Spelling please!!!!!!!
Hey folks, there has been a significant deterioration of spelling and grammar skills in many of your posts over the past few weeks. Clean it up please. At least use a word processor if necessary to catch your spelling errors.
From 1951 to 2000 researchers of India have been collecting data of rain fall from nearly 1800 rain gauges. These rain gauges have read highs such as 23 inches a day to no rain in a day. Their big question was why, why does this happen. People are dependent on rain. The rain grows the crops they need to feed the animals and feed them self’s. The whole population suffers from famine if there is not enough water or if there is too much water. Researches made a connection to the rise and fall of the heavy rain. While some periods were very heavy with rain others were very low, changing basically what they would call their rainy season. The connection was made with Indian Ocean surface temperatures. The warmer the surface the more water the areas would receive. They are also looking at various environmental changes that could have caused the change in the season. Scientists are concerned and stumped all at the same time. With human development and the change of the land surface, clime areas and climate patterns will change how to stop them, stop the people.
British police are fine picking videos and back tracking the foot steps of a former Russian spy after falling deathly ill. Officials state that the spy had potent levels of polonium-210. They found this radiation in his urine, how it got there is unknown. After tracing the radiation, it has been found on airplanes he traveled on and in restraints he ate in. They are trying to find out if he was in contact with anyone that could have wanted to have him dead. People in close contact with the former Russian Spy have been asked to be checked for radiation from Alexander Litvinenko. Alexander Litvinenko did not survive the radiation. Many people have different speculations upon the reasoning of his death. How does one obtain this type of deadly radiation, slip it into someone’s body and go on their marry way, IN LONDON!!!!!!! If an average Joe can do that what can a terrorist group do???
Midwest snow storm
Today a snow storm swept through the midwest going through Illinois and Michigan and on its way to Canada. CNN reports that many schools and businesses have been shut down, flights have been cancelled and the storm has claimed a total of six lives so far. I think that towns need to be ready for natural problems even this early in the season. It is a good idea to be prepared so that the damaged caused by these storms can stay to a minimum.
How did King Tut die??
I read this article on National Geography.com and I just thought it was really interesting and unique to read. Do you remember learning about King Tut in 7th grade? Well here is a fun fact that we did not learn!
It is one of history's most famous cold cases scientist say. A scan of King Tutankhamun's mummy has "disproved" a popular theory that the Egyptian pharaoh was murdered by a blow to the head more than 3,300 years ago. Instead the most likely explanation for the boy king's death (19 years old at time of death) is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately fatal, according to an international team of scientists. "I think it is the end of the investigation. … We can now close this file," said team leader Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini Teaching Hospital at Cairo University in Egypt. Tutankhamun, who ascended to the throne at the age of eight, was mummified and buried with other ancient royals. His tomb, along with the 5,000 artifacts in it, was discovered near Luxor, Egypt, in 1922 by a team of archaeologists led by Howard Carter.Howard Carter and his colleagues "dismembered" much of the mummy while removing the body from its sarcophagus. The damage they did is difficult to distinguish from the damage dating back to the king's lifetime or the embalming process.
Who would have thought? King Tut was not murdered, according to these scientist, he died of a leg fracture that became infected!
NATO met in Latvia this past Tuesday stressing that all members deploy more troops to southern Afghanistan because more violence seems to be occurring there. The German Chancellor said her country wouldn’t expand its 2,900 troops permanently but could send some to the southern part IF there’s an emergency. It seems like the area has been so unstable, literally explosive with more deaths recently than every before, so I question what she considers to exactly be an emergency.
Canada is also pleading for more help in southern Afghanistan because they have had 36 deaths this year alone. Poland said hundreds of their troops will be delayed because barracks were not ready for their troops. Wow, this is amazing when the Afghan mission is considered to be NATO’S No. 1 operation. NATO’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer “urged NATO allies not to lose heart, insisting the operation was a “mission possible.” Do you ever feel like I do, and see it a mission Impossible?
Overall, leaders were not able to convince other countries to lessen their restrictions so more of their troops could help out. The article stated that all 26 allies have troops in the force, yet the U.S., Canada, Britain and a few others are fighting the Taliban in the most brutal areas of Afghanistan. Countries like France, Spain, Italy, and Germany have stationed their troops where it is not as violent in northern Afghanistan. This seems to send a pretty clear picture to me. Although NATO is supposed to be a united force in this mission, it just doesn’t seem like all are committed equally to the peace keeping efforts.
NATO is hoping by 2008 that Afghan forces will be taking over security tasks. I think that’s quite an optimistic goal but certainly hope I am proven wrong.
www.cnn.com
What do you think about Pope Benedict’s visit to Turkey? It has created much controversy with Muslims around the world. In September the Pope made negative comments about Prophet Muhammed; suggesting violence was directly linked to him and the Islam religion. With the war and these comments, it takes courage for him to visit Turkey at this time. In fact, this is Pope Benedict’s first visit to a Muslim country.
The Turkish capital was of course under very tight security with snipers on buildings and sniffer dogs everywhere. It was reported that more than 20,000 Turks were protesting in Istanbul last Sunday. Although the Prime Minister of Turkey was leaving for a NATO summit, he stayed until the Pope arrived to officially greet him. The Prime Minister said he hoped, “Turks would be courteous and show hospitality to the pontiff.”
What’s rather interesting is that the Pope now says he supports Turkey’s desire to join the European Union (EU) and announced this when he met with the prime minister. Ironically, just last year, before becoming Pope, he stated that Turkey’s Muslim religion didn’t belong in the EU. Knowing this and his previous remarks in Sept., I’m not sure the Pope’s visit can really create an understanding between different cultures and religions. One of the Pope’s goals of this trip was to establish “dialogue” between Christians and Muslims. Talking is indeed a starting point, but do you think the number of possible protests and violence will overtake the Pope’s reason for visiting and do more harm than the good intended?
www.cnn.com
Toxic Chemicals Law
The European Union has just recently created a draft that will make firms rove that their chemical use is safe. The rule that would affect 30,000 chemicals still needs approval by the EU assembly. Socialist MEP Guido Sacconi said "We're trying to ensure that the chemical substances in the medium and long-term will be controlled and will be replaced when they are dangerous." The assembly will be voting on the new deal December 13 before the members can actually accept the rules. A system called REACH ( registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) will demand that firms provide a list that would show what chemicals they use and the possible risks caused by them. An agency that helps enforce that will be placed in Finland. One of the down sides of this would be that it could possible cause a rise in animal testing because the firms have to prove the chemicals they use are safe. The manufacturers will have to come up with a plan to replace any non-safe chemicals, but toxic chemicals will not be banned. The EU says the deal improved the safety standard, but the green lobbyists said they were only bowing to the industry pressure.
EU draws up toxic chemicals law
Massive snow storms
Lately there have been catastrophic snow storms throughtout the mid-west [although i have yet to see any in Minnesota]. The storms have caused many schools, airports and even interstates to close. Some meterologists even said that there could be up to two inches of snow every hour. The snow across the mid-west ranges from 2-12 inchese in various states and locations.
It has been difficult for police and other officials to get around because of all the snow. Other vehicles are also having a difficult time to travel. There have been many pile-ups and accidents. Roads have been forced to close even because of all the snow. There has been a total of three deaths so far from these massive storms.
I am excited for the snow to come but i am also worried about the safety of travelers. Since it is getting close to the holidays many people will be traveling and it could get dangerous.
snow storm
388+ Killed by Typhoon
At least 388 were killed when typhoon Durlian slammed into the banks of the Philippians on Friday. The impact triggered volcanic mudslides and flooding. At least 75 people are still trapped or missing. Rescue workers were sent out in boats rescuing victims from rooftops. "It happened very rapidly and many people did not expect this because they haven't experienced mud flows in those areas before," a red cross official said. To me it seems that these people were not educated for severe weather survival the way they should be. Just because a Typhoon is not expected does not mean it cant happen. I think there should be more efforts to educate people what to do under these circumstances, and there should be better forms of warning them set up.
What has become of Clinton?
Recently, it seems like former President Clinton has appeared more and more in the news. In the past few months, we have continously been fed more news of the humanitarian efforts of the former President.
Yesterday, he was in central Asia, to be exact--he was in India with a special tsunami relief group. India was one of the hardest hit areas of the devastating tsunami of 2004, which killed/affected more than 206,000 people. The former President was portrayed by the media touring some of the areas hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami: houses, schools, and shelters.
In the next few days, former President Clinton is expected to visit more central Asian countries, like Thailand and Indonesia, where the tsunami killled tens of thousands of citizens. He will make this visit as an UN envoy to the area, making it his second trip to the area in the past year.
When in the area, the media has captured the former president seemingly spending all of his time with victims, consoling them and giving sympathies. He also has started to head up an AIDS/HIV campaign in India.
In my opinion, I think this former President of the United States is acting more as an attention seeker than a sincere, concerned politician. He is continuing to step up his 'campaigns' in humanitarian efforts, all the while representing the United States. I personally think that Clinton should not allow the spotlight to be on himself. After making a fool out of himself while in office with his 'personal slip-ups', he should not be traveling the world and bringing international media attention to himself. The United States needs a politican who is not considered a shame to represent their country, not another embarassment.
I read a very interesting article on National Geographic' s website about how climate changes (as Mrs. Hartman would say...not global warming :]) are affecting our animal population. Here are some of the highlights.
No matter where they look, scientists are finding that global warming is already killing many species, and at a much faster rate then predicted. "What surprises me most is that it has happened so soon," said biologist Camille Parmesan of the University of Texas, Austin. Many scientist hadn't expected to see extinitions from global temperature changes until 2020. But according to the article many populations of frog, But populations of frogs, butterflies, ocean corals, and polar birds have already gone extinct because of the climate changes. Plants and animals that live only in narrow temperature ranges and those living in cold climates are the species who are suffering the most as of right now. "The scale now is so vast that you cannot continue to ignore climate change," said Bill Fraser, who began studying penguins in the Antarctic more than 30 years ago. "It is going to have some severe consequences."
It is frightening to know that climate changes have changed so dramatically, that it is already affecting the animal and plant populations. Scientist predicted that these problems would not occur for the next 13 years or so. To know that they are already starting is scary. There are many things we can do to help reduce these dramatic climate changes such as, using less heat and air conditioning, drive less and drive smart, buy energy efficient products, and encouraging others to conserve. There are many more things you can do besides the ones I have listed and if you would like to know more, I found this website on more things you can do.
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm
Labenese Prime Minister Speaks!
There will be NO coup in Lebanon on Friday (Today). There was an attempted rally planned by the Hezbollah which is clearly not happening. "Enough conflicts, enough assassinations, enough tragedies," said Siniora, promising that his government would "uphold the Lebanese flag." The Hezbollah leader was making an attempt to basically dismember and prove the Lebanese government wrong in the rally he ultimately planned.
The Hezbollah is a miltant group that is considered terrosits to the US and Israel.. They believe in everything we talked about in the last chapter about the Islamic religion, while some in this group take it to the extreme. The Hezbollah leader believes the only way to peace is national unity and that his government can
provide that.
The Lebanese parliment is equally divided between CHRISTIANS and MUSLIMS, Im trying to figure out how there viewpoints can come together to create laws, anyone have any ideas?
A few chapters ago we learned about the weather phenomenon of El Niño and the effects it can have, but not only on South America. I just found this article that exhibits how El Niño affected our weather in the U.S. this fall.
This year's hurricane season in the Atlantic was focasted to be an active one when in June forecasters predicted 17 tropical storms and 5 major hurricanes with winds greater than 111 mph would form this season. Strangely, with the end of the season today, we see that there were only nine tropical storms, the last of which occured in October. From those, only two evolved into major hurricanes, which made this year seem weak especially when compared to the last two years in which 13 major hurricanes were recorded.
A Hurricane Researcher at Colorado State University states that this sudden drop of activity resulted from the arrival of El Niño unusually late this summer (Normally, El Niño will form in the spring). El Niño had an opposite effect on the Pacific Ocean, where it warmed the water and pushed the number of storms above average (17 recorded, 10 formed into hurricanes, six of those classified as 'major hurricanes', all over the average recordings (16, 9, 4)).
Of course we can't talk about weather patterns without bringing up Global warming. I know, this topic is brought up over and over, and for that reason I am only going to mention that the article includes a small portion of debate between the groups of people who believe these storm patterns are changing because of global warming and those who claim it is just part of a decade-long cycle that is natural. One thing is for sure: Numbers of tropical storms and major hurricanes has increased recently - as much as 15 per year since 1995. In fact, just the last three seasons averaged 19 tropical storms each.
The point mainly is for me to show that we are affected by El Niño. In fact, it is possible that our recent period of warm weather and the sudden cold snap is related to the same phenomenon that caused a calmer hurricane season.
Mild U.S. Hurricane Season Defied Predictions
Vague Statements of Perceived Fact
Just a helpful suggestion to those of you responding to topics: I advise you to refrain from stating what is only your assumption, as fact. Not to be insulting in any manner, I am simply pointing out that rather than strengthening your message, it substantially weakens it. I come across numerous such instances while viewing people's posts, and when I see this, I can honestly say that I give no merit at all to the persons opinion. Again, I do not post this to step on anyone's toes. I just offer it to anyone wishing to strengthen their view.
The European Union has now set tough carbon limits under the European Trading Scheme's second phase, to the consternation of some of the 10 states involved. Germany who is a huge polluter said that theses limits were unacceptable and that it would raise electric prices. The European Trading Scheme (ETS) aims to cut emissions by 8% of 1990 levels. "Today's decisions send a strong signal that Europe is fully committed to achieving the Kyoto target and making the ETS a success," said EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. This view was echoed by Michael Grubb, head economist of the UK's Carbon Trust: "They have done a lot to create a level playing field."
By making a market for carbon, firms that sell electricity are meant to have a financial motive to cut emissions. If limits on carbon are tightened, then carbon credits, which can be bought or sold, will gain in value. But if it is more expensive for firms - for example pollution intensive power companies - to buy credits; there is a worry they might pass on this cost to the end consumer. People are worried about what it is going to cost the people of the European Union.
I think that this movement will be good for the European Union because it will help cut emission and it will make the air quality better. I think this movement will also send a message to other countries to clean up their act and to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. If all countries cut down on emissions the world would have a lot better air quality.
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Kendall Myers of the State Department spoke at at te Johns Hopkins University making comments on how he felt that the British and United States relationship favors the United States. He believes that the relationsip is completely "one sided", favoring America. He also stated that he was a little bit ashamed with the United States government's treatment with how they delt with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Myers states that Blair had never recieved an "paybak" for his support of the U.S. war in Iraq.
The State Department is now investigating what Myers' said and they will decide if any action should be taken against him. They think that Myers' had no right to say what he said and he is a low level official nd he should not be authorized to speak. The British media has blown the whole thing out of proportion, and now many thinkthat the relationship is beging broken, but it is still pretty strong.
Really can you blame him from being angey with the U.S. We always think it is a huge deal when someone comments something negative about the U.S. We are a very powerful, but sometimes we take control and think our way is the only way. What do you think?
South Africa legalizes homosexual marraige
Today in South Africa, the president legalized same sex marraige. South Africa is the first country in Africa to legalize gay marraige and only the fifth in the world. I think this is very good for the world. It is good that not only the 'big 7' countries are leading the world in revolutionary laws. It will be interesting to see if their congress appeals the ruling like what has happened in most countries. Rights of gays have been recognized since 1994 after the end of the apartheid. I think this is a step in the right direction for a non-discriminatory world.
Site
Do you consider Iraq to have fallen into civil war?
If yes, state why, if no, state which conditions would have to follow for you to feel that way.
This test is worth 15% of your grade for the quarter; you have 48 minutes starting........now.
Terror breaks out at SeaWorld when a 5,000 pound killer whale decides to live up to its name. The 17 foot killer whale decided to turn on her trainer during the last show of the night. The trick they were supposed to be doing their signature trick where the trainer stands on the whales mouth and dives off of it when it jumps straight out of the water. Instead of performing the usual trick it the whale dragged the trainer to the bottom of the 36 foot tank and held him there for about 1 minute. Once the whale resurfaced the trainer tried keeping her calm by rubbing her head. But then it once again turned into a savage beast, dragging the helpless and injured trainer back down to the depths of the watery abyss. After keeping him prisoner in her domain for another minute she finally let him surface for air. He escaped to the safety of ground, with his torn up leg and wet suit.
This is the reason I will never try and tame a killer whale, or any other wild animal. It doesn't matter how long you have raised them or trained them, they still can act on their wild instinct to kill. This is the second time someone has been seriously injured while performing with wild animals publicly. The magician Roy Horn was malled by one of his "favorite" lions during one of his shoes.
Airborne Grid Lock
Recently I learned that the retirement age for an air traffic controller is 58 which is understandable due to the high stress levels that this job places on these peoples shoulders. After seeing this I wondered, How many of these guys are up for retirement a year? According to the FAA 68% of airtraffic controllers are up for retirement by the year 2012. With no one to land the planes there will be a standstill for airtraffic across the globe. Especially since the year 2012 marks the estimated time for the 3 billion mark supposed to be reached for American air travelers per year. With numbers like this it is needless to say that the FAA is shaking in their boots. The FAA starting this year is putting forth a new very aggressive plan for hiring air traffic controllers over the next 15 years hiring between 1000-2000 controllers a year. So basically if you know someone that is even thinking about being a controller buy them a coke.
Pastor who gave eulogy accused of murder
When I read the headline about the pastor, it sparked my interest because many pastors have been known for illegal acts in the media. I am not stereotyping the pastor, but only bringing up a true fact. It seems that the only time that pastors are discussed in the media is because of negative actions they have done.
The problem in this article is the pastor's conviction of killing his friend, Frank Craig. They don't know forsure that the rev., Douglas Porter, is guilty but have come up with conclusions leading to the murder. He was supposively attempted to kill the family friend a few years back when he drove their car into a tree stump. No one put enough thought into the situation and consequently it led to Frank Craig's death.
Statistics show that over 2,000 crimes were committed in 2004 alone. Personally, I think it's horrible knowing the fact he was a pastor of a community church, a prior high school wrestling coach, and a friend of Craig's. The evidence shows that priests are sometime stereotyped but I also think that some of it is true. I think that the requirements for priests should become more strict and also that every few years, someone looks into the status of the priest.
Also in 2004, 1,092 priests had accusations against them for sexual abuse. I think that the law against marriage should be changed. Without companionship from a loved one, the sense of urgency and indifference on life and long becomes a problem. Our religion, government, and country should look into changing the law.
pastor
Negativity and the Many, Many Emo Kids
America contains many groups of people who aren't just discontent with reality, they're pretty furious about it. They're a powerful force, making up a significant percent of American youth and some adults in their thirties. Most are mad at our society, some are angry about the world at large, and fewer still hate reality itself. The majority I first mentioned would probably fit into the category "emo". The next group could be termed "goths", although some of those are just overly loud emos. The last are the true goths, and could perhaps be called "ultra goths". All of these people will one day fill roles in our economic and political structure. I'm quite curious about how other people view the various negativity driven people of our society.
OH SNAP! Did he just write what I think he did!?Yes, that's right, I'm asking you to take a step out of your comfort zone and make a real comment about a real and near group of people; right, wrong, positive, or negative. I don't care, just please post sincerely and think about what you type before you do so. I, nor anyone else, will call you stupid or assault your comment. I myself would have once been considered an ultra goth if I had even known about the group back then, but now I regard all groups I just described with a mixture of amusement, contempt, sympathy, and empathy. Yeah, it's possible to feel all that at once.
But please, for the love of God, post.
Post in a real fashion. Post well.
I pray to the god of geography for a list of comments over 15 long.
11/29 summary
We began class today just like any other day, with trivia. After the winners were chosen we wrote down quite a bit of notes, but luckily we are now done with notes for the chapter. The notes mainly focused on how different wars affected the European region, the Industrial Revolution and economy in general. After the notes slideshow was done we had time to work on our EU Maps which are due tomorrow, most people had enough time to finish them in class. Tomorrow and Friday we are going to be in the computer lab working on our group GIS projects, which Mrs. Hartman would prefer to be done before Christmas break, but she will except them after the break also. Don’t forget your 3rd and final senior to sophomore essay is due next week on Dec. 6th. Also just a reminder that there is several topics that you may not use any longer and they include nuclear proliferation, sweat shops, SARS etc.(the complete list is on the white board in the room) You may also choose to do an essay on a topic not on the provided list, as long as it relates to a world issue and you clear it with Mrs. Hartman before hand.
Hope you found the summary helpful :)
As we all know through all of the rigorous classwork about Europe recently, that Europe is a region in which the citizens travel from nation to nation frequently. We also briefly covered the Cold War, and how spies were utilized, so I was really excited to see a current event that ties into two different elements of class.I found a really disturbing article that I thought everyone should know about. Recently a Russian spy died of radiation poisoning. Unfortunate yes, but there is something very unusual about this case. This spy died because they received radiation poisoning, after he had flown on British Airways. He could have received the poisoning from anyone considered an enemy, and then British Airlines would be off of the hook. However, through recent testing traces of radiation were found on two British Airways planes.
This is an extremely scary event for all travelers, but we can not wait to take action. Europe is a very popular destination for tourists, and many travel on British airlines, so this is very problematic for all of the people who have just recently traveled on British airlines. Now they must go and be tested to make sure that they are not being affected by radiation. The representatives said that the danger to the public was low, but the word radiation alone speaks a whole different. Radiation can not only kill, but it can also deform, maim, and harm others as well.
I think that action should be taken as soon and as efficiently as possible. This is no joking matter. If it would become harmful we would have an extreme problem on our hands, for people from many nations all around the world were on those flights. It will be very difficult to contact all of them, and then do any necessary medical testing to make sure that everything is ok
Boot Camp Murder
When looking through articles, this one really popped out at me. It is about a juvenile named Martin Lee Anderson in Tampa, Florida. He was sent to a boot camp after being arrested for stealing his grandmother's Jeep. Martin died after being restrained by three employees working at the boot camp. It is said that these men put ammonia capsules under Martin's nose, striked him with their knees, used a straight arm takedown, bent his wrists, and poured water over his head. He later died from what is being investigated possible suffocation. One of the employees says, "I ordered the offender to stop resisting and relax his arms. The offender refused to comply with those instructions." I believe this to be totally absurd. These men are trained to work with these kinds of juveniles every day. They used unneeded "excessive force" that ended up killing him. I believe that this situation got way out of hand, and I think that these men handled this situation horribly. I would like to hear what you have to say about this subject, and feel free to take a look at the link.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/28/boot.camp.death/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Many youths are protesting the visit of the Pope because they believed that in the past he said something to offend Islam. Many youths wore headbands, beat drums, and waved flags chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest), this protest though was quite peaceful.
One individual believed that they elected the Pope because he is against Islam and they are afraid if Islam spreading in Europe. The Pope quoted a saying that said that Islam is violent and irrational but he said he did not share that view. Islamic individuals believed he insulted Muhammed and that greatly offended them. To try and reconcile with the Islamic people he visited for four days and then went to the Blue Mosque in Turkey.
The Pope also offended the Turkish people last year when they wanted to join the European Union but he said they couldn't due to their culture and religion.
I can't believe that the Pope would criticize another religion. Catholics and Islamics share some beliefs such as having only one God but do disagree on the prophets and such. I don't believe that is right for the Pope to downgrade another religion just because he is the Pope. All religions should deserve equal and adequate respect.
Today in Class- 11/28/06
Today we started with trivia and the answer to which was the when the Berlin Wall feel. We then went into notes taking them on different languages and religions in Europe. Then we split into our groups that we had yesterday and finished our European Union worksheets. When finished with those we started to work on our European Union maps that have a timeline included into the key.
Man with mental illness or a martyr??
I was reading the St. Cloud Times and ran across this article. A man named Malachi Ritscher planned out his death carefully in detail. This man had always been an anti-war protester. On November 3 at 6:30 am. Ritscher set up a video camera, doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire. This all occurred downtown Chicago on an off-ramp. In his suicide note it said his flaming body was supposed to be a call to the nation. He said, “If I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world.” This suicide went largely unnoticed until a reporter questioned if this man was a martyr or consumed by a mental illness. Ritscher dropped out of high school at 17 and married. Ten years later he got divorced. He was an alcoholic who collected fossils, glass eyes, light bulbs, and snare drums. His family member’s claim he was an intellectually gifted man and believed in his actions however extreme they were. After reading this I just shake my head. I kind of think this man was desperate for attention.
The Federal Education Minister in Australia, Julie Bishop, has recently been promoting a plan to create a single curriculum for all students in Australia. She believes that doing this will save government money by purchasing the same books. She also claims that this can eliminate out dated teaching practices currently being used in some classrooms. I found this to be a very interesting and controversial approach to large scale education. On the positive side a universal education system ensures equal opportunity to learn for all students in the system. It also would save the schools money. Another benefit is with all the students learning the same basics when they graduated into advanced and specialized classes they would be better equipped to understand what is going on. Also students who transfer from one school to another would be better able to make the adaptation into the new school when they are learning from the same texts. The concept also has some negatives such as students losing there uniqueness and opinions based on their education. It also raises concerns about increased cheating with such a large number of people studying the same material. Overall I believe this is an incredibly interesting concept and an adapted form such as a uniformed educational system for the younger grades may benefit a nation. This would allow the basics to be taught the same everywhere and allow for educational freedom as one grows older.
The U.S. military announced today that a fighter pilot shot down yesterday has still not been found. The fighter was on a strafing mission about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, when it reportedly began flying eratically before crashing nose down. Other planes nearby reported that there were insurgents in the area, and the pilot was not found at the crash site. The military has no confirmation on whether the pilot is alive or dead. Al-Jazeera released a video with what is believed to be some of the wreckage.
I think that the most scary thing about this article is the fact that I had not heard anything about it until I started doing some research for this blog. This makes me wonder if there have been more incidents like this that I have not heard about. Now, it may just be unlucky that I had not heard about this before I wrote the blog, however, it seems that a story like this would be all over the news. Unfortunately, I find it very unlikely that the pilot is still alive, because it seems like the insurgents always release videos right away if they get a hostage. The fact that no one from the U.S. military has recieved any confirmation of his status or whereabouts makes me feel less optimistic. I just hope that the United States is doing everything they can to find him.
For kids sleeping in class today
Today in class we began by taking notes. A few things that were covered included the three types of climates found in Europe. They are the Marine West Coast climate, Continental climate and the Mediterranean climate. We also discussed the three types of landscapes that are in Europe, the medieval landscape from 900-1500 A.D, the Renaissance landscape from 1500-1800 A.D and the industrial landscape from 1800 through the present day. A few other facts on Europe are that it is highly urbanized with up to 90% of the United Kingdom and Belgium being urbanized. After notes we worked on our Europe Political maps which are due tomorrow. At the end of class we began working on a group project on the European Union.
