Italy and Libya are accused of abusing the human rights of African migrants.
According to BBC.com on September 12, Italy and Libya are accused of abusing the human rights of African migrants. It is said that between the years 2003 and 2005 2,800 Libyans and Somalians were deported from Italy. The migrants were sent back to their homelands where many of them faced persecution and torture for leaving.
Bill Frelick, the Director of Refugee Policy for Human Rights Watch, believes that Libya and Italy worked together to keep African migrants from reaching Europe. He also states on BBC.com that Libya is not a safe place for refugees. Most if not all returning refugees are persecuted in some way.This article proves that racism still goes on today. It is sad that many people that are just trying to make their lives better are force to return home were they are tortured and beaten.
Earthquake in Indonesia
An earthquake struck Indonesia early Saturday morning, about 175 miles northwest of the island of Sumatra. It hit at 3:54 a.m. and was measured to have a magnitude of 6.1. It caused many people to flea from their homes, but miraculously there was very little caos. One woman commented, "It felt pretty strong, us and our neighbors all ran outside." Luckinly enough, there was no significant damage, and the quake did not trigger a Tsunami. This area is very familiar with earthquakes. The most known of which, was the December 2004 earthquake that killed thousands. However, a little less known, but still significant earthquake struck in March of last year. That quake killed 900 in an outlying island, and measured in at 8.7.
I myself, cannot imagine living in an area that has to deal with these kinds of threats. It is one thing to have an occasional tornado once in a while here in Minnesota, but it is another to have the constant threat of severe earthquakes. I would feel helpless knowing that tomorrow or the next day could bring another Earthquake like the one experienced in 2004. In my opinion, I do not think that it is very smart to be living in these "high danger zones," however, I also understand that many of the people that live there do not have the option of going somewhere else. I hope that these people do not have to go through another Quake like 2004, and I am glad that this most resent scare did not turn out to be extremely serious.
Is Osama Dead?
A French newspaper published an article proposing that Osama bin Laden died of Typhoid last month. Osama was rumored to have come down with a sickness sometime in the last month, and the French newspaper stated that the French Secret Service recieved information from the Saudi Secret Service that bin Laden is dead. However, these reports were quickly denied by both French and American officials. Even French President Jacques Chirac stated that he did not know how the paper got information stating this, but that it was most likely not true. Time magazine did report information from one Saudi source last Sunday, stating that Osama did get a disease and may be dead, however, the article did say that this report did not have solid evidence of being true. This report wasn't the first time bin Laden had been rumored to be dead. It seems to me like every week or two, someone is trying to make up stories linking to Osama being killed. I find it very hard to believe anyone's stories anymore, just because people are trying to come up with any way to make a believable story (even if the story is untrue). I guess the only way that I will believe that Osama has been killed or captured, is when I see actual footage of the man. I think that it is very unfotunate that I cannot trust the media anymore, it seems like everything that I read is twisted to make it sound different, or it is just completely untrue to begin with. I wish that I could believe these reports of Osama's death, however, there is very little doubt in my mind that these reports are false.
Human Impact on the Environment
Some of you may be familiar with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It’s a wilderness in northern Minnesota and a haven where campers, fishermen, kayakers, and canoeists can get away from the rest of the world. Humans have always affected their environment so much; it’s extremely rare to find a place devoid of that influence. The BWCA is now protected by federal law, but it wasn’t always. Commercial logging, over 100 years ago, once cleared the area, and the effects are still seen a century afterwards. It’s most evident along the Border Trail, in lakes like Crooked and Basswood, international waters, where the Minnesota-Ontario boundary is drawn down the middle of the lake. The Ontario shore is part of the Quetico Provincial Park, a sort of Canadian equivalent to the Boundary Waters. The Quetico was logged as well, but not nearly to the extent of the U.S., and in some places it wasn’t at all. Look to the Canadian side in those areas and it’s a deep, rich shade of green, an old-growth pine forest never touched by the loggers. This is what the U.S. once looked like, but there’s hardly anyone left who can remember when it did. Now this shore is dominated by bright, slender birch and aspen, the kinds of trees that take only a century to establish themselves, as opposed to the Quetico’s several-hundred year old pines. It’s only that obvious when you know what to look for, but it changes the ecosystem and the effects are evident centuries later.
Stormy Weather Ahead
On Saturday forecasters warned that there is more dangerous stormy weather to come. There have already been seven deaths and many stranded people in trees and shelters in the midwest and south. The article said that there are more storms, and possibly tornadoes predicted for Saturday. "There's so much moisture in the atmosphere, you could get a lot of rain in no time flat," said Brian Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Two tornadoes have already ripped through south-central Missouri on friday damaging more then 100 homes and tearing the roof off of a middle school. The students inside had just finished a tornando drill when they were forced to rush back for a real one.
Mine explosion in Donetsk, Ukraine
In Donetsk, Ukraine there was a mine explosion that killed 13 miners and injured 60. The article didn't say if the other 60 were miners or civilian of the surrounding area. This explosion was caused by a buildup of coal powder and methane mixture. Mine explosions have been happen more frequently then they should be in the Ukraine. In 2000, 2001, and 2002 there have been reported accidents in mine shafts. The explosion are cause by lack of cash and not being able to keep up with maintenance because of the cost.
I think that since Ukraine is a developing county and the downfall of the Soviet Union, it is difficult to start over and try to improve the countries situation.
The 100-mpg car is coming
On Tuesday the car company Toyota said that they were going to start to offer hybrid cars that have bigger batteries that could be recharged at any outlet. As of now Toyota is the leader in hybrid car production. The prius is the most popular hybrid in the nation as of now. Although the prius currently doesn't have the plug-in battery right now, it doesn't mean that you can't get one.
The plug-in hybrid would mainly function off of the battery. The average American travels between 25-30 miles a day. That would require very minimal amount of gas. Then at night you would just plug in the car. Since electricity is the lowest cost at night, you still aren't spending much more than you would if you had a regular car.
There are a couple of negatives for getting a plug in hybrid. One of them is that you can not buy a plug in hybrid as of right now. First you would have to buy a hybrid such as the Prius. Hybrids are not cheap cars either. So the cost is a bit more. Then you would have violate your warranty on your car. Finally you could go and get the conversion made. Although this could run you any where in between three and twelve thousand dollars.
I think that even though you have to pay quite a bit more than the average car on the market, in the long run you would benefit. You would save money on gas, which would help end the search for oil and using the limited natural resource. In the long run it is better for the earth. Hopefully this will catch on with other car companies other than just Toyota to help make the world more usual and not just use oil.
100-mpg car is coming
Storms in the Midwest and the South
If you think Sartell has been having awful weather, you should
see what’s been happening in other parts of the country. Tornadoes, high winds, and rain have hit the Midwest and South of the United States. Rescuers are still going around the affected areas trying to find people that haven’t been evacuated, and lead them through the flooded streets to shelters. Some were killed by the tornadoes, while others were swept away by enormous amounts of rain. Thousands were left in the dark as power went out across a large part of the region. Unfortunately the worst hasn’t yet passed as meteorologists are predicting more bad weather for the weekend. I hope that these storms don’t turn into yet another natural disaster, because I don’t think the U.S is ready for yet another catastrophe. We are still recovering from Katrina, and just as we’re about to move on another tragedy strikes. I realize, or at least I hope, that this won’t be of as nearly great magnitude as Katrina was, but people in the South have to live with fear of Mother Nature and every time something like this happens that fear becomes a little bit greater. Hundreds upon hundreds of people have been left homeless in storms, so I encourage everyone to do whatever they can and get involved in one of many charities that help victims of natural disasters or at least keep those people in your thoughts and prayers . Here are some of the charities you can get involved in:
American National Red Cross
AmeriCares Foundation Inc.
Bahgdad Bomb Kills
"An exlosion went off in the crowds of shoppers killing at least 28 of them"said the police in Baghdad, Saturday. 26 others were injured from the bomb that went off as people were buying fuel and other supplies in Sadr City. College student Dhiyaa Ali told thePress he found bodies and blood everywhere when he ran to help after hearing the explosion from his home. "I went into the flames just to get anyone left out of the fire," he told AP. "I saw a mother holding her child, both of them burned and dead." The bomb went off near a fuel tank. Terror leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri apparently appears in the exectution video.
High Speed Train Crash in Germany Kills 23
On Friday the 22nd, a high speed magnetic train in Lathen Germany crashed with a maintainance vehicle on a 20 mile test track. The train rode on top of a very powerful magnetic field that held the train off of the track. This reduces the friction between the train and the track, allowing for speeds of270 miles per hour. Luckily, the train was only traveling at 125 miles per hour at the time of the accident. Unfortunately for the 23 people that were killed, that slower speed did not make a difference. One of the 23 fatalities was a 66 year old American named Ernest Lieb as well as an employee, and a mother of a 16 year old girl. Most of the names, however, have not been released. I felt horrible when I read about this accident. It already makes me feel bad when we have to read articles every day about people dying from road side bombs and terrorism in the Middle East. The fact that I now have to read about two dozen people dying in civilian train crashes, just makes things worse. It was said that the cause of the accident, was because of miscommunication by the train company, so technology cannot really be of the blame in this cituation. The train and the maintanance vehicle had no business being on the same track at the same time. The cituation reminds me of airplane accidents, where the control tower authorized a plane to enter a runway, only to be hit by another plane coming in. It is unfortunate that human error can cause such a catastrophe, however, human error always needs to be taken into concideration when developing highly sophisticated inventions such as the magnetic train. Despite this disaster, Japan is in the process of developing an even faster train, that has been clocked at upwards of 350 miles per hour.
On Friday the 22nd, a high speed magnetic train in Lathen Germany crashed with a maintainance vehicle on a 20 mile test track. The train rode on top of a very powerful magnetic field that held the train off of the track. This reduces the friction between the train and the track, allowing for speeds of270 miles per hour. Luckily, the train was only traveling at 125 miles per hour at the time of the accident. Unfortunately for the 23 people that were killed, that slower speed did not make a difference. One of the 23 fatalities was a 66 year old American named Ernest Lieb as well as an employee, and a mother of a 16 year old girl. Most of the names, however, have not been released. I felt horrible when I read about this accident. It already makes me feel bad when we have to read articles every day about people dying from road side bombs and terrorism in the Middle East. The fact that I now have to read about two dozen people dying in civilian train crashes, just makes things worse. It was said that the cause of the accident, was because of miscommunication by the train company, so technology cannot really be of the blame in this cituation. The train and the maintanance vehicle had no business being on the same track at the same time. The cituation reminds me of airplane accidents, where the control tower authorized a plane to enter a runway, only to be hit by another plane coming in. It is unfortunate that human error can cause such a catastrophe, however, human error always needs to be taken into concideration when developing highly sophisticated inventions such as the magnetic train. Despite this disaster, Japan is in the process of developing an even faster train, that has been clocked at upwards of 350 miles per hour.
23 Killed in a High Speed Train Crash.
On Friday the 22nd, a high speed magnetic train in Lathen Germany crashed with a maintainance vehicle on a 20 mile test track. The train rode on top of a very powerful magnetic field that held the train off of the track. This reduces the friction between the train and the track, allowing for speeds of270 miles per hour. Luckily, the train was only traveling at 125 miles per hour at the time of the accident. Unfortunately for the 23 people that were killed, that slower speed did not make a difference. One of the 23 fatalities was a 66 year old American named Ernest Lieb as well as an employee, and a mother of a 16 year old girl. Most of the names, however, have not been released. I felt horrible when I read about this accident. It already makes me feel bad when we have to read articles every day about people dying from road side bombs and terrorism in the Middle East. The fact that I now have to read about two dozen people dying in civilian train crashes, just makes things worse. It was said that the cause of the accident, was because of miscommunication by the train company, so technology cannot really be of the blame in this cituation. The train and the maintanance vehicle had no business being on the same track at the same time. The cituation reminds me of airplane accidents, where the control tower authorized a plane to enter a runway, only to be hit by another plane coming in. It is unfortunate that human error can cause such a catastrophe, however, human error always needs to be taken into concideration when developing highly sophisticated inventions such as the magnetic train. Despite this disaster, Japan is in the process of developing an even faster train, that has been clocked at upwards of 350 miles per hour.
In class on Wednesday, we did not have any major class discussions, however, there were a few comments/ideas that I had on some of the topics in our notes.
The first thing that I would like to talk about is desertification. I never really had an idea that this was going on until I read this segment of the book. However, after thinking about it more, I got an idea of a very small example of desertification that we can see here every day. If you ever go for a hike, you can often times notice that the path that you are walking on no longer has grass on it. It is down to a narrow path of bare dirt. This is because of the overuse of that particular area. It is the same thing that happens in the desertification of farming land, only on a much smaller scale. The overuse of an area can cause the vegetation in that area to no longer grow, leaving a section of barrant dirt/sand. If you are walking and a gust of wind blows, you can often times feel the dirt blowing and hitting your face. This is the same thing in large scale desertification. The sand blows farther into what was once known as farmland, leaving an even larger area barrant dessert.
You can even go further with the topic of desertification, and say that desertification will greatly effect a country's economy. With the loss of farm land each time desertification happens, that is that much less profit the country is seeing. If the land can't produce, the country cannot make money off of it. Furthermore, the reduced farming land also pushes farmers closer and closer to things like, tropical forests and woodlands. These bioregions have already seen some of the effects of desertification. Every day, portions of these forests are being cut down for farm land, and the numbers are growing larger as we speak.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71743-0.html?tw=wn_index_29When 9/11 occurred I estimate most of the United States though the world was going to end. We went to extremes on stocking up on water, duck tape, and matches. The government did the same thing, by trying to make the United States even more secured in order to not have another terrorist attack again. Most people lived in terror for many weeks. But people did not realize that we have a greater chance of driving off the road then being a victim of a terrorist attack. I think this is odd because we are in war at the moment but we don’t have hardly any terrorist attacks.
Our World: Federal officials say HIV testing should be as common as cholesterol checksI do agree that its insane that we have to take a precaution of HIV starting at the age 13. 13 is a very young age. I think we may want to get the shot earlier because who knows who or how we can pick up the disease. Kids think they should do what the media does. Everywhere you turn it’s a shoot them up video, inappropriate scenes in movies, or drugs being dealt. Kids pick up on these behaviors. I believe that HIV tests should be required on a regular basic, and hopefully it will decrease the amount of people becoming affected with HIV. The chances of getting the HIV is 1 out of 2 partners. Many people out there are having multiply partners, this shot is a way to limit the disease being spread. HIV has been an issue in our world and we have been dealing with for many years. This shot is a great break through in medical technology, it will be able to help people all around the world.
Another person has died has died, it is not confirmed yet but the doctors believe that his death is from the E. coli bacteria that has turned into a epidemic in the United States. The E. coli bacteria is being transfers by spinach, the FDA has urged people not to eat fresh spinach due to 157 cases.
So far there has only been one confirmed death from the E. coli virus and another is on the way. 2 year old Kyle alleged was admitted to the hospital with kidney failure caused by hemolytic uremic syndrome. It is also reported that before he died he had bloody diarrhea, which is a symptom of the kidney failure.
What I don't understand is why would people and parents keep eating the spinach after there has been recalls on it and the FDA has urged people to quit eating it. All young children and older people in always in a bigger risk of catching an illness, so why would a parent feed it to there kids, that is just asking for it.
Boeing Helps Secure Borders
The Boeing Company based in Chicago was awarded an $80 million contract. They will use new high-tech methods to catch illegal immigrants. Boeing will secure borders in Canada and Mexico starting in Arizona.
I feel this method of border control is much more practical and effective then a 700 mile fence. Boeing will use 1800 towers that are fully equipped with cameras and motion detectors. Information can be fed back to patrol agents. This type of security is more humane and not as visible to the human eye. The cost for both a fence and high-tech equipment will be expensive, but having towers spaced out seems more practical than having one continuous fence. Installing towers will be quicker than a 700 mile wall, and patrol will be implemented quicker. Natural resources will also be preserved.
I question, however if this is another opportunity for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer in Boeing's stock? Boeing shares in the company rose from $1.32 and closed at $76.19.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4201883.htmlcnn.com
Class Summery (9/21/06)
Today in class, we went to the computer lab to do a GIS packet. We saw the difference between todays oceans and what they looked like 20,000 years ago. Also, we looked at some cities, rivers, and lakes that will soon be under water. Make sure to study for your test that we have tomorrow!
Today in class we will be testing on chapters one and two, which is on pages 1-43. You will be able to use a note card on the test if you want. The map that we received on Wednesday is due today at the beginning of class. If you want to study for test don't forget to visit the website on the textbook. At the site you will be able to take practice tests, that will help on the final test. Also make sure that you have five blog entries in by tonight at 12:00am. The entries can consist of comments or blogs, as long as you have five in total. Lastly make sure to make it to the homecoming game tonight!! It is going to be a blast! TGIF!
A Califonia natural company has been linked to the E. Coil nationwide outbreak. The outbreak has killed one person and 29 others have been hospitalized. The bug has infected at least 94 people in the United States. The disease has been reported in 19 states. These states include California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. Experts believe that the out break was spread through contamination by fecal material from cattle. Brackett said "the use of manure as a fertilizer for produce typically consumed raw, such as spinach, is not in keeping with good agricultural practices." If anyone knows anything about farming they would know that manure is a great fertilizer it is also cheap or even free. If a farmer owns cattle he has to dispose of the manure some how so a lot of the time they will put it on there Fields instead of buying fertilizers. If E.coli can contaminate a field that easily should we be worried for our health. When we buy produce and other goods at the store we don't know what kind of fertilizers or pesticides were used. We should all be more concerned and aware of what is being put on our produce and other foods before we consume them.
|
|
Economic friendly cars result in more vehicle pedestrian accidents?
I read an iteresting article online. It posed the problem about electric and fully economic friendly cars being too quiet for blind pedestrians to hear. In the article they stated that the tires on these new cars that would be coming out are designed to be completely silent. Is this necessarily a good thing? Sure you will be cutting back on emissions but will you be increasing the vehicle/pedestrian accident rate? And I figured not only will it affect blind people, but I believe it would also greatly affect us and the children and youth of our society.
We all know little kids always forget to look both ways before crossing the street, but they are more likely to stop if they hear something coming, but if they dont hear the car coming, I would think they could inadvertantly run out in front of an electric car to get their stray ball or frizbee. Even adults could be affected by this, if you dont have visible sight of the roadway normally you can listen and hear cars coming, but if they are as silent as they are proposed to be I think that even responsible adults could be injured or even killed by a driver of and electric vehicle not paying attention.
You can read more about the article here> http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/09/21/electric-vehicles-pose-concerns-for-blind-pedestrians/
Richard Branson has pledged to donate $3 billion over the next decade to combat global warming and promote alternative energy. The money will come from profits from his airline and train businesses. The money will be used to find renewable energy sources in place of oil and coal. We need more people like Branson to come forward to help with the crisis of global warming. After seeing what could happen in the future after the project in class today, it makes you realize the importance of doing some now rather than later. Our generation needs to deal with the problem now so future generations have a safe, clean environment to live in.
Federal officials say HIV testing should be as common as cholesterol checks
.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that all Americans between the ages of 13 and 65 should be tested for HIV when receiving routine medical checks. Even though the issue at first causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand I 100% approve this proposal. It would only be one more shot for Americans to go through and would defiantly help in the prevention of the spreading of this disease. It would also mean the estimated 250,000 people with HIV who don’t know it would receive life extending treatments sooner. The only down side is the extra money required to start administering the tests nationwide.
Everyone has heard of the giant hole in the Ozone above Antarctica. Also everyone knows that the blame for this phenomenon can be directly placed on the use of harmful chemicals by humans.
People dispute that if CFC’s are to blame for the ozone hole why is the hole over Antarctica instead of the United States? The answer is because the sunless artic winter allows chlorine from CFC’s to separate onto small stratospheric cloud particles which can only form in the intense cold of the polar winter.
What we need to understand is that the ozone has the ability to repair itself by the year 2100 if all countries would agree to cut down on CFC production. This is why the U.S. needs to set an example and come up with new better ways to clean emissions.
African Farms get massive pledge to help spure "Green Revolution".
We recently discussed about the Green Revolution in class so I found this article interesting. Two foundations recently announced that they will donate/spend 150 million dollars to help rural farmers in Africa boost crop production. These two agencies are, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and and The Rockellfeller foundation. Working together for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, they plan to develop high drought resistant crops along with newer advanced farming equipment to rural African farmers.
I have mixed reactions to this news. First off if one of the major problems facing the world is if we are going to be able to feed the growing population in the future. Are book mentions the world population is expected to double over the next twenty to thirty years. Yes a Green Revolution in Africa would dramatically increase food production and ease that problem, but what about the enviromental costs that could result. As more land would be created for growing crops a higher risk for desertification would result. 60% of the worlds grassland or rangeland are threatened by desertification already. Can we really afford to have that number increased? Increase in crops would require much much more water for irragation. People in Africa already have a hard enough time trying to find what little water they can to survive. To take all that water for irragation would put tremendous strain on the African people. I am very interested to see if we hear anymore about this in the coming months and years. Please send some comments to me, I am curious to see what other people think.
Green Revolution in Africa
Green tea could cut risk of dying from illnesses
A Japanese study has found that by drinking green tea could save you from dying from various illnesses. Besides water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. This fact was really suprising to me because it seems not too many people are too fond of tea. BUT, 3 billion kilograms of tea are produced each year. Studies show green tea has extensive health benefits.
A study in 1994 showed 80% of the people in the region of north-eastern Japan drink green tea. More than half of these people drink 3 or more cups each day. The people being studied were followed up for 11 years. The people who drank less than one cup per day were compared with the people who drank 5 or more cups a day. Those who drank 5 or more cups had a 16% lower risk of dying from any other causes. In the study, it seemed that women were greater benefited from the green tea.
The leader of the research, Dr Shinichi Kuriyama, says that the most important finding in the whole study was that green tea may prolong peoples lives by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
However, the Bristish Heart say all these benefits may be linked to the Japanses diet which is very healthy. The heart rate in Japan is already the lowest in the world and their whole diet plays into that. The British diet and Japanese diet differ. The British contains more saturated fat while the Japanese does not.
I think that green tea really is good for your health and may prevent you from some health hazards. I am not sure if it would affect us the way it does the Japanese because of their already healthy diets but i do think the green tea benefits us a some good ways.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5334836.stm
WWII Nazi guard may face charges
A 83 year old women has recently been found in the United States and has been sent back to Germany. Elfriede Lina Rinkel never told her husband that she was a Nazi guard. The interesting twist in this story is that her husband is a holocaust survivor.
The U.S. was surprised to find her. One, She has never told anyone that she was a guard. Elfriede moved to the United States in 1959. She admitted that she had been a guard in a women's camp the last 10 months of the war. Germany will now hold her on trial for being a guard.
I think that it was wrong of her to be a guard but that was in the past. I am not really sure if they should even put her on trial and possibly give her the death sentence just because she is so old and it was so many years ago. What she did was wrong but should she still be punished. I am unsure about that one.
fugitive caught after 30 years of living on a dead mans ID
Dollie Walton's children always found Thomas Fry, the man who had lived with her for nearly thirty years, to be a bit strange, but Thomas Fry's secret life unraveled when the U.S. Marshals arrested him in Nashville at his home for escaping from a Michigan psychiatric facility in 1976. He is actually 76-year-old Thomas Ball, convicted in 1964 of fatally stabbing thirty four year-old Barbara Jean Eden, whose body was found at the Strand Hotel in Detroit on September 3, 1963. "He's always been an evasive person. He said he couldn't remember his Social Security number," Walton said. He served 12 years on a twenty to fourty year sentence at the southern Michigan Correctional Facilitly, then transferred for treatment in 1976 to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Michigan, from which he escaped. He spent the next 30 years hiding in Tennessee by stealing the identity of a dead man, posing as a married man, and using Dollie Walton to help him get jobs. "He didn't care about how you spelled his last name. He didn't collect disability and he refused to go to the doctor even though he had stomach problems," Roach said. "although some in the family had suspicions about Ball, she doesn't think her mother knew he was a fugitive."
These are satellite photos of the east coast of the US and of india. India has almost 4 times as many people in it as the United States and in these photos you can see how much more smog is being given off by the east coast (right photo) compared to India (left photo). I feel that the US needs to conroll its emissions better than it does because we are giving off more green house gasses than any other countie in the world. Like India a lot more countries have a larger population than the US and give off less green house gas emissions.
Once in a lifetime discovery
The amazing discovery of a complete skeleton of a three-year-old female was found in Africa. The remains are said to be around 3.3 million years old, making it the eldest skeleton of such a youthful human ancestor. “The discovery will provide us with a lot of useful information” says Will Harcourt-Smith (N.Y. historian), such as whether or not this species walked upright, or climbed and moved through the trees easily.
This species (afarensis) was found in Africa, and is said to have lived about 3 to 4 million years ago. The most famous of all afarensis is Lucy. Lucy was discovered in Ethiopia, in 1974. The recently found skeleton, also called Lucy’s baby is roughly about 100,000 years older than the original Lucy is. The skeleton was found in the year 2000, in the northeastern African area. It has taken six years to start carefully removing some of the bones out. Spoor, one of the others working on this project says “ it is a once in a lifetime find.”
The skeleton is said to look human at the top, but more chimp like at the bottom. To find out more about this interesting topic, visit the website http://news.yahoo.com.
Ford to cut another 10,000 jobs
Ford Motor Company admitted Friday that they could no longer hang onto there position as the nations number two car company or return its core auto unit to profitability as soon as promised. The company said the new cuts will allow it to save $5 billion in the coming years, as it tries to adjust to its more "modest" place in the U.S. market. The company also said that it will not be able to restore its North American auto unit to profitability before 2009. (2008 was the given target date) The moves announced on Friday will mean at least two more plant closings in the next two years and a cut of another 10,000 jobs. In addition, all 75,000 U.S. hourly workers will be offered cash incentives as high as $140,000 if they give up some promised benefits and leave the company. Ford also said that its now shooting for a much smaller share of the U.S. auto sales, about fourteen to fifteen percent going forward, starting in the year 2007. Chairman Bill Ford, whose great-grandfather Henry Ford founded the company more than a century ago, said he's not concerned with Ford's loss of the number two position in the market. "Frankly our ranking doesn't matter," he said in a response to a reporter's question Friday. "You've seen companies chase market share with sometimes disastrous results. It's more important for this plan to be based on conservative assumptions."
U.S. may increase number of troops in Iraq
The war with Iraq hasn't been in the news lately but has been on "the back burner" of everyone's minds. I recently read that the United States general, John Abizaid, would like to stabilize or increase the number of troops in Iraq. Bush administration offices said that they would like to decrease the number of troops by 100,000 this election year. Due to the violent outbreaks in Iraq, troops are going to have to stay there longer or we may even have to increase the numbers.
As of right now most of the troops would be going to Baghdad. Most of the violence in concentrated in that area of Iraq. Security is starting to get better in the Baghdad area. Although Iraqi authorities said that they found three bodies blindfolded and dumped. They believe that this is the work of killings between Shiite and Sunni Arabs. The U.S. and other countries haven't forgotten the the western Anbar province.
I think that the Bush administration has been telling the U.S. people lies from the get go. They knew to some extent how many troops would be needed to win this war. I believe that the government said that they would reduce the amount of troops by this election year to make the people as a whole happier. Sending more troops would help out the efforts in this war but at what costs in the U.S. willing to take? How many people are going to die for this war? I realize that we can't take out all of our troops, but the U.S. government needs to find other alternatives to help win this war.
Here is the link to check out the article:
General says U.S. may increase troops in Iraq
Cell phones = stress...possibly cancer
These days, its pretty uncommon to go somewhere and NOT see someone walking around either talking, texting, or even holding a cell phone. Studies have found a problem behavior linked to using cell phones. 16% were found to have this behavior problem from their cell phones. They are either lying about how often they use their cell phones, becoming irritable after using them, or are usually preoccupied with them.
In another study, blood pressure was found to be lower in those who gave up/ dont use cell phones. Once people start cutting down on using their cell phones, their blood pressure was lower than when they talked about them before.
After years of debate, warnings come about whether or not cell phones cause cancer. Experts advice is to limit cell phone use to as little as possible. There are 2 sides to the argument. One side is you can switch off your cell phone whenever you dont want to me contacted, and the other is the people have the given choice to work out of the office, and security.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5343000.stm
China Fails to Control
China articleThe article i found is about a month old but its still good... The pic is the city of Hong Kong and its Smog. Note that you can barely see the sky.
Anyways, I read this article about China and it not being able to meet its promise to reduce pollution. According to the article both water and air pollution is still on the rise after making a promise to reduce pollution. China's sulfur dioxide emissions have increased 27% from the year 2000, which makes it the worlds top emitter of the pollutant. The sulfur dioxide is mainly from the countries many coal-fired power stations. Water pollution has also raised 3.7%.
China set a goal of reducing pollutants by 10% but have failed to meet that requirement. Due to the increased pollution there has been a lot of acid rain lately that has affected about 1/3 of China's surface area.
I think that the big countries need to actually do something about pollution, not just sit there and make promises that can easily be broken. Something needs to be done before it is too late and some places actually become inhabitable due to pollution.
Lights Out to Save Hawaiian Birds
The Hawaiian island of Kauai is desperately trying to reduce the amount of unnecessary lights at night due to the rapid decline of native birds. The Hawaiian petrel, the band-rumped storm-petrel, and the Newell's shearwater are the three birds that are close to becoming endangered species. These birds are nocturnal, and navigated using the light of the moon. However, artificial lights can confuse them, causing them to crash into telephone poles or other objects. They have been found in the mornings lying on the ground injured, or sometimes even dead. Over the past 25 years, a bird rescue program has been in place on Kauai, but it has failed to reduced the death of birds. Because of this, the populations have declined, and now there are only 300 known Hawaiian petrels left on Kauai. And with no intervention, the population of the Newell’s shearwater is projected to drop six percent within the next ten years.
These birds spend most of their time at sea; however, every two and a half years, the petrel and shearwater return to Kauai to nest. And although the birds are present elsewhere on the islands, 85 percent of them nest on Kauai. But when the young birds mature, they try to navigate out to sea, and that’s when the accidents happen. Confused by all the lights of the island, they veer off course and become injured.
The positive news is that Kauai is making dramatic steps to end this problem. Local fire stations have overnight drop off boxes for birds that are injured. In the morning they are collected, then taken to specialist veterinarians. And with this, the birds have a 95% chance of survival. Also, the island is making an effort to cut out unnecessary lights. For instance, The Fish and Wildlife Service has asked between September 15 to December 15, all unessential lights are to be turned off. This is because it is the time young birds begin to venture out towards the sea. Malls, restaurants, resorts and parking lots are all part to this campaign. Also, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has darkened 3,000 streetlights, shielding some and completely turning off others.
This is another example of how globalization and technology are causing problems in the natural world. However, through cooperation and planning, us humans are able to fix and prevent this situations, keeping the world as unaffected as possible.
Hawaii Island Dims Lights to Save Crashing Birds
Nato Troops Killed While Handing Out Candy
Just recently Canadian based NATO troops were handing out candy in southern Afganistan a bike bomb killed 4 troops and injured many other troops and civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. They were handing out candy a day after NATO declared an end to a two-week offensive aimed at pushing Taliban militants out of safe havens in that area. They have identified the man who was on the bike by the name of Mullah Qudrat Ullah.
The Taliban have taken over several areas just out of the places they have been driven out of. They also say that the attacks on Nato forces will not stop in protection of what should be theirs. There have been several reports of the militants firing rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns to set places on fire as a method of taking over. In response NATO has said it will send more troops if the attacks continue or worsen.
Cycle bomber kills 4 NATO troops
California Sues
I have just read this article that is almost exactly related to our in class discussions. It is about California and how this state is dealing with the problem of global warming. Just a month ago, California adopted the nations first global warming law on cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. To follow that up, today California sued six of the largest automobile companies (Toyota, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Gerneral Motors, and Chrysler), charging them for the millions of dollars of damage done from the emissions of their vehicles. This damage includes reduced snow pack, beach erosion, ozone pollution, and the impact on endangered animals and fish. This lawsuit is the first of its kind of trying to hold manufacturers accountable for the damages they have caused to the environment.
Along with this, California has also targeted the auto industry by requiring them to force reduced tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. I think this is a great leap for our nation and our globe. It is about time that someone takes action on this extremely important subject. We will just have to see if these laws actually go through to help reduce the amount of pollution in the air.
For more info. see this site.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/bs_nm/environment_autos_dc
One would think that wearing helmets would make people riding bikes safer. Ian Walker, a traffic psychologist, did a test to see if wearing helmets really do make you safer on the streets. Walker had a group of engineers rig up a bike that would detect how much "room" passing drivers would give him. When he was carrying out his experiment, half the time he would wear a helmet and then other half he would go without it. After being passed by about 2,500 motorists he discovered that when he was wearing his helmet drivers passed three inches closer.
Now this makes one think. Helmets are supposed to make bikers safer, but is the "helmet" setting off the wrong impression?Walker theorized that drivers thought that helmeted bike riders are more skilled and need less riding space. One driver said, "We know who the good ones are out there. They are the ones in the cycle lanes with helmets on."As another part of his test, we put on a wig so passerbies would get the perception that he was a female. He recorded that he was given about five and a half more inches that when he rode without a wig.
But these statistics don't mean chuck your helmets aside and ride helmet less. This headgear serves a good purpose for the youth who are just learning how to ride a bike. They will help greatly when they have their little spills that could cause some damage.
But we don't want this to send the wrong message. People might get the idea that helmets are safer so we can take more risks. Kind of like the idea of drivers wearing seat belts. They make them feel safer so they believe they can drive faster.
When I read this article I was amazed. I never really realized what other people's perspectives were when people wore helmets. I always thought that it was a good thing, but in this case it kind of makes me wonder. What if a youth was biking on the side of the road wearing a helmet, would a driver pass on by leaving them little room for error? Let me know what you think of this mind boggling subject. What do you think when you see someone biking along the side of the road with a helmet on?
Scientists have discovered a complete 3.3 million year old skeleton of a female child from the ape-man species. The skeleton has caused a lot of debate on whether it walked more upright like a human or more hunched like a gorilla. The skeleton was found in the year 2000 in Ethiopia. The skeleton was very preserved and near complete which may be because of sediments from a flood. Scientists have been removing the skeleton for 5 years and it should take years more to complete.
So far they have found that the lower body is very human like and the upper body is very ape like. The shoulder blades look more like a gorilla and the neck is short and thick like an ape’s. The organ of balance in the inner ear is also more like an ape’s. The fingers are very curved which could indicate climbing ability but that theory has been disputed.I think that this could be a great discovery and could help us understand what the ape-human race was more like 3 to 4 million years ago. It also could help us better understand the theory of evolution. The near complete skeleton is a very helpful discovery because it could help us better understand the other afarensis find of an adult named Lucy.
Responding to the Kangaroo Post
Good God!It is my sincerest opinion that whoever posted the bit about kangaroo birth control has no idea what this blog is for! He/She should have posted about something pertaining to such things as
globalization, and things we generally discussed in class. This had nothing to do with the spread of communications systems, culture, development, growth, geopolitical framework, transportation, corporations, money, global events, war, climate, bioregions, food, urbanization, or any other relevant topic I failed to mention. The scientist who is comtemplating
3 years of research for kangaroo birth control should not have passed through the Australian school system. If this weren't a class blog, I would suggest horrible things that should be done to that scientist. Kangaroos are considered
pests in Australia, especially by farmers who have their crops devoured by the things. Dear are regarded in much the same way in Minnesota, so you know what we do about them? We shoot them. We hunt quail and ducks, so it should be no obstacle to kill them in the wilds with a shotgun. As for
urban hunting, there are such things as traps, with or without posion.
Mm, mm, dead kangaroos.Ah, more or less an adendum to what I said. It was around 10:00pm when I posted, so what I said was a bit exagerated. It still, however, do not understand what kangaroo birth control has to do with globalization. As for kangaroos being the pride of Australia, big woop, Americans used to hunt eagles when they were too numerous.
Robot's In Every Home
Starting in 2020 it is believed to be that every household in South Korea will have a robot. These robots will be able to hold conversations, make eye contact, and can even show such emotions, such as joy, anger, happiness and sorrow. People in South Korea are trying to convince others that they will even be members on the society. In my opinion I think that having robots in the homes is outrageous. I believe the South Korean people are acting lazy and helpless. If people in this country can't do such tasks as this machine can, that is ridiculous. Humans are starting to get more lazy day by day. Humans were made to accomplish the things such as to teach children, and I believe a mass production shouldn't have to be the one to do it. To read more about the robots and when the starting of this process will begin, visit Robots.
Birth Control
Kangaroos in Australia are becoming a nuisance. They are being hit by cars, and becoming a huge public safety issue. In my opinion, I think that birth control for kangaroos is a good idea because it will keep the kangaroo population down, and that means there will be less people injured in car accidents with kangaroos.
"So rather than poisoning or trapping or shooting [kangaroos], couldn't we do what we have done to ourselves? And can we apply the appropriate technology to achieve that?" I agree because I believe strongly in animals rights. I would rather see Australia spend millions of dollars on finding a way to make birth control for kangaroos, then see them kill off all the kangaroos as a way of birth control. To follow up on this issue please visit
Birth Control for Kangaroos.
John R. Abizaid, the top American Commander in Iraq, says that there will not be a cut back of troops before next spring. More that 140,000 soldiers will stay over seas due to continuing violence and the need to secure Baghdad. Abizaid also adds that the current number of troops over sears is practical for the current situation, but more or less may be needed over time.
The currents level of around 144,000 troops is likely to remain throughout the winter unless security levels change. Pentagon officials say that the number will not lower until well into next year.
The number of troops has fallen to as low as 127,000, but rose again when Baghdad became very unstable. “Baghdad is not going to clarify itself in my mind militarily for a couple months.” says Abizaid. The rise in troops is also due to the upcoming elections in January.
Officals are also waiting for Iraq to have a stable government and police force before withdrawing troops. With out stability the country may again fall due to fights between the Shiites and Sunnis.
Increased fighting in Afghanistan has also increased the number of troops in the south. 21,000 American troops and 19,000 troops from other countries are controlling the south under NATO command.
Arrest made in dragging death
Jose Luis Rubi-Nava was arrested for the murder of a Colorado woman. The women’s death was caused by being drug behind a vehicle. Her body was found early morning by residents in the nearby neighborhood. Her face was unrecognizable and she has an orange tow rope around her neck.
Jose Luis Rubi-Nava was arrested when a stained and torn picture was found at the crime scene. After releasing the photo to the public, police were able to catch the criminal after following traces given to them. The picture was of a couple, the man was Jose Luis Rubi-Nava but investigators are not saying if the woman was the victim.
Investigators are still trying to identify the women. They do know she was dragged over a mile down Interstate 25. An autopsy preformed showed the women died of asphyxiation, a lack of oxygen, and severe head injuries. Highway crews are spreading new tar over the mile long blood trail.
After 15 Years of Prison, Man set free
Fifteen years ago Jeffrey Mark Deskovic was sentenced, by a jury, to serve 15 years in prison. Deskovic was convicted at the age of 16 of raping, beating and strangling a classmate. During the trial the jurors were told that the DNA at the scene did not connect Deskovic to the crime. Instead the jurors went of the statement given by a police officer, during his testimony, saying that Deskovic had confessed to the crime. The judge gave Deskovic a sentence of fifteen years to life for his crime. Deskovic was put in prison at age 17.
Recently a judge set Deskovic free. Deskovic now 33 years old was said to be not guilty after a more sophisticated DNA test proved that he did not commit the crime. Upon hearing the news, Deskovic sat very still. Slowly he rose to hug his lawyers and quietly left the court room. Deskovic has been arguing his innocence for years.
“I was supposed to finish out my education, begin a career,” he said. “Marry, have a family, spend some time with my family, share the last years of my grandmother’s life with her.” Deskovic was devastated while talking to reporters about the years he lost being locked up for a crime he did not commit.
Police took Deskovic as a suspect when he became exceedingly interested in the trial and insisted on being at the crime scene. Deskovic says that during his trial his confession was made after hours of investigation and was pressurized into the statement. He also argues that he was not given time to seek legal consul.
The real man guilty of killing Angela Correa was traced and is currently imprisoned for another murder. The name has not yet been released.
Even the victim’s step father says he has a feeling that the police had the wrong man in custody. “He went to church with our family, he ate at our home, he was a friend,” he said. “He lost all his life. He didn’t finish school. He lost the best years of his life.”
During Deskovic’s sentence he spent much of his time playing chess, he also converted to Islam. “It was a major factor in surviving prison in terms of my mental sanity,” he said. “It gave me something else to throw myself to.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/20/nyregion/20cnd-overturn.html?hp&ex=1158811200&en=ef631e3810137b02&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Is Ethanol really the answer?
I recently read an article in the magazine "Consumer Report" that disussed the use of ethanol and if it was truly an alternative fuel worth investing in. I was unable to find the article online but I discovered another link that shares many of the same views. The concern of many is that the energy used to produce ethanol is greater than the actual energy received from the ethanol. Tests done by "Consumer Report" showed that ethanot was much less efficient than gasoline getting much worse gas mileage. They had calculated that it would cost a person more to run a car on ethanol than gasoline even if gasoline was more expensive.
Further calculations, done by the author of the link report that by the time corn is grown, shipped to the ethanol plant, and made into ethanol it simply is not worth the output. This concerns me because the government is giving a lot of money to ethanol research and production when it may not even have a positive affect on our country.
Ethanol Concerns
Today in class, the subject of Banana Extinction was brought up. We talked a little bit about how a fungus was affecting the types of bananas that we eat, and could soon cause them to become extinct. So scientists are working on ways to possibly genetically engineer bananas or alter them to become resistant to this fungus. It made me wonder; is all of the work being put into this worth it? I mean, really, how different could it be if bananas became extinct? Now I know about chain reactions of things like a food chain or something similar, but it's just bananas.
I was surprised to find quite a bit of information on this topic, and even more surprised as I read the articles at how urgent people made it sound. Now that I have read through some of it though, I can see why a lot of work is being applied to this struggle. At first I thought: Bananas go extinct, so what...we eat some other fruit. But the articles made me realize that there is much more to it than that. Americans eat more bananas than any other kind of fresh fruit, averaging about 26.2 pounds of them per year, per person. Yet here in the U.S., we would barely suffer compared to what people in places like Latin America would go through. In the developing world, the banana is the most important food in terms of production value after rice, wheat and maize. Over 80% of bananas stay in the country they are produced in. Not only would the country's economy suffer, many people who work on banana plantations would be out of a job.
Ironically, a situation similar to the one we are in now has happened before. Right now, a type of banana called the Cavendish is under attack from the fungal disease black Sigatoka. In the 1960s, a type of banana called the Gros Michel was killed by the Panama disease. The Gros Michel was the most common type of banana produced and eaten until it died. When it did, the Cavendish was there to replace it. Again I wondered: Then why is so much money being spent on trying to bioengineer bananas when we can just grow another type like we did before? It just doesn't work that easily. Right now, there are no types of bananas that are similar with the Cavendish. While reading the articles, I learned that there are many types of bananas, but they're all different in taste, texture, color, the rate at which they ripen, etc. It just wouldn't be the same without Cavendish bananas. Using pesticides or fungicides to try and control the diseases has helped somewhat, but like we also discussed in class, it is very expensive and has unhealthy side effects.
In conclusion, I have realized that the extinction of bananas
would have an effect on people other than just excluding them from their diet. It would cause great harm to countries who produce bananas, people who work at banana plantations, the insects that eat bananas and the animals that eat them, and much more. I actually found this site interesting and it helped me understand why we need to concern ourselves with this issue, so check it out!
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/5a4d4c3ee4d05010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
Iran says that the US is abusing our UN power...are we?
A little background:
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took aim at U.S. policies in Iraq and Lebanon on Tuesday, and accused Washington of abusing its power in the U.N. Security Council to punish others while protecting its own interests and allies" (Guardian Unlimited). The rest of this article is listed below.
linkI have mixed feelings about this whole issue. It is true that the United States, along with a few other large countries, has more power in the UN as a part of the security council. I like to believe that the United States is a country that is centered on a set of beliefs that create the best circumstances for all. However, I find it unfair that we demand smaller countries, like Iran, to stop nuclear programs, cut emissions, etc., when we continue to do all these things. Iran claims that its nuclear program is only for energy. The United States has nuclear programs for both energy and other reasons. How is this fair?
In the opposite view, Iran did sign the non-proliferation treaty, agreeing to not spread nuclear tecnology. They violated their promises. This puts them in the same category as North Korea and Iran. So is the United States' and UN's mistrust of Iran justifiable?
Are we protecting ourselves from future threats? Or is the United States crossing the line and being hypocritcal?
Violence in Hungary
The article I found interesting this week is the article about the Hungarian people trying to make the current Prime Minister Ferenec Gyurcsany resign. To most people Hungary is a distant place that they probably can’t locate on a map, but I found this article interesting because I have traveled to Hungary in the past, and in my personal opinion Budapest, capital of Hungary, is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
The conflicts arose when the Prime Minister was quoted saying that the Hungarian government has lied about the economic status of the country. The media published the quote and people interpreted it as if the Prime Minister was saying he, personally, has been dishonest with the people of Hungary. Ferenec Gyurcsany later explained that his statements were misinterpreted, and what he meant to say was that in the last 10-15 years the government had lied, and that this isn’t happening in his government. I agree with the Prime Minister’s decision not to resign, as the media often twists what public figures say in order to create a more explosive story which will catch the public’s attention, and bring media companies more money. The quote was taken out of a very long speech, and when the speech is heard in its entirety the words don’t have the same meaning. The quote is also being used by Gyurcsany’s political opponents to get him to resign. People opposing Gyurcsany’s government have already committed many violent crimes, such as setting cars on fire and violently protesting, in an effort to get their message across. The Prime Minister made it clear that he has no intention of resigning regardless the public pressure.
I honestly hope that the violence in Hungary will not permanently stain the countries reputation, or create a slump in the economy as both would leave a stain on the countries tourism, which would be such a shame, because the country has so much to offer.
I know I'm a little behind the times with this one, but I knew right away when I heard this story that I wanted to do a post on it. In case anyone hasn't heard about it yet, I'll summarize on what happend.
Pope Benedict XVI upset many people with a speech he gave a week ago. He referred to jihad, or holy war, and quoted a 14th century Emperor when he said, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." This remark towards Islam caused many Muslims around the world to respond. Immediately they began gathering for protests -almost 1,000 protesters gathered in Basra, Iraq and burned effigies of the Pope trying to send messages that they were offended by the Pope's words.
On Sunday, the Pope attempted to apologize by saying he was "deeply sorry" for the reaction caused by his comments. He also said those words were "quotations from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought." This, however, did not please Muslim groups. They continued to attack churches in Palestine and eventually an Italian nun and her body gaurd were killed at a children's hospital in Somalia.
Muslims still are not satisfied with the Pope's apology. They do not think it was sufficient, and an al Qaeda linked militant group has vowed war against the Pope's followers. An internet statement by a branch of Iraq's al Qaeda said, "We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya."
This article both upset me, but also made me shake my head. The Muslims were angry when they were generalized as being violent and 'spreading their faith by the sword', yet their reaction to being offended is more violence. Their actions enforce the Pope's words even more. Basically they are proving the quotation to be true. Their religion is challenged, and they respond by killing at least two people if not more, not to mention destroying or causing damage to many churches. What does that make you think about Islam? If they do not want to be accused of being violent, maybe they need to change their actions. It will be hard for people's ideas and stereotypes of Muslims to change if the Muslims themselves do not follow the ways they want to be seen.
Globalization
We've been talking about globalization in class, so here's a little more information on it. Scholars agree on only one thing about globalization; that it is complex and controversial. Even open, democratic countries vary on globalization. One thing to be noted is that globalization isn't as historically unique as some assume it to be. International trade goes far back. However, it is different today because it is faster and cheaper. There are many different types of globalization: political, economic, environmental, etc. Although many assume globalization to be economic, it does contain these other components. Examples of globalization of politics include the global women's movement and the presence of democracies in all regions of the world. I think that these areas show obvious successes of globalization. The fact that women around the world are/have beginning to learn about equal rights is amazing. Women everywhere are now standing up for themselves are working to create equality between men and women in every part of the world. Also, I believe that the presence of democracies around the world is a positive step for the world. Decomcracies often spread to neighboring countries. And democracies promote more free and open trade, advancing LDC's economies and status' in the world.Globalization has the potentail to lead to something called complex interdependence; in which states are not the only significant actors (co-ops, transnational movements, etc. play roles); force is not the most significant instrument (economic manipulation...); and security is not the dominant goal (welfare). Examples of this beginning can be found across the globe. The relationship between the United States and Canada is an asymmetrically interdepent one. 3/4 of Canadas exports go to the United States, while only 1/4 of our exports go to Canada. Overall, globalization has the potential (although realists would disagree) to unite and make all states interdepent. Although this may been seen as a liberal thought, I strongly argee with globalization and most of its effects on the earth. I believe that the positives of globalization outweigh the negatives, and that globalization has the potential to create a cooperative planet.[[Information can be found in texts by Joseph Nye and John Rourke]]
Thai Government Overthrown?
An alleged military coup has occurred in Thailand recently. Now I say alleged because the head of the army, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, has claimed that the coup was a success and he will soon take over the Prime Minister’s position. But officials for the prevailing Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, insist that the government is still in order and under the control of Shinawatra. Currently the Prime Minister is at the UN in New York. The spokesmen for Shinawatra states that this coup “could not succeed” and that it is unknown when the Prime Minister will return to Thailand from the UN meeting.
This seems strange though because leaders of the army have been broadcasting, on every Thai TV station, that they have taken over the capital and have also declared martial law throughout the country. They are calling themselves “Council of Political Reform”. Why would the government allow this to happen if, like they said, they are still running and completely functional? There are also reporters throughout the area who have reported seeing many soldiers and tanks scattered along streets and near the Government House. So it appears that the coup happened, and was possibly a success. Still no official word has been released.
This is the first coup attempt in almost 15 years in Thailand, and before that they happened on a regular basis. Some would say they are good because it might get rid of a bad leader and unit the country as a whole. Others would say the coup would act as a pull force and drive the country apart. Separating the people who are loyal to the Prime Minister and the rebels. The new leaders could also be worse the old one was.
We must wait and see A.) If the coup was successful and B.) What affects this will have on an international basis?
>>>>>link<<<<<
Early Monday morning of September 18 near Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Willie Nelson and four members of his touring entourage were going through a commercial vehicle inspection when the trooper opened the door he caught a strong draft of pot. After inspecting the bus the officer found 1.5 pound of pot and 0.2 pounds of hallucinogenic mushrooms. All of the men were all issued misdemeanors citations and were released.
Apparently for Willie and his crew you can never be to young to have a little fun, nor be to old to be smoking pot. When the youngest man on the bus is 50 years of age it is obvious that Willie and the boys are never to old for marijuana.
A recently published judicial report states that Maher Arar, a Muslim citizen of Canada, was wrongly imprisoned and tortured by U.S. agents. Citing false intelligence and bad warnings given to them by Candian officials, U.S. military officials secretly took Arar to Syria and tortured him.
The report also states that Arar was wrongly put on a "dangerous radical" list after the 9/11 attacks. He is a computer consultant in Ottawa. He and his wife were both put on a watchlist for potential al-Qaeda suspects. On top of all that, Mr. Arar was listed as "an Islamic extremist individual" who was in Washington the day of the attacks.
After being detained in 2002, Arar was questioned for 12 days. He was then flown to Jordan, and then to Syria. He was beaten, kept in solitary confinement, and forced to confess to acts he had never committed.
This report is based on a 2.5 year inquiry into Mr. Arar's case, and frankly I am surprised we do not hear about many others. So far, the U.S. has captured almost 3,000 people in the war on terrorism, trying to dismantle terrorist cells and networks.
Ever since the attacks of 9/11, the Muslims of the world have suffered innumerous and unwanted predjudice simply because they share the religion of those responsible for the attack. The key difference is the attacks zealous feelings toward their religion, and their wishes to inflict harm on all who were not deemed rightly living. The normal Islamic people of the world are the same as you and I, even if we do have different religious beliefs. They deserve the same basic freedoms as everyone else. However, there are a select few in the world who have made a bad name for Islam. Hopefully, we can see cases like Mr. Arar's disappear, and that the people that are arrested really do have a reason.
Talk About miscommunication
I recently discovered a very interesting, yet scandalous article. This article covered the journey,
torture, and detainment of a Canadian citizen. Maher Arar is a citizen of Canada as well as a practicing Muslim, and he was put on the "watch list" for a potential threat. The Canadian authoritites then had him put on the "watch list" of the United States as well. The Canadian authorities really had no basis on this claim, other than the fact that he was a practicing Muslim and he had kept in touch with other Muslims in the Montreal area.
After the Canadian authorities had labeled Arar as a threat they began to follow him, and make sure that all of his actions were non-hostile and terroristic. They weren't doing a very good job of this and were quite incompetent with the task. So the United States exhibited very good coopereration and showed their support for their bordering neighbors, and detained Arar in New York, New York. The United States then decided to send Mr. Arar to Syria, without consulting with any judicial figure. Arar later then tried to file a lawsuit but was dismissed. I do not think that this is sending a strong message to the rest of the world, or even the rest of the country for that matter. I think that it really shows the rest of the world that there is injustice, and we briefly covered that in class.
Mr. Arar was not allowed to testify in his own defense. Most of the actual testimony was censored for possible security issues. I think that it is a good thing that countries are working together, but I think that it is really unfortunate that they had to put this poor man through extremely traumatic experiences. His actual torture and detainment occurred in Syria. I my personal opinion I think that they unified stance on the issue from a few countries is not a positive aspect, because this man was falsely accused and was tortured because of it.
I just read an article about the Polio scare in North India. 297 cases have been reported this year affecting children under the age of five. The main scare is in the northern state of Utter Pradesh, which they found a total of 269 cases. The scary thing is that last year there was only 66 cases reported. This dramatic increase could start a state wide crises, and even spread thoughout India. The disease was gone in many countries untill now. This new outspead has risen the disease scare once again. Polio destroys your nervious system, and can result in paralysis. It is transmitted through contaminated foods and drinking water, which isn't a suprise to why this scare is resulting in India. Most of India's population lives in poverty, and they don't drink the cleanest water or eat the safest foods. But since September 12th of this year, 1,228 cases of polio have been found; most of these coming from India and countries in Africa.
The other main concern is that most of these cases found are mostly affecting Muslims. The ministry official are meething to review the case, and are trying to find a strategy to stop the scare. I thought it was interesting to see that 67% of the infections were affecting Muslims, and the other 33% are mostly from the Hindu community. They say that they think the reason of why Muslims are getting it is becasue the Polio vaccine also acts as a birth control. They want to have children so therefor don't think they should take the medicane. I agree with the ministry to incourage the polio vaccine so that India and the rest of the world can stay safe from the disease.
I was reading in the National Geographic Section in bloglines and I came across a very interesting topic about scientists being able to collect hurricane data from the past 220 years in Georgia's longleaf pine trees. In this new study, researchers are trying to find an explanation to how hurricane activities vary over long periods of time. If they discover the reason, this could possibly settle the debate on whether human-driven global warming is affecting hurricanes. The current research that we have is only reliable for 60 years, which is too short to determine.
The new technique that they believe is working has to do with the analysis of oxygen isotope content in tree rings. This will contribute to the understanding of what the frequencies of hurricanes are. Hurricanes are dynamic. The oxygen isotopes are stationary and the hurricane is a moving system, so this would be an unreliable gauge to calculate the intensity of a hurricane.
Another factor that they look at is the amount of oxygen isotope that falls during a hurricane is a lot different than what falls in a normal thunderstorm. In a hurricane, water vapor is cycled with greater efficiency than in a thunderstorm. Longleaf roots are very shallow and rely greatly on the rainwater that is in the surface soil to grow. The depleted oxygen-18 signal is incorporated in the trees. Personally, I think that the whole thought of being able to record data from hurricanes through examining trees is really neat. The team that is carrying out this study compared their data with known information from the past half century and only one false storm showed up in the tree rings.
I think that this new study is truly incredible. Being able to understand the frequency of a hurricane by researching and examining evidence on trees is unheard of. But if they can continue to discover correct information, I think that more people will believe in what they are doing. Right now it's something new so people might not really know if the information they are receiving is correct. Tell me what you think about this new study. Do you think it's reliable?
Genetic Code of a tree Unlocked
Tree articleThis week it was revealed by scientists that they have unlocked the genetic code for the Black Cottonwood tree. What does this mean? Scientist could alter the genetic code with certain codes from other plants to make the tree grow taller, faster, be resistant to bugs and disease, and require less water and nutrients. The Black Cottonwood is used mainly for its lumber and pulp. If scientist were to alter the tree we could see more of the tree and grow them in places they usually dont grow.
Scientists say that one goal of altering the tree is to make a variety of that tree that can be used as a source of ethanol. Right now ethanol is harder and more expensive to get from a tree than it is from corn. If this goal were to become reality it would be easier to make ethanol, which could then be used as fuel for ethanol based cars and other ethanol using machines.
Ethanol is a significantly cleaner burning fuel that could help in the battle against global warming. Right now more and more cars are being introduced to the market that use ethanol instead of gasoline. This is very good for the environment since it would reduce the amount of Carbon dioxide which is the after product of burning gasoline. The carbon dioxide rises into the atmosphere and then traps uv rays from the sun, therefore potentionally making the world warmer.
These findings could also help other trees that are prone to sickness and logging. It would be easier for these trees to grow and so rainforests for example could grow larger, and help against the deforestation problems.
Some say that genetic alertering is wrong but in this case it could become extremely helpful against global warming, deforestation, disease, and other things, so i say they should go ahead and do it.
42 year old Barton Corbin pleaded guilty to two counts of malice murder. In 1990 Barton's girlfriend's death was thought to be a suicide. 14 years later when Barton's wife appears dead they believe that was a suicide too. Both deaths were by a single gunshot wound with the weapon near by the crime scene. In 1990 Barton killed his girlfriend Dorothy Hearn when they had been dating for over a year but they were breaking up at the time. In 2004 Barton's wife Jennifer Corbin wife was found dead as they were about to go through a divorce, and Jennifer had sued for custody of their sons.
It is obvious this man has problems dealing with failing relationships and his only way of dealing with it is by killing the person he had loved at one time. Unfortunately he now will face life in prison for killing two innocent people and leaving their families to grieve for their loved ones. In the end, justice is served for these families by knowing the truth.
Summary of Class
I'm not sure exactly how I'm supposed to do this, so I'll just give it a shot.
In class we began by taking a load of notes on various greenhouse gas emission reduction attempts by the UN. The first agreement was signed in 1992 at the Rio de Janiero Earth summit, which set target emissions levels for each of the 167 countries that signed. Unfortunately, the US, India, China, and Japan all failed in their goals.
Green House GasThe Kyoto Protocol was another international treaty that was signed in 1997, but has yet to gain adequate international support to make it a law.
Many groups of people, most notably business types and thus Bush, object to this, because they say it could hurt our economy, and the Global Warming it's supposed to cause is just an imagining. I would love to say various things about those people on this blog, but some of it wouldn't be,
ah, appropriate, and besides that, I just like to keep my postings concise. Simply put, I'm of the opinion that delving into alternative energy sources and production methods that result in less emissions would only help our economy, because it would create more jobs in multiple fields, and take jobs away from only one area of our economy.
Moving on *clears voice*, we also took down notes about the various effects of Global Warming, such as the fact that we're supposed to heat up another 2-4 degress farenheit by 2030. This may only be because of the cycle of the planet. I'm betting it's a bit of both.
Then we learned about the difference between weather and climate, how to read climographs, and what important terms we need to understand before the test, like
anthropogenic, mmm, smell that new vocabulary word smell. Similar to a new car, but mintier.
For all those that bothered to read this to the bottom, here's a helpful little tip:
When talking negatively about something or someone, always use the phrase "I'm of the opinion", or "It's my opinion that," because then you can't be sued for lible. When using those phrases, your words become a statement of opinion, and not an assertion of fact.
Series of bombings kill 24 in Kirkuk
Another day, another article involving the violence in Iraq. Civilians die alongside military personnel and we barely make note as the numbers rise each day. The battle between the American forces and their allies and the Iraqi insurgents is now only part of the story. A Civil War is now brewing to add to the carnage.
The article I found in the St. Cloud Times identifies several cities where violence is seemingly out of control with no end in sight. In Kirkuk, after a series of six bombs exploded, 24 people were killed and 84 were wounded. One of which was found to be a U.S. sailor assigned to the Marines. In Diwaniyah, 23 soldiers and 50 other people died, after a battle between the Shiite Iraqi army and a Shiite militia.
The hope for a peaceful Iraq with a local government in place is a goal which seems far in the distance. Articles such as these only give the impression that peace is a long ways down the road, if not impossible.
I chose this article mainly because it seems as though people have become acccustom to articles involving bombings in Iraq where people are killed. Even when I scan the newspaper I just give the article a glance without thought to those who were killed. This link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_conflict_in_Iraq_since_2003, is very informative and has a table showing a summary of casualities. Hopefully this post will help you to be more aware of the unbelievably high amount of casualities resulting from the invasion of Iraq.
Global Warming endagers rare bird
Bird ArticleThe Bicknell Flush is a very rare North American bird that has some people worried that it may soon become extinct. There is an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 left in North America, but it is not yet considered endagered. This may soon change due to global warming and other factors such as acid rain and ski and ski tower development. This type of bird lives mostly in the mountains. The type of tree that the Flush prefer are balsam firs. Global warming has caused a decline in the amount of balsam fir forests in america, and analysts say that if global warming continues the way it does within the next 50 years there will most likely be a heavy loss of the balsam fir forests. During the winter the Flush migrates into the carribean islands. If the temperature continues to rise, the water levels would also rise due to the melting of the polar ice caps. If this were to happen many of the islands used for migration could disappear under water; therefore getting rid of many of the birds migration habitats.
This is a big problem that does not only affect the Bicknell Flush but also many other animals in the world as well, and something needs to be done to reduce the effects of global warming.
On Wednesday September 13, 2006 at approximately 1:51 PM shots rang out in front of Dawson College in Montreal, Canada. Kimveer Gill opened fire Wednesday afternoon killing 1 and leaving 20 wounded before taking his own life. Since the shooting there has been around 150 phone calls to the local Montreal Hospital most who are looking to receive psychological support. Many people attended the shrine that was made in remembrance of Anastasia De Souza the lone victim that was killed Wednesday afternoon. Many students say it will be very difficult to return to class on Monday after such a tragic event.
School is supposed to be a place that students can feel safe. Unfortunately, from elementary all the way to college, more and more of these events are happening that makes students feel unsafe even to go to school. No matter what safety measures there are in schools there will always be ways for these crazy people to terrorize our schools.
Global Warming
Global WarmingThe problem is real. Global Warming is starting to affect us in the hear and now. I read the article in the USA today about Global Warming and how it is soon to become a large problem. James Hanson of the NASA did a recent study and has concluded that the earth has started trapping more energy from the sun than releasing it back into it. The estimates are now appearing about the 2-10 degree increase by the year 2100. This is a major concern for the new generation that is coming for that decade.
I think that after reading the article "The debate's over: Globe is warming" that we can no longer toss this aside. Jeffrey Immelt, GE spokesman, says their company is willing to spend $1.5 billion to research conservation, greenhouse gases, and pollution. The ICPP has estimated that in the wet regions the rainfall will increase up to 20% and in arid regions it will decrease up to 20%. That will cause both drought and floods, two things that affect not only the temperature but can affect the lives and living conditions for many people.
They Also say that there is about 1.2-2.8 trillion tons of carbon from carbon dioxide that floats throughout our atmosphere. This will affect the pollution problem that our world already has and it will effect the economy; with the layoff of workers and prices increasing.
Personally I think that we have to take this problem and run with it. We have to put an end to this whole situation. I think that we should look more into energy saving opportunities such as hybrid cars, more efficient air conditioners, etc. We need to focus more on getting rid of fossil fuels and pollution and about the problem that lays close to the near future.
After I read this article it changed my mind and helped me realize how large of a problem that this could cause. I will also like to find ways to help find a solution to solving this issue.
Ok, how's this for power dispute?
The army, air force, and navy leaders stated that they were taking over command of the country, while the Prime Minister was away in a UN meeting. The "leaders" are being led by army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin (say that 5 time fast), and from the sound of things, the has been no violence, and Thailand's king has not been threatened in any way. Sonthi has declared himself acting PM, has declared marital law, and has delcared Wed. a national holiday. This is the 18th coup in Thailand since WWII. The cause isn't exactly clear, but CNN does have a guess: the coup is to get rid of the current Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was accused by opponents of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family's business."
Kicking a corrupt leader out of office is perfectly acceptable; after all, it's the basis of the Revolutionary War and the way we can assure ourselves that quality people run the country. But, personally, I would've at least waited untill the guy came home from the UN before chewing him out about his supposed lousy performance. Attacking while he's gone talking to a council made up of several other countries isn't the best way to start off a new government. We'll just have to wait and see how this ends. Judging from the lack of resistance by the people, I'd say Thaksin's out of a job.
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the U.N. Security Council is ineffective. He said that they are not helping in places such as Palestine in the war with Israel and Lebanon.
He also said referring to the war in Iraq that the United States weren't anything more then occupiers. He believes that the U.S. is incapable of keeping security in the country.
It is said that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons but Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wonders how long the world has to live with the danger of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Iran does have a nuclear program but says that it is only for energy.
Ahmadinejad also challenged President Bush to a debate, which the White House declined.
For the entire article click the link above.
How the Pope's PR Machinery Failed
Pope I just finished an article about the Pope Benedict's XVI speech last Tuesday, September 12th, 2006. It occurred at his old university in Bavaria. His speech was given and was brought up with many provocactive and out of line words directed at the Muslim population.
He used an excerpt from the Byzantine Emperor "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as a command to spread by the sword the faith, he preached." There was a huge outbreak with the Muslim people causing riots and retaliation against his words. He later said that he did not agree with the Emperor and that he respects Muslims.
Personally, I have a few mixed thought on the whole situation. I think that the pope was mistaken when speaking of those words and should have thought more about what he was saying. He said that quote without his own thoughts on the subject and that allowed many people to bring it out of context. One of his associates said that he didn't have any of the top collaborators check it over. He thought that because he was going to his old university where he once taught Theology in the 1970's that he would be able to handle it.
Someone with that high of authority should not be able to make mistakes such as those with merely forgetting to mention he disagreed with the quote. From now on he will be getting a lot more help and assistance on his speeches and public speaking which I think is a great idea.
Sketchy Schemes Travelers Should Avoid
You are walking down a street in Mexico and are stopped by a police officer. He asks to check your wallet for counterfeit bills or "drug money", so you calmly oblige. After he finishes flipping through your cash, he returns your wallet, and goes on his way. A simple stop in an effort to control the drug trade right? Wrong. You later find that you have “misplaced”$45.00.
Bogus cops and other scams are waiting for unaware tourists in every corner of the globe, and I think it is important to recognize these situations before they happen to you. I stumbled upon an article that covers scams ranging from common taxi and restaurant scams to fake ATM machines and bogus cops.
I just thought I’d add a little something semi-positive and informational to the blog. Hope this comes in handy for you one day. We could all use a heads up in a global-traveling world.
To defend yourself against scams like that one
read up here.
I read this article and thought that it was interesting. It talks about the meeting that Pres. Bush had with the UN basically saying that they should help create democracy in the Middle East. I think that the war won't get rid of the extremism that is shown. If they start teaching how good democracy is instead of how bad it is with the younger generation in the school, it will be much better, and possibly more successfully.
Following up on a speech he made last week on the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Bush said the "calling of our generation" is the fight between extremism and the "peaceful majority."
This statement is true especially with how the world is now. Back when our grandparents were our age, if they didn't believe in what their neighbor did then they would still be friends and get over the differences. But nowadays it is the opposite. If someone doesn't believe in the same religion or culture, they make fun of that person or retaliate. People have a mentality that all Muslims are bad. This isn't true but it is what the media is portraying, so we believe it. Challenge yourself. If you saw a Muslim walking down the street, what would you think? Possibly "How is his day?", or would your first instinct be to judge him because of his culture, race, or religion. This is what the younger generation is building their beliefs in. We are part of that extremism, but should try to be part of the "peaceful majority". Which is accepting others differences and realizing that they help society also.
I hope that you enjoy this article and it opens your eyes to others differences and accepting them for the way they are.
