Iraq the Model 4th Year Anniversary

Omar and Muhammed at Iraq the Model are celebrating their 4^th year anniversary at blogging. Theirs is a great blog. Reading it really helps you understand what is going on in Iraq from an Iraqi perspective.

Making An Argument

The most controversial topics in society today are between groups of people who do not come to an understanding of what they are arguing about. Attacking the definition is one way to win an argument. For example, say you are pro-choice. You can argue that abortion should be legal because it is not a baby when it is in the womb. When a pro-life person argues that is a baby you can counter-argue that it is just a fetus and does not have a soul or whatever else. When there is an argument it is best to come to an understanding of the foundation of what you are arguing about.

I was thinking about this when I was watching Michael Moore on Oprah a while back. He was arguing for a national health care system. I am against such a system. My argument to him would just be a simple question. “Name one country in the world that has a national health care system that is run effectively.” I felt this would be a reasonable question. Then I realized he would say Canada or even Britain have great health care systems. I wouldn’t know how to respond to someone who would say that.

How to Learn Something

This is a personal, non-political, post. I was reflecting last night on a conversation I had from a professor in college. Before I tell you about that conversation let me tell you about what a math teacher told the class in high school.

She said there’s no excuse not to finish your homework and get every answer correct because you should be able to spend as much time as possible to get the right answer. If you can’t figure it out just keep grinding away at it until you figure it out. This concept of learning has been applied throughout much of my life. In college Physics we had to do homework assigned on the Internet. It would take forever to come up with the correct answers, if you couldn’t get it right you lost points. The last job I had had a similar mindset. They just set me in front of the computer and told me to figure out the problem. If I asked too many questions, which was very few, they got irate.

The main thing I learned from the professor in college I mentioned above was as follows. I went to his office hours to get help on a program I was writing, it was a computer science class. I was trying to explain to him the problem I had. He asked, “How long did you spend on this?” I said, “A couple of hours.” He asked, “What do you normally do when you can’t figure out a problem?” I told him I just read the book or kept trying random things until I got the right answer. He got irritated and asked why I didn’t just go to a teacher’s assistant for help. He pointed out that it would only of taken a TA 5 minutes or so to explain the answer versus the hours I spent wasting my time. I had an epiphany.

Like I said, many people in the world, maybe even most would rather you take all day to figure something out than take five minutes out of their day to have them help you. This mindset is pervasive throughout education and business. Teachers would rather deduct points on homework and tests than help you with a problem and bosses would rather you spent all day figuring something out than ask someone the answer.

John Bolton on Bhutto

This article is from Reason magazine:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123460.html

Bolton, amongst other things talks about Benazir Bhutto. I’ve done some reading and she doesn’t seem to be the best friend to democracy. There were corruption allegations under her administration and she is called “Chairperson for life”. When I have more time I’ll try to research her a little more, it’ll take some work.

The Future of This Blog

Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday or over the weekend. I had to go home and see my mother over the weekend and I was busy at work on Monday. I will try to blog more, I have a lot to say. Here are some upcoming things you can look forward to on this blog:

• A book club
• A study on the media preoccupation with America’s and Israel’s human rights abuses
• A few posts about freedom of speech
• A few posts about vice crimes (drugs, prostitution, and gambling)

I hope you look forward to reading them as much as I look forward to writing them.

Bhutto in Jail Again

http://publiuspundit.com/2007/11/all_hell_breaks_loose_in_pakis.php#trackback

Publius Pundit has the coverage. Looks like the world will have to keep fighting for democracy in Pakistan. I won't criticize America's involvement with Musharraf, but it looks like we should of been a little more critical.

School Shooting Coverage

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

- Thomas Jefferson

This quote hails true even today. In the age of mass media it is difficult to filter out useless, false, or misleading information. I found an article on MSNBC.com.

10 Myths About School Shootings: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/

I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened and I remember full well the hysteria surrounding it. Preachers, politicians, parents, school administrators all saying they had answers and solutions. Some may have had their points, but almost all missed the facts. In 1999, the Columbine school shooting took place. That year 12 students were murdered in schools in America, all at Columbine. One teacher was murdered at Columbine also. That same year 12 students died playing high school football. During that year you had about the same chance of being murdered on a school campus in America as being struck by lightning.

Of course most people did not share these statistics, and those that did were condemned for downplaying the tragedy. On a similar note, during the early 1990s the murder rate in America dropped 40% while the reporting of murders rose 600%. All this is outlined in the book “Culture of Fear” by Barry Glasner.

This week another school shooting took place in Finland. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21669167/

Here are the basic myths regarding school shootings.

1. All shooters fit a profile. There are no profiles for school shooters. They range from rich to poor, gifted to remedial, bullied to popular, and the like.

2. They just “snap”. Most shooters show signs well before the shootings take place. They plan their shootings, buy weapons, and tell others about it.

3. No one else knew about it. The shooters almost always tell somebody about their plans. Sometimes those plans don’t make it to adults or law enforcement professionals.

4. He hadn’t threatened anyone before. There are almost always threats to someone. Most threats aren’t acted upon, but all should be taken seriously.

5. He was a loner. Not all school shooters are outcasts. Some are actually quite popular.

6. He was crazy. Only 1/3 of attackers had ever seen a mental health professional, and only 1/5 were actually diagnosed with a mental disorder.

7. If the school had only had more security. SWAT teams, metal detectors, video cameras, and ID badgers don’t deter school shooters. If someone is determined to kill someone they can do it.

8. He never touched a gun. Most school shooters have access to guns, usually from their home. The Columbine shooters bought their guns illegally.

9. The school did everything they could to help them. Some attackers seek out help from administrators and law enforcement, but many feel they are ignored. Many school shooters target principals and teachers.

10. School violence is rampant. School violence is a major problem, but like I said school shootings are very rare. Assaults and other violence in schools have dropped in half in the past decade.

It would do our world good if the media would keep things in perspective, not sensationalize, and tell the truth. There are two constants throughout history; things always get better, and the people living always think things are getting worse. I plan to do a lot of entries about the media. You can look forward to that.

Note: Look how MSNBC titled the piece about the Finland school shooting.

“Nine dead in rare school shooting in Finland”

I doubt they would of titled it that had it of been an American school.