College Shooting in the Midst of Elections

Gianna Fazioli
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/rights/77533/

I live about forty-five minutes from Northern Illinois University and many of my friends were drastically affected by what happened on February 14th. I think that it hits everyone pretty close to home, as these shootings continue to happen and the media glorifies the shooter. When and how is this going to stop happening? I don’t know how much I agree with this article’s focus on the Democrats’ stance on gun control, but it does have a point. It should be addressed anyway, but especially because innocent people are dying. Also, since both of the shooters used high capacity ammunition magazines that would have been prohibited under the expired Federal Assualt Weapons Ban, politicians should have a statement on gun control. Though, they need to worry about their campaigns, it would relieve a lot of American’s worries.
It doesn’t shock me however, that politicans haven’t made bold statements about these issues, because they are very difficult to approach. Although this is such a big problem in today’s society, there should be some stance that is clear-cut about the issue. I think there should be some discrepancy about Obama’s stand about “Protecting Gun Rights” for hunting and target shooting. In my opinion, it is far too easy for anyone to get a gun. Of course there will be no quick, easy solution to this problem, but there is a possible neglegence in our system in regards to gun control. I also do not mean to place the blame on politicans or our law system, because that is not the case. I just really hope that whoever wins the election, whether it be a Democrat or Republican, Hillary or Barack, can help to restrain these terrifying situations.

The Cure to Diabetes?

Deanna Dong

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/22/diabetes.obesity.surgery.ap/index.html 

 

I am not surprised by the growing number of obese individuals especially in the United States. Several factors influence our diet today, some of which include cultural influence, accessibility, social environments, and social values as well. The portions of our meals have increased almost double the size it used to be. Also, the media constantly commercializes junk food and processed food such as McDonalds and Burger King. Not only that, junk food and processed food tend to be easily available and inexpensive. Just look at the dollar menus that fast food restaurants have to offer. Vending machines and food that are sold in the cafeteria in public schools are not helping the kids much either. When it comes down to it, teachers and parents are not fulfilling their responsibilities in addressing important health concerns and issues.

Sure, some may have been predisposed to the disease of obesity through family genetics; however, in fact, it’s the lifestyle that you live that ultimately determines your health.

The new idea that surgery can prevent the predisposition of diabetes is a great advance in the medical field. The researchers are truly careful about each step they take. Having strict regulations is a good idea because it’ll prevent individuals from taking advantage of the system. The cost of surgery may be as expensive as $30,000 or perhaps, even more. Although the surgery may not come cheap, it is something worth considering about, taking into account that it can change the future of individuals struggling with obesity.

Also, the idea of obese patients having to take diabetic medication can be a hassle. With an accumulation of the cost of medications, individual must spend millions of dollars in a life time. Surgery may seem expensive; when in reality, it may be saving some extra dollars.

Pats not best ever now, but still could be

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=280203017

All day I was thinking about how I would be writing about the 2007 Patriots being the best team of all time.  Then the Giants came along and completely ruined my argument.  While a good argument could still be made for the Patriots being the GOAT (only team to ever go 18-0, most points by any NFL team ever, arguably the best quarterback ever in his prime who has arguably the most talented wide receiver ever), it’s impossible to crown them the greatest without the win at the end of the season.  In the NFL, greatness is measured in Super Bowl rings, whether you’re talking about players or teams.  Records, number of wins, star players and margin of victory mean nothing when you don’t have the hardware to show at the end of the season.  Hope is not lost for the Pats, though.  While they will probably never go undefeated and win it all, if they are able to maintain their high level of play and get back to the Super Bowl next year, they could win it and cement themselves as the greatest dynasty of all time.  They will have gone to five of the last seven Super Bowls, won four of them, had an undefeated season in the midst of it, broken countless records and had the best quarterback ever in his prime.  Tom Brady will have four Super Bowl rings, tying him for the most ever with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, hold the record for most touchdowns in a season, 50 (unless someone breaks it next season – not going to happen) and will be a ridiculous 17-3 in the postseason.  Not bad for a lowly 199^th draft pick out of Michigan.

Why we need geeks to rescue the Earth..

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-09/st_thompson

Srikanth Veluvolu

Over the course of the past few years, maybe even the entire past decade, a lot of..shit..has happened to this planet. Global warming, genocides, natural disasters, and MILLIONS of people have died pre-mature deaths as a result. What’s interesting is not that millions of people have died, but instead the manner in which millions of other people react to those deaths. This article is absolutely right about the paradox that guides the human mind. If I were to see a picture of a loan starving child in Africa or the Middle East, I would feel a tremendous amount of empathy, but if I were to see a picture of say….an entire starving village, I wouldn’t feel the same amount of sorrow as I did for the child. This isn’t because I don’t care, or I don’t realize the pain of all those people – I do! But theres just something about recognizing the plight of large numbers of people that I don’t want to accept. In my mind, I get a greater amount of satisfaction knowing I could give X amount of money to that one child, as opposed to the entire village, even though I know it would benefit the entire village more. What I find interesting about this article is that it examines this phenomenon through experiments, and concludes that we as humans, are hardwired to lose our perception when dealing with large numbers, which is why we need geeks to save the world for us. And it’s so true – when it comes to sponsoring that one child, or bringing that one kid from a 3rd world country over to America for a life saving surgery,  we as humans are extremely reliable. But when it comes to solving real problems, problems on a global scale of millions and billions, we falter, because our minds cannot comprehend the severity of the situation. It’s sad and it’s screwed up…but for the large majority of us “non-geeks,” it’s who we are as human beings.