Planned Obsolescence (Light Bulb Conspiracy)

On the movie Light Bulb Conspiracy it is shown how over the years things have change, in the past a light bulb used to last over 2500 hours, but now a days they are planned to work only to 1000 hours as top. After the depression on the U.S. things changed, before and during it things lasted a lot, in order to get out of the depression they came out with a plan, to make people believe that things with time became useless and the newer the product was the better. This plan was created in order for they to be always consumers and for business to always have profits. The first companies that used planned obsolescence were the light bulb companies like Osram and Philips.

In order to started with planned obsolescence cartels were created by this companies. At the start of the 1930 light bulb lasted 2500 hours and only in two years they fall to 1500 hours of usage. The companies had meetings in order to shorten the life of the bulbs, with the pressure of the cartels scientist had to came out with a solution to make the bulb last for no more than 1000 hours and by the 1940 it happen. Planned obsolescence came out by the hand of mass production and consumer society, it began in the industrial revolution. With the mass production the prices felt and people started buying for fun rather han for need. Planned obsolescence, for the first time after the repression was though as a law, by Bernard London, but it was until 1950 that commercials and publicity  convinced the people of the lasting of the products, the planned obsolescence became part of our society.

Photo Credit: New Media Rising

MLA Citations:

Anane, Mike, Michael Braungar, and Steve Bunn. "The Light Bulb Conspiracy." Top Documentary Films RSS. Top Documentary Films, 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy/>.

Is The American Empire Going To End?

On the movie the 4 horsemen is it said that the government is now govern by the big corporations. According to the film the 4 horseman are: War, Famine, Conquest, and Death. As time has advance the system has change, the WWII was the point in history when the U.S. became the new Rome (Roman Empire). As every empire through history it will come to and end, it is known that all empire have similar traits that define it. The empire is divide into 6 ages: pioneers, conquest, commerce, affluence, intellect and finally decadence. The film predicts that the U.S. empire is on the decadence age because of the luxury stuff that is now on the market, the big different between poor and rich, and the devaluation of money. The decadence of currency represent the falling of and empire and on 2008 the U.S. had and economic crisis. Right now for every one dollar there is 5.25 dollars of debt. This make that 97% of the world's money is debt. This factors explained on the film show a part of society that most of the people unknown, the use of sports and different TV shows are used as curtain for all of this concerning fact. 

If the U.S. empire falls as the movie says it will have a huge impact on the society I leave in. The country that I leave in, Colombia has a big influence of the U.S. government, the TLS (the Free Trading Deal) the military bases located on different part of the U.S. represent some of the influence the country has in Colombia. There are two ways in which an empire can fall: it could die from oldness and die peacefully, but it could also die in a violent way trying to survive. If it decides to die in the violent way, my country could be use as a products supplier, by saying this I refer in the way that they can take our products like land, vegetation, food to supply their need. After this happens the next empire will try to rise and in order to this to happen the countries must fight in order to see who is the most powerful, this could bring the WWIII and the world can become a complete chaos. The value of contemplating this is that if this happens thy must have back-up plan if everything falls apart. It is also need this to try to foresee this from happening. 

Photo Credit: Top Documentary Films

MLA Citations:

Four Horsemen. Dir. Ross Ashcroft. Perf. Joseph Stiglitz, Noam Chomsky, John Perkins, Herman Daly and Max Keiser. YouTube. YouTube, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fbvquHSPJU>.

Fractional Reserve Banking

The creation of money is something that everyone has question were does it comes from. On the movie we saw last week zeitgeist they describe that the creation of money is pretty much a creation of a debt. In order to create more more the government goes to the FED and ask for a certain amount of money. After they ask for that certain amount of money, they have to give kind of an electronic cheque now a days it order for the FED to create de money, but they money that is created is debt money that the government now owes to the FED.

By this we can say that is there is more money there are more debts. Money=debts, there is also another way to create money. This way is for example having a certain amount of money like saying 10 dollars, you put this ten dollars in a bank in order to be able to be in de bank you have you leave the ten percent in the bank, but you can take out the rest. You can ask for a loan, but this bank gives you the money but with a condition that you have to pay interest. In order for pay they interests for this bank people now go to another bank which has lower interest range in order for you to pay and then it goes on and on and on. So money equals debts, so people o the country are always going to be in debt after they have money. 

Photo Credit: Cartoon Stock

MLA Citations:

"ZEITGEIST: ADDENDUM | 2008 (HD)." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbvCxMfcKv4>.

Colombia's Monetary System

The monetary system in Colombia started around the 1870, before that year banks in Colombia did not exist. Is there were no banks, they could not be any bills, so they money circulated by using coins of gold, silver, nickel and copper. On 1870 the first bank was created it was El Banco de Bogota, there were three changes in which the monetary system was created in Colombia this were: "confiscation of mortmain in 1860, the enactment in 1863 of the Constitution of Rionegro, and Colombian private banking in 1870" (Meisel)

El Banco de la Republica is govern by the scheme of targeting inflation, which purpose is to maintain a low/stable rate of inflation and achieve a wealth that coincide with the capacity of the economy. It is rule by the mandate of the Constitution to promote the improvement of the welfare of the population. El Banco de la Republica determines the monetary policy to maintain the inflation rate around the 3%.The monetary policy decision are taken based on the actual state analysis, and the goal made against the inflation. It help to ensure the stability of the prices, the improvement of life and the generation of more jobs.

The monetary policy that rules El Banco de la Republica is the same it was made by following the policy example of inflations that is conducted by the FED. They both analyze the different type of shocks that the interest rate variation create. A difference is that is the USA (FED) the monetary policy transmission is quicker that in Colombia (Banco de la Republica). The inflationary control is more complex in Colombia.

Photo Credit: Grupo Gaes Banca

MLA Citation:

Meisel, Gustavo A. "Orígenes De La Banca Comercial En Colombia : La Banca Libre, 1870-1886 | Banrepcultural.org." Orígenes De La Banca Comercial En Colombia : La Banca Libre, 1870-1886 | Banrepcultural.org. Credencia Historia, Mar. 2001. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/marzo2001/135origenes.htm>.

"La Estrategia De Inflación Objetivo En Colombia." Banco De La República (Banco Central De Colombia). Banco De La Republica, 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://www.banrep.gov.co/es/politica-monetaria>.

Rodriguez, Romez. "Universidad De La Salle." La Política Monetaria De La Reserva Federal Y Del Banco De La República: Entre La Ortodoxia Y Las Presiones Inflacionarias. Asimetrías En La Transmisión De La Política Monetaria. Universidad De La Salle, 2008. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://revistas.lasalle.edu.co/index.php/ed/article/view/269>.

Was there a Genocide?

According to the article posted on Aljazeera, Croatia demands that Serbia have committed a genocide on 1991-1995. Croatia has sue the Serbian country with in the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Not only Croatia has sue Serbia, but Serbia has also sue Croatia. Both of the countries are suing each other of genocide. The hearing are based on the series of events that had occurred in Croatia while it was part of the Yugoslavian country in 1991-1995 war that estimated approximately 20,000 people were killed. The hearing are based on what Croatia accuses Serbia of committing genocide but Serbia has not pronounce why are they suing Croatia for.

According to the International Court of Justice, the worst/baddest/most serious international crime of them all. As being the worst crime, it is also the hardest one to be prove, according to the article there has only been one time that has been said that genocide was committed. It was said when in 1995 the Bosnian Serbs army killed over thousands of Bosnian Muslins civilians. It was known that while the Court accepted that Bosnian Serb had commenting the genocide, the International Court of Justice has declared that Bosnian Serb were guilty but the Serbia country as it self was not. The final decision while take a long time in order for it to have a final veridic, it is know that it could take over a year o be completed, the sue can not be appealed from this point. It is now wonder is this hearings will help for both of the countries to heal differences and past wound or would it bring the countries further apart.

Photo Credit: Inavukic

MLA Citations:

Zeidan, Sami. "Croatia vs Serbia Genocide Claims." Aljazeera.com. Aljazeera, 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2014/04/croatia-vs-serbia-genocide-claims-201441155350371352.html>.

Food Inc.

During the movie of Food Inc. it was understand how the food system is ruled in the USA. Over the past three week the concept of power was discussed on our social studies class. The sources that were used for analyzing the different type of concepts of power or how things were related to it, were Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, The Power of Illusion and Food Inc. All of this relate to each other in certain ways, the are all connect with the fact of money, all of the sources were created based on getting the more money as possible. It is going to be shown how the The Power of Illusion and the Confession of an Economic Hit Man relate to the Food Inc. video that was seen in the past week. 

Food Inc. video talked about the use of multinational companies of their power in order to control the food system in the USA, it was said on the video that companies like Tyson and Monsanto ruled the food system. The video also showed that this companies genetically modify the products in order for them to be cheaper to produce and be able to be done in a more efficient and fast way, putting in danger  the life of the consumers by ingesting the different type of chemicals that the products now contain. The  video Food Inc. relates to the book of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by the way that the companies involved with Food Inc. deal with the farmers. On the book it was shown that the (EHM) convinced they third world countries to accept the help that they offer in order for them to complete the different type of projects they planned on doing like constructing airport, building roads, etc... as a result of accepting the help from the (EHM) now the country had a huge debt that become impossible to repay, so they had to pay the USA by letting them using the land to built military bases, free trade etc... On the movie countries=farmers, and the companies=EHM, the company convince the farmers on accepting their help, but then they become slaves of the company in order to repay what they have borrow. It is also related to movie Power of Illusion in the way that this companies had become a "superior race" in the food system, by saying this it refers that the whole food system in run by this companies and the companies that decided to make a change on this are prohibit or they are so powerless that there is nothing they can do.

Photo Credit: Take Part

MLA Citations:

Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. San Fransisco: BK, 2004. Doc.

Adelman, L. Race- The Power of Illusion. California Newsreel.April, 2003. Online. March 17, 2014.

Food, Inc.