patients afraid to talk to their doctors

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/afraid-to-speak-up-at-the-doctors-office/?hpw

The link to the article is above. This article is about the recent trend that patients are afraid to speak in front of their doctors. A recent study was conducted, which revealed that most patients are afraid to talk freely with their doctor because they feel that the doctor is dominating. However, the study was done on a very limited sample size and so should be discounted until a larger study has been done, which is happening in the near future.

I like and don't like this article. I like this article because as my passion is medicine and becoming  doctor, I always find articles and information about doctor-patient contact interesting. I also liked it because it brought up a point that I had never really thought of before. I didn't like the article because of the comments which were found at the bottom of the article by people who had read it. It was basically just a feeding ground for losers who thought that their doctors had something to hide from them. Honestly, I hate it when people complain about what their doctor said because they think that it is wrong and unfair. Most patients didn't have to go through 12 years of post-high school education, and not everything on the internet can be believed. Overall, however, I really liked the way that the article was written because it was very effective in hiding any bias that the author may have of the issue. I also did enjoy reading the article, minus the comments.

Tennis for blind people!?!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/science/a-game-of-tennis-tests-notions-of-blindness.html?hpw
The link to the article is above. This article is about tennis for the visually impaired. Basically, the game is changed so that instead of players seeing the ball, they learn to hear it and hit it that way. The ball is modified so that it makes a distinct sound when someone hits it, and basically it teaches blind people to "see with their ears." This is actually a very good development in training visually imparied people to cope with their impairment. Mr. Takei, was a 16 time national blind tennis champion, and serves as proof that this method of treatment is both fun, physically stimulating, and can really help blind people to heighten their other senses.

I really loved this article because it has my two favorite things in the world, Tennis and Science. When i first saw the title, i was literally blown away. I can't imagine playing tennis without being able to see. But after reading the article, I think that this is really cool. The entire idea is logically sound and very interesting. The article was good in that it provided much information about how the treatment worked. I really enjoyed reading this article.

Telescope studying Dark Energy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/science/space/repurposed-telescope-may-explore-secrets-of-dark-energy.html?pagewanted=1&hp
The link to the article is above. A NASA physicist recently made a new groundbreaking discovery which could jumpstart NASA once more. A telescope which was used for spy work is now going to be pointed towards space to study dark energy, which is the concept which scientists theorize has been expanding the universe forever. This is truly a groundbreaking discovery in science because it could answer many more questions about the cosmos. The only problem is that NASA is having trouble getting the money to fund this program together, but hopefully we will see it done fairly soon.

I really like this article because I am big on science. Science is and always will be my passion. This whole dark energy thing intrigues me because it is pretty much something out of a sci-fi novel. I liked how this article showed a good use of outside sources to support assertions, and because of the topic, i greatly enjoyed reading this article.

French Open Upset

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/sports/tennis/04iht-tennis04.html?_r=1&ref=sports
The link to the article is above. This article was about how Victoria Azarenka, the number one ranked womens tennis player, was outsted from the French open in the fourth round of play. Both the mens and women's number ones played at the same times and both had very tough matches. Djokovic, the number one for men, beat his opponent in a very close match in 5 sets. Azarenka on the other hand, lost very handily and showed frustration during the match, which is a very uncommon trait fro a world number one. Azarenka's defeat stacks the womens draw in favor of the lower ranked women who now no longer have to play the world number one to get farther in the tournament.
i chose this article because I love tennis. I've been playing tennis for 10 years now, and I love watching all of the major tournaments. Usually big upsets like this don't happen to world number ones and so when I saw this article, I thought that it was very interesting. It was a rather well written article, and I enjoyed how it gave a very good description of why Azarenka lost the match.

Senior Reflection: High School.

So I'm pretty close to graduation. Like honestly, its about 3-4 weeks away. I have to say that senior year has been the most difficult, stressful, and fun year of high school. Whoever told me that senior year was going to be easy was lying. It wasn't easy. College applications were bad enough, but juggling college apps with school, robotics, and tennis was absolute hell. However, now that I look back on it, it doesn't seem so bad anymore because I finished it unscathed, it got me into the college that I wanted to go to, and it leaves me with very little stress now.

Senior Reflection 2: UVA

So I'm heading off to college next year and I'm happy to report that I'm going to the University of Virginia. I don't know why, but ever since I was in 6th grade, I've been telling myself and everyone else that UVA was the right and only school for me. It's a bit weird because, I only visited UVA this year, but its always been this great center of knowledge for me. I may have over Romanticized it as a kid, but even now, UVA has a hold on me tht no other school that I applied to has. Its a great school for what I want to do, but I love the campus as much as I love the quality of education. In my mind, the campus of UVA rivals that of UMW, which is and forever will be the most beautiful college campus that I have ever seen in my life.

Senior Reflection 1: AP Exams

So AP Exam's are finally over, and I could not be happier. This is the last set of AP Exams that I will ever have to take again in my life, and they were rough. I took 7 exams this year, a big jump from my 3 exams last year. Honestly though, although these were some very difficult and arduous exams, I really had a great bunch of classes this year, and I enjoyed learning the material, which made the exams less tedious.

Anti-Putin Protests!

Turns out that a lot of people don't really like the idea of Vladmir Putin being the president for the next four years. There is a protest movement that was sparked directly after the election. These protestors voice concerns for Russia's future and outcry the levels of corruption which are prevalent in the Russian Government. The movement started in Moscow and many people anticipated that this would be the force that got Putin out of government. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Since the movement started, the protests have been pretty much stagnant. They remain in Moscow and have not gained foot in any other major cities. The movement seems to have taken a similar route as the occupy wallstreet movement. It was prominent for like a month and now, nobody really cares anymore. I think that these protests are well placed, but the leaders need to regroup and rework their strategy to really cause some damage and get their voices heard.

Putin Wins Election.....again

Vladmir Putin won the recent Russian presidential election. What a shocker. However, there is unrest with this election. After Putin's victory had been announced, an anti-government blogger said that he would lead a rally on the Kremlin. This man wants to start something akin to the Occupy movement in New York. As more and more people are becoming disillusioned with Putin's dominance of the government, people are actually beginning to mobilize and protest. Bascially the occupy movement is back, not in the US this time but in Russia. The main question that is on the minds of many people is how long is it going to last? The Occupy Movement was rather long winded, but in the end most of the demand were not met. Is this to be the fate for the Russian Movement? Only time will tell. I think that it's great the the Russian people are finally standing up and voicing their opinions. Its a step in the right direction.

To see the article, click on the link below
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/world/europe/russia-votes-in-presidential-election.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

Boko Haram in Nigeria

The Boko Haram is an Islamist terrorist group in Nigeria created to express dissent towards the Nigerian Government. My article was an explanation of how they are still at large. Many of their attacks are not aimed at civilians but rather at the police and government officials. They have widespread support in the town of Kano, and actually are originated there. They have killed about 900 people and have also forged relations with foreign terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. They are notorious for suicide bombings and mass killing and have as many enemies as they do supporters. I'm not a fan of terrorism no matter how it is spun. I think that the killing of people to demonstrate any dissent is unjusitifiable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/world/africa/in-northern-nigeria-boko-haram-stirs-fear-and-sympathy.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=world

Current event: Iran refuses to give out oil.

The title gives it away. Iran, in an attempt to get back on the EU for cutting iranian oil imports, refused to provide GB and France with oil. The funny part is that niether Great Britain nor France really depend on iranian oil very much. Due to this, iran is trying to get Tehran to do the same. Basically they want to make sure that they will still have a market in the EU. The best way to do that is to cut off those countries who don't support the oil industry in the middle east. I think that Iran's act was futile in the short run. Neither countries really need that oil, But in the long run, I think that such acts could make a huge difference. The EU should definetely tread carefully.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/middleeast/iran-halts-oil-shipments-to-britain-and-france.html?_r=1&hp

Corruption in Russia at "Civilized levels"...... -______-

Putin Campaign Manager Stanislav Govorukhin says that corruption levels are at a "Civilized level." To be completely honest, I don't know what a "civilized level" of corruption is. This guy seems to be pretty set on Putin as president. He even went as far as to say that the anti government protests in Russia have only served to rally support for Putin. Russia currently ranks 143 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. While that seems like they are in good shape, it can be a little decieving. Russia has far more corruption than the US and Great Britain. Corruption hamper's both the government's ability to successfully create policy and govern the people, and also the people's ability to affect government. I don't really think that corruption is on the decline, but rather that this was just a phrase said to get more support for putin.

Israel Attacks Iran??!!? But not really....

As has been all over the news for the past month. Iran is trying to get a nuclear bomb built. The major problem that this presents to the rest of the world is that Iran and Israel have a long standing enmity. This would put Israel at great risk if Iran actually succeeded. Not only is Israel at risk, but the US could also be at risk from an attack from Iran. In an interview, President Obama stated that Israel had not yet made a decision as to whether or not it would attack Iran to prevent it from getting the bomb built. Basically they haven't made a decision as to whether they should go blow up the nuclear bomb sites or not. Obama also expressed that there is no real evidence that Iran has the ability to launch an attack on US soil. I think that Iran probably isn't too much of a threat right now. However, I do think that we will have to take action against them very soon, lest they become a threat.

Political Cartoons: Say what? Mitt Romney's going to win????

http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/78fa2954-b90c-4c67-aa30-4a11dd637f40.html

Click the link above to see the political cartoon.
First of all, I would like to congradulate Mitt Romney on his victories in IA and NH. The way things are going now, he's going to win. Conversely, I find this cartoon to be hilarious. It was drawn by kirk walters. The main elements are the elephant, the newspaper, and the reset button. This guy is obviously not a romney fan. Basically the elephant is reading the newspaper which announces that Romney is obviously going to win the nomination and is desperately tapping the reset button. He's making fun of Romney. Basically he's saying that Romney is not the best choice for the republican party to beat president Obama. This guy is probably a republican but not a Romney supporter. Based on the republican candidates this year, I'd say that he is a Ron Paul or Gingrich supporter.

Question of the Week: Second Semester?????!!!????

I can't believe the year  is almost half over! So far the year has been a mix of utter torture and the best time ever. As far as the workload goes, it has been brutal. Although I am happy to say that now that college apps are done, it should get easier. As far as senior year itself goes though, it has been a lot of fun. As far as moving towards graduation, i'm hoping for another great semester, which will also be my last semester of high school. Its a bittersweet thought, but I'm looking forward to graduation in june!

Political cartoon of the week: Romney v Santorum

http://www.cagle.com/2012/01/best-political-cartoons-of-the-week-4/

Click on the link above for the cartoon. This cartoon was drawn by Nate Beeler. It basically portrays the "race" between Santorum and Romney. They guy on the tiny bicycle is Santorum, and the giant truck is mitt romney. Basically this guy is just making fun of Santorum and his "chances" of being in the running with Romney. It bascially deals with the results of the Iowa Caucus.The message is that even though santorum finished second, Romney still has the upper hand in terms of campaign strength. This cartoonist is obviously not a Santorum supporter. I think that this cartoon is pretty good because even I think that santorum doesn't have a chance of winning in comparison to romney.

Question of the week 4. the GOP Race???!!??

Based on what happened in Iowa and what I think is going to happen in New Hampshire, it seems to me that Mitt Romney is going to win the nomination. The reason being that He won Iowa, and even though Santorum got an impossibly close second, Romney's got the advantage in the northeast. The governor from massachusetts definetely has the upper hand when it comes to his own region. Winning both Iowa and New Hampshire in my mind is akin to winnig the nomination overall because those are the most heavily "hyped" caucus/primary.