Cell phones banned in NY City, New Yorkers complain!

A ban on cell phones in New York City schools have caused public outrage. At a City Council meeting yesterday, denizens of the city who have kids, know kids, or used to be kids loudly complained about the ban, saying that they should be allowed in case of emergencies. Also, part of the ban hasto do with people starting fights via, cell phones, but this was countered by Councilwoman Jessica S. Lappin of Manhattan, who said ""When I went to Stuyvesant and none of us had cellphones, and people came from neighboring schools and tried to beat us up anyway."
However, the city council has little power over the matter, and the 1.1 million student school system shall remain phoneless. Scanning for phones has begun in mot New York schools, and since it has begun 3,027 cellphones have been confiscated. Cellphones have been being used for taking explicit locker room photos, cheating on tests, and starting fights throughtext messaging.

Various councilmen have recomended just banning picture phones and phones with text messaging, or for schools to have lockers where students can just store their phones. However, the council is not abandoning its decision and if parents want to contact their children, it will have to be through the school office.


This brings back memories of Pokemon cards, Tamagotchis and crayons (yes, crayons) being banned from schools as distractions.

Cell phones banned in NY City, New Yorkers complain!

A ban on cell phones in New York City schools have caused public outrage. At a City Council meeting yesterday, denizens of the city who have kids, know kids, or used to be kids loudly complained about the ban, saying that they should be allowed in case of emergencies. Also, part of the ban hasto do with people starting fights via, cell phones, but this was countered by Councilwoman Jessica S. Lappin of Manhattan, who said ""When I went to Stuyvesant and none of us had cellphones, and people came from neighboring schools and tried to beat us up anyway."
However, the city council has little power over the matter, and the 1.1 million student school system shall remain phoneless. Scanning for phones has begun in mot New York schools, and since it has begun 3,027 cellphones have been confiscated. Cellphones have been being used for taking explicit locker room photos, cheating on tests, and starting fights throughtext messaging.

Various councilmen have recomended just banning picture phones and phones with text messaging, or for schools to have lockers where students can just store their phones. However, the council is not abandoning its decision and if parents want to contact their children, it will have to be through the school office.


This brings back memories of Pokemon cards, Tamagotchis and crayons (yes, crayons) being banned from schools as distractions.

Last Post for the year has exploded... much like this story

In the country of Sri Lanka, Militants suspected of being members of the Tamil Tigers ambushed a civilian bus on Thursday and set off a mine. The army reported that the blast had killed at least 58 people and injured 45 in what is by far the worst attack since 2002. Some 500 people have been killed since early April as talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam collapsed, and many now fear a slide back into the island's 20 year civil war. The Tigers were not immediately available for comment, but have previously denied involvement in similar attacks on troops across the Tamil dominated north and east, where they want a separate homeland. Officials said most of the dead were likely to be from the island's Sinhalese majority.

Uh... Drugs are bad.. Don't do drugs... MMMKAY

The New York Times is reporting that police and health authorities around the United States are struggling to track down the source of a doctored, intensely powerful heroin that has killed at least 130 people in and around the Chicago and Detroit areas, and sent hundreds more to hospitals in cities from St. Louis to Philadelphia.In the "paranoid world of illicit drugs," tales of killer heroin have come and gone before. But this time is "very, very, different, " law enforcement and health officials have said. The pattern of cases is broader, involving many markets at once, suggesting, they say, a larger and more sophisticated distribution network. The additive has been traced to laboratories in Mexico, which has traditionally supplied much of the Midwest heroin, raising fears that other hybrid pharmaceutical street drugs might emerge. Hopefully they can put a stop to this before anyone else is harmed.

Whose Next?

The United States has identified the successor to the late Abu Musab al Zarqawi as the leader in Iraq of al Qaeda. In a televised briefing today in Baghdad, Major General William B. Caldwell IV, a spokesman for the American forces in Iraq, displayed a photograph of a man he said was Abu Ayyub al-Masri. He said he was "probably" the man who was named as the successor to arqawi, the Jordanian terrorist who was killed in an American bombing last week. An Islamic militant Web site said this week that Zarqawi's replacement was a man named Abu Hamza al-Muhajir. But his name was something of a mystery. It did not appear on any of the charts of wanted leaders of Al Qaeda previously issued by the American command. Senior Iraqi officials had said they were unfamiliar with anyone by that name.

Let's add something else to the Cup

The World Cup is supposed to be a competitive, yet fun (somewhat) time, people tend to escalate matters just a tiny bit. In the western city of Dortmund, the German police arrested over 300 people following the game between Germany and Poland. "The arrests of groups or individuals who began to act in a disorderly way took place as tens of thousands of fans converged on Dortmund for the matchup between Germany and Poland, countries with a long history of wars, invasions and partitions against each other." There were no actual violence, however, and no injuries were reported. Their job of maintaining security was successful.

Let's add something else to the Cup

The World Cup is supposed to be a competitive, yet fun (somewhat) time, people tend to escalate matters just a tiny bit. In the western city of Dortmund, the German police arrest over 300 people following

Bush gets Conservative

President Bush will create the world's largest protected marine area, designating as a national monument a 1,200-mile-long chain of small Hawaiian islands and surrounding waters and reefs that are home to a spectacular array of sea life. Bush will enact a suite of strict rules for the area, including a five-year phasing out of commercial and sport fishing. The chain of largely uninhabited atolls, seamounts, reefs and shoals, which sweeps northwest from the big islands of Hawaii, is called the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and is home to some 7,000 species of marine life, including endangered green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals and millions of breeding seabirds. Bush made a public statement saying "Look, I've got this authority, I'm going to use it". Oh President Bush...


The authority President Bush speaks of is given to him through the Antiquities Act of 1906. The act was passed by Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. It gives the President the authority to restrict the use of particular public land owned by the federal government by executive order, bypassing Congressional oversight. The Act has been used over a hundred times since its passage. Its use frequently creates significant controversy.

The case involving 54-year-old Jennifer Williams of Bloomington, Indiana ended in a plea bargain. She was charged for practing medicine and midwifery without a license in the state of Indiana, which along with "nine other states prohibit midwifery by people other than doctors and nurses." Her case was prompted by the death of a baby which she attempted to deliver in June, Oliver Meredith. Another woman from Indiana, Mary Helen Ayres, commited the same felony of midwifery. Ayres aided Angela Hendrix-Petry to give birth to her daughter at her home. The felony can be puishable for up to eight years in prison. Ayres, however, was not charged as Williams had been.

Midwifery has been practiced for ages, before the techonological advances in medicine. In fact, midwifery only began to die out as new advances were made, causing people to believe that the practice is unsafe and presents unacceptable medical risks for both the mother and child. "Midwives see it differently. They say the ability of women to choose to give birth at home is under assault from a medical establishment dominated by men who, for reasons of money and status, resent a centuries-old tradition that long ago anticipated the concerns of modern feminism."

yeaaaaah! last one!!

Okay, so since Internet Explorer is a beast at my house and doesn't like me to post current events even though I complete them, and my computer won't let me intall Mozilla (I HATE YOU)..here we go!

So, uh..the World Cup started on June 9th in Germany. There are twelve locations in Germany that the World Cup is being held in; the most important one, to many, is in Frankfurt. Ever since the beginning of the World Cup this year, over 1.5 billion people have watched every day (including me, thank you very much). Humiliatingly, the United States lost to the Czech Republic, with a score of 3-0. Oh well...I'm rooting for England and Portugal, anyways!

Midwifery Gone Wrong

Jennifer Williams a fifty-four year old woman from Bloomington, Indiana, pleaded guilty to a felony count of unlicensed midwifery and will recieve a year's probation. Indiana, along with nine other states prohibit midwifery by anyone but doctors and nurses. Last year, a baby delivered by Williams died, but she was not charged in the death.


Ninteenth century medical schools discovered Pasteur's theory of infectious diseases, Holmes' and Semmelweis' work on puerperal fever, and Lister's writings on antisepsis. Since midwives worked informally they did not take these new advances in medicine and hygiene into effect. The practices of these "primitive" midwives began to directly contrast recent innnovations in "modern" remedies. People began to notice the difference in numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths from "ancient" midwives and "modern" physicians. The difference between statistical outcomes of midwives and physicians in the United States precipitated a situation in health care characterized as the "midwifery problem". The midwifery controversy lasted from approximately the end of the 19th century through the first two decades of the following century. Although the concern about neonatal and maternal outcomes has been named as the major causative agent for the controversy, other historians have also suggested alternative factors.

GOAL!!!

In surprising news, the Ecuadorian team beat Poland in thei World Cup Match last friday. They won 2-0. The Ecuadorian team hasn't won a World Cup game since the 1960s. They first lead on a header from Carlos Tenorio and then doubled that lead with a goal by Agustin Delgado. Ecuador is tied atop the Group A leaderboard with Germany. You may be asking yourself, if I had the chance to write about any team, why would I write about Ecuador? That's easy. This is because I'm half Ecuadorian.

Last one for the year!

Looks like the people of New Orleans keep getting screwed. Alphonso R. Jackson, the Housing and Urban Development Secretary announced that 5,000 public housing units would be demolished to make room for housing for people with higher income. Plans for those who would need the public housing haven't been made yet, but for now, every thing seems focused on how to make New Orleans look better. Ever since the hurricane disaster, people have seen how bad the public housing system is.

Public housing has been in effect since Richard Nixon signed the Section 8 Affordable housing program in 1974, asking private companies to make affordable houses, although these houses aren't still being built today. In fact, recently they have started demolishing them because of their high crime rates. Yeah...that's all I got.

uuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhh #1

From an article in the New York Times, approximately 5,000 housing units in New Orleans are to be razed. Alphonso R. Jackson claimed that the houses were deemed unnecessary because of the abandoned area surrounding New Orleans. The projects are to be rebuilt and should be finished by 2007.

Following Hurricane Katrina, over $50 billion in damage has occurred in the New Orleans area. Homes remain destroyed, but overall, the city is still getting back to normal. "Planning for the new developments, which are to be financed by bonds, tax credits and federal housing money, has not begun", Alphonso R. Jackson said; Mayor C. Ray Nagin responded to Mr. Jackson's announcement enthusiastically.

Tea time with President Bush

With public approval levels at an all time low President Bush is looking for new, innovative ways to grab and really hold onto the approval of the United States Congress. President Bush's newest plan, have cocktail parties and private chats with members of Congress at his private residence, on the Truman Balcony, or even in the Oval Office. For years President Bush has treated the Republicans in Congress as inferiors, but now with the ball in their court, President Bush has decided he might need a few more friends. HERE


On the theme of presidential friendships... Paul Laxalt served as Governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971, during this time he became known as the "First Friend" of President Reagan. Laxalt chaired Reagan's presidential campaigns both in '76 and in '80. This friendship also led to the high number of Filipinos in Nevada, because when the government of Ferdinand Marcos fell and the people needed somewhere for exile Reagan asked his good buddy Laxalt if it would be alright if the stayed in Nevada. Laxalt also served as Senator for Nevada from 1974 to 1986.

FBI agent helping in 1963 bombing dies at 87

Frank Spencer, an FBI agent who helped investigate the 1963 Klu Klux Klan church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, died of lung cancer on Tuesday, June 6, at the age of 87. Spencer testified in 2001 about the bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Spencer testified against Klansman, Thomas Blanton Jr. Spencer retired from the Tampa FBI office in 1977. After that, he headed the Tampa office of the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud, from which he retired in 1987.


On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, three Klu Klux Klan members planted 19 sticks of dynamite in the basement of the Sixteenth Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. At around 10:25, the bombs exploded killing four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair. In addition the building's basement and rear were destroyed, two cars were destroyed, and 22 other people were injured. The three men responsible have since received life sentences, and two have already died in prison.

drug approval

Federal drug officials on Thursday announced the approval of a vaccine against cervical cancer. This new drug could save thousands of lives in the United States each year. The vaccine is called Gardasil, it guards from harmful results of human papillomavirus. For fifteen years the National Cancer Institute referred to the drug as a landmark. If put into use federal experts will recommend that 11 to 12 year old girls receive the vaccine because boys are not approved to use the drug yet. A Merck spokeswoman said the vaccine was approved for girls and women ages 9 to 26 and by the end of June would be available in doctors' offices.

Cervical cancer is a malignancy of the cervix and it is the second most common cancer in women. Most of the scientific studies done have found that human papillomavirus is most likely to blame for cervical cancer. The mailgnant cervical tumors include squamus cell carcinoma (about 80-85%), adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinomas, small cell carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma, melanoma, and lymphoma. It usually must be treated with the removing of all infected parts through a hysterectomy. But, with this new drug this painful experience and procedure could be prevented before it begins. If this drug is successful it will be a huge advancement in health technology that will save millions of women to come.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi

One of the most wanted terrorist leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was pronounced dead on Wednesday following the bombings of an American F-16. His death was announced to the public on the following day, Thursday. It has recently been found, however, that Zarqawi had initially survived the bombings. "General Caldwell said that the American soldiers 'went into the process to provide medical care' to Mr. Zarqawi but that it was too late. " The two 500-pound bombs were dropped on a house where Zarqawi was said to have been metting with a spiritual guide, Sheik Abd al-Rahman. Five others were killed instantly.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was the Jordanian terrorist leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. It is believed that he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians. "The killing of Mr. Zarqawi provided a boost to the morale of the Iraqis and Americans trying to a new democratic state here, which Mr. Zarqawi and his followers were working so hard to destroy." United States President George W. Bush stated of the Zarqawi's death: ""It's certainly not going to end the violence, but it's going to help a lot."

FIFA 2006

Friday, June 9, 2006, Germany and Costa Rica went head to head in the opening game of the 2006 World Cup. The tournament is being held this year in Munich, Germany. The German team defeated Costa Rica in a closely matched game today, four to two. German offender Toresten Frings grabbed the victory in the eighty-seventh minute with a shot from thirty yards away.

The World Cup is the world’s most popular sporting event, as well as coverage for a live event. Although the phenomenon has not created as much of a stir as the Superbowl does every year within the United States, many citizens still race home to watch the big games. The first World Cup game was held in Uruguay in the 1930s and ever since the FIFA (Federation International Fútbol Association) has continued to gain popular viewings.

INFLATION

The Christian Science Monitor published an article about new economic risks and the risk of inflation. There are many problems in the stock market and with the stock market declining there is a threat of inflation in the United States. This does not necessarily mean there will be a stock market meltdown, but the crisis is causing a big possibility of inflation. The global economy has entered a phase in which its momentum is very difficult to read. The country is going to do its best to make sure no inflation is needed to be done.

This situation is similar to what happened in 1896. The Democratic Party wanted to standardize the value of the dollar to silver and opposed pegging the value of the United States dollar to a gold standard. The inflation that would result from the silver standard would make it easier for poor farmers to pay off their farm debts by increasing their revenue dollars. William Jennings Bryan believed this would protect against inflation. William Jennings Bryan promoted free silver for the better of the United States.

red sox

When the Red Sox are playing the Yankees, everyone knows about it. At this moment, the two teams have played each other 100 times since the year 2002. In those 100 games, the red sox have won 50 and the yankees have won 50. The two teams are not scheduled to play each other again until the middle of August. The similarities in these teams is what makes their rivalry so much more exciting.

People who are not from Boston or New York probably often find themselves wondering what started this rivalry in the first place. The answer is The Curse of the Bambino. Before the Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankee for a rather large sum of money, the Red Sox had won five of the first fifteen World Series. During those fifteen world series, the Yankees were never in the finals. After the sale, however, the Yankees went on to win 26 World Series, while the Red Sox won ZERO. In 2004, however, the Red Sox were finally able to "reverse the curse" as their fans would put it. It only took them 86 years to do it.

death duties ?

Republicans in the Senate failed to muster the votes needed to abolish the state tax on inherited wealth. The Senate was three votes short of the number required to bring the bill to an end. Senator Max Maucus said, "It appears unlikely that we are going to change many senators' minds on this issue, we will need time. It will take real effort. It will take real concessions." Currently, the government inflicts a tax of about 46 % on estates worth more than $2 million, or more than $4 million in the case of couples. Opponents say repeal of the tax would cost far less, in part because it would spark investment and because it would eliminate a reason for tax avoidance. But the tax’s advocates argue the cost of repeal could top $1 trillion, if the higher interest expense of bigger debits is taken into account.

Inheritance tax or death duty is a form of tax that is imposed upon the transfer of the property of the estate of a deceased person that is left to a person or organization. Supporters of the inheritance tax argue that it is not a death tax per se, but simply a tax on a transfer of wealth. Opponents argue that the tax is applied to the full estate, and not just the amount transferred, which arguably increases the effective transfer tax rate. In the United States, the tax is imposed only on the "taxable estate," which is generally less than the value of the full estate.

One Nation Under God.

The president of the United States, George Bush, has recently suggested that all immigrants should have to learn English. He feels that if every one in this country knows English, history, and civics then america can truly be "one nation under God." President Bush also wants to create a task force on new americans. This will help imigrants integrate into the american society more rapidly. With these suggestions in mind, America will hopefully return to the "melting pot" society that everyone had grown to love at one point.

It is very interesting to hear people talk about not wanting any more immigrants in the United States. This country was founded by immigrants. In the first have of the 17th century, the english began to set 13 well running colonies. These 13 colonies became the building blocks for what is today considered america. Everyone, except for the native americans, is a descendant of people from these colonies or of people from other countries who came to live in these colonies. Since everyone's heritage is from another country, the question is really when are people no longer considered immigrants?

movie time!!

Over the past few years, a new way of renting videos has been invented. This new invention is m0re commonly known under the name of Netflix. Since the first movie was made, people have continually wanted to be entertained. This resulted in the movie industry coming out with about 60,000 movies and television shows created. Renting the exact movie you want, however has become increasingly difficult. Most video rental stores only carry about 1500 titles. With Netflix, however, you have access to just about all 60,000 movie/ TV shows ever made. Many people think that technology is advancing at such a quick rate that this website will only last a few more years. I disagree with those people. Even though you will be able to download movies onto your computer in the near future, there will always be that one elusive movie sucking you back in to programs such as Netflix.

The first movies to be made in America were filmed in the early 1900's. Thhey started out black and white, completely silent, with subtitles interupting performances. Eventually movies moved on to include background music. Then, in the 1920's the films evovled into "talkies". Talkies were movies where you could actually hear what the actors and actresses were saying. They became very popular in the lives of americans everywhere. Movies would continue to evolve through the rest of the 20th century, reulting in 60,000 titles today in hundreds of different genres. I can only imagine where movies will go in the future.

Mcarthyism of the new millenium

An American citizen Syed Hashmi, 26, was arrested Tuesday as he attempted to board a flight at Londons Heathrow Airport. He is suspected of aiding Al-Qaeda in terror attacts. He accused of sending money and military gear to aid in Afghanistan rebel groups attacks on American troops in the Middle East. Mr. Hashmi, who had been living in England for two and half years, was charged in the United States because he is an American citizen. He was born in Pakistan and moved to the U.S. as a child. The arrest of Hashmi confirmed the suspicions of U.S. intelligence: New York City is indeed tied into international terrorism, and Al-Qaeda. If convicted of all four possible charges, he could face up to 54 years in prison.

This reminded me of the Rosenberg family, Julius and Ethel. The two were American members of the Communist Party, and convicted of espionage. The two were thought to be Russian spies, passing secrets of U.S. nuclear weapons to Russian intelligence. During the duration of the trial, the majority of the American population thought them guilty, and the jury showed no mercy. The two were found guilty of espionage after evidence proved that Julius had met with Russian agents and provided military secrets. The Rosenbergs were convicted on March 29, 1951, and sentenced to death. They were the only two American civilians to be executed for espionage-related activity during the Cold War. The couple was executed in the electric chair on June 19, 1953.

school race cases again?!

In a pair of cases that could reignite disputes over race and public education, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide what role affirmative action should play in assigning students to competitive spots in elementary and secondary schools.A ruling could help clarify when and to what lengths state and local officials can go to promote diversity in education from kindergarden through the twelfth grade.
Three years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed racial quotas as unconstitutional and offered a limited but powerful endorsement of affirmative action in higher education. The justices agreed race can be used as a factor in admissions to state-funded colleges, as part of an effort to achieve diversity. this angered some whites because they had more trouble getting into certain schools.

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outlawed racially separate public schools. it called for full integration in public facilities, but also causes riots due to the dissatisfaction of whites. Forced busing and an exodus of white students into private schools were part of the fallout in following years.

No relation… just thought it was odd

BlackBerry addict? - Hotel offers detox

CHICAGO (Reuters) - BlackBerry addicts have a crack at freedom when they check into one Chicago hotel: the manager will put the communications devices and others like them under lock and key for guests who want a break.

terrorists in Canada

Canadian television has reported that a group of men enrolled in a flight training program, but did so as part of a plan to use aircraft in an attack on Canadian targets. The men are now in custody on terror-related charges.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which cited allegations contained in court documents, said Wednesday Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, had enrolled in a training program at a Toronto-area college but then withdrew out of fear his activities would draw the attention of authorities. Durrani is one of 12 men and five youths being held after a weekend raid in and around Toronto.
Several are facing charges of participating in a terrorist group, while six are charged with planning an explosion that could cause death or serious injury.
The documents repeated allegations revealed by a lawyer at a court appearance Tuesday, that some in the group had planned to storm Parliament and take politicians hostage to force Canada to remove its troops from Afghanistan.
One of the terrorists was a former reservist who received weapons training. He plotted to storm Canada’s Parliament and behead the prime minister..
The arrests shocked Canadians not used to worrying about attacks on home soil.
This situation relates back to 9/11. Americans were not expecting such a tragic terrorist attack. Terrorists boarded flights leaving from Boston and were able to hijack the planes, crashing two into the twin towers in New York and another into the Pentagon. A fourth plane was hijacked and believed to be heading toward the White Houses. Passengers were able to take control and bring the plane down into a field in Pennsylvania.

Another stock market crash?! just kidding!

Stocks dropped Wednesday, extending investors' losses for the third straight session and pushing the Dow Jones industrial average below 11,000 for the first time since March 9. The Dow has lost more than 316 points this week; the selloff has also wiped out the Nasdaq composite index's gains for the year and put the Standard & Poor's 500 index less than 8 points away from its Dec. 31 close. Traders were unsure if the drop brought good buying opportunity or if it was foreshadowing for worse days ahead. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 71.24, or 0.65 percent, to 10,930.90. Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 7.70, or 0.61 percent, to 1,256.15, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 10.98, or 0.51 percent, to 2,151.80.

This article can be mildly compared to the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It started on Octover 24, Black Thursday, and continued through October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. However, the days leading up to the 29th had also seen enormous stock-market upheaval, with panic selling and vast levels of trading interspersed with brief periods of recovery.

3.4 million years old… oh boy!

In Australia, researchers have discovered fossils of microbes that are 3.4 million years old. The fossils, known as stromatolites, range in size from being smaller than a fingernail to taller than a man. These stromatolites are the same as what astrobiologists are looking for on Mars and other places for signs of life. They're produced layer by layer when dirt sediments mix with carbon dioxide expelled from bacteria, water, and minerals — all trapped in the microbes' sticky mucilage.
This article relates back to when dinosaur fossils were first discovered in the nineteenth century. It opened up a whole new world for scientists, enabling them to trace signs of life back further than they ever had. Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. At the end of the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, dinosaurs suffered a catastrophic extinction, which ended their dominance on land.

Somewhere Over The Gaybow...

An article in the New York Times caught my eye the other day. It talked about how Rufus Wainwright, the "first postliberation era gay pop star” and party boy will be playing Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall. Backed by a forty piece orchestra, Wainwright will reenact the late Garland’s performance there many years ago. Wainwright is very excited for the chance to portray this great performer. He states, "The songbook and the way these songs are built is so amazing that you could get out there and do it with a kazoo."

Judy Garland was a legend of a woman. She began her performance career at thirty months as Baby Gumm. Her most groundbreaking role was as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, which earned her much fame and a place in show business. Over her forty-seven year career, Garland managed to act in thirty-two films, star in thirty of her own television shows, appear in 1,100 night clubs, win a Tony award, marry five times, and record 100 singles. Judy died on June 22, 1969 by a drug overdose.


(The hyperlink button was not working.)
1st paragraph: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/fashion/sundaystyles/04RUFUS.html
2nd paragraph: http://www.jgdb.com/

diversity in schools

In the Christian Science Monitor there was an article examining race balances in public school. The Supreme Court agreed to examine cases involving two school districts trying to keep racially integrated schools. A ruling could help make when and to what lengths state and local officials can go to promote diversity in education from kindergarten through the twelfth grade more clear. Three years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed racial quotas as unconstitutional. The justices agreed race could be used as a factor in admissions to state-funded colleges, as part of an effort to achieve diversity. This made some whites angry because they had more trouble getting into certain schools.

The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. They outlawed racially segregated public schools. It called for full integration in public facilities, but it also caused riots because of many angry whites. Forced busing and an exodus of white students into private schools were part of the downfall in following years.

Cloning Phenomenon

The New York Times has an article discussing the new efforts in cloning. Scientists at Harvard and the University of California have been working vigorously to develop embryonic stem cells from adult cells of patients suffering from diseases. Right now, many researchers are running into a slight problem; none of the eggs seem to be working. Scientists collected over 2,000 eggs from healthy women, yet none of the tests were successful. Many animal eggs have been cloned, yet no humans have been cloned yet.

The idea of cloning was introduced into the world during 1962, when a biologist from Oxford University by the name of John Gurdon claimed to have cloned frogs from adult cells. He said to have used the nucleus of a fully differentiated adult intestinal cell to clone South African frogs. Gurdon’s results excited the scientific community, but some scientists remained skeptical and began finding flaws in his work.

Operation Overlord a.k.a. Hell on Earth 6.6.06

June 6, 2006, a day that has been jokingly referenced to as the day of the devil, marks the 62nd anniversary of the invasion of Normandy during World War II. The event, known as D-Day, has been acknowledged as the battle that changed the course of the war and, to some, one of the greatest events in history. Although the attack did not occur on 6.6.06, June 6, 1944 still signifies hell on earth to the soldiers who remember storming the beach years ago. Operation Overlord, the name given to the plan, used the skill of thousands of American, British and Canadian troops combined, along with the first official airborne troops, to undermine the powerful Nazi Germany. Today, 150 people gathered at Utah Beach, one section of the large coast, to honor veterans from the 101st Airbourne Division. “Never forget the horror of war,” stated D-Day soldier Jack Dickson, “and never forget that men died on these Normandy beaches to free the world.”

Recalling the summer reading prior to our AP course, the tome I read was Steven Ambrose’s historical account of D-Day. As I learned throughout my reading, although Winston Churchill was not an American, he had a profound effect as a leader on the United States, as well as the world. During a time of major crisis in his country, he was able to comfort his people while also taking hte necessary actions to bring an end to the devastating war, including forming an alliance with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Known as the “British Bulldog”, Churchill was one of the key members who united the World War II Allies to overpower the Axis countries, Germany, Italy and Japan. Winston Churchill served as the English Prime Minister for three terms, in which he lead his people through two wars, World War II and the Cold War, and established the foundation of the post-war order in England. Additional honors include being invested as a Knight of the Garter, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the Charlemagne Award. “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Shooting Civilians?

The Christian Science Monitor reported that US troops may have targeted and killed Iraqi civilians. American is become increasingly intolerant to war atrocities since World War II. It has been alleged that US marines shot and killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq last November. These allegations have already spawed two military investigations. John Allen Williams a political scientists commented " marines are as horrified as anyone at the possibility that the stories coming out of Haditha are true." The initial account given by the marines said they were fired upon but forensics tells a different story. This week military officials in Iraq were quick in reporting yet another incident involving Iraqi civilians. Being kept from knowing about earlier atrocities, the meadie is now more eager to investigate and expose any new ones. The role of the United States soldier in Iraq is as a liberator and not an avenger. Many see these agressive acts as violating the high standard of behavoir expected from those claiming to be liberators.


During the Vietnam war, American soldiers suspected the Quang Nai province as a base for guerilla forces of the People's Liberation Armed Forces and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam better known as the Viet Cong. A company of soldiers was sent to the Vietnamese city of Mai Lai and were advised by the US Military that any genuin civilians would have left their homes to go to market by 7 a.m. They were told that they could assume that all of those who remained behind were Viet Cong or Viet Cong sympathizers. When they arrived the soldiers found no insurgents in the villiage but enraged that another band of soldiers had been killed there previously they opened fire on the people of Mai Lai. The soldiers killed hundreds of civilians who were primarily old men, women, children and babies. Some of the villages were even tortured and raped. Villagers were herded into a ditch and executed by automatic firearms.

So Cool to be Homeschooled

The New York Times reported a rise in the number of parents choosing homeschooling for their children. Their reason for homeschooling is different from the traditional reasons. These parents are not trying to get more religion to their children or rebelling against the tyranny of the government's hands in school; most have no problem at all with ordinay education. Most are choosing homeschooling for their children because traditional education does not fit their lifestyles.

"For someone who travels a lot or has a parent who travels and wants to keep the family together, it's an excellent choice," said Lisa's mother, Trish Mazzoni, who with her husband owns a speedboat company.

Although homeschooling is convenient, teachers charge from $70 to $110 an hour. Depending on how many hours a day these teachers work, to educate one child might cost upward of $30,000 a year. Since 1999 the number of students being homeschooled has increased by 29%.

Homeschooling is an educational alternative in which children are educated at home by their parents. The diferrent cultures of the early American Colonies dictated whether they had home schooling or public schooling. In the assachusetts Bay Colony a city with a certain population was required to have a school to educate the children. Cities with large populations were required to have a secondary school. These schools were usually supported by local churchs. The first tax supported public school was in Dedhma, Massachusetts. The New England interest in education was because of the puritan culture which required all people to be able to read the bible. In the southern colonies conditions were different. Cities were scarce because houses were usually separted by acres of plantation. Most southern children whose families could afford them an education, were homeschooled.

Pneumonia? Guess Again!

Today, June 5, 2006 is the 25th anniversary of the first report of the AIDS virus. On this day in 1981, a group of five healthy gay men reported cases of pneumonia. Doctors soon learned of a foreign disease that, to their knowledge, had no name, no means of spreading, no treatment, and no cure. The name given to the disease, AIDS, was found to be spreading through gay men groups as the HIV virus. AIDS has continued to spread, most rapidly in Africa and Asia.

AIDS is the deadly disease “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome”. The beginning of the disease is known as the HIV virus. Today, the virus has been discovered to travel by unprotected sexual intercourse, re-used needles, and prenatal infection. Although there is still no cure, there are many medications available that cause the HIV virus to slow down its progress, as well as a test the helps detect AIDS in its earlier stages. “The United Nations estimates that today, HIV…has infected more than 65 million people, 25 million whom have died.” Researchers continue to work vigorously in search of a cure for this fatal disease.

AIDS Anniversary

On June 5, 1981, in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a brief note was taken of a peculiar cluster of pneumonia cases in five normal and healthy gay men. This note was the first official mention of AIDS, which at the time had no name, no transmission, no treatment, and no cure. Soon after this event in 1981, half the young men who were gay were either infected, stigmatized, ravaged by rare infections and cancers, or died. It soon reached into neighborhoods already burdened by poverty and drug abuse. This disease came to be known as "invariably fatal" by most people throughout the world. The United Nations estimates that today, H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, has infected more than 65 million people, 25 million of whom have died. AIDS has infected men and women of all religions, races, and ages. It affects everyone in a different way, whether it is a direct infection, or a person's family member, friend, or lover who has been infected. It continues to spread, and a cure is yet to be found. AIDS is a terrible, terrible virus, killing many every year, and it will continue to do this unless a cure is found.
No disease has equalled the amount of death and sickness that AIDS has caused. In America, the first discovery of HIV was found in an American teenager who died without a solid cause of death. In 1981, several men with pneumonia were treated with a very powerful drug which usually never requires a refill. Soon, the patients needed refills, which raised some serious eyebrows. Also, a cancer which usually occured in the elderly started to occur in several young gay men. Through these strange happenings, AIDS was soon identified, and it became the epidemic it is today in America.

racial influence

There has recently been an article in the New Times discussing whether or not there should be racial factors in dteremining where a child goes to school. So far, there has been cases in Seattle and Louisville, Kentucky. Davison Douglas said that this is the "inconstitutionality of affirmitive action." It has yet to be decided whether race will become a factor or not. Three years ago, however, the supreme court decided to allow colleges and universities to take race into consideration when choosing their students. The question is should this be allowed in elementary and high schools as well?

It is somewhat strange that people are concerned today about issues that were seemingly taken care of decades ago. In the 1970's, it was decided that schools around boston were too segregated and that students should be bused from roxbury to South Boston and vice versa. Even though the concept seemed to be a good one, the people of these towns did not take to it well. Upon the beginning of busing, parents were signing their children up for catholic schools to keep them away from the blacks coming in from Roxbury. Once the busing finally did begin, their was an uproar. Riots were a regular occurence, police turned against the crowds, and people died. After all of this commotion, however, the busing did not stop. After about a year, another city, Charlestown, was included. The busing there was welcomed with just as much violent excitement. It appears that no matter how far along your society seems to be, race will always be an issue in the school systems and the rest of the world.

Blacks vs. Hispanics

The Christian Science Monitor reported the growth of Black and Hispanic friction in Los Angelos. A field dominated by blacks for the past decades has now been usurped by the rising Hispanic immigrant populations. "If you drive across this city, you will see 99 percent of all construction is being done by Hispanics.... You will see no African-American males on these sites, and that is a big change," says Mr. Vaughn. Across America there is debate among inner city blacks about whether immigrating hisanics, illegal or not are saturating the job market in stores, restaurants, hotels, manufacturing plants, and elsewhere where blacks once dominated. The main cause of the clash is the tendency of both blacks and hispanics to gravitate in towards the inner city and the same low skill job markets. Vernon Briggs, a Cornell University professor who reseraching immigration policy commented that in the era of mass imigration no group has benefitied less or suffered more than african americans. Some want to completely get rid of the immigrants, some want to work with them and others want to try and figure out how to regulate it but what is certain is that hispanics and black are duking it out for jobs, housing, education, and healthcare.

The first American Nativist party was founded in mid 19th century. This party was a reaction to the serge of Irish Catholic immigrants. The people had an intense fear that immigrants would storm the country upsetting the social order and stealing the jobs of born Americans. In 1850, Charles B. Allen founded a secret nativist society called the Order of the Star Spangled Banner who came to be known as the Know Nothings. They were labeled this because if asked about the secret order they would reply " i know nothing." The nativists went public in 1954 forming the American Party. Their anti-Irish party called for a longer waiting time between immigrant and naturalization. The American Party was denounced by mainstrem politics as " biggoted nativists."

Being French in Maine

The New York Times reported that after a long time of being scored in Maine, the french population is making a come back. Throughout the 1950's and 1960's French immigrants to Maine were supressed. French born Americans were reprimanded for speaking French in schools, and young children were told to translate their French names into english. Four years ago, the State began to recognize the state's french immigrants with an annual French- American Day with a pledge of Allegiance being read in French and the national anthem with French and english verses. In 2002, Main elected its first openly French-American congressman Michale H. Michaud.

"My dad grew up speaking only French and went to school and got teased by other
kids, and he wanted to spare his kids that experience, so both my wife and I are
kind of a generation that got skipped," said Bob Michaud, whose son, Alexandre,
attends second grade at L'École Française, 45 minutes from home. "I'm doing it
because I want Alex to learn more about our heritage and background."

The revival of French culture includes French-American patois, parisian language and cirrulum and L'Ecole Francaise.

LAST AP HISTORY BLOG. EVER. RAISE THE ROOF. RAISE IT.

According to the Washington Times,Idaho Gem, the world's first mule clone, and Idaho Star, both came up short at a recent mule race in Nevada on Sunday. Idaho Gem finished in third while Idaho Star finished in seventh, both falling short of victory at the 20th annual Winnemucca Mule Races. The clones were born three years ago and carry identical DNA taken from a fetus of the same parents that produced a champion mule racer. The horses were cloned to help researches discover cancer treatments since horses are less susceptible to cancer.
Dolly, a ewe, was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. The goal of the research was the reliable reproduction of animals genetically modified to produce therapeutic proteins in their milk. She was cloned at the Roslin Institute in Scotland and lived there until her death when she was 6. Her birth was announced on February 22, 1997. DOlly developed premature arthiritis by the time she was 5. On February 14, 2003 it was announced that Dolly had a progressive lung disease and died.

Border Patrol Draws Scrutiny as Its Role Grows

With a proposed major expansion, the Border Patrol may soon overtake the Federal Bureau of Investigations, or FBI, as the largest federal law enforcement agency. But, Border Patrol is having some major problems with recruitment and training difficulties, and several agents are facing accusations of misconduct in the work place. The Department of Homeland Security will audit the Border Patrol's recruitment, hiring, and training practices to determine if it can handle the rapid expansion. David V. Aguilar, the man in charge of the Border Patrol, told the U.S. Government that it was absolutely necessary to have the Border Patrol to ensure national security. While the Border Patrol is trying to get as many new guards as possible, it will take time to train them, therefore, the U.S. National Guard is helping out along the border. Sadly, it is taking even longer to hire new guards, due to extremely long background-checks in order to ensure that the guard will perform his job the right way. It is a great wonder if Congress will provide the money in coming years to hire agents for the Patrol and whether the agency can bring in enough quality recruits to meet President Bush's goals. Last year, with 11,106 agents, the Border Patrol arrested 1.2 million people on charges of illegally crossing into the United States; in 1995, with 4,876 agents, it arrested 1.3 million. Arrests have gone up and down every year between then and now, and will most likely rise in the coming years.

Relating to American history, the Border Patrol traces its roots to a Texas Ranger named Jeff Milton, one of the last of the Old West "gunslingers". He became famous by hunting down Geronimo and patrolling the Mexican border in the 1880's with horse and pistol.
This also reminds me of the late 1800s in American History, in which immigrants from all over the world came to America. While these millions of people came to America for freedom and safety, they were treated with racism by many nativists. Eventually, these people were accepted into America, but it seems that every new group of people who migrate to this country are subject to harsh racism.

Gunmen in Iraq Execute 20 Bus Passengers

A terrible event occurred in Iraq this past week, involving the deaths of many people. On June 4, insurgent gunmen set up a fake checkpoint north of an Iraqi city, stopped two minibuses and executed 20 passengers, including students on their way to final exams. It was reported by the police that three vehicles of men arrived, all dressed in fake police uniforms, set up a fake checkpoint, and stopped two buses and a car. The gunmen then went on to the buses, and shot the passengers to death. Two passengers were able to survive, while 20 died. Besides this terrible act, in the same area the day before, eight human heads were found alongside the road, left with poorly written notes. These heads were collected by police, and te families of the victims buried them properly. These killings, along with recent other ones, help the show how bad security has gotten in the city of Baghdad as of late. Insurgents have been able to move around and complete all of their terrorist actions in the country lately, and no one has stopped them. The violence just continues to escalate in Iraq, and the people and leaders of Iraq are losing hope. Mr. Pachachi even said, "I used to be an incurable optimist, but optimism is a very difficult thing to have at present."
This story reminds me of the historical event that occurred in Munich, Germany in 1972. During the Olympics at this time, several Palestinian men snuck into the Games, and kidnapped and took hostage several Olympians from Israel. The men were part of a terrorist groyp known as Black September, and later killed 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer. The group wanted free passage of 234 arab prisoners from Israel, but the demands were never reached. It was a completely useless and hanus crime to kill these athletes. There was no reason to murder them just for a prisoner release, which failed anyway. This brutal and useless crime reminds me greatly of what happened in Iraq. These useless crimes need to be avoided and stopped, which requires help from the American army and government. It is greatly up to America to help stop these crimes in Iraq.

Gay marriage controversy...AGAIN!

President Bush has once again brought the controversial topic of same-sex marriage to the lime light this past week. Bush, whose popularity numbers have dropped over recent months, has prepared two speaches to set the stage for the Senate’s decision on a new constitutional amendment. The amendment would ban gay marriage in all states, permitting solely civil unions between homosexual couples. “He believes the insitution of marriage is between a man and a woman”, states White House Representative Tony Snow about President Bush. Many critics, however, believe this whole debate was sparked hoping to gain more support from the Republican conservatists for Bush’ midterm elections. Regardless, the Senate will begin debate on Monday and vote Wednesday on the matter.

Today, gay marriage is just as controversial as the theory of evolution was when Charles Darwin proposed the theory in the early 1900s. The largest debate over evoluti8on was in 1925 when science teacher John T. Scopes refused to teach the “Big Bang” theory and instead taught the new idea of evolution. The occurrence was brought to court, where famous political leader William Jennings Bryan tried against the case. Despite Scope’s defeat, the trial attracted the attention of thousands of US citizens and is today known as the Scopes “Monkey” Trial.

THE SPELLING BEEEEE

The spelling bee. A national hallmark, kept close to many hearts. I never participated in a spelling bee in elememtary school. Every year I was the alternate, living in the shadow of Jackie Woods. But this is not the time for me to dwell on the past, because Thursday night, the U.S. crowned a now queen of spelling, Katharine Close. After much hype from a new musical, documentary, and feature film, the national spelling bee was, for the first time, broadcasted on prime time television. The kids who have achieved national spelling bee participant status are some of the smartest and most motivated in the country. Studying for hours a night for years and years.

The National Spelling Bee begain 88 years ago in Louisville, KY. In 1941, the Scripps Howard News Company aquired the sponsorship for the bee, and since then it has been called the Scripps National Spelling Bee. As well as covering the 50 U.S. states, several competitors also come from Canada, the Bahamas, New Zealand, and Europe. Students participate in bees locally, regionally, and eventually nationally.

Pipe Bombs. Yikes.

The Washington Post recently reported that police found pipe bombs and other potentially harmful materials during a house raid in Nashville, Tenn. After recieving a tip from his estranged wife, police searched the home of William Matthews, 55. This led to the discovery of pipe bombs and a jar containing the potentially deadly poison ricin. They also found five gun silencers, a bowl containing ricin residue and bomb-making materials. It is unknown at this time what Williams intended to do with the substances, but there is an ongoing investigation. No charges have been filed yet.
Pipe bombs, if released into the public, have the capacity to leave extreme destruction in their path. On July 26, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing took place. The right-wing extremist, Eric Robert Rudolph, was responsible for this attack during the Summer Olympics. Sometime after midnight, Rudolph planted a green backpack containing a shrapnel-laden pipe bomb underneath a bench near the base of a sound tower, then fleed the scene. At 1:20am, the bomb exploded. Two people were killed and 111 were injured by the blast.

Computers As Small As Index Cards!?

Technology is constantly changing. An article in the New York Times discusses the newest computer, which weighs in at only fourteen ounces. This portable, mini PC can also be connected to a wireless keyboard of normal size. The small screen and compact size is ideal for constant travelers and people who just do not have a lot of room to store a computer. These computers do many of the same tasks as any normal sized computer, such as playing movies, but are limited in activity because of the screen size. With time this piece of technology can only advance into a smaller, better computer.

So now there are tiny computers, but at one time a person could walk inside of a computer. The first computer was invented by Konrad Zuse between 1935-1938. Zuse was a construction engineer for the Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of W.W. II. He created the first fully functional computer in 1941, which was called Z3. The computer was so large that someone would have to walk inside of it to fix any problems. Zuse would also use old movie film to store data and information for Z3. Yes, the computer was that big.

Fashion, Fashion, Fashion!

In the New York Times, there is an article about Macy’s department stores and its quest to obtain a better sense of style for their customers. Executives meet monthly to discuss latest trends and how to transform their products into what the consumer wants. Many of the executives have a hard time figuring out what teenagers want, because the style changes rapidly and what was cool one month and not so cool by the next. At the moment, it seems that leggings are the new craze. Teenage girls are buying this item left and right. It began with black leggings and is now moving quickly to floral leggings with lace trim. Who knows that the style will be next month?
This article made me think about past fashion trends in U.S. History. The item that stuck out to me was bell-bottoms, during the 1960s. The bell-bottom pants hit mainstream in 1960, and made a lasting impression for years. The pants were lower and exposed the navel. Also, the pants were fit to show the figure. Teenagers quickly accepted the new trend, while older women still seemed to be wearing pants, such as “mom jeans”. The bell-bottom was a groundbreaking product and has influenced young women’s apparel for years.