Death by Abortion

On May 31st, Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas, was shot to death during morning church services at the Reformation Lutheran Church for his work as a "late-term" abortion doctor. The doctor, reviled by anti-abortion groups, was assaulted and died from a single gunshot. This tragic event only adds to the never ending conflicts that are linked to the violence in society. Abortion has been an ongoing issue, and people have profound differences over their thoughts on this topic. However, it is often said that violence breeds violence, and the doctor's death certainly doesn't bring any more peace into the world. Dr. George Tiller's Wichita clinic was the site of several mass protests and a bombing in 1985. He was also previously shot in both arms and brought to trial for performing illegal abortions at his clinic. Nevertheless, it is outrageous that he was killed at a house of worship. This incident shows that the violence in the world around us is even invading places of peace. It can even be considered an attack on religion, for a church is clearly regarded as a sanctuary. Ironically, anti-abortion groups are protecting a child's right to life, however, they must kill others in order to achieve this. If holding true to one's beliefs can result in such grave consequences, people might become more submissive with their thoughts. It will also become harder for people to decide what is right or wrong, and if it is safe to believe in one's own opinions. Through this unfortunate tragedy, it is evident that when people fight for a cause, there will be a conflict. Amidst our chaotic society, such conflicts often happen side by side with inevitable death and ever increasing violence.

Sources:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Kansas+abortion+doctor+shot+death+church/1649031/story.html

American Idol: Fair or Fixed?

On Tuesday, May 19, college boy Kris Allen and musical theatre star Adam Lambert battled it out for the final time this season, hoping to win the hearts of America and be named "American Idol of 2009." The following night, Ryan Secrest proclaimed Kris Allen the winner. Allen fans were ecstatic - Lambert fans were enfuriated - and based on friends and other people I know who watch American Idol (including myself), most of them were part of the furious crowd.

According to a few online polls I came across, around 63-73% of American Idol viewers were Lambert fans. Yes, Kris is a cute guy with a warm, soulful voice, but it doesn't compare to the powerful vocals that present Adam's high potential. If so many people were in favour of Adam, then how in the world did Kris Allen get the title? Some say AT&T gave Kris an unfair advantage by providing free phones and "power texting" to fans in Arkansas, Allen's birthplace. Some even say the voting was fixed. Others think the votes came from his secret fan base of "gum-snapping girls." Then there's the people who oppose Adam's homosexuality. Did it play a role in Allen's victory? Maybe, maybe not.

These kind of peculiar situations make me wonder about other voting competitions: how fair are they REALLY? Let's use student council as an example. Be honest now - what do you base your choices on? Do you base them on their speeches, how good of a friend they are to you, or how well they can bribe you to vote for them? I bet most students don't even pay attention to the candidates when they speak, leaving it to be a popularity contest. During the semi-finals for AI, one of Kris's song choices was "Heartless" by Kanye West, no doubt a hit-song. Think about it though - unless you are changing the arrangements so it's completely distinct from a rap song, would you really choose a rap song to sing in a COMPETITION? Yes he made some adjustments, but anyone can tell that the difference isn't overly large. I thought it was an unwise choice; the judges thought it was brilliantly creative. So what, he became extremely popular just because he picked a popular song? While Adam's selections weren't as well-known, his performances always made up for that; Kris chose from the hit list, performed them mediocrely, and he winned it all. What's the point in wasting effort if this is what will happen?

The reason for television competitions like American Idol, and elections like Student Council, is to choose the best of the competitors based on the standards of a winner, and the majority vote. However, various votes are placed for the wrong reasons, making it unfair for those who are truly worthy of representing one's grade, or one's country as "American Idol."

SOURCES:

http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2009/05/28/american-idol-did-att-help-kris-win/

http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/showpatrol/2009/05/american-idol-poll-adam-vs-kris-may-12.html

http://www.quizilla.com/polls/result/9579379

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/05/american-idol-adam-lambert-kris-allen-73915284-news.html

The TWILIGHT Craze

On November 21, 2008, the film adaption of the widely popular book Twilight finally came out. It was much awaited by the fans of this romantic-fantasy novel by Stephanie Meyer. The movie grossed 35.7 million dollars on its opening day and as of May 30, 2009 has grossed 382,133,300 million dollars in worldwide box-offices. The story of the first movie centers on the beautiful mortal teenager Isabelle Swan, who falls in love with her handsome classmate, Edward Cullen. It is considered to be the modern Romeo and Juliet. The problems begin when Edward, who although looks 17 is actually a 108-year-old vampire, reciprocates the feelings and when a series of older, more experienced vampires threaten to kill his beloved Bella. The “Twilight” movie catches the eye of fan girls, mostly, as it features the necessary dark, twisted, handsome vampire with a heart of gold to make the movie successful. Fans, mostly girls are anxious to get their hands on anything that has something to do with "Twilight". The movie definitely has made a strong base with teenage girls worldwide. The TWILIGHT craze has swept the world of teenage girls!

My eyes opened up to the "Twilight" series not long ago. I first read the book around September 2008 because I saw many of my friends reading the series. It got my attention and I immediately started reading Twilight when I got my hand on it. I remembered I finished reading "Twilight" in just three days! I got extremely addicted to the first book and got the next book to read. I became one the many fans of the mysterious Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen was the perfect prince charming that many girls hope to be with forever. He made almost every teenage girl on the planet fall in love with him including me. It affected my life because during those months I was only focused on reading the "Twilight" series. Nothing mattered to me except I had to finished the books. The TWILIGHT craze has swept me off my feet! I cannot wait for "New Moon" to come out in theaters on November 20, 2009.

Economic Recession

We are currently going through an economic recession. The economic recession often refers to the two quarters of negative economic growth. A recession is a general slowdown in economic activity over a sustained period of time. Unemployment has been climbing and the stock market has been plummeting. Although teenagers may think the economic recession has little impact on them, they are wrong. We many not own homes, and falling home values don't matter to us. We may not own stock, and the plummeting stock market doesn't matter to us. We do, however, have jobs, or will have jobs in the next few years. Employers are cutting more and more jobs because of the economic depression. It affects the people who are losing their jobs and the people who are still looking for a job. For example, I already have a job, but I am looking for a better job in retail. Now that the economic recession has hit Canada retail has taken a dive. Not as many Canadians are shopping and buying as many clothes because of the economic recession. The economic recession has affected me because I haven't been able to find a good job in retail. Without realizing it, this recession has affected everyone in ways we never knew. Whether it's how much we make or how much we spend, the recession has influenced everyone.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession
http://www.content4reprint.com/business/corporate/on-the-dole-the-effects-of-economic-recession-on-employment.htm
http://recession.org/

Fashorexia-

The Debate of having to be a size zero just to be a supermodel in the fashion world has exploded in current magazines. The constant image of super slim models walking down the catwalk seems to have become the role girls wish to fill; to be tall, thin which ultimately makes young teens believe that that will make them feel beautiful. The elimination of a girl attempting to win the competition of America’s Next Top Model was truly astounding, due to the ultimate reason she was eliminated for; obesity. Although the reason given for her defeat was because she could not capture her beauty on film, her fellow competitor did not gain fifteen pounds within two weeks like she did, therefore she advanced to the next round. This superficial world of modeling affects girls and heavily impacts many who literally killing themselves to be the women they see in the media. Many young girls constantly compare themselves to their role models, whom are secretly suffering from this illness of anorexia. The end of this certain girl’s journey in the shallow contest showcased the pressure models are in, to reach the standard to fit into a size of 00 jeans. In August of 2006 a Uraguayan model, Luisel Ramos, suffered heart failure and died after starving herself. The following November, a Brazilian model, Ana Carolina Reston, died from the same sickness: anoxeria.The close ties of the fashion industry with this illness is outrageous. I have altered my opinion of the disease that affects 10% of the entire population. Instead of blaming the girls for being foolish and crazy, who believe they can never be too skinny, I blame the fashion world for promoting this skinniness in young women and encouraging it with the many ad campaigns that are published around the world with models that have waists of eight year olds. Until the ban on size zero models is permenantly established never will I put those girls guilty of becoming what this disgusting industry wants them to be; clones who die in the name of fashion.


Sources:

• http://theviewspaper.net/anorexia-and-the-fashion-industry/
• http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23367018-details/Pressure+mounts+for+'ban'+on+zero+size+models/article.do
• http://forums.jokersupdates.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=NextTopModel&Number=11117906&page=0&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&rc=

TIM'S POST REGARDING PRESIDENT OBAMA

On January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the United States of America. After running against Hillary Clinton and John McCain, Barack Obama successfully won 365 out of 538 electoral votes. During his first few months as President he has set a date to close Guantanamo Bay, produced a plan to end the war in Iraq, passed a major economic stimulus plan, lifted bans on funding abortion and stem cell research, banned torture, and has deployed thousands of extra soldiers to Afghanistan. Most of these actions have a minimal impact on my life but are nevertheless very significant on the world stage.

A lot of people are suffering these days due to the financial crisis; President Obama plays a key role in ensuring that the economy gets back on track. The United States of America has to end its own financial woes in order to help the rest of the world recover from this particular recession. The US is a huge consumer of goods from all corners of the world, it employs a huge workforce (both domestic and foreign), it is a major manufacturer/exporter, and it holds a vast amount of the world's wealth. If President Obama doesn't get America's financial system back to normal it could have a very negative impact on me and on the rest of the world. Imagine if the Royal Bank of Canada or the Bank of Montreal or any other bank filed for bankruptcy. That's all my mom ever talks about now. We could lose all our money overnight if something like that happened. Furthermore, when I graduate from university, the recession is not going to help with my job search. This is why President Obama's actions mean so much people like me. On a different note, his decision to lift bans on stem cell research will very likely have a positive impact on my life. The medical breakthroughs that will very likely come from this decision could only benefit me and the human race. In conclusion, most of President Obama's actions will not affect me drastically, but some of his more important decisions will.

Attempt at a healthy lifestyle

The amount of people dealing with obesity has risen dramatically in recent years. Researchers have gathered information and concluded that 58 million American adults are over weight, while as 5.5 million Canadians are dealing with this problem. The government takes notice in the danger of obesity, and has been trying to solve the problem, dealing with the youth as their first priority. These days, the youth has many more and easier access to fast food restaurants, or any other fattening foods. The government has taken this problem into action and contacted school districts, which then applied the healthy foods policy. I think the healthy foods policy has brought a huge change, and it has effected me, and possibly many other students, in many ways. Fast food restaurants are one of the reason for the increase of obesity, but it is not the only blame for it. Being obese relates to the amount of food and exercise one has taken up, basically their lifestyle. Which is why physical education is highly recommended for students around the age of 12 to 18, their growth years. A typical teenager would usually choose to sit around and stuff themselves with a bag of chips. The healthy foods policy has decided to target the schools. Replacing the vending machines with many healthy snacks and drinks, they've also changed the cafeteria's food menu. This new policy has effected me because the "good-tasting" food has been taken away from us. I also think it is a rip off to buy food available at school, not only does it taste bad, but it is also expensive. In my opinion, I think the healthy foods policy is not very effective at restraining students from unhealthy choices of eating, because many students still go out to fast food restaurants during lunch and after school. The policy has mostly effected me negatively, it makes me feel the need to go out and eat at restaurants, possibly buying more junk food, and stop buying food from the cafeteria. On the other hand with the new policy, it has helped me save up a bit more money in my wallet from cafeteria food. The healthy foods policy is a really bad attempt to restrain students from eating junk food, and it has only effected me in a negative way.


Reference:
http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/Nutrition_Information/Weight_Control/overweight_obesity_facts.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/article/adults-adultes/8060-eng.htm

Caution: Internet Danger

The internet is used by people all over the world, whether they are kids, working adults, or even seniors, the internet is definitely a great way for communication. It is almost as if the future generation had made the internet revolve around everything we do. Posting blogs, pictures, streaming videos, using messenger, and researching on Google are things that we do daily. As a result, people have the ability to do whatever they want on the computer. However, they do not know the danger of using the internet and how it affects us. In 2008, the Edison Chen photo scandal demonstrates the danger of the internet. He was involved in a publicized nude photo scandal of himself and other celebrities that he had dated from the past. The pictures of the female celebrities had been accidentally posted up all over the internet by a person that is still unidentified. This had mentally hurt the celebrity victims of this scandal due to Edison Chen’s posted photos. I believe that this kind of action can happen to anyone of us. The information that we allow published on websites and computer can be easily put on the internet. And the fact is, because the internet is widely operated all over the world, it is possible for anyone to post false information about you. Besides, Edison’s scandal it is obvious to see that there are other internet dangers such as internet dating, hacking, and communicating with strangers on net. This certainly puts an effect on all the people that uses the computer. No longer can you fully trust the internet and there is no longer full privacy either. But by agreeing to the internet’s policies, you are taking the responsibilities of these actions on your own risk. In conclusion to my statement, I believe that using the internet can be dangerous and that we should pay more attention to what we do on the internet to protect ourselves from internet danger.


Reference:
Wikipedia.com

GG!

The UN gang, also known as the United Nations gang is a criminal gang that has been active in our society. Since 2008 till now, there has been gang violence occuring in where we live. The UN gang has known to be playing a major role in this gang violence. There are gangs all over the world. Theres TC, BC, Hells Angel, Vietnam Gang, and lots more. Nowadays, teenagers are too caught up with the artificial look that society puts on. They care too much about what people say and what people wear. People now, are willing to buy 160 dollar T-Shirts that has the word "Smet" or "Ed Hardy" on them hoping that gang groups would notice them and recruit them. Society nowadays are all about the "looks" and who they hang out with. Teenagers, age 13-18 are trying to get into clubs, and they start smoking and blazing and drinking at a very young age. It's amazing how far people would go to just to fit in, and to make people notice them. Just last week, I went to the mall and noticed that basically all the teenagers in Richmond were at the mall. All my friends from other schools came up to me and said, "theres gonna be a fight between the UN gang and the TC gang." Most of the people at the mall just wanted to see a fight and hopefully get involved with it so people would notice them. The amount of peer pressure that these gangs put on people is just overwhelming. Teenagers nowadays would do anything to get into a gang because they feel that its the "cool" way to go. They suck up to those who they want to impress and at times, they feel embarassed with the people they normally hang out with. Gang violence, and gangs has definently impacted many, usually not for the better.

Most likely your last blog post...

If you look back on this year there has been a lot of history making events going on in our society. On the world stage, we have been dealing with the economic recession. Scientists are more confident than ever about Global Warming. On the more political front, our neigbours have elected the first African-American president, and Canadians and British Columbians have been faced with numerous political elections (including one this week!). Vancouver has also experienced gang violence in an unprecedented manner. We are also almost ready to host the Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics. A lot of individuals have also pushed ethical boundaries, like Nadya Suleman having octuplets.

Look back at the past 12 months or so, and find an event that interests you or that you believe will affect you in some way. Give a brief summary on the event, and then explain how it will affect you. The way it affects you can be specific (it will actually change your life) or it can be general (it may have a minimal impact on your life).