A Tale of Two Cities

Traffic enforcers in Bangkok are always ready to bring special scissors in order to trim the umbilical cords of new born babies in the city’s street every year to mothers who go into labor on their ways to the hospital. This scenario is not surprising since the capital city is very well-known for traffic jams. The cars which are million in numbers keep on moving slowly and carefully along bumper-to-bumper on streets that were once canals. This includes those tuk-tuks or auto rickshaws, and motorcycle taxis that loop in and out boundless lines of cars.

The traffic system would have fallen down in the past if not because of public transportation. Among the eleven million people, there are seven million registered vehicles in the record. The Skytrain is one of the best public transportation that contributes in the improvement of traffic congestion. It started the operation in the year 1998 by Siemens and it is located in a long bridgelike structure which ranges from twelve to thirty meters. The Skytrain operates for about two-minute period during rush hours which has a total of six hundred thousand passengers. It runs from downtown Bangkok to the north, southeast, and southwest, serving thirty two stations.

The major cities of Asia like Bangkok and the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, are developing every year for about six percent which made them Asia’s powerful economic countries. However, there is a disadvantage. Even though the standard speed of Bangkok’s traffic has increased from less than ten kilometers per hour at ultimate times in 1998 to 18 kilometers per hour in present time that is still a critical. It may still get bad since the World Bank anticipates a sixty percent growth of Thais living in big cities by the year 20150.

H. Breuer

Maya Herras

Earphones on, volume up; Just a minute of listening to the first song on the CD and you’ll already be hooked—hungry to hear what else Up Dharma Down’s Capacities have in store.

Four years after releasing Bipolar, the award-winning Filipino rock band presented the public with their latest album last November 2012. Hundreds of fans lined up just to have their copies signed by UDD’s members—Armi Millare, Paul Yap, Ean Mayor and Carlos Tanada—eager to listen to their fresh, new tracks.

Capacities, unlike the past two albums (Bipolar, 2008 and Fragmented, 2006), is less electric and more 80’s synth-pop—while preserving the band’s signature sound.

A good example of this is Turn it well, the first track off the album, containing synth beats synchronized with several guitar riffs—perfect for a long drive or for trips to the seaside.

Luna, Thinker and Indak are both relaxing from start-to-finish—guaranteed to take the stress away after a long workday; while Night Drops and Kulang  both  have an  electric, clubby feel.  

Tadhana, Parks and Feelings are full of heartfelt and beautifully written lyrics—reaching out to relate to the listener, without losing their upbeat vibe.

Up Dharma Down describes their new album as more “radio-friendly”—being less of art and more of 70’s and 80’s pop.

A few fans have said that they preferred more of UDD’s electric, futuristic sound—while most have described Capacities as part of the band’s maturity—exploring more concepts and sounds rather than sticking to just one method. Either way, UDD has created yet another masterpiece—being the definition of venturing into wider places, while keeping their feet on the ground.

(Source: http://siopaotonicsnaps.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/udd-2-2.jpg?w=640&h=426)

Are you afraid of losing things?

Before you answer this seemingly straightforward question, I think you should think carefully about what losing really means.

No one is completely calm when he or she loses something valuable. Sometimes this loss…like losing a loved one…can be devastating.

On the other hand, we should keep in mind that those who are likely to succeed are ones who can overcome their loss and become stronger. This is because the key to success may be learning from the loss.

For example, in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, Joad’s family is driven from their land by drought and the dust bowl. They move west to find a better life, and as a result, they lose their familiar homeland. That is, they lose their home only to take the risk of finding a better one. Later they find no jobs and a hard life and therefore begin to lose hope and confidence. However, they are determined to work harder because they want new opportunities and a better life. As a result, the more they lose, the harder they try and more they find.

As another example, Rosa Parks was arrested and jailed in 1955 because she refused to give up her seat to a white person. This event inspired Martin Luther King to become one of the most powerful figures in the civil rights movement, eventually leading to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What did King lose? He lost his freedom, peace, and time. And he lost the most important thing to any person…his life……a hero killed by a madman. However, he found his life’s purpose and helped the oppressed find freedom.  

There is a saying that water continues to exist even after turning into vapor. This tells us that, each time we lose something, we have a new opportunity to reach our ultimate goals.

Finding something requires losing something.

K. Du

지워지는 주홍글씨 N번 방

International school of Beijing 12^th Grade

권안

일명 박사 방의 주동자 조주빈(박사)이 수많은 카메라 앞에서 전국민에게 신상을 공개하고 뉴스의 헤드라인이 조주빈의 얼굴로 가득 채우던 N번방 사건이 처음 화재가 된지 일년이 넘었다. 2019년부터 운영되고 2020년 한 매체에 의해 공론화된N번방 사건은 텔레그렘을 이용한 불법 성 착취물 공유 디지털 성범죄이다. N번방 사건의 가해자들은 피해자들을 SNS를 이용해 유인해 사회적 약자들인 여성과 미성년자들이 대부분인 피해자들에게 접근 금품을 빌미로 성 착취물을 찍게 하고 이를 텔레그램 단톡방에서 불법적으로 유통하였고 또한 피해자들을 성 착취물의 유포를  빌미로 협박하여 성 노예 삼아 신체 사진, 유사성행위 영상 등 피해자의 성적 수치감을 자극하는 영상물을 강제적으로 요구해 지속적으로 영상물을 유통하였다. 이러한 잔인한 여성의 성상품화는  피해자들에게 영원히 치유되지 못할 상처를 안겨주었다. 지금까지 확인 된 N번 방의 여성피해자는 무려 1154명에 다다르며 심지어 피해자 중 미성년자의 지분이 66.7%라고 한다. N번방 안에서 불법 성 착취물을 공유하고 배포한 이 악질적인 범죄에 가담한 N번 방의 회원 수는 만명이 넘는다. 기하급수적인 회원 수에 우리나라 국민들은 N번방 같은 성범죄에 가담하고 있는 범죄자들이 사회에 만연하다는 것을 인지하게 되었고 도처에 N번방 가해자가 존재할 공포감에 시달렸다. 이에 따라 정부는 N번 방에 연루된 모든 성 범죄자들에 대한 확실한 조사와 강력한 처벌과 성범죄에 재발 예방에 힘을 쓸 것을 약속 하였다. N번방 사건에 높은 지분 율을 가지고 있는 조주빈(박사), 문형욱(갓갓) 등등의 주동자들을 포토라인에 세워 신상을 전국민을 상대로 공개하며 범죄자들의 가슴에 전국민이 볼 수 있도록 주홍글씨를 달게 하고 죄의 엄중함을 알렸다.

그렇다면1년이 지난 지금, N번방 사건의 현 좌표는 어떨까. 성범죄자들에 대한 강력한 처벌과 수사를 약속했던 이 성범죄는 과거의 발자취로 남아 현재에는 없는 일이 되었을까?  결론적으로 성범죄자에게 남겨진 주홍 글씨는 사회를 개선하는 어떤 역할도  하지 못했다. 이사건의 주동자들에게 부여한 주홍 글씨는 불법 성 착취물을 배포하고 공유했던 나머지 수만 명의 N번방 회원들의 죄를 대표해서 지고 나서 익명의 가해자들에게 면죄부를 주는  효과를 가지고 왔고 시간의 흐름에 따라 N번방 사건은 대중에게 화제성을 잃어버렸다. 1년이 지난 현재의 시점에도 신상이 공개 되지 않은 2만명의 성범죄자들이 사회에 존재한다는 사실은 변하지 않으며 지금 이 순간에도 피해자들의 아픔은 치유되지 못하고 불안감 속에 떨고 있다. 또한 N번방 사건은 현재 진행형으로 텔레그렘이 아닌 다른 매체를 이용해N번 방들이 생성되고 있고 또 다른 성범죄의 피해자들을 생성하고 있다. N번 방에서 이루어진 디지털 성범죄가 공론화 되고 일년이 지난 현재에도 같은 성범죄의 반복과 수많은 여성들이 폭력에 대상이 되고 있는 것을 통해 포토라인을 통해 새겨진 주홍 글씨는 사회에 만연히 존재하고 있는 성범죄자 들에게 경고의 표식 조차 되지 못한 것을 알 수 있다. 주홍 글씨를 면한 수많은 성범죄자들이 다시 일으키고 있는 성범죄 속에서 타겟이 될 수 있음에 떨고 있는 우리나라의 여성들과 정신적 고통에서 헤어나오지 못하는 피해자들을 위해서 여성의 성을 상품화하는 성범죄의 형벌을 가중 시키는 것은  필연적으로 보인다.

The charitable societies and organizations that evolved in the depression of 1930s are losing their relevance with the present generation. We are no longer interested in sending checks to American Red Cross. Rather we prefer to give our own time and energy to the cause.

Today’s generation is a complex one with our own weaknesses and strengths. One of our positive side is our interest in helping people. But according to a study, only 24 % of Generation Xers(age 20-38) did Non-profit volunteering as compared to 31 percent of Baby Boomers and 27 percent of Elders.

Some reasons that we identified include:-

• Lack of Time:The most important factor is the lack of time. Most twentysomethings are very busy. Due to their low spare time, the twentysomethings gravitate to “episodic volunteering.”
• Lack of Desire: Many of us have been taught that volunteering is good. It is said to be good to help the sick, poor or the suffering but we are not sure exactly why we should volunteer.
• Turnover:Although, volunteering organizations are very successful, there is a lack of volunteer retention.

Those with the desire to serve must take small steps and go forward to getting involved in volunteering. They will find it is good for them as well as the community.