Internet Blackout In Libya

Since Egypt, Libya is now next up for democratic protests and internet blackouts. The Libyian people are now ready to get rid of their dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. There is no specific cause to why there have been internet cuts, but there could be many reasons why there is a crackdown. Some of those reasons are: government crackdown, internet traffic overload, or just basic power outages. But, people are saying electricity is working fine, cell phones are working good, but the internet has been down for days.

International Internet traffic began to shutdown from about 1 to 8 am. People are saying that it is kind of like there is an internet curfew. This is not good for the people of Libya. It is a big possibility that Gadhafi's regime cracked down on the internet to not let the Libyian people have their voice and be heard. Egypt and Iran are known for shutting down the internet for the public.

I believe that the Libyian people deserve to have their internet and have a voice. I am also glad that Egypt and other surrounding countries are taking a stand over dictatorship before it's too late. This shows how much we take for granted here in America, because we basically can say and do what we want to do. Even though, there may be slight consequences. But, the people in Libya and Egypt are willing to lose their lives for the freedom of their country and I respect all of the countries that take a stand.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/02/22/libya.internet

What It Takes To Win

Afghan Soldiers Get Knowledge

Many Afghan soldiers can handle a rifle very well, but most of the soldiers can't even read or write their own name. Most of the soldiers were farmers and didn;t have much time to learn how to read or write. Most spent their time fighting in wars and leraning how to handle fierce artillery for the army at young ages. But now these Afghan soldiers are enrolling in a two month literacy course to help advance their knowledge or give them some knowledge in reading and writing.

This course starts with teaching the soldiers basic numbers and letters in the Persian alphabet. There is a very high number of these soldiers who can't read or write, the number are 70 to 90 percent. That is a very high number of soldiers who are illiterate. This shows how much the United States cares and takes part in education to people will have knowledge and not be illiterate on the basics of learning letters and numbers.

The soldiers are enjoying this learning experience and many of them couldn't read until their first day in class. The teacher of the class is now making soldiers give a round of applause to each soldier that successfully reads a sentence the is on the blackboard. I think that this is good for these soldiers. Some of the soldiers said they couldn't count, but they knew how to count their ammunition, that is sad but that is how it is in Afghanistan. But, now since these soldiers have the opportunity to learn, hopefully this will encourage these soldiers to learn more and pass it on to their family and friends.

Link to this post and podcast: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133745097/afghan-army-gets-training-in-reading-and-writing

NFL's Super Bowl XLV and Dealing With Labor Agreement



The NFL just finished up its season by the Green Bay Packers defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers. I listened to the Slate's podcast, Hand Up and Listen On. This was the highest rated Super Bowl in history as it is every year. Green Bay Packers QB, Aaron Rodgers had an almost flawless performance to become the games Most Valuable Player. Since, Aaron Rodgers won the Super Bowl he no longer has to be in the shadow of former Packers QB Brett Favre. On the other hand, could Ben Roethlisberger's off-the-field troubles cause his team to have lost the Super Bowl? It's a big possibility. But at the end of the day the Green Bay Packers really executed the best out of both teams in the game.

The NFL is also going through some troubles like the NFL Labor Agreement, that could mean a lockout for the 2011 NFL Footbal Season. NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell says, "A labor deal should be in place in the next few weeks." I believe that something needs to happen now for this collective barganing aggreement. I think the fans deserve to see NFL action next year. Basically, this situation is all about money and the owners of these teams needs to come up with an agreement so these players can play and sustain their lifestyle. I think the guys on this podcast were exactly right about the things they were saying concerning thye labor agreement. They were saying that this agreement is all about money. Which is very true, and I believe that the labor deal will be done before March 2nd.

My final thoughts are that the Super Bowl was very entertaining. I didn't think that it would be as fascinating as it was this year. I think the announcers on the podcast were very insightful on their discussions in the podcast. I believe the NFL will get a collective bargaining agreement done, so that the players can provide for their families, because if they don't it will be very sad.  

The link for this podcast is: http://www.slate.com/id/2283937

President Obama Is Having A Happy New Year



Obama has been very upbeat and happy starting off this new year. Want to know the reason why? He has been coming up with new slogans to like, "Win the Future" to get Americans more enthused about more jobe being brought to the table. He is also bringing about better plans to deal with medium and long-term budget problems. This is something that needs more attention, because America is still in debt, the drought is not over.

He has also brought about "We Do Big Things" slogan which is now available on T-shirts available to donors of the president. "Startup America" was released on Monday to encourage entrepreneurs. I believe that President Obama is doing something positive to give America a jumpstart to the new year. Some Americans might not agree with Obama and his beliefs or how we runs our land but, you can't blame the man for trying to pump some money into this country.

Obama has even offered to let the Republican party help out on some things like the deficit-reduction plan. It is a much needed plan to help America get out of an ongoing deficit. Many people might say that Obama is letting Republicans have a voice just so he can bash them if their plan falls through. I believe that he wants this counrty to be equal and together, not seperate. So, let's just put all of the non-sense aside and get this country back to where it was and needs to be.

Many people have lost their jobs in this country and many more are losing them as we speak. Homes and cars are also being lost, more people are filing bankrupt. So, I really don't care who gets this plan in order whether it's the Republicans or the Democrats, somebody needs to do it and do it now. Feel free to give your feedback and comments, because they are well appreciated.

The site for this source is: http://www.slate.com/id/2283410/?from=rss