political essays analyzed
December 9, 2010 Leave a Comment
This is official notice that for the month of December, blog posts will not be published on a regular schedule due to both exams and the holiday season. Posts will begin to follow every other day posting beginning in the new year. Still continue to check for updates and I will continue to still write, just not as often.
To fellow students: good luck on finals!
November 29, 2010 Leave a Comment
*This is less of a critique than it is just a simple opinion from a concerned citizen and neighbour.
For those who are unaware, a Markham home invasions occurred earlier this month in the town of Markham. In a quiet residential area, three young men entered a home without force and demanded money. Their invasion resulted in the shooting and death of an elderly woman and the critical shooting of her husband. The daughter had been reported to have been bound upstairs but left unharmed while the brother was away at university.The father was taken away and treated for his serious injuries.
Burial ceremonies took place in the following weeks for the mother, lead by her children. The three men responsible for the direct shooting are still at large and later in the month, the daughter Jennifer Pan was charged for the crime, including a first degree murder charge. She has been held in custody since.
When this crime first made headlines in the Toronto and GTA area, my initial concern was the safety of my own family and home as we live in the same vicinity. A seemingly random yet deadly crime committed in my own neighbourhood sent alarm bells off in my mind. But as we’ve come to find out, the actuality of totally random crimes such as these happening are quite rare.
If that wasn’t news enough, I’ve come to discover that I once roamed the halls of high school with Jennifer Pan herself. I distinctly remember seeing her in band classes, our only common ground. I never spoke to her but she never stood out at anyone extraordinary. She was a young, fairly shy, talented girl from what I could tell.
It’s bad enough to kill someone but to seek to kill your own family is another story. No motive has been released yet but it’s hard to imagine any motive that deemed suitable enough to resort to murder. At 24, Jennifer Pan is at an age to have a completely separate life from that of her family. If it were money woes, I’m sure there are possible jobs out there for her or family/friends willing to help out. If her parents were abusive in any way, she was old enough to leave her home and settle far away from them. If it were for insurance money, I suspect that a sizable amount of that money would go towards her older brother and if it was just plain vengence, well then…she probably deserves what she’s about to get.
It’s a scary thought when you have to consider your safety around family. As a parent, to foster a home and provide what you could to nurture an individual only to die at their hands is the most sickening thought of all. To realize that the little child that once said ‘momma’ and ‘dada’ turns on you for whatever reason should send a chill down your back. And yet, it’s not as rare as one would think. There are certainly far common ways to die but death by family member isn’t a freak accident that happens once a year.
I could even understand if in some fit of complete rage, she attacked her parents resulting in death for which she could claim utter insanity such as the attack of the Greyhound incident a few years ago. Even though we aren’t aware of her exact role in this incident, it is evident that she was the mastermind behind this (or else charges such as the ones given to her wouldn’t have been laid) which leads one to believe that this crime was something that was thoroughly explored before its implementation. A calculated act of a cold-hearted daughter.
I don’t know how I would continue to live if I were in the position of the brother or father. How does one continue on with life knowing that someone so close to you wanted you gone for whatever reason? If, for example, my younger sister did such a thing, I don’t suppose I could ever bring myself to sleep again.
Jennifer Pan is in custody and awaits trial. The search for the three men continues. Mr. Pan continues to recover and under police watch as he could be the sole identifier of the men-at-large.
November 23, 2010 1 Comment
For those who might not have been aware, there was a somewhat huge issue down in the University of Central Florida as 200 students admit to cheating on a mid-term after being confronted in a lecture from their professor about the information and data he had gathered from the test. Below is the lecture recorded.
In summary, a mid-term had been given out for a senior statics management course of approx 600 students. The test had approx about 50 question. Through various means, it came to the attention of the professor, Richard Quinn, that the results of the mid-term were significantly different (and overall higher) than it had ever been before. After running more statistical information, along with other sources, he deduced that about a third of the class had cheated. They did so by accessing the test bank in advance which held all the questions and answers, and using that to improve their scores. Investigations through academic affairs were launched and Internet traffic was monitored to try to figure out the original source of the cheating and all those who had become involved. Their investigations were going so well that Prof. Quinn would be confident enough in providing a list of names as to who cheated exactly on the test.
The grades from the test were tossed and TA’s (teach assistants) worked round the clock to write a completely new and original midterm and final. Prof Quinn provided the guilty with an opportunity to confessing, stating that failure to do so could result in an inability to graduate. Confessing would require the student to take an ethics course, remain in the class and have any allegations dropped from their records. Those who did not comply could face failure or expulsion as mandated through academic affairs.
I have done my best to educate myself since reading this article the prevalence for cheating in the school system. I have tried to read the comments from both students and educators but ultimately I can only truly understand one side of the argument; the side of students. Read more of this post
November 18, 2010 Leave a Comment
For those who haven’t had the opportunity to read this article, I’d suggest that you do as it has sparked a significant amount of interest in the last little while. At the time of its popularity I was much too upset at the article and its author to give a clear-headed and calm analysis so after taking some time, talking to several people, I was able to reflect the situation better.
I wanted to write a response to this articles, the comments its received, the publicity it has gotten and to the author. I feel it is important for me to discuss the issues brought up as I feel closely connected and deeply offended by the comments made. But first, a summary to outline the keys points and the most alarming statements.
The article, with its already insulting title Should “Fatties” Get a Room? (Even on TV?), was published online on Oct 25. After becoming aware of a television show by her editor (which Maura Kelly the author admits to have never watched because “most television shows are a kind of junk food for the mind and body. The boob tube gives us an excuse to turn off both our brains and our bodies and probably does a helluva lot to contribute to the obesity problem”) featuring the romantic adventures of a couple dealing with their weight issues, Maura felt the need to address the question “Do you really think people feel uncomfortable when they see overweight people making out on television?” posed to her. Her response was anything but tasteful.
He article proceeds to tear apart the lines between obese, overweight and fat to blur them into one arena meant for people to be socially outcasted. She picks at the character’s in the T.V. shows appearance, claiming that there was no way they could be healthy and then making the horribly insulting comment “I think I’d be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other … because I’d be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything.” She continues right after with an equally insulting statement “I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room”.
Other disturbing comments include:
September 17, 2010 Leave a Comment
I came across this while reading someone else’s blog and was instantly intrigued with the idea. Energy usage doesn’t always come immediately to mind when you think about blogs. After all, we’re saving paper by keeping it vitural right? Yes, but you do use up a significant amount of energy via your laptops which can lead to carbon emissions and a steep carbon footprint at the end of the year. This awesome website (don’t be thrown off by the German words, there is English on there) is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of blogs by planting a tree for each blog submitted.
According to the website, it works something like this…
“How much carbon dioxide does your blog create?
According to a study by Alexander Wissner-Gross, PhD, physicist at Harvard University and environmental activist, an average website causes about 0.02g (0,0008oz.) of carbon dioxide for each visit. Assuming an average blog gets 15,000 visits a month, it has yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 3,6kg (8lb.). This can mainly be tracked back to the immense energy usage from (mainframe) computers, servers, and their cooling systems.” – How It Works
If you want to participate, here’s how:
Just write a short blog post about our programme “My blog is carbon neutral” and include one of the buttons below on your site (ideally in the sidebar). Send the link to your blog to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de and we plant a tree for you, neutralising the carbon dioxide emissions of your blog. The trees will be planted planted from spring of 2010 through late summer of 2010 by the Arbor Day Foundation. After the reforestation of the Plumas National Forest the tree planting will be continued in another National Forest. So for now, you can confidently state that your trees are being planted in Plumas unless you hear differently from us! For more information about how and where the trees are planted, see the NEWS section.
Just a few easy steps to make it green:
Note: We plant a tree for each domain. Please copy the html-code and paste it in your blog. Make sure the carbon-neutral button works, the html-code must not be changed. Use the carbon-neutral-white button for a white background or the carbon-neutral-transparent button for different colored backgrounds. If you need help, please contact CO2-neutral@kaufda.de. We are looking forward to planting your tree!
I’m doing my part by writing about it and sharing this with you guys and I sincerely hope you’ll join in. Carbon Neutral or not, planting trees is just a beautiful way to enhance our world. Without them, we’d live in pure concrete jungles and that’s just not pretty to look at. You’re gonna blog anyways, might as well blog about this :)
I came across this while reading someone else’s blog and was instantly intrigued with the idea. Energy usage doesn’t always come immediately to mind when you think about blogs. After all, we’re saving paper by keeping it vitural right? Yes, but you do use up a significant amount of energy via your laptops which can lead to carbon emissions and a steep carbon footprint at the end of the year. This awesome website (don’t be thrown off by the German words, there is English on there) is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of blogs by planting a tree for each blog submitted.
According to the website, it works something like this…
“How much carbon dioxide does your blog create?
According to a study by Alexander Wissner-Gross, PhD, physicist at Harvard University and environmental activist, an average website causes about 0.02g (0,0008oz.) of carbon dioxide for each visit. Assuming an average blog gets 15,000 visits a month, it has yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 3,6kg (8lb.). This can mainly be tracked back to the immense energy usage from (mainframe) computers, servers, and their cooling systems.” – How It Works
If you want to participate, here’s how:
Just write a short blog post about our programme “My blog is carbon neutral” and include one of the buttons below on your site (ideally in the sidebar). Send the link to your blog to CO2-neutral@kaufda.de and we plant a tree for you, neutralising the carbon dioxide emissions of your blog. The trees will be planted planted from spring of 2010 through late summer of 2010 by the Arbor Day Foundation. After the reforestation of the Plumas National Forest the tree planting will be continued in another National Forest. So for now, you can confidently state that your trees are being planted in Plumas unless you hear differently from us! For more information about how and where the trees are planted, see the NEWS section.
Just a few easy steps to make it green:
Note: We plant a tree for each domain. Please copy the html-code and paste it in your blog. Make sure the carbon-neutral button works, the html-code must not be changed. Use the carbon-neutral-white button for a white background or the carbon-neutral-transparent button for different colored backgrounds. If you need help, please contact CO2-neutral@kaufda.de. We are looking forward to planting your tree!
I’m doing my part by writing about it and sharing this with you guys and I sincerely hope you’ll join in. Carbon Neutral or not, planting trees is just a beautiful way to enhance our world. Without them, we’d live in pure concrete jungles and that’s just not pretty to look at. You’re gonna blog anyways, might as well blog about this :)
