LARGO Podcast
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LARGO Times #23 released!
LARGO Times 簡易版
Summer 2021
EASY WORLD NEWS
How did Carlos Ghosn Escape?
Carlos Ghosn has become a very infamous figure in Japan since a scandal about money occurred in 2018. After being arrested for almost a year, he suddenly escaped in 2019. Until now, we didn’t know how. In an interview, he said that he was hiding in an instrument box. Two men took him and the box to an airport and they left on a private jet.
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57760993
Business in Xinjiang
The United States is warning businesses about using materials from Xinjiang Province in China. The Chinese Communist Party has been accused of human rights violations against the Uygur people. Xinjiang produces a lot of cotton, but concentration camps and forced labor have become common there. Many other governments have said using materials from Xinjiang is bad. Still, some companies have supply chains there. Some people are suspicious of companies like ZARA and even Uniqlo.
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57830856
Billionaires in Space
It seems that it has become a trend for billionaires to try to go to space. Names that come to mind are Elon Musk, Yusaku Maezawa, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson. In July, a flight sponsored by Richard Branson and his private company Virgin Galactic became the first trip to space by a private citizen. The reason these billionaires want to go to space, besides for adventure, is that they want to make the trip cheaper so normal people can also enjoy space.
source: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/11/1014581747/bezos-vs-branson-the-billionaire-space-race-lifts-off
Medium Article
Office Dress Code
Especially in the heat of summer, I am very happy that I don’t need to wear a suit to work. I find that kind of fashion restrictive, uncomfortable, and hot. In addition, with my already very hectic schedule, preparing a “proper” appearance, with an ironed tie, pressed slacks, and a clean jacket, would feel like a complete waste of time.
Unsurprisingly, there are many people who share my opinion. This past year of remote working has allowed for looser dress codes and many people have have welcomed the time it has freed up in their schedules. While not everyone may agree with my negative thoughts towards suits, there certainly has been a transition in work wear since 2020. Worldwide, sales in business attire have been declining in recent years, even before the pandemic, but in the past year especially, they have plummeted.
As the end of COVID-19 comes into view, many people who have been working remotely may need to face the reality that they will no longer be able to wear comfortable clothing while they work due to transitioning back to the office.
What is your opinion about this? Should companies adopt more lenient dress codes? Do dress codes affect work performance? Is it unavoidable that people in some jobs like customer service and sales need to maintain a proper appearance? What kind of jobs should be exempt?
source: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210713-is-the-formal-suited-and-booted-office-dress-code-extinct
Hard Article
The Pledge of Allegiance
“I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
This is the Pledge of Allegiance, an oath drilled into the minds of all American students from a very young age. In a country touted for its Freedom and Liberty, it may be surprising to some that something so draconian exists there.
The Pledge has gone through several modifications over the years. The current wording was created in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Christian Socialist, with the intention of inciting patriotism in young people. In this era of American history, before becoming a major world power, most people held lukewarm feelings towards the idea of a united country and one’s allegiance to their state was probably stronger than to the country at large. As such, a seemingly innocent pledge like this seemed to be good for the national spirit, patriotism, and, as it became a selling point for Bellamy’s children’s magazine, commerce. As the Cold War approached, it became mandatory for schools to recite it once a day. The phrase “under God” was also added to differentiate the US from atheist communist countries like the USSR. Since then, the pledge has become part of an “American Religion” in which people believe anything associated with the flag, constitution, or pledge, is sacred.
A typical school day starts with students gathering in their “home room” class rooms after a school bell rings. Using a speaker system connected to all rooms, someone from the central office, a teacher or student, will initiate the Pledge by asking everyone to stand and face the flag with their hands over their hearts. All students are expected to do so as instructed.
Still, the United States protects freedom of speech in its First Amendment and, therefore, several court cases against being required to stand or recite the pledge have arisen. There also continues to be discussion about whether or not the Pledge goes against true American values or whether children have the mental capacity to understand what they are pledging. However, most people have accepted the status quo as standard. Personally, I haven’t properly recited the Pledge, stood up for, or placed my hand over my heart in the direction of the American flag in years. I truly believe that any such pledge is unnecessary and instead it shows the country’s insecurities in itself.
In Japan, I often hear people freely criticizing their country. “Japan is so ____”, “Japan needs to ____”, “I wish Japan were like ____”. I envy this freedom. Of course, I was legally able to say things like this in the US, but I needed to be very careful. If the wrong person hears that kind of comment, there could be trouble. The so called “Land of the Free” is a little hostile towards those who like to point out its faults.
LARGO Times #22 released!
LARGO Times 簡易版
Spring 2021
EASY WORLD NEWS
Baby T-Rex
The T-Rex is one of the most famous dinosaurs. It appears in many books and movies. We are familiar with its large size, power, and sharp teeth. A new fossil has been found. It is the jaw bone of a baby T-Rex. Scientists estimate that a baby T-Rex would have been 91 centimeters long when it hatched. This seems small, but this is about the same size as a dog. When it grew up, the T-Rex would be over 12 meters long!
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-55796799
Artists in Myanmar
Myanmar has become major news recently because the military took over its government. Many people are protesting. Some do this using art. Check the link below for projections, graffiti, dancing, and other forms of artistic protest.
source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/world/asia/myanmar-coup-protest-art.html
Snowy Weather
During the middle of February, 73% of the United States was covered in snow. This is unusual because southern states like Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas usually don’t have snow. The temperature was also extremely cold! Dallas Texas was colder than Anchorage Alaska! The cold weather also caused power outages in many states. This caused a state of emergency. For people from the north, this seems a little strange. They are used to snowy weather, but people in the south are not. For them, this was similar to other natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunami, or earthquakes.
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56076686
Medium Article
Replanting Forests
In 2019, American youtubers MrBeast and Mark Rober began the “Team Trees” fundraiser with the goal of raising $20 million dollars and planting 20 million trees. They were able to surpass their financial goal and, as of February 2021, 7.1 million trees have been planted. Recent trends like this seem to indicate that caring for the environment has become “popular”, especially as younger generations blame older generations for causing many of the current ecological issues such as pollution, desertification, global climate change, etc. Regardless of who is to blame, helping the environment to recover is certainly a noble goal. Many critics of the movement, however, have suggested that simply planting trees without fundamentally changing our habits will ultimately result in little change in terms of reducing CO2 emissions. In addition, planting trees without prior research can create problems. Therefore, scientists have created ten guidelines for replanting forests.
“Protect existing forests first
Put local people at the heart of tree-planting projects
Maximize biodiversity recovery to meet multiple goals
Select the right area for reforestation
Use natural forest regrowth wherever possible
Select the right tree species that can maximize biodiversity
Make sure the trees are resilient to adapt to a changing climate
Plan ahead
Learn by doing
Make it pay”
(Global Change Biology)
What benefits can helping replant forests have besides reducing CO2? It can help local economies, reduce the effects of environment change, and help endangered species make a recovery. Balanced ecosystems benefit all, including humans. How do you feel about this? With all the problems in the world, should we be focusing on replanting forests?
source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55795816
Hard Article
Why do we tolerate natural disasters?
During the spring of 2011, I was a university student living in a dormitory in Boston. On the morning of March 11th, I woke up to the news that there had been a major earthquake in Japan. Even young university students on the total opposite side of the world were immediately aware of this terrible event.
“Did you hear about the earthquake? Do you think this is going to affect your plans to study abroad?” I was bombarded with questions from my suite mates. Obviously, I didn’t have any answers for them. But more importantly, I wanted to check on my friend Yosuke, a Japanese student who lived down the hall, and hear what he had to say on the matter.
“Oh yeah, last night I was stomping around my room a little too much and I guess I triggered an earthquake.” Little Godzilla, as he was known around the dormitory, was very optimistic about the situation and ensured us that his family, who live in Saitama, were all safe. As such, we assumed that this was just the reality of Japan: a land of earthquakes, volcanos, and tsunami.
After looking into it more, I became aware of the severity of the situation and the intense loss of life caused not just by the earthquake but by the resulting tsunami. The meltdown of the nuclear reactors made headlines soon after, stirring up conversations about the pros and cons of nuclear power. My being 19 years old, I was mostly concerned with the fact that the US government was advising against travel to Japan and so my plans to study abroad in the fall were postponed.
When I was very young, having grown up in Massachusetts, I was extremely terrified of California, an infamously seismic part of the US. I was confused by how anyone could live in such a place where the ground might suddenly open up, swallowing all those above. I now understand that earthquake fissures are usually not so deep and that the true danger of earthquakes is not the phenomenon itself, but what it causes (fires, falling debris, utility failure, etc). Still, it is ironic that I now call Japan, a comparatively seismic region, my home.
If humans were purely rational beings, we would avoid these kind of hazardous regions of the world. Regardless of the danger, we cluster together in cities sitting on fault lines, in range of deadly volcanos, exposed to the wrath of the sea. Given that these natural disasters are not constant, we might feel some sort of morbid comfort. “If I am lucky, I can live out the remainder of my life without facing a major disaster here.” We are playing a game of chance with nature.
Even with the constant risk of a major natural disaster, I am content living here. The attractiveness of Japan’s natural beauty and culture outweighs the risk.