I'd like to talk about one of the global issues, crime by the youth. When the media started saying that crime by young people was increasing, I felt bad. It is because I think more adults have been committing crimes, but the way newscasters and commentators talk about the young crimers is worse than they talked about most of mature crimers. I think the crime which was committed by sensible adult is worse than the crime which was committed by immature young people. This happens in Japan. I think Japanese young people are too overpropected in their families and even in society. They are protected by law and young crimer will not imposed bad penalty. I think all crimers should be imposed penalties equally which correspond to the crime they committed. In Japan, young people commit crime to get money and attention from others, to solve their problem like human relations. However once I take a look at crime around the world, I can find some crimes by young people. In America, highschool students brought their guns and fired the guns at their school. Also I know a boy who tried to kill his family by poisoning them. What did drive these young people to do such a thing? I found the impression on the paper that I got in human rights class. It was written after we saw the VTR about the crime in America. He shot his family and clessmates. It said "He used to love his precious people, but he thought he was abandoned. He couldn't love anybody but them any more...and commited crimes". It brought me to reason why the young crimers committed crimes, and why the newscasters and commentators have misgivings about crimes by the youth. I thought the incident in America was sad. Actually, he was loved by his family.

He said, "I love you, mom." when he shot his mother.

Did he really love his mother when he said this to his mother? Did he accept his mother's love?
WHERE IS THE LOVE between him and his mother?

Hello everyone. I'd like to talk about nationality today. You all and I learned about it in Scott's class and it reminded me the Ainu people. I went to Hokkaido on my school trip when I was a high school student. One of the aim of the school trip was to learn the Ainu people and its culture. After we arrived at Hokkaido, we went to the area where we could study about the Ainu. There were the Ainu people there, but the area was not the place where they live. It was like a museum for visitors who are interested in the Ainu culture. However I could learn many things about the Ainu. Their belief, language, food, clothes, and life style were completely different from ours. The host explained them and it seemed very interesting. Also some of my classmates were invited to join the dance which the Ainu people do for their god. The host was a descendant of the Ainu, but he said the Ainu people no longer live in the Ainu society. But we all enjoyed the time at the area.
I saw the TV program about the Ainu after my school trip and I was surprised at it. They are native nation in Hokkaido, but the situation was changed when people emigrated from Honshu to Hokkaido. The immigrants from Honshu had strong power over Hokkaido and they tried to control Hokkaido. Then some conflicts were happened. After the conflicts, the Ainu could keep only small part of Hokkaido and they were started to be discriminated. They couldn't go to school, so they pretended to be the immigants and hid their identities as the Ainu. Though they were accepted gradually.
I learned about the Ainu and their history through the school trip and the TV program. I know each nationalities has its own characters, but I thought the people from Honshu should have accepted the Ainu at that time. We nearly lost the valuable culture of the Ainu.

I learned some songs which wish peace in Scott's class and I moved all of them. Their lyrics hurt me and made me think about the importance of peace more. I also envy the singers who sing songs to wish peace because they have their way to convey their thought and can influence many people's minds. Almost all people in this world are wishing all the wars and conflicts stop right now and living without giving up. However most of them include me don't have the means to convey our thoughts. I can't sing any song. I'm not a teacher like Scott so I can't tell people that the importance of peace. Then how can I do to show my wish towards being peace? What can I do to make peaceful world? I can raise money. I can send clothes and stationaries. My highschool sent the recorders to some school in poor countries. We could donete our recorder which we didn't need in our music classes. Also,I can buy things at charity bazar. I bought the charity CD titled "hope". Many famous singers' songs in the CD and they worked for nothing, just hoping the children in Iraq will be happily and live in pearce. But I still feel have distance between the people who need help and me. Recently I'm interested in working as a member of an international volunteer group. I realized almost all children in the country where some conflicts and war going on still have dreams and hopes. I want to help them. My idea might be smug which satisfies my own desire, but I want to try if someone need my help. I think just having knowledge about peace and war is meaningless, I mean I have to take action. I'm not a philanthropist. I'm just a Japanese girl who wishes the world will be happy and peace without any conflicts and war.

I am on horns of a dilamma. I have a part-time job at Mc Donald's and work there at least 3 days in a week. In Mc Donald's, we have to throw away all products after a certain minutes. Because we are responsible for the customer's expectations. They want to buy and eat high quality dishes which are delicious,made by fresh materials and fresh-cooked. So we have to throw away them. A plenty of hamburgers and frenchfries were dumped after the busy slot on weekends. I know the taste of fresh-cooked humburgers and frenchfries are delicious!! and I want to offer these to my customers. However, don't you think "what a waste!"? I never throw them away without think so. At that time, the people who can't eat enough in all over the world are float through my mind. Even in rich countries like America and Japan, homeless are starving. Too much waste and too much hunger exist at the same time. Then now, I'm in dilemma. I'm a pertson who considers about both customers and starving people. The solution doesn't on my mind yet, so I keep thinking and wasting. Many people are sending contributions to the poor couintries, but is that enough?

I'd like to write about Angola and the soldiers in Angola. I mean "soldiers" are young juveniles. I saw them on TV yesterday morning. The boy who were on TV was about our age and he had been a soldier. In Angola, many boys and girls, even the children around 8 had been forced to be the soldiers. They were compulsory left their families and traind to be the soldiers. During the conflict in Angola, they had to kill so many people and also many of them were killed. Why such young innocent childish soldiers had to do that, and be done that? I always ask "why" when I learn new innocent victims of conflicts. Then, are ex-soldiers happy now? The answer is yes and no. They are happy because they are alive and have their dreams but they aren't happy because they lost their friends and families and they have terrible nightmare bacause of such a horrifying experiences. The host of the TV program said that they(ex-soldiers) don't talk about their experiences because they are tortured the memory and they don't want people around them to know that they were ex-soldiers. They are still undermined by their memory of the conflict. The boy who used to be a soldier was grown up and started going to school. However only a few people can go to school and the illiteracy rate in Angola is low. Also, it was reported that there were a large number of landmines on its land. It showed many pictures of the injured Angolan. People start going to school The illiteracy rate in Angola is low. Refugees are still looking for their family members. I thought we all have to do something to save them. They need help. They need education, safe, and peace.