Veronica Jones, 4th period: JetBlue, Delta moves quickly to allow extended use of electronic devices

If you've ever been on a plane before, you know the electronics policy: No electronics devices can be put in use until the plane reaches 10,000 feet. It's a pretty straightforward rule, and I have to admit that I've never had a problem with it. However, both JetBlue and Delta Airlines are moving towards allowing the use of approved  electronics gate to gate. The FAA has recently approved Jet Blue's plans and Delta confirms it has approve their as well. However, "The FAA refused to say which airlines had applied for permission and which were granted permission, saying the agency prefers that the airlines release that information." The original reasoning for the ban was stated to be because of radio signal messing with the plane, but that was recently debunked by the FAA last year when it stated that most modern commercial airplanes "can tolerate radio interference signals."

Personally, I feel this decision will prove to be a bit of mixed bag. On the one hand, it's nice to not be harassed by the PA system to 'Turn off all Electronic Devices until we reach a cruising level of 10,000 feet.', but on the other hand, is that really such a problem? Can we not put down our devices for 20 minutes and just find something else to do? Now, I know there's not much you can actually do on a plane, but you could bring a small book to read, strike up a conversation with you neighbor, take a nap, daydream, look out the window, doodle or maybe write something. There are so many things you can do to keep yourself entertained while your waiting to be able to get out you electronics that it's almost sad how attached people can be to them.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/02/travel/faa-portable-electronic-devices/index.html?hpt=us_c2

"Opinion: Beware of cultuphobia," Carson Wright, 5th Period

CNN contributor Ruben Navarrette begins this article by defining a "new word: cultuphobia." He defines it as "the fear that another person's culture is taking over your own." He uses an example: the anchors of New York's "Good Morning America" and Miami's Spanish-language "Despierta America" traded places for one episode of the program. Navarette describes this as "a pretty good idea," and goes on to say that the hosts who switched places enjoyed it immensely. Both programs considered it a success; however, "Good Morning America" viewers met the switch with anger and disgruntlement. One woman on the Facebook page of the program stated that she expected the daily news to be presented "'in ENGLISH.'" Navarette states that many viewers may just've wanted to stick with what they like, but with others, it was a definite case of "cultuphobia." Such stuff is a reminder that "prejudice is alive and well."
Cultural diffusion is an important and meaningful part of human interaction. The fear behind pushing other cultures away is that one's culture will be absorbed into the mass of interaction, becoming nothing, blending into a banal, bland, monocultural world devoid of diversity. This seems very frightening, of course, but that is not what happens. Cultural diversity is valuable, and accepting it is far from detrimental to society. It is severely disappointing that what was meant to be a fun and interesting change of pace was met with such distaste and irateness.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/01/opinion/navarrette-cultuphobia/index.html?hpt=us_mid

From Fear to Guns by Sam Smathers 4th

From Fear to Guns

Article name: “Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?”
Article by: Allegra Ringo from The Atlantic
Commentary by: Sam Smathers 4^th

           

            Due to it being the season of fear, reading this article seemed fitting. Allegra Ringo talks to a fear specialist, Dr. Margee Kerr about why people enjoy being afraid and analyzed the doctor’s responses in this article. Keer says that not everyone enjoys the feeling of fear; this has to do with how your individual brain deals with the increasing amounts of dopamine and adrenaline created during fearful experiences. People tend to enjoy the feeling of being scared without a legitimate scary situation at hand, hints haunted houses, scary movies, and roller coasters. They want to be safe, but feel afraid. What is considered to be scary varies across different cultures, a culture tends to shape what people consider to be “scary” based off of the principals of what is not natural, or the undead. The obsession with the un-dead can be explained by the human fascination of the afterlife. There have been people since the beginning of recorded history that have enjoyed scaring themselves, hints the early emergence of story tellers. Ringo concludes by saying that you will have a higher connection to someone if you undergo a scary experience together or a super happy experience.

            This article was interesting in the way that its purpose was to inform people about fear, instead of persuade an audience. I am not a fan of scary stuff and Halloween, for me at least, is just a time where I can show up looking ratchet to school for a week and say it’s a costume. Fear is simply hormones, and if we could control our hormones, theoretically we could never be afraid, or we could be afraid all the time. When technology becomes advanced enough, I think that this knowledge of how to manipulate fear may be used in the battlefield by creating fearless soldiers. Religion acts as a substitute now, but soon I think it will be replaced with something with fewer loopholes, such as science. This would be one of the worst things to happen to humanity, people that forget about their mortality and only know of nationalism handed guns in a country that isn’t their own, but I have an inkling that it is in our clouded future. 

source: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/280938/

"Dying Teen Covers Katy Perry's 'Roar' " - Camille Farrar

            Written by Sara Ganim and AnneClaire Stapleton, this article showcases the past few months of 16-year-old Olivia Wise. The teen was on vacation in Florida this past January when she had a seizure and was diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. The tumor is inoperable and she is living her last days. When she was healthy, Olivia sang for her friends and family all the time. In September, she was offered a chance to do a recording in order to have her voice live on past her. She accepted and sang Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’. The video is beautiful and, upon seeing it, Katy Perry recorded a video response telling her so. The cover and the Liv Wise Fund set up in Wise’s name will help her memory to live on.

            This article was extremely touching. It is awful to know that Wise is living her last days, but it is amazing to know that she was able to record her last song. I believe this song will touch many people, and hopefully cause donations to be made so that medical progression can occur. On news sites, the home page inevitably advertises an article that is terribly sad. Although this article may not have been happy, strictly speaking, but it is nice to see that people do things such as offer their recording studios for others’ use. It is impossible for all news to be positive because there are negative events in the world, but it is important to remember the silver linings in stories.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_An8xNwupo

Article:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/02/us/dying-teen-olivia-wise-roar/index.html?hpt=us_t3

NYC Council gets tough on tobacco, approves raising purchase age to 21

NYC Council gets tough on tobacco, approves raising purchase age to 21

Rowan Barcham

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/us/new-york-city-tobacco-age/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Purchasing of tobacco may be more difficult now for the youth of New York City than it was before. The New York City Council approve an anti-tobacco law on Wednesday that will regulate the legal age of tobacco-purchase to 21, rather than the standard 18. This bill will also include electronic cigarettes, along with a follow-up bill known as "Sensible Tobacco Enforcement".

According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, this bill should "prevent another generation from the ill health and shorter life expectancy that comes with smoking". The "Tobacco 21" bill will be in effect 180 days following its enactment. 

This bill has been generally detested by the New York City youth, who feel it is an attack on their rights as young adults. However, the bill has still been enacted and will be effective in a matter of months. 

U.S. Drones Kill Leader of Pakistani Taliban - Victor Ragsdale - 4th

U.S. Drones Kill Leader of Pakistani Taliban 

          U.S. drones killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban (Hakimullah Mehsud) - which is related but independently operated from the Afghan Taliban - who are known for killing thousands of Pakistani civilians and has made many efforts to terrorize U.S. citizens. Despite the prime minister of Pakistan's disapproval of drone usage, the drones were used anyway and garnered the support from the civilians of Pakistan who were relieved from the death the leader. 

          This attack will hopefully gain the support of those who are against drones because of the possibility of the drone hurting civilians, but in this case the drone was successful in attacking the target(s) and not harming innocent bystanders. 

Source: Drone Strikes Are Said to Kill Taliban Chief

Deadly LAX shooting: Why did he do it?- Alix Kast

A shooting occurred in the Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 3, with one TSA officer dead and five others wounded. 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia was the shooter. Ciancia had enough ammunition to "have literally killed everyone in that terminal," said the Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti. Before he opened fire or revealed his weapon, he walked around asking people if they were in the TSA. If they said no, he simply moved on. He had writings filled with anti-government and anti-TSA rantings. Recently he had sent members of his family texts filled with similar rants. Ciancia was captured after being shot multiple times and was receiving treatment at a hospital on Friday evening. He had more than 100 rounds of ammunition left when captured. 

I had only heard very little about this shooting before I read the article.
From what I can tell, he had obviously not gone through any security checkpoints before the incident. If you have flown or gone through an airport before, the first sort of check you come to is the one where your identification is looked at, and that's before you go through any kind of security or other checks. The man killed appeared to have been working at one of those same stations. Ciancia probably intended to shoot his way through any government workers who got in his way. He may have just gone insane, and he does not appear to be connected to any organizations or groups that might plan an attack such as this. It'll be interesting to see what other information they can find out about him. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/02/us/lax-gunfire/index.html?hpt=hp_t1