Current Event

The ex-white house press secretary Scott McClellan, is speaking out about the Bush administration in his new memoir. He claims that the white house shaded the truth about the war and used political propaganda to sell the war to Americans. He said he realized it was time for him to step down after he was suppose to talk about the Valerie Plame case. He said he refused to share false information with the public, even though that is what the bush administration wanted him to do. Even though McClellan was a close friend of bush and had worked for him since Bush was the Governor of Texas, he said that the CIA leak case was the tipping point. He said that in the beginning he believed the president was telling the truth like most Americans did. But after the war progressed he said he realized bush had become dillusional and in denial about the war.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hMGWbl8L60Y1Xq9MmT41qWXXDYRQD90VEAH00

My Architect Response

In class we saw about half of the documentary “My Architect”. I learned a lot about who Louis Kahn was and how he lived his life. He was born in Estonia and came to America on a boat with his family, and then settled in Pennsylvania. When he was growing up he worked by playing the piano during silent movies. He was very good at music and drawing. I found his life story very interesting and I liked seeing all of his drawings and the buildings he designed over his lifetime. I thought that it was also really interesting how even though he was very intelligent and an amazing architect, he also lived a very controversial life, especially for the 1950's society. Even though Louis was extremely intelligent when it came to architecture, he did not make good decisions with his marriages. Comparing this movie to our journal, I realized how even though he was very successful in his professional life he made some bad decisions in his personal life. Louis Kahn had three different families with three different women. He left two of the women to be single mothers, which was very scandalous for that time. During his lifetime he designed many building but he said that he was only truly happy with a bath house that he created. He worked as an architecture from 1935 to 1972. I thought that his designs were good, but I was expecting them to really amazing because he is known for being one of the best architects of all time. I think my favorite design he made was the Salk institute in La Jolla, California. I liked this because i thought it looked very simple, but it was also very beautiful. I liked how there was a long fountain, and also how at night green lights lit up the building. This was one of the most unique building designs I have ever seen. He also got a lot of his inspiration from the Egyptian pyramids and roman architecture. I liked how this documentary was told from the perspective of Louis Kahn’s son, and how there were many mysterious about Louis Kahn that his son was trying to find answers to. That made the documentary more suspenseful and it kept me interested. I also was amazed how even though he was very successful when he died he was in a lot of debt. He was seventy three years old when he died. When he died he had just come home from a trip in India and was in the bathroom when he collapsed on the floor. He died in the Pennsylvania station in New York from a heart attack. I found his life to be very interesting and I could also connect his life a lot with our journal prompt. Even though he was very intelligent architecturally wise he was not the most perfect person morally, especially for his time. But overall I really liked the documentary. The only thing I didn’t like about this film was that it was very long. I think the part I liked the most was the begging of the film when Louis Kahn was talking about his father. I thought it was sad because he was so young when his father died, and he also remembers the last time he saw his father alive which I also thought was sad. Overall I learned a lot about architecture and the life of one of the most famous architects Louis Kahn.

http://architect.architecture.sk/louis-isadore-kahn-architect/louis-isadore-kahn-architect.php

Journal: Should ethics be taught in school?

I think that even though this may seem like a strange idea to teach ethics in school, I think it is important and it will help people. I liked how this article brought up how many respected and powerful people such as pro athletes and politicians are making unethical decisions. This is interesting because it shows that some people who are admired can actually be really fake. It also shows how as a society we respect people for being honest and not being greedy and selfish. There have been many scandals like these that happen each year, and even though it may make these people look “human” because they give into pressure or make mistakes; it also causes people to lose respect for them. Even though teaching ethics in school would not help all people, at least it would put the idea in their mind, and I also think this class would be worth it if it could help a few people in life.
I also like the idea of teaching people how there are “hard rights and easy wrongs” and how in the long run making ethical decisions will help you, and others. I think an example of a hard right would be decided not to cheat and even though it would cause you to put in more effort in the end you would feel better about yourself for making the right decision. This could be used vise versa because if you take the easy wrong in the end you will feel guilty and not as good about yourself.
I thought this was a very interesting article. Even thought teaching ethics may be a strange and controversial issue, I think that it would help our society. This would help today especially with all of the negative ethics shown by the media of people we are suppose to trust such as presidents, and other powerful leaders, giving into bribes, lying, etc. Overall I liked the ideas in this article and I agree with them.

Book Report

Author: Anderson, Laurie
Title: Speak
Place of Publication: New York
Company: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date: October 1999
Reason, Type and Setting: I selected this book because a lot of my friends have read it and they recommended it to me. This book would be categorized in the genre of realistic fiction. The novel takes place in modern day, in Syracuse New York.
Plot: The major conflict in this book is how Melinda Sordino feels isolated and alone after a traumatic event that happens to her at a party, Melinda and her best friends got o an end of the summer party a few weeks before they start high school. During the party Melinda get drunk, and then is raped by a popular senior named Andy Evans. After this happens Melinda calls the police and then runs home instead of reporting the rape. Everyone at the party believes she called the police to break up the party. When Melinda enters high school she is friendless and holding a terrible secret. Her grades begin to slip and all of her best friends refuse to speak to her so she is an outcast at school. Melinda doesn’t tell anyone about her secret and she turns into a different person who is very negative and depressed. Though out the book Melinda struggles through many issues but finds an escape in her art.
Character: Melinda Sordino is a fourteen year old girl who is very quick witted and good at art. She is the main character in this book and plays the role of the victim. I selected her because I know and understand her the most out of all the other characters in the book. The plot changes Melinda drastically. In the beginning of the book she is very naive and innocent, but by the end she stops playing the role of the victim and becomes very strong and smart.
Evaluation: I really liked this novel. I think the author did a very good job of depicting some of the struggles teenagers go through in high school. I was always very interested and entertained through out the whole book. I thought it was very suspenseful and I liked how the storyline had many twists and mysteries in it. This book also taught me many things. I learned that it is very important to always be honest. When it comes to keeping secrets and concealing things it is usually better to tell the truth because if you don’t it will only end up hurting you. The main values this book taught were friendship and honesty. I learned a lot about how important it is to have people who will always be there for you, and that you can trust. I would recommend this book to others because I thought it was a very good book, and it can also teach you a lot about life.
This book can be closely connected to real life because many people are raped each year and that it is a danger of everyday life. It also describes the effects a victim of rape can have such as guilt and depression. This important for people to know and understand because it is something that happens everyday in America.
I think if I were in Melinda’s shoes I would have acted very differently. I would have told the police from the start and would not have kept it a secret. But I also do not blame Melinda she was very young and naive in the beginning of the book. I really loved the ending of the book and wouldn’t want to change the ending. I liked the ending because it was very exciting and it also had a happy ending.
Author, Context and Trivia: Laurie Anderson has written many other novels such as Fever 1793 and Twisted. Laurie Anderson is an American writer who lives in New York. She writes her books for children and teenagers. I have never read I book like this before but I plan to read more of this type and other books from Laurie Anderson. Over all I really enjoyed the book Speak and It has become one of my favorite books I have ever read.

Vocabulary Pictures

She took a vacation to the beach in order to find peace and tranquility.

The little boy shroud while he was playing hide and seek.
The woman was senescent as she grew older.

He held back what he wanted to say, and was afraid to speak his opinions.
The proximity of France and Spain is very close.

They worked laboriously in the fields.
She had an intuit feeling about the situation.
The queen was very imitable and intimidating.

Vocabulary.Week.17.

Interminable: without an end.
Intuit: to know by intuition.
Laboriously: to work hard.
Proximity: close around a person or thing.
Reticence: not willing.
Senescent: growing old: aging.
Shroud: to cover or hide from view.
Situation: a place or locality.
Synchronously: occuring at the same time.
Tortuous: not directly or straitforward.
Tranquility: calm or peacefullness.

Liquor in India Kills 156

In India 156 people have died because of bootleg liquor tainted with lethal chemicals. About 135 people are in the hospital recovering from the poison. This happened because all liquor shops in India have been shutdown because of an upcoming election. Many times politicians will bribe people to vote for them by giving them free alcohol. Since all the liquor stores were shut people began making bootleg alcohol. Police are trying to determine what chemicals were put into the alcohol to make it so deadly. Incidents like this are actually frequent in India especially in villages and towns. Many bootleggers spike the alcohol with pesticides and methyl alcohol to make it stronger, but too much of this can be lethal.

Classrooms have become unnecessarily high tech

I've gone to a school where we use computers each day and they are ussually involved in our projects as well. I think that what i learned is importatnt because it will make me more prepared for my future. I believe that in high school we should be learning computer skills such as typing and using different software's. This will prepare us for our future because we need to know how to use computers in college and in jobs. But I think that Elementary schools should not have a lot of technology and that the teacher should do most of the teaching. I really don't think its necessary for elementary school kids to learn to much technology when they will not be using it for about ten years. I think that middle school students should have some technology in their schools but not as much as high school students. I think that middle school students should learn basic computer skills like typing, and researching but there isn't really a need for them to be fully educated about computers until high school. Overall I did agree with the article and found it very interesting. I think that technology will always be improving and growing and that it is important that technology is taught in high schools and middle schools, but not in elementary school.

Historical Research Paper

Animal Manufacturing & Animal Rights

Humans first began to domesticate animals for consumption about 10,000 years ago in the Neolithic era. They did this to feed a larger population and have a more reliable source of food. Today the population has grown tremendously and the manufacturing of animals for not only food but luxury has increased dramatically. This has caused many negative effects to the environment, human health, and to animals. Animal manufacturing has caused animals to only be seen as profit, and because of this they have no rights.
Farming was a very popular job in the early 1800’s in America. There were over 6 million farmers in America in 1833. When new technologies were invented such as the railroads food production increased because it could be transported faster to large cities all across America. Intensive animal production began in the 1930’s after the first pig slaughter houses were created. These slaughter houses could buy inexpensive grain for the pigs to eat, and because the cost of raising the pigs was so small compared to the profit, these slaughter houses became very successful. America is where animal manufacturing first began.
By the 1960’s milk production doubled, meat production tripled, and egg production quadrupled. This is also when genetic selection and formulated feed to increase animal size began. These industries began to be more and more efficient at raising and slaughtering animals faster, especially in chickens. In the 1950’s it took an average of 84 days to produce a five pound chicken and today it only takes 45 days. In the last 20 years animal manufacturing has changed significantly. Farms use to be family owned but are now run by large companies. Also much of the labor has been replaced with technology. Many animal farmers are run by controlled by companies. The companies control what the animals eat, where they live, and the farmers do not even legally own the animals. Animal manufacturing companies profits have increased dramatically since the 1950’s. Animal production has changed a lot over seventy years, but ethical standards have not been raised.
The first animal rights movement began in the late 1700’s. This movement wanted to abolish animal cruelty in America and in England. An English man named Richard Martin went in front of the English parliament spoke about animal rights, and later on a bill was passed to improve the treatment of cattle. This bill caused America to also start making changes to our animal rights laws. In 1828 similar laws were passed in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Wisconsin to improve the treatment of animals. The first animal rights association in America was created in 1868 and was called The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Since then there have been many new organizations that try and improve animal rights. In America the largest and most known organization is PETA which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Throughout history animals have undergone suffering for the wants instead of needs of humans. Animals have dealt with cruelty for hundreds of years and today they are still treated inhumanely in fur factories, meat production, and scientific testing.
The Fur industry is a billion dollar industry which farms and traps animals in order to sell their fur. Fur Factories began in 19th century and still exists all over the world. Each year in America about 31 million animals are killed for the purpose of fur. Animals are usually caught by leg hold traps. Even though these traps are illegal in Europe they are still legal in most of America. Leg hold traps have been banned in eight states because it is non selective and cruel. The most commonly trapped animals are foxes, minks, raccoons and coyotes, but dogs and cats can also be trapped accidentally. These traps are extremely painful for the animals, and they are left to suffer until taken to a fur farm where they are kept in confined cages. Since these are wild animals, being in a confined space such as a cage causes them to feel distressed. The animals will usually pace back and forth; self mutilate themselves, and even cannibalize other animals. Most animals are raised in these farms and about %15 percent are caught in the wild. Some of the main animals that are raised in fur farms are chinchillas, silver fox, blue fox, and raccoon. And some of the main animals caught by traps are beavers, coyotes, gray wolves, red foxes, and many others. In America there are over 1,000 different fur farms. There are also 330 mink farms which produce around 2.6 millions pelts each year. These farms make $86 million dollars in profit annually and America creates %13 of the world’s mink fur. Fur farms also employ 255,000 thousand workers. Even though the fur industry is very unethical it has become a part of our economy.
America should not only be held responsible for exporting animal furs but for also importing. In Australia the wool industry is a growing issue. These industries have very low standards when it comes to treating sheep ethically. Because of this the sheep are very unhealthy and are always in pain. While sheep are being raised in Australia sheep farmers have to cut out large piece of flesh from the sheep because this is the easiest and cheapest way for their wool to not become infested with flies. This practice is called mulesing and it is extremely painful for the sheep. Each year around 64 million sheep are shipped from Australia to the Middle East to be slaughtered. The sheep are packed together on open decked boats and are exposed to all weather extremes. During the trip many sheep become sick, injured, or die. When the sheep are sick or injured they are thrown off the boats and into the ocean where they drowned or are eaten by sharks. Sheep are also thrown into shipboard grinders while they are still alive. The animals that do survive the month long trip are sent strait to the slaughter house, and since it is in the Middle East, animal cruelty laws are nonexistent. The sheep have no pain killers and killed by having their throats slit. America should hold itself to higher standards and not by wool that has been produces in an immoral way. By buying wool from Australia we are giving money and supporting Australia wool industry. We should not import there wool and instead put pressure on Australian government by boycotting the Australian wool industry.
Leather is the most common manufactured item that people buy and produced. The main import of leather is India. America is their largest consumer and each year we buy leather from India. Even though in India cows are well respected the people who work in the leather trade do not care. Many poor families who live in rural areas are manipulated and sell their cows after they are assured that the cows will live out their lives on a farm and be well taken care of. The cows are then taken to auctions where they are separated from their children. In India the slaughter of cows is illegal in most of the country. The cows then are taken to one of the few places in India where cows can be slaughtered legally. The cows have to walk all the way there and have metal shoes nailed to their feet and a rope is threaded through their noses to keep all of the cows together. This is very painful and if the cows pull to hard it can cause their noses to rip. The cows are forced to walk for days and become very exhausted because they do not receive food or water. If the animals collapse from exhaustion workers rub chili peppers in their eyes or repeatedly break bones in their tails to try and get them to keep walking. Even though there are standards when it comes to cattle slaughter in India they are almost never enforced. Workers often ignore many of these laws. For example there is a law which states that only six cows should be allowed in a truck at one time, but workers usually put two or three times that many cows in at once. This crowding causes cows to sometimes accidentally gauge each other’s eyes with their horns. Small or weak animals in these trucks are sometimes smothered and trampled by other cows. Workers pull cows by their nose ropes to get them up because by the time they are either to sick and weak to stand, or are dead. The cows are killed by having their throats slit but this is usually a very long process and the cows are fully awake the whole time. The cow skins are then treated with chemicals such as chromium to stop decomposition. This water is the same water many poor Indians who live near the leather factories drink, cook, and bath from. There have been many health problems linked to this water such as cancer and leukemia. There is a lot of corruption in India because of America’s demand for cheap leather. If America did not buy leather from India this industry would run out of business and the abuse against cows would end.
In America there are many changes that need to be made in animal manufacturing. We should not produce or buy animal products from companies which abuse animals. Animals should be treated fairly and ethically. America uses the some of the same standards as third world countries to produce meat and fur, and we are taken advantages of many people, as well as leaving Americans ignorant about the health and moral issues of animal manufacturing. Even though we have the power to change our system, we have not because of all of the profit we make each year from selling our products to other countries. Overall America should change our laws, raise our stands, stop supporting countries which treat animals inhumanly, and stop abusing animals in our own country.

Bibliography
"Peta." Non-Profit Organization. 17 May 2008 .
"Industrial Farm." The Pew. 17 May 2008 .
"Fur Farming & Fur Trapping." 17 May 2008 .

Current Event

In China a woman who is 8 months pregnant was pulled out of a collapsed building, where she had been trapped for 50 hours. The earthquake hit on Monday and was a 7.9 magnitude quake. It is said to have killed around 15,000 people, and the death toll is expected to rise. There are 30,000 people missing, 25,000 people buried under rubble, and around 100,000 people injured. Currently disaster workers are trying to reach people who are trapped under rubble in the city of Wenchuan. Many refugee's from the quake are heading to mianyang which is a large gym, which is being converted into a rescue center.

Book Report: Love in the Time of Cholera

Author: Marquez, Gabriel
Title: Love in the Time of Cholera
Place of Publication: Colombia
Company: Time Books
Date: 1985

Reason, Type and Setting: I selected this book because I heard it was really good, and I also like romance books. The genre of this book would be romance. The book takes place in Colombia in from 1880 to 1930.

Plot: The major conflict in this book is unrequited love. Florentino Ariza is madly in love with Fermina Daza which he meets when he delivers a letter to her house. They secretly start exchanging letters to each other and then Florentino proposes to Fermina. She says yes, but once her father finds out about the engagement he sends her away to live with her cousin, so that she will not be able to see Florentino. After a few years Fermina finally moves on, and then she marries a successful doctor. Florentino is still in love with her, and stays celibate because he only wants to be with Fermina. When Florentino meets Fermina again she rejects him because she believes the love they use to have was naive and not real. Florentino is heart broken and then decides never to marry. He then has numerous affairs with hundreds of women in order to ease the pain of being separated with Fermina. Many years pass and later on Fermina discovers her husband Urbino is having an affair with another woman. She goes to live with her cousin for a few months because she is so angry and hurt. Urbino finds her and convinces her he is sorry, and she decides to stay with him. Fermina and Urbino stay married for fifty years until one day while Urbino is trying to retrieve a household parrot from a mango tree, he falls and dies. After the funeral Fermina is in her home mourning. Then Florentino arrives and tells her he still loves her and wants to be with her. She is very angry because her husband has just died so she yells at him and tells him to get out. Later on they start writing letters to each other and they begin to have a relationship. The books ends with Fermina and Florentino falling in love, and staying together forever.

Character: Fermina Daza is really beautiful, and has long black hair and black eyes. She is smart, independent, and thinks for herself. She also loves animals and shopping. Fermina plays a large role in the plot because she is always in power of Florentino’s happiness and sadness. The decisions she makes change many people lives. I found Fermina interesting because she always does what she believes in, and she is smart and independent. The plot changes Fermina in many ways. In the beginning of the book she is very naive and innocent. She does not understand many things in life such as love. By the end her experiences make her into a wiser and stronger person.

Evaluation: Yes, I really liked this novel. I loved the authors writing style, and how he made flashbacks and switched time periods. This kept me interested through the whole book. The only thing I didn’t like about the story was how it took Fermina and Florentino so long to finally be together. I also didn’t like how Fermina decided to stay with Urbino after he had an affair because if he really loved her he wouldn’t have cheated on her. I think this book did inform me a lot because I learned more about the history of Colombia, and about the Cholera Epidemic which affected Colombia in the 1800’s. A connection I can make with this book and real life is that there are still epidemics that go one around the world, such as the Avian Flu. If I were to put myself in the plot I would have made different decisions than the main character. I don’t think I would wait 50 years for someone to fall back in love with me. I think I would have moved on after being rejected the first time. I liked the ending of the book, and I think it fits really well in the book, so I wouldn’t change it. But overall I think it was a really good novel.

Author, Context, Trivia: Gabriel Marquez also wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude and An Evil Hour. He was born in 1928 in a small town called Aracataca in Northern Colombia. He went to Jesuit College to study law, but then changed his mind and became a journalist. When he was 26 he was sent to Rome for an assignment for his newspaper. Throughout his life he lived in Barcelona, New York, Paris, and Mexico. He wrote many other books and screenplays, and also continued to work as a journalist. I plan to read more of his books in the future because I think he is a really good writer.

Book Report: Rutka's Notebook

Author: Laskier, Rutka
Title: Rutka’s Notebook
Place of Publication: Poland
Company: Time Book
Date: 2006

Reason, Type and Setting: I selected this book because I thought it sounded very interesting because it is a real diary. The genre of this book would be historical. The book takes place in 1943 in Bedzin, Poland during the Holocaust.
Plot: In the book Rutka describes issues in her daily teenage life such as with her friends and boys that she likes. She also describes the Holocaust and many of the war atrocities she witnesses. Some teenage conflicts she faces are with a boy named Janek who she has mixed emotions about. One week she hates him and the other she hates him. Some conflicts Rutka faces with the war are she witnesses the Nazi’s do many horrible things to the people in her town, and also a boy she likes named Jumek is sent to Auschwitz. Rutka also escapes from going to a labor camp by jumping out of a window and running home. After a while she feels like a lot of her innocence and happiness is gone because of all of the things she had to see and experience from the war.
Character: Rutka Laskier is a smart and confident fourteen year old girl. She describes herself in her diary as very beautiful with big black eyes and short black hair, and as also being thin and tall. In the begging of the book she seems more optimistic and positive, but by the end because she says many horrible things go on she loses hope and accepts her fate of being sent to Auschwitz.
Evaluation: Yes I liked this book a lot. I thought it was very interesting but also very hard to read because some parts are so sad. I think this book did inform me a lot and I now know more about the Holocaust, and what daily life was like for Jewish people. The main life values it taught me are to love life and the people you have in your life. And it also makes me feel really lucky that I don’t live in a country where there is war or genocide. I would recommend this book to others because I think many people would find this book interesting and it is important for Rutka’s story to be told.
Author, Context and Trivia: I have never read a book like this before but now that I have, I also want to read Anne Frank’s diary. Over all I really liked this book and thought that the story was really amazing. I think that Rutka was a very strong person and this book inspires me to work harder in life, and be grateful for how easy I have life.

Vocabulary Images

The perfume gave off an aroma that smelled like flowers.

Napoleon Dynamite is very gawky and awkward.


The newly wedded couple were very amorous.

The woman was very happy and ecstatic after she won the lottery.

The girls were infatuated with the handsome life guard.

The octopus was enamored with the squid.

The man was crazy and delirious.

It was inevitable that the old car would fall apart.

Non-Profit Organization

AMA- Advocates against the Mistreatment of Animals.

Mission Statement: To spread awareness, educate, and take action in order to make sure that every animal on this earth is treated humanely and that the voice of every animal is heard.

Vocabulary.Week.16.

acquiesce: to agree or express agreement.
amorous: to display love.
aroma: an odor arising from spices, plants, cooking.
awkward: to be clumsy or lacking skills.
consummate: to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill.
conversely: opposite or contrary in direction, action, sequence, etc.; turned around.
deleterious: injurious to health.
delirium: a state of violent excitement or emotion.
ecstasy: an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.
enamored: to be captivated or inspired by love.
futile: incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful.
incantation: the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
inevitability: unable to be avoided, evaded, or escaped; certain; necessary.
infatuation: foolish or all-absorbing passion or an instance of this.