Listen to your parents!

Yeah... I can't believe I just said that. But according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, average kids from ages 8-18 spend roughly 7.5 hours a day watching TV, using their cellphones, listening to music, playing video games, using the computer and so on. How is that a bad thing? Well according to Kim Painter of USA Today “Many experts, including the pediatrics academy, consider that much screen time bad for mental and physical health”

(at least HE'S a level 80 warlock)

This is where parents come in. Studies have shown that kids whose parents set rules spend 3 hours less on the computer or TV. They also

-Do better in school

-Drive safer

-And have a lower chance of smoking.

Now don’t start ruling your kids with an iron fist, parents. The most effective parents not only set rules, but enforce those rules in a supportive and kind way.

Wall Street Strikes Back

JPMorganChase has always been a strong supporter of the Democratic Party, and its chief executive Jamie Dimon is a good friend of President Obama's. Jamie Dimon is a frequent White House Guest, and a large donor to the Democratic Party. So it was somewhat expected that this trend would continue. It kind of did, Chase still contributed to some individual Democrats and state organizations. "But it has rebuffed solicitations from the National Democratic House and Senate campaign committees. Instead, it gave $30,000 to their Republican Counterparts." This change reflects the anger of Chase, and its attempt to challenge President Obama's tighter financial regulations proposals. The Republican party is rushing to capitalize on this current dissent from Wall Street. Even though some of the big shots in Wall Street may be Obama fans, they say that they are not going to stand for being bossed around. They will begin to withhold their money. It has become expected that they will donate, even if they are bossed around. But now these Wall Streeters are not going to play that game anymore. These people on wall street are saying that if Obama keeps taking stabs to punish or hurt them, they may have to rethink where their political allegiances lie.

-Jane Hayashi-

Sarah Palin Political Cartoon

Click on the title of this to be directed to a political cartoon of Sarah Palin holding a tea pot overflowing with money with a speech bubble saying "Now THIS is MY kind of party". This cartoon is one example of the many different opinions on Palin's recent surge into the public. As I said in one of my previous posts, I wondered about and asked you all for your input on why Palin was suddenly putting herself out in the public eye again. So here is a follow up for you. Some critics believe that Sarah Palin has only one motive for reappearing, and that is money. She is now becoming so popular, especially now that she is a Fox commentator, and recently she was paid $100,000 for her speech and appearance at the Tea Party Convention. So this political cartoon just further satirizes Palin's intentions, and brings attention to the belief that all she wants is money.

-Jane Hayashi-

Connecticut Gas Blast

Earlier today, in Middletown, Connecticut, tragedy struck when an unfinished power plant exploded, killing at least 5 workers with more than a dozen workers injured. This explosion occurred at the Kleen Energy Systems, and the boom was felt and heard for miles. This power plant was being built to produce energy using primarily natural gases. At the time, there seem to be no workers who are unaccounted for, and the cause of the gas explosion is still unknown. The explosion tore apart the outside of the power plant, but the building, roof and the smokestacks are still in tact. In a statement made by the town's mayor, the power plant was supposedly 95% complete. Natural gases are responsible for about 1/5 of the nation's electricity. INvestigation of this explosion and its causes begin on Monday. Allegedly, workers at the plant were purging the gas lines, a method that has been under scrutiny since an explosion at a Slim Jim factory occurred last year. "The [Safety] Board voted last week to recommend that national and international code writers strengthen their guidelines to require outdoor venting of gas lines or an approved safety plan to do it indoors." This is such a tragic thing that has happened, and hopefully this will lead to some investigation into preventing other occurrences like this from ever happening again.

-Jane Hayashi-

Pakistan Bombings

On Friday, 33 people were killed and about 150 others were wounded in a bus bombing in Karachi, Pakistan. Thousands of people gathered in Karachi for a mass funeral, to mourn for those lives that were lost. Shops, schools, and offices were closed down, and the amount of public transportation was decreased while people poured into the city. As of now, it seems that these people are grief-stricken, and not to angered, but rather are focusing on mourning their losses, and consoling to families and friends of the deceased. But it is expected that as soon as the shock begins to wear off, these families will become angered at the failure of the cities security. There were 2 bombs planted on buses, which were set off at the same time on Friday, and a third bomb went off outside of a hospital where the wounded were being taken. The buses were full of Shia worshippers. As of now, 20 suspects have been rounded up, but many speculate about the reasons for this bombings. Karachi is no stranger to this violence, and believe the people who bombed the city want to destabilize the city. Karachi is said to be strategic city, since it is a port city. Karachi is the financial heart of Pakistan. It is believed that the Jundallah (the Army of God) is behind this attack. The Jundallah is also the group that was behind the Ashura attack, another bomb attack which killed 43 people in a Shia procession. It is just so shocking that these acts of terrorism are occurring, I guess all for power of the country. But who really knows what the motives of these attacks truly are.

-Jane Hayashi-

NFL Hall of Fame

Today, Jerry Rice and Emmett Smith were elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. After all, both of these men have won 3 Superbowl titles, as well as being the MVP in one of those Superbowl championships. In order to be elected to the Hall of Fame, each candidate must gain an 80% nomination from the 44 media members. Each of these men will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 7. Each of these men achieved great things in their careers, Rice was the NFL's career receiving and touchdowns leader, while Smith was the top rusher. Both men, when commenting on their nomination began to tear up, something you would never expect from these men. It showed just how much it meant to them, and Rice claimed he could never take this for granted, and compared it to the feeling of winning the Superbowl. These men were nominated alongside John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little, and Dick LeBeau. This comes at such a great time, as tomorrow is the Superbowl. Personally, I am glad they were nominated, and share along in their joy. Even though Jerry Rice is such a huge celebrity, he never seems to take his fame for granted. He can sometimes be seen walking around in downtown San Mateo, and was recently seen eating at local restaurant Baywatch.

-Jane Hayashi-

No more trips to the moon?

Obama is planning on increasing NASA's funding by 2%, while getting rid of manned space flights. If this budget is approved by Congress, then it's pretty much the end of sending astronauts to the moon.

Although I'm quite disappointed that we won't be seeing a moon base anytime in the future, I do understand Obama's plan. There are disadvantages of sending astronauts to space to perform tasks

1) It costs a few hundred times MORE cash to send astronauts to space than it does to send only satellites. George W. Bush planned on sending astronauts to the moon and Mars, but soon gave up the plan because it was too expensive.

2) Almost all the important discoveries about space and astronomy have been made by unmanned satellites, and most of the machinery needed to perform future research about space won't require astronauts. Actually, because the Hubble Telescope was built by astronauts, the telescope could not be sent millions of miles away from Earth to capture better photos (and it cost much more to have the telescope installed by astronauts).

There are just so many benefits if NASA plans to not send humans to the Moon and Mars. Think about it, sending hundreds of satellites to Mars instead of a manned mission is actually much cheaper and efficient. I guess visiting the moon won’t be happening in my lifetime.

(Or having the chance to meeting a hot alien...)

Sarah Palin

After a semi-hiatus from Sarah Palin, we have found out recently that she is back and ready for action. Supposedly, as she is the new correspondent for Fox News, Palin is getting a television studio built into her living room, courtesy of Fox! She is also becoming quite active on facebook and twitter. It seems that she is working her way up to become more vocal, and prevalent in our everyday world. She has a busy weekend ahead of her, including a speech to the Salina, Kansas Chamber of Commerce, she is headlining a national Tea Party convention, and is appearing on behalf of a Texas Governor's re-election campaign. Palin has began to utilize her technological side, announcing on Facebook that she was calling for the resignation of White House chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, who publicly used the word "retarded". I personally think that announcing this on Facebook is very unprofessional, and kind of wierd. This is a member of our government she is speaking about, not a friend she met on Facebook. This sudden act of activity of Palin's part has sparked quite a bit of scrutiny. People are wondering what exactly her motives are for putting herself out there so much. Some believe her goals may include a presidential run, a role as a leader of the Tea Party movement, a possible career in the media, or as a media entity, or maybe some combination of them all. Maybe she is just going for the shock value, and all of the free press that she is gaining from this. Seeing as none of us truly know what is going on inside of Sarah Palin's head, I guess we will all just have to wait and see what her next move will be.

-Jane Hayashi-

The SUPERBOWL!!!

So as we all (hopefully) know, this Sunday is the Superbowl. It looks like it is going to be a good game this year, I mean the Colts v. the Saints? It could be a pretty close game! But the even crazier thing involving the Superbowl is not the actual game or the players, but rather the Superbowl commercials. Did you all know that a 30 second commercial costs about a little over 3 million dollars!?!?! I cannot imagine paying 3 million dollars for just 30 seconds. But I guess that the Superbowl commercials have become so well known and so powerful and viewed, that people are willing to pay the price. These commercials are often very clever, and are always widely anticipated. There's almost as much hype about these as the actual game! OK well this was just a little aside for you all. Wonder who you all are rooting for. Personally I love Peyton Manning, and might be rooting for the Colts, but I also like Reggie Bush, so I could be ok with a Saints win.

-Jane Hayashi-

The Whole Healthcare Issue

Next year, our government programs will account for over half of our countries health-care spending. More and more people are turning to things such as medicaid, and taking business away from the private industries. These governmental programs are taking such a toll on our spending, and are adding to our national deficit (which is over 1 trillion dollars). On top of that, health-care costs continue to rise, which draws even more customers away from private industries. Our rising dependency on programs such as Medicare and Medicaid is causing an overall increase in health-care spending. Many states are currently finding it quite difficult to fund their medicaid programs, and so Obama has called for 25 billion dollars of federal money to be used to help cover these costs. While the whole health-care issue continues on, I just cannot fathom how large our deficit will become, and how dangerous all of this is.

-Jane Hayashi-

H1N1 Now

Just a few months ago, Swine Flu was such a big deal. Now it seems like it is just a joke made in passing. I am not trying to say that the H1N1 virus is not a big deal, my Uncle was just diagnosed with it, and I know a few others who have as well. But why is it that this "epidemic" was such a controversy, but now it seems like people have some new "fad" to obsess about. This country has made 120 million vaccines which have been distributed nationwide, yet only about 70 million have actually been used. And it is said that 35 million more have been made, but are obviously not needed, and may be donated overseas. Personally, I got my H1N1 shot with my mom. It was after the beginning of the whole scare, and was only about a month ago. But it was the personal decision of my family to get it. I just do not understand why, if everyone was so scared of it we now have such a surplus of the vaccine. It obviously is a health issue, but it could have been amplified by word of mouth and the media?

-Jane Hayashi-

Haitian Kidnappings

Last week, 10 American Missionaries attempted to smuggle 33 Haitian children out of the country without the consent of the Haiti government. These 10 Americans claimed that they were trying to help these children by bringing them to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. But, they do acknowledge the fact that they failed to attain the necessary documents and approval for the right to move these children. As a result, the 10 missionaries have been charged with child abduction and criminal conspiracies. If convicted, these missionaries face up to 15 years in Haitian prison for the child abduction charges, and up to 9 years for the conspiracy charges. Luckily for these Americans, the prosecutor decided not to charge them with the most serious of charges, that of trafficking. The judge, under Haitian law, has up to 3 months to decide whether or not to pursue this issue any further, in which case, the missionaries will probably have to stay in Haitian prison, since bail is not very common in Haiti. Some of the children who were being transported to the Dominican Republic, still had living parents, whom claim that the missionaries told them that they would only be taking the children to educate them, and that they would be allowed to visit. This whole thing seems a little sketchy to me. How do you all feel? Was this an act done in malice or for personal gain, or were these missionaries actually trying to help these tragedy stricken children? Personally, I believe that they were trying to help these children. It is such a mess in Haiti,and is full of chaos. Moving these children, where they could have access to food, water, and shelter is a help.

-Jane Hayashi-

Toyota Recall

In January of 2010, Toyota recalled 2.3 million cars, because of a faulty gas pedal. It seems that Toyota is working at a very rapid rate to fix this issue, but it still seems like a scary one. I mean, with all of the different recalls, such as Toyota and Lexus there just seems like too many. Many Toyota owners are standing by Toyota, and believe that they are working as fast as they can to fix the problem. But there are also many others who think that this is the last straw, and they are over Toyota. How do you all feel? This is obviously a safety issue, and hopefully Toyota will win back over the support of their consumers soon.

-Jane Hayashi-

Recent drop in the stock market

Today the stock market suffered a big drop. The Dow Jones dropped 268 points today, and nasdaq was down 65 points. Analysts seem to think that this has a huge relationship with the Job Report, and unemployment rates that come out tomorrow. Economic analysts have thought that the economy has been getting better, due to many different factors, the biggest being that consumer faith and spending has increased recently. Hopefully the job report that comes out tomorrow will be better than expected, but as far as we know, the amount of first time people applying for unemployment. This is a disappointment that our economy has been looking like it was getting better, but in one day takes such a big hit. Hopefully the results will be more positive than expected!

-Jane Hayashi-

Wives standing by their cheating husbands

The issue of men in the public eye cheating on their wives has begun to pop up all over the place. It seemed that this whole debacle began with John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards. When it came out that John Edwards had cheated on his wife Elizabeth, a whole flurry of criticisms of the issue came out. But what made the situation even worse, was the fact that he cheated while she was dealing with being diagnosed with and fighting cancer. Despite this horrible act of infidelity, Elizabeth Edwards chose to stand by her husband, and stay with him. She chose to bear this act of betrayal, and was always next to her husband as he ran his bid for president in the 2008 election. The shocker was when she found out that he had actually fathered a child with his mistress. After this, Elizabeth finally decided to leave her husband. Another example, is the infamous Tiger Woods scandal. Although his wife, Elin has made no concrete decision on whether or not to leave him or stand by him, there are rumors going around that she plans on taking him back. What is it that causes these women to stay with their husbands? Other politicians have cheated on their wives, and had their wives stand by them. It is under scrutiny that the women have their own agendas which take priority to their marriages. But, there must be some underlying reason women just can't bear to leave their husbands, even when the ultimate act of betrayal has taken place.

-Jane Hayashi-

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In recent news, the topic of gays in the military has come under scrutiny. The Republican party has decided to argue that the policy of "Don't ask, Don't tell" in the military needs to end. And with the help of President Obama, the law may be repealed. I believe that if a citizen of this country wants to join the military to help protect this country, their sexual orientation should hold no precedent over that. I believe that the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy has been a good one, but there are always going to be the worry that the gay member of the military will be found out. How does whether one like men or women, affect one's ability to serve his or her country. As long as no sexual relations, which are banned for any member of the military are occurring, gays in the military should be allowed to serve. I don't have a concrete opinion on the policy, because i don't know how it would really affect the comradarie of a company in the military. But as for now, as long as one's work is not affected by your sexual orientation, then sexual orientation should not be considered when one wants to join the military.

-Jane Hayashi-

Ask, Tell

On January 27th, President Obama wanted to get the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law repealed. He planned to "work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are."

Now Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates are both fighting to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Gates stated that ""The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it"

"Don't Ask Don't Tell" seems like a good policy right? Just don't talk about your personal life, and everything will be alright. Alexander Nicholson from The Huffington Post sums it up in the correct light. "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' still sounds very rational and fair to many -- no one will ask you, and as long as you don't go around throwing your private life in everyone's face there won't be a problem. This common misinterpretation of the policy is what also leads many young gay and lesbian recruits, including myself at one time, to believe that life under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' won't be so bad. The more accurate name for the policy, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Happen to Get Found Out, Any Time, Any Place, In Any Way'..."

In 2009, 428 gays were discharged.

I don't see why sexual orientation should be important in the military or in any job. As long as it doesn't effect the person's work or performance, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Gearing Up for 2010 Winter Games Vancouver

As Vancouver gears up to host the 2010, so are 15,000 armed men and women to make sure that the Olympic games stay safe this year. Canada is spending the most they've ever spent on a security operation in their history: a whopping $900 million. "Bud Mercer, RCMP assistant commissioner, describes it as 'planning for 17 Super Bowls in a row, day after day.'"

Since there is a large stretch of road 2 hours North of Vancouver, 4500 Canadian forces have been put on reserve should the need arise to activate them. There are also 900 security cameras all linked together in a network to detect biological, radiological, and chemical threats. "Frigates and destroyers will monitor approaches to Vancouver Harbor, says Rear Adm. Tyrone Pile of the Canadian Navy, and a close eye will be kept on all ship traffic approaching the west coasts of Canada and the United States."

This effort has taken 5 years to plan out and finally put into action, claims the Canadian armed forces. Even 40 agencies from the US are setting up a command station in WA to coordinate NORAD air restrictions way into US territory in case anything goes haywire.

With armed forces watching everyone's move, will the Olympic games feel like the actual Olympic games? Oh, and the US and Canadian officials say they don't want the security to feel overly obvious. but with 15,000? hmm.

Obama’s climate card: nuclear power

President Obama is trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation by strongly endorsing nuclear energy. In his State of the Union address, he revealed that his spending plan for the next budget year is going to include billions of dollars for new nuclear reactors. He is calling for a new generation of nuclear power plants.

However, he has growing concerns for how to deal with the radioactive waste and how much federal money would be needed to support construction costs. Obama's administration has pledged to close Yucca Mountain, the planned multibillion-dollar burial ground in the Nevada desert for high-level radioactive waste.

This just shows Obama's long support of nuclear power. Although this source of energy will cost billions of dollars, these nuclear power plants will help in sustaining the nation's environment.

Obama budget plan weighs in at $3.8 trillion

President Obama's proposed budget is expected to create a national deficit of $1.6 trillion in the current fiscal year, then recede to about $1.3 trillion next year. However, economists say that the new budget proposal is at a dangerously high level. The average of the deficit will be equal to about 4.5 percent of the size of the economy.

$100 billion is expected to be headed towards the nation's high level of unemployment. "The proposed $3.8 trillion budget would provide billions more to pull the country out of the Great Recession while increasing taxes on the wealthy and imposing a spending freeze on many government programs."

Although economists say that this is dangerous, it may be just what the US needs to pull us out of the recession.

Massive Food Distribution Begins in Haiti's Capital

A 2 week food distribution plan coordinated by the United Nations World Food Programme, international aid agencies and the Haitian government, began on Sunday in 9 of 16 designated points in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Only 9 of the 16 places handed out food due to more time needed to prepare ration coupons and security reasons in slum areas with a lot of gang violence.

Only women were given tickets to collect a 55 pound bag of rice per family and 42 metric tons of rice will be distributed each day over the next two weeks. A spokesperson said that only women are being given the food because they tend to be in charge of their household food supplies and are more likely to redistribute it more eqaully among households than men. The spokesperson added that most men have someone: a wife, a sister, a mother or girlfriend, who will be able to feed them and that it was safer to deliver the rice to the women. Understandably, this did not sit well with some men.

The food aid plan involves at least eight private humanitarian agencies: Samaritan's Purse, Catholic Relief Services, CARE, World Vision, ACTED, Save The Children, GOAL and ADRA.

The 2 week food plan aims to reach 2 million people in Port-au-Prince but does not expand to those living in other quake-devastated cities, but ongoing emergency aid distributions to outlying areas will continue.

At least this is a start but, what about other necessities that the Haitians need? The article didn't go into it, but can all those people even find ways to cook the rice that they are being given?

13 young students killed at party in Mexico border

Armed gunmen opened fire and killed 13 high school and college students in what seems to be a case of mistaken identities. The deaths occurred in Ciudad Juarez, one of the deadliest cities in the world located across the border from El Paso, Texas, in the midst of turf battles between powerful drug cartels.

Witnesses and family members believed that the victims had no ties to the drug cartels and that the attack must have been prompted by false information. One witness said he was just outside when the gunfire broke out and that the party was an innocuous gathering of friends who must have been targeted incorrectly.

"It must have been a huge mistake," said Martha Lujan, who lives at the housing complex where the shootings took place late Saturday night.

Ciudad Juarez is a city of 1.3 million people that is home to several drug cartel bosses who are battling for turf as thousands of troops and federal police try to stop them. More than 2,250 people were killed there in 2009 and more than 15,000 people have been killed in Mexico in the past three years in cartel-related violence.

What can be done to stop the violence caused by these drug lords in Mexico?

Your Tax Dollars= 1700 PS3s for the US Air Force!!

So the USAF in Rome, NY is ordering about 1700 PS3s to make up a total of over 2000 PS3s altogether. Lets see... about 300 dollars per a PS3 multiplied by the number of those machines they are purchasing. Well, they say its for a "good" cause.

They are making a supercomputer that they will use to show the way our brains process information and how it recognizes content. What they are really doing is playing "2000 simultaneous games of God of War III".

They believe that by using PS3s they will use ninety five percent less power than a regular super computer.

Okay, sooo what? The US Air Force playing God of War III with our tax money is what I am hearing. Since when were they so curious with how the human brain "functions"? I dont know about you guys but I see that as thousands of dollars down the drain. I really don't know what to make of it.

The race for clean energy

China is now the leading manufactuer of wind turbines. These industries have added 1.12 million jobs in 2008. It seems it will open up about 100, 000 jobs every year. Don't forget the low labor costs though, even if the people's incomes are rising. Yet, this race has only boosted up China's economy more than its dependency on other energy methods. China believes that by 2020, clean energy sources will make up about eight percent of its electricity generation capacity. Coal should be about 2/3 of the capacity by then with nuclear and hydopower filling in the rest. The government has spent 45 billion on this project alone in 2009. They have also set mandates for companies to use more renewable energy.

China's demand for energy which is rising 15 percent per year is allowing for its success. In the next decade, China will need about nine times more energy than the US. Intrest rates are as low as 2 percent for bank loans for many companies.

Wind energy costs 20 to 40 percent more than coal. Solar energy costs twice as much as coal. Thus the Chinese government has raised the energy bills from 0.25 to 0.4 percent for the general public. Sadly, sending power from windy areas over long distances is a problem.

"Every country, including the US and in Europe, wants a low cost of renewable energy," said Ma Lingjuan the director of the renewable energy project. "Now China has reached that level, but it gets criticized by the rest of the world"

This plan is great or seems to be. Its creating new jobs and reaching the goal for clean energy although rather slowly. Only eight perecnt by 2020 which is about a decade away but that is still making process. At this moment though, I don't think the US can compete with China at all in this field and will eventually be over taken by them. At least its having positive affects, aside from raising people's energy bills. There seems to be many problems with it but I guess they will all be solved in due time. I think the US should have done this while we still had the money to. (I know there were some efforts) Rather than wait until we are in a recession to get rid of wealthy taxcuts, why not prepare for the next time the stock market drops? Oh well, maybe I am simplifying the problem too much.

ShelterBox Effort

ShelterBox is one among many organizations that have been actually outputting massive efforts to rescue victims in Haiti. Besides ShelterBox, the American Red Cross, Pelican Inc., and the UN have been doing as much they can to help the Haitian people toward recovery in the devastated region.

What are some of the different ways these organizations are trying to help? Well, for one, they're not just sending money that can be easily "lost" (if that's what you want to call it) in the process of being transferred to the Haiti rescue efforts. They're sending loads of supplies that can actually be used by the Haitian people. Americans have sent an unknown (but a suspecting decent) amount of money to Haiti, but yet there have been many reports that US Military air lifts have been halted because they have finally realized that they're not being covered financially for the efforts.

Money. Americans have for long always sought to be the great hero they've always been when it comes to assisting in natural disasters across the globe. But it seems this time money has played too big a role for efforts to even continue for MediVac efforts. In no way should this indicate that we should stop donating toward the efforts. The money that goes toward Haiti rescue efforts are definitely going toward a good cause (right? I mean, nobody steals money. There have been virtually no issues with governments stealing money that have been donated from financial help rigiht?). More than just sending money, Stanford has already sent out a response team to help Haitian citizens (I don't have a link to this, but I have spoken with a woman who was at REI to buy nearly $1000 in gear/supplies in preparation for a response effort to Haiti 2 days later. This was about 2.5 weeks ago.).

Some of the pros of donating money directly to the rescue efforts:
-it can be used however it needs to be used
-can help Haitian citizens get back on their feet
-can be used to make decisions on what to buy.
-ultimately... flexibility on how it can be used

Cons of donating money directly:
-no way of tracking how much
-no way of tracking where it's used
-no way of assuring that it's actually being sent to Haiti
-ultimately.. no accountability

Some organizations have realized the chances of money being "misplaced" along the way and have done more than money. They're putting together their own rescue boxes filled with emergency supplies that will actually be used in the Haiti recovery efforts rather than being lost along the way (Really, if you're that desparate to steal supplies that you don't need at the expense of possibly hundreds if not thousands of lives...). From my own experience in rescue work, it is easy to say that it is much easier to compile a list of needed supplies and have those donated rather than having money being donated where it could potentially land in the wrong hands (although it's rare to find someone with both traits in unison). There are some efforts where money is truly needed (such as MediVac efforts by the military)... so don't stop donating!

Gay dating site's Super Bowl ad rejected by CBS

The TV network that is broadcasting the Super Bowl, CBS, rejected an ad from ManCrunch.com, a gay dating website.

"After reviewing the ad, which is entirely commercial in nature, our standards and practices department decided not to accept this particular spot," said CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs. "We are always open to working with a client on alternative submissions."

CBS said that they also rejected the commercial because of financial reasons. However, the dating website is accusing CBS of "straight-up discrimination."

CBS is charging up to $3 million for 30-second spots during the Super Bowl. ManCrunch would have been charged $2.5 million for its ad and would have had no trouble paying it, since the newly formed company recently raised $40 million from investors. A spokesperson for CBS also said that all the commercial spots are almost sold out, and only one or two remain.

The commercial shows two men watching the Super Bowl who then have their hands brush against each other in a potato chip bowl, which causes a male-on-male make-out session. It can be seen on YouTube.

Before watching the commercial, I would have believed the claim that CBS is being discriminatory. However, the commercial does show for basically half the time, two men making out. Perhaps, CBS is trying to avoid controversial commercials since networks who broadcast do not want another repeat of anything close to Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl. What do you guys think?

743 pounds of marijuana found in septic tank truck

Investigators found 743 pounds of marijuana in a septic tank truck full of human waste in Arizona during a traffic stop. The truck was headed northbound on I-19 and stopped about 35 miles south of Tucson, Arizona, which leads directly to Mexico.

After the stop, the officer checked the driver's license and it was invalid along with the commercial markings on the truck. A subsequent search revealed the bales of marijuana in red and orange packages amid the waste, worth about $409,000 on the street.

The police arrested and charged the driver with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana. Although 743 pounds seems like a lot, in 2008, Arizona police found more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana in a fake UPS truck.

Hiding marijuana in human waste is pretty much the most disgusting place ever, and I feel bad for whoever had the unfortunate job of retrieving the bales out of the septic tank. I guess the driver thought he was really clever, but it just shows how desperate drug cartels are these days.

NATO Airstrike "miscommunication"

This morning in Wardak, Afghanistan, a NATO airstrike hit a Afghan outpost that was covered in snow at the time. Four Afghan soldiers were killed and seven were wounded. NATO is now investigating the attack which was dealt by a mixed US and Afghan force. This "friendly fire" is being called a misunderstanding. They thought they were bombing a Taliban fighting position. Afghan troops are blaming US troops for calling in the airstrike. They also asked that the US troops that were involved be punished for what they did. The top military position in Afghanistan has been emphasizing on limiting Afghan deaths. Statistics show that NATO troops deaths are down.

Shouldn't we MAKE SURE before bombing an outpost? Its whoever issued it fault not the people who were following orders. Its also sad that this incident was merely called a misunderstanding. This is lives people. It was the US' fault, not a US' misunderstanding. They have been trying to limit the number of deaths from the NATO side by having more Afghan forces. Well, if they want to keep this up, there won't be an agreement anymore.

iPad, iPod, iTouch.. iTampon, iSlate?

The rave of Apple's new "iPad" has rippled waves of discussion across blogs and even twitter. What is your first impression if you didn't know that "iPad" was sold by Apple? A bed? possibly even a tampon sold at the supermarket? Well, that's the impression that critics have said that it has gave them when they first heard about it. Now even jokes such as " "The mocking goes along the lines of: Yes, the iPad is small, lightweight and slim. But can you swim with it?" wrote the Los Angeles Times' tech blog."

Its feminine-like name has started a trend on twitter: "The term iTampon -- a riff on the fact that the iPad can be taken to sound more like a maxipad than a slick new computer -- was the third most-talked about trend on Twitter on Wednesday evening."

The name "iSlate" for the now-called iPad was debated but dropped since it would have protrayed the new product as a very heavy product rather than the 1.5 pounds it actually weighs. The term "slate" would have also made it sound like a very ancient product (which the iPad clearly is the opposite of). " 'Slate is a little bit 'Flintstones,' said Stephen Hutcheon, an editor at The Sydney Morning Herald, a newspaper in Australia."

Apple's new product boasts its biggest touch screen technology ever created by Apple. It even has a keyboard integrated that appears when it senses an input field. Personally, it seems that the iPad is just a massive iPod Touch with more tweaks here and there. But it does beat having to constantly adjust the size of text and pictures to capture every detail on an iPod Touch. But with nearly 140,000 applications for the iPad, who wouldn't want one?

Negotiation Efforts Turn Out a Mess

After his State of the Union Address 2 nights ago, Obama has already been fiercely pushing for what he thinks is best for the nation. He clearly has a elaborate plan that he has most likely had up his sleeve for a long while but waited for the major speech in order to address his issues.

The face-to-face meeting started out peacefully, favorably, and willing to cooperate until both sides realized that neither one of them was willing to give into the either sides' demands or request. In short, the face-to-face "negotiation" attempt turned out to be a session where "neither side could resist the chance to challenge and even scold the other." The Republicans claim that the Democratic plan is too extreme, that it will only increase the national debt. The Democrats (Obama) said "that he had read the Republican proposals and that they promise solutions that can't be realized."

For as long as neither side is ready to open up to opinions, openly discuss the pros and cons, share ideas, and come to consensus on what is the best path toward a better economic plan, all attempts at negotiations between the two parties will be in vain.

We are going to save lives! Wait! Who is going to pay for this?

In a world where some people believe money does not equal happiness. I beg to differ in many situations like these. Anyways, the US has stopped all the medical evacuations of critical Haitian victims until the question above is answered. After the Governor of Florida asked the federal government (in a polite way) to "shoulder" some of the cost, all flights have stopped. Thus the states who are willing to help these patients won't be getting anymore people.

"Flordia stands ready to assist our neighbors in Haiti, but we need a plan of action and reimbursement for the care we are providing," Sterling Ivey, a spokesman, said.

Governor Crist of Florida, a Republican, is currently in a primary battle for a Senate seat. In what the article accounts for as "finger-pointing", the Department of Health and Human Services blamed the stop on the military. The spokesman also said that the military decided to stop the flights because hospitals were becoming "unwilling" to take more patients. The question comes down to who is going to pay for this?

Yet Jeanne Eckes-Roper, a health chairwoman of the domestic security task force for South Florida said she had only "requested" that new patients be taken to other places for care. A specific article detail caught my eye. That the Super Bowl is suppose to happen on Feburary 7th there.
The money, if money is ushered, will come from the Disaster Medical System that funds domestic distasters and pays for the hospital bills.

Some patients brought from Haiti were American citizens who were not insured or not eligible. However Haitians can qualify for Medicaid only with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services ' consent.

Major Lowe believes that since medical care is now avaliable in Haiti, the flights are not as needed. Non Profit Organizations are outraged due to the physical state of many of the victims. Major Lowe suggested using private planes but medically equipped planes would be both expensive and limited.

This irritates me. I understand their concern though. We are in a bad position and lacking the money to cover such things. I still appreciate their effort nevertheless. I wonder how this will go with the federal government, will they be willing to fund this attempt to help or dismiss it? What I think will happen is that the government will offer to pay maybe five percent of it but definitely not all for the illusion. Honestly, I don't know where this money is going to come from. What are your thoughts? Do you have any suggestions for these hospitals who want to help?

Study: Cell phone bans don't reduce accidents

The findings of a recent study by the Highway Loss Data Institute has found that banning hand held devices (cell phones) has not reduced the rate of car accidents in Connecticut, California, New York, and the District of Columbia.

The study concluded that based on the absence of fluctuations of collision rates before and after the laws were put in place. Increased rates of crashes when drivers use hand-held cell phones have been well documented, so it's unclear why the four jurisdictions' accident rates did not mirror the trend after their cell phone bans took effect.

The Highway Loss Data Institute is trying to determine the discrepancy in the rates, which they believe might be related to drivers resorting to using hands-free devices (bluetooth) that are just as bad as driving while using a cell phone.

A federal ban on texting while driving for commercial drivers of trucks and buses was instituted on Tuesday. Commercial drivers caught texting while driving face a penalty of up to $2,750. Last year, President Obama also signed an executive order asking federal employees not to text while driving government vehicles

I see people driving while on their cell phones a lot, so I don't think that the threat of a fine really bothers people that much. However, I think texting while driving is even more dangerous and there should be a ban on that for all drivers, not just commercial ones. Remember, driving while talking on a cell phone puts drivers at a four times greater risk of a crash.

Selling weapons to Taiwan

The US has agreed to sell about $6 billion in weapons and aircrafts to Taiwan. The catch is that this sale may enrage China in which the US is currently trying to make them agree to Iran terms. (its hard to get someone to accept something that drives the entire nation) Last time we attempted this, there was definitely outrage and China threatened to withdraw from the international arms control talks. Some even believe that China went as far as to have sold middle range missles to Iran. The package is suppose to be defensive. The government is making sure that this event will not come as a surprise to China. Today they sent out a notification.

Well, there goes our chance to work with China. The government is really touchy about the issues of Taiwan and to sell them guns even if its only for "defensive" purposes could push them over the limit to threaten something more than "withdraw[ing] from the international arms control talks. We will just have to see.

Brush & Spit Day!!

Its time to fight tooth decay!! Brush, Brush and Brush! It seems that in Massachusetts it has now become mandatory for preschoolers to brush their teeth during class and be educated on keeping teeth clean. One out of four kindergardeners in Massachusetts have dentel diseases but still parents are unsure about teachers taking over the role of the parent. "Let parents be parents" said one of them. They are applying a little bit of toothbrush so it is okay to swallow.

I think this is a great idea actually for it can have a positive impact. You see your peers doing it and its good for you. On the plus side, children's toothpaste tastes good! I understand the parents worries but in order to get kids into a good habit it should be a routine. Some parents just don't have the time to look after everything their kid does. "Did you brush your teeth?" "Yes Mom." Thats as much evidence a parent needs before they go on to the next task. (for some). I'm too sure about the spitting part though. There needs to be supervision over this at all times or it might end up spreading more germs than killing them!