Finally Here!

For 16 years 229 Phillipine refugees had been waiting to come to the United States. This came with a United States agreement with Manila to resettle refugees that had been living there since the 1980s. Within the next six months an extimated 2,000 Vietnamese are expected to arrive in the United States. These refugees are from when the communists had overtaken Vietnam in 1975. They had escaped the country in small fishing boats and had landed in neighboring countries where they became refugees. The refugees who had arrived in the Phillipines were discussed between the United States and the Phillipines since they arrived.

A historical parallel to the Vietnamese refugees is the flight of the Pilgrims from Europe. They left England as refugees. The only religion accepted in England was the Church of England. Anybody who opposed the church could be arrested and thrown into prison. The Pilgrims were separatists. They common belief of Puritans was that the Church of England needed to be purifed. The pilgrims were extremists who believed that the church of England could not be purified so they wanted to separate. With these radical beliefs, they pilgrims were forced to leave England or face persecution.

You gotta fight for your right........to not fight?

Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq and soon became a anti-war leader, along with dozens of other protesters were arrested in Washington DC on Monday while protesting outside the White House. Hundreds of people participated in the march around the White House and down the two-block pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. When they returned to the White House people decided they were going to sit down in front of the White House knowing they would be arrested. To the shouts of “The whole world is watching”, Sheehan was the first one taken into custody. About 50 people were arrested within the first hour. The demonstration was part of an anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United For Peace and Justice. Sheehan’s son was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She received worldwide attention when she camped outside President Bush’s Texas Ranch for 26 days.

Wars are often met by protestors. These anti-war protests are usually nonviolent. This is the case in the anti-war protests during the Mexican War. From 1820-1860, America decided to become involved in a war against Mexico, “to bring them the benefits of democracy and liberty”, in other words to take over. This war was met with a very famous anti-war protestor, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau protested the war by refusing to pay taxes, even though to get him out his family paid. In response to his arrest Thoreau wrote a very famous essay entitled “Civil Disobedience”, this became the basis for many future protestors, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. His ideas encompassed disrupting everyday work while remaining anti-violent. He stressed getting unity among protestors to take down the power of government. Other protestors of this war included Abraham Lincoln and a group of Americans who actually sided with the Mexicans, and fought against the Americans.

I'd like to apologize for the lateness of my current event..

So, I constantly get an error from Internet Explorer on this site, so I'm sorry for the lateness of this current event. Anyways...

According to an article from The New York Times, the refugees of Uzbekistan, although being hundreds of miles from home, fear persecution from the government. After being forced to leave the country in May, they still have few to none belongings; many of their family members were killed in the harrassment from the government. Many of Uzbekistan's citizens were arrested in plots to overthrow the government, while their remaining family members attempted to flee the country. Now, residing in Kyrgyzstan, many are afraid that their family members are dead, due to the government's cracking down on terrorism plots. Many interviewed refugees even refused to give their name, for fear of persecution if given the chance to return home.
The same form of exodus occurred with Palestinians, beginning in 1948. With the Palestinians, however, the Arab states had begun to attack Israel, prohibiting the Palestinians from returning to their homes post-invasion. Jordan is the only Arab country that gave rights to refugees from Palestine, unlike the refugees from Uzbekistan. Both groups of citizens, whether criminals or not, were forced to leave; however, the Palestinians were given the rights to return by decree of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Families were torn apart, homes were destroyed, and lives were ended. Hopefully, the refugees of Uzbekistan will eventually be able to return home.

Crime with Little Punishment

On September 26, 2005 the former Roslyn schools superintendent, Frank Tassone, pleaded guilty to stealing over $2 million from the school system over a six year period. He apologized for the harm he had done and agreed to pay back all the money he stole. However many parents that were in the courtroom later complained that he seemed to portray himself as one of his own most wounded victims. The money he stole paid for his vacations, meals, dry cleaning bills, furniture, dermatology treatments, car loans, real estate investments, and personal expenses. All these expense averaged about $20,000 a month. He also admitted that he submitted $219,000 worth of fake invoices for the printing of school handbooks. Tassone could spend as many as twenty five years in prison. However, in return for his cooperation, District Attorney Denis Dillon promised to recommend that he receive a maximum term of four to twelve years in prison.

Former President Richard Nixon is sometimes considered to be one of the most interesting political figures of the 20th century. Nixon made three major speeches on the Watergate scandal during 1973 and 1974. However, he is believed to have participated in the Watergate cover-up as far back as June 23, 1972. He finally sent his resignation letter to the Secretary of State at that time, Dr. Henry Kissinger, on August 9, 1974. His actions were later pardoned by former President Gerald Ford.

Both of these public figures committed serious crimes and should have been seriously punished. But neither was punished to the full extent of the law. Tassone could be in prison for less than four years and Nixon resigned and never served any jail time. Neither man will receive or did receive the true repercussions for his actions. If an average person committed one of these crimes they would have been more severely punished. This proves that certain politicians still are above the law (to an extent) today even when they admit to their indiscretions. Not all governent officials are corrupt, but most seem to be.

If this gets to be taught in school, what won't?

The article is a little old, but important nonetheless :)

In June 2005, 25 year old Bobby Henderson, sent an open letter to the Kansas School Board regarding Intelligent Design, another theory on the existence of mankind and all other life on Earth. Intelligent design is the theory that some higher being (perhaps God) created the universe and living things, unlike natural selection and evolution, which advocates that such occurrences happened randomly. However, this letter was different than most. Henderson asked that his belief, that the Flying spaghetti Monster, created the universe. Henderson backed up his theory/religion with written evidence, nothing physical. His letter is mostly to discourage teaching it at school, simply because there is not enough evidence to back it up. Ironically, this satire religion has picked up quite a following.

I'll...come up with a comparison later.

...and this is why im riding a bike from now on.

The most recent gasoline crisis as a result of the recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita have caused gas prices to skyrocket. In this article, President George W. Bush urges Americans to conerve as much gas as possible, and briefed the U.S. on the current situation conceringin gasoline and the Gulf Coast. Fortunatley for East Coast residents, we are not experiencing the worst of this gas crisis. Areas which recieve Gulf coast- produced fuel are experiencing a shortage. Most are not affected, however trucking companies and southern airlines are feeling the effects.

In 1973, an energy crisis occured, similar to the one we are currently experiencing. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Arab oil corporation OPEC announced they refused to ship Isralie allies petrolium, including Europe and the U.S. During this time, the U.S.' power was devastated, the value of a dollar plumeted to nearly 50% of its pervious worth, and inflation became out of control. This shortage doubled the price of gas in the United States, and caused reoccuring problems throughout the 70's and 80's. Today, because of this same reason, (as well as the recent hurricanes) gas prices are constantly on the rise.

Signs of Life Appearing in New Orleans

This article was about the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Homes and cities, including New Orleans, were left in ruins. Although homes were damaged, others were still mostly intact and worth remaining in and repairing. There was not much to do, so the people that remained bonded with neighbors and other people that decided not to flee. Because so many people remained, it is showing signs that life will soon be back to normal. They are fixing up their homes and going back to their everyday routines.

This article relates back to history toward the end of the ice age. The ice was beginning to melt and soon plants would be growing again and animals that could not survive in the cold would make a comeback. People would be able to support themselves with crops rather than simply relying on hunting. It relates to the article because the difficult conditions are starting to die out and life is returning back to normal.

Please see me if you would like to read the article.

Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

In today’s New York Times, an article was published about Dover, Pennsylvania being divided over a school controversy. The controversy was that some parents wanted the “intelligent design” theory taught in their children’s science classes, while the other half felt that the school had no right implanting religious theories into their child’s mind. The pro-catholic parents felt that their children should learn different theories to the evolution process, in order to give them a motive to question, and thus seek out the real answer. However, the other parents thought the school was imposing unconstitutional ideas during school time. In the end, the school board voted 6 to 3 in having the “intelligent design” theory mentioned to their children while in school. The other parents were outraged and sued the school. The verdict said the act was unconstitutional and forbade it. However, in the end, the school is still pursuing the court in trying to obtain the right to teach different evolutional theories in the classroom.

Knowing that “intelligent design” was believed before evolution ideas, I wondered when evolution was brought up into discussion. It appears that Charles Darwin started the controversy over evolution in 1859 with the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection". His book suggested that instead of being created by God, humans went through a biological evolution. Many faithful Catholics felt that with this assumption, Darwin had robbed humanity of its dignity. After sometime passed the idea was accepted by a handful of people. Charles Darwin never stopped studying and writing about human evolution, even until his death in 1882. It is said that even on this deathbed, Darwin did not renounce evolution.

Protestors gather in Washington DC

Today in the Washington Post, there was an article about a woman who got arrested for protesting the war on Iraq. Her name was Cindy Sheehan. She recently found out that her 24 year old son died over seas. She led a 26 day demonstration in washington which included a sit in. Over 100,000 people showed uip to show their support. Even though this demonstration seemed peaceful, the police were eventually brought in. Cindy Sheehan was just one of the women arrested.

Another war which sparked many protests was the vietnam war. When you think of these protests, you mainly think of college kids holding peace rallies on their campus. Another tyoe of protest used, however, was called National Moratorium. The idea was to have everyone in the nation who disagreed with the war to stop their daily activity on the same day. This day was October 15, 1969. People would close their businesses, stay home from work, or not go to school. Since todays demonstration went on for 26 days, you can say that it had the same idea as national moratorium.

Even though these protests seem similar, they are different in two ways. The first is the reason for protesting. During the Vietnam War, the draft still existed. Some people were being forced to fight for something that they did not necessarily believe in. Today, everything is completely voluntary. If you want to fight, you can and if you dont want to fight, then that's great too. The other difference is the protestors themselves. During the vietnam war, the protestors seemed to mainly be young men who didn't want to get drafted. Today, it seems more to be the family of people who is fighting over seas, or who has died over seas. Either way, the protestors always seem to find a way to get their point across.

Anti-war Rallies

Thousands of people gathered on Saturday, the 24th, around the White House protesting not only the War in Iraq, but also the poor responses to the hurricane incidents. The article in the New York Times showed how people displayed their emotions and thoughts through masses of signs and banners. While going around the White House, protesters were met by supporters of the war, however the article did not have any account of what followed the encounter. Although the rally took place in Washington, President Bush was no where near the capital, as he was monitoring hurricane developments in Colorado and Texas. Rallies were also held in other cities such as L.A., San Francisco, and Seattle; however, they did not attract as many crowds as the one in Washington D.C.
This event can be compared to the many strikes led by protesters during the Vietnam War. Protesters were also seeking to have the troops come back home and, in addition, were opposing the government's actions towards the war, as people have been recently doing so about the War in Iraq.

See Maria's summary for clever title....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/space/20nasa.html

Michael D. Griffin, administrator for NASA, announced Monday, a $104 billion plan to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2018. The plan would use a spacecraft similar to that of the Apollo command capsule in the original Moon program. The new plan has astronauts riding in the crew exploration vehicle perched on top of the rockets that propel it into space. NASA says that this way is ten times as safe as the normal shuttle, with a projected failure rate of 1 in 2,000. The wingless craft could carry a crew of four people to the Moon. The actual landing would be broken into stages in which much trading off of the passengers would be done.
Lockheed Martin Corporation and a team headed by the Boeing Company and Northrop Grumman, have been given $28 million contracts and are competing to build a more efficient form of the crew exploration vehicle. NASA is expected to select the winning design next spring.
The plan has drawn a mixture of criticism and praise from lawmakers and space experts.
The Apollo 11 mission to the Moon blasted off on July 16, 1969, landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, and returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, while Collins did not actually land on the Moon he was part of the crew (he stayed behind on the Columbia to watch the Eagle carry Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface of the Moon).

houston, we have lift off... again.

Today, President Bush promised that by the end of the decade, more men will walk on the moon. Approximatley $108 billion dollars were in the new plan, being used as a stepping stone for future expeditions to Mars. The article describes the similarities to the Apollo Mission, calling it "Apollo on steriods." The estimated landing for the next space walk is 2018.
Apollo 11 was the first shuttle to ever land on the moon, and carried Neil Armstrong, the first man to ever walk on the moon. The price of the first Moon walk was never released, however Dr. Griffin, NASA's administrator, said that when the inflation rate is taken into consideration, this space trip would cost only 55% of the first. Past failure rates were approximatley 220:1, new designs for rockets would place failure rates at about 2000:1. The newer craft however is expected to weigh 50% more than the Apollo.
Though there are obvious diferences, the two space launches share many similarities. Both are considered milestones in space expolration. The Apollo was, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The new space program is expected to be at least that, if not more. Though the Apollo was the first of its kind, both launches were and will be highly anticipated. Without a doubt, millions will be fascinated with the newest NASA project. As were the millions who tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon.
Many view NASA and space exploration as a waste of the governments money, however, exploration of the universe surrounding us, will only be beneficial in the future.

Death, Debris, and Diseases

When thinking about the streets of New Orleans, most people envision festive parades, Mardi Gras beads, and the scent of spicy southern foods. That is hardly the image in that place today. Garbage, urine, gasoline, and corpse fill the area and create a sick odor. The hospitals and morgues are over flooded with bodies and many of which are unidentifiable because of the water and hungry animals tearing away at the flesh and bones. At St. Rita’s nursing home, over 30 people died because it was too risky to rescue them and people are still dying now from infections. Some bodies are clogging up pipes and spreading diseases. What is an even more onerous task than cleaning up the debris is linking bodies to families. This is similar to Sept 11th when FEMA was left to deal with hundreds of dead in the massive rubbles of the buildings. Hospitals were congested with people and did not have the capacity to treat all of them. Many of the victims were burned beyond recognition and 40% (2700) are still unidentified. Most matches of the dead to their families were made using DNA from items like toothbrushes or hairbrushes but Katrina has washed most of those away so it will be almost impossible to link all of the bodies to their families even with all the technology of today.
Article by Allen G. Breed

Use good newspapers

A couple of things for all of you young historians.

First, link to you article within the first sentence or two of your post. (Take a look at Intellectuals, Inc.)

Second, use good newspaper. That means the NY Times or the Washington Post or the Christian Science Monitor. Check out the links I included in the blog. If you want to use something else, please check with me. The Boston Herald and the Boston Globe are out. Never.

Finally, your parallel needs to be substantial. Explain the historical details, then draw the comparisons. How are these two events alike? How are they different?

Man guilty of murder..but where's the body?

According to this article from CNN, Colvin "Butch" Hinton was convicted of the murdering of a 19-year old college student. The Emory College student was killed 11 years ago, but no body was ever found. The jury contemplated the verdict for three days before reaching their verdict solely based on circumstantial evidence. His shady past and reputation for attacking women allowed the jury to reach their verdict. He worked with the college student at the softball field at Emory and was considered a suspect from the day of her disappearance; however, he wasn't charged with her murder until last year.
O.J. Simpson's trials of the 1990's were highly dissimilar to this murder case. His wife and friend of his wife were both murdered in the vicinity of O.J.'s home. All evidence, as opposed to no evidence, pointed to Simpson. The final piece of evidence was a black glove, which didn't fit Simpson's hand; he was then freed of all charges.
Is it due to Hinton's shady past that he was convicted? Some might say yes, but sometimes even if the majority of evidence points to the killer, a guilty man can go free.

Korea is finally calming down with the whole nuclear situation, excellent!

North Korea and the United States have reached a negotiation over the issue of nuclear weapons and the production of them. North Korea has agreed to end its nuclear weapon operations in exchange for security and economic benefits from the US. After a three year beef over the issue, tension has finally been resolved in a peaceful manner. Korea had been very stubborn about giving up their right to possess such weapons of mass destruction, but through countless negotiations, they finally gave in. Although all of the details haven't been worked out, this is a huge step toward reconciliation between the US and not only Korea, but other nations as well. I don't know about you guys, but the whole idea of nuclear weapons of mass destruction scares me greatly, and the fact that other nations have them and could use them at any time is terrifying.
This article reminded me of the book I read over the summer about JFK's life. During his presidency, he was deep in negotation with the Soviet Union over their possession of nuclear weapons. Countless meetings resulted in more hostility and fear of nuclear warfare. The nuclear threat, however, was eventually resolved through the goverment and JFK's persistence. JFK initiated the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union. I hope that once all is done and said, North Korea will be like the Soviet Union and stop being so scary with their big bad weapons.

Link -
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/19/international/asia/19cnd-korea.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=2323686f0fc10326&hp&ex=1127188800&partner=homepage

Gay Controversy...what else is new.

The article I discovered was about a group of high school journalists who wrote articles about the increasing number of open homosexuals on campus. The article would have passed through to printing if the school’s journalism adviser had not mentioned the articles to the assistant principal, right before publishing. The next day, the student editors were summoned to a meeting where they all reached a compromise. The names of the homosexual students would be taken out before printing. The administrators said they were afraid that the articles would cause sexual harassment towards the gay students. However, in the end all the articles were pulled from the school newspaper. The students are now suing the school for the abrupt cancellation of the articles.
In the mid-1960s, the Sexual Revolution began. During this time, gay communities in urban centers were built and the majority of gay bars were built. These changes gave some citizens a sense of gay identity, a minority that they belonged to. In 1969, the Stonewall riots took place. Thousands of gay people began to organize and demand legal and social equality. After the riots, groups such as the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance were seen in New York. Slowly, more and more people accepted the gay lifestyle as an equal in the human race. Finally on October 14, 1979, in Washington D.C. the first nation gay rights movement took place involving more than 100,000 people. The article I read reminded myself of how long gay people have been fighting for equality in today’s world and on a large scale, have achieved it. Yet, there are a handful of people, such as those school administrators who have not yet grasped the meaning of the constitution, in which “all men are created equal”.


My Article

EPA plans to revamp mileage testing

The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, will soon propose significant changes to the way it estimates automobile fuel economy ratings, which are basically the "miles per gallon" stickers on the new cars and trucks being sold to consumers. The agency has been blamed for faulty test methods, which are based on ancient driving habits, that overestimate the miles per gallon drivers expect. There is alot of controversy over the EPA's testing, especially now due to the recent surge in gasoline prices, because drivers are paying more attention to their fuel consumption. Many consumers are finding that their car's fuel economy rating is much lower than they were told, so this problem must be corrected by the EPA. The EPA will now run tests depending on: the high-speed, aggressive driving of today's consumer, traffic, cold climates, and air conditioners.

Relating to history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created in July of 1970 by both Congress and the White House. It was created in order to answer to the public demand for cleaner water, air, and land in the U.S. The EPA had the task of repairing the damage already done to the natural environment over time. Also, the Agency had to establish new rules and regulations to help guide Americans in making a cleaner environment a reality.

http://www.boston.com/cars/articles/2005/09/18/epa_plans_to_revamp_mileage_testing/

New orleans is the same as Galveston Texas

This article is about hurricane Katrina. It talks about what troops and organizations arestill doing and not doing to help the people in New Orleans. Basically, they are no longer looking for the dead, but are still looking to rescue the living. Also, there are people there working on things such as electricity, law enforcement, and transportation.
On September 8, 1900, there was hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas. This was said to be the biggest hurricane to that date. When it hit the coast, the winds were at 140 mile per hour. The total number of deaths reached 6,000 and there were 3600 buildings totally destroyed. Before the storm, Galveston was a vacation spot for families and an important port, where more than 70 percent of the countries cotton would pass through. Before the storm, people had suggested building a storm wall. No body thought it was necessary. When the waters started to rise, people could not get away. The highest point of elevation on the island was only about 9 feet above sea level. This wasn’t high at all considering the storm surge was 15 ½ feet.
In order to prevent this from happening again, the city residents not only built a seawall, but also raised the elevation of the entire city, which is what New Orleans should do. At the seawall the elevation was increased by 16 feet. Hurricane Katrina is the only storm since that could even compare to the damage in Galveston, Texas.

The Reparation of Two Nations

The article I chose is entitled Sadr City in midst of modest rebirth. The article is all about the recent rebuilding of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq. The US officials have spent approximately 850 million dollars rebuilding the area after they bombed it. When US troops arrived in Sadr City recently it was a far more welcoming scene than the urban war zone of nearly a year ago.

This resembles the time in history after World War II. The US felt it was necessary to bomb Japan in order to end the war. But, after they bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan they helped rebuild both cities. These acts display the sympathy the US shows for other nations, even for their former or present enemies.

Inhalable Insulin Gets FDA Panel OK

This article about is about getting a new form of insulin for people with diabetes to try out. Many people are reluctant to receive insulin shots, so the people at Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics felt that an inhalable form of insulin may be better for them. However, even though it may be a good thing for some people, it may be more harmful to others. There were questions about smokers and people with lung disease, and if it would affect them in a harmful manner. After the testing, the people who ended up using the inhalable insulin ended up having a shortage of breathing or ended up coughing. This new type of insulin has its upsides and its downsides; the Americans will just have to be patient and wait and see what the government has to say about this issue facing millions of people.


This article relates to history because there was something called The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. It helped to establish the Food and Drug Administration. At this time, drugs such as penicillin and tetracycline were being tested to see if they were safe. Also, at this time, people were very hesitant about trying these new drugs, just as they are nowadays. The New Drug Application (NDA) has complete power in overriding decisions from the pharmaceutical companies. Sometimes the drug development process can take up to ten years, but usually takes about two or three. This was the same way back in the old days, however, today the United States is a little bit more technologically advanced.

Katrina/9-11

Victoria Bean
Mod 3
AP History
September 11, 2005
Current Events

Chronology of errors: how a disaster spread - The Boston Globe

The government’s preparation and the reaction to hurricane Katrina was unacceptable for the Untied States. The U.S. government was unable to properly coordinate and organize a relief force to go to Louisiana before, during, and after the storm. The National Weather Bureau was fully aware of the intensity and the dangers of the storm and properly tracked, and communicated its progress. Even with early notification of the hurricane, the government did not react quickly with the information, allowing bureaucratic processes to delay their response. For days, police, fire fighters and the U.S. Coast Guard were left alone to deal with the catastrophe in the Gulf Coast. It was due to the uncoordinated effort, slow decision making and lack of leadership by officials on all levels, local, state, and federal, that relief for the thousands in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama was not received until days after Katrina had wreaked its havoc.

What is so disturbing about the poor reaction to Katrina was that the government was aware of the magnitude of the devastation, yet still did little to aid the situation until days later. The government knew an event such as this could occur in the Gulf Coast and had years to prepare for the inevitable disaster. Even with this knowledge, they failed to provide the citizens with a sufficient evacuation and relief effort. In comparison, on September 11, the United States government had thousands of reinforcements, ambulances, fire departments, and police, in New York within hours. They had no warning of the attack on the World Trade Center, yet the government was able to assemble federal, state, and local forces to come to the aid of their citizens quickly and effectively, just as should have been done for those in the Gulf Coast.

Brown, you have been SHAFTED!

Linkage!

Director of the Federal emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown, resigned from his post after recent allegations of him being under qualified (if at all qualified) for the position. After hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area, it was FEMA's job to clean up the mess and help the situation. When it became apparent that he was not doing a good job there, research was done into his background. Time Magazine later printed an article showing that his resume was affected so that it made him look like the proper choice for the position. He resigned, and is now replaced by President appointed David Paulison.

This is similar to the events of the Watergate scandal in 1972-74. President Richard Nixon actually had to resign do to his part in the scandal, where they bugged the Watergate hotel, which was the headquarters of the Democratic National Convention.

Rehnquist court left much unsettled

This past Saturday, Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist died, which has left a void in the Court. Now, a new justice must be nominated by President Bush and elected by Congress. There is alot of controversy involving the selection of the new justice, and it seems that President Bush will nominate John Roberts. So at this time, there is alot of uncertainty and curiosity circulating around the Supreme Court and the U.S. Governemnt to make the right decision on this matter. To make the void of the loss of Rehnquist even larger, fellow justice Sandra Day O'Connor has decided to retire, which will force another justice to be nominated and elected. Relating to history, O'Connor was the first woman elected to the U.S. Supreme Court. She was nominated by Ronald Reagan and was elected by Congress on September 21, 1981. Now, it is up to President Bush to nominate two justices, that Congress will elect, to fill the shoes of both William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/11/rehnquist_court_left_much_unsettled/

Pentagon Revises Nuclear Strike Plan

In the book Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe In The New World Order, by Robert Kagan, our AP History class saw how the United States tends to lean towards a more coerce way to resolving international conflicts. A perfect example of this can be found in the current article in the Washington Post. According to this article, the Pentagon is revising a doctrine which would allow the use of nuclear weapons in order to prevent attacks by terrorist groups or other nations possessing weapons of mass destruction. In other words, the United States would be using nuclear weapons in order to prevent other countries from using such weapons. Though supporters of this plan may see this act as reasonable, irony is quite evident.
Supporters believe that if they can make other countries believe that the United States is determined into using nuclear arms against possible threats, these threats would perhaps diminish. It is possible, however, that instead of installing a sense of fear into these nations they may instead install anger, which would cause the nations not to disarm, but re-arm.
This "Nuclear Strike Plan" can be applied to many occurrences in the past and even current events, including World War II, the Cold War, and the present War In Iraq. It can also relate to previous attempts of creating similar strategies, which are found in the article, such as the Bush preemption doctrine.

I've realized I picked the same comparison as Jenn K, but you can comment twice on the same thing.

Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disaster in United States history; thousands estimated dead, and millions homeless. Time Magazines extensive article “The Aftermath” describes the extensive damage and devastation following hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf of Mexico states Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana on August 29^th, 2005. Since the 29^th America has been in a state of shock.

Hurricane Katrina is not the only devastating hurricane of its time. 105 years ago on September 8, 1900, the Galveston Hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, a small island off the coast of Texas. The warning was clear, however arrogant the local "meterologist" refused to believe their foreign sources, and no townspeople were warned. Complete devastation resulted. Black and white pictures display nearly identical destruction to that of Biloxi, MI as a result of Katrina. Houses simply gone, wooden beams that once were a house piled where the building stood.

The Category 4 hurricane killed nearly 8,000 people, and destroyed 12 city blocks. Galveston was one of the richest cities in America at the time. Their attitudes were the reason for thousands of deaths. Despite a clear warning that there was a strong possibility their town could be hit by the hurricane, one selfish townsperson felt he was better than everyone else. Nobody evacuated, and thousands were killed.

People still attempting to bring prohibted items on planes

After four years of increasing security measures, Logan International Airport officials report that they are still seizing banned items from passengers. So far there are more than 60 items on the prohibited item list at airports. Bins are provided at security checkpoints to drop off any prohibited item you may be carrying. Criminal prosecution may wait for those people risky enough to try and keep one of these items with them.
Four years ago, today, the United States suffered a horrible loss, 2,996 people were lost when terrorists drove two planes into the World Trade Center in New York. Ever since that day American security has been upgraded. My article relates to September 11, 2001 because it deals with the security measures that were taken since the fateful day.

Ford's Latest Accomplishment

I read an article about Ford’s latest automobile, the 2006 Ford Fusion. The writer raves about the car’s “power, economic execution with the taut construction and refined interior that are trademarks of some of the best European sedans. This car is a fine example of the best car-building quality American has to offer.
The article made me question when the first Ford automobile was made. After some quick research I found out that Henry Ford invented the all American Ford automobile in the year 1893. With the construction of the new car, he founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. In 1913, he started using interchangeable parts in the automobiles and familiarized assembly-line work to American industries. This new innovation in automobile production raised the company’s profits thirty million dollars in 1914 and sixty million dollars in 1916. It is easy to say that Mr. Ford opened a new door to the American automobile industry.

The article is from the front page of The Boston Globe's, Automobile Section, September 11, 2005 newspaper. I couldn't find the article on boston.com but do have the article handy for anyone who would like to see it (aka Mr. Raia).

Uprooted and Scattered Far From the Familiar

Hurricane Katrina savagely ripped through the lives of the residents of Louisiana. Families were separated, homes were destroyed, and people were left with next to nothing to compensate for their losses. With Louisiana in shambles and slow government help responses, the residents had no other choice but to relocate. The refuge they have sought is in areas like Salt Lake City, which aren’t as culturally diverse and rich as their hometowns. It is a reality check for all; those who live in these cities, and those who have been thrown into them. A person who was relocated was quoted saying "We're getting shown a lot of love, but we're also getting a lot of stares like we're aliens or something.. am I the only person out here with dreadlocks?" I feel bad for these people, because they have moved away from all they know, and now they feel lost in unknown territory, forced to begin again. This reminds me of many instances in American History. During the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s, skies darkened with mile-high walls of dust and the land dried up. People fled and sought safety in other frontiers. They left behind all that they knew in search of a better life. [Grapes of Wrath, what what?!] Also, immigrants flock America daily in search of new homes and lives, whether their homes were plagued with natural disasters or not. Hurricane Katrina has forced the residents of Lousiana to become nomadic immigrants, moving from town to town in search of a place where they can start a new life.


Link - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/national/nationalspecial/11diaspora.html?hp&ex=1126497600&en=d7fbc478bacc4608&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Katrina might affect Louisiana politics...Texas could see influx of Democrats, analysts say

Due to the dispursement of evacuees from New Orleans to all over the country, analysts believe that New Orleans elections and other local elections will be majorly affected. It is thought that the majority of poor evacuees (who are thought to be Democrats) will not be able to afford to ever move back to New Orleans, while on the other hand wealthy New Orleans evacuees (who are more than likely Republicans) will be able to afford to move back, giving New Orleans a good chance of becoming Republican. This is not good news for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, Governor Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, or Ray Nagin, the Democratic mayor of New Orleans.
This population shift will also effect local elections in Texas, where many Hurricane evacuees were sent. This means that Democrats will be invading Houston school boards and legislative seats. Between the growth of Hispanics in Texas, and the black population beginning to outnumber the white population, Texas may be turning from Red to Blue.
Although these odds are more than likely to materialize into real statistics, everyone will have to just wait and see what happens.


This is not the first shift politcal parties in America. Another occured after the event of overturning Jim Crowe laws, which restricted African Americans from voting. Once they got the right to vote, the majority voted Democratic. In response to this, the white people of the South (which at the time were Democratic), did not want anything to do with black people, and turned to being Republican.

Full story!

Government Estimates Five-Figure Death Toll

According to an article from cnn.com, a project funded by the government predicted 61,290 deaths from a category 3 storm in Louisiana. It was predicted in the same manner of Hurricane Pam; over 300,000 injuries were feared in a catastrophic flood from the hurricane. However, this fictitious storm wasn't as similar to Katrina as they believed. The project didn't have a solution to if the levees broke, which they did in Katrina; they also didn't have a solution to the looting afterwards. With Katrina, the assistance provided by the government took much longer to reach the disaster area than planned. Strangely enough, this plan was unleashed merely a few days before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
Similarily enough to Katrina with its widespread flooding is the unnamed hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. Killing hundreds, the coast of Texas was completely unprepared for the hurricane. Storm surges and over twenty foot waves in both storms caused widespread flooding and drowning. Also, an immeasurable number of diseases related to contaminated water occurred with both storms. However, in 1900, the technology that the United States has today was unknown.
Should the unpredictability of Katrina overshadow the delayed response of the United States government? The ridiculously slow reaction to Katrina, with the technology the government has today, was completely unacceptable. With a predicted five-figure death toll and high injury rate to a significantly weaker storm, the assistance provided by the United States is looking at a grotesque cleanup for the Gulf Coast.

Calfironian Makes Terror Threats!

A video tape has surfaced in Pakistan of an American Californian making terror threats. It is belived he was Adam Yahiye Gadhan who is wanted by the FBI. He referred the the events of September 11th as blessed events and made threats against Los Angelos and Austrailia. In the 75 minute tape Adam Gadhan went on to call President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair liars and issued a warning. He also made reference to the attacks in London, Madrid. The CIA had no immediate comment on the video.

This event is smiliar to the story of Benedict Arnold. He was a brave soldier on the American side of the Revolutionary War. He aided in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and was later even promoted to Brigadier General. However Benedict Arnold schemed to hand over Fort Westpoint to the British. His British contact was caught with incriminating documents in Arnold's handwriting including access ways to the fort. Benedict Arnold upon fleeing to Canada admitted his treason to the United States in a letter to Washington.


The Article: ABC has tape of man making terror threats

Ophelia a Hurricane, Again

The Associated Press reports that Tropical Storm Ophelia has strengthened into a hurricane again on Saturday morning. Forecasters have encouraged people who live on the Georgia-Florida border up to the Carolinas to watch its path carefully. The hurricane is expected to strengthen a little more and reach the coast by Monday. Many residents in Florida have already stocked up on batteries, water, and unperishable foods. "Almost every computer model indicates a United States landfall. It's time to make those preparations," said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center. Hopefully the damage caused by this hurricane will not be anywhere close to the damage done by Katrina.

First Post

Just to get things started. Good luck to everyone in their first current event posting. I'm looking forward to them.