Laramie

Laramie, Wyoming is located in Southern Wyoming, about 2 hours from Denver and an hour from the state capital of Cheyenne.  Laramie is also the location of University of Wyoming, home of 14,000 students. Visiting from California was defiantly a culture shock.  I am looking at attending college at the university and really enjoyed the university.  It was a small town feel, built around University of Wyoming.  It is amazing what an university can do for a community, bringing in people and revenue.  The small town feel had lots of shops and dining to check out, and a country feel.  If you are looking for a big city with lots of people and clubs and big concerts this is not the place.  The campus was beautiful with lots of renovations and new constructions.  Wyoming is the only 4 year public university in the entire state, thus they get all the state funds for the university.  The university is also a division 1 sports school, who competes in the Mountain West Conference vs schools like San Diego State, Boise State and University of Nevada Reno.  All in all this was a lovely place that I think would be a cool place to attend college.  

Justification for Complete Association

These past few weeks, there have been a number of terrorist attacks across the world.  There's been numerous deaths involved because of the attacks, and ISIS has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.  But all that a lot of people focus on when they hear about Isis is Muslims.  People point fingers at Muslims, claiming they are responsible for ISIS and all of the attacks committed by ISIS.  But when the KKK do something frowned upon, why don't all white people get blamed for the actions committed by the KKK?  It also seems to be that it's always white people pointing fingers at Muslims.  I understand that people want to blame Muslims for ISIS and everything that occurs under ISIS, but I don't think it's right to do so.  In situations like these, it's easy to find a scapegoat (Muslims) and claim they are responsible for everything.  People think that if they could isolate Muslims like Hitler did with the Jews, they could stop ISIS.  But as long as people always isolate and point fingers at Muslims, terrorist organizations such as ISIS will always exist.  In my opinion, I don't think there is true justification for completely associating a whole race or religious group with a terrorist group because that terrorist group represents a miniscule percent of that race or religion.

3 yr old decapitated

Yesterday morning, the first thing my mom told me was about a 4 year old boy who got his head cut off. It turns out, it was actually a 3 year old girl or so the News have been reporting. My mom told me that the mom and the child was just out of the subway going to visit the little girl's grandfather when the mom felt like her kid was yanked from her. Then the man pinned the little girl down and began to chopped off her head. Right now, I think the story is still varying. Some of the news are reporting that the little girl was on her bicycle and the mom thought the man was going to help her child.

I was shocked and disgusted, yet at the same time, I wasn't surprised. There are a lot of crimes that happens in Taiwan, and most of the time it happens, all the public say is psychopath. It's almost as if every time these things happen, it's almost always end up with the psychologist or psychiatrist diagnosing the perpetrator as psychopath.  This then cause the parents to be even more paranoid than ever.

I think there are underlying issues that are causing people like these to commit crimes. I don't think it does justice to the family to just called the perpetrator as psychopath and move on. There must be a reason why there are so many cases where the ex-boyfriend murders his ex-girlfriend soon after she breaks up with him. Personally, I think it's due to different reasons such as education, family tension & expectations, societal norms, and the competitiveness set up by the culture itself.

Most of us cannot sit through seven periods of class. In Taiwan, school last about 9.5 hours; from 7:30 am to 5pm. When I was in first grade, school lasted from 7:15 am to around 4:30 pm, not counting after school activity and supplementary class that last up to 10 pm. Supplementary class is part of the culture and almost all of the students go to one; Imagine doing SAT or ACT prep starting from 1st grade or even younger. There are always family tension and high expectations being put on you. Parents love to compare their kids to one another there, because to them and traditional Chinese beliefs, you (as their kid) are a reflection of them (your parents).

Many Taiwanese are "zhong nan qing nu" which means pro-male. Females are expected to be an obedient housewife and should never speak out against her husband or bring anything that will tarnish her husband's reputation. If you are a female and you are dating a guy, you are not supposed to speak out too much against him or else his friends will make fun of him and then he'll take his anger out on you. Of course, this doesn't happen all the time, but it is what commonly happens. As a girl, you have so much yet so little power at the same time.

Relating to cases like these, I think the guys who usually commit these crimes (killing-spree, murdering ex's or even parents) do this because they have finally cracked. After years of being wear down by the education and having their parents constantly telling them that they are not good enough or that their effort is not good enough. It can cause a lot of hate and bitterness. Not to mention, mental illness and therapy is not socially and culturally acceptable there. Without seeking help for these inner thoughts, conflict, and problems, it is not a surprise to me that these things occur.

What do you guys think? Do you think that our environment play a big role as to why these crimes occur?

Lack of Internet

What would happen to the world if all of a sudden the Internet was gone? Ofc this question is very frightening but pretty much an impossibility. However it does bring up another question. What has the internet done to society? I am working on my senior project with the topic revolving around these sorts of questions. Society as a whole as well as individuals have relied so much on the internet to do the tiniest of things in our lives. We've grown dependent. Have you tried to imagine a life only 30-40 years ago? How did people back then do anything? It's hard to imagine isn't it. Our dependence for the internet is worrying. It brings about so many different and new problems to the table. Security vs privacy, internet addiction, and so on. This is why for my hands on I tried to pass a few days Internet free. The rules were to not have any internet for the entire duration as well as no texting, however calling was ok. During the time I thought that I could handle a few days easy. However right on the first day I felt handicapped. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to do my homework. I didn't know how learn a recipe if I wanted too. I didn't know what was going on with my friends and outside my front door. And worse of all I was bored to hell. My entertainment was gone. I had to call my friends to see if they were available and it was hard to coordinate just to go out with all of them as you can't have a group chat. At nights I was just so bored with myself. However after the first 2-3 days I started to realize that it wasn't so bad. I still had TV to watch the news or newspapers to catch up on worldly events. I could go for a walk outside or go to the pool or go with my friends as it was much easier to call them now that I got back to the hang of it. At nights I'd spend time with my family and at dinner. I felt alot less discomfort and anxiety always having to be in front of a screen to see the new trend or the new anything. Life just seemed alot simpler and easier as well as less stressful. However of course I couldn't keep this up forever and eventually had to use the internet again afterwards since its such an important aspect of our lives

Burundian Genocide?

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanada is being accused by the Burundi's ruling party of seeking to export genocide to the Burundians. Pierre Nyabenda, President of Burundi's ruling party, claimed that some European government had supply arms and funds to the Rwandan leader. He said, "he was responsible for recruiting and training young Burundians in refugee camps in Rwanda, so that they can return home to commit acts of genocide."

In a statement released, it was said that Mr. Kagame had previous experimented with genocide, meaning the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "The genocide laboratory is in Rwanda because President Kagame, having experimented there, (wants) to export it to Burundi (to) play with a minor imperialist."

I wonder if Rwandan President Paul Kagame is actually planning a genocide to the Burundians. Why would he want another genocide around the area if he knows how horrific it went to the Tutsis? I'm hope there's no more genocides in the world.

1st Picture: Paul Kagame
2nd Picture: Pierre Nkurunziza
Link to article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/burundi/12205511/Burundi-accuses-Rwanda-of-trying-to-export-genocide.html

"Them" in Sports

The videos we have watched about the Rwandan genocide and the other videos we've watched about genocide have talked about the importance of establishing a "them," or a distinct out-group. This creation of a group that is separate and different allows for individuals to not see the humanity in a certain group of people. This concept also comes along in sports, but, with lesser consequences. When I'm engaged in a volleyball match, my team mates, my coaches, and our fans motivate us to defeat the other team. This motivation is fueled by the separation of the two teams (or groups) even though the players are all just students. As the match goes on, my supporters push me to believe that I am superior to the other team and that it is our place and right to establish superiority. My supporters make me feel as though I am a better human even though we are all just students representing our schools. While playing, I have no hesitation for what my actions could do to the other teams players (no immediate guilt if I sprain an ankle or something). On numerous occasions, my teammates have physically injured the other teams players. These injuries were only reveled and encouraged by teammates. Sports create a mentality of separation that allows players to play with without hesitation. In my own personal experience, this feeling is followed by a realization of what had just happened. It felt as though what that one Rwandan prisoner had said, that "a cloud had set on the people," had occurred. While we were engaged in the sport we were unconcerned with the well being of the other players, but, once the game is over, a sense of remorse overcomes us. It's nice to win, but, realizing how poorly we thought of and treated people of equal worth dampers the mood set the the victory.

Brussels Attack

On Tuesday (there), the airport and the subway station in Brussels, Belgium was attacked. Three explosions went off and took at least 34 lives and wounded 170 more. Right now, the Belgian authorities think the possible suspects are the three men pushing the luggage carts. Also, although it is no official claim of responsibility yet, there are many ISIS supporters that celebrated the attacks on social media.

I think it's tragic what's happening. The Paris Attack was just a few months ago, and now this happens in Belgium. Right now, I think we're really fortunate that we're not experiencing this. Tension is slowly building up in Europe, and it's only a matter of time before things began to get worse and worse.

In Germany, a refugee shelter intended to be used as a shelter for the incoming refugees was torched. There are violent protests where adults, children, and neo-nazi are joining the demonstration.

http://www.bloomberg.com/api/embed/iframe?id=ULEMVoFdTAWQaiokwIYq5g 

The Refugee crisis happening now reminded me of the universal of obligation. Of course there are many people out there who support bringing in more refugee, but there are also a lot of those who strongly opposed of it. I can't say what the thinking is behind it, but I think that for some, it's because they want to make sure that they are safe. They are fearful that among the refugee are the terrorist or that the refugee will bring terrorist into their country. Although I get where they are coming from, I think this is where history tend to repeat itself.

When the Jews left to seek refuge in America, they were turned away. When the Tutsi beg the UN peacemakers to stay, they were ignored. I think it's during time of crisis that we need to act. If we do not act and help protect one another, it only shows to the other side how weak and how susceptible we are to terror and how shakey alliances are. We shouldn't just turn a blind eye and let horrible things happen, and then say "Never Again" when we, time after time, do little to nothing at all.

Read more here:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/22/europe/brussels-explosions/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11822816/German-refugee-shelter-torched-in-anti-immigrant-attack.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-23/refugee-flow-adds-to-balkan-tensions-as-leaders-seek-solutions

Purpose of learning about history

What is the purpose of learning about the past in school? I hear people always saying its better to leave the past behind...but that's not what we are being taught at all. We are bringing up the past everyday in school, but for what reason? "So we can learn from it and not have the horrible things happen again." But what if some people get inspired by those horrible things and want to attempt it? There's so much that we are capable of that we didn't know, and learning of what people have done in the past may give some ideas. Although that may probably be a small number of people who would think that way, it could still be dangerous. I think, like most things, there are benefits and risks to having knowledge of what has made history. I think Global teaches us a valuable lesson about history. Unlike history classes I've been in, we are learning WHY people do certain things, and how things unravel from start to finish.

The Legal Power of Declaring "Genocide"

Based on what we are learning (and will learn about the Rwandan Genocide) this article seems quite timely...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/opinions/isis-committed-genocide-what-next/index.html

Check it out.

Genocide In America!

We are talking about Genocides in other countries, but can we take note that in our own country we have seen factors of Genocide acts?

We saw the the Ku Klux Klan took place 1865. They were a group of white supremacy who belived that those who weren't white where to die. They believed in the saying, "One Hundred Percent Americanism" Americanism=Germenisng. Sounds similar right. The kkk killed about 4,000 african americans. Why is it that I haven't heard anything about the KKK being a genocide in America? They did target, killed, and tortured african americans. Does that not fall under the the UN definition of Genocide. On the UN definition it states the following...

General Assembly Resolution 260A (III) Article 2

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

So if the highlighted parts from above can connect to the KKK, then why  have I not heard that the KKK was  an of genocide. Even though acts were not taken at that point, why can't it be acknowledged that it occurred in America? Is america too ashamed to admit that they had this in their own country instead of focusing in other countries genocides.   The KKK were just like the Nazis, they started off as a small group and they grew supporters due to desperate needs to find a solution to their issues. The organization grew, and took full control. So what of happened if the kkk wasn't stopped? would it been the same as Germany creating massive killing.

Correct me if I'm wrong but but that is what I believe.

ARE AMERICANS TOO AFRAID TO ADMIT THAT THEY HAD A GENOCIDE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY?

Is it worth the cost?

One of the thing that really strike me was how most of the nations are reluctant to help out when human casualties appear. Belgium wanted to pull out its UN peacekeeping troops after some of the soldiers were brutally killed. United States doesn't seem to want to help with the problem in Rwanda because they're afraid that it might turn into another Somalia. I understand that the policy makers, especially the politicians, are also looking out for themselves. They don't want the public to be mad at them, after all, they want to be re-elected.

So instead of questioning why the politicians why they're not doing anything, shouldn't be asking why we allow it to happen? A part of me thinks that it is a bit weird that soldiers are sent out to carry out missions and in most cases, fight, but if it's reported that many are dying, we must bring them back. I understand where these families are coming from, since some of my family members have served in the military before. It's frightening and scary to think that you might never see them again. But like that one soldiers they interviewed in that clip about Somalia, they were soldiers, they had to be ready to face death at any given time.

Overall, I just don't seem to understand why. It is sad that sometimes when we sent troops in to help relieve an conflict, there will be some deaths. That's undeniable. But should the death of these men be the reason why we turn a blind eye?

The Paradigm between Trump and Fascism

With the surge of Donald Trump's popularity, it is interesting to look at the comparison of Donald Trump's own policies and sayings, and that of fascism. Even though, it is hard to characterize a single person based on their own beliefs, and I am in no way saying that Trump is absolutely a fascist, it can be seen that Trump has certain fascist tendencies. The sad part of this whole charade, is that, Trump is feeding into the hearts and minds, of the bigoted populus of American denizens. We have seen upsets like this before, if it was Golden Dawn in Greece, the National Party in Britain, the National Front in France, The National Fascist Party in Italy (created by Benito Mussolini), or simply the National Socialist German Worker's Party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, all have exuded a sense of hyper-nationalism, as well a strong sense of military unity, and xenophobic proclivities. From there, we can only surmise that Trump, exudes some if not all of these dispositions, pointing to the fact that we can, at the very least, mildly associate him with the building blocks of fascism. Not only these tenants however, point to the aspects of fascism, as Trump also emits a cult of personality onto the American public, glorifying his business initiative, his character, and overall his "competency" as a leader of the "free" world. Not to mention, his slogan which encompasses the idea that he will transform America to what it once was, an interesting stance similar to that of Mussolini, who wanted to bring Italy back to its roots of the Roman Empire. All in all, it is easy to see the similarities (and little differences), to Trump's own policies and fascism, which makes me frightened for the future of the American public, as he is indeed the leading GOP candidate. It seems as if, the fulcrum has shifted, as American no longer focuses on unity through result, but unity through fear.

Violent Candidate

Following the Trump rallies, videos have been gathered of Donald Trump promoting violence against protesters at his rallies. The GOP front runner has suggested that he enjoys watching his supporters brawl with protesters and said he would support them in court cases. His exact words when kicking a protester out were, "try not to hurt him, if you do I'll defend you in court." He has stated he is tired of the "political correctness" when it comes to handling protests at rallies and has taken his own route with handling them. But is he bringing out the racist and violence in people? OF COURSE. It is seen in his rallies; his supporters yell derogatory names, spit, and throw punches at protesters. The worst part is, in most instances, those who are detained are those who protested. Even the staff hired to secure the events commit the assaults against protesters as well. How could American's not see the dangerous nature in this man with all of the examples of evil leaders in the history of the world? It shows that the education system where his supporters are from have been failing to actually EDUCATE.

An interesting story...think of the history the man has seen!

Check it out!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/11/middleeast/worlds-oldest-man-guinness/index.html

Free Andrea Yates??

It has been years since the Andrea Yates case. She has spent at least 17 years in a mental institution after drowning her five children due to her mental illness. In the mental institution she was treated for her postpartum psychosis and had allegedly gotten 'better' under the right medication and treatment. She now is diagnosed with bipolar disorder which is being managed through medication. There is a debate going on whether Andrea Yates should be released from the mental institution or should remain there. Personally, I don't think she should be released from the mental institution due to the simple fact that she could relapse like she did before. It is too much of a risk letting her out into the real world with people again. What do you think?

NFL Free Agency

Today, Wednesday March, 9 is the beginning of the NFL and the free agency for the 2016-2017 NFL season.  It is amazing how so many players jump ship to another team for a higher pay check and leave behind the team they were with.  Of course there is other factors that play a roll, but a lot of the time it is for the salary they will be playing for.  Days like this is a holiday for football fanatics as the league is mixed up and teams start a run at a Superbowl.  It is hard to put yourself in their shoes, but what are other big factors in leaving a team.  Is it the relationship with the front office, or maybe the city they play for?  I feel there are a lot more factors than just money in why people leave, but it is pretty amazing to me the power money can have in forcing a player to jump ship.

Global is an AIO watercooler.

So I was bored and thought about this. Global Connections is a computer water cooler.

How a liquid cooler works is very simple:

1. The processor (very hot square thing in computer) spits out heat into some coolant that travels through a tube into a radiator (with a water pump).

2. Heat dissipates along the radiator and is cooled by a fan. 

3. Cooled coolant returns to to processor to soak up more heat.

The coolant represents the class and Stewart represents the whole system of cpu, radiator, fan

Stewart basically injecting knowledge into our brains represents the heat entering the coolant.

The class (coolant) gets overloaded with information and assignments due to procrastination and the coolant travels to the radiator. The radiator itself is also Stewart and its absorbing of heat represents Stewart being upset with people who go to him for a lifeline when he sees them during class looking at Amazon. "F". The radiator phase is also when Stewart makes it clear that we are responsible for maintaining our responsibilities such as the senior project. This is because all the heat (procrastination+worry) of the class has reached its longest living point at the radiator phase.

The cooling phase (with the fan cooling the coolant (class)), represents Stewart calming everyone down with stuff like moving the book reading thing to 2nd semester, allowing people to turn things in later (not end of quarter), and in giving people time in class to do stuff. 

The class then cools down due to either:

1. having more time to do stuff and thus more procrastination = less pressure in the moment

2. actually taking Stewart's advice to heart and finishing.

Then the cycle repeats.

BY THE WAY:

I am basing my assumption that the majority of the class procrastinates based on observational learning and confirmation bias. IF YOU DON'T actually procrastinate....... whatever.

Kanye twitter finger psychology

Why do people rant on twitter specifically? (Kanye West)

According to Ryan Martin, chairman of psychology department at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, people just rant because it feels good. Jennifer Golbeck asscociate professor studying social media at University of Maryland College of Information Studies notes that people have always ranted, but now they can rant to millions rather than a local few. Basically ranting is natural, but now it can be broadcast more widely.

Martin says that ranting acts somewhat like a fall back habit. A thing that makes people feel calm and relaxed after doing it. The issue he says is that ranting doesn't help them long term, but ranting makes you want to do it more. In my opinion this could be bad as someone falling into the habit of ranting will develop a bad reputation in my eyes. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2016/03/08/why-do-people-rant-twitter/81443184/

Lost for Life

Last night I watched a documentary on Netflix about minors killing people and getting sentenced life in prison with no parole. One story was about two teenage boys who felt they didn't fit into anyone at school so they felt the need to kill this girl, Cassie Jo Stoddart, who they thought was ¨pretty¨ to find where they belonged in life. Brian, and Torey, the teenage boys were both 16. They had murdered her by stabbing her to death in her own home on the night of September 22, 2006. The documentary was recorded in 2013. Torey, the one who actually did the stabbing talked about how he felt he was paying for someone else crime because he has changed since he was a minor. Personally, I felt that was one of the dumbest things I have heard, how does killing an innocent person help you find your place? Being 16 years old, you know the crime you're committing, you know the consequences. He also said how he felt neither of them would have done it without the company of the other and how they were both shocked when the plan actually followed through.. This goes to prove that two minds are more powerful than one, and friends have an impact on each-other but this doesn't excuse the crime and make it anymore right then as if they had done it alone.

Kims Nude Selfie

Kim Kardashian recently posted a very revealing picture of herself on instagram, twitter, and facebook. She may have "broke the Internet" yet again. Of course she got a lot of different opinions on it. One that keeps resurfacing is a comment made my Chloe Moretz who basically slut shamed Kim for posting the picture. She claimed that by posting the picture, Kim is being a bad role model for showing off her banging body. A lot of people seemed to agree with Chloe. The part that always puzzles my mind with situations like these, is that these same people who are bashing Kim, are the exact same people who are preaching to show off your body and to love your body and #freethenipple. So how can these people go back and forth with their opinions on whether they think posting something revealing is okay or not. It baffles my mind. No one gave Justin Bieber a hard time for posting his guitar nude. I think the reason for this is because there is such a strong competition force between women these days that allows us to be criticized for pretty much anything we do. The double standards in our society is very prevalent and is definitely a huge issue.

Finding the Perfect Candidate

Don't get excited about the title of this post because I believe there is no perfect candidate in this Presidential candidate.  There usually isn't any perfect candidate in any election, but there is the best candidate, and America is having a tough time finding the perfect candidate this election.  There are claims, true and false, being made about every candidate.  These range from Hillary being a liar, Bernie being a complete socialist, and all of the republicans being racist.  While I've looked at both parties, I have had trouble in finding a candidate that suits all of my beliefs.  I support a lot of Sanders' ideas, but I know that his idea of "free" would come at a huge price for our taxpayers.  What I'm trying to get out of this post is a discussion about what all of you think of the candidates and what flaws and positives you see in all of the candidates.

Retardation in America

A couple days ago, I saw a video on Facebook where a man was asking Trump supporters some questions about Donald Trump and the idea of him becoming President. The reporter read some quotes off a booklet that seemed to be a Donald Trump book, but what the people didn't know was that those quotes were not Trump's words but rather Adolf Hitler's. He read a quote that said, "Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and fields blue ought to be sterilized.” The man agreed with the quote and added, "If Donald Trump said them then I’d support them." Do people really think that by Trump using one of the most cruelest "leader" in history ideology will make America "GREAT" again? In fact I think Trump will destroy America.  Those who agreed with the Hitler's quotes and said to agree with because they believed those words were Trump's words are a great example of how ignorant and blind people in America are. They rather follow and believe on foolish ideas of someone who has ruin his reputation by humiliating himself by contradicting himself.  We know Trump WILL NOT  make America great his way..

If you're curious:  https://www.facebook.com/SoFloAntonio/videos/1248561588518426/?pnref=story

Are the Oscars that White?

This past weekend, the 88th Oscars occurred in Los Angeles.  Chris Rock hosted them, and before the Oscars there was a lot of backlash for no African American actors and actresses being nominated for any Oscar.   Chris Rock was pressured by the African American community to drop out from being the host,  but Rock held his position.  In his opening speech, he completely destroyed the idea of how racist the Oscars really are, and talked about how African-Americans should be focusing on different issues, issues worse than the Oscars dilemma.  Al Sharpton had even lead a protest near the Oscars because he felt the issue was important enough to protest on.  Personally, I agree with Chris Rock how Hollywood is racist, but I feel that the Oscars was not a significant issue.  Chris Rock brought up how other races don't get the same opportunities in the Hollywood as other races.  There seems to be much bigger problems than African-Americans not being nominated for any award, but how Hollywood seems to typecast Asians in similar roles.  Racist or not, there are more important issues involving Hollywood than the Oscars.