Narrative

Online Lesson 11

Good afternoon Mr. Lundberg, my speech today is about Justice and Mercy. With this, I will be using the recent case of Osama bin Laden’s death to convey my argument for today.

As we all may have heard, Osama bin Laden have been killed in an American Operation in Pakistan. He was killed on the spot of the operation but not brought back to America first for a trial. Osama bin Laden is well known for being responsible for the attack of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11 2001, which killed thousands of people.

As I have said, Osama bin Laden was only known to be responsible but not proven to be responsible with evidences. Therefore, the American Operation should not have killed him immediately, instead they should have brought him back to America for a court trial to gather sufficient evidence to officially charge Osama bin Laden guilty. Since no one is sure that he is the mastermind, he should have been given the chance to defend himself in court. Moreover, if Osama bin Laden really was not the one responsible for the attack then there is another person out as large and may be of great danger to America.

Therefore, I feel that Osama bin Laden could be brought to court for a trial to gather evidence on the people responsible for the attack. And if he really was the mastermind of the attack, then America should have the rights to execute him for the many people who died under his attacks. Since bring Osama back for a court trial would allow the families of the casualties to know who was the one responsible for their loved one’s death they would be able to be assure that the person would be executed and not just a lost hope.

In conclusion, anyone that is only suspected guilty should not be dealt with until there are enough evidence to prove him guilty.

Blog Prompt #11

It is not ethically right to participate in the newsroom culture Murdoch fostered. Getting respect from your competition is better than destroying them. A person's privacy should be respected. One should show mercy to a certain extent.

Getting respect from the competition will make work more smooth and efficient than destroying them. The competitions would not challenge you when they know you are virtuous because they know that your audiences respect and admire you. If they challenge you, they would lose neutral audiences. Without competition challenges, the job could run much smoother and thus more efficient.

Everyone has human rights, and we should respect each another's privacy. We should not "do whatever it takes to get the story" because the person involved in the "story" might feel uneasy that their supposedly private life is being publicised.

Depending on the severity of the situation, different levels of mercy should be shown. For example if the private life of that particular person is about him being very depressed over family matters, the media should not publicise that. Since the person is already so depressed, letting the public know that could lead to further criticism and his depression could worsen.

In conclusion, it is not ethically right to participate in the newsroom culture Murdoch fostered becuase it hurts many other people apart from the particular person that is being publicised.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Accusation of Rape

I do not think it is fair for the media to immediately come out with a conclusion that Dominique is guilty of rape because there may be a lot of reasons why the hotel maid accused Dominique of rape. As Dominique is a rich and influential person, people would try means to gain control over him for their own benefits. And accusation of rape may be the easiest way as it is the highest level of outrage of modesty and not many would have witnessed it as rapes are usually done in isolated places. Also, Dominique has a wife, which makes him an easy target to criticism by the media, affecting his reputation and may make him give up defending himself against the accusation sooner. Thus the accuser may have thought that Dominique was an easy person to target for rape accusation.
However, even if the accusation was true, the media should not have reacted so heavily by constantly saying that Dominique is guilty. This may cause the audiences to also react heavily and lose trust in Dominique and cause havoc in the stock market. Since Dominique runs a political firm, his reputation is very important and rape accusation is disgusted by most people.

Private Commercial Space Travel

Private commercial space travel would be a bad idea. It is a waste of resource to allow people to go up to space just to take a look. Also, there could be lots of problem because humans are unable to survive in outer space.

It is a waste of resource to prepare a rocket to space just for people to view it. Since the outer space is not yet explored very into detail, it would be more practical to spend the resources for researching. Anyway, what could the people see when they are just travelling a little further away from Earth, would not it be the same to view the outer space from the television? It costs very much lesser and one might even know more from a television documentary of the outer space.

If there would be a technical error in the space shuttle, the entire passenger’s live would be in danger immediately. If that were to happen, who is to be blamed, the NASA or the passenger themselves? Therefore commercial space travelling is definitely still a problem and should not be carried out.

If one wants to know more about the outer space, searching over the internet or watching documentaries would be more practical was there would be explanations. Unlike when going to outer space yourself, whatever is seen may not be whatever is explained.

In conclusion, commercial space travel is a waste of resources and the wastage of resources could be worsened by any accident that takes place when the space shuttle takes off.

Blog Prompt #7

Based on Bassanio’s arguments, I would not have loaned him the money if I were Antonio. Firstly, Bassanio was making promises that he did not know he could keep or not. Also, Bassanio’s meed for money was just for his desires for Portia. Lastly, since Bassanio knows and admits that he is an excessive money spender, he is not trying to change; instead he wants to spend more.

Bassanio was making promises to Antonio he was not sure of being able to keep. He promised Antonio that he would return every single Ducat he borrowed from Antonio but he himself knows that Portia has many pursuers and his chance of impressing Portia is low. Therefore if he fails to impress Portia, the money I loan him would go to total waste and his promise to me would not be fulfilled.

Bassanio’s request for money from Antonio is not what he needed but what he wanted, Bassanio could live without Portia. Bassanio explains why he is attracted by Portia and emphasises why he wants to impress her which concludes that Portia was absolutely just his desires and is not what he requires. Therefore, I would not lend him the money as the money was not for important usage, but for satisfying usagae.

Bassanio knows that he is an excessive spender but he does not try to change. Bassanio admits that he is spending beyond his means and thus is seeking help from a friend, Antonio. Instead of trying to change and start spending less, Bassanio has a new desire to spend on. I would not loan Bassanio the money as I would want him to change his excessive spending habits.

In conclusion, I would not loan Bassanio the money if I were Antonio because Bassanio’s need for the money is not important and is beyond his means.

Difference Between MOV Film and MOV Book

In the film version of the Merchant of Venice, the details were not as clear as it is in the book version of Merchant of Venice. Therefore, certain very specific characteristics of different characters are different. For example in Act One, Scene One of the book version, Solanio and Salarino are more of concerned why Antonio is upset. But in the film version, Solanio and Salarino are more of mocking Antonio for being upset. Also, in the film when Bassanio seeks a loan from Antonio, the film cuts a huge part of Bassanio trying to plead with Antonio to loan him some money. This made Antonio seem more willing to lend Bassanio the money than in the book version. In the film version, all Bassanio had to do was to tell Antonio about Portia and Antonio was immediately ready to loan the money. However, in the book version, after hearing about Portia Antonio was still a little hesitant and tried to find ways to avoid Bassanio’s request by saying he does not have the money Bassanio needs. The difference of the film version of Merchant of Venice from the book version is such that the characters are a little different in characteristics.

Blog Prompt #5

We stood on the peak of the Himalayan Mountain and stared with our mouths barely closed at the Himalayan Mountain range. We enjoyed the view that we wished would never go away from our sights. Mountains after mountains stood in front of us revealing most of what there is to see of mountains. The snow was as white as toothpaste which made the mountains stand out. The streams that cut through in between the mountains distinguished each mountain from another. And how in contrast it was when the temperature up on the Himalayan Mountain is different from where the stream was. The stream had not reached Zero Degree Celsius. Then, a gust of wind blew at us, as if a warning for us that we should hike down the mountain as the weather would not be in our favour. So, we headed down, with our heads constantly turned to take a glance at the scenery we would never forget but just in case we do, we would take the very last look at it which does not really mean it.

Blog Prompt #4

A thief prowled around the house. The thief made up his mind. He sneaked towards the open window. He squeezed half of his body in. The other half followed on right next. With a smile, he scanned the surroundings. When “the coast was clear” he continued. Using fingers, he pushed the room door. The opening allowed him to peep in. There were no sights of anyone inside. He crept in and rummaged through drawers. He stuffed the loot into his pockets. His pockets sagged due to the loot. He started finding this way out. Then, he heard voices downstairs. He crept to the corridor and peeped. The owners of the house were back. They seemed drunk. The thief saw the opportunity to leave. He crawled to the nearest window. After he was out, he ambled away.