Weblog # 6

 

Weblog #6: Student’s Choice

WikiLeaks Analysis: The right to know

          In the perfect world, if you didn’t do anything wrong, then you have nothing to hide. If we, the people, trusted our leaders to represent us, and we are paying them to work for us, shouldn’t we have the right to know what they are doing with our trust and moneys?

           After the WikiLeaks website revealed some “inconvenient” documents, it seems that our leaders think that we can’t handle the truth about how they do their jobs. They are as afraid of the truth as roaches running out from the light. Now they say that WikiLeaks is a threat to National Security and our troops are in danger because of the information released on it.

          I believed that we, the people, need to know exactly what our leaders are doing in order to make the right decision when we vote, and this is a basic principle for democracy. We should support and embrace outlets like WikiLeaks for opening our eyes and demand to see the rest of the iceberg, no matter how bad it is.

          Only now, we learn about the 'The Iraq War Logs' and the 'Afghan War Diaries' which are clear evidence of war crimes and human rights violations committed in the name of freedom.

          In London, Steve Field, a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, said "it's important that governments are able to operate on the basis of confidentiality of information."

          In conclusion: They don’t want us to know what’s going on.

http://wikileaks.org/

Weblog #5: Citizenship Editorial

Obama, Bring our troops home now!

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are immoral, unjustified and unaffordable.

This is what’s going on there:

Operation Iraqi Freedom:

US Military Casualties: 4,408. (KIA: 3483; WIA: 31,935)

Civilian Casualties: 13 (KIA: 9)

Troops remaining in Iraq: 50,000

Operation Enduring Freedom  

US Military Casualties: 1,298 (KIA: 1,065; WIA: 9,469)

Civilian Casualties: 2 (KIA: 1)

Troops in Afghanistan: 95,000

Total US Military deaths Iraq and Afghanistan as of November 23^rd 2010: 5,706.

Source: Department of Defense. http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf

          The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have the war in terror as context and excuse to be funded and implemented, no longer have a moral, logical, tactical or economical justification to continue, therefore, President Obama must order the removal of all the troops currently operating there.

          Since George W. Bush left office on January 20, 2009 it was clear to everyone that the war in Iraq was a big mistake and Obama had promised during his campaign to bring all the troops back home and end the war. Instead, he is keeping a substantial number of troops in Iraq and increased the operations in Afghanistan with the excuse to fight Al-Qaida and bring democracy and prosperity to the region.

          The result so far has been a large number of civilian and military casualties and the rejection of the American interventionism by the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

          If the goal is to destroy Al-Qaida, the only rational way is to do it within its structure by infiltrating its inner circle. The current strategy is like killing flies with cannon destroying everything around. The only people obtaining a benefit from these wars are the defense contractors, and that brings a lot of troubling questions to the morality and justification of these wars. Where is the “change” that we were promised?

Weblog Assignment #4 Film Review "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXldafIl5DQ

Weblog Assignment #4 Film Review

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Overview: the film starts off during the days of the American Civil War, with Tuco (Wallach, Nuts), a notorious Mexican bandit with a bounty on his head.  Eastwood plays the nicknamed Blondie, the bounty hunter who claims the reward for Tuco's capture, but just as Tuco is about to hang, Blondie shoots him free, and the two make their escape (at least until they can run the scam another time).  However, Blondie soon realizes that Tuco is never going to amount to much in bounty and decides to get rid of the dead weight by abandoning him out in the desert. As Tuco makes his return and vows revenge, another bounty killer, nicknamed Angel Eyes (Van Cleef), learns of a cache of gold coins amounting to about $200,000, last seen in possession of a man going by the name of Bill Carson. It just so happens that Tuco and Blondie encounter Carson one day, just as he is about to die.  Tuco learns of the place where the gold is buried, while Blondie learns the exact spot, turning mortal enemies into uneasy allies (at least until the gold is found).  However, Angel Eyes is quite tenacious in his quest for the gold, and soon it's apparent that the gold is going to have to be something to fight for, as well as to die for.

Main events or points in the film that stuck out to me:

1. - The strong and well defined personalities of the characters.

2. - The originality, humor and double meaning of the quotes and dialogs used.

3. – The irony of the context.

Why were they significant in the film? Because these events and points keep the interest of the audience with a high level of awareness of the human cost of the Civil War while at the same time provides a delightful entertainment with the performance of the characters.

Why were they significant to me? I like Western Movies with historic value.

Contextual (outside) information as it relates to my analysis: The “North and South” novel by Elizabeth Gaskell.

How does the film conform to, or diverge from, generic norms? It conforms to generic norms because it fits in a specific category (the spaghetti westerns) and provides with accurate historic information.

What changes would you make to the finished visual product if you were the producer? It would be nice to watch this movie in 3D.

What assumptions are made about or by the audience, and are they accurate? The most common assumption people make when watching the movie for the first time, is that the good guy will win over the bad and the ugly guys. The assumption is correct, making the movie very predictable and the audience is assumed to like a happy ending which I believe is also accurate. Most people like happy endings with the death of the bad guy.

Do you agree with the premise of the film, or the perspective it enforces? The premises are that good always prevails over evil and that war is a waste of human life. I do agree on both premises.

What did I think about the cinematic and/or narrative elements of the film (camera techniques, editing, sound, direction, and flow/sequence)? I think this is a masterpiece of cinema and should be viewed and enjoyed by every generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXldafIl5DQ

How to wash your hands

How To Wash Your Hands

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness.

Handwashing is a simple thing and it's the best way to prevent infection and illness.

Clean hands prevent infections. Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, at school, and at work. Hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings, in daycare facilities, in schools and public institutions, and for the safety of our food.

Handwashing can prevent infection and illness from spreading from family member to family member and, sometimes, throughout a community. The basic rule is to wash hands before preparing food and after handling uncooked meat and poultry, before eating, after changing diapers, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one's nose into a tissue, after using the bathroom, and after touching animals or anything in the animal's environment.

When washing hands with soap and water:

·         Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.

·         Rub hands together to make lather and scrub all surfaces.

·         Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice through to a friend.

·         Rinse hands well under running water.

·         Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

·         Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.

If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast-acting.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

·         Apply product to the palm of one hand.

·         Rub hands together.

·         Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

LADY GAGA "TELEPHONE" MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lady+gaga+telephone+official+music+video&aq=7

Purpose of this video: More than pure entertainment, this video contains obvious subliminal messages along with aspects of mind control with the purpose of shocking and stimulate the audience to new levels.
Pitch: Killing people is no big deal because "Payback is a bitch".
Context: The underground world such as a jail for transsexuals and traumatic events leading to a blocked state of mind that  impairs the conscience to operate social behavior.
What is communicated: What is implied in this video is the use of human drones towards assassinations by means of brainwash and controlled activation. The objective is for the subject to follow directives with no conscious awareness, including execution of acts in clear violation of the victim’s moral principles, spiritual convictions, and volition.
Association: There are symbols used in the video that relate to mind control programs and techniques such as electroshock therapy to induce dissociation and  Gaga is then shown in front of the "Pussy Wagon" wearing a leopard-print suit, a reference to “sex kitten” or the Beta program used by the government, CIA, military (Gaga and Beyonce dancing in American flag outfits right after the mass murder is committed at the restaurant indicates this Conspiracy Theory) and of course, the video is  is heavily inspired by "Thelma and Louise".
Words: The phrase “Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it’s broke but you can still see the crack in the motherfucker’s reflection” can refer to a cheating boyfriend and can also refer to the permanent damage caused by the fragmenting of one’s personality in mind control.Gaga’s head is the telephone. She is not answering that phone, which is symbolic of her dissociative mind state.

CHARLIE CRIST VS MARCO RUBIO CAMPAIGN ADD ANALYSIS

Purpose: To discredit Rubio.
Pitch: Warning about Rubio favoring more taxes and kissing up to special interests.
Context: The upcoming Senate elections in November. Rubio may look nice and sweet but he is actually bad for Florida (labels on the chocolates)
What is communicated: You should vote for someone else who is more reliable (like Charlie Crist).
Association: Movie "Forrest Gump" Charlie Christ wants to be associated with the innocent, decent and generous character of this movie.
Words: "You never Know what you're gonna get". This words are used to cast doubt on voters about Rubio.
Conclusion: It looks to me like Charlie Crist wants to be perceived as trying to educate the voters about his opponent so they don't get seduced by his appearance and sweet talking. But it is disappointing that he prefers to make the opponent look bad instead of proposing solutions for the numerous  problems that affect Floridians and how he will represent us in the senate.

OBAMA "HOPE" POSTER ANALYSIS

Purpose: To get votes from the low income masses for Obama.
Pitch: When you have nothing, you must have HOPE for a better future.
Context: Everything is so unfair now.(his eyes are looking up for divine intervention).
What is communicated: Obama feels your pain and impotence (Shoulders up).
Association: Communism. Che Guevara Poster (same contrast effect and posture..).
Words: : "HOPE" is in big bold letters; the "O" of "Obama" on top of the "E" of "Elect"  with the subliminal American flag coming out of the "O" towards the left side,meaning that the wealth of the country will be delivered by Obama to the poor people like a flowing river.
Conclusion: Masterfully executed with great results!