Many people in our society today are not considered equal. The many reasons for this are that they are not very wealthy, do not have a job, or do not have a place where they can call home. This is a big problem that we have in our world and it should come to an end. It will not be easy to accomplish but I know if we all work together we can fulfill this dream.

Problems like this are happening all over the world. A current world event that has occured most recently is the earthquake disaster in Haiti. This problem has destroyed thousands of lives, land base, and many govermental buildings including the National Assembly. Many countries are donating to help with this natural disaster. Since this has happened this island has gone up in inequality. Many people who lived in Haiti had a negative standard of living from being in poverty, to not a very well balanced governement. Haiti is definitely not in comparison to other places in our world like the U.S. Even before this eathquake, Haiti never had much voice in society because they were not a very “important place” to worry about. They were not very important to worry about because, they were just a small island that many people did not even know of. They were invisible to many. I donated money to help out and I hope that lives and their economy will be back up and running again in no time. Although, I realize it may be hard for families who have lost love ones, I hope that they still continue on with their lives and try to get back on track.

A book that I have read recently is called, The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants. The author of this book is Ann Brashares.When thinking back through the pages I can relate this book to equality. Each of these girls are different. Their lives, their personalities, even the way they dress. At the same time the way their treated is different as well. Each of them have a different equality. The way these girls are treated are not in a bad way at all. Equality does not always have to refer to being treated negativiely but it can also mean that they are just being treated positively just in different ways.

I have also had personal experiences with inequality. A great example that I have was when I was just a toddler and I always thought that my parents never treated me the same way they did with my older sister, Jordan. Jordan was always treated better then me, so I thought. Now looking back I realize that it is probably what a lot of kids deal with today. My parents did treat me the same as all of my sisters, I just never understood it back then. In many other cases, there are some families that abuse their children and do not treat them fairly. Inequality can happen in many families and the individuals that are being treated badly do not have a very strong voice in society to speak up. Thankfully, we have facilites that can help people put their lives back on straight and to start living in a place where they are treated fairly.

Inequality is happening in many places that surround us and we just need to open our eyes and look. With closed eyes we will fail in our reach to end inequality. I have learned many lessons about treating people with the same fairness. Over the years with being with my class we have also learned together that each and every one of us is no different on the outside.

To what extent should we embrace Globalization?  Globalization is the connecting of people and countries from all over the world. Many people would have different views upon this question because there is many other positions that a person could take. My position on this statement would be that Globalization is in the middle of good and bad. Some of its pros and cons would be that worldwide markets for companies and for the people, is that there is an access to products from different countries. Globalization connects so many people together and learn about each other and can put aside their individual identity and learn about other cultures. Also, developed nations are outsourcing due to a lot of negatives and positive results.

Firstly, worldwide markets for companies and for the people, is that there is an access to products from different countries. This allows countries to receive products and materials that their country can’t produce or supply. A case study that I have learned about is the banana wars. Bananas get shipped to countries from all over from the three large American Transnational’s such as Chiquita, Dole, and Del Monte. There are also bananas that are produced on the Caribbean Islands St.Lucia and Jamaica. These farms are much smaller and are usually run as a family business. Since they are so much smaller it is hard for them to achieve the same economies scale as large banana plantations. Therefore, there prices are higher. To make money there bananas need to be at a higher price than the transnational’s.

Secondly, globalization connects so many people together and learn about each other and can put aside their individual identity and learn about other cultures. Global Media has a huge impact on people’s identities. Since it connects people from all over the world, many people seem to lose interest on their own religions or beliefs and in time adopt the things they like. Multiculturalism is spreading drastically and cultural diversity is decreasing due to assimilation.  This is brings me to another case study of when residential schools was still intact. If you do not know much about these schools they were awful places where kids got beat up and killed. The Roman Catholic Church tried to assimilate all First Nation peoples into “white society.” Many First Nations who survived through these schools will never forgive the government for putting them through this. Kids would get whipped with a sash for wetting the bed or not eating all of their supper.

Lastly, developed nations are outsourcing due to a lot of negative and positive results. Because of all this outsourcing we do, many people today are unemployed. Companies are outsourcing to Asian countries since the cost of labor is low and the company is considerably. This is horrible for all these people who are now jobless because there company is not outsourcing to another place. There is always the immense pressure on the employees that there is a risk that their company being outsourced soon. There is also a positive result from this and it would be that, since the companies are getting stuff for cheaper, the stuff that we buy from the company will also be a better price. The end result for the customers is we save money but the possible end result for the employees could be without a job.

Globalization is something we have to live with. There are positives and negatives that may come with it and we just have to face whatever hits us. Some people can view this differently but for me this is how I see things. I enjoy having Globalization because without it who knows the kind of person that I would be today.

My friends and I are like sisters. We hangout together, laugh together, cry together, and understand each other. Together we act as a family. Many times during our friendship we have had fights about whether who’s right or wrong including issues that are not even important to argue about. But when we fight I believe it makes our friendship stronger then before.

There are many kind of situations that can occur between close friends that strain their relationship. For example, my friends and I can fight about the dumbest problems. We disagree about what we should do at lunch hour or even what we should eat. I am pretty positive that our friendship is not the only one that struggles at times. Even my parents fight sometimes but I know that to a healthy relationship there has to be disputes. I definitely would not want to sit on the couch all day acting like a pig and having my husband say nothing to me or get mad at me. The relationship that we would have would be a boring and not a very exciting one. There would be no such thing as special days if all we did was agree with each other and not stand up for our own ground.

In recent English classes we have been studying about Julius Caesar. I noticed that the bond between Cassius and Brutus were very much like any other typical mans relationship today. They would have their fights, argue and get mad at each other but at the end of every day they would make up and were  friends again.  This relationship that they had reminded me a lot of my relationship between people.

A true friendship can survive anything that may come in its way. All the different difficulties that may encounter it can be defeated by a relationship with love, honesty, believing, and loyalty. Brutus was loyal from the beginning till the end. Cassius on the other hand was the opposite. Know one really knew whether he was telling the truth or lying. Many people found it hard to trust him because they did not know if he was going to keep it to himself or go around spreading rumors. In the end Cassius learns that lying through his life was a mistake and he should have been more stoic then epicurean through that matter.

Times may get hard through a relationship but I just keep telling myself that things will get better. That everything will turn out for the best. I know that I can trust my friends with most of my secrets and I hope that they feel the same way that I do. I feel that I am more stoic but there is a side of me that contains epicurean. I have lied before and I try not to. I just hope that I will soon realize that lying  is not the right way to go and if I do not recognize it soon I know that my friends will be there for me to steer me in the right direction.

  Alcohol commercials portray the idea of men getting drunk and getting with girls in tight clothes. Also alcohol commercials involve men lying to their wives to go drink. Alcohol commercials are showing on T.V and the commercials do not change the idea. Commercials involve boys and girls.

A commercial that caught my eye is called, the bud light swear jar. This commercial showed this group at work who started a swear jar so whenever they swear they have to put a quarter in. The money will be used for something at the office, like a case of bud light beer. The workers start swearing all the time just so that they can go buy a case of beer. This just shows you that people will swear whenever they have the chance so that they can get a case of beer and it looks not very professional swearing in public.

Another commercial that I noticed is a bud light roof commercial. It is where men are lying to their wives about fixing stuff up on their roofs while they actually go up there and drink. This is just shows that beer is so delicious, or addicting that they actually have to lie to their wives about what they are doing. I am sure that men use this method for when they do not want to let their wives know that their going to go drink. That they say their going go to there friends house to help him out with something but go there to have some drinks with him and some other friends.

A commercial that I also seen was a Crona beer commercial called somewhere you’d rather be. This commercial basically gave the message that if you drink this kind of beer, you could get woman like me. But technically in life if you drink a certain kind of beer, a woman will not magically appear and want to get busy with you. These commercials just want there customers to think that they will get woman so that they will buy their beer.

These type of alcohal commericals are funny. People look they are obsessive with beer that they have to lie to people, and actually swear so much so that you can get a case of beer or believe that woman will appear from nowhere because of a type of beer you drink. People need to sit back and think about how stupid these commercials are and how they are sterotyping males and females. Males are being seen as these tough guys who are rebels and then girls who let guys trick them and belive that they are little toys for boys. I know that I would not buy a certain beer because of what a commerical says, I would buy which beer that I like the taste of and I sure hope that people today do the same as I would do.

The book that I am reading right now is called New Moon. The author of this book is Stephenie Meyer. There are 4 books in the Twilight series and New Moon is the second book. Check out my comments when I get through more of this book.

In our world today there are boy and girl toys. There are commercials on televisions that are specifically made for each sex. An example would be like a commercial on barbies. I know that these barbie commercials are definitely meant for females because a barbie is not seen as a boy toy at all. They are classified as female toys. A boy commercial would be a hotwheel car commercial. Now that I am older I can see that all of these toy commercials are stupid. When I  was little I remember seeing cool new barbies on TV and wanting them and now thats the same for my little sisters. Now I sit back and ask them why they want these toys and their response is that they just want them because its the “new” toy. Commercials these days can persuade any kid into some toy. But a doll commercial would probably not convince boys but it would convince any girl. It would convince any girl because the minute their born their parents put it in their minds that barbies and pink clothes is what is for them.  Just like a star wars action figure would not convince girls but it would most definitely convince boys because they got it in their minds that cars and action figures is whats meant for them. Our society today is separating boys from girls. Boys play with boy toys and girls play with girl toys. If a boy or girl went and played with something that is considered not “their” toy then they would probably get teased about it. This is not right because any kid should be allowed to play or wear anything they like.

A commercial that I found that is most likely a female one is the Women’s World Cup Soccer Barbie Doll. I would not be surprised if a boy would not want this barbie. I would understand if they did not want it because this barbie commercial was meant for girls. Many little girls have played or play with barbies and that does not seem weird or girls do not get made fun of for playing with them. In fact, if a girl did not like playing with barbies then many people would think that she is different from the rest. This is not right at all because maybe some girls do not like playing with barbies and would rather play with toy cars. Today in our society girls get judged for what they play with. All girls are expected to like barbies, dolls, cooking, helping mom inside the house. But I am sure that there are some girls out there who do not like barbies, dolls, cooking, or staying inside. My little sister Sydney was a lot like this when she was younger. When I was a little girl I adored all of my barbies and dolls. I played with them everyday. But, I also was on the boys hockey team and starting practicing judo. Either of these sports were not seen as female sports. Hockey started in 1875 and was considered a male sport until 1890 when the first female was seen using a puck and stick. Just like ballet is considered a female sport when actually a lot of men participate in it as well. This just shows that stereotyping has become so crazy that it seems and looks weird when you see either sex playing or doing something that is not considered for them.

In any hot wheel commercial it always shows boys as being the actors in it. Usually a young girl never plays the part with plastic cars. Some girls do play with them but they never show them playing with cars in advertisements because it is not the “right” toy for them to be playing with. It is considered a male toy not a female toy. I do not think that this is right in any way because kids should be allowed to play with any type of toy without being judged and bugged about. I noticed that many boy commercials are involved in showing toys that something that a young boy could never be in his life. An example would be like this transformers commercial. In this commercial it shows transformers saving the world. These little boys who play with these kind of toys get the idea of wanting to become a transformer. But in reality this is pretty impossible. Unless in a couple years there are transformer outfits that make you look, act and save the world like a real transformer. This creates boys to be rough, tough and make them believe that they can conquer anything. 

I bet that if aliens seen some of our commercials that are shown on T.V, that they would think we are messed up people who play with babies that have boy privates on them. If I were an alien I would think that humans have problems. Aliens would think that everyone human has one of these babies but I definitly would not. I do not think that it is fair that some people judge others and think that everyone buys the same thing.

People should quit making commercials that are pointless because if people moves to Canada or somewhere they also will think that our commercials are odd. Either way I think that commercials do affect my life. They make me think that I need products that I really do not need. They make us think the girls need to play with dolls and such but honestly girls should be able to play with whatever kind of toys they want to play with. The same with boys as well.

From the article that I have read the two statements that I have chosen are,” to an outsider this preoccupation may seem pointless,” and “these religious practices greatly reassure the people, and if they choose to live this way, we should not question it.”

My first sentence is, ” to an outsider this preoccupation may seem pointless.” This statement represents cultural superiority because the reason they may think this preoccupation is pointless is cause they do not have any respect for what other cultures do. They honestly only care of their own culture and ways. That no other cultures are more superior to theirs.

My second sentence is,” these religious practices greatly reassure the people, and if they choose to live this way, we should not question it. ” This statement represents cultural relativism because there is no right or wrong way to live. There are no cultures that are better then any other cultures.

Has globalization of media and the increased prevalence of communication technology greatly bettered society?  Many people in North America believe so, although others in countries that are highly exposed may feel the media is showing a biased view of their society.  With global media and communication technology it is possible to view and learn both sides of many stories and if used to its full extent can greatly better society.  Society has been made aware of many issues around the world, especially those of third world countries, like poverty and hunger.  Cultures have also made global media news through events such as the Beijing Olympics.  Through resources like the internet information can be updated by the minute, to the entire world, about important issues such as the pros and cons of new vaccines.  Society has been bettered and has bettered by the way of media and communication technology.

A very obvious issue in the world is poverty in third world countries, such as Ethiopia and Madagascar.  Poverty in these places has been brought to our attention by the globalization of media, through television advertisements like World Vision.  This has affected our identity by potentially changing opinions people once had about a country and convincing them to kindly donate to a cause they may not have been aware of.  This betters our society by helping to create a less selfish population and also betters the country of those that have been helped by our donations.  There are many selfless societies in the world, and through the media and communication technology we are more aware of these cultures.

Assimilation is overpowering multiculturalism in many countries, which is why it is so important to be able to learn about other cultures.  This is made very accessible through television, as there are many channels dedicated to specific cultures, such as APTN in Canada for aboriginals. Another example was the Olympics in Beijing, it was a great opportunity for China to present their culture to the world.  Many people who possibly would not have ever learned anything about Chinese culture watched the Beijing opening ceremony.  This showcased many ancient traditions and arts, such as the fou, one of the oldest Chinese percussion instruments.  Learning about other cultures strengthens our identity as it creates a larger knowledge of other cultures and at the same time can help us focus on our own culture and traditions.  This information would not be available without the easy access to global media and communication technology.

Easy access to information has positively impacted society because it allows people to quickly research topics of interest or concern, this is a huge advance considering the times of libraries.  A very important issue in the world today is the H1N1 flu, there is mixed information in the news and online so this can be very confusing for people.  With communication technology people can go on the internet to such things as blogs or sites dedicated to the topic.  The hope is that people can go through all the information out there and make decisions based on the most appropriate and true facts they can find.  This has bettered society by allowing people to access information quickly and when they need it.  Identity is affected by access to information because it allows people to base their opinions on many different true facts and not just one fact they saw on one local television station.

Global media and communication technology are an important part of our society, much of what we think, hear and say are based on information we have gathered from these sources.  Society has been bettered in many ways due to this, we are a more selfless nation, we understand and appreciate other cultures and we are able to form our own opinions on topics.  These are all possible because of the access to a wide variety of information from the globalization of media and the increased prevalence of communication technology.

I have recently been reading the fifth book called, Wicked. Its from the series, Pretty Little Liars. There are 6 books in the entire series. The author is Sara Shepard. Come check out my comments later on when I get through more of this book.
STJ School Forum : Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion : Wicked
STJ School Forum

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
In the last chapters that I read, Spencer got a text from A and it told her to go outside by the red barn and that there is a clue to who "A" is. So, Spencer went outside without telling anyone where she went. Hannah told everyone that Kate has herpes. Then later that evening Kate went and told her dad what Hannah had done and  her father grounded her from seeing or hanging out with any of her friends, and that she has to do everything and go everywhere with Kate. Aria never wants to see Xavier again because of what happened between the two of them. Xavier told Aria that he thinks that she likes him because of all the hints she has been giving him except she does not know what kind of hints that she has gave. Later on the three girls receive a message from A telling them to go look outside because it might be the last time you see Spencer. The three of them race outside to go find Spencer when they finally see Spencer staring at Ian's dead, stiff body lying helplessly on the ground. I can not wait to see what happens in the sixth book. I am sure that it will be as thrilling as this book was.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
At Ians trial everyone was waiting for him to show up. They waited, and waited until Ian's dad walked through the doors and told everyone that Ian was gone. He escaped from his house and was nowhere to be found. So he is on the loose. Kate recently wanted to make up with Hannah and start all over again and Hannah agreed. Then she received a text message from A and it said, "She is not what she seems. Ruin her before she ruins you." Spencer Hastings believes that she was adopted. Aria and her moms boyfriend, Xavier, accidently kissed each other and then right after Aria got a text from A saying she seen the two of them and if Aria told anyone about A that she would tell Arias mom about the kiss. Emily told her new boyfriend, Isaac, that she dated Maya, her ex-grilfriend. But Isaac did not care and said he accepts her for whoever she is. After that they kissed in front of everyone showing them that Emily is not a lesbian.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
From the previous chapters that I have read the girls have been getting no text messages from A. Then all of a sudden the four of them all got the same message from A. Telling them that they think they have gotten away with it but they have not so they better watch their backs. Spencer and the other girls think that it is Ian sending them these messages. No one knows for sure though.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
Spencer thinks that it was Ian who was out in the woods with Ali that night. She accused him for murder and he got sent to jail that day. Spencer thinks that she and her ex-bestfriends are safe now for good. But are they really? I hope to find out soon

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
In the next couple of chapters it talked about Emily. Emily has been through alot lately about her problems with liking girls rather then boys. She gets made fun of, people act around her weird, and no one treats her like they used too. She has finally gotten over the fact that people are going to have to just deal about it that she is a lesbian. Then one day when she goes out to a act gallery she meets this boy Erik. They started connecting so quick and Emily was having feelings that she usually only gets when she is around girls. Later that evening, before she leaves he asks her out on a date. She says yes to him only cause it is the nice thing to do. Right now she is just thinking of this "date" as just two friends going out to hang. I wonder if that thought is going to change?

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
Aria was the next girl they talked about. Now in the fourth book, Unbelievable, Aria had seen her father doing something bad and just kept it to herself. Now in Wicked her and her mother got into a major fight. The reason the girls got into this big fight was because that Aria never told a secret that she knew about her father. The reason she never told her mom was because this secret was so huge that it could ruin her mother and fathers relationship. Well, of course A knew the secret and she did not have a problem with telling her mom about it. That night after her mom recieved a messsage on her phone about the big secret she went up to Aria and asked her why she did not tell her that her father cheated on her. She was so mad and hurt that Aria never ever said one thing to her. After that she kicked Aria out of the hosue and told her to find somewhere else to live until she cooled down about this situation.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
The next couple of chapters were about Hannah. Hannha's dad and family moved in with her in Rosewood. Her mom left and moved away because of a job offering. In the last book Hannah and her step-sister, Kate, did not get along very well. They did not agree to anything and were always stabbing eachother in the back. So hopefully in these next couple of chapters the two girls get along and start acting like sisters.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-11-05
The first couple chapters about Spencer is that she finally remembers a memory where on the night of Ali's disappearance. Spencer had fought with Ali, and Ali went running out of Spencer's barn. Spencer chased after her, and the two had an argument. The argument got so bad that Spencer pushed Ali, and recalled her head cracking against a rock. But she also had got a flashback that Ali went running off into the woods with someone else after the night she got pushed.

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, smccormack, 2009-11-04
Who is the author of this book?

Wicked in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, apoliakiwski, 2009-10-23
The book I have recently been reading is called Wicked. It is a story about the lives of four girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison. Three years later, they begin receiving text messages from someone using the name “A”who threatens to expose there secrets. I really enjoyed reading the other four books of the series and I am excited to start the fifth. I definitely recommend reading these books. You won't be disappointed.