Obama to UK Parliament: 'The time for our leadership is now'

In an address to British Parliament on Wednesday, President Barack Obama sought to counter critics who assert that U.S. and British influence in world affairs is waning as rising powers like China and India assert themselves. Obama believes that we need to continue our fight for freedom against those like Gadafi who would take it away. Obama spoke of the affinity between the United States and England which has only grown stronger over many years.

I think it is good that Obama endorses a strong alliance with the British. It is certainly true that we have been through very hard times as leading powers for democracy and individual rights. I think that despite our sizes compared to that of China and India, we have the greatest experience and have had a record of setting the greatest example on ares of freedom and democracy. Obama further supported learning and science as important areas of focus here at home so that we can better set an example as people who put an emphasis on educating people and who succeed through doing so. These values have been important through all time and I think they should and will continue being important to the people of the world.

Original Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43164852/ns/world_news-europe/

Rumor: iPhone 5 to have curved screen

Iphone 5 is coming out soon and is rumored to have a new fancy curved screen. This along with the rumor that they are to be an 8 megapixel camera are only rumors. However Apple has bought 150 glass cutting machines which would be just right for this purpose. There is much speculation about this new product and it is greatly anticipated.

I do not see why this is such a big deal. The technologies we have are developing quickly into new things but there are not that many huge leaps and I definitely do not thing this is worthy of being called a groundbreaking leap and will not actually make that big of a difference. I have had the phone I have for a very long time and do not mind that it is outdated and not as good. It really doesn't make that big of a difference, there are more important things in the world to be focusing and I think that we are too hyperfocused on our techological advances and ignoring the rest of the human condition which is greatly in want of improvement.

Original Article:
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/23/6699865-rumor-iphone-5-to-have-curved-screen

Starting HIV meds quickly helps protect partner

The U.S. National Institutes of Health conducted a study which is the first to rigorously prove that the spread of HIV can be effectively stopped by medication. The numbers show that of 882 that started medication at the time that had previously been prescribed, when the immune system was compromised, 27 spread the infection to their partners. Of the 881 that started it immediately there was only one instance. This is a further impetus for brining medical help to poorer countires.

This study had startling implications for the world at large. With the imformation from this study, we know that we can prevent HIV and to a huge degree prevent the spread of it in developed countries. If we could find a way to bring this to developing countries the impact could be overpowering. It would be possible to, within the next few generations, eliminate HIV and perhaps AIDS entirely so that it is no longer a burden to humanity. AIDS is a huge problem especially in more remote communities where there is little knowledge nor ability to fight AIDS because of rudimentary medical technology. I hope that this discovery is used as a reason to work even harder to eradicate and treat cases of HIV and AIDS where there is currently little help.

Original Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43006725/ns/health-aids/

Protesters condemn 'brutal killing' of bin Laden

Muslims in the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan protested Friday over the killing of Osama bin Laden. They proclaimed that the war against the U.S. which is ultimately a holy war will not end with the death of Osama Bin Laden. They believe that Osama was a martyr in their fight for holiness and justice. There are demonstations now going on by Muslim groups to attack U.S. embassies. The reason they believe that Bin Laden was a martyr, even the ones that were not close followers, is that he fought against the oppression of the Americans.

I think it would be wise of us to recognize this belief in the righteousness of the cause of Al Quida and the enemy terrorists. It may be an attack on us and be counter to what we believe in, but I don't think that by fighting this idea we can create any greater peace. We need to use our cultural relativism to understand the muslim point of view if we ever want them to understand our point of view. If we cannot approach the Muslims with some sort of understanding then we cannot do anything but attack them and further isolate them from ourselves. If we want to have an integrated world then we need an integrated view of the world that takes into account opposing view and finds a way to make them work together.

Original Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42927020/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/

Issue #2 Boosting The Minimum

Boosting the minimum wage means moving the mimimum amount a worker can be paid up from its current amount to a larger amount. As opposed to the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) the wage increase interferes more directly in the economy as opposed to what it does which is to cut taxes for low paying wages. Increasing the minimum wage would hopefully help to decrease poverty and as an added effect reduce the need for government programs like the food stamp program.

I believe that boosting the minimum wage would be a wise decision by the federal government. Because we have let the rich become so much richer than the poor there is a great imbalance of power which gives all the power right back to those who already have it. In order for a democracy to work we all have to have not just equal voting power but also somewhat close monetary wealth which is at least above the poverty line and adequate for comfortable survival. In order to get more involved with this viewpoint it would be wise to seek out a group that is taking action to make a difference such as the Americans for Democratic Action Organization.


Issue 1 All things being unequal:
http://http//katieb123456.blogspot.com/
Issue 3 Putting welfare to work:
http://dparkinblogs.blogspot.com/