Extra Credit blog--free culture

The movie that we watched in class was about free culture and freedom in general from patents and the government that has regulated this. The movie talks about how patents have evolved from using someone’s invention in four years after it was created to a patent extending to forever. This guy David, talks about how we are losing the battle of freedom and that culture is being stolen from people through patents.

First, I found this entire speech to be interesting, but one thing I would like to talk about is the Homer Simpson problems of having to pay $25,000 to the company that owns the Simpsons for a two second background. This just goes to show you how greedy people have gotten throughout society in the last hundred years. Patents were not a forever thing, but as soon as someone got a hold of it and realized they could make a lot of money, that is when it took off. The recession today, where did it start off…The greed of the CEO’s and banks that thought they could make a pretty penny off of someone. Patents have not become as large of a problem yet because it has not put us into a recession. America doesn’t do anything unless there is a problem with MONEY for the CEO’s, and patents are not exceptions!

However, one thing that needs to be addressed is if patents were to become more lacks, like in the 1700s, then the person who made the creation that is being patented will lose money. That is not entirely far for that person to lose money when they have clearly made it as their livelihood. There needs to be some moderation that satisfies the majority of people without the creator losing too much money. Our economy has to come into play at some point. Forever is forever to long lol.

Genetics is where patents will start to have the largest problem in my opinion. This is another problem that needs to be addressed and fixed before it becomes a problem. If you are a geneticist working in a lab and you discover a trait that is expressed on a specific gene, you may patent that gene as yours. The problem comes into play when another trait, say cancer, is discovered on the same gene. The second geneticist cannot do anymore research on that gene without paying the patents and first geneticist money. This problem can cost people there lives, or create explosions for that first geneticist to do whatever they want with “their” gene like put it into an animal to create a mutation. The book Next by Michael Crichton is a wonderful novel about the over use of gene patents. It is not all scientific it is also just a really good read!

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a set of economic policies that strays away from the government sectors, and the free movement of goods and services around the world. In this reading they say that labour unions and states interfere with the free play of the capitalist market. In other words neoliberals what trade free of borders throughout countries which would eliminate the governments interjections. With opening trade to all countries and eliminating the government’s involvement, globalization would greatly improve. There have been several countries that used this tactic and had poor economic turn out for its people.
I found it interesting that the concept of neoliberalism to open up free trade to countries failed, and by failed I mean for the poor and middle class of the country living in poor conditions. Globalization can be good for a countries economy and also culture from one country to another is opened up. I could imagine that with free trade there would be less incentive for a product to be safe.
One problem I see happening after opening up free trade is immigration problems. If the trade is opened up without any regulations or involvement of the government there would be a lot of people living in countries that are not theirs. I am not saying that the government can solve all of the problems, but with their involvement it would make it harder for illegal immigration to take place. A countries economy relies on the delicate balance of people emigrating and immigrating; hence, the welfare systems would fade away.

Bamyeh's nationalism

This week we talked about nationalism, postnationalism, transnationalism, and internationalism. One idea that I will talk about is nationalism verses postnationalism. Bamyeh’s idea that we are living in a postnationalistic world that started after WWII happened because people could see themselves becoming more and more independent. He goes on to say that it doesn’t get any better because the wars that are fought after WWII, i.e. the cold war, were fought not on the bases of nationalism but on the bases of keeping America strong in the economic pull in the world.

This is interesting topic because it questions the idea of whether America or any other country for that matter has become less nationalistic and if we are living in a postnationalistic world. This brings up a good point about even today’s war in Iraq. There is not enough wide spread support which could have something to do with the postnationalistic world we live in.

I do believe that we are living in a postnationalism world for many reasons. One, I believe that if America was to go into a war in these times, for any reason, that there would not be enough support and seen as a way to gain on another countries resources. The same thing happened in Iraq when there were large claims of going into Iraq because of their vast oil resources. I am not saying for or against this, I am just stating fact. Everyone in the world is concerned with themselves which leaves a lot of nationalism out in the cold. This is do not necessarily view this as bad just a different direction of our country.

Last Chapters of Leo

In the last chapters of Leo Africanus, Leo finds himself married and with child again with a woman named Maddalena. She was from the nunnery but pleaded to get out to the Cardinal which he granted her wishes. During these chapters the Pope passes away which gives rise to a new Pope, Pope Adrian. This new Pope was very against art and sculpture, and demanded that all men be clean shaven. Many people were against the new moves including Hasan, and there were a lot of resistance to the new Pope. His old wife, Nur, writes him about his son which brings tears to Hasan’s eyes. He is caught with a pamphlet that is against the Pope so he is imprisoned. The Pope is then poisoned and dies, and the Cardinal that allowed Maddalena out of the nunnery became the new Pope, Pope Clement. There is conflict between the Turks and France, and Hasan finds a safe haven for his family with a friend. At the end there are plans for Hasan and his family to return back to Tunis.

One thing that I found interesting in these chapters was Pope Adrian’s taste about art. He viewed as a challenge to the creator, creator being God. He views art as blasphemy, because art and sculpting was created for the replica of humans, and he thought that should not be a human’s job. The top of the Sistine Chapel for Adrian was too much to bear. He thought that the naked bodies were against everything the church should stand for. It is interesting for me to think about what would have happened if someone did not poison him and he stayed in power. Would the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel still exist?

Another issue that I have found in whole book is the marriages of Hasan and children he has with these marriages. At the end when Nur writes to him, and he is married to Maddalena, that he is brought to tears. I am surprised that he did not pine for her if he was that in love with her to cry.

Leo Africanus

In this week’s reading Hasan becomes Leo by becoming baptized in Italy, and his journey there is most unusual. In Constantinople, Egypt, Hasan is a diplomat, and the Ottoman Empire which was run by the Turkish and they were starting to take over. The Mamlukes and Ottoman are fighting for power, and during this chaotic time his wife, Nur, gives birth to a girl. He then is captured by Italian pirates since he is a diplomat and brought on as a slave. He is brought to Rome where he becomes close to the Pope, and then becomes baptized. This is the time his name goes from Hasan to Leo Africanus, and both the Pope and Leo shared a great deal of the same religious and political views.

One thing that I found interesting is the movement of Hasan in his life. He went from a diplomat in Constantinople to baptized in Rome. Since the Ottoman Empire was so strong during this time it makes sense that Hasan would be pushed out. It is bizarre that he was captured as a slave on a ship and presented to the Pope, and then the Pope basically takes him in. It is interesting to me that the Pope would be so quick to trust Leo, especially since the Ottoman Empire was taking over some many areas.

The separation of church and state is an issue that is brought up by Leo. Leo believes that the military should be backed up with religion. I understand during this time that religion was very closely tied to the culture. I do not agree with the military being backed by religion, and believe that separation of church and state should be practiced. I believe this because of the world I grew up in of democracy, which is the reason for my ideas, but Leo and the Pope grew up in a different reality. But, Leo and the Pope are both extremely close with their religion, so they see religion being part of every aspect of their lives. When it comes to war, I believe that regardless of what a person’s religion, if they believe in what is being fought for then they belong in the fight.

Hasan

In this weeks reading Hasan's grandmother passes away, and there is an extensive grieving process that takes place. 30 days of mourning to be exact. During this time Hasan’s father and uncle decide that he is ready to be placed into manhood by going off to school.
The first thing I found interesting is the 30 days of mourning that takes place in this culture. The process is a bit to extensive, but they felt it was necessary to help move on. Today in our society 30 days to grieve, in my opinion, would be a good thing. Although not to the extent they did, especially with hiring people to morn. When someone close dies grieving goes on longer than 30 days, because sometimes it takes longer for grief to hit people. If that person that passed away lived in the same house going through that persons belongings is part of grief. It takes months, years or a lifetime to go through things. In my opinion, 30 days of mourning would be a blessing.
The second thing I found interesting is the fact that Hasan is brought to school to become a man, and that he was beyond his years. This I found similar to our modern system of going to college. When you excel you are able to move up, and going to college is one way to get to know yourself.

Third book reading

In class this week we discussed a lot about religion in our country verses others, and we also discussed the importance of a nuclear family in some countries and not in others. We were given a statistic in class about the importance of religion. In America the importance of religion to people is similar to religion to people in the Middle East. However, in Europe religion is not as valued to people as America and the Middle East, and we talked about why. The history of the nuclear family in America is a value that we have, but in other countries and in history having many women is considered acceptable.

One reason I think religion is so much more valuable in America than in Europe is the history of each country. In Europe there has been a lot of unrest change in the government that America has never experienced. Communism, for example, is a government that took over many countries for as much as 50 years. Communism was extremely anti religion and after that rule people were lost in religion. There was not the history in the families to carry on the tradition so religion became of less importance. In America we have never been ruled by communism, nor had a president that was anything but Christian. People look up to the government no matter what is the rule. Most people in America are Christian, so that has never been questioned in such a degree as in Europe.

The nuclear family has always been an important value with Christian moral views, but in places like Middle East, people have different morals and values that do not include monogamy. In history having many women for many kids is considered normal in a lot of the Middle East. The practicality of having many women was to have children to work for you, mostly boys. These children were expected to work and they all had their place. In American history having children was also used for work, but that mentality has changed. In America today work and education is more important than the Middle East. Education and work beyond the family has not moved into a period of women being educated.

Conclusion of book

The last chapters of this book have ended in a transitional period of science, religion, peace and war. New concepts of science were emerging into life with the development of industry, and machines and guns for war, and it became harder to understand. New ideas were starting to come out with led to progress which became a beacon of opportunity to new people. Industry was starting a new revolution from a predominantly agricultural society. A lot of the industry starting to be created was created for WWI and the technology needed for that war. The machines and guns were made by the new industries that were needed. WWI was a war that encountered major advancements for its time. Religion suffered for the western world with the rise of science and education. This was an age where reason was taking over, due to the rise in Nietzcheism and through education since science was becoming more advanced.

The importance of science to the western world had an increasing advantage for war. Chemical weapons were starting to be figured out, and the advancement of their guns and machines used were starting to be made with more skill. If the western world at this time were to start a massive attack on a “tribal” culture than the technology advancements for the developed countries would sure end many “tribal” cultures. The western world also used technology that created an arms race between many countries, and competition is not always bad. The advancements in technology led to globalization, and with that a country can communicate more effectively. The spread of the technology creates a competition that can bring a discovery to a more important stand point. A disease for example, can be found by one scientist but can prevented from spreading by a scientist in a different country.

Woman and Nationalism

This week’s reading and class discussion surrounds the idea of the creation of nationalism through democratization and the growth of women in the western culture. Nationalism was the liberal view and then became a part of everyone. Not only was there pride for ones country but they would fight to protect their nation. Nationalism created tension between states because every person wanted to protect their nation. That is how strong nationalism got, and some still have the same feelings today. Some people that did not agree with the way there state was running immigration. Nationalism created immigration, which created even more tension between states.
The readings this week also incorporated the rise to power women have gone through to get to where we are today. The low birth rate according to Hobsbawm is several factors; people are having children older, women need to work, and/or the use of contraceptives during those times.
Nationalism became mainstream, because there is more at stake to fight for when being the country you live in. One reason why nationalism was important to mainstream is for war. When war is declared a large band acceptance is needed for the success of the world. The war needs acceptance which leads to the idea that the mainstream media will pick it up. If a war has wide spread acceptance than that will directly correlates with the media attention it gets. If there is wide acceptance than the chance of good media to come out is higher than if there was low acceptance to a war. Iraq war for example, we went in there with little support from not only we the people but other counties. The Iraq war did not have good media coverage. Therefore, the greater the acceptance of a conflict or war the better media stance you get.
I do agree with Hobsbawm on the issue of low birth rate in developed or developing nations. As more developed a country gets the more technology and education a country has. More technology means a higher demand for workers, so women are able to start to work. Education of money and children hinders the want to have children. Women want more than just to stay home and be inferior to men. Education also leads to better medical care in the developed countries which gives us contraceptives. You no longer have to get pregnant at such a young age, but you can work, educate yourself, and with the ability of contraceptive to determine the best time to have children.

Age of Empire 2

This week’s reading discusses the movement toward equality among the working class and establishment of democracy during the 19th and 20th century. During this time there were more and more workers for more and more industrialized jobs, and the workers started noticing that wealthy merchants were reaping the benefits of their hard labor. The workers decided to organize themselves through unions and organized labor. The proletariat group threatened the wealthy merchants and the political systems in place during the time. After that happened democracy was brought into the picture. Democracy was the happy median to satisfying everyone’s distaste to the current political system. Majority rules the democracy because that gives both sides to the story of wealthy verses poor.

Why did the masses become interested in politics during the 19th and 10th century and not 100 years ago? This is a great question. My own theory is: during this time the world was is in a great time of change and turmoil. WWI was happening, social problems were happening between the wealthy and the poor, and the economic turmoil was also a big part. All of this combine the laborers started to take notice and want better for themselves and family.

There were many working classes at that time, not as many as today, but there was still a latter to climb to get to the top. Each laborer had a job that defined their skill. The factories had hierarchies and your job is something that defines the amount of knowledge you have in that area. Also people, by nature, develop a hierarchy to try and get a better life for them and their children. Today there is an even more of a working class system. People who work in an office for example look down to the people that work on the machinery of a factory. There will always be a working class system in place in our world.

Empire

The Age of the Empire shows how the world looked during 1875 through 1914, and a lot had to do with the explosion of technology and different world of economy was booming. Europe became more industrialized which lead to new army technology and new pathways like railroads and bridges for trade movement. The differences between the rich and poor areas were becoming clearly defined, and the differences between the cities being a hegemony and the counties being agricultural. Britain, who was on top of the trading pole, started to depress which gave way for new economies to rise above.
On thing I found interesting this week was the reading being a lot easier to read because it was more interesting. I think it was more interesting because I can identify with the history and the up and downs of the economy. Another thing I found interesting was the history before America started their rise.
Technology is extremely important to the progress of a countries economy because it gives them a way to judge what is going on in that country. Even though the wave shows the dissipation of the economy after information and technology it is still important. If the cycle is true then that gives a clear picture of where the country is, but if it doesn’t it still shows what they have accomplished. Technology has a way to create pathways for transportation which brings more trade which brings more money and prosperity.

Trade between the Middle East and India

This week’s reading focused on the trade of the Middle East between the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Persian Gulf during the 13th and 14th century. There was a time that all areas traded together without competition, but then the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf became competitive. The Persian Gulf was used more for a while because of the calmer seas and more trade and goods were moved through there. The Persian Gulf then lost its standing because of conflict and economic problems, which allowed the Red Sea trade to grow. The Persian Gulf was a lower on the trading pole than the Red Sea. This allowed Egypt to rise and become hegemony at that time. Egypt’s stand in the trade eventually faded leading to the rise of India. India in the world trade system was more export than import. India had everything to sustain itself and most trade was brought to them. Since India exported more than imported proved how industrialized they were.
I found it interesting how large the Middle East and Egypt were in the world trade system during the 13th and 14th century, because the Middle East, especially, is consumed with war today. It is very hard to picture all roads leading to Baghdad.
One question in class was interesting was how weather could affect trade. Thinking about the amount of trade, during the 13th and 14th century especially, used maritime would definitely be effected by weather. The Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf all surround the Middle East and were all used for trade. If there are high winds or storms over those waters it will slow down the trade between countries. In the book the Red Sea is talked about being extremely rough, so getting trade through that area is rough and you have a lot of lives in danger. If there is ever an extreme weather like there was during Katrina hurricane in present time than you the economy is surely going to be devastated.

Genoa and Venice

Trade during the 13^th century was there to create a “world system” and for this reading Genoa and Venice were the power house of trade. Genoa and Venice both wanted to monopolize the trade, but in the end Venice ended up having the upper hand. This trade was maritime trade with the Middle East which was eventually broken down during the Crusades. The Middle East saw the European Crusades as barbaric and opposite of the culture they wanted for themselves. Because of the Crusaders the Muslims thought they were superior to the westerners as they battled for monopoly in the “world trade system.”

I find it interesting that human behavior has not changed drastically and also that the Muslim’s still feel they live the best, superior, life. The human behavior that happened during the Crusade was a normal human reaction to hunger. If you are hungry enough you will eat anything to substance life, fight or flight. The Muslim’s saw the western behavior as crazy but they did what they thought was the best way to continue to live. Someone in class said that every country sees itself as superior, which I completely agree with. The Westerners probably saw themselves as superior to the Muslim’s, and many countries today see themselves superior if not in one aspect or many. The Muslim’s also are and were very ingrained into their religion that any other culture or religion was wrong.

Another question that was briefly discussed in class was the better strategy, trade center, industrial center, or transport magnate. I feel to have a successful economic strategy that a country must possess all three if not more aspects of trade. To have good trade you must have goods another country wants; therefore industry is important to produce goods to sell. In order to have successful trade and industry the transport magnate is there to correlate so that everything runs smoothly.

Commentary1

In this book, Europe is shown to increase steadily from the thirteenth century to the sixteenth century economically through trade. After the fall of Rome in Europe, Asia and the Middle East are the dominating or hegemonic forces for trade. Europe started to regain their economic standing in the world after the fall of Rome, and at this time they were underdeveloped or periphery. As Europe moves from periphery to developed, core or dominating, the Middle East and Asia fall behind. The Middle East and Asia are having independent problems that creates them to fall behind Europe allowing Europe to become the dominate power of trade. The Pax Mongolica is the prime trade route through Europe, Asia, Middle East, and India. Since Europe was just starting to rise the book brings up the point that there actually were no dominating forces during this time. This all leads up to how the present day developed and used the knowledge of the trade system in thirteen century Europe.

I learned some interesting facts as to how Europe rose above their hardships and how the hardships of other countries influenced their downfall in such a short time. Also I found it interesting how similar the trade of the thirteen century Pax Mongolica is to our own.

In class the slide that gives a quote from the book and then poses the question, “So do they Matter?” The trade and economic systems of the past are the foundation of the future. Without this system the future is in danger of slower development or worse no development at all. Today’s globalization is the direct result of trial and error from the knowledge from the past starting with one of the earliest trade routes like Pax Mongolica.