Junoir Theme

As Spring Break is sadly coming to a close our class is finally starting Junior Theme. I know that I want to base my topic off the book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man but I don't know how to narrow that down. I think I'm going to do something about corporations and how they are corrupt. I talked to Mr. Bolos and he suggested to forcus on places such as the United Fruit Company or the World Bank. But the problem with that is that I want to talk about the United State's role in all of this. It's kinda sneaky how they cheat countries out of billions of dollars without directly doing anything at all. If you look at previous blog you'll be able to kinda see what I'm talking about.

Economic What?

I've just finished reading John Perkin's book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and to tell you the truth I'm a little disturbed.

The book "is not fiction. It is the true story of my [Perkin's] life" (xii). Perkins tell the story of his as an economic consultant and what he calls himself as an "economic hit man"

But what exactly is that?

In his own words:

"Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars [...] Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as Empire but one that has taken on terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization" (xi).

To sum that up EHMs go to undeveloped countries and get their political and financial leaders to accept huge loans from the United States in order to aid their countries by developing infrastructure such as power plants or roads. However, the loans are so big that the countries are never able to pay them back and instead have to offer the US a form of payment that includes control over United Nations votes, installing military bases, or access to resources like oil.

This small detail of an EHM's job reminded me of some of our class' Reconstruction ideas today. As a way to help the South, the North would give them money so that they could, like what our country is doing today, build infrastructure that was needed. As a way of payment, the South would give the North cotton, tobacco, and whatever else they might have been able to give.

While this seems like a good plan, the results are usually not what they seem. In most countries "Economic Hit Men" invade poverty levels shoot up as well as unemployment and public debt. At the same time, the countries national resources that were available to the people decrease leaving them with very little to survive on.

After looking at this, would that Reconstruction have worked? Would the South fall into great deficits? Could that have been another incentive to rebel? These are all questions that can never be answered but it's a different perspective that even though a plan might seem really good, when acted out the results may exceed all your previous expectations.

If you want to learn more about Confessions of an Economic Hit Man or about John Perkins visit http://www.johnperkins.org/

Clothes and Slavery

One of my favorite blogs (outside of our AIS class) is facehunter. If you want to see what it is here's the link.

Basically, facehunter is "a man out and about in london and beyond: eye candy for the style hungry" As sketchy as that sounds, the blog is really cool and you get to see outfits and crazy fashions that practically no one in the United States would ever think of wearing. I'm pretty sure Tyra Banks would classify the clothes as "High Fashion" but when you look closely, most of the clothes are stuff that you or I would have in our closets, however, its the way these people put them together is what makes them unique.

So this is my question:

Is the way we dress a form of expressing what we really feel? Can we really read a person by what they wear?

In my opinion, it's like judging a book by it's cover. It is almost like seeing a person with a tee-shirt for a dress and saying "Wow. They must own no pants. They probably don't have a very good job" What?! How can you make an assumption like that based on a tee-shirt? Unfortunately this happens quite often and I know that I too have been guilty of judging a person by what they are wearing. The interesting connection between this and what our class has been learning is that this is exactly how Blacks were viewed pre and post Civil War America. People only looked at a person's skin and automatically made assumptions about them based on a tiny little factor. We shouldn't worry about a person's skin the same way we shouldn't worry about what a person is wearing. The goal is for everyone one of us to look past a person's exterior and see what they are really like. You might be surprised.

Idle hands...the Devils Workshop?

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop"

Although we discussed this a few weeks ago in class, I recently came across an article in the New York Time's Sports Magazine that brought up the very idea. Although it was encrypted in the article it was there nevertheless. But back to the article.

Basically, the story is about two sisters who are becoming the "Venus and Serena" of golf. The girls, Ginger, 13, and Robbi, 12, are making their mark in the world of amateur golf. However, maintaining that status takes a lot of time and effort.

The girls are home-schooled by their mother and follow a strict four-hour-a-day study period. Now, this didn't seem that important until I read why their mom likes keeping the girls at home (besides having more time to play golf):

"I appreciate that they don't have much socialization now. What they were getting in school was not that good. Parents give their kids too much freedom today. We don't allow much freedom. Their friendships are monitored."

Woah. What? How can you monitor friendships? Isn't the point of growing up branching out and seeing the world for yourself?

Now just to be clear I'm not saying that home-schooling is bad or that it is the wrong way to raise a child. In fact, I believe that every parent is entitled to raise their children the way they want to. But at 12 and 13 I personally think that giving kids some freedoms will allow them to mature in way that parents could never teach on their own.

Another quote, again coming from the mom, that stood out was "My girls are their true age. They're virtuous girls"

I know that we have had discussions in class that have evolved around kids and their ages but thats not what stood out. In my mind I was wondering "What in the world does virtuous mean?" Heres what dictionary.com says:

Virtuous:

-adjective

1. conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright

2. chaste

Basically it means her children are pure, morally correct human beings.

Personally, I don't think that I have ever met someone completely virtuous. And to call a 12 or 13 year old either means that parents hold their kids on a very tight leash or that moms don't see everything their kids do. I personally don't think it is possible to be morally excellent when you spend everyday of your life with your sister who is a year apart from you. For me, there would be no way.
But between chores, 4 hour long study periods, 7 hour long golf games, weight lifting/body work, and the countless hours spent in the car, there is not a lot of room for free time. At the moment these girls seem to be excelling with their schedule. But my question is not the present but in the future, when they are in their teens and their priorities begin to change. Could this hectic schedule actually be the "devil's workshop"?

I guess we'll find out.

If you want to read the article you can find it at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/sports/playmagazine/02play-daddy.html