Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Senior reflection 3
I can't believe senior year is ending. In the last four years of my life I've grown up and changed so much. I remember starting the first day not knowing anyone and being so scared and it's actually amazing how different I am and feel now. I feel like I've made serious headway on the road to becoming an adult and I can't wait for the challenges and opportunities college is going to bring me. The biggest thing I learned from high school is that the best way to go through life is to look at everything as a possible success and as an opportunity. I look at myself and I simply see a happier person more prepared then I ever thought I would be for what is going to come. I'm ready for what's going to come next and I can't believe how far I've come, but I'll always remember what I'm leaving behind and the effort it took to get here. Goodbye Herndon :) you've been great, but I'm ready to move on.
“Pink Slime” Rejected by Most of Nation’s Schools is a disgusting article about the pink slime that was being served in cafiterias all over America. I don't really understand the big deal. In the article it says that the pink slime isn't even dangerous (duh) and that it just looks gross. I mean, if we were to see all of the food we eat prepared most of it probably looks pretty gross before it gets to our plate. Apparently there are three states: Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska; that are still going to continue buying the slime and I say all power to them. People know those lunches aren't healthy, but they buy them because they're cheap and easy. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. All these complaining mothers are making it so that people can't learn to suck it up and build character. A little slime never hurt anyone.
In this article it talks about the book by Dan Ariely called The Honest Truth about Dishonesty in which he makes the conjecture that people in most cases lie in order to make themselves feel better, but also beniffit by cheating and as such we actually trick ourselves in order to make ourselves believe that we're not actually cheaters. This means that, for example, given a test with two possible ways to cheat: looking at your neighbors paper or looking up and "accientally" seeing the answer key to the test on the teacher's desk, most people would look at the key and then convince themselves that they weren't actually cheating as the key was sitting in front of them. I thought this was actually really interesting because just a few weeks ago my Dad and I were in an airport with Mr. Hannon when these two guy who were on a waiting list to get on the plane went and asked the lady behind the desk if they could see the list of names of people waiting for the seats. The lady said no as she said the names list was confidential and the two men kind of huffed and then went back to their seats. A few minutes later the lady was called away for something and all of the sudden I saw the two men run up to the desk and start blowing really hard. They were actually blowing the papers off the list so they could see the names as if that was somehow less wrong then simply reaching over and moving the papers. Too funny. This is exactly what this man was talking about. Crazy.
According to an article by Grant Schulte, Iowan farmers are having to remove layers upon layers of sand from their farms after a flood of the Mississippi river covered their farms. It's actually a pretty big problem as the sand has to be removed before any of the plants can hope to grow again as sand doesn't have the necessary nutrients for plants to grow. When I read this article I was a little shocked. If I was an Iowan farmer I would be really surprised/angry to wake up one day and find my field covered in sand rendering everything useless. I hope that they are able to remove all the sand quickly and that it doesn't cause irreparable damage. I think it's hard as a Farifax County student to understand what it is like to grow plants for a living and as such it is difficult to truly understand what these farmers are going through, but I know that what's at stake here is their livelihood and it's kind of scary to think about.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Fit to Fat to Fit
In the article from Yahoo this morning, "Fit to Fat to Fit," a personal trainer gained 75 pounds and then lost it all again in order to see what his clients were feeling when they were trying to loose the weight. Though he was able to loose all 75 pounds in six months after returning to his regular habits, this shows how easy it is to gain weight and makes you think about the obesity epidemic that's sweeping the nation. Personally, I think it would be more benificial to try to work towards stopping poverty than to work towards limiting the amount/kind of food people can buy.
Senior Reflection 2
I'm sitting here in biology trying to write my second senior reflection. I just wrote a senior letter in english this morning and it was pretty intense. I would do that here, but it's public. I want to go to Africa this summer :). Hopefully I'll go from the 8th to the 20th then go to workcamp from the 21st to the 27th. Then I'll go to college and everything will be awesome. I gotta tie up all the loose ends before I go tho. I'm ready to move on, but I'm going to miss everyone and everything I'm going to have to leave behind.
Senior Reflection 1
I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to write here, but I might want to look back on my life sometime so I guess I'll detail my plans for the future. This August I'll be getting on a plane for South Florida where I hope to double major in biology and psychology with a pre-med concentration. I'm not really sure what kind of clubs I want to do yet, but I know that I want to get involved. If theres something I learned from switching schools its that trying to integrate yourself in a school where you don't participate in any clubs is impossible. And you're just happier when you're involved. Yup :)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Article 6
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/americas/in-mexico-prison-riot-kills-at-least-44-people.html
This article is titled: "Gangs Blamed as Riot Kills Dozens at Prison in Mexico" and is by Randal C. Archibold.
This article talks about a riot that happened in a Mexican prison this February. Apparently, there is a huge problem with overcrowding in prisons, and this recent riot left 44 dead. Though this particular riot happened because of two rival gangs within the same prison striking out at each other, overcrowding is a huge problem in prisons all over Latin America and has been pinpointed as a cause of the recent fire in a Honduras prison that killed 359 people. Many prisons are holding twice their capacity and most of those incarcerated are there for drug related charges in a country that is being overrun by corruption and drug trafficking. There have also been claims that prison guards and supervises may have been involved and at fault.
This article is titled: "Gangs Blamed as Riot Kills Dozens at Prison in Mexico" and is by Randal C. Archibold.
This article talks about a riot that happened in a Mexican prison this February. Apparently, there is a huge problem with overcrowding in prisons, and this recent riot left 44 dead. Though this particular riot happened because of two rival gangs within the same prison striking out at each other, overcrowding is a huge problem in prisons all over Latin America and has been pinpointed as a cause of the recent fire in a Honduras prison that killed 359 people. Many prisons are holding twice their capacity and most of those incarcerated are there for drug related charges in a country that is being overrun by corruption and drug trafficking. There have also been claims that prison guards and supervises may have been involved and at fault.
Article 5
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/business/global/labor-shortage-complicates-changes-in-chinas-factories.html?ref=china&pagewanted=print
This article is titled: "Two Sides to Labor in China" by Keith Bradsher
This article talks about Foxconn's decision to shorten the workweeks and raise the pay for factory workers in China. Though this may seem like a good idea at first glance, this article details the issues surrounding it. There are actually not as many people willing to work in the grueling and dangerous factories as many have been led to believe. While shortening the weeks for those currently employed seems like the humane thing to do, there are many who are actually working in the factories who are against it. Shorter weeks mean less hours and, subsequently, less pay. The people working in the factories are young and many are living away from home so they can work in the factories. They don't want to do anything but work as they want to make what they need and to get back home as soon as possible. By reducing the hours that people can work, they are actually stopping people from working as much as they want and as they need and are creating shortages that China's workforce might not be able to cope with as the people who want to work in the Foxconn factories are already working there. What people aren't taking into account is that there are many people who actually want more for themselves than minimum wage.
This article is titled: "Two Sides to Labor in China" by Keith Bradsher
This article talks about Foxconn's decision to shorten the workweeks and raise the pay for factory workers in China. Though this may seem like a good idea at first glance, this article details the issues surrounding it. There are actually not as many people willing to work in the grueling and dangerous factories as many have been led to believe. While shortening the weeks for those currently employed seems like the humane thing to do, there are many who are actually working in the factories who are against it. Shorter weeks mean less hours and, subsequently, less pay. The people working in the factories are young and many are living away from home so they can work in the factories. They don't want to do anything but work as they want to make what they need and to get back home as soon as possible. By reducing the hours that people can work, they are actually stopping people from working as much as they want and as they need and are creating shortages that China's workforce might not be able to cope with as the people who want to work in the Foxconn factories are already working there. What people aren't taking into account is that there are many people who actually want more for themselves than minimum wage.
Article 4
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/world/europe/women-bearing-the-brunt-of-austerity-in-britain.html?ref=unitedkingdom&pagewanted=print
This article is titled: "Women Bearing the Brunt of Austerity in Britain" and is by Beth Gardiner.
This article talks about how women are the ones who are feeling the reduction in service the most in Great Britain. Because, topically, it is the women who stay home with the children and who tend to be poorer, the reduction in serves under Prime Minister Cameron is hitting the women of Great Britain hard. According to this article, there has been a severe reduction in funding for childcare services, and there are plans in switching to an all private child care society as there are plans to git rid of public child care within the next two years. Many predict this will pull women out of the workforce as they will have no choice but to stay home with their children as many can not afford private care. This will be devastating to those who rely on the income from the women in the family and will be especially difficult for single mothers who will have no other sources of income. There are also plans to reduce social security while increasing the retirement age. While it is clear from what we studied that reforms must be made as there is simply not enough money, I wonder if reduction in child care is really the right way to go.
This article is titled: "Women Bearing the Brunt of Austerity in Britain" and is by Beth Gardiner.
This article talks about how women are the ones who are feeling the reduction in service the most in Great Britain. Because, topically, it is the women who stay home with the children and who tend to be poorer, the reduction in serves under Prime Minister Cameron is hitting the women of Great Britain hard. According to this article, there has been a severe reduction in funding for childcare services, and there are plans in switching to an all private child care society as there are plans to git rid of public child care within the next two years. Many predict this will pull women out of the workforce as they will have no choice but to stay home with their children as many can not afford private care. This will be devastating to those who rely on the income from the women in the family and will be especially difficult for single mothers who will have no other sources of income. There are also plans to reduce social security while increasing the retirement age. While it is clear from what we studied that reforms must be made as there is simply not enough money, I wonder if reduction in child care is really the right way to go.
Article 3
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/world/africa/hostages-in-nigeria-were-executed-before-raid-to-rescue-them.html
This article is titled: "Nigeria Says Hostages Died Before Failed Rescue Raid" and is by the Associated Press which is the New York Times.
This article talks about two hostages one from Italy and one from Britain who were murdered before they were able to be rescued. Apparently, this is not the first instances of hostages being killed before rescue as another similar thing happened earlier this year. Though the government seems to have tried to stop it, it seems from the article that there is some funky buisnuss going on and that the government is trying really hard to make sure none of the blame is place on them. Apparently, the kidnapping was done by the sect Boko Haram who seems to be some sort of violent group within Nigeria. The people searching for the hostages came close, having found Abu Muhammad, the organizer of the kidnapping, and shooting him, but there was someone who escaped and was able to run back to where the hostages were being held and to have them executed before they were able to be saved.
This article is titled: "Nigeria Says Hostages Died Before Failed Rescue Raid" and is by the Associated Press which is the New York Times.
This article talks about two hostages one from Italy and one from Britain who were murdered before they were able to be rescued. Apparently, this is not the first instances of hostages being killed before rescue as another similar thing happened earlier this year. Though the government seems to have tried to stop it, it seems from the article that there is some funky buisnuss going on and that the government is trying really hard to make sure none of the blame is place on them. Apparently, the kidnapping was done by the sect Boko Haram who seems to be some sort of violent group within Nigeria. The people searching for the hostages came close, having found Abu Muhammad, the organizer of the kidnapping, and shooting him, but there was someone who escaped and was able to run back to where the hostages were being held and to have them executed before they were able to be saved.
Article 2
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/world/middleeast/iran-ahmadinejad-questioned-before-parliament-majlis.html
This article is titled: "Iran's President Unfazed in Parliamentary Grilling" and is by Rick Gladstone and Alan Cowell.
This article discussed an interesting interrogation of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a rare broad casted event unlike any seen since 1979. This interrogation is considered by many to be some sort of plot to humiliate the president and to make him look bad, and if what this article says it true, it may have done just that. Due to recent strife with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and due to the nonsense surrounding the 2009 election, there is much dissatisfaction with Ahmadinejad, and this interrogation of 10 questions was a way to voice dissent. From the beginning, Ahmadinejad made it clear that he did not want to be there and was rude and evasive while answering the questions and even sarcastic at times. He equated the writers of the questions to people who, "must have gotten their masters by just pressing a button," offending many. Basically, Ahmadinejad is on the way down. Though the idea of impeachment was thrown around, no one really believes that it will actually happen, but many believe that this is going to be the end of his reign and that the next president will not be his pupil, but rather someone completely different. I wonder if this is the start of a new era for Iran.
This article is titled: "Iran's President Unfazed in Parliamentary Grilling" and is by Rick Gladstone and Alan Cowell.
This article discussed an interesting interrogation of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a rare broad casted event unlike any seen since 1979. This interrogation is considered by many to be some sort of plot to humiliate the president and to make him look bad, and if what this article says it true, it may have done just that. Due to recent strife with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and due to the nonsense surrounding the 2009 election, there is much dissatisfaction with Ahmadinejad, and this interrogation of 10 questions was a way to voice dissent. From the beginning, Ahmadinejad made it clear that he did not want to be there and was rude and evasive while answering the questions and even sarcastic at times. He equated the writers of the questions to people who, "must have gotten their masters by just pressing a button," offending many. Basically, Ahmadinejad is on the way down. Though the idea of impeachment was thrown around, no one really believes that it will actually happen, but many believe that this is going to be the end of his reign and that the next president will not be his pupil, but rather someone completely different. I wonder if this is the start of a new era for Iran.
Article 1
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/mexicos-presidential-race-could-be-pivotal.html?_r=1&ref=mexico
This article is titled: "Investigating Beheadings, 12 Officers Slain in Mexico" by The Associated Press (which is the new york times)
Basically, this article talks about the 12 officers who were killed and the 11 wounded by gunmen in Mexico as they were investigating the beheadings of seven men and three women. From what I can understand from this article, the beheaded people were somehow associated with La Familia, which is a drug cartel that's base is located in the mountains near where the bodies were found. The act of voilence seemed to have come from someone who was against the drug cartel as the bodies were found with a note threatning the cartel. I think all the drug violence in Mexico is just really sad and I don't think that it is going to stop any time soon because the government is involved and they have plenty of customers, including the United States who are buying everything they're selling. I feel like the United States is inadvertantly funding a terrorist organization by just refusing to leagalize marajuana. From what I've heard and seen, most of the appeal of marajuana revolves around the fact that it is illegal. I think if we made it legal we'd be taking a huge step in attempting to stop all the violence that is goign on in Mexico surrounding these drug cartels.
This article is titled: "Investigating Beheadings, 12 Officers Slain in Mexico" by The Associated Press (which is the new york times)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Last Political Cartoon? :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Senior Year
I'm going to be honest, my senior year is passing slower than all the past 12 years put together. Right now, I'm in college and I'm ready to move on from high school and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get through the next two quarters -_-. That being said, I can't wait until next year :). I'm going down to visit South Florida next week and on June 14th at 2:00 I'll officially be moving on. :D
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Watch your back o.o
This comic was drawn by Gary Varvel. It shows Mitt Romney trying to get to the top of the ladder, which symbolizes the Republican Nomination, and the other candidates trying to cut him down and keep him away from the nomination. This author uses satire and symbols to get his point across. I think that the cartoonist is trying to point out that Romney is clearly the forerunner, but everyone else is trying to keep him from the nomination. Right now, Romney is on the path to the nomination, but as we've seen with, most recently, Gingrich and Santorum, people are constantly sneaking up and getting close to toppling Romney. I don't think the cartoonist believes they will succeed though, as Romney seems very stable on that ladder.
Who's gonna win?
I think that Mitt Romney is going to win because everyone else can't get their acts together. Tell me why there are only two people who are going to be on the ballot for the Virginia primaries. Unless everyone else can get their campaigns together or another person swoops in and takes over I think we're looking at a Romney nomination and another 4 years for Obama.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Random Musings
As I'm reading chapter 5, I thought I would just jot down a few thoughts I have on equality and the such :). I really like the fact that the book emphasizes that the American society has developed into one in which equality of opportunity is emphasized rather than equality of results. When I first read that sentence, I couldn't help but to immediately think about welfare and how, if we truly are a society who doesn't believe that everyone should have the same amount of salary or property, it clashes with this idea. After a second though, I took a step back and thought about innocent children not yet given any opportunities who were born into welfare dependent families and I wondered if it would be politically correct for me to believe that welfare should only go to those who are disabled or have children. Then I remembered human nature and I realized that eventually, with welfare only going to families with children, desperate people would start to have children simply to receive welfare which is a truly terrible/depressing idea. Ugh.
Then, of course, I began to think about affirmative action. At it's base level, I believe in the idea of affirmative action and it's attempts to even the playing field, but I have some fundamental issues with how it is done. I think one thing that is important to remember is that affirmative action isn't just showering minority kids with scholarship money and college acceptance which, having heard the side comments made every time affirmative action in brought up, I think some people might actually believe.
(tired. I'll finish later) :)
Then, of course, I began to think about affirmative action. At it's base level, I believe in the idea of affirmative action and it's attempts to even the playing field, but I have some fundamental issues with how it is done. I think one thing that is important to remember is that affirmative action isn't just showering minority kids with scholarship money and college acceptance which, having heard the side comments made every time affirmative action in brought up, I think some people might actually believe.
(tired. I'll finish later) :)
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