Nuclear Proliferation in North Korea...

Two weeks ago, North Korea conducted a nuclear test. Since then, much controversy has surrounded this issue. North Korea has been suspected of having a nuclear program since the 1990's. However, on October 9, 2006 the US was informed by China that North Korea had conducted a nuclear test. I think there is a lot of confusion about this current event. Many people don't know the background of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, who is in my opinion the source of this problem. To get some information on Kim Jong-il, I went to Wikipedia.org. Apparently, people have a lot of different opinions on him because the site had been locked because of "recent vandalism". I feel he is a serious threat to not only the world, but his own people. He has been described as a Stalin-like leader who can be "cruel and unpredictable". It is also rumored that he has a collection of 20,000+ video tapes, is a big fan of the NBA, and often wears lifts in his shoes since he is a mere 5' 3''. He reportedly eats lobster with silver chopsticks and has a collection of Bianchi bicycles for viewing only. The main problem with his personal life is that he is living in grandeur while his people are suffering daily. He does not care about ruling in a "good" manner. He is a power-hungry, egotistical, some may say crazy leader. Because he has disregarded his own nations opinions, wants, and needs, we must fear for the world. North Korea should not be preforming nuclear tests, because quite frankly, their leader is a nutcase.

Current Event Critique...

I recently read an article written on a study involving the watching of television on school-nights. The study was done on school-aged children and concluded that students that didn't watch television on "school-nights" had higher grades/test scores than those that did. The author of this article is not biased, but the quotes he/she chose are slightly opinionated. For example, Douglas Gentile, a researcher at Iowa State University expresses his opinions in this article. He makes it very clear that he does not agree with allowing children to have TVs in their rooms. By writing this information, the author could be backing Gentile's opinion. This article could have been written in order to convince parents that TV on school-nights has a negative effect on student's learning experience. Therefore, the author could be a parent himself/herself or they could simply support the idea of "no TV on a school-night". This author does not clearly express his/her opinion. He/she could be merely stating the facts, or he/she could be subtley expressing an opinion.
I applaud this unknown author. Personally, I support both ideas of "no TV on a school-night" and "no TVs in children's rooms". I grew up not being allowed toi watch TV on a school night. I found that I could concentrate on my school-work much more. I also had more free-time to be involved in social activities and physical activities. Although I never liked the idea of no TV on a school-night at the time, I look back now and understand how TV would have impacted my life differently. I now fully support my parent's decision and reasoning. I feel that these ideas are great guidelines for parents- ideas I will hopefully use as I grow older and have children.

Current Event Article #2...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/02/tv.academics.ap/index.html

Occam's Razor...

Occam's razor is a principal used by William of Occam that states that "one should not make more assumptions than necessary". Occam's Razor helps us to get rid of details (concepts, variables, or constructs) which are not needed. Through this, the subject will become more clear and less confusion will arise. Occam's Razor is often used to question God because people feel that the idea of God is an assumption. The razor is also used to understand the Bible and eliminate unnecessary details.