Class Blogging Topic:

it is perhaps a good time for you to start thinking what would be the qualities you would look out for when voting for a potential MP candidate. We shouldn’t engage in personal attacks but should, instead, look at candidates in a rational objective manner.

Remember you need your point, explanation and evidence (if possible).

When voting for a potential candidate( I have never done so before as I am still a teenager), I would look out for the same aspects as I would in selecting a class monitor or chairman. Basically, I would look out for the ability that the potential candidate has to lead and push forward a group of people. Firstly, I would want to make sure of the candidate's personality and reliability. I would need to know more about him, for example his integrity and foresight, or the ability to inspire and persuade others. Factors like age and gender are not important, as although some people may argue that older candidates have much more experience in their field of work, it is the candidates PERSONALTY AND ABILITY to learn and adapt to new situation that really counts. What is the point of having a more experienced candidate if he does not ever work well with his subordinates and is a disruption for others. Thus age or gender very rarely matters in most cases, and the recent uproar over Ms Tin Pei Ling was in my opinion rather unjustified.

I chose this picture in particular due to how immediately striking it is towards me. I feel that this picture has truly emphasized the cruelty and unforgivingness of war as no-one is spared from the agony and devastation in brings.

Assignment: Pick a photo from the slideshow and write a descriptive piece. Write in the voice of the character or one of the characters, with focus on the atmosphere, mood and emotion

I could feel my entire ribcage poking through my chest, each heartbeat forming a visible monadnock through my virtually tissue-less chest. It was revolting but common here. My mates were eerily similar in appearance, impoverished and suffering from severe malnutrition. Living conditions in the past were already poor, having to fend for ourselves in this wasteland, left like dogs to survive in a hellish apocalyptic world.

However, war brought a whole new meaning to the world hellish. They came overnight, ravaging through our "home" with mortar shells and showering the world around us with a cocoon of lead bullets. The war brought along utter devastation in its path, and soldiers heartlessly confiscated our extremely limited supply of food. I watched as a friend collapsed on the floor like a ragdoll, all forms of his character, personality, everything erased. Gone.

Not even us children are spared from war's unforgiving pain and horror. Living in this broken place is not akin to living anymore, as war gave birth to a hell on Earth which has forever scarred me for life.

Class Blogging Topic: Keeping Updated with worldwide news:

Students: Tell us whether or not you tend to pay attention to events in other parts of the world, and why. Why, in your opinion, should we care about what happens in places far away from where we live in general?

Sometimes, I do pay attention to events in other parts of the World if the event is of much significance. When a significant event in another part of the World happens, for example the BP oil spill or the revolution in the Middle East, it is important to keep oneself updated on such news as it is essential to keeping a global perspective, keeping us abreast on current issues .(However, on events of smaller significance such as a fire or kidnap etc. in other countries, I would not usually pay attention to them)

As for events of much significance, they could easily affect us in many ways. It could influence our way of thinking or change our perspectives of the modern world, or sometimes it could adversely affect the economy in the area etc. Thus, knowing and paying attention to these events would help us to keep up with the times and possibly prepare us for the future, as we would know what to expect. For example, the BP Oil spill, what has it taught us? Most certainly, it caused many people to think more fully about oil as a whole( its practicality, how widely it is used, the consequences of depending too much on it) Therefore, i feel that we should keep up with global news as it is of some importance.