ERAGON

On Saturday, I went to the theater to watch "Eragon" with my friends.
Eragon is a new movie.Before that, I didn't know Eragon at all, but I have heard only the title. Because it was released the same day in Japan, and I could see the news of it through the Internet.
The movie is fantasy. It is a story about a dragoon and the master of the dragoon.
I like fantasy. I have read Harry Potter, Lord of the Ring and so on. In addition, it sounds like it is a timely topic in Japan now; therefore, I was looking forward to watch it.
I think , however, it is not good movie. I don't like it.
I can tell that the huge amount of money was spent on this movie by watching it, the fighting scenes were very exiciting. On the other hand, the story itself was too cheesy. I could forecast what would happen next, and my expectations were always correct. Besides, the discovery of the story was fsat, so it didn't make me interested in it. Although I am not a person who sleeps in theaters during movies, I slept a little while I was watching this movie.
I said it is very understandable story, therefore, it is not interesting. On the other hand, it means that it is easy to understand. I couldn't understand what the people say, but I could catch up the story. It is one of the good points of this movie for me.
I think if I read the book, perhaps it is much more intersting than the movie.
It is often happens, because movies has time limits. The people who make movies try to integrate the long story into 2~3 hours movie. It is very difficult. Someday, I want to read the book if I have enough free time.

By the way,I heard that my friends also had been to the same theater on the same day, and watched another movie, "the Pursuit of the Happiness". They said that it was very intersting story, and easy to understand. During this winter vacation, I have much time, so maybe I will go to see it.

Cloning

Abstract

After the birth of cloned sheep, Dolly, much more people have started to be interested in cloning technology. Many types of researches are done by scientists, and the technology is progressing every day.
Surely there are benefits of researching cloning, for example, clone technology has possibilities that it would be applied to cure diseases. However, it also has negative aspects. There is the company which sells cloned cat as a business. Moreover, researching human is becoming more popular. These facts would cause difficult problems like social and ethical problems.
Therefore, it is important to limit cloning and to ban human cloning. Although cloning is useful technology, at the same time, it is very dangerous. We must think about it carefully.

Cloning -All Types of Cloning Should Be Limited-

In March, 2004, a surprising article was published in the U.S. journal Science. South Korean researcher, Hwang Yoon-Young, succeeded in creating human embryos through cloning and extracted embryonic stem cells. It was such a big achievement because it was the first time to successfully create an embryonic stem cell from human beings, so people all over the world paid attention to the article. Before that time, there had been some successful attempts to make stem cells from mammals like sheep (Dolly) and cattle, but no one had been able to create stem cells by cloning from primates. Researchers could not do the same thing, even from monkeys. Moreover, in May 2005, his research team claimed that they had created 11 human embryonic stem cells using 185 eggs. It is thought that stem cell technology has the potential to cure many crippling illnesses, such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease; and the achievement of Hwang meant that it is possible to provide custom-made treatment to every patient without immune reactions. Therefore, people thought that it was great achievement and some people even said that Hwang would win the Nobel Prize. However, it turned out that both Hwang’s articles were fakes, and in January, 2006, the journal Science announced that they had eliminated these articles officially. (BBC, 2002).
Today, cloning is becoming a more acceptable idea and many people have started to be interested in it. However, it would be difficult to say exactly what cloning is. We can define clone as “the name for a group of organisms or other living matter with exactly the same genetic material. Genetic material consists of genes, the parts of cells that determine characteristics in living things” (Burbelo, 2006). Therefore, identical twins or other genetically identical multiple births are examples of natural clones. The history of cloning is longer than one would expect. Since the mid 1900’s, scientists had already started to develop their tentative technique for cloning higher animals. This type of cloning is called reproductive cloning. According to Human Genome Project Information, “reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal” (2006, para7). At the same time, there are other types of cloning: DNA cloning and Therapeutic cloning. DNA cloning means a process that is “the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid,” and “therapeutic cloning is the production of human embryos for use in research” (2006, para7,para3). Cloning technology contains different types, and it has both merits and demerits. However, it seems more important for me to consider the risks which will be brought by demerits such as designed babies and the threat against people’s sense of individuality than to think about expectations for merits like development of medicines. Therefore, it is essential to restrict cloning researches.
Mainly, there are two merits for cloning. One is the fact that cloning technology can apply to research projects on diseases. The other is that we will be able to repopulate endangered animals. As mentioned above, cloning has huge potential for human medical care. More specifically, the process of therapeutic cloning can be used to study human development and to treat disease. Because “stem cells can be used to serve as replacement cells” (Human Genome Project Information, 2006, para10), it is possible to treat heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other diseases. If these technologies are developed, for instance, organ recipients would do not have to wait for organ donors for a long time, and also they would not need to worry about organ rejection. In addition, in the future, we may be able to use this technology not only for protecting animals from extinction but also for producing live stock like pigs and cattle which are high quality. It means that this technology would bring human beings sustainable food supplies. (Bren, 2003).
Perhaps, Dolly is the most famous example of reproductive cloning in the world. In 1996, a group led by Ian Wilmut, the British scientist, succeeded in producing a cloned sheep. When the birth was announced in 1997, it became a scientific sensation. Dolly died in 2003. Generally, sheep live 11~12 years. Although there's no proof that cloning was to blame, her relatively early death caused a debate about the ethics of cloning research and the long-term health of cloning.
Genetic Savings and Clone, (GSC), which was a company established in 2000, had started a business which was to sell cloned animals. This fact also caused big debates. GSC insisted that their goal was to help bereft pet owners by copying their aging and diseased cats and dogs. Some people, however, criticized it as Frankenpets. GSC has recently closed, but it did sell a cloned cat to one of its customers. (Genetic Savings and Clone, 2006)
As one can see from these facts, cloning technology is developing rapidly and the effects to our life are becoming greater. At the same time, some problems have occurred. First of all, there is a technical problem. The probability that cloning animals succeeds is very low, besides, mammal cloning techniques are not perfect, and scientists have also found it difficult to produce healthy clones consistently. For example, the process failed 276 times to produce Dolly. (Love, 1997). Furthermore Dolly lived only 6years. It is not clear whether there is any connection between the death and cloning, but some people say that there was something wrong in its telomeres. They said that Dolly’s telomeres were shorter than ordinal sheep’s one. Telomeres are used as we get old. “Aging is thought to be due to shortening of telomeres, regions at the tips of chromosomes which prevent genetic threads fraying every time cell divides. Over time telomeres get worn down until cell-division is no longer possible” (Cloning, 2006, para14). In short, creatures’ lifetimes are determined by the length of telomeres.
However, the most difficult and biggest problems are ethical problems. There are many arguments about cloning, especially human cloning. A survey shows us that about 60 percent of Americans are opposed to human cloning. Though human cloning sounds like science fiction fantasies, the experiments have already started. In 2002, November 27, BBC reported that “the controversial Italian doctor Severino Antinori has announced that the first human baby clone will be born in January 2003” (“Human clone” unlikely say experts, 2002). On the same day; BBC also reported that “an organization called Clonaid claimed it had five women pregnant with baby clones. It said a baby girl would be born in December.”(“Human clone” unlikely say experts, 2002). Actually, Dr Severino did not hand in the proof of this pregnancy, so it was very doubtful whether he truly succeeded in creating human clone. However, human cloning is being realized step by step. The question is if human cloning is possible technically, is it good thing to create human clone?
Though the people who are for human cloning insist that it is very likely that cloning technology is prevented from developing by the argument about ethical problems, but the impacts which will be brought by the ethical problems in the future are bigger than the influences which will be made by the development of the technology. Therefore, it is key point to think about ethical problems seriously. One of the potential examples which will occur because of human cloning is a designed human. In a word, scientists would try to create “perfect” children. The people who are against human cloning say “the whole cloning process will lead to even more disrespect for life, and will further lead to the commodification of life- treating human beings as machines”. (Diggins, 1993, p181). Furthermore, they continue, “people’s sense of individuality- an important part of who we are as human beings- could be in serious jeopardy”. (Diggins, 1993, p 181). On the other hand, some people say that “it was the parents’ right to decide what to do with their embryos…with a presumption of privacy and liberty, that people should be able to live their lives the way they want and to make babies the way they want”. (Diggins, 1993, p 182). They also say “its novelty will not prevent parents from loving and acting in the best interests of children born in this way”. (Robertson, 1993, p193). Surely, it might be parent’ right, but how about baby’s right? It is clear that it is not problem only for parents but also for babies. Because the possibilities that cloned babies have some disabilities and diseases will be higher than normal children. Moreover, there is no guarantee that they will not be discriminated by others in the future.
Based on my research, all types of cloning should be limited by government regulation, and human cloning should be banned. Some laws have already been passed and applied in some countries, and there is the social trend which tries to make restrictions against cloning researches. For example, in Japan, the law which bans human cloning was created in 2001. Australia also bans human cloning, but therapeutic cloning is legal. On the other hand, in America, there are no federal restrictions for cloning. “Congress failed to pass legislation in the 1997-98 session. In 2001 the House of Representatives passed a bill to ban both reproductive and research cloning, which President Bush indicated he would sign.” (Center for Genetics and Society, 2004). Although the bill was passed by the House of Representatives, “in 2002, the legislation was tabled and a vote was never taken”. (Center for Genetics and Society, 2004). However, some American stets have banned cloning.
Certainly, the possibilities of cloning technology are great, and it is good thing to research it for the sake developing of medical care. However, the most important thing is not to hurry to do anything. The developing speed of clone technology is too fast, and the social conditions surrounding cloning have not been established. Because cloning is so difficult and sensitive problem it is natural to take much time to consider it. The best way is to set up detailed laws about cloning before researchers proceed further.



References

Beston, A. (2001, July 8). Winston warns of major problems if humans cloned. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved November 15, 2006. from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=220&objectid=204565

Bren, L. (2003). Cloning: Revolution or Evolution in Animal Production?. U.S. Food and d Drug Administration. Retrieved December 14, 2006 from http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/303_clone.html

Burbelo, P. (2006). Clone. Encyclopedia of World Book. (Vols. 4, p684-685).

Center for Genetics and Society (2004, October). In Federal Policies on Cloning. Retrieved December 14,2006. from http://www.genetics-and-society.org /policies/us/cloning.html

Cloning. (2006). Retrieved December 6, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning

Diggins, L.B. (1993). Cloning is unethical. In Carol Wekesser (Ed.), Ethics (pp. 179-182). San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Genetic Savings and Clone. (2006). Retrieved December 6, 2006.from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Savings_and_Clone

George, R.P. (2002). Cloning Addendum. In Primary Document. Retrieved November 20, 2006, from http://www.nationalreview.com/document/document071620.asp

“Human clone” unlikely say experts. (2002, November, 27). BBC News. Retrieved December 6.from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2517351.stm

Human Genome Project Information (2006). In Cloning fact Sheet. Retrieved November 14, 2006, from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human%20_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml

Love, J. (1997, November). The Cloning of Dolly. In Science Explained. Retrieved December 14, 2006. from http://www.synapses.co.uk/science/index.html

Robertson, J.A. (1994). Cloning is ethical. In Carol Wekesser (Ed.), Ethics (pp. 185-193). San Diego: Greenhaven Press.

S Korea cloning research was fake. ( 2005, December23). BBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2006. from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4554422.stm

Smith, M. (2004). On Linking Business Ethics, Bioethics and Bioterrorism. Journal of Business Ethics, (51/2) 211-220. Retrieved November 10, 2006., from Audrey R. Watzek Library ECO Database. (0167454410.1023_B:BSUSI.0000033614.40676.2f)

Winston, R. (1997). The promise of cloning for human medicine. In The BMJ Interview. Retrieved November 14, 2006, from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full%20/314/7085/913?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&R

Thanks Giving ♪♪

Thanks giving day is one of the biggest holidays in America and people eat a lot of food. Unfortunately, Japan doesn’t have such holiday, so I had been looking forward to experience the holiday since I was in Japan.
On the day, I went to my American friend’s house with my Japanese friends; Asami and Ayako. At first, I was a little nervous because there were many people in the house and they talked each other friendly. However, all of them were so kind to us and I could relax soon. Because it took about two hours to finish cooking, during we were waiting, we talked with the people about Japan, olive berries and Oregon wine!! We tasted Oregon wine a little, and I think that it was better than Japanese one. (I hadn’t drunk good wine in Japan). And at last, the time was coming!! We ate a turkey with cranberry sauce, potatoes, squashes, stuffing, breads, and pies and so on. There were so many foods!! I was surprised at the amount of food that American ate. I had thought that I had a big stomach and I could eat more than other people, but it was mistake. I wish I had a bigger stomach than now!! Anyway, the foods were so good. I’m sure that I was getting fat.
After we ate foods, we played “pictionary”. It was a game to associate words from a partner’s drawing. It was hard for me because I didn’t know the word itself. Therefore, we, Japanese, used a dictionary to check the meaning. Moreover, my skills of drawing are so terrible. But I could enjoy the game, and I want to play it one more time. Then we watched two movies: Mary Poppins and Aradin. Both of them were fun, and I like them. I have watched Aradin (I have DVD in Japan), but I’ve never watched Mary Poppins. However, I knew the songs which are used in Mary Poppins because I learned the songs when I was a child, so it was kind of nostalgic. When we arrived at the campus, it already passed 12:30 pm. It was so fun day for me. I think it is a good holiday because many people gather and talk each other with eating delicious foods! They can maintain and start friendships with many people.

Curfew for Teenagers Should Be Enacted by the Government

There are many kinds of families in Japan: likewise, there are many different policies of parents for bringing up their children. Some parents are strict and others are gentle with their children. A curfew is one such policy. Some families have a curfew and others do not. However, these days peaceful atmosphere of Japan is disappearing. Sometimes people, especially women, feel that it is dangerous to walk alone at night. Therefore, I think it is important that every Japanese family have a curfew for teenagers to protect them from various risks. Moreover, I think that the curfew for teenagers should be passed by Japanese government as law.

There are three reasons that there should be a curfew law for teens in Japan. An important reason is that teenagers do not have the judgment to make mature decisions. In general, it is harder for teenagers than for adults to judge a situation accurately and coolly when something happens. During the night, the possibilities teenagers will be involved in an accident increases compared with during the day. For example, some clubs where people can sell and buy drugs open during the night. Besides, there are fewer people outside at night, so it is easy to do something offensive. Therefore it is not advisable for them to go out in the night.
Another strong argument for a curfew is injurious to teen’s health to stay up late because it is an important period when the body grows and becomes an adult body. To go out at night means that they do not have enough sleeping time. When we are teenagers, we have to sleep well: inadequate sleeping may cause illness and also prevent the body from growing. Some will argue that going home early does not necessarily mean they would go to bed earlier; also, even if they go home later, it is possible to get enough sleeping time if they sleep during the morning. However, there is big difference between staying up late at a home and outside. Teenagers would feel much less stress when they are at home and they are likely to go to bed if they are at home and begin to feel tired. Also their parents can encourage them to go to bed. In addition, teenagers have to go to school, so they have to wake up early to go to school on time. Therefore, it is better to stay home than going outside until late.

Curfews help not only teens, but their parents. Parents worry about their children when they are out late. As I mentioned above, there are more dangerous activities going on in the night than the day. For instance, some elementary schools force students to bring an alarm bell when they go to school. It is because the number of crimes that are aimed at children is increasing rapidly, and many children have been involved in such crimes. In addition, many of those cases happened during the evening. Hence if the children do not come back until late, it would give the parents great anxiety. At the same time, parents have responsibility for their children because children are under the parents’ protection.

Maybe you think that a curfew law would be an invasion of teenagers’ rights. Teenagers have a right to act freely unless they hurt others. Of course, it is true. They have rights. However, they can not take full responsibility for their faults. For example, when a teenager engages in negative activities like stealing and fighting, the parents would be called by police. This is because teenagers are the responsibility of parents. In addition, when teenagers commit crimes, their name will not appear on the TV news because they are teenagers and not adults. Thus teenagers have less responsibility for their behavior than adults. Hence, it is natural thing to regulate their rights.

Accordingly, I think there should be curfew for teenagers in Japan as a law. Although it would be a restriction for children’s actions, it is still more important to protect teenagers. There are many risks for teenagers who go outside at night. We have to remember that to protect children from varied dangerous is one of adults’ duties.

Library

When I was in Japan, I didn’t study at all. Generally speaking, Japanese university students do not study because the most important thing is to enter a university. Therefore, after I entered the university I did nothing without hanging out with my friends. I did only fun things: almost everyday, I went to dinner, karaoke and shopping with my friends.
However, I have to study everyday here. I have classes from 9:10 to around 15:00. Moreover, there are a lot of assignments and it takes much time; as a result, I must stay up late. At first, I did my homework at my room, but these days I go to the library to do homework. There are some reasons; it is easier for me to concentrate in the library than in my room. The biggest reason is, however, that I can meet with my friends there. There are many Japanese students in the library at night, so I can chat with my friends during I am doing assignments. It is very good thing for me because I can refresh!! After I refresh, I think that I can do more.
Of course, it is hard thing for me to go to the library and do assignments everyday, but I start to think that it was a kind of fun. The other day, I found group study rooms. In the room, we can talk and listen to music and so on. Because it is a room!
Actually, I am writing this blog at the library and there are two friends around me. Now is 2:36. I am using Satoshi’s computer, so there are at least four people in the library now. It is very funny thing!

Movie Night☆

Last Friday (11/3), I went to watching the movie with my friends. The title is “PRESTIGE”. It’s a kind of thriller drama.
This is my first time to watch a movie in America, so I was very excited. Surprisingly, it cost only $6.25! When I was in Japan, I have to pay about $15 for a movie. Before I came to America, I had heard that American popcorn and drink were so big, and even if we order S size, it is as large as Japanese L size one. However, I didn’t buy anything at the theater because I was full at that time. I want to try next time!!
Actually, I felt a little anxiety that I would sleep during the movie before the movie started. I had a midterm exam of “Japan at War” class on the Friday, so I didn’t sleep so much on Thursday. Also, I didn’t think that I could understand the movie. It is an American movie, and of course, there is no Japanese subtitle! However, it was not true. Surely I couldn’t understand almost parts of the movie (I couldn’t hear the name of character!!), but it was interesting. I don’t know why. It must be boring for the person who can’t understand English like me, but it was so interesting for me and other Japanese friends.
After we watched the movie, we went to kouji-osakaya. It is a Japanese restaurant. I ordered “teriyaki chicken donburi”. It was good. They have many Japanese food, such as Udon and ra-men , so I want to go there again. During we were eating, we talked about the movie. There are two American friends and it turned out that it was difficult for even them to understand the movie. Therefore, I’m still not sure the story. If it will be screened in Japan, I will watch it again with Japanese subtitle. I hope that the movie will come to Japan.

Tartuffe

This Saturday, I went to the play with my friendship family. Friendship family is one of the programs that the school provides for the international students. It is not host family, so we don’t live with them, but sometimes they take us to a dinner or something like that. I think it is a very good opportunity for us to know the real American life. Anyway, I went to the play. It was presented by Lewis & Clark College Theatre Department: therefore, it was held in the campus. The title was “Tartuffe”.　(http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/tartuffe001.html)
It is a comedy, but it was too difficult for me to understand. The speed of their word was very fast and there were many words which I don’t know. However, I could know that the actors and actresses were awesome!! They were so good and I was surprised at the quality of the play. The play will also be held this week, so I’m sure that it would be better for you to go if you have time. It costs only five dollars for students.
After we separated, I met with my friends and just talked with them at a friend’s room. We talked about our English skills. It already has passed two months since we came here, but we don’t think that our English skills are improving. The thought made us depressed but I think it is the best way to continue to work hard.

Week End!!

This week end, I went to my friend's house with Asami, Hitomi and Sarah.
The house is in Washington State, but it is not so far from our college. It took about 30~50 minutes by car. On the way, we went to sushi bar. It was delicious, but it wasn't same as Japanese one. There were many kind of sushi that is not in Japan. I ate ichi-roll. I have never heard the name before, and it was new type of sushi to me. But it was delicious, and I liked it. I ate 2 ichi-roll plates. After we arrived at the house, we played card games and watched DVD. The movie was made in Korea, so we watched it in Korean language with English subtitle. It was weird but fun☆( actually, I didn't finish watching it because I slept before the movie ended.)
Next day( Saturday), we went shopping to the mall. There were many shops there, and I bought some cloth at American Eagle which is one of my favorite shops. After that, we went to a shopping center. It was huge. I was surprised at the number of snacks. There were so many snacks there, like chocolates, candies and cookies. I wanted to buy all of them!! By the way, when we buy something we have to pay the tax in Washington. In Oregon, we don't have to pay tax. I thought that I should buy in Oregon because the tax is not cheap for me.
The week end was really fun!! I hope I will go to somewhere on this week end, too.