Amid Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, Fear and Misery

Haiti is the country of sorrow and violence. Not only being one of the poorest country in the world, Haiti has gone through tremendous numbers of political violence. Haiti has experienced a great earthquake in the beginning of 2010. On top of that, Haiti is now facing the cholera pandemic. Cholera is an infection of small intestine that causes severe diarrhea; It is fatal.

The cholera outbreak, with 259 deaths and more than 3,300 confirmed cases counted as of Monday morning, has so far been contained to the region around the epicenter — the central rural areas around the Artibonite River.
But the capital, Port-au-Prince, is tensely preparing for its arrival in the densely populated slums and tent camps of earthquake survivors. Treatment centers are being established, soap and water purification tablets being distributed and public safety announcements stressing hygiene.
“It travels with the speed of lightning, I’ve heard, and it can kill a person in four hours,” said Jean Michel Maximilien, a camp leader, on Sunday. “So of course we are all on edge.”
The Haitian government reported optimistically on Monday that the epidemic might be leveling off.
"The situation is beginning to stabilize,” Gabriel Thimothee, director-general of the Health Ministry, said at a news conference. “Since yesterday we have registered only six new deaths."
Officials emphasized that no new cases have originated in the capital, according to Associated Press. But health experts cautioned that the danger remained high.

Although the epidemic could leave off, this could soon spread to other regions and even other countries. Also, many Americans spend their money and resources in order to help Haiti and now there is a new reason. Haiti is a country of hardships after hardships. It seems like mother nature is messing with Haiti. I hope the situation soothes as soon as possible before it spreads further and further. When a country faces a big problem of a disease that could spread fast, even America has to be alert.

Michelle Obama "The most important choice is to get involved"

     Michelle Obama, America's first lady is leading numerous supporters.

On Barack Obama's official youtube channel, she made a speech today, promoting democracy and people's involvement in this November's election.

This video makes me content the fact that Obama administration is making an approach like this.

This reminds me of Franklin Roosevelt, how he used radio as his way to talk to the people.

Obama is using Youtube, which is a prominent web community in America.

During the Roosevelt's time, America was going through a big hard ship, and today, America is also going through a similar hardship.

At least it shows that as a leader, Obama couple is trying to interact with us, in a way that many people do today.

Which Party Do I Belong to?

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative

Conservative/Progressive score: 5
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 5
You are a Moderate Capitalist. You support an economy that is by and large a free market, but has public programs to help people who can't help themselves or need a little help. Pretty much you believe in the American economy how it currently is.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 5
You're a Moderate. You think that we all have certain inalienable rights that must be protected, but that sometimes laws need to be made to protect the majority's lives or quality of lives. You might think that the 2nd amendment isn't necessary anymore because letting everyone a gun is extremely dangerous to the community. You might also be against illegal drug use or public pornography because of its possible harmful effects to society.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 7
You're a Moderate. You think that in very rare occasions, the United States should invade a country in order to make the world better by spreading democracy or ending a tyrants rule. You also think that defense is very important, and we shouldn't lower the defense budget. You think that, while the Iraq War probably was a mistake, that we can make the world a better place by sticking with it and spreading democracy in the middle east.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Republican

Currently, after 69449 submissions, the average Conservative/Progressive score is 5.98, the average Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score is 6.72, the average Libertarian/Authoritarian score is 5.51, and the average Pacifist/Militarist score is 4.58

Very interesting.

It's a bit unexpected.

Judge halts 'Don't ask don't tell' policy

     Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a military policies that enforces the military not to ask any service members to ask their sexualities. This article is about the latest change in that policy. The policy has been halted.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in California marks the first time that the controversial policy - which forbids the military to ask about a service member's sexual orientation but retains a ban on gays serving openly - has been halted.
Leaders of the group that brought the suit celebrated the injunction, the latest in a series of recent court rulings that expand the rights of gay Americans to marry and serve in uniform.
"This decision is also a victory for all who support a strong national defense," said Christian Berle, acting executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "No longer will our military be compelled to discharge service members with valuable skills and experience because of an archaic policy mandating irrational discrimination."

This original policy originated from homophobia among the soldiers. Homophobia is caused by fear and ignorance that highly relies on conception that only women and men belong together. Homosexuality is natural, just rare. In the wild, homosexual animals are often found.
This is a good step for stronger gay rights. We are making progress.

Family Fight, Border Patrol Raid, Baby Deported

     Immigration; Probably the most talked about issue in America, especially in the north west coast. This article from the New York Times presents an unfortunate story of a mother and a daughter.

A few days before her daughter Rosa’s first birthday, Monica Castro and the girl’s father had a violent argument in the trailer they all shared near Lubbock, Tex. Ms. Castro fled, leaving her daughter behind.
Ms. Castro, a fourth-generation American citizen, went to the local Border Patrol station. She said she would give the agents there information about the girl’s father, a Mexican in the country illegally, in exchange for help recovering her daughter.
Ms. Castro lived up to her side of the deal. But the federal government ended up deporting little Rosa, an American citizen, along with her father, Omar Gallardo. Ms. Castro would not see her daughter again for three years.

“She was sent to Juárez, which is now the most dangerous city on the face of the planet,” said Susan L. Watson, one of Ms. Castro’s lawyers. 

The mother and child reunion, at the United States Consulate in Ciudad Juárez in 2006, was rocky. Rosa, then 4, did not recognize her mother and did not want to leave her other relatives.
“She was crying,” Ms. Castro recalled. “I started talking to her in Spanish, and she started yelling. She would hit me with her doll. She kicked me. She didn’t want anything to do with me. She wanted to be with her grandmother.”

 I do not understand how Ms. Castro could not keep her baby from being sent away. My father is a first generation American and my brother and I could stay in America with no problem although my mother is Korean.
I agree with Ms. Castro for the reasons why she sued the government. The agents had no legal rights to deport her daughter, a child of a fair American citizen.
When the daughter finally reunites with her mother, she does not even recognize her or want to be with her. It is a sad reality. I hope this never happens to any body.

A Fishing Paradise, Now With A Deadly Reputation..

     Falcon Lake, so called the "Fishing Paradise" of Texas, is also straddling the border with Mexico. This article reports the latest tragedy at the lake, involving an American's death by piracy.

As a prolonged conflict between drug dealers and the government has eroded civil order in Mexico, gangs of armed thugs in speedboats have begun robbing fishermen and tourists on the lake.

Last week, gunmen in three boats reportedly shot and killed an American as he and his wife toured the lake on Jet Skis.

The shooting has strained tense relations between the Texas authorities and the Mexican government. A week after David M. Hartley, 30, was reported shot in the head, the Mexican authorities have yet to find a body or any trace of his watercraft.

On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican running for re-election, sharply criticized the Mexican government as being slow to investigate the episode. He also denounced the Obama administration as not having provided more National Guard troops to patrol the border.

“Frankly, these two presidents need to get together with their secretaries of state and say, ‘What are we going to do about this?’ ” Mr. Perry said.

This is not only Texas' problem, it is America's problem. America and Mexico already has a tricky relationship due to immigration problems. This will definitely ignite the problem and the friction between the two nations worse.

America was triggered by the American's death in the sinking of Lusitania, to enter the World War I. It is hard to relate those two facts but we can not deny the fact that America, as a country, can make bold decisions over few Americans' lives.

Also, piracy is a big problem all over the world, not only Falcon Lake. The piracy is spreading and the sea is becoming more and more unwelcoming.

Short film, City Paradise by Gaelle Denis (Mental Health Break)

This short film is called City Paradise by Gaelle Denis.

Since my last post was a bit depressing, I decided to have a mental break for the next post.

This short film was one of the finalist of 3rd Annual Now Film Festival.

I consider this film really good. I think the film did a great job on expressing a dream scape through out the film.

When ever I want to give up on becoming an artist, this is one of the stuff I go back to in order to be motivated again.