The First and Second Night

In the first night, Balram writes to Wen Jiabao, the Premier, who wants to visit Bangalore in search of entrepreneurship culture. Balram writes in order to give some background of India, and he conveys his own experiences that led to success. Explaining how he got the nickname “The White Tiger”, he describes his life how he worked for Mr. Ashok and how he is “half-baked” because he was not educated properly and did not go to a proper school. It delves more into his struggles in his childhood. In the second night, admitting his murder of Mr. Ashok by saying that  “[he is] not just any murderer, but one who killed his own employer,” (45) Balram goes on to how his life as a servant was terrible. First working in a tea shop, he eavesdrops customers that drivers make high salary. He eventually learns how to drive and gets hired as the secondary driver by the Stork. There he meets Mr. Ashok and he elaborates on the difficulties he faced.

Balram’s thorough description of his life and the way Balram vividly reflects into his past show how memorable his experiences were and how essential it is to him. Also he conveys his feelings expressively on how much he hated to be treated badly by his boss. It depicts the harsh conditions he had to face and undergo as a servant. These hardships and cruel situations condemn the current conditions and status of the country. Living in India, I have seen many people working in tea shops and earning an extremely low wage and drivers who hate to be looked down by others. 

What in the World (22/4)

Questions:
1) http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/22/world/asia/south-korea-ship-sinking/index.html?hpt=wo_c1
- Who got arrested from the survivors of the sunken ferry and why weren't most of the people able to be rescued?

2) http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/world/asia/pakistan-unicef-staff-missing/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
- Who went missing in Pakistan?

3) http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/nepal-everest-avalanche/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
- Why are expeditions for Mount Everest getting cancelled and which deadly accident occurred recently?

Article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nigerian-parents-say-234-schoolgirls-kidnapped-by-extremists/

- Last week on Monday, heavily armed militants went to a girls dormitory in the middle of the night and kidnapped 230 of them. Currently 190 are still missing and no one knows where they are. More surprisingly, the people are not worried, concerned or shocked by this news. Unlike Barack Obama who visited Boston after the bombings and three met their demise, the Nigerian president did not appear or visit any of the regions. The Boko Haram have caused numerous disastrous attacks and violence on the country; nevertheless, even the military is not taking action and they are not preventing these incidents. Luckily, 28 students escaped the the scene and 16 were day scholars, who returned home before the attack. The fate of the 190 kids that have been kidnapped is uncertain.

What in the world (15/4)

Articles:

• http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/world/un-world-murder-rates/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
• http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/10/uk-latam-crime-idUKBREA390IK20140410

Honduras has world's highest murder rate. 
There are 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people in Honduras. Homicide rates in Honduras have been five to eight times higher than in Europe or Asia since mid 1950's.  This phenomenon was said to be " the legacy of decades of political and crime-related violence." The weapons that they use to commit crimes are mostly firearms and sharp objects. Nearly 40 percent of the 437,000 murders that happened in 2013 took place in the Americas, mostly in Central and South America. With a long history of gang violence, drug issues and public discrimination, stricter laws are being enforced and introduced to the countries, especially Honduras.

• http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/13/world/americas/chile-wildfire-homes-destroyed/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
• http://www.50report.com/2014/04/14/12-dead-in-chile-wildfire-2000-homes-consumed/#

Chinese wildfire leaves 12 people killed, 2000 homes destroyed. 
After the fire consumed about 2000 homes, 8000 people have been left homeless. More than 1200 fire-fighters worked to get rid of the fire and many say that it was one of the worst fires in history. People that live in the area where the fire occurred are fleeing and seeking for a home to stay. 17 aircraft and additional police were called for help. However, the fire is still igniting and the officials are doing their best to put out the fire.

5 Articles on the conference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_advertising
- Wikipedia defines tobacco advertising as "the advertising of tobacco products or use of by the tobacco industry through a variety of media including sponsorship." It gives a little history and background of tobacco advertising all around the world and the campaigns that were held in the US and Europe. One of the targets that the tobacco industry aimed to were the youth. It also lists out the countries that have banned the advertising of tobacco and those that haven't. Zimbabwe, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. are countries that have banned the advertisements and the countries that have outlawed the advertisement are most countries in Europe, South Africa etc.

http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/tobacco-advertising
- Tobacco advertising is referred to as the promotion of tobacco products in the media and at retail outlets. In the UK, the Tobacco advertising and Promotion Act 2002 banned the direct as well as indirect advertising or promotion of any tobacco products. As a controversial topic, some believe tobacco advertising encourages all group age and every people to smoke while others believe it only affects the brand decisions of existing smokers and informed adults. It is shown that most of the regular smokers started smoking regularly before they were 16.

http://www.oxygen.org.au/hardfacts/tobacco-and-the-law/tobacco-advertising
- In Australia, Tobacco advertising was banned on TV and radio since 1976 and newspapers and magazines since 1992. In some states, only advertising of cigarettes in the cash register is banned while in other states, cigarettes are not even allowed to be displayed at the register. Tobacco companies no longer sponsor sports or arts and they might be fined for false or misleading statements on health effects. For instance, on the cigarette box, it might be labelled "light and mild."

http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/tobacco-industry-marketing.html
- In the US, Tobacco products are one the most heavily marketed consumer product and in 2006, the five largest cigarette manufacturing companies used over $ 12 billion to promote and advertise their products. This site answers how the advertising of tobacco products affect the youth, who their main target is, if women are being influenced as well and which states have enforced laws to restrict such acts.

http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/main.php
- This site gives many images and advertisements of tobacco products that were made in the past. Each picture/advertisement is given with an explanation of when, where it was made and the purpose as well as the target of each advertisement. For instance, the picture below was advertised in the year 1946. The brand "Camel" is promoting their cigarettes by reassuring the worried public by incorporating physicians in their image. As there are many more of the ads, it also gives a brief explanation of how the tobacco industry convinces the citizens to buy their product.

(http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=fm_st001.php&token1=fm_img0002.php&theme_file=fm_mt001.php&theme_name=Doctors%20Smoking&subtheme_name=More%20Doctors%20Smoke%20Camels)

Conference - Government official

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_advertising
http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/tobacco-advertising
http://www.oxygen.org.au/hardfacts/tobacco-and-the-law/tobacco-advertising
http://www.ash.org.uk/current-policy-issues/advertising-and-promotion
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/tobacco-industry-marketing.html
http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/main.php

Government official

Topic: Firstly, we will be introducing what tobacco advertising is and some background/history of it. Then the controversies of tobacco advertising will be brought up and we will show the information on which countries have banned tobacco advertisements and which countries currently are still promoting it. Also, the statistics on the percentage change in the number of people smoking and how many tobacco products hhave been sold will be mentioned. The Tobacco marketing industry have grown for the past decades and there have been numerous debates on it whether advertising tobacco products affect the youth, what the main target is towards and if the government is taking action and enforcing laws on the advertising and promotion.

3 Interviews on the case study

My father (Byung Don Jung) -
Translate Korean to English : " When I went to Mexico for the first time, I struggled to speak english and spanish. Luckily my Korean work buddies were with me ,so they could translate what I said. However, I was called 'Chinese' and 'chinky' many times. First I was very mad and I even thought of going back to Korea just because I was having a hard time. But later i realized racism is everywhere. Even in Korea, we look down on certain people from different countries. To overcome such struggles in life and trying to change people's perception of prejudice or bias minds will bring a better society..."

• My dad has been switching his job many times and we lived abroad for a long time. 5 years in Mexico and 2 years in India. Sometimes I could see how much he wanted to return back to Korea, but he never complained and worked hard, which really inspired me. Although he confronted racism, he took it in and faced the reality knowing that it exists everywhere.  

My sister (Yuna Jung) -
"I hated Mexico and India in the beginning. I went through such a hard time and all the hardships were pain in the a**. But I got used to it and overcame all the problems. Look at me now. I am such a beast."

• My sister and I faced the worst discrimination in Mexico. However, we ignored that and enjoyed the most we could and had a fantastic time in Mexico. 

My friend <who goes to school in Canada> (Kyle Kim) -
Translate Korean to English: " ... I always wished to go abroad since I was in elementary school and when my dad sent me to this school in Canada when I was 15, I don't know how excited I was. But after a semester, after all the english I had to learn and discrimination i faced, I hang out only with Koreans. I've always wished to wear Korean school uniforms for some reason. Racism is everywhere, but you gotta love your school..."

• Many of my friends have lived abroad and he did not know that he would face racism since he lived in Korea before his whole life. He thinks such multicultural countries are racist countries. 

5 Articles on the case study topics

• http://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/may/28/equality.raceintheuk

- This article talks about how multiculturalism could be seen as a factor of racism but does not actually redress inequality. It claims that the real argument whether it causes racism or not depends on how we manage the process of integrating migrants. Integration or blending of cultures works the people accept the newcomers and believe in complete equality, while ignoring inequality and appreciates diversity in a single terrain. However, just by people accepting the newcomers will not cease racism; the newcomers will have to change and adapt to the new environment that they need to inhabit in. Respecting the ethnic minorities and changing our attitude towards them will bring multiculturalism as a positive aspect. In conclusion, what matters is what people do than what people think.

• http://www.quebecoislibre.org/021109-6.htm

- In this article, it talks about multiculturalism as a controversy of whether it is racism in disguise or actually a beneficial factor in improving the culture educational and political terms. Although we have prejudice and bias about different religion, gender, place of birth, race and ethnicity, this will not vanish unless "collectivism is not eliminated." To get rid of racism, we should respect for the rights and prosperity of each and every individual irrespective of skin colour, nationality and favoring a specific group. It gives examples of racism that occur between the asians, black and white people in America. The mixture of these cultures does not seem to be very cooperative since all the crimes and issues occur between each race; however, the news only show the extreme and small part of the country. If it is looked in a wider perspective, many people live in harmony and respect each other. Therefore, saying multiculturalism causes racism is very controversial.   

• http://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/racism-hate-speech-and-multiculturalismhttp://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/racism-hate-speech-and-multiculturalism

- As immigrants come into their new habitat and get their occupation, the percentage of immigrants constitute a higher proportion of people in highly skilled jobs compared to those who are native to the country. Instead of racism, multiculturalism will lead to development and enhancement in the general skills of manufacturing goods and services and improve on their economic and social status. Nevertheless, racism or bias towards a certain race of a group or individual exists no matter what and as more newcomers immigrate, people will comment on their racial background. Stereotypes of a certain culture or tradition of a nation may be offensive to the people and discrimination could lead to huge issues.

• http://www.renthomas.ca/attitudes-and-behaviour/modern-racism-in-the-most-multicultural-city-in-the-world

- Countries that deny they are a racist country are Canada and Australia. Although the multiculturalism act encouraged people to retain their own language and culture while integrating their lives in other countries, prejudice and discrimination continues to be visible. As more people of different race, ethnicity and nationality blend and interact, racism in society becomes more common. White immigrants are tend to be treated better than the black immigrants and Asians are getting mocked and discriminated due to their names. Racism can be seen in workplaces as well. They are excluded from the natives and are blamed for incidents that they have not caused. racism is seen to be worse between children who are are in their adolescence. For instance, kids will be teased for liking Indian food or movies and following a certain tradition. Place like Canada and Australia consist of racism even though it is considered as one of the most multicultural countries.

• http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/watch/racism.htm

- This article argues that we can not be taught about diversity and multiculturalism just by seeing other people from different race, nationality and ethnicity. Judging people and viewing people as evil or handicapped due to their different and distinguished features becomes more common as respect for human identity is vanishing between each other. We need to be taught that the difference between people is not about the racial or species difference. Uneducated people tend to be separatists as they only feel the comfort and safety near their "own" people. Hence, multiculturalism is the "New Racism."