Should We Celebrate Death?

In a CNN article posted a mere three hours ago, it was revealed that President Bush did not find any joy or jubilation when he found out Osama bin Laden had been assassinated. In an interview conducted by documentarian Peter Schnall, Bush expressed his feelings on a range of topics, including that of the 9/11 attack conduced by Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

"Bush 'said to us certainly there was no sense of jubilation [and] certainly no sense of happiness,' Schnall stressed. 'If anything, he felt that finally there was a sense of closure.'" In addition, Bush discussed his memories of the September 11th deadly attacks, showing clear emotion throughout the interview. Schnall was deeply interested in the "overwhelming" amount of information that the president had to handle during those first few days after the attack. Schnall stated that "Bush 'spoke about the fact that he was journeying through the fog of war.'"

While the presidents decisions "'[have permanently changed our lives and the world today,'" I agree with his lack of happiness at the death of bin Laden. Many, many Americans would disagree with that statement, but I just don't think it's right to celebrate the death of someone (even if they caused the death of approximately 3,000 undeserving people). I disagreed with the celebrations outside the White House on that fateful May evening when they were happening, and after much deliberation, I still disagree with them. No matter how evil or cruel someone is, it's never okay to celebrate and party due to their passing. I can't say that bin Laden didn't deserve the assassination, I just find it rude to celebrate his death. So on this point, I agree with the 43rd president of the United States of America - I certainly did not feel any jubilation when I heard of Osama bin Laden's death.

The Bird[s]......Flu

And a new panic hits the world. This time it's a new mutant strain of the H5N1 avian (or bird) flu that the FAO, or Food and Agriculture Organization, now believes is now spreading around Asia, specifically China and Vietnam. The resurgence of the virus in Vietnam threatens Thailand, Malaysia & Cambodia as well as Japan and the Korean peninsula. The most recent string of deaths due to the virus (8 so far) has occurred in Cambodia, creating quite a stir. The virus "can apparently bypass the defenses of current vaccines with unpredictable risks to humans," according to CNN.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, claims that the avian flu has infected 565 people and killed 331 since 2003. The virus has also caused the death of 400 million domestic poultry, causing approximately $20 billion worth of economic losses. H5N1 is still present in at least six countries, such as Indonesia, India & Bangladesh, and has recently reappeared in countries like Nepal, Mongolia & Romania. While most people believe the problem lies with only wild birds, FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth stated that, "Wild birds may introduce the virus, but peoples' actions in poultry production and marketing spread it."

So which is more important: the health and wellbeing of nearly 7 billion people, or a thriving poultry market? Yes they are not completely all or nothing trade-offs of one another, but I do wonder if the new fear will slow production, or if our economic crisis will prove to be more important to people. Hopefully people choose health over the economy, but after all desperate times call for desperate measures. Personally I can live without a chicken sandwich for a month or two...

August: A Month of Consumer Woes

There have no doubt been issues with our economy for years now, but it seems as though it has taken a turn for the worse yet again. In fact, Americans are now more pessimistic about the economy's current state than they were in July. The Consumer Confidence Index for August, put out by the Conference Board, a New York research business, fell from an already low 59.2 (July's reading) to an even lower 44.5. A reading of 90 or so represents a healthy economy, so a 44.5 is somewhat terrifying. If Americans don't believe in their own economy, who will?

The Consumer Confidence Index measures the attitude held by consumers on jobs and spending in the short term. Consumer spending makes up approximately two thirds of the US economy which makes me wonder: Will the economy ever get better? With all the bad things happening to the US right now (Standard & Poor's downgrade, Irene, the 9.1% unemployment rate, etc.) I can't help but be just as pessimistic as nearly everyone else. This latest report is likely to spread even more fear to the people, causing them to spend and invest less. This will in turn affect the fourth primary factor of production: entrepreneurship. With less trust in the security of the economy comes less risk taking (i.e. entrepreneurship). With one of the primary factors of production stunted, how can the economy be expected to change as much as needed?

While I would love to be hopeful about the economy, I'm just not so sure at the moment. With the lowered Standard & Poor's rating and the lowered Consumer Confidence Index, I simply don't have as much confidence in the economy as I would like. Who knows, maybe the lowered score is simply a reflection of people overreacting. I guess only time will tell if the economy has the strength required to pull itself back up.

Biology For the Win: Woman with Half a Brain, Literally

One arm? No problem. No legs? Still Alive. One kidney? Hardly notice the difference? Half a brain? Yeah...kind of an issue there.

In Virginia lives an extraordinary woman by the name of Michelle Mack. What's so amazing about her? She has half a brain. Now all of you who have or haven't taken Biology, it usually takes one whole brain (100% physically of a brain) to survive...doesn't it? Apparently, Mack only has the right hemisphere of her brain.

Despite this "little" handicap, she still manages to do her household chores and maintain a steady job managing data for the church (I bet some full brained people can't even manage data). However, she does need some help and lives with her mom, which is granted since she is missing half of the most important organ in the body.

Now diving into the scientific aspect of this finding, Mack's right hemisphere has adapted to the situation by taking it upon itself to do some vital jobs of the left hemisphere, like speaking and reading. However, this caused the right hemisphere to lose some of its capacity as well, due to the extra jobs. Apparently, a lesion in Mack's brain at the time around her birth caused 95% of her left hemisphere to be missing.



Besides just keeping her alive, her rewiring also has allowed her to have an affinity towards remembering specific dates, which comes in handy with her church job. She specifically requested this article on CNN to be published to send out the message that she is normal. This definitely, goes under one of those inspirational stories and maybe "Ripley's Believe it or Not".

-Henry Zhang