[CESL] [CESL Today Home]

Recycling’s Next Frontier: Poop As Paper

By Hiroyuki Asano

I found “Recycling’s next frontier: poop as paper” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6974584/). In this article, it mentions that people can make paper from animal poop. Also, this article mentions an Australian company that tries to produce Kangaroo poop to make good quality paper. According to this article, Africa and Asia already use paper which is made from elephants’ poop. The Thai center said they can make 115 sheets of paper from 100 pounds of dung and this center sells that elephants draw a picture on the paper. In this article, it also mentions that Manager Joanna Gari who suggests that this paper has a great value and a good effect for kids.

In my opinion, this project, which makes paper from animals’ poop, will help to decrease global warming. We use a lot of papers that are made from trees. Trees help to decrease the CO2 in the air, so if we protect the trees we can protect the earth from warming up. If the poop papers are getting popular, we should use these papers because universities use a lot of paper. Today I received 5 papers, with 16 students in my class, so we already used 80 sheets of paper today. Also, this school has 5 classes so maybe we already used over 100 pounds of elephant dung today.

Mini Programs in Ad Breaks

By Darren Chen

I found this article, “New Tack: Mini Programs in Ad Breaks” (http://online.wsj.com/ public/article/SB117556940245457985-cq__cbPOJt a86U3eKbTxK1p9L_8_20080402.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top), online at The Wall Street Journal website. It is written by Brian Steinberg and is about a new media trend. To capture viewers’ attention during ads, the media giant, Fox network, will put short animated clips about a taxi driver known as "Oleg" during ad breaks (you can see part of the clip in the link above).  Other major broadcast networks, like ABC, NBC, and CBS, are all trying on similar concepts, though Fox's plan seems to be the first one. However, even experts of ads can't tell whether these ideas will work. For example, the problem with Fox is that the program is too short, comparing to the whole length of the ads, to stop viewers from changing the channel. Moreover, competition from other media makes the TV network more and more hard to survive.

I love creative Ads. In my opinion, I think the essential question is whether the ads are fun enough. We can see a lot of creative ads spread not only through the TV but also through the Internet. In the information age, if the Ads are fantastic enough, the producer can save all his efforts to catch the viewers’ attention. For example, there was an ad in Taiwan so famous that the actors in the ad became stars. It's about a love story and had three episodes. Another example is that a lot of slogans come from Ads. In conclusion, I think the network companies should focus on the "Ad" itself, not on the ways to attract people to watch the ad.

Which Player Is an Appropriate Winner?

By Ryo Kawaguchi

I found this article (http://www.msnbc.msn. com/id/13801274/) which is entitled, Despite head-butt, Zidane wins Golden Ball. I retrieved it from msnbc.com, and it is published by the Associated Press. The article discusses Zinedine Zidane, who was a captain of France, and how he won the Golden Ball award for the tournament’s best player in the vote by journalists, even though he was sent off for head-butting Marco Materazzi, who was one of the Italian players at the final of the World Cup 2006 in Germany. According to the article, he actually couldn’t perform very well in some games, including the opening game, but he showed some great performances in many games as he digested and won some games. Comparatively, Cannavaro, who was a captain of Italy, led an Italian defense and lost only two goals in the tournament. The final was his 100th game as a captain for Italy. According to the article, many critics or experts voted for Cannavaro as the winner. Diego Maradona, who was a winner in the World Cup in1986, also tipped him.

In my opinion, Cannavaro was the more appropriate player to win the Golden Ball award than Zidane. Actually, I like Zidane’s performance very much, but I think Cannavaro performed better than Zidane, at least at this World Cup. I have some reasons why Cannavaro was the more appropriate player to get the award than Zidane.

First, Cannavaro played an active part in every single game, even though his position was defense. He led an Italian defense and lost only two goals in the tournament.

Second, Italy finally won the World Cup. The best player should be selected from the team who won the World Cup.

Third, Zidane broke the rules, and was sent off at the final. According to “Zidane Says Italian Insulted Mother, Sister” (2006), the author says that “Zidane explained what caused him to react in fury and head-butt an Italian opponent: repeated harsh insults about his mother and sister” (para. 2). Of course, Zidane would be angry at the time, but I think that he lost his mind, and as a result did a head-butt to the Italian player, which means it was his responsibility. I think even though he was insulted about that, he should have controlled his mind.

Therefore, I think Cannavaro was the most valuable player and should have won the Golden Ball award instead of Zidane in the World Cup.

Reference:

Zidane says Italian insulted mother, sister (2006, July 10). The Associated Press. Retrieved April 7, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id /13804403/

 

Smoking Ban in Carbondale to Begin in 2008

By Abdulkarim Dada

I found this article, Smoking Ban in Carbondale to begin in 2008 (http://www. kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6326821), written by Arnold Wyrick, it is talking about the decision to make Carbondale smoke free by the city council members. The author also talked about the fact that this decision will include the bars and the restaurants, and he adds that the city leaders care more about people’s health than the economy. The owners of the restaurants are absent from this decision because the smokers will not come to their restaurants.

In my opinion, I agree with this decision to prohibit smoking in restaurants because the person who wants to smoke could wait until he/she goes out of the restaurant. However, I disagree with prohibiting smoking in the bars because more than 70% of those who drink alcohol are smokers. The majority of the people who go to the bars are smokers.

 

Woman Selling Most of Her Belongings on eBay

By Raed Alhamad

I found this article (http://www. cnn.com).  According to the, “Woman selling most of her belongings on eBay article”, a woman is trying to sell most of her possessions. She wants to change her life, so she is selling everything--she just has her cat, dog, photo album and some clothing. Also, she said, she doesn’t need them. Her next plan is to move west, and she has saved $2000 from the bids on almost everything she had.

In my opinion, selling her old stuff is a good idea. In addition, anyone could need to renew their furniture, so she does not throw it away, she sells it. Furthermore, she has around $2000, so she can buy new stuff. Also, she wants to move. I think selling it and buying it new when you arrive at your destination is better than moving your old stuff with you.

 

10-Year-Olds Attacked, Beat Homeless Man!

By Mia

The title of my article is, "Beating victim: 'They are dangerous'" (http://www. cnn.com). I found this article about 10-year-olds attacking a homeless man in Florida, online at the CNN.com website, and this is written by the Associated Press. The incident was that the homeless man was punched and bashed with a concrete wall into his face by a 17-year-old boy and two 10-year-old boys, when he was walking outside before 9 p.m. They were then accused of attacking him. Although the police had told them the day of the boys’ first court appearance to their parents, they didn’t come to the courtroom. The policemen said they needed to look at the children’s backgrounds and families. Recently, there have been some teenager incidents in the U.S.

I think this story is a fearful incident, but the responsibility of this incident is not only the boys but also their parents and the government, because the boys are still 10-year-olds. They don’t know many important things about the society, so parents have to teach many things to them, and the government should prevent this kind of incident. However, they can rehabilitate, because they are so young. I think we are thinking children are pure and innocent, but now age is changing so rapidly. We have to think about the education of children and the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.

 

Polygamy

By Khalil Al Shikhi

         I have accessed  http://www.hbo.com/ biglove.  This site belongs to the HBO TV station. It contains several links like the one that shows the programs presented on the screen. Big Love is one of the programs that is presented now and is talking about polygamy. In addition, there is a link that talks about the Big Love show. Also there are some interviews with some actors who work for the Big Love show.

         Polygamy is when you have more than one wife at the same time. There are many views about polygamy around the world. In my opinion, religions are behind these differences. However, some religions, like Islam, allowed polygamy for many reasons. On the other hand, it has many difficult conditions to ensure the interactions and rights of all parties, particularly justice, equality, food, clothing, expense and mercy. At the time many societies denied it. As a result, prohibited and illegal sexual relationships became acceptable. Therefore these societies often have more illegitimate children or foundlings than the societies that accept it.

 

Polygamy

By Faisal Alshabanat

         I visited this website (http://www.hbo.com/ biglove) that talks about a television show about polygamy. Someone has three wives and three children. They live in separate houses and take turns sharing their husband every night. Also, he makes injustice with his wives and children. In addition, they keep their arrangement a secret. However, they are happy in their lives and comfortable every day.

         In my opinion, I agree with him about polygamy. Also, that will help many women because the world has more women than men. That means some women cannot have a marriage. I think every women needs a husband to live her life, and love. My religion and my country allow marriage to four wives, the maximum, because if they are allowed to marry four wives, the world won't have to have women without marriage. But if you want to marry two, three, or four women you MUST have justice with your wives.

 

The Supreme Court and Same-sex Marriage

By Mickey Chien

I found the article from http://www. cbc.ca/news/background/samesexrights/. In this article, we can see that same-sex marriage is a serious topic which has been argued for a long time. First, the author mentions that everyone regards homosexual Canadians as ''dangerous sexual offenders'', and they also consider them as prisoners. Today, however, homosexual Canadians feel more accepted because their positions have been promoted now. Actually, some authorities still do not accept homosexual Canadians, such as religious groups or some provinces in Canada. Finally, the minister said homosexual Canadians can be legalized in 2005 hopefully, and they promised that they will have a free vote on the bill for legalizing homosexual Canadians.

In my opinion, I am really glad to hear that the government can support the legislation for homosexual Canadians. Actually, we know that many countries still do not accept them, and they think that it is ridiculous. Therefore, some homosexual people's position is very low such as that they cannot find a job, and it is hard for them to make friends. However, in America, homosexual people can be accepted, (compared to other countries), and homosexual people can feel more freedom. Indeed, some religious groups, such as Christianity, still cannot accept homosexual people. Nevertheless, I think whether the government accepts homosexual people or not, we should respect them, and we should give them more space that they may stand up; moreover, we should help them to feel freedom in our society.

 

Unmarried

By Laybeth Arellano

         I visited the Web site http://unmarried.org/ statistics.html .  The director of this page is Lisa Nicolle Grist with another group of people. This page shows how couples can live together without getting married or before that. The most important condition for the relationship is that they want to live in the same place and share their lives with the other person. However, it is important that society knows or accepts this situation about the couples, because in these times it is usually an alternative to marriage. On this site, you can find information about unmarried people, statistics, publications, politics, legal situations and how to contact them.

          I agree with cohabitation, because it is the best way to know your partner. Living together allows both people to discover his/her positive and negative sides, know what things they like or dislike, and share his/her true feelings. Another reason to choose this way is for his/her financial situation. If the couple decides to get married, they will spend a lot of money celebrating the ceremony. As a result, living together is cheaper for them both. Then, being unmarried permits the couple to decide if they are willing to have kids and if they can, whether the parents feel comfortable, are happy and safe or not. Finally, I think that love is love, married or living together before that, the most important detail is the couple wants to share his/her whole life for a long time.

 

Live Without Marriage

By Ahmed Alotaibi

         I chose this link www. unmarried.org/ statistics, which was created by some people. The purpose of this group is to work together to support cohabitation for some people who live together without marriage. In addition, they have many couples who live without marriage, and couples who live with marriage. For example, many people in the United States of America today agree with relationships without marriage. They believe that cohabitation is better than being married.  They are also doing this to help people to choose who is the best for marriage.

         In my opinion, I disagree with this, because many religions don't accept that. In addition, there are many problems in doing this kind of relationship. For example, when one of the women gets a child, how will they know whose child this is, and also how can the women trust those guys if they get children. Maybe the men will run away from the women, because they don't want to take care of their children.  They also encourage people to live without marriage. I think this is a bad way to live together. Lastly, this relationship is unsuccessful for life.

 

Paternity Leave

By Saori Toyama

In the article,“More paternity leave considered" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/ politics/3342507.stm), the author explains that the government argues that fathers who have new babies can have six months leave in order to take care of their babies, but they cannot receive a salary. Also, the fathers can take two weeks leave, and they can receive a salary. In addition, parents who have children who are under six years old can create pliable working schedules. However, this idea that the fathers can take six months leave without salary was not acceptable to business principles. On the other hand, the idea is very helpful for women. Also, it suggests that taking care of children is not only women’s work. Parents can share the work.

In my opinion, I agree with the idea. Taking care of children is not the women's job, but many people still think women should take care of children. Also, many men do not take the leave because I think they worry about co-workers and the atmosphere of their offices. However, they should think more about their wives than their jobs. Also, taking care of babies is an experience that they may have only once in their life. In addition, it is a good experience for children. Thus, men should take the leave. It is also good to help to increase the population of young people.

 

Portuguese Abortion Law in Force

By Carol Pei

I found this article from BBC News. The author mentions that the abortion law in Portuguese is allowed now and the abortion could take place up until the tenth week of pregnancy. Some countries voted on this issue, such as the Romans. Abortion is prohibited in some countries of Europe, for examples, Ireland, Malta and Poland.

In my opinion, I agree abortion should be permitted but the government should regulate this law carefully. Some people have difficulty, so they do not want a child, for example, rape. Meanwhile, abortion is a good way to solve this problem. Although some people argue it kills a human being, I still insist abortion should exist because it is helpful in several times.  However, abortion is harmful to women’s bodies so the government should provide information about abortion to let people know more.

 

Abortion and Religion: Ideological Battle Continues

By Ai Kitabatake

I found Abortion and Religion, online at LexisNexis, although it is written by St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This article is about a relationship between abortion and religion. Abortion has two rights, for mothers that can make a choice and for babies that can live: pro-choice and pro-life. In this article, people argue about a letter, which says, "Many clergymen do support freedom in family planning". Some people claim that contraception and accurate sex education should be led among young people. Even though a lot of people controvert this topic, nobody has the right to force their beliefs on others.

In my opinion, abortion should be prohibited because we have to take the responsibility for what we do. If somebody doesn't need a baby, he/she should prevent pregnancy. Usually, people celebrate having a baby. Why is a baby killed for the parent's circumstance although the baby didn’t do anything? In Japan, sex education is not open at home. Parents should teach their children what is wrong and what is bad. It doesn't matter what their religion is.

 

Drinking

By Khalil Al Shikhi

         I have visited  http://www.ias.org.uk.It is about drinking and it talks about what the factors are that may make a person accept drinking; also they found that there was a direct link between the causes of adolescent males and females drinking and their relationship with their parents. Also, some research showed that there are various things that led people to drink, such as social and psychological factors, as well as peers.

         Now drinking is widespread among young groups, and it must be a serious issue. Most of the young people are unaware of the seriousness of this issue. Therefore, I think it is the duty of the government and parents to help protect young people from this risk.

 

Drinking problems

By Ahmed Alotaibi

         I choose this website, www.madd.org/tuhijo /en_act_friends.htm, which was created by a group of people. They worked together to help people see how we can help our children with peer pressure. Most of the people who created the website are Doctors of medicine. And also, it has a lot of information about how young people start drinking with peer pressure. In addition, it has many links to discuss that.

         In my opinion, I like this website because it supports the people who try to show us how we can keep our kids from drinking. On the other hand, I am interested in this website. For example, when I am looking for the best information about advantages or disadvantages for the drinks, I found much about that. I got an advantage from this website like how I can work with my friends to be careful. Also, it gives us advice about the drinks. I agree with this website, because most of the people who created it are professors, doctors and researchers.

 

Peer Pressure

By Abdulmajeed AlQahtani

         I went to a site that is called: madd.org . This website talks about peer pressure. A peer is a friend or acquaintance in the same age group. This website shares a lot of information about peer pressure. It talks about peer pressure’s types and peer pressure’s influence. This website shares some advice to help the children deal with peer pressure. In this website, you can also find some related topics which talk about peer pressure, for example, cultural pressure.

         In my opinion this website shares a lot of good information about peer pressure. It talks about one of the important subjects in society. Peer pressure has a big influence on its members. Peer pressure’s influence might be negative or positive, but I think it is more likely to be negative, because the peer pressure’s members usually want to do abnormal things, which make them different from the other people. Children, I think, are more likely to be involved in peer pressure’s influence very quickly, and they usually have many problems with it.

 

Amish

By Fady (Do0odiz) Anbar

         In the beginning, I visited the website,  http://www.amish.net,  and it's a very interesting website, because I saw several pictures of Amish people. In the search section, you can find anything about the Amish culture, like gift shops, Amish information center, food, and Amish tours. They have stuff for sale, like food, dolls, and farms. There are a lot of things to learn about the Amish way of life. The website has a huge amount of information about how the Amish can live or how they can get food and other stuff like that. Amish life is so amusing; they show us when they first came, where they live, and how they work. That is so interesting.

         In my opinion, I like this website, because it shows us how important the Amish are. And I like the way in the website; it seems so easy to find anything about them. They have a lot of information about them. Also, the website gives the history about the Amish. For me, I like this website because I learn amazing information about the Amish.

 

Amish

By Laybeth Arellano

         I visited the Web site: http://www. amishcenter. com/discover.shtml#3.  In that page you can find information about the Amish life (history, meals, houses, clothing and different options to plan a trip to their farm). The Amish are a group of people who were born in Switzerland and believe in the Christian Scripture, but they decided to have strict rules to live by. For example, it is important to live with submission, obedience, humility, conformity, and simplicity. They strive to be reserved, modest, calm, and quiet in their farm space.

         I agree with their decision about their lives, because that style of life is following their religion. I think that each person is free to decide their lifestyle, and it can be critical to know if a situation is or is not healthy for him/herself. However, I think that all religions believe in the same God and the same scripture, but the difference is how they interpret that information, and the way they follow that.

 

 

Amish

By Yalanda Huang

         This (http://www. amishcenter.com/index.shtml) is a website I read. This website is like a museum and talks about the Amish people. They introduce everything about Amish, like their lifestyle, history and school. An important thing is they introduce a trip to go to visit an Amish town and go to have an experience with the Amish lifestyle, like eat their meals and do their work. The website also offers products about Amish culture, like an Amish doll and some different kinds of books of Amish culture, but you cannot order them online; you need to call a number to order. Finally, they also have a page to introduce how to join and support their members!

         When I read this website, I was so interested in it because it explained an Amish lifestyle, and it has some pictures about Amish culture. So it made me feel interested. And this website introduced their trip to the Amish country, where you can go to eat what Amish people eat, go to see Amish houses and do their work. It’s a good trip. It can let us gain knowledge of the Amish culture. So, I think maybe one day I will go to the Amish country with my friends!

 

Amish

By Steve Yoon

         I surfed the site of the Amish. This site address is: www.amishcenter.com. There is a history of the Amish people, their lifestyle, and today’s lifestyle. And this site has some information for visitors and tourists, like directions to the Amish town, a calendar, and admission. They can preview an Amish house, Amish food, Amish farms, when surfing this site.

          I am interested in this site and Amish culture. This site introduces information about Amish culture. Actually, I didn’t know what Amish were until my teacher taught me. They live without electricity, no car, no gas, no factory, etc. But they can build the buildings and cook food. With this site, we can plan to tour an Amish town, and we can expect what we should do when we tour there. If I get a chance to visit there, I want to do that.

 

Food Taboos

By Yalanda Huang

         I read about food taboos at: http://library. think quest.org/18802/everfood.htm. It talks about some kinds of food taboos; for example: 1.Some food taboos are obvious--like something that is poisonous. 2. Some food taboos are self-enforced--like vegetarians. 3.Food taboos can be based on religious beliefs 4.and some food taboos are based on traditions, customs and perceptions of society, and sometimes also on the appearance of the food. And another thing is it explains what is a delicacy and introduces two specialties from China and Norway.

         I knew all the food taboos on this website, so I wasn’t interested in that part; it made me feel interested in specialty, because it introduces a creature from Norway; this creature is a fish steeped in lye, and has a distinctive taste and smell and also looks rather strange.  So, it let me learn a new strange creature in the world. But some Norwegians eat it and some Norwegians do not. It’s the same situation in Taiwan; some people eat snake and insects, but some people do not; I don’t eat it either. Finally, the world has many kinds of food taboos.

 

Inside Dateline: Predators – Web or Social Problem?

By Hassan Muslli

I found this interesting article, Inside Dateline: Predators – Web or social problem?’ online at MSNBC (http://www. msnbc.msn.com/id/ 14927950/). This article has a lot of issues to discuss. First, the author talks about predators on the Internet, how they are actually respectable people and how most of them have good jobs. While they are in front of the screen, they turn into wolves. They were chatting with underage teens and ‘children’. They knew their age and they accepted invitations to have sex with them. This article describes how the television teams put some cameras up in rent houses in different states and catch predators. Finally, the point of the show is to talk with predators face to face and know what they are thinking and know why they want to have sex with children.

Even though I disagree with what the predators are doing on the Internet, I think it will be better if the program does not show predators to the public. The show is ruining their lives completely. Moreover, these predators live with us normally and, for most of them, this is their first mistake. The show causes damage to their careers, homes, families, and even their selves. In addition, the way the program is doing it is not truthful. The truth is the team starts conversations with sexual subjects and people on the Internet do not mind having a conversation like this with strangers. When the predator knew the girl was seventeen or younger – most of the time she is thirteen - and he accepts to have sex with her, the team tries harder to get him to the rental house, where there will be the team and also cops.

 

Virginia Tech

By Faisal Alshabanat

         I visited this website (http://www.theinquirer.net /default.aspx?article=39007) that talks about violent video games blamed for Virginia Tech. This website gives us information about video games that are not violent. Also, they said the Virginia Tech incident was not related to violent video games. The gunman did not play violent video games in his life. Also, this website told us the gunman was suffering from mental illness, and he was angry with his girlfriend. So, violent video games were not a problem to the gunman who did that.

         In my opinion, I take issue with that because violent video games are an important factor to killing, hitting, or doing anything wrong. For example, when any child plays violent video games every day and one day s/he is angry from something, s/he will do whatever s/he plays or watches; maybe s/he will kill or do something wrong. Now, the violent video games are rampant in the world and these games will make many crimes. On the other hand, I am on the same wavelength with this website for when someone kills or does something wrong, maybe s/he did not play violent video games. For example, the gunman did what he did in Virginia Tech, and he did not play violent video games in his life.

 

Anna

By Abdulmajeed Al Qahtani

         I went to a website which is called www.jstor. org. This site talks about Anna. Anna is a girl of more than five years old. She was incarcerated in an upstairs room. She was unable to do what other humans can do; for example, she was unable to talk, walk and many other simple things. In this website you can find much information about Anna’s life. It shares the whole of Anna’s story.

         In my opinion, this website is very important. It shows how learning and connecting with people, especially the parents, are very important, by sharing Anna’s story. You can imagine Anna’s story in our lives; if we do not connect with each other and do not learn from each other, then we will not be able to do anything in our lives. We can learn from this story that the parents are the most important teachers in our lives. Anna’s story will make people think about their life and they will learn many things from this story.

 

Students Sell Their Eggs

By Yasmeen Alabdulwahab

I found this < u style='text-underline:#0000F0'>article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/ hi/uk_news/education/2510393.stm), about female students in Britain who sold their eggs to infertile couples in the U.S.A . Giving your eggs to anybody to get money is illegal in the U.K. However, in the U.S.A it is legal. The issue is that the demand in the U.S for British eggs is huge. In addition, students in the U.K. sell their eggs just to cover their expenses. However, there are some factors that restrict the donor, such as the donor’s qualifications, the donor’s looks, and the donor’s age. Also, the egg donation incorporation requires the donor to send pictures for herself, her siblings, and her children if she has any.

In my opinion I strongly disagree with both women and men selling or donating their eggs and sperm to infertile people who are looking to have a baby. If this sperm and egg comes from the same husband and wife, I agree because in my religion, which is Islam, it is a big sin to donate sperm or eggs. The child will lose his true heritage. If I donated my eggs to another woman, in a sense that child is still mine even if it grows in another woman’s body. The child who was born in that way, in the future might fall in love with his sister and both do not know that they are siblings. Moreover, the egg that is taken from a donor may have serious genetic diseases. Also, the donor might be under drug addiction which causes birth defect.

 

'End Rare Species Web Trade' Call

By Khaled AlOtaibi

The title of my article is End Rare Species Web Trade' Call (http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/uk_news /politics/4671824.stm); it talks about some people who trade animals over the internet, illegally. They can buy many kinds of animals like a leopard, a zebra, chimpanzees or an alligator and, “we do not know how the people can transport animals over the internet,” Mark Pritchard said. As a part of the research, they have found that "9,000 kinds of animals have been sold in one week in the UK. Also in this research they have found 146 kinds of primates have been traded in the UK". There is a legal organization that makes limits for these problems.

There are a lot of animal species that are endangered because of humans’ selfish activities. Some people must understand that the world is not only for them. During the last two hundred years we lost a lot of animals, but we still have some kinds of animals that are endangered that we can help to keep in existence. The government should take control of those people who are making illegal animal trades over the internet.

 

Death Penalty

By Yumi Hisamura

I found this article, Resistance to Death Penalty Growing, online at the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-death_bdapr08,0, 7397803.story?coll=chi-news-hed), it is written by Tim Jones. The author expresses that people are thinking about whether to repeal or stop the death penalty because of high costs in America. According to this article, thirty-seven states allow the death penalty, twelve states do not allow it and New York announced it is illegal in 2004. About the costs, taxpayers spend their money for imprisonment, police officers and to prevent a lot of crime. But, there are pros and cons about the death penalty. Richard Dieter said that America can't remove it, but should think about it seriously. Also, Ernie Chambers, who is on the opposite side of the death penalty, expresses that people must consider resisting the death penalty. So, to resist the death penalty is growing and it is a big issue in America now.

In my opinion, the government should abolish the death penalty. To kill humans by other humans is so bad because humans can't take a human's life and we don't have the right to kill humans. Also, humans can't judge other humans. But, a lot of countries admit the death penalty, including America. In Japan, we have the death penalty by way of hanging. From the old days, we killed humans as a death penalty by stake and decapitation, and so on. Now, some executioners, who are the officers to kill a person who was given the death sentence, pull the lever to hang a person from many levers at the same time. So, they don't know which lever worked. This means they don't know who killed the person. Also, from the law, the death penalty doesn't apply to a person who is under 18 years old or suffers from lunacy, which is a mental illness. And about pregnant woman, the death penalty applies after childbirth. A person who is under 18 years old can escape from the death penalty, even though that person killed someone. This idea is a paradox. I don't understand the difference about the age. The fact that a human was killed by a human is true. I think the Japanese government should abolish the death penalty. Instead of the death penalty, they should give only life imprisonment, although we must pay tax to maintain the prison. Even though a person commits a bad murder, a murderer has the right to live the rest of their life in prison and have to regret and apologize for the victim by living in prison. I think to die is easy by the death penalty, and a murderer should have to think about what he or she did for the rest of his life. So, I disagree with the death penalty and I hope people think about life and the government abolishes it in every country.

 

Cognition Enhancing Drugs

By Seiyeon Lee

I found this article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/health/6558871.stm), Drugs may boost your brain power, online at the BBC news site, although it is written by Pallab Ghosh. It is about the impact of a new generation of drugs. The government is judging the drugs. These drugs are maintained to make people more intelligent. They are called "cognition enhancing" drugs, and some of them are already being used in the US. One of these drugs was established to treat people who involuntarily fall asleep. In the past, a doctor tested the drug on an experimenter. She discovered that not only did the drug keep them awake, but also it made their brains much more dramatic. Moreover, a professor designed a drug that builds thoughts to make neural connections. The government is just assessing the effects of these drugs.

In my opinion, these drugs will give people advantages clearly in the future. These may make people geniuses. However, our society is not ready for these drugs. People always will believe the impact of these drugs, and they will not study and work. Rather, these "cognition enhancing" drugs are going to make people silly. Do these drugs give advantages to our society? Do you want these drugs to be the genius?

 

Organ Donation

By Rika Nishioka

I found this article (http://www.washington post.com), China Issues New Rules on Transplants, online at the Washington Post website, although it is written by Gillian Wong of the Associated Press. It is about the new law of organ donation in China. The new law prohibits the sale of human organs for benefit and the donation of organs from children under 18. Also, using human organs without permission is banned. However, there is a problem about organ donation. When people donate their organs, it is necessary to give their consent to donation. Everyone has the right to refuse to donate their organs. However, some people disagree with this. They say that prisoners don't have the right to refuse to donate their organs. In fact, in China about 90 percent of organ donations are from executed prisoners. It is difficult for prisoners to refuse to donate their organs because of pressure. Therefore, some people state that it is necessary for prisoners to be able to say their opinion.

I agree with the idea that making the situation for prisoners to say their opinion about organ donations, because they are in a difficult situation, and they can’t say their opinion. I think most prisoners are forced to donate their organs. If there is a law that organ donation needs the agreement with the person who donates his organ, everyone should have the right to give permission about organ donation. However, if there is no law about the agreement of organ donations, the problem of lack of organs will be solved. In the world, a lot of people are waiting for an organ transplant. But most people die because of lack of organs. If all organs are available after death, we can save people who need organ transplants. Therefore, we should think about the system of organ donation.

 

Wal-Mart

By Raed Alhamad

When I came to Carbondale for the first time in my life, my friend took me to Wal-Mart and I got everything from there, like food, pens and paper, cleaning stuff, and more. He told me that Wal-Mart has everything, even when I needed a medicine I went there. It is a very easy place. Wal-Mart is an American public corporation, and is currently the world's largest retailer, additionally the world's largest corporation. It was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It is the largest private employer in the United States (US) and Mexico. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, and the largest toy seller in the United States (Wikipedia.org).

I am writing about Wal-Mart because there has been a lot of talk about it and if it is good or bad. To some, Wal-Mart is a corporate criminal, and its fortune has been built on human misery. To some, Wal-Mart is considered savvy shopping. Wal-Mart has opted to ensure that its prices are as low as they can be. This focus has enabled the company to promise “always low prices, always.” Low prices benefit both the consumers and the overall economy, besides being a winning strategy for Wal-Mart. Every dollar a consumer saves on a purchase enables him or her to buy other items. More of consumers’ needs and wants can be fulfilled when prices are lower than when prices are higher. Because a consumer’s dollars go further at lower prices, more merchandise can be manufactured and sold. All the businesses making and selling these other products and services are helped. But Wal-Mart’s "everyday low prices" come at the expense of the compensation of Wal-Mart's own employees and lower wages and fewer jobs for retail workers in the surrounding area. That much remains true no matter what weight we assign to each of the measures that Wal-Mart uses to keep its costs down: a just-in-time inventory strategy, its ability to use its size to pressure suppliers for large discounts, a reutilized work environment that requires minimal training, and meager wages and benefits.

In Circleville, a small town in Ohio, the local RCA television-manufacturing plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. But in late 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work.

 

I, Robot Delivers More Than the Nuts and Bolts of an Isaac Asimov Sci-Fi Classic

By David Kim

I found this article I, Robot Delivers More Than the Nuts and Bolts of an Isaac Asimov Sci-Fi Classic; it was written by Joel Siegel. This article talks about human robots in the movie "I, Robot." This story takes place in 2035, when a Chicago company makes human robots to help people's lives, but one of the cops doesn't like the human robot. He doesn't believe robots are doing anything.

In my opinion, I really don't like human robots because it makes me scared. When I think of the human robot, they will have an artificial intelligence. If people give them orders or input programs into their fake brain, it will be nice but sometimes the fake brain is going to be out of order. If that happens, robots will make crimes, such as kill people and murder. So I really don't like human robots. In the future, robots will be able to control people because they are stronger and also have a brain.

Should Government Control the Internet?

By Andre Negrao

In the article "Chinese YouTubes courting controversy?" (http://hongkong1.cnet.com/reviews/ blog/littleredblog/0,39056119,39375940,00.htm), written by William Moss, the author shows us how the world has been changed because of more usage of the internet.  The author also talks about some ways the government tries to control it. The question is: “Should the Government be allowed to block some web sites they consider to be against their policies, like the Chinese Government has been doing?”

In my opinion, governments shouldn’t even try to block some web sites, even if they consider them to be inappropriate. We have the freedom of choice. We have to be able to see and to reach whatever we want. Nowadays, internet is part of almost everyone’s life. Some web sites should control what they show, but it’s not part of the Government functions.

Control Group

by Mohammed Mahboob

         In this article “Chinese YouTubes Courting Controversy” (http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/blog/ littleredblog/0,39056119,39375940,00.htm), the author gives a general idea about two sites in China that are similar to YouTube (Tudou and YoQoo). On both sites, people are downloading homemade clips that may include sexual scenes. However, the Chinese government has made a firewall (the great firewall of China). In addition, he maintains a couple reasons why the Government blocks these kinds of sites. In conclusion, he says that people will still have it by anyway.

We, as a group of students (the control group), decided to make a survey about should or should not the Government control these kinds of websites. On our survey we will ask American people about what they think about this issue and whether they agree or do not agree with Government control; furthermore, we will ask if they like these kinds of sites or what it is showing on it. Finally, after we finish the survey we will be able to have a close idea about this issue.

 

Government Control

By Ceren Temizkan

The article (http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/ blog/littleredblog/0,39056119,39375940,00.htm), Chinese YouTubes courting controversy? by W. Moss, explains why some websites (Chinese video-sharing sites) are blocked by the Chinese government. The government wants to control the people in this way. The article discusses Chinese YouTube's future, if the government will block YouTube or not? On this subject, there are a lot of issues.

First, if the government wants to block YouTube, how can the government block it? YouTube belongs to Google. If the government tries to block YouTube, it is supposed to block Google.

Second, what are the people doing? China has a big population. Why don’t these people do anything against the government policies?

Third, the Chinese government blocked web-sites which includes information, news, ideas and videos sites. By the way, the government believes that Chinese people accept domination. Because these people can only watch certain programs that are allowed by the government, they can just learn what the government wants.

In my opinion, if people cannot get any information around the world, these people cannot be dependent on it. Therefore, Chinese citizens can stop this movement.

 

Should the Government Control Everything?

by Hassan Muslli

In this interesting article "Chinese YouTubes Courting controversy?" by William Moss (http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/blog/littleredblog/0,39056119,39375940,00. htm), the author talks about how the world has changed since the last decade until now. He asserts that this change incorporates the technology systems with our lives. Moreover, he talks about the kind of technology the government tries to control, which is the internet. The author declares the government’s side and that they have the right to block some websites on the Internet. In addition, he verbalizes an important question about Chinese government and how they can block anything they find against their policy.

If we begin our discussion with, “does the government have the right to block anything it wants?” in my estimation, they cannot do that, especially in a country such as China, a country of 1,317,411,509 and still increasing, see here (http://www.cpirc.org. cn/en/eindex.htm), have the right to choose what they want to watch. In addition, if we compare China and any other country in the technology system, China is still behind in some parts because the Chinese government is still anxious about technology, especially the network system. Thus, they block websites one after another. However, Youtube`s revolution in the network put people from all around the world between our hands-- we can see them, we can share their information and their knowledge, we can also laugh with them about moments they really will never forget and it happened once upon a time. All of this some governments -like China- deny, and want to block Youtube and other websites that we can get knowledge from.

 

Hello to Less Privacy

By Ali Al Bayat

I found this article (http://www.usatoday. com/tech/news/2007-02-27-cameraphones-privacy_x.htm); Hello to less privacy, online at USA Today, although it is written by Maria Puente. It talks about sharing pictures on websites, especially on YouTube. Some people do not like to share pictures, and in this article the author mentions pictures that are taken by cell phones. The people consider these pictures as an invasion of privacy. All people are interested in cell phone technology, which is the camera, but it makes them worry because anybody can take pictures, no one sees them and they can put it on a website. It makes famous people change their behavior if someone takes pictures of them in some situations. In the past, people drank during break, but now they worry that someone will take a picture of them. Also, people can send pictures by e-mail; this means you can post pictures in many ways. A few people disagree with using it in the news, such as Saddam Hussein's execution.

I think it is a really good article which informs people in order to save their privacy. Also, it gives them a warning from people who use cameras in bad ways and take private pictures of other people. Also, it is good that technology is developing more and more, but people should deal with anything new in the right way. Everything that people do reflects their behavior. We have to respect other people and take precautions before we take pictures of them, because many of them do not like that.

 

YouTube and the Copyright Cops: Safe...For Now?

By Atsumi Murao

I read the article (http://arstechnica. com/ news.ars/post/20060716-7273.html), that is entitled “YouTube and the copyright cops: safe…for now?” written by K. Fisher. The author talked about the issue of copyright. Today, YouTube, which is a popular video-sharing website, is an issue because it shows videos without authorization. Therefore, it is obvious that the owners get angry because YouTube interrupts their profits. However, YouTube does not apply the damage, because YouTube only hosts the videos.

In my opinion, of course it is not good that YouTube shows videos without authorization, because the owners are disturbed with less profits because of YouTube. If other companies, for example BBC, show unauthorized videos, they would have to pay money. So it is unfair that YouTube does not receive punishment, because YouTube only hosts the videos. However, YouTube is popular and many people use it, so even if YouTube goes away, another website like YouTube will come up. So I think these kinds of problems are endless.

 

Facebook Can Cause Problems for Students

By Andre Negrao

In the article " Facebook can cause problems for students” (http://media.www.pacertimes.com/ media/storage/paper795/news/2006/01/31/News/Facebook.Can.Cause.Problems. For.Students-1545539.shtml), written by Melissa Leitzsey, the author displays some problems caused by Facebook. “Facebook (http://www.facebook. com) is a website that links people according to certain interests through social networks at schools." It was launched for public viewing on February 4, 2004. Students are able to create "profiles,” which includes personal information. This information can be viewed by select people or anybody that uses Facebook. Matters of privacy are determined by what content is included and the privacy level that the student selects. We will discuss what kinds of problems Facebook’s users can be in, and what is the price for posting some kinds of information and pictures.

In my opinion, the problem is: “What are the pros and cons that Facebook can bring to you?” You can become a pop guy/girl showing pictures from parties and crazy nights. On the other hand, you can get into trouble because of this. Would you like your parents to see those pictures? What about the employer who is interviewing you for a job? What if you have changed your behavior, that is, you have decided to be a serious person because you want to get married? Would you like your new partner to see how you used to describe yourself? What if your friend you haven’t seen for a long time tells you he is close to your city, and you tell him you are tired and will sleep, and then the next day he signs on his Facebook account and sees pictures from a party you went to instead of hanging out with him? I think we have to moderate what we post on there, always using it as a way to have fun and keep in touch with friends, but analyzing both bad and good results it may bring to you.

If you want to read more about problems related to Facebook, you can visit: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20060119-6016.html

< span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>or:

http://media.www.udreview.com /media/storage/ paper781/news/2005/11/22/News/Facebook.Has.Legal.Problems-1112595.shtml< /u>

 

Windows on Macs Provokes a Stir

By Ahmed A. Alzamzam

I found this article, Windows on Macs provokes a stir in BBC News. The author, Mark Ward, wrote about Apple's release of software that allows the Intel-based machines run Windows XP, which has set the hi-tech world buzzing. By making XP run on Apple hardware, users will be able to get access to all those Windows programs they were previously denied. The trial version of Boot Camp released by Apple only let owners use one operating system at a time. Switching from one to the other is currently a process that takes a while to complete. By the end of 2007, all Apple's computers are expected to be Intel-based.  Windows on the Apple Mac is 'a bold move' .

In my opinion, I don’t think that Windows will provide a stir on Macs, because Macintosh poses fewer problems than Windows, and Mac programs peripherals install without a fuss, and there are no more missing .dll files, hardware or software conflicts, system slowdowns or surprise crashes. When you use Macs, you will forget something we have come to know as “reboot my Macintosh” (and it was my fault that it crashed); but with a Windows machine, I have to reboot it two or three times a day. Though Macs are the computer of choice for most creative professionals in the art, advertising, music, movie and publishing worlds, it seems to me that home users need them the most.

 

Mobile TV

By Ali Al Bayat

I found this article (http://citizen-times.gns.gannettonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20070329/TECH03/703080356/1001/TECH), Mobile TV has a future, online at the Ashvelle Citizen-Times, although it is written by Edward C. Baig. It is about a new kind of cell phone that people can watch TV from. It is good for people to use it when they are waiting for a taxi or if they are in an airport waiting for their flight; and it is small, which is useful for people. Verizon showed this cell phone during a business trade in Florida. Also, Samsung tested the service on two kinds of cell phones, and they set the price. But the display is weaker than the TV, and it affects the battery or the connection. Verizon is not the only company that has a small screen TV in their mobile phones, but it is the better company that has this technology, because they are using the delivery service from MediaFlo Qualcomm.

I think this kind of mobile technology is very useful for some people who do not have a TV in their home or people who are away from home and want to watch something important; they can watch it from their mobile phone. But this service will lead to some issues, such as accidents on the road. Also, this service will lead to a challenge between companies. There is a big problem all people will face, which is they can’t see clearly because the screen is small. 

 

EAP2 Writers' Abstracts

 

Monopolies

Abstract

(http:/ /mohm27.blogspot.com/2007/05/keep-away-monopoly.html)

By Mohamad alwheeb

         This paper’s topic is monopolies. It argues that monopolies make disadvantages for communities. There are four reasons for this argument. The first is that a monopoly makes less competition. The second is that monopolies are driven to get higher prices. The third is that a monopoly is a big reason to not improve services and products. The fourth is that monopolies have a negative impact on economic growth. Finally, monopolies are not good for people.

 

Doing Well by Doing Good:  The Benefits of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)

Abstract