Reflection on Other Projects- Blog Post #2

1. http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Tanja+-+Puppy+Mills – Puppy are in essence, farms that grow puppies as a crop. They started as a result of farm failures after World War II. However, there is little that is appealing about them. The dogs there are very poorly taken care of. The females are made to reproduce on levels that are way above natural norms. The main problem is that puppy mills are simply a business and therefore it is a matter of supply and demand, so there really are no laws to prohibit them, because they are needed. The Animal Welfare Act is the main law used to govern these puppy mills to make sure that the animals are taken care of. This however does protect them from seemingly unnecessary and painful experiments.

2. http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Matt+-+American+Psyche - The American Psyche, or the way that the American people think is incredibly important to the way that our country is run and managed today. People in our country seem to hold their own needs over those of the country, when in reality there should be a balance between the two. It is just sad that our politicians even do this and use their own political power to get their own personal benefits. This is not the kind of thinking that needs to take place in our country. We need to be more open, and we need to make sure to have every body on a TRUE level playing field with our representation in the government.

3. http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Hunter+-+Global+Warming – Global Warming continues to be a debatable topic and probably will be for quite a while. This is because scientists cannot agree on the data that they collected. Some of ti would indicate the beginning of a new ice age and some indicates a new interglacial (warming period). However, we do know that greenhouse gases are responsible for the warming is taking place. We as humans utilize and burn these fossil fuels and greenhouse gases in order to run certain machinery and other mechanical processes. However, our burning of greenhouse gases is heating up the atmosphere even more than the sun already does and that is creating an over all warming effect across the globe. There are many ways to prevent this. These involve alternative fuel sources and turning appliances off when you are not using them. Most importantly, drive more conservatively.

4. http://contempissues.wikispaces.com/Sierra+-+Body+Image - This is a very interesting topic. It shows just how influential the media can be the way a person thinks. I shows the media tries to inflitrate those who are slightly weaker or vulnerable mentally and take advantage of them. It seems odd the usually majority rules and yet, when it comes to body image, 8% of the population is held higher than the other 92%, simply because they are more "beautiful." I would say that the most important concept to get out of this, is to not always trust the media. If you choose to trust the media, 9 times out of ten 10, what they tell you will either not be true at all or only prtially true. You do not have to be extreme big muscular, or skinny and bony to be beautiful, infact there are plenty of celebrties that dont fit into this category but people think they are beautiful. So, the point is, the media should never affect how a person thinks about the way they look, or influence a decision on how to live your life. It should be totally personal.

Essay Question- Blog Post #1

I chose to do censorship in the media as my Independent Study topic. I chose to do this topic because news and information is something that is completely invaluable to a society and its people, and governments or other authorities that try to take away this freedom to access information, are committing a violation against not only humanitarian rights but also breaking the law in our country. Media censorship can be defined as the act of preventing the publication of news or information that is to be broadcast to the general public. This as I said is a serious issue for society, and can have some very adverse effects on its population. Thankfully there is an effort being made to try and prevent this from happening.

We as humans, not just Americans, deserve the right to have access to whatever information we feel is necessary for our safety and well being. Especially here in America, if those rights are taken from us then we lose our Firest Amendment rights and by extension we lose a piece of ourselves that makes America, America. The First Amendment to our Constitution specifically states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” Censoring the media would violate most every part of that statement. This cannot be allowed, mainly due to the ramifications that it can have on the media.

The ramifications that will be experienced if censorship were to take place would not necessarily physical, but more sociological. The basic way that the people of a society think will be altered by censorship. Democracy is based on the freedom to share and discuss ideas and information, hence the first amendment to the constitution. And censoring the media takes away a population's ability to share and discuss fore mentioned ideas and information, which is something that a general public needs to be able to do on a constant basis if they are to be able to think for themselves and create their own well educated opinions. This will all be lost and a hefty toll will be taken on a society that has an implemented censorship law or laws. However, there is a front that is working on fighting against this, the WPFC.

The WPFC (The World Press Freedom Committee) is an organization that is designed to help other organizations like UNESCO, and the UN fight against censorship and unfairness in the press. They have on multiple occasions won lawsuits that eventually lead to the decision that the licensing of journalists is illegal, and have developed a system to continuously monitor press freedom issues around the globe. This is a huge step that needs to be taken in order makes sure that censorship doesn’t take place.

As you can see, media censorship is no light issue. In fact, it is probably one of the more pertinent issues taking place around the world. The fact that media censorship completely defies humanitarian rights, and in some cases Constitutional rights, is wrong and unjust. The ramifications of this process are also totally detrimental to a society. This is why it must not be allowed to happen. There are organizations out in the world willing to fight this tyranny. This shows that information is powerful and that the opinion of the people should matter. People deserve the to hear or see whatever they want so that they may voice their opinion on a level playing field with the authority that governs them.

Websites Utilized
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/
http://www.wpfc.org

Change in Direction

Through doing my project i have realized that i will be able more crfesatively express the information on my topic through a glogster poster. So, i will no long be working on making a Power Point. I will, however, work to try and accomplish the same objectives

Final Project

For my final, finished product on this project I am planning on making a Power Point presentation. Within it, I will have information on what exactly media censorship is, why people/governments do it, its potential ramifications, and a case study on the subject involving Australia and how its government is trying to censor the Internet.

My findings on Australian Internet Censorship

I recently found a blog that talked about The Australian Communications and Media Authority conducting tests on at least six filters that are going to be used to censor the internet in australia via multiple ISPs (internet service providers). The tests were not very pleasant, showing that five of the six slowed internet speeds by atleast 20% and two of them demolished internet speed by a more than significant 75%. I think brings out another problem with the concept of trying to censor the media. It's not just how popular it is and why the government is doing it. How they are going to do it is a totally different story. This poses a whole different set of issues that can brought up to refute the concept of trying to censor our media. Why do it, if its so difficult to do?

Podcast- Censorship and Free Speech

So, I stumbled upon this podcast called EthicsBites at Open2.net. In terms of its contents, there was not much mentioned about the censorship of media, but rather restriction of free speech. I do think that there is a big correlation between these two things and I want to share that. Free speech doesn't just entail speaking, it involves every aspect of personal expression in your life, and if a government were to take the away from you, then your mind set will change and you will begin to think differently, not for yourself but how the government is telling you to. It is the same thing if a government were to start censoring its internet and or news programs. because the message these actions convey is the same as restricting free speech. The government is trying to get you to think the way they want you to think and to not learn anything that could potentially ruin the reputation of the government. I do believe this correlation exists, so, even if the podcast was not necessarily about censorship of news media, I did get a lot out of what it was talking about.

My Concentration

So I have given some thought to my final narrowed topic of discussion for my independent study. I have officially decided that i will concentrate on the current internet censorship issue in Australia that i mentioned in my last post. I will try to delve into why the government is doing this and what they hope to accomplish out of censoring the internet.