Connor "The Crusher"

Connor Michalek was a very young boy who was diagonsed with cancer and had ill hope for a long, healthy life. Being this young he had strong hopes, passions and dreams that any kid would want. Making these dreams come true for him was exactly his fathers goal. Having the support of the public was just a bonus. But my opinion is rather harsh on this subject. I do not think it is fair that the public just worshiped this boy in general. Millions of children are diagonsed with the same type of cancer Connor had- why is it that they do not recieve the same attention? Every life is equal, our society is fixated on entertainment and feeling better about our selves. I am not saying that Connor should not have had the luxurey of meeting his idol, or getting a memorial video that streamed worldwide. Im saying that our society should not be idoling a single boy, when there are countless little children, just like Connor days before death that have not had the same opportunities...

Placebos ....

Placebos are most commenly sugar pills that are given to patients who believe it is medication. This is not doing so to save money, but to see the relationships between the ones who did recieve medication and the ones who did not. This is scientifically called a controlled experiment. Although we see it moraly wrong, it is neccesary in many cases. For example, when trying to test a new drug one would gather a controlled sum of people- usually in the thousands. Half those people would recieve the drug and the other half would unknowninly recieve the Placebo thinking they too are recieving the drug. By the end of the experiement, changes would occur and the scientists would be able to intentify if the drug worked or not. Leslie was told to perform the controlled experiemnt with her patients fighting Pergeria. Because this disease was deadly and no other medication existed, she thought it was morally right to use no placebos in the experiement. This act of caring almost cost her the entire experiement for scientists wanted to see evidence. If I were in Leslies situation, I too would give the 300 or so patients the actual drug instead of using the placebo. It is the right thing to do.

Sam Berns Having Hope

Sam Berns is one amazing, inspirational and bright young man who battled pergeria every single day. He gave hope to those in need, and he let nothing stand in his way if he has a goal to accompish. There are roughly 300 people in the world who have been diagonsed with this extremly rare disease. For us, we feel sympathetic. For him- he saw the glass half full. Because of this disease he had became a role model for the rest of the world for he didn't show us things he couldn't do, but the things he could. Sams mother had been one of the biggest supportors in Sams case, stopping at nothing to try and save her boy. Because of this Sam stayed positive until the end. Sam addmited: "I kind of just want my mom to be done with progeria for her sake, because my mom will keep working forever until progeria is cured." Sam knows his mother had not given up, and because of his hope and faith in her - he had lived past the expected due date which has given hope to the rest of world. Sam Berns: (October 23, 1996 – January 10, 2014)

The R-Word

Freedom of speech is something in Canada that we take for granted sometimes. We use special words to express anger, frustration, or hate and we have been so accustomed to using these words that we forget the symbolic meaning behind the word. The R-word- Retard, is a word that gives some people no shame to use. We use it when we perform a silly task or when some person does something wrongly but is it appropriate to use in any scenario? The answer is NO! Intellectual disabledment is not something that is to be taken in a joking matter. A normal person would not say "You're retarded" to an disabled person because it's wrong.. Why is it okay to use on other people then? Society should put a taboo on the R-word just like the N-word because if something is not stopped soon our generations children will feel more accustomed to using other bad words for daily, daily tasks.

My Little Pony

This specific case is difficult... The child is very young, so naturally he wants to express himself. When I look at the big picture I see a person who is getting bullied because of race, gender, weight etc... The My Little Pony backpack is just another reason for the bullies to bully. Just because it can be prevented by not taking it to school doesn't give the right for the school to change it. The boy should have every right, as every other student to express himself in the way he wants. The school should not be worrying about the backpack as much as ignoring the bullies. Bullying is something that should not be tolerated. Instead of expelling the backpack the school board should be expelling the bullies. This article makes me very upset, because it is happening everywhere and I have heard countless cases just as this. Stricter punishments should be enforced to the bullies not the victims.

The Mosquito Effect

Blockbuster movie, Jurassic Park is full of amazing believable dinosaurs and frightening scenes. But, the joy of this movie is the story line. Dr. Allan Grant, a palaeontologist embarks on a mission with his companion to visit this new amusement park off the coast of Costa Rica, where dinosaurs roam in locked pens and everything seems safely secure. Until Denis- the computer programmer turns off the power and shuts down some of the dinosaur fences while the tour is taking place. Dinosaurs are on the loose while Dr. Grant is trying to save as many people as possible. Many friends are lost, bullets fired, dinosaurs full. And in the end, Dr. Allan Grant is a changed person, full of fear, and anxiety for the underestimated adventure he took part in. But if we back up -----through the bullets, blood and death----- through the centuries---- back to around 200 million years ago. We are fixed on the sole reason any of this was possible a mosquito, a tiny blood sucking bug that happened to be feeding that particular day and happened to land on a specific branch that was covered in sap, preserving it inside for millions of years for John Ryan's team to dig and find it- so they could extract dino' DNA and create dinosaurs. But what would happen if that mosquito didn't land on that branch and the team never found the fossil? Well the timeline shows that John Ryan would never have become famous, many people wouldn't have died by getting eaten by dinosaurs, those same people would have had generations of children who would grow up and also have children, etc. And the overall outcome would have resulted in the extinction of the 2nd and 3rd Jurassic Park movies, which would have been the worst possible outcome. So next time you go camping, watch what bugs you slap because in the long run it could change history forever. This is the mosquito effect.

Debate for Data

Riker: Data is not a human and no where close to it for that matter, It is a machine that was built using advanced tools to appear human to the naked eye. If we changed the appearance of it, lets say to the form of an furry dog- would you argue the same points Picard? You would be called a fool to the enterprise if you argued that Data "Rex" was a human. This MACHINE can be dissembled to our liking, and used at our disposal. It has the strength that no human could imagine, or attempt for that matter. Its thoughts were programmed and its abilities are manufactured. Simply put Picard, you have an over attachment to a toy that eventually you will loose interest of. ___________ Picard: I for one am appalled at your blindness to Datas humanity Riker. He has his own feelings, and attachments to personal belongings. He has evolved from the simple programming you put into his brain to become who he is today. He has friends, relationships and self-awareness for pity sake. Data is a remarkable being and the fact that you think its right that he is property to you because you made him is poppycock. Did your mother and father not also make you? Would they call you their property, and tear you apart? Data should be treated as your son Riker, not a machine. You have created the next generation of human and with that comes great responsibility that you clearly do not have.

My Butterfly Effect

This question is hard, simply put because the other outcome is unknown. I'm positive there has been many chances and opportunities in my life that I couldn't possibly see in the future just because I spilt coffee, or waited for the next elevator. But, that is the joy and wonder of the butterfly effect, living life to the unknown possibilities. An event that triggers me right off the bat was a simple answer to a simple question form a boy that I have had a crush on for years. Answering No, instead of Yes to this specific question automatically risked my chances of being with him. And from that simple answer triggered a ripple of future events that might have happened if the alternative answer was said. If we look further into this, I could examine certain aspects in my life that gave me low-self esteem, and lowered my self- confidence. Such as, when my mother left to work for a year, or my brother bullying me. I'm positive that these events in my past prevented me from having the confidence needed to say Yes, to that specific question- that effected my future life.

What would I Do?

When examining the cases of the "What would you do?" show- I was amazed and alarmed at the true feelings, and reactions to every extreme situation. The fact that we could personally view what real life, ordinary people would do was surprising.Take for example, that of the truck driver- offering the pretty 16 year old girl a lift in his truck when she ran away from home. Typical, ordinary people would obviously see the 'red flags' right away. But the majority of actions expected were highly dissapointing. The majority of people just took pictures on their camera phone- not wanting to get involved- even though they still let the girl walk out of the restaurant with the strange man. Personally, if I was put in that situation where I over-heard the conversation- I would react right away, and when the man left would have a serious talk with the girl, warning her of all the missing cases and extreme dangers she put herself in. If she did not listen to me, I would call the police right away.I personally know that if I didnt perform any actions I would regret it for the rest of my life. I was astonished at the final prospect, when the woman took the girl in her arms and would not let the truck driver take her- That should have been the senerio in every case. One thing I've learned from watching this, is that you can almost never rely on people to help you out of an extreme situaton if you don't ask for thier help. Another case that really disturbed me was when the show compared woman, to homeless men fainting on the street. I almost knew automatically what the outcome would be, for people rely too much on sterotypes. When the respectably dressed woman fainted - people helped her automatically. Why? Because she needed help. When the homeless 'drunk' man fainted - hardly anyone looked twice. Why? Did he not also need help? What distigushes him so dramatically that poeple would not take precious time out of their lives to just call 911? It is because the majority of people are too proud. If I was put into that situation, where a drunk-homeless looking man fell on the side walk, I would call 911 automatically, and try to aid the best I could... Part of myself would not want to get involved, but I think that I would get over my devil on my shoulder and help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BKWmVVHt5c

The live leak of Harrison Okene

Trapped Underwater.... For Three Days

Bound to get married in just a couple days Harrison Okene, a ship cook from Lagos Nigeria was heading home in a tugboat with his crew of 12 when the ship began to sink, from a rouge wave that slammed into the vessel snapping the tow rope. Having been in the rest room when this event took place, Okene was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Okene quickly went into the engineers office where he found a small air pocket - it was here, that his survival story took place. Harrison was stuck underwater for 60 hours with no food, no warmth, no oxygen, nothing- but a single coke bottle to sustain him. Three days later, scuba divers were sent down to retrieve the dead bodies from the wreckage- a retrieval mission turned into a rescue mission when a scuba diver saw a hand and grabbed it- he was shocked when he felt the hand grab him back - Okene was alive, with barley hours left before Carbon dioxide poisoning. After three days of praying and hoping- Okene was finally brought back to reality from a decompression chamber by the salvage divers. Okenes survival story is a tale of luck, faith and determination. This story is full of nearly impossible feats- so many things could have went wrong, but they didn't- timing was impeccable. If the divers had not found the ship how long would Okene have to live? I think the true marvel of this story is his beliefs in God, and his family. The fact that he was getting married must have given him the strength to survive. One thing that can be learned from this story is that when all odds are against you- play them anyways. Surviving underwater is unheard of- Scientists and chemists all said it was impossible, but because of Okenes hope and belief- he survived, which is why this is such a captivating survival story.

Elevator Experience - Ordeal of Nick White...

Nick White, a thirty-four year old production manager at McGraw-Hill Building faced his one of his childhood traumas over again - being stuck in an elevator, this time for 41 hours. Having nothing to eat, drink or entertain but a few cigarettes and the unusable Jets tickets Nick was all alone... When the main question is asked- Who is responsible for this? One must take all factors into consideration. Was it the security guards- who didn't properly check all security cameras in the building before leaving for the long weekend. Was it the engineers, maintenance crew who are responsible for the safety of the elevators? Or was the entire building co-operation that is responsible for Nick White until the end of shift? In my opinion... All of the above. These different areas of jobs in the building are purposely there for the safety and security of its staff, and management. If one of these fields did their job correctly- Nick wouldn't necessarily be in this situation. Having that in mind, Nick should be compensated for a lot more then he received. The 25million dollars was a little over-exaggerated- or was it? He had a higher risk dying, without food or water. No public restrooms. Psychologically he went through hardships sleeping when the light was on 24/7. Should he get exactly what he wanted? Heck, if I was in the same situation- I'd try to squeeze every ounce out compensation out of the company until it was a dried up lemon. I think Nick should have got some sort of 3 month vacation with vacation pay for starters- just to mentally stable his brain for being trapped in a box for nearly 41 hours. As well, offered another job- at another location. Unfortunately Nick White didn't get everything he wanted in the long run... He is now unemployed, settling on the bare-minimum compensation given to him by his company... Saddening really. I guess if he died in that elevator all alone- he might have been given a reasonably fair compensation.