OBSOLESCENCE

“I choose my benefits, I don’t mind the worst”

One week ago I went to buy a new water pump for our washing machine, since my father (who has been a repair technician for almost 15 years) told me this was the problem. Actually there was some extra water remaining in the drum after every washing, and the cause was that the electromagnetic device failed under too much hot. That’s why I asked the shop assistant for the improvement of the new water pump I was ready to buy. But she simply answered me: “No, this is normal: in one or two years at the most, you’ll need to buy it again”. I was so astonished to know everybody assumes a company can deliberately build and sell gadgets with defective components without any problem. After this, I read an interview in “La Contra” of the “La Vanguardia” newspaper about the “obsolescence” of the devices: all the electronic machines we use and buy are deliberately programmed to die. He even quoted another example concerning one of these famous “iPad”’s, from “saint” Apple. The corporation was demanded by a group of people to include defective components in the iPad’s. Apple lost the judgment, but they preferred to pay the fine before avoiding this immoral practice.

I’m aware now I’m not finding out the Mediterranean Sea but, as Benito Muros told in the article, this is one of the most gigantic dark networks in our world. I’m going to explain it:

We are now used to buy and throw everything: bricks, photo cameras, mobile phones, wrappers, cartridges, electronic components, clothes… However, this behavior has a hard impact in our planet: first of all, we get a really gigantic amount of rubbish, here and in the third world, where most of the big firms are producing because of the legal advantages. Secondly, we are severely harming our planet, since in order to buy cheaper and cheaper, we prefer to bring the gadgets from the furthest country, instead of producing it in our own country.

Here the interviewed showed another example: he is the inventor of one of the 10 kind of bulbs designed to light for over 70 years. They wanted to sell them under a normal price, in order to be widely distributed, but they received a number of multimillionaire offers to avoid it, and death threats from several lobbies in this sector. Actually, this bulb would save 92% of electricity and 20 billion € per year. We are now importing electricity from France, and are worried about the future: the experts speak about financing more nuclear centrals in order to be able to face the huge demand of electricity. But we human beings are so stupid. These bulbs would also reduce the 70% of the atmosphere CO₂atmosphere, because they can run with very few degrees of temperature. But we human kind doesn’t want it: we are stupid and egocentric.

To conclude, some critical voices from big companies say that without programmed obsolescence we would ruin the market. But this is a big lie: it’s proved that nowadays, if we used good-quality components, machines could run for 40-70 years. Then, the market would be plenty of companies of repair services, second-hand firms… today sentenced to death. I don’t know how, but we should take part in this global change of mind.

By Joan Morera.

PRAYPRAY!!!

Here you are guys the best production I¨ve ever seen in my life!!! Enjoy your amazing project and the high level of english in it!!! Thanks a lot for your great effort!!!

See you next week!!!

CONGRATULATIONS GUYS !!!!

Hi everybody!!!

Just to say I am really impressed with your project...PRAY,PRAY!! There are no words to describe how gifted you are...your English was fluent and natural...To tell the truth, amazing job my friends!!!!Go on this way. Thank you for your great effort guys.

Let's move on to another topic: the school of languages. The dates for your pre-enrollment are:
From 21st March to 4th April. Don't forget it.

Have a nice week!

BFN and see you on Friday!!!!!

How´s it going guys!!!

Hey there!!!

I haven´t seen you for ages....I hope to do it next Friday, as usual...Anyway...who dares to write an article about the great "javierada"??? I´m anxious about that!!!

What about our publicity for our TV programme?? Are you ready for that??

Looking forward to meeting you, all...because I miss you!!!

Ascen.

THE CRISIS!!!!

Hello everybody!!

I’d like to write some lines about a topic I’m really worried about, because it’s severely affecting most of the families in the world: the economic crisis. Last week we heard a very interesting conference from Raúl González Fabre, a jesuit professor in Microeconomics, Business Ethics and Marketing Ethics in ICADE (Comillas). According to one of the statements he said, “Capitalism is for first time clearly against Democracy”. He justified how many governments are able to change all their minds, rising up taxations, drowning the poorest without giving enough social services... in order to get more money, money lost by banks which haven’t enough rules or impartial supervisions.

These countries (we have seen examples in Spain, Italy, Greece...) should struggle against its own corruption, but it’s sad to see that they are also receiving from this advantages, and that some rich and unscrupulous proprietaries rule our countries instead of the Parliament. This made me think and confirmed an intuition: economic crisis is not a “fate” falling down from the sky, there are many people guilty for this gigantic crime, with name and surnames, and they are still doing the same. This way of adoring “god Money”in financial movements, in trying to grow up always, every year, without keeping in mind the quality of life or job of the population...  is infected from its root.

I’m not for the communism at all, at least as it has been incarnated until today. But we as Christians must be aware of this cancer called “Greed”, which destroys millions of lives and dreams every month, and must take decisions according to this: not to invest in any kind of financial movements, not to support big companies when we know they adore god Money above the person, make others aware of this abuse of power and promote social projects... I admit it’s really difficult, since we have little power, and because even the Google we use every day, as we heard last week, is saving lots of millions of dollars with tricky financial movements. But I believe in the Kingdom of God growing up silently, from below... We as Jesuits can teach another way of facing Politics, we can decide in the Church where to invest and for what, we can help other people to spend their time building another environment... They are our loaves and fishes... I believe in miracles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx_LWm6_6tA

BY JOAN MORERA.

A NEW PROJECT FOR THIS TERM!!!

Well guys!!! In our last lesson we were talking about our new year´s resolutions in terms of English. Here you are a summary:

1. Write at least two articles on the blog during this term.
2. Make as many comments as you can to your partners´articles or posts
3. Participate actively in our new project: A TV PROGRAMME.

To work in this coming project you need several things to take into account, such as collaborative work, writing your scripts for me to correct them before recording or filming the activity.
As I have told you, there are different parts to bear in mind: publicity, news, chatshow, quiz show...I am going to give you some hints in each part ok?? Let´s start for the first one...The title of our TV programme. You should think, what kind of programme you are going to produce if we take into consideration that in it, you have to introduce news, pub (short form to say publicity), chatshow and quiz show...Let´s think together but I want you to give me the title in our next Friday lesson!!!
Your second challenge would be publicity...be ready for that!!!

I trust you guys...Lots of talents at your community, take advantange of being gifted....

Have a nice week!!! Take care!!!

Ascen.

READY, STEADY, GO!!!!

Well guys, this is just a "quicky" to announce you that next Friday 20th at 17.30, as usual, hope to see you all again and comment away about our new year´s resolutions and some novelties...

Have a nice week!!!

Ascen.

THE URGENT ONE AND THE IMPORTANT ONE

I´ve been thinking about this topic since the beginning of December. It´s not so easy to recognize what is actually urgent and what is really important. For example, everyone who goes to an emergency department is sure about his illness´ importance. He has a pain. It´s his own pain and it´s important to them. Maybe his pain is even the most important and the only thing all over the world.

In fact, their pain is important because they are worried about it and because it doesn´t let them keep on their normal life. But when they go to hospital with their 'important pain', the doctor may realize that it´s not too urgent – perhaps a simple toothache, or stomach ache after having eaten too much, or the same headache you have been usually suffering for six months. They are not important, however, we don’t know. All of us we aren´t so clever to make out between the urgent one and the important one. We need another person helping us.

When I have a lot of things to do in a short time – like this week – I´m not able to establish my priorities. And, what´s more, even if I find difficult to select what to do firstly.  It´s impossible to extend the day so I must decide and project what to do and what to do first.

It´s stupid to think about doing only and always important things. Following this path, for example, I would fail several subjects. But it´s also crazy to decide to do the urgent ones. In this way, what about living with peace and common sense? So, praying or sleeping?, effectiveness or relationships?, studies or pastoral?, speeding up or braking?, me or the others?

Therefore, it seems that we aren´t able to decide properly on our own. We need another person to talk about it. Especially, we need God to give us a skyline of meaning. Things are not urgent or important. No white or black but white and black. And our challenge is to discern, with helping God, what to do in each situation.

Things are not solely urgent or important to me. Maybe sometimes they will be. But so many times I´ll have to ask myself: what about urgency and importance of my things to the other? A challenge that will last a lifetime.

BY Alberto Cano SJ

5. Memories are the past.

There were tears, incomprehension, pain, a lot of pain, too much for one woman. She needed to get out of her past, but she didn´t want to. He is her life, now yet, and the past is the place where she meets him. She sewed the past with the present. At the end the past always returns.

***

The day after tomorrow, the notebook was resting under the bed. She has promised herself, She wasn´t going to read it again. But this morning the broom pulled off the past. She opened it scared.

We arrived together (we always did everything together) at the railway- station.

People. How many people?

There were newspapers for everybody. The newspapers were masks. I didn´t see tears, neither incomprehension, nor pain.

- Come on please, go home! -he said to me- I´ll be great. Believe me.

- Only a favour.- I waited smiling. He said yes with his eyes- Come back- he smiled- soon.

He took the train and I stayed on the platform.

I know he looked for me as I looked for him. It was our play.

I was behind the baggage claim, but today, he couldn´t find me.

I think he was behind the paper´s mask, but today, I couldn´t find him.

Today we lost both.

When the train began its travel to the hell, at this moment, I always remembered that, I had got the first retch.

When she closed the notebook, she looked: her incomprehension, her pain and she felt her tears.

By Carlos Muñoz Novo.