Sara Inoue

     Another technique for manipulation is targeting young children. According to the documentary, parents state that 20-40% of the products would have never been bought if it weren't for their child nagging. Furthermore, the rivalry between corporations on who gets more attention from children causes even more extreme manipulation. As Mr.Paterson mentioned, the information given to younger audiences needs to be closely checked and assured that it does not affect them in unnecessary ways. However, advertisements on TV and media have already impacted young people's perspectives. For example, Joe camel was an advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987, appearing in magazines, billboards, and other media. The problem with Joe camel was that their campaign promoted a lethal and addictive product to young children and adolescents.       Unlike Joe Camel advertisements, more imperceptible ads are being propagated. This way, consumers don't realiz...

     Planned obsolescence is a business strategy that is certainly not sustainable, yet too common in contemporary society. The product is planned and designed by the manufacturers to have a limit so that consumers would come back. For example, Japanese houses are said to last around 30 years; however, it usually takes 30 years to pay back the mortgage of the property. Houses are designed to deliberately deteriorate so that people would keep buying new houses. Moreover, extreme right capitalists claim that business has nothing to do with the environment. Although there are individuals that do not take accountability for their industrial causes, the documentary expressed how institutional roles and individuals are not always the same.       After watching the clip of demonstrators vandalizing the house of a worker, I realized how little consumers know. We do not know who to blame when something happens, which makes it easier for people behind businesses...

 Toxic chemicals permeating our lives are one of the main causes of cancer. synthetic chemicals used by factories have toxic effects, not only on the environment but also on humans. corporations that push the chemicals into the environment do not take responsibility, which is another example of externalities. Furthermore, a hugely destructive chemical named Agent orange was used after WW2, when the French tried to control Vietnam. This was used to destroy the forestry and jungles in Vietnam so that the U.S. military could drop the bombs. Eventually, the chemicals sunk into the ground and affected the water, which caused birth defects for 40 years. Even the American soldiers who were in the vicinity, for maximum 3 years were affected by this chemical.  The Vietnamese people have been exposed for 50-60 years and around 3 million people were affected. 50,000 Americans were paid 280 million dollars compensation from the government. But the 3 million Vietnamese locals were paid not...

    In today's class, we watched, "The corporation" a documentary that shows the change of corporation and the reality behind gaining profit. Robert Leyes, the president and CEO Canadian council for international business mentioned how companies/businesses and corporations are akin, which is not true since corporations are there to make profits for the owners. Moreover, corporations are legally bound to put the owner's profit above anything else. One example of this was the foundation of "Dodge" the car company. Ford was originally owned by two brothers who needed enough money to start their own company. Therefore, an increase in wages for the workers and discounts for customers were turned down.       Corporations cannot be put in prison. Even if people are killed, workers who were involved may be arrested, but the corporation as a whole still continues. In addition, externality is also an ongoing issue. air pollution and people living in the vicinity is o...

     The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is known for promoting monetary cooperation and helping countries build and maintain strong economies. Even the world bank claims to provide technical and financial support to improve poverty reduction, which is debatable considering the fact that they are both deceiving the poor. The persistent moral hazards when rich banks lend money, create a cycle of mass debts for the poor. This is because once the money from the IMF and world bank goes to powerful figures, the money is used for personal purposes. Therefore, when the banks start soliciting their money, innocent citizens in poor areas who have not benefited from the money are coerced to pay.     It is surprising how these systems are created for a specific purpose, yet fail to achieve any of them fairly. I also found out that in Bolivia, some people spend 1/4 of their incomes on water fees. As the water fees rise, more people are unable to pay for medical and e...

     Shiroi Koibito, the famous Hokkaido chocolate cookies production went through a scandal that I have never heard of.  In 2007, the company was suspended due to falsification of expiration dates. Apparently, it had been going on for 15 years and reported that the expiration dates were extended for more than 2 months. Another scandal introduced was the "Meat Hope scandal". Products that were labeled "100% beef" were actually mixed substances of pork, chicken, and bread scraps. Furthermore, it was revealed that blood was mixed to adjust the ground meat's color and flavor. Meat beyond its expiration dates and returned meat from customers were also shipped out to sell. The last scandal is "Snow Brand Milk". 14,780 people in japan were ill after consuming dairy products produced by Snow Brand Milk Products Co. It resulted in a huge outbreak of food poisoning.       I was shocked to find out about Shiroi Koibito since I have always bought their produ...

     In small groups, we watched short clips of the “meatrix”. They unfold the truth behind factory farming and industrial agricultural practices. The meatrix included scenes of the movie matrix, and by adding humor they were able to attract a wider audience. As of right now, the clips are available in 11 languages, which does not include Japanese. As Mr.Paterson mentioned, cognition regarding current issues is low in Japan. Not only does the video explain the issues surrounding factory farming, but it also gives out information on what viewers can do. Moreover, each version of the meatrix followed the storyline of the actual movies, which I found enjoyable.        I found it interesting how Mr. Paterson referred to this class as taking the "red pill". Over the past few years, my English skills have progressed, and was also able to gain more knowledge. Especially this year, learning about politics and systems of the government has shocked me in ma...

     Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013,  Hugo Chávez is known for his socialist governance and his promotion of Latin American integration.  Before Chavez  was the president, only 70% of people could read and write, but soon the literacy rate rose to 98%. He also supported the poor by making the medical and educational system free.  Even though Chaves supplied his country well and adequately, rich people despised him due to the fact that the citizens were gaining knowledge and getting access to information.   A video of Chavez supporters was streamed on a news channel where they were shooting above a bridge. However, in reality, they were defending themselves from surrounding snipers. There were no demonstrators under the bridge, yet news channels reported false information so that viewers would go against Chaves.  American media portraying him a sbad guy...

     We arm wrestled and 4 girls were the winners in our class. Although the 4 final winners were chosen, they all reached this position by fighting different opponents with different advantages such as teaming up with other people. Therefore, these people wouldn't necessarily be the strongest in the classroom. In addition, the winners invited one classmate each to participate in their group, without any requirements. Others were able to participate because they were the richest, or had the most family members. Even if other classmates felt it was unfair the four winners have the right to use the veto, rejecting all changes. This is exactly the system of the united nations security council. The inequity of the system is so obvious, yet there is nothing we can do.        In our groups, we discussed what we would do if the 4 winners were to be the dominant country and rule others.  As a solution our government talked about creating a new UN wit...

    In today's lesson, we paired up with classmates that we usually don't pair up with and formed a small group. We had 5 minutes of getting to know the other person and were asked if we could trust each other. Our group of 4 came to the conclusion that cooperating together and gaining 1 point was the best option. The reason I thought cooperating together would be the best is that everyone benefits from doing so.  Moreover, the guilt of receiving more points than others would outweigh the results. Other people in my group had a similar mindset and said that the number of people satisfied with the results will increase if we cooperate together. For the following discussion, all four of us had the same opinion that we wouldn't need the position of a boss. This is because the boss gets a higher advantage than others if they do not participate in the work. We didn't have any betrayers, since we all knew each other pretty well, making it harder to think otherwise.   ...