The Olympics: Uniting the World Through Child Labor

The International Olympic Committee may have just discovered a great new tag line for the Olympic games in 2008. Uniting the World Through Child Labor. Has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you say? Beijing, China, which is slated to hold the games next year, has come under fire by the global trade union and labor group PlayFair 2008. According to PlayFair, factory employees who are producing the official Olympic merchandise for the 2008 games in China are worked over 12 hour shifts and are paid for less than the minimum wage. To make matters worse the
reportgoes on to say children as young as twelve-years-old are also working in these sweat shops. The hypocrisy speaks for itself. But of course this isn’t a total surprise either. How many treasured aspects of society have been created by sweatshop labor? Shirts, coats, pants, hats -- you name it. The list is probably as long as the wing of a 747. As sad as it sounds, the one thing that can unite the world is some big over hyped extravaganza, that is internally making money off the brow of people who really have no choice but to work in these conditions to survive. The Olympics is founded on the idea:

...to contribute to the building of a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with the spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Sounds convincing enough. But that’s the risk in giving different countries the privilege to host these international games. Whether or not they adhere to those same building blocks or if they play by their own rule book. Either way the image of the infamous Olympic logo of the 5 rings may not longer show the ideals of a united world, but the sewing work of a twelve-year- old stitching the rings together at 2 a.m. in the morning. Editor's Note: Here's an update on the developing story.

U.S. Education Goes Digital; China Goes All Out

During the start of the school year I started wishing life was like a Star Trek episode. Instead of cramming all my textbooks into my overworked backpack, the experience would be complete with miniature computer pads overloaded with information crammed into the itty-bitty hard drive while sitting comfortably in your back pocket. I can only imagine the vast difference in the happiness of high school and college student if the only school book they had to lug from point A to point B only weighed about two pounds and stored everything from the complete collection of Emily Dickinson, to the hefty hardcover calculus book. Now, many colleges in the U.S. have begun to adopt the procedure of copying a portion of their school books into digital form. With the help of Google search engine, schools in Iowa, Indiana, Penn State, and Michigan – just to name a few – plans to scan up to 10 million volumes of literature into digital format. Compared to China, the United States’ take on education are mere baby steps. In China, the path to college is a rigorous one that nearly shuts down the entire country for two days for the college entrance exam. Unlike here in America, if you fail that sort of test in China it would be hard to say, “The system failed me!” considering all the outside effort that goes into getting students to that point. The day the U.S. diverts airplanes away from an area where students may be taking the SAT’s, and not to mention when teachers start getting paid for their actual worth, that will be the day the bill for education won't be slided for a costly war. But that's a whole another rant that I'll save for another day.

Things That Make You Go Ugh! Volume 5

God Speaks, Paris Sees Melodramatic Light Apparently Paris Hilton is so famous now that she gets sent special messages from God via text message. According to Paris, this whole experience of her driving a car without a proper permit, getting busted, and thrown in jail has been a message from God. In reality, I’m sure God stopped trying to send those : STOP BEING A SLUT messages along time ago. After her short stint in the slammer, her even shorter release, and her re-entry, Paris has – dare I say it: Seen the error of her ways. What a load of smelly socks and rotten eggs that is. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Hilton stated that:

“I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."

Right, of course. Because her desire to be a better role model for young girls didn’t happen after her infamous sex tape made headlines, or the many, many, many tabloid headlines surrounding her all day and night partying. Her revelation happens after her lawyers’ really lame lie to get her out of jail backfired forcing her to realize she can’t dictate the law to her comfort level.

"I feel that the purpose of my life is to be where I am," Hilton told Walters. "My spirit or soul did not like the way I was being seen and that is why I was sent to jail. God has released me."

Paris should look into writing for soap operas. There is definitely a place for her in the world of really emo, self-pitying monologues.

Video Games Get Vindicated

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ain’t happy, but a bunch of young video gamers will be relieved– whether they know it or not. A California federal judge has reversed a law that would ban minors from purchasing video games tagged as violent. The judge found the ban unconstitutional because it conflicted with the 1st amendment’s right of free speech. Personally, the ban wouldn’t make sense. Just think of it as illegally downloading music. Even if you shut down one music site there is always another one near by. The same goes for video games. Take away their ability to buy video games and most likely they’ll find an older friend or relative who has it. As long as there are laws there will be loopholes to them. The best thing to do is to get parents more aware of what their kids are playing. Ultimately, if younger kids are buying these games their parents are the ones footing the bill, so it really is up to the parents whether or not they want their kids exposed to that violent video games. Awareness – supposedly – starts at home. -- Eming Piansay

Things That Make You go : Ugh! Volume 7

Unnecessary Information Overload

Of all the things happening in the world why- oh why is Paris Hilton always on the top of the Breaking Headlines section. Isn't there a more revelent story floating around somewhere in the world? No matter which news website I stumble on to there she is. I don’t even understand why everyone is so interested in her. All she has to do is step outside her hotel, drop a paper cup and every other joe-somebody takes the bait. For weeks the news that Paris is heading off to jail has been EVERYWHERE. Not that it isn't surprising but still -- if Paris was a drug we'd have all ODed a very long time ago. Without even looking for it, every news outlet has been mercilessly beating the Paris story over anyone who is brave enough to venture into the vain existence of a poor little hotel heiress. Talk about a waste of printing material.

Enough is Enough… Seriously…

When the United States’ War on Terror started after the 9/11 attacks everything seemed like it was happening in a dream state. But as the dream state wore off so did the vast amount of patience that came along with. With news like this, and more U.S. deaths every week the water downed ideals that the U.S.’s stint in the Middle East is working to an the ultimate positive outcome it is starting to feel like a move trilogy that just keeps getting worse with every release.

With the Democrats doing the blame-game-shuffle on the War in Iraq, the 2008 Presidential election has opened a whole new door with buckets and barrels of talk. But like what most have probably come to expect from our government leaders these days talk is the only thing any of them seem to be good at.

Get Married, Cure Depression, Save the World

I thought Chris Rock had the best take on relationships. But it appears science says otherwise. Apparently marriage cures the blues. I guess most of the people studied were kicking back on happy pills. But, whatever, I’ll believe the gospel of Chris any day.

Lackluster Girl Power

I wrote this blog for the New America blog website. Check it out... sorry for the week delay I haven't been near my computer in awhile. I'll have more stuff posted this week.

Lackluster Girl Power