Cast Out Caste

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Enora Haugmard France

India is a booming country, rich with diversities, but its territories haven’t developed equally everywhere. Indeed, some discrimination still exits  between Indian inhabitants. Hopefully, the situation is evolving positively.

In India, there is a system that makes it possible to classify the population a thousand heredity groups called “caste”. The caste system was developed many years ago and still survives today. We can notice 4 major castes : Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, which are the upper class, and Sudra the lower one. It would be necessary to add the Untouchables (Dalits) which are left outside the other castes. Currently, the discrimination about caste is forbidden, however, it still continues to play a major role in Indian society.

caste

Indeed, there is large-scale of abuses by the police, for example when some refused to fill a complaint or acting in collusion with the upper class. Upper class oppression lead to terrible actions, such as humiliation in public, paraded naked or raped with impunity. Dalits lives are very hard, in part of immoral actions that they have to face everyday; for example, their jobs which are unclean (cleaning latrines). Moreover, the Untouchables face lower wages and a terrible way of life.

 

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But, the situation has been improving since XX century. An emergence of grassroots human right movements and organizations among Dalits has resulted.

People’s Watch organization by Henri Tiphagne was established on Dec. 10, 1995 in the state of Tamil Nadu. People’s Watch is at the heart of the human rights fight in India. The objective of this organization is to empower the victims of human rights violations, such as domestics violence, torture, child labor, harassment and of course, caste discrimination.

 

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As Henri explain during an interview, People’s Watch is an association of volunteers that want to operate independently and without  outside resources. According to Henri, he would like to act step by step instead of working throughout the country, because he wouldn’t possess the skills and the capacities to be able to make an entire state accountable. Thanks to their work, they provided immediate relief to 20,000 families, mostly Dalits affected by a tsunami.

 

On the 17th of July 2017, a man from India’s lowest caste was elected president. Ram Nath Kovind is the second president who came from Dalits.ram-nath-kovind-ambedkar-jayanti-pti_650x400_81523727422 His election as president represents a support among the Dalits community. Although, the role of the president in India lacks any real executive authority, Ram Nath Kovind has a symbolic role. Traditionally viewed as “impure,” the group continues to grapple with persecution and exclusion.

 

So, even though discrimination against Dalits still prevails, the situation has been improving and we can hope that it will continue in this way. But, unfortunately, the Untouchability is an entrenched and its hard to remove it. India is riddled with discrimination and prejudices, and that provokes huge consequences towards the lower class. Perhaps, we will have wait for its economic development to notice a real social evolution.

 

 

 

https://www.peopleswatch.org/our-work

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Nath_Kovind

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/atrocities-on-dalits-social-problem-not-political-says-ramdas-athawale-1351387-2018-09-28

https://www.countercurrents.org/dalit-tiphagne070104.htm

 

The 5 Scariest Roller-Coasters in Six Flags Magic Mountain

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Isabelle Gerig, Switzerland

First of all, there are many different roller coasters you can ride and all of them are really exciting. However, if you visit the park for one day, you don’t have the possibility to ride all of them. So I will show you the five scariest and funniest ones! So here we go:

LEX Luthor; Drop of Doom: There are no words to describe it, watch the video and you will see!

 

X2: That’s a fifth dimension roller coaster. With its 360-degree  rotating seats and head-first, face down drops, X has been one of the most popular thrill rides on the planet. There is nothing ordinary about this roller coaster.

superman

SUPERMAN: This is my favourite one! 1,315 feet of track that bends straight up into the sky 415 feet high! It’s really beautiful, but daring. You and 13 others would-be super heroes must escape by piling into a sleek car that will blast you off this frozen rock, where the whole adventure starts.You’re about to shoot from 0 to 100 miles per hour in seven seconds. This is a record breaking speed and has never before been achieved in a thrill ride, let alone backwards.

 

 

 

batman

BATMAN: When you ride this roller coaster, it really feels like being BATMAN. The roller coaster was introduced at March, 1994. It reaches a top speed around 50 mph. During your ride you watch the ground under you and see your feet whipping around. It starts with a full 360-degree loop, then you are a superhero and you don’t need to warm up. This roller coaster will grind you into submission just like the criminals of GOTHAM CITY.

 

 

 

TWISTED COLOSSUS: Wood meets steel at this roller coaster Twisted Colossus – one of the longest, most innovative hybrid coasters in the world. When you think your ride is finished, it starts over again and you can feel the adrenaline a second time. During that, there is an other one starting and so you do the ride next to each other. This is a really special, scary and unforgettable experience.

STREET ART: VANDALISM OR ART?

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Ilaria Tedeschi, Italy

Post graffiti, murals, frescoes or Urban Art, the Universe of the Street Art is known under many appellations. But where does it come from ? What were the changes ?

“Is it art?”

A question sometimes said and heard in museums, galleries, movie theaters, concert arenas, any place of creation. One such place is also the street, where the spectators often seem to wonder: “Is graffiti art or vandalism ?”
As a response to modernism and social segregation, graffiti became the means of communication and identity for young people in New York City in the 1970s.
Street art is visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues.
Some of the earliest expressions of street art were certainly the graffiti which started showing up on the sides of train cars and walls. This was the work of gangs in the 1920s and 1930s New York.
The impact of this subversive culture was extraordinarily felt in the 1970s and 1980s.
These decades were a significant turning point in the history of street art – it was a time when young people, by responding to their socio-political environment, started creating a movement, taking the ‘battle for meaning’ into their own hands.
Soon, this subcultural phenomenon gained the attention and respect in the ‘grown-up’ world. It had taken a form of true artistic expression.
One of the most important name of the street art is Martha Cooper.

Martha-Cooper-Untitled-Ghetto-4-LifeOne of the most important photo of Martha Cooper.

Although still subversive, and in its large part an illegal movement, through art enthusiasts and professionals, street art earned its place in the contemporary art world.
It is a marvelous art form in its own right and it is amazing to follow the evolution and diversity of street art in the 21st century.
Street art gave birth to artists who create breathtaking murals, and those who have incorporated video art and other performative aspects to creative work ‘on the streets’.
Omnipresent globally, it has evolved into a complex art form encompassing various practices. The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti is a survey of international art scene and brings together the world’s most influential urban artists and their work.

Street art is a way to communicate with other people, to share your creativity, your ideas, your thoughts and a way express yourself, how you really are.

Some of the most important street artists are:

BANSKY

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KEITH HARING

Keith-Haring-Crack-is-Wack-Mural-Restored.-Photo-Jim-Kieman-via-animal-new-york-Haring’s bold cartoon figures are a visual staple of the 1980s New York art scene and have come to appear on everything from T-shirts to skateboards.

 

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Philistines-1982-Jean-Michel-Basquiat

Before Basquiat was one of the most popular artists in New York City, hanging out with the likes of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, he was a young, homeless runaway who took up graffiti under the name “SAMO.” In his short life, Basquiat worked his way up the rungs of the art world, landing himself in top galleries yet continuing to put work on the street.

Street art is a way to communicate with other people, to share your creativity, your ideas, your thoughts and a way express yourself, how you really are.16426886448_003b55ce09_b

 

Japanese Have a Low Tolerance for Alcohol

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Rikako Fujita , Japan

Generally speaking, Japanese are not strong for alcohol. We can drunk quickly. On the other hand, people from Europe and Latin is really strong. Sometimes, I see them drinking wine straight from bottle. If Japanese do same thing, we will die by acute alcohol intoxication.

What is Acute Alcohol Intoxication.

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Alcoholic drinks menu

As a result of examining the genetic information of Japanese people, it was found by RIKEN which is Japanese science organization. That “evolution” has occurred for thousands of years to increase the number of people with weak constitution to drink. Although detailed cause is unknown, weak constitution of alcohol seems to have worked advantageously for adapting to the environment for some reason. It announced to the English scientific journal Nature Communications of 24th.
Two types of metabolic enzymes, “ADH1B” and “ALDH2”, are involved in the alcoholysis in the body. Each enzyme has strong and weak types, with 75% of ADH 1 B and 25% of ALDH 2 being weak in Japanese. On the other hand, Westerners and others are known to have strong types for most two types.

Acute-Alcohol-Intoxication
Analysis of the total genetic information of 2200 Japanese people revealed that there are many mutations that are rarely found beside genes that produce weak type enzymes. When genetic information is inherited to offspring, it indicates that the mutation accumulated without being lost together with this gene, and it is considered to be one of the evidence that having a weak type of enzyme worked advantageously. They also found that Japanese with weak type of enzymes increased over the past 100 generations.

This is why, Japanese have a low tolerance. When Japanese drink with friends who is from foreign countries, they must care about amount of alcohol. They DO NOT drink same like friends.

Santa Barbara, Young Students Night Lifestyle

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Gabriela Fernandez-Chile

 

Have you been to Santa Barbara, California? If you have been there, you will know a little bit about the parties there. I have been here for almost 3 months and I have been out with my friends a lot of weekends. There are parties for young students of the universities in Santa Barbara… but, Are the parties fun? In my opinion, they are. Can you find a party every weekend? Yes, you can. But the real question is, Are the parties of Santa Barbara safe?

Image result for parties isla vista night

Most of the parties are in Isla Vista, that is a few minutes from Santa Barbara and is the place where the UCSB campus is located. There are parties every weekend, but one of the things that caught my attention was how early the parties end. The parties are between 9:30 and 12pm. There are a lot of cops, going around the streets and my first question was ‘Why?’ The parties in my country are between 11 pm until 5 or 6 am, and I was wondering why it is so different here.

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I asked and I found out that a few years ago, on May 23, 2014, in Isla Vista, a 22 year old killed six persons and injured fourteen others, before killing himself inside his car. I think that is one of the reasons that the parties end so early and that is full of cops. Also two weeks, ago a 24-year-old woman was taken to the hospital late Friday, after being stabbed in Isla Vista (she was a student of UCSB).

Image result for santa barbara shooting

I think that the most of the parties in Santa Barbara are really safe, because the police have taken precautions and security measures. If you are a young student that wants to have a fun night, IV is for you, but you always have to be careful and consider every risk all the time.

Image result for santa barbara shooting

 

 

 

 

THE CHILD LABOR

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THE CHILD LABOR

By Helena Kuntzer, France

We don’t have conscience that when we are shopping all our stuffs, it could have behind a terrible impact on the environment or with the way of production of those. We don’t realize that in a lot of countries workers are not counting their hours of works, are not worrying about their ages and their conditions of work and their remuneration. For a lot of raw products before the transformation by big industries and famous brands; like cacao, cotton, or some textiles, very often it’s cultivate and harvest by children. It’s for that we have to privilege products in provenance of our respective country, not too famous brands, and products results of equitable trade to try at our scale to don’t take part to those atrocities.

childlabor

California Cities

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By: Fahad AlOtaibi, Saudi Arabia.

 

California Cities

 

 

My first visit in California was so extraordinary; I arrived at the LAX airport on 22nd of July.a1 hollywood

I stayed in Los Angeles for a week and it was one of the best places that I’ve visited, I went to both Santa Monica and Venice beaches.

I loved Los Angeles for a lot of reasons which are Hollywood, palm trees, Beverly Hills, Melrose, the Grove, the weather and many more things.

 

After having fun and a good time in LA, I went to Santa Barbara to the EF School.a1 santa barbara

I loved many things in SB and they are the weather, the beaches, and so many nice people. I like to lie on the beach and drink my favorite soda with my friends.

EF school offers the students of the school plans on the weekend, wherever you want to go to.a1 las vegas

So, I went to the office and I got in the Las Vegas tour. It was so marvelous. It is a city that never sleeps, and I went into every hotel on the strip. They were so exciting.

a1 sf sd

The two last places that I want to visit in California are San Francisco and San Diego. I must choose one of them because I do not have enough time to visit both.

 

Zero Waste Lifestyle – Why and how to reduce your waste

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By Luara Garcia

Understand the importance of reducing waste

First thing: waste doesn’t start in your trash can. It starts before arriving at your home: at the markets, stores, shops, wherever you are shopping.

We are using too much stuff and to have all of these things we are using many resources and quickly running out of them. In the past five decades, more than 1/3 of the planet’s resource base has been consumed. 80% of the world’s original forests are gone.

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The United States takes up 5% of the world’s population, and uses 30% of the world’s resources and also produces 30% of the world’s waste. If everybody consumed at the U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets.

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In the production process, industries mix toxic chemicals to make our products, and also create a lot of pollution. When we discard our trash, it is dumped in a landfill, which is a big hole in the ground, and most of the time, it is burned and then dumped in a landfill.

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When toxics chemicals (contained in the trash products) are burned, they turn into new toxics, like dioxin, the most toxic man-made substance known to science. Both of the discard processes pollute the air, land, water and change the climate.
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A funny thing to think about is that about 1% of total materials we buy are still in use 6 months after the date of sale. That means that 99% of the stuff we buy is trashed within 6 months.

Each person in the United States produces 41/2 pounds of garbage a day.

These are just some of the reasons why we should stop producing so much waste.

 

Zero waste life style

Zero waste means not producing any trash, not sending anything to landfills, not throwing anything in a trash can.

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This girl in the picture is Lauren Singer. She lives a Zero Waste life in New York. That jar in her hand is all the trash she produced in 3 years.

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She decided to start living like this when she was an Environmental Studies major in college, where she saw this girl taking all her food in a lot of plastic bags and trashing it every day, which made Lauren feel frustrated. Then one day when she got home, she opened her refrigerator and looked at all that plastic. She felt like she was that girl and so decided to cut out plastic from her life.

This was the beginning. Today she composts and recycles; she produces her own tooth paste and other products. She goes into organic markets and places where you can use your own jars and bags to “package” things.

 

Kamikatsu, Japan, is a Zero Waste town. Is it possible?

Well, they are nearly.

Kamikatsu has no garbage trucks, so residents need to compost their kitchen scraps at home. They also have to wash and sort the rest of their trash into 34 different categories, and bring it to the recycling center themselves where workers make sure that the waste goes into the correct bins.

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The town has a store where people can leave their old clothing and stuff and exchange them for others that other people have left.

They also have a factory where women make products from discarded products, like teddy bears from old kimonos, or new kimonos from old flags.

With a population just over 1,700, Kamikatsu recycles about 80 percent of its trash and only 20 percent goes to landfills.

The residents of this city take recycling very seriously. They started in 2003 and actually hope to become the nation’s first zero-waste community by 2020.

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Tips to start reducing your waste

(These tips are not to become a zero waste lifestyle person; they are little things you can do that will make a big difference, but it is not that hard to change your lifestyle. There will be some links at the end of the article where you can find out more about how to become a zero waste lifestyle person)

 

  • Have your own reusable water bottle; bring it with you everywhere so your not going to need to buy one which you are going to trash after the water is gone.
  • Have your own reusable bag for shopping; use it in the markets, stores, so you’re not going to need a plastic or paper one.
  • Only buy things you really need, try to use them until they can’t do their job any longer.23
  • Choose to buy things with less packaging.
  • Recycle.18
  • Reutilize as much as you can.19
  • Prefer to buy organic products when you can; they don’t harm the environment to be produced and you have less to be discarded.
  • Remember: you awlays can do something more.22

 

To know more about Lauren Singer and her lifestyle, here are some links that you might like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYDQcBQUDpw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF72px2R3Hg

http://www.trashisfortossers.com/p/about.html

To know more about Kamikatisu and its plans:

http://www.odditycentral.com/news/kamikatsu-japans-aspiring-zero-waste-town.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eym10GGidQU#action=share

http://www.techinsider.io/kamikatsu-japan-is-a-zero-waste-town-2016-1

To know more about the world’s situation and production process (all 21 minutes worth it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

Yuri Kochiyama

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Lysiane Sublet – Switzerland

“Remember that consciousness is power. Consciousness is education and knowledge,” said Yuri Kochiyama, who spent an important part of her life fighting for the human rights. The 19th of May was Yuri Kochiyama’s 95th birthday. Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese-American, who was born in 1921 as Mary Yuriko Nakahara, was raised in San Pedro, California. Months after the Pearl Harbor bombardment, Yuri and her family were sent to a World War II internment camp and it is at that moment that she started to see tla-me-yuri-kochiyama-20140604he world with all new eyes and that she understood how important it was to fight for human rights.

During the war, she met her husband, Bill Kochiyama, who was also a Japanese-American. In 1960, Yuri moved with him to Harlem, where she gave birth to six children. She lived in a housing project with African and Puerto-Rican and that is what inspired her interest in Civil Rights Movement. She fought by their side for better schools and safer streets.

In 1963, Yuri first met Malcolm X, and from this moment she radicalized her activism. Then she plunged into action to help Puerto-Rican and African rights, nuclear disarmament and reparations for Japanese American internees. Yuri met Malcolm X during a protest of Puerto-Rican and African construction workers. She saw many children and teenagers run in the same direction and then she realized it was for Malcolm X arrival. She was so surprised and also so happy to see him, but she felt bad not being Black, because she thought she wouldn’t have the chance to talk to him. Yuri finally yelled and asked him if she could shake his hand. First surprised and suspicious that an Asian woman was interested in shaking his hand, Malcolm asked Yuri why it was important for her. She answered that it was because he “was giving directions for his people.” From then, a friendship was born between them two.

yuri malcolm

In the 1980s, Yuri and her husband pushed the government to apologize for Japanese-American internees through the Civil Liberties Act, which President Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1988. She was a huge source of inspiration for younger generations of activists, especially for the Asian-American community.

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In 2014, Yuri Kochimaya died of natural causes in Berkeley, California, at age of 93. According to her family, she died peacefully in her sleep.

I chose to write about this inspiring woman because she touched me. There are still a lot of issues in this world and there are still many things to do for the human rights. In my opinion, it is very important that some people devote themselves to help minority communities to be more accepted. No one should suffer because of one’s race, sex, sexual orientation, or because of the way they want to live. Everyone should be allowed to be oneself and I feel very concerned about all kind of injustices related to that. I really hope that one day all of us will succeed in being equals and I admire people like Yuri Kochiyama, who fights for that right.

quote-so-transform-yourself-first-because-you-are-young-and-have-dreams-and-want-to-do-something-yuri-kochiyama-74-82-75