Why Are There Commercials?

Have you ever wondered why there are t.v. commercials? The basic definition of consumerism is the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers. Meaning that the companies want to protect their product from other companies or peoples opinion. There are t.v. commercials because they sponsor what you are watching. In addition, they want you to be interested in their product. According to National Geographic News about 1.7 billion people are now "consumer class"worldwide. We buy, use discard, and repeat the cycle again. Consumerism is everywhere because they want to wrap us with their product so they can gain money. Consumerism tends to sell you things you don't neccessarily need at a price that is over the roof. News has been able to help the growth of consumerism because they go to ommercials and say here are a few messages from our sponsers. Meaning that they endorse the CEO's of the companies because they are sponsered to buy the technologies that they in exchange to show a few of their commercials. So, next time when you see the news or t.v. show see what kind of commercial and what they are trying to sell you.   http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tupperware-consumer/ http://www.postcarbon.org/blog-post/1786882-the-brief-tragic-reign-of-consumerism-and http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0111_040112_consumerism.html

Voiceless Brazilians and Ukrainians

 June 28,2014 police in Brazil threw tear gas onto the streets of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil to break out a protest outside of the Maracana Stadium, at the time Colombia and Uruguay were playing.  There were at least 350 protestors that marched towards the stadium and 250 police closely guarding the stadium. Then, the police fired gas onto the street to disperse the crowd. These protests were created because Brazil spent about $11 billion on the World Cup stadiums rather than using it for schools, hospitals, and public transportation.In the link below you can see how intense these protest get the crew from CNN experienced first-handed the violence that occurs in Brazil. In addition, a police officer in Brazil has used a pistol to try to break up a protest. What do you think about these outrageous protest in Brazil? Similar protest have been occurring in the Ukraine were the protestors are getting out of hand. For example, the people flipped three diplomatic cars outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine. In addition, they threw green paint, eggs, smoke bombs, firecrackers, and molotov cocktails in the embassy. The protesters wanted the diplomats to leave. the only way the protestors think they can be heard is only by violence but, it doesn't have to be that way. http://www.sptimes.ru/story/40102 http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/06/15/brazil-police-officers-shoot-live-rounds-during-world-cup-protests/  http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/americas/brazil-world-cup-protests/ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/28/brazilian-police-use-tear-gas-to-break-up-anti-world-cup-protest-outside-stadium/

Diane Whittaker: Living In The Block

Diane Whittaker a 50 year old Kamilaroi housewife from Walgett, Australia has struggled with many other residents in the Block. At the age of 12 she ran away from her home to Sydney, Australia on a tour bus of a Aboriginal rock band called the Black Lace. When she was 18 she and her mother moved into the Block at 96 Eveleigh Street. In addition, she lived in 92 and finally settled at 48 Eveleigh Street.In 1975, Diane married her husband Jeff, who later passed away in 1997. Diane and other Block residents opposed to the Redfern needle exchange, which was a van parked in a children's play area. The Block felt that the children were exposed to drugs. They fought very hard to remove the Redfern it was not removed until 2005. Diane witnessed how her community changed from vibrant and healthy to a troubled place ruled by drugs and violence. In fact, she said herself "My daughter Vanessa had her first encounter with heroin at the age of 12." In 1997, she was selected to be moved from the Block. She now currently has 11 children (6 of who are alive) with 6 grandchildren. She now resides in Glebe, Australia.

http://www.sbs.com.au/theblock/#/diane http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/s72768.htm

http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/pitch-for-affordable-housing-on-the-block/#.U62ZMkCZnX4