Hope Blog # 6

Today, I read an article about a chimpanzee who attacked and killed a woman in her Connecticut home. He was about 12 years old, and for some reason pounced on his owner. The police think it was because she got a drastic hair cut, so he didn't know who she was. To get him off the lady, the police had to shoot the chimp until it was dead. He was very talented, and able to do many things like normal people. I chose his article for the hope category because I think it gives other people hope for the future and what it holds for them. It shows that life can end 10 times faster than it starts, and you only get one shot. Hope can bring you through any situation, and keep you looking forward to the future.

Gallman, Stephanie. "Chimp attack 911 call: 'He's ripping her apart'." CNN. 17 Feb 2009. 17 Feb 2009 .

Religion blog #5

The article I read today was about Bishop Richard Williamson and his doubts of the Holocaust. He believed the Nazi's didn't use gas chambers, and said this on a radio broadcast. This is a crime in Germany, to publicly doubt the Nazi's ways. He tried to stop the radio from broadcasting it, but he was too late. The Pope said he could no longer do his priest duties after jail until he retracts what he said, which he has yet to do. I think this shows religious leaders and other Christian officials are looked upon very highly in Germany and England. It also shows that this religion takes their rules and laws seriously. They respect each other, but only if you do no wrong. 

"Holocaust-denying bishop loses court battle." CNN. 9 Feb 2009. 15 Feb 2009 .

Gender Blog #4

The article I just read is about Michelle Obama, the first lady. It shows her achievements and occupations. I think having her as a first lady is very important. She's not just the president's wife, but she's also successful herself. She went to Princeton, Harvard, became a lawyer, and then served in her community for many years. She is the prime example of a powerful woman in this day and age. Still, women are put down, not as much as before, but it happens. We aren't taken as seriously as men and sometimes aren't given the appropriate jobs because of our gender. I think gender is a huge factor in our society as to how far up you are, how much money you make, and how well you're treated.

"First Lady Michelle Obama." The Administration. 10 Feb 2009 .

Culture Blog #3

The article I read is about a small, poor country called Senegal, where people were trying to grow more rice for themselves. After a year of high prices for grains, including rice, the farmers felt that they would like to try to grow  a higher percentage of their countries' needs and cash in on those prices. An old government project, from the 1970's. had developed land and irrigation canals surrounding a river. The project was abandoned, but now that farmers have the opportunity to make money, the government tried to restart the program. Farmers were trying to make a profit, but could potentially lose everything if the world price for rice drops as a cause of overproduction. This is a classic example of supply and demand and how a culture deals with it. Many different places around the world deal with local problems in different ways, and this is one example of what could be a successful feat for a country.

Polgreen, Lydia. "West Africa Villagers Stake Their Fortunes on the Future Price of Rice." The New York Times. 26 Jan 2009. 7 Feb 2009. .

Struggle Blog #2

Recently, Jennifer Hudson's mother and nephew were killed. The police were looking for murder suspects, and think Hudson's sister's ex is the killer. It's such a surprise to the neighborhood that he is a suspect. This is because he loved her son, and wasn't the type of person to kill, so they thought. I think this is a huge struggle because the family and their surrounding friends thought they could trust him, but they didn't know his real personality. Also, it would be hard to see who is telling the truth because the police could be wrong, or the ex-husband could be lying. On another note, Jennifer Hudson has to deal with these horrible murders too. She's mourning, trying to find the killer, and dealing with the press all at the same time. These are many huge struggles.

St Clair, Stacy and Deanese Williamsharris. "Jennifer Hudson family tragedy: Suspect William Balfour's relatives, friends in disbelief." Chicago tribune 28. Oct 2008 3 Feb 2009 .

Natural Disaster blog #1

I read an article about an earthquake in Guatemala  and Mexico. It was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, but didn't hurt anybody. I chose this article because I was in Guatemala when it happened. It only lasted a couple seconds and was very confusing. It was interesting because if this happened in Minnesota or somewhere here, it would be a big deal, but since they're so common in Guatemala, nobody was effected by it or even acted like anything happened. It's amazing to see the different reactions and things that phase people in other cultures or places in the world. I'm very surprised that it didn't effect the city more, considering it's magnitude.

Arriola, Moises . "Strong earthquake off Guatemala-Mexico coast." Reuters India. 2008. Thomson Reuters. 31 Jan 2009 .

Outside REading #9: Beautiful Stranger

For the past couple weeks, i have been reading the book Beautiful Stranger, and A-List novel by Zoey Dean. It is the 9th novel to come out in this series of books. It is a book about a girl named Anna who moved from her New York compound into her fathers L.A. mansion. IN this book, anna has now been in Los Angeles for about a year and a half. Anna is already having friend problems and just broke up with her boyfriend, so she decides to leave L.A. for a long weekend with her best friend Sam. They load their private jet to NYC and get excited for a relaxing weekend in her real home, but it turns out its everything but. Sam surprises her fiancee in New York and finds him out to dinner with another woman. While Sam is busy with that, Anna gets re-acquainted with an old high school friend named Logan. Will she go back to her drama-filled L.A. life? Or stay in NYC for good to be with Logan?