The United Nations Climate Change Conference opened today in Copenhagen, Denmark. According to VOA News, "Delegates aim to find common ground on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, promotion and transfer of new more eco-friendly technology and the necessary funding, especially for the less developed and poorer nations."
About 15,000 delegates and viewers from about 200 countries are in attendance at the conference. Delegates are striving to find a long term vision and corporation for the future. Many proposals have come forward from countries such as the U.S., China, and South Africa.
Delegates are coming up with a agreement to replace 1997 Kyoto Protocol which required emission cuts, but some of the largest polluters did not even sign it. Some of you may be asking who some of these polluters are, and you may be shocked when I tell you that the U.S. did not sign it!
The fact that the U.S. did not sign the previous protocol really bothers me. Our administration at the time obviously was not taking responsibility for our actions. We are polluting the Earth, and we need to make big changes to correct our wrong doing.
For those who may not know, global warming is a phenomenon that has really come into the view of main stream media over the last few years. It is a increase in the average global temperature due to the greenhouse effect. This is caused by pollution and will create global climate change.
For those who may not know what the greenhouse effect is, it is "an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short-wave solar radiation being readily transmitted inward through the earth's atmosphere but longer-wavelength heat radiation less readily transmitted outward, owing to its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and other gases; thus, the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern," according to dictionary.com.
This is not the first time that this topic has come into the main stream media. In 2006, the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, came out and received national attention due to the voice on the movie, former Vice-President, Al Gore. According to IMDb, "Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way."
Now is the time for change. The human race is responsible for the damage done to our planet, so we need to do something to correct our wrong doing or at least minimize any more damage. As one of the most influential countries if not the most influential county in the world, the U.S. needs to be a leader in bringing about this change.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Anybody sick of hearing about Tiger Woods' car crash yet?
It seems like all that is on the news over the past week is talk about Tiger Woods getting into an accident. For those who have not heard about this yet, according to TransWorldNews, "Woods pulled out of the driveway of his Florida home in a 2009 Cadillac SUV Friday morning around 2:25. He hit a fire hydrant before driving into a tree on his neighbor's property. The neighbor found Woods lying unconscious on the ground outside the vehicle and called authorities."
This accident came only days after he was accused of having an affair with another woman. Rumors have surfaced saying that after the accident, Woods' wife attacked him or something along those lines with a golf club causing the damage to his face. Woods denies all of this and has released a statement saying that his wife was the one that came to his rescue.
The police have requested interviews with both Tiger and his wife, both they have been declined. Tiger did finally release on official statement today. The statement is as follows:
"As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore. This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again. This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible. The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false. This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."
Tiger has been making a lot of wrong moves. Even though he claims that he takes full responsibility and his wife did nothing wrong, why doesn't he allow the police to question him? Also the police are asking to obtain his medical records which he refuses to release as well. My question is, if he claims that he has nothing to hide, then why be so mysterious? He is acting like a guilty person.
While listening to the commentators on ESPN this morning, I heard an interesting comment. When asked how this will affect his career, one of the commentators responded that just like with the steroid issue in major league baseball, the individuals that are known for getting caught using steroids were the ones that were older. They were unable to hit or throw their way out of the controversy. With Tiger, he will be able to golf his way out of this.
Personally, if he has nothing to hide, then he should have just come clean to the authorities right away. If he did nothing wrong, then nothing should come up in the searches and questioning. This leads me to believe that there was something fishy going on.
This accident came only days after he was accused of having an affair with another woman. Rumors have surfaced saying that after the accident, Woods' wife attacked him or something along those lines with a golf club causing the damage to his face. Woods denies all of this and has released a statement saying that his wife was the one that came to his rescue.
The police have requested interviews with both Tiger and his wife, both they have been declined. Tiger did finally release on official statement today. The statement is as follows:
"As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore. This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again. This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible. The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false. This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."
Tiger has been making a lot of wrong moves. Even though he claims that he takes full responsibility and his wife did nothing wrong, why doesn't he allow the police to question him? Also the police are asking to obtain his medical records which he refuses to release as well. My question is, if he claims that he has nothing to hide, then why be so mysterious? He is acting like a guilty person.
While listening to the commentators on ESPN this morning, I heard an interesting comment. When asked how this will affect his career, one of the commentators responded that just like with the steroid issue in major league baseball, the individuals that are known for getting caught using steroids were the ones that were older. They were unable to hit or throw their way out of the controversy. With Tiger, he will be able to golf his way out of this.
Personally, if he has nothing to hide, then he should have just come clean to the authorities right away. If he did nothing wrong, then nothing should come up in the searches and questioning. This leads me to believe that there was something fishy going on.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Black Friday is almost here!
How many of you go shopping on Black Friday? I had not ever gone shopping on this day until last year, so I can officially say I have. I'm betting there is a possibility that some of you have no idea what Black Friday is, and others may just have never experienced it.
Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It is a time when retailers have outrageous sales on various merchandise. Many of these sales are "early bird" sales, which means they start at five or six in the morning the sales become less as the day progresses.
Retailers use Black Friday as a way to bring people to their businesses. Obviously by providing such large discounts, they do not make much profit, but they make profit from the individuals who buy non-sale items, or come back later to get something that they saw and liked.
With the declining economy, retailers are becoming more and more desperate, and so the sales are anticipated to be even better this year. Now those of you who have never shopped on this day may be thinking, well this sounds like a win-win thing. Well there are some huge downsides.
To get the best deals, I would recommend beginning your shopping at 5 am, which is early for most. Many get caught buying way more than they need due to the low prices, which defeats the purpose of going to sales if you still end up spending the same amount of money. The biggest downside for me personally was the crowds. There are people who are very serious about this shopping day, and they mean business. I felt claustrophobic. There were people everywhere, and my mom and I spent most of the day standing in line waiting to pay for the things we picked out. We ended up getting tired very fast, and made it more of a day to just spend together and go out to eat rather than be serious about the shopping.
I have also heard stories from friends about people getting run over and hurt, products running out instantly, and other much wilder stories.
So, is it worth it? To me it is not, but to others they look forward to this day each and every year. What about you?
Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It is a time when retailers have outrageous sales on various merchandise. Many of these sales are "early bird" sales, which means they start at five or six in the morning the sales become less as the day progresses.
Retailers use Black Friday as a way to bring people to their businesses. Obviously by providing such large discounts, they do not make much profit, but they make profit from the individuals who buy non-sale items, or come back later to get something that they saw and liked.
With the declining economy, retailers are becoming more and more desperate, and so the sales are anticipated to be even better this year. Now those of you who have never shopped on this day may be thinking, well this sounds like a win-win thing. Well there are some huge downsides.
To get the best deals, I would recommend beginning your shopping at 5 am, which is early for most. Many get caught buying way more than they need due to the low prices, which defeats the purpose of going to sales if you still end up spending the same amount of money. The biggest downside for me personally was the crowds. There are people who are very serious about this shopping day, and they mean business. I felt claustrophobic. There were people everywhere, and my mom and I spent most of the day standing in line waiting to pay for the things we picked out. We ended up getting tired very fast, and made it more of a day to just spend together and go out to eat rather than be serious about the shopping.
I have also heard stories from friends about people getting run over and hurt, products running out instantly, and other much wilder stories.
So, is it worth it? To me it is not, but to others they look forward to this day each and every year. What about you?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
What would you do if you couldn't get your mail?
What would you do if you couldn't get your mail? The United States Postal Service (USPS) is something that many of us take for granite. We just figure it will always be there for us. I'm sure all of you would be very upset if suddenly you couldn't get that gift that you got, because FedEx, UPS, and other companies refuse to ship to your house. When this happens the USPS takes care of it for you, but what if they weren't there?
According to prnewswire.com, "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) today filed its 2009 fiscal year-end financial results, showing a net loss of $3.8 billion for the year -- despite cost-cutting efforts resulting in $6 billion in cost savings and a $4 billion reduction in required payments for retiree health benefits. Cost savings reflect a reduction of 40,000 career USPS employees as well as reductions in overtime hours, transportation and other costs. The $4 billion reduction in required retiree health benefit payments was passed into law for fiscal 2009 to allow USPS to maintain fiscal solvency while continuing to provide universal, affordable service to the nation."
With the rise of the computer age, less and less people are using postal service on a daily basis, and without those individuals buying mailing products such as stamps, suddenly a massive amount of money is being lost.
Now many of you may be thinking, well less sending should mean less shipped, so it should even out. That would make sense, but that is not the case. The USPS still has to go to all of those homes whether they received mail or not, because there may be a chance that they are wishing to mail something themselves. Basically, the mail man has to check to see if the red flag is up on the mail box.
In larger cities this is less of an issue. It is easy to check every one's mail boxes, but the true problem comes in the rural areas. In many rural areas, there are individuals who live miles and miles back on a gravel road who only receive mail maybe once a week, sometimes less, but the mail carrier must go back to their mail box everyday anyway.
Now before you jump to the conclusion that we should just not visit these individuals unless they are receiving mail. What if that individual has mail to send? You may say, well he or she can go to town and mail it. Well what if the individual is unable to drive due to a health condition or old age?
This is the dilemma that the USPS has been facing for the last several years. It is caught between doing what is right and doing what is more cost effective. Currently the USPS is self-supporting. It makes all of the money that it needs to remain afloat through the sale of postage stamps and other postage products.
The only solution that seems viable is to get support from the government. The USPS is a service that is too valuable to be shut down or overlooked.
According to prnewswire.com, "The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) today filed its 2009 fiscal year-end financial results, showing a net loss of $3.8 billion for the year -- despite cost-cutting efforts resulting in $6 billion in cost savings and a $4 billion reduction in required payments for retiree health benefits. Cost savings reflect a reduction of 40,000 career USPS employees as well as reductions in overtime hours, transportation and other costs. The $4 billion reduction in required retiree health benefit payments was passed into law for fiscal 2009 to allow USPS to maintain fiscal solvency while continuing to provide universal, affordable service to the nation."
With the rise of the computer age, less and less people are using postal service on a daily basis, and without those individuals buying mailing products such as stamps, suddenly a massive amount of money is being lost.
Now many of you may be thinking, well less sending should mean less shipped, so it should even out. That would make sense, but that is not the case. The USPS still has to go to all of those homes whether they received mail or not, because there may be a chance that they are wishing to mail something themselves. Basically, the mail man has to check to see if the red flag is up on the mail box.
In larger cities this is less of an issue. It is easy to check every one's mail boxes, but the true problem comes in the rural areas. In many rural areas, there are individuals who live miles and miles back on a gravel road who only receive mail maybe once a week, sometimes less, but the mail carrier must go back to their mail box everyday anyway.
Now before you jump to the conclusion that we should just not visit these individuals unless they are receiving mail. What if that individual has mail to send? You may say, well he or she can go to town and mail it. Well what if the individual is unable to drive due to a health condition or old age?
This is the dilemma that the USPS has been facing for the last several years. It is caught between doing what is right and doing what is more cost effective. Currently the USPS is self-supporting. It makes all of the money that it needs to remain afloat through the sale of postage stamps and other postage products.
The only solution that seems viable is to get support from the government. The USPS is a service that is too valuable to be shut down or overlooked.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Is 'New Moon' going to be worth it?
As many of you may know, the movie 'New Moon' is going to be released at midnight one week from today. According to prnewswire.com, "the film has already outsold its predecessor, Twilight, in total advance ticket sales on Fandango, the nation's leading movie ticketing destination. The new movie currently represents 75% of the site's ticket sales."
I am completely guilty of being one of the individuals that is really excited to see the movie and will be attending the midnight premier. I became hooked with the series after watching the first movie, 'Twilight'. After I watched the movie, I decided that I would give the first book a try.
After reading the first book, I was hooked! I read all of the rest of them within the next two months. I then went and bought the movie on DVD, and my roommates and I watch often. I am addicted.
What is it about this series that has captured the hearts and attention of millions upon millions of people all over this country and the world? I have pinpointed it to its very good looking cast that really has an unique chemistry. It is the love triangles, and the amazingly realistic possibilities. These vampires are not like the typical vampires that we see in the usual fiction film. They are very believable as vampires, yet they are realistic. They make us wonder if people like this actually do exist in our world, but we just do not know.
Now when it comes to the new movie, what is going to happen? Is it going to live up to all of its expectations? Many people expected much more from the previous film, but did not get it, yet the movie was still a success and people still want to see the next one. What if this is a complete bomb?
Obviously if this is a success and considered a great movie, it will only increase the fan base even more.
What are your thoughts? What is going to happen with this movie?
I am completely guilty of being one of the individuals that is really excited to see the movie and will be attending the midnight premier. I became hooked with the series after watching the first movie, 'Twilight'. After I watched the movie, I decided that I would give the first book a try.
After reading the first book, I was hooked! I read all of the rest of them within the next two months. I then went and bought the movie on DVD, and my roommates and I watch often. I am addicted.
What is it about this series that has captured the hearts and attention of millions upon millions of people all over this country and the world? I have pinpointed it to its very good looking cast that really has an unique chemistry. It is the love triangles, and the amazingly realistic possibilities. These vampires are not like the typical vampires that we see in the usual fiction film. They are very believable as vampires, yet they are realistic. They make us wonder if people like this actually do exist in our world, but we just do not know.
Now when it comes to the new movie, what is going to happen? Is it going to live up to all of its expectations? Many people expected much more from the previous film, but did not get it, yet the movie was still a success and people still want to see the next one. What if this is a complete bomb?
Obviously if this is a success and considered a great movie, it will only increase the fan base even more.
What are your thoughts? What is going to happen with this movie?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Dickinson State University mourns the loss of three students.
For those of you who have been watching local and national news as of lately, then I am sure that you have heard of the tragic story of the three softball players from Dickinson State University. For those are unfamiliar with the story, I will fill you in.
On Sunday, three members of the Dickinson State University softball team, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba went missing. They were reported to have called a friend requesting help and saying something about water. The friend called 911 and search began. Police searched a 30 mile radius of the cell phone tower that received that phone call, and originally thought the girls were somewhere near a lake south of Dickinson, North Dakota.
On Tuesday, the three individuals were found. "Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said the women's SUV was found resting on its wheels Tuesday in about 10 feet of water hidden by tall grass, with the doors and windows closed," according to ESPN.com. A dog was also found in the vehicle.
"Police Lt. Rod Banyai said authorities do not expect autopsy results for a week or two. The autopsies will help determine the exact cause of death and whether the women were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Authorities have said there is no indication they were. The North Dakota Highway Patrol also will examine the 1997 Jeep Cherokee to determine if the vehicle malfunctioned, Banyai said" again according to ESPN.com.
These tragic deaths were a sharp reminder to members of the Valley City State University softball team of last spring when their own Sara Gullickson went into a lake outside of Jamestown, North Dakota. Although their story had a happy ending, it was still a very difficult time that is vividly remembered.
Also, members of the VCSU team were former teammates and were still very close friends, so they are having a difficult time with this as well. Many individuals at VCSU and softball team members have sent out their condolences to the family and friends of these three individuals. There is even a Facebook page set up in remembrance of the individuals.
The truth of the matter is, we do not know what will happen the next day, hour, or even minute, so make sure that you let your loved ones know how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them, because you never know if they will be with you tomorrow.
R.I.P. Kyrstin, Afton, and Ashley
On Sunday, three members of the Dickinson State University softball team, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba went missing. They were reported to have called a friend requesting help and saying something about water. The friend called 911 and search began. Police searched a 30 mile radius of the cell phone tower that received that phone call, and originally thought the girls were somewhere near a lake south of Dickinson, North Dakota.
On Tuesday, the three individuals were found. "Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said the women's SUV was found resting on its wheels Tuesday in about 10 feet of water hidden by tall grass, with the doors and windows closed," according to ESPN.com. A dog was also found in the vehicle.
"Police Lt. Rod Banyai said authorities do not expect autopsy results for a week or two. The autopsies will help determine the exact cause of death and whether the women were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Authorities have said there is no indication they were. The North Dakota Highway Patrol also will examine the 1997 Jeep Cherokee to determine if the vehicle malfunctioned, Banyai said" again according to ESPN.com.
These tragic deaths were a sharp reminder to members of the Valley City State University softball team of last spring when their own Sara Gullickson went into a lake outside of Jamestown, North Dakota. Although their story had a happy ending, it was still a very difficult time that is vividly remembered.
Also, members of the VCSU team were former teammates and were still very close friends, so they are having a difficult time with this as well. Many individuals at VCSU and softball team members have sent out their condolences to the family and friends of these three individuals. There is even a Facebook page set up in remembrance of the individuals.
The truth of the matter is, we do not know what will happen the next day, hour, or even minute, so make sure that you let your loved ones know how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them, because you never know if they will be with you tomorrow.
R.I.P. Kyrstin, Afton, and Ashley
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
U.S. rated 9th most prosperous nation....9th?????
U.S. has been ranked the 9th most prosperous nation behind a dominant performance by Northern Europe as Finland was ranked 1st, Sweden 3rd, Denmark 4th, and Norway 5th.
Now there are typically two reactions to something like this. The first reaction is, with our current economic, political, and health situation, we are lucky to be ranked that high, while others think, what the heck do those countries have that we don't?
In order to completely understand these findings, we must first understand what is the definition of prosperity according to the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index. "The Index identified nine key factors that drive economic growth and personal well being, which are foundations of prosperity. Each of these nine factors is represented in a sub-index and a country's final Prosperity Index ranking is generated by averaging its scores across all nine sub-indexes, equally weighted," according to prnewswire.com.
One of the major positives that did come out of this ranking was our ranking as the most innovative countries in the world. Even with our struggling economy, "The U.S. ranks 1st in the world in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and 2nd in the world in the strength of Democratic Institutions." (prnewswire.com) we also did well by being ranked 7th globally in Education and Social Capital.
Now your question may be, "If we did so well in that area, what could have possibly brought us down?" The answer to that question is, health care. The U.S. ranked 27th! According to the Index, "Dissatisfaction with their overall health is dragging down Americans' sense of well-being, affecting their determination to get ahead and their faith in their health care system." This is a very big concern. Anytime you hear someone complaining about how the congress is spending so much time on health care, you can show them that statistic. It is a major issue that is holding back our entire well-being.
Other downfalls for the U.S. were as follows:
"Ranking 19th globally, safety and security is another relative weakness of the U.S. Lower
scores are driven by the large number of people in the US who feel they live in unsafe
places, coupled with a high per capita murder rate relative to other developed nations.
The U.S. ranks 16th globally on Governance, indicating that Americans believe that there
is too much corruption in their government and sometimes doubt the honest of elections.
The United States' laws and regulations are generally seen to foster economic growth, but
government's negative effects pull down its citizens' quality of life."
These are definitely issues that our country needs to work on. All citizens of our country should feel safe, and we should all be able to have full confidence in our voting system. There is reason to worry though. The 2000 Presidential Election was probably the largest reason for uncertainty in the voting system. Nobody understood how someone could obtain the most votes yet not win the election. It did not make sense and exposed a large flaw in the voting system.
We are continuously working to become a safer nation, but it is becoming more and more difficult with the advancements in technology. Finally, on the health care issue. One thing that seems to be a commonality between the top nations is a thing called, universal health care. Although some may be against it, it is working in numerous countries throughout the world, and it is about time that the U.S. steps up their game. We all need to learn from this ranking and make the U.S. a more prosperous place to live.
Now there are typically two reactions to something like this. The first reaction is, with our current economic, political, and health situation, we are lucky to be ranked that high, while others think, what the heck do those countries have that we don't?
In order to completely understand these findings, we must first understand what is the definition of prosperity according to the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index. "The Index identified nine key factors that drive economic growth and personal well being, which are foundations of prosperity. Each of these nine factors is represented in a sub-index and a country's final Prosperity Index ranking is generated by averaging its scores across all nine sub-indexes, equally weighted," according to prnewswire.com.
One of the major positives that did come out of this ranking was our ranking as the most innovative countries in the world. Even with our struggling economy, "The U.S. ranks 1st in the world in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and 2nd in the world in the strength of Democratic Institutions." (prnewswire.com) we also did well by being ranked 7th globally in Education and Social Capital.
Now your question may be, "If we did so well in that area, what could have possibly brought us down?" The answer to that question is, health care. The U.S. ranked 27th! According to the Index, "Dissatisfaction with their overall health is dragging down Americans' sense of well-being, affecting their determination to get ahead and their faith in their health care system." This is a very big concern. Anytime you hear someone complaining about how the congress is spending so much time on health care, you can show them that statistic. It is a major issue that is holding back our entire well-being.
Other downfalls for the U.S. were as follows:
"Ranking 19th globally, safety and security is another relative weakness of the U.S. Lower
scores are driven by the large number of people in the US who feel they live in unsafe
places, coupled with a high per capita murder rate relative to other developed nations.
The U.S. ranks 16th globally on Governance, indicating that Americans believe that there
is too much corruption in their government and sometimes doubt the honest of elections.
The United States' laws and regulations are generally seen to foster economic growth, but
government's negative effects pull down its citizens' quality of life."
These are definitely issues that our country needs to work on. All citizens of our country should feel safe, and we should all be able to have full confidence in our voting system. There is reason to worry though. The 2000 Presidential Election was probably the largest reason for uncertainty in the voting system. Nobody understood how someone could obtain the most votes yet not win the election. It did not make sense and exposed a large flaw in the voting system.
We are continuously working to become a safer nation, but it is becoming more and more difficult with the advancements in technology. Finally, on the health care issue. One thing that seems to be a commonality between the top nations is a thing called, universal health care. Although some may be against it, it is working in numerous countries throughout the world, and it is about time that the U.S. steps up their game. We all need to learn from this ranking and make the U.S. a more prosperous place to live.
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