Display the 5 student outcomes

Active learner. Critical thinker and Problem solver. Person of high character. Effective communicator. Community contributor.

During these past two weeks, I assume that I've display all five of the student outcomes in Humanities. Most of these examples of me displaying the 5 student outcomes happened during working with the team but also individually for the Modern Nations project.
I was an active learner these two weeks. While taking notes on my research of Colombia I wondered how they gained independence. So I added a few more questions I wanted to find out in the mind map research. This showed that I was an active learner because when I finished finding how the nation of Colombia was started, I went further and added questions because I wanted to. I would also like the recognize Cindy in my group because she's always so curious and asks a million questions. It can get annoying sometimes but its awesome that when she knows she doesn't understand something, she will push through anything to get her answer.
I showed that I was a critical thinker and problem solver this week when I was helping Jacky with writing up the presentation proposal. We knew we had to assign the jobs to the people who would be best in that particular area. We both evaluated each member of our team and chose the best jobs for them to do. Also, we did the same evaluation when assigning questions for the group mind map to make a page from the keynote.
Being a person of high character is very important. I guess I have been a person of high character. I did the work that the team captain assigned and I constantly remind my team mates to send me their presentations so they can be edited. Though, I think that that is not being a person of high character because I start to get annoying after pestering them to send me their presentation sections.
I managed to accomplish being an effective communicator even when I'm an English speaker in an all Chinese group. All the members of my team are all in ESL and sometimes its hard to communicate with them. However, I managed to explain to them what they wanted to know with not much problem. I think that all the members of my teams were great effective communicators, too, because they were able to listen and communicate with me effectively.
Contributing to my community, or in this case, group was fairly easy because contributing its just participating in the group meetings and when we go over what we plan. I think that all of the members of the group is community contributors because we all engage when we're in class and going over the project. I help remind people what to do for homework.

What science skills did you use during the SMASH Day activity? How do these science skills help us be better scientists?

What science skills did you use during the SMASH Day activity? How do these science skills help us be better scientists?

Thinking outside the box. When we couldn't find a sturdy way to have the "tower" stand, we decided to use the scissors because Mrs. Smith didn't say that we couldn't use the scissors as part of the "tower" and it was under the list of supplies we could use. The scissors was a great idea and it actually held all 50 grams when we were testing it (but now when we actually did it because our group did it more gently than Mrs. Smith).
Thinking outside the box can help us be better scientist because sometimes we make the experiment more complicated than it is and we totally miss every little thing. When we think outside the box and consider every view, we could make the "tower" stand up.

Current Events

Note to readers: The direct link to the article is and has always been in the title of the article. I've placed another link on the news site below the date that the article was published.
*********

Obama, McCain campaign through swing states

The U.S. elections are just two days away the the candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are neck and neck in the polls. Just yesterday, both candidates spent the whole day holding campaign rallies on the battleground states, which are the states that have an almost even number of votes on both sides or the majority of the state supports the other candidate.
As both side attack each other in order to persuade the citizen of America, all trying to convince everyone that they would be a better president than the other.
Now it all comes down on the Americans themselves to pick who will be the better president after the disappointing 8 years.

November 2, 2008
CNN.com

***********************

Saddam Hussein Reportedly Stabbed 6 Times After Execution

The body of dictator Saddam Hussein, who was executed in 2006 for crimes against humanity, was found stabbed six times after being hanged.The chief guard at Hussein's tomb said that there were stab wounds all over the dictator's body and another injury to the face. 300 other people also saw these injuries when the body was being buried, but yet the world only knows 3 years later? Officials are still investigating how the body came to these injuries because it might have been a soldier or guard who did this because according Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s security advisor, Saddam Hussein wasn't harmed before and after his execution.

November 1, 2008
TheLondonTimesonline.co.uk

Current Events

U.S. helicopter shot down in Afghanistan - CNN.com

It was very lucky that all U.S. 10 soldiers survived when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan today. The Taliban fighters used a rocket-propelled grenade to bring down the U.S. Chinook helicopter about 30 miles west of Kabul in the Wardak province.
The helicopter, says a U.S. military spokesman Major Redfield, went down in the Wardak province after an exchange of fire with enemy on the ground.

Also, another suicide bomber killed two soldiers and injured 3 others in north Afghanistan. This bombing took place when the U.S officials were to gather and meet with the police in chief of that province. An american soldier and a small child were killed. The Taliban also took responsibility of this bombing.

October 27, 2008
CNN.com

*********

2 Dead in Arkansas campus shooting; one suspect in custody - CNN.com

A police van , just outside the dorms of the university where the shooting took place


This is the second campus shooting I've heard of since the summer vacation. 2 students were killed at a shooting in the University of Central Arkansas on Sunday. Shots were heard near the Arkansas Hall and the Snow Fine Arts Center at 9:22 pm, says Freshman Sam Hausen who was only 50 feet away from the shooters. One student died on campus and the other in a hospital. Hausen actually saw vans speed away but wasn't sure those were the shooters or just students trying to get away.
After the shooting, the whole campus was put on lock down and all classes were canceled.
One person, we don't know whether it was a student or part of the faculty have been held for questioning but not yet arrested.

October 27, 2008
CNN.com

Current Events

Suspected U.S. missiles kill 8 in Pakistan

Just hours after the Pakistan parliament passed a national security resolution, 2 missiles from an unmanned drone (a remote controlled aircraft or missile) hit a religious school in a village in North Waziristan. This is kind of ironic because the national security resolution stated that "the nation stands united against any incursion and invasions" and the country's national security was in need of a review of the way it was trying to stop terrorism.
Why do they suspect the U.S? Well the United States is the only country that posted there and have the capability to launch missiles from drones. The U.S military hasn't said anything about the incident. The 2 missiles filled 8 people and injured 6 others, says military sources.

October 23, 2008
CNN.com

**************************************

Ballesteros faces 3rd and 'complex' brain op

As said from my last current events, the famous Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros had a recent surgery on his brain tumor where surgeons tried to remove as much as the brain tumor as possible. Ballesteros was said to be in stable condition after the surgery. On Friday October 24, Ballesteros will again for the third time undergo a more "complex" surgery, says the La Paz hospital, where Ballesteros has been staying at at his current situation.
This time, the surgeons will try to relive some pressure on his brain that was caused by bleeding after the first surgery.

October 23, 2008
CNN.com

Current Events

Ballesteros conscious in intensive care

World know gold legend Seve Ballesteros is conscious after the surgical removal of his brain tumor. Most people don't survive these operations and while performing the surgery, you have to be extremely careful as one small mistake could kill the patient.
Ballesteros is a 51 year old Spanish golfer who won a record 50 times on a European golf tour and the British Open 3 times and many other competitions before retiring last year. He is right now in stable condition when doctor tried to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

October 16, 2008
CNN.com

***

Spain: Mechanic of crashed plane questioned

A few months ago in August, a plane crash in Madrid killed 154 people. They're still investigating the plane crash and the court will be questioning three plane mechanics suspected of tempering with the plane. Two of the mechanics were working on the plane the day of the crash and the third was the head of maintenance.
What most people found out so far from the investigation was that the plane's wing flaps didn't deploy while the plane was taking off. The cockpit warning system didn't work and it didn't warn the pilots on time to the problem. However, they did not say that this was the reason why the plane crashed and only left 18 alive. This plane crash was the worst the Spain had had all this year.

October 16, 2008
CNN.com

Current Events

Earthquake kills 12 people in Chechnya

More than 100 people injured and at least 12 people were killed yesterday in a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. This earthquake took place in Russia's Chechnya region.
Many buildings were destroyed and many roads cracked in some areas including a district called Grozny. The British Virgin Islands were also shaken with a stronger earthquake However, this earthquake held less deaths and damages.

*****

Suspect in High-profile murder case kills himself

In 1981, thats 27 years ago, a Japanese couple came to visit Los Angeles. The husband, Kazuyoshi Miura was shot in the long and hiss wife was shot in the head and died a year later.
The Los Angeles officials thought that Miura wanted to kill his wife so he could get the $750,000 of her life insurance policies. Miura was accused of killing his wife and was arrested on February 1988.
Just a few days ago on Friday night, Miura arrive in Los Angeles to face conspiracy charges on his wife's murder 27 years ago. However, within the 24 hours of him in Los Angeles, Miura committed suicide in his jail-cell by hanging himself with a piece of his shirt. Officials found him dead after routine checks of the cells at 9:45 pm on Friday. Miura was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.
His attorney, Mark Geragos said, "I'm shocked. One of my lawyers was with him for 12 hours yesterday and he seemed in good spirits.."

Which is more dense -- A stack of 20 NT coins or a stack of 5 NT coins

A stack of 20 NT coins would be denser than a stack of 5 NT coins. This is because to find the density of an object, you have the mass divided by the volume. The mass of the 20 NT coin stack would be more than the mass of the 5 NT coin stack. The volume would be different too because there are more coins in the 20 NT stack than the 5 NT stack. Thus, the data in the density formula would be different and the stack of 20 NT would be more dense because it has more coins than the other stack.

How 'A Tell Tale Heart' relates to me

The story A Tell Tale heart is a horror story about death and how when you do something wrong, the guilt will always eat you up from the inside. Right now I'm not feeling any guilt 'cause I haven't done anything wrong yet.
But I guess it could relate to my life how the man tried every night to kill the man but couldn't because the eye wasn't hunting him as the old man was asleep. I'm a procrastinator. I guess this stroy can relate to me when I tell myself to do my homework but I can't seem to do it. I get distracted very easily and I usually drift away in my mind I guess only when it gets really late at night, around 12 midnight (just like the man) do I complete my homework. Today I seem to do my homework really early, probably because this is due tomorrow and I have a lot of other homework that I have due tomorrow (that was assigned today).

Current Events

Tibet quake toll lowered to 9, hundreds homeless - CNN.com

Just yesterday, two earth quakes (one with a 6.6 magnitude and the other 15 minutes later at about 5.1 magnitude). This earthquake killed about nine people which is a smaller number than the original toll of 30, this was inaccurate because it used "unauthoritative sources" (CNN.com). These earthquakes caused 147 homes to collasped, leaving 153 families homeless. The government has sent tents to the areas of the damaged. About 19 people were injured.
This is really said because you don't actually see news about earthquakes in Tibet on the news. Tibet has already experienced many more that 5.0 magnitude earthquakes this past few months since May. Even though this area is really accident prone though it doesn't turn up on the news that other people know of. China has an earthquake and the whole world knows.

October 7, 2008
CNN.com

*************
Death toll rises amid India ethnic violence - CNN.com

Fights between tribal people and Muslims in India have raised the death toll to 47 since Friday. This "decade-old rivalry" (CNN.com) between the Muslims and tribal people has sent about 100,00 people to escape from the deadly riots to 50 relief camps.
The rioting started on Friday between the Bodo tribesmen and probably the Bangladeshi settlers in India's remote northeastern state of Assam.
The riots have so far stopped since yesterday. "But some people injured in the clashes have died in hospitals, and some more dead bodies have been recovered." said State home commissioner Rajiv Kumar Bora. 22 people died from police firing.
The police are looking into the fact whether it was the decade-old rivalry between the Bodo and the Muslims that made the attackers attack each other with traditional weapons like arrows and spears.

October 7, 2008
CNN.com

How 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' relates to my god damned terrible life..

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge tells a story about a man's imagination; how it got in his mind making him think that he was escaping and going to live. I think the theme of this story is how our minds can trick us as to believe something else. I can relate to this story at this very second as I type this and as my eye gradually become more puffy.
I know now that I shouldn't trust anybody, not even my mind. I thought that my life was starting to get better. Turns out things always get worse when the fat lady sings -- or in this case, my dad. I feel like the last few days since Friday have been quite easy; my dad ain't yelling (my mom yells on a regular basis), I had steak for breakfast yesterday..etc. Now I feel my neck breaking, like Peyton Farquhar. My dad is apparently on some drug or something. I was doing my homework when he barged in and yelled at me and my sisters to go shower then continue our homework on the dining table. That's quite ironic as last time when I did my homework at the dining table, he told me to get the hell away and "I gave you a desk for a reason...". As I sit here laughing to myself, I silently laugh how lucky I am. I was pretty stumped an hour ago at this particular question, and now my dad comes in and hangs me and somehow in a way gives me the answer to the question.
I indeed am the Peyton Farquhar in this story except it was worse; I actually did (physically and mentally) experienced the dream...

Current Events

More melamine found in chocolate bars - CNN.com

China's Milk Power Scandal has caused countries like South Korea to order four more Chinese-made food products to be destroyed. Right now, the number of tainted products known to South Korea that have melamine in them are 10 products. About 430 products have already been pulled down from stores for testing. South Korea, like many other countries, has stopped all Chinese-made products that have milk (or in general dairy) altogether.
The poisonous melamine was found in Snickers bars, M&Ms, and KitKat. These products were made from different companies like Mars and Nestle. Though Nestle comes from China, I know that the Snickers were made in Russia. So right now, you'll never know where your food comes from; the milk powder may have been made in China.Lotte and Mars Korea has said they're taking back all their products and foodstuff.

October 4, 2008. CNN.com

**********************************************************************
Four pirate attacks off Somalia in 24 hours, U.S. says - CNN.com

Pirates in the coast of Somalia have gained the international attention after a recent attack on a Ukrainian ship containing 33 Soviet-designed tanks and weaponry. Now in one day, there have been 4 pirate failed pirate attacks, although there were 6 American warships being sentinels on other ships filled with weapons.
3 of the 4 attacks were able to escape because they were so fast. The fourth, however, were foiled due to the fact that the ladder that they had brought to climb up to the ship was too short.
These failed attacks after some 26 ships successfully attacked and hijacked this year is probably because of the ships have taken these as a major priority after the attack on the 33 tanks. Already 8 European countries have offered Somalia coast to form an anti-piracy force.

October 4, 2008. CNN.com

Why Did We Spend 3 days Answering the Wrong Question?

Why did we spend 3 days trying to figure out what mass, volume, and matter is when the question is "Can matter disappear?". This is because matter is made up of mass and volume; weight and space being taken up. To find the answer to this question, we have to first find out what matter is made of and can that stuff disappear. When matter disappears, that would have to mean that the weight that was there on the Earth is gone and the space that was being taken up is empty.
See, if we study about what really is matter, then can we fully understand and answer the question of Can Matter Disappear?

Current Events

India temple stampede kills 100 - CNN.com

More than 100 people killed and 50 others were wounded today in a stampede on The Chamunda Devi temple in Western India. 25, 000 devotees had been trying to get to the hill-top temple though a steep and narrow pathway because they were having a gathering to celebrate the start of a religious holiday.
This is the start of a holiday known as Navaratri (or nine nights) and for nine night and 10 days, Hindus worship the different forms of a Hindu goddess.

The police do not know what caused the rush but many people said that they heard rumors of a bomb and reacted. Though these rumors where spread without a "baseline" these people would be scared anyways as across India, they have had a recent string of deadly bombings. The minister for the region has said that they had assigned 'enough' officers for crowd control but the large group of people had 'overwhelmed' them.

This stampede is a follow-up of last months, similar incident. More than 130 people were killed when the panicked worshipperes tried to run down a crowded street from a mountaintop Hindu temple in northern India when they heard of a landslide on the mountain above everyone. This landslide, of course was faked.

So much of these accidents were caused by faked panic and so many people had to die because someone started a rumor.

September 30, 2008
CNN.com

****

35 people killed in Pakistan bus accident- CNN.com

In Pakistan, at least 35 people died when their bus crashed into a milk tanker and caught fire.
This happened in central Pakistan late Monday near a city of Muzaffargarh. The bus speeding on a narrow road when it collided with the milk tanker and immediately caught fire. Authorities still can't identify the bodies of the 35 killed. These kind of accidents happen almost everyday in Pakistan because people don't care about the safety rules of the road.

September 30, 2008
CNN.com

Current Events

Kidnapped European Tourists Freed - CNN.com


Tourists in Egypt...

10 days ago, 11 European tourists and their 8 Egyptian guides were kidnapped from South of Egypt in Wadi al-Gadid, which is about 400 km from the Southern Egyptian city of Aswan. They were all traveling in 4 jeeps when they were apparently taken to Sudan. This kidnapping cause a start of a small conflict between Egypt and Europe.
The tourist group included 5 Germans, 5 Italians, and 1 Romanian. The guides were all Egyptian; 4 drivers, 3 security guards assigned to accompany the group and the owner of the company.

Today, all of them have been released unharmed.
All of them now are on a military flight back to another military base near Cairo, the capital of Egypt, reported Magdy Rady, a spokesman for the Prime minister of Egypt. However, the officials have not released the information of where they were kept and whether they made any arrests of the kidnappers.

September 29, 2008
CNN.com

Current Events

Tainted Milk Scandal Worries

After all this melamine-tainted milk starting up in China and it's products many countries all over the world, like Singapore and Taiwan, have been taking down food items that have milk in them and are from China. Now with this milk scandal, scientists have began to look into other products of China. Some crayons have already been tested and passed for a poison toxic chemical.
People everywhere have to be very cautious of what they consume now. In every foodstuff made in China, people everywhere are looking very closely at the labels to check whether the milk or milk powder came from China.
"(There's) no confidence any more. I'm now looking carefully at everything that's made in China," said one Singapore resident.
Some traditional Chinese medicine shops in Singapore said that business has been cut down by 20%.
Its very confusing why people would chose to cut corners in making these stuff when they can produce good items and have good feedback instead of the millions of emails, phone calls, and faxes of complaints and threats.

Written by Ryan Huang and S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
September 25, 2008

Culture of where I'm from

I come from Singapore, which has many different races; Chinese, Eurasian, Malay, Indonesian...etc. The cultures may differ from our race but I'm from the Chinese culture. Though my family isn't really deep into the Chinese culture, we still celebrate some Chinese events like Moon Cake festival and Chinese New Year. Those are probably the only celebrations related to the Chinese culture that I celebrate.
During Chinese New Year, we would have a family reunion where all my cousins and my aunts and uncles come together at my grandparent's house. When we get there, we would have to present 2 tangerines to the grandparents and wish them a happy new year. We would eat and hang out and the elders would give red packets or 紅包 to us. Then our parents would just store them in our banks.
On Moon Cake festival, it isn't so intense as it is here. We would just buy moon cakes and eat them and when we were young, we would get lanterns and walk around the block at night with all the other children. I didn't actually get why we had this but I appreciated the moon cakes and their sweet savoring taste.
Singapore has a lot of religions and it usually matters on your race. Then again, you could be from Indonesia and still become a Christian at your choice. My family is Christian because my grandfather (on my dad's side wanted to go to church after one of his friends brought him there). Originally my ancestors were probably believers of those Chinese gods. But both of my parents' side became Christian on my grandparent's generation.
Transportation in Singapore. Singapore is really small and it's pretty easy to get to places. Most people use the public transport like the MRTs, or the buses. The taxi fares has raised since the gas prices rised and more tourist became interested in Singapore. Though people use the public transport a lot, slightly more than average families have at least 2 cars. Well- at least where I lived, I lived in the city.
The arts of Singapore. We don't actually have a specific way of design, we follow the arts and music of, like, America. There are very few popular bands in Singapore and I, for instance, always listen to the American broadcast on the radio. The way we dress can either be really expensive and fashionable or those dis-colored cheap second-hand clothing you buy in super markets. Most kids my age don't really get the chance to buy clothing because they're always so busy with work and they only spend an average of S$150 on clothing the whole year. But the normal clothes fit for Singapore is probably a tank and shorts with flip-flops.
Education in Singapore means everything. The schedule of an average Singapore student would be:
7:00 - 1:00 = School
After school = ECA (extra curricular activities...mandatory)
Evening: Tuition or Swimming or Music
9:00 - Arrive home and eat.
9:30 - Study
1 am - Sleep.

This is why you don't see much Singaporeans go into high classes colleges. Everyone gets such a good score, who can you pick is the best to go to your school? Friends are hard to find in Singapore, even at work, because everyone is trying to beat each other out and get to the top.
Economics: Singapore's money. I'm not all sure about it. We're known to be really rich from the outside, but while you're in Singapore, you seem really poor.
Food: Yes. We have a lot fo famous food. The Chili Crab. The Hainanese Chicken Rice. The Ba kut teh. The Chili crab is known to be really good but really spicy. Chicken rice is not just chicken and rice, the rice has a certain flavor that makes the dish unique. The Ba Kut Teh, most people know as drinking/eating in the morning is a bitter and sweet herb soup we drink. It's really deliecious with various veggies, herbs, and meat.
Singapore is pretty okay. It the place I feel the most comfortable.

Is Air Matter?

Air is matter. I think that takes up space is matter. Why do you ask? If you blow air into a balloon, it inflates. This is because air is pushing the rubber of the balloon to expand and to create space for itself.
Air contains, carbon dioxide, oxygen, dust, and all those junk we have in the air now in the 21th century. Dust is actually dead skins cells and bacteria and a lot of other stuff, dust can make dustbunnies. Dust bunnies, lots of dust stuck together. This creates a mass and it takes up space. Carbon dioxide and oxygen and other stuff in the air is made of elements in the Periodic Table. They contain atoms and they take up space. Just because we can't see them or weigh them, doesn't mean their not matter. After all- they do matter.

Current Events

Obama Heckled By Protesters


The African American protesters that showed up at Obama's recent rally. ^


Protesters being escorted out of the University of Miami's hall by the Secret Service.
***

This has not been the only speech that Sen. Barack Obama has been interupted by protesters. In one of his other rally (in the beginning of August in St Petersburg, FL) Obama was similarly interrupted by a smaller group of protestors with signs saying, "What about the black community, Obama?"
On his recent rally, just after he did his introduction, Obama was heckled by a group of 20+ blacks holding signs like "Blacks against Obama" or "Obama edorsed by the KKK".
Obama, instead of ignoring his protesters at first, handled the situation that should be greatly coveted. Once noticing the interruption, Obama stopped and allowed his crowd to try and drown out the chants from the protesters with "Yes we can".

"Hey young people out there – it's no problem for you to put your signs up," Obama says to the protesters, "but let everybody – let me finish what I have to say, alright? Come on guys."

After this, Obama headed straight back into his pre-written speech about everyday jobs and watching the prices go up...

As the group of African American protesters were being escorted out of the hall of the University of Miami, Obama says, "Alright guys, see ya" and waves along with the crowd to the leaving protestors. He continues with a, "Alright, let's get back to work."

September 19, 2008. www.abcnews.com

HIS Culture

HIS Culture

- Camp Taiwan: We've done it every year.
- Musical: We've done it every year.
- Family School: Every one treats another like family
- 1:1 Laptop School: We use technology and laptops instead of books
- Small School: We're a small international school
- WASC: An example of our school trying to grow and expand.
- 5 student outcomes; Active Learner, Critical Thinker and Problem Solver, Person of highs character, effective communicator, and community contributor.

Current Events

'Post-Olympic Era' Off to a Rocky Start - CNN.com

China has recently finished their Olympic Games. But all this excitement, or as they call it, "post-Olympic euphoria", everyone is ignoring all the "economic worries and safety crises" [CNN.com]
People all around the world saw the Olympic Games as something that will effect the political and social change of China.
Many citizens of China sent in compliants to the government over the China's Human rights record and "treatment of minorities".
Even before then, however, reality showed itself with the collapse earlier this month at an illegal mine waste dump that killed at least 259 people and forced the resignation of a provincial governor.Now, the contaminated milk powder has killed the fourth baby, and more than 6,200 in critical condition, the government isn't paying enough attention to them and the only times we read about them are in international records. The rest of the world is worrying while China is still celebrated their success of the Olympic Games.

September 17, 2008 CNN.com

Current Events

Rove: McCain went 'too far' in ads - CNN.com

This year's Presidential Elections in the United States has been in the top news globally. This fierce battle with Barack Obama against John McCain is what most of the world is talking about. After Sen. McCain announced his pick, and took the world by surprise, as Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, and after her speech that included many attacks against Obama, it's been a full out debate between the two parties.
Sen. McCain has had the experience, being in Congress, but many think that he may lead America to another four years of disappointment. Obama has very little experience, but he has fresh ideas from this very "young" mind of his. I think it's almost even ground here. It's like a playground fight where two kids are trying to claim the swings and the slide but to persuade the other kids they have to give them jellybeans. Both kid leaders have the same amount of jellybeans. Would American want another "Bush" as President? Or someone that doesn't have that much experience?
How are those two parties get so much votes when they are about even? To beat out the opponent, one has to persuade the citizens of America what they can do and what the opponent can't. Former Bush advisory, Karl Rove says that McCain has gone "one step too far" with the attacks against Obama in his ads. After this comment from Rove to Fox News, the Democratic party "leaped on the quote" [CNN.com].
Rove then said that both parties need to be careful what they say to each other.

On another hand, Former nominee from the Democratic party, Hilary Clinton, says, "Barack and I may have started out on two separate paths, but we are on one journey now." This, to me, shows that even though they were opponents, Clinton still remains on the Democratic side.

CNN.com September 14, 2008.

Why Students Should Blog

When I watched the Youtube video first about "Why Let Our Students Blog" I found the fact there are younger students (grade 2s - 3s) that are a 1:1 laptop school too. It's pretty cool to see what younger students have been doing stuff with the computers, maybe even better than us.
I enjoyed the part where the person who made the video included the part for our "digital future". As we go further up the years, our lives will obviously become incredibly "digital". With all the technology being created every day, we can't start learning about the electronic world when we're older. We have to start young and we'll obviously learn more stuff in the future. Gradually, we'll learn more more the gadgets and wizzes as we're in a 1:1 computer school. We can obviously learn all this stuff too...through blogging. :]

For the blog post about 20 (its actually 21 reasons) reasons why students should blog, I liked the part that states "Students are digital natives - blogging is a natural element of this." Yes, because we are children living in this generation, writing a lock-and-key diary is the same writing a blog. It's natural for us.
"Prepares students for digital citizenship as they learn cybersafety and netiquette" This is good because in the future

Current Events

"New Orleans Starts Up, but Not at Full Power" - NYTimes.com


Residents of Louisiana line up for a free meal from the Salvation Army.

Hurricane Gustav was thought to be a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, luckily, the city of New Orleans escaped with little serious damage. Although the power to tens of thousands of homes have been knocked out, the evacuees pile into the city again, rebuilding this lives. The small cafes and restaurants are packed full with people, the grocery stores, holding long lines, and the traffic on the streets keep rolling.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin said, "90 - 96 percent of the power will be back on by the weekend."

"The city is still improving, and improving rapidly, " Mr Nagin said, "Any business person who’s out there and not open yet, [should return] because you're losing a lot of money."

Many cities of Louisiana, were hit harder than New Orleans. But the recovery of this Hurricane Gustav seems to go by faster because of everyone' experience and easier.

Article by Adam Nossiter of the NYTimes.com published on September 4, 2008.

Current Events

"Bhutto Widower With Clouded Past Is Set to Lead" - NYTimes.com
Last year, the world was taken by shock when Prime Minster Benazir Bhutto, who was leading a rally for her Pakistan People's Party in the parliamentary campaign was killed in a suicide attack.
Many people then questioned, "Who will lead us now?" Her son was one of those people that others thought would carry his mother's legacy. However, he was still too young.
But now, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, is expected to become the president of Pakistan on Saturday. He has never been know as a leader in anything yet, but he said, "[He] wll learn on the job."Mr Zardari has "shown canny political skills" [NYTimes.com]
Hopefully, he will be able to lead this scarred country.

Article written by Jane Perlez of the NYTimes.com. Published on September 4, 2008
PHOTO: NYTimes.com "Asif Ali Zardari"

China Recycling Wastes

This is a picture of all the radiators and generators that can give off dangerous gases. [Picture 3]

Above is an example of a three-wheeled bike. [Picture 2]

[Picture 1]


When the US or Europe wants to send China more recyclables, they usually send it by cargo ships. It is rare that they use a plane because that is more expensive.
You can see all the time in Beijing, three-wheeled bicycles carrying junk and trash [Picture 2]. Well, these people who ride them collect trash and items that can be recycled they can make a living out of it. When they collect plastic bottles, they can get a refund of 0.1 yuan (US $0.10) which isn't much. But once they've collected dozens and dozens, they've got money! Stuff like toys, ACs, TVs and computers, the riders of the three-wheeled bicycles can take them apart and sell the parts. Great, we've got all the good stuff about recycling in China. How 'bout the negative side of it?
What if there are wires and small particles of those toys, ACs, TVs and computers can't be used again or they can't find anything to do with them? Well, if they are those people who ride on those three-wheeled bikes, they just dump it at the local dump site [Picture 1]. This is a picture of a woman trying to dig out useful wires that she can use for something else. Maybe she found some parts that she can use for something. Or maybe she works there. The government takes people for jobs and put them at the dump sites to burn the items that can't be used again and can't be recycled. This creates air pollution with all the smoke. Some of the generators from the electronical items give out weird and dangerous gases [Picture 3].

Olympic Games - Beijing

"China is sparing no expense in preparing Beijing for the Olympic spotlight—including providing English classes for cab drivers and a government-sponsored etiquette campaign."[MSN]

China is doing everything they can to make their country presentable on August 8, 2008 when the torch finally reaches Beijing and the start of the Olympic Games. With all the foreigners pilling in so fast, China is begun to take in any help they can. The organizers of the Olympic games expect 550,000 visitors to comes and so, they've lined up 550,000 locals to help - "one for every guest" [MSN] With all the excitement going on, they've expected 22,000 journalist to come too. Well if journalists and reporters come, then China's going have to put on their best shoes. This may even help their community as now even the government etiquette campaigns are work to "stamp out bad manners like jumping ahead in line, spitting, littering, and reckless driving" to impress the foreigners that have already arrived ahead of time. Cab drivers are now under pressure to learn English so that they can communicate with foreigners when they want a ride. The government has even drawn up a program called "Crazy English" with 10,000 volunteers so that people can learn English and impress the world. Officials are trying to wipe out "Chinglish" which is a mix of Chinese and English on posters, billboards, menus, and storefronts.
The China streets are beginning to grow busier and busier. But now the "city's choking pollution and snarled traffic"[MSN] will finally be controlled during the Olympics; at least 1/3 of 3.3 million vehicles will be banned so that the streets are less polluted.

China has really put everything up front, making an obvious good impression in preparing for the Olympic Games. Now all we have to do and wait to see what their "final presentation" would be when the Olympics start.

To find out more click here

Current Events

"Stonehenge was a place of burial, researchers say"[CNN]
Most people thought that Stonehenge, a couple of incredibly heavy rocks that form is circle (located in England) was placed there by aliens. Reason? Because back then, cranes weren't invented and they were too heavy to lift. But now, researchers find out that it was just a burial areas.
But since when that people start burying their dead there? Get this. Since 3000 BC.
And the homes near the site used to house people from 3000 BC. Cool~!

"The burying started at 3000 BC and continued for 500 years, said researchers" [CNN]

Well at least now I know that those weren't from aliens...woo.

China - Recycling - USA - Europe

China has been getting exports from the USA and Europe. Why? And which countries?
Why? - "As China threatens to supplant Japan as the third-largest U.S. export market, local companies are finding that China's appetite for everything from old paper to chemicals to semiconductors"[CNN]
Los Angeles has been one of those countries that send paper to China.
In Florida, there is a China-Latin America Trade Center for Recyclables.
Mostly places where there are many industries in America, they sometimes send their waste products to China.

Sometimes though, China asks the companies to send their waste products to China. It seems that China is really serious about the green movement.

In Europe, countries like England and France are sending their waste products to China and China has been converting them into recycled paper. China has been saving many forest with their new improved technique, especially in India and Russia where many people get their paper.

Current Events

The FIFA world cup is a soccer game that every soccer player in the world knows about. Recently, the Iraqi soccer team has been banned from the games for a year. This was due to the Iraqi government dissolving all national sport federations. I think that this is unfair to the players on the team. They love soccer as much as every other player who is taking part of the FIFA world cup. So why do they have to be banned doing something they love because of politics and government?
Should Ariel be taken away her freedom to go shopping if someone else did wrong? Should boys stop playing computer games if someone else did wrong? No.
Just because the government dissolved all national sports federations, now they can't play the World Cup.

Current Events

[In this picture, police are firing rubber bullets at mobs and protesters. Rubber bullets are rubber made bullets that hurt as much as real bullets but do not go through the skin or enter to skin and "bounces off" the person, though it hurts like a real bullet]
Just recently in South Africa, there have been mobs and protests directed at the foreigners in Johannesburg. At least 22 people were killed in the small village at the mobs attacked at, and the Red Cross estimates that at least 3,000 more were displaced. The police also arrested at least 200 people for offenses including rape, murder, looting, and destruction of property.
"Police said those behind the attacks accused the foreigners of stealing jobs, criminal activities, and benefiting from social services -- such as free housing --meant to benefit South Africans. Police said at least one foreigner was burned alive over the weekend, while others had their houses torched, their shops looted and their possessions stolen. Many have sought refuge at police stations." [CNN]
They attacked those small villages "where locals are jobless, hungry and in need of basic services such as clean water, sanitation and housing" [CNN]. These attacks were meant to drive out the foreigners, like escapes from Zimbabwe from South Africa.
Its amazing that after everything that happened after the apartheid nationality is still a problem in South Africa.

______________________________________________________________
References

Mabuse, Nkepile. "Anti-foreigners violence kills 22 in S' Africa" CNN. May 19 2008. May 19 2008.
<http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/19/southafrica.deaths/index.html>

Current Events

Picture 1

Picture 2

We've heard about wars and riots and protests all around the world. Sure, man-made disasters. But so far this far 2 weeks there have been two NATURAL disasters in our continent of Asia. A cyclone in Myanmar and an earthquake in China. This topic has been very popular in our school too. Even here in Hsin-chu, people claimed that they too felt the tremors of the quake, which epicenter of located in the middle of China.
I believe that the real bad thing about natural disasters is the aftermath. The destroyed homes, the death tolls rising each day after new findings.
In China, many believe that their death tool from their 7.8 quake may hit 50,000 people. There have been stories of the sorrow in China. *Of "two grandparents carrying their dead grandson because they didn't want to put him down on the ground and destroyed areas". **Another story of how a "live baby was found under his dead mother and father because they had protected him with their lives". About 3.5 million homes were destroyed form this terrible earthquake. It is told that this is the largest most damaged earthquake in the last generation and that last largest earthquake was also in China in 1976.
While in Myanmar, the death toll could hit 100,000 people. And theif government still isn't letting any aid get in without their control over it first. They only allowed the helicopters from the US to hover over the land and drop the aid boxes so the Myanmar government can be the one who controls everything and delivers the aid to the people in need.

Its amazing what nature can do and how many lives it can take in just a few minutes or hours.

_____________________________________________________________

* , ** = <http://his-jordanw.blogspot.com/2008/05/chinas-quake.html>

Picture 1 =
<http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/15/quake.thursday/index.html?iref=mpstoryview>

Picture 2 = <http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/15/myanmar/index.html?iref=mpstoryview>

Current Events

So far, the Olympic torch has been around the world. Today (May 11, 2008) the torch is in Fujian. The torch has been in many protest and rallies throughout the world. The following pictures are sections of the route that the Olympic torch has taken. The first picture shows the route of the Olympic torch from May 2 to August 6. The second picture shows where the torch is right now, which I had already said, Fujian, which is somewhere in China. link

CNN Student News

I watched a podcast of CNN Student News and I saw that actions of the school taking control of the drinking on prom nights.
I believe that this is a good way for keeping the students safe and get these situations under control. Theses schools cannot stop everyone because there will always be some students who find loopholes and use it against the teachers. Although I do not disagree that the teachers should be doing this because kids' life should not be interrupted by stupid things like drinking. Those teens who drink should really think about what they are about to do and what might happen after you and and the people around you.

Current Events

The Olympic flame reached the top of the world Thursday morning, carried to the summit of Mount Everest by climbers wearing oxygen masks to breathe in the thin air of the earth's highest point. A 23-year-old Tibetan woman, Tsering Wangmo, carried the flame atop the peak. She was the last of five climbers -- three Tibetans and two Han Chinese -- to pass the torch to each other near the summit.
Once there, the mountaineers removed their masks so television cameras could record their faces and so they could shout and cheer their feat.
The climbers, braving gusty winds and freezing windchill, relayed the flame -- ignited from the main Olympic flame, now making a course across China en route to host city Beijing -- to the summit by 9:18 a.m., about two hours ahead of schedule.
"They were very motivated; they were very excited," journalist Tomas Etzler said from the Everest base camp at 5,200 meters (17,060 ft). The climbers started their ascent at 3 a.m. Thursday (3 p.m. Wednesday) along the Tibetan side of Everest, known there as Chomolungma. Twenty-two of the 31 climbers were Tibetan.

Student 2.0

Think that the posts at Student 2.0 is kinda not really interesting to me. Most of the authors are all high school students with problems that high school students have. Like college? Do we really need to be worrying about college right now when we're only in middle school.
If we wanted to talk to people in Korea or Sudan, I think then we would have showed more interest in those countries. What people our age like doing is hanging out. Having fun for the few more years until we have to worrying about everything else.
We don't really bother about somethings that happen in another school. Will it have an impact of out school?
I think we should look into something and write about something that interests us...not something that might interest people who are older than us and have better will to do something they want...like blogging.

Three Lessons from High School: Student 2.0

I listened to the video of "Three Lessons from High School 2.0" and i think that Anthony Chivetta, the student who posted that blog post has many good advice, for someone in another type of school. Those kind of advice would have worked, depending on the school's situation and the type of relationships that people have. His school must have been a large school where you don't know the names of a person a year older than you. That is the school where no one really cares about what you do. His advice would have worked if you found some logic in it. Like what would happen in reality if everyone could track your mistakes and hold you to it forever. Those advice, in my opinion, expired about 10 years ago when everyone was best friends with each other in a school and there were no complications along the way.

I think that its better that the author, Anthony Chivetta used video as a post but he could have made it a little more interesting. Halfway I started to get bored and i almost fell asleep. An advice would have been to make the video presentation a little more interesting and something that would have caught the attention of normal students that may have other problems.

Current Events

This is a picture of an artist who is finishing up his sand sculpture in Vijfhuizen, Netherlans where there will be a SandSculpFestival. It was a big indoor exhibition of sculptures that are completely made of sand.

Current Events

These women are receiving rice at a local shrine in Islamabad, Pakistan because of rising populations and strong demand from developing countries and also because of crops that need bio-fuels and sent the food prices very high.

Current events

More than half of Yellowstone National Park's bison herd has died since last fall, forcing the government to suspend its annual slaughter program. More than 700 of the iconic animals starved or otherwise died on the mountainsides during an unusually harsh winter, and more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughterhouses in a disease-control effort, according to National Park Service figures.

Paul Polak Podcast

So I listened to the podcast and in the beginning I was pretty boring and took down some notes. Then I started to become interested and I kept focusing on the podcast and what Paul Polak was trying to explain. Here are the notes that I took when I reminded my self that I was supposed to be taking notes.

- better job

- improve houses

- $500 per month in US - Less than a dollar a day in Africa

"Im poor cuz i dont have enough money....out of poverty to find more ways to earn more money through farming. he needs so much more to get money (education, health,...etc)

Listen to the poor people who live through poverty and not those who are powering poverty. Sometimes the poor people who stand in the sidelines waiting for proper education, health care, food, water, etc have all the answers.

Reflections on Student Outcomes

Active Learner> I'm an active learner during Humanities when I am researching on South Africa. I not only can apply what I find to my notes, but I can even ask myself questions that people in South Africa are experiencing.

Critical Thinker> I think I use my brain a lot in Humanities. Especially when trying to understand the lives of people living in poverty in South Africa and ways that the grant from the Gates Foundation can help.

Effective Communicator> I don't really talk when researching unless I'm point something out to my partner, Ariel, about something that I am researching that is related to what she is researching too. Also, I've been trying to encourage some other people from other classes to comment on my blog and my articles about South Africa and whether they have any ideas that they can help apply to my project.

Community Contributor> Even if people do not comment on my blog, they still read the articles. When I can list the things I can do to help South Africa, it not only tells the reader what I'm doing in Humanities of this "imaginary" grant request but they can also apply that to their own lives. When Grade 7s and 9s watched the movie, I think many were inspired to help the community like some villagers helped this woman in need.

Person of High Character> One thing i find in myself that I know is part of responsibility to do my homework is...the fact that I complete my homework on time. I do regular blog post about current events and what I'm doing with my AfricaQuest and I can complete assignments like Mind Map notes. When I'm assigned to listen to the podcast I try to find things that I could apply to my AfricaQuest which is a responsibility as I listen to a podcast that was advised in class.

Ways to help South Africa

Today after lunch, the grade 7s and 9s went up to the Language arts classroom to watch a movie to connect to community contributor. It was based on a woman called Yesterday, living in South Africa, with her daughter. She is from the Zulu tribe which is one of the most powerful tribes in South Africa. But she is very sick. She tries to go to the clinic everyday, but it's a two hour walk away and when she gets there, the doctor cannot see so many people. Soon when a friend helps her out to get a taxi to the clinic, she gets to see a doctor and she was diagnosed with HIV.

Another economic way to help the poor villages that I would include on the grant request would be to provide more clinics and hospitals that have enough space and enough doctors for patients to see. These can provide more jobs for people.
Also I would provide more free vehicles and people to drive them for people that need to get to places that are very far away. Maybe I could set up a "new" system that there's a place in every village that people can make calls for a cheap price.
School would be improved in villages for both children and adults who did not have a proper education. This can help adults to get more jobs.

If anyone has more ideas of how South Africa could get rid of poverty, please feel free to comment.

Current Events: Giant Squid Thawed

GIANT SQUID THAWED> On Tuesday, April 29, New Zealand scientist began to thaw out a giant squid of 1,089 pounds (about 494 kg). No one has ever seen a colossal giant squid live in it's natural habitat and futher examination of this squid can help scientist understand how these species live.
The squid was actually accidently caught by fisherman, who were fishing for Patagonian toothfish in Antarctica, when the giant squid started to eat the bait. When the fishermen found this out, they quickly captured the amazing creature and froze it to preserve it. The national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, later took possession of it.

Colossal squid, which have long been one of the most mysterious denizens of the deep ocean, can grow up to 46 feet long, descend to 6,500 feet into the ocean and are considered aggressive hunters. They also have the biggest eyes to the animal world. It can be the size of a basketball.

This giant squid is actually believed to be the largest specimen of the rare deep-water species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid, ever caught. The previous largest colossal squid ever found was a 660 pound female squid discovered in 2003, the first ever landed. After it is thawed out, scientists will examine the squid's anatomical features, remove the stomach, beak and other mouth parts, take tissue samples for DNA analysis and determine its gender. If it is a male, it will prove that male giant squids exists as they have never actually found the male species of giant squid before.

FREE QUESTION: Do you think cutting up this rare species is good for educational purposes or do you think that we should just leave it in peace?

Current Events

In this picture, over a thousand students gathered up in a Belgium square and all popped Mentos in Coke bottles at once. Their goal was to set a world record. As you can see, many of the students wore raincoats in order not to get the sticky drink all over themselves when they drop the mint, Mentos into the bottle. This creates the "explosion" and the drink shoots into the air like this in the square. It must have been a fun experiment and I think we should do it in this school, though it would be very messy.

Animal Rights Part 02

Do you want to know where your meat comes from? If you pick yes, read on. No, I suggest you to re-direct yourself from this post.

Cows = Burger King/McDonalds
Chickens = KFC
Pigs = Bacon and Pork chops

These foods taste good and we know it.But have you have wondering where they came from. You imagine those fresh, green fields and happy milkers milking the cows and smiling farmers feeding the chickens and so on and so forth. Ever wanna feel that those animals are being well threated? Yeah sure. Good food. Good people. Good Environment. The serenity....well guess what. Welcome to reality. Those farms are really rare in the world now. Those small peaceful farms have now transformed into claustrophobic jail houses for these poor animals. Some cows, chickens and pigs can't even move or turn around because they are so cramped up with all the other animals. These cramped spaces leads to diseases and fights and deaths. Because chickens fight for space and food in this little "high rised pens" the farmers have to cut off their beaks to stop them from hurting each other. Calves that have been taken from their mothers are being feed cow blood to make them grow faster and the corporate farm owners are giving them growth hormones or them to produce milk, cows and grow faster. Then eventually, they go into factories where everything is working at high speed, just to make the profit rate go higher. Then it comes to your home on your plate and down your throat. Boom. You've just eaten a factory raised meat. Do you think that this is right for us and the animals? All our cows and chickens and pigs used to "run free". Now because we've raised them for so many generations, they've lost their wildness and they become ... lame. They can't survive by themselves out there and they depend on the farmers to take care of them, even when they are going to be killed and served in KFC boxes through drive-through. These animals need to be raise and breed with care and we humans want to eat meat that is breed in an almost sanitory place, not something like this....

and imagine the stuff that comes out the rear end of these animals and how much and how fast it was accumulate with this speed and size. This creates pollution to the outside environment too.

So which will you pick: a pig that has been raised on one of these farms and treated like this, or a wild pig that had to chance to run their whole life but just got shot by a hunter. I would pick the hunted pig than the captive pig because if it hadn't crossed the hunters path, it would have not died and be serve on a plate with and apple in it's mouth.

So, do we have the rights to kill animals to eat? I'm tying this up with my previous post on animal rights. Yes, we do have the right to eat these animals. We have to. We we brought into this world to eat meat. It's part of who we are. If we are disciplined vegetarians or vegans, we would find supplements to meat but we will have to work really hard. We have to eat meat to stay healthy.

But we can change the meat that we eat. Just by checking on milk and egg cartons and meat that you buy from the market, for the word free range (which means brought up with space to run and grow) it will change the profit for those farms so they can kept their work up. Buy healthy, eat healthy. Help raise our food properly. Seriously. Do you want your food to be brought up in this environment?

South Africa: Current Events

A decade after the apartheid in South Africa, there has been many stories from both sides of South Africa.

"Life is still not good. It has changed for some people, not for others. Some people still have no jobs. People are hungry." says a young South African boy, interviewed by the BBC.


David Romano from Gauteng says, "I am a primary school teacher but crime is the main worry for me. Three weeks ago thieves came into my house and fired guns. A week ago they came back, broke a window and then took my stereo.I've now installed burglar bars and an alarm so economically it is killing me. The police do not care about my file.My kids are very scared.I was happy when I voted 10 years ago, but today I am sad." His experience through this apartheid was only changed because of people who don't agree with integration in South Africa with the whites and the blacks.

We look at wikipedia and we see that big cities that South Africa has produced, but what they don't say are people's opinion on the matter of the apartheid. What is said in wikipediia articles about South Africa is just the people who benefited after many years of change. But for others, their voices aren't even heard.

I guess I've found my role here on the AfricaQuest. Not to just listen to the people who are the ones having good lives in South Africa, but the people who need to money and need help and need jobs.

Reflections on Student Outcomes

Critical Thinker> I have been a critical thinker this week on our AfricaQuest project. In able the win the grant we have to sell our country. Basically, I'm focusing on Africa's economy. I think that our country and make a lot by its safaris and the gold mines and all the special geological places you can find there. Mostly building roads and tourist spots and information centers need to built up for tourist that want to see Africa's sights. Maybe we can have it that if you visit the safaris you can get a free trip to Cape Town and its beaches. Maybe get more tourist bonuses and by that, get more people to hire for jobs and money to pay them.

Active Learner> I am not just looking at the internet for my resources. The books that are in class has also proven useful. I found a small time-line on South Africa and during the 1940s - 1980s mostly about politics. Which can be applied to the node on Mind meister of history and political science.

Community Contributor> I seem to be the only one to go on the Del.icio.us website to share websites and I actually find that easier as my partner can also see the sites that I've been to and find useful. I also put links to my mind map to show where i found th information. Also when my peers have problems with anything and they ask me, I help them out to understand the meanings of different problems they face.

Effective Communicator> When my partner asks a question, I can effectively explain her the problem and give her little pushes towards the answer. Other-wise the only times we talk is when we find something useful and we tell each other but we just research on what we are focusing on but also go deeper into the subject.

Person of high character> I am responsible during class and I'm doing the work instead of messing around. I find that i'm actually sometimes not interested in the subject. I don't really like having things down on paper and would rather talk to the Gates foundations rather than having to send a letter to them. I think that person to person communication is the best but in this case, we aren't actually going to send an actual letter the Mr and Mrs Gates.

Current Events

2 current events>

In Florida, there is a little kitten that has 6 legs. Some say that while in it's mother's womb, there were twins but somehow, the legs that were supposed to be for the twin merged with one kitten. Doctors are planning the surgically remove it soon but this little kitten is truly unique with its extra pair of hind legs.

In Pennsylvania, the primaries for the democrats, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama has been a hard time. They have been havng many debates side by side. But they has to be a winner.
Hilary Clinton, last night, won the Pennsylvania primaries and she's very happy about it.

Notes from Sachs

- oil prices up
- food prices up
- wear and tar practically everywhere.
- many people ignoring the crisis
- pollution a lot in many countries

After one point while listening to the podcast, some window came up and said that the rest of the podcast is unavailable and that i had to try another time. I tried a lot of times later but it still stops at the same point.

Animal Rights

What is a right?
- A right is something you come with. You're born into the world with the right to live. It isn't something that you can earn but it can be taken away. It depends on how a person or animal uses the rights can you take it away. If something has more rights than others, they must have the responsibility and also have more responsibilities than a person or animal that disobeys other's rights. So then do we lose our right for living if we take other's life, even if the other is less or more superior than us. Everybody has rights and they have the power or authority over whatever they have the right to. They have power of their lives and their actions. If someone is taking over their lives and what they do, its the same thing as taking this person's or animal's right to live on this planet. You take away another's right to live, you may take your right to live and the authority over your life by doing a wrong.


What animals would we use to dissect (Why?). Which animals don't we have the right to dissect (Why?)
- We don't have the right to dissect any animals. No matter what they are still equal to us. Sure we may have more developed brains, but they still have the right to live. Mosquitoes have the right to bite us and suck our blood because it's the way they can reproduce and LIVE. If we don't let them have the right to suck our blood, they would never live. But since we give them to suck our blood, they can suck all the blood they want and they are the ones taking our right to live. If animals did not have the rights to do anything, they would be all living under our command. We would be able to dissect all the frogs we want because frogs don't do anything to impact our lives on this earth. Sure they won't like it but we are giving ourself the right to take their lives. I think we should only get frogs that are almost dying anyway. We would just be putting them to rest and giving them peace, also giving us the real experience to see what is in a body and how it works. Leonardo di Vinci dissected humans but they were humans that let him dissect them. We can't just ask a frog whether they want to die or not because we don't communicate in the same language.
They have lives to live. True, they don't have Ivy league colleges and Disney World and cars and clothes. But a thing more important than that is lives. They live and they have still time to experience things. They aren't even harming us right now. Rats have their small little homes with other rats they live with. They have emotions just like humans but you won't be able to see it and if you kill a rat you make the other rats scared, angry, and sad because they just lost a family member and they're scared that they're next. They have the right to live peacefully.


We do not have the right to dissect (as a class) the endangered species or any animal for that matter. The one animal that I would fully support on not dissecting are primates. They are the most like humans and taking them away is like killing a fellow human being. They have the same right as we do to live. Taking it away would be the same as committing a homicide.

Every single animal has the same rights as humans. What if animals ruled the world and they took one of us to dissect for educational purposes. S**** educational purposes! most people would say. We want to live just as every thing else. So should they have the right to live? Let the animals go. Let them to be free to decide for themselves whether they want to live.
But if a frog came into a science room and lie down on the table spread-eagled pointing at a scapel, i would think it wants to die. Then the humans should just toss it back into the pond to knock some sense into it.

(i would rather discuss this in person if you guys have anything else to add. i suck at stuff through written or typed words)

Community Contributor

Recently in this past week, I have been a community contributor, to try and remind people to do their homework and to tell them what is homework. I also have been helping my mom with my baby brother when I can be doing my personal stuff.
Being a community contributor for me is helping other people so they can be equal to me.

Current Events: 8-year-old sues

In Yemen, Arabia an 8-year-old-girl is forced to elope to a man 22 years her senior (that's a man that 30 years old). True that she's underage, but still, cultures there are really strange. She tried to ask for a divorce to her parents but they refused. She asked her "husband" but she also refused. So she met some other lady and asked for her help and the 8 year old girl went to court. She sued her husband for abuse and surprisingly, she won.
Its amazing what kind of culture would force an under-aged girl to get married to a 30 year old man, and also amazing that she won the case with some help.

Bloom’s Hierarchy of Learning

Remembering: In Language Arts, we have to remember which punctuation to use in different sentences.

Understanding: In Math, we have to understand the formula to an equation before doing it.

Applying: In science, we read from the book and than experiment to test it out for ourselves.

Analyzing: In Humanities when I collect notes, i have to them separate them into categories to make it simpler to understand later.

Evaluating: Going through my humanities notes and see whether I can add ideas that i think when I'm trying to make South Africa a better place with the grant.

Creating: In my previous science project, I had to gather all the information and go through them, then finally put it all together into a presentation.

Current Events: Elections and Wikipedia

Taken from CNN student news.

The election in America with Obama, Hilary, and McCain is one of the biggest stories all over the internet.
The three competitors use the internet to promote their side but others too can do it.
Many people go on wikipedia and add good information to the competitor they support and bad information to the person they do not support. Sometimes these information isn't even true. But it's just a way to get others to support their candidate too.
Luckily, editors working for wikipedia regurally check the sites and try to neutralize it so it doesn't seem that the person who wrote the article is supporting the candidate.

Current Events

This is a picture of a AmericanAirlines ticket counter in an airport. As you can see the long line and the disappointed people waiting.
1,094 planes were canceled because of oil prices going up and wiring of the wheels (on the plane) had to be fixed...on every AmericanAirlines plane in the world.
Some planes are still canceled today and many people couldn't get to where they wanted.

Even a girl who was trying to go to a college interview missed her flight and the interviews were canceled and she can't go to that college anymore.

Critical Thinker and Problem Solver

So far in this class, I have a lot of thinking to do. Mostly on research when I'm looking for information of South Africa. I have to think about questions I want answered and what kind of examples I can give to the Gates Foundation for a grant request. When my blog didn't let me sign on or write and post something, I checked regularly on the blog to see whether it let me on after a few days. Finally I got in to my account after tolerating that I couldn't do my homework. I only put demonstrates in this outcome because I think and can be better in problem solving in class and outside of class.

South Africa 02

Upon reading more on Africa's economy and such to see the reason why South Africa needs the grant request, I find that South Africa has already has a good supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange (the JSE Limited), that ranks among the top twenty in the world.

Why does South Africa need the fundings from The Gates Foundation? Another country might be in more need of the money in reality.

South Africa has industries than provide and bring out iron and steel, engineering, food processing, diamond mining, and gold.

And most of those that are poor are the xenophobic people that have been living in South Africa before the Dutch and the British invaded and colonized South Africa.
They reject the offers only because they think that the immigrants are the ones that are getting all the good jobs and earn their way up. So should I get the money and pass it to the leaders of the country, the ones keeping it for themselves, or to the poor native that want everyone else out of their native country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa#Economy