“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
—Laozi
Bienvenue! I’m Kiel322 and this is my very first step on my blogging adventure. Join me as I flip through the pages of Life and have fun while doing it!
So wish me luck and always remember to live life to the fullest!
“It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
President Trump at a White House Meeting on February 27, 2020
Hint, it did not.
Nine months after this bold statement from good ol’ Donald, the United States now topped the world in coronavirus cases at 13.7 million and more than a quarter of a million dead. Sentiment like this is not only exclusive to the United States, we have seen this again and again all around the world; from Brazil’s Bolsonaro to even Duterte from our country.
Time and time again we have seen governments try half-ass measures or just downright downplay the virus, which as you might have expected, didn’t go well as planned. This pandemic has shown us the ineptitude of the governments that rule over us, that government officials would prioritize themselves over those that voted them into power in the first place or ignore the regulations they have forced into the common people, thinking they are above the law.
I could list all the things governments did wrong but that would take a while so I’ll talk about those they did right and if you have been keeping up with the news for the past few months, you know where I’m going with; New Zealand.
No other country surfed the tidal wave of events as well as New Zealand. With only two thousand cases and 25 fatalities, New Zealand’s addition to the global tragedy is merely a drop in the ocean. While other countries try hard to ‘flatten the curve, the World Health Organization has acknowledged that the small Oceania nation has crushed the curve.
So how did they did it then? How did a small country did what other larger, more capable nation failed to do? The answer? They closed up shop early on. When the first reported coronavirus death outside of China happened here in the Philippines last Feb 2nd, the day after, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, banned any entry of foreigners coming in from China and a moth after that, locked the borders. This move was met with harsh criticisms, with some saying that the country was being paranoid, but when the scale and deadliness of the virus was soon realized, the other countries were found sleeping at the rafters; getting flooded by cases. New Zealand, on the other hand, was able to weather out the storm relatively unscathed.
In addition to being fast in closing the border , the Kiwi government also demonstrated their speed in locating, quarantining and tracing other people that may have come into contact with an infected individual. Along with this, its citizens also followed the protocol quite well, resulting in the country being able to enjoy being outside again while others are still cooped up in lockdown.
But Kylle you must ask, how does this relate to the Philippines? Great question! I believe that as youths, we have every right to demand such dedication and competency from our own government; to be able to question the malicious practices done all over the country and to be able to criticize the wrongdoings of the government especially if said persons are playing with the future of millions.
Who can say that the government wouldn’t screw up the procurement process of vaccines? That the money wouldn’t be pocketed along the way? Remember, sooner or later this pandemic will pass, but the government will still be there and it is the responsibility of today’s youth to put people into power that would place the concerns of the public above their own personal gains.
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PandemiaGobyerno ka lang, I am Filipino”
REFERENCE
https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/29/20/selected-quotes-as-covid-19-pandemic-reaches-new-milestone
https://www.rappler.com/nation/ncrpo-chief-sinas-birthday-celebration-ecq-may-2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53274085
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51345855
https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news/feature-stories/detail/new-zealand-takes-early-and-hard-action-to-tackle-covid-19
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30237-1/fulltext
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1280459/victims-of-sex-for-pass-scheme-in-checkpoints-have-to-come-out-in-open-court-pnp
The topic assigned to our group is plagiarism, a serious threat to the copyright of every known thing to man. With plagiarism, people can steal paintings, stories, even concepts and what’s worse is that they can claim it as if it is theirs. . It has been seen even before the advent of the internet but with the easy accessibility and anonymity provided by the net, it has grown rampant since. Our group has been asked to bring this issue into light and in the process, made ourselves more aware this pressing issue.
And we have provided the case of Of Mark Joseph Solis, who has been exposed of claiming a photo he found online as his and even won first place at a competition for it. This goes to show how prevalent the bounds of plagiarism is on the modern day society. And we have provided the case of Mark Joseph Solis, who has been exposed of claiming a photo he found online as his and even won first place at a competition for it. This goes to show how prevalent the bounds of plagiarism is on the modern day society and how important copyright places a role in preventing it.
The digital divide, also known as the digital gap, is the unequal distribution of access and usage of the internet. The other group did a great job of discussing the topic but a bit of pictures and a more persuasive style of reporting could have made it better.
With the spread of internet usage, people with bad intentions have been widespread and they mean to inflict harm, slander and outright bash another person online, but with the reporter’s help, we, the listeners can help those who are bullied and how to avoid being a bully ourselves.
Lastly, with people’s insatiable greed, it has forced people to become hook to their computers at the cost of their health, social life and other aspects of their life. People should control these and with the report of Group 3, we, as the next generation can be more careful about spending our times in these machines.
HAVE you ever look at your dwindling number of followers in Twitter and think to yourself, “Is there anything I can do to stop it from plummeting?” Have you had that secret desire to spread havoc or destroy people’s reputation? Then fear not, there’s a game out there for you and it’s called Bad News! Bad News is a social impact game that lets you step into the shoes of a fake news writer. The game has you bamboozling, discrediting and fear mongering unsuspected people in the internet, with the goal of having as much gullible people as possible as your followers.
The game lets you decide on how you will gain followers; you could start a news website that churns out nothing but misinformation or post a meme that has possible real life consequences. It even allows you to impersonate a big-shot real guy, just in the name of gaining more of that sweet, sweet follower count. Of course it is not all fun and games, alongside with being fun it is still a social experiment conducted by a team of scientists from the Netherlands, in cooperation with the University of Cambridge. And while you play the game, it will give you badges that show the tactics used by real-life fake news writers and influencers.
While playing this game, I realized how big an impact the internet can make on the affairs of our everyday world. In the said gaming session, I managed to cause an airline CEO’s resignation after engulfing him in scandal over fake tweets I made. I’ve also been a conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxer and even a Internet troll.
I highly recommend you play this game too, you’ll have fun and even learn a thing or two, and always remember, Think of the consequences of your actions before doing them, especially online.
With the advent of the Information age, the amount of info an individual can look up multiplied tenfold. However, it also makes the discerning of what’s true and not, more difficult, but that where information literacy comes in. Information Literacy is one of many set of skills needed to know when an information is needed and where it can be found.
In making this video, we, as a trio did our best to evenly split all the workload between the three of us. Although it can be said that Rianna did arguably the most important job, making and editing the video, Madison and I helped in our own ways. We both gathered the necessary info that is needed in the video and I even had to post for a photo that will be included in the video!
What I enjoyed the most is when we had to view the output, which turn out to be a masterpiece, thanks to Rianna’s editing. Although we had difficulty given the fact that we were only given three days to finish the job, we managed to make it through.
The thing that really worked well was the way the text was presented in the video, which was brief and short, and given the ample amount of time before the next slide of the presentation, it really makes for a good AVP.
For next time when we make another activity, maybe I can have a more active role in the group, given that Rianna did most of the job in the first two activities, not that I’m complaining! Massive thanks to both my group mates for their awesome jobs and till next time, THANKS FOR READING!
Nowadays, even the simple ventures online can be both exhausting and possibly dangerous. With all the toxic discussions about topics like politics, religion etc. With all the trolls and bashers out there, always waiting for new targets. To the scammers and hackers who had never done an honest day’s work in their life. However there’s still a sliver of hope , and it all starts with you.
With so much toxicity on the internet, sometimes common courtesy and ethics get thrown out the window. However, you, yes, You! can make a difference. Simply by having empathy and respecting others, you can brighten other people’s day. So a little kindness goes a long way, especially online. So keep in mind when you’re in forums, discussions or just randomly chatting in comment sections, be kind, anytime, everywhere.
Kiel's Blog