New History

What always interests me about history, is that decades after an event has occurred even more information about it keeps coming up in the news. Even if professors and researchers claim that there is no more information to be found about something, which might be hardly the case, there always seems to be something in the media that could change history.

In class, through our 80 minute presentations or PERILOUS TIMES project, we learned from a great group that presented how civil liberties were abridged during the Cold War. They explained to us how the war began, ended, etc... and in previous years we had learned many details about the Cold War and all the information behind it. So we thought. 

Recently in an article from CNN, The world now learns some uncovered secrets, or details about the war. For example, "Panic over a soccer field led to the Cuban Missile Crisis", is a bit of info just discovered about the Cold War. It seems that an American jet was doing a fly over of Cuba when he noticed a soccer field. This led to him and the US saying that, ""Cubans play baseball, Russians play soccer." Sparking the US to take action and find out about this Crisis.

This story really shows how we may never know about certain events in history. Or that eventually maybe the truth will come out about events that we would never thought of, like the soccer field.

Is Technology the Key to Moving Up the Ladder?

In class recently we have been learning about social mobility, which refers to the ability to move up and down on the social class "ladder". We have been analyzing this term through the works of Gatsby and Citizen Kane, through these example of it, as a class we discovered that it is very difficult to move up this ladder of class. Why? Well we can't know for sure because there are many factors that tie into determining ones class.

One thing that was not really brought up when discussing social mobility in Gatsby/Kane was how technology can help move someones class. In a recent article that discusses the possibility of technology really changing class for many in America, it explains the possibilities that new tech has. The article explores how there are many ways that technology may influence and better class. New start-ups and innovations to products may play a huge part in this. Because of the companies needing to produce on a  big scale, they open up opportunities for jobs in manufacturing these products to people that don't have jobs, and may be considered lower class. It also brings up that these new driven tech companies' products have a huge effect on the consumer. By using the product, majority of these consumers increase there knowledge and better their brains. Intelligence is a key to moving up the social ladder, and these companies are driving people to move up.

The next time you see another tech product on TV or a advertisement, think about how it actually might  effect the people around you, instead of just looking at it like its just another ad.

The Not So Lonely Survivor

"And crown thy good with brotherhood" 

Recently the movie Lone Survivor came out onto apple TV, on demand, dvd or whatever system you have these days. I had already seen this movie in theaters and I was very intrigued by the story and more specifically the Navy Seals. (Article about the background of the film)

The movie is based on a true story where a group of Navy Seals were sent out on a recon mission in Afghanistan and they were compromised which lead to a firefight and the deaths of every man in the group except for one, the lone survivor. The story itself is amazing, but what truly caught my eye was the way these soldiers interacted with each other, on the battle grounds and in the barracks. 


There is a unbreakable sense of camaraderie and brotherhood throughout these men. This camaraderie i think trumps all the skills that these SEALs have obtained throughout their course of taking part in this elite group. With out the collaboration and the trust that they all have built up for each other, I believe there would be no way that these highly-classified missions could ever be successful.  Marcus Luttrell (the lone survivor) said, “We created a brotherhood. That stuff is forged in chaos; a brotherhood through blood and pain and sweat.” He says that no matter the circumstance he could always rely on his brothers to help him in any situation. 

This idea and practice of brotherhood and camaraderie I believe is a overlooked American value. Earlier this year we as a class said to be successful one needs, "hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck", in my opinion I think "and some help from your peers" should be added to that. Without brotherhood and ones willingness to have trust in a friend or partner in life, success would be rarely achieved.

JT 3/ THE END

Ahhh. The feeling that overwhelmed me as I set down the pile of papers in class. These papers consisted of numerous drafts, bibliographies and lots of words. What am I talking about? Oh the Junior theme of course. This process of choosing a topic to study for almost 2 months has really became a mind-opening one. Going into the big, bad Junior Theme, I can assure you I was quite nervous and skeptical of this whole ordeal. I didn't like the sound of a 8 page paper that covers one huge topic. Well ill admit that the first couple weeks, even month of Junior Theme process was not easy and didn't help my image of the assignment. But eventually I got very invested into my topic, and felt more comfortable with this whole thing.

My topic was funding to embryonic stem cell research. This is still a very controversial debate to date, so there was constantly new information coming out for this topic. But, even with all this information, I felt like there was so much i had to cover and I didn't know where to begin or stop. With the help of my teachers, librarians, and fellow classmates, I learned how to dive into this work and compose my JT. After the many words and drafts I completed, I realized this project was very helpful to my future. This assignment taught me how to manage my work and also how to make connections between sources and information. I realized this could very well be helpful for my future studies.

JT 2

Throughout my research of the topic of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, I have kind of come to a block in new information or new approaches to answering my "Why" question. It seems wherever I look on this thing they call the "Internet" i discover the same "ethical" or "moral" issue people have with funding the research. This confused me because with everyone having a moral or ethical dilemma over funding the research, i wondered how many people actually knew about what the process consisted of.

Unfortunately i could not find a statistic covering the question I proposed, but i did find a gallup poll consisting of who found the process morally wrong or right. To my surprise of how the research was developing currently in the US (slowly), majority of Americans feel it is morally right for funding to embryonic research (Poll). For the past decade, the topic has been found as morally right by around 60-65% of Americans. Throughout the past years there has been fluctuation in numbers, but they continue to increase. Which leads me to question why hasn't there been a real impact in the research for the support the research has gotten?

JT

IN my search for a JT topic (Junior theme), I have stumbled upon the topic of Embryonic Stem cell Research. This controversial topic has really taken a political stand in the eyes of most Americans. Republicans are against it, while the democrats are in favor of the funding it. I wondered why this came about in the first place. WEll turns out that since the anti-abortion movement needed some lobbying leverage, they took stem cell research under their wing to provoke the republican party to sway against the funding.(article)

This is the strong foundation behind the debate in the US about this topic. The moral and ethical issue that bases this funding has cause a stand still in the scientific world researching possible ways to use stem cell research to cure diseases.

How to Kick Start a Business

Kickstarter is the worlds largest crowdfunding program, which is basically a place where someone with a start up company or project can put their idea on a website and other people can donate money to build up to a bigger goal. There are many small projects that get started from it, but you never really hear of a company making it "big" until recently.Facebook just recently purchased Oculus for only a small sum of 2 billion dollars.

Many early donators to Oculus, a company that created virtual reality glasses, are a little upset that their money was basically thrown away by kickstarter. This website they believed is to be used for independent donations of not great volume.And since facebook came in a just bought it out for a whopping 2 billion dollars they feel that their donations were useless.

Besides a couple people being dissapointed about the outcome of the kickstart. I believe this company being bought out by a major cooperation gives a lot of hope to more small start up companies. This gives people the motivation and the hope they need to get their start up a run at making it big.

The Future of Connectivity

We all sit at home bored. What is the first thing we look to bail out our boredom? Social media. Companies like Facebook keep us connected to our close and distant friends and relatives without being face to face. Whether we like it or not, social media as taken over some of our lives, and now with a constant increase in technology, we may be more accustomed in the near future to be dominated even more by it.

In recent news reported by the New York Times, (article here) Facebook has just bought several small solar powered drone companies and is looking to revolutionize the connected world. They are trying to develop the technology where a drone can deliver internet access to anyone in the world and it is named the "connectivity aircraft". Facebook desires to get the whole world connected through these drones, and I believe through the innovativeness they will eventually succeed.

How Black is the Water?

In my search for a "Junior Theme" why question, I seemed to stumble upon a specialized military force topic. Doc OC shed some light on what this really meant for me, because I had never heard of such a thing. A specialized military force can always be referred to as a military contractor, which is defined as any person or persons who enter into a contract with a federal government of the United States for the production of material or for the performance of services for national defense. When i finally understood what this was I was dumbfounded, I never thought that our government could hire a defense company before, but as I discovered that is very untrue.

Mr. O'connor advised me to check up on the group called "Black Water", they were a military contractor group who were involved in combat in iraq. Originally they were first hired in 2000 after the bombing of USS Cole in Yemen. They were founded by Erik Prince and the group spent time training with the Navy SEALS and SWAT teams. The Black Water team was hired to help in the middle east with war combat and counter terrorism missions. But in 2007 they were alleged to be apart of killing 17 Iraqis, which included a child and innocent civilians. This report leads me to the question of why there is a need for contracting out defense programs?
If the US wants to steer clear of conflict with foreign policies, I wonder why they put their trust in non-governmental companies to handle conflicts in foreign countries. Why not just let our military system handle the jobs? Many questions linger when this topic is being discussed, one possibility I might think of is that maybe the US doesn't want their flag being linked to these missions the contractors are put on...


here is a video of possible Black Water group members recently in Russia. Keep in mind this is not an official site and there could be some bias.

Influence of TV

Almost everyone I know has started to tune into a NETFLIX TV series called House or Cards. I was very skeptic of these recommendations, but I began the show anyways. For those of you who do not know, it is a show primarily focusing on one congressman, played by Kevin Spacey, who is involved in some corrupt politics. A plot like this one where the main character being corrupt or "bad" (as i explored in a previous blog here) has really started to catch on in the entertainment world. With these shows being aired today, I wonder if in the US there was always freedom for what your show could be about.

I did some research on what had been the guidelines around what the allowed content in motion pictures and television, and from 1934-1968 there was something called the Hays Code. If you want to see the details of what was not allowed here is a list of things. One thing that stood out to me in this list was "sympathy for criminals", i find this interesting because today, majority of television revolves around some sort of criminal or protagonists who commits illegal crimes. For instance in the show House of Cards, it alone would probably cross almost every rule established in Hays Code. So i wonder how the public or the United States has changed so much since then, to make all of this legal to be produced in entertainment for the public.

For obvious reasons, freedom for all in the US was not reason back when Hays code was in place, but i would argue that some Americans still can not handle the content in some of these shows. I wonder what kind of influence these corrupt characters have on the effect of peoples lives?

Power does not corrupt.

Fear corrupts...perhaps the fear of a loss of power.

John Steinback

The Reagan Way

In light of the Perilous Paper, talks about the Cold war, and current issues with the Russian government, the recent CPAC or Conservative Political Action Conference, Ronald Reagan lived on although he passed away about 10 years ago. The main topic of discussion was how the current government, specifically the Conservatives are dealing with Vladimir Putin. For the short clip and the story about the conference click here. There was much criticism of how the situation today is being handled, however on the positive end they all commemorated how Reagan dealt with the Soviets during the Cold war.



The main idea I took away from the article and video was that Reagan did not give the Soviets any special attention unless it was in an arms talk (about weapons of mass destruction). And when Reagan was in office during the Cold War, is when things started to go in the right direction for an American standpoint. So this could be telling for today on how to treat and deal with Putin and the Russian conflicts. With all the attention lately from the Olympics and Ukraine, all eyes are on Putin, and by Reagan's philosophy that exactly how he likes it. Marco Rubio, a very conservative Senator from Florida said, “Reagan dealt with the Soviet Union because they had nuclear weapons and he wanted peace, but he never accepted the Soviet Union,” The thing that most strikes me here, is "accepted" portrays a negative connotation of how the government is dealing with Putin. It almost is saying that they're conforming to what the Russians are doing.For the future, I believe the US government as a whole should not put their past aside like they have recently, and instead look back at what worked in past conflicts. This CPAC could really be a positive outlook on how to deal with foreign conflict in the present day.

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, 

if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.

George Bernard Shaw

NCAA athletes getting next pay day?

In recent news some Northwestern football player have brought forth a proposal to establish a players union in the NCAA.They are trying to put a union together in attempt to give student-athletes rights that they believe they should have. Unfortunately for fans of college sports, if this petition gets passed there could end up being a lock out in some of their favorite sports. (more info on the petition here)

I think that college athletes should ultimately have rights as student-athletes, and they should be able to make money in their sport. The NCAA argues that they're students first then athletes, so because of this they wont allow these athletes to make money in their respected fields from sponsorship and other things. I strongly believe that this is unfair to these athletes. It doesn't make sense to me that a student attending college could get a job and make money, while an athlete can play his or her sport, which could very well end up being their job but isn't allowed to prosper from that.

What the Northwestern player are trying to do could be very influential on the world of college sports. I think it is crucial for this petition to be signed, in order for them to have the ability to establish a players union. In the near future we could be seeing a great change in how we look at and watch our beloved sports.

Are we Standardized?

In light of the ACT and standardized teasing season, I would like to devote a blog to these wonderful tests. At New Trier High School, the ACT dominates junior year. And what I mean when I say dominates, it literally hovers over everyones school year and is relentless if a student is not successful or happy with their score. At New Trier majority of students are privileged with the ability to be tutored for these tests, but most elsewhere students are not so fortunate. This leads me to believe that we aren't really competing with the country, we are really competing against our classmates.

The pressure of getting a good score on the test is monstrous. Not only for the student but for also the parents. They have a responsibility as well, to make sure their son or daughter is well prepared to take the test. But of that most pressure obviously relies on the students taking the test, we are expected to put in the effort to study for the standardized test, and please do not forget that we still have to juggle this important score with that old thing called the GPA. ACT is essentially another class to worry about, that has homework and requires much effort to study for it. With school and the test, it is basically a juggling act to keep yourself afloat in both areas. Juggling these two things not only takes so much time out of a week, but also causes a build up of stress which is the last thing needed to all our added work. Oh I completely for got to include in this workload an important term paper called the Junior Theme.  And it wouldn't be complete with all of the college tours you are supposed to squeeze in your next six months.

A number 1 through 36 is the label most colleges place on students applying to their school. Today you have to be above a 30 to really get the "pick" of most big ten schools. Any score above a 30 is not easily achieved, you have to be a well versed student, but also be a good test taker. The major problem with this test is that you have to be a good Essentially each student is being graded on their performance and not what kind of person they are or what they could possibly offer to a school. I believe that is unfair to many kids, with all this built up pressure the odds are not in your favor to show up on a saturday morning and perform your best for 4 straight hours in every subject in school.
performer. 

Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?

William Shakespeare

Olympics synonymous with Russian Mob?

This Olympics has been all over my social media. Usually i can say its for the sports, but this year its not. It has seemed like Russian was "behind the 8 ball" for a long time now when it has come to the construction and security of the games. Before the games started, ABC news reported on a story that said the Olympics could be a corrupt games, because of some the head sponsors and people behind the operations.

There have been many stories of hotel rooms being unfinished, water in the village being tainted, and many other problems. This makes me question why the olympic committee or how they agreed to have the games in Sochi (here for story on problems in Sochi). It seems that Putin just threw together a mountain with a couple stadiums and snow for these games. The unprofessional products that were produced from the Sochi games, could have been a result from a corrupt Russian government. Which leads me to believe that there was some corruptness in getting the games to Sochi.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, 

but if you want to test a man's character,

 give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

NFL gouging Superbowl fans wallets

Josh Finkelman filled a class-action lawsuit against the NFL claiming the league is greedy when it comes to seats at the biggest yearly football event-the Superbowl.  A big football fan like Josh charged the league in a Newark Federal Court with breaking New Jersey law by releasing only 1% of the seats in MetLife Stadium to the public.  He also further charges the league inflated the face value and price of the seats to increase its sales.

The NFL generates approximately 10 billion in revenues from this one game and it locks out its biggest fan base by making it impossible for the average guy to purchase tickets for the biggest football game of the year.  

While visiting NFL.com for tickets Josh was re-routed to a resale site where one seat was going for $4,000.  The NFL responded by saying blaming the resale sights for the extravagant fees.

I am completely on Mr. Finkelman's side why can't they release more seats to the average fan. Most Americans can not afford the expensive prices for the game. The NFL will still make billions of dollars especially with all of the ads and the amount of people watching the game at home on the television.

While I am not certain this is much different then any other popular venue, whether it involves concerts, shows or other sporting events. Why does the public need to be charged at such a costly amount.  

I feel like their are taking advantage of their fans while getting richer in the process.

The point of this lawsuit is that only a very small fraction is available to the general public.

The lawsuit alleges "upon information and belief, individual franchise teams do not make their allotments available to the general public, but instead offer them, in large part, to resellers, who grossly inflate the price then repackage the tickets into costly packages..."The New Jersey law does state in it's Consumer Fraud Act "Withholding tickets from sale, prohibited amount." Maybe there will be a decision on this lawsuit where the consumer and fan base can participate in the biggest football game of the year.

"The rich become richer and the poor become poorer is a cry heard throughout the whole civilized world."

Friedrich Schiller

Vaccinate your kids

It started before the holidays an annoying cough that would not go away...I must be just getting a cold or was it something else?  A visit to my doctor put me on medicine and still that cough persisted keeping me hacking all night. The coughing continues morning noon and night, the prescribed medicines and cough suppressant was not working, I go back to the doctor and more medicine prescribed this time hoping it will be the cure for my sleepless nights. And then another test, could it be Whooping Cough? No! Not me...my parents have always been timely with my vaccinations especially because I was born with a heart condition. Always taking the extra precautions necessary to keep me healthy. But there it was, a confirmed diagnosis of whooping cough also known as Pertusis.

A mixed debate has been going around for quite sometime about vaccinations for kids. Some people really think their children's immune system is strong enough to fight off preventable disease. For example, one lady born in the 70's tells a story here, about how her mother didn't believe in vaccinating, which later caused her many complications in childhood illnesses. I believe they are wrong. I was born with a compromised immune system and therefore always more susceptible to many viruses and airborne illnesses. There are no confirmed studies to suggest that not vaccinating your child will ensure their good health. However, it has been proven NOT vaccinating your child could expose other innocent children to viruses. Most proponents have argued that vaccinations are one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century. Diseases like rubella, diphtheria, measles and whooping cough once killed thousands of infants but are now prevented from these vaccinations.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics most childhood vaccines are 90-99% effective in preventing disease.  And for those (like myself) who have been vaccinated against theses diseases, but contract the virus anyway our symptoms are usually milder and less serious. The parents against these childhood vaccinations believe the government does not have the right to interfere in their children's health decisions. They hold religious beliefs and natural law as a reason for not vaccinating. They believe the rare and possible side-effects are not worth the risk of safeguarding about the "possibility" of their child getting the disease. A suggestion also arises whether the vaccines are promoted to generate profits for manufacturers who endorse vaccines.

I am a proponent of vaccinations. I am also lucky to have just an annoying cough and not gasping for breath like the innocent babies who have not been vaccinated. Another thing I believe is that a rational and thoughtful human being should consider how a decision can effect other human beings.  I personally would never feel comfortable knowing there was a possibility I spread a disease that made another person suffer or caused their untimely death. If you want to learn about how outbreaks have effected places across the map, here is a local news video on a outbreak of Pertusis.

"Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.

Winston Churchill

Gun Violence

A very controversial topic that is still being discussed in the news right now, is the right to own a gun in America. Our second amendment says that we as Americans have the right to bear a firearm. Today, this is being questioned, because of the many recent gun violence cases happening all over the country. I may be a little late on keying in on this topic, but it is only because everyday while watching the 5:00 news, another life has been taken by the use of a firearm. And I wonder how this would change if we outlaw gun laws.

I believe that we should rethink the amendment, not abolish it entirely but restructure how and who can buy guns in our country. There has been to many happenings in the past where a man,women, or young adult even, with a mental disability or suffering from a mental illness, has gotten their hands on weapons that have the ability to create terror in society. And it seems like time and time again things like this has happened. For example: The Newtown shooting, Aurora movie theater, Navy shipyard, Columbine, maybe the first shooting in a school Debbie Dan in my hometown Winnetka and unfortunately several more. 

Today in Chicago, our Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to ban gun laws, and regulate gun sales in the city, to ultimately protect the young lives. In this article from the Chicago Tribune, it describes what the city of Chicago and Emanuel are trying to do. When Rahm spoke about how the process had been going and what he planned to achieve, he said, "“There are a number of gun laws that have existed in the city of Chicago that we have lost in court,” Emanuel said. “I'm not interested in litigation for the purpose of litigation. I'm interested in getting public safety for the people of the city of Chicago. The court set up a set of boundaries.” From this quote, we can denote that previously there has been many efforts to create stricter laws, but they seem to disappear over time, so now he is focusing on the publics safety.

Although it is swaying from our first liberties of being able to bear arms, i think we really need to reconsider if this should be an average Americans right. Because it might ultimately be jeopardizing our publics safety in the long run.

"Government's first duty is public safety."

Arnold Schwarzenegger

When do we Intervene

Lately Kim Jong Un and North Korea have been surfacing over and over again in our media. Especially because our "SAVIOR" Dennis Rodman has been contributing to the superb basketball programs Un has put in place for the country. Excluding Rodman for a moment, North Korea is still a threat to the safety of the surrounding countries and the world. He has proven himself to be an egomaniac and tyrant.

Un continues to make us question when and how do we intervene. For now, I believe its a waiting game, until he makes a potentially threatening move that could harm us or an Ally. Recently in the news there has been a story that he killed his 75 year old uncle for siding with one of his brothers. This and many other stories have proven he is ruthless, and will take almost anyone out for not agreeing with his regime.

It is simply amazing to me that Dennis Rodman, an former NBA player believes he could be the answer to these problems. Dennis has taken many trips, and built up a so called "friendship" with Kim Jong Un. After his visits, Dennis has been interviewed on national television, where he has been questioned about his intention for his travels, and each time he has freaked out on television unable to give any of us watching a clear understanding of his motivation. At the same time making it clear to all of us tuned-in that he also seems to be mentally unstable and obviously not making a smart decision by venturing into North Korea with a "madman".

"The ego is not master in its own house."

Sigmond Frued

Death...first option?

I saw an article on CNN that reminded me of the presentation i did on the PIC. My presentation was about how the Prison Industrial Complex denies mentally unstable people proper treatment for their illnesses. In the recent situation i feel that this young boy was denied help for his illness, which ultimately led to his young death.

Unfortunately this is one of many stories i have come across. A police officer has pulled the trigger too fast. The Schizophrenic 18-year-old Keith Vidal was just 100 pounds, and 3 officers were called to try and detain him for an incident in his family's home. He was armed with a screw driver, which i don't think of a deadly of a weapon, especially considering the three officers were fully equipped with guns, tasers and other detaining weapons.

Not sure about our current police enforcement programs training in dangerous situations, but where is the evaluation of the individual going into a new case? Just pull the trigger? "They have to make a judgment very quickly: Is (the individual) a danger to themselves or a danger to others?" said Ron Martinelli, a justice and forensic consultant who trains police officers on what to do in such situations." So are these officers being trained to make a judgment call even in a non-life threatening situation with a unique individual? Why do they have to resort to guns as the first option? These police officers should be trained with all aspects of mental stability, rage, psychosis etc. etc. An education and understanding of how to handle and deal with the mental unstable-just may save alive!

I think we Americans need to take a step back and look at how many innocent lives have been taken because there was a judgment call made early and without merit!

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Nelson Mandela

Danger for Sochi

Recently our current news stations are reporting on suicide bombs set off in Russia, very close I might add to the location of the 2014 winter olympics. One was set off consecutively with the following day after the first bomb. Prime Minister Putin of Russia sent out huge security measures to prevent any other attacks, and confirms he will investigate the origins of who was behind the bombs. Unfortunately his  efforts weren't enough because a similar bomb was set off the very next day, in the same city of Volgograd, raising questions about the safety of our Olympics athletes. How will they ensure the safety of all participants, fans, and residents to the area of Sochi?

CNN wrote an article about all the troubling dangers occurring leading up onto the games here. It is known that some areas around Sochi are war zones for Russia, where there are many extremist groups that have settled because of the corrupt government. Cheychnya is a short distant from Sochi and is a known base for the Taliban and other extremist groups. Leading me to believe that the ultimate safety of the people around the area is already compromised and the games do not begin until February 7th. I don't know why the olympic committee would risk a prestigious game like the Olympics allowing the location to be secured by a region considered unsafe and somewhat surrounded by a dangerous area.

Putin has promised to "Annihilate" terrorists if any one of them put the Olympic at risks, but can we as Americans really trust him? The USA team has hired their own security group to protect the athletes everywhere they go, and they have set up escape plans in case of any attacks occur at the games, including arranging airplanes as a means of escape only a short distance away to evacuate them.

"Travelers never forget they're the foreigners."

Mason Cooley

False Reports

I recently watched an interesting 60 minutes episode about the Benghazi attack. As it turns out its almost entirely untrue. The report comes from one of the most insightful and throughly watched news programs in the country. How could the this professional staff allow a falsified story to make the headlines? It baffles me that CBS would allow this? It also raises many questions on how many times something is presented to sway us as checked facts bur reality an untruthful story on a news program.

Dylan Davies was the witness interviewed on 60 minutes, he told the story of being present in the embassy when the Benghazi attack occurred. He explained to the news program how he "heroically recounted how he climbed the compound’s 12 foot wall and clocked a terrorist with the butt of his rifle, and how he personally witnessed the charred remains of US Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack." Glued to my television I listened intently to his unbelievable and very heroic tale, which is perfect for a news program like 60 minutes who prides itself with uncovering stories no one else can attain. Unfortunately this gentleman and the book just about to be released was a complete fabrication, which leaves me questioning what sources and information where accumulated before he was interviewed...Lora Logan, the reporter that did the story was brought on to CBS news to explain there misstep in their prior show here. She gets interrogated by her own station in this interview, which i believe really shows the embarrassment and humiliation the news program has to deal with especially making Lora Logan the scapegoat  for Davies.

It also raises questions for me about how many times a news program gets the story wrong, or fabrication find their way "in" to make the tale more exciting and watchable. If the American public can not truly trust news stations and television that present us with fact based programs giving us the real story who are we to believe? We are not talking about a reality show this is supposed to be confirmed reporting of thoroughly checked information.

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true."

Soren Kierkegaard

Heroin threatens our country

A dangerous highly addictive drug is making a comeback-Heroin! It is known as a drug that snares the user from the first try.  The intense rush puts the user in a state of euphoria when it is metabolized in the brain.  Tolerance of the drug develops quickly and the user will need more of the drug to achieve the same effect which creates the addiction.
Illicit heroin is used as freebase form and has the consistency of white powder and besides boiling and injecting it, it is smokable.  In 2004 Afghanistan was producing 87% of the world's heroin supply. However the production rate in Mexico has risen from 2007-2011 and now Mexico is the second largest producer in the world.  Mexican cartels are also producing another type of heroin called "black tar". A small bag will only costs the first time user dollars compared to other recreational drugs and in fact, addict the user quickly and as the costs go up the user becomes desperate to find more. Dependance on this drug can lead to death from overdose which can happen in minutes or hours because of anoxia which is a result of suppressed breathing reflex. Many fatalities occur because of other drug interactions like depressant drugs or alcohol and heroin can also cause nausea and vomiting which causes aspiration while the user is unconscious.

The so called underworld of illicit drugs was put front and center recently when the Governor of Vermont Peter Shumlin spoke of the challenge and obligation his state is facing.  On January 8, 2014 he addressed his growing concern about the drug crisis effecting his state. "The rising tide of drug addiction and drug-related crime spreading across Vermont." He stated some facts facing their state have shown that what started as a prescription drug addiction has now "blown into a full-blown heroin crisis". A recent film by Bess O'Brien called "The Hundry Heart" brings to the fore-front the community of Vermont's struggle to save its children from the growing epidemic.

Heroin is a drug that does not effect only those who are born into poverty, it destroys lives at every level of financial means. Most families are ripped apart by the terrible pain and shock of finding out their loved ones have such a serious drug problem. My own parents recently attended a funeral for a 23 year old boy from the North Shore who died of a heroin overdose. He came from a wealthy family who used every means to get him on the road to recovery. Sadly, he lost his battle and now they have to try and heal from the pain and loss of their son.

I don't know what the right answers or how we can fight this as a country, but something needs to be done. The drug cartels are making huge money off of innocent lives knowing full well the addictive nature of the drug.  Hopefully the message of Governor Shumlin will be heard across our country.  I think the movie "Hungry Heart" should be seen at high schools across the country. The message should start with kids because the heroin addicts life is frightening.  Schools should have a greater role in recognizing risky behavior and family dysfunction so the first temptation at Heroin never happens.

"Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism"

- Carl Jung

Driven For a Change

A daily occurrence in almost all households throughout the world is outlawed for women in Saudi Arabia. Their need to run the most basic errand is completely reliant on man to drive them. These unfortunate women live like prisoners held at a lower esteem than a 16 year old boy, because society is patriarchal.

"The laws of the kingdom prohibit activities disturbing the public peace and opening venues to sedition, which only serve the senseless, the ill-intenional, intruders, and opportunity hunters" the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi press agency. (story here)

As a gesture of defiance, about 60 women in Saudi Arabia protested the country's ban on female drivers on Oct 26, 2013 and got behind the wheel of a car. Many of these women started their campaign in the 1990's. they were terrified then because there was no social media to highlight and protect what they were doing.

The cost well out weighs the right for everyone including women to drive a car. It's amazing to me that there even needs to be a cause for such a simple, basic human right of equality. What are they afraid of?!?!

Many clerics in the country have staged an obnoxious protest against female drivers. One prominent cleric actually claimed that "unnamed sources" medical studies proved that driving cars harm a women's ovaries.

The opposition can no longer hide behind their religious fanatical views. I think the spur of activists protest and social media will show that Saudi society is ready for a change. it has been proved with the many uprisings throughout the world. Social media does not allow a "blind-eye" to injustice to prevail anymore.

"Progress is impossible without change,

 and those who cannot change their minds cannot

 change anything."
-George Bernard Shaw

Climate Reality

Al Gore appeared as a quest earlier this week on Jimmy Kimmel to promote his latest "Climate Reality Project." 24 hours of reality the cost of Carbon. (here is a link to Gore's website)

According to Gore "We're dumping 90 million tons of heat-trapping carbon pollution... into the atmosphere every 24 hours and its altering our climate." He would like to see a carbon emission tax implemented throughout the United States like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger  adopted in 2006.

Gore believes the energy companies should be taxed on all their fossil fuels, which he suggest have carbon as their primary element. He further predicts these are having a direct impact on our climate changes.

However, information just released from NASA shows the ozone hole which has also been linked to climate changes was significantly smaller this year.

The ozone layer above the earth serves as a protective shield against harmful ultraviolet radiation. On recent years it has become thinner -- blamed on the presence of chlorine & bromine that eat away ozone molecules.

Most countries have reduced this emission side 1987 Montreal Protocol. They agreed to phase out ozone depleting substances.

The National Ozone & Atmospheric administration confirmed these chemicals were at their highest during the beginning of the century, but are now declining. They state the hole is based on meteorological factors and the earth changes are cyclical due to the science of nature, not necessarily man.

Although Al Gore won the Nobel Peace prize in 2007 on raising awareness for Global Warming, many speculate he has used scare tactics by over exaggerating the future of Global Warming for people to donate to his funds, and for personal gain. Here is a video disproving some of his theories. I believe Gore is trying to manipulate the publics eye, by implicating some far fetched disasters into the minds of the public. History has also shown that climate change is a natural occurrence to the earth and not determined by human interaction. Global Warming is very important to society, but our public has made and has continued to make smart decisions to ensure the safety of our environment.

"Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

Risky bet?

In my business management class, we discuss a topic of the day in the beginning of class everyday. Yesterday I was very intrigued by an idea that was explored. The discussion was about a new way to invest, not into a company, stock, or commodity, it considered an investment into an athlete. I am a long time sports fan and this was right up my alley. I thought this was an ingenious idea for the athlete and investor.

Arian Foster, a top 5 running back for the Houston Texans, will be the first professional athlete to sell a piece of himself to the public. Fantex Brokerage Services will be purchasing 20% or 10 million dollars of Arian Fosters stake in his future income. To learn more about the specifics of this idea click here. Fantex will be selling the 20% to any investors that are willing to put their money, faith, or love into an elite athlete like Arian Foster.

For investors, this purchase of Arian Foster, is like buying any stock. Everything is performance based, if Foster has a MVP like season, is a Super Bowl contender, and/or scores a huge contract in the offseason, the investors will receive dividends, and like any other stock the price would increase. But if Foster does not have a successful season, big accomplishments, gets injured, etc... the stock value would decrease and investors will lose money. There is high risk but also high reward with this proposition.

For Foster this is a smart decision, by selling 20% of himself, he lowers the risk of not making the money on his contract. However, the reward for him making money is still high. An idea like this could become predominant in the future, with other star athletes, actors big society names selling themselves as well. Do you think athletes should be allowed to sell apart of themselves? Would you invest?

"If you don't value your time, neither will others. 

Stop giving away your time and talents. 

Value what you know & start charing for it."

-Kim Garst

Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying hit an all time low on September 10th, when a twelve year old girl Rebecca Sedwick (read about her story here) jumped to her death from an abandoned cement factory tower.

A Florida sheriff has charged a 12 and 14 year old girls on aggravated stalking charges, claiming the two young girls bullied and tormented her in school and online. This case has drawn attention on an international level.

The incident between the girls started over a boyfriend, but soon became so malicious Rebecca's parents switched her to a different school. Unfortunately with text and social media connection everyone at an instant, the girls were still able to harass her. It must have felt like there was no escape. Cyber bullying happens in what is supposed to be the safest place for all of us, in our own homes!

I am not sure how I feel about an immature 12 & 14 years old going to prison. But I do know that just because the words are written and not said, we have to "own them". It may be worse that someone can read over and over again hateful words said.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by ending it today."

-Abraham Lincoln

Who is Malala?

Riding the bus to school one sunny October day, there is an eerie quiet in the town. Your school bus stops abruptly and a man waving a big gin ask for you by name, "who is Malala?". You are a fifteen year old girl just sitting next to your best friend, and your life changes instantly. You are shot three times, once in the head, and are hanging onto life.

This remarkable story has played out in real life just one year ago today. On Oct 9th, 2012, the Taliban targeted the young fifteen year old named Malala Yousafzai, simply because she believed every child, including girls, has the right to an education. She was a vocal outspoken opponent to the strict Islamic law enforced by the Taliban, against the education of girls and women.

the group has threatened to continue to look for opportunities to silence her. But, the world is listening now; the soft -spoken, now 16 year old, has continued from a far (now residing in England) to fight for the rights of all women and children that face Pakistan's "male-dominated culture".

Malala was in good standing to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, her upcoming book is about to be released as well. This gentle girl is a remarkable person, she holds no anger for the man who tried to take her life. Malala is a very brave inspiring teenager, who hopes to bring political and social change to her country of Pakistan.

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and it's best hope for the future."

John F. Kennedy  

Root, Root, Root for the Bad Guy

I was sitting on my couch this morning contemplating what i was going to do for 12 hours before the final episode of AMC's Breaking Bad tonight. The show leaves watchers with constant cliffhangers after every episode, questions left unanswered and the lingering thoughts that they may never be answered.

Image by http://www.mtvhive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Breaking-Bad-Season-500.jpg

The show stars Bryan Cranston, a household name for some, he also stared as the goofy Dad from Malcolm in the Middle, for all of you 90's children out there. His character in BB (AKA Breaking Bad), is a father and chemist who discovers he has terminal cancer, so he decides to cook meth to leave his family with money when he dies. He realizes that the meth business is a booming one from his DEA brother-in-law, so he becomes apart of it. As the show progresses, viewers start to realize "Walt"(Bryan Cranston) evolves into a not so nice guy, some might say he turns "bad". Personally, I still am very fond of his character, although he is now the bad guy. From what i have read, seen, and been told by my fellow viewers, is that i am not alone, people seem to be rooting for the bad guy.

I wonder why these viewers and myself keep cheering for Walt to succeed, even though we all know he does not deserve too. This point brings to an idea that maybe we all like the bad guy, because he is very relatable, and that maybe we all have a little bad in us...? Of course by bad i don't mean cooking meth and committing many felonies that could put any average civilian away for life, but that no one is perfect, and that although we may have the right intentions, the result is just plain BAD.

"The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything but genius"

-Oscar Wilde

Have we failed to remember?...

  The dominant, reoccurring news story in most American households right now, is the conflict with Syria. They have used chemical weapons on their own people, breaking international laws, and committing crimes. The Assad regime has now admitted to the use, but has only agreed to destroy the current weapons in their possession. Our president, Barrack Obama gave a speech on the 10th of September 2013, on what action will be taken on Syria. If anyone missed the speech here is the hard copy, and also a video.

The question, "Are we bystanders?" lingers. America is known as a country that doesn't stand by and watch atrocities involving human rights, and genocide occur. President Obama has taken the position this evening to say we as Americans cannot stand by, while over a hundred thousand of innocent lives have been taken by a dictator. How do we not get involved? We were bystanders for too long during many atrocities. The most memorable being the holocaust, a few other examples are the Bosnian Serbia conflict, and  Rwanda etc... Millions of people were being killed before our country decided to act. No one wants to get involved, until it's on your doorstep. I think to myself if we had involved ourselves in these horrific wars, how may innocent lives could we have spared?! Here we are again, as the opportunity presents itself with Syria, we have the chance to act and stop the killings.  

“Those who fail to remember are doomed to repeat it.”-G Santayana 

  Viewer discretion is advised, here is a video of the result of innocent Syrians being gassed by the Regime.