Its the truth !

Dear Editor-in-Chief,


As we are all aware WikiLeaks has become a very big issue. It has has caused great controversy concerning top secret information about governments around the world.
Julian Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks has been publishing these documents that no one has seen in a website that cannot be shut down. His main goals is to show the wolrd the truth about their governments. He is trying to tell us that our governments keep many things from us. Things that they think is best to be kept from their citizens but in reality what they are hiding is information that it is best for the citizens to see in order to find out how their government as well as their military really is.Videos of soldiers killing civilians and classified goverment documents are being exposed to public. After seeing those videos may only make us lose respect for our own country. The things seen in the video are not so pleasent to see. We experience real soldiers treating a real life sutiation as if it were a video game. The dialouge used by the soildiers is some what of a 14 year old boy playing call of duty. The U.S soulders were shooting innocent civilians one after the other. Some would say that the release of such information could cause great damage to people around the globe and could very well cause a war. And that may be true. Many people right now would love to see Julian behind bars, to stop him from creating a bigger problem. But he is an extremly smart man. Not many people out there have the intelligence nor the power to obtain suck confidential information. This information may or may not have changed the views of many people. Having seen all of the information may raise hate against the U.S as well as all the other countries whos information have been shown to the public. Julian is not an American and he is not in the U.S which keeps him safe from being caught and sent to prison. The U.S has no power to do anything to him , we are guaranteed our First Amendment Rights, which include Freedom of Speech and freedom of Press. As long as these rights are granted to us Wikileaks wont stop. In my opinion Julian is not doing anything wrong. Some may take this the wrong way but all he is trying to do is let the truth be shown. He just wants governments to be transparent and tell their citizents everything. Many may dissagree and say that those documents are kept for a reason and he has no buissines publishing them. But that exactly the point he is showing people thruths that they cannot handle.



http://www.australia.to/2010/images/stories/1c/Wikileaks_Founder.jpg

BOMB!

I this situation i should hold them until they tell us more useful information. I would keep them in jail for as long as they decide to tell me where i can find more of about the other location of IEDs being assembled in another location nearby.By each prisoner seperate so they have no way of talking to wach other. I would mostly play some kind of mind game to get information out of them. I wouldnt go with the option of tourtouring them to speak but i would have another way to get them to tell me information. I would interrogate them. Not physically assaulting them in order to maintain a good reputation we wouldn't want to go against the Geneva Accords.
The short term effects would be anxiety the long term would be trauma.

Declaration of War.

The tones of the Germans and the United States were very different in the Declaration of War. The Germans declaration of war came of as more agressive. The United States wanted to be neutral they did not want to be in war with anyone. United States Declaration of War was more clam. The United States was not very interested in getting involved in the militant disputes of the Europeans.They were mostly focousing on their own goverment as well as their freedome and their people. As for the German side they constantly repeated repeated "Statedwar, united and blockade" which gave of bighint that they wanted to be at war. They wanted the U.S. to bring the battle to them because all they wanted was to be as war with the U.S.

Games games games !

War video games for our generation play a big role in many teens lives. Talking about war shooter games and how they are a big controversey portraying the violence of war. These video games are made to recreate scences of war. I know that they are made to entretain teens, as well as show them a little bit about the way war really is. But the only people that really know the way war is are the soilders that have actually fought in war. There is a big debate on wether or not games that portray war should be allowed to exist. Many people would argue that the games diminish the violence that actually occurs in real war. Some games for example are, Call of Duty, and the new version, Black OPS. These games seem to be very popular among teens, my little brother has both games and he always looks foward to getting home to play. I asked him why he likes those types of games so much and he told me helikes them because he gets to shoot people and he likes all the types of guns. These game have TONS of violence, the main point of it is to kill people. Many people may say it is just a game but in my opinion these games do influence teens, it doesnt neccesarily mean that since they play and kill in the game they are going to go out in real life and kill people but they will have a some what more violent point of view. I think it makes them a little more aggressive.

First of these games are made to kill people, if you die then you get more lives. In reality war is not like that, once you die at war you are dead. You dont get more lives, you also dont get to switch guns when ever you want. "There is no reset button" in real life! Soilders in real life may get wounded in war, lose a leg or an arm. They dont only physically get effected but they are also mentally effected. War does have an affect on soilders they are mentally traumatized. Instead when you play any of the video games, you dont get wounded, you dont loose body parts and you are not mentally traumatized, you just turn of the game and keep on living your life.

I dont think that those war games shouldnt exist but i think they should be more realistic, actually show teens how war is. Offcourse there will still be a reset button but somehow they video game companies can limit the violence and make the games a bit more realistic.





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http://vancityguy.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/call-of-duty-4.jpg

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WWI Casualties...

After watching the clip from Gallipoli i saw a lot of unpleasent things. From deaths to destruction everywhere. During WWI soilders did not have it easy , knowing you are always at risk is not something easy to live with. Always being afaid of what may happen next. In the video i saw destruction from the massive artillery such as guns and cannons as well as barbed wire and fires. In the clip i saw many soilders dead or injured. During the was the medical assitance the soilders recieved was not half as good as what they recive today. Back then there were not that many doctors and nurses, most were not so experienced. The tools we have today were not invented back then so when a soilder was injured their wounds would get infected instantly from all the germs going around, all their tools were not sanitized. Being treated at the scene of the even made it hard for everyone to be taken care of instantly. Soilders would get cuts from barded wires and their wounds would get infexted.
During WWI the greatest number of casualties occured, all these casualties had a big effect on all of society. If soilders died at war, more than one person would be effected. For example , the sons and daughters of the soilders, if their father dies at war sometimes even their mothers also went to war, the kids would be left with no parents , no one to take care and watch after them, they would have to be raised with other family members. Or in other cases if the father dies, the mom would become a single mom trying to support the family on her own,she may work very had and might still not even make enough money to support everyone. That is were crime starts becoming a problem because the families or individuals themselves do not have enough money and will start doing anything to get money. That not only impacts individuals but it impats society as well, having so many criminals doing anything possible to get more money. All the casualties effected families as well as all of society.

From weeks... to seconds...

Reading the letters from all the soilders and then thinking to yourself how tough it is to go to war and have only one way to communicate with others, it is very eye opening. It makes me realize how greatful i shold be for technology we have now a days. Way back when the war began many soldiers went to Europe or other countries we have fought in to serve their country. That was what was expected of them,the people being sent were young males who have not even gotten to live their lives. It may have been a teenager straight out of high school who never left home, or someone who may have recently got married or who just had a baby. There were no excuses, they all had to go. Being at war, they were able to write to their families once it a while. They had to write everything they had on their mind everything they wanted to tell a loved one and everything that had been going out in their lives. Then send it, but for the letter to arrive it would take weeks. Just imagine the soilder writes the letter, it arrives weeks later when thesoilder may be at risk of dying at war. Now a days we have text messaging, email, and instant messaging. If i want to tell a friend or family member somthing i cant do it within minutes, even seconds. Instead of feeling alone at war, having no one to talk to i can just send a text message and have someone to talk to instantly. Looking back at the time where all they had were letters and the hope of it arriving on time seems hard. Comparing the way things were before to how technology is now, we should all be ggreatful for all the great advantages we have.

Wait, what?

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Missile, It’s a Contrail! Wait, what?

This was one of the biggest news on all the news channels not too long ago. The concept of yellow journalism is to catch the readers attention and exaggerate or lie about their stories. During the Spanish American War yellow journalism was very common and till this day is still is. The journalist that write these articles know how to get the readers attention. They exaggerate the words and add some lies in order to either make it move believeable or to make it more interesting. The headline above is a good example of yellow journalism and how gullible people are. Fox news was one of the main channels to blow this story out of porportion along with many other news channels. Now a days most of these yellow journalism sotries are mostly seen on television, but it doesnt change wether it is on tv or on newspapers. Back then during the Spanish American War this was very popular in society but they did not had tv news to hear these articles from. The exaggerated headlines during that time was used to get more people to buy newspapers. In conclusion till this day and for many years to come yellow journalism will be used among society.

Imperialism within the toys !

In this picture we see the stronger group of toys opressing a weaker one.

One of the best movies , that is not only entertaining but also interprets the meaning of imperialism is Toy Story 3! Throghout the movie there is confrontation between good and evil. At the beggining of the movie we experience the good toys moving into the day care with other toys, as the movie goes on the evil toys reveal and there is a stronger group of toys opressing a weaker one. The weaker toys are the toys that just moved in to the day care. The leader of the stronger group is the big bear. At first he introduces them to all the toys and makes the day care seem like it is a dream cometrue for all toys. In reality that is a lie, the bear wants to make the weaker group of toys miserable, so he sends them to stay at the worst side of the daycare where they wont be treated good. At night the stronger force is watching the whole place to keep everything in "order." The big bear pretty much has control over the whole place and all the toys. In imperialism one dominant nation has control of a number of countries. In this case we can classify the bear and his possy as the dominant nation and Andy's toys as the smaller countries. He pretty much has control of everything. The bear is doing everything he does because he is jelous he wants revenge so he decided to take over. The weaker group tries to fight against the stronger group and they outsmart them. Toy Story 3 is a very good and easy example of how imperialism works, and it is interpred in a very understandable way. Imperialism is not a fun way to live. Being controlled by one person is not something anyone looks foward to, not being able to do certain things because the stronger group says so. the toys dislike that aswell so they do everything they can to leave the day care. In the movie we experience all the confrontations and obsticle the weaker groups goes through in order to be free, and no live within the conditions of the evil toys. Not only do we experience imperialism withing the groups but just like the Americans do to train people to overthrow or fight in other countries the evil group in the movie gets Buzz one of the toys from the weaker group and they program him to be on their side and fight against his own people.

http://screencrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/New-Toy-Story-3-Cast-6-4-10-kc.jpg

SOA!

I stongly disagree with the United States being able to operate such an organization and train people in the practice of the coup d'etat. First of all the organization is not made for a good cause. All the latin americans that are trained at the SOA used their skills to cause war against their own. Good latin americans such as educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others are targeted and use their potentials for bad. Istead of being good people they torture, rape, assassinate, “disappeare,” massacre, and force into refugee people of their own kind, that is wrong in not one but many ways. These people that are trained as soldies to do bad things instead of good and help others. Although the SOA is not such a good school and many Americans and Latin Americans may not agree with all the things they do, the Unites States has too much power to even care what others have to say. I do not agree with the United States being able to have such organizations.

BLOGGING ! :)

Wouldnt you agree that blogging is way better than boring assignments on paper. I completly agree with having the blogging system for assignments in class. I agree for many reasons, such as typing being so much faster than actually writing with pen and paper. Also because it now that technology is so advanced more students relly on technology and feel it is easier than paper work. The fact that teenagers now a days are so into technology may actually be a way of getting us to do our work. I think that students would rather type things than write them, it is not only better and faster, it is also easier.
Whenever teachers tell us we have an assignment due, most students complain. All you hear is complains of how boring it is, and how tiring writing gets. So many people would rather not do the assignments and have low grades. With blogging its the complete opposite because, in my opinion typing doesnt get tiring, its fun and it is a way for students to express their toughts about a topic. Typing and thinking is easier because as you think you type. Instead when your writing on paper your brain pocesses your thoughts way faster than you can write, so it works out perfect. Blogging also helps a lot for college. While blogging you are to write about a topic and support it. Which is a great skill to have for college, in high school we are mainly getting ready to go to college, and now most of the papers for college have to be typed. Blogging helps is practice typing as well as formating, grammar etc. Writing on pen and paper you accomplish half of what you could if you were typing. Blogging not only makes it easier for students to finish assesments but it also makes it easier for teachers to grade. this system is also good because it works around your schedule. In conclusion to me blogging will always be a better system than having to write on paper.

Way easier.

In my opinion i think that learning when blogging is much better when blogging compared to writing just pen and paper. Now a days technology is so advanced and teenagers rely so much on computers that we became very good at doing our work on computers. I have never had to do assignments on blogs and i find it so much better. One reason is because i know i can type much faster than i can write, which is a plus because i don't get tiered of writing and i can finish faster, and that is way better than having to write everything down. For me it is easier to think and type than to think and write it down. I also think that blogging is a new fun way to get our work done, it not only makes it easier for the students but for the teachers to grade as well. Also, having to research things on the computer and typing it on another window is much easier than researching and writing down on paper. Not only is it easier but if is faster and funner.

My favorite !

My favorite blogging topic from the first quarter was the one of cowboys. I learned many new things from this topic, such as cowboys are not really how they are portrayed. It was fun and easy to find out all the interesting facts about how cowboys really were compared to the cowboys shown to us in Hollywood. The cowboys we see on t.v. are all about shooting , drinking , and fighting. Back then cowboys didn't have an easy job. They worked very hard to support their family. I just found it very interesting how our minds can be changed so easily from movies and shows about certain people. When in reality they are all lies!

Mixed emotions.

Some feelings and experiences immigrants coming to the United States at the turn of the century must have been a big mixture of feelings. From what i saw in all the pictures it seems that the biggest feeling was being afraid. Being afraid of what might happen to them, as an individual and as a family. Scared that their family might get seperated. Another feeling might have been excitement. Exciment because they are coming into a whole new type of lifestyle and way of living and the first thing they see is the Statue of liberty and the big city. They are excited to start a whole new life and work hard to support their family. They probably felt hopeful of many good things coming their way. Once they get off the ships and into the city they were probably dissapointed because the streets are dirty and everything was filthy and smelly. once they saw how they had to live, crowded in one room apartaments and the buildings are unstable their hope probably went to the ground because it was not what they expected.

A song tells a whole story.

The lyrics for the song of the textile workers were not lyrics that i would want to learn and sing along. The words seemed very depressing not a song to cheer up. The labor the people hard to do wsa not easy at all, they worked all day long and bearly got any breaks for food. Not only did women have to work hard but kids did too. They had to work long hours every single day on an empty stomach because there was no time for breaks. They dont get an education and from an early age all they learn to do is stich clothing. They did not work in air conditioning like we do now. Their labor was done in the heat. All this lead to starvation and deaths. To the factory owners it was more important to get all the clothes done than to keep his emplyees healthy for the hard labor.

The REAL cowboys.

If i was to ask, what is a cowboy i would get many answers and most would not be true. We think of cowboys the way we see them in Hollywood. But in reality have little in common with the cowboys Hollywood portrays to us in movies and shows.
Hollywood exaggerates a bit when it comes to cowboys, the way they have portrayed them is they guy with the big cowboy hat, cowboy boots with spiky things on the back of them, the vest and a cigar in their mouth most important the gun. As well as the typical cowboy scene where they show the empty roads a ball of hay rolls by the step away from each other a couple of steps turn around and shoot. That is all fake and exaggeration from the movies and shows we have seen.

Now the question is how are the real cowboys if what we have seen is not true? Well cowboys were very hard workers. They worked hard for money and to support their family. Back then they had nothing compared to everything we have now a days, such as washer machines, dish washers , cars , t.v's etc. Back then they did everything by hand, washed all their clothes by hand, wash dishes by hand, instead of cars they had horses and wagons, and there was no t.v so they found other ways to entertain themselves. All though back then there was so much work cowboys had that there was no time. Cowboys had various jobs, their most important piece of equipment for work was their horse, to a cowboy the horse was like their best friend. Cowboys spent hours on their horses herding,roping the horses and cattle and preparing the meat for dinner.They worked extremly hard and the worst part was that in the west it was a more hot and dry climate. Cowboys lived on ranches with a lot of land, where they kept all their horses and their herd. The way the cowboys dressed were long sleeve shirts, jeans, long boots, and vests. As for wardrobe Hollywood was right for the most part. But what they don't show is how hard cowboys worked, to us they show them having fun all the time at bars they showed all the men who drank and fought often, or rodeos.
For a cowboy rodeos was the one thing thing always looked forward to. To them it was like a reward for all their hard work. The rodeos was when everyone from their towns got together, danced, horse races, and bull riding. Bull riding was one of the biggest events in the rodeos. In conclusion Hollywood portrays cowboys with a bit of exaggeration compared to how cowboys really were back then. They were not all about drinking, fighting, and sitting on top of horses looking good. There is a lot more to the real cowboy.










http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php?asn=LC-S6-123&mcat=1
http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/smith/collection.php?asn=LC-S59-302&mcat=9&scat=30

Lets play and learn !

Playing games is one things that always catches students attention. When someone asks you if you would rather learn or play,most people would choose playing. Gaming and learning and learning connect because while you play the game wether you realize it or not,you are still learning. For example,while i was playing Oregon Trail i was having fun and i was learning about the journey west. There are many games that have to do with all kinds of subjects that teach you as you are having fun. There aremany ways to learn but in my opinion learning while you play a games is more entretaining and it gives people more of a reason to study.

Six word story

Long journey, big family, a dream ?

Treatment of African-Americans

The history of African- Americans has had extreme changes over the years. The treatment of all African-Americans has remained the same ever since slavery was abolished. After all the bad treatment they received many years ago. Before the time of the civil war African-Americans were treated like animals , they were used as tools to get other peoples work done. The Africans were sold to the white people. They were shipped in the worst conditions and if they didn't survive they were thrown over board. To the whites Africans were nothing , and in their eyes they were never equal to the rest of people. Africans were treated very inhumane. After the north defeated the south in the was, the south did not have control over slavery anymore. Since the North did not believe in slavery it seemed obvious that the African-Americans would be free and treated as everyone else's in the country was treated. When the North won slavery was suppose to be abolished, and the reconstruction process took place. But Black codes were passed by the southerners that denied many things to black people.This was the term to keep African-Americans as close to slavery as they possibly could. It was a nice way of referring to them as slaves. 

The reconstruction was suppose to give Africans more freedom, but the freedom they received was not the one they expected.  What the reconstruction did was supplied the former slaves a place to live by building farms for them to live in on plantations. The plantations were owned by "masters" who in return for the home former slaves would have to plant crops.Only the crops that were approved by the homeowner were to be planted , and they had to give them 50% of their income, as well as fixing things and cleaning around the plantation. Which meant that the slaves had a very low income and with that income they were to feed their whole family. The white people took advantage of the ex-slaves and had them do jobs (chores) they didn't want to do themselves.

That treatment was similar to the civil rights movement that was first promoted in the 1950’s. This was pretty much to outlaw discrimination. During this time African-Americans had to sit in the back of the buses, there were segregated schools, restrooms,  even water fountains! The civil rights movement was a way of the African -Americans to defend themselves. They wanted to show the white people that they were all equal and color of skin made no difference , they are all human. During this time African-Americans were still treated like trash but they were not going to give up. Finally their voices were heard and things took a drastic change. They were started to be treated the same. Till this day there is no longer slavery nor racism. Every one is human no matter the color of the skin , their race , or sex. We are all equal !

Sources:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AfricanSlavesTransport.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Family_of_African_American_slaves_on_Smith%27s_Plantation_Beaufort_South_Carolina.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blatantnews/3951901286/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Abraham Lincoln.

I chose this photo because it represents how much impact Abraham Lincoln had on the United States. The big statue and the american flag behind him can represent how Lincoln united the North and the South. When Lincolns was elected the South became its own country. Then North won the was and the states united as one. What the viewer should take from this photo is that Abraham Lincoln did a lot of things that impacted the US. he freed slaves as well as united the North and the South.

Reconstruction effect

The effect that reconstruction had on former slaves was that it gave was the right to own their right to  own their own home. It had to be on a white mans land and they had to grow crops and give half of what they grew to the land owner. The reconstruction gave slaves a little more freedom and now they had to be payed in someway for their work. they couldnt be owned. in a way they were better than before the reconstruction because of it there was sharecroping.

Abraham's concern.

Abraham Lincoln's concern was mostly to save the union and not slavery because even though he still felt that african americans are no equal he didnt really care about slavery. He used slavery to win the election but he mostly wanted to take slavery out of the picture so the north and the south could become a union. He wanted the United States to be indivisible. He knew that many hated him because he wanted to stop slavery but he knew that was not his main goal .

"that government is best which governs least"

I think that Thoreaus words , "that government is best which governs least", means that the government that governs less as in it is not so involved in the people lives is the best government. That the government should only interfere when it is absolutely necessary. I disagree because for a government to be a good one it needs to be involed with the people. If the government dosent care and dosent act as one should then there is no meaning to even having one. The government is there to keep things in other and  to represent the people. But I do agree that it shouldnt always be in the way and used when needed.

History Matters !

In my opinion , history does matter and it matters a lot. History has shaped the world today , from the language to the government to traditions etc. History gives us a better understanding of our past.Without history we souldnt have any knowledge of our society and the story of how mankind has evolved. In addition history contributes to identifying ourselves in the world.

Negative-Positive All Included

In my opinion countries shouldn't leave pieces of their history out. When documenting these stories, every single detail should be included. The reason for this is because it is impossible to write the history of a country, city, or person without including the worst , the best , the good, the bad, the happiest and saddest moments that they've had. If it wasn't like that, the publisher or the history writer would be hiding lots of information that tells us everything that once really happened.