...is awesome. Really. I've been thinking/scouring the net for the right idea for us this week. Taking your feedback from the video suggestion this is our final for this week.
Click on this link.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/walloffilms/
From here you can access nearly 400 videos for social change from the films for action wall of films. Watch one and comment on it. If you want to "claim" the movie before another person does, then simply post your movie title in the comments section on our blog, then watch the movie, then edit your comment and you will be first - no harm done eh?
This week will be different in that you will not require external references. I want to give you a breather in this aspect (it will never happen again for the rest of your educated life) so you can feel free to reference the film itself to support or refute your opinion on the film you choose to watch.
Ontario Ministry rubric is posted on our wall which we will use in lieu of our standard rubric (unless you have an alternative suggestion). I will allow a bit of a "film critic" slant to your writing that hopefully encourages classmates to select the same film as you; so go ahead and put out a good sales pitch if you enjoyed it, if not, then be honest and stop me from spending time watching something that won't benefit me.
Most of all, understand that what you have done these past few months is absolutely awesome and I hope you enjoy gaining education in a variety of issues.
I love this last sentence.
ReplyDeleteI choose Miss Representation. I'm not sure when this is due but I'm won't be able to start it tonight... just pre-dibbing it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNope scratch that again, I'll be watching The "F" Word
DeleteShotty no battles
ReplyDeleteCapitalism: A Love Story
I choose the dark side of chocolate
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe Dark Side of Chocolate
DeleteChocolate; a food in which we find comfort, something we give to those we care about to express love, little squares that help us count down the way to Christmas, the friend that’s always there. But what lies beneath the sweet succulence that we adore so much? What is most often known as a love story between people and chocolate is really just a façade that hides a much deeper, darker and tragic tale. The documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate” gave insight into a question to which the answer is often unclear: where does our chocolate really come from?
A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations. The film begins with the team setting out to Cologne, Germany at an even hosting the largest chocolate manufacturers around the world, the perfect spot to investigate whether or not there was any truth to the allegations of child labour and trafficking in the cocoa industry. Upon questioning, many companies such as Barry-Callebaut—one of the world’s largest cocoa distributors—denied any knowledge of such happenings. The one thing all of the present companies at the even did agree on was that the majority of cocoa came from Africa and most specifically, Mali and the Ivory Coast.
It was rumoured that children were smuggled most often from Mali and then taken over the border to the Ivory Coast to work on plantations there. Naturally, the team felt the next best step would be to head to Mali and see for themselves. Hypothetically speaking, child labour and trafficking should have been a thing of the best. The documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate” was filmed in 2010. However, in the year 2001, many chocolate industries such as Nestle and the World’s Finest Chocolate signed the Harken-Engel Protocol which stated that no child labour trafficking would be allowed to any extent set to commence in 2008.
After having arrived in Mali, the team of journalists set out to question the local authorities as to what they knew about the trafficking; all claimed that no such events were occurring. The team thus decided to go undercover amongst the locals and ask questions there. They then discovered that children were generally being smuggled out at the local gas station. The children being smuggled were usually 12-14 years of age; girls were even younger some only 11-12 years old. In 2006, Idrissa Kankel, General Secretary of the Drivers Union in Sikasso, Mali discovered that 132 children were being trafficked, 97 boys and 35 girls. In 2007, he discovered 140 children, 99 boys and 41 girls and over the course of the years 2008 and 2009, another 150 children were subject to trafficking.
(continued)
DeleteThe children who were coerced into being trafficked were promised to earn great sums of money. After learning that they wouldn’t earn anything, some were too scared to return home for fear of what their families would say when they returned home empty handed. Sometimes, children are not even tricked into leaving their homes with traffickers; they are merely picked up and taken without their consent or parents knowledge, never to see their families again. Children are sold to farmers in rural areas and plantations along the Ivory Coast for as little as 230 euro’s without haggling. The farmers then have control of the children for an indefinite amount of time. Children walk around plantations carrying sharp and heavy machetes and are therefore prone to injury. Many walk around for days on end with many cuts and open sore that are left untreated and thus become infected.
Filming documentaries that pertain to the cocoa industry have proven to be very dangerous and life-threatening. On April 16th, 2004, French-Canadian journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer was kidnapped in a parking lot in the Ivory Coast once it was discovered that he was researching government corruption pertaining to the cocoa industry. He has to this day never been found. The secrecy, lies, deception and corruption that makes up the cocoa industry is absolutely astounding. It really makes you think about your life and how accessible everything is to you. It is so easy for us to walk up to a vending machine, pop in our pocket change and select the chocolate bar of our choice without thinking about the blood, sweat and tears that went into the production of that one bar. This film truly gave me a broadened and globalized perspective on what it means to be confined to an inescapable fate, a fate that most are not willing to acknowledge or help alleviate. So, the next time you’re about to delve into a Mars bar, or a Snickers, whatever tickles your fancy, keep in mind that the truth about chocolate is anything but sweet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOWCeNPWOU
Wow this is going to make me think twice about chocolate... good job Kiran
DeleteI choose why we fight
ReplyDelete"SHARKWATER"
ReplyDeleteFOOD INC is now SwizzleG's
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"A Fall From Freedom" please!!
ReplyDeleteEver since I was little, I’ve always viewed zoos as evil. The first time I went to the zoo was the last time I went to the zoo because I could not only see and hear, but /feel/ the pain of the animals. Animals, like us, need to have some freedom. They need to be with their family and they need space to roam and play. However, nowadays, zoos are a relatively common “home” for animals, but why? So people can spend their dollars and stare at animals in cages for a day? I personally find it appalling that people enjoy visiting zoos so frequently. I am aware that many zoos will rescue injured wild animals that would otherwise not survive in the wild, and they also preserve endangered species. Sometimes, the zoos do more harm than good by a landslide.
DeleteTake Marineland, for example. Fairly recently, a walrus died. Why? Not old age, I can confirm that. In fact, the water the walrus had been living its entire life in was contaminated; Marineland clearly doesn't properly care for the water in their pools and tanks. The poor walrus contracted a lethal eye infection and unfortunately passed away. I can 100% assure you that this isn’t the only case Marineland (or any other zoo) has shown poor treatment to their captive animals that resulted in injuries, deformities, and even deaths.
The documentary “A Fall From Freedom” mainly focuses on captive marine animals; dolphins and whales specifically. Where exactly is the sense in snatching such large animals away from their home in the ocean (which is 70% of our planet--97% of that are oceans--that’s a pretty big home eh!) to live the rest of their days in a swimming pool to “entertain” people who fail to see the cruelty in parks such as Seaworld and Marineland.
“This show is nothing more than a display of dominance. It teaches us that dominance is good. Dominance is right. Dominance works.” This quote really stuck out--he was referring to the dolphins spinning in circles during one of the routines at Seaworld. And it’s true. Seaworld prides themselves in their pristine education of marine species, when all they’re doing is teaching the hundreds of thousands of people who visit these parks that dolphins belong there because their purpose is to entertain; people leave being severely mis-educated, their perception clouded by Seaworld’s false teachings.
(cont)
DeleteDolphins and whales are incredibly social animals and they swim in groups for their entire life; their life depends on social interaction. “There is no such thing as a happy dolphin or whale in solitude,” says one woman in the documentary. To put it into perspective, we too are very socially-oriented beings. We live in communities; we go to schools with many people, we go to work with many people--everywhere we go, we are surrounded by lots and lots of people. Now imagine being plucked from this lifestyle you’ve always know and thrown into a box. There are a few others in the box with you, which makes the box very crowded and you cannot leave this box, either. This is the life of dolphins and whales in captivity. And on top of that, they are trained to do flips and spins and other “neat tricks” by the command of a human. Can you imagine that? Being forced day in day out to learn a routine and perform the same routine every day for the rest of your life? That, once again, is the life of dolphins and whales in captivity. According to this documentary, there are 1000+ dolphins currently held in parks like Seaworld and Marineland living this boring, boxed-in, cruel, and lonely life. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
The park masters may claim they have the animals “under control” but that isn’t always the case. Eventually, they’re going to snap. There have been numerous incidents, as mentioned in the documentary, in which whales and dolphins do snap and ram into the trainers and even audience members. And the routines don’t always work out each time, either. The trainers can be injured because no matter how “tame” the animal may be, it is still has a mind of its own. We as humans certainly don’t always enjoy being slaves to command, and the same applies to whales and dolphins. Moral of the story: don’t keep them in captivity to be entertainers.
This documentary has certainly left me teary eyed and I’m really glad that it was filmed. It’s so unfortunate that people are still so ignorant to the cruelty that occurs in these places, it’s sickening. But what’s even more disgusting is how Seaworld preaches about how they’re educating the public on marine species, when all they’re doing is making these animals suffer and glorifying human dominance over “lesser” beings. So, if you think marine animal zoos are cool, I highly suggest you watch this documentary and have your eyes opened to truths you may not be aware of; the cruel, sad, and lonely lives these animals live in captivity. It may be neat to watch dolphins do flips and whales do tricks, but it’s time to unblind yourself from the despicable truth of just how terrible places like Seaworld and Marineland really are.
No Wifi on the plane and I'm about to board, so I haven't seen it yet, but the
ReplyDeleteEND OF AMERICA (2008)
looks riveting.
9/11 began Hitler's path.
DeleteWoah, wait, what?
Naomi Wolf is an author who wrote a book called "End of America". Its purpose is to elucidate the 10 STEPS to CLOSING a society. She references Hitler and Mussolini specifically, and I will show the connection of those histories to Bush Administration.
STEP 1: Create internal and external fear. In America we saw this as 9/11. 9/11 has many controversy policies circulating it, and I won’t go into detail. But that was the way in which internal and external fear of terror, terrorism and spies was established in the nation.
In Berlin in 1933, the German Political building was set on fire, shocking the people. The National Socialists jumped on this and started taking control. They used this to allow the state to listen to you, your calls, read your mail. Much like we see from Bush in the Patriot Act. 300 pages long, printed at 3 a.m. and needed to be voted upon by 11 a.m. Is this just? This act allowed Bush, like the NS (National Socialists), to wiretap, surveil, access to medical records, bank and credit statements and even library records. Without warrants.
STEP 2: The second is to develop prisons wherein one can use torture. In America this happened in Syria, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. There WAS torture here. Literally the worse things you can think of.
In Germany, Hitler, in the beginning, would pick up people (with no evidence against them, just like Bush had the power to do) and place them in concentration camps. But they called them “Enhanced Interrogation camps”. The US uses the EXACT same term for their treatment in US terrorist camps.
The President can now detain anyone indefinitely. Much like Hitler could and did. The prisoners also, now, can’t speak against their detention. They have a small court called military tribunal. This is just like Hitler’s Show courts, where people would not be able to hear the evidence against them.
STEP 3: Develop a Paramilitary Force. Blackwater. Blackwater is a Paramilirary force with no ties to the Government, it’s a mercenary group under Bush, who was sent everywhere to do his bidding.
Mussolini used Black shirts as paramilitary. He would send these veterans to beat up these people. There were actual scenes where he would threaten politicians. And with that he triumphed. Hitler saw this and started to use Brown shirts.
The founders had made the cops and national guards a civilian force. They kept other peoples soldiers away. The States, with this, slapped them in the face. They hired people from Chile and Pakistan, you name it. Hand-picked assassins and torturers were hired for this team. They’re operating in the US already, too. Shooting at Katrina. They’re here.
STEP 4: The 4th step is to surveil innocent people. This came to the US as FISA, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. They could now gather random information about everyone.
Mussolini developed this with national spies, Hitler followed it up and China, today, has a system of cameras to keep their society closed. The surveillance is necessary to close a society.
Most people think if they’re being a good person, why does surveillance matter? It does. The Stazi, secret police of Germany, did this. They made everyone think they had a secret file on them. 1/10 did, but everyone THOUGHT they did, and the fear makes it easy to manipulate.
Germany and Chile were able to commit mass arrests because of the LIST. The LIST exists in the States, and over 1,000,000 people are on it. It’s a special surveillance list, making people “potential terrorists”.
STEP 5: Infiltrate civilian groups. We see this in Cointelpro. Counter Intelligence Program. The States issued people into book groups, social groups and every public and some private communities.
This happened in Germany in that people were dressed as civilians to watch for Jews. Bush had people watching for protest groups, and knew where they were meeting and when.
STEP 6: Capture and Release civilians. James Yi. Soldier at Guantanamo, who spoke out against the torture. On the way home he was captured and held for a year, then released. He was tortured in that year, and when he was released, it was without any charges. Uh. What? So now whenever he crosses a border the people take him, hold him, and release him.
DeleteThis was a tactic of old which inspires fear. Anyone can be taken. It exists to scare you. Anyone can be taken. BUSH CAN DO THAT. The same thing happened to a man who studied Syria and posted about American hatred there. When he was captured they took him straight to Syria and took him to Syria, right where he KNEW what would happen. For a year he was tortured. Then released with no charges. He hasn’t found a job yet.
STEP 7: Targeting key individuals. The killing/ taking/ silencing of specific people who are being too loud or too revealing about the workings of the government. Dixie Chicks. Made ONE off statement about Bush. Then people started killing their CDs. It was now against certain rules to play the Dixie Chicks on the radios. CD BURNINGS. How is that possible. CDs don’t burn. Media, don’t mess with him.
Goebbels was in charge of book burnings in Germany, where students would burn books that didn’t say what the government wanted them to.
STEP 8: Restrict Press. This happened SEVERELY in America. Under the guise of protecting terrorist documents. One man who worked for the times actually stood up and talked about some abuses he had recorded, and he became, immediately, a traitor. He was tried for treason in a “false” trial.
1936/37, Nikolai Bukharin (editor of Russian Newspaper) was tried for TREASON in a FALSE trial then executed shortly thereafter. Closing societies do this continually.
The Espionage act of 1917 existed to fight the WWI situation and spies. It equated dissent with Espionage.
STEP 9: Make Criticism the same as Espionage, and Dissent the same as Treason. The States did this. At the Republican national Convention in 2008, 400 citizens were arrested for protesting (which is now called terrorism). Am Goodman is a journalist who LITERALLY said “Sir, I want to talk to your supervisor” and was arrested. And in a park nearby there were 100 people relaxing randomly, and the police force committed an arrest of 100. Right there. No evidence or anything. All video was seized but one tape, found in the grass. 8 of these 100 were soon charged with Terrorism.
Stalin did something like H.R. 1955. Stalin would kill anyone who said “the government is bad”. All would die. All who spoke out would die, and the H.R. 1955 would do the same. (not yet passed, luckily)
STEP 10: Subvert Law. Bush does this and starts blatantly IGNORING CONGRESS and law and doing as he pleased. He wanted to remove and replace ALL U.S. attorneys. He also brought back thousands of soldiers from Iraq to fight in the streets and SILENCE PROTEST.
In history, in 1933, in one month, Goebbels purged all attorneys and judges in the country and replaced them with his own guys. They can still have elections and law, but you just don’t have freedom.
Bush uses Bill-Signing. That means he can change whatever he wants. He has done it 110 times to challenge 750 separate laws. He is power hungry.
With this, we see that the States were following the Hitler and Mussolini path. Barrack has, as I can tell, slowed this. But many of these acts are still in place, and at any point he could start acting on the already existing laws .
I Choose "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists"
ReplyDeleteIf I was to describe what I thought of "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists" it is WOW!!! But first I should give a small and short insight of the documentary before going on about what I thought about the movie and how much of an eye opener it was for me...
DeleteThe documentary "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists" starts off with former and current members of the worldwide known activist group Anonymous, they all explain what they think of the group. But in the documentary it wasn't just members of Anonymous, there was also specialist in internet security and sociologists that also explain what they believe Anonymous views are on the internet. It then starts to move into the history of hacking, and how Anonymous was formed. It then suddenly jumps to the spark of what made Anonymous come to be, (which I will explain later on). And so the documentary continues, jumping from past events Anonymous has been into, all the way to more recent ones. All while you meet members or former members of the group and people that have been associated with them. And it all wraps up at the end with everyone being interviewed concluding the power of the internet and the pride they have in Anonymous.
To begin with, I really underestimated this documentary, but at the same time I am quite glad I found it on the website. Now I was aware of this documentary before and have seen the trailers for it but I never really sat down and watched it because it didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but now that I have seen it I was completely wrong. It was also a plus that I re-found this documentary because internet activism is a topic that really interests me, especially right now. but anyways moving into the actual review...
I jumped into this documentary thinking I already had an idea of what Anonymous was judging from what I have experienced (PlayStation Network incident), to what I have seen on the news, and an assumption of what I had in mind - I honestly thought Anonymous was a bunch of stereotypical internet nerds but with a robin hood-like persona, but really, they are just everyday people like you and me, that believe in the freedom of information and anti-cyber-surveillance. So you could imagine how badly I was blown away after watching it, and realizing I had no clue of what Anonymous really was.
One of the things that really surprised me the most was the fact that Anonymous came from internet forums and imageboards, especially from 4Chan, where they are most noted for being from. It shocked me the most because I have been on 4Chan and it seems to be completely opposite from what Anonymous is - random, immature, offensive, unpleasant, etc. but seeing as "before Anonymous" the community used to pull pranks and jokes on other websites doesn't make it seem so off after all. I'm just glad they picked the right path after.
continued....
DeleteI always found it really awesome of how Anonymous uses a Guy Fawkes mask to mask all their identities but then I learned by watching the documentary that the reason behind the mask is to not only protect their identities but to show that they are Anonymous, and represent unity - they are all one person.
One of the most interesting things I found that was in the documentary was how Anonymous came to be. I did explain earlier how they used to go to other websites and pull pranks and being able to identify each other using memes. But what really sparked their interest and help make what Anonymous is now was in late 2006 to early 2007, a man named Hal Turner had this webcast where he would talk about his beliefs in white supremacy, seeing that he was a Neo-Nazi as well as a Holocaust denier. He was believed to have been bashing on one of a relatively known member on 4Chan and Anonymous decided to start taking action and found higher moral ground, which in their favour allowed them to get more people to join them. They started to make phone calls to Hal during his webcasts and mock him, they started to crash his website, (which cost him thousands of dollars in bandwidth bills), posting in his threads, they sent countless amounts of pizza orders to his house, signed him up for escorts on Craigslist, and even sent him a bunch of pallets of industrial materials to his house, (which he had to pay for). And because of all of that, Hal could not fund his webcast any more and he was basically wiped off the internet. Now all of that will obviously seem immature but this is the first sort of action that Anonymous did to stand up for others, and many of the members became very shocked from this it really showed a lot of people what Anonymous was capable of. One of the members had a really good analogy of Anonymous which was, "Anonymous kinda was like the big strong buff kid with low self-esteem and all of a sudden punched somebody in the face and said holy cow I'm really strong."
Fast forward to current times and it turns out they also took a major lead in Tunisia last year with what they call, Operation Tunisia. They took down government sites and took many important documents from the government and posted it onto wiki leaks were the dictator at the time became exposed. In the end the dictator stepped down, and the people of Tunisia made a video thanking Anonymous for what they have done for the people.
There are plenty more events that's Anonymous took part in and really made a difference but that would take forever for you to read and for me to type, so, I will include a link to the trailer of this documentary, as well as a link to the actual documentary itself since the one on the website we suppose to be using seems to be down and information on Anonymous on Wikipedia. Overall, I found the documentary very informational as well as very interesting. It really showed me the power of the internet and the power of how people are willing to stand up for what they believe in when they are given a mask (behind a computer or a physical mask) and as well as they are with thousands of others. I can now see why Anonymous has grown to be so strong and it goes to show that they really are "the final boss of the internet".
Links:
Delete1. Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn9-80ObGA8
2. Documentary - http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/we-legion-story-hacktivists/
3. Anonymous - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)
I'm definitely gonna be watching this documentary when I have the time. My personal experience with Anonymous wasn't that great; they sort of "took over" tumblr one day and they were sending spam messages to everyone. I assumed it was for no good reason because I had always thought Anonymous was just a bunch of internet pranksters, so naturally, I was pretty cheesed off by what they were doing to my "internet home" and deemed Anonymous as immature and pointless, but after reading your review my eyes have been opened and my views have changed for the better. Thanks Chris!
DeleteNo problem Ren! I hope you enjoy it as much as me!
DeleteSo I’ve written about capitalism before, then I did some more digging and received a better, inside look at how it works and a lot (Not all.) of its intricacies. So everyone has an idea of what a life insurance policy is right? Well essentially the policyholder [The person who makes the policy] and an insurer [The person who pays for the policy] have a contract, in which, the policyholder selects a beneficiary, who in the event of the policyholder’s death receives a sum of money from the insurer. Many parents take out life insurance policies so in the event of their death they can leave whoever the selected beneficiary with something. Now let’s look at Wal-Mart! “Wait... Wal-Mart.” one might say, “Why Wal-Mart?” well because Wal-Mart is known to take out life insurance policies on it’s employee’s. Well isn’t that nice of them... except it’s not, because they made themselves the beneficiaries of the policy... So here is an example of how it would work: A person gets a job at Wal-Mart, they then take out an insurance policy on said employee without them knowing, then there is a terrible event in the person’s life in which they die, that life insurance policy is then paid to Wal-Mart. So now what? Well... that’s it, Wal-Mart receives money for its employee’s death. They don’t give it to any family or loved ones, if the employee has any. It is just another way for them to make profit... on an employee’s death, whether it was untimely or not. Get this... it isn’t just Wal-Mart either, so many other big corporations are doing this and absolutely NONE of the money received goes to the family and loved ones of the deceased, it is all just profit. Shouldn’t there be a law against that? There is a law in place on insurance policies regarding homes, like someone couldn’t take a fire insurance policy out on their neigbours house, because that means they would have an interest in his/her house burning down. Similar but not the same, that’s how they can get away with it.
ReplyDeleteBut is there a law or rule to follow when it comes to companies and their employee’s? The answer in one word: No... No federal or state law is in place which requires an employer to disclose information such as them taking a life insurance policy out on them. This is now commonly referred to as “Dead Peasants Insurance” and the most common group targeted by this are women in their early twenties to early thirties. That’s capitalism at its finest... Another prime example of capitalism which most people are aware of by now (Because it affected pretty much everyone, one way or another.) has to do with house foreclosures. To give a brief of what happened, banks were offering houses for payments of $1,700 a month (All payments stated are a close estimate.) These were called “Sub-prime” mortgages, so lots of people jumped at the chance, then the people buying the homes signed away not reading the fine print, then six months later the interest rate jumped; first to $1,900 then $2,000 and kept going up to almost $3,000 a month. So now you have all these middle, working class families who can’t pay the rates on their houses so now that they couldn’t make the payments they were foreclosed and families forced to vacate their homes and they were given very little compensation.
(Continued) Ok so now what happens? Well the families had to get all the stuff- WHOA wait! The families? So these multi-billion dollar banks won’t even get movers to help these families who are forced to leave their homes? Nice! So yeah, the families have to empty their homes and leave. Now what? Well the houses went up for sale at ridiculously low and discount prices. Lots of realtors jumped at this chance, they saw a chance to make a lot of money. How? Well they come in (One realtor refers to himself as a ‘Vulture’, fitting isn’t it?) and sell them to willing buyers for great bargain prices and make a profit on it. So one family is forced out and left with practically no compensation and then people who had money to spare came in and bought these houses off the “Vultures.” AND while we’re on the topic of buying houses for really cheap, let’s change from the poor being kicked out for not paying ridiculously high rates to... the wealthy (Surprise!) paying next to nothing for million dollar residents. A ‘middle man’ for a realtor giant in America and he was told directly by his CEO to waive certain, if not all fees when certain clients were going to buy a condo and/or house and on top of that they were given discounts. Beautiful right?
DeleteChanging gears here... where is the basis of the American government in all this? *The Real Slim Shady beat drops.* “Can I have your attention please? Can I have your attention please? Will real democracy please stand up? I repeat... will the real democracy please stand up?” Well it isn’t in the government, it’s not at Wal-Mart where they take out ‘Dead Peasants’ insurance, it’s not at the banks either, or in the housing market. Can anyone tell me where I can find a true meaning of democracy in today’s economy or work force? OH LOOK! A locally owned and run bread company in California... That’s right, at this company all employees receive the same pay as the CEO... he earns the same as an assembly line worker. That guy working the assembly line makes upwards of $68,000 a year, that is THREE times more than a PILOT of American Airlines. American Airlines does about $22 billion in revenue per year and pay a pilot (Someone who is in charge of carrying people several thousand feet above the earth at speeds of 800 miles an hour.) $21,000 a year... one pilot who was a single mom had to work two jobs at once to support her family.
Where is the fairness and equality in ANY of this?! Simple... it can’t be found.
Will the real democracy please stand up?
I choose "Operartion Hollywood"
ReplyDeleteWastage
ReplyDeleteI was very relieved to find this video within this collection, as it’s subject is something I am very passionate about and hold very dear to my heart. I am glad I get to set the record straight about an industry many, I included, have tried to fight for years. The horse racing industry has long been acknowledged as the “Sport of Kings” and comes across as such a glamorous venue for people to invest their money, well let me tell you, it’s not. Since the age the age of twelve I’ve rescued numerous horses from the meat sales and off the dealers truck. Horses that are slaughter bound. At the age of fourteen I started rescuing OTTB’s (Off the track Thoroughbreds) in hopes of retraining them and placing them in deserving homes. I have experienced the “behind the scenes” of the racing industry first hand, so before I share, I would like to give you the real back story of how Horse Racing works.
ReplyDeleteThe average life span for a horse is anywhere from 20-35 years on average, typically we would “back” a horse at the age of four. Which means this would be the first time a horse would have to carry a rider. This is essential because at the age of four is when the horses bone structure has finished developing. Race horses are backed at the age of one, and by the time they’re two they’re galloping at top speeds around the track. They retire typically at the age of four or five, if they survive their career, and because of this have extensive damage to their limbs. It is VERY rare to see a horse retire sound and healthy. The breeding industry for the race tracks is almost worse than the tracks themselves, as thousands and thousands are bred for careers, yet only a select few even make it to the gate. The horses that don’t make the cut usually get sold for slaughter, simply for the reason that they aren’t fast enough. Many also enter a few races then sold to slaughter because they don’t bring home a profit.
I’m sure a few of you have seen a movie about a race horse before, there’s many. They portray such a false image that these animals were cared for. Well, the horses that they make movies about are legends, they were winners. So of course they’re treated top notch, because at the end of the day their greedy owner’s are rolling in the dough. In this business horses are strictly that, business. They are beaten, drugged, and neglected during their careers. Once this career is finished many aren’t interested in buying them for pleasure because they’re so spun and scared. The Thoroughbred is a very misunderstood breed. They are hot blooded because they are bred and built for stamina and endurance, so an OTTB doesn’t make good amateur mounts and needs a patient and committed rider.
I will tell you about two different horses, both very unique stories, both very special horses. The first thoroughbred I rescued was right off the track. When we picked him up he was in a drafty stall with no windows, pitch black, no blanket. Any OTTB you receive off the track is likely to be emaciated, because why would they waste food on a horse that won’t win. When we brought him home I noticed the underside of his tail was all bloody. This was caused by a cream they put under his tail before the race. It burns his skin so he would run faster. After almost a year of TLC he was sold to a girl I still keep in touch with, he looks amazing and has become a favorite in the barn as well.
DeleteThe second is one I will never forget, her name was Selah. I got out to the barn one day and the dealer was there, he’d just dropped off two horses. Selah was bred for success, with bloodlines and siblings making it big time, but she just didn’t perform. They took her off the track and left her and the other mare out in a field for a year. They claim they “forgot” to feed them. She was so emaciated I could see every bone in her body, her skin was rain rotted from never wearing a blanket. This horse was the long shot, but she was also by far the best horse I’ve ever had. The thing with thoroughbreds is the healthier they become, the better they feel. She was hot tempered, stubborn, and after a few bad accidents with other people everyone was afraid of her. I took her on and after one year she was competing and tried harder for me than any horse I’d ever had. She was eventually sold to an Olympic Rider, although it killed me to part with her there were other horses that needed me, and I knew someone with money could take her there. It’s a classic story of never giving up on what you believe in. Everyone told me she wouldn’t make it, but they were also blown away that she eventually was able to enter the show ring sane, with good placing as well.
All thoroughbreds can be healed, they just need an outlet. If we stop supporting the racing industry we can save thousands of horses that die on the track each year from related injuries. We can save yearlings and millions more from slaughter. And together we can all strive towards giving this breed a better name and a better life. I want you to know that everyday, all over the world this is occurring. If enough people knew the dirty truth about the Racing Industry, together we could stop it. Racing IS animal cruelty. I hope I was able to open some eyes here. “Wastage” is only one of the millions of movies trying to educate the public. I not only feel as it’s an informational watch but a very important one as well. I encourage as many views as possible. Feel free to check out this link and a variety of others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFG6aw_msHk
I'm not very aware of the situation but after reading your post it made me want to watch the video. After watching the first two minutes I couldn't watch anymore. It was too sad.I was just wondering if there are any horse that don't win at the races but go on to life a nice life in a different field? I don't know what kinds of different fields but, not the butcher or something like that.
DeleteAbsolutely. There are lots of upcoming organizations such as Long Run or Second Start, which are adoption agencies specifically for OTTB's. They work with some extraordinary veterinarians and trainers to do the most they can to rehabilitate these horses and find homes for them.
DeleteA common injury with horses coming off the track are splints, or bone chips usually in the knees or ankles. This occurs from the stress on the bone structure, depending on if chips remain attached they may not interfere with the action of the horse's leg, but can be extremely painful in some situations. There is surgery to remove it but it is also very expensive. If the bone chip doesn't bother the horse, thoroughbreds can be retrained for pretty much anything. As more people become educated about the breed I've seen many get retirement careers in show jumping, dressage, eventing or even field hunting and excel in whichever. Thoroughbreds make great competition horses as they're very athletic, brave and enjoy performing.
Weekly post:
ReplyDelete"Sharkwater" was the documentary that I chose to watch. I would just like to throw out there that personally, I am not a huge fan of documentaries, but I found that this one in particular was definitely one of the most interesting documentaries that I have ever watched before. It changed the way that I look at the oceans, and the way that I look at sharks. It made me realize how important sharks are to the oceans and humans. We humans would not be able to survive on this earth without the sharks help of providing us with the oxygen from the water.
"You're told your whole life since you were a kid, sharks are dangerous. You're warned about venturing to far in the ocean. But then finally, you're under water and you see the thing you were taught your whole life to fear, and it's perfect, and it doesn't want to hurt you, and it's the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, and your whole world changes- Rob Stewart " First of all I would like to say, sharks are nothing that most people portray them as being. The media tends to tell us that sharks are the predator of the sea, they're the terror of all man who enter the ocean, and they're the symbol of lurking danger. Reality is, that is all false. Why does the media says this? Mainly because of the characteristics that sharks have such as, razor sharp teeth, an intimidating grin, the size of them, and their reputation of being a "man-eater".
The documentary I watched is about a man who loves sharks and has been fascinated with them ever since he was a kid, and his name is Rob Stewart. In the documentary he shows us why historical stereotypes and media depictions about sharks are wrong and he reveals the truth about them. In the documentary Stewart brings us to places that have the largest shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. While he is at these places he sees illegal fishing and fisherman killing hundreds of thousands of shark, he wanted to do something to stop it. While he was in Costa Rica he experiences a life threatening situation with the Taiwanese Mafia. Most of the documentary is filmed on the coast of and in Costa Rica. It started on the coast, Stewart and a group of people wanted to stop illegal fishing and the killings of these innocent sharks, and they were actually ordered by the president to do so. While this documentary was filmed, at the time Costa Rica didn't do anything about illegal fishing that was happening. Stewart and the group of people with him would report these illegal fisherman, and it was almost as if the government didn't care or perhaps they had something to do with it. If the government wasn't going to do anything to stop this illegal fishing then Stewart would, he got his own answers by actually going into the city and see things for himself. While Stewart was there they got the chance to speak with a conservationist who believed authorities were being paid out by the Taiwanese Mafia (who ran the fishing businesses in Costa Rica). This is where we see conflict in the documentary and things are found that are very shocking, and that I believe everyone should see so they're aware of what is happening to these sharks around the world and how important it is to put a stop to it.
The reality is, today the shark species is endangered and it is not as acknowledged as the panda bear or elephant or other animals that are endangered as well. The shark is an animal we humans cannot live without. They are the gods of the oceans and if they become extinct it will break the food chain in the ocean. Us humans get 80% of our oxygen from water, and the sharks play a major role in keeping sea life sustainable, and if we keep on killing the sharks, soon there will be none left and it will have a serious effect on humans instantaneously. By watching this documentary you will be informed more about the importance of the shark species, what is happening to them, why we need them, and you will be stunned by statistics. I strongly encourage you to watch this documentary, because it is educational and informational. If I still haven't persuaded you enough to watch it, watch the trailer.
Deletehttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=te5MeQUX4kk
This is my weekly post: "What We Fight For" is a documentary of American Citizens asking what Americans fight for. It goes over how the U.S always finds a way to intervene in a foreign conflict such as; Grenada, Haiti, Bosnia, Kenya, Iraq, Iran, and the list goes on and on, is it because of resources such as oil, or could it be to spread freedom around the world, why do we fight?
ReplyDeleteThey go over the 9/11 terrorist attacks which we are all familiar with, but what gets me is the dig deeper and try and get the main "juice" to why Bush blamed Iraq for the terrorist attack. What was funny was even Middle-East countries that hate the states such as Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, and even parts of Iraq showed their condolences for the lost lives in 9/11, and even held a semi funeral for them, so why did Bush invade Iraq. There could be many reasons as said in "Why We Fight?" such as; Oil, Money, boost the economy(because we all know war boost economy),Bush being under tremendous pressure from the American people to get revenge on someone. Wilton Sekzer a father of a killed son in the 9/11 terrorist attacks had this to say "I cant build schools, and hospitals I’m just a retired cop living on a pension, there is one thig i will do for my son before i die, i will avenge his death and get revenge don’t care who it is I want revenge". This a prime example of all Americans at this time wanting revenge over anything.
The documentary also goes over the "American Empire", which people do not believe in. What people need to know is the U.S.A has troops all over the world, but if you look at where most of the troops are stationed there is a relation where some of the richest resources lie. Middle-East=Oil X2,Africa=Coal, and Diamonds, South America=Lumber, Coco-Plants, Minerals, Gold, East Timor= Petroleum, Gold, Uranium. Imperialism had not left our globe, and the U.S is a perfect example showing how it hasn't.
The American government spends 683.7 billion dollars on their military! Do you know if that money were to go to supporting its country is could provide 800 houses a state as well as 800 soup kitchens to provide food and shelter to people down on their luck. It could also cure world hunger! Yes world hunger, everywhere you go, you hear we need to stop world hunger well there you have it, right in front of our eyes!
"Beware the Military-Industrail Complex"-President Eisenhower
I encourage all of you to watch this documentary it will open up your eyes tremendously.
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/why_we_fight/
This is my weekly post.
ReplyDeleteIn Food, Inc., the documentary lifted the curtain on the U.S. food industry - an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers and our own environment.
With the use of animation the filmmakers expose the highly mechanized process of how our food is made. Which has been deliberately hidden from the American consumer. They reveal how a handful of corporations control our nation's food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms our food is actually raised on massive "factory farms" and processed in mega industrial plants. The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. Cattle are given corn instead of grass, resulting in new strains of E. coli bacteria, which sickens roughly 73,000 Americans annually. And because of the high proliferation of processed foods derived from corn, Americans are facing epidemic levels of diabetes among adults and alarming increases in obesity, especially among children.
The film exposes a "revolving door" of executives from giant food corporations in and out of Washington D.C. that has resulted in a lack of oversight and illuminates how this dysfunctional political system often operates at the expense of the American consumer. In the nation's heartland, farmers have been silenced - afraid to talk about what's happening to the nation's food supply for fear of retaliation and lawsuits from giant corporations.
Laws today are such that corporations are allowed to patent seeds for crops. As a result, Monsanto, has landed its patented gene in 90% of the nation's soybean seeds. Farmers are now forbidden to save and reuse these seeds and must instead buy new seed from Monsanto each season. Armed with a team of employees dedicated to enforcing their seed patents, Monsanto spends millions every year to investigate, intimidate and sue farmers -- whom are financially unable to fight the corporation.
Food, Inc. also introduces people who refuse to stand by and do nothing. Some, like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farm's Joel Salatin, are finding ways to work inside and outside the system to improve the quality of our food. Others are brave men and women who have chosen to speak out, such as chicken farmer Carole Morison, seed cleaner Moe Parr and food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk. Their stories, both heartbreaking and heroic, serve to demonstrate the level of humanity and commitment it takes to fight the corporations that control the food industry.
It's important to note that the filmmakers attempted to interview representatives from Monsanto, Tyson, Perdue and Smithfield, but they all declined. This proves that the major companies that are involved in the food production know they are cutting corners just for a quick buck. Why else would they they refuse an interview? If they were doing nothing wrong they should have nothing to hide.
This is a great documentary to watch if you are concerned about how our food in produced. If you are curious about how it all works this is what you should watch. Food, Inc. reveals how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock to feed ourselves and our families has become. It also reminds us that despite what appears to be at times a hopeless situation, each of us still has the ability to vote on this issue every day - at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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ReplyDeleteI'm choosing "Addicted to Plastic"
ReplyDeletePlastic, a product found basically everywhere you look. Almost any product you touch, or look at has a component of plastic. Ever since World War Two, plastic has made it easy to manufacture almost anything. Plastic can be used for almost anything; food packaging, clothing, computers, cars, the list goes on. If plastic is so useful to the World, how can it be dangerous? Well, plastic threatens the environment, and health. This documentary shows a global journey to gain knowledge about plastic. This documentary shows how dominate and threatening plastic really is in our lifestyles.
DeleteTo start with, plastic is harming the environment, world wide. Plastic is a product made of synthetic materials created by linking together into polymers. There are many chemicals in plastic, and these chemicals, and materials make it close to impossible to decompose. 31 million tons of plastic waste was generated in 2010, which has probably risen since then. Plastic does not decompose, so where does it go? Stuck in land fills, and in oceans. Oceans have such large amounts of plastic in them, estimated 46, 000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of Ocean. Animals mistake this for food, eat it; and we end up eating these animals. Since plastic has health concerns, it is frightening to know that we consume animals that eat plastic. It’s not only the sea life, but also terrestrial animals. Plastic is polluted everywhere, which farm animals also mistake for food. This turns to the health risks. An autopsy of Seabirds taken around the world, concluded that 90% of birds show plastic. The common amount for birds is 0.6 grams; which for humans is the size of a lunch bag! If this is only for sea birds, think about how much plastic the fish in the oceans consume.
There are many health risks surrounding plastic, but it is hard to figure out all the risks, because plastic is everywhere. Many plastic used to package our foods, have coating inside of them; where the plastic touches the food. This can release chemicals into our foods, with out us being aware. A chemical, DEHP which is a plasticizer, has been proven to have health effects. These effects include lower sperm count, abnormal brain development, learning disabilities, and deregulatory genes. This is very alarming, as this is the most common plasticizer. The most alarming thing about this, is we can’t eliminate plastic, or even sometimes know how much plastic we actually use.
Although plastic is a risk, it is found in almost everything, making it impossible to eliminate plastic from our lifestyles. But, companies around the world have moved to using old plastics for new products. Company named Wast Away temperature-steams plastic, melting it, and making it into a “fluff” like product. This product can then be turned into many things, landscaping, clothing, ect. This company is researching this Fluff product, to be useful as fuel. Another company, named Patagonia recycles old plastics for clothing items, like their featured 100% fleece sweaters. Since we can’t degrade plastic, positive steps like this are a good step. Also, instead of using plastic materials for different items, like dishes, bottles, ect; we can use glass. Some countries around the world are also taking initiative. Some countries, like Kenya, are eliminating products like plastic bags, and plastic bottles. This is a good step, since there are huge amounts of pollution every year, from simple products like bags and bottles. Something we can do, is find companies like Wast Away, and Patagonia, who are willing to take our waste-away plastics and put them to good use.
I'm choosing "Don't leave me"
ReplyDelete“Don’t Leave Me” is a video showing what actually happens in a puppy mill. For those of you who do not know; a puppy mill is usually on a farm where dogs are used strictly for breeding. A dog is kept in a small area where they are not taken out at any point in time. Some puppy mills leave the dogs without out bedding or fresh food and water. In many cases the dogs’ waste is never cleaned up and remains in the area where the dog walks and sleeps. The conditions these dogs live in are never in good condition.
ReplyDeleteIn a puppy mill dogs are used just for breeding. They produce puppies year after year until they are not able to and are determined “unprofitable” and are put down. Pet stores usually receive their puppies from mills such as ones you see in this video. However after watching a similar video about Boarder Collies in puppy mills not only pet stores but registered breeders can abuse animals in these mills. The way to recognize that puppies are usually from mills is if they are a breed mix, recognizable breeders do not mix breeds. Puppy Mills in Canada are not illegal and are supported by Canadian government as long as they are not in horrible conditions. The best option when buying a dog or any animal is to adopt
The saying “a dog is a man’s best friend” should be considered when these monsters are creating and taking lives of innocent dogs. After watching this video I started to cry anyone who knows me well knows that my dog means the world to me and watching this video appalled me. If you love your animal, dog or not, I suggest not watching this because it is very upsetting however if you are looking to adopt watch this video and realize that most pet stores get their animals from puppy mills and adopting a dog is the best option.
Hungry For Change !
ReplyDeleteHOME
ReplyDeleteEarthlings
ReplyDeleteThis film was a really hard one to watch, but i believe it is something everyone should see. The main idea behind it is our inability to process the idea that we are not the only important species on the planet. This is an idea i personally have thought about many times before, “how can we consider ourselves the top species just because we seem smarter.”
DeleteIn the beginning of the film it speaks of racism, sexisim, and speciesists. Speciesism is treating one species as above another and only concerned with their own species interests. It compares the holocaust to our current treatment of animals. People who can't see how the current way we treat animals - who are species that have existed on this planet for a lot longer than us - are of the typical human mindset that animals are “below” us.
The first main way we treat animals that the film addresses is Pets. Pets are animals we keep for companionship, but what happens to more than half of them is nothing short of cruelty. Puppy mills are one of the main negatives of pets. There are a lot of films that address puppy mills but i really like how exact this one is and the facts they have to back it up. Another point within the Pet focus, is animals who are abandoned by owners, or thrown from puppy mills. A lot of the problems arise from pets who aren't neutered or spayed. This forces a ton of owners to get rid of pets the can't take care of, and these animals end up on the street, and then if they dont die there, in shelters who can't hold them. Euthanization is something that's seen as a great thing as it is painless, but its also expensive. Many shelters are use alternate less expensive ways, such as gassing, which is when they squish lots of animals into a tiny metal box and gas them to death. This often takes 20 or more minutes to kill, and is really painful. One really powerful scene comes from a turkish town where people are picking up strays and putting them into a passing dumptruck to be crushed to death. The main focus of this section is summed up through saying that the hope for the future of animals as companions is to be able to provide for them and treat them as an actual companion not a “slave”
(cont’d) The second part focuses on animals as food. Slaughterhouses are a variation on the theme of the strong exploiting the weak. More than ten thousand times a minute life is literally drained from so-called “food animals”, and because humans have the “greater” power humans decide when they die, how they die, and there way of death. The interests of the animals themselves play no role in the determination of their fate. Its been said that if we had to kill our own meat we would all be vegetarians. Slaughterhouses are never shown on television and people are unaware of where this meat actually comes from. This disconnect allows them to see animals as nothing more than objects for food. The films mentions that we shield those who eat meat from seeing what happens to it, but they do not deserve to be shielded if they can eat a slain animal anyways. Branding, dehorning without anesthetic just a large pair of plyers, transportation with animals packed on top of one another through horrible conditions. Many of the slaughtering ways are illegal, but the laws are more used to keep face, and are never actually enforced. Veal are specifically raised not to do anything but lie down all day and are killed at four months old. Often the pigs who are never feed have to convert to cannibalism. This was one of the hardest parts for me to watch, but it was incredibly informative, and had shots that i hadn’t seen before. The film also talks about seafood, which i think is great, since most films on slaughterhouses don’t mention fish. The film makes a great point, that everyone should be informed with the way their “food animals” are treated.
DeleteThe third part the film focuses on is clothes. Over 100 million wild animals are murdered for fur each year in the US alone. These animals are caught through trapping and kept in fur farms. Naturally these undomesticated animals are not used to cages and cage madness develops. Physical injuries include broken and exposed bones.Death is always slow and painful, from carbon monoxide poisoning to suffocation and anal electrocution. In rodeos animals don’t buck as instinct but because they are in pain from a rope tied around their genitals and electric prods.
(cont’d)Circuses are another focus, as we rarely consider what incites an animal to do something unnatural. Animal trainers like to show the public that it is through the promise of rewards but its truly through the use of punishment. They live out their days isolated in tiny cages and never socialize with other of their species, while shackled in chains for 95%of their lives. Pain is an important part of the training process. The film includes a lot of videos taken of animal trainers showing the way they treat them, and it's obvious that they were done secretly and show the truth. When animals fight back it's seen as a tragedy, and a danger to society. What animal would choose to live in captivity though, and as a human being would we not fight back if this was happening to us?
DeleteZoos are also a point touched upon. As they are treated by humans as educational but they really only teach a view of animals as things, not living things, but possessions. Medical experiments is a big point brought up right after. The public is led to believe we don't test on animals but everything is tested on animals before being brought to society. The film shows many different experiments that are performed, and is hard to watch, but really clearly shows what happens. Even simulations of auto crashes are performed on animals, as well as military research. Atomic blasts are tested on helpless dogs and 19000 die per minute through testing medical procedures.
I feel like this film was amazing and really informative. Most animal focused films focus on slaughterhouses but this one really shows all the daily ways animals are mistreated, and how we believe we're better. We all think animals don't feel pain the way, because they don't think the same way, but pain is pain, and they have the same senses, even more highly developed ones, then ourselves. The systematic torture of any species can not help us increase and develop anything. We don’t have the right to torture other species, as we are not any greater than species who have survived on this earth for longer than ourselves. People just don't want to know, and ignorance is the weapon of society. It is not the inability to not find out what's going on, but the conscious desire just to not know, as these are not members of one's own group. Its simply put that we are all animals of this planet, and non human animals feel the same things we do, and are also capable of growth. Like us they are earthlings, are alive, and most being vertebrae just like us. Are absolute dependence on them for food, research, entertainment, and clothing. It sums it up by saying “this might be what it is to bite the hand that feeds us” as we are now facing serious diseases and health complications due to the mistreatment, and torture of these crucial beings.
I encourage everyone to watch it, although it may be hard to watch at times, the whole point is that we cannot see how we're treating other species as a disconnected idea that we're all safe from seeing. We cannot just say “ oh this will scare me off of meat” then why are you even eating it in the first place if you already know what’s happening is horrible?
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/earthlings/
I claim "acid test"
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching the video however I wanted to watch the video again tomorrow with my mother and write my blogpost tomorrow with her opinions on the video as well. She and I are very different therefore I think it would add a lot to the topic at hand.
ReplyDelete"Acid Test - ocean acidity"
ReplyDeleteHiden in the oceans waters are worlds within worlds, worlds in which most of us never become aware of. The ocean contains life that doesn't even seem possible to work from ones eye, even with proof of science. Over billions of years the ocean has created various species of life that sustain us as humans. The ocean is undeniabley a beautiful place and we rely on our oceans for so much in our daily lives. Yet we still go forth in ruining our sacred oceans everyday. We need our oceans for the obvious things such as food, recreation, transportation and more. However we don't give our oceans and aquatic species enough credit for helping clean our shores, protecting our coast lines from storms, regulating climate and providing the world with most of its oxygen.
The oceans power to create life is now in serious danger now that it is being rivaled by our own power to destory it. Our first carbon problem is global warming, and according to scientists, ocean acidification is in second place. Our carbon output has not only been effecting our global climate but also effecting our oceans, causing the water to be more acidic. In the furture, possibly just decades the acidity may challenge life on a scale that has not occured in tens of thousands of years. Although carbon dioxide is a natural gas that is produced with every exhale, and helps plants to grow, our world has come to a point where we're producing a dangerous amount of excess carbon dioxide. Since the Industrial Revolution the ocean has absorbed roughly one quater of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fuels. Truth in when when carbon dioxide mixes with ocean water, it becomes an acid. If we continue to pollute as we are now, it is predicted that the ocean acidity will double by the end of the century.
One problem aquatic species are facing is the decreasing ability to create protective shells. These species draw in molecules from the ocean to create a protective layer; however, the rising acidity depletes these molecules. Therefore, removing the essential building blocks for shell formation, it is making organisms work alot harder which obviously makes them have less energy to get food and reproduce. Eventually the organisms can no longer compete ecologically. Once acidity gets too high...shells arn't only harder to create, but they dissolve. Because of this acidity change, many organisms and species may no longer be able to survive. Water is slowly but surely becoming more and more corosive. If shelled species go extinct what happens to our oceans considering they play a huge role in the aquatic foodchain? Without these small creatures, many fish will no longer have food, and with declining fish which is a major food souce for many humans around the globe it could lead to hungry families everywhere.
Coral reefs are the most dramatically effected by this increasing acidity next to global warming as well. With both combined, coral reefs are crumbling ruining ecosystems of millions of aquatic fish forms. We are gradually taking a world of rich biological diversity and turning it into a world of weeds. If we don't start drasically trying to improve our carbon dioxide emissions, these predictions will be come true sooner than scientists have expected. Earth is the only planet that we know of that life exists, but what life will there be if we get to the point of there being a "dead ocean"? Easy, there wouldn't be life at all.
This is my weekly post,
ReplyDeleteThe documentary “Operation Hollywood” is about how Americans are almost addicted to the violence of war and how they have and will continue to use war as something to glorify for cinematic gold.
It starts with investigative journalist Dave Robb, who has an interest in documentation, specifically the documentation of first and second drafts of old war movies. He finds that some of the scripts were changed because they were screened by the pentagon. The first example he gives is an episode of the 1950’s show Lassie that was about a military plan crashing and how the dog Lassie could hear a high pitched noise that alerted that something was wrong with the wing. The Pentagon said that it needed to be changed because they didn’t want people to see the military as faulty.
The Pentagon uses these movies and television shows as advertisements to young people to show them a possible future career, and since most people have not been to war, these movies are all we have to base war off of.
The movie Pearl Harbor was described by Dave Robb as a boring romantic tale that has the events leading up to Pearl Harbor as a back-story. Historian Lawrence H Suid agrees with that saying that the movie wasn’t really based off the facts and it glorifies the whole experience of going to war.
They interview these two men throughout the documentary as well as the director of the Pentagon Phil M Strub. He believes that the movie Pearl Harbor does allow for the history of the event to be manipulated to make way for the drama that the movie creates. He also says that because of the movie people became more interested in the history and looked into it themselves.
The Documentary takes you back to the movies ranging from the 1920’s to the early 1960’s, saying that movies made in this time were used to make the soldiers out to be heroic and avoid all of the unpleasant moments that war brings. Hollywood directors started to join in on this by going to war and filming events that really happened, but leaving most of the gruesome parts out because of the Pentagons orders.
After all that time where they worked in unison, it finally came to an end with the movie The Longest Day. This movie showed scenes of Nazi concentration camps and it was the first time that war wasn’t seen as glorifying.
Americans were created from violence and throughout their history as a country, they began to thrive on it and so it was a, to put it mildly, a huge shock when the lost Vietnam. It was mentioned in the documentary that their leaders had lied to them about Vietnam and why they were fighting, but people continued to go to war without truly knowing what they were fighting for. That was a main reason as to why Americans still believe to this day that they could’ve won the war, because that’s what the leaders of their country wanted them to believe, they were selling that attitude with each war movie they made. To be a superpower they needed to glorify war to make the people think that it would be worth it and that it wouldn’t be that bad.
(Cont'd) After the Vietnam War, the war movies stopped for awhile, except for one, The Green Berets. That also started the production of scripts that went ahead without the approval of the Pentagon, including the movie Platoon. It was the first major movie about the Vietnam War and because it was created without help from the Pentagon, it was a realistic film, and it was a huge success. Probably the most popular film about the Vietnam War is Apocalypse Now. It was also created without the Pentagon and it showed an extremely realistic view on what happens at war.
DeleteThe Pentagon director, Phil Strub, said that they would never get involved in a “show stopper” like Apocalypse Now and Crimson Tide, because they weren’t based of the war aspect, but were made more for entertainment value. After also 10 years without movies that the Pentagon had aided, along came Top Gun. It was a huge blockbuster movie and it painted the military in a very good light. It also relit the craze of cleaner movies, with less gore or violence.
It didn’t last long however, because in the mid 90’s filmmakers started to realize that making war movies based off history was becoming boring and redundant because the US was such a power and they won everything, excluding Vietnam. They started to play with the idea of bringing the war and violence closer to home: terrorism. The Siege was one of the first movies to do this.
Near the end of the documentary, Dave Robb gives more examples of movies like Windtakers and 13 Days, that the Pentagon got involved in and changed parts of the movie because it wasn’t seen as true or it was “unmarine”.
It finishes with stating the first amendment and how its not right for Phil Strub or the Pentagon to censor what is shown in a movie that was based off of a true event. I think that its unjust, how could anyone trust the history behind these movies when truthful parts are being removed because it makes someone look bad?
Grass: A Marijuana History
ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post.
This documentary effectively illustrated the huge far reaching effects that the American war on drugs has had on drug policy and human rights throughout the world. The first Commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry J. Anslinger was a large proponent of these harsh drug laws that were originally used to control the Mexican population in Texas. This intense documentary cuts to the core of prohibition and exposes the real reasons behind the unjust laws that violate our very basic human rights and prevent us from doing things that have no harmful effects on anyone but ourselves. If you are interested in exactly how and why Marijuana became illegal this factual, well researched documentary will satiate this interest and show you exactly how something relatively harmless(like Marijuana) can become illegal and feared around the world without any science or veritable facts to back up the outlandish claims associated with it’s illegality.
I watched the documentary The “F” Word: Who Wants to Be A Feminist?
ReplyDeleteThe documentary starts off with multiple women being asked the question, are you a feminist? And every woman said no. Why? Because feminists are hairy legged, lesbian, man hating, fire breathing hippies!
Well, that is the way media likes to portray them. Feminism has almost become a bad word, it’s something to be ashamed of if you identify as a feminist. This documentary looks at what it means to be a feminist in our modern age.
Women in North America can vote and hold the same jobs men do, so that means we’re all equal, right? That is what most people think, but unfortunately equality has been slipping backwards and the gap in society between women and men has become larger and a growing concern.
Women in Canada hold half the jobs, but they make 20% less than men. Purely because we have different genitalia than the men. Personally, as a woman, this is pretty concerning for me. Knowing I can not make the same as a man who is in the same profession as I, no matter how much better I am, is alarming! This is inequality; this is why we still need feminism.
If any of you were follow politics, you would notice within the last year there has been a sudden push to eliminate abortion rights and access to birth control. Now, this is not a discussion of personal ethics or morals. Your opinion on if abortion is right or wrong does not matter here. Access to birth control and safe abortion is a woman’s right. A basic human right, since women are humans right? As a young female, watching these powerful, rich men threatening to take away my basic human rights was terrifying.
And, another obvious issue this documentary looks at, is the portrayal of women in media. We’ve all seen those ads of women half naked and skinny as a skeleton who have obviously been photoshopped. Media is giving us a standard women cannot possibly live up to.
And as we have learnt in class, corporations and wealthy people control media. Women only own 1% of the worlds wealth, so who is it controlling the portrayal of women in media? Not women, that is an issue.
The list of what needs to be fixed in order to be truly equal is long. Feminism, in my opinion, is still needed. Unfortunately feminists are usually the butt of the joke, feminism is still a bad word.
After watching this documentary, I can say with more confidence that I am a feminist. Yeah, people make mean jokes about it sometimes, but how can women make a change while remaining silent? If you’re a girl I suggest you watch this documentary. Scratch that, if you’re a human you should watch this documentary, as equality affects us all.
The documentary that I watched was called, "Hungry for Change". This documentary outlined the way that our society views food, diets, and our negligence towards what goes into our foods. One of the first statistics was that 2/3 of women in America and 1/4 of men are on a diet. It describes that for the first time in 1000 years, this generation of children are not expected to live as long as their parents. The thought of that disgusted me, as mothers and fathers it is the duty of them to watch after their child and keep them safe. If it is their duty however, why are they constantly feeding their child things that will ultimately kill them or lead them to an unhappy life? The diet cola that most of us have consumed at least once in our life can cause neurological problems. The documentary went on to describe all of the reasons as to why these neurological problems can be caused by diet cola. My mother drinks diet cola and has been overweight my entire life. While watching this documentary with her, I could tell that it has opened her eyes. A huge fact that they focused on and one that scared me the most was, sugar is more addictive than heroin and kills more people than all the drugs in the world combined. The fact that everything in this world that we consume probably contains sugar is a scary thought. 90-95% of people who actually go on a diet will sooner or later gain back more of the weight that they lost. The fact that diets are a part of cutting something completely out of your system is what causes it to induce unhealthy eating. Some people within this video are true stories as to being very over weight and simply eating what humans are meant to eat to lose the weight. They did not go on a diet, they simply ate what we're supposed to eat. This documentary truly opened my eyes to the views that what we eat is the most vital part of our happiness. I have been vegetarian for simply perhaps a month or so now and I have already been much happier than before. The thought of someone who has cancer and they simply begin to eat healthy, truly healthy, and now she is cancer free. I would recommend this film for anyone who wishes to have healthier skin, be a happier person, or live a healthier life. There is no longer any time for us to keep ourselves sheltered and in the mindset of "I'd rather not know." Our generation is the first generation to tackle this problem head on. If we do not solve this catastrophic problem, our children will soon die at very young ages and all that we have built as a society will soon be gone. It is unreasonable for me to assume that I will cut out all of the sugar and begin to eat nothing but what I should, however, I am MUCH more aware of the things that I am putting into my body. As an experiment I woke up this morning and ate only unhealthy sugary things, as a result I have felt ill all day and feel as though I have no energy. I've lost all of my self confidence and barely have the energy to get out of bed. This should be an eye opener to all of us, go one day as I did today, and eat only sugary products. You will feel your will power trail away. It is no longer an issue of this is what we should do, it's a point of this is what needs to happen for the survival of our people. I recommend everyone view this film because no matter who you are, it will make you take a second look at what you are eating and how much it affects you.
ReplyDelete1)http://www.greenster.com/magazine/hungry_for_change_new_documentary_food_matters/
HOME
ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post....
The documentary I chose to watch was entitled “Home.” This film has been generated from a great deal of scientific research and consensus, over our two thousand years of documented human destruction. Homeostasis is the term referring to the effort made to maintain a consistent characteristics within a given system or environment. When the world first came to be, there was a change in the atmospheric composite. The presence of cyanobacteria (blue/green algae) and their rapid ability to produce carbon dioxide was in complete harmony with the trees and other vegetation which consumed this CO2 and produced oxygen. This process was on going, allowing for a vast availability of oxygen to be released into the atmosphere, breeding wildlife in all different species. This wildlife would eat the vegetation, spurring it into a new cycle and allowing for a new bloom to occur. Another cycle coincides with this one, consisting in three separate states of the most important element on earth, water. This balance was the product of hundreds of thousands of years of development and production of our most precious gift- planet Earth. Any disturbance of this fragile balance was known to cause significant world issues for future generations to come and has proven to do exactly that.
The film referred to the tragedy of Easter Island, and suggested that it poses as an example for the potential repercussions of our wasteful, consumer-based culture. It all began with the invention of agriculture, which allowed us to mass create the “yeast of life”- grain. Yeast are known to multiply quickly, as did the people when they harnessed this advancement. It gave them the opportunity to experience a sophisticated, worldly occupation and enabled the ability to begin trading and most importantly, gave humanity a purpose- to survive. A new energy was then sought after to make things go faster and FASTER. Oil was known as the power of the sun in the early discovery and quickly became the reasoning behind the environmental destruction we see today. But, oil presented humans with the ability to create plastic, burn gas and develop in an industrial, rapid fashion. We were suddenly able to focus less on survival, and more on comfort and leisure. In a matter of 50 years the world had been changed more than ever. Oil gave those of power the option to replace their workers with machinery. One litre of this liquid gold would deliver as much work in one day as 100 workers had the ability to do produce. This choice had a tremendous toll on our environment, the balance had been broken.
Over 50% of the grain traded and consumed around the world is used for animal feed, and bio fuels. Both products of oil and the industrial revolution, they have proven to have an everlasting effect on the climatic revolution we are experience in the current century. Industrialized livestock production as a whole has given us the ability to live lavishly but is heavily dependant on oil and other non-renewable resources. It takes approximately 13 000L of water for 1kg of beef, not to mention the oil used in manufacturing and transportation. Automobiles have allowed for the measurement of distance is no longer that of miles but that of minutes, and hours. The invention and over-usage of the automobile has greatly contributed to the climatic change as well. The usage of these pollutant-rich practises to enable the lifestyles many humans have adopted over the decades of advancements in technology but with little, to no research done on the impacts these advancements could have on our planet. With non-renewable resources running low, a sustainable, greener tomorrow is our only option.
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ReplyDeleteAlong with the use of fossil fuels, we humans have tended to overestimate the abilities of material and began to believe that plastic products and industrialized super-stores are the route to all happiness. In order to achieve such materials, everything comes with a price tag and the pursuit of wealth and power begun. 20% of the world partakes in this wasteful, economic-based system and thus account for the usage of 80% of the exhausted resources we no longer have today. These toxic habits have had a tremendous toll on a number of regions vital to human prosperity. The fishing grounds have been over harvested by multi-national factories that distribute vast amounts of fish around the world. With only 10% of species in our waterways left, we have exhausted the larger species- not having the time to reproduce and grow- some even exhausted into extinction. Water is sparse, with only wealthy nations being nourished, the not-so-developed nations have been experiencing great disadvantages. India, for example, is at a great risk. The civilians of desert-areas have dug 21 million wells in hopes to strike an underground aquifer. 30% of these wells have been abandoned, because these aquifers are completely dry. The places without water, prove to be the most dependant on the universal element. These shortages are projected to effect approximately 2 billion people by 2025- now that’s a scary statistic. As for places such as the wetlands, 20% of them have been polluted. The micro organisms within these ecosystems, responsible for regulating the waters are unable to carry out their function due to varying environmental stresses. The world’s marshes have also been drained, with us not having the ability to know their richness or role in the planets ecosystems. As for the rainforests, their destruction has suffered nonetheless. These ecosystems are some of the most important to the maintaining of the planet’s atmospheric balance, but are not salvaged in the worlds environmental destruction. The trees of the rainforests create a habitat for approximately ¾ of the worlds biodiversity and provide remedies for human kind. But, in the past 40 years the Amazon Rainforest has been diminished by 20% due to the production of feed for livestock in Europe and Asia- a silly reason. The environmental damage this planet has experienced in the last 50 years is astounding, and it is all due to the usage of the one medium that gives life as we know it the impulses we all know so well-technology. This technology has created a system that we have all adopted, and this system emits gasses that heat up our atmosphere. With this heat, the colder regions of the world that are composed of ice have made significant movement towards dissipation. The icecap is 40% thinner than 40 years ago. This melting process leaks cold water into the oceans of the world, causing a variation in the homeostasis of these aquatic environments and disrupts the vital, but very sensitive organisms. This change causes variation and eventual deterioration of the ecosystems in the water systems that are vital to human survival through emitting large amounts of oxygen into the air. These are all factors contributing to the atmospheric adjustments we are currently experiencing. Human kind has never lived in an atmosphere of this type, but the world is an asset we all share and we have the ability to change things.
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ReplyDeleteThis film has tremendously inspired me and given me a well-rounded idea of the causes behind a number of different issues and incredibly, never-seen-before statistics of the current world. I greatly appreciate and respect the work behind this documentary and would recommend this to anybody concerned about the well-being of planet earth. Offering an incite into the century-long reasoning behind the consumer culture we live in today, and the repercussions that these habits are having on the environment. The documentary suggested statistics enough to prove any other profession- other than that of acting as a protector of our beautiful planet- is not worth my time. Environmental science and engineering is the profession of the future. We have already made numerous breakthroughs in creating sustainable, renewable, green energy so why not keep the legacy going in the next generation? We need to believe what we already know, the bond between water, air and earth has been dramatically disturbed by our industrial practises. But its not too late, we have the ability to change things. Costa Rica has made an active effort and cut funding to military expenditures and invested in their environmental causes. South Korea has restored 65% of their forests and make a point to recycle as much as they can. Denmark is famous for it’s successful wind farms, and Germany for it’s solar-powered buildings. A greener future is still within our grasp, we just have to focus on achieving it!
I would recommend this to be something our world issues class studies, closer to the end of the year as it defines many world issues in a very clear manner. I am grateful for choosing this documentary to summarize and analyze, I believe that I have derived an incredible amount from this and will continue to have an extensive interest in protecting our earth.
This is my post for this week...
ReplyDeleteSo I watched Bill Maher’s “Religulous” for my documentary. It wasn’t on the wall of films but I had never seen it and it’s about a topic I’m passionate about. Obviously it’s shot in an extremely biased viewpoint, but that’s the goal. He focuses on religious extremists (and moderates) and he refutes their deluded arguments. His opinions and morals are par to mine so I took to this movie more than someone else might, but I genuinely think everyone should watch this movie at least once. He is able to show the CONSTANT contradictions and radicalism within the religious community of the world, while also shedding some light on the more moderate religious peoples. For example, he visits a “Truck Stop Chapel” and also visits the Vatican (where he interviewed a senior priest whose ideas surprised me). Since Bill Maher is a comedian, the entire film he subtly makes mockery and satire of the people he interviews and their opinions, but he usually only used it in the defence when people would question or attack his beliefs. During one interview with a man who worked for “Jew for Jesus”, the man started telling Bill that God would always be there to hear his prayers and he’s never busy for anyone. Bill made a comment about Santa Claus and the man denied believing in Santa. Bill’s reply; “Of course not, that’s ridiculous! He’s one man flying all around the world and dropping presents down a chimney, I mean that’s ridiculous. But one man hearing everybody murmurs to him at the same time; that I get.” He states in the documentary that he isn’t there to debate with people and to sway their views, he’s there to place doubt in peoples’ minds and I respect that greatly. He doesn’t try to tell people to not believe in what they want; he just questions why they believe in it. He even shows examples of how people use faith to "circumnavigate around peoples' intellect" to virtually brainwash them. This documentary is interesting, crude, eye-opening, funny and was 10/10 for me.