Why shouldn’t we kill?

After our discussion in class on the death penalty, I happened upon an AlaskaDispatch.com opinion piece on the issue in Alaska and the complexities that this author identifies, “Alaska death penalty debate far more complex than meets the eye.” The first portion of Wev Shea’s article outlines an horrendous case where he tried and attempted (but failed) [...]

Our nation’s sustainability

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Genuine Talent or Political Correctness?

The 2009 Academy Awards event this Sunday was in many ways impregnated by a sense of self-controlling polite modesty (with the contenders half-expecting Slumdog Millionaire to win all of the awards), with winches of indisputable grief (the whole audience was left in mourning tears when the late Heath Ledger was awarded the Oscar for his [...]

Octomom it is…

I caved.
Admittedly, I haven\’t been following all of the sensationalized accounts of the sperm donor, the ex-husband, the mother and their fighting, the home issue…but a Newsweek opinion piece this week by Dr. Mark Evans, director of Comprehensive Genetics in New York, caught my attention and seems to address an underlying issue within this artificially [...]

Health Issues of the “Greatest” Country on Earth

I used to be a smoker. I quit in december after two years of smoking and right now I still get cravings for cigarettes. The reason that I quit smoking is because people have told me that it is bad for my health. I will not argue that. However, with the growing causes of health [...]

11 year old shoots dad’s pregnant fiance

What has gotten into kids these days? Why are we giving our children access to guns? I’m all for teaching your kids gun safety, and even teaching them the proper way to fire a gun. However, after reading crazy stories like this one, I really start to think guns should be locked up in households [...]

Education in Games?

I found this to be interesting, since this is one of the most talked about issues by parents. Some people say that certain games have some educational value by using technical skils such as problem solving, mathematics, problem-solving skills, etc. This comes from Excite.com, which I look at everyday to find something new. This is [...]

Celebrity News is not news!

In a blog on Psychology today Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha, two doctors who co-authored a book discussed the recent Michael Phelps mania in the press. I read this blog and honestly could not agree more! Since when did an athlete taking a few bong hits trump the financial crisis, global poverty, global warming, mass [...]

Is this racist?

 
At first glance of the  HuffingtonPost.com  blurb entitled “New York Post’s Cartoon Apology” I figured it was just another cartoonist (and editor) inciting rage but I was uncertain exactly how (other than the cartoon’s obvious disagreement on the success or skill involved in crafting the stimulus bill). It took a more in-depth look for me [...]

Anthro in action

This article is one example of Anthropology in action in that it reveals one scenario that most people would consider totally weird. In fact, I located it in the “wierd  news” section on msn.com. There are a number of cultrual traditions, rites of passage or events that may seem strange to many of us, however [...]

Possible Cell Phone Ban for 18 and Under

Mostly everybody, some probably not, know that it is illegal to drive while talking/texting on the phone. I personally do both and I know a lot of other people who do the same thing. There are also some people who I know who refuse to talk while driving, especially down south where the traffic is [...]

One-Child Policy in China

So what are everyone’s thoughts on this action?  If you are ethnic Han living in urban China you are only allowed one child.  If you have more than one you will be fined an amount determined by the government.  It also seems that in some cases abortion is pressured and sterilization is forced.
The rule has [...]

Alaska’s Evita

Since the end of the campaign, Gov. Sarah Palin has been working on re-creating her political persona. Along with her new appearance (in an attempt to keep her “freshness” on the national arena), Gov. Palin is attempting to fix some of the things that didn’t come out quite as “down-to-earth” (both literally, and figuratively) as [...]

Taku in Danger!

150 years ago, if you wanted to protect some geographic location, you kept your mouth shut about it; for if anyone knew about possible resources to exploit-they would.  Now, if you want to protect something you have to shout from the roof tops, “Hey! Look over here! Corporations are looking to molest this resource indefinitely!” 
Perhapes some of you went [...]

Congo Action

 
This article about the Congo is one of many attempting to describe the turmoil that dominates the political system in that region of the globe. As I read this article on one of thirty-plus computers in a warm, carpeted, safe, computer lab at UAS I cannot conseptualize what it would be like to live under [...]

Help Wanted – Must be Mentally Disabled

The United States current economic situation has been a popular topic in the media. Corporate America has responded with massive layoffs and nationwide store closures in order to trim expenditures. However, according to a recent article Mentally disabled workers found in squalor it appears that one company Henry’s Turkey Service predicted this economic slump 20 years [...]

Is This Really A Recession?

The newly appointed Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, made her first visit overseas as chief diplomat, to one of the most valuable US partner in financial matters, Japan. This happened on the same day that the $787 billion stimulus package has been signed by Obama. In his remarks, the president noted [...]

George Carlin tells us how the country is doomed

In this ten minute rant by George Carlin, he tells us exactly how out country is in the shitter, and its only gonna get worse. He tells us that through the “national pastime” of consumption, we are just gonna get fat, broke and stupid. Because people wanna buy shit that they dont need, they fall [...]

Economic Stimulus Package

Quite honestly, I hate politics and I hate economics. Reading about the economic stimulus package almost infuriates me. There was an article on the front page of yahoo today: How the Economic Stimulus Plan Could Effect You. I couldn’t help but read it. My biggest issue is why are we creating a stimulus package that [...]

Over Medication in Mental Health Care

In a blog on Psychology Today Mel Schwartz discussed a young woman he had recently treated. She came into his office having symptoms of anxiety but had no previous therapy and was  prescribed four different medications. His question was the same as mine when first reading this story, what kind of doctor would do this? [...]

Artifact Repatriation

In this article available via the BBC (and elsewhere), the thorny issue of artifact repatriation is in the archaeological spotlight again thanks to new documents written by Ludwig Borchardt, a German archaeologist working in Egypt nearly 100 years ago who uncovered many beautiful and important artifacts in an agreement with the Egyptian government to basically [...]

A Verbal Miscommunication

I let a couple of people read the title of this article , and they were all shocked and confused. It wasnt untill they read the actual article that they laughed and shook their heads. This article clearly shows the way that different cultures can miscommunicate with each other. Even in a country like England, [...]

Trying to Live on 500k in New York City

I just heard a discussion on the radio of this article:  You Try to Live on 500K in This Town, which appeared in the NY Times recently. 
At first I thought it was more of a satire, who could possible not be able to live on 500k???  However when you start adding it up….
PRIVATE school: $32,000 [...]

Postsecret

I have to admit, for the last three years of my life I have always looked forward to waking up on Sunday morning. Why is that you ask? My favorite website Postecret gets updated every Sunday morning with new secrets from random people around the world. It seems kind of odd to think that millions [...]

Advances in Technology in Developing Nations

An anthropologist named Tanja Winther describes in her dissertation how bringing electricity to the people of east Africa for the first time brought about changes in their daily lives. These changes ranged from increased leisure time, to easier ways to prepare meals. The increase of leisure time changed the social dynamic completely. Within the families [...]

Sports and Psych Alike

I found this to be a somewhat suitable article just because we have just gotten over Super Bowl Sunday and are now into the season’s of the NBA and NHL. Every season has its own unique sports teams playing. It seems like the cities and stadiums themselves never grow tired of fans flocking to see their [...]

Israel and Palestine, possible apartheid

 
After the latest set of attacks on Palestine from Israel, I started wondering why both sides were fighting each other, and why it was that Israel seemed to ignore the people in Palestine.  I looked into some of the history behind the Zionist movement, and the conflict that Israel and Jews have with the rest [...]

February 2, 1803: Albert Sidney Johnston Born

Born this day in 1803,  Albert Sidney Johnston was to become the second ranking general in the Confederate army during the Civil War and was given command of the western theater of operations. Despite the ambition, bravery, and combat experience that Johnston embodied as he led the attack at the battle of Shiloh, his life was over [...]