Why do civilizations have laws?

I am here for another debate! My question this time was 'Why do civilizations have laws?' My simple answer to that would be: because civilizations need laws to have civilizations work properly and to protect their people, sources, land and heritage.

For example, if there wasn't a law that said something like 'you cannot murder people' than many humans in the civilization would die. Or if a civilization didn't have traffic lights, there would be many accidents that could seriously injure people and possibly kill them. But the people's physical protection also ties inn with the protection of sources and land.

People need food to live. It is as simple as that. If you cut of people's recources, (for example, food)you are putting humans in physical danger. And to grow things, you need land to grow it on.

Heritage is a very important aspect in a civilization. It makes it so the civilization has something special and in some way is unique. Heritage is an important part in any civilization and that is why laws protect it.

Another good question is: 'what I think about Hammurabi's Code.' If you guys don't know what Hammurabi's Code code is, I will explain. Hammurabi was this king in Babylon. He ruled from 1796 BC – 1750 BC. He was a very strict man and carved on a seven foot, four inch tall basalt slab. On it, he inscribed laws.

Below are a few of the laws: (translated)


195. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.


200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.

202. If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.


205. If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.


229. If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.

230. If it kill the son of the owner the son of that builder shall be put to death.

I don't think that Hammurabi's laws were correct because they weren't fair at all! Some things can be accidents and I don't agree with punishing an innocent person. For example, 230: It says that the son of the builder shall be put to death. Why is that fair? The son didn't do anything! If anyone had to die, it should be the builder.


Information from:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/267/whm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi
http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_law251-282.htm

The Ancient Timeline- Today vs. Tomorrow (Part 2)

If you have read my last post, you will know what has happened recently and what I had to write about. My teacher went online and read everyone's blog who are in my Humanities class. He had a question about my last post and I am here going to answer it. His question was: 'Is strength in this case a positive? Could it be a negative? How?'In my last post I mentioned that different civilizations need different things in order to be strong. I think that in my post I meant strength in a positive way. It would be positive because without strength, how will a civilization work properly and have great resources to run successfully plus work together? For example, I think that a place with no good land to grow food on isn't going to be nearly as strong as a place that has great soil for food and an efficient society.I honestly don't think that there can be a negative thing. It would be a harder life if you weren't be able to get your groceries for dinner in 15 minutes. You would have to work harder and harder until you successfully have your meal. If you have great land and area than I think that your civilization will be stronger and you would have an easier atmosphere to live in. But another argument could be that the people who can get their groceries easily and everything, they still have to work too! On both sides people have to work.

To sum everything up, My answer is 'yes, strength is a positive and not a negative.'

The Ancient Timeline- Today vs. Tomorrow

In Humanities today, we watched a movie called Guns, Germs, and Steel. It discussed and compared different civilizations and talked about what civilizations need. Overall it was a generally interesting film. We had to make an interesting headline that sort of describes what we learnt about and mine is the title above. (The Ancient Timeline- Today vs. Tomorrow.)I hope that the title made this piece interesting. I didn't want to state the obvious when I wrote it.

update below/Revised:

Just to make it clear, I am making a revised version because I think that I could have expanded on my thoughts and added more details and connections to my writing. Here it goes! In Humanities class, we watched a movie called Guns, Germs, and Steel. The movie is actually based on a book! It discussed and compared different civilizations and talked about what civilizations need in order to be strong. Overall it was a generally interesting film. The main aspect that it talked aboutw as farming. It talked about how men changed from hunting to farming a long time ago. They settled down so they could work on their farms and such. It also talked about animals. Did you know that there are 14 domesticated animals that weigh over 100 lbs? I thought that was an interesting fact because I had no idea. The movie also mentioned lifestyles. I realized that the lifestyle in New Guinea is significantly different that the lifestyle in the Middle East. It turns out that people who live in New Guinea still have to hunt and work very hard for food. Did you know that it takes roughly two days for them to get food that is only 40 pounds? (From a tree.) Also that isn't enough protein to feed a group of people. This made me think about my home place- North America. When I am in my hometown I can just bike down to a supermarket and pick up a gallon of milk. These people have to actually milk an animal and then go through a whole process of getting the milk good so everyone can drink it. My lifestyle sure is different than others. The movie held alot of interesting historical information. If you really enjoy learning about civilizations and lifestyles of different people, I would recomend seeing the movie. I have not read the book but I am guessing it would be similar to the movie so that would also be good to read.
Another thing we did was make an interesting headline that sort of describes what we learnt about and mine is the title above. (The Ancient Timeline- Today vs. Tomorrow.)I hope that the title made this piece interesting. I didn't want to state the obvious when I wrote it.

My Civilization. The world we live in...

Kuala Lumpur. AHHHH...some people might say it is noisy because of all the traffic, I say, its peaceful. I wake up every Saturday morning to the sunlight that peeks into my curtains and the sounds of chirping birds. Of course I can't leave out the aroma from the kitchen that travels into my room- the sign of a good meal waiting for me. At night, the beautiful street lights keep you awake and the constant sound of horns keep you alert. The heat keeps you sweating and makes you blast on the air conditioning. Although Kuala Lumpur seems like a typical capital city in a typical tropic place, Kuala Lumpur is unique. It has its on civilization and its own way of doing things.

But back to my comment about it having its own civilization. It is true! We should realize how lucky we are to have all of the modern day things that we have. Imagine a life without cars, without comfy beds, without electricity...Our life wouldn't be the same AT ALL as it is today. Just think about how the early humans had to live...

We discussed this is Humanities class today. We made 'A Wall of Thoughts'. That was where we had categories (Government/politics, Entertainment/art, Transportation, Nature/environment, Food, Water, Resources, Shelters/buildings, Economy, Belief System, Culture, Education, Technology and Communication.) and we wrote our thoughts about how modern day humans (just like you, unless you are some martian from Mars or something...) and specific examples on how they do things in that category and how early humans did. Here is the chart that my class came up with:(I want you to guess which thing belongs in the Early Humans group or the Kuala Lumpur/Modern Day group!)

KUALA LUMPUR EARLY HUMAN
FOOD: Cold Storage Berries and leaves
Fruit from backyard Hunt
Buy ingredients/make food Raw meat
Plants that aren’t poisonous
Insects
___________________________________________________________________________________
WATER: Bottled water Rivers
Filtered water Lakes
Bought water Dig holes in ground
Ice streams, rain
____________________________________________________________________________________
NATURE/ENVIRONMENT: We ruin it-global warming Edible Plants
Trees Oxygen
Use fruits and edible plants Trees
Food water Rivers
Tools Caves
Metal Sticks
Animal Bones
___________________________________________________________________________________
RESOURCES: Tools Fire
Oil, Steal, Metal Rocks
Brick, Plastic Pot for Cooking
Rubber Bones
Lead Fire, Rocks, Wood
Tin Copper Gold Mud
Wood Plants
Stones
___________________________________________________________________________________
SHELTERS/BUILDINGS: Apartment/house Caves, huts, simple huts
Condos Lean-to
Supermarkets Trees and branches
Cabins, huts
Shopping malls
___________________________________________________________________________________
TECHNOLOGY: Computers Rocks, Spears
Protection equiptment Hand axes
Tools Fire
Factories Hammer
Electricity Bones, stones
Television
Stairs, tables, oven
Clothes, safes, refining
__________________________________________________________________________________
"Does a learning environment have to be in a school?”

Education: Schools, tutors, jobs Learning from elders
Parents, others... Taugh each other
learned from experience
Hunting
Making tools
__________________________________________________________________________________
COMMUNICATION: Languages, road signs Cave paintings
Hand movements, gestures Hand gestures
Talking Sign language
Writing, reading Grunt noises
Internet
Books, music, video
Letters, email, body language
IM-ing
__________________________________________________________________________________
TRANSPORTATION: Bicycles, trucks, cars ect. Feet
Bikes, horse, carriage Walking, Running
Walking, jogging, trains
Wheelchairs, cable cars
Skateboards, rollerblades
Speedboats, Sailboats
Surfboards
__________________________________________________________________________________
Economy: Stock markets Bartering
Government Trading
Community, cooperation Jobs
Tourism, traveling
Money (currencies)
Jobs
_________________________________________________________________________________
GOVERNENT/POLITICS: Court, jury Chief
People in charge No designed ruler
Minister, President Families
King, Mayor Teamwork
Placed ruler
Elected ruler
Teamwork
LAW
_________________________________________________________________________________
BELIEF SYSTEM: Religions Consequences
Believing in yourself Ceremonies
(DON'T GIVE UP!) No religion
_________________________________________________________________________________
ENTERTAINMENT/ART: Games, TV, internet Dancing
Movies, clothing Hunting ceremonies
Amusment parks Making necklaces
Cinemas Drawing on walls
Music Jewlery
Mrtists Cave paintings
Museums
Books
_________________________________________________________________________________
CULTURE: Way of cooking, eating Dancing, cooking, hunt animals
Dancing Celebrate for dead people :(
Ceremonies Tribes (GRRRRRR)
Way of life
Anthem
Accesories
Different values, food
_________________________________________________________________________________


HAHA!!! FINISHED!!!! Sorry, that took a loooong time to type. So you can tell from this list that Early Humans and Modern day Humans are VERY different from each other. We had a great discussion today in Humanities and it really made me realize this. I sure am happy that I live in the 21st century! :)

My hands are tired from typing so much and my neck hurts from bending over the computer. I am going to go finish my other homework and possibly later talk to some friends on MSN. (Hey! Don't blame me! The IM-ing thing influenced me. BLAME THE LIST!) HAHA. Later!

-HAPPY BLOGGING! :P

Civilization Order

In humanities today,we had to arrange categories into order of which we thought was most important. I will write the catagories here:

1. government /politics
2. entertainment /art
3. transportation

5. food

7. resources
8. shelters /buildings
9. economy
10. belief system
11. culture
12. education
13. technology
14. communication

Here is the way that I would arrange them for civilization importance order (I will combine some that I think are of equal importance)...

1. nature /environment,resources
2. water, food
3. communication
4. economy
5. government/politics
6. shelters/buildings, technology
7. transportation
8. education
9. entertainment/art, belief system, culture

What Makes Kuala Lumpur a Civilization?

Hello everyone! It is me again! I came on to do my homework...I mean...answer the question: What makes Kuala Lumpur a civilization?
Kuala Lumpur is a civilization because of all of these things below.

politics/government
entertainment, culture, art
transportation
food
communicate
buildings
economy
education
technology

Kuala Lumpur has ALL of those things!

In Kuala Lumpur, there is a person called a 'Prime Minister'. A Prime Minister is the goverment. It is like how in the USA there is a president and how in England there is a King and Queen. In Malaysia they have a Prime Minister.

The entertainment/culture/art is very unique compared to other places. The movies they make in Malaysia would be different than China or Korea. The plays they put on might not show in India or Europe. The culture is very different too. In Malaysia the native religion is muslim. Also, it is polite to take your shoes off before entering a house and that might not be so in another place. The art is a big factor too in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia has a special kind of art that is their own and is very unique. It is called 'batik'. Batik is normaly used with paints and is often flowers. Batik is a beautiful design and Malaysian women even where it as a patter on their clothing!

Transportation, transportation, transportation! Everywhere you will find cars and taxis and aeroplaines...EVERYTHING! There are even underground trams! I can't believe how much transportation there is in Kuala Lumpur.

In Malaysia they sometimes eat their food off a thing called a banana leaf. That probably sounds a little weird to you. It means that instead of a plate, it had this big green leaf underneath of it. This is a very Malaysian thing and is pretty cool! I think it is a good idea because then you don't have to go through the process of buying expensive plates and cleaning them. You just take a leaf, make is super clean (probably with a special machine or something) and you don't need to use it again or wash it.

Comunication is a very big part everywhere of the world! In China, it would really help to speak mandrin. In the United States, it helps if you speak English or Spanish (something along those lines). Bahasa Malaysia is the language spoken in Malaysia. Malaysia is the only place in the world where they use it! That is cool because it means that Malaysia has something the the whole other world doesn't-something of their own. Language is really important because it desides if we can sit down with the person next to us and describe our ideas and thoughts -Civilized.

BUILDINGS!!! Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. Since it is the city, there are LOTS of buildings! There are lots of walls and lots of hospitals...BUILDINGS! Two REALLY important buildings are the patronas towers. If I look out of my window, I can see them! They are two man-made beautiful towers. They are the exact same and because of the way they are positioned, one looks taller than another. It is really amazing to go up and see them. I will post a picture. As you probably know, a picture is worth a thousand words! Beautiful huh?

Three topics to go...


Economy. Money. Denero. Cash. Bucks- whatever you call it. It is the same thing. It is the thing that makes adults work hard every day! It makes people live in houses and decide what food they can eat next Thursday. It makes the world go around! Without money, our world would be a MESS. Kuala Lumpur has really cool money.

As you all know, education is very important. If I didn't have education, I wouldn't be able to write this right now! You wouldn't be able to sit at a computer and read this and make sense of it all! I am so happy and fortunate that I have the chance to get really great education! My school is great and I'm really happy. In a way, your whole career starts in kindergarten. You learn how to read, then elementry. You learn to impove. Middle school, you learn how to improve even more. High School, you get a permanent record. That leads to college. If you go to college than you can get a good job an make money! This is really important because if KL didn't have someone who went to college to become a docter, people would die. It is all of these jobs that make our individual places hold together solid.

Imagine if your whole house went dark right.......NOW! Imagine if your computer blacked out right.......NOW! This is called technology. This allows us to cook meals, see in our houses and drive cars. If you didn't have technology you would have to walk home...EVERY NIGHT. It does little things like wash our clothes, heat up our soup and let us read other people's blogs! Would you be happy if you were swathed in complete darkness right now? I don't think so.

A lot of people take these powerful things for granted. You just need to slow down and remember all of the great things that make your civilization a civilization. Maybe you can spot some things that make your place a civilization. Look around, open your eyes! Think about it once and a while!

MUSIC!

Here is just one of the crazy comments I get:

Leena said...
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! im scared!! riley you told everyone where i live!! in Coco land!! now someones gona track me down and stalk me!! yea, thx a lot!!~~Leena p.s. u blog a lot

I LOVE MY FRIENDS! :)

Just Another Sunday... But Saturday was eventful!

Hello everyone. Today is just another Sunday in Riley-world. Yesterday, a group of girls from my school and I traveled to another school to play basketball. It was a tournament but the only problem was... our team had NEVER played together. I know that sounds crazy and all but it is true. So it probably won't be such a big suprise when we tell you that we lost 4 won 0. It was also our first time being directed from the coach. It doesn't really matter that we lost though. It WAS just for fun and everything! In the end of it all, sure I got a few bruises and scrapes but I had a good time.

Today, one of the player's dad's had volenteered to help us out a little. I suspect he will try to help improve our shooting and possibly some defence. We might even learn some plays!

It will be lots of fun!!! Wish me luck! Wait, how would you wish me luck? Oh I know! You could just leave a comment or something! (Good luck Riley! -From Riley)

Blogging tips from the one and only...

Hello everyone! I am going to write a little bit about blogging and hopefuly give you some new information. When blogging, there are 3 important questions:

What does appropriate blogging look like?
Who is the audience reading your blog?
How much information do you want to share with that audience?

Appropriate blogging means APPROPRIATE! Everyone can see this! You really have to think about what you are writing when you make a new post. This really brings me into the second question... EVERYONE and ANYONE can read your blog! Your grandmother, family, parents, children, teachers...INFINITY! You need to be aware of that! People read differently. The way you read is going to be different from me, your cousins, friends and so on... you are UNIQUE. Also, be VERY aware of what information you are giving out. This is super important because sometimes information can slip without you meaning it to. Mistakes happen! But make sure that you don't run around screaming "I LIVE IN COCO LAND ON 58TH STREET! I AM THE BLUE AND ORANGE HOUSE TO THE LEFT OF THE GREEN POLKA-DOTTED ONE!" (If that is where you live. Also, Coco land was the first thing that came to mind!) So someone could find this 'Coco Land' and track you down. That could be really dangerous for you so be aware. I am not saying that I'm an expert on this stuff because I'm not. But in Humanities today we had a big discussion about it. I am new to this stuff too! Just be careful. (Wow! I sound so old in this post... but I will NOT reveal my age. I will tell you though, that I am in Middle School...)

Inspiration!

I was reading Vidya's blog and I read the poem she wrote about being 'her'. I loved it! Her title of her blog is 'Inspiration can come from anyone'. She inspired me to write a poem about me!

I
I am me
I am free
I
I am different-
unique
I speak-
whats on my mind
whats on yours?
I
I am special
My own idol
To live life to the fullest
is me

I haven't written a poem like that before. I know it is a little weird but I don't care. It is me and I like it. I hope you like it too!

Normal Day... nothing new!

Here is whats new:

MY DAILY SCHEDULE (FOR TODAY):

6:00 AM- wake up for school

6:05-6:25 AM - get ready for school

6:30-6:50 AM- eat breakfast (YUUUUUM)

6:50- 7:15 AM - make sure I have everything for school and play on the computer.

7:20 AM - bus comes.

7:40 AM - get to school. Put things in my locker and talk to friends.

8:00-8:15 AM - in homeroom.

8:20-9:40 AM - first class (today it was Spanish)

9:50- 11:10 AM- second class (today it was Math)

11:10- 12:00 PM - LUNCH!

12:00- 1:20 PM- third class (today it was Humanities)

1:30- 2:45 PM-fourth class (today it was Health)

2:45-2:50 PM- run to locker and get back packed.

2:50-3:20 PM- bus ride home.

3:20- 6:00 PM -homework (Lots of homework today. Normaly I spend about an hour or two)

6:00- 6:34 PM -writing this entry

6:35 PM- 6:00 AM- is a mistery....

SPCA thoughts...

A girl from the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) came to our school today. She was here to show our grade a slideshow from the SPCA and was trying to get us interested in helping out there. The slide show talked about how they take in abused animals. At one point, she said that 75% of them have to be put down to sleep because nobody takes them. When she said that, it really made me want to help the animals and save them. In the slideshow, it also showed pictures of abused animals.

I won't put any on here because it is sad to look at them but I just want people to realize that animals are getting hurt around the world and it is OUR job to prevent it!

The SPCA is really great for taking in all of these animals. They take in 7,000 a year! The slide show was sad but I could tell that it made my peers want to help out too. I hope that more animals will be adopted from the SPCA so they don't have to put many down to sleep. It is kind of like a foster home for animals. Imagine if nobody every adopted the kids! It is like that with animals. An animal's life is JUST as important as a human's! They may look different than us, but they are still mammels- JUST LIKE US, they still feel things- JUST LIKE US!

Would you like to know how to help? You can...

*Donate collars

*Donate doggy pens

*Donate food

*Donate CDs and items you don't want so they can sell them for money

*Donate your TIME and your EFFORT

*ADOPT!

Lets stop cruelty to animals!

The life of Middle School

Today is a Friday! Math was my second last period and as I walked to my locker, suddenly I heart a loud scream. "It's Friday!" The scream had belonged to an owner somewhere along another line of lockers. I could not see them because of the mob of people pushing and shoving to get from class to class or even to get to their locker. It was also a little hard to hear the scream in the first place because there were groups of friends huddled around each other talking (more like shouting and trying to be heard over the big croud.) The scream was followed by many more. People were just realizing that the weekend was nearly and inch away. Kids were already excited to go home and we still had a whole class left! (At MY school, a class is 80 minutes...) I wasn't suprised by this behavior though. Almost every Friday this happens. Kids go crazy with excitement and can barely stand still. I enjoy Fridays but I don't really go crazy over them. It sure was hard for me to get to my last class. I (none to big) almost get trampled and run over by the various middle school students. Maybe I should bring pretective gear...you know the basic stuff: A helmet, shoulder pads, armor... I sure can't wait till next Friday! -Riley

My poem for my classes!

Today I got a new schedule.
It seems cool so far,
I am going to write about my classes.
Here they all are!

Today was my last day of drama.
I have to say I was sad.
Next I'm supposed to have health.
I heard it isn't bad!

Science stays as it is.
It doesn't change a bit.
I always try my very best,
I never really quit!

P.E comes next on this long, long list.
It as well stays the same.
It never gets boring because...
we play EVERY game!

Humanities is everyday!
We learn almost everything...
from writing to geography.
Right now we are learning wording!

Me gusta Español. (I like Spanish)
Esta muy divertida! (Its very fun!)
We translate many stories
including un chico y una chica! (a boy and a girl!)

Math sure gets me thinking!
It wimps my brain into action.
Mrs. Smith is so funny!
Now we are working with fractions!

Write On is over!
WHHYYYYYYYYYY!??????
I really liked writing poems.
I didn't before but then I gave it a try...

I.T. is replacing Write On.
I really hope it is great!
I heard that Ms. Narsiman is teaching it!
What an honorable fate! :)

I hope you liked me poem.
It listed every class of mine.
Maybe you should do one too!
Try it out sometime! -Riley

My Call It Courage thoughts:

In humanities, my class read a book called Call It Courage. At the beginning of Call It Courage, I have to say that I didn’t enjoy the book because I didn't feel that there was enough action and I thought it was boring but throughout the book it became more interesting for me and I liked it much more. I liked to read how Mafatu would survive by himself on the unknown island. The story was interesting from my point of view. I really enjoyed reading more and getting to know about the characters as the book unraveled its story. I could really imagine the scene and the characters because of all of the detail that the author used. To sum everything up, it was a book well read!

My first day of blogging!

Today is my first day of blogging and I have already made my page pretty cool! I have been getting help from another student and I am really excited about blogging in the future because it seems fun. I am also excited because I can make the blog my own and write down my thoughts and views. I will try to regularly update my blog and make it reflect my personality as best as I can. I will have many things to write in the future and will try to make them as interesting as I can. Off to change more!

Hello I am Riley

Hi everyone! My name is Riley and this is my blog! In here I will write my thoughts and possibly some things for school. I hope you enjoy reading this! :)