The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Thus Far…

Posted on February 17, 2014 by samantha young

The 2014 Winter Olympics haven been anything but what would be considered normal. First, the hotel rooms have been…interesting, to say the least. Pictures have emerged on the internet of toilets having been built side by side within inches of each other. Light fixtures that are literally hanging by wires and even electric wires sticking out of shower stalls. But asides from the death stricken, haphazard Russian room designs, the competitions have been up and down for top countries. Here are the medal break downs of the top ten countries so far:

Germany:

Gold- 8

Silver- 3

Bronze- 2

Total- 13

Russia:

Gold- 5

Silver- 7

Bronze- 6

Total- 18

The Netherlands:

Gold- 5

Silver- 5

Bronze- 7

Total- 17

USA:

Gold- 5

Silver- 4

Bronze- 9

Total- 18 

Norway:

Gold- 5

Silver- 3

Bronze- 7

Total- 15 

Switzerland:

Gold- 5

Silver- 2

Bronze- 1

Total- 8

Belarus:

Gold- 5

Silver- 0

Bronze- 1

Total- 6

Canada:

Gold- 4

Silver- 7

Bronze-4

Total- 15

Poland:

Gold- 4

Silver- 0

Bronze-0

Total- 4

China:

 

Gold-  3

Silver-  2

Bronze- 1

Total- 6

Initially, Canada started strong leading the pack following close behind with Norway, Germany, and Russia. The US did not make its strong surge until they swept the slope style skiing by winning all three medals. The US struggled, however, in the  speed skating competition after having not even placed in the top six. The blame was put on Under Armour’s new skin suit, “Mach 39”, which debuted at this years Olympics. Under Armour, however, defended themselves by saying that the suits had been thoroughly tested prior to the competitions and the skaters even tried them on before competing. If it’s any solace to Under Armour, the skaters failed to place again even after having switched back to the older suites.

 

 

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Healthcare, should it be socialized?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by scsmith

Last week I finally took care of some much needed preventative healthcare. I hadn’t been to the dentist in maybe five years and I also hadn’t been to the eye doctor in just as long. I got a coupon in the mail for a dentist in Waterford Lakes over in Orlando, it had a deal that included a cleaning, exam, and x-rays for $59 that I couldn’t pass up. So I went in and the first thing they tell me is they have to perform an examination on my gums to make sure I am healthy enough to have a cleaning done. “Hmmmm” is what I said to myself. Is this part of the “exam” portion of the deal? I asked. It turns out it wasn’t, what it ended up being was a scam to scare you into spending thousands of dollars on a procedure called Root Planing. They said I was developing Periodontal disease and that my bone (which I could barely see on the x-ray) was eroding away due to the tartar (which I also could barely see on the x-ray) and they needed to numb my gums and do a deep clean and then proceed that with some antibiotics for 10 days. Right? I said no, and the dental assistant no so politely informed me, with crushing fear, that the disease would only get worse.

The next appointment I had was with the eye doctor. I told him about the blurriness I was experiencing and he went ahead and did all the routine tests that optometrists do. He told me I was slightly farsighted, news which didn’t bother me so much until I started asking questions. On a side note, you ever get the feeling that doctors don’t appreciate when patients ask questions? Me neither. So I asked him what causes this to happen? He said the muscles located in the back of the eye, that are used to focus, either don’t get used enough or get used too much. This in turn makes the muscles tired and they begin to not work so well. So I asked him if there were exercises that could help your eye improve, he said there are but they wouldn’t help very much. He gave me a prescription and I was on my way.

So this brings me to my point, should healthcare be socialized? My answer is yes. Why? If you really think about the two situations I gave you above you will notice a trend. Money. The dentist Root Planing procedure would cost about $1,200.00 (after the front desk guy gave me a 50% “discount”). The prescription for the lens were free but the frames cost anywhere from $99.00 to $249.00. Just think about this for a second. The dentist is self-explanatory as it is, they used fear tactics and your lack of education in the dental field to persuade you into forking out thousands of dollars. Not only that, they bribe you with a deal to bring you into their office to begin with and then “cut you a deal” on the price of the outrageous procedure they are suggesting you have done. The eye doctor is similar but different. He tells me that the muscles in the back of my eye become weak due to either overuse (like staring at a small cell phone screen) or not being used enough (like if you already where glasses). Did you catch the anomaly? If you wear glasses, the prescription lens does the focusing for you, therefore weakening you muscles. Then your prescription gets stronger over the years. You are constantly buying newer glasses.

The point here as clear as it is to me, but maybe no so clear to the reader is, when you have an open market healthcare system the doctors can prescribe anything to you. There are no regulations in place by the government, and the doctors make their money elsewhere because the insurance companies will pay for whatever the doctor feels is necessary to prescribe. Which does not have a price regulation either. Or as for or the average citizen (like myself), who doesn’t have healthcare to begin with, it just costs an arm and a leg. That’s just the way I see it. They don’t care because they don’t need too.

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Public Slaughter of Healthy Giraffe in Zoo Causes Outrage Among Activists.

Posted on February 17, 2014 by jsjones

Copenhagen Zoo, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, has recently come under intense scrutiny after zoo employees euthanized a healthy giraffe and later fed the remains to the lion population.

The male giraffe, named Marius, was only 18 months old when he was killed by the use of a bolt gun. To put things into perspective, the average life span of a giraffe is 25 years. In response to the act, the director of the zoo, Mr. Bengt Holst, stated that such an event is routine because of high breeding rates in the zoo and the need to curb the populations.

The killing of the otherwise healthy giraffe might not have become global news if zoo worker had not publicly dismembered the deceased giraffe’s body and then fed it to the lions. The public display, performed in front of a large group including young children, included a dissection of Marius with a butcher knife as the various parts were thrown into lion cages.

Sadly, prior to Marius’s death, many animal activists had put together an online petition asking for a delay to the procedure until a sanctuary could be found to house Marius. The petition received over 25,000 signatures in an attempt to save Marius’s life. In the days before the slaughter, several wildlife sanctuaries did in fact reach out to Copenhagen Zoo offering to take in the young giraffe but the zoo denied the offer, preferring to kill Marius instead.

Hopefully, the attention this sad event has received will result in zoos being more cognizant of the need for animals in captivity to be treated in a humane and ethical manner.

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Sochi Olympics: Russia Extremely Under Prepared for Big Event

Posted on February 17, 2014 by laurentm

As many of us know, the Winter Olympics are in progress in Sochi, Russia. The Russians had four years to prepare to host the world Olympic games. And yet, there are an absurd amount of problems happening with the Olympic Games. Some problems include issues with hotels, political backlash, and many more.

I would firstly like to say I understand when things go wrong its natural. Everything doesn’t come out exactly how its supposed to, but the manor of the mistakes here is inexcusable. The issues with the hotels are a perfect example of these gargantuan mistakes. Issues of the water being toxic have been tweeted about. And it isn’t just the fact that the bath water is toxic but when the person brought it up to the reception they just said don’t wash your face with it. Having an issue like that in countries is horrible, but having an issue like that at a place that is hosting the Olympics is ridiculous.

The worse part is that the water problem has been the tip of the iceberg. There are many more issues with the living situations for both athletes and tourists, but the biggest issue is Russia’s political views on gays. They have banned gay propaganda and basically banned any form of protest with it. I even heard a rumor that the Russian government banned gay athletes from competing.  I hope that’s not true but it isn’t fair to stop its people from protesting something that their government is doing something against their beliefs. I also believe that the Olympic committee needs to choose places where both the athletes and the people watching won’t be shunned for being a certain way

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Michael Schumacher’s Slow Recovery in France After Collision

Posted on February 17, 2014 by samsheres

As some people might have seen on news, and world media since the beginning of this year. The Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has suffered a serious collision while enjoying his nice vacation in Grenoble, France. He was skiing on the French alps accompanied with his son, when suddenly he crashed against rocks and hit his head against it. What was being said on the news is that Schumacher was skiing off the slopes. A practice very common, but risky among skiers and snowboarders, due to the fact that you get to slide on the fresh snow, that has not been touched. However, the dangers of this off slope practice is that there might be elements under the snow such as rocks or trees.

Looking back to Schumacher’s career, he has won seven times the Gran Prix Championship, in 4 different teams, however the one that he most won was with Ferrari. We could say that Schumacher had won everything in Formula 1, and probably there are a few more years ahead until someone beats his records. However, nowadays, Schumacher is fighting for his most important race, come back to life.

After the incident in France, he got into a coma. Today the news affirm that he got rid of the pneumonia he had, and the doctors are still analyzing the factors in order to wake him up, or at least try it.

The Daily Mail confirms that the police had opened an investigation in order to find out if the helmet he was wearing, incorporated with a camera might have been weakened by the video device… However I just think that they are trying to find an excuse around in order to not damage Schumacher’s image by accepting that it was his mistake by going off slope.

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Iconic Eisenhower Tree To Be Removed From Augusta National

Posted on February 17, 2014 by marcelle.turner

A tree, for golfers, is either an obstacle or a challenge. Most players resent trees in the midst of their course. However, the Eisenhower Tree will surely be missed.

One of the most iconic trees in all of golf is the Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole of the Augusta National Golf Course. It was substantially damaged due to the recent ice storms in the South East.

The 65-foot Loblolly Pine stood about 210 yards off the fairway of the 17th hole, which created some problems for some of the best golfers in the world.

Jack Nicklaus, a six-time Masters winner and a member at the Augusta National is sad to see the tree go.

“The Eisenhower Tree is such an iconic fixture and symbol of tradition at Augusta National,” Nicklaus said.

“It was such an integral part of the game and one that will be sorely missed.”

The tree got its name after former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. As a member of Augusta National from 1948 until his death in 1969 he had hit the tree so often from his tee shot. He campaigned for the tree to be removed and even suggested it be cut down during an Augusta National governors’ meeting in 1956.

Club chairman Billy Payne is reluctant to let the tree go, but after consulting with the best arborists available, he says there is no choice but to remove it.

There were no other damages to the course and it will continue with preparation for the Masters, which starts April 10th.

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UN Report says ‘Overwelming evidence’ of crimes against its own citizens in North Korea

Posted on February 17, 2014 by mpabian

A horrifying account of torture and abuse of even the smallest and weakest of North Koreans paint a picture of a brutal state “that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world,” a United Nations representative reported Monday.

North Korean “gestapo” types use murder, torture, sexual assualt, mass starvation and even slavery among other abuses as ways to control the state and force “the population into submission,” the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea has said in its report.

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry matched these travesties directly to the highest ranking officials in the North Korean government while, at the same time, blaming world leaders for not doing anything to stop these tragedies.

“The suffering and tears of the people of North Korea demand action,” commission Chairman Michael Kirby left with reporters.

The group says it will send its findings to the International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea. It also sent a stern warning letter to the North Korean leader that he could face charges for his terrible crimes against his own people.

The government of North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, has not accepted this report as an effort to undermine his own government.

“It is nothing more than an instrument of political plot aimed at sabotaging the socialist system by defaming the dignified images of the DPRK and creating an atmosphere of international pressure under the pretext of ‘human rights protection,'” a representative for the North Korean government said in a statement prepared by the government itself.

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Copenhagen Zoo kills baby giraffe in a public display

Posted on February 17, 2014 by jfishpaugh

The Copenhagen Zoo is under fire after culling a perfectly healthy giraffe last week and it has sparked outrage around the world. More than 27,000 people signed an online petition to keep the animal alive and a man offered a private donation of $700,000 to keep the young giraffe alive.

The zoo defends its actions by stating culling the giraffe was usual protocol to prevent inbreeding as the giraffe, named Marius, shared genetic make-up of many of the other giraffes at the zoo. They claimed their actions were necessary to protect the genetic diversity of the species.  Reports state that staff at Copenhagen Zoo are receiving death threats from animal activists around the world.

European Association for Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) argues that this is usual protocol to ensure the animal isn’t sold to a circus. Despite offers from other zoos to purchase the animal.

Most alarmingly, the animal was dismembered in a public show and later fed to the lions at Copenhagen Zoo where many young children watched on. This has drawn great attention to the zoo which has previously maintained a record for exceptional animal welfare and conservation. It highlights that culling of perfectly healthy animals of a threatened species is common practice in zoos around the world. And until now, it had occurred without public knowledge.

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Growing Tired or Are We Just Growing Up?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by alyssakelly

I’m not sure if it is the fact that we are nearing the end of the school year that wares me out or if it is because I am getting closer to what “real life” is going to be.  After this semester, I have only a year left until I get my degree.  It is pretty scary to think about.  What will the real world be like?

I’ve been taking a full load of college classes since I was in high school, and even some classes in the summer.  I have rarely gotten a break that did not consist of work or school at some point.  I’m not complain, I like keeping myself busy and doing something productive.  It might be the fact that it’s already half way through the spring semester too.  But I have been more tired and almost wore out lately.  Like I never have a day to myself, it is always this or that that needs to be done.

Is this because of me going for so long, or ware the pressures of adult life actually starting for me?  I have credit card payments, gas, food and getting to school everyday to worry about as well as a job.  I feel like I have the same lifestyle as a lot of people my age.  But the closer I get to graduation and starting my own life, the more real everything becomes.  So far balancing school and everything else has been fairly easy.  Now the juggling act is becoming harder with more obstacles to cycle around.

Life is not a free ride, and I am ready to take on whatever I can… But man am I tired.

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2014 All-Star Break: Assessing the Boston Celtics current outlook

Posted on February 17, 2014 by anthony loprinzi

The 2014 NBA All-Star game has come and gone and it’s time for NBA teams to regroup for the final stretch of the regular season. The trade deadline is approaching this upcoming Thursday and teams now have to look at their roster and see whether they are looking to gain talent for a championship run or unload contracts to other teams. For the Boston Celtics, the team is obviously not in contention for a championship this season after trading away their two franchise players in the offseason, so don’t expect them to be trying to trade for any players that are talented to help them for a run this deadline. Instead, the Celtics will probably be looking to get rid of lengthy contracts and try to get players that are about to become free agents and try to clear as much salary cap as possible.

Aside from building block veterans Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, and rising stars Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, anyone on the Celtic’s roster is vulnerable to be traded by this upcoming Thursday. The 3 players that are most likely to be moved because of large contracts, that aren’t allowing the Celtic’s organization to have money to spend on star free agents, are Brandon Bass, Gerald Wallace, and Jeff Green. Should the Celtics find a way to trade those 3 players then it gives them relief to re-sign pending free agent Avery Bradley, as well as look into a possible contract extension for team captain Rajon Rondo.

It will be interesting to see how the Celtics will get these trades done this week and which players are traded. Either way, the organization is looking towards the offseason.

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