This is a blog for Mrs. Ballew's Civics and Economics classes.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
6th 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 video clip or podcast instead of an article.
72 police officers were killed early tuesday by suspected Maoists in Eastern India. This occured when about 200 officers were conducting a road inspection. To trigger the many kills that they got, the attackers fired at security officers and set of land mines. The attack/shootout lasted about 4 hours.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently threatened to join the Taliban insurgency as a result of the immense outside controls foreign nations have been placing on him. Several Lawmakers in the United States are afraid that he meant these comments seriously and fear huge political ramifications. I don't think that we should necessarily take these threats to heart, but rather take them as a warning to back off. Obviously, President Karzai outright joining the insurgency in Afghanistan would basically destroy everything he and his regime stand for. However, it's apparent that our overbearing control over the politics in Afghanistan are taking a toll on Karzai, and it's best that we simply back off if we wish to keep diplomatic relations with him. I think that it is in the best interests of both nations if we can slowly remove our troops from the area and hand more trust over to their leaders to pass legislation. A clean withdrawl from Afghanistan is what we need in order to keep future peaceful relations with the Middle East.
There was an explosion in a West Virginia mine on monday. The company that owns the mine, Massey Energy, has had hundreds of safety and environmental violations in recent years. The company has had to pay millions to cover all of the fines. This company has had trouble with safety. The explosion on monday was the fourth fatal acccident to happen in 12 years at one of the companies mines. Inspectors had given the mine over 100 violations just in 2010. The mine had over 450 in 2009. The company also owned another mine in West Virginia, the Sago mine, which was the mine where 12 miners were killed in 2006. The companies safety has improved since 2006, but there is still a lot to do to keep miners safe. Mining is considered the most deadliest job because so many people die every year in mining accidents.
Last wednesday a 7.7 measured earthquake hit indonesia. it was said to be about 3-4 minutes long with some effects on surrounding areas. the quake in total only injured a number of people. hopefully small enough number to count on 2 hands. the damage was about 2 houses totaled and some other areas slightly damaged. it caused 2 tsunamis but both were not too harmful. it is said to not have bad reprecutions on the far west coast of north america... good for california. us on the other hand all the way on the east coast would not have been affected eight way. it has never been a huge deal putting up with earthquakes or tsunamis where we live but we need to take a minute to reconize our fellow nations. they go through this struggle more often than they should and it is up to us to take the eniciative to do what we can to help... : )
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/06/massachusetts.bullying.suicide/index.html?hpt=Sbin 3 teens charged in Massachusetts bullying case plead not guilty
15 year old Phoebe Prince, who moved from Ireland and went to South Hadley High School in Northampton, Massachusetts committed suicide by hanging herself on January 14. Three teenagers, two males and a female, both older than Phoebe, have been accused of leading a bullying campaign against the girl which lasted for months and led her to commit suicide. The bullying was “verbally assualtive” and involved “threat of physical harm”. Two other teens, females, were charged with stalking. The first three teens mentioned have plead not guilty to Hampshire Superior Court. I think that it is really awful that people would purposefully harrass another person to the point where they don’t feel that life is worth living and even go so far as to kill themselves. South Hadley High School claims that they took disciplinary action on the students who were bullying, but obviously it was not enough to stop what was going on. There needs to be a better way to prevent bullying.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/science/07element.html Scientists Discover Heavy New Element Scientists have discovered Ununseptium in a lab north of Moscow. Element 117 only existed for fractions of a second. At the continued rate of discovery these elements will become more stable and will last longer. Ununseptium was produced by smashing together isotopes of calcium and a radioactive element called berkelium in a particle accelerator. Ununseptium is a temporary name but scientists are already working on ways to make element 118.
Yeah yeah yeah, the economy is bad but Ive been expieriencing an economic renissance. Even when I was little I saved up change. I always knew to get exactly what I really really wanted. People are spending less, and they should have been doing this in the begening. Yes I have refined and somewhat expensive taste, but I also Know how to get over on the economic powers that be. Maybe if you all were a little bit smarter we wouldn't be in this mess.................................................................................................................. just something to think about.
A sixteen year-old boy incessantly inhales gasoline for hours and has become addicted to it. He was once a good athlete and student and suddenly became distant and withdrawn after he started huffing gasoline without his parents knowledge. His first experimentation with inhalants was at the age of 12 when he sniffed a can of duster at a friends house. The more he inhaled, the more he liked it and the abuse quickly escalated. According to substance abuse services, 12 year-olds are more likely to get a high chance of inhaling common, legal household substances including aerosol computer cleaners, air fresheners, hair spray or shoe polish than use cigarettes or marijuana. Kids do this out of curiosity, mixed with peer pressure and the desire to be cool, and fit in. It is also cheap and readily available, that is probably the biggest factor, i guess. Their idle time is filled with bad decisions. I think they need to keep busy with activities to fill their idleness and it is up to parents to make sure they are teaching their children how dangerous this really is.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/constance-mcmillen-fake-p_n_525856.html So pretty much this current event is about this girl named Constance and she is lesbian and she wanted to bring a girl to her prom as her date and the school told her that she couldnt. So they hold a trial and they said she shld be allowed to have a girl date. cool right!..... but then when prom night comes only 7 people show up those including: Constance, her date, and 2 students with learning difficulties. Everyone else went to another kind of private prom that Constance didn't know about. Anyways i find this really mean, i feel like the school had a segregated prom which is against what the United States believes in. The fact that she's gay doesnt mean they have to seperate her from the other students!! anyways Constance is a pretty brave girl for standing up for what she believes in :DD
A mudslide in Rio claims the lives of 181 people. more than 5000 are now homeless, and more than 161 people injured. The mudslide was caused by a record rainfall of over 11 inches that fell within 24 hours on Tuesday. More than 200 people are trapped and 30 homes destroyed. I hope that the people that are trapped are rescued and the homes are rebuilt as soon as possible.
President Obama has declared a new policy on the use of nuclear weapons. Known as the Nuclear Posture Review, this document has once again brought up the debate over what the US government is willing to tell the public about how it will use its nuclear arsenal. In short, the doctrine states that the US will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them themselves. I believe that leaves out some major loopholes. For instance, what if a country has nuclear weapons, but just won't declare that they do so that they don't feel threatened by the US? Also, the article mentions something about nations that have violated the treaty that this new doctrine won't apply to. All in all, I think that the Nuclear Posture Review is not really worth much at this point.
In this article, it talks about a horrible mining accident that occured this monday in Naoma, West Virginia. 25 workers were inside of the mine at that time when they noticed some smoke approaching them which signaled a fire somewhere down-mine. Knowing this, the workers immediately moved to a safety chember to try to beat out the fire for four days with 15 miners inside (so they think). 32 rescuers are on the way to deploy large ammounts of mitrogen into the mine to try to die the fire down. I thought this was a very interesting yet depressing article because of the many events that took place, and that are yet to take place.
This article explains how parents are now paying their children to do well in school. I think this is a bad idea and decision by parents because this is not how children should be learning on their own accord. In my opinion this should not be allowed beacause the kids of the future then would be to dependent on money to do well. If this doesnt stop soon then these people will not be able to do find jobs and help the future of the country.
This article explains how NASA has introduced new programs to explore deeper areas in space. This program is said to fit in with the current budget. This technology will allow us to make future discoveries helping the Earth. This will be crtical in the development of our civilization as a whole and possibly meeting new civilizations on other planets.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36411468/ns/politics-white_house/ In this article, Barack Obama along with many other world leaders meet together to discuss the dissmanteling of the nuclear weapon stock piles that various countries such as our own have built up over time since the cold war. They are also trying to make sure that nuclear weapons dont end up in the wrong hands, such as terrorists. I think thatgh this is very important. This is important because with countries coming together to work together to stop future nuclear wars because that way we aswell as the future generations can have a happy and peaceful future.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/india.police.killed/index.html?hpt=T2
ReplyDelete72 police officers were killed early tuesday by suspected Maoists in Eastern India. This occured when about 200 officers were conducting a road inspection. To trigger the many kills that they got, the attackers fired at security officers and set of land mines. The attack/shootout lasted about 4 hours.
Andy Liu
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/apr/05/karzai-threatens-to-join-the-taliban/
ReplyDeleteAfghan President Hamid Karzai recently threatened to join the Taliban insurgency as a result of the immense outside controls foreign nations have been placing on him. Several Lawmakers in the United States are afraid that he meant these comments seriously and fear huge political ramifications. I don't think that we should necessarily take these threats to heart, but rather take them as a warning to back off. Obviously, President Karzai outright joining the insurgency in Afghanistan would basically destroy everything he and his regime stand for. However, it's apparent that our overbearing control over the politics in Afghanistan are taking a toll on Karzai, and it's best that we simply back off if we wish to keep diplomatic relations with him. I think that it is in the best interests of both nations if we can slowly remove our troops from the area and hand more trust over to their leaders to pass legislation. A clean withdrawl from Afghanistan is what we need in order to keep future peaceful relations with the Middle East.
Jake Parks
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/06/mine.disaster.safety/index.html?hpt=T1
ReplyDeleteThere was an explosion in a West Virginia mine on monday. The company that owns the mine, Massey Energy, has had hundreds of safety and environmental violations in recent years. The company has had to pay millions to cover all of the fines. This company has had trouble with safety. The explosion on monday was the fourth fatal acccident to happen in 12 years at one of the companies mines. Inspectors had given the mine over 100 violations just in 2010. The mine had over 450 in 2009. The company also owned another mine in West Virginia, the Sago mine, which was the mine where 12 miners were killed in 2006. The companies safety has improved since 2006, but there is still a lot to do to keep miners safe. Mining is considered the most deadliest job because so many people die every year in mining accidents.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/indonesia.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2
ReplyDeleteLast wednesday a 7.7 measured earthquake hit indonesia. it was said to be about 3-4 minutes long with some effects on surrounding areas. the quake in total only injured a number of people. hopefully small enough number to count on 2 hands. the damage was about 2 houses totaled and some other areas slightly damaged. it caused 2 tsunamis but both were not too harmful. it is said to not have bad reprecutions on the far west coast of north america... good for california. us on the other hand all the way on the east coast would not have been affected eight way. it has never been a huge deal putting up with earthquakes or tsunamis where we live but we need to take a minute to reconize our fellow nations. they go through this struggle more often than they should and it is up to us to take the eniciative to do what we can to help... : )
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/06/massachusetts.bullying.suicide/index.html?hpt=Sbin
ReplyDelete3 teens charged in Massachusetts bullying case plead not guilty
15 year old Phoebe Prince, who moved from Ireland and went to South Hadley High School in Northampton, Massachusetts committed suicide by hanging herself on January 14. Three teenagers, two males and a female, both older than Phoebe, have been accused of leading a bullying campaign against the girl which lasted for months and led her to commit suicide. The bullying was “verbally assualtive” and involved “threat of physical harm”. Two other teens, females, were charged with stalking. The first three teens mentioned have plead not guilty to Hampshire Superior Court. I think that it is really awful that people would purposefully harrass another person to the point where they don’t feel that life is worth living and even go so far as to kill themselves. South Hadley High School claims that they took disciplinary action on the students who were bullying, but obviously it was not enough to stop what was going on. There needs to be a better way to prevent bullying.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/science/07element.html
ReplyDeleteScientists Discover Heavy New Element
Scientists have discovered Ununseptium in a lab north of Moscow. Element 117 only existed for fractions of a second. At the continued rate of discovery these elements will become more stable and will last longer. Ununseptium was produced by smashing together isotopes of calcium and a radioactive element called berkelium in a particle accelerator. Ununseptium is a temporary name but scientists are already working on ways to make element 118.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6365LE20100407
ReplyDeleteYeah yeah yeah, the economy is bad but Ive been expieriencing an economic renissance. Even when I was little I saved up change. I always knew to get exactly what I really really wanted. People are spending less, and they should have been doing this in the begening. Yes I have refined and somewhat expensive taste, but I also Know how to get over on the economic powers that be. Maybe if you all were a little bit smarter we wouldn't be in this mess.................................................................................................................. just something to think about.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/teen-inhalant-abuse/story?id=10311374
ReplyDeleteA sixteen year-old boy incessantly inhales gasoline for hours and has become addicted to it. He was once a good athlete and student and suddenly became distant and withdrawn after he started huffing gasoline without his parents knowledge. His first experimentation with inhalants was at the age of 12 when he sniffed a can of duster at a friends house. The more he inhaled, the more he liked it and the abuse quickly escalated. According to substance abuse services, 12 year-olds are more likely to get a high chance of inhaling common, legal household substances including aerosol computer cleaners, air fresheners, hair spray or shoe polish than use cigarettes or marijuana.
Kids do this out of curiosity, mixed with peer pressure and the desire to be cool, and fit in. It is also cheap and readily available, that is probably the biggest factor, i guess. Their idle time is filled with bad decisions. I think they need to keep busy with activities to fill their idleness and it is up to parents to make sure they are teaching their children how dangerous this really is.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/constance-mcmillen-fake-p_n_525856.html
ReplyDeleteSo pretty much this current event is about this girl named Constance and she is lesbian and she wanted to bring a girl to her prom as her date and the school told her that she couldnt. So they hold a trial and they said she shld be allowed to have a girl date. cool right!..... but then when prom night comes only 7 people show up those including: Constance, her date, and 2 students with learning difficulties. Everyone else went to another kind of private prom that Constance didn't know about. Anyways i find this really mean, i feel like the school had a segregated prom which is against what the United States believes in. The fact that she's gay doesnt mean they have to seperate her from the other students!! anyways Constance is a pretty brave girl for standing up for what she believes in :DD
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/04/08/brazil.flooding/index.html
ReplyDeleteA mudslide in Rio claims the lives of 181 people. more than 5000 are now homeless, and more than 161 people injured. The mudslide was caused by a record rainfall of over 11 inches that fell within 24 hours on Tuesday. More than 200 people are trapped and 30 homes destroyed. I hope that the people that are trapped are rescued and the homes are rebuilt as soon as possible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/opinion/09feaver.html
ReplyDeletePresident Obama has declared a new policy on the use of nuclear weapons. Known as the Nuclear Posture Review, this document has once again brought up the debate over what the US government is willing to tell the public about how it will use its nuclear arsenal. In short, the doctrine states that the US will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them themselves. I believe that leaves out some major loopholes. For instance, what if a country has nuclear weapons, but just won't declare that they do so that they don't feel threatened by the US? Also, the article mentions something about nations that have violated the treaty that this new doctrine won't apply to. All in all, I think that the Nuclear Posture Review is not really worth much at this point.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/09/w.virginia.mine/index.html
ReplyDeleteIn this article, it talks about a horrible mining accident that occured this monday in Naoma, West Virginia. 25 workers were inside of the mine at that time when they noticed some smoke approaching them which signaled a fire somewhere down-mine. Knowing this, the workers immediately moved to a safety chember to try to beat out the fire for four days with 15 miners inside (so they think). 32 rescuers are on the way to deploy large ammounts of mitrogen into the mine to try to die the fire down. I thought this was a very interesting yet depressing article because of the many events that took place, and that are yet to take place.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1978589,00.html?hpt=T2
ReplyDeleteThis article explains how parents are now paying their children to do well in school. I think this is a bad idea and decision by parents because this is not how children should be learning on their own accord. In my opinion this should not be allowed beacause the kids of the future then would be to dependent on money to do well. If this doesnt stop soon then these people will not be able to do find jobs and help the future of the country.
----------------------Deepu--------------------
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/space/04/09/cnet.nasa.new.programs/index.html?hpt=T2
ReplyDeleteThis article explains how NASA has introduced new programs to explore deeper areas in space. This program is said to fit in with the current budget. This technology will allow us to make future discoveries helping the Earth. This will be crtical in the development of our civilization as a whole and possibly meeting new civilizations on other planets.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36411468/ns/politics-white_house/
ReplyDeleteIn this article, Barack Obama along with many other world leaders meet together to discuss the dissmanteling of the nuclear weapon stock piles that various countries such as our own have built up over time since the cold war. They are also trying to make sure that nuclear weapons dont end up in the wrong hands, such as terrorists. I think thatgh this is very important. This is important because with countries coming together to work together to stop future nuclear wars because that way we aswell as the future generations can have a happy and peaceful future.