http://www.therecipefamily.com/ This is a great band out of Morgantown W.V. The music is a mix of bluegrass, rock, and alternative....very unique. Other than the great sound thier music says something about the world. Davey's Jubilee is a touching story of a young man's trip to Vietnam.
http://www.kellerwilliams.net/ Amazing one man band who is vocal about the oppression of individualism by the social super structure.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Oxjam
This event was very entertaining and brought some awarness to those who came. I enjoyed the musical talents of The Frets, Pierson Keating, Sam Nesbit, and others. They are very talented individuals who fuse in a unique way to make an interesting show. The slide provided was informative and gave some disturbing facts about the state of the world today. I will definately look further into the Oxfam organization. Pamphlets, booklets, mailing lists, and stickers were available. Hopefully, these products will promote the organizations and help reach their goals. The event charged a fee of $3 which I'm sure is going to help enhance the lives of others.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Blood Diamonds
Blood Diamonds Review
This was an action packed movie with fairly good acting. It flowed well and kept my interest. It was entertaining as well as educational. The film heightened my awareness of the civil conflicts in Africa. I had heard that there have been several civil wars in various African countries over the past decade. However, this information was received as factual and distant. I did not realize the breadth of the problem. Blood Diamond showed a small amount of the realities of refugee camps, native rebels, unstable government, and American involvement. The idea that the sale of products in America is fueling wars in Africa never occurred to me. It hurts me to think of the victims that have been beaten, raped, and had their family members killed. It pisses me off that corporate assholes buy and stock diamonds for their own profit regardless of its effect on whole nations. It disgusts me that young children are taken from their families and taught to be merciless killers. Now that I have a little bit of an idea what is going on in Africa I want to know more and how I can help the innocent victims of these horrendous conflicts.
This was an action packed movie with fairly good acting. It flowed well and kept my interest. It was entertaining as well as educational. The film heightened my awareness of the civil conflicts in Africa. I had heard that there have been several civil wars in various African countries over the past decade. However, this information was received as factual and distant. I did not realize the breadth of the problem. Blood Diamond showed a small amount of the realities of refugee camps, native rebels, unstable government, and American involvement. The idea that the sale of products in America is fueling wars in Africa never occurred to me. It hurts me to think of the victims that have been beaten, raped, and had their family members killed. It pisses me off that corporate assholes buy and stock diamonds for their own profit regardless of its effect on whole nations. It disgusts me that young children are taken from their families and taught to be merciless killers. Now that I have a little bit of an idea what is going on in Africa I want to know more and how I can help the innocent victims of these horrendous conflicts.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
RULING POWER
In the Matrix, humans are suspended in sacs of a fetal nature and fed ‘reality’ through a computer system. Their perception of the world is directly supplied by the robots in charge. This system allows people to be aware of what they are comfortable with and oblivious to those things that could cause them to be nervous or distressed about the world around them. Unfortunate things do happen within the Matrix because a ‘perfect’ world would cause alarm and lead to the search for knowledge or truth. In my opinion many current social structures do parallel the ideology laid out in the Matrix.
Every established country with a stable government has a ruling class that most likely includes corporate and government officials. It seems that Marx was right in that the people who own the resources (income producing property) control the system. According to G. William Domhoff the power elite are people who have high-level jobs in institutions controlled by members of the upper class. The positions these people hold are also an important aspect of their ruling power. Along with the economic resources, the power to rule is passed down like a family heirloom. I do not believe that the upper class minority has the same needs, desires or goals as the average working class person. The ruling class most likely has goals of keeping and expanding their own power and profit. The average person’s goals may include being economically comfortable, having adequate health care, and having rights and choices.
Through economic control the ruling class within a social structure has gained the power to provide the rest of society with a perception of the world or ‘reality’. The power elite of the ruling class distort the lower classes’ perceptions through the presentation of information and claims of cultural values. Basically, they tell us what they want us to hear. The ruling class gives us the impression that they are trying to help us reach our goals. The same is true in the presentation of global conflict. The ruling class may have alternative motives in conflicts with other social structures, but they reveal to the general public only information that will lead to support of their goal. An example of information misrepresentation is that the news reporter may spit out a death toll, but graphic footage of the situation is not shown. If the information we get about the world situation is from the news (T.V./paper/radio) then it has been altered by the ruling class.
If we are to find truth and knowledge about the state of the world today we must stop believing everything the ruling class tells us. We must critically consider information from a variety of resources. My hope is that through this class I will be able to evaluate the information I receive through the mass media and find other forms of gaining information. I want to be able to explore the causes of conflict and its effect on all of us.
Every established country with a stable government has a ruling class that most likely includes corporate and government officials. It seems that Marx was right in that the people who own the resources (income producing property) control the system. According to G. William Domhoff the power elite are people who have high-level jobs in institutions controlled by members of the upper class. The positions these people hold are also an important aspect of their ruling power. Along with the economic resources, the power to rule is passed down like a family heirloom. I do not believe that the upper class minority has the same needs, desires or goals as the average working class person. The ruling class most likely has goals of keeping and expanding their own power and profit. The average person’s goals may include being economically comfortable, having adequate health care, and having rights and choices.
Through economic control the ruling class within a social structure has gained the power to provide the rest of society with a perception of the world or ‘reality’. The power elite of the ruling class distort the lower classes’ perceptions through the presentation of information and claims of cultural values. Basically, they tell us what they want us to hear. The ruling class gives us the impression that they are trying to help us reach our goals. The same is true in the presentation of global conflict. The ruling class may have alternative motives in conflicts with other social structures, but they reveal to the general public only information that will lead to support of their goal. An example of information misrepresentation is that the news reporter may spit out a death toll, but graphic footage of the situation is not shown. If the information we get about the world situation is from the news (T.V./paper/radio) then it has been altered by the ruling class.
If we are to find truth and knowledge about the state of the world today we must stop believing everything the ruling class tells us. We must critically consider information from a variety of resources. My hope is that through this class I will be able to evaluate the information I receive through the mass media and find other forms of gaining information. I want to be able to explore the causes of conflict and its effect on all of us.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Introduction
My name is Trish Gordon, I am a 23 year old Caucasian female from the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia located in the United States of America on planet Earth within the Milky way galaxy. I am currently a junior at WVWC and have enrolled in the course global peace and conflict. The course fulfills the general requirement for global studies and is an elective towards my sociology major. In addition to these concrete academic advancements, I am interested in gaining knowledge about global issues and learning about cultural differences. My world view is somewhat unrealistic, optimistic, and distant due to a lack of true knowledge, understanding, and empathy. I hope throughout this course I will develop a deeper and realistic world view. My personal reservations about the class include a fear of being unable to keep up with the reading requirements and that 50% of my grade comes from the midterm and final.
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