Born Into Brothels

Well, it is rather difficult to judge the fact that most intimate details of children lives were revealed, because I believe that ultimately, this documentary gave these children something a lot more valuable than the price they paid. For Zana Briski not only put them on display for the whole world to see, she also gave most of these children a chance to grow and develop like "normal" children, with the bright future in front of them. So yes, I think in this case the "ends" justify the "means", and their privacy was not violated for nothing. Besides, children did not seem to mind being put on display at all, in fact, from what I could tell, most of them enjoyed it! I believe that this film was ultimately successful not only because it showed the world what kind of horrors these children have to endure on day-to-day basis, but also did change the lives of at least two of the children. And every life "saved" is well worth the risks involved.

My Relationship to Food

Interestingly enough, all the information about the different foods, corn, corporate farming, and so on did not make much difference on how I eat at all. I suppose it made me think about what I eat a little more closely, but other than that no effect whatsoever. I was a little surprised myself, I mean when I was watching "The Future of Food" I was outraged! But after all the emotional response was gone, I could almost care less yet again about what I eat. Every now and then I will remember all that I learned in the class and will think twice about the foods that I consume, but then that does not happen very often. So the verdict is that I would imagine many people would react in a similar way. For example, chances are that one will not stop eating pizza, just because someone says that pizza is bad for you. So why I haven't been influenced by my studies? Hmmmm, mental block perhaps? To say the truth, I don't know.

Ecological Footprint

There is nothing wrong with the "American Way of Life" so long as one understands responsibilities and obligations that come with it. You can not blame people for wanting to live comfortable and enjoyable lives. However, people also cannot expect to live comfortable and enjoyable lives without any obligation to give back to the nature. If we don't we will be committing a crime against the generations to come. If one uses a lot of natural resources, one must do so responsibly. The best way to do it, in my opinion, is to concentrate, as much as possible, on use of only renewable resources that do none or very little damage to the environment as they are being used. Another thing is that there is a big difference between comfortable and overly luxurious. One must understand the difference if this planet is going to make it out of this century alive. Earth can take only that much abuse and if too many people live "American Way of Life" without tending to their duties to preserve "mother nature", well, all hope is gone then.

GMO Diet Journal

Ok, so here it goes. I kept track of what ate yesterday, and well, most of it, if not all potentially has GM components to it. I must admit, I was a little disappointed. According to my "Food Diary", I had some fried potatoes with pork, some ramen noodles, a glass of Pepsi, and water of course. Out of all that, only potatoes and water, are potentially genetically in tact. Everything else has one or more components to it like soy beans or corn that could be genetically modified crops. Also, from what I could tell, the farthest distance traveled by any of those foods to get to my table was for the "Ramen Noodle Soup", it traveled all the way from California, where it was manufactured. After doing a little bit of the research on the subject, I am now convinced that labeling GM food is rather a necessity than a luxury. I had no idea that most of the foods i eat every day are most likely genetically modified in one way or another. People have the right to know.

Historic Hero

I had a really hard time deciding on who my hero from he American History is, but eventually I settled on Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was the president of the United States during the Great Depression, and most of the World War II. Mr. Roosevelt was the only US president to be elected four times in a row, after his death the constitution was amended to limit the number of terms by two. Not because FDR was a bad president, but because people realized that if it were not FDR, but someone a bit more selfish in power for than two years, it could potentially bring a lot of trouble to the country. FDR had polio, and spent most of his life in the chair on wheels; his legs were disabled. FDR inspired me because in difficult times he did not give up, he always looked to the future while solving problems at hand. During the depression, he organized social work projects that helped to rebuild the economy, during the WWII he negotiated and between the foreign countries to keep United States out of the harms way for as long as he could, while helping factions who were against Nazi Germany. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was truly an extraordinary man, and I admire him.

Memory, Amnesia, and Lies

After the information I have read in "Lies My Teacher Told Me", Columbus day seems, well, not necessary. It seems to me that Columbus was far from noble and was simply lucky enough to be the one who made "big deal" out of Americas. He did not discover anything , simply because almost everything was discovered decades before his journey across the sea. And yet it is him who modern day Americans celebrate. To give credit to the US Government website on Columbus Day however, information on that website is true. Just a little bit inaccurate, many of the "inconvenient" facts about Columbus were simply "extracted" from the text. Perhaps whoever posted the information on that website simply didn't want to disappoint children who were taught Columbus is a "good guy", so he left out the facts that would make him the opposite of the "good guy". Overall, Columbus Day has been a holiday for a long time, and perhaps it is necessary, I just wish people of this country knew their own history better.

Spring Break Adventure

To tell the truth I did not plan to go anywhere on my spring break, just work and do all my school projects. However, well, that just did not seem like all that great of an idea. So I have called my good friend Stephanie and asked her if she would like to take off to Charleston, South Carolina for a few days, and she was very much happy to hear that. By Wednesday afternoon we were driving through the mountains somewhere in Tennessee. Even though I must admit the trip itself was just a bit too long - 820 miles and 16 hours with very little stops, it was all well worth it. Just the scenery on the way there was all too beautiful to ignore, even for me. The real fun began when we have arrived to our destination near Charleston, SC. All the attempts to locate the hotel I have reserved a room in, according to the street address we had, failed miserably. When I called the hotel, I found out that they actually have changed their name since the last time I have called; or they simply neglected to mention this fact when I have booked the room. We actually drove right past the place about three times or so. After that we successfully checked in to the hotel we were very surprised to fond out that everything in the town ,except for the bars and such, closed at 10 PM the latest. I must admit we were quite disappointed, but after we got over our disappointment and got some sleep, me and Steph did not have any trouble at all enjoying ourselves. We have spent a day on the beach at about 78 degree sunny weather, and yes I did swim in the freezing ocean, it was great. We spent another day in Charleston itself, visited South Carolina Aquarium and Fort Sumter National Monument (that's where the Civil War started). Overall it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it. Here are some photos:

McNamara and the "Fog of War"

I do indeed think that firebombing and nuclear bombing was just a bit too much. War is a terrible thing, a lot of people die; but no war is an excuse for genocide and extermination. Because from where I stand, burning over half of the population of every major city in Japan comes pretty close to those two terms. So yes, proportionality should be a guideline of war. I think this lesson was followed in WW II but with enormous amount of exceptions, like bombings in Japan and Holocaust. It is a lot easier to say now if someone should or should not be prosecuted for a war crimes committed during a war that was over half a century ago. That primarily depends on who wins the war, because not only the victorious side will get into the history books, it will most likely get to write history books; with its own version of what happened during the war. If the Germans and Japanese would have won the war, I have no doubt McNamara, LeMay, and many other people would have been prosecuted much like Axis officers at Nuremberg. I also think the war in Iraq cannot be compared to WW II, because this is a different kind of war, a guerrilla war. However I do not think we are making the same mistakes as in Japan, but I also do not know all the details of the war that is going on so it very possible I’m wrong.

Interview with Ishmael Beah

I thought that this interview with Ishmael Beah was quite remarkable. Ishmael seemed so happy, which after reading the book seemed so impossible. Also he is able to talk freely and rationally about all the things he went through, I don’t think an average person would be able to do that. I know I wouldn’t be able to talk about it if it was me who went through a civil war in Sierra Leone. Ishmael does mention a few lines from his book “A long gay gone”, particularly the scene where mothers are running with dead babies on their backs and fathers carrying dead children. In general, I did like the book and would recommend this book to almost every person I know. However there is one “but”: I think that because of the graphic nature of the book people under the age of sixteen should not read it. I say this not because all the graphic descriptions could harm a young person’s mind, but because generally this book will not mean much to younger people. I believe that one must have a somewhat developed mind in order to comprehend what this book really means. All the graphic descriptions will seem to be just some words on the piece paper; I do not think they would be able to visualize all the horrors of this war and fully understand what the words mean.

Blood Diamonds

Growing up I never really thought about the diamonds, not in romantic context, not in any context. I have never imagined receiving a diamond, but I must admit I have imagined giving a diamond, at some point I almost bought one even. After reading all the material on the conflict diamonds, I will think twice before buying one. The popular texts like “Blood Diamond” and “A Long Way Gone” were good enough to convince me not to contribute to the “blood diamond” business; however my point of view was neutral to start with. I would imagine it would be much harder to convince someone who is “addicted” to diamonds and will try to get as many as they can and as cheap as they can. I think practice of counter-story telling like the remake of “Diamonds Forever” from James Bond movie into “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” by Kanye West is somewhat effective. It will not affect people who are “a long way gone”, I do not think. In the modern world however I do not think it is possible to avoid diamonds completely. If I were to give or own a diamond though I would definitely want to know if it was a conflict diamond or not.

Child Soldiers

After watching the movie "Blood Diamond" and reading "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah I have formed some rather strong feelings to the people who use children as soldiers. In particular feelings of hate and disgust to any man or woman on this planet who would dare to do such a terrible thing to a child. Turning a child into a soldier, especially in such a barbarian way, ruins his/her mind and future. The consequences go even further. This terrible wrong doing would eventually hurt the country. Most of those children will be mentally handicapped for the rest of their lives and will never be able to live in a civilized society again, thus eliminating any possibility for a good demographic situation in the country after the war. I think that a person, as an individual is mature enough to make a decision to fight in a war when he/she is at least seventeen years of age. Anybody younger than seventeen simply cannot make a rational decision based on the current situation in my opinion. Also, I believe that forcing people to fight in a war is wrong. It should be a choice an individual makes. A logical decision to protect his/her home and country, if it is worth protecting.