https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXmNZRcE43I

Parte I

Érase una vez Philadelphia estaba en su esplendor y dominaba Pennsylvania. El líder de un grupo de banqueros, enemigos de los otros banqueros, cansado de la terrible opresión, decidió luchar por la libertad de su pueblo. El líder que tenía una hija, llamada Sue, era el contador más bella y se enamoró del joven Johnny, uno de los más fuertes tiburón del préstamos de su pueblo. Ambos se profesaban un inmenso amor, por eso antes de partir a la reunión de negocios. Johnny pidió al líder que la mano de el contador Sue. El padre accedió gustoso y prometió recibirlo con una gran celebración para darle la mano de su hija si regresaba victorioso de la reunión de negocios. El valiente tiburón del préstamo aceptó, se preparó para partir y guardó en su corazón la promesa de que el contador lo esperaría para consumar su amor.

Parte II

Al poco tiempo, un rival de amores de Johnny, celoso del amor de ambos se profesaban y de alta posición de Johnny en la empresa, le dijo a el contador Sue que su amado había muerto durante el combate de la reunión de negocios. Abatida por la tristeza y sin saber que todo era mentira, el contador murió. El rival aún no tiene un buen trabajo este día. Esto es porque todo el mundo sabía que era malo y antipático.  

Parte III

Tiempo después, Johnny regresó victorioso a su pueblo porque los banqueros ahora propiedad la otra empresa, con la esperanza de ver a su amada. A su llegada, recibió la terrible noticia sobre el fallecimiento de el contador Sue. Entristecido con la noticia, vagó por las calles durante varios días y noches, hasta que decidió hacer algo para honrar su amor y que el recuerdo de el contador permaneciera en la memoria de los pueblos. Tuvo una idea excelente. Su idea era hacer otra persona. Quiso hacer una persona que podría ser un buen líder. Pensaba que esta persona debe entender dinero porque él era un miembro de un grupo de banqueros. Decidió que debería llamar a la persona que iba a hacer Jeremy Spry. Le gustaba esto nombre mucho. Usó cadáver del contador para hacer Jeremy Spry. Él Hizo Jeremy Spry con piernas muy rápidos porque él quería que Jeremy Spry pudiera escapar sus enemigos.  Una buena idea. Después, Jeremy Spry se convirtió en un líder de Science Leadership Academy. Johnny todavía está vivo. Él está orgulloso de Jeremy Spry.

Quiero escuchar a una canción bonita, que puede tocar las corazones de todo el mundo. Cuando yo escuchar a los otros canciones inmigrantes, yo puedo oír muchos otros tonos que existe para usar para una canción. Enojado, triste también feliz cuando yo buscar mucho. Quiero entender los temas de inmigración, porque son temas importantes. Para mi la cosa más importante cuando estás haciendo una buena canción, es la canción debe que ser emocional y tiene un mensaje poderoso. La canción que yo escoger se llama todos somos ilegales por Outernational. Los miembros son Nate Hassan, Leo Mintek, Jesse Williams, Miles Solay y mi favorito: Dr. Blum. La banda existe para hablar sobre este problema. Pienso que el tono es un poquito enojado. La canción se trata la guerra de los ilegales y sus problemas. Las letras tienen analogías interesantes como “Para que leas mi acento prohibido como la droga Ilegal como un nazi en una sinagoga.” Estas son palabras poderosas y interesantes. Las palabras son una parte interesante de la canción.

Como yo dije, la canción tiene un mensaje y tono muy interesante. Puedes decir que el tono es enojado, pero yo creo que tiene un tono más complicado. El tono de la canción tiene un elemento orgulloso de sus culturas. El coro tiene una melodía impresionante porque cuando yo la oigo, puedo oír música hispana. Esto es porque la canción usa la escala phrygian dominant. La escala phrygian dominant se utiliza en mucha música hispana. Pienso que la combinación entre los cuernos y las guitarras eléctricas podría representar una combinación entre nuevo y tradicional. Creo que esto es muy interesante y importante para la estética de la canción. Ellos usan las palabras “Todos somos ilegales, todos somos ilegales, The defiant ones, our time has come Todos somos ilegales, Fighting for a new way and a new day, Todos somos ilegales.” Pienso que esto coro tiene un mensaje de la esperanza y unidad. Me alegro porque su mensaje es positivo no negativo.

Los demás probablemente dicen, que Todos Somos Ilegales es violento y duro, pero para mi es al contrario, es orgulloso y tradicional, no más. El tono es un poquito extraño, pero esto es lo que podría hacerlo más interesante. Al principio pensaba como los demás y fue de acuerdo porque es una canción extraño con un tono también seguro de sí mismo. Ahora no estoy de acuerdo. para mi, escuchar a canciones como Todos Somos Ilegales por Outernational, es más que una canción es como una experiencia. Puedo oír la cultura y los mensajes. Es especial y me da la felicidad. Yo creo que la banda Outernational es muy valiente, porque ellos hablar de tópicos polémicos en sus canciones. Yo respeto eso mucho. Su valentía es lo que toca mi corazón la mayoría. Por lo tanto, es fácil para mi, cantar sus alabanzas. Así lo veo la canción tiene un buen mensaje, sería peor si ellos debilitan su mensaje. La gente le gusta el grupo Outernational porque los miembros del grupo Outernational son fuertes.

Josh Berg

Bias as an Entity

Even to the most well-read, the idea of bias in history textbooks from which we pull a lot of our information, is a controversial and disputable topic. Many people cling to the ideas that they learned from these books. Others cast them away as if they are worth nothing and nothing can be obtained from them, not even a moral lesson. Some cases are far more extreme than others. People who feel that they have been lied to by their textbook learning have gone to great lengths to let others know about this issue. Others on the opposite side have done the same: "The Japanese textbook authorisation system has the so-called "neighbouring country clause" which means that textbooks have to show understanding in their treatment of historical events involving neighbouring Asian countries. It is just ridiculous," said Nobukatsu Fujioka, a denier of the Nanking Massacre. People have very strong feelings regarding the issue of misinformation and bias in books of learning. It is impossible to write from a completely objective standpoint. That being said, it is possible to be aware of biases. It is important to be aware of places where the author of a text may show inaccurate information and gloss over certain events or information because of their biases. Bias is present everywhere in the world, but can do us little harm if we know our own biases and those of others.

It feels bad to be lied to or misinformed, that said there is a more material, surface level issue than feeling bad. The fact of the matter is that our younger years are some of the most impressionable years that will shape the rest of our lives. Having very important details changed around and bent to the will of others, to achieve some twisted agenda can often take a toll on us. Our beliefs for the rest of our small existences can be affected if our intellectual food is poisoned at an early age. Think; of it as a poison. Feed your baby rat poison with every meal during his early life and he will surely be a sickly baby and a sickly adult. The same goes for your child’s intellectual nourishment.

There have been some very prominent cases of people concerned with the quality and truth of the classic literary textbook. There have been two particularly prominent issues of misrepresentation that could be considered one in their connection. A criteria for being an example was that the issue(s) had to have some retaliation against it/them. There has been an upset amongst many of the Japanese because of what they feel is a general misrepresentation of their history in Japanese textbooks. This misrepresentation is generally in the sections that could contain information about acts of war, atrocities and crimes. A teacher in Japan noticed the subordination of these type of events to mere footnotes. Another example of this diminishing of important events is present in how textbooks address the issue of “comfort women”. Comfort women were essentially a prostitution corps made up of unwilling women created by the Imperial Army of Japan. Unfortunately a dark, important and revealing issue like this is glossed over in textbooks. There have also been issues with Japanese textbooks shady handling of affairs involving China, which the Chinese have been less than thrilled about. There have also been issues in Chinese textbooks, so neither nation is innocent. The same facts are taught on the other extreme in China. When it comes to Japanese war crimes, no detail is spared about the awful things that happened. There has also been an outcry over misrepresentation of facts about the Nanking Massacre. There have been claims on both sides. China does not cut any corners in terms of teaching about the things that have happened during the Massacre, while some people in Japan claim that pictures of the event have been fabricated by the Chinese. Others would even go as far as to fully deny the occurrence of the Massacre. There is so much being disagreed upon, it is difficult to imagine one side being right.

These are events of the past. It isn’t that these events are not over, although there are times when the masses are lied to about current affairs. Governments are like people but on a large scale, not only because there is more than one person in most governments. They are large in the way that they are a hyperbole of a normal person. Everyone wants to present themselves in a good way, but governments take it to an extreme in how they and the politicians that make them up rarely acknowledge that they have ever made a mistake. No politician will talk about their biases. Bias is a Huge imperfection that shapes how the world turns.

You don’t have to censor war crimes in order to convey information in a biased fashion. Bias is an invisible thing that you can see everywhere. Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player. Woodrow Wilson, a progressive leader. Misinformation isn’t always conveyed intentionally. Unintentional presentation of misinformation doesn’t make it any less harmful. You could argue that scientific textbooks with their semi-objectively true facts could be considered biased. There may be a hidden agenda lurking in every fact we read. The author may not even know about their hidden agenda. It is important to be able to see the bias in the world, and accept its existence. Be aware of situations where someone may have ulterior motives, but also see the value in biases. Our biases make us individuals. This is not to say that we should not try to remedy our biases, but we must acknowledge the fact that we and everyone else will never be completely free from our biases. Our biases can do us very little harm if we are aware of them and notice them regularly. Look at the way that we look at things, and we will be able to look at and see much more.

Works Cited:

Oi, Mariko. "What Japanese History Lessons Leave out." BBC News. BBC, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21226068>.

French, Howard W. "China's Textbooks Twist and Omit History." The New York Times. The New York Times, 6 Dec. 2004. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/06/international/asia/06textbook.html?_r=0>.

"Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Konoon the Result of the Study on the Issue of "comfort Women"" MOFA: Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the Result of the Study on the Issue of "comfort Women" MOFA, 4 Aug. 1993. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html>.

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print.

Here I am again. I am in the same place I always have been, but now I am somewhere different. I still ponder the same questions and have the same complaints. Why is it always the guy next to me? It just isn’t fair. I work all the time. No rest when you’re being pulled from both ways. Even when I get what I want, it still hurts. I don’t know what it is about it, that makes me desire it. I guess there is a sort of satisfaction when the vibrations start. As they progress it starts to hurt. Towards the end, every fiber of my being starts to ache. A lot of the time, when she wants to stop the vibrations sooner, she presses down on me, which hurts even worse, although I don’t mind, now that I am no longer zooming about. I just don’t like how that one part of me gets bent into the cold hard metal, causing that one part to sting. I hate it so much. Why do I desire it so? What an annoyance, to feel so mixed. I feel as if I am going to split in two if I get no release. An occasional whack on the bar below me and not much more to her technique. And what is this? I see it coming towards me, as if time has slowed down for a while. That thin piece of plastic. The use of it implies some difficulty in her what she is doing. Why me? Why now?

Suddenly I am hit, but not how I am supposed to be hit, there is some reluctance. This hit is more of a slip. There is no intention for such a thing to happen on her part. Such motion will grant me no satisfaction. I begin to vibrate at the plastic moves away from me. It hurts more than usual. Could this be because I have not been hit in such a long time? Or maybe it because of the awkward stiffness to her motion. The twist in her hand seemed to indicate pain, but this is different because it does not look like pain exactly. I cannot see anything that could cause her pain close to anything that I experience on a daily basis. Maybe she is just like me, being stretched out, long and thin. I cannot think of a way to know for sure. As these thoughts cross my mind over the time of a split second, something is happening in the world around me.

Sudden color comes back to the world as my sound emits. I hear a sort of groan come from above. She must be unhappy. I hope this is not the case. It is true that she is a cruel mistress, however I wish nothing but the best for her. After all, she may rarely pay attention to me, but when she does, is the best thing in the world to me.

I feel myself being lifted. I recognize this part of the cycle. It has happened many times before. I know what will happen next. The same thing as always. Nothing but darkness, however I am not alone, I will always have the guy next to me. It will not be long until I can see the light again.

Unfit King

“I wish that you were dead! This country requires someone fit to be king, unlike you, you blubbery insolent trash!”

“Hoho!” The king let out a hearty and boisterous laugh, fit for someone of his stature. “Sure is brave of you to say such things when you already know you are about to die! Heads up!” yelled the king, and with that he turned his back. The crowd cheered as the man’s head flew through the air. The executioners bowed, basking in their temporary fame. None of the people, save for a servant perhaps could see the king’s face. If they had, they would seen a single tear fall from the king’s eye.

Later that night, during his evening bath the king remarked to his wife:

“Why is it always my weight? I’m trying to work on it!”

“Oh you look fine honey” the queen proclaimed. The king most certainly did not look fine, nor did his wife for that matter. Both were morbidly obese. It had run in the royal family for generations. Such obesity could have been the result of poor diets, but even more likely it was due to the royal family's tendency to keep the royal blood as pure as possible. Little did the king know that people made a bit of a joke out of speculating how the king’s ancestors had ever taken the land that was now the kingdom. It was hard to imagine the king winning any sort of physical conflict in any way other than getting his soldiers to do it, or just sitting on his opponent.

“Well something must be done then. I have done everything in my power to change things on my end!” This was a lie. “I also have the power to change things on their end!”

“Ok dear, don’t get too riled up now, I am sure that the people of the kingdom love you. Just a few bad apples as they say,” said the queen.

“Oh piss off, you miserable filth! I know what I want and I know how I am going to get it done.”

“I was only trying to help,” the queen screamed as she ran into her chambers, crying. She had observed a most unfortunate pattern in the king’s behavior. Every time that his feelings were hurt, he grew more cold and plain mean towards his wife, who could do nothing save for clench her teeth and roll with the punches. After all, he was the king.

The next morning as the queen awoke, late, tired from all the crying she had done the previous night, she heard familiar voices. These voices most certainly belonged to the royal advisor, a thin balding man who always seemed to be scheming some dirty plan and her husband, the king. Their tones seemed to indicate some tension. The queen prayed that there was not an issue that the king had to address. If there was, she would most certainly be yelled at in the crossfire.

“Yes, your highness, it shall be done,” said the voice of the advisor. The queen breathed a sigh of relief, the king must have obtained what he wanted. The queen picked herself up out of bed and slipped on a pair of her most comfortable and yet still royal slippers. She did not feel the need to change out of her nightgown for the advisor. She couldn’t have cared less what that sad excuse for a man thought of her.

“Good morning” The queen said as she walked into the royal kitchen. She had expected to see the advisor sitting for breakfast with the king, but he appeared to have been escorted out of the castle. On second thought, the king and his advisor did not seem to be on the best of terms.

“Great news m’lady!” Shouted the king, his voice filled with glee. “The words that people so unjustly and incorrectly used to describe me are now illegal, or will be in a matter of mere hours! This is but another step to my molding this harsh and volatile land into the the great and magnificent kingdom that my ancestors envisioned in their time. What a joy to be the king of this glorious land!”

“That is fantastic dear,” responded the queen. And she really meant it as well, although her motives for thinking were a bit different than his. Sure, she was happy when her husband was happy and she she knew that he would be in much better mood than yesterday’s awful mood. However, a better mood for him, meant less chance of abusive behavior towards her. Somewhere in her puny royal mind, she knew what he had done and had been doing for his time on the throne was wrong. He was not a good king. This fact was apparent almost everyone. However, with so much power, nobody could do anything to oppose or criticize his mighty reign in any way.  “Yes, this is all very fine and dandy my love, however I require some sustenance. “Would a chef please fetch me an egg or four? I am practically dying of starvation.”

BAM BAM BAM! The woman lifted her tired head from her cleaning. Her child began to cry loudly. It was hard to tell if this was due to the sudden loud noise, or to hunger. She felt her own stomach let out a cry of protest towards its unintentional fast. Noise or hunger, there seemed to be no obvious solution to either. (Due to the small nature of the house, there was an unfortunately little amount of room for their cots to be placed anywhere to escape to noises of the door and the street outside.) The noise must have startled the poor thing immensely as the crying began to intensify to a ear-splitting volume. She ran over to the child’s cot and hoisted it into the air and quickly comforted it as she wondered where her husband could be. Had he had finally succumbed to the allure of the drink? The woman tiredly limped to the door, as quickly as she could so that the banging would not start again, wondering what the ruckus could possibly be about.

“Hello ma’am, we are the police and are here to notify you about your husband.” The woman sighed. She wondered if the world had finally got to him and he done something bad. They were not well-off, but the family got by one way or another. Both adults worked hard and honestly. She knew that a strong sense of right and wrong was shared between the two of them. What could it possibly be? Had he died? Had he been crippled in some sort of freak-accident?

“Due to a most offensive outburst of public indecency and vulgarity. Your husband has been taken into custody and will be executed tomorrow.” It felt like she had just been punched in the face.

“Executed for public vulgarity? Without trial?” Her shock quickly morphed into fiery hot anger.

“Yes ma’am, your husband in his most vulgar profession as a whale meat seller had quite the vulgar and disgusting pitch for his products. One so offensive that it was hurting the moral of the people and because of that he now shall be treated as a traitor to the kingdom.”

Her hot fiery anger morphed into cold despair. Panic overwhelmed her as she considered her possibilities. The woman crumpled to the ground as she thought about how she could possibly ever support her child with her husband dead.

The next day, at the time of the man’s execution, many people had gathered to witness the first of many executions at the hand of the king’s new laws.

“Obese humanoid lump of flesh,” yelled the man. The king cried once more as the subject was killed. The doctor would die the day after, after him the baker, and after a few years the king would die as a result of his own unhealthiness.