Karadzic justifications

1. After learning about how the Bosnian War began and the role ofKaradzic and Milosovic, was it fair for the Independent to use the word "Monster". kjglhj after reading and learning of these events i believe that claiming that Karadzic was a "monster" was pushing the envelope too far. however, i am not denying that what he did was inhumane and immoral, but compared with others in the field of destruction, he is still recognized as being less severe in which he allowed there to be refugees from sarajevo instead of capturing everyone and have one large scale massacre

2. How do you think this phrase would be justified, according to Plato? Use specific examples from the reading and the documentary, The Death of Yugoslavia, to justify your claims. i believe that the people who claimed this phrase justified it using all 4 platonic justifications. for the reporters who visited the camps personally under the power and control of the serbs, the sheer shock of seeing men depreived of food and being beaten by guards is enough to call the ones beating the prisoners monsters. however, when someone listens to Karadzic's speach in the death of yugoslavia, he states the if the muslims did not get out of the serb's way, that they would be exterminated. from there, people can use reason to justify how the camps were established and why the events in the camps were going unpunished by those in power.

3. When the term Monster is used, what do you think it means. (You can look it up in the dictionary, but as you know, that has limitations). under the established definition of "monster" it is stated that it is a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc. however, in the viewing the video and reading the independent article on the bosnian war, in the the context of Karadzic i believe that a monster is defined as a person who knowingly, and willingly, commits attrocities against human life for either a gain in power, or a tactic of terror.

4. Has your answer changed since your first entry? Why or why not? since my first entry, my answer has not changed on the assumption that Karadzic is a monster. however, i do believe that he is a man of terror who ranks with those in history who have been known as monsters.

kradzic is a monster? how do we know?

The Independent refers to Karadzic as a "Monster." Think back to last year and consider: "How do they know what they know?" How have they attempted to justify their knowledge claims? Please be specific.

the reporters make claims that Karadzic is a"monster." many reporters have come to this conclusion through their use of empiricism and knowledge by authority. some reporters have been allowed to enter the "interogation" camps in Bosnia as reported in "love thy neighbor." these reporters have witnessed the attrocities that the guards are performing on the prisoners. the reporters then are able to deduce that Karadzic is a monster because the camps are under contol of the Serbian government. also, independent report attempts to justify the claims using knowledge by authority. many credible reporters have been into these camps and brought back the conditions of these people. also, the reporters justify their claims that Karadzic is a monster becuase of the way that he runs the politics. in "the independent" article, Karadzic makes false press releases specifically on the events in which serbian snipers were killing bosnians. he states that "We (the Serbs) have no snipers." he even goes as far as to blame the events on bosnians who were trying to provoke the Serbs.

andre the giant post

1. the emotional response i had when i entered the exhibit was that i noticed how most of the pieces of work resembled communist propaganda. this might have to do with the political views of Shepard Fairey. i also felt that he was convey an over exaggerated political view and portraying it as a truth.

2. when leaving the exhibit i felt that i had seen the major theme "obey" in a movie. this led me to believe that Shepard fairey took the idea from the movie without acknowledging it. by seeing this theme over and over again, it made me a little irritated to see that Fairey does not have any more new theme ideas. 

3. for me personally, emotion did not have any interaction with the perception of Fairey's artwork. i feel this way because  most of his artwork is made using his own perception, and this is something that i do not share with him. however, there were some pieces of art in which emotion interacted with my perception. these pieces were the ones that were made for musicians such as Led Zeppelin and Bob Marley.

4. Shepard Fairey's exhibit is that of an american culture. these ideas of an evil government and that of wars are waged on purpose by the government is iconically displayed in the ways of communist propaganda posters. if anyone form east europe were to see this, they would interperate differently as the symbol of a crushing government, rather than the way the american youth sees it as a means of opposing the government and making some kind of blind political statement. they might react this way because they understand the oppression of this type of government rather than just fantasizing about it. 

5. a person cannot appreciate theater, art, and music without emotions playing a role. these types of entertainment are meant to provoke the emotional side of a person and therefore must involve some degree of emotion. 

Senior reflection

the one piece of advice that i found to be most improtant is to not procrsastinate. this is improtant for me becuase i am a procrastinator by nature and leave many long term things (such as IAs and projects) to the last minute, or the weekend. i can follow this advice by doing a little work each night.

1. What does Gladwell mean when he says that, 'Puzzles are "transmitter-dependent"; they turn on what we are told. Mysteries are "receiver dependent"; they turn on the skills of the listener.'? puzzles can be completed and dismantled all by adding one more thing or removing one thing. mysteries turn the skills of the listener because mysteries have pieces that can only be discover by acquiring new skills.
2. Why didn't Enron have to pay taxes on their S.P.E.'s? What would be Enron's defense? Can you name the Illogical Fallacy present? Enron didn' have to pay SPE taxes because the IRS only taxes received money and the SPEs were projected income in the future.
3. Did Enron try to hide the fact that they weren't paying taxes? enron made public that they weren't paying taxes
4. Why does Gladwell claim that, 'Woodward and Bernstein would never have broken the Enron story.' Why don't you think anyone asked about Enron's financial statements? Is there a fallacy at work here? gladwell claims that woodward and bernstein would never have broken the Enron story because they were inexperienced in solving mysteries. i didn't think that anyone asked about the Enron financial statements because Enron was so powerful that they would not have given up their statements. also, everyone trusted Enron and their statements. this fallacy is circular reasoning
5. Gladwell claims that, 'Mysteries require that we revisit our list of culprits and be willing to spread the blame a little more broadly. Because if you can't find the truth in a mystery—even a mystery shrouded in propaganda—it's not just the fault of the propagandist. It's your fault as well.' Do you agree with the implications of this statement? i do not agree with this statement. just because there are pieces in a mystery that are missing doesn't necessarily mean that it is the investagator's fault
6. What was the advice of the Cornell students to anyone who held Enron stock?

enron questions 2

1. How does a Special-Purpose Entity (S.P.E.) work? Why does the "partnership" giving money to your company make a big difference? an S.P.E. is when a company uses its assets to pay for a loan
2. How did Enron pit "twists into the S.P.E. game?" What does it mean that Enron "didn't always put blue-chip assets into the partnerships"? What was problematic about Enron using its own executives to manage the S.P.E? What was Enron's guarantee? enron twisted SPE games by selling their assets for less than they were worth. With the Enron executives managing the SPE's, it was risky because the CEOs would make business deals that could lead to problems.
3. How did the world come to learn of Enron's use of S.P.E.'s? Is Gladwell correct in claiming that this is another example of a mystery? Explain. the SPE's were figured out when two reporters read the Enron transactions and their finances and wrote an article about the problem.
4. What is the difference between "scrounged up" and "downloaded?" Scrounged up is when a reporter finds something that he was not expecting to find. downloaded is when a reporter diggs deeper into a subject.
5. Why does Gladwell claim that "It scarcely would have helped investors if Enron had made all three million pages public."? Explain what Gladwell means when he says, "But here the rules seem different." Who is Andrew Fastow? gladwell states this comment because enron could not get out of the touble that they were in due to the SPEs. when gladwell says that the rules seem different it is becuase the more that the is learned about the enron Scandal, the more problems that ther are. Fastow is the Chief financial officer of Enron
6. Why has he "Disclosure Paradigm" become an anachronism? the disclosure paradigm has anachronism because then more things are revealed that have not been discussed.
7. Why did treating the German secret weapon as a mystery prove to be more useful? Specifically, how did the "propaganda analysts" (the batty geniuses) use reason to uncover the Nazi V-1 Rocket? treating the secret weapon as a mystery was more useful becuase it allowed the analysts to interpret nazi broadcasts rather than just assume that there was a nazi secret weapon. the propaganda analyists used reason to uncover the new rocket by listening to the tones of the nazi propagandists.
8. How has diagnosing Prostate Cancer transformed from a puzzle to a mystery? diagnosing prostate cancer has now become a puzzle because the more that we try to understand the growth and effects of the cancer, the less that we know about the nature of the cancer, in that the speed it develops, and the effects it produces over time.
9. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, how has "the situation facing the intelligence community has turned upside down?" the situation has been turned upside down becuase now ther is no hidden information in the world, and no need for things such as spies.
10. How does Admiral Bobby R. Inman believe the U.S. should strengthen the U.S. intelligence system? Why was his answer seen as unusual?
11. Gladwell writes: In a post-Cold War world of "openly available information," Inman said, "what you need are observers with language ability, with understanding of the religions, cultures of the countries they're observing." Inman thought we needed fewer spies and more slightly batty geniuses.

mr. andre reflection

i liked the riddles that Mr. Andre gave for us. the riddles had us thinking out of the box and using knowledge that we know from our everyday life to solve the riddles. it was a good activity to expand on our unit of reasoning. i think that this relates to the story of spider and black deer because we are interjecting our own reasoning to create the conclusion to the question.