This is a blog for Mrs. Ballew's Civics and Economics classes.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
1st Period Current Event 4/9
Please post your current event below. As always, include the topic of your article, a link to it, and a 5-6 sentence summary. You may use a podcast or video clip instead of an article.
In Xiangning, China, 115 miners were rescued from the flooded Wangjialing mine on Monday. The miners had been trapped in the mine since March 28, and some had resorted to eating tree bark and drinking the dirty water in order to survive. They were very weak and suffered from dehydration and malnutrition. Some had unstable vital signs, but the rescue effort's medical team reports that none are in critical condition. Rescuers sent nutrient solutions, milk, glucose, and letters of encouragement to the miners until enough water was pumped out for the rescuers to use inflatable rafts to rescue the miners. As of Monday, there were still 38 miners unaccounted for. Mines in China are known for being dangerous, but the Wangjialing mine was in fact safer than many other mines. The miners were put at risk when the mine's managers ignored water leaks and told the miners to keep working in the shaft. I'm glad to hear that the miners are being rescued, but it really bothers me that they were put in that dangerous situation to begin with. China isn't exactly known for having the best worker's rights policies. I would hope that after so many accidents in the mining industry (not only in China) that more safety precautions would be taken, but unfortunately it does not appear as if that is happening.
I found this article particularly hard to read because it's about kids our age. In this article they talked about how students have been bullied so much they have committed suicide (bully-cide). I can't imagine the pain and how intense the bullying must have been to make these teens believe that the only way out is through suicide. It's happened quite a few times throughout the country, and it's time to take a stand. I believe that these stories need to be brought forward and students need to hear about them through things other than civics homework. This could have been prevented had teachers said something to the bullies, had the parents of the bullies stepped in, et cetera. It's absolutely disgusting that this had to happen more than once before people really heard about the dangerous effects bullying can have on people.
This article explains the state of end of life care in this country. It has been made very clear through scientific research that, despite all the perseveration about "death panels" declaring some people unfit for care, what most people want is to be made comfortable at the end of their life. Ninety percent of adults, in fact, would rather have compassionate care in a hospice than have all concievable measures taken to save their lives. In wake of the healthcare debate, this is extremely relevant. 3 of 5 healthcare dollars in this country are spent on end of life care. By spending this money (which may now be, in some cases, public money) on making the deathly ill as comfortable as possible, we will save money and the heartbreak of families and loved ones. Doing everything possible to save a life is the desire of a small minority of people, and unless they create a living will that specifies it is what they want, I don't believe that government money should be spent on experimental treatments which are often painful and invasive to give them a few more days or hours to live.
This article is about a mine in West Virginia in which 25 people died earlier this week. They died after an explosion, that is currently being investigated. The mine has had to be shut down numerous times because of dangerously high methane levels (3 times last month.) The investigation going on currently suggests that the explosion would have been prevented if the operaters of the mine had taken more precautions. The mine is still being work at and this occurrence has created many worries about whether or not this mine is operated taking all of the necessary safety precautions.
Apparently the airline Spirit is now charging its passengers $45 to have a carry-on bag. Unless their item can fit underneath the chair in front of them, each individual will have to pay the fee. The Spirit airlines are doing this to encourage their passengers to check their luggage under the plane which will now be $5 cheaper than a carry-on bag. This was getting on and of of the plane will be a swift and quick process. Spirit is a small privately owned airline and is the first to try this. The larger airlines are watching closely to see if people will actually for their bags. None of them have changed their fees yet because they think that it will not be worth it to the passengers. Though they were encouraged that this would stop people from not having a bag under the plane and stuffing everything they can into their carry-ons. I personally think that this is a bad idea and that the 150 flights that Spirit has each day will have less and less passengers especially with the economy as bad as it has been. I will not pay to have my carry-on bag on the plane! Go Southwest!!
My article is about Bristol Palin, appearing in a commercial to ask teens to "pause" before having sex. This is a different attitude than her previous statement about abstinence only, as well as a deviation from her mother's policy. I, quite frankly, think that the whole situation with Bristol has been hilarious. Here's her mother, a huge politician famous for being anti-sex (ed) who can't even keep her own daughter from getting knocked up. This confirms what we have long known: Abstinence causes pregnancies.
The video is about a girl from Alabama who was suspended because her prom dress was too revealing. The school officials thought that it was too short and too low cut to be appropriate. Apparently, over 15 students were found to be violating the dress code and we asked to go home. After seeing the dress in the video, I think that she should have been allowed to attend her prom in that dress (it's not that bad). However, I do understand what the school was doing, because our school has many dress code incidents as well. Personally, I'm against strict dress codes, because I believe that students should be able to make those decisions for themselves. What a person wears is a form of self-expression.
This is an article about supreme court judge Steven weights and his retirement plans. He will be turning 90 on april 20th and has been serving for the supreme court for 35 years. He plans announcing his wether or not he is going to retire or not at the end of the month. If he does it will give Obama the privilege of nominating some to fill the spot. There are 3 people how are being thought of for the job, Judge Diane Wood, 59 ,Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and Judge Merrick Garland, 57. They are all from the left party.
This article discusses the increased use of wind power in America. More than 10,000 megawatts of wind power were installed last year and just one megawatt can power up to 1,000 homes. California has planned to have 20 percent of their energy drawn from renewable resources by this year. The use of renewable energy resources is encouraged all across America, whether it wind power, solar power, or any other form. Although more energy may be produced by wind power, solar power is more easily accessible to people. Solar panels can easily be placed on rooftops of homes and other buildings, but wind power requires a large open space and room for windmills.
This is sort of a continuation of my article from last time about Constance McMillen, the lesbian who was prevented from going to prom in a tuxedo with her girlfriend. When the new non-school-sponsored prom was set up, the details were vague and Constance hadn't been invited. It was then reported that this prom had been canceled, but another one would be held at a country club. Constance was invited to this one, but only seven students attended- Constance and her date, as well as five other students, some of which had learning disabilities. This was a fake prom, and another prom for the rest of the school was held elsewhere, clearly an attempt by the students-and their parents, who payed for the real prom-to isolate the kids who are different from the "normal" kids. I think Constance has been handling her situation very maturely and responsibly, and doesn't seem to have taken any of it personally. It seems like she understands that it's not that the other kids don't like her personally, it's just that they grew up in families and societies that are already homophobic.
the wife of the man who produce the hit tv show Surviver is now dead. She was found in a Hotel in Cancun Mexico on thursday morning around 9am. The Mexican Police have her husband, BRuce Beresford-Redman because they think that he a a suspect. Her body was found in a sewer on the grounds if the hotel. The police believe that she died from strangulation because of the bruises found around her neck. A family friend said that the wife had cleaned out her husbands bank account to go to Hawaii with her children, there she found out that her husband was having an affair with another man.
This story is about a millitary soldier who was convicted of premediated murder. He murdered a woman and two children. That was in 1985. I don't understand why someone would do that. Especially why they would plan to do that. And why did it take so long to convict him? apparently he didn;t seem upset about it. He obviously hurt the victims family though. Some people i just dont understand.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36226444/ I felt like this article from MSNBC tied in nicely with our recent study of taxes. The title "Half of Americans pay no federal income tax" caught my eye. That's because I know so many people who spend extrordinary amounts of time during this season figuring all their taxes out and I was under the impression income taxes were the worst. About 47% of households nation wide either have too low incomes or qualify for lots of exemptions and deductions. These circumstances are caused by many different government programs and policies. And results in half the nation's exemption for services that benefit us all. The figures and statistics listed in the article are projected by "The Tax Policy Center."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36263424/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/ This article is about a girl who has been bullied constantly in school and it went so far that she killed herself. Phoebe Prince lived in Massachusetts and she was only a high school freshman. School documents say that she went to administrator to tell her someone wanted to beat her up, but there is nothing of what the administrator said. Bullying incidents were only reported a week before her death and one day that week a student walked in to the class she was in and yelled at her, After that incident the student who did that had immediate disciplinary action taken on her. Prince was harassed because she briefly dated a popular boy at school on facebook and at school. People at school were calling her Irish Slut and Irish whore. The day she died she was bullied on the way home form school, and later in the day she had hung herself. I think this is such a terrible thing to do to someone and even though they might not sound hurtful to you, they might be really hurtful to others. I do not hear much about cyber bullying, but in the cases I have heard(like this one) they have led to extreme things such as killing themselves or taking it out on others. I feel like more awareness about bullying should be taught by parents and how to deal with it. Bullying is a serious thing and it should not be done.
this article is talking about a recent event that happened a few weeks ago. a china mine recently collapsed while 216 workers were inside. the mine flooded and collapsed, trapping the workers. immediately after it happened rescuers were able to save 108 miners. this monday, another 115 people were saved. while attepting to search the mine, they saw moving lights which lead them to find those 115. there are still believed to be another 38 people inside. these types of accidents happen all the time in china, and many get killed every year. there are currently 200 people as part of 50 rescue groups working to find the remaining people.
The current event link for this week isn't up yet so here's my C.E.: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/us/politics/13cong.html?hp This article is about how some Republicans have joined up with some Democrats to pass a bill that will keep paying unemployment to people in these tough times, despite the overstretchedness of our government. I think this whole recession thing is silly, personally. The Democrats are just throwing money at the problem, and the Republicans are refusing to accept the problem. Neither of these attitudes are working. What we need is to realize that the US economic system isn't working! Then, once we let stupid impractical polluting companies like GM die rather keeping them straggling along with hard earned stimulus checks we can rebuild from the bottom and fix the problem from its source rather than patching it up with ripped, fluttering metaphorical dollar bills.
Laura Bush's memoirs have come out, suggesting that she, her husband, and husband's aids were poisoned in Germany. Now, this wasn't just some food poisoning; this was bedridden sickness. The Secret Service did look into the case but didn't come out with any definite clues to who or what it was. At least a dozen members of the delegation were stricken! Some complained of not being able to walk or hear.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/05/422408/miracle-in-china-115-trapped-miners.html
ReplyDeleteIn Xiangning, China, 115 miners were rescued from the flooded Wangjialing mine on Monday. The miners had been trapped in the mine since March 28, and some had resorted to eating tree bark and drinking the dirty water in order to survive. They were very weak and suffered from dehydration and malnutrition. Some had unstable vital signs, but the rescue effort's medical team reports that none are in critical condition. Rescuers sent nutrient solutions, milk, glucose, and letters of encouragement to the miners until enough water was pumped out for the rescuers to use inflatable rafts to rescue the miners. As of Monday, there were still 38 miners unaccounted for. Mines in China are known for being dangerous, but the Wangjialing mine was in fact safer than many other mines. The miners were put at risk when the mine's managers ignored water leaks and told the miners to keep working in the shaft. I'm glad to hear that the miners are being rescued, but it really bothers me that they were put in that dangerous situation to begin with. China isn't exactly known for having the best worker's rights policies. I would hope that after so many accidents in the mining industry (not only in China) that more safety precautions would be taken, but unfortunately it does not appear as if that is happening.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/06/dr-dale-archer-phoebe-prince-south-hadley-mass-bullying-death-da/
ReplyDeleteI found this article particularly hard to read because it's about kids our age. In this article they talked about how students have been bullied so much they have committed suicide (bully-cide). I can't imagine the pain and how intense the bullying must have been to make these teens believe that the only way out is through suicide. It's happened quite a few times throughout the country, and it's time to take a stand. I believe that these stories need to be brought forward and students need to hear about them through things other than civics homework. This could have been prevented had teachers said something to the bullies, had the parents of the bullies stepped in, et cetera. It's absolutely disgusting that this had to happen more than once before people really heard about the dangerous effects bullying can have on people.
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2010/04/02/death-panels-revisited-studies-show-seniors-seek-end-of-life-comfort-care.aspx
ReplyDeleteThis article explains the state of end of life care in this country. It has been made very clear through scientific research that, despite all the perseveration about "death panels" declaring some people unfit for care, what most people want is to be made comfortable at the end of their life. Ninety percent of adults, in fact, would rather have compassionate care in a hospice than have all concievable measures taken to save their lives. In wake of the healthcare debate, this is extremely relevant. 3 of 5 healthcare dollars in this country are spent on end of life care. By spending this money (which may now be, in some cases, public money) on making the deathly ill as comfortable as possible, we will save money and the heartbreak of families and loved ones. Doing everything possible to save a life is the desire of a small minority of people, and unless they create a living will that specifies it is what they want, I don't believe that government money should be spent on experimental treatments which are often painful and invasive to give them a few more days or hours to live.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/us/07westvirginia.html?hp
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a mine in West Virginia in which 25 people died earlier this week. They died after an explosion, that is currently being investigated. The mine has had to be shut down numerous times because of dangerously high methane levels (3 times last month.) The investigation going on currently suggests that the explosion would have been prevented if the operaters of the mine had taken more precautions. The mine is still being work at and this occurrence has created many worries about whether or not this mine is operated taking all of the necessary safety precautions.
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/04/07/cash-carry-spirit-airlines-charge-luggage-overhead-bins/?test=latestnews
ReplyDeleteApparently the airline Spirit is now charging its passengers $45 to have a carry-on bag. Unless their item can fit underneath the chair in front of them, each individual will have to pay the fee. The Spirit airlines are doing this to encourage their passengers to check their luggage under the plane which will now be $5 cheaper than a carry-on bag. This was getting on and of of the plane will be a swift and quick process.
Spirit is a small privately owned airline and is the first to try this. The larger airlines are watching closely to see if people will actually for their bags. None of them have changed their fees yet because they think that it will not be worth it to the passengers. Though they were encouraged that this would stop people from not having a bag under the plane and stuffing everything they can into their carry-ons.
I personally think that this is a bad idea and that the 150 flights that Spirit has each day will have less and less passengers especially with the economy as bad as it has been. I will not pay to have my carry-on bag on the plane! Go Southwest!!
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/pause-bristol-palin-and-teen-pregnancy/
ReplyDeleteMy article is about Bristol Palin, appearing in a commercial to ask teens to "pause" before having sex. This is a different attitude than her previous statement about abstinence only, as well as a deviation from her mother's policy.
I, quite frankly, think that the whole situation with Bristol has been hilarious. Here's her mother, a huge politician famous for being anti-sex (ed) who can't even keep her own daughter from getting knocked up.
This confirms what we have long known:
Abstinence causes pregnancies.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/04/01/dnt.suspended.over.prom.dress.wbrc
ReplyDeleteThe video is about a girl from Alabama who was suspended because her prom dress was too revealing. The school officials thought that it was too short and too low cut to be appropriate. Apparently, over 15 students were found to be violating the dress code and we asked to go home. After seeing the dress in the video, I think that she should have been allowed to attend her prom in that dress (it's not that bad). However, I do understand what the school was doing, because our school has many dress code incidents as well. Personally, I'm against strict dress codes, because I believe that students should be able to make those decisions for themselves. What a person wears is a form of self-expression.
for reason it says my name is jane but this is lexi.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/05/stevens.supreme.court/index.html
This is an article about supreme court judge Steven weights and his retirement plans. He will be turning 90 on april 20th and has been serving for the supreme court for 35 years. He plans announcing his wether or not he is going to retire or not at the end of the month. If he does it will give Obama the privilege of nominating some to fill the spot. There are 3 people how are being thought of for the job, Judge Diane Wood, 59 ,Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and Judge Merrick Garland, 57. They are all from the left party.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14845646?nclick_check=1
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses the increased use of wind power in America. More than 10,000 megawatts of wind power were installed last year and just one megawatt can power up to 1,000 homes. California has planned to have 20 percent of their energy drawn from renewable resources by this year. The use of renewable energy resources is encouraged all across America, whether it wind power, solar power, or any other form. Although more energy may be produced by wind power, solar power is more easily accessible to people. Solar panels can easily be placed on rooftops of homes and other buildings, but wind power requires a large open space and room for windmills.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/candace-gingrich/prom-shocker-constance-mc_b_527280.html
ReplyDeleteThis is sort of a continuation of my article from last time about Constance McMillen, the lesbian who was prevented from going to prom in a tuxedo with her girlfriend. When the new non-school-sponsored prom was set up, the details were vague and Constance hadn't been invited. It was then reported that this prom had been canceled, but another one would be held at a country club. Constance was invited to this one, but only seven students attended- Constance and her date, as well as five other students, some of which had learning disabilities. This was a fake prom, and another prom for the rest of the school was held elsewhere, clearly an attempt by the students-and their parents, who payed for the real prom-to isolate the kids who are different from the "normal" kids.
I think Constance has been handling her situation very maturely and responsibly, and doesn't seem to have taken any of it personally. It seems like she understands that it's not that the other kids don't like her personally, it's just that they grew up in families and societies that are already homophobic.
John Stavas
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/08/survivor.producer.detained/index.html?hpt=T2
the wife of the man who produce the hit tv show Surviver is now dead. She was found in a Hotel in Cancun Mexico on thursday morning around 9am. The Mexican Police have her husband, BRuce Beresford-Redman because they think that he a a suspect. Her body was found in a sewer on the grounds if the hotel. The police believe that she died from strangulation because of the bruises found around her neck. A family friend said that the wife had cleaned out her husbands bank account to go to Hawaii with her children, there she found out that her husband was having an affair with another man.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/08/427829/jury-finds-soldier-guilty-in-1985.html
ReplyDeleteThis story is about a millitary soldier who was convicted of premediated murder. He murdered a woman and two children. That was in 1985. I don't understand why someone would do that. Especially why they would plan to do that. And why did it take so long to convict him? apparently he didn;t seem upset about it. He obviously hurt the victims family though. Some people i just dont understand.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36226444/
ReplyDeleteI felt like this article from MSNBC tied in nicely with our recent study of taxes. The title "Half of Americans pay no federal income tax" caught my eye. That's because I know so many people who spend extrordinary amounts of time during this season figuring all their taxes out and I was under the impression income taxes were the worst. About 47% of households nation wide either have too low incomes or qualify for lots of exemptions and deductions. These circumstances are caused by many different government programs and policies. And results in half the nation's exemption for services that benefit us all. The figures and statistics listed in the article are projected by "The Tax Policy Center."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36263424/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a girl who has been bullied constantly in school and it went so far that she killed herself. Phoebe Prince lived in Massachusetts and she was only a high school freshman. School documents say that she went to administrator to tell her someone wanted to beat her up, but there is nothing of what the administrator said. Bullying incidents were only reported a week before her death and one day that week a student walked in to the class she was in and yelled at her, After that incident the student who did that had immediate disciplinary action taken on her. Prince was harassed because she briefly dated a popular boy at school on facebook and at school. People at school were calling her Irish Slut and Irish whore. The day she died she was bullied on the way home form school, and later in the day she had hung herself. I think this is such a terrible thing to do to someone and even though they might not sound hurtful to you, they might be really hurtful to others. I do not hear much about cyber bullying, but in the cases I have heard(like this one) they have led to extreme things such as killing themselves or taking it out on others. I feel like more awareness about bullying should be taught by parents and how to deal with it. Bullying is a serious thing and it should not be done.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/05/china.mine.rescue/index.html?hpt=T2
ReplyDeletethis article is talking about a recent event that happened a few weeks ago. a china mine recently collapsed while 216 workers were inside. the mine flooded and collapsed, trapping the workers. immediately after it happened rescuers were able to save 108 miners. this monday, another 115 people were saved. while attepting to search the mine, they saw moving lights which lead them to find those 115. there are still believed to be another 38 people inside. these types of accidents happen all the time in china, and many get killed every year. there are currently 200 people as part of 50 rescue groups working to find the remaining people.
that last comment was by allie by the way, my name didnt come up on the post for some weird reason
ReplyDeleteThe current event link for this week isn't up yet so here's my C.E.:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/us/politics/13cong.html?hp
This article is about how some Republicans have joined up with some Democrats to pass a bill that will keep paying unemployment to people in these tough times, despite the overstretchedness of our government.
I think this whole recession thing is silly, personally. The Democrats are just throwing money at the problem, and the Republicans are refusing to accept the problem. Neither of these attitudes are working. What we need is to realize that the US economic system isn't working! Then, once we let stupid impractical polluting companies like GM die rather keeping them straggling along with hard earned stimulus checks we can rebuild from the bottom and fix the problem from its source rather than patching it up with ripped, fluttering metaphorical dollar bills.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/28/laura.bush.book/index.html?hpt=C1
ReplyDeleteBush was poisoned?
Laura Bush's memoirs have come out, suggesting that she, her husband, and husband's aids were poisoned in Germany. Now, this wasn't just some food poisoning; this was bedridden sickness. The Secret Service did look into the case but didn't come out with any definite clues to who or what it was. At least a dozen members of the delegation were stricken! Some complained of not being able to walk or hear.