Haiti quake survivor: Sharing hope, talk, and a Tootsie pop

A man and many of his colleagues were trapped under a hotel's rubble for 50 hours after Haiti's major earthquake. Rick Santos was walking through a hotel lobby when he noticed a chandelier swinging and falling. Before he knew it he was trapped under meters of rubble and concrete with 5 of his colleagues. The only food they had to survive on was a single Tootsie pop and a little gum. Someone had come and asked the group if they were ok. They responded saying that they were hurt, and the person left to never return. The group was abandoned under the rubble screaming at any noise they heard. Eventually, almost 50 hours after the quake they heard a voice and began screaming. It took four hours for the entire group to escape through a two foot hole. Unfortunately, two of Rick's colleagues were severely injured and did not make it out alive. It will take a while for the country to bounce back to normal.

More about Haiti...but we cannot forget about it. Finally the U.S. is sending in troops and Red Cross supplies to families all over the country. This story about Rick Santos and his crew is more on the happy side of things. Numerous people lost their lives or lives of loved ones and not many made it out alive, especially after 50 hours. In this case Santos' colleagues were killed due to serious injuries and he will be mourning for quite some time, but the majority of his trapped group made it out alive. They found what they had around them and used the resources to their best. The sad part about this story is that it took two days for someone to return to the group after finding them. In many cases that would be too late. I still believe we need to send more relief effort into Haiti and help as many as we can.

Olivia Rice on Haiti issue

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/18/haiti.survivor.santos/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Where her son made music, anguished mother listens for life

Jean Baptiste Vanice of Haiti recieved a text message on Tuesday from her 12-year-old son saying 'where are you?' She has not seen her son or heard of him since. She had dropped him off for music class and was told that he left with a teacher or another student and was not at the music school when the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck. Somehow, Jean believes her son is still trapped in the school and does not stop searching for him. There are many men digging through rubble trying to save survivors themselves because no aid or help has been coming from anywhere and they can hear voices. One many heard a young boy's voice and a womans voice in the rubble 30 ft down and cannot seem to dig them up out of the rubble. As of thursday the young boy was unresponsive. Jean Baptiste Vanice misses her son terribly and does not know what to do with herself anymore.

Most of these blogs are about Haiti and the earth quake. Although research is interesting and useful, I prefer to read the more personal articles. It is extremely sad what all is happening in Haiti and because it is so far away, reading personal stories get me that much closer to the real deal and understanding. I cannot imagine the feeling this mother must be experiencing to not know where her son it. It may even be better if she knows that he is no longer alive and can find his body. The whole not knowing part is what tears me apart. I believe it is extremely sad how men are rummaging through rubble days after the earth quake and no help has yet arrived. This just comes to show how much the United States is needed. We need to send in help and rescue services and stop stories like Jean Baptiste Vanice's from ever happening.

Tim Lukes' Blog related to Haiti earthquake

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/14/haiti.anguished.mother/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

A final goodbye before "everything fell"

Martin Poitevien said goodbye to her parents at a Miami airport on friday just before their departure home to Haiti. Only 4 days after her parents visited her and her daughters in Florida a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Martin recieved a phone call from her brother telling her that her father was killed due to their fallen home. A few days later her mothers body was found as well. Her parents were very good people and were visiting and spending lots of quality time with their granddaughters. Martin is a cancer researcher and moved to Florida from Canada after her husband was murdered. She has not broken the news to her daughters yet because she does not know how to. Their is a small Haiti community in Miami and they held a church service tonight at 7 p.m. The priest is doing all he can to listen to stories and comfort those who lost somone in the horrible earthquake.

I believe this story is incredibly sad. It's never good to hear about loved ones losing each other, and especially about a major natural disaster. I think that researchers and scientists need to find a way to detect earth quakes sooner so that warning can be released and potentially saves the lives of many citizens around the globe. It's wierd to think that if Martin's parents had come just four days later then they would not have been in Haiti for the earth quake. I can't imagine what is going through her head. She has lost almost everyone she cares for in her life. I just believe that if there were some way to detect sooner the shock waves then perhaps hundreds of thousands of people could have been saved.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.death.profile/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

In winter, some homeless choose between independence, warmth

Brook is a 42-year-old man who lives in Atlanta and is homeless. He lives in an abandoned house with no heat. The only warmth he has is 5 layers underneath a large coat and a hat. He refuses to go to a shelter because he does not sleep due to the fear of theifts. Many homeless people in Atlanta refuse to go to shelters except for meals and showers. Sheperd's Inn is a mens shelter in Atlanta and only holds 250 men. This past week they took in almost 400 men due to the unusual low temperatures in the area. Some churches become refuge shelters when extreme situations arise and shelters must refuse people. Shelters are working together to get more things donated to lower the number of citizens living under the bridge.

I believe all the shelters we have throughout the United States is great. Something that could be done, however, is increasing the number of shelters in areas heavily populated with homeless citizens. It does not seem right that a homeless shelter refuses to take in someone. Also it does not seem correct that people refuse to even go to shelters when they most definitely need to. In this article men were expressing how they are afraid others will steal from them. They have seen it happen to many others and wish that it not happen to them. With the extremely low temperatures our country is facing this week I think there should be enough shelters or churches for any homeless to attend and security should patrol the shelters to minimize the crime that occurs and allows the homeless to feel at home and sleep easy.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/08/cold.homeless/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

TSA: Enhanced screening for people flying to U.S. from certain nations

The Transportation Security Administration has enhanced security to many countries around the globe. These countries are ones that have past connections or potential connections with terrorism. Some of these countries who are being involved in the strict security include Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran to name a few. There are currently a totaly of 14 countries involved in enhanced screening and other countries plan to take part in it for other various reasons. Many of the stated countries have had some relation to al Qaeda. Numerous security plans have an expiration date, but this one plans to have a long term. The exact rule is that anyone who plans to enter the United States from an outside country that poses a threat must go through enhanced screening at airports. A few rules such as no pillows, blankets, or movement may result on airlines due to the Chrismas Day scare. This scare involved a nigerian man who attempted to detonate explosives on an airplane, but instead started a fire in his seat.

I believe it is very clever and a must to increase security to incoming passengers. This scare is not as large as 9/11 obviously but is still extremely serious. I cannot believe that our security currently isn't higher than it is. If a man got on to a plane with a bomb in his underwear than countless amounts of things could enter a plane the same way. I feel as though the airline security workers should be embarrassed and quite ashamed for the lack of concentration they put into their work. I love riding airplanes, but after these past years and all the terrorist attempts I have heard about I have become more and more nervous. Some innocent people may think this enhanced security is unjust and descriminating but I truly believe it is for the better of many other innocent citizens as well.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/03/tsa.measures/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Wintry storm churns towards Northeast

More SNOW!!! Yet another large snowstorm is moving into the country. This time it will hit in areas such as New York, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina and surrounding areas. A reporter stressed the importance of road safety as Christmas traveling is a must. He stated that if you plan to fly somewhere you should arrive at the airport at least two hours before your departure due to the possibility of delays or transfers. Transit stations around the metropolitan areas are reporting in that buses will still be running because no storm and keep them from doing their job. This storm is expected to pile snow on areas not much used to heavy cold precipitation so traveling should be reduced if at all possible.

I believe it is just outrageous how much snow this country is getting in only a week. Major storms are moving in all over, and they are affecting areas not used to such weather. I live in Minnesota and i'm still waiting for a big snow storm to hit so there is something to build a snowman but no storm seems to want to come this way. I am, however, happy that Christmas is coming up in just a week and it is going to be white and hopefuly snowing!! :) I am sure people
affected by the snow are also very happy to share a white Christmas with a great majority of the country. I just hope that traveling is not too difficult and everyone can be together with their families!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/18/wintry.weather/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

ISSUE #1: All Things Being Unequal

Is the gap between the wealthiest Americans and the greater majority of the middle class Americans a problem? Some believe it is and others support the opposition. Statistics prove that the income of the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans has increased nearly 10 percent while the income for the bottom 20 percent has decreased by nearly 2 percent. Today, this gap continues to grow due to the raised costs for health care, energy, food, childcare and education to name a few. Many believe that it is fair that harder working citizens recieve more income for their hard work and effort but they also have strong arguments against it. These supporters believe that the government should impose restrictions on trade and outsourcing to help maintain local job opportunities and salaries. They also think that government should raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and reduce those of the middle to lower class citizens. Most who support this view are directly affected by globalization. They wish for wage insurance, job retaining programs and unemployment benefits to reduce poverty. However, there are many who support leaving things the way they are. These citizens argue that job protection and barriers will decrease profits and will reduce the benefits of workers. Raising taxes will not do any good, it will hurt workers and harm the economy even if placed on the wealthiest of people. Entitlement programs and social safety already take up a majority of the federal money, therefore, the U.S. cannot afford to support more people effected by poverty. There are already organizations that help the poor greatly such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). These people believe supply and demand will take care of itself and the income of Americans.

In a way I somewhat agree with both points of view. They both share great ideas and support, but I personally must agree most with the second group. I agree the government should impose restrictions on some things such as trade and outsourcing. It doesn't seem fair that outsiders get to do work that Americans are perfectly capable of. However, when it comes down to it it is the economy and money that make the greatest difference. Sure, Americans could perhaps perform specific jobs better or easier but it has proven to be much cheaper to send that work over to another conuntry such as China or India to be done. I believe the second argument made a great point stating that job protection and restrictions will take away from workers benefits and business incomes. Those living in poverty keep asking for more and more federal money, but how much is too much? They already have Medicare, Medicaid and numerous organizations helping with everyday needs. A point was made that the poor take up nearly half of the federal budget and I don't think that's fair. Sure, they are in need and its great the they are recieving such help, but how much money does the wealthy recieve? I believe that answer is close to none. With that statement, how does it even seem fair that the poor recieve so much while the wealthy recieve none? I do understand, however, what dire need those living in poverty are in so I strongly support such organizations that help it. I only disagree that more and more restrictions be put on the wealthy when they barely recieve federal money as it is.





An article from The Nation shows its view and facts on the issue of Extreme Inequality.





ISSUE #2- Boosting the Minimum- Alexa Goetsch


ISSUE #3- Putting Welfare to Work- Jon