http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/europe/13paris.html?pagewanted=2&th&emc=th
Eliminating air pollution! It's easy as pie, a cake walk, riding a bike. Riding a bike! That's what everyone in Paris is doing. Vélib stations are set up in Paris for people to start using. People pay for the half hour and the joy of finishing before the 30 minutes because there's bound to be another Vélib station near 20 minutes your ride. This got me thinking. I live in between Salinas and Monterey, two very distant cities. Abandoning my beloved vehicle would be difficult because walking along the highway is not exactly safe. But what if there were a special paved path on the side of the road near the fields for bikes? I would definitely start biking then. I asked my brother and his friends and they actually started thinking! Their response was quite shocking because they replied, "That would be awesome."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Beijing School Collapse
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/world/asia/11china.html?th&emc=th
My condolences to those who have lost loved ones. What a tragedy. I believe that the compensation should be given due to poor building of the school resulting deaths of children. Those people deserve to know that the culprits are punished. I wasn't so shocked to be informed that the police were involved and harassing the victims. The usual case. People stand up for something and are abused. Did any government officials come? Only reporters and journalists. What an answer to give confused and upset parents. Quite insulting if you ask me. Huang Qi became involved no later. I'm not exactly sure whats going on with Huang, but it seems like just another situation in the problem.
My condolences to those who have lost loved ones. What a tragedy. I believe that the compensation should be given due to poor building of the school resulting deaths of children. Those people deserve to know that the culprits are punished. I wasn't so shocked to be informed that the police were involved and harassing the victims. The usual case. People stand up for something and are abused. Did any government officials come? Only reporters and journalists. What an answer to give confused and upset parents. Quite insulting if you ask me. Huang Qi became involved no later. I'm not exactly sure whats going on with Huang, but it seems like just another situation in the problem.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Privacy Trial w/ Mosley
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/world/europe/09mosley.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
I am honestly not one to listen or read the tabloids. I could care less about what Britney Spears (poor girl) is doing these days or how Brangelina is holding up. It doesn't concern me and won't make an impact on me. But it does concern them. So this Max Mosley scandal has been quite the uproar for sometime as he decided to take some action and file a lawsuit against News of the World.
I personally side with Mr. Mosley. Whatever this man had to do with his...erm...time, was completely up to him! You may know the story and think, 'Oh gross! Sick man!' But tomorrow you'll forget all about it. Unfortunately seven other organizations won't and literally forced him to resign from his presidential spot in the FIA. It's gone way out of hand with this whole media scam. It's gotten to the point where it's dangerous. I don't care if you have a family to support. This is NOT a type of journalism. I agree that is it an invasion of privacy.
I am honestly not one to listen or read the tabloids. I could care less about what Britney Spears (poor girl) is doing these days or how Brangelina is holding up. It doesn't concern me and won't make an impact on me. But it does concern them. So this Max Mosley scandal has been quite the uproar for sometime as he decided to take some action and file a lawsuit against News of the World.
I personally side with Mr. Mosley. Whatever this man had to do with his...erm...time, was completely up to him! You may know the story and think, 'Oh gross! Sick man!' But tomorrow you'll forget all about it. Unfortunately seven other organizations won't and literally forced him to resign from his presidential spot in the FIA. It's gone way out of hand with this whole media scam. It's gotten to the point where it's dangerous. I don't care if you have a family to support. This is NOT a type of journalism. I agree that is it an invasion of privacy.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Chinese Algae Sweep
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/asia/01algae.html?th&emc=th
If you know me, you know how I am slowly getting into this whole ocean conservation thing. I really do hope that this event has brought some attention to how we have been mistreating our waters.
Chinese cities dump sewage waste into the sea. Now they take action when they need the Ocean for the Olympics?! A little selfish, don't you think? Yardley states, "But officials in Qingdao said in recent days that pollution and poor water quality did not have a “substantial link” to the current outbreak." Whatever dude. Blame the rainfall if you want, you're still not taking care of your environment. Shallow that they chose this event as an excuse to clean up a bit. But maybe I'm just bitter.
Apparently China has been anticipating this moment their whole lives. Kind of like when the fans of the TV show, Friends, witnessed the blooming love of beloved Ross and Rachel. But I digress. Residents have been volunteering like no tomorrow to prepare for the Olympics. I'm wondering what kind of event must take place for China to notice the bad air quality.
If you know me, you know how I am slowly getting into this whole ocean conservation thing. I really do hope that this event has brought some attention to how we have been mistreating our waters.
Chinese cities dump sewage waste into the sea. Now they take action when they need the Ocean for the Olympics?! A little selfish, don't you think? Yardley states, "But officials in Qingdao said in recent days that pollution and poor water quality did not have a “substantial link” to the current outbreak." Whatever dude. Blame the rainfall if you want, you're still not taking care of your environment. Shallow that they chose this event as an excuse to clean up a bit. But maybe I'm just bitter.
Apparently China has been anticipating this moment their whole lives. Kind of like when the fans of the TV show, Friends, witnessed the blooming love of beloved Ross and Rachel. But I digress. Residents have been volunteering like no tomorrow to prepare for the Olympics. I'm wondering what kind of event must take place for China to notice the bad air quality.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Child Marriages
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/middleeast/29marriage.html?th&emc=th
It's a common thing in Yemen apparently since the average age to get married is 13. It's not uncommon for girls in India and Pakistan to be married young either, for the expense of a dowry, of course. In the end, unfortunately, it all revolves about money. The girls are being literally sold to their future husbands. Poverty does have that effect on households across the Middle East. Another reason, saddening as well, is for protection. The example in this article was for the sake of the daughter. The man was a father trying to protect his child. But before she even knew what 'pregnant' meant or how to 'be a wife' was, she was married off. His other daughters were kidnapped and had forced marriages. This being the only other alternative.
Nujood, the 10 year old daughter in this case, came off lucky. The judge she had approached was extremely sympathetic. Not all women can be lucky in circumstances. Tradition is a tight rope that binds daily life to these people. How can they turn back on tradition? Their roots? It would be disgraceful to even defy what their ancestors have been practicing for centuries.
Quite depressing. This day and age, girl of 13 panic if they switch schools or move out of town. Girls in Yemen are blindsided and married off. Change is a natural thing. To make [a positive] difference, one must turn away from tradition. It's not so easy for those who live uneducated, uninformed, and sheltered to stray dangerously away from a preserved culture.
So live life to the fullest. When you feel like something must be done for the better. Stand up. Nujood did. She gets a second chance to be a kid.
It's a common thing in Yemen apparently since the average age to get married is 13. It's not uncommon for girls in India and Pakistan to be married young either, for the expense of a dowry, of course. In the end, unfortunately, it all revolves about money. The girls are being literally sold to their future husbands. Poverty does have that effect on households across the Middle East. Another reason, saddening as well, is for protection. The example in this article was for the sake of the daughter. The man was a father trying to protect his child. But before she even knew what 'pregnant' meant or how to 'be a wife' was, she was married off. His other daughters were kidnapped and had forced marriages. This being the only other alternative.
Nujood, the 10 year old daughter in this case, came off lucky. The judge she had approached was extremely sympathetic. Not all women can be lucky in circumstances. Tradition is a tight rope that binds daily life to these people. How can they turn back on tradition? Their roots? It would be disgraceful to even defy what their ancestors have been practicing for centuries.
Quite depressing. This day and age, girl of 13 panic if they switch schools or move out of town. Girls in Yemen are blindsided and married off. Change is a natural thing. To make [a positive] difference, one must turn away from tradition. It's not so easy for those who live uneducated, uninformed, and sheltered to stray dangerously away from a preserved culture.
So live life to the fullest. When you feel like something must be done for the better. Stand up. Nujood did. She gets a second chance to be a kid.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Cooling Tower says, "Boom!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/world/asia/28nuke.html?th&emc=th
This is the perfect opportunity for North Korea haters to start throwing out the accusations. What great chance to refer to the other three towers that North Korea is hosting. I personally don't have the history of North Korea on my bookshelf, but what I've read just seems like a publicity stunt. Kind of sketchy to me.
Onishi states, "North Korea’s declaration did not specify how many nuclear bombs it had."
I feel like laughing. Do we even have any evidence that the cooling tower even worked?? It could be empty for all we know. "In North Korea itself, however, the explosion was a nonevent." Mmm...curious why they would think that.
On the flip side, some are taking this as a positive step. They're trying to concentrate on the development of their economy. I must agree that North Korea has taken the first step in possible nuclear disarmament. And did I hear about Bush lifting up penalties under the Trading with the Enemy Act? Woooh! Go North Korea!
This is the perfect opportunity for North Korea haters to start throwing out the accusations. What great chance to refer to the other three towers that North Korea is hosting. I personally don't have the history of North Korea on my bookshelf, but what I've read just seems like a publicity stunt. Kind of sketchy to me.
Onishi states, "North Korea’s declaration did not specify how many nuclear bombs it had."
I feel like laughing. Do we even have any evidence that the cooling tower even worked?? It could be empty for all we know. "In North Korea itself, however, the explosion was a nonevent." Mmm...curious why they would think that.
On the flip side, some are taking this as a positive step. They're trying to concentrate on the development of their economy. I must agree that North Korea has taken the first step in possible nuclear disarmament. And did I hear about Bush lifting up penalties under the Trading with the Enemy Act? Woooh! Go North Korea!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
No Charge in Pakistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/world/asia/24pstan.html?th&emc=th
As in my other posts, I've stated my nationality...so naturally I take interest of the country, Pakistan. It's hard to see the nation crumble under the fate of a reckless ruler.
Bad rulers are just inevitable, it seems. But somehow, when they do come down- they cannot come down with dignity. They must always struggle. Musharraf is doing his best to hold onto any hope of keeping power. Issuing the state of emergency was probably the most embarrassing and shameless decision.
Apparently the four months after elections have left the country without a leader. Violence is taking its opportunity to spread across the regions. An image appears in my head when I think of this:
If you've seen Escape From New York with Kurt Russell, you probably know what I'm talking about.
Nobody is in charge and nobody is willing to take charge...then again- its a prison.
But Pakistan has no leader and militants are taking their chance and tribal areas that carry the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are finding sanctuary.
What's interesting though is when I went to Pakistan, everybody was ok. I went to Islamabad all the time and had no worries. The news always scares people out of their wits making this country sound like Manhattan in Escape from New York.
Another issue is that there is a big split of communication between the federal government and the central government. The big folks won't let the smaller people in on some of the deals that's been going around.
I think this is being very poorly handled. How do you function a democracy if there is not a set strategy.
The definition of democracy is:
The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.
You have to gain the people's respect to ensure their safety, most importantly. Musharraf very publically denied them this. Thousands of people were arrested and confined to their home. The supreme court lost many judges and many were harmed.
I remember watching this horrific happenings on the Pakistani news channel. As political opponents were leaving a building, Musharraf had his men stone, beat, kick those who did not vow to accept his laws.
Now there isn't any communication between the government and the people, the power for leadership still floating freely, militants are slowly taking over, and nobody has a plan.
As in my other posts, I've stated my nationality...so naturally I take interest of the country, Pakistan. It's hard to see the nation crumble under the fate of a reckless ruler.
Bad rulers are just inevitable, it seems. But somehow, when they do come down- they cannot come down with dignity. They must always struggle. Musharraf is doing his best to hold onto any hope of keeping power. Issuing the state of emergency was probably the most embarrassing and shameless decision.
Apparently the four months after elections have left the country without a leader. Violence is taking its opportunity to spread across the regions. An image appears in my head when I think of this:
If you've seen Escape From New York with Kurt Russell, you probably know what I'm talking about.
Nobody is in charge and nobody is willing to take charge...then again- its a prison.
But Pakistan has no leader and militants are taking their chance and tribal areas that carry the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are finding sanctuary.
What's interesting though is when I went to Pakistan, everybody was ok. I went to Islamabad all the time and had no worries. The news always scares people out of their wits making this country sound like Manhattan in Escape from New York.
Another issue is that there is a big split of communication between the federal government and the central government. The big folks won't let the smaller people in on some of the deals that's been going around.
I think this is being very poorly handled. How do you function a democracy if there is not a set strategy.
The definition of democracy is:
The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.
You have to gain the people's respect to ensure their safety, most importantly. Musharraf very publically denied them this. Thousands of people were arrested and confined to their home. The supreme court lost many judges and many were harmed.
I remember watching this horrific happenings on the Pakistani news channel. As political opponents were leaving a building, Musharraf had his men stone, beat, kick those who did not vow to accept his laws.
Now there isn't any communication between the government and the people, the power for leadership still floating freely, militants are slowly taking over, and nobody has a plan.
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