"Woman accused of trafficking 30 pounds of cocaine in cake mix boxes"

      This article, found on CNN's website, states how a woman is accused of trying to smuggle almost thirty pounds of cocaine into London late last week. Ayesha Niles was travelling back to London from Jamaica when airport security found it suspicious that she was carrying twenty four boxes of cake mix in her luggage. Upon further inspection, airport security discovered that there was approximately 29.30 pounds of cocaine mixed into the cake boxes. If this reached London, it would sell for approximately $650,000,000. When asked about the cocaine, Niles claimed that the cake mix boxes were put into her luggage by someone, but she did not know what was actually in them. Since Niles will turn eighteen later this week, she is most likely going to be tried as an adult. She may serve fifteen years in prison.
       This article is important for people to know about, because it informs them of everyday dangers. This shows how people must always be ready for any case in which they can be in danger. Instead of cocaine, there may have been something else in the suitcases such as bombs or guns which cause more immediate danger. Having a reliable, safe security system especially at airports is extremely important. This way, many dangers, crimes, and acts of violence can be prevented.

"Letter From Birmingham City Jail"

      This week in class, we have been reading many letters. We read a couple of personal letters from John and Abigail letters. We also read a public letter written by Crevecour addressed to many people. Another one of these public letters that we read was written by Martin Luther King Jr. titled "Letter from Birmingham City Jail". This was written on April 16, 1963 in Birmingham City Jail while King was in prison. His purpose for writing this letter was to inform, persuade, and explain. It was written as a response to a newspaper article written after King's arrest defending the policemen. Martin Luther wanted to show a different side of what had really happened.
      Martin Luther King Jr. was a constant, passionate advocate or civil rights and freedom. This was also the subject of his letter. His tone in the letter was calm, encouraging, and very emotional. He preached to his followers that the road to freedom and racial equality was a difficult one, but it could be achieved if they tried hard enough. He believed  in achieving this goal with nonviolence. He realized that just because they were being nonviolent as protesters, it did not mean that policemen or other white Americans would show them the same respect or courtesy. Many times they were beaten, shoved, pushed, not allowed to eat, and even had dogs unleashed on them, yet Martin Luther kept strong belief in what he wanted, and encouraged others to do so as well.

"Largest study on cellphones, cancer finds no link"

      Over the past few years, there have been constant debates and arguments over whether or not cell phones can cause cancer. An article written by Maria Cheng, a Medical Writer for AP, which can be found on Yahoo! News discusses a recent study conducted to determine if it is true that cell phones cause cancer. The Danish Strategic Research Council conducted a study on more than 350,000, and concluded that cell phone usage does not increase chances of cancer. They proved that cancer does not have a high enough amount of radiation to be considered dangerous, nor is it more likely to get a brain tumor near an area which is more exposed to  a cell phone than any other area. Despite this study, and various other studies conducted around the world, many people are still uncertain as to whether or not cell phones increase chances of cancer. They claim that these studies are not long enough to determine long-term effects of cell phone usage. However, there has not been an increase in cancer in people since cell phones have come in use.
      It is important to know about studies like this, because they can be crucial to our health. There will constantly be new discoveries about everyday objects, which can affect the health of the millions of people who use it. Cell phones are just one of these objects, and will continuously be tested to determine all health side effects. It is important for us to know what is beneficial to our health, what is harmful, and what will neither benefit nor harm us. Articles like this help  provide us with that information.

Speech Presentations

      This week in class, we gave speech presentations on various speeches in the past years. The presentations given by everyone were interesting and well thought out. I learned many new things about the background of when these speeches took place and what was going on in the world at the time. One of my favorite speeches was the one done by Gareen and Patil about the importance of women's rights. This speech was given by Hillary Clinton, titled "Women's Rights are Human Rights". This speech was given on September 5, 1995 in Beijing, China. This was a time when women were still looked upon as inferior to men, especially in China. This speech was one of my favorites because I agree with the subject of the speech, describing how when human's rights are given, it does not only apply to men, but to women as well.
      Hillary Clinton gave this speech in a very demanding and firm tone, which helped emphasize her point, and her stance on the subject. We got to see a portion of her speech in class. She used loaded words, and her speech was full of emotion and passion about her beliefs. Since she uses such strong and powerful language, it demands the listener's attention, which is exactly what she needed to get people to listen to her side of the situation. I believe that women's rights is a very important topic, that sometimes goes unnoticed when compared to the rights of men. I think it was important for someone like Hillary Clinton to stand up for women's rights and demand that people take notice of them and do something about the injustices done against women, simply because they are not men.

My Five Virtues

      Nobody can be perfect. No matter how hard they try, they can never achieve perfection although rarely some people may come close to it. Benjamin Franklin strived for moral perfection, but even he believed he could not accomplish it. He made a list of thirteen virtues, and created a chart which he could use to mark his progress. I believe in many of his virtues. Five virtues that are very important to me are Punctuality, Honesty, Justice, Determination, and Loyalty. I think that it is important for people to be on time, because it helps them stay on track and be organized. People should also be honest not only with others, but also with themselves. Justice is also very important, because you must always treat others fairly, as well as how u want to be treated. If someone did not have determination, they would never achieve anything that was difficult. You must always try your hardest to achieve something, no matter how difficult it may seem . Loyalty is important between family and friends, because it keeps a strong, honest, and reliable bond between each other.
      These past couple of days I have been trying to work on these virtues. I learned that sometimes I do not even realize that I am not following the virtues, and I mess up. The one I had most difficulty with was punctuality. I was late a couple of times this week, and I  left my homework until the last minute on a few days. When you are consciously trying to work on these virtues, you realize that it is actually much harder to do them, however to become a better person, you must always work on improving yourself.

"Straw into Gold"

      Turning straw into gold is like doing the impossible. That is what Sandra Cisneros believed she did throughout her life: achieving the impossible. This week in class we read an excerpt from her autobiography titled "Straw into Gold: The Metamorphosis of the Everyday". Cisneros gave an introduction to her life, and wrote about her successes and accomplishments. Her travels and family greatly influenced her writing. Her mother and father also shaped who she would become. She inherited her father's love of wandering and sappy heart, as well as her mother's intelligence and strong will.
      This autobiography was written in a very simple, personal tone that flowed. Cisneros makes it easy for the reader to understand her emotions and thoughts throughout the different events depicted. For example, Cisneros explains how, throughout her life she accomplished things that she thought were impossible, such as passing her MFA exam or even making something as simple as a corn tortilla. She went against all the traditions of her family and culture to do what she loved, which was writing. Against all odds, including her grades in school and her family's beliefs, Cisneros went on to become a successful writer with many years of hard work.