English Writing

FINAL EXAM

2009-11-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

Final Exam

English Writing Final Exam
1st Semester, 2009-2010
Professor: Julian Dowling
Name: Camila Vera Falabella.

Instructions: Students must complete Parts I, II and III and email their answers to Julian before Friday Nov.27 at 5pm. Any exams received after Friday will be penalized at a rate of 10% per day late.

Part I

Name two websites which allow you to create your own blogs free of charge.

1. www.wordpress.com
2. www.blogspot.com

Name three important English-language newspapers we have read articles from this term and say where they are published.

1. The Guardian, England, Web version.
2. The Economist, England, Web version.
3. BBC News online newspaper, England.

Name three important English-language weekly or monthly magazines available online and say where they are published.

1. Business Chile, published in Chile by the Cámara Chileno Norteamericana de Comercio (AmCham).
2. Time Magazine, it is published in the United States.
3. Forbes Magazine, it is published in the United States.

Part II

1) What do authors Andrew Potter and Joseph Heath mean by the terms “Rebel Sell” and “Culture Jam”?

The term “Rebel sell” means that a person or group once was selling an ideology against something being “rebellious” still, they became popular as Nirvana for example, and the motifs of the fight move from a cause, to fighting the people that are making them popular, in other words they are rebels against the consumer society that manages to commercialize everything. That is why we get involved in this “Culture Jam” that has turned our entire society in a market place and everybody is a consumer, even rebellious punk rockers are sold out.

2) Who is Jared Diamond?

He is an American scientist and also a professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School. He is the author of the text “Easter Island’s End” in which he studies what has happened to Easter Island on the past and what it is going to happen in a future. Also he studies how the island could possibly come close to it’s end due to deforestation and contamination.

3) Where is The Economist published and what is its editorial line (right/left/center)?
The Economist is published in England but they distribute it to several countries, and it has a neo-conservative editorial line.

4) Which country produced the video about the dangers of driving and texting that we discussed in class?
It is from the United Kingdom, it was produced in Wales.

5) Name one country that has banned plastic bags in supermarkets and give one reason Chile should or should not do the same.
Belgium has banned plastic bags in supermarkets. I believe that Chile should do the same thing because there is a need to take care of the environment and the amount of contamination that these bags bring to our atmosphere. People indiscriminately use plastic bags and that is a risk for us because it is polluting, and worse, contributing to global warming.

6) Who is Rodrigo Jordán and what does he do?
He is a Civil Engineer from Universidad Católica and he is one of the founders of Vertical, a company that organizes outdoor expeditions and it’s main objective is to develop creative leadership. He has lead many expeditions to all sorts of mountains around the world with important multinational companies.

7) Name one tourist attraction on Easter Island.
The most important attraction on Easter Island are the Moais, the volcanoes and the caves. Although Moais are the number one attraction, they are amazingly popular because people are still intrigued by the fact that nobody knows with certainty how they got there.

8) What is the main reason that Easter Island’s society collapsed?
Easter Island society collapsed because there was a constant fight between the tribes that lived there. This conflict involved showing their power therefore the built Moais which required a lot of resources in order to be transported to the seaside. Also there is a theory that the society collapsed because they started running out of resources, such as plants, animals and even fish. There was an ecological crisis because the ecosystem collapsed.

9) What did the author of The Economist article “A Strange Chill in Chile” mean by the title?
The article mentions that the centre-left coalition that has governed Chile since the 1988 plebiscite now looks tired and divided, and that today there’s a chill in Chile because politics are going through a new era were Alianza the opposite coalition is gaining more popularity. Also the debilitation of Concertación was brought by ME-O independent campaign, polarizing the votes of the coalition.

10) Name one popular social networking website and discuss how it can be used as an advertising tool by companies or politicians.
Facebook. Worldwide it is the most popular social network, recently this website has added banner in order to promote certain companies, politicians and other institutions. The interesting thing about the publicity in this website is that it only shows publicity according to the individuals interests or his friend’s interests, with lowers the possibilities of spam. It is important that companies and politicians know which are the niches that they are aiming to, but if we take in consideration all of the other social networks, Facebook is the most popular one in Chile and in the world among people of all ages, and that broadens the amount of people that can see an ad.
It can be used to advertise absolutely anything, not only through the banners, but also through groups and fan pages. I believe that this is the most appropriate social network to promote anything you want. It can be used to convince people to vote for certain politicians by not only telling the but also showing them more information about them and creating profiles about them, and also showing images and a more personal side of the candidates, as well as showing also whom of the persons friends supports of follows that person.
Also Facebook can be used for advertising for companies, its ideologies and products. People can see the products they sell, can get to know further information about the company and the owners, and also they can see who likes that company, and there is an influence, a sort of “social pressure” to know about certain people and companies that make people interested in them.

Part III

Write a 500-word article for a newspaper about something that has happened in the world in the last 2 weeks. Your article should be written in newspaper style with a title, leads and quotes. Be sure to reference any sources you use for information. Marks are for style, grammar, content and relevance.

Susan Boyle: Almost on top

With tiny eyes, bushy eyebrows and a sympathetic smile Susan Boyle stands up on a stage looking awkwardly uncomfortable by the situation. The audience whispers while glancing at this view, the judges laugh and she just smiles. Nobody believes in her, she looks old and distant from what a singing star should look like. But as she sang the first note, everybody was silent.

Today, Susan Boyle (48) is a worldwide known star. Her debut album “I dreamed a dream” released on November 23rd 2009 has already sold almost 150 thousand copies in United Kingdom, including Internet pre-orders. Her record is about to become the most and fastest sold in 2009 in Britain. In only a week they are expecting to sell 300 thousand copies. On the other hand in United States they are expecting the same results by the end of this first week of sales.

The Scottish singer has already started touring around North America, and her recording label Sony Music, is expecting that by the end of this week a million copies of the album will be sold worldwide, topping the charts with Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert (winner of American Idol’s last season).

According to Billboard the expected figures indicate that Boyle will outsell the first week sales of Eminem’s latest album. Sony Music declared that they are “struggling to keep up with the demand” and stores are quickly running out of stock, even virtual ones and mainly Amazon.com.

Boyle became popular early this year when she attended Britain’s Got Talent auditions on April, where she got to the finale and was beaten by a dance group, Diversity. Despite of losing the competence and the critics about her physical appearance, the audience has admitted that there is something special about her voice.

Susan Boyle has slowly gained popularity, especially after the last episode of the British television show where the entire world was hoping her to win. She got a make over and has visited various television shows in North America where she is touring, among them NBC’s famous Today Show. These last events have raised her popularity considerably.

SuBo -as media calls her- has managed to top the charts in Britain and America even though societies in which she is popular are very image-obsessed and have enthusiastically criticized her looks, still her image was opposed by her beautiful voice and today her popularity can be compared to stars like Lady Gaga, Eminem, Adam Lambert, among others.

As an artist she has proved the entire world the power of music and perseverance, and mostly the importance of what she does over her looks, on the other hand that has been perceived by the spectators as a breath of fresh air. This artist has clearly become a star, and as soon a her album tops up the sells and the Billboard charts she is going to be consolidated as one of the most important artists of 2009.

Are we going to say YES this time?

2009-11-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

People are running, screaming and chanting through the streets, the change is perhaps close for those who seem threatened by the military. YES and NO are the options to go for, is the dictatorship going to be over? Some people look up to the sky in hopes of a better future, the other scream that Pinochet must stay.

Chile has had a major political change in the last 26 years. Since Augusto Pinochet’s military regime ended in 1989 and Patricio Aylwin assumed the presidency post dictatorship. The change relies mainly in the ups and downs that our politics had before the plebiscite in December 1988, where almost the entire nation (92%) voted whether they wanted to continue with the military regime for another eight years (YES) or step towards a democratic election where people would be able to vote and elect freely a new president 16 years after the military imposed Pinochet’s government in 1973.

The results were favorable for the NO option (53%), which lead to democratic presidential elections where Aylwin was elected with a 55.2% of the votes. From there, the liberal coalition Concertación has been in the head of Chile’s government representing centre-left parties until today. The opposite coalition named Alianza represents conservative parties and the main opposition to the actual Socialist government.

These upcoming elections in December 13th 2009 are decisive for Chile’s political future. Piñera, the businessman candidate from the right, has gained important power over the last years, and today he is a threatening character to the omnipresent 21 year consecutive Concertación socialist government. The latest surveys show that Piñera is the country’s favorite with a 36.9% of support, against Frei the ex-president from Concertación (28.6%), Marco Enríquez-Ominami (19.3%) a dissident Socialist congressman, and Jorge Arrate (4.7%) the darkhorse candidate from the left.

The results are still blurry and Chilean population seems to be very pleased with the latest Concertación’s government leaded by the first female president Michelle Bachelet. Though the final results of this 4 year government have been more than pleasing, she would not be up for a reelection, tendency which prevails in Chilean politics. Eduardo Frei has been an exception to that rule; he is the first ex-president who is up for reelection.

Chile’s population is expectant these elections will also mark a change in politics and hopefully give a step forward to political alternance in the government, giving also a chance to the right wing of politics and to see which changes are going to come for our future. On December 13th 2009 Chilean population is going to decide whether they are ready to say yes to a radical change.

Tercer Tiempo: A new business league

2009-10-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

Paola Passalacqua grew up in an environment where soccer was “everything” as she says. Her family enjoyed every single weekend at least one soccer match, she mentions that probably her family would have grown apart if it wasn’t for soccer “it brought aus together” she says nostalgic.

This 30 year old entrepreneur decided to organize a soccer league called “Tercer Tiempo”, which is related also to the instance in rugby where players get to share a moment together and socialize with the opponents. Her idea was that “a friendly environment with many things to learn”.

Each side has 11 male players who come from a certain area of the company against another area. Paola comments that the biggest rivals in every company are finances and marketing.

The business in mainly focused towards large companies with a lot of areas and employees, “the main idea is that employees can get to know each other eventually, because sometimes in big companies that never happens” notes Passalacqua.

Catalina Grez, CEO of Ripley commented “in a company as big as Ripley it is difficult to establish a sort of relation between the employees, Tercer Tiempo managed to do this for us and actually establish a sense of teamwork and friendship between all areas”.

Tercer Tiempo has around 10 clients now and it is looking to double it by the end of next year. The soccer matches are every Sunday simultaneously, each company plays in a different location and teams from Tercer Tiempo (composed by 6 members) go to each location and organize, evaluate and regulate each simultaneous event.

Paola Passalacqua ads “this project gives people from a certain area an identity inside the company they are working for, they get to pick a uniform, a name and to organize their own structure of game with their partners”.

Tercer Tiempo has had many issues with motivating the employees from certain companies Passalacqua commented that “it is very hard to make everybody show up every single Sunday”, she also mentioned that the commitment rate is low. Still the results that the program has brought to the client companies have been amazing especially when it comes to teamwork and in the interpersonal relationships, especially between different areas.

This company is looking forward to grow and gather the biggest companies in our country in order to develop this program, in a future they are also expecting to expand it and make a global tournament with the best teams from each company, in order to get “a big money prize and also recognition” as Paola says.

Easter Island: A Destiny For Everyone

2009-10-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

This island is the most isolated place in the world and it officially belongs to Chile, but it is located 2000 miles offshore into the Pacific Ocean. Their culture is Polynesian and the landscapes include gigantic statues called Moais, volcanoes and white sand beaches.

This is a destination that tourists and specially adventurers cannot miss. Its authenticity and culture have brought the world’s attention for decades. The landscapes, including the statues, volcanoes and beaches attract thousands of visitors from all over the world and all ages on a yearly basis. Lan Airlines offers flights to the island that cost approximately 700 dollars and take 5 hours to get to the Mataveri Airport.

Travelling to this wonderful place is a great instance to witness the history of the island and the remainings of its rise and fall which can still be seen all over the island. The most important left over from this culture are the Moai statues which can be visited in different locations on the island, mainly in the coastland. There are also other touristic attractions such as the caves where tribes used to live and hide from their enemies which are not only available to see, you can also camp in them.

There are two main volcano craters the Rano Kau and Rano Raraku. You can hike and look into the bowl of the volcanoes which show an impressing sight for curious and adventurer tourists. These volcanoes provided the habitants with rocks that later they used to carve the Moais.

The accommodation varies from the luxurious Anakena Hotel, the famous Ana Rapu’s Hostel to camping in the caves which belonged to the natives. The white sand beaches (Anakena is the main one) offer the perfect scenery to relax and enjoy the tropical weather of the island. On the evenings guided trekking and horse tours are offered and tourists can visit the main sights.

A must see for people who visit Easter Island are the native dance shows at the Anakena Hotel where you can have dinner and also participate in the show; also islanders teach you traditional dance moves and give you flower necklaces as souvenirs.

Easter Island is a place where the entire family, couples or lonely adventurers can have fun, witness amazing historic sights and enjoy one of the most impressing places in the world with the many activities that it has to offer. It is definitely one of the places you must visit before you hit the bucket!

It's not just WASTE

2009-10-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Our world is living a new crisis, an environmental one. Plastic bags have contributed to contaminate our natural resources carrying with them consequences that affect out biodiversity, human health and our natural resources, along also with gas emissions that contribute to the Greenhouse effect.

Politicians have tried to give this problem a solution, but in order for that to happen we will have to wait until January 2012. In our country we see two major issues: people are still not conscious enough to care about the environment, and secondly there are still no laws that ban the unlimited use of non degradable plastic bags. So the problem basically relies in our country’s government and people.

Ana Lia Uriarte, our Minister of Environment, commented “in Chile there is no recycling culture, and the trash collector companies are not funded by the government, therefore they don’t have an obligation to demand to the people to divide their wastes. Besides we do not have specialized dumpsters”. The tendencies today show that companies (Jumbo, Líder, Falabella, among other) sand some people (designers and people who recycle materials) care about the environment, but they represent a small percentage of our population.

This small group of people is being supported by larger companies, and the trend today is that people start not only recycling, but more importantly giving a different use to plastic bags or, even better, using an alternative product environment friendly. The Minister of Environment also mentioned that “our ecosystem is being affected by residuals and mainly by plastic bags”.

On the other hand, powerful companies are looking the situation through a different perspective, Josefina Correa, Chief Executive of Líder stated that “people still prefer plastic bags because they are comfortable, and also they believe they are easy to get rid of, neglecting the effects they cause on the environment”. She also mentioned that even after the supermarket chain tried to impose a new trend of reusable bags, people didn’t seem to be friendly with the idea.

The use of bio friendly bags is a main concern today for the Ministry of Environment, still the options are not clear enough and there are way too many, from substitute materials to different packaging alternatives such as boxes, containers, among others. Some people have given a creative solution to the “waste” that comes from plastic bags, creating products that start from designer decoration objects to high fashion boots and handbags.

Clearly the ban of plastic bags is not necessary, what we need is to use them and get rid of them consciously. Supermarkets and shops in Chile have to limit their use of plastic bags, people -consumers- on the other hand have to look forward to a responsible and eco friendly use of them among with imposing a recycle friendly culture in Chile in which materials such as plastic do not become a source of waste.

The costs of not acting against global warming will endanger our national economy

2009-09-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

During the year 2007, according to SERTUR (Servicio Nacional de Turismo), the number of tourists who entered the country reached a new record 898 million of arrivals. This same institution mentions on its yearly inform of the year 2007 that tourism contributes to a 3.05% of GDP.
Chile is becoming a developed country as its economy continues to develop. Still there is a major issue concerning not only our economy but also the global economy, and that is Global Warming.

Recently a report on the effect of this phenomenon in the economic ambit was released. The Stern Review concludes that “the benefits of strong and early action to stop global warming far outweigh the economic costs of not acting”.

Believe it or not Global Warming in endangering our economy and puting on risk our chances to keep expanding economicly. This affects directly our countries 5th main source of income, tourism. The Stern Review mentions that the “inaction on climate change could lead to a loss equivalent to between 5 and 20 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), versus a 1 per cent of global GDP cost to take actions that mitigate the worst impacts of climate change”.

The decrease on the GDP not only will affect our income but also, as Ana Lia Uriarte, Minister of Environment said “it affects our resources, we need to create and maintain the places that attract so many people to Chile on a yearly basis”.

One of the main concerns according to Greenpeace Chile in that one of our main natural resources, glaciers, are melting. This issue not only endangers the species who inhabit them, but is also puting in risk one of our most important touristic destinantions located in the south of the country, the glaciers.

Hugo Lavados said, reffering to a section of the Stern Report "hundreds of millions of people could suffer from hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms", that this would be a “direct result from global warming which are results of a poor economy”. He also mentioned that “if people do not take an action to solve this problem soon, later we will all suffer the economic problems that this situation involves”.

Not only important figures are concerned by this issue, it is something that keeps concerning all sort of individuals in aour society. Paola Passalacqua a journalism student from Universidad Del Desarrollo in currenty involved in a recicling program concerning the university. She confirmed that “although some few peopleare trying to make a difference, change is almost impossible, we need a directed change that comes from higher authorities”.

Our nation is characterized as a nation who is far away from recicling habits and also less than concerned about the effects that this environmental phenomenon is going to have in our national economy a few years from now. The meassures to take are obvious, still authorities have done an impressive affort in order to dodge them. But, what will it happen later when everything collapse? That is a question to be asked to politics.

Texting blamed in crash that kills three teens

2009-09-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning a 20 year old journalism student identified as Juan Perez killed three teenagers when he crashed into a supermarket located in Las Condes. The police officers involved affirmed that “clearly there is something external that caused the crash” and that they found a “Blackberry device set in the texting mode” which belonged to Perez who lost the control of his car while texting as officers confirmed.

The three teenagers killed were identified as Paola Passalacqua (18), Paula Campos (13) and Pedro Flores (17). The three of them were waiting for their mothers to come pick them up outside of Montecarlo supermarket located in the intersection of Av. Las Condes and Charles Hamilton when Perez unexpectedly crashed against them.

The forensic investigation showed that Perez not only was driving under the influence of alcohol, but also he went over the speed limit of the area (50 kilometers per hour). Chief officer Jaime Burgos from Las Condes police department confirmed that “Perez must have been doing something else that distracted him while driving and made him lose the control of the vehicle”, a Peugeot 206.

The evidence confirmed that Perez was carrying a Blackberry phone set in the texting mode, which was found near the corpses while the forensics were analyzing the scenery for clues. People surrounding the place couldn’t confirm that he was texting but confirmed that “he was listening to loud music and seemed to have lost the control of the car”.

The journalism student claimed himself as innocent, but the parents of P.P, P.C and P.F claimed that they would press charges against him besides the ones imposed by the public system of justice, and not only for driving irresponsibly and under the influence of alcohol, but also for murder.

Perez told the police officers that he was “driving carefully and never took a glance off of the road”, but the evidence speaks against him. Witnesses who saw the crash confirmed that “he was speeding and driving from side to side of the road” and also that “the crash was fast and the kids died as soon as it happened…the place was a blood bath”.

Perez is waiting to be prosecuted next Tuesday for three different charges imposed to him by the municipal authorities: murder, driving irresponsibly and under the influence of alcohol. Besides the 20 year old will not only have to pay the damages caused to the supermarket but also millionaire fines to pay the damage made to the public property.

Campaigns need to be more grotesque in order to create an effect

2009-09-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

All the time we see campaigns to prevent irresponsible acts from users of different products, such as cars, mobile phones, alcohol, cigarettes and many other. What we don’t know how to control is the abuse of all of them.

I think that we have failed to reach this goal, actually we have seen lots of advertising aiming to stop these abuses. But still there have been plenty of problems related to these campaigns which has made them less than effective. Lets take for example the latest campaign seen in Las Condes, Lo Barnechea and Vitacura, to prevent people from doing dangerous activities while driving. Still the people who created this campaign forgot the most important thing, they are trying to spread safe driving, therefore if people read the exhaustively long signs they posted on the roadside, clearly there are going to be more car accidents as a result of that.

Or perhaps we should take as an example the cigarette campaign to warn people that smoking is dangerous for help. Publicity in most developed countries tells in a harsh and direct way the harms that smoking can do for health. Here in Chile instead they show some cases which are not, by any means, grotesque.

What people need are shocking images and examples on how smoking, drinking and driving, and many other irresponsible conducts affect their lives and the consequences the have.

As horrible as it might sound people need images, and not images and words, just imagery that shows the real naked truth. Most of people tend to think that what they see is not real, or maybe that it is unreachable, and that is what happens in Chile.

People see things in pictures and advertising which are far away from truth that they know, and usually they tend to think that those things are never going to happen to them. Still there are some kind of images that have a greater impact on people, and unfortunately that in pain and suffering, death and blood.

People need commercial and images that dare to show the real last consequences of these acts: mashed bodies because of a car crash, dead lungs, bleeding mouths, and so many other things that appeal to a different sense.

The basic images which are not so grotesque either make people laugh or ignore them because they don’t affect them in a sensitive way. But tragedies do create that effect on people, a shocking effect and that is what Chilean people need. Roaside publicity will only cause more accidents, superficial images on cigarette cartons will not make people stop smoking, we need to create an impact with publicity in order to put a stop to this problem.

In order to stop abuses like these we need images as cruel as they can be and we need to spread them in many ways as possible. That is the only way that people are finally going to understand the impact of these abuses in their lives.

A consumer cannot be a rebel!

2009-09-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

We are immerse in a culture where businesses are based in consumer needs. But if we take in consideration our need twenty years go, or perhaps more, when this consumer culture began, we would realize one thing, needs and people change.

Nowadays needs are not the same, people are evolving and so are the characteristics of our society. As highways invade our lands, and shopping malls display newer kinds of food and cleaning supplies we use them, and most importantly need those things on a daily basis.

We create new needs according to the reality in which we live. As people surrounded by highways we believe that having a car -and a fast one- is a must in order to move around. Also we believe that new kinds of exotic food sold by huge supermarket chains are a basic need; sadly we convince ourselves that exotic -.therefore unconventional and more expensive- products are the same as regular ones, and we add them to our list of basic needs as “regular” -simple- products.

It is impossible today to be rebel against consumer culture because it is everywhere you go. Our culture is all about consuming, we live around it and as a part of it. Consumerism is not buying designer clothes and spending money in the highest technology; it is also buying the music that makes you a rebel, the clothes that makes you different from everybody else, and depending on props to be who you are.

We are consumers, and every single need transforms itself in a certain kind of consume. As rebels there is a need to prove everybody else wrong in order to intensify your point; but as a person trying to differentiate itself from the rest, there is still a need to use certain resorts. John Lennon and Yoko Ono used their bed in order to be rebellious, Curt Cobain used T-Shirts, and so many figures that have tried to be defiant ended up buying like the rest of us and also selling themselves to the media. Curt Cobain sold himself to Rolling Stone Magazine and MTV Unplugged; Ono and Lennon invited the press to cover their “Bed Peace” movement.

All of them fall in the web of consumerism either buying or selling to be rebellious, trying to cover up that tendency with needs and rebelliousness. But in the end, when naked -with no props, no money and no media- they are nothing else but a peon in the game of capitalism, consumerism and media. They sold their souls to this culture and it is impossible for them to be outsiders. At the same time they are also trying to sell a new way of life, with new needs, new accessories and tendencies, nowadays it is all about selling and buying, and being rebel means consuming nothing.

Help me save Chilean lives

2009-09-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Editor,

Have you ever been on a car crash? I hope not. I cannot say that I'm thankful for that too because about three years ago I should have died in a car accident, gladly somehow I survived. Do you ever wonder how many people die in our country as a result of car accident? Honestly, I don't have a clue but I know it is a lot. These accidents are taking innocent people lives on a daily basis.

I have seen many ads and campaigns aimed at teenagers and most of them are aimed at people who drink and drive, who talk on the phone, change the radio and many other activities ones does while driving. Recently I saw a new campaign -roadside banners- which are telling people not to text while driving.

As stupid as it might sound, some people do text and drive but we are still either ignoring or letting pass the fact that it is becoming a very dangerous issue in our society and especially for all the other innocent drivers.

I must admit though, that I was stupid enough to text while driving, and I'm not talking about years ago, I mean last week. I told my boyfriend and he asked me not to do that again and showed me a video which had an amazing effect.

I recognize and acknowledge the fact that Las Condes, Vitacura and Lo Barnechea are trying to prevent accidents caused by texting, but I don't think that roadside banners are the option, because that resort is also distracting drivers. A video not only can be seen in a safe place (away from the roads, preventing newer accidents caused by distracted drivers), but it is also a graphic way to show people the direct effects of their actions. It is also a vivid way to explain what are the consequences after the accident, the pros and cons and also it uses a device that we have seen before in some older campaigns -by Clinica Alemana- and that is guilt.

There have been a lot of campaigns similar to this one, but still the effects have been null, there has been a negation of reality. I think that appealing to cruelty, rawness and violent accidents it is a way to touch people. This ad I saw shows a scene with a girl texting while driving, and as a result: a bloody car, all of her friends dead, and two homeless kids on the other car asking mommy and daddy to wake up.

That's why I ask you, have you ever been on a car crash? Have you ever felt the fear of almost killing someone you love? I have. We need, as a country, to apply measures like these, to show people the importance and fragility of life to all of the people who drive. Lives can be taken away in a minute, and it might take a four minute video to prevent that from happening.

I am asking you in this letter to help save Chilean people lives. As a massive media who reaches a big proportion of citizens of this country, help me, you and everybody to save lives. It’s in your hands now to do something about it because I don’t have the influence or the power to make this happen, but you do.

Camila Vera Falabella.

Guns in the supermarket

2009-08-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Save money, live better and always low prices are some of the many promises Wal-Mart makes to their costumers

Ten to forty guns placed perfectly behind a counter. A twelve year old asks "can I see that one, the Remington", she answers "of course" and hands the weapon to the child. Through the speakers they say "aisle three needs cleaning" and in a far distance over a hundred registers beep and the cashier says "thank you for chosing Wal-Mart"

Next to the counter you can find all sorts of hunting gear, and on the opposite side an endless display of car cleaning tools. People walk by the kid as if they just saw a promoter offering them new kind of cheese. Their carts are full with groceries. The lady behind the counter turns around to continue her cleaning job in one of the lower cabinets. Two foreigners stand in front of the scene shocked, one of them asks the other "have you ever seen something like this? I've never...I mean it's ourtrageous...how" and the other ne answers "no, I definitely haven't". The kid pushes the trigger a couple of times aiming the lady, then he leaves the gun on top of the counter and walks towards his father.

This display can only be seen in America, where guns can be bought as easily as an apple. Lewisburg, West Virginia is a town renowned for its most popular hobby, deer hunting. Wherever you go, the landscape is crowded with churches, houses, deers and gas stations which all seem to have something in common. A big neon coloured sign that says "Welcome hunters!" next to a drawing of a deer's face and a Budweiser logo in displayed on all of them and facing the highway.

Americans still wonder how the Columbine High School massacre happened. Guns are not only sold at supermarkets but also given away for free when you open certain bank accounts. Everyone in this country, specially people from underdeveloped states like West Virginia, can easily access all sort of weapons and there are many places where they can be found, not only supermarkets or banks. The curious thing is that not only adults can obtain them, but also kids and teenagers.

This twelve year old is just a victim of the bizzare American culture. Guns and weapons are being sold everywhere, hunters are more than welcome to come to West Virginia and kill their deers, they even have sponsors like Budweiser. These children grow up in an environment conditioned to kill, where they learn how to use guns and to murder animals, and not to fear these situations. States like this one are fomenting this killing culture and massifying the access of kids to lethal weapons.

Chilean economy is recovering

2009-08-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

According to the Minister of Finance, Andrés Velasco, our economy in comparison to previous semesters has stabilized and the downfall was not as abrupt as the ones seen in earlier periods.

The results revealed this morning by tne Central Bank show that the GDP has lowered in a 4.5% this trimester. Still Velasco's answer was that this result is a"suggestion that this trimester should show a recovery in relation to the previous one". According to him the decrease shown this last trimester clearly is lower than the ones registered in prior ocations.

He mentioned that there were some key events happening in order to reactivate chilean economy: a $4 billion fisical stimulus plan, a raise in the copper's price, newer employement programmes, among others.

Velasco also suggested exploring and using the advantages brought to our economy by the Free Trade Agreements, making a special remark to be careful with protectionist meassures and specially with financial protectionism.

The Minister was optimist about the results which show that the national economy is recovering, but also made an important call to work with the advantages of the economic agreements with other nations in order to reactivate our external economy too.

*This is just and excercise and not all the information n this article is real.