Revolution of Spirit: Anne

The Revolution of Spirit speech meant the most to me.  I thought that this speech was very moving and inspirational because of how optimistic it sounded, even under circumstances where Aung San Suu Kyi could not present the speech herself.  I thought that in the speech it was made very clear that she was accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for the people of her country.  "Firstly, I know that she would begin by saying that she accepts the Nobel Prize for Peace not in her own name but in the name of all of the people of Burma."  It is made clear many times in the speech that this isn't only for her, and I like that she is recognizing the people of her country.

A country that I am currently concerned about is Venezuela.  About a year ago, their President, Hugo Chavez passed away which was a major loss to all Venezuelans.  Chavez played an important, positive role in what was going on there.  Now, there are riots going on in Venezuela because they are going against their current president.  There is also lots of serious crime going on.  Venezuela currently has a high murderer and robbery rate.  We should care about what is going on in Venezuela because it is getting out of control and worsening at a fast rate.  I hope that the problems in Venezuela can be solved soon.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/11/what-is-going-on-in-venezuela/

Exploration 8 - Zach

50 Jobs over $50,000 – Without a Degree (Part 1)

The premise of this article is about a list of jobs that anyone can work for, without having a college degree. This article is only part 1 of the list, but he focuses this section on manual labor-based jobs, such as being a carpenter, landscaper, house builder, plumber, and many other high paying jobs. The point Mr. Money Mustache is making, is that most of the country cannot afford to go to college, and shows that there are jobs out there that do not require a college degree. However, the money from these jobs can afford to pay for some college; therefore, these are good jobs to have for students right out of high school or young adults who are struggling to find their career. Additionally, he talks about how much money is made in these jobs. Being a carpenter for example, he writes that "Once you have a good reputation in an area with nice houses and good incomes, it is easy to earn over $50 per hour building things – even things as simple as fences or decks. Kitchens and bathrooms generally pay even better. No formal training required, but it helps to work alongside another good carpenter for a year or two, or take classes at a community college." His description of manual labor jobs illustrate how beneficial they are financially. 

(Photo of a carpenter or a house builder.)

I think these manual labor jobs are necessary for our economy, mostly because they are apart of the service industry. Also, they are beneficial to the workers because they gain experience that they can apply to their own house (fixing it, restoration, etc.). I would say that jobs like these are doable for almost anyone who wants to make a high income, as well as gain experience. I do believe that jobs like these would be good for a few years, but not for a career. Additionally I think that people who work in these service jobs should work at these jobs to pay for a little bit of college, so they can at least get an Associates Degree - and Mr. Money Mustache states the same thing. However, these jobs could make good careers due to the amount of money that is earned. 

Last Exploration Prompt: Review a Mr. Money Mustache blog article

Here are the links for your Last Exploration:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/all-the-posts-since-the-beginning-of-time/

The Exploration Assignment:

Read through the titles for blog posts found at the link above.  Skim ones you think you are most interested in, and write down some titles. 

Come back to this post, and in the Comments section, tell me which blog post title you are going to read and write about.  This way we WILL ALL TAKE A DIFFERENT BLOG POST to respond to.

Write a review of this blog post. Do the following:

 1) Summarize the main contents of post and tell us what it is about.
2) Use a direct quote from the blog post somewhere in your summary.
3) Analyze this blog post and tell us what you liked and disliked.  Is it doable?  Is it a good idea?  Why or why not?  Connect it to your life!
4)  Include an image in this blog post that helps us understand what it is about.
5)  When you are finished, post your Exploration as a New Post on our blog. 
6)  Read other student posts and write comments to three other writers in the class.


This is due by Monday, April 21 at 1 p.m.  

Have fun and remember: Every chance to write is a chance to write well!

Reading Response

The Inner Peace and Human Rights speech meant the most to me because the Dalai Lama not only impacted the country of Tibet, but also countries around the globe. The Dalai Lama aimed to preserve the integrity of the Tibetan national identity and cultural heritage. His message of universal responsibility and respect for the planet, shows us that in order to achieve a goal is all starts with each one of us individually. The Dalai Lama said, "Responsibility does not lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each one of us individually." Its clear that we each need to make a sincere effort to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously. The world's political leaders are now starting to take meaningful steps to address the problem. The report to the United Nations Secretary-General by the World commission on the Environment and Development was an important step in educating governments on the urgency of the dangers of destruction of the environment.

Rwanda is one of the biggest countries without clean water. In many areas of rural Rwanda people lack access to clean drinking water, having negative health implications. Providing safe and clean drinking water is urgently needed to prevent diseases, as well as reduce the risks to women by walking long distances to collect water. Wells for Rwanda is a project designed to built water wells in rural towns in Rwanda so that the people can have clean and sanitized drinking water. Our universal duty as a individual is to help other who are in need. There are many different way in which we can help this cause. For example, fundraisers and collections for donations is way to raise money to build the wells for these rural towns. There are also alternate solutions, such as, getting involved and physically traveling to the numerous countries in need of a well. The Water Project is an organization that provides a workshop that teaches ordinary people how to construct and maintain a water well. I think that it is great that so many people are getting involved to help countries in need.

 

http://thewaterproject.org/rwanda/

Exploration 8

The speech which I most mean is the revolution of spirit (1991). We can compare Aung San Suu Kyi with Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. Like them, she is seen as the leader of a people's  struggle for liberty and democracy. The Lady' has been fighting for the democratization of her home country, Myanmar, for decades. She has never advocated violence, but has gained a large following by peaceful means, even though for much of the time from l989 to 2002 she has been under house arrest at her Rangoon home. In 1991, while under house arrest, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma. She could not obtain release to travel to Oslo to accept this award, but when her sons accepted it on her behalf; they heard her praised as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".  Really she is a real hero, brave and super woman and I think everyone should proud to be like her.Her endurance against dictatorship and steadfastness to her principles has brought comparisons to Nelson Mandela. Her life has also been one of personal sacrifice.

Racial segregation has appeared in all parts of the world where there are multiracial communities.  In such countries there has been occasional social discrimination but not legal segregation. I concern about segregation in South Africa. Racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times under Dutch rule and people still dealing with it. In school and colleges their classes are segregated, not by race, but by language. The white students attend classes taught in Afrikaans, their mother tongue, while the black students, who speak a variety of different languages and dialects, are taught in English. All the teachers are white, they say, and can't teach or answer questions about black African culture. South Africa has more than 10 million jobless people and half of them are between the ages of 15 and 24. According to The South African Reconciliation Barometer, a survey of racial and social attitudes, consistently finds a deeply divided nation. Less than 40 per cent of South Africans socialize with people of another race, while only 22 per cent of white South Africans and a fifth of black South Africans live in racially integrated neighborhoods. Just 11 per cent of white children go to integrated schools, and 15 per cent of black children.

Global Awareness Exercise: Jake McCluskey

The Humanitarianism speech given by James Orbinski was, to me, the most inspirational of the three speeches we read. I really liked it because these "Doctors Without Borders" could be doing there practice in a safe environment making way more money but they chose to be selfless and help those who need it the most. I really admire this because they went to school for a very long time to do what they do and they didn’t do it for the money they did it for the good moral cause. What is happening in this situation now is a group of doctors who call themselves "Medecins Sans Frontieres" or "Doctors Without Borders" travel around the world and provide professional assistance to people not receiving help in either natural disasters or human caused disasters, civil wars. They believe all humans have the right to efficient professional care no matter their status, race, or color. “Over our 28 years we have been, and are today, firmly and irrevocably committed to this ethic of refusal.” James Orbinski said in his Nobel Peace Prize speech.  

In Conarky, Guinea there has been a massive outbreak of Ebola. “Doctors Without Borders” emergency team is facing challenges in stopping this epidemic because on of their three treatment centers was suspended. “Doctors Without Borders” is supporting the Guinean ministry of health in its attempts to stop the outbreak. There have been 151 suspected cases and 95 deaths to date in Guinean. “Doctors Without Borders” has 60 international staff currently working in Guinea, and they are flying in more than 40 tons of supplies to help tackle the epidemic.

Global Awareness Exercise: Amal

The speech that really meant a lot to me was the Humanitarianism (1999). It is really a moving speech, because of the have been many obstacle standing on their way and yet they have always found a way through it. The MSF movement started with mere doctors and today they are many volunteers. and today there are many involved such as volunteers, investors and sponsors. "We are not sure that words can always save lives, but we know that silence can certainly kill". They don't get involved in situations to make peace or to end the war. They simply do this to ensure that the civilians of that particular country are safe and sound.  They are there to deliver assistance to where needed. They believe that people are entitled to medicine regardless of gender,race , religion, belief, or political connection. People in the third world countries today die from diseases due to lack of money, the expenses of treatment cost too much for them to afford.

The country that i am most concerned about is Palestine. The ongoing struggle with the Israeli and Pakistan conflict has affected a lot of people. The conflict dates back to the Mid 20th century. They have failed to reach an agreement that would benefit both countries. Palestine lost to Israel and today their people are suffering and living in refugee camps. Israel is expanding throughout the Palestine territory. They continue to build businesses and buildings and as a result of expanding their country. It affects us because we get oil form the middle east and as a result of that it could lead in to a turmoil. The United states sided with the Israelis because Palestine has a biblical city inside of it. It affects us all because if this war could end the treaties with the middle east countries. We should care because people are suffering due to this conflict. What we should do is give the Palestinian people a portion of the country since it once belonged to them.

http://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/israel-palestine-conflict/