Honestly, I think this video is ridiculous and extremist in itself. It is obviously biased because it outlines every single attack on the US and its allies in succession like they are all connected to some kind of Islamic takeover. Also, the quotes that were taken out of context were from blatantly extremist leaders who both Jews and Muslims admit to being too extravagant. This video makes all Muslims seem like terrorists, even though every religion in some point in time has had their share of insane war mongers. Secondly, everybody is taking the word "jihad" out of proportion and meaning. The Koran states that "jihad" is a holy war against non-believers and threats against God's will. It says nothing about killing Christians and Jews. In fact, the Koran also says Muslims should "support our brethren of other faiths" because they all believe in the same God. So both sides of this "argument" are equally wrong and outlandish. Unfortunately though, fear and anger can make any person become ignorant and susceptible to any information. That's why when someone in traditional Islamic attire, Americans want to stereotype in their mind that they might have terrorist intentions. Ironically however, the 911 suicide pilots were not in this garb; they had on westernized clothing that would be considered "normal". If you look at the history of the suicide bombers and terrorists in the past decade, most of them did not meet the stereotypical look that the reported news suggests. Many of them did not have "Islamic" dress or were even of Arab descent. There were a plethora of races involved as well as nationalities, which makes it impossible to try to racially profile a terrorist. In a way, this is smart from an insurgent's standpoint by taking advantage of Westerner's fear of an asinine image of a threat. Taking this into consideration could actually help in being more fair and being less ignorant when it comes to security and images posted on the news, because it is obviously misleading.

Based on his letter, it seems like he is longing for a significant other, maybe because he has never had one before. Prison has deprived him of finding and keeping a woman's love. Its his fault for getting himself into prison for the crime he committed, but I still have sympathy for him in a sense due to the fact that he is missing out on companionship. There are a lot of people in prison, but there is a difference between being alone and being lonely. He might have friends or associates to "hang out" with, but all he wants is to have a woman's heart and touch. I will admit that I take these special moments for granted because it is so available to me on the daily basis. But his letter is a lesson to me; that I should appreciate all the moments I have with the special people in my life, because you never know what could happen to them or what could happen to me. Life in prison is a extremely long time to be without a lover. It sounds so depressing and cruel. All he can do at this point is fantasize about what he could have had; a marriage, a family, and love in general.

"The Cost of Empire" was a very enlightening video because it not only proved what I already knew about the excessive spending on the military, but also how the U.S. takes advantage of their wealth and economic power. I knew we had military bases in other countries, but I did not realize that there were so many, or that they were so extensively lavish. Well, the military analyst said that most of them were not as ostentatious as the one in Iraq, which looks like it possesses an Olympic swimming pool, but she did elude to the fact that there are plenty of American bases around the world. They are very expensive to supply and maintain. Also, the countries that the bases are in definitely oppose the idea of being "occupied". When the Ecuadorian president stated that he denied the renewal of the US base lease, our government seemed to be angry with him. However, he made a good point by sarcastically asking if he could put a Ecuadorian base in Miami. I have never seen another country's military base on our soil. In fact, I don't think we would ever allow it. It is selfish to believe that every other country in the world actually enjoys our presence. Having this many bases around the world is supposed to be for national security/safety reasons, but this is not safe. This is just being power-hungry, controlling, and essentially imperialistic. What purpose does this serve? We make it seem like we want to take over the world or something. So much of the US citizen's revenue is not even spent on domestic issues and responsibilities. I think that is our biggest problem. We would rather be the most powerful country, or the richest country, even though the US is one of the most unhealthy places which cannot approve a universal healthcare bill. Our poorest populations continue to get poorer, despite the fact that they too contribute to the country's wealth. But I guess guns solve all the world's problems right?

What I took from her speech is that women are definitely not given enough credit for how enormous of a role they play in not only sustainability, but recovery after a war. Women protect their families when the men are not around. They are the society within the remnants of bloodshed and ruins. However, there is still a sexist stigma and stereotype that women cannot handle making drastic decisions that affect a nation. Even in the United States, women are constantly placed in positions that are considered "feminine" like caretaker jobs or just being a housewife. Women that do pursue alternate careers that are typically male dominated have their competence downplayed often. This is unfortunate, because women are just as strong emotionally as men, if not more.

In war, women have to deal with the death of family and friends, comforting their children, and somehow remaining sane enough to live. I believe women in war-stricken countries could help with peace talks simply because they have experienced the turmoil just as much as the soldiers have. At least have a pool of women who have pertinent suggestions to alleviate the problems and create a solution. Its only fair.

Religion is supposed to be a unifying group or state of mind that helps to cope with this world we call reality. We have answers in the Koran and Bible about past problems. However, they are old answers to old questions. In fact, in this day and age, these sacred books in history may bring more questions. They create more unknown "truths" and "miracles" that we humans today cannot even prove happened. I'm not saying that I don't believe that these events included in the Old Testament and Koran are true. I just wonder about how so many people can blindly follow certain religious beliefs that are not proven to be reasonable. Also, the stigma that religion can fix all of the problems in the world, whether it be a need or a want, is extremely outlandish. Praying for a new car, or praying for a better salary seems like putting too much faith in essentially nothing. Especially if one plans on not working for any of the goals they prayed for in the first place.

Moreover, religion has become more like a business, rather than a spiritual experience. Instead of gatherings to pray to a higher power, there are collection plates for donations, ATMs in churches, mini marketplaces and lucrative set ups outside of mosques. They are not really donations to God, they are donations to a pastor's salary, or to build a megachurch or super mosque. They fund the private jet that your preecher flies. And then many people will go out and buy their book about how God will fix all your financial and social problems. All of these schemes are hoax to me. I haven't totally lost faith in all religion, but I see why the statistics are increasing in "unaffiliated".

To be honest, I had no idea that juveniles could receive LWOP. I have never heard it happen in Georgia (where I'm from). However, now that I'm aware, I definitely disagree with kids going to jail for life. Kids and teenagers between 12 and 16 still do not possess the complete version of decision qualities in their frontal lobe. Also, they don't have the life experiences that can teach against making ridiculous mistakes. Like he stated in the letter, these kids will spend the rest of their childhood and adulthood being raised by true criminals. Even if the juvenile killed someone, there are psychological and rehabilitative services available to them. You can't just lock them up and throw away the key, because if there was a chance that they could be released, they would not be prepared at all. The kids have been raised by wolves essentially, and all they would know how to do is illegal acts. A long sentencing for a kid that may not have finished puberty yet is not an effective punishment.

I couldn't imagine living somewhere that has extremely long periods of night. It almost sounds like some type of vampire fantasy. However, seeing how people have adjusted to living in those conditions is very intriguing. One of the things that I thought was interesting was the introduction of the "Season of Light", which is an attempt to curve depression due to the weather. Also, the large lamps that the people in the video possessed seemed like a great idea not only for lighting purposes, but for the warm feeling and semblance of sunlight. Another aspect that boggled my mind was if Vitamin D deficiency was a problem there in the winter, since most of the body's Vitamin D intake comes from the absorption of sunlight. Nonetheless, Helsinki probably has plenty of products fortified with this vitamin, since this phenomenon is an annual event. Honestly, I thought since there is such a long period of night, they might have a very strong nightlife, no pun intended. But I guess that might be an American thing.

This video portrayed exactly what I thought was wrong with the public education system, but I could never explain it with that amount of depth. Growing up in a public school system that encourages only restricted learning and good behavior only produces well-abiding citizens. It does not necessarily create effectively contributing members of society. However, I'm not saying that being a good citizen is not important; I think it is somewhat less important than being a creative thinker.

Looking back at the past 13 years of my public school education, all of the examples that the video pointed out came to life. In kindergarten, there are creative venues such as coloring, art projects, and recess to express yourself, but the rest of the school day is spent learning how to behave in a classroom setting. Eventually, the "classroom setting" becomes your only venue, and the artistic and creative expression disappears. We are told that we don't have time to waste on frivolous activities such as art and playtime. Instead, we have to learn each subject efficiently enough to take a standardized test, which is supposed to gauge our progress in learning. Honestly, we do not learn anything. Most of us just become really good test takers. It gets worse the farther you go along in school, to the point where all you do is sit in a classroom and listen to whatever the teacher has to say. It is almost like the system wants you to get used to a tedious routine. To me, at least, it almost seemed pointless. Every day the question in my mind would be "what is the point of learning any of this? Will I ever use this in the real world?"

Most of the time, depending on what your career path will be, the answer is no. The loss of interest can stifle creativity. I am pretty sure mine is stunted. I remember I used to want to be a artist or musician, constantly drawing or composing lines of music. Now all I can do is read and write well enough to get through college. Adults say if you study hard and go to college, everything will work out. Well, I'm here. So what now?

After watching this video, I see how polyandry could work in dire situations, but I still don't think it would work in modern societies. In that secluded Himalayan village, arable land is scarce and the population ratio is small. Therefore, taking more than one spouse can actually save a family from being isolated into starvation. However, in modern societies, where scarcity of human necessities is not as prevalent, having more than one spouse can seem pointless and somewhat greedy. Also, in most Western cultures that I've seen, especially in America, having more than one spouse would probably not be for economic stability but rather for pretentious gloating. For males, it could be "pimpish" and for females, it might actually be a "golddigging" tactic. There is also the jealousy factor to consider. In the video, one of the men said "if the woman is smart, she will sleep with all of her husbands on different nights." This is possible, but I'm sure there could be women that have a favorite person to sleep with, and would want to sleep with them more often than the others. I can honestly say that if I had three wives, I might have a favorite, depending on how exciting they are opposed to the rest. As you can see, I don't have any positives with this arrangement. The only way I could view this occurrence is in the poverty stricken of our society, just to simply pool their resources to survive. But unlike the Himalayan village, we have a welfare system, so polygamy wouldn't really be a necessary outlet.

After reading "Remember" twice over, I had two completely different opinions. The first time I read it, all I could think about was "you have life in prison, so you must have done something unforgivable" and had no sympathy. Then the second time I read it, I actually felt the emotion and understood where he was coming from. He couldn't recall any significant moments in his life before prison because everyone on the outside basically neglected him like a stranger. However, he remembered vividly how he ended up getting life in prison, by drunken stupidity. He knows he was wrong and is remorseful as well, but he knows that his acquired empathy will not free him from imprisonment. He has already tried with the appeals. Honestly, when I hear that someone has life in prison, I always consider the worst of them. But this writing shows me that he is still a sympathetic human being who admits his mistakes responsibly. That's all anyone can ask for.