Paid Extinction

  Paid Extinction

Imagine that you are in space, there is the rhythmic puff of breath in the background of your suit and the surreal phenomenon of low gravity all around you, probably the best feeling one could ever experience. But how many people get to experience that incredible sensation compared to how many don’t? Why should countries pay $1.5 billion dollars per flight just for a handful of people to have an amazing experience? I believe that space travel is pretty much pointless because of all the good that money could be doing in other fields. Granted, a lot of does good through space travel and exploration: Samples from other planets or moons and exciting new discoveries,but all that, as good as it may be is simply not worth that much money!    

Think of everything that money would accomplish if we had put it to better use than blasting some scrap metal into orbit!  We could save rain forests, protect endangered species, or even  put an end to poverty. But NO we have to waste 196.5 billion dollars on exploring something that never stops expanding!  and now we’re blowing even more money on sending manned missions leaving every two years to MARS!

I for one would definitely rather spend all that money on the preservation of highly endangered species for example Tiger. There are only approximately 3,500 Tigers left in the wild and it would only take $10,000 per Tiger per year to save them. That would still leave 19.25 billion for their silly space programs and one of the most majestic creatures ever to walk the face of the earth would  again be safe, and tigers aren't the only animal in need of funding for their re-population.

And what about those animal's habitat? What about the rain forests? The Amazon rain forests are  5,500,000 km² in size, to reduce deforestation to almost zero in less than a decade would cost between $100 and $600 million. Mere pocket money to what the space program costs, why don’t we throw money at the space program AFTER we've saved the rain forest  and brought back the tigers? This is not Jurassic park people! When a species is gone we can’t bring them back!

  

Lucas.

Animal Testing

Each year in the US and many other countries over 100 million animals are being experimented on, tested on and tortured every day.

I think that cosmetic testing on animals or any sort of testing and experimenting should be made illegal. Animals in these testing labs live stressful, hard and unnatural lives of daily confinement and a damaging lack of things needed to stay alive.These animals go through many procedures every single day, without pain relief, these protocols involve any sort of torture method. Anything from hitting them to testing new drugs, infecting with diseases, poisoning, burning, causing brain damage, implanting electrodes into the brain which can cause an electric shock, blinding and many more painful and invasive procedures.

Anesthetization, euthanasia and intubation are usually common lab procedures which require a load of experience, training and skills. When not performed as well as it should be, these procedures can cause extreme pain. For example if a researcher is using a paralyzing agent on an animal but not look for important signs showing that whether the animal is anesthetized. Most likely the animal will be feeling the discomfort and pain  but be unable to move. Unfortunately in  many cases the lab staff lack the experience and training, and sometimes they lack sensitivity so they couldn’t care less about what happens to the animal.

The outcome of these procedures can lead to electric shocks, continuous bleeding, separation from family members and so on.. Animals that have survived after these deadly experimentation methods are usually killed after the testing. No experiment is illegal no matter how cruel, irrelevant to human health, redundant or painful.

Europe is the largest cosmetic industry in the world. Some countries have already been banned from animal testing and experimenting for cosmetics and also the sale or import of newly tested beauty products These tests and experiments are done in laboratories but if this were to happen somewhere it would be considered a crime, so why should testing them in a laboratory make it okay?

Animal rights activists believe that all animals should be in control of their own lives. They are opposed to using animals for medical research because humans do not have the right to use animals. With some exceptions we do not experiment on human subjects without their consent. We do not experiment on humans if they are incapable of giving consent. Just because animals have no way of giving consent should not mean that they can experiment on it. Majority of the experiments and tests are so invasive and painful no one would even consider allowing humans do it, even if they agree to it.

Shark Fining 

One by one sharks are being tortured and killed. They are being captured in nets,and hauled up onto boats. Their fins are cut off and they are thrown back into the ocean with no way to swim. They drown or get eaten by other predators. Their population is decreasing and it’s just for their fins. It is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed every year, which is roughly 190 sharks per minute. According to ‘Huffpost Green’ Hong Kong is the largest trading center for shark fins. So why do people do these horrible things? Because shark fin is the main ingredient for shark fin soup.

Shark fin soup was originally consumed by the rich but now the Chinese and Japanese economy is strong and more people are wealthy enough to afford the delicacy of a fin soup. The demand for shark fins is increasing. It is such high demand ingredient that people pay $300-400 per kilogram of fin.

Although some sharks may be able to survive being finned the majority of them cannot. This results in large amounts of shark deaths. In my opinion, this act of cruelty should be illegal. What gives humans the right to kill innocent creatures for not even ¾ of their body. The regulations for shark fining say that a vessel may not land shark fins that weigh more than 5% of the body after the removal of the fin and head. As a result of the weighing process. If the shark fin is more than a fifth of the body weight  they are then chucked back into the ocean and essentially become food.This is because the vessels don't want to be caught breaking the law so once they have discarded the carcass, fins,and head there is no proof that it was them. Therefore they think aren't breaking the law, and cannot be caught doing this horrible act.  

Sharks are very important in the ocean as they are at the top of the food chain. In that role they keep other fish populations healthy and in proper proportions for the ecosystem. Sharks eat old or sick fish which gives younger and healthier animals the chance to breed without being over populated.

In conclusion I think the shark fining should be illegal in every country because one day sharks will become extinct, which will have a very negative effect on the produce that we eat from the sea. Sharks filter the bad fish from the good fish.Without sharks we won't be getting the best possible fish that there is. So it’s either torturing animals and eating bad food or more marine life and better food.

by Natalia 

ISIS is the wrong name for a terrorist organisation

ISIS is the wrong name for a terrorist organisation

To most people, processing a work inspection report would be considered normal. However when a group of policemen walk in and start an investigation into your business it becomes a little less ‘normal’. For a building inspection company named ISIS Building Inspections this became a reality after a member of the public reported them as a terrorist organization. The police soon realised there was no evidence and the claims were unfounded. The police then cancelled the investigation.

The terrorist organisation ISIS has absolutely no connection to the multitude of companies in New Zealand who have named themselves after the egyptian goddess of motherhood,love and power. The organisation tarnishes the very meaning of the goddess. Isis was considered the perfect egyptian wife and mother. Isis was a savior to the egyptian people after finding the many different parts of Osiris after Seth cut him up and scattered his body around all of Egypt. Having the name ISIS has proved bad for business for many companies including ISIS Building Inspections and ISIS Events in Auckland. Why should New Zealand companies be forced to change their names because of something that is happening on the other side of the world?

ISIS means Islamic state in Iraq and Syria which is not entirely representative of the terrorists organisations territory. ISIL means Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant which is more representative of their current territory, but since  ISIS is the name that the was agreed upon  by the media the name stuck. However, ISIL has been agreed upon by numerous organisations and world leaders including Barack Obama and the United Nations. If we used ISIL to describe the organisation we would not have any name double ups; in New Zealand there are not that many companies who have called themselves ISIL are there?

ISIL are destroying ancient cities and temples in the middle east for no reason other than they want to eliminate all traces of non-islamic religions. However in the view of many Islamic countries and other terrorist groups ISIL is not following the tenets of Islam and calls them illegitimate outlaws who use the Islamic religion and their title of Islamic State to give themselves some sense of legitimacy. Jordan’s King Abdullah has started calling ISIL Daesh to remove the fact that they are a state. ISIL has expressed a dislike for the name saying its derogatory and that they are a state, an idea that Jordan disagrees with.

I hope that by now you see that ISIS is the worst possible name for the terrorist organisation, it is a tarnish on the name of a well known goddess and is unrepresentative of the organization's current territory. The state has been called illegitimate and has been shunned by many islamic groups and countries in the middle east. The group should not be known as a state and instead be called what they are; a terrorist organisation.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/09/world/meast/isis-isil-islamic-state/ (name meanings source)


By Robert Calvert-Griffin

Brainwashed by the Media.

The media has become a daily part of our life. Checking Facebook or twitter every minute to make sure you haven’t missed one tiny bit of gossip, getting home from school and instantly grabbing your phone or even staying up past midnight scrolling through Tumblr. Have you ever wondered while you are scrolling through the internet or reading magazines what it really does to you? It only takes one click of a button and we are surfing the internet on a device that is brainwashing us into believing a load of rubbish about the world we live in today. The media has been specifically designed to trick us into thinking differently about our nation, our world, our people and even ourselves.

The media has changed the way we view individuals.We pick out the tiniest flaws of other people and judge them on it; whether it is to there face or behind there backs.Teenagers are afraid of going to school because of what their pairs may say “She’s not pretty enough.”, “He looks like a freak.”,“What is she wearing?”. Without the picture perfect model material people that are plastered all over daily magazines and the latest websites we wouldn't be judging one another by their appearances or actions.  

Cyber-bullying has slowly been developed by the media. Both Ask F.M and Tumblr allow anonymous comments to be sent to one another, it was first created to leave a nice comment here and there but over the years has progressively changed by its users into disrespectful comments. There once was a quote on Tumblr ‘Anonymous hate hurts us because when we read it, we don’t hear the attacker’s voice, we hear our own.’  People have been so caught up in the media that they think they are living a fantasy, they can not see the emotion in the victim's face, they assume what they say doesn't affect others in any way. Are internet users even capable to distinguish right from wrong now days.

The media also affects young children, according to www.camillecopper.com the average amount of time that children of the age 3-13 spend watching TV a week  is 21 hours; by the time they graduate they have spent more time watching TV than in a class room. Children these days are being exposed to things that are not suitable for their age; they are being influenced to do things or act a certain way but are too young to figure out if it is wrong. They become wrapped up in their own world, slowly cutting out what a normal child should be doing because of all the technology advancements, this ends up affecting them in the long run.

There is no doubt in my mind that the media affects us all in a negative way. Have you ever judged someone because they don’t look as perfect as a model you saw on T.V, have you ever bullied someone because you thought you were ‘cool’ or following the ‘trend’ or have you ever spent a whole day watching TV and playing video games. Media is changing our outlook on life, it is slowly changing the dynamics of society for the worse. Why are we letting it? If we can stop it why don’t we?

Naomi Munro

Our Eyes Deceive Us

How much time do we actually spend on social media? According to the New Zealand Herald more than 2.8 million New Zealanders spend an average of eight hours or more on social media. That’s eight hours or more on Facebook, Tumblr, Snapchat and others. ‘Just five more minutes’ can actually go on for hours. We don’t know how much time we spend on technology and how addicting they are.

People of all ages go on the internet and when they do they’ll find thousands of photos of skinny “beautiful” females and attractive guys with muscles and abs. The media doesn't show average, maybe overweight people. They show skinny, beautiful females and good looking guys people on TV programs and advertisements. Magazines publish day to day pictures and articles of anorexic looking what we believe  is beautiful females and guys with muscles. On social media sites like Tumblr, they show skinny girls with thigh gaps, smooth tan skin and a beautiful face, what does this really say about our society? All this exposure to “beauty” makes most of us feel fat and unattractive, this sometimes makes us do silly things like self harm and can lead to eating disorders like anorexia. According to a website called ANAD, 86 percent of the people they interviewed report onset of eating disorders by the age of 20. Therefore all this exposure to the media can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.

How can we stop this?! Is media killing our self esteem? Maybe it’s time for the media to have a spring clean. Role Reboot website says that 298 of the people they interviewed who use social networks, fifty percent of them said social media made their self esteem worse. People are feeling upset with themselves because they are not this image of “perfection” and feel as though they’re not good enough for society. All you have to remember is that the people in those pictures aren't real, they are photoshopped to look perfect. You’re perfect the way you are.

As you can see, the media is seriously affecting our society. All this unnecessary photoshopping is forcing us to do things to ourselves that are unbearable. We need to treat ourselves better because we are all beautiful inside and out, no matter how big or small, tall or short, wide or thin you are. Photoshopped people aren't real, we are. The people around you are. Not some silly picture trying to make a profit.

Michelle Hamilton

Suffocation of Fear

It almost feels like you’re drowning. The air in your lungs feel like heavy weights and the breath gets trapped in your throat. Everything around you turns into a figment of your imagination. The force of reality pulls you down. You sink further and further. People surround you, even though they’re far away. Panic rises quickly as you see a few recognizable faces talking to you. The difference is they’re breathing. They aren't sinking in a sea of anxiety like you. Nobody can reach you. Not even your friends can save you now.

This is what it feels like to have anxiety. Some people suffer even worse symptoms than this. It’s serious, and  it affects the way you interact with others and how you live your life.

Anxiety causes all kinds of social problems. One and a half million people in our world have social anxiety, this results as people isolating themselves as a coping mechanism for social anxiety. It makes them feel a sense of security that they wouldn't have if they were anywhere else. Being out of that comfort zone can cause the symptoms above or even the feeling of everything becoming too much and needing to escape. Anxiety means you miss out on things you would like to do, but are too uncomfortable doing. That can also interfere with schooling.

Fear. One of the many parts of anxiety. You could have a range of fears. Nineteen million people have fear anxiety in the world, meaning that not only can the fear of spiders put you in a psychotic state of mind, but can make you hallucinate them too. Other very popular fears of people with anxiety is enochlophobia: fear of crowds, agoraphobia:  irrational fear of open or public places, anthrophobia: fear of people in crowded situations, but can also go beyond and leave the person uncomfortable when being around just one person and athazagoraphobia: fear of being forgotten. There are a larger number of fears that can be weird, crazy and abnormal. Also there are the everyday fears that you wouldn't notice. This can definitely interfere with how you interact with others at school and how you react to certain things.

Did you know people with anxiety disorders are three times more likely to go to the doctor and are six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety? It can make someone so paranoid and cautious they can’t even take being in their own mind anymore. What’s horrible is that a lot of people think suicide is selfish. Would you rather be so paranoid to the point of shaking, headaches, anger and being at war in your own mind everyday? Also to have others being annoyed and frustrated with you because they don’t understand? Maybe a few can handle that, but I know for a fact I couldn't. People with anxiety go to sleep at night being afraid of what tomorrow will bring, or worried if they fall asleep at all. These outcomes are more common than you think, it can even be happening to the person who sits in the back of the class and you wouldn't even realize. You are oblivious to it.

Anxiety is not a joke. It’s not something you pretend to have to be ‘cool’. People with anxiety usually don’t want people knowing they have it. They feel insecure about it.  Sometimes they can get paranoid about others figuring it out. Anxiety causes social problems that turn into fear and can end in worst case scenario. They didn't choose to be that way. However, who said they have a choice. Respect everyone, you don’t know what they are going through.