Author: frog3

Fast Food, eww

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Fast food — the word that has become synonymous with American culture. Our ever-increasing demand for quick services in our busy lives led to the rise of these establishment. Once hailed as a valuable resource for families who neither have the time nor money to cook a meal, these “restaurants” have come under attack in recent years.

Studies have shown a direct correlation between childhood obesity and fast food restaurants. In areas with fast food restaurants, childhood obesity increased by 5.2 percent. At the urging of the government and concerned parent groups, fast food restaurants have taken initiatives to introduce “healthy” items on their menus.

From Mcdonalds apple bags to BurgerKings apple fries, you see the same trend happening everywhere. Fast food companies are attempting to shed the negative light they have been portrayed in. Despite all these measures this food is still considered to be bad for you. There has been several experiments to show how terrible this food is for you.

One of the most disturbing of these experiments began last year. A woma\en around this time last year purchased a cheeseburger from Mcdonalds with the sole intention of seeing how long it would take to decompose. One year later, nothing has happened to the hamburger, and it looked exactly the same.

If bacteria won’t eat this food then why should we?

The Space Races Finish Line

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The U.S. Space Program if floundering to say the least. Obama, in an effort to cut spending, has cut much of NASA funding. This decline has led to other countries, in this case Russia, to advance their own space programs. They have started conducting unmanned missions, even sending craft as far as Mars.

Russia like many countries in Europe is not alone in their efforts, but has received some support from the European Space Agency. (Even though they are not members.) Russia has assisted the ESA on numerous occasions, most recently locating a lost Mars probe.

The name of the once missing probe is Phobos-Grunts and shortly after its launch on November 9th it disappeared. The accepted theory was that it was not powerful enough to break out of Earths orbit and thus became trapped. On  November 22nd a Russian Space Station picked up a signal from the probe.

They were able to determine exactly were it is and the ESA have several plans to bring it back to Earth. Unfortunately for Phobos-Grunts it will no longer be able to complete it mission to go to Mars. Not only has it missed its window of opportunity but also has very little fuel left.

I for one am glad that countries have banded together to further advance Space technologies

The Wicked War is Over!

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The war in Iraq, often called the “War on Terrorism,” has taken its toll on Americans. From stringent TSA security protocol to the loss of love ones, millions of Americans have been affected by this war. A point of contention for many people is the fact that U.S. forces are still present in Iraq.

In matter of fact, one of Obama’s promises during the 2008 election was that he would remove all U.S. forces from Iraq. (This promise has still not been kept.) Obama has withdrawn MOST of the US forces from Iraq but 11000 still remain. The Obama administration has stated that all US forces must withdraw from Iraq by 31 December 2011.

This removal is happening right now with US forces passing the responsibility of Iraq onto the Iraqi Army and police force. These efforts are being hampered by the further instability of the region.(Nuclear Weapons in Iran for example) It will be very interesting to see if this removal is completed by December 31st.

Currently the U.S. is on track to ship all soldiers out of Iraq. Most of the soldiers leaving Iraq will pass into Kuwait, turn in their equipment and begin the long flight home. After the deadline only 150 troops will remain in Iraq.

Whether you support the War in Iraq or not, we are all glad to have our troops home.

Censorship and privacy,Is it really necessary?

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Internet privacy and censorship is an issue that has caused much controversy in recent times. With the astronomical growth of the Internet in the last decade, cyber bullying has become an unprecedented problem. Proponents for the removal of online anonymity have argued that cyber bulling would end if people would have to take responsibility for what they say.

A major problem with cyber bulling is the anonymity of it. For example, if a child bullies another child in person, the child can tell school administration and get the problem sorted out. If a child is bullied on lets say Facebook, it is much more difficult to catch the bully.

A fourteen year old boy killed himself on September 9th at about 2 o clock on an early Sunday morning. He was being bullied for his homosexuality, via the popular blogging site Form Spring. It also happened to be suicidal awareness month.Gay Pride

A very recent issue that has reached attention is Internet censorship. This bill is being debated in Congress right now. What it will do is outlaw “illegal pirating of movies, music and other copyrighted material.” This could be a very big deal to many people.

Many people illegally download copyrighted material on a daily basis. It will be interesting to see the backlash that comes from this bill if it is passed.

Steve Jobs-REBORN

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Our generation often labeled generation X, is known for our technological superiority over older people. This “ superiority “ has led rise to many young entrepreneurs, kids who take advantage of the changing world. From apps, to social networks the possibilities are endless.

An upstart business “man” who has cashed in on his affinity for technology is 6th grader Thomas Suarez. Getting into computers and programming in kindergarten, he has gone on to create Earth Fortune and Justin Bieber. Earth Fortune is an app that predicts the future, while Justin Bieber is a whack- a- mole style game, were you whack Justin Biebers head.

Releasing his 1st app in 2010, he has said that he has drawn much inspiration from the late Steve Jobs. He taught himself the basics of Python, C, and Java in order to program apps. Thomas has also started an app club at his school for students and parents alike because he feels people do not know how to create apps.

Another young entrepreneur is Lim Deng Wen, a 9 year old who hails from Singapore. He has been programming on computers since he was two and has taught himself six programming languages. His best selling app is “Doodle Kids”, which allows you to use your ios devices as drawing pads.

Doodle_Kids_iPhone_app.jpg

These young men embody the American Dream, a dream that gives you a chance to succeed in life, no matter your gender, race, economic standing or age.


Talk about “Peaceful” demonstrations

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Riot police using tear gas on 21 April 2001 ag...
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OWS is suppose to be a nonviolent protest against corporate greed. The protestors should be protected by the constitution yet the violence still persist. Police around the country have been brutally beating protestors and tear-gasing them in an effort to disperse crowds.

An incident occurred last week, in Burlington, Vermont, when a 35-year-old veteran committed suicide do to a lack of a job and job security. Another incident occurred when police with tear gas severely injured a marine veteran

The government however turns a blind eye to such treatment, allowing thousands of citizens a day to be arrested and beat for protests. Although politicians may be distracted by the upcoming elections; does that give them an excuse to ignore the people’s rights?(the correct answer is no)

I believe that it is ok for police forces to break up protestors in public areas, what is not okay is to beat and tear gas them, using violent measures against nonviolent protestors.

If the government wants to retain the respect of the people it must allow people to voice their grievances without interference from law enforcement.

OWS, Right or Wrong

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The corner of Wall Street and Broadway, showin...
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OWS or occupy Wall Street is an ongoing movement that protest against corporate greed, corruption, and the fact that 1% of Americans controls 40% of Americas wealth. OWS primary goal is to force the rich to pay taxes proportionate to their wealth.

These attacks have been criticized as merely the poor complaining about lack of work but have also been called a cultural revolution, an end to the rich controlling America power.

The problem being, of course, is it right to be angry over wealth that someone has rightfully earned. The answer cannot be answered with a simple yes or a no, we must look back on our nations founding.

Funny that the reason we became a nation was because of refusal to pay unfair taxes. (History has a way of repeating itself) When Britain decided to pass stringent tax laws, an angry group of colonist created a revolution that not only spread through their own country but to the rest of the world.

Todays “revolution” is not only changing Wall Street but has” spread to more than 250 American cities, [and] more than a [hundred] countries — every continent but Antarctica.”

Now the only question that remains will the months of protest pay off or will it go down in history as a misguided folly. I believe that it will pay off; obstructing the largest financial center into the world is bound to force Obama and congress to act.

Then again the chance of such a “miracle” occurring in congresses current climate, is not likely. (Partisans these days.) Only time well tell if the protestors months of effort will pay off.

North Korea, again?

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The United States (in its infinite wisdom) has begun, yet again, another series of peace talks with North Korea, in a desperate attempt to end the hostile nations nuclear program.

Talks have been “positive” according to Stephen Bosworth (the top US negotiator on North Korean Matters). Bosworth believes, “We are moving in [the] [right] direction.” As we have seen in past attempts at negotiation, having positive talks with North Korea would not be saying much, nor does it give off the impression that the discussions are making progress. North Korea and its foreign policy nations have been tenuous at best.

How can anyone forget the unprovoked attack that occurred last year when the South Korean military, practicing an artillery exercise, fired into neutral waters and were  subsequently accused by North Korea of instigating war.

North Korea in response began bombarding Yeongpyeong, a small series of islands located approximately 12 kilometers from North Korea. This attack killed four South Koreans and injured 19.

It was after this atrocity that communication between North Korea and the US collapsed, turning the vicious attack into an international controversy, sparking talks discussing the possibility of attacks from North Korea against other nations.

Now once again ambassadors from the US and North Korea are once again sitting around a “table” discussing North Korea’s nuclear policy.

The fact that this situation is even occurring demonstrates the failure of the US to stop playing politics and finally act on the injustice that occurs. A country that carries a blatant disregard for international laws should have never had access to nuclear technology in the 1st place.

But perhaps our “ glorious” nation will surprise us by resolving the “Nuclear Crisis” and preventing further nuclear activity in North Korea.