Rwandan Genocide

I think that the UN and MRND are the only ones being blamed yet Uganda and France may have a bigger role. The UN did not respond to anything that happened in Rwanda and failed to declare the situation a genocide. The UN did not want to do anything and as a giant international organization, that is very wrong so they need to face consequences. The MRND needs to be destroyed because they caused a ton of violence. They played a radio station that was telling Hutu’s to kill Tutsi’s. Anybody that would promote killing on a radio station is extremely messed up and they need to be blamed.
Groups of the committee need to start questioning Uganda and France. Uganda was housing terrorists and they have barely been questioned throughout this whole meeting. France trained a rebel army and when they realized that it wasn’t working, they did nothing to stop it. France, the UN, the MRND, and Uganda are responsible for this whole crisis and I am suggesting that everyone gangs up on them. If we can all reveal what these people did, then we can end this conflict and restore peace to Rwanda.
A solution I have to this conflict is a cease fire in Rwanda. The violence needs to be stopped as soon as possible and I don’t think a conclusion would be easier if we didn’t have to hurry to prevent people from dying. After a cease fire, we can start negotiating a conclusion and we won’t be rushed. When all groups can sit down and talk it out, I believe that we will realize who is responsible (France, UN, MRND, and Uganda). When these groups are found guilty, we can decide how to discipline them. I think that trading sanctions should be put on these groups and we will watch them more closely. The MRND should be dismantled and Uganda should turn in all of the terrorists that they are housing. To solve this conflict it will take time but now that we know who is responsible, we have made a big first step.
I think that this is a great activity and is a really good way of practicing talking and debating in front of a group. I don’t really see how a meeting like this would resolve real world problems with a bunch of yelling world leaders in one room. It is probably really hard to control a room full of yelling world leaders.

The American Scholar

The American Scholar does not still hold true today because society needs to be the perfect man and not just one person.
Specialized jobs and abilities from many benefit society more than one perfect person. The perfect man that Ralph Waldo Emerson talks about cannot do everything at once in today’s society like he could have in Emerson’s society. Our economy thrives on specialized jobs and not all-purpose jobs. We have an auto industry, computer industry, manufacturing, farming, etc. Emerson believes that everyone should be able to do these tasks when it is really unrealistic in our society.
If there was one perfect man on the earth could he do everything? The answer is no because we have billions of people all over the world and he could not travel everywhere to help them. Instead of having one person travel around the world fixing cars and teaching kids, wouldn’t it make more sense to have auto shops and schools everywhere so all kids can learn instead of waiting for one man to help them. If society could be perfect everyone would have the same opportunities and life would become more efficient.

Halloween

Tomorrow is Halloween and it is going to be fun. My favorite part about Halloween is ghosting people’s houses with my friends and dressing up in costumes. I also like watching scary movies. My favorite Scary Movie is Sleepy Hollow. The Headless Horseman is really cool and Johnny Depp does a really good job as Icabad Crane. It was really scary when they discover the headless horseman puts all of his heads in a tree. They pull the bark back and all of sudden hundreds of heads fall out and it gets all over them. Another good scary movie is Signs. I know it’s not much of a Halloween movie but it is still scary. I had nightmares when I saw the scene in the corn field. Mel Gibson’s character is looking through a corn field because he thought something was in there and when he turned around he saw the leg of an alien walking. They did a really good job on making the aliens and they looked really scary.
I wonder what costume will be really popular this year. The Joker was popular last year and a lot of people dress as mummies, witches, and vampires every year. I think a lot of people will dress as Barack Obama this because this is the first Halloween he is President. Some people really go all out with decorations and costumes. I was watching the news and they were doing a feature on Halloween decorations people made. This one house made moving decorations without using any motors. These people must have a ton of time on their hands if they can make difficult decorations like that. I just don’t get why you would spend so much time decorating when your decorations are only going to be up for one day.

My favorite Halloween candies are Snickers, Fun Dip, and Reese’s. I also like Mr. Goodbars but I rarely ever get them. I hate Skittles, Starbursts, and jelly beans. Some people like candy so much that they go trick or treating twice with two different costumes so they can get twice as much candy. Me personally I think it would take too much time and I don’t know how I could eat that much candy. Halloween is my 3rd favorite holiday behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. I think it is going to be really fun this year and I hope get a lot of good candy.

Free Blog 2

I thought Walkabout was a very good book. It was very interesting learning about the land and animals of Australia and the Aborigines. It had a great story in which two normal kids had to survive in the Australian outback. The kids learned a lot from the bush boy and would have probably died without him. I never would have expected when I first started reading the book that the bush boy would die and Mary and Peter would survive. I didn’t think that Mary and Peter had much hope when the book started but the bush boy showed them the ways of the Aborigines and with this knowledge, Mary and Peter were able to survive.

Jennifer Granholm recently cut $5 million off of the LPS’s budget. The LPS already had a $2.7 million cut so altogether $7.7 million is being lost. I don’t know how Jennifer Granholm can make a cut like this. I wonder how the schools are going to be able to survive these cuts if they can. Granholm is making a terrible decision to cut money from education. Education is extremely important to society because without out it, people would not no much at all and our future would be bleak. The quality of schools will decrease because we simply don’t have enough money for what we need. Programs will have to be cut and jobs may be lost.

One of the main problems of these cuts is it is affecting this current school year right now. I can’t believe that Granholm would make these cuts in the middle of the school year. If these cuts had to be made couldn’t they have done them over the summer so the LPS would be able to make a budget? Now all of these schools are going to have to figure out a way to deal with these cuts and continue the school year at the same time. As a student I am worried that I won’t get the same educational opportunities as I have previously and that the quality of the school will go down. Governor Granholm is being extremely unfair to the schools and I would suggest writing letters to your representative or the governor asking for a change. With a lot of pressure put on Lansing to act, I think we can make a difference. Hopefully the governor will realize what she has done and end these cuts.

NASA has sent a satellite and a rocket to the moon to find water. The U.S. cannot afford to pay for a $79 million dollar mission in the economy we are in right now. Businesses are cutting everywhere and people are losing their jobs, so the U.S. is going to respond by shelling out $79 million dollars to try to find water on the moon? By finding water on the moon we will prove that there was once life on the moon. If we do find water, how will that affect our lives? The answer is it won’t. In this economy we can’t spend $79 million dollars on something that we are curious about. We need to spend that money on businesses and to decrease our national debt.
If this mission fails and we find no water then it is a total waste. If we do find water it may prove there was once life on the moon but you have to wonder is it worth what we are spending. If I were president or in charge of NASA I would wait until our economy recovers before I think about this mission. There shouldn’t be any rush on this mission because the water will still be there 2 years from now and so will NASA. My point is I don’t think our economy is good enough to support a mission like this and with jobs and budgets getting cut this was a bad time to do this mission. If you are interested in this story you can find the article HERE
Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said he won it for, “His extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples” (BBC). I don’t think Obama has been in office long enough to receive this prestigious award. Personally I don’t think that he has made extraordinary efforts for international diplomacy because he campaigned for the presidency for most of the year and has been calling out Iran for their nuclear weapons. I think with this move the Nobel Committee is trying to advertise Obama and have people buy into his policies. There are a lot of questions about Obama around the world and people may think he is the real deal if he wins the Nobel Peace Prize. I think that it is very interesting that an international committee will try to advertise a world leader and I am looking forward to what people will think about Obama winning one of the most notable awards in the world.

Free Blog

The Detroit Lions have finally won a game. They lost 19 straight games and hadn’t won since the end of 2007. I think that would be the worst to lose to a team like the Lions. They have been the worst team in the NFL for a long time and the Washington Redskins have to feel so embarrassed right now. I think that its really funny that people think this game is a huge conspiracy because the game was blacked out and not many people saw it. It is pretty sad that when a team wins a game people don’t think it actually happened and the players celebrate like they won the Super Bowl.
I really hope the Olympics are in Chicago. It would be awesome to have a worldwide event in the USA. When the Super Bowl was in Detroit, there was a ton of national attention and a lot of festivities. A few months ago the Final Four was in Detroit and Michigan State was in the finals. The Olympics are a lot bigger than the Super Bowl and Final Four so it would be even better. I definitely would go down to Chicago to walk around and see all the festivities. Being in Michigan, Chicago is really close so it would be a manageable difference. I think Chicago has a really good chance of winning the Olympic bid because our president is promoting Chicago to the Olympic committee in Denmark. It has been a controversial move by the president because many people think that he needs to focus on bigger issues that face America. I think he is making a good decision because having the Olympics in the U.S. would bring in a lot of money and attention. Hopefully the committee will make the right decision and give Chicago the Olympics.
I can’t believe the Detroit Tigers are not in the Playoffs. They had a 3 game lead with 4 games to go and they blew it. They should have won the tiebreaker game against Minnesota but they could not get a hit with runners in scoring position. Brandon Inge got hit in the 12th inning and the ump didn’t call it and then Gerald Laird swung at ball 4. There is no excuse for blowing a 3 game lead in 4 games and the Tigers should be very disappointed that they let their fans down and aren’t in New York right now.

Lost Locker

“Where is my locker?!” “Wasn’t it here an hour ago?” As I walked into C Hall I was ready to go to my locker, get my books, and head to my third hour class. I could see a row of lockers and walked closer but I noticed these numbers were nowhere near mine.
I started to panic. “Did my locker just magically disappear?” I could feel goose bumps forming as I heard the 1st bell ring and I had a bad feeling that this would not be good. I walked down any hallway I could see and franticly searched for my locker as if I lost my most precious possession. I had no luck. The 2nd bell rang and I still hadn’t found it.
I had never seen the halls so empty. They had gone from the streets of a boom town to a ghost town with the ring of a bell. I heard the echo of my footsteps walking through C Hall looking for a teacher. I finally found someone and said, “Do you know where my locker number is?” She told me she didn’t know much about lockers but she would find someone who does. I started to wonder if my locker broke off the wall and walked out of the school. When all hope seemed lost I heard, “ Is this it?”
I hurried to the location of the voice and sure enough on the top of the locker in black lettering I saw my locker number. I said thank you and entered my combination. As I heard the pop from opening my locker I felt a huge sigh of relief. I grabbed my supplies and was off like a jet.I was about to go into my 3rd hour class when I realized how late I was.
I was hoping she would give me a get out of trouble free card because it was the first day. I nervously walked in and was greeted with a smile. I told her what happened and she told me where to sit. Finally I was no longer lost and had this whole adventure behind me. As I reflected on the situation I learned that you should try to stay calm and ask for help if you are not sure of something.

The Alphabet

A- Apple Cider is awesome. It is one of my favorite drinks. It is really good with a doughnut.
B- I have one brother. He is a senior at my school. He is 3 years older than I am. My favorite sports are baseball and basketball.
C- I like to eat cheese. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese. I also used to have a cat but he died.
D- I have one dog. We rescued her from a shelter and she is 4 years old. I really like doughnuts too especially from Dunkin Doughnuts
E- I don’t like eggs but I like omelets. There are a lot of baked things with eggs that I do like. I have never had an energy drink because they are really bad for you.
F- I have always wanted to get a fish but I never have. I think they are really cool and I like to watch them swim. If I ever got a fish I would get an exotic fish.
G- Grapes are one of my favorite fruits. They are my second favorite and watermelon is my first. I especially like the purple grapes.
H- I don’t play hockey. I can’t ice skate or roller blade. My brother played hockey but I never really like it.
I- Icee’s are my favorite drinks. I like coke and cherry flavored. I like how it’s like drinking ice and it is really cold.
J- Jason is my name. I don’t know why my name is Jason because nobody in my family has been named Jason.
K- Kellogg’s makes my favorite snack food Cheez its. There headquarters are also located Battle Creek, MI. I have seen their factory but I have never been in it.
L- Lion’s are awesome animals. The Detroit Lions are a terrible team and were the first team ever to go 0-16. It took them forever but they finally won against the Redskins.
M- Michigan Wolverines are the best football team. They are my favorite team and they are doing really good this year. They will eventually beat Ohio State even though they haven’t in over 5 years.
N- Nachos are really good with salsa. We make homemade salsa with our own tomatoes and it is really good.
O- The Office is my favorite TV show. It is really funny and I've seen every episode. I think Michael is the funniest and Steve Carell is a great actor.
P- My favorite vacation I went on was to Philadelphia. It was really cool to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. There is a ton of history in Philadelphia.
Q- I like to eat quesadillas. I like them with steak and cheese. Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I usually get one.
R- I like to watch race cars. I usually know what is going on in Nascar and Open Wheel Racing is really fun to watch. My favorite driver is Carl Edwards.
S- My favorite fish is salmon. I don't really like any other kind except salmon. Salsa is also my favorite snack.
T- I don't like tomatoes. My dad grows a tomato garden every year and I'm the only one that doesn't like them. I think its weird that my favorite snack is made of tomatoes.
U- I live in the USA. In my opinion its the best country in the world and it is also the world super power. Even though we are in a rough economy, American citizens are still very patriotic.
V- I like most vegetables. Most people hat vegetables but I don't mind them. The only ones I really hate are broccoli and spinach.
W- I drink a lot of water. I do not drink much pop at all. All that I really drink is water, milk, and juice.
X- The X-Files are one of my favorite shows. My dad, brother, and I are big fans but my mom doesn't like it. My favorite episode is "The Host".
Y- One of my favorite websites is YouTube. It's a giant website and there are some really good videos on it.
Z- I like going to the Zoo. My favorite animals are Koalas, Tigers, and Hippos. It's really cool that there is a place you can go to and see all kinds of different animals you wouldn't see anywhere else in the world.

High School

High School
I can’t believe summer is over. My first day of high school is a matter of minutes away. Is it true seniors beat up only freshman? Is there a ton of homework? I had butterflies in my stomach as my friends and I made our way to school. As I opened the doors it all seemed like a foreign country.
I pulled out my map and find my locker and immediately found it. I grabbed my supplies and headed to my 1st hour which was at the end of the busiest hall in the school. It took a few minutes to get down the hall but I finally made it into my classroom. I was about to begin my first class of high school. The teacher introduced herself and like every other class that day we went over the rules. About an hour later the bell rang and I left for my 2nd hour.
After 2nd hour I went to my locker but it wasn’t there. It took about 10 minutes to find it and I had to get a teacher to help me. The rest of the day went routine and I found all my classes and my locker. Now after about two weeks I have gotten use to the school. I like my classes and all of my teachers are good. High school is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Over the summer you usually hear about all of these made up stories to scare freshman and so far none of them are true.
There is a lot of homework in high school. In middle school I didn’t have much homework and the homework I did have was easy. Now that I’m in high school my grades are a lot more important because of having a GPA and being in harder classes. In middle school you could fail in all of your classes and still move on but now if you fail a class you will have to make it up by retaking it or in summer school. High school is a little more challenging and big but so far I have liked it.