Should an animal raised as a human be treated like an animal?

If you're reading this you must be wondering what on Earth I'm talking about. Watch the video below and you'll see what I mean.

In my opinion, this is the most confusing form of mental torture a person can inflict on an animal. Taken out of the habitat of his biological parents at birth, Nim would have had no concept of chimp life or culture before he was brutally forced back into association with his own kind. But were they really

his own kind?

Picture this: You are the adopted child of an Australian family and yet your biological parents are Japanese. You learn to communicate through sign language with those around you and can associate with the other children in your Australian family, forming a strong familial bond with them despite your visual differences. Then suddenly, you are pulled away from all that you know and forced back to your country of origin where no one understands you, and you understand no one.

How would this experience make you feel? Alienated, alone, confused and betrayed?

I imagine that going through this would be unbelievably emotionally and mentally scarring, even for us intellectually higher beings who have proven time and again that our bodies and minds can overcome incredible amounts of trauma. But how could a young chimp overcome this?

Chimps are one of man's closest ancestral relatives. Their brains and bodies have the capacity to one day be on an equal level to that of present day Homosapiens. It is popular theory that the nature of man is made up of (and is ever changing because of) culture, technologies and their influence. This man made world was all that Nim knew before the lead scientist decided to abort "Project Nim." What evidence is there to say that the nature of chimps is not comprised in exactly the same manner as that of man? How can we expect Nim to instantly discover his true chimp nature when placed among them again after having no recollection of his biological family or seeing another chimp? It is practically the complete reversal of the story of Tarzan, only with the addition of brutal animal testing utilizing hundreds of syringes and triggering the onset of Hepatitis. I really do question where the humanity in that lies. An extreme superiority complex in the value of ourselves over any other living being is clearly visible here. Animal testing is already protested by many, but this use of Nim, referred to as "the Chimp who would be human" is to me just as unethical as the use of humans for testing if not more so. At least a human could have a say.

Nim died 20 years earlier than the life expectancy of a Chimp in the wild. His life was cut significantly short by the utter lack of humanity displayed by the scientists who were responsible for his well-being. Scientists continue to exploit animals in such a way even now. Today, man looks back at the past and realises how many cruel and unforgiveable things they have done in the past. I can only hope that in the future we can look back on the numerous acts of animal cruelty we have inflicted and acknowledge these mistakes in the same way.

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Social networking.....is it really "social"?

Social networking has become a major aspect of a lot of peoples lives these days. It's not suprising that someones daily routine involves checking their facebook/twitter/google + at least a few times. What happened to the old school methods of communicating with each other you ask? Have we just gotten too lazy to call each other? Or actually make the effort to individually invite people to an event, instead of just creating an event on Facebook?

Social networking, contrary to what its name suggests....can actually have the effect of making its users actually less social(in the physical sense).



Does sending messages, posting on friends "walls", really count as being social? To answer that question, we need to define the word "social". Here are two definitions I've found:

• Pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations
• Seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious. 

Key words such as companionship and relations, do tie in with social networking. So in my opinion, social networking does keep us social, just not physically....which isn't really a problem. The internet has evolved to a state where it can be used as an avenue for quick and easy communication with friends, whether they are across the other side of the world, or they live next door.

But social networking can get old and boring. Which proves that there really is no replacement for physical, face to face socialising. The simple things such as, seeing someones facial expressions does a lot to change the experience of socialising, and this is what these websites lack.

But it's come to a stage where, if you don't have a social networking account, you have no idea what's going on in your friends lives, you're completely shut out. Then comes the peer pressure, forcing you to create an account, and then you find yourself being a part of Facebook, and joining the trend. At least until the new fad takes over .......

..... -coughgooglepluscough-

Maria, over and out.

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Media

“Media”. A small word that is associated with considerable amount of power. The power provides them with the ability to change and influence our thoughts, views, opinions, and perspectives. They can make us fall in love with someone and detest the existence of something/someone. As you are reading this, you might be agreeing with me or contesting my thoughts. You might think that people are not that naïve to be so easily influenced by what we are told by the media.

Think about it again.

We see/read/listen to something on the news and believe it without question. The media tells us a story and how often do we actually question, “Wait a minute, there might be another side to it.” We are given one side of the story and we BELIEVE that it is the full story. But, do we actually KNOW?  Every morning/afternoon/evening we are informed about the big attention grabber, “BREAKING NEWS”. Have we ever considered that there might be significant news out there that we were not informed about? And I am using the word ‘we’ because I do the same thing.

Lets consider the power of the Media:

Consider the Schappelle Corby’s case (apologizes to everyone who is reading this and is not from Australia). Who doesn’t know about Schappelle Corby’s case in Australia? If you have lived in Australia for the past 6-8 years, you probably do know about this case.

This case involved an Australian importing drug into Indonesia. The media, when this matter initially commenced, had portrayed Corby as innocent. It was constantly and overly emphasized that Corby was not guilty and was just a victim of the circumstances. This was made a national issue, where a “simple, sweet Aussie girl” was just travelling with friends for fun and got caught in such a big misunderstanding. This portrayal heavily contributed in initiating a movement that insisted Corby’s freedom and return to Australia. As the case progressed, it was ruled in court that Corby was guilty of possession of drugs.

Media portrayed Corby as innocent.

On what grounds did the media conclude that she was not guilty? It was just hearsay. The media’s portrayal of her being innocent resulted in millions of Australian believing she was innocent.

The media made this is into a national issue where nation pride was involved. This evidently resulted in grabbing every Australian’s (okay, so maybe not every Australian, but most Australian’s) attention, resulting in them watching all the interviews and piece of news related to the case. Even I remember watching news about Corby. Even I remember believing that she was innocent and the Indonesian officials were harsh and lacked understanding.

Whether it was the interview of Corby’s mother or Corby’s best friend, Australians watched/listened/read it. Even the slightest thing that was related to Corby grabbed people’s attention.

In my opinion, this piece of news was not as significant as it was portrayed. Rather, this piece of news was made important by the media. It was used to increase the reader/viewer/listeners because a large audience meant more people were viewing the advertisements, which meant attracting more advertisers and charging existing advertisers further.

This portrayal of Corby’s case resulted in influencing everyone’s views. Despite Corby’s sentence, many still believe that she is innocent. This is a great example of the influence that the media has.

Lets consider the influence of the media in other example:

Prior to the Commonwealth Games in India, all media channels in Australia (again, apologizes to those who do not live in Australia) had continuously shown one thing over-and-over again. This was that India was not prepared to host the Commonwealth (Cwlth) Games as the infrastructure was not complete, there was a lack of security, and existing infrastructure was inadequate. This resulted in some athletics not participating in the games because they were concerned about their personal health and hygiene.

Commonwealth Games India

My question is that were the Commonwealth Games in India a success or not? Were there any reported health or safety concerns for the athletics or tourists that relates to the above issues?

Did the media personals every post a retraction apologizing to India and all those workers who worked day and night to ensure the comfort of the “guests” in their country?

No.

The influence of the media in this case was so significant that tourists and athletics were not going to India. Do you still believe that the media is not so powerful and influential?

Okay, so why am I telling you all this. Well, I am just asking you to consider the other side of the coin. When the media informs us of something, do not automatically assume that it is set in stone. Do not use the glasses given by the media to see the world.

I apologize and thank all the journalists out there who are true to their profession and are focused on presenting the world with facts. It is only because of you people that the news is actually newsworthy.

I thank all of those who actually read this post. If you have different views, have suggestions or comments then please do voice them…

Thank you

=)

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"What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?"-A Perfect Circle

Why do we have wars? As far as my understanding reaches (which may not be as extensive as some) the top reasons for war these days involve:

• Religion
• Conflicting political views
• Greed for resources and money.
• Opposing cultural positions

So admittedly, every country and state has their own motivation for declaring war, but really, what price do we put on human life? There are few religions that whole-heartedly promote the deaths of others, and yet mass murder continues to be committed in their name. Our media and education system have pushed the concept that democracy is the best political system, and yet the fear of the individual's freedom of choice has led to the illegalisation of many political parties and has ignited many conflicts between states. If we accepted and attempted tolerance towards the ideas of the "others" of the world many of the current wars occurring could be avoided. And even so, what end is accomplished through continuous bloodshed other than one of hate and vengeance?

Soldiers are paid handsomely to voluntarily risk their lives and take the lives of others, but there are no rewards for the victims of these wars, especially those who are caught in the cross-fire. The utter hypocrisy of the 1st world government organisations is astounding. In America and Australia, extremely harsh disciplinary measures are put in place for committing murder or manslaughter, including capital punishment and life long gaol terms. However, a single soldier employed by the government can kill twenty or more opposing soldiers, and countless civilians then be hailed as a hero and a patriot to his people. In my opinion, all human life is precious human life. All should have a right to live regardless of skin colour, beliefs or any tax payer provided, cash prize incentive offered for murder. 

This cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" is a thought provoking video by A Perfect Circle.

And now, in modern day the more "civilized" nations, those with money, who wield political, economical and military power plan to create machines with which to fight wars with. As if America's possession of atomic weaponry capable of destroying the world isn't scary enough? Now there is the potential for a new kind of warfare, one which targets the weaknesses of the global technological divide and has the power to crush developing countries into submission. 

http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1991/b319819.arc.htm 

It seems as though governments are adopting techniques which work against the idea of peace and toward the most efficient way of bringing death to others without causing harm to their own people. This attitude, on a micro scale does seem selfless and patriotic, but on a universal scale it is forcing others apart, bringing even more death and breeding hate and vengeance. If this is what the governments of the world continue to strive for, I cannot help but question why we choose such cowardly, blind people to lead us into the future. 

Make love not war <3

-Renee

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Why do you volunteer?

It was just last week, when I overheard, (I wasn’t eavesdropping :P) this girl telling two other girls how ecstatic she was that she got picked to volunteer for a charity program in Cambodia and how excited she was to go. I was happy for her as well, only until she said she applied mainly because it would look good on her resume and that would give her an added advantage when applying for jobs…
The reason people used to volunteer was to genuinely lend a helping hand to the less fortunate than them. Evidently things have changed.

Why don’t people have the genuine need to give back to community without expecting anything in return, be it rewards or recognition for their efforts? What happened to giving without expecting in return?  It’s true that what we put into the world has a powerful influence on what we receive, but that doesn’t mean we should expect because we give. The less we expect, the less we are disappointed.

Nothing can compare to giving whole heartedly, as Maya Angelou put it “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”

The whole point of voluntary work is to help another person, why volunteer at all if you’re looking to help yourself? The whole purpose is lost. Almost everything people do today is for personal gain. Whatever happened to being selfless?
Giving without expectation is easier said than done, but it makes a difference in the heart of the giver :)

“What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given” -Francois de La Rochefoucauld
I’m sure many of us would have volunteered at a charity at some point in our lives?
So why do you volunteer?

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Ka-ching!

$70 for an outsiders conception day ticket? Really? I thought that was a bit much. For those of you who might not know, Conception Day unlike the name suggests is a festival day at our Uni, with live bands, renowned DJ's performing on a different stages. And alot of beer :P Students of the university purchase $10 tickets, which seemed fair enough, however outsiders tickets might have been over priced... Although it says outsiders can come along, I dont think too many uni students who have just started earning would want to spend $70 to see a couple of bands, even if it meant to hang out with their friends from Mac uni. Yes, they must cover costs but looking at it from a student's perspective, I found that many students preferred to stay back and do something with their whole bunch of friends including those who weren't at Mac. But its not just Conception day tickets, it applies to parking, lunch at the food court, printing and the list goes on.

There's not much one can do when Sydney is the 7th most expensive city in the world. Yup, in the world :) Feels good doesn't it :P Good luck to those who have a weakness for shopping. For those of us who have moved out and need to go grocery shopping on a weekly basis, looking at the Sydney-Melbourne grocery price comparison doesn't really help...

The purpose of this blog is not to rant on about how expensive Sydney is, but atleast to be a considerate when it comes to students, as we are just starting off on part time jobs and trying to balance things off. Feel free to VURO if you think otherwise :P

Take care!

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Heroes

There are many preconceived ideas that we are asked to accept in this life. Amongst these thoughts is the definition of a hero.

We are told that a hero is someone who:

Are they really heroes???

• Wears a costume
• Saves the world on a daily basis
•  Has special/supernatural powers.
• Is  super strong and has super strength
• They would be someone like superman, Spiderman, batman and so on….

This preconceived notion is hardly realistic as there is no one in this world who has been bitten by spider and evidently developed ‘super powers’.

Then who is a hero exactly?

Is he the guy you see acting on the screen? No, that’s an actor.

My view of a hero is a human being who helps a stranger on the street without expecting anything in return. A person who does not have to ‘save’ the world, rather they just have to give a helping hand to someone when they need it.

My hero is that lady who saw me and my mother walking home with very large and heavy grocery bags and without asking us anything or wanting anything in return, offered to give us a ride home in her car. I don’t remember the face of this lady. However, she will always be part of my memory.

My hero is that person who informed me, as I was about to board the train, that I had left my very expensive and brand new textbook on the platform bench.

According to me, my dad is a hero. My dad found someone’s iPad in his shop. He was suggested by his employees to keep the iPad. Rather than doing that, my father immediately contacted the customer whose iPad it was and returned it to him. Upon returning the iPad, the customer offered my dad $50.00 for his generosity. My father declined.

Rock in Japan: Do not build anything below this level

According to me, the person who engraved in this rock in Japan (see image on the left) thousands of years ago that “Do not build you home below this level” is a hero. The person who wrote this is truly a hero because he attempted to warn those people that he has not met and will not ever meet. Yet, he provided the future generations with a warning not to build anything below this point. Even after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, this stone was and is still there.

In this world, ordinary people are heroes. Those people who, without hesitation, assist someone in need.

This blog post attempts to recognize those heroes and also attempts to change our society’s definition of a hero.

It doesn’t take much to help another person out. It just takes a little courage, a little bit of willingness and a little bit of time. The reward is truly amazing.

Is someone a hero in your life? Do share your experiences and your thoughts.

Thank you for reading.

I hope that you get an opportunity to be a hero or meet someone who can be your hero….

-Suman :)

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GOGOGO Gaming

Hey all! Maria here :)

I'm sure some, if not many of you enjoy spending you free (or busy :P) time gaming. Games are just getting better and better, with releases such as MW3,Gears of War, Diablo and Minecraft to name just a few. The graphics, gameplay and versatility are constantly being re-vamped and improved upon.

Although for most people, gaming is a way of relaxing after a long day, or having fun on the weekend....just like anything else, it can go over the top. Gaming addiction can be quite serious, but is often looked upon as a trivial issue. There's a youtube series titled: "The Online Gamer" heres a link to the first episode:

This series, although mainly being comedy, actually deals with a real issue. Excessive gaming can lead to things such as: becoming socially distant from friends/family, falling behind with school work and lack of sleep. Games these days are so technologically advanced, that players can be so easily immersed into their gaming worlds and pay less interest to their real world.

One main game which is usually associated with addiction is WoW(World of Warcraft). There have been horror stories of gamers who have stayed up countless hours, not eaten enough, and not left their homes for serveral days. Scary right?

But the purpose of this blog isn't to lecture you guys on how gaming can be dangerous and lead to being addicted, as some overprotective parents seem to think so. It's just to make you guys aware, that yes it is possible, but don't let it affect the fun you're having. It's so easy to spot the signs. If you find yourself spending more time online/gaming, than not....then you may have a problem. But it's usually just a case of you enjoying yourself. Just try to restrict yourself and prioritise. That's the key!

So to all the gamers out there, remember, everything in moderation ;)

- Maria

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Tasmania: Our smallest state and our most open mind.

Hello fellow citizens of the blog world! 

This is Renee here, a straight and narrow university student bringing you my opinion on gay marriage. 

Enjoy!

Same-sex partners all around Australia rejoiced today after yesterday's announcement that the state of Tasmania has officially legalised gay marriage, the first of all Australian states to do so. For many this has been noted as a huge step forward in Australia's social evolution and there are high hopes that this is the beginning of country-wide political change to follow Tasmania's lead. 

For more information on this change, view: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/tasmanias-giant-leap-for-samesex-marriage-20110921-1kkv3.html

The need for this change, in my opinion, has been overdue for far too long. Marriage is a binding contract of shared love which should be unaffected by gender and religion. The negative attitude held by the Catholic church and Christian belief system towards homosexuals no longer holds any power over marriage due to the separation of the tradition from the church. Marriages are celebrated across cultures and across religions, it is a diverse and universal tradition. There are no logical, unbiased reasons to prevent it from being shared by same-sex partners. There are no feasible, foreseeable effects or dire consequences from these unions. 

Same sex partnerships are equal to married couples in taxation, super-annuation and many other aspects of married life, it should only be fair that they are entitled to the labels of husbands or wives and to have the legal rights of married couples. 

American political commentator, Keith Olbermann on the subject:

Parts of Europe and the US have already legalised gay marriages, it is great to know that Australia has begun to change as well.

According to: http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=27817 there are consequences of same sex marriage. The matters addressed within this article are mostly politically related, having to do with the intervention of the government and law enforcement in religious institutions, mostly in the form of discrimination claims. There are no restrictions on marriage in the present day which state that marital vows must be exchanged within a church or by a priest. Many modern couples choose to marry through civil celebrants rather than sticking with the traditional church and priest setup. In today's society there are ways around discrimination suits such as those mentioned in the above article. 

It is of my opinion that matters of politics and religion should remain separate, religions should be able to have their own attitudes to same sex marriages without interference by the government. There are christian institutions who support or in the least tolerate same sex unions as well as civil celebrants. Discrimination suits are only consequential of same sex marriage if beliefs are forced or challenged. 

It is true that many people in Australian society will react strongly against same sex marriages, just as many people in the past have reacted to the rise of feminism, Kevin Rudd's apology to the Aboriginal people and the legalisation of interracial marriage. All these things have helped construct the social order we have today, this is simply a new chapter in Australia's history, just another evolutionary step towards universal equality. 

-Renee 

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Travelling: the bad and the ugly (the good...is yet to come)

Time is the most valuable thing that we have. We are giving the opportunity to allocate this time however and whichever we want to. However, the utilization of this time is highly compromised when we have to allocate most of it on travelling.

Whether you travel by car, train or bus you have to face this problem daily. This problem is in relation to the long hours that it takes most of us to get from Point A to Point B.

Most of us do not have the luxury to have our houses near our workplace/university/school and so on. Which evidently means that precious time which otherwise could be used to sleep, spend time with family, or just relax is wasted away.

Is that it? Do we just say that as I cannot do anything about it “I will just deal with it!” Well, though we provide us with the justification that nothing can be done about this; it becomes really hard to comprehend this justification every time we have to wait 20-30 minutes for a train/bus or when we are stuck in a traffic jam.  

Well, so why am I reminding you of the painful moments that you spent waiting. This is my attempt to create awareness and inform you that you should not just “deal with it”. The government is already aware of this issue and it high time that they took some actions to provide us with more efficient means for travelling. It needs to be emphasized that though there are many global issues in play at the moment, this is an issue that is of considerable significance as well. Failure to address this issue not only results in a misallocation of our time, but will also drastically affect the environment.

After doing some research on this topic, I came across the following link:

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/1B7D51A323DFBCC8CA2574A60005622F/$File/TransportFINALindex.pdf

This document discusses transport problems that is faced by Large Cities and has devised plans through which these problems could be better addressed in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The solutions devised were as follow:

• Offering a real alternative to travelling by car, by improving the quality of service of public transport (safety, comfort, accessibility for disabled people, information, pricing and timetabling); 
• Improving public safety and reducing crime on the public transport system e.g. by improved use of video surveillance;
• Better informing drivers about congestion to allow them to use alternative routes;
• Better integrating transport considerations into planning policy decisions and plans;
•  Encouraging the use of vehicles which use alternative energy sources;
•  Complementing the metro network with an improved system of rapid bus links, particularly for travel between suburbs;
• Improving public transport links to out-of town developments;
• Developing a cycle network, with links in particular to stations and major commercial centres;
• Improving road safety for pedestrians and cyclists, e.g. on routes to schools;
• Introducing a parking pricing policy which encourages motorists to make use of other transport modes, especially for shorter journeys.

This document was made in 2005. This is 2011 and Sydney’s transportation problem has increased over the years. 6 years have not seen any major changes.

I won’t deny that the Australian government has made some initiative in relation to this matter. This is inclusive of:

1. The introduction of larger and “free of charge” car parks at train stations: Through this, those people who live a little far from the station can drive to the station and then catch a train accordingly.
   
2. The introduction of a “TXTBUS” Service: passengers here would text their bus stop number and they would be provided with a list of buses that are expected to arrive in that stop for the next 30 minutes.

However, this initiative has not saved people’s time. If there is an accident on the freeway, the travelling time for those motorists increase by at least 30-45 minutes. Furthermore, it is sad whilst catching a train during the peak hours, as most passengers (after a tiring day of work/university/school) have to go home standing and being pushed by other passengers or waiting for the next train/bus to arrive.  

It is high time that some action is taking.

I hope that this blog post is given some recognition and evidently helps in making a difference.

If you have a differing opinion, please do share. If you have any suggestions or comments, please so share…

Thank you so much for reading.

Here is hoping that the next time you travel, you get to your destination quickly and safely…

=)

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Welcome

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Voice Your Opinion. (VURO)

Thanks for choosing to view and start reading our blog.

This blog is created by four university students. Suman, Renee, Maria and Ashwini.


We started this blog, as it is part of our assignment. We were informed that we could choose any topic of our desire. So, after a lot collaboration we decided "why don't we create a blog that gives us and also our readers an opportunity to express their views?" 

This blog aims to discuss current topics that have become pressing issues in society. This is not a blog which will give you updates about the news. Rather, we would like to discuss matters that we believe are significant but are not being completely addressed. This blog is not planned to discuss only the factors that are considered "wrong" in society, rather this blog aims to discuss those aspects of  society that go unrecognised, whether they be positive or negative.  

The topics that we are planning to discuss is inclusive of:

- The Media and their influence (are we really given the full story or only those that will increase

   readership/ viewership/ listeners and other similar concerns).

-True heroes of society (Kindness of strangers: how a person on the street helps you out without seeking 

  anything in return)

-Gaming (is it an addiction???)

- Olympic Games (How it is a revenue generator and how it might bring countries "together") 

- Transportation and the Government's response to these problems.  

- Same sex marriages 

and many many more...

Before writing a blog on a particular topic, we will do research on that topic and provide you with links that might be relevant to the topic. 

There are four writers of this blog and hence we aim to provide our readers with mixed opinions. We don't wish to change or shape your views. Rather we aim to share our views and understand your thoughts. We would like to create this blog with your help. We would like you to contribute and be part of this blog. 

SELECTING THE BLOG’S LAYOUT, LOGO and FORMAT:

The layout of the page and also our logo represents the theme of the blog. The focus is directed towards freedom of speech, expressing your self and providing your views on the topics that intrigue you. The layout and the logo of the blog are intended to be simple and straightforward so that the attention is directed towards the content rather than the appearance of the blog. This is exemplified through the logo as it centralizes everything around the word “VURO”.

Believe it or not, we have considered your convenience whilst designing the layout and the format of the blog. The very innovative and technology savvy Maria has created a slideshow on the top of the Voice Your Opinion blog page that shows all the recent blogs.

The format and the appearance of the blog have two columns rather than three so that you are not bombarded with clusters of information. All the blogs are posted on the left. On the right hand side we have information about the blog and also the writers. We have also provided a list of all the popular posts, so that you can read over it again if you like. We have also provided external links to twitter and facebook so that if you find a blog to be interesting or intriguing, you can share it. 

So, we want to focus on your comfort as you read the blog. If you have any suggestions of how we can improve this, do let us know =)

We hope that you enjoy this blog. Share your opinions and your views. If there are any topics that you would like us to share our opinions on, let us know. 

Thanks for reading and take care :)

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