An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Technical Difficulties
I don't know what went wrong with my last blog post but the words on the last half did not show up so here is the last part of my last blog... sorry my two followers
An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
The Burning Man Revolution
I myself, along with many other people who follow the news, wondered what started the radical rebellion in a majority of African countries. Well, I asked my parents, and after that I looked online to find any online articles for information to support the facts; what I found was shocking. Here's where the story begins... A young man who was born and raised in a small town near central Tunisia was working on the street selling food like he had for years. This was a common occupation for many men and their families in Tunisia, not by choice though. In Tunisia, and many other countries in Africa, dictatorships governing the nations have been depriving their people of almost all necessities to survive. Majority (and even more) of the population in Tunisia are simply dirt poor; they have nothing but their families; they work for hours upon hours just to have food at the end of the day. It's a lot different than how people in the U.S. live. The young man was no different than the majority of his people. Because all these people are so poor due to the corruption within their government, almost all food carts are set up without a permit; permits are expensive, and people have to move on from this law to make money. The dictator, Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, had been in control of the country for over twenty-three years and sent many of his police officers to go into the streets to find any illegal events so more money can be collected for the government.
An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:
"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
An excerpt from Irish Times interviewed this young man's sister stating:
"The cart had been his livelihood for years, as he could not find a job after finishing his education, his 19-year-old sister, Samia, explains. 'The whole family is unemployed . . . Mohamed’s dream was to buy a car – not for pleasure, but a van to help the family,' she says as we chat near the white stuccoed family home just outside town. 'He was always laughing. He liked his work a lot, despite his difficulties.'”
It is evident that they are poor and depended on this young man to provide for them. When the police came to the street where his cart was set up, they took away his cart. Frustrated, the young man pleaded for them give back his cart if stopped selling his products on the street until he got a permit. The men ignored him and took the young man's only lively hood away from him. In desperation, the young man went to the governor's office to protest and plead for his cart. No one would listen let alone acknowledge him yelling in front of the building. In complete desperation, the young man took the gallon canister of gasoline he brought with him, poured it over his body, and set himself on fire to burn in front of the office. This was the last straw for the people; the start of a revolution - even though this was not the first violent protest which was evident against the government. The young man did not die there, he was hospitalized suffering third degree burns all over his body. He died three weeks after the incidence.
It is a strong message portrayed by the 'burning man', one which should be told at least once to everyone so they can understand why there are new protests and revolutions in Africa. It is not because they decided they do not like their governments anymore, randomly one day, but because they have been suffering for decades with no hope for a future. The burning man is a shocking reminder of how desperate these people have become in order to get their governments to listen to them and also change their governments objectives to benefit the people. Enough is enough, and I hope that with all this effort, the people of these deprived nations will gain a government and lifestyle they deserve to live peacefully once again. The burning man will not have suffered and died for nothing.
I hope you gain a better understanding of what the people throughout Africa are going through today.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
ACT and SAT
I just wanted to say that I am almost 100% against the ACT and SAT for many reasons. First I want anyone reading this post to know that I am NOT going on a rant because I did bad on the tests... I have not taken either one of them yet. I have opposed these two tests for quite some time now, actually. Here's why: one, the tests are made to trick you. Two, they do an extremely poor job in measuring who is intelligent and who is not as intelligent. Three, the restricted time and length is a little too unnecessary, and four, colleges rely to heavily upon these tests.
Explanations
One: It is a fact that the tests are made to trick you because it is stated at the beginning of all the ACT/SAT practice tests. In my opinion, why would it ever be a good idea to intentionally try and trick a student on a test? One that the student has never seen before, too?! I also don't understand why there are multiple right answers, but the student taking it is marked WRONG if they do not put the one the test makers put as the ultimate correct answer. So what the ACT/SAT is saying, is that a student will be punished for thinking on their own terms even if their reasoning is correct? Doesn't the IB Programme contradict this method of testing and oppose it?
Two: From point one, the scores on the tests do an extremely poor job of measuring who is intelligent and not intelligent. I personally know kids who do terrible in school, but get relatively high scores on their ACT, and vise versa. Even in booklets, the authors write that the test is faulty because you may be very intelligent, but a bad test taker, sick the day you take it, nervous, and therefore do bad, or run out of time which harms your score. It's a fluke to me.
Three: I'm all for having a time limit and broad number of questions to support that the student does or does not know what they are doing, but the really short time limit compared to the number of questions is a little ridiculous. I don't see why making kids rush as fast as they can to finish a test without reading it thoroughly is a good indication of their intelligence. Why not cut down the test so kids can decipher the questions and do better on the tests? Maybe that's too much to ask for...
Four: With all this frustration to how unreasonable these tests are, it is even more frustrating to know that colleges heavily rely on a students ACT/SAT scores to choose the right students to be accepted into their college. I would support these two tests much more if colleges looked at a students rating, class schedule, and overall academic performance before they looked at the ACT scores. It doesn't make sense, yet again, that one test is a better indication of a students intelligence and academic performance than their high school transcript.
As you can tell, I am against these tests (which are different than the OGTs - OGT is more reasonable and wants you to pass; although easy) and hope that someone will change it to better indicate someone's intelligence. In the mean time, I have to suck it up, study, and hope I don't get sick on test day.
Explanations
One: It is a fact that the tests are made to trick you because it is stated at the beginning of all the ACT/SAT practice tests. In my opinion, why would it ever be a good idea to intentionally try and trick a student on a test? One that the student has never seen before, too?! I also don't understand why there are multiple right answers, but the student taking it is marked WRONG if they do not put the one the test makers put as the ultimate correct answer. So what the ACT/SAT is saying, is that a student will be punished for thinking on their own terms even if their reasoning is correct? Doesn't the IB Programme contradict this method of testing and oppose it?
Two: From point one, the scores on the tests do an extremely poor job of measuring who is intelligent and not intelligent. I personally know kids who do terrible in school, but get relatively high scores on their ACT, and vise versa. Even in booklets, the authors write that the test is faulty because you may be very intelligent, but a bad test taker, sick the day you take it, nervous, and therefore do bad, or run out of time which harms your score. It's a fluke to me.
Three: I'm all for having a time limit and broad number of questions to support that the student does or does not know what they are doing, but the really short time limit compared to the number of questions is a little ridiculous. I don't see why making kids rush as fast as they can to finish a test without reading it thoroughly is a good indication of their intelligence. Why not cut down the test so kids can decipher the questions and do better on the tests? Maybe that's too much to ask for...
Four: With all this frustration to how unreasonable these tests are, it is even more frustrating to know that colleges heavily rely on a students ACT/SAT scores to choose the right students to be accepted into their college. I would support these two tests much more if colleges looked at a students rating, class schedule, and overall academic performance before they looked at the ACT scores. It doesn't make sense, yet again, that one test is a better indication of a students intelligence and academic performance than their high school transcript.
As you can tell, I am against these tests (which are different than the OGTs - OGT is more reasonable and wants you to pass; although easy) and hope that someone will change it to better indicate someone's intelligence. In the mean time, I have to suck it up, study, and hope I don't get sick on test day.
Bee's are more Important than You Think
Bee's, those pesky little flying insects that sting you if you get too close. Many people are scared of bee's and wish that they disappeared from their summer fun. Well, be careful what you wish for because that is starting to become true! For the past couple of years, bee's have dying in unusually large numbers; about 30% have died in the past four years! What importance does the bee population have to us? Well, it's a lot more important than not having honey. Actually, we one of every three bites of food we eat has been pollinated by an insect, most commonly bees. Bees play such an important role in pollinating plants every year. It will become a dramatic and negative chain of events if this little insect dies out. If there are no bees, then there is nothing to pollinate the plants, efficiently. No pollination means no plants; no plants means no animals which originally ate the plants, thus, no animals or plants leads to no humans because we will have no source of food, eventually dying out. It might sound a little far fetched to you, but don't be fooled that human's are independent from all of natures cycles. In fact, Einstein's theory states that "within about four years, there would be no more food to sustain life anywhere on the planet, to pollinate orchards, pollinate everything out there...Without the bees, there is no life, there is no food to eat," so I guess we're going to get real hungry really soon without bees. It's a scary thought to believe that theoretically, bees can wipe out the whole human population within four years. Now, why are all these bees dying? Many scientists don't want to put the blame on one specific reason because there are other small factors which impact the bees, but the main reason they have found is the pesticides farmers around the world have been putting on crops; these toxic pesticides to bees have been killing them when they go near fields of crops. It's a sad realization to understand that essentially, humans could be or are the downfall to our own population and the population of many other species. In East Asia, scientist's have been trying to find methods of pollinating plants by human means instead of relying on the bees. They have found that it is a physically tedious process which is very inefficient and if it was practiced to replace the bees, it would not be fast enough to keep up with the demand of food to sustain the human population. In the end, it is impressive to think that a little insect could impact our lives so much! Think twice about the bees and protect them to protect yourself!
Current Events Class Continued...
Sorry, school ended, so I had to log off... but as I was saying, it is more likely that citizens who are able to participate in government issues are more likely to be active participants because they understand what is going on in the world and how it is impacting today/their future. Another good reason to have a current events class is so the people taking it understand why history is so important; the current issues that would be discussed about today have a history which explains why it's happening. For example, today there are huge issues in Egypt, Libya, and many other countries in Africa and the Middle East because of the rebellions over the ruling dictatorships. It is sad that a lot of students are not aware of what is going on around the world, and that some students did not hear about the U.S. sending missiles to Libya. We need to educate the generations who are going to run our country, and we should start by teaching them about important events today. Now, after students realize what is going on in these various countries, they usually do not understand why the U.S. should be worried or even be participating. Well, important events in history would specifically explain the U.S.'s ties with Egypt and how a rebellion might put the U.S. in danger of losing an Allie (who also had good relations with Israel). Also, the class would inform kids of the various forms of government being practiced around the world, along with seeing first hand accounts of how it impacts its people. The ruthless dictatorships in the countries stated above show how dreadful the lives of these people are to be so desperate to rebel against the government. Sounds like a history class? Well, it's not because the class would focus on certain small or big events in history which only pertain to the subject being discussed about today's events.
It would be almost impossible for this class to have text books, but an equally credible and effective source would be the newspaper and other informational texts including Times magazine and maybe some smaller more specific history books to support information. I cannot stress enough on how beneficial I think this class would be to future generations! I mean it's not only teaching kids about what's impacting their lives today, but it's making well rounded students because they are learning about history, math (example: national debt; why and how), science and technology, and other important subjects to understand. Science and technology would be another huge teaching point in the class because it is one, important and two, interesting to see all of the new advancements of the world. Today, while reading the newspaper, I read that in China scientists have started to genetically modify cows to produce milk more similar to humans; this creates milk more nutrient rich for us and improve our health. Learning about this gets me, and probably other students, thinking about others ways to invent things which can improve the society of tomorrow. That might never happen if I never learned that piece of information.
Overall, I can go on and on about how beneficial and interesting a current events class would be to take in school, but I have go and do other homework, so if this class does not take off anytime soon, read the newspaper and be an active thinker in the world today because you don't know how it might impact you tomorrow.
It would be almost impossible for this class to have text books, but an equally credible and effective source would be the newspaper and other informational texts including Times magazine and maybe some smaller more specific history books to support information. I cannot stress enough on how beneficial I think this class would be to future generations! I mean it's not only teaching kids about what's impacting their lives today, but it's making well rounded students because they are learning about history, math (example: national debt; why and how), science and technology, and other important subjects to understand. Science and technology would be another huge teaching point in the class because it is one, important and two, interesting to see all of the new advancements of the world. Today, while reading the newspaper, I read that in China scientists have started to genetically modify cows to produce milk more similar to humans; this creates milk more nutrient rich for us and improve our health. Learning about this gets me, and probably other students, thinking about others ways to invent things which can improve the society of tomorrow. That might never happen if I never learned that piece of information.
Overall, I can go on and on about how beneficial and interesting a current events class would be to take in school, but I have go and do other homework, so if this class does not take off anytime soon, read the newspaper and be an active thinker in the world today because you don't know how it might impact you tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Current Events Class
English, math, science, and history are all core classes which is a requirement to in order to graduate. I agree that all of these classes are very important for young adults to learn and grow from, but I believe that an additional requirement class should be added to the list. A current events class would benefit students for many reasons. First and foremost, it would teach the upcoming generations about what is actually going on in the world around us; students who are more educated about political, social, and economical affairs are most likely to be active members in their government. I feel that many new members of society
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Unplanned Vacations
I have become a random person in my thoughts and actions to a certain extent for two reasons. One, I'm a little bit of an odd person and never know what is going to happen in the future, so why make plans? Two, my parents indirectly raised me to be this type of person. I say indirectly because I have observed this characteristic mostly when we are on vacation. Most families plan their vacations in a least a month in advance; they know what they're doing, what/where their hotel is, and many other "little" details which are present when planning a vacation. My family is not ordinary, and I know that many people say this, but in my case it's true. When we take a vacation, we usually don't know if or where we're going until about a week in advance. One vacation specifically, I thought we were going to a beach in South Carolina, but we ended up taking a road trip to the Grand Canon. The plan was to go to as many destinations as we could across five states - Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. We found hotels as we traveled. We went into towns to eat at local restaurants. We traveled before the sun rose and got back long after it set. Basically we went where the wind took us.
I know it sounds crazy to most people, but I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. I love traveling like this because it's an adventure everyday, the opposite of my routine life. I like the idea of really experiencing what the culture or area is like, completely, all long as you can everyday. Why go on a vacation to sit in the hotel or at a pool? I don't understand why people spend all that time and money traveling when can they can do that at home.
Great experiences have come from randomness, including one night traveling within Utah's National Park in Bryce. One night after going into the park and other attractions, we heard that a group of astronomers were having an event for the public. Curious, we went and found that a whole area filled with telescopes and wires which were being viewed by the community. It was great; I saw and learned so much, including the experience of seeing a star dying and learning about how it dies from a professional astronomer, while looking in a 10,000 dollar telescope (which I almost broke when tripping over the cord as I left). This, like many other examples make my vacations so memorable and I it makes me more appreciative of how spontaneous life can be. If you still don't understand what I'm trying to say, here it is: be open to adventure. Go out of your comfort zone because you never know where it can take you.; remember that the experiences of life are in your hands.
I know it sounds crazy to most people, but I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. I love traveling like this because it's an adventure everyday, the opposite of my routine life. I like the idea of really experiencing what the culture or area is like, completely, all long as you can everyday. Why go on a vacation to sit in the hotel or at a pool? I don't understand why people spend all that time and money traveling when can they can do that at home.
Great experiences have come from randomness, including one night traveling within Utah's National Park in Bryce. One night after going into the park and other attractions, we heard that a group of astronomers were having an event for the public. Curious, we went and found that a whole area filled with telescopes and wires which were being viewed by the community. It was great; I saw and learned so much, including the experience of seeing a star dying and learning about how it dies from a professional astronomer, while looking in a 10,000 dollar telescope (which I almost broke when tripping over the cord as I left). This, like many other examples make my vacations so memorable and I it makes me more appreciative of how spontaneous life can be. If you still don't understand what I'm trying to say, here it is: be open to adventure. Go out of your comfort zone because you never know where it can take you.; remember that the experiences of life are in your hands.
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