Bob Bugatti

The story of Bob Bugatti is another "ethical scenario" from Peter Singer's book "One World." With this imaginary analogy, he asks why people in the developed world do not feel compelled to spend more on overseas development assistance. He describes a man named Bob Bugatti, who has sunk his life savings into a fancy antique Bugatti automobile, which he is unable to insure. Bob knows that the value of the car is appreciating and that he will be able to sell it for a high price someday and live comfortably after retirment. One day Bob goes out for a drive in his Bugatti and decides to go for a walk, while parking the car near a disused railroad siding. But as he walks along the track, he sees a runaway train heading towards a little boy playing in a tunnel and very likely to be killed by the runaway train. Bob cannot stop the train or warn the child. The ONLY thing he can do is throw a switch and divert the train down the unused siding, which of course, will result in the destruction of his uninsured Bugatti. thinking of his joy in owning the car, and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch. The child is killed.
However, for many years to come, Bob enjoys owning his Bugatti and the financial security it represents.
"Bob's conduct, most of us will immediately respond, was gravely wrong," he continues.
But then he reports that for about $200 a year, the life of one of the millions of poor children in the developing world can be easily saved through immunizations, better nutrition, and so on. So he asks: are not all citizens in the developed world, who could surely sacrifice $200 a year to save at least one child, as morally reprehensible as Bob if they do not make such a contribution and/or support the political will of their governments to do so?
well, I think this might be a very extreme example and as many of my classmates said, the difference is that Bob can see the result of his action, where giving money can sometimes be a tricky business for many. But still, I think Singer's analogies are a great way to get people thinking about these issues, which are sometimes very easy to forget in our busy, daily lifes....So think about it...

Tiffany Hayne's Vodcast

Tiffany disscused Bush's policy on STD vaccines and the effects on science. She seemed very comfortable in front of the camera and really knew her topic. This topic is very interesting. The situation with HPB sounds very serious and it is going on right now, yet we don't hear much about this topic. HPB is an STD that can cause cancer and there is a vaccine available, yet the Bush administration doesn't want to support it, because of their strict "Abstinence only-policy"(...which as everyone who reads my blog knows, I think is ridicoulus....) Tiffany found a lot of great sources and did a great job of citing them and analyzing them. She seemed very interested in the topic and this made it very interesting and fun to listen to. This is a very, very interesting and current topic and I recommend everyone to listen to Tiffany's Vodcast!!!

Shillie Fisher's Vodcast

In her Vodcast, Shillie talks about the controversial issue of gay rights and the Catholic Church's view on this topic. Her introduction for the topic was great, and she offered a reason why she was interested in this topic. She really knew a lot about this topic and did a lot of research. I think she did a great job of dealing with an issue as controversial as this issue. She made sure to offer facts on both sides of the issue and sounded very understanding and accepting of the pros and cons. I think she had a lot of good facts and information from research and also balanced that with her own opinion and experiences. the one thing she could improve, is reading off of her notes a little less and look at the camera more. I think, in Shillie's Vodcast, she did a great job of talking about a controversial issue like gay rights, without offending anyone and offering her personal opinion about this topic.

Amy Frerich's Vodcast

In Amy's Vodcast, she talks about her spring break trip to Maselan, Mexico and her first experience to go Deep-see fishing. The introduction was very good and captured my attention. She explained the situation and gave her own experiences and opinions. She then supported these with facts and examples. Her topic was well organized and she did a great job researching the topic and citing her sources. She seemed very comfortable in front of the camera and she spoke in a very clear and calm voice, which made watching the Vodcast very enjoyable. Overall, Amy's Vodcast was very interesting, informative and fun to watch.

India dates

in case anyone cares: here are the dates for my India trip this summer:
I leave Sioux Falls around 3pm on June 5th and will fly over Minneapolis and Amsterdam...after a very, very long trip, I will arrive in Hyderabad on june 7th at about 1am....
I will then have classes in Hyderabad until July 22nd and will then go adn travel around to see as much as I possibly can.
I fly out of New Delhi on July 31st at 1 am or so and get back to Sioux Falls on July 31st at 8pm or so...yeah it's kind of screwed up and my sense of time is going to be totally screwed up by then...

Just a test...

The Giant Sink

This semester I am taking Global Studies, which is also one of my majors. It is a really interesting class, a lot of reading and a lot of papers, but really interesting. We read many books about globalizaion, have many guest speakers and talk about topics like the European Union and the United Nations, about intercultural communication and global warming, about politics and culture....
Anyway, right now we are reading a book called "One World" (by Singer), which also talks about globalization and it is interesting and easy to read, because it uses a lot of symbolism and analogies. One I found interesting was that of "The Giant Sink"

Imagine you live in a global village and the village has one giant sink. This sink can be used by everyone in the village for garbage disposal and other. Everyone in the village has equal rights to dump anything they want down this sink. The sink seems to be endless and seemes to never "overflow," so eveyone keeps dumping more and more waste down this sink.
One day, however, an "unpleasant smell" (called Global Warming...) arises and the people in the village now have to figure out who is responsible for it and who should have to clean up the mess. Some people in the village think that whoever put down the biggest percentage of garbage (the US right now...follwed by China, india...) should be responsible for most of the clean up.
Who should be responsible?!...
Well, I am not sure what the right way to handle this would be...BUT, I think it sounds fair to make whoever wastes most, clean up most. According to Singer, this has to do with the principle of "good and enough" for everyone. Yes, it is fine to dump more into the sink, as long as there is "good and enough" for everyone in the world, but once our waste results in global warming affecting others around the globe, then there is NOT "good and enough" for everyone. And doesn't it seem unfair that while we sit at home with air conditioning and our SUV's in the garage, others in the world have to suffer this "unpleasant seepage" eventhough there is not "good and enough" for them... It's just like the good old story of the poeple in the village at the beginning of the river dumping toxic waste in the river, and therefore not leaving "good and enough" for everyone else living along the river, or even killing others that might drink the water.
Anyway, I think that this is a very good example, a good illustration of the current problem. Considering that the US (and India and China) did NOT sign the Kyoto Protcol, what does that say about us...that we don't give a sh**...?!?!? I realize that our economy needs a lot of resources and energy, etc to uphold ours and therefore, the world's economy, BUT does that mean we have to get into our gigantic SUV's everytime we want a burger form the Mc Donalds 100 feet away....
And I guess what really frustrated me, is that eventhough the class in which we discussed this in small groups is called GLOBAL STUDIES, that there were people who truely believe that we are not doing anything wrong and it is not our fault when cattle at the other side of the globe die of heat waves due to global warming.
Are we partly responsible for the "unpleasant smell" of the GIANT SINK and should we be held responsible for a bigger portion of the clean up than others?!?!
Yes, i think so....

Tim

Tim
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

hole in the sky

hole in the sky
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

tinki

tinki
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

Fall

Fall
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

getting closer...

My trip to India is getting closer and I am getting very excited...
but first of all i need to talk about a completely different subject: this whole idea of having miderms right after spring break sucks...whoever came up with that should be shot ;) just my opinion...
So...India....I will be getting any nessecary shots and immunizations tomorrow, and hopefully next week I will get a reply from Dr. Rayaprol in India with the exact dates for the beginning of classes, so that i can finally book my plane tickets...also, as soon as I receive the official letter from hyderabad, I need to apply for my student visa...which I really want to get done, because these things always take longer for me, since I am a german citizen :(
I also met up with Abby, who is an SDSU student who went to Hyderabad for one semester last year. it was really interesting to see her pictures and hear about her experiences...I am kinda nervous now though ....some of the stories she told me I think just made me realize even more how much different it is going to be...it's definately a little different than my usual trips around europe, so it will be a challenege....BUT I am definately up for it...
I also found out that eventhough there is no beginner Hindi classes at the University during the summer, I will be able to get my own privat Hindi teacher...how cool is that?!?! I wish it was June, but that's still 3 months away...
So, for now all I can do is get my paperwork done and wait patently for June to come....

Steve and Dan's podcast

Steve and Dan's podcast talks about salary caps in sports. they did a great job also of introducing themselves and also the topic. They started of by defining the terms used and their topic, and I thought this was very important, since I didn't know much about this topic. I liked their organization and the way they listed facts and accompanied these with their own opinions. They also mentioned both, the pros and cons and that was very important. Both the speakers seemed very comfortable and not nervous at all. this made it seem very casual and made it fun to listen to. If you are interested in sports or just wanna know how much is beeing spend on these salaries, then you should check out Steve and Dan's podcast.

Lydia and Amy's podcast

Lydia and Amy's podcast talks about advertising and it was really interesing, especially for me, being a Journalism major also. They both did a great job introducing the topic and sounded really excited about the topic. Their enthusiasm caught my attention and I learned many interesting facts. It was also very casual and they both seemed very comfortable, yet they mentioned many interesting facts and made it very informative. They did a good job listing their sources and had many examples, which helped understanding the extend of the topic. i also thought they did a good job of splitting up the time and each of them had many interesting things to say...there weren't any akward breaks. i thought they did a great job and everybody, not just Journalism students, will enjoy this blog, since advertising affects all of us.
So, check out Lydia and Amy's podcast.

Emily and Tyler's podcast

Emily and Tyler's podcast talks about SDSU sports and the move from a Division II to a Division I school. I really enjoyed this blog, both the speakers seemed very comfortable speaking and it was obvious that both of them were interested in the topic.
I recognized, however, that it kind of came across like an interview. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I just noticed it right away. i also thought their blog was structured and organized well. Since I am not an athlete, I learned a lot about sports at SDSU and the life of an athlete here at SDSU. I also thought Tyler had a great recording voice and sounded really secure and like he had been doing this for years!
Check out Emily and Tyler's podcast here.

our podcast

Our assignment for class this week was to create a podcast about any topic we are interested in. We paired up in groups and we were given 8 minutes to discuss this topic. Jenna and I talked about smoking in bars and restaurants, the current laws in South Dakota compared to other states, the health issues, the pros and cons of the issue, and we concluded our Podcast by talking about possible solutions to the issue. Both of use were interested in this issue, because both of us have or currently work in a bar and have therefore been affected by this issue.
I thought it was kind of akward right away, sitting in front of a mic just talking, but after a few minutes I thought it was alright.
If you are interrested in what we had to say, check out:
http://courses.jackrabbit-jmc.org/podcasts/LenaJenna.mp3
Enjoy...

more India travel plans...

so, it turns out I wont be traveling wiht the group of students from Pittsburgh...they wont let me unless I pay through their University..which I dont want to do...plus I think it might be fun to just go on my own and discover everything I want to see....First I was a little concerned with the security issue, but I will be making hotel arrangments before hand and make sure I travel by train and not by bus....SO, hopefully by next wekk I will have my tickets booked and maybe even more of an idea of where I will travel on my own...I am so excited.
Another thing that came up, which I am very excited about, is a camp called Birch camp ( check out the official site @: http://www.hgbirch.org/). It's a camp for kids who are in some way affected by Aids...its in New York and there are two 1-week sessions. I found out about this through a guy I met in Chicago and it sounded great. So I think I will try to plan for that also....it would be a great chance to work on my photography also...