Yet another earthquake is devastating a country, only this time it’s Chile. Early this morning an 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, and over 120 deaths have been verified already. Tsunami warnings have been issued around the Pacific by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center; specifically Hawaii, Japan, Russia, Philippines, Indonesia, and the South Pacific.
The country has suffered major blows like this before, including a 9.5 earthquake in 1960, and the destruction this time is no different. Airports, roads, bridges, and ports have been shut down due to damages, and copper mining has been halted. In many places, wide cracks and gouges have appeared, with automobiles and houses slipping in to one extent or another. Telephone and power lines in working condition are nearly non-existent, allowing few people information about family and friends.
Aftershocks have not given any relief, many of them over 5.0, and a few being over a magnitude of 6.0. The recent devastation brings back memories of last month’s 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti. The damage has hit hospitals, museums, and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Hawaii’s governor has declared a state of emergency as the state prepares for the imminent tsunami produced by the immense earthquake.
American Idol star Elliot Yamin was in Chile for a music festival and sent messages to his Twitter early this morning, and has since been able to contact CNN for an interview, providing a first-hand experience of the destruction.
 Kellan Lutz and Kola Despite PETA’s sometimes controversial campaigns and many acronyms that poke fun, replacing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals with other words that have the same lettering, they do have a good message. And supporting this message is Twilight star Kellan Lutz. Taking a stance with his adopted dog Kola, Lutz appears on posters which state “Buying Animals is Killing Animals” and “Adopt, Don’t Buy”. In an interview with PETA, Lutz states “There are surprisingly so many animals in these animal shelters. It’s sad, and knowing that they get euthanized…and there’s a lot you can do…spay or neuter your pets so that doesn’t happen.”
In the interview, he also explains his experience after finding Kola curled up in the back of a cage at an animal shelter. Twilight co-star Christian Serratos has also taken a part in PETA, who posed a few months ago for PETA’s campaign “I’d Rather Go Naked than Wear Fur”.
Many rumors swirl around PETA and what their real intentions are, but the Twilight stars intentions are definitely positive, wanting to support the adoption of animals rather than purchase them from breeders or pet stores. Purchasing them in the latter way described is often supporting puppy mills in which the animals are abused and not taken care of well at all. Many animals that come from breeders, puppy mills, etc. end up filling up animal shelters, and whether they are no-kill shelters or not doesn’t matter- because the shelters are still filling up and animals everywhere are suffering because of it.  Christian Serratos posing for PETA's campaign
Many Americans will eat French fries as often as they eat at fast food restaurants, but they also don’t know what they’re putting into their bodies. After reading an article on Yahoo! Health, I decided to summarize their findings here and the link to the article will be provided at the end. The article also makes suggestions as to what you can eat instead of the sodium-filled, calorie-congested, and fat-loaded fries often consumed.
Nutrient: Fat: 65 grams (20 saturated)
Nutrient: Cholesterol: 300 milligrams
Nutrient: Sodium: 2400 milligrams
Nutrient: Potassium: 3500 milligrams
Nutrient: Carbohydrate: 300 grams
Nutrient: Fiber: 25 grams
Nutrient: Protein: 50 grams
I think it would be appropriate to begin with the worst of the worst. Packing a whopping 1,920 calories, 147 grams of fat (63 grams saturated fat), and 3,580 milligrams of sodium is Chili’s Texas Cheese Fries with Jalapeño Ranch. Basing this information on the suggested daily allowance for specific intake values in adults and children above 4 years of age on a 2,000 calorie diet, this would be enough calories in a single plate of these fries, and maybe some yogurt afterwards to meet calorie recommendations in a day. The fat content is nearly 2 and a half times as much is recommended for intake in a day, and the saturated is just over 3 times as much, with the sodium clocking in 1 and a half times as much as is recommend in a single day.
For the worst order of some plain ’ol regular fries? Try Five Guys fries, a restaurant chain that originated in Virginia, and their regular fries are packing 1,464 calories, 71 grams of fat- 14 grams of which is saturated- and 213 milligrams of sodium. Compare that to the suggested daily intake in the chart above, and you’ve exceeded your suggested fat intake, nearly reached the saturated fat intake, and are nearly ¾ of the way to your suggested daily calorie intake. Sodium on this one could be worse, but over 200 milligrams is plenty in one sitting. Add to that any burgers and/or hot dogs you may order, and you’re more than likely going to surpass everything.
For fans of Arby’s curly fries, you may be in for a big surprise, but what you’re putting into your body is even bigger. With 640 calories, 34 grams of fat (5 grams of which is saturated), and 1,460 milligrams of sodium, I’m sure these fries are delicious. Healthy? Not so much. As for wedge fries, Jack in the Box’s Bacon Cheddar Wedges are on the list at 715 calories, 45 grams of fat (13 grams saturated, 1 gram trans), and 905 milligrams of sodium.
I’m sure you’ve been waiting to learn what the “healthiest” French fries out there are, and you may or may not be surprised to learn they come from McDonalds. Their small French fries pack in 230 calories, 11 grams of fat- 5 grams saturated-, and 160 milligrams of sodium. Note that that is the small fries.
For alternatives to these unhealthy fry options, check out the original Yahoo! article, and especially try to read the last paragraph of their article for an interesting fact about the 3 largest fast food restaurant chains.
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/46018/americas-worst-french-fries-and-what-you-should-eat-instead
 Gas Guzzling George ~Audreanna Wignall Though it has been quite some time since George W. Bush was in office, it’s going to be a long time before anyone at all forgets the high gas prices that struck across America. In this political cartoon, Audreanna states that “I drew it because my art teacher said we had to draw a self-inspired political cartoon. We had to pick a political subject and draw about it. At the time, gas prices were insane and Bush was still in office.”
If you or anyone you knew owned a car around that time, no doubt you heard about the gas prices continuously rising. The message behind the cartoon goes farther than gas prices being at insane highs.
“In the cartoon, Bush is the gas guzzler while the pump is everyone else and their money.”
In the midst of wars and providing relief for Haiti, there apparently aren’t enough funds left for the environment. Or at least not in Florida where over 500,000 tires, as well as nylon and steel, were sunk in 1972 with the intention of creating an artificial reef offshore near Ft. Lauderdale. Not very surprising, the sea life wasn’t too happy with the newest addition to its waters, and decided they didn’t want to live on tires. Can you blame them?
Thousands have become wedged against a natural coral reef, which causes the sea life to be unable to thrive, as well as block coral growth. Other tires have since spread out across the ocean floor over the span of 30 football fields. The clean-up program, set to return this summer, will not be able to do so until at least 2012. With approximately 10% of the tires pulled up, there is still hundreds of thousands left.
Divers who participate in the program are from the U.S. Army and Navy, and are only able to do the clean-up on weather-specific days (calm waters and warm weather). The state is unable to fulfill the needs on their own, needing government help to clean-up the oceans; the state of Florida has already given 2 million dollars to provide for the program, and nearly $250,000 has been used. The original goal was to have 300,000 tires removed, with 50,000 of them this summer, but will not be able to happen now.
Understandably, the government does have its priorities for where funds are allocated to, but these tires are devastating the marine life in the oceans. It seems that there should be funds somewhere that are kept for things like this- but there doesn’t seem to be.
I was pretty excited when I first heard about the Amazon Kindle, although my excitement has since lowered a bit. Basically, it is a decent-sized handheld electronic device onto which you can upload books for a lowered price than their price if you purchase them physically. It’s actually a pretty nifty idea, and appealing to anyone who enjoys reading a good book. Though the initial price for the device is rather hefty- $259 for the 6 inch and free two-day shipping for Valentine’s Day- but prices for books are priced significantly lower. If you’re someone who is constantly buying books brand new, it’s a good investment.
Books are delivered wirelessly, directly to your Kindle, and are stored online at Amazon in case you ever need to download them again. For just under $500, you could instead purchase the 9.7 inch Kindle DX which allows the storage of 3,500 books, while the original only holds 1,500. Only.
I’ve become less interested in the Kindle because of the price, and also because I like picking up a good ‘ol book. It seems like with the Kindle I would always be afraid of messing it up or breaking it, and after spending so much money on it, wouldn’t want to just be tossing it around my room when I get angry at something that happens in the book.
Another pro for the Kindle, though, as well as Barnes & Noble’s e-bookstore, is carrying bite-sized books. A division of the company Pearson (I know their company through textbooks), known as FT Press, has created “Elements and Shorts”. Cheaply priced, Elements are 1-2 thousand word pieces of books, and Shorts are approximately 5,000 word essays. Elements are being priced by FT Press at $1.99, and Shorts at $2.99. Amazon has already jumped at the opportunity to offer the lowest price- Elements at $1.59 and Shorts at $2.39.
Timothy C. Moore, the publisher of FT Press, has stated that there are currently 242 titles available, with an estimated 500 by the end of the year. While these books aren’t NY Times Best Sellers in fiction, they are major books in the Business genre, as well as others that are appealing to professionals who don’t have time to sit and read through a book for some fast advice.
While it seems like a good idea at first, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. It seems quite reasonable to provide books for professionals that don’t need an entire book to learn what they’re looking for. However, if this program continues to expand, there is a very good chance it will soon include fiction books, which, in my opinion, isn’t a good idea. Plenty of nonfiction books, like those already released for this program do not need to necessarily be read in their entirety, but fiction books, on the other hand…well, they do.
Admittedly, I didn’t know who to root for in the Super Bowl tonight, but decided on the Saints after a friend suggested them (follow her- @aWignall- on Twitter). The game didn’t start out too much in their favor, with the halftime score at 13-10, although they were in the lead by 3 points. The halftime show was The Who, and they actually sounded pretty good.
In the third quarter, the Colts pulled ahead by 1 point, leading 17-16. The Saints made an amazing comeback in the final quarter- pulling ahead to 31-17 after a total of 3 field goals by Garrett Hartley and an amazing pick off of Peyton Manning by Tracy Porter and 74-yard (I think they said 74) touchdown. I also admit I don’t watch any football besides the Super Bowl, and I get way excited when I’m rooting for a team- even if I’m the only one in my house doing so. It was definitely an impressive touchdown, as were the three field goals by Garrett Hartley (I believe they also said that was a new record because all three were over 40 yards from the goal?).
In the fourth quarter, the Saints also grabbed a two point conversion after the play was reviewed and another point after their final touchdown by Tracy Porter. So, I spent a good time of my evening shouting, and maybe-sometimes clapping a just a little bit. Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed the game, and some of the commercials were actually pretty funny. I’m sure the commercials will be replaying all over the Internet and other channels.
Last Tuesday night saw the premiere of the documentary series Michael Vick Project on BET. Back in 2007, Vick was convicted of illegal dog fighting and sentenced to 23 months in jail. The controversy exploded- people supporting him despite his heinous acts and on the other side there were people hating him for what he had done to the dogs.
In 2009, he returned to football scene and began working with the Humane Society of the United States to discourage young people to become involved in anything like he was. The intent of the documentary series is to give an insight to the man he was, and how he has made a complete 180 after his conviction. The series will also be featuring interviews with his fiancée, family, and friends, filmed between August 2009 and January 2010.
After serving his time in jail, Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and became reinstated in the 2009 NFL season. His passion for dog fighting was something that began as a teenager, continued through high school and college, and every Tuesday while he was a member of the Falcons.
He has stated that after the documentary series is over, he will stop apologizing; only while working with the Humane Society will he bring up the subject of his past in dog fighting. He has served his time in jail and apologized on numerous occasions, and many people are hopeful that the series will help people better understand Vick. The people who already dislike him may not change their opinions of Vick, but people who are supportive of him will get a chance at a better look of the man who inspired many people across America, and perhaps will have another chance of being an inspiration again.
Two of Britain’s major airports have implemented new requirements for select passengers: full-body scans. At the Heathrow and Manchester airports, if a passenger refuses the scan, they will not be allowed to even board the plane. The security surge is also taking place throughout airports in other countries, now more than ever. After an attempted suicide bombing on Christmas last year by the man who has become known as “The Underwear Bomber”, security in airports has continually increased. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab hid explosives inside of his underwear and boarded a plane destined for Detroit on December 25; luckily, he did not succeed. The British government is especially uneasy because Abdulmutallab was a student in London for three years.
The full-body scanners have been introduced to U.S. airports, totaling 40 spread between about 20 airports, but only 6 are used for the main screening, the others only for back-up. Many people find the scanners to be rather controversial because “full-body” is a literal term. The scanners can see through the clothing of any selected passengers, which can easily be considered a violation of privacy.
Something perhaps even more controversial is the fact that the British government overturned the ruling that children under 18 would be required to pass through the body scanners. This interferes with Britain’s child porn laws, because the images produced by the body scanners are able to be viewed by airport personnel, and it is being questioned of the possibility that the images may clearly show every body part on the people who pass through them- practically a virtual strip search. Will this overturned ban be the incentive for other airports and countries to follow? The possibility seems very high for that to be the outcome. However, a Manchester official has been cited as saying that images cannot be stored or captured.
Despite the many people who find the devices to be a privacy violation, the majority of people are in favor of the use of the machines in airports, though fewer people would actually go through the scanners themselves. Another question being considered is if the body scanners are going to go beyond just airports and to other public places, especially transportation systems. More countries are taking higher security measures due to increased terrorism, and this seems to be one of the first major steps in security expansion.
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