"eejits", whats your opinion? I personally think that eejits are a great idea, to an extent. We have overflowing jails and we are starting to have no where to put these criminals. That's where eejits are a wonderful idea. These people are wasting away in these penitentiary systems when they could be doing and serving people. If we turned all criminals into eejits we would firstly rid the country of dangerous people who would one day be released back into the world, and secondly they would be providing services to the country and free labor.
On the other side of spectrum we have human rights. Eejits area great idea but when we really look, even though these people are criminals and will soon die in jail. They all have the right to life and should have the choice to be turned into an eejit. People can say how bad these people are, but there could be people in jail that we wrongly accused and sentenced when they did not do it.
We have looked at both sides but now we need to find a compromise. What I suggest is that we don't make all criminals eejits but only those who are sentenced to execution. These criminals are already going to die so there is really nothing wrong with just putting a chip in there brain and killing them with no thoughts for life.
Friday, 23 March 2012
Free Blog Post- Edward
For this weeks independent post I will be connecting Farmer's novel The House of the Scorpion to the different units that we have covered this year in school. Specifically I will look to immigration and individual rights and freedoms. In Farmer's novel the main setting Opium is in a place between the United States and Aztlan (Mexico). This setting has been established many years in the future and we know this through a couple of different things, specifically the fact that there is cloning in this land and the advanced technology that is available such as hovercrafts. In this world Opium is between the two borders meaning that the farm patrol catches the illegal immigrants coming from both sides. In our immigration unit we studied different types of immigration however we never did illegal immigration specifically however, I recognize that based on our studies of both illegal immigration and the charter of rights and freedoms turning these illegals into "eejits" is simply immoral. Now specifically these Illegals have never actually crossed into either countries meaning that they have not yet come into contact with either countries specific set of laws, they are still technically a citizen of either country therefore they still have their own set of rights. Now in Canada we have the Charter of rights and freedoms, this gives people a set of rights that they live by that allow them certain freedoms like speech equality etc. As to principles of the other countries I am not as well informed in, however these people that are going to be turned into do deserve to get a fair and actual trial that asks them their intentions and what they were trying to accomplish by Illegally immigrating. I believe that based on what we have studied Farmer's take on Illegal immigration and the rights of people in this novel are highly skewed and are in-correct. I also link this specific detail of the House of the Scorpion to Farmer commenting on the United States of America, yes illegal immigration can cause problems and can be very costly however the U.S has not really noticed the moral aspect of this problem. I believe that illegal immigrants should be worked with (if they have good intentions) to try to become a legitimate citizen of the country. The U.S makes it nearly impossible for people to actually immigrate from Mexico and I believe that Farmer is touching on this issue in the House of the Scorpion.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
ROUGH DRAFT Insight into the Novel-Cameron
Tam Lin was always there for Matt as his friend, mentor and protector. Tam Lin took Matt for a picnic and showed him how to climb and be in the wilderness, which was something that he wouldn't have learned anywhere else. It would have been to dangerous for El Patron's precious clone. Tam Lin camped out with Matt and showed him the way to flee Opium where he could see the outside world (Farmer ch26), which had only been sampled by Maria's Mother (Farmer ch20). Tam Lin truly loved Matt as his friend, we know this through Chapter 26 where Tam Lin put on an act making it seem as though he was going to take Matt to be killed. In reality, he took Matt to the Oasis to show him a way out of Opium and say his final goodbye. He also left Matt a chest of food, books, maps and any other materials needed (Farmer pg150), which was presumably given to him for his escape.
Now, with all Tam Lin had given Matt why would he have left him? In Chapter 26, Tam Lin set Matt to make his daring escape from Opium and left. Matt was essentially a deer in a forrest of huntsman. El Patron had died, as Matt had figured out in Chapter 12 he was only created as an organ growing facility for replacement organs. He needed to flee everyone on the Alacran estate who believed he needed to be deposed of seeing that he no longer had a purpose. Tam Lin couldn't go with Matt because he needed to stay with the family and maintain his act as though he has just killed Matt. I hated that Farmer had chosen to no longer have Tam Lin as a part of his life, As I proved to you Tam Lin gave Matt so much. However, it opens a new chapter in Matt's life, he has grown up and is going into the new world of Aztlan.
Matt and Tam Lin parting ways was a huge "game changer" in the novel. Essentially, Matt's mentor had left him, but left him with information and knowledge to get through the world.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Farm Patrol- Nick
Start a new life. That simple yet often very difficult goal
is what most immigrants want to achieve. Immigrants though can be very
different in how they achieve their goal. Some choose to apply and wait it out;
others will jump the border and evade the law to start a new life. Governments
around the world are trying to stop this “border jumping” from occurring but it
just won’t stop. The government has a just reason to try to stop it though;
illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes. When there are citizens in a country, using
its services but not paying there is a problem. We see this in the United
States. There are many illegal immigrants and none of them are paying taxes.
This is what spells the downfall of a country.
We then have to think in the perspective of the immigrant.
Often wanting to leave there country because of crime or family, they only want
to live and be successful. That is the dream of every person and why are we
taking away from people just because they were born in a different country.
Immigrant families only want to survive and that is what they are trying to do
when they cross borders illegally. Think about yourself, if you were surrounded
by crime and had no money, would you stay and have your children grow up with
negative role models all around them or would you leave and try to get them an education
so they may succeed.
These days we cannot go anywhere in our countries and not
see immigrants, there is nothing wrong, just a mere fact. These people work
hard to make a living and we should respect it.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/opinion/garcia-illegal-immigrants/index.html
Farm Patrol- Edward
When we look at problems that we are currently facing such as illegal immigrants we need to recognize that there are particular motives involved with this process. Specifically if we look at the U. S, Mexican border we see a large percentage of this problem. About 60% of all Illegal Immigrants coming into the United States are from mexico (1). Now this problem can affect countries like the United States quite significantly because the U.S government needs to spend large amounts on border security and the illegals come at a cost when in the United States because they do not pay things like taxes. In 2008 it is estimated that 11.1 million people living in the U.S are illegals, it is an extremely vast number. Now illegal immigration does not just fill up the less attractive jobs for society but it also increases the crime rate of a country, for example a street gang in Los Angeles has 50,000 members and 80 percent of the members are illegal immigrants from Central and South America. This gang is very dangerous and commits things like assault auto theft, extortion, homicide and the selling of various drugs. The problem with illegal immigration is that it is very difficult to stop.
There are two sides to every story and this is no exception, illegal immigration has its reasons. When we look at Celia for example she was living in a very impoverished town with extremely little money (Farmer 14). She seeked out the help of a coyote, and individual that help to get people over the border. Her and some people that she knew went with the Coyote however the coyote soon fled, they were all captured and turned into eejets except for Celia who was a good cook. There are many reasons for illegal immigrants to want to come to different countries and not all of them are bad. For instance some might be escaping from poverty, others might want to start a better more stable life or some people might want to live in a country with fair justice systems and non-corrupt police and government. I believe that Celia turned to a Coyote for this very reason, she risked her life to gain a new one. Celia was in such a bad situation that she had nothing to lose, the benefits would have been extreme for Celia had she successfully made it to the United States however she was caught by the farm patrol. Celia was extremely lucky that her life was spared and I feel that living in the Alacran estate is still better then living in an extremely impoverished village in Mexico.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/opinion/garcia-illegal-immigrants/index.html Articles like this one here recognize the importance that some illegal immigrants or normal immigrants play in society, Whether its social or economic benefits these benefits still can happen. In my opinion of a person immigrates to a country illegally because of a factor in their live we should help that person become an actual immigrant in order to better their life. I believe that based on Celia's story and real life problems we need to design solutions that not just cover up the problem of illegal immigration but solutions that deal with it.
Book quotes are from specific chapters!
(1) http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org/
(2) Preston, Julia (2008-07-31). "NYtimes.com"
(3) "National Gang Intelligence Center - National Gang Threat Assessment 2009 Justice.gov.
Other sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration#Causes
There are two sides to every story and this is no exception, illegal immigration has its reasons. When we look at Celia for example she was living in a very impoverished town with extremely little money (Farmer 14). She seeked out the help of a coyote, and individual that help to get people over the border. Her and some people that she knew went with the Coyote however the coyote soon fled, they were all captured and turned into eejets except for Celia who was a good cook. There are many reasons for illegal immigrants to want to come to different countries and not all of them are bad. For instance some might be escaping from poverty, others might want to start a better more stable life or some people might want to live in a country with fair justice systems and non-corrupt police and government. I believe that Celia turned to a Coyote for this very reason, she risked her life to gain a new one. Celia was in such a bad situation that she had nothing to lose, the benefits would have been extreme for Celia had she successfully made it to the United States however she was caught by the farm patrol. Celia was extremely lucky that her life was spared and I feel that living in the Alacran estate is still better then living in an extremely impoverished village in Mexico.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/opinion/garcia-illegal-immigrants/index.html Articles like this one here recognize the importance that some illegal immigrants or normal immigrants play in society, Whether its social or economic benefits these benefits still can happen. In my opinion of a person immigrates to a country illegally because of a factor in their live we should help that person become an actual immigrant in order to better their life. I believe that based on Celia's story and real life problems we need to design solutions that not just cover up the problem of illegal immigration but solutions that deal with it.
Book quotes are from specific chapters!
(1) http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org/
(2) Preston, Julia (2008-07-31). "NYtimes.com"
(3) "National Gang Intelligence Center - National Gang Threat Assessment 2009 Justice.gov.
Other sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration#Causes
Real Life Farm Patrol and the Issues of Illegal Immigration-Cam
One
of problems in the world today is a weak border that illegals can enter through
into America. Now, a statistic from CNN in 2008 stated that over 75% of home
repair, cleaning and factory work was done by Hispanics. Essentially, the
illegal immigrants are filling positions that would otherwise be vacant.
However a statistic from The American Resistance proves that Between 40 and 50 percent
of wage-loss among low-skilled Americans is due to the illegal immigration of
low-skilled workers from America’s southern neighbor. Many American workers
lose their jobs through unfair competition. Illegal immigrants displace an
estimated 1,880,000 American workers from their jobs every year and the cost
for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a
year.
As
we know, America is in a huge deficit and the Democrats have proposed that we
raise taxes as to dig America out of the sinkhole that she fell through many
years ago. Taxpayer dollars can be used to rebuild America, but when we have
citizens or inhabitants that don't pay their fair share to the country they originate
from or live in, that's an issue which is otherwise known as tax dodging,
because these immigrants don’t have citizenship they aren’t recognized by the
government and therefore aren’t taxed on their income.
Why
do these immigrants come by the thousands? These immigrants come for a better
life they come to get out of their villages much like the one Celia worked and
lived in (Farmer ch14). "But beyond, where the United States lay,
was a great glow in the sky. We knew that under that glow was the most
wonderful place" (Farmer pg141 a quote from Celia). Like Celia,
people choose to risk their lives for the promise of freedom or a better
quality of life. As we see with Celia and many others in the real world they
attempt to escape their horrendous lives in their home country. Illegal
immigrants or "border jumpers" also are drawn through the promise of
money and freedom. They don't want to have to go through the immigration
process, they want instant gratification and choose to find anyway they can,
legal or illegal to get into America.
CNN
on Illegal Immigration:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-05-31/politics/issues.immigration_1_illegal-immigrants-immigration-reform-border-security?_s=PM:POLITICS
The
Economic Impact of Illegal Immigration:
http://www.theamericanresistance.com/issues/economic_costs.html
Friday, 16 March 2012
El Patron's Playlist- Nick
What a Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong
El Patron is the Fuher and supreme ruler of Opium, this is a country which he created and everything is done for him. El Patron has everything that he could ever want and that is what led me to choose What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong for his playlist. El Patron see Opium as his country so everything is perfect for him. He is like a kid in a candy store, he is living a dream and never wants to leave.
" "Give things...things...away?' he cried in a voice of a man one hundred years younger. "Give things away? I can't believe I heard that! What have they been teaching you!" "(Farmer 184). This quote is a perfect example of why I chose this song in particular. In this excerpt from the novel El Patron expresses his disgust in Matt suggesting to him to give away part of his fortune. To El Patron he has worked for it and it belongs to him. El Patron is in his perfect world and he never wants to lose it. This is what Louis Armstrong is saying in this powerful yet graceful song. Lyrics from the classic such as "I see trees of green....red roses too. I see em bloom..... for me and you. And I think to myself....what a wonderful world. (Louis Armstrong)" In my opinion El Patron is in a world of his own, he does not see the cruelty of his actions and the negative impact on others. He only sees the gain that will come to him. El Patron may be seen by others as a greedy and cruel man and he definitely is but to himself he is a god living in his own perfect world.
Dream a Little Dream of Me- Louis Armstrong
" "Give things...things...away?' he cried in a voice of a man one hundred years younger. "Give things away? I can't believe I heard that! What have they been teaching you!" "(Farmer 184). This segment from the novel is part of a bigger picture that El Patron is always telling Matt. " " Give things away?" Mused the old man. Was that why i fought my way out of Durango? Was that why I built and empire greater then Eldorado's?" (Farmer 184). This is what El Patron keeps reiterating to Matt: that he came from nothing yet he has built this empire of drugs in a country that he forged. But that can only be taken from the cover of the song. When we really look and analyze the lyrics we see that Armstrong is talking about his lover. El Patron has no lovers and that is why I think he acts the way he is. This song would really be about the emotional side of El Patron, the side nobody sees because nobody cares. I think that on the inside El Patron is just a gentle soul that hates because he has nobody to care about him. He has no family and nobody to turn to.
Mr. Bojangles- Sammy Davis Junior
"He told me of the times he worked with minstrel shows, traveling around The South. He spoke with tears of fifteen years" (Sammy Davis Jr.). This segment from the song Mr. Bojangles by Sammy Davis Junior is a perfect example of what I believe El Patron listens to. This is for multiple reasons; first of all El Patron is always talking about his childhood. He is very proud of how he became who he is and he should be; El Patron was nothing with nothing yet he became such a rich person. From the song we see that this is what Mr. Bojangles also went through. Mr. Bojangles was working with a sideshow for fifteen years and was sad, but later in the song that changes, he is happy and dancing. "He grabbed his pants, took a bitter stance, jumped up high. That's when he clicked his heels. Then he let go a laugh, lord, he'd let go a laugh, shook back his clothes all around." (Sammy Davis Jr). In this segment we have evidence that Mr. Bojangles in the end was happy, as is the same about El Patron.
El Patron is the Fuher and supreme ruler of Opium, this is a country which he created and everything is done for him. El Patron has everything that he could ever want and that is what led me to choose What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong for his playlist. El Patron see Opium as his country so everything is perfect for him. He is like a kid in a candy store, he is living a dream and never wants to leave.
" "Give things...things...away?' he cried in a voice of a man one hundred years younger. "Give things away? I can't believe I heard that! What have they been teaching you!" "(Farmer 184). This quote is a perfect example of why I chose this song in particular. In this excerpt from the novel El Patron expresses his disgust in Matt suggesting to him to give away part of his fortune. To El Patron he has worked for it and it belongs to him. El Patron is in his perfect world and he never wants to lose it. This is what Louis Armstrong is saying in this powerful yet graceful song. Lyrics from the classic such as "I see trees of green....red roses too. I see em bloom..... for me and you. And I think to myself....what a wonderful world. (Louis Armstrong)" In my opinion El Patron is in a world of his own, he does not see the cruelty of his actions and the negative impact on others. He only sees the gain that will come to him. El Patron may be seen by others as a greedy and cruel man and he definitely is but to himself he is a god living in his own perfect world.
Dream a Little Dream of Me- Louis Armstrong
" "Give things...things...away?' he cried in a voice of a man one hundred years younger. "Give things away? I can't believe I heard that! What have they been teaching you!" "(Farmer 184). This segment from the novel is part of a bigger picture that El Patron is always telling Matt. " " Give things away?" Mused the old man. Was that why i fought my way out of Durango? Was that why I built and empire greater then Eldorado's?" (Farmer 184). This is what El Patron keeps reiterating to Matt: that he came from nothing yet he has built this empire of drugs in a country that he forged. But that can only be taken from the cover of the song. When we really look and analyze the lyrics we see that Armstrong is talking about his lover. El Patron has no lovers and that is why I think he acts the way he is. This song would really be about the emotional side of El Patron, the side nobody sees because nobody cares. I think that on the inside El Patron is just a gentle soul that hates because he has nobody to care about him. He has no family and nobody to turn to.
Mr. Bojangles- Sammy Davis Junior
"He told me of the times he worked with minstrel shows, traveling around The South. He spoke with tears of fifteen years" (Sammy Davis Jr.). This segment from the song Mr. Bojangles by Sammy Davis Junior is a perfect example of what I believe El Patron listens to. This is for multiple reasons; first of all El Patron is always talking about his childhood. He is very proud of how he became who he is and he should be; El Patron was nothing with nothing yet he became such a rich person. From the song we see that this is what Mr. Bojangles also went through. Mr. Bojangles was working with a sideshow for fifteen years and was sad, but later in the song that changes, he is happy and dancing. "He grabbed his pants, took a bitter stance, jumped up high. That's when he clicked his heels. Then he let go a laugh, lord, he'd let go a laugh, shook back his clothes all around." (Sammy Davis Jr). In this segment we have evidence that Mr. Bojangles in the end was happy, as is the same about El Patron.
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