Officially Closed

Dear Students,

Thank you for your contribution to this blog. It has been an amazing journey as you seek to learn more about this world and the things that happen in it. Continue to learn, grow and understand. Then share that understanding with others because it’s the only may we’re ever going to change the world. Good job to all those who contributed.

Freakenomics!!!, What can we learn from America’s Financial and Credit Crisis

You all have to see this. It make understanding what happen in America’s Recession that much easier to understand. What I think it that while it was a creative way to make money it’s also a risky way to make money. What about you? Do you think banks should be allowed to do this kinds of schemes to encourage more investment?

Of course most of you all will say that it’s not a good idea. But I wanna why you think so? Do you think the government has a right to intervene(campur tangan) in the businesses of private banks and financial institutions?

This is a major debate going on right now in the US.

As usual watch the video and tell me what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqUGoVez8xg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Egyptian Uprising: Do People Care About Their Country?

Many people like to talk about politics but very few people care about their country. On January 25th 2011 all talk was put aside in Egypt and people took action in the thousands and showed the government that they really cared for the future of their country. Whether you think the right thing to do is to protest or not, we cannot discount the fact that after witnessing the fall of Mubarak that there is some measure of victory for the people of Egypt. Egypt is a country that has many difference and similarities to our country but I want to ask a few questions to draw your opinions today.

At the end of this video you will see a quote by one of politics greatest heroes. John F. Kennedy(JFK) He said:

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.”

These are very strong words.

1) Tell me what you think it means

2) Do you agree with the quote? Why?

Here is the link for the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThvBJMzmSZI&feature=fvst

I like Kanye West….=P

This video shows footage of the Egyptian uprising that took place this year in January. Much of the footage was probably taken from people who had camera phones and other digital recording devices.  This video however does not include any dialogue. It only has a soundtrack which features Kanye West’s song Amazing. So I put this video up not simply because I like the song but also to show you what people went through in the pursuit of a better future for their country.

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS POST. It is merely for your viewing. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT ON THE NEXT VIDEO I WILL POST AFTER THIS ONE.

Here is the link for the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgCziE-Qxg&feature=related

Do we know our rights?

It’s often quite depressing to look inside a newspaper or watch the news with my dad on CNN or BBC. For the most part the news is never good. Earthquake in some place , famine in another, War in some place, diseases in another. My Dad and i often shake our heads and if I can’t take the disappointment of listening to more bad news anymore, I often just take the remote and switch to the sports channel. It’s comforting to know that none of this stuff happens to us, and so it’s probably easier not to watch the news and read the newspaper, so we don’t hear about rapes and killings, imprisonments and mass graves and other stuff like that. Accept that if we were to ignore these things, we are actually turning our back on the so many violations of human rights in many other countries. Maybe it’s not our problem but I beg to differ.

There are people who walk among us who bear the scars and the pain and sorrow that comes with the violation of human rights, many of us have never experienced these things but you must connect with them you must show solidarity because we are human just as they are.

In watching the video ” the Story of Human Rights” we look at the most precious thing we all have. It’s the right  not to be treated like an animal, the right to be treated fairly and the right to be all the things you want to be and dream of being because you are an individual with a heart, soul and mind.

I’d like to hear from you and ask you what you think about the video on human rights you watched a few weeks ago. I’d like you to tell me what you think and what you feel about this video or how it makes you feel inside. I’d like you to be honest too and tell me why you feel the way you feel.

Here is the link on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsG2TX-F44c

The Story of Stuff: Lots of Stuff

Hi everyone, when we were discussing the issues from the video The Story of  Stuff. I noticed some of you nodding. (I’m not sure if it’s because you are falling asleep, but I sure hope not) As a lecturer, it’s really good to see things click inside your head. I’ve posted the video that we watched in class a few weeks so that you can recap what you have learnt from it and hopefully you can watch it again and really think about how you feel about this video.

Here are a few questions that you might want to look at to help you think about this video that you have just watched.

1.     After you watch a video like that, how do you feel?

2.     Do you agree with what was said about the stuff we use and consume? (Do you believe what she says?)

3. What do you think we can do personally to solve some of the issues we are going through because of these problems?

Remember you have a limit to the amount you can write. Up to 250 words only so make it count. Another video will be posted together with this video below.

Here’s the link for the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8

Welcome Group 5!!!!

Welcome to the Culture and Ideas Group 5 Blog!!!

It’s important for all of us to know that this is a safe place to share knowledge and experiences together so there are a few ground rules that need to be put down before we start posting comments.

1. This is a place where your opinions are heard. So it’s important to hear other opinions just as much as other people hear yours.
2. We don’t learn anything by attacking someone personally or by calling people names on this blog. It’s a childish act and it makes you look really bad. Remember we can learn from each other.
3. You will automatically fail this section worth 10% if you say anything offensive about someone’s race, religion, sexual orientation or anything that I feel is demeaning or offensive to anyone else in the blog. Respect your fellow participants.
4. Username: Please register with a username that I can recognize because I will be giving marks for this blog. If your username is cherrysexylover92 I will not know who you are unless your real name is Cherry Sexy Lover :p

Ok that’s it. We can start now. Stay tuned for a video that’s coming out on the Blog soon. I hope you will enjoy learning from this blog as much as I know I will. If we work together as a collective we will find that our learning can definitely move beyond the classroom.