Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Titanic Sunk by Steering Mistake, Author Says

Titanic Sunk by Steering Mistake, Author Says
      This article discussed a supposed "cover up" involving the sinking of the Titanic. A writer named Louise Patten, the granddaughter of Titanic second in command Charles Lightoller, claims that the change from sail ships to steam resulted in the creation of two different steering systems. One system called for the wheel to be turned one way, and the other system resulted in steering the complete opposite direction. Upon seeing an iceberg in the distance, the ship's steerman, Robert Hitchins, supposedly panicked and ordered the ship to turn the wrong way.
      Patten claims that the ship could have survived until support arrived by simply not moving. However, by setting the wrong course, the captain had only four minutes to change it and it was too late by the time the mistake was spotted.
      Conveniently enough, Patten released these revelations right around the time her new book about the sinking of the titanic was published. Patten claims that the secrets had been kept hidden in order to protect her grandfather's reputation because he knew of the fatal mistake, but I don't buy it. First of all, Patten's account of the ship's final hours has not been proven and has no real factual evidence to back it up. This is simply good publicity for Patten's book, and the fact that the so-called 'evidence' was just recently released is even more suspicious.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

2 Killed in Afghan Protest over Quran-burning Plan

2 Killed in Afghan Protest over Quran-burning Plan
     This article was about a protest against the plan to burn the Quran on the nine year anniversary of Sepetember 11th. Two people were killed in the protest and four were injured.
     While I respect the courage of the protesters, a demonstration like this should not have been necessary in the first place. President Barack Obama summed it up best when he said that burning the sacred texts of another religion is "...contrary to what this country stands for." Still, this is a difficult case because the burning of the Koran is protected by the First Amendment. As President Obama had warned before this case, burning the Islamic holy book would endanger American troops in Afghanistan and provide more fuel for the extremist fire.In addition, it would give Christians everywhere a bad name.  I am appalled that a church official would even think of doing something of this nature.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Beware of Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog Group Goes After Google
     This article discussed how a consumer group called Consumer Watchdog has recently been protesting Google's collection of data from those who use the search engine. They accused the company of invading the privacy of consumers. From searches the client runs, Google can figure out what they're interests are and sell this information to advertisers, who then target consumers with ads specific to their interests.
      I agree with Consumer Watchdog's complaints. When the government steals people's information for National Security purposes,  this is somewhat understandable. However, there is no good reason for Google to steal its clients' information just to make a profit. Granted, Google can most likely use these profits, but that still doesn't justify spying on its users. This article brought to mind the novel "1984" by George Orwell, in which the government effectively watches its people at all times through video screens. Though "1984" was written several decades ago, I think it is an eerily accurate picture of the world we now live in. The advent of the internet has been both a blessing and a curse, and there are now more concerns about privacy versus security than there have been in years before.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

How Bill Kristol's pro-Israel Group is Lying to You:
     This article attacked ads accusing Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) of getting a 100% approval rating from a muslim group supposedly backed by the terrorist organization Hamas. The group that accused Rep. Holt was called the Emergency Committee for Israel, and based this accusation on a rating they found online without bothering to investigate what that rating meant.
      The fact that this article even had to be written shows that racism is still not entirely gone from our country. In this day and age, anyone of Arabic descent is thought of by most Americans as a terrorist. It is true that the September 11th attacks were carried out by followers of Islam, but this does not make every Islamic follower or every Arab a terrorist. Before people condemn Islam as a whole, they should remember that Christian followers are just as guilty of carrying out terror attacks; most recently, I read a story about a fanatical Christian group who were plotting to kill members of the FBI or something similar. Again, this doesn't make all Christians bad people, so I don't believe Islam followers should be stereotyped in that manner.