Category: misakie

In the last class, we discussed the article about a gaffe made by the host of the Miss Universe contest.

The article says that the presenter Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia had won the pageant with the Philippines contestant as runner-up. As a result of this blunder, Miss Colombia, who had already been crowned, had to take off the glitzy trinket and hand it to Miss Philippines. After this accident, Harvey apologized to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for his huge mistake on Twitter.

After I read this article, I felt ′terrible′ for this mistake made by the presenter. His gaffe can be considered as hurting their pride.

If I was Miss Colombia, I would not be able to hold in my temper. And I would not be willing to part with the success that I had gotten once. If I was Miss Philippines, I would not be able to be deeply pleased. It means that the victorious goes down in value.

In relation to this article, I’d like to make reference to the Miss Universe representative from Japan, Eliana Miyamoto. When she was elected, some people criticized her because of her looks. She is half Japanese and half American so she does not look like a Japanese.

I argue that it is no mistake to elect her as a representative. Actually she is not a ′pure′ Japanese, however she is also key to multiculturalism. This controversy is the chance for Japan to take the first step into a new era.

 

In the last class, we discussed the article about science technology.

The article says software developed at the University of Rochester has exceeded humans in its ability to identify emotions in speech.

There was an experiment to prove this. When classifying 700 audio samples, the software system could recognize the feelings behind human voice 72 per cent accuracy. On the other hand, a group of 138 people could recognize emotions only 60 per cent accuracy. So it is true that the software beats the humans at identifying emotions from speech alone.

The software uses shape, frequency, brightness, flatness and roughness of speech to identify the emotions. However the humans need not only sound but also meaning or facial expressions to guess the emotions.

After I read this article, I was surprised at development of science technology. In the near future, we may not be able to communicate without using such software. I mean that the software will take the place of the humans.

But is it good for us? I think the answer is No.

If the software becomes widespread, almost all the people will become to depend on it and be able to read someone’s emotion easily. At the same time, it will deprive us of the humanity. When we talk on the phone without the software, for example, we have to guess how she or he feels by ourselves. And we are worried about a pat reply. There are consideration, reliance, affection, kindness for others. Aren’t they the most important parts of human beings?

Altough science technology brings utility to us, we should first consider both good and bad aspects of it.

In the previous class, we discussed the influence of TPP on farmers in Japan.

The Japanese government planed to create an extra budget worth over 3 trillion yen near the end of the year. The reason why the government decided to make an extra budget was that it wanted to support farmers in Japan. If cheaper agricultural products are imported from other countries, farmers in Japan will face to compete with these imports.

In addition to support for farmers, the Japanese government will use the extra budget for additional public work projects to stimulate private consumption. The extra budget will be from unspent money from fiscal 2014 budget and tax revenue instead of issuing new government bonds.

In my opinion, I agree that Japan enters into TPP. Although I don’t have enough knowledge about TPP, I simply think that TPP will bring benefit to consumers in Japan because we can buy agricultural products at low prices.

On the other hand, will TPP bring benefit to farmers in Japan? Without the Japanese government to offer any support to them, the answer would be probably No. If tariffs are abolished, the food self-sufficiency ratio will decrease from 40% to 14%. And, the number of workers employed on agriculture will also decrease.

I have a feiend whose parents are farmers. She was concerned with the influence of TPP. I guess she is worried that she won’t be able to continue her life like she has until now. I don’t want to see her sorrowful countenance. So, I argue that the Japanese government should listen to opinions of farmers and consider about their lives.

I basically agree with TPP. However, to make that a success, not only the Japanese government but also all citizens must take a close interest in this controversial problem.

I think biofabricating meat and leather is a good way to solve a lot of world-wide problems. If we continue to kill animals, the environment, public health, and food security will be put at risk. The more population increases, the more animals we need to kill. We should put an end to this vicious cycle.

Animals are not just raw materials. They’re living beings like us. So killing animals as a resource is not only in the field of the biological science but also in the field of the bioethics. I mean ethical consideration to animals is needed.

With regard to domestic animals, BSE is well known as an epidemic disease. It is caused by the meat and bone meal. Surprisingly, Cow meat and bone meal is often incorporated in the meat and bone meal. Why did livestock raisers treat them terribly? I think the main reason is excess pursuit of profits. Most livestock raisers seem to consider domestic animals as tools to make a large profit. And also they seem to consider the dead animals as waste. Livestock industry is expanding the scale. Meanwhile, a view about domestic animals is changing for the worse.

As for leather goods, we use them to enjoy luxury. Is that really necessary? Is it impossible to live without leather goods? An American designer, Stella McCartney, who is a daughter of Paul McCartney, doesn’t use a drop of animal skin in her products. That includes fur and leather. McCartney states in the video, “Please join me in exploring the huge variety of fashionable shoes, belts, purses, and wallets that aren’t the product of a cow’s violent death.”

We don’t know well and don’t imagine about the production process. However, both producer and consumer should be responsible for the entire process from production to consumption. Human lives come at the expense of other lives. Should we sacrifice more lives for our rich and full life? I believe biofabricating meat and leather will make an ideal relation between humans and animals.

 

We discussed the article ” Neighbours complain about noisy parties at Usain Bolt’s house” in the last class. The summary and my opinion are as follows.

Usain Bolt caused trouble for his neighbours because of noisy parties. Usain Bolt is well known as a gold medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has legendary sprinting ability. However, when it comes to hosting parties, he becomes a trouble maker.

Jodi ‘ Jinx’ Stewart-Henriques, a model who lived nextdoor to Bolt, complained about loud all-night revelry at the Bolt’s house. She had been worried about this matter for two years. According to another resident, his parties started in the afternoon and went on until 3am, 4am. On the other hand, others told the newspaper that Bolt was not to blame for the loud party.

Jamaica’s police were aware of these complaints and had something about it.

After I discussed with my group members, I thought about relationship with my neighbours. When and How do I give them unpleasant feelings? And, what makes me worried about relationship with my neighbours?

I have a dog which rarely barks. But, when she finds stray cats, she becomes excited and runs about in the garden while barking. It probably makes my neighbours feel unpleasantness or irritation.

Car parking problem is the cause of worry for me and my mother. One of my neighbours always parks a car in front of the parking lot of our house. So, we can’t go out anywhere by a car.

I think that everyday communication solves the trouble between the neighbours. Although we have less and less interaction with our neighbours in this modern society, we should keep good relation like the old days.

Today, we have discussed the article “Charlie Hebdo, for richer, for poorer?”. There are three main points: resignation of the cartoonist, suspension of the colmnist and criticism from 26 prominent writers.

First, Charlie Hebdo’s surviving cartoonist Renald Luzier planned to throw up his job. As we know, two Islamist gunmen killed twelve at Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office in January. He had already drawn for it for 20 years when it happened. However, he decided to leave his office because of his work load and the absence of his fellow satirists. In other words, he wanted to regain control of his life.

Second, the management suspended the columnist Zineb El Rhazaoui. She had repeatedly failed to meet her contractual obligations because Charlie Hebdo sold more copies than ever before. It was estimated at millions.

Third, 26 prominent writers protested that Charlie Hebdo went too far mocking Islam. The magazine had attacked with words as a freedom of expression and some members who took part in publishing the magazine were killed by Islamist hit men so it became a global symbol of free speech. On the other hand, radical expressions in the magazine also met with strong opposition.

In connection with this article, I’d like to argue that we should select the believable information by ourselves. The media can try to be fair but actually it is impossible to maintain completely neutrality. I think it is so difficult to report without one’s mind. However, we believe that information from the media is correct. If there is no rule to regulate biased report, the media will force a one-sided view on us.

In this modern society, everyone can easily know what happens in the world through the media especially through the Internet. Because of that, we must select the dependable and reliable information by ourselves as well as we demand the media to be impartial.

In the last class, I read the article about the great discovery of archaeological material.

This article said that a team of Belgian and Bolivian archaeologists found more than 2000 pieces of ceramic, jewels and gold products under the waters of Lake Titicaca which had been sacred for the Inca and Tiwanaku cultures. The most impressive of them were well-preserved puma heads made of stone, and other anthropomorphic statues were made of gold leaf. They were allegedly made about 1000 years ago.

Christophe Delaere, a project leader, made this discovery known to the public when he appeared on TV. After that, an archaeologist and a specialist in Andean anthropology evaluated this amazing discovery. Archaeological discoveries had been made many times around the world but it was needless to say that this discovery was so important for us.

I think that excavational investigations are essential to know what happened in the past. In my own case, I can see the face of my dead grandmother only in some photos of hers. And also I can know her taste only from possessions left behind by her.

The excavation sites are the places where modern-day people encounter the history. Some people may insist that they don’t agree with excavational investigations because they believe that researching ancient ruins and excavated things make the God angry. In my opinion, however, it is not much of a problem. If the God really felt displeasure at being interfered with, he must have hidden or destroyed them without leaving any trace.

The evidence that our ancestors had their life gives us a clue to create the future. Archaeology can be called futuristics.