Passport of 9/11 Suspect Found

Said Bahaji. That is the name. He is a suspect linked to the famous 9/11 attack. A CNN report states:

"The passport was found in South Waziristan, where the Pakistani military has been battling to wrest territory from the Taliban in Pakistan. It contained a Pakistani visa issued in August 2001 showing that the bearer entered Pakistan on September 4, 2001, and appeared unusually new for a document eight years old"

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Clinton Challeneges Pakistanis on Al Qaeda

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, recently traveled to Pakistan in efforts to improve relations. She boldly suggested that certain Pakistani officials were responsible for letting Al Qaeda terrorists operate in safe areas. Clinton added:

“I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are, and couldn’t get to them if they really wanted to,”

In her statement, Hillary Clinton stated exactly what many American politicians, officials, and citizens have been thinking for a long time. They say that a drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts, but maybe it just takes a brave person to stand up and be boldly blunt about it.

Somali Women Beaten for Violation of Strict Islamic Law

A group of hooded Al-Shabaab dispatched men carrying whips went into the market place and flogged any woman they saw without socks. As if their feet were not already covered in floor length dresses. In addition to this, Al-Shabaab gunmen rounded up 50 women for not wearing a veil which they could not afford as vegetable traders. In the past two days alone, there have been attacks on 130 people, including some men. All this for not completely 110% following every minute detail of their harsh laws. The world has stood by long enough, it is time to take action. I am not referring to the US as the world's policeman, mind you. But within the whole of the entire globe, I think we can recognize this as wrong.

Iran Decided Not to Ship Out Uranium

Draft agreement in reached in Vienna allowed for Iran to keep one fourth of their uranium, while the other 75% would be sent to Russia for processing and would be returned able for use in the medical field only. This would have depleted the stockpile of uranium enough so that Iran would be incapable of producing a nuclear weapon. However, Iran realized this and rejected the document. American officials say that they are not willing to compromise, but it looks as though there is no other options if Iran's final stance is to keep the enriched uranium.

Capitalism: Friend, Foe or Somewhere in Between?

When we were young, our mothers used to tell us not to eat too many sweets. Likewise, if we ate only vegetables, our bones would grow thin. However, there is a medium between all of the food groups that has to be met in order to have a healthy diet. I believe the same is true for the extent of governmental control. Neither extreme is the answer.
The problem with capitalism is that it can hurt people who are being controlled and abused by companies that are solely interested in money. Such companies include Wal-Mart, which has oppressed its workers for years, never paying for overtime and even employing illegal immigrants (to whom they pay less than minimum wage) just to save money and get ahead with business. In addition to this, Wal-Mart practices racism and sexism towards the workers wishing to pursue a higher ranked job in the business, such as store manager. Not only do certain corporations behave this way, but there are also people who are homeless and have no food while others live in beautiful houses with a three-car garage. It seems silly that people are allowed to have an abundance of unnecessary luxuries while others can not afford the bare essentials of life.
The main alternative to capitalism, socialism, has its own set of dilemmas. Socialism is one of those ideas that looks great on paper but doesn't work out so well in real life. This is largely because of the fact that humans are, well, humans, not machines. If we realize that no matter how much work we do, we will still get paid the same amount as someone who gets hardly anything done, we will become less motivated to do better; and there is no longer any incentive for us to strive for perfection. In addition to this, the government generally becomes a dictatorship, which means that the dictator has complete power and there is no shred of democracy—a risky position to be in.
Both versions of government have positive aspects as well, and if we combine these to create an effective equilibrium, we get a sort of a hybrid between capitalism and socialism. This would enable individuals to climb the rungs of the ladder of success if you choose to be productive and work hard, and yet it could also mean higher taxes to accomplish universal health care, an issue that has been plaguing Washington for some time now. To ensure the distribution of wealth is even, the rich could be taxed in higher quantity, and the money could go to welfare given to those who are struggling. This, however, should not go so far as to make every income the same. The rich would still be able to acquire a fortune while still being good Samaritans by having part of their wealth go to the less fortunate. The other parts of this system would work in a similar way by making sure that no one goes hungry, while keeping the motivation of a good life for those who are hard workers.
A mild government would be the ideal for any developed nation such as ours. Too much of one thing is never a healthy choice.

Raise Your Awareness

Most people in a developed country can not even begin to imagine the life of a girl in Swat, Pakistan. Here is a video that follows a girl through some of the hardest times in her life. This contains images that may be disturging, yet I believe it should be seen.



May these girls have hope that one day they will be freed from this.

A Restatement?

An article at CNN.com headlines: U.S. attorneys told to go after pot traffickers, not patients. Although Justice officials seemed to go after this point quite thoroughly, when did they ever ask the police to go after patients who were prescribed medical marijuana?? However the writer, Terry Frieden, goes on to say

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which advocates legalization of marijuana, declared the government's memo Monday a "major departure in the so-called war on drugs" and "a major victory for citizens who support cannabis law reform."

Still, I see no change in current laws. This might be the first time that the government has said these words out loud, but how can a citizen of this country be arrested on charges of carrying a drug that was specifically prescribed to him or her??

Recycling is Growing Rapidly

People across the country are committing to going from less waste to no waste at all. Many restaurants/cafes that originally used plastic utensils are no using plant-based plastics that decompose like compost. Even waiters are switching from putting uneaten food scraps in the trash to a compost pile. This trend is being known as “zero waste”. Leslie Kaufman wrote in the New York Times article about this new policy...

Though born of idealism, the zero-waste philosophy is now propelled by sobering realities, like the growing difficulty of securing permits for new landfills and an awareness that organic decay in landfills releases methane that helps warm the earth’s atmosphere.

This is a significant step forward to help the environment. If we could make sure that all the products we use are either recyclable or decomposable, we would be living in a much greener earth.

Medicare Cost on the Rise

It is predicted that Medicare, what eats up most of our tax dollars, will increase in cost, breaking $100 for the first time next year. Robert Pear, from the New York Times, explained who will be forced to pay more in a very simple fashion:

About 12 million people, or 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, will have to pay higher premiums or have the additional amounts paid on their behalf. The other 73 percent will be shielded from the increase because, under federal law, their Medicare premiums cannot go up more than the increase in their Social Security benefits, and Social Security officials announced last week that there would be no increase in benefits in 2010 because inflation had been extremely low.

In a time of economic uncertainty, this will be a hard blow to the seniors in the country who have no way of making any income. So what is there to do? Tax the young, or force the rest from seniors' retirement funds? Action must be taken soon if we don't want to be in the same situation later in life.

No Tolerance Policy: Helpful or Destructive?

The New York Times recently published an article about the no tolerance policy of schools in context of weaponry. Parents were concerned that maybe absolutely no tolerance should be changed to a careful review of each individual case when a first grader was expelled. The boy, a new boyscout, was excited to bring his special eating utensil to school that served as a spoon, a fork, and a knife. The boy's parents were immediately outraged at the school's lack of concern of the problems this silly incident would cause the boy later on. Many other parents who had similar experiences with their children and the schooling systems agreed and wanted a change in the strict no tolerance policy.
This is completely outrageous. How can a school assume that a small child, excited to show off a new boyscout toy, would think about using it as a weapon against another child or a teacher??? These policies need to be changed, especially regarding small children.

Obama Disappointed as Chicago is NOT Hosting the Olympics

Recent media claimed that Chicago as the hosting city of the Olympics was a fair bet. Many thought that since President Obama went in person, Chicago just HAD to be the clear winner. Those who are anti-Obama now question how he sets his priorities.
It is a shame that Chicago will not be hosting the Olympics, as it would be such a boost for our economy, not to mention helping the US seem more gentle in the face of other countries. Yet some people are entirely too upset about it.

Chavez Indirectly Asks Iran for Uranium

When Chavez met with the Venezuela's Minister of Mining, Sanz, he asked how the uranium was progressing in Iran. Though it was said jokingly, people are taking it quite seriously as Chavez had earlier declared that he was seeking Russian help to develop nuclear energy in Venezuela. In addition to this, Sanz by letting it slip that Iran was going to help Venezuela locate their own uranium mines. What a shocker! Everyone seems to be trying to get into nuclear weapons in recent times.

ARAB FEMINISM CONFERENCE

Embedded video from CNN Video



Women in Lebanon are talking about basic rights and highlighting the fact that women ARE, indeed, human beings and need to be treated as such. Media in the area tamed this down, but political cartoons drawn by women illustrate the negativity of polygamy and not have such basic rights as being able to drive your own car. The organization also talks about honoring your body and the sacredness of it. Magazines are being published talking about female sexuality and even homosexuality! This a really big step for the Middle East. I'm proud of these women for taking these first steps to the independence that they have not even had the fortune to experience.

Safety Measures Need to be Kicked Up a Knotch

26 miners in China were killed in an accident. A brake failure in the elevator system caused 31 miners to fall abruptly. 19 of the miners died on the spot while the other seven died of severe wounds.
It seems insane to most US citizens that 26 people should die because certain standards of safety were not met (especially the brake system of an elevator!). But not only did 19 humans die as a result of poor standards, but another seven could not be saved from their injuries. With all the money that China is currently making, I do believe they could stand to increase their safety measures. I mean, really....

Tatics to Make Prop 8 Successful Are Questioned

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker asks gay marriage-challenging Prop. 8 sponsors to disclose information about about their campaign tactics. Supporters of Prop. 8 ask the federal Judge to suspend his order on this issue. However those who are anti or disinterested towards Prop. 8 say

"...notes and e-mails between planners of last year's Prop. 8 campaign might help them prove that the ballot measure was motivated by anti-gay discrimination."

However, the Yes on 8 lawyers claim that voters had the complete ability to change the definition of marriage and the intentions of the campaigners are irrelevant.

NASA Set to Crash on the Moon in Search of Water

The idea is to find water in the moon's soil with the LCROSS probe. The next step is to relay the information back to Earth and then crash into a crater near the moon's South pole. NASA TV is planning to broadcast the two crashes live this Friday.

"NASA is encouraging amateur astronomers to join the watch party."

says CNN news.

How Do the Swiss Get Along With Guaranteed HealthCare for All, and Without Problems?

Switzerland is not the only country that guarantees health care for all their citizens, in fact, all of Europe has the same policy. But how do they do it?? This will answer all your questions. The main point, is that health care in Switzerland

"does not remotely resemble the model of bureaucratic, socialized medicine often cited by opponents of universal coverage in the United States."

The other important part is that ALL citizens are REQUIRED to buy health insurance in exchange for treatment REGARDLESS of age or medical history. Kind of an interesting concept...

Why Does Obama REALLY Want the Olympics to be Held in Chigao?

There are many choices for the next Olympic games to be held, but Obama and his wife, Michelle, are really trying to bring the international athletes to their hometown of Chicago. This might seem a touching story, but there is an economic and socio-political reason for this being a good idea for the US as well. Not only, would holding the Olympics in the US help our economy quite a bit from the recently lost tourism, but it would bring us up in the eyes of the world again. For those who live in developing countries and are still young, they do not know the greatness of America (hello Al-Qaeda!). This hatred because of recent events can be turned around. It won't be easy, but I do believe this will help.

Abortion Support Declines Dramatically

Pro-life has been outnumbered by pro-choice for quite some time now. However, there has been a strange reversal in the statistics. Supporters of abortion have dropped by 7% while the number those who claim abortion should be illegal in all or most cases has risen 4%. This change was not only in one specific group of individuals, but people from all religious, ethnicities, and political standpoints are changing their opinion on abortion.

The only groups whose opinions on abortion did not change were African-Americans -- who tend to oppose it -- and young people and those not affiliated with any particular religion, who tend to say it should be legal, he [Gregory Smith of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, one of the survey's authors] said.

Interesting... I wonder why this is so.

Scared About N1H1 Virus (Swine Flu)? Here's a Reason to Ease Worries

The rollout of vaccine intended to protect against the global pandemic of H1N1 influenza is continuing on or ahead of schedule, a federal health official told reporters Thursday.

Vaccines may come out as early as sometime this week. 600,000 doses are expected to arrive in 21 states. This should ease the public on the H1N1 virus. Yet, I still find it humorous that officials had to change the name from "swine flu" to "H1N1" because of the decrease in pig product sales. What an amazing example of Tom Friedman's idea of "dumb as we wanna be".

Cash for Clunkers: Did it Help, or Make Things Worse for Auto Companies?

I'm sure many of you have heard of, if not benefited from, the Cash for Clunkers deal that was in progress a short time ago. It seemed like a great idea to help the environment and auto companies at the same time, as well as get the economy going again. However, many car dealerships have suffered tremendous loss from a "cash for clunkers hangover". Car sales have declined as a result of cash for clunkers. Economists say that it was to be expected for car sales to return to "normal" post-cash for clunkers, while others struggle to find out why this is so. Even Japanese firms saw their sales decline.

New Fossil Discovery Extends Knowledge of Human Evolution

Archaeologists uncover findings of a female skeleton that could be a direct ancestor of humans. Carbon dating shows that the fossils are just over 4 million years old. How exciting it is to know that the line of the evolution of humans has fewer holes in it now. Take that creationists! This is further reason to not teach the religious idea of creationism in school.