Movie Review and Commentary: Cyberbully

There are many things about the internet that we are unaware and far beyond that the words that are posted on here are seen by a multitude of people and are permanent. They essentially never go away. From websites like myspace to facebook, and 4chan to forums, people feel like they can say things which are actually incredibly hurtful to others.

The problem with cyber bullying is that people don't see the consequences nor do they see what they are doing to other people. Much like the traditional bullying it feeds off of other peoples pain, and in most cases the bully is attempting to forget past pains and to raise themselves up to a different level, or a better level than they were before.

Cyberbully creates an image of what this problem can due to teenagers these days. There is much reliance on technology to communicate and when the digital world is used to pick on others it is impossible to get rid of. In the movie the main character sets up an account on a popular social network. After her brother hacks the account she begins to be ridiculed by her classmates along with her own friend who creates a false account to spread rumors that aren't true, only fueling the fire. While it can be argued that this is merely a movie and much of it would never happen in real life, the fact is that this is a real issue and most people do not recognize it. At the end of the movie he provided this statement:

Thanks to help of people like Tina Meier and the Megan Meier Foundation, 34 states now have anti-cyberbullying laws in place.

 If there needs to be a law put into place concerning harassment of minors on the internet how much more harm are we doing to those around us in our day to day interactions. In a blog entry posted in 2011 the complications of how we treat others was exemplified by its other. It was titled: I'm Christian Unless Your Gay. It does target Christianity as a religion for its hypocrisy in rejecting people who are different or people who don't live the same lifestyle. It is a call, however, that extends far beyond Christianity and to everyone, Jewish, athiest, pagan, or Christian. We are all humans, we all deserve to be treated as humans. Yes people have problems in their lives, people follow certain beliefs and hold certain desires and dreams. Is it our job to judge them because of this? No.

The author of the blog posts in the article:

You see, I live in this community too. And I’ve heard the hate. I’ve heard the disgust. I’ve heard the disdain. I’ve heard the gossip. I’ve heard the distrust. I’ve heard the anger. I’ve heard it all, and I’ve heard it tucked and disguised neatly beneath a wrapper of self-righteousness and a blanket of “caring” or “religious” words. I’ve heard it more times than I care to number. (Danoah.com, I'm Christian Unless You're Gay)

 This isn't about the hypocrisy of religion or attacking groups of people for their biased perspective on issues. Its about loving unconditionally, accepting people for who they are, and building each other up rather than tearing one another down. This is what has put in me the desire to help those that most of society see as sub-human. Next time you think about someone, trying to find something positive about them and see them as a human. Even if you're just posting it on some forum and you're 'completely anonymous'.

Japanese Whaling: Is it legal?

In the past whales were a valuable commdity providing fuel for lamps from their fat deposits and a rich source of for some of those who got the giant mammal of the sea. The sperm whale, in particular, was hunted by northern coast line cities for the sperm oil that it produced which burned longer that other types of oil. It also provided a variety of uses for other products such as crayons, cosmetics, candles, lubricants, leather waterproofing and etc. The issue as of recently as that some species of whale, such as the sperm whale, have been placed on the endangered species list due to the over hunting of these particular animals.

In the pacific and more frigid areas it has been put into effect an international moratorium on the hunting of whales. The enforcement of such a law becomes difficult and the market for whale products has not diminished. Many have been able to get around this law with specific reasons for hunting

An international moratorium on whaling has been in place since 1986, but Japan exploits a loophole allowing whaling for scientific purposes to justify its annual hunt.

The number that they hunt and the season in which they hunt for these whales does not demonstrate a goal of scientific research. If it were research the numbers hunted would be greatly reduced and there would be extensive measures taken to not kill the whales in the process. In addition to this, according to Japan times there was a specific amount of money allocated to rebuilding the earthquake that devastated many cities throughout Japan along with the disaster with the nuclear power plant. An editorial stated that:

This year, the Japanese government allowed ¥2.28 billion from funds allocated for recovery from the earthquake and tsunami to be spent on the whaling expedition in hopes of helping the Tohoku economy, where some of the ships are based. That may not be much out of the ¥12 trillion allocated for recovery, but this whaling subsidy provides little benefit to coastal communities and stymies efforts to reconstruct genuinely sustainable industries. That money could have been used for many other purposes.

While this is an editorial and not an official article nor anything which contains research on these claims it does give a surprising and slightly disturbing perspective into this conflict. Conservationalists and the hunters need a way to communicate the dangers of overhunting whales and the impact it would have on the ecosystems in those areas. Finding a sustainable method of hunting whales would not remove this industry and thus take out a profitable market but would quite possibly reduce the number of black market trades of the catch of whale hunts.

Articles:

Anti-Whaling Activists Clash with Japanese Harpoon Ship

Wars Over Whaling

A Market Proposal for Saving Whales

Are truck and Semi Laws in the US good enough?

On Monday January 16th, 2012 there was a BMW rear-ended in on a SoCal bridge north of Santa Barbara, California. The accident was recreated on the news, proposing that the truck had hit the car from behind afterwards the truck had veered off the road and plunged into the ravine below. The driver was killed after it had burst into flames. The BMW, however, was left to sit precariously on the edge of the bridge after breaking through part of the concrete barrier. The three individuals in the car, a mother and her two kids, were eventually rescued from the vehicle from a combination of rescue workers and passerbys with the equipment that was needed.

From 1997 to 2000, I lived in Tervuren, Belgium due to my father's opportunity to work overseas and much of the laws (many of them my mother has told me about the after the fact). These include seat belt laws, semi-trailer truck laws, and driving and drinking laws. The seat belt laws are much more ridgid then many of the laws in the states. At the same time it is one of the laws that becomes difficult to enforce, except when stopping a person for another law.

It's compulsory to wear a seat belt (ceinture de sécurité/autogordel), including in the back seats if belts are fitted. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure all passengers wear their belts (and the driver will be fined if passengers are not belted in).

There were also certain 'etiquette laws' , particularly involving semis. My mother has told me that in Europe semis included: not pass cars (sedans, vans, etc), drive on the left (like all traffic there), and general courtesy to the other drivers of the road. Other laws included that passing on the right is illegal (meaning switching lanes with the purpose of passing a car) and only moving into the left lane when passing another car, or in the case of semi-trailer trucks another semi. In addition this many of the drunk driving laws in Europe have zero tolerance along with steep fines. Along with that the limit is much lower than other countries in the area (such as the UK (including Scotland, England, and Wales). Consequences for going over the limit can include a 5 year licence suspension and six months in jail along with the large fines. The question that I've found most disconcerting for in the United States drunk driving laws, is why are there individuals who have more than one DWI or DUI and what can we do to increase the laws against drunk driving?

Questions:
Are current traffic laws protecting people from fatal accidents?
How much does distracted driving impair our ability to drive safely (including but not limited to drink holders, talking on the phone, passenger interaction, etc.)?
Are the laws against drunk driving serious enough?
Should semi-trailer truck laws be reassessed?
Are there any laws which protect the semi-trailer truck drivers?
How much is the commercial industry pressuring semi-truck trailer drivers to take on unreasonably long hauls without proper rest?

Resources: Driving in Belgium, Driving in Europe, Road Rules and Driving in Belgium, Driving Laws in Belgium, SADD Statistics, MADD Statistics, Drunk Driving Accident Statistics, Drunk Driving Fatalities