Hurricane Sandy: Menacing Monster

Hundreds of thousands of people have started to evacuate the East Coast as Hurricane Sandy is moments away from approaching some of the most densely populated cities in the country. According to the National Hurricane Center, "We’re going to have a lot of impact, starting with the storm surge; Think, ‘Big’ ”. Winds are reaching 75 miles per hour and are being sustained for long periods of time. 60 people in the caribbean have lost their lives from the Hurricane. 1.1 million New York students are not going to school tomorrow and 70 public schools are being used as hurricane shelters. 

    Many of New York public transportations systems will not being running and the New York Stock exchange is closing the floor--For the first time in almost three decades. To read more, click here.  Before Hurricane Sandy strikes, I pose two question, do you think they are taking protective measures too far and how do you think this will compare to Hurricane Katrina?  All comments are welcome. 

4th Time's a Charm?

    As the third presidential debate came to an end last night, Candy Crowley followed the paths of Martha Raddatz and Jim Lehrer. All three moderators have had trouble keeping the candidates in line as they debate their way to presidency. The first debate was moderated by Jim Lehrer and many were upset with him for not intervening and letting the Governor and President "run" the debate. Conservatives were upset with Martha Raddatz as she has had previous connections with Obama and last night, According to the Washington Post, "Republicans pilloried moderator Candy Crowley for her attempted litigation of who was right and who was wrong when it came to how and when the White House had labeled the Benghazi attack in its immediate aftermath."To read more, click here. 

   Why is it that all three moderators have had issues on controlling the debate? Some say it is virtually impossible to be a moderator. When I was watching the debates I noticed that the candidates would answer the questions they wanted to answer, and not the questions that they were asked. Also, they ignored the alloted time they were given and spoke on their own terms. Do you think that people should be focusing so much on how the moderators do? Or should we just focus on what the candidates say and ignore the moderators performances? 

Case Closed: Lance Armstrong Doped

Armstrong holding up seven fingers to mark his seventh
 Tour de France victory.

     A man with cancer that spread to the lungs and brain, beat all odds and won seven consecutive Tour de France titles. A cancer foundation founder raising millions for cancer research. Many have looked up to him as a hero beating all life obstacles. This man is Lance Armstrong. Recently, however, Armstrong was accused of "doping" and has been stripped of all titles and banned from professional cycling. According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Armstrong had the most “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen".
     26 people confirmed his drug use and testified. The report included financial payments, e-mails, scientific data and laboratory test results. According to the Washington Post there was “conclusive and undeniable proof” that Armstrong, used, possessed and distributed performance-enhancing drugs. To read more, click here.

    In response to riders coming forward with information, Travis Tygart, CEO of USADA said, “in some part, it would have been easier for them if it all would just go away, however, they love the sport, and they want to help young athletes have hope that they are not put in the position they were: To face the reality that in order to climb to the heights of their sport they had to sink to the depths of dangerous cheating.”
    Armstrong used EPO, testosterone, and blood transfusions throughout is momentous career. For now Lance Armstrong is seen as a liar and cheater in the eyes of America, but in ten years or so, do you think he will be remembered as the man who doped or the man, against all odds, beat cancer and won seven tour de france titles? All comments are welcome.

Mitt Romney: In it to Win it

    I am not one to get into politics much. On Wednesday night I was flipping through channels and turned the debate on because some of my favorite comedy sitcoms were not on. Immediately, I was intrigued and watched the whole debate. In the past Romney hasn't had the best rep for public speeches. A lightbulb switch went off on Wednesday as Romney spoke with confidence and power. He stood his ground the whole night, as Obama took a more "cautious" approach, which wasn't the best game plan.
     After the debate, a CBS poll of 523 uncommitted voters were in favor of Romney  with 46% to Obama with 22%. (The rest thought it was a tie). To read more click hereThis debate could be a game changer for the Romney campaign as elections come closer and closer. What do you think? Did Obama do a good job at the debate? Did Romney do better? All comments are appreciated and welcomed. Watch the video to see highlights of the debate.

How Biracial Americans Choose Their Identity

  After having an "online" discussion on An American Studies post by Mr. Bolos, a comment that Mr. O'Connor posted really got me thinking: how do biracial americans identify?" In 2010 A woman named Nikki Khana did a study that answered this exact question. In the study 40 people were asked, which race (black or white) they identified with--the results were quite surprising. 
    Khana said that, "we [found] that biracial respondents pass as black to fit in with black peers in adolescence (especially since many claim that whites reject them), to avoid a white stigmatized identity, and, in the post–civil rights era of affirmative action, to obtain advantages and opportunities sometimes available to them if they are black (e.g., educational and employment opportunities, college financial aid/scholarships)". To read more, click here. 

     A very prominent example of Khana's findings is president Barack Obama. He is biracial and identifies as black. Obama is the nation's first black president, which has been used greatly to his advantage, especially in his campaign. Many African Americans wanted to identify with a man of color. When many people think of Obama, they think of a "black" president. But why not also a white president? He is indeed as much white as black. To read more about Obama and race, click here. 
      If I were to guess about which is more commonly the identified race, I would have thought biracial americans would identify white. America has been faced with civil rights and segregation, so I would want to identify as white because there are still some racial stereotypes out there. One Yale research study concluded that, "Media have divided the working class and stereotyped young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers." As a result, the media has crushed youths' prospects for future employment and advancement. The media has focused on the negative aspects of the black community. Some examples are,  engaging in drug use, criminal activity and welfare abuse. 
     What do you think? If you were biracial, who would you identify with? All comments are welcome

Don't Touch Me

    Why is it okay for two heterosexual men to hold hands in Saudi Arabia, but not America? Why is it that when Americans hold up two fingers to signify peace, it means,"go to hell" in Greece.  For many years these different meanings have held true to unique cultures in different countries. As time proceeds on, many cultures are loosing their unique authenticity with their body language and are becoming more "americanized". As USA television and movies have become more and more popular world wide, younger generations are picking up on our body language.

    If a British woman in her 60's saw a kid holding up two fingers, she would take it as an extreme insult. On the other hand, if a British teen sees two fingers up, they just think of the number two as one would think in America.
     Greeting people is also very different for different countries. If an American were to shake a German's hand, they would think the German was distant with their brief handshake, while the German would think the American is going overboard with shaking hands up and down repeatedly 5-7 times. 
      Have you ever been in a situation where you have seen body language that doesn't mean what you think it does? 
      To read a truly fascinating article about body language in different countries, click here.

Mice Helping to Finding a Cure, but at What Cost?

     We know that many animals are used as "guinea pigs" for tests with new drugs, treatments, and experiments.  While some animals, such as mice, live in the comforts of a nice habitat in people's homes, others aren't so lucky. Because mice are mammals, easy to work with, and have large litters, they are the perfect test subject to do experiments on.

     Recently a new concept has been put into place for cancer patients. If a patient has an operable tumor, Doctors can extract some of the tumor, plant it in mice, and do experiments on the mice to see what combination of drugs wipe out the cancer.
      To get a good test study it takes about four months for there to be enough "cancerous" mice to get a good amount of data before giving the combination of drugs to humans.
     A 60-year-old New Jersey man with lung cancer said that, “you just look at it as a tool for saving yourself. From my perspective, the more that die, the better for me.”  To read more, click here. 
       This attitude could spark some controversy over how these animals are treated. Although this is life saving treatment, thousands of animals are giving their lives to research. The least we could do is give the animals pain medicines or nice habitats to keep them as happy as possible for their short lives on Earth. 
       This also made me think. Why is it that American's have such a huge place in their hearts for animals? For example, a puppy walking down the sidewalk is bound to attract lots of attention from complete strangers. There is nothing cuter than a fluffy dog or a cuddly cat. I pose two questions for anyone reading this article.
         1. do you think animal testing is humane?
         2. Why do you think we have such a strong attachment to animals?