Overcoming Odds(#15)

Sometimes the challenges in you life are based on where you were born. Dominic Carter Political Anchor for New York 1 new may seem like a pretty well off guy with a great job and a pretty good life. But seeing him now you would never suspect his dark past. As a child he lived with his mother and only met his father twice. At the age of 7 his mother sexually abused him as he said "stealing his innocence". He did not tell anyone about it for twenty five years. Growing up in the projects of New York there were no expectations of him. When he asked the head of his school what he should to about applying to college the man replied "don't waste your time cause you'll be dead or in Jail". Those harsh words were used as a positive for Dominic, he realized that if he wanted to do something he had to overcome the odds. Although being discouraged as a child he still is full of hope for the kids who are in the same situation as he was. "If you Believe in yourself and you're willing to work hard for any goal that you might have you can achieve that goal." I learned all of this from a video at cnn.com entitled overcoming abuse.
link to video: cnn.com
MLA:Grace, Nancy. "overcoming abuse." 22 June 2007. 22 March 2009. cnn.com. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/0/22/grace.dominic.carter.web.cnn?iref=videosearch

Love(#14)

When spring come around everyone is ready to start anew, especially with love. In the spring the air is clear and everything is coming alive giving everyone hope to find a special someone. In an article from cnn.com by Bob Greene called "Peggy Sue and a love so rare and true" it spoke about an interview with the real Peggy Sue. She is the Peggy Sue of Buddy Holly's hit song about love and heartbreak. Although she was actually the girlfriend of his drummer Peggy Sue said she sensed "a certain yearning on his part".In the article it discusses true icons of love like Romeo and Juliet, but those two are not around to give love advice so in the article they turn to Peggy sue. Her idea of love is "I think, I really believe, that on a rare occasion, two people in life run across each other in a path like two comets. And when it happens, I think that feeling lasts forever." Her ideas about the song written in her honor have developed over the years as well as her ideas of love. At first she only heard the catchy lyrics and beat but as she grows older it is more of a love song about never giving up.
Link to Article:cnn.com
MLA:
Greene, Bob. "Commentary: Peggy Sue and a love so rare and true".cnn.com. 22 March 2009. 22 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/22/greene.peggy.sue/index.html?iref=newssearch

War(#13)

When thinking of war you think of far away places but there is a developing war south of the U.S. The war between the Mexican Drug cartel and the government. Especially in Juarez Mexico the violent drug cartels have been murdering and corrupting the police force. The police chief was forced to resign because of the threat of the dangerous cartel to kill one officer every day he remained in the position.This organized crime of money laundering, kidnapping and killing is turning into a war. The Mexican government is coming up with systems to prevent the drug cartel's power from growing and corrupting the military stationed in Juarez as well. They only have soldiers stationed in one place for a maximum of 2 months and then move them to a new location to prevent corruption. Another plan that is being put into action is cleaning up the police force. They are investigating the force to make sure it is working appropriately and everyone working on it is working against the drug cartel and not for them. Also you may think that they brought this on themselves and it has nothing to do with the united states but that is far from the truth. From recent raids the police have found military rifles purchased off the internet from the U.S. so we are not as remove from this problem as we think we are. I found this article on cnn.com it is called "Nine bodies found in common grave near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico" by Mayra Cuevas.
Link to article: cnn.com
MLA:
Cuevas, Mayra. "Nine bodies found in common grave near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico". cnn.com. 15 March 2009. 15 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/14/mexico.bodies.found/index.html?iref=newssearch.

Imperialism and Colonization(#12)

Before and during world war two Japan had invaded China and was killing their people and colonizing. Although many previous leaders have apologized for their aggression before and during the war the Military chief denied their actions during the war. His denial of the events got his job taken away. It seems that everyone except for him has realized that they wronged china during the war and have apologized. Their aggression against china included killing, raping and colonization. They would also take their women as sex slaves but they called them "comfort women" for the men of the imperial army. On many anniversaries of the wars end multiple prime ministers have apologized for their participation and they have vowed that Japan will never again take "the path to war". The violent colonization of this time was a terrible reflection on Japan but their many apologies have shown their remorse and how badly they fell for the victims and their families. I found this article at cnn.com it is called "Japan fires military chief over WWII denial".
link to article:cnn.com
MLA: "Japan fires military chief over WWII denial". cnn.com. 3 November 2008. 15 March 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/03/japan.war.role/index.html?iref=newssearch

Global Issue(#11)

The earthquake last May in China was tragic causing a high death toll. The thing most discussed was the collapse of numerous schools, killing large numbers of children. The death of so many students caused questions to fly about the construction. Questioning the quality of the school buildings also initiated the question of how many children dead? When Wei Hong, a vice Governor of the province hit the hardest, was asked this question he claimed like many other officials asked, that there was no official tally yet. This would be thought to be an honest answer if it was only a few months after the fact but 10 months later, all communities know their final death toll. As well as the questionable claims parents of children who were killed are being bribed and threatened not to speak with anyone about the topic of school construction. The building process and the remaining structure of the schools is being investigated. The schools were either poorly built or just fell with all of the other surrounding them. Either way the earthquake was a tragedy and i hope the coming buildings will have enough strength for the natural disasters to come.
Link to Article: nytimes.com
Bradsher, Keith. "Chinese Official Blames Quake, Not Construction, for Schools’ Collapse". March 8 2009. March 8 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/asia/09sichuan.html?ref=world

Holidays(#10)

When you think of holidays most people think of good times with family and friends, everyone getting along (most of the time), and sometimes gifts. But on one holiday everything changes, April fools day. A day dedicated to playing pranks, humiliating others and maybe even getting a little embarrassed yourself. Do you ever ask yourself, where did this day of trickery and jokes originate from? In the article "The History of April Fools Day" that question is answered. It originated because of the switch of the European new year celebration in 1582 from March twenty-fifth until April first to January first. During this time word could not spread quickly due to lack of long distance communication, the word of the change did not spread for a while so people went on celebrating in March and April. After word had spread all around France still some people refused the changed and continued on in the old way. All those sticking to the old ways were mocked on the first of April because of their obsolete ways. The jesting of the people who were behind the times, the joking became more wide spread. Anyone is a target on the one day of the year when playing a prank is expected.
Link to Article: history of April fools
"history of april fools". March 4 2009. http://www.christianet.com/holidays/historyofaprilfoolsday.htm.

Bollywood(#9)

To Americans Bollywood movies can seem too dramatic and unrealistic but if they meant the same thing to them as they did to Indians they would have different feelings entirely. For natives of India and their children Bollywood movies are about love, religion and respect. The article compares asking an Indian why they like Bollywood is like asking why do you love your mother? Its an easy answer, they were born with it, in some Indian homes around the world there are always Bollywood movies being played or songs being sung. It is not only the plotline that has people hooked, it’s the musical numbers. Some Bollywood movies have many song and dance numbers; they are believed to send messages better than dialogue. The tempo of the song, the way they dance and the setting help express feelings better than just speaking. I read the article “Bollywood Confidential” by Suketu Mehta online to learn all of this on Bollywood and their huge following.
Link to article: Bollywood
Mehta, Suketu. "Bollywood Confidential". November 14 2004. March 1 2009. http://www.suketumehta.com/nytm.html