Is it better to give or receive gifts?

Is it better to give or receive gifts?

      I find the tradition of gifting very interesting. You give something to someone else hoping they would like it. That is why I personally like receiving gifts more than giving them. Some reasons are obvious, like economic benefit. That however is very small reason. Receiving gifts is fun. I like the excitement you get while opening a gift box. I always wonder whether there is a GI Joe inside, from a relative who think I am 10, or a little money because the person did know what to get me. Either way I appreciate both, one more than the otherb. It is also an indication that someone cares about you, maybe not likes, but at least pretends to like you. It is comforting for me and probably everyone in the world. Giving gifts just shows that you care about someone, not the other way around. The other person can be faking, about care, but when you get a gift you know that someone is out there looking out for you. 

Holiday Challenge :1

If animals could talk, what would your pet say about you?

I dont know really. Maybe that is because I dont have a pet. My family members dont like to keep pets. The only pets I ever had existed about 7 years ago, they were 2 gold fishes. They were in my sister's and my room. They loved me. That was because I always fed them and was always very hyper about them. I had always wanted a pet and took very good care of them. I used to drive my mother crazy when the fish tank started to look green, because I thought that the fish were going to die. I am pretty sure that the fish would say that I was the best owner they could have hoped for. They always had food as I would always put extra in it to be sure. Now that I think back to those days I realize that I used to pamper them. Lucky for me that they were just fish. Any pampered kid loves his or her parents because they get all they want. The fish would say stuff like ‘caring’, ‘loving’, and maybe even ‘obsessive.’ But of course, we can never know. Pets can be person’s best friend, and I treated mine better than you treat a best friend. On the contrary, the fish might also say that I used them for my entertainment, because I used to hang out with humans more. That depends on what type of mentality they had. They might have been angry because I don’t remember giving them names. Everyone likes a name and I didn’t give them one. So who knows what they might have said, and they should not have judged me, because I was only nine back then, they couldn’t have expected me to be the brightest master anyway. I cared about my fishes and as long as they saw that I am fine.

Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo arrives in The Hague 


Summary:
     Ivory Coasts former President Laurent Gbagbo arrived in the Hague, south Holland, to face the International Criminal Court. He has been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, which include murder, persecution, rape, and other forms of "inhumane crimes". These crimes were allegedly committed between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011. The ICC has been investigating this case since last month. The four months of unrest occurred because Mr. Gbagbo refused to give his presidential power after losing the election in November last year. ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, went to Ivory Coast himself to lead the investigation, which he said will be impartial. Gbagbo is the first of five people to be tried for these crimes. Gbagbo was the president of Ivory Coast for 10 years in which the country was basically in civil war the whole time. After he refused to give up power violence erupted throughout the country, killing over 3000 people. 


Response:

     I find it disturbing to see a man who has done so much wrong and wont admit it. If I was the prosecutor and found him guilty I would kill him. Dont these people have any sense of morality, or conscience? If you look at the guy he looks so innocent and incapable of committing a crime, but you know what they say, never judge a book by its cover. Inside he must reap with evil. He looks scared which tells me he is guilty. He should be found guilty because because of him violence occurred earlier in the year too. If he can be the cause of the death of 3000 people, then why cant we kill him? There should be religion involved in the decision, because it will make it weaker and involve a ethical sense, which this man does not have.


Vocabulary:


1. prosecutor- a person, esp. a public official, who institutes legal proceedings against someone;
the prosecutor won the case and the defendant was declared guilty.


2. criminal- a person who has committed a crime; from late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen, crimin;
the criminal ran away from the crime scene.


3. erupted- break out or burst forth suddenly and dramatically; rom Latin erupt- ‘broken out,’ from the verb erumpere, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out’ + rumpere ‘burst out, break.’;
violence erupted in Europe after the czar of Poland was killed.

Egypt ready to vote in first post-Mubarak elections

Egypt ready to vote in first post- Mubarak elections
Summary:
After continued civil unrest Egypt is ready to hold its first elections since the overthrowing of former president Hosni Mubarak. These elections are being held in the midst of political protests being held in Cairo. Protestors are upset with the ruling military government because they say that Egypt is no different than it was under Mubarak. The military has stopped violence on Friday and apologized for it later, and placed their former Prime Minister in command on saturday. He will lead the country until the result of the elections comes out. The elections will be held in two stages. The first stage will determine the People's Assembly made up of 508 seats. This stage's election will continue till January next year, and after that till March the second stage elections will take place. Only after that will the new government completely gain control.

Response:
I think that it is very disturbing that Egypt is in upheaval again, just after a new government took temporary control. The people know that there are going to be elections taking place, and till then I feel that they should wait. But I do understand their discontent with new government not being very different for the the Mubarak government. It is good that the people realize this new military government's intentions- to gain permanent controls. It is even better when you see that everybody in the country wants democracy, it shows the people's will to move the country forward. This will be good for the whole world because the less the violence the better. I certainly hope the best possible leader wins because currently the Arab Springs are out of control and every country needs a good leader. All revolutions will end one after another and some place needs to start.


Vocab:
1. constituencies- a body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body;
the constituencies elected Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of India.

2. populous - having a large population; densely populated; ORIGIN late Middle English : from late Latin populosus, from populus ‘people.’; the India is one of the most populous countries in the world

3. parliamentary- relating to, enacted by, or suitable for a parliament;
a lot of formal meeting follow parliamentary procedure
.

If you were guaranteed a steadily improving standard of living (in terms of buying power, free time, quality of goods and services, etc.), would you be willing to give up your right to vote? Explain.

Hell yeah, without a doubt. I live in a country that has over 1.2 billion people. My single vote only makes up 0.0000001633333% of the total votes. This is if only half of the country votes. I dont think that it is selfish of me to choose a good lifestyle over a single vote. First of all because India is very corrupt. Millions of votes are bought every time there are elections by the different political parties and the whole process is tampered with. No politician keeps to his word in the most important points they say and the country will be around the same if any party was in power. If someone really wants to make a difference in the way their country is run, they have to rise up and speak for change. One vote will do nothing. If you really want to make a change do what Anna Hazzare did, speak up, convince people that you are right and then shout as a nation. I would really try to do that if I felt that the government was getting way out of hand. If anyone believes that they make a difference by voting for the right leader, they are wrong and need to pop the little bubble they live in. If I would be living large then I would assume that I would be happy, I can’t be certain. At least I would not starve which with my right to vote, is not guaranteed. Some people might say that I gave up my right to being a citizen, but I think that is just stupid. So many people all over the world do not vote and it is the same thing, except I get something in return when they don’t.

If you were to develop a Mt. Rushmore representing the 20th century, whose faces would you select and why?

In the twentieth century has been the most 'busy' in the history of our world. If I was to build a Mt. Rushmore of the the twentieth century, on the very left there would me Martin Luther King Jr.. He fought for equality in America, and for someone to cause such a big uprising in that time was something that no body before him ever dreamed of doing. He influenced so many people in his country and all over the world. Now days even white people are thankful that he stopped such harsh, and cruel behavior. If he had not done what he did, then only god can imagine what our world would be like today. The person that would fill one of the centre spots is Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi made the difference in the Indian revolution, and he was not there, then I believe that India would still be ruled by the British. He united a country with over 750 million people and got them to hate a common enemy, which at the time was the biggest piece of the jigsaw missing. The more fascinating part is that Indians followed all different religions, yet they united under one figure, Gandhi. His ways of basic living and non violence drove the Indian struggle of independence and on 14 August 1947, he achieved his goal. I believe that Mother Teresa should be alongside Gandhi in the middle. She changed the lives of so many poor Indian people and to this day we can see what she achieved. She got so many orphanages started all over India, and influenced social work all over the world. All throughout history, in the whole world there has not been another person who was so famous for their social work and care for others. She stands out because she did something different and changed millions of lives, directly and indirectly.The final spot on the Mt. Rushmore of the twentieth century should go to Paul David Hewson, more commonly known as Bono. Music changed in that century he is one of the men that most heavily influenced it. He made music while helping the poor, spreading awareness on political issues and tried to fight these problems through music. He used his talents to make the world a better place, which is something that we all should strive to do.
I believe that these four people will represent the twentieth century for what it really was, all the ups and downs.

China 'to give Tibetan monks welfare benefits'

China 'to give Tibetan monks welfare benefits' By Michael Bristow

Summary:
The Chinese Government is planning to give free welfare benefits to monks after over 11 of them set themselves on fire. They will be offered benefits such as pensions, health insurance, public services and living allowances. Public services will include electricity, water, telecommunications and T.V. stations. This announcement was made by Chen Quanguo, who was most recently appointed the chief of the Communist Party in Tibet. According to Mr. Quanguo this project will help over 50,000 people as most monks currently live on donations and offering provided to the monasteries they live in. Other than these benefits the government will spend over $60 million on irrigation of water for farmland. To help herders in the area, the government will provide them with compensation when their livestock gets killed by wolves. With this new project is taking place keeping in mind the motto of China’s invasion of Tibet. improve living standards - and crack down hard on opponents.

Response:
Tibetan society revolves around the monks, and by helping the monks the Chinese government is trying win the hearts of thousands of Tibetans all over the world. I dont think that China will ever be able to make the Tibetan people happy, because of all the mistakes they have already made in their invasion. First of all, I dont even think that it is right that they invaded Tibet in the first place. The other big mistake was denying the Dalai Lama's plea for autonomy. If the Chinese government had agreed to that plea, then they would not have to offer these benefits, because the Dalai Lama would have been happy. This way the Tibetans would be happier and the monks would not have burnt themselves. It is good that the Chinese government is helping Tibetans, even though they have no other choice.

Vocab
1. conservancy- a body concerned with the preservation of nature,specific species, or natural resources, he conservation of something; origin- anglo-norman

Water conservancy projects are taking place all over the world.

2.

Are we alone?

Loneliness is a feeling that no one would want to experience, and with a world with over seven billion people I can say, no, we are not alone. Thinking outside our planet, we do not know of any aliens, but I would not be surprised if there is an another place that has it's own life form. The universe is bigger than we can possibly imagine and there is every possibility of another planet contiaining life. Our planet it self there are over seven billion people and especially in a place like India it is impossible to be alone or even feel alone. I as a person feel very thankful for all the things that life has given me. I have a family and a home where I can go anytime and not be alone. I am looking around me right now and I can see five people, and most of the people in the world are always with one person or another, then how can we say that we are alone?

College Fair Q & A

Questions:

1. How much do personal essays and teacher recommendations really matter?

2. What is the one thing that you love most about this university?

3. What type of financial aid do you offer to international students?

4. How can I improve my chances if I do not have a perfect GPA or SAT scores?

University of California- Irvine

(quoting the rep)

1. They affect only a little bit, most are grades.

2. I love the campus and the people that go there.

3. All the way from $5000 - $20,000.

4. People that do not have 90% or above, you have no chance. ( but i think that was false)

University of Michigan- Flint

1. We do not require a personal essay.

2. I love the way the students and professors interact, it is really friendly.

3. We offer financial aid based on SAT scores and it is from 5% all the way to 100%.

4. A personal essays and teacher recommendations help in admission, but are not required, GPA requirement is only 2.9, and SAT scores are only needed for financial aid.

New York Institute of Technology

1. Essays and recommendations are important.

2. The location of the university is very good.

3. Yes, we see how much people need it and how good they are at what they want to do.

4. If you have done internships in your field, or community service.

American University

1. Essays and recommendations are not required.

2. The town and the people.

3. There is only some available, but we do give it to the best students.

4. Extracurricular activities, and if you submit essay, its quality.

Troy University

1. Very important, it tells us who you are as a person.

2. Its all good

3. Yes, to the best students most in need.

4. Community service and other activities

Insane woman loses fortune of 16 bn euros

L'Oreal heiress Bettencourt under family guardianship

Summary:

Liliane Bettencourt, 88, lost control of her fortune of 16 billion euros. A French court gave control of the money to her daughter Meyer Bettencourt. The court gave the ruling after it declared Mrs. Bettencourt to be mentally unfit to keep control of her money. Along with Meyer Bettencourt, her sons will also be controlling the money and taking care of their grandmother. Mrs. Liliane Bettencourt said that she cannot live in the care of her daughter and that she will flee if she has to stay with her daughter.

This lawsuit was filed by her daughter who claims that her mother had been giving away money. She claims that her mother gave a photographer gifts worth 1 bn euros and also gave money illegally to president Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign. If this claim is true it will change the way France is run and the country would me in turmoil. Bettencourt had been estranged from her daughter 4 years ago, but they said that the relationship had been repaired earlier this year.

Response:

I found this article very interesting because it can in various ways, relate to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Liliane Bettencourt was declared 'mentally unfit', which was also the case for all of the people in the hospital in the book. McMurphy, like Bettencourt, had no choice but to stay under care, both of them do not want it, and believe that they are not insane. Another thing I find really fascinating is how a court is allowed to do that. If a woman wants to spend her money she should be allowed to do so in any way she wants. There is nothing illegal in giving gifts to another person. How can a court decide if a woman is insane or not? There are no physical signs and they cannot tell what she is thinking.

Vocabulary:

Heiress -a female heir, esp. to vast wealth; root- heir

Estranged- no longer close or affectionate to someone; root (latin) - extraneare

Flee- run away from a place or situation ; root (dutch)- vlieden