The History of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) starts in Africa where microbes of chimpanzees jump over our specie, probably the blame of AIDS virus, called HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). According to Kevin Cahill, the first case of AIDS was in New York City in 1979. Since that day, the disease have killed around 28 million of people and nowadays is the number four cause of death worldwide (TIME). The most important focus of this disease in the world is found in Africa where 74%, about 3.1 million, of AIDS deaths last year were in this continent. Despite of, it is almost impossible to stop this huge epidemic, there are forms to prevent it such as: have a good information and knowledge of the disease, the ways to contagious and preventions, and the Scientifics researches.
First of all, knowledge about the disease is the first step to prevent it. AIDS is formed by a virus called HIV that paralyzes the defense of the human body against infections. Therefore, people lose their normal immunity against diseases, so they do not die of AIDS, they would die of normal diseases like fever. Government of different countries plays an important role too. They should inform citizens about this world epidemic. Furthermore, according to Green Edward, sexual activity among young people makes the infection bigger, so commercials and information in schools would decrease the risk of getting AIDS.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Thanks for the great time!
This class helped me a lot to develop my way of thinking and arguing. I learned to view issues from different perspectives and that most issues are more complex and do not offer one easy solution. We discussed a lot of topics that really matter in the world and I learned so much about Memphis, Tennessee, the United States but also about the entire world history and especially politics. We did not talk about superficial topics and that made this class so interesting. Furthermore, I developed my speaking and oral arguing skills in our group discussions. I love the way we sit in our class because this grouping makes discussions and stating opinions much easier. In fact, we had a lot of interesting and heated discussions about controversial topics. Even tough there were so many girls and some gay guys in the class I felt so comfortable to talk with you guys about everything and argue. The fact that we had to write so much is probably normal in a English class but I am still very happy that I do not have to write a blog a day until the rest of my days *smile*. I want to thank everybody in this class for the great time. I hope that I see you guys in my next semesters in other classes. It was really fun!!!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Drugs
Nowadays, drugs are one of the most important focus points of governments in many countries. The drug trade makes a lot of illegal money and illegal traffic in most of European countries and North America. This is an important issue to explain what the different types of drugs are and what make drugs extremely dangerous.
First of all, drugs are all substances that introduced into a living organism can modify its functions, like changes in the physical or psychological aspect. Indeed, drugs are international because they exist in all countries; even though, all kinds of drugs are illegal in most of the countries. In fact, there is a great illegal traffic of drugs in the world. For instance, cocaine, heroine, and marijuana are the most know illegal drugs. Other kinds of drugs are: amphetamines, methamphetamines, ecstasies, crack, inhalants and steroids. Contrabandists make a lot of money with these products. They make cheap drugs in places like Africa (Morocco) or South America (Colombia, Venezuela or Paraguay). Afterwards, they mix them with medical products to increase the effects of the drugs, to have more material and, of course, earn more money. In other words, 1 gram of cocaine can cost a contrabandist $5, but they can sell it in Europe or North America for $30 and $50. Despite this, contrabandists have a lot of problems transport the merchandise across the boarders of developmental countries, since police are always trying to arrest them.
On the other hand, all drugs are not illegal. Alcohol, tobacco, some kind of medicines and inhalants can be bought by anybody legally. I thought about the issue drugs because two of our oponents that we played today got caught drunk driving. So my advice is, be smart about what you are doing!
First of all, drugs are all substances that introduced into a living organism can modify its functions, like changes in the physical or psychological aspect. Indeed, drugs are international because they exist in all countries; even though, all kinds of drugs are illegal in most of the countries. In fact, there is a great illegal traffic of drugs in the world. For instance, cocaine, heroine, and marijuana are the most know illegal drugs. Other kinds of drugs are: amphetamines, methamphetamines, ecstasies, crack, inhalants and steroids. Contrabandists make a lot of money with these products. They make cheap drugs in places like Africa (Morocco) or South America (Colombia, Venezuela or Paraguay). Afterwards, they mix them with medical products to increase the effects of the drugs, to have more material and, of course, earn more money. In other words, 1 gram of cocaine can cost a contrabandist $5, but they can sell it in Europe or North America for $30 and $50. Despite this, contrabandists have a lot of problems transport the merchandise across the boarders of developmental countries, since police are always trying to arrest them.
On the other hand, all drugs are not illegal. Alcohol, tobacco, some kind of medicines and inhalants can be bought by anybody legally. I thought about the issue drugs because two of our oponents that we played today got caught drunk driving. So my advice is, be smart about what you are doing!
Fast food in the US
What would America be without the existence of fast food? When foreigners look at America, they think about the big buildings, cars, malls, and most importantly, fast food. Although, the fast food industry is big in the nation, recent health problems have created a doubt in peoples minds. I believe that fast food restaurants are not a good place to eat, because doing so puts your health at risk. Yet many, if not most Americans, continue to eat fast food regularly. There are many factors contributing to this unhealthy trend, three of which have more effect than the others. These are convenience, affordability, and advertising.
In my opinion, nothing can beat home cooked food. However, not many people share the same point of view. There are 300,000 different fast food restaurants in the U.S. Franchises such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have 32,000 restaurants around the world, 2000 more than the most important fast food franchise, Mc Donald's. According to Mc Donald's Corporation, they have around 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries. They are the number one franchise, since they have a great variety of products for people of all ages. The competency and the success of these types of restaurants have led to the fact that everybody in every town has access to fast food. All they have to do is choose which brand that they most like. The name “fast food” is a reference to the amount of time that you can save eating in one of these restaurants. People with no time prefer stopping over at fast food restaurant before eating at home. Many people in America commute to work, and prefer eating fast food rather than waiting until after a 2 or 3 hour drive to cook dinner. In my opinion, these restaurants are created for the American life style in which U.S. citizens need to save time. Since they are tailored to our needs, these restaurants have become very convenient.
In my opinion, nothing can beat home cooked food. However, not many people share the same point of view. There are 300,000 different fast food restaurants in the U.S. Franchises such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have 32,000 restaurants around the world, 2000 more than the most important fast food franchise, Mc Donald's. According to Mc Donald's Corporation, they have around 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries. They are the number one franchise, since they have a great variety of products for people of all ages. The competency and the success of these types of restaurants have led to the fact that everybody in every town has access to fast food. All they have to do is choose which brand that they most like. The name “fast food” is a reference to the amount of time that you can save eating in one of these restaurants. People with no time prefer stopping over at fast food restaurant before eating at home. Many people in America commute to work, and prefer eating fast food rather than waiting until after a 2 or 3 hour drive to cook dinner. In my opinion, these restaurants are created for the American life style in which U.S. citizens need to save time. Since they are tailored to our needs, these restaurants have become very convenient.
Bill Cosby speaking!
Cosby is so right when he says that African-Americans should not care about the stuff that some white people say. There are some stupid white guys, there are some stupid black guys and there are some stupid yellow guys – every race, religion and heritage has smart, dumn, big, small, nice and unfriendly people. So do not be harmed by what other people say about you. Stay calm and do not let them provoke you. That is what they want. I also think, just like Cosby, that racism is still present in America. Just look what kind of people work at this really low paid jobs. There are no white people at restrooms handing you the toilet. There is still so much segregation. Look at our campus, for instance, in the tiger den, the black people sit in one part and the white people sit in another part. White people have white friends and black people have black friends.
If Barack Obama would become president that would be another major step, if not even the biggest step in the history, for the rights of African Americans. He would have the power to change something. To give his people better jobs, more money, so they can afford to pay their bills, send their children to college and so on and so force. These children would get educated and get good jobs, be able to pay for everything and send their children to colleges. That would really make a difference in this country!
If Barack Obama would become president that would be another major step, if not even the biggest step in the history, for the rights of African Americans. He would have the power to change something. To give his people better jobs, more money, so they can afford to pay their bills, send their children to college and so on and so force. These children would get educated and get good jobs, be able to pay for everything and send their children to colleges. That would really make a difference in this country!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Memphis Tennis vs. Soutern Miss
Last Saturday, the Tennis team played in Southern Miss. Last year we lost against them so we were so fired up to beat them. We took the lead in doubles and won two out of three doubles. One of these doubles had two match points against them but came back and won finally. So in the score count we were up 1:0 because all three doubles just count as one point, whoever wins at least two out of three doubles gets one point. After a ten minute break we started with singles. Our number one player played awesome and chopped his opponent in 90 minutes, 2:0 Memphis. Then our number 2 player lost in straight sets. After that we won the number 6 singles but lost number 3 and 5 so the overall score was 3:3. Everything came down to my court. The crowed was yelling against me, swearing and trying to distract me. Everybody cheered against me. I was under the highest pressure in the whole season. I played the number 4 single. I won the first set 6:4 but lost the second set with 4:6. In the third set a tiebreaker had to decide who will win. I was 1:5 down in the tiebreaker but fought back. Eventually, after 3 and half hours of pure battle I defeated my opponent with 8:6 in the tiebreaker. My teammates ran on my court and we celebrated our most important victory of the season because it was our first win in a conference match!
Memphis lost
Memphis lost. Our Basketball team lost in the NCAA final tonight. I still cannot realize what just happened. We played the best season that a in the history of NCAA, we won 35 games and lost 2! I thought that nobody could stop us and everything looked like that we would win the final, too.
I watched the final together with the entire men’s and women’s tennis team at the house of my coaches’ wife parent’s house. It was a great atmosphere; we were cheering and yelling so loud. It nearly felt like we were sitting in the stadium. Everybody was so happy when we took the lead in the second half and dominated Kansas. Everybody was so excited and we already started to celebrate the victory when we were up with 7 points and just 1 minute to go. It was too early. When Memphis led with 63 to 60 and 12 seconds to go, Kansas made an unbelievable 3 pointer and made it to the overtime. Nobody thought that they would come back but they eventually did and then dominated the last five minutes of the game. When the referees blew the final whistle we remained in sad silence. I felt so frustrated to be so close to the biggest victory in school history. We still lost. Memphis lost, unbelievable! After the best season a college Basketball team ever played!
I watched the final together with the entire men’s and women’s tennis team at the house of my coaches’ wife parent’s house. It was a great atmosphere; we were cheering and yelling so loud. It nearly felt like we were sitting in the stadium. Everybody was so happy when we took the lead in the second half and dominated Kansas. Everybody was so excited and we already started to celebrate the victory when we were up with 7 points and just 1 minute to go. It was too early. When Memphis led with 63 to 60 and 12 seconds to go, Kansas made an unbelievable 3 pointer and made it to the overtime. Nobody thought that they would come back but they eventually did and then dominated the last five minutes of the game. When the referees blew the final whistle we remained in sad silence. I felt so frustrated to be so close to the biggest victory in school history. We still lost. Memphis lost, unbelievable! After the best season a college Basketball team ever played!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
This is the real "race" discussion
Oh, I mixed a blog up. this is the big race discussion blog *sorry*!
In my view, race is one of the most important issues in the United States because America is the most diverse country in the world. In the US, there are so many different ethnicities and races living together so most people who live here have to deal with this issue. “Race” is a subject which everybody has in his head and uses every day with stereotypes but nobody says honestly what he or she thinks about this issue. American’s are afraid to talk about this topic. Why is that, Americans should be able to talk easier than any other citizen from a different country because they have to deal with this issue than any other nation. In fact, most Americans avoid this topic and even fear it because of the history of the country. People are always concerned what other people might think, especially about “race.” When people express their opinions related to different race’s, they always fear that other people think that one is a racist or that one does not stick to his routs. So it does not matter how one deals with this topic and what opinion one has, it can always be misinterpret. From my point of view, the main problem is that people are too much concerned that they lose their “good reputation” and that they do not want to hurt anybody but this does not break down the walls of “race” separation.
In my view, race is one of the most important issues in the United States because America is the most diverse country in the world. In the US, there are so many different ethnicities and races living together so most people who live here have to deal with this issue. “Race” is a subject which everybody has in his head and uses every day with stereotypes but nobody says honestly what he or she thinks about this issue. American’s are afraid to talk about this topic. Why is that, Americans should be able to talk easier than any other citizen from a different country because they have to deal with this issue than any other nation. In fact, most Americans avoid this topic and even fear it because of the history of the country. People are always concerned what other people might think, especially about “race.” When people express their opinions related to different race’s, they always fear that other people think that one is a racist or that one does not stick to his routs. So it does not matter how one deals with this topic and what opinion one has, it can always be misinterpret. From my point of view, the main problem is that people are too much concerned that they lose their “good reputation” and that they do not want to hurt anybody but this does not break down the walls of “race” separation.
The big "Race" discussion
Homework Continued…
Later on, Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase “shot heard ‘round the world” in his poems to refer to the American Revolutionary War. Since that time, the term was used to describe dramatic moments in history (such as in Thompson’s case to the Korean War).
Questions:
What did cause you to write about this historic moment in baseball history?
Why did you describe the game and especially the hit by Thompson so detailed?
What makes this happening still so important even today, in your view?
Christine Kenneally:
Terms:
Nonfiction is a genre in literature which was establish in the form of a novel by Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” in 1965. This genre represents real events and these events are connected with techniques used in fiction. Capote said that nonfiction should not include any first-person narrations. Other authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe followed Capote’s example.
Questions:
Was it always easy for you to write about such a heavy topic?
Why did you start writing about this topic? Why did you pick this topic for an essay?
How emotionally have you been involved in this story?
Later on, Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase “shot heard ‘round the world” in his poems to refer to the American Revolutionary War. Since that time, the term was used to describe dramatic moments in history (such as in Thompson’s case to the Korean War).
Questions:
What did cause you to write about this historic moment in baseball history?
Why did you describe the game and especially the hit by Thompson so detailed?
What makes this happening still so important even today, in your view?
Christine Kenneally:
Terms:
Nonfiction is a genre in literature which was establish in the form of a novel by Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” in 1965. This genre represents real events and these events are connected with techniques used in fiction. Capote said that nonfiction should not include any first-person narrations. Other authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe followed Capote’s example.
Questions:
Was it always easy for you to write about such a heavy topic?
Why did you start writing about this topic? Why did you pick this topic for an essay?
How emotionally have you been involved in this story?
Homework, part 3
Homework Continued…
Later on, Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase “shot heard ‘round the world” in his poems to refer to the American Revolutionary War. Since that time, the term was used to describe dramatic moments in history (such as in Thompson’s case to the Korean War).
Questions:
What did cause you to write about this historic moment in baseball history?
Why did you describe the game and especially the hit by Thompson so detailed?
What makes this happening still so important even today, in your view?
Christine Kenneally:
Terms:
Nonfiction is a genre in literature which was establish in the form of a novel by Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” in 1965. This genre represents real events and these events are connected with techniques used in fiction. Capote said that nonfiction should not include any first-person narrations. Other authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe followed Capote’s example.
Questions:
Was it always easy for you to write about such a heavy topic?
Why did you start writing about this topic? Why did you pick this topic for an essay?
How emotionally have you been involved in this story?
Later on, Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase “shot heard ‘round the world” in his poems to refer to the American Revolutionary War. Since that time, the term was used to describe dramatic moments in history (such as in Thompson’s case to the Korean War).
Questions:
What did cause you to write about this historic moment in baseball history?
Why did you describe the game and especially the hit by Thompson so detailed?
What makes this happening still so important even today, in your view?
Christine Kenneally:
Terms:
Nonfiction is a genre in literature which was establish in the form of a novel by Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” in 1965. This genre represents real events and these events are connected with techniques used in fiction. Capote said that nonfiction should not include any first-person narrations. Other authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe followed Capote’s example.
Questions:
Was it always easy for you to write about such a heavy topic?
Why did you start writing about this topic? Why did you pick this topic for an essay?
How emotionally have you been involved in this story?
Homework, part 2
The homework is continued …
Détente (French for relaxing or easing) – this term has been used since the early 70s in international politics. It describes a situation where “previously hostile nations not involved in involved in an open war de-escalate tensions through diplomacy and confidence-building measures.” Mostly, Détente was used to describe the politics and reduce the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the cold war (1945-1989, especially: 1960-80s).
Abu Ghraib – was the place in Iraq where former ruler Saddam Hussein killed and incarcerated political dissidents. During the Iraq war, Abu Ghraib became a prison for the American forces after Hussein’s fall. The U.S. military was accused of using Abu Ghraib to torture and abuse the prisoners.
Questions:
How do you get all these resources?
How long does it take you to research an essay like “Operation Desert Fraud”?
Did your articles and work ever seriously endanger your life?
Joshua Prager
Terms:
In baseball, the term “Shot heard ‘round the world” describes the home run hit by Bobby Thomson (outfielder for the New York Giants) which was pitched by Ralph Branca. In 1951, the giants won the national league pennant because of this hit, and a reporter described this happening as “the giants win the pennant.”
To be continued…
Détente (French for relaxing or easing) – this term has been used since the early 70s in international politics. It describes a situation where “previously hostile nations not involved in involved in an open war de-escalate tensions through diplomacy and confidence-building measures.” Mostly, Détente was used to describe the politics and reduce the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the cold war (1945-1989, especially: 1960-80s).
Abu Ghraib – was the place in Iraq where former ruler Saddam Hussein killed and incarcerated political dissidents. During the Iraq war, Abu Ghraib became a prison for the American forces after Hussein’s fall. The U.S. military was accused of using Abu Ghraib to torture and abuse the prisoners.
Questions:
How do you get all these resources?
How long does it take you to research an essay like “Operation Desert Fraud”?
Did your articles and work ever seriously endanger your life?
Joshua Prager
Terms:
In baseball, the term “Shot heard ‘round the world” describes the home run hit by Bobby Thomson (outfielder for the New York Giants) which was pitched by Ralph Branca. In 1951, the giants won the national league pennant because of this hit, and a reporter described this happening as “the giants win the pennant.”
To be continued…
Homework, part 1
This was my homework for last week and Wendy said that we could use it for our blogs. So please enjoy what I researched on these topics.
Stacy Sullivan:
Terms:
Slobodan Milosevic – a Yugoslavian-Serbian politician. He was the president from 1989-1997 of the communist Serbian party and of Serbia, and from 1997- October 2000 he was president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Bosnian-Herzegovina – Yugoslavia became Bosnian-Herzegovina in 1992. B.-H. is divided in three parts: the federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, the republic Srpska and the Brcko-district.
Ethnic Cleansing – this term describes different military policies or military practices which are created to produce security. This theory displaces an ethnic group from a place threatened by war between two enemy ethnic groups. The term was derived from the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and was established in the early 90s in the English and international media.
The Hague – the home of the court of international affairs and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
George Soros – was born in Budapest, Hungary and is an investor, speculator, and political activist.
To be continued…
Stacy Sullivan:
Terms:
Slobodan Milosevic – a Yugoslavian-Serbian politician. He was the president from 1989-1997 of the communist Serbian party and of Serbia, and from 1997- October 2000 he was president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Bosnian-Herzegovina – Yugoslavia became Bosnian-Herzegovina in 1992. B.-H. is divided in three parts: the federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, the republic Srpska and the Brcko-district.
Ethnic Cleansing – this term describes different military policies or military practices which are created to produce security. This theory displaces an ethnic group from a place threatened by war between two enemy ethnic groups. The term was derived from the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and was established in the early 90s in the English and international media.
The Hague – the home of the court of international affairs and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
George Soros – was born in Budapest, Hungary and is an investor, speculator, and political activist.
To be continued…
The Zoo
Last Sunday my girlfriend and I went to the Memphis Zoo – and we loved it. It was so much fun to see all the animals. They have every kind of animals over there. And I could impress my girlfriend by telling her everything I know about the animals – when I was a little kid I like animals so much. I had a whole lot of books about them and I learned everything that was in there by heart so I could tell everybody. Obviously even today I still remember most of the facts. What I thought was really impressing were all the donations people gave for the zoo. In Germany the Zoos may get some donations, but you cannot compare it to the huge amount of money the Memphis Zoo got. Another thing I liked about the Zoo was the different areas that were created. On the one hand the Antarctic with all its sealions… and on the other hand Africa with all its typical animals. This must be great for kids. One thing I do not really like about zoos is the little cages the animals are kept in. You cannot compare those little cages to the huge landscape the animals would live in if they were not captured… I always think that is really sad. On the other hand some kinds of animals would not even exist anymore if they would grow up in nature.
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