Change

I read an article from the star tribune called, Use Stimulus to Modernize Minnesota by Walt Ling. This article is about Minnesota's chance to prepare for the future to come. Many people have lost their jobs because of the economic crisis we are having. Last year alone Minnesota spent billions of dollars just to repair bridges after 35w. After realizing how much time and money were spent on reconstructing bridges and roadways, many people thought that instead of spending money on things that don't need to be fixed the government should start spending more money on modernizing our society. Recently, the government has asked IBM what the impact of $30 billion in stimulus funds for three areas -- "smart" electrical grids, health-care information technology and broadband technology. IBM let the government know that that this modernization change would cause 900,000 job opportunities.

The War is Over? WHAT!

I read an article called "Faux New York Times Issue Inspires Hope, Declares Iraq War Over". This article is about the a flame of hope that washed over a group of people on a New York subway, only to get it extinguished again. On November 12, a group of people called the "Yes Man" group made a bunch of fake New York Times news papers declaring the war in Iraq to be over. The team handed them out on the subway one morning, expecting to get laughs or at least smerks, But the reactions were everything but that. This News paper was not ment to upset people, or anger them, it was just simply to get people thinking. Thinking about "What if the war really was over" or if we our country would stilll have financial problems. Thats exactly what this paper did, it let the readers imagine a world with no war. Although this article caused some to get their hopes up, many people are still hoping for the war to ebd soon.

Stem Cells

I read an article on New York Times.com called "How India Reconciles Hindu Values and Biotech" by Pankaj Mishra. In America stem cell research was banned, which saddened many American scientists, but made many Indian scientists very happy. Stem cell research is a chance for Indian researchers to get "lucky". Stem cell research has opened up many job oppurtunitys, it is also helping with medical issues, scientists are learning new treatments for diabetes and Parkinson's disease, to create human skin, blood and replacement organs that are matched to their intended patients. some are even trying to clone endangered species. Although the old hinduism would not allow stem cell research, the new and improved religion does, helping people find cures for the sick. In some places where buddism is the main religion, like South Korea, Scintists recreat stem cells claiming they are just recreating life like the reincarnation cycle.

Mishra, Pankaj " How India Reconciles with Hindu Values and Biotech". New York Times. 21 August 2005. February 15 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/weekinreview/21mishra.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Working mothers

I read an article in New York Times called "Working Mothers Find Peace on the Road" by Lisa W. Foderaro. This article talks about how in America, most families the father is working to support the kids, and their wife. But the number of working mothers and stay at home fathers is growing rapidly. For many others, work business trips become like mini vacations. They can escape cooking, cleaning and things like homework. Although businesswomen are less likely to travel on a business trip then men, when they do it takes a lot of preparation. The need to prepare the smooth running of the house and make sure everything will be okay for the time period their gone. Although to many women an out of town business trip is relaxing, it is always very emotional too. Mothers having to leave their children when they go away is always sad.

rice

I read the article Mrs. Jarrett linked to her blog about rice farmers in Africa, called West African Villagers Stake Their Fortunes on the Future Price of Rice by Lydia Polgreen. It is about Rice farmers who are risking everything to make a profit. Since the prices of food are so high all over the globe, some people are trying to take advantage of it. Farmers can either double their profits or loose everything. Mame Bassine Gaye, is a rice producer who this year went all out to increase production, borrowing money from from a local credit cooperative and family members. She stated “If I win, I will win big,” she said. “But if I lose, I’ll lose big. I am worried because of my debts. If you don’t pay, they cut you off. I could lose everything.” Which is just about what every other rice farmer is thinking this year sonce there is so much competition.

I read the article that Mrs. Jarrett linked to her blog, Struggling but Still a Bit of America, by Dan Barry. This article is about the hardships that the people from he Alaskan tribe of Yup’ik Eskimos have to go through, and how they are trying to keep their native traditions alive. They work hard to keep native traditions, like the language, the care and respect for elders, and the refusal to waste food like salmon. About one third of the population of the small town of AKIACHAK do not have running water, and the prices of food and such has gone up so high that the many families have to catch there own food, like moose or fish. Although the city is trying to modernize, many people feel that they would like to preserve some of the eskimo culture. One civilian is fighting for presidential ballots in their native language. Many of the townspeople have had to leave their homes because of the high prices, but the culture manages to still keep on.
Barry, Dan. "Remote and Struggling but Still a Bit of America." New York Times. 5 October 2008. 15 March 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/us/06land.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1>

Earthquake!

In the article, Superstitions About Quake Meet the Web, Irritating the Chinese Authorities, by Andrew Jacobs, the author is debating about being able to predict the coming of natural disasters like earthquakes. Many people in China think that there were signs of the deadly disaster that was coming, like droughts or invasions of toads. These people thought that these events were "signs" wondered why the government did not do anything about them. Because of the comments regarding the governments actions, Four people were taken to jail for spreading rumors about authorities. The culture has also been suspicious about predicting other things, like when a ruler would end his reign. The Government also even had the Bejing olympics set on a date with as many eights as possible starting them on August 8, 8-08-2008 at 8:08 pm. They did this because in their culture eight is a lucky number and they wanted as least disasters to happen as possible.