dunno disappear until where. And the reamining 24 rounds are spread out like stars on my target card; they are all over the place. For my 3rd frame, I shot 55 rounds and this time, there is timing, meaining you will have a time limit to shoot a specific number of rounds(For example, 12secs to shoot 5 rounds at 23 metres and 3 secs to shoot one round at 15 metres). Out of the 55 rounds, 30 rounds dunno fly to where and the remaining rounds, as usual, are spreaded all around my target card.
I think my problem lies with aiming. Thats what most of my instructors say anyway. I also tend to get kan-chiong under the time limit. As a result, I will just point the gun forward and fire off. Other factors include my grip on the pistol grip and my breathing blah blah blah. Lets hope I can do better for my 4th frame. Lesser dissappearing rounds? More precise and accurate shootings? I dunno which one I should aim for. Perhaps both. Oh by the way, one of my instructors cut his hair short and he looks better IMO. Not that I like him or wat. Just telling you guys. I was told to do finger push-ups everyday as that will train up my fingers and allow me to pull the trigger better. But finger push ups.... no easy job siaz. If your not careful you might just break your fingers. So do at your own risk. Hmm...
For one of our PT sessions last week, our dedicated FI, Eddie, made us do 9 different styles of jumping jacks! NiNe siaz. And frankly, I like the different styles of jumping jacks! Its almost like dance moves liddat. I really adore it. I think I can go play DDR or Para Para at the arcades already mwahahahaha! Apparently, he still have alot more styles up his sleeves. Ha. Cant wait for him to teach us more.
We had our second PDT(Police Defense Tactics) lessons last week and the bloody warm up resemble our first swimming warm up. Damn... but the rest of the lessons was a breeze. We just have to execute and practice the moves shown to us by our instructor. Looks quite stupid some of them but we still have to do it. We learnt the different methods of carrying our T-baton, shuffles, pivoting, blocks and attacks. Basic stuff. I cant wait for the slamming and locking part. There is a Black Belt First Dan guy in my squad. Ha. Dint ever thought he was a black belt... coz he dint look like one! No offence tho. This, I believe, is what they called 真人不漏相. I tink I should start praticing my Krav Maga soon as well. I shall become a Grand Master! And I can keep dreaming..
Some funny incidents ... and oh my gosh! -time out-
= I turned my head and saw our Prime Minister having a dialogue with the President Bush! For some reason, it just caught my attention. Perhaps its because Bush is willing to listen to the leader of some 4 million people? I dunno... But then again, how often is it do one get to speak to the President of America? Power sia... If only I have the chance, I tink I will freaked out and screw the entire dialogue? I dunno. Ha. The stuff they are talking about, terrorism, Iraq, ASEAN-US relations etc. etc. =
-time in-
*Ahem* As I was saying earlier, some funny incidents occurred in the Academy this past week. However, I cant divulge any further because I am bounded by the Official Secrets Act.
Talking about secrets, I am reading a book for my book review. Its titled "See no Evil: True story of a ground solider in CIA's war on terrorism". I have only finished reading Chapter 1 (the book has 4) and I feel that its a bloody good book! It tells me how the CIA works; how it recruits spies, what are their trainings, where they are stationed etc etc. Some of the operations narrated by the author(he himself is a distinguished CIA officer) is very thrilling as well! A movie has been filmed based on this book. It is called "Syriana". I am gonna get my hands on that film.
Because of that book, the notion of joining the CIA as an officer there came to me. I tink living the life of a coveted CIA officer is very the cool. Yes. Its something that I like. I get to spy on other nations and am given access to the secrets of America... But sadly, I am not american. Haiz... HMm.. maybe I can consider immigrating there. Seriously, alot of my career ambitions have to do with America. Maybe I should immigrate there.
Heh.
Huat ah. I successfully entered the course of Aerospace Engineering in Nanyang Technological University! They are inviting me to a tea-party next Saturday to know more about the campus and the course. Its held at Meritus Mandarin Hotel... my Prom Nite hotel. Deja vu? I think not haha. Anyways, I dunno whether should I go anotz coz I am not really very into such events. If chia seng and kenneth are going then I might consider. I am really happy that I managed to get into Aerospace because its my first choice of course and its something which I want to do. Hurray!
Nintendo DS rocks!
I feel like learning the dance moves in Madonna's Hung Up MTV. And wear her pink costume as well. Gwahahaha.
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