Current Event #4: Frankenfish

   A fisherman fishing on the edge of the Occoquan, part of the Potomac River caught a gigantic snakehead fish. He weighed the fish and it came in at around 18 pounds 4 ounces. He gave the fish to a buddy to eat for dinner, before he realized that he had caught a record breaking fish (the previous record holding fish had only weighed 17 pounds 4 ounces) caught eight years before in Japan. This might have been the catch to “get away” in terms of setting the new world record, however this raises other questions.

   The Snakehead is a large predator from Asia that feeds on other fish. Biologists have long feared that its presence in U.S. rivers and lakes could be very destructive. However, Virginia has seen zero impact on fish in the Potomac. The snakehead population in the Potomac seems to be stabilizing.

   I picked this article because my dad and I always share strange, large fish stories with each other. I actually found this article first and shared it with my dad. This one was special because it’s pretty close to home, here in the Potomac. I think the article was fairly well written, but as a freaky-fish-fenatic I wished there had been more information on other records being set in the Potomac. Besides for that I enjoyed reading the article and felt it gave enough details to follow the story easily.

Senior Reflection #3

Weekends are an appreciated break in a senior’s life. I spent time with my boyfriend, friends and doing work I wasn’t able to accomplish during the week. A lot of times I don’t have time to work out during the week. I’m going to try and change that starting this week. I ordered, and finally received, p90x this weekend and have tried several of the workouts already. I star the full 90 day workout routine on Monday, just in time for prom week. I don’t expect miracles from it, I would like to just get in better shape for college. I am also working on my favorite hobby, scrapbooking. I have to create a scrapbook for NEHS, one for my senior year, and eventually one of graduation day. I am looking forward to being able to line up my 6 scrapbooks in my dorm room and be able to look over them and remember my times in middle school and high school back in FCPS.

Senior Reflection #2

 

As 4^th quarter gets into full swing the stress level is rising for most of my friends. AP week is only 2 weeks away and prom is this week! Plans are being formed rapidly and study groups are forming. I am finishing up with most of my clubs, trying to finish Keyettes points, submitting NEHS and MHS hours, turning in forms for service learning chords and of course lots and lots of scholarship work. Senior year is definitely not easy, and to work just a little harder I looked up what scores my school, VIRGINIA TECH!!!! takes for AP exams. That was a definite motivator, knowing the minimum and maximum credits I could get for what scores. It also adds a bit more pressure which isn’t exactly good, but will hopefully be enough to push me through to the end of the AP exams.

Current Event #3: Volunteer Firefighter

On February 24^th, seven volunteer firefighters were hurt in a wind-fueled fire in a vacant Riverdale Heights house, an incident determined to be arson. Two of them were critically injured when they were engulfed by a blowtorch-like jet of flame that shot out of the house. One of them, Kevin O’toole suffered second and third-degree burns over 50% of his body and underwent 10 operations at Washington Hospital Center.

On Friday he became the last of the seven to be released form the hospital, symbolically meaning the February 24^th call could finally be considered complete. He had been holed up for several month in Room 10-3E in the Burn Step-Down Unit on the hospital’s third floor.

As O’Toole left the hospital in a wheel chair, he found the men of Company 309 and, as tradition dictates, the ladder truck he rode to the fateful fire was waiting for him. The nearly 20 men from company 309 and his parents clapped as O’Toole approached with his hands arms and legs dressed in fresh bandages and an umbrella shielding him from the sun. The passenger seat was covered in a sheet and waiting for him. He grinned and waved as the truck rolled away toward his home at the Bladensburg fire station.

This article was very interesting for me because I had read about the original fire back in February. I have a lot of respect for firefighters, and especially volunteer firefighters who put their lives on the line for no pay, total volunteer. I liked the article because it was very sentimental and caring about the fire fighters condition. It was also fairly well written which made it easier to enjoy. 

Want to read the whole thing: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bladensburg-firefighter-burned-in-feb-released-from-hospital/2012/04/20/gIQAyqJjWT_story.html?hpid=z3

Current Event #2: Antibiotics In the Food You Eat?

70% of the antibiotics used in this country go into livestock production. This may not seem like a big deal, until you realize that people are then eating these livestock and the antibiotics they consume.

The reason for this high amount of antibiotics is that animals are kept in horrible conditions, packed together in dirty, dim disgusting areas practically stacked on top of each other. But instead of changing the conditions, the companies managing livestock just pump them full of antibiotics so they don’t get sick. When humans eat constant low-grade doses of antibiotics, common bacteria get constant low-grade doses of antibiotics. This exposure is largely contributing to the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Everything from strep to staph to salmonella are beginning to show resistance to antibiotics. Infections that should otherwise not be occurring, are because of antibiotics in livestock. These concerns aren’t new, however, the FDA proposed banning antibiotics in 1977, but backed down. The FDA would prefer a voluntary approach. They’re asking drug makers to reserve 200 antibiotics for humans only If they fail to comply, they will have to put on their labels that their drugs are also used in animals. However, drug companies know that most people don’t actually read the label so it isn’t much of a threat.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter introduce The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which takes an aggressive approach reserving seven full classes of antibiotics for human use only. A 2005 study at Tufts University estimated that antibiotic-resistant infections add $50 to the annual cost of American health care.

I chose this article because I have been studying livestock production and things of this sort in Human Geo and I saw this article in the Washington Post and wanted to read a little more on it. Most of the info here did not surprise me very much. I am also starting to develop interest in animal rights groups and the despicable treatment of animals is something I believe really needs to stop. There are numerous reasons animals should not be pumped with antibiotics, both human reason, and for their own sake. Companies need to start treating animals better so they don’t have to use antibiotics. 

 Want to read the whole thing?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/wonkbook-why-you-should-care-about-antibiotics-in-animal-feed/2012/04/12/gIQAOEfZCT_blog.html

Senior Reflection #1

It is the beginning of 4^th quarter and I think I have received the “senioritis” lecture at least 5 times in the past 2 days from teachers, parents and adults alike. I know it’s going to get harder and harder to focus as the quarter goes on and especially after the AP exams are over so… I thought I would start getting these blog posts out of the way sooner rather than later! Teachers are definitely not letting us slack off, I have received more than enough homework to last me the weekend.

I have already received an acceptance from Virginia Tech and have accepted my offer of admission. I’ll be a Hokie come August! It’s a huge weight off my shoulders but now there are scholarship applications to do and more than enough work to get me through the weekend while my boyfriend and all of my guitar and chorus friends are line dancing and listening to fun music in Tennessee.

Current Event #1: Heartbreaking School Shooting

One Goh’s life was not easy, but nothing gave him reason to open fire on his previous Okland School. In this shooting he killed six students and a receptionist and wounded three others. This is one of the biggest school shootings since the Virginia Tech shooting that shook the nation years ago.

Little background has been released on this man but what is known about his past is not the pretties picture. He immigrated to the US and began to study at Oakland school, a college founded as a safe place where Korean immigrants could adjust to being in the US and find a new career. He lived by himself in the US and was not social with his neighbors and they knew very little about him. When asked what they knew about Goh, neighbors said he was always well shaven and well dressed but not talkative at all. He later began to attend the Oikos University.

It has been discovered that while living in Virginia, Goh racked up tens of thousands in liens and judgments. His brother, who was an Army sergent died in 2011 in a car crash, and in the same year, his mother died in South Korea. While at Oikos Goh began to express thoughts of violence and anger. People at his school were disrespectful to him, mocking his accent. Goh was dismissed from the college for voicing vicious plans. He began to plan his attack and weeks later he began his attack on the school. He went in looking for a certain administrator and upon not finding her, had the receptionist walk into a classroom, had the students line up and then began shooting. The police arrived before all of the students were killed but several lives were taken. Goh is expected to have his first court appearance on Wednesday.

I chose this article because I lived through the Tech shooting as a concerned friend and Virginian. I cannot even imagine what the Korean community and students of Okaland must be feeling, being new to the US and possibly not even speaking English. School shootings are always tragic and this one is no exception. This article was very well written, like most other articles in the Washington Post. It was a rough topic but I did enjoy the fluidity of the article and appreciated the amount of detail and information presented in it. 

Want to read the whole thing?: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-7-dead-3-injured-in-shooting-attack-at-calif-christian-university-suspect-detained/2012/04/02/gIQAAdDprS_story.html

World Current Event #6: Britain

In the little town of Bideford, England, site of the last witch trials in Britain, a movement has been started to abolish Christian prayers at public meetings. Maybe the locals should have anticipated complications when they saw that their town council is made up of not only pagans, staunch atheists and an agnostic former stripper, but also two evangelical Christians and a Methodist church organist. They probably wouldn’t have been able to anticipate their complications leading to an all out national proxy fight.

As the Republican primaries in the US highlight the separation of church and state, Britain finds itself in a national debate over religion involving the people, the government and even Queen Elizabeth II. This movement was started by local atheist lawmaker Clive Bone challenged the long-standing tradition of opening public meetings with blessings by locally Christian clergy men. Bone would eventually take the town to court winning a ruling that set legal precedent saying the government had no authority to compel its citizens to sit through a prayer.

The Conservative-led government quickly attempted to counteract the ban and defend the status of the Church of England. At a time when half of Britain claims no relgious affiliation, the Conservatives are blaming a loss of “traditional values’ on binge drinking and last year’s riots in London. The Conservatives have begun to unleash moves to gain back lost ground for Christian tradition. The Queen has began to engage in the monarch’s historic role as “defender of the faith”.

As the Prime Minister begins to approve of same sex marriages, Christians are saying that their traditions are under assault. However, for the time being, public prayers are on hold for the first time since the Nazis’ Blitz of England in 1941.

This issue was bound to come to public attention sooner or later. It is interesting that it appears around the same time as the Republicans in the US are dealing with the same issue through their primaries. I do not think this issue will be solved easily and it may take more rulings by courts, and even some rulings by parliament, the Prime Minister or the Queen, before any agreements can be made.

Want to read the whole thing?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-secular-britain-a-clash-over-public-prayer/2012/03/08/gIQAcyQ3zR_story_1.html

World Current Event #5: Iran

There was more than 60% turnout rate at Iran’s parliamentary elections on Friday. It seems that critics of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were leading. However, his political clout in the assembly might remain the same or possibly even grow. Many lawmakers who had criticized the President, including parliamentary speaker and top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Ahmad Tavakoli and Mohammad-Reza Bahonar retained their Tehran constituency seats.

However, regardless of these lawmakers criticism, camps are not for or against the president. The parliament will most likely not change. It will retain its support for Iran’s nuclear program as well as its strong criticism of Ahmadinejad, but no attempt to impeach him will occur. Iraninans hope that the high voter turnout would send a message to the West that the country was stable.

Many more radical and outspoken critics of the President were defeated, including Hamid Reza Katouzian, the head of the parliamentary Energy Committee, who had criticized the president about the high gas prices. Also, in several cities, candidates linked to Ahmadinejad were elected.

Because of both of these occurring a the same time, it is doubtful that the parliament will treat the president too harshly or take extreme action against him. This may make many of his critics around the world unhappy with the recent elections, and probably many of the president’s critics in Iran unhappy. The world, and Iran will just have to wait and see how this election affects Ahmadinejad’s presidency moving forward.

Want to read the whole thing?:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/ahmadinejad-critics-lead-in-iran-vote-results-but-little-change-expected/2012/03/03/gIQARg6xoR_story.html

World Event #4: Iran

In the recent months Iran has drastically increased its production of nuclear fuel, with much of it coming from the newly opened plant inside a mountain bunker. There has been nearly a 50% jump since the fall in Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. This means they are that much closer to developing a nuclear weapon. More than  third of the output is coming from a secret installation, Fordow, that IAEA inspectors found.

Iran already has enough uranium to create four nuclear weapons. The increase in their stockpile and the shift to underground bunker could greatly shorten the amount of time needed to create these weapons. However, Iran would have to kick out U.N. inspectors before it could actually begin assembling the weapons. Still, the increase in production was criticized by US and European officials who said Iran is undermining its credibility at a time when Iranian leaders have been talking about restarting nuclear talk with the West.

UN officials report that Iran had begun to stonewall the agency’s effort to investigate allegations that Iranian scientists had begun intensive research into nuclear warheads. IAEA inspectors have not been able to unearth direct evidence that Iran is working on building a bomb, however their increase in stockpile has created great fear in the West.

This seems like just another sign that Iran is not really willing to negotiate with the West, if they have begun to move to secret bunkers and have still not begun any form of negotiations. Hopefully all of these suspicions and alligations turn out to be false and Iran and the West can begin real negotiations.

World Event #3: Iran

On  Wednesday, February 15^th, confusing messages emerged from Iran. The president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made some fiery speeches on TV condemning the recent assassination of Iranian scientists. He said that there would be retaliation against European countries through oil embargos. Hours later however, the country’s Oil Ministry backed away from such threats. However, the same day, Iranian officials signaled willingness to negotiate with world powers over the future Iranian nuclear program.

The Obama administration has chosen to ignore these threats from Iran, saying that these mixed signals and turmoil within the country’s senior leadership simply proves that the political and economic pressure the West is applying to Iran is working.

Officials criticized Iran for having Ahmadinejad appear on television wearing a lab coat and a face mask to prove what he described a breakthroughs in Iran’s nuclear program. Among these claims was that Iran is loading fuel rods into an aging US nuclear reactor. The US in return played down these accomplishments, claiming them as being “hyped” and “not terribly impressive” .

I think this is just more of a game of cat and mouse with the West and Iran. Iran has oil that the West wants but it also has its nuclear program which the West fears. There will hopefully be some actual agreements in the future, but for now it seems to be a constant back and forth of threats and bragging.

Want to read the whole thing?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iran-activates-nuclear-reactor-

World Current Event #2: Iran

Turkye’s top diplomat announced this Friday that Iran is ready to negotiate and end the current standoff with the Western powers over their nuclear program. Turkey has decided to play a mediating role between the two nations. Two years ago it sought to create a deal where Iran would give nearly all of its stockpile of uranium in return for fuel rods for its medical research reactor, Iran agreed to this but then backed out. Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu said that this deal could be put together in a few days.

However the problem is that there is mutual distrust between Iran and the West. Economic sanctions imposed by the West on Iran have caused economic pain without slowing the production of enriched uranium in Iran. The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and several other officials have said that they are ready to resume negotiations on its nuclear program, however, no official request for talks from Iran. Turkey relies heavily on imported natural gas from Iran, so it will be happy to see this standoff with Iran end. 

This standoff would remove a lot of strain between the West and Iran. It would also hopefully also reduce stress/tension in the Middle East, specifically with Israel. This could also help both sides, if Iran gained resources for their medical program, and the Western powers would no longer have to worry about the large amounts of enriched uranium in Iran. 

Want to read the whole thing?:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/turkish-diplomat-iran-is-ready-to-cut-a-deal/2012/02/10/gIQANA164Q_story.html

World Current Event #1: Iran

 On Friday, Iran successfully launched an Iranian Satellite. Shortly after, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered an anti-Israeli speech saying Iran will back “any nations, any groups” fighting against Israel. Most of the viewpoints expressed were not new ones, however due to the timing, tensions grew even stronger in the Middle East and there are now talks of military action. If such events occurred, the oil market, global economy and coalition with Iran’s nuclear program could be disrupted and even highly damaged.

The supreme leader’s tone was different from that of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who just last month said that Iran would begin to talk with the West. Khamenei made it very clear that compromises with the West over halting uranium projects is not an option and that Iran actually has the advantage over the West in this standoff.

Iran’s sending up of the satellites, and their rocket program is controversial to say the least, and now along with this speech there is heightened tension around the world as everyone waits to see whether Israel will attack Iran, or Iran will begin to attack Israel. No matter which one happens, the West will most likely get involved, possibly forcing many countries around Iran into action as well. This situation could blow up fairly quickly, so the world is waiting on edge to see who makes the next move.

Want to read the whole thing?: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-says-it-launched-satellite/2012/02/03/gIQARNuDmQ_story.html

Question of the week #6: Halfway there!!

At the halfway point of my senior year I think a lot has changed in my life and I see many more changes to come as I move forward with this year. I have began to figure out what my likes and dislikes are in terms of programs of study for College. I hope that by graduation I will have a better sense of what I want to do in College. I have also basically figured out which College I want to go to and have finished the application and all of the necessary components that go along with it way before the due date.

I am beginning to figure out methods of studying that help me, but still wish to improve my study habits for big tests (such as midterms or finals) before graduation. I also hope to become better at time management before the end of the school year.

So far I think this has been my strongest year of high school not only grades wise but also learning wise, I have learned more this half of a year than I have in a full year of my other grades. I believe this is a combination of finally being able to take classes I am truly interested, and finally figuring out what methods of learning work best for me. I hope this continues to stay the same or get better throughout the rest of this school year.

Political Cartoon #6

This political cartoon was done by Randall Enos for the Cagle Post on January 13, 2012. This cartoon is showing a banner saying “Marine Corps announces new addition to combat uniform”, and an arrow pointing at a marine in uniform wearing a diaper.

The artist is using satire and ridicule to portray the disgusting event that happened this week where a marine urinated on a dead “enemies” body. This was not approved by the public in any way and many apologies have been made by the marines superiors in the corps. This artist also seems to share this sense of disgust that the public, and probably people around the world who heard this story, feel. He chose to send his message by almost making fun of the marine corps., saying there men are so poorly behaved and unable to control themselves, they should be forced to wear “diapers” so that this disgusting act will not happen again.

Question of the week #5: Republican Candidate Prediction

After the Iowa Caucus, Romney is still looking like a probable candidate for the GOP. Santorum appears to have come out of no where to almost tie the caucus with Romney. However, like all of the other candidates who have fallen next to Romney, he has some problems.

Santorum appears to be incredibly conservative, more so than even some Republican voters are willing to swallow. As through the past several months, Romney is the moderate candidate with no scandal being known, unlike Newt Gingrich who has dropped considerably in the polls due to his scandals and policy ideas. Although Republican voters seem to be hoping and waiting for a better candidate to come out then Romney and his moderate ideas, so far there doesn’t seem to be anyone who can enter the race and stay in the it long enough to gain full advantage over Romney.

Political Cartoon #5

This political cartoon was written by Dana Summers for the Sentinel on January 03, 2012. This cartoon is showing an average American walking down the streets thinking that with the New Year there will be a fresh start. Little does he know, around the corner are waiting some nasty looking thugs wearing shirts called “Same ol’ Politics”, “Economics” and “Terror”. “Terror” specifically looks like an Arab holding a bomb.

The artist is using caricature to portray the three things many Americans thought would change with the start of the New Year. This is very sarcastic and not looking very hopeful for the politics of the New Year. Many Americans were hoping with the unsuccessful last Congress meeting before the holiday break that when the New Year came things would change and be different. This artist believes that none of this will happen and the poor unsuspecting Americans will not see any of it coming but the same old failures of last year will be present this year as well.