whats on my mind

Paris and Britney, new best friends? December 13, 2006

The artlcle, (http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/13/spears.paris.reut/index.html), from CNN tells us how Britney Spears is “neglecting her two young sons” by going out and partying all night as of late. Apparently since she has filed for divorce with Keven Federline last month she has been going out with her newly aquired best friend, Paris Hilton. Now the moral question here is that our countries youth idolizes these two women, but are they good idols to have? Take Britney for instance, she has been known to make mistakes in the past and now that she is supposedly neglecting her children, it might give a bad impression to the impressionable youth that observe her. And also, Paris Hilton has not gone without her fair share of problems. She is also a well-known partier. I know if I had a little girl I would not want her to be like these two women. While they are sucessful and huge stars, they do not seem to be very good idols for our countries youth.

Fake NFL Bomb Threat October 20, 2006

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/19/nfl.threat/index.html

This article from cnn.com shows us how some people in this world just simply don’t take things seriously. Making any threats on the level that he did is simply ludicrous. For those of who don’t want to actually read it, a man from MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin and another man from Texas had a little competition. They both challenged each other to see who could create the scariest threat scenario possible. But the man from Wisconsin got caught when he threatened to bomb NFL stadiums in major US cities. And the sad thing is that he might not even get charged, according to this quote “The official told CNN that it’s too early to say whether the man will be charged.” In the days after such incidents as the Oklahoma City Bombing, people should know to now make these threats. Or, as in most of us, our common sense tells us not to commit these heinous acts. This type of stupidity can create fear among the public. If men like this can create these ideas, what’s stopping them from following through with it? And how many other crazy people are out these wishing to cause destruction on a large scale? I didn’t mean to make you worry, at leats I know I am shaking in my shoes right about now (sarcasm), but it is a real problem and something we should keep in the back of our minds.

10 Girls Killed in Amish School October 6, 2006

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/05/gunman.family/index.html

In Georgetown, Pennsylvania a man named Charles Carl Roberts IV went into an Amish school and murdered 10 little girls. What is the world coming to, where men like this can seem “fine” but underneath the facade is a mad man awating. Everyone that knew him just thought he was a little werid, but other than that they thought he was “normal.” This article just made me think about what really goes on in the mids of other individuals. Obviously there are just some people you dont want to mess with.

Brother-in-law of the Judge in the Hussein case has been killed September 30, 2006

Kadhim Abdel Hussein, brother of Mohammad Orabi Majeed Al-Khalefa, was killed in Baghdad when his car was attacked. So why did I choose this article? Because its a sign that Saddam’s power is still apparent. It was a blatant attempt to alter the Judge’s decision, by means of terror. I for one think this is a scary/serious situation, because if Mohammad Orabi Majeed Al-Khalefa is not a “strong” man, he might let Saddam go. I also feel sorry for this man, he worked hard his whole life (more than likely) to become what he is today, and what does he get? Threats to him through the killing of family members. although I am sure he saw this coming, especially when judging a case as major as Saddam’s.

Pac-10 Suspends officials September 21, 2006

A couple nights ago Oregon and Oklahoma were playing a good game, an even game. In fact it was so even Oregon had to attempt an on-side kick to try and get the ball back and eventually win. However when this was attempted, the ball did not go 10 yards (which it must before it can be touched by either team). Oregon touched it before it went 10 yards anyway, got the ball back and the officials did not call it. They even went and checked it when the play was challenged. By this time the Oklahoma coach was furious, and even more infuriated when the officials came back and stated that the play was still deemed legal (or the play stands). SO for this horrible call they have been suspended for a week and have even received death threats by the fans. Oregon has apologized, and Oklahoma feels as if they were robbed a victory. The attempt to have the record stricken from the record books was denied. The official’s sstated that they were sorry and that when they reviewed the play, they only saw it from one angle, a bad one at that.

Heres the link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/wires/09/18/2060.ap.fbc.oklahoma.replay.6th.ld.writethru.0822/index.html

Live From Death Row September 14, 2006

Live from death row takes place in Pennsylvania where an inmate is waiting to take his long walk down the “Green Mile.” I say Green Mile not because it was literally green, but because this excerpt reminded me of the movie/books The Green Mile. In which the inmates indoured great hardships, much like in this story. Mumia ABu-Jamal, the inmate, stated that the Penn. prison was one of the harshest and unforgiving in the country. Here the inmates only are allowed a two hour period where they are allowed outside, whereas at other prisons they are given much more time. Abu-Jamal was denied liberties such as family phone calls and sometimes he is even shackled. He was punished in these ways because he was a “troublemaker” and refused to cut his hair. Therefore he was automatically put in the guards “dog house.” Dispite the harsh treatment, the inmates who are about to serve their death penalty are especially tourtured. Meaning that they are simply awaiting the moment where their life is cut short, and worse yet they know when it will happen. I believe that this is a horrible thing, although they did deserve it, for the moat part. But for those who are wrongfully accused (i.e. in the Green Mile) it has got to be horrifying and infuriating. They should give the inmates who have the best chance of improving themselves and becoming an ordinary part of society another chance, although they should restrict them somewhat. All in all i really liked the piece.

Current Event: Shelby Mustang September 14, 2006

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/carreviews/06/01/ford_shelby_gt500/index.html

This article talks about how Shelby’s version of the Mustang valued at $43,000 (hardtop) might not be worth the money that the dealers are selling it for. It says that buyers are ready to buy them for $20,000-$30,000 more than that. Now why is this? Everyone knows that Shelby is one of the most respected car companies in the US, if not the world. So techniques they would be paying for a mustang with traditional Shelby styling and a larger engine. Pretty much the car has excellent performance, but the interior isn’t all that great. SO for those who have money to throw around its a good buy, however the rest of us probably shouldn’t get a car that fast for daily driving anyway.

Blog and News September 12, 2006

I found this news article, i had originally found a different one but i liked this one more

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060912/ap_on_go_pr_wh/sept11_bush

In this article, Bush urges the American public to still push on and support the war. He wishes to get through to us in this time of mourning.

I found this blog also http://simondonohue.wordpress.com/2006/09/04/picture-of-a-singray-barb-that-killed-steve-irwin/

The blog i found tells abll about the stingray barb that killed Steve Irwin. While this is old news it serves a good purpose to warn people everywhere that even though they are harmless, if they can kill the crocodile, anything can happen.

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In-Class Freewrite: Lies September 7, 2006

    I remember when i was a child i lied all the time, but somehow my mother always knew when i was trying to lie. I used to think she was a mind reader because of this, granted i was very young, i guess it was either mothers intuition or maybe i just sucked at it. Most of the time i wouldn’t lie to get out of trouble or to get something i wanted, I would do it just because i could.

    However, as i got older i told less and less lies and became a very honest person. But i believe i speak for the majority of the population when i say that everyone tells “little white lies,” no matter honest a person believes himself/herself to be. For instance, friends do it all the time to make their friends happy, i mean who is going to go up to their friend and say “I honestly think your ugly.”? I don’t think you’ll keep very many friends that way.

    We have been raised to believe that we should be nice, kind and courteous to everyone, even if it means to lie to them. However, even if we don’t lie to each other, we are always being lied to. Be it by the media, the government, etc. But I am sure they would rather me say they are “concealing the truth for the publics common good,” rather than say they are lying to us. Sometimes i think this is acceptable, I bet that our government does a lot of things that would make us distrust it even more. So it kind of follows the “what we don’t know, cant hurt us” rule.

    Anyway the point is that lies happen, some people do them to hurt other people, to make them feel better, or to just protect them for what the do not need/want to know. They are a part of life from the moment we are born to the moment we die. We must all be ready to face these challenges and be able to identify lies when they are told.

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The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr September 7, 2006

In this excerpt, Mary Karr did an excellent job at capturing her and her family’s emotions. Her portrayals of her fathers struggle to fight this brain damage and their struggle to deal with it is wonderful. Her terminology was great, she didn’t use words that some people would not understand, rather she used words that everyone uses in everyday life. As some of the reviews stated, she is very honest and clear in what she says and gives us some sort of insight into her situation. Even if we have not been in a similar one.

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