# 24 Fair use: online Piracy

What is considered a fair use of sharing files in terms of a piece of music? Am I breaking the law by sharing music that I brought on the CD online in a forum where people can download the music I share? Many people will argue that this will be piracy that I shouldn’t be allowed to share intellectual property online and let people download things that should have been brought legally through music stores. There’s a big issue of what is the fair use of sharing music. In the old days where music can only be played on a black disk or CDs, people share music by lending CDs to people as if it is like a book. It is fine to share books and share the information you have in your possession. However, when technology starts to improve that mass producing books by photocopying become common and cheap, it becomes a problem that book maybe shared illegally. It is the same as essays. People are not allowed to plagiarize because it is some other people’s work and intellectual property that needs to be charged if it were to be used. Music nowadays are made electronically, which make it extremely vulnerable to mass copying and downloading due to the easiness to assess to the technology to perform this heinous act (For the recording industries). For me, the only fair use of music is when music are played directly and only on CD album that can’t be mass produce and upload to any other electronic device. However, this proves something hard to do as these paradoxical issues are occurring even in company such as SONY.

#23 Usage of Argument in Campaign ads

In this video, Obama used several techniques in his camgain ads to attack his opponent, John McCain during the 2008 US presidential election. First, Obama uses a belittlement charge to control the mood of the audience by saying that McCain destroy people's dream by trying to privatize health care like the way he did with banking.  This created fear for people that John McCain's policy would be a disaster as the way the ad puted "A prescription for disaster".This strong world creates a negative image that his policy could led to people's poor life and depression in society. This is also a Domino Theory which suspect that if McCain gets elected and implement his policy, people will be doom for life. Also the ad makes it certain that a pure hypothesis or prediction which John McCain's way to deal with health insurance would be disasterous  was seemed as an inevitable fact and truth. This is called confusing speculation with fact. This is a strong attack ad from Obama to show that John McCain may screw up Health insurance as the way he did with deregulation of banking. Of course, the ad is all based up theory that the way McCain deregulate banking would be equally disastrious to health care. Who knows if the policy would do harm to the health care. After all, banking and health care are two very different things.

#22 Nonsense Vs Argument

Comparing Nonsense and Argument book, I think I favored the Nonsense book better. First of all, Nonsense book is easier to make notes. Unlike the argument book, nonsense book is organized with set agenda. First, it will cover the name of the specific rhetoric terms. Then it will give examples to support it. In the argument book, it first approaches rhetoric term with example. This may be entertaining that the argument book looks more like a book instead of a dictionary or an encyclopedia. However, it may be extremely difficult to follow if one wants to use the book to find terms. Also, Nonsense book provide more detail than argument book. In the nonsense book, it can provide specific details that support the term exactly as it is defined. However, in the argument book, the author may provide an example that may support multiple terms at the same time. This may be extremely confusing for first time learner. Also, I hated how the argument book has many side notes with details that I often find extremely irreverent. They may sidetracks and distract the reader. I like books that are straightforward to follow. For me, Argument book may contain may too many references to American culture that I may not be so familiar with. This may ruin the potential fun of the book that for the most part I couldn’t understand the jokes the author is trying to imply.

#20 Rich vs Poor

I guess lots of people would like to agree with me about the differences between Rich versus Poor. Like many stories portrayed, rich people are in fact arrogant, greedy and selfish. Most of the time, they exploit on the poor to make themselves rich and gain all the benefits for themselves. Most of the time, they spend all of their time and energy on how to make themselves more money. They never appreciate what they have and always wanted more. Nothing is enough for them. Even if they make a billion dollar a year, they will want to make 10 billion more the next year. On the other hand, poor people tend to be more humble and giving. They suffer and understand the toughness in life. Due to their economic situation, poor people seem to place their primary importance on their family. They are naturally more of a philanthropist. Poor people are more willing to help each other and donate to charity whenever they can because they know what it’s like to be poor. Unlike the rich, the poor appreciate what they have and seek to work hard to get themselves out of poverty. They are more efficient in their work and more able to take and overcome challenges in life. This is all just certain stereotype for both sides. There are of course some exceptions within each of the group. However, this is just some common thought people have when they consider about the morals of poor and rich people.

#18 Public Spaces

I don’t really recall I have a time when I felt as if I altered public space. But I do have some experience when someone alters the public space in this way. I guess this is fairly common in Pacific American School. Whenever the lunch bell rang, everyone will rush out of their class room and dash to the cafeteria to be the first one to get lunch and avoid the long queue. Lunch time is probably the most fabulous time during school day. Everyone would use that precious 30 to 45 minutes to enjoy their café food, whether they are like it or not, and have the social time to exchange gossips, people’s feeling toward a test, teacher or the overall school activities. I guess all of our conversations are all quite normal, except once in a while boys will talk about some inappropriate jokes. However, most of our conversation will be in mandarin. This comes into a problem. Whenever our headmaster Ms Pamela walks into the cafeteria, immediately, table to table, people will stop their chats. It seems like she is some kind of mute button that whenever Ms Pamela enters, people will start whispering “Ms Pamela is here, English, English.” Although people do sometimes immediately change their Mandarin conversation into an English one, most people just stop their talk and focus on their food. It is exceptionally funny that our noisy cafeteria will be immediately silence just by the appearance of one individual.

#17 Brother and Sister

In my case, I have a older sister, who is only a year older than me. When we were small, we fought a lot. Back in those days, I was always trying to fight for any toys that my sister has in her hand. I never thought of the idea of “sharing.” I will always say “This is brother’s” in Taiwanese to whatever thing I have my index finger pointed at, either a pencil, cookie or a car. My sister was always so gullible and easily teased. Often times I would trick my sister and divert her attention to the TV or other things to steal away her toys. We would get in a lot of conflict for the toy issue. From what my mom recall, we were like bunch of little monsters. We fought with our teeth that instead of punching each other, we would bite. This is kind of hilarious that often times my mom would find bite marks on my sister’s back when she help her take showers. Then I would get in trouble to being such a naughty brother. Unlike Krull, most of the time it is me who teased my sister and plays pranks on her. Now she is off to college, I rarely have time to tease with her again. She is such a fun sister to hang around with.

#16 School tardiness policy

To me, I believe the current school tardiness policy is too extreme and counterproductive. It is true that this locking door policy when you are late for school in the morning is effective that it uses fear to force people to be on time for school. However, it sacrifices students’ chance for academic education. Although the school may argue that by locking people out for a whole day just for being late for school in the morning is super effective, it takes away school time. This kind of discipline issue should be taught to the student outside of school time. Instead of the locking door policy, I propose to have a stricter detention that should serve as an enough fear factor for people to learn to be punctual. In the past years, our detention system is never strict enough that people don’t really suffer and learn from such after school community service. However, if we impose a stricter detention system, we wouldn’t need a locking door policy. For every 3 tardiness to school in the morning, the student will have to spend a week of detention. It accumulates that way that if you have 6 tardiness, you will have 2 weeks of detention. In detention, students will be forced to clean classrooms and clean the school environment. They will need to write an essay everyday in detention for 30 min on various topic that the teacher choose to pick. The initiative of the policy is well established and reasonable. There is indeed a dilatory issue for students in our school. However, to correct student’s behavior, we shouldn’t sacrifice student’s class time and education.