My Manifesto

Maria Paula Acosta Gomez

Ms. Sierra Melcher

3 May 2014

Social Studies

Manifesto

“One day, you’re 17 and you’re planning for someday. And then quietly, without you ever really noticing someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life” (John Green). Life goes fast, it is impossible to notice how fast life goes on. One day you are 15 and without noticing the next day you are already 30. That is why you have to make choices. Life is about decision-making and taking risks. Life is about the choices you take, some of them might be good, you might fail in others, but the most important thing is to learn about those bad decisions you have taken. You cannot let the bad moments and memories destroy you. You cannot let people interfere in your life. You cannot let yourselves be sad in your own life. Life goes quick and being depressed, sad, and hurt is not a choice. Through life you start learning about the things that are valuable and the ones that are not. You start noticing who are the people who are true to you and would support you in every way. You also start noticing those who you love to death but it is better not to have them by your side, you have to say goodbye to them but you keep the best moments and memories. “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present” (Lao Tzu). In order to have a good and healthy life I have learn that you can’t live in the past. Nothing is forever, everything is temporary and you have to stick that in your head. You cannot be stuck in the past waiting for something that is not happening. The past can hurt and you have to choose whether to learn from it or live in it. You have to move on and forget the people who forgot you and love the ones who really love you. Those who love you are the ones who will ever be there for you supporting you in every decision you take. You have to learn to control your feelings and to control the people surrounding you. School had taught me that you can’t force people to be with you. The ones who want to be with you will find a way, and those who not, there is no possibility that they will stay. School had taught me that you have to be happy. Do whatever makes you happy, whatever fulfills you the most and whatever takes the best out of you. There is no time to focus on negative persons. During high school, I lost many friends, but at the same time, I gain new ones. Be grateful for your friends. My friends made me stronger and helped me during the most difficult times. They were there when the rest were gone. Appreciate school, during school you gain the most faithful and truly friends, those who know you since you are three years old, those who know you like their own, and those who will tell you what is the best for you, even though you ignore their advice. School has also taught me that every good thing requires sacrifice and time. Your parents need a lifetime to form you as a good person with good values and good manners. Your parents are a perfect example of sacrifice and love. So, love them, love them, as there was no tomorrow.

My advice is to live life to the fullest. Focus on the positive people, focus on your family, focus on your friends, focus on nature, focus on animals. Focus on the beautiful things the planet has. Time is short and life passes by. You want to remember your life like the one you loved, the one you took risks, not the one in which you suffered. Do whatever makes you happy, follow your dreams. If you are not happy with something, change it. Be a good person, give people hope. Make people love you. Be good to the environment, this is the only living planet. Love everything that surrounds you, be grateful for what you have and for every new day.

During these 17 years, I have learned a lot. I have learned from my family, from my friends, from my school, from my teachers, from my enemies. All of them taught me a life lesson. I encourage the people reading my manifesto to be themselves, because those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter. Don’t let yourselves be changed because some stereotype, don’t go with the flow, mark your own destiny. I have converted into a person that is down to earth, responsible, loving, helpful, friendly, but still I am filled with mistakes that I am trying to change them. Don’t hate your defects they are part of who you are. And remember follow your dreams.

  Work Cited:

Green, John. "The 50 Best Life Quotes... Ever - Curated Quotes." Curated Quotes. Curated Quotes, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. <http://www.curatedquotes.com/life-quotes/>.

Lao Tzu. "The 50 Best Life Quotes... Ever - Curated Quotes." Curated Quotes. Curated Quotes, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. <http://www.curatedquotes.com/life-quotes/>.

Light Bulb Conspiracy

The Lightbulb Conspiracy is a documental that explains how plan obsolescense works. It starts with the introduction of a spanish man who bought a printer and the printer died. This documental also shows how some people have show their uncomfortability about plan obsolescence. One was a guy that bought an ipod and its battery lasted much less than the normal. The company answer that it was impossible to help him out so the guy decided to sue.

This plan obsolescense has become part of our life. Every time you want to change something every time a new product comes out to market. You every time want the latest product, with the best technology, with the new design, but really you dont know you are being cheated. The companies create new products because their previous products are designed to last a small period of time. When this products die there will be the latest product for you to buy and replace the previous one. The companies manage their products to be fragile and small lasting. We have to prevent this world disease enter our homes. How can we do it? Preventing ourselves from buying unnecessary products. Remember the guy from the printer? Well, he contacted various printer workers and all of them told him to buy a new one. He decided not to fall in plan obsolescense hands and found out on internet that the printer has a chip which counts the printed copies. He removed that chip and now his printer works perfectly.

The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen

Añadir leyenda

The four horsemen is a documentary which predicts the fall of the American Empire. This documentary says the American Empire is about to fall because of the signs it has given. The age of luxury has given the bases to the fall of this empire. As Ghandi said, there is enough for everybody's need, but not for their greed. In the other side the document says that each empire has their time period, and according to history its peroid is about to end. With the fall of the American Empire, my country, Colombia will be affected. Colombia is converting into US's puppet. The United States wants to be part in everything in our country, acting like they are doing us a favor, when in reality they are making us fall with them too.  Our economy will start to fall, but I believe we will stabilize really fast because we are not yet completely managed by them.

Following, I attatch a synopsis of the documentary.

Colombian Monetary System

Colombian Monetary System

The Colombian Monetary System is run by the Central Bank, commonly called ¨ El Banco de la República¨. This powerful organization is in charge of the following:

1. Give out the cash.
2. Control the amount of money available. (Selling and buying OMAS)
3. Supervise the banking system.

¨El Banco de la República no forma parte de ninguna de las ramas del poder publico.¨ (Source 1). The previous quote means that the Banco de la República operates by themselves. They are not part of any public sector, which means it is corrupt free. The Banco de la República is a state entity which is autonomous of the other entities and analyzes by themselves the patterns of the Colombian economy.The Federal Reserve and the Banco de la República operate in a very similar way. Both of them have the same process in which they save a small amount of their deposit and back that amount with cash. The rest of the deposit is freed to the community in order to let the money and the economy flow.


MLA Citation
1. Quiquexxx. "Sistema Monetario Colombiano." Buenas Tareas. Buenas Tareas, Nov. 2009. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.buenastareas.com/ensayos/Sistema-Monetario-Colombiano/62853.html>.

2. Melendez, Inocencio J. "Análisis Del Sistema Monetario En Colombia. Inocencio Meléndez Julio." Análisis Del Sistema Monetario En Colombia. Inocencio Meléndez Ju... Slide Share, 09 Mar. 2013. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <http://www.slideshare.net/INOCENCIOMELENDEZJUL/analisis-del-sistema-monetario-en-colombia-inocencio-melendez-julio>.

Fractional Reserve Banking

What is the Fractional Reserve Banking?

During the past and this week, we have seen in our Social Studies class a video that explains how the economic sector works in the United States. The Fractional Reserve Banking is one organization of the United States economy which assures the effectivity of the money flowing along the country. The Fractional Reserve Banking  is a banking system in which a fraction of the bank´s deposits is retained and sustained by the same amount of money. The other amount of the deposit has no support in cash.

This is done to expand the country´s economy by setting free some capital that can be loaned to more people and gain more money through the interests rate. Most of the countries in the world operate under the system of the Fractional Reserve Banking. During the Great Depressions many banks collapsed because all the people simultaneously tried to retire their money from their accounts. This is what the Fractional Reserve Banking tries to prevent.


MLA Citation:
N.A. ¨Fractional Reserve Banking¨ Investopedia. Investopedia US. Not specified. Web. 4 April                       <2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fractionalreservebanking.asp>

Gaza Tunnels

The border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is connected through some tunnels. Through these tunnels equipment, food, medicines, and helping people enter Gaza to try to help this people who are fighting for their lifes. The Gaza government is not incharge of these tunnels, Egypt is the country running these tunnels out.

The Egyptian government has decided the enclosure of this tunnels. Many people are being affected by this decision. Through the Gaza tunnel, life in this country was somehow better in their often misery. People worked in the entrance of the tunnel by recieving what was sent and earned a fairly good salary. Now that the tunnels are being shut down the Gaza residents are concerned about how are they going to be able to find the medicines they need.

Egypt's decision on closing the tunnels I belive is very unfair. The Gaza community needs the tunnels to survive, to have a better life. Egypt is wrong if they believe that closing the tunnels will help. The tunnels should not be shut down.

MLA citation:O'Connor, Nigel. "Gaza Tunnel Enclosures Add to Economic Crisis." Aljazeera. Disqus. 1 March 2014. Web. 1 March 2014. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/03/gaza-egypt-tunnel-closures-add-economic-crisis-2014330144848664175.html>

Race, Food Inc., and Econimic Hitmen

Documentals

Economic Hitmen, race, and Food Inc. Are three documentals which are very similar. The three of the documentals show the types of power that run our society and world. The food corporation uses many techniques the EHM use. And both of these sectors use the race in their own benefit. The food and EHM are two corporations that run our world. The Food Inc. needs low hand job in order to make their products really low priced. They use race to make their processes efficient. They use less developed countries to situate their companies and make really low wages that wont give them any loss, instead it would give them more earnings. They also use the race stereotyping by hiring "mexicans", "asians", "latinos" and "negros" to do the nasty job "whites" would not do. The food corporation and ECH use equal techniques. They focus on the weak ones to expand their power. ECH focus on the less developed countries such as the Latin American ones and make them owe the US by using their building, and democratic techniques. The same way is with the food inc. they use farmers to produce their goods and maje them owe by using their products. All of this corporations are running our world by taking advantage of race and power. They do not care for the future and benefit of the people they are selling their stuff. They just care for money, they want to be earning everytime a little more. They do not care if they are killing our society.

Malasya Airlines

No Survivors on Malasya Airlines Crash

Malasya Airlines announces that there are none survivors from their Boeing 777. It was announced that the airplane definitely crashed into the Indian Ocean. Even though it is not know were precisely the airplane felt, they know that it was in the Indian Ocean. The near satellites recieved the signals from those territories. Many countries have confirmed that they wont stop the search. The Malasyan government affirmed that they still need to give the families the response about what happened to the plane and where did their families felt. The United States has sent devices of the best technology to make the process more efficient.

The Malasyan airplane crash was a conversation subject for everyone. The theory of the plane being hijacked was very present. Now the Malasyan government announced that there was no hijack but who knows. There could be a possibility that the government is hidding the real reason of what happened to the plane. In many other news articles it has been said that there has been a lot of information about the crash that has not been published or shared to the media. Judge yourselves.

MLA Citation (Image and News)
Unknown. "Malaysia Airlines anuncia que el Boeing desaparecido cayó en el Índico y da el pésame a las familias." Noticias.co.msn.com, 2014. Web. 24 Mar 2014. <http://noticias.co.msn.com/internacional/malaysia-airlines-anuncia-que-el-boeing-desaparecido-cay%C3%B3-en-el-%C3%ADndico-y-da-el-p%C3%A9same-a-las-familias-2>.

Economic Hit Men

Economic Hit Men

Image took from: http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/corporatocracy-400x466.jpg

Confessions of an Economic Hit Men is a book written by former economic hit man John Perkins. This book is about how the United States really got into power. It is not by how we think they did. Just think about every thing bad a nation can do and believe that everything that you thought about was done by the US. John Perkins knew really well how this business run. He was sent to several countries to make them buy the idea that the US will help them in exchange of their natural (and not so valuable for them) resources.

Two perfect examples of this is Panama and Ecuador. Both countries had previous presidents that were affected by the Economic Hit Man powers. They washed their brains and obtain petroleum and forest from these countries and in exchange they got ¨development¨. Once these presidents ended their term, two others came into power. These two presidents had a totally different view of their resources. They believed their resources must be exploited in order to help their own people, not to be sent to a foreign country. Obviously, the United States did not like this and had to take control of the action. The United States tried to talk with the former presidents, but it was impossible. So, they were judged as communists and killed. Strangely, both of the presidents died in an airplane crash, strangely both of them were fighting against the US power, strangely both of them decided not to reconcile, strangely both died. What did really happened US, can you guys give us a respond?

What gives you power?

What gives you power?

There are many different things that give you power in different cultures. In the middle east it might be if you are a men you have the power. Your skin color can also determine power. There are many factors that determine the power you are given. Society should be able to treat everyone equally, ignoring the different qualities each person has. 

In the Colombian factor I believe the factor that gives you power is your wealth. Here, if you have money you have everything. If you have money, you are able to buy whatever you want, even politicians to make laws in your favor. I would like to ignore the fact that our country is corrupt, but it is an ugly truth that each Colombian has to accept and try to eliminate. 

What is my race?

What is my race?

During my social studies class, my classmates and I had been watching some videos about what is race, and how this concept of "race" determine the lifestyles of some people. The video Power of an Illusion, shows how the white powerful ones had used biology to determine the better, greater and prettier race. This concept has affect thousands of african descendants around the whole globe. Because not being white in this society is a disadvantage. A disadvantage that will make you feel lower and less wanted and all just because you are not white.

In my case I believe I am very fortunate on being "white". Being white brings a lot of priviledges in my country. I dont really pay attention to them until I watch the video in my social studies class. But thanks that I am white, people give me more respect and importance. It is very unfortunate that in our country people pay attention tou your skin color.

Syria

Syrian Forces Take Strategic Town From Rebels

Image taken from Aljazeera

The Syrian military forces have gain the town of Zara. A town from several that have been managed lately by the rebels. The rebels plan and do terrorist attacks from these cities located in the west part of the Syrian country. 

The Syrian forces have gain a rebel managed town located in the province of Homs. Zara is the name of the town in which for about a month has been center of intense attacks. The Syrian press assures that with the regain of this territory peace would be restored in the West territory of Syria. The re gain of these territories is very good for the Syrian society because it means that no more attacks would be happening in this part of the country. By no more attacks it also means that there would be no more innocent lifes paying the price, and no more sadness of families who have lost their loved ones for war. 

MLA citation:
No Author. "Syrian forces take strategic town from rebels." Aljazeera. Disqus. 8 March 2014. Web. 8 March 2014.<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/syrian-forces-take-strategic-town-from-rebels-201438152737145118.html>.

Link:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/syrian-forces-take-strategic-town-from-rebels-201438152737145118.html

Lemon Tree

Movie: Lemon Tree

Image taken from http://www.theaceblackblog.com/2011/05/movie-review-lemon-tree-2008.html

The movie Lemon Tree reflects the conflict between Israel and the Israeli occupied territories (Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank). The movie is based in the life of Salma Zidane, a Palestinian woman who lives in the Israel- West Bank border. She owns a lemon grove, which her family has been in charge of for 50 years. She is a widow and her sons have grown and left home, she feels lonely. The conflict starts when the Defense Minister of Israel moves to a beautiful house located in the border with the West Bank, just besides the defense wall and Salma's lemon grove. The lemon grove appears to be dangerous for the Minister's life so Salma is reached and told that she must give up her grove for the Minister's security. Lemon Tree reflects the conflict between these territories because it shows the importance and power Israel has over the Palestinian people. Salma Zidane had worked the grove for many years and the Israeli government was taking it from her. By taking her grove, they were taking Salma's life, her memories, her good moments, her family, her dignity and her hope. It is important to say that Salma fought for her grove, and even though she was a woman she was able to regain part of her lemons. In the middle east society women are not treated equally and the fact that one woman by herself without any support was able to win a case against such a powerfull country such as Israel. It is shown that for this conflict it is more powerfull the wellbeing of Israel than the onw of the Palestinians. Salma had worked those lands for 50 years and an Israeli went in one day and took her land away. Palestinians should be trated the same way Israeli's are. It is unffair to give more power to a culture that has been less years in those lands than to the ones who have been there for a lifetime.

Women in Saudi Arabia Demand End of Male Control

Women in Saudi Arabia Demand End of Male Control

Picture taken from Aljazeera.com

Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/saudi-activists-demand-end-male-control-201432132928215484.html
Citation: No Author. "Woman in Saudi Arabia Demand End of Male Control." Aljazeera. Disqus. 2 March 2014. Web. 2 March 2014. <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/saudi-activists-demand-end-male-control-201432132928215484.html>

Women in Saudi Arabia are showing their discomformity with the amount of power men. Ladies in this middle eastern country are blocked from many of the activities that are considered normal in the United States or Latin America. These women are not allowed to drive, to leave class with a permission of their guardian and neither to travel alone. A group of activists showed their position about this by proposing a more free policy for Saudi Arabian women. These activists presented the proposal to let women drive but this idea was rejected by the assembly, which is made by 150 Saudi Arabian men. This country shows the lack of respect they have for women. They are treated as objects which only serve to satisfy men's needs and to procreate. This situation is not seen in any other countries because we as society have been growing up and reaching the idea that men and women must be treated equally. This country shows their low intelligent capacity and women in Saudi Arabia must do something to avoid this atrocity.

Trouble in Gaza Strip border with Israel

Trouble in Gaza Strip border with Israel

Picture taken from Aljazeera

Aljazeera is a news website which posts about international problems, specially the ones happening on the middle east. Today a new article was uploaded. This article shows how the problem in the border between Gaza and Israel appeared to be calming down but is definitely not.

Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/israel-shoots-dead-woman-near-gaza-border-2014319237377906.html
MLA citation: No Author. "Israel shoots dead woman near Gaza border." Aljazeera. Disqus. 1 March 2014. Web. 1 March 2014.<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/israel-shoots-dead-woman-near-gaza-border-2014319237377906.html>.

While reading this article, it made me think about the Israel border with Gaza conflict. It made me think about the amount of people that is being affected by this problem. Even though the West Bank, Israel and Gaza Strip had sign a truce agreement, Israel continues breaking this ceasefire agreement. While reading the article it made me think that the majority of the problem happening in the West Bank, Israel and Gaza Strip is being brough by the country of Israel. Israel is the only country who has been breaking the ceasefire policy, by shooting dead innocent people who just walk through the border. From my perspective the conflict in this zone is Israel's fault.

About me

My name is Maria Paula Acosta, I was born in Bogota on May 13 of 1996. I have lived since I was 3 here in Bucaramanga. I love hanging out with my friends and family. I also like watching movies and sleeping.

Syria

How difficult it must be for refugees to be in a total unknown country? Waiting for external help, not being able to do anything for yourselves nor your family? We are lucky to have a partially or kind of "peacefull" country were the conflict is not close to us and where we dont really get impacted by it. In syria thousands of people suffer. They try to scape but trying to scape means loosing your independency and starting to depend on somebody else. No one saves themselves from the conflict in Syria. Thousands of innocent people have died, they fight for themselves, they fight for their country and for they freedom.