Avoiding Nuclear War 101

Often times, the proposition of unleashing any form of nuclear attack is the result of faulty communication between two parties, misunderstanding, the lack of empathy for the opposition, and essentially, human short-sightedness and ignorance. Both sides should ensure that all negotiation and correct grounds have been established before even allowing the idea of a nuclear attack can become a possibility to end this conflict. If it all goes well, other means of resolution can be produced without being forced to obtain peace through non-peaceful methods. As President of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F Kennedy, once said, “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.”

Here, “solved by man”, does not translate for immediate nuclear war that will ultimately lead us to the predicted Armageddon. No conflict is too big to allow only the decision for nuclear war, and when faced with trouble, our leaders should be able to think outside the box to figure out a alternate route. They must understand that the utilization of any nuclear weapons will effect the future of world as a whole, not just their enemies. Any attack on “them”, will essentially be an attack on “us”, as well. Only after being aware of where exactly it will lead us, can they responsibly (and hopefully not) say that a nuclear war is the only remaining option that we are left with. If that ever happens, well, let’s just say, "May God help us.”

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Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A grave mistake?

In August of 1945, the first atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by US forces. Shortly following was the release of the second bomb, “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki. These order were issued by President Harry S. Truman whom, at the time, saw no other route to end the war. His military officers and generals advised him that this was the best decision to make so as to prevent any more innocent deaths of the citizens. The dropping of these 2 bombs would cause an unconditional surrender of the Japanese, ending the war once and for all. However, Truman never foresaw the innumerable consequences of the bombings. Over 200,000 victims died immediately, and more still presently suffer from the side effects of the radiation. In addition to the 60 already destroyed, these two remaining major cities cities were reduced to debris and it was no doubt that it took several years to rebuild the country back to the norm again. Some then, may see this as a decision that never should have even been considered. The unnecessary deaths of thousands, the complete demolition of cities, and the unwavering radiation that still remains and harms the Japanese living there.

What, then could have been a sensible alternative that would’ve produced this identical instantaneous surrender of the enemy? The primary objective of sending the bomb down wasn’t to cause to cause the thousands of casualties that resulted, but to instill the absolute need of a surrender from the Japanese. Some may say that blood of thousands of innocent civilians can not possible justify anything. But what of the millions that possibly would’ve been slaughtered anyway if the war had continued? The Japanese was no where near done with the damage they inflicted on the Allies. Sure, we cannot gauge when the bloodshed would’ve come to an end, but at difficult times, such as the one that Harry S Truman faced, he wasn’t willing to risk the any more lives of his American people.

I can conclude that, in my opinion, the release of the atomic bomb was justified. It wasn’t “right” or “moral”, in the sense the fate of thousands of lives was controlled by one person’s orders, but it should’ve happened and it was probably the best thing to do at the time. The display of aftereffects of the atomic bombs showed the world what extent of technological revolution they’d reached. After this event, leaders from all around the world met and agreed never to use the atomic bomb ever again, now they saw first hand the damage it could inflict. Without seeing what the bomb could do, someone else would’ve taken the lead and dropped their atomic bombs in some other country after 1945 anyway. It triggered the instantaneous halt to the war, saving the lives of soldiers from each country and any future lives that would’ve been killed by atomic bombs.

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Brad Pitt, 43 years from now

Those of you who have heard of the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, probably can imagine how difficult it must've been for the many many make-up artists and computer editing crew to build Benjamin's eighty-something year old face from Brad Pitt's. But in this TED talk, it reveals how there were no make-up artists who had the job of ensuring that Benjamin's features stayed on Brad Pitt's face throughout the entire movie, through every scene and the different lighting. The steps that the producers of this movie took to solve their problem can be related to the scientific method that we all use to find a solution to the difficulties we face in life. Their first step in this process, was admitting that they had a problem and knowing exactly what they needed to solve. (Formation of a hypothesis?) Once they knew what their problem was, they could then break it down into smaller bits and details. They gathered all the information they knew about different kinds of technology that would potentially aid them through the creation of Benjamin Button. (Background knowledge of the topic, obtaining materials) They tested one of their top choices for motion capture devices with the handling of capturing every little aspect of Brad's face so that they could then work from there and superimpose the face onto Benjamin's body. When found that the devices would not work that well, they figured out what needed to be different and used another motion capture device. (Experimenting and analyzing, going back to the hypothesis) Of course, there was no smooth sailing even when they found the right technology for this, but they managed to even out all the nicks. When everything was solved, they could finally assume that they now had whatever they needed to go on with the movie. (Conclusion)

Character analysis: Paul Bäumer

In Humanities, we are reading a war novel entitled "All Quiet On The Western Front". Paul Bäumer is the main character and protagonist in the story, who gives us an insight into life at the front. From how the author describes life through Paul's eyes before going off to war, we can tell he is just a young boy who has been drafted in to the army, with no experience or real knowledge of the cruelties of war. When he goes into war however, as a reader, we notice the changes in his tone of voice and in his actions. Sometime during the fighting and bombardments, we hear from Paul the friends that he has lost and how his very nature has changed just by directly living under wartime circumstances. He has to suppress all his feelings and inner self just to be able to survive through this war. "Just as we turn into animals when we go up to the line... so we turn into wags and loafers when we are resting... We want to live at any price; so we cannot burden ourselves with feelings which, though they may be ornamental enough in peacetime, would be out of place here. Kemmerich is dead, Haie Westhus is dying... Martens has no legs anymore, Meyer is..., Beyer is..., Hammerling...... it is a damnable business, but what has it to do with us now — we live." Also, there is a part in the room where he returns back home on leave and tries to sit down and enjoying reading a book. He reads a few lines and cannot push himself to go any further. He found it difficult to extract any pleasure in the spare time he has to simply read, which was a favourite pastime of his before going to war. In the short time of fighting, Paul Bäumer has had to learn to give up his young adolescent childhood to go straight to the full understanding of the horrors and devastation of war, to a point where he almost has to detach himself from the norms of society and inescapably, his own soul.

We All Live In The YELLOW SUBMARINE

Today Mrs. Smith planned another Smash Day for us instead of the usual science class. Out of 10 sheets of scrap paper, 4 little mirrors, tape, and a piece of cardboard, each group of either 2 or 3 was to build a periscope-like device that would allow us to see what a box contained. The box would be placed on the table, while we all had to remain lower than the surface of the table. (Of course she had planned out a little story for us to play out: we were in a submarine to spy into a castle on land to see what was inside without letting the guards around the castle caught sight of us.) Hence, the rule that did not allow us to rise above the surface of the table.

I don't know what would count as modifying, because at first we had no idea what we were going to do with our supplies until we just started piecing them together. As we went through that process and realized that certain structures just wouldn't allow us to get on with the task, we just changed the design of the structure to the best we could. The most common problems that came up during this experiment was that the way the mirrors were angled in the periscope did not work to mirror of the reflection of whatever we were supposed to be looking at. We fixed this, of course, by shifting and playing around with different angles of the mirrors, looking to see which formation would give us a better view of our secret objects in the box. The second problem that came up was that the viewing device that we made wouldn't support itself. It fell when we did not hold certain parts of it up. This was solved by using pieces of cardboard or more paper to stabilize the instrument. We threw out different ideas and experimented with each one when we had the time and chose the best option. In the end, when it came down to the actual "spytime", we gave up on our original design with all the mirrors fixed complexly inside it and clumped it all together so it looked more like a long stick with a mirror at the end of it peering into the box. 

I don't know if there's any advice I would give to someone doing this experiment for the first time, except maybe remind them that it doesn't really have to be a periscope with the mirrors all angled inside the object. It can be anything that allows u to see inside the box. The rest can be figured out through the whole thinking and creating process - that way the information they learn will better stay with them.

Treaty of Versailles: Germany's Allowed Military Structure

This document looks like a photostat of the original copy of the Treat of Versailles. There are about 440 articles altogether in the treaty, but this section focuses mainly on the restricted military structure that Germany was permitted to implement after they lost the war to the Allied Forces. The first subsection was on State and Establishment of Army Corps, Headquarters staffs, and of Infantry and Calvary Divisions. The part stated what the maximum number of infantry divisions, officers, men for each unit, etc. that they were not to exceed at any cause. The second shows the table stating the limitations the Germans were to follow that related to the number of artillery each division was allowed to have with them. The third emphasized on the maximum stock they were entitled to hold. 

This relates to the situation in Germany directly because of these restrictions that the Allies have established on the nation. With all the defunct German air forces, submarines, ships, as well as the men who weren't chosen to become part of the 100 000 soldiers in the army, Germany suffered from extreme economical loss. In addition to dealing with their own problems, they also had to pay for all the damage done during the war to the civilian population and property of the Allied nations. They lost parts of their land and they accepted responsibility for all the loss and damage that has been suffered. The era after their defeat was most likely their most humiliating periods of time in history. Over the months and years to come after that, they were probably the laughing stock all over the world. Some would've taken advantage and put the blame of Germany for anything that they've stepped out of line for. With limited defense, government funding for the nation, the German economy probably wasn't flourishing as well as the other nations. They must've felt like the outcasts in the world for the years that followed the end of the first World War. The people of Germany paid the price heavily for what their ex-leader and his followers did when they tried to conquer most of the world.

The topic that my group and I are researching on is the general, overall, picture of the entire World War One. This document relates to my topic because the research that we will come up with will provide us with a good background on the events that led to the Germany's downfall and this Treaty of Versailles. We will have a better understanding of why this treaty came to be about, and what Germany did to the rest of the world that they deserved to pay the price all the damage done to the Allied Nations. 

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Caffeine to hallucinations

Recent studies show that those who consume more than seven cups of coffee a day triple their chances of experiencing hallucinations to those who drink only one. Contrary to popular beliefs, caffeine is not only solely found in coffee. Carbonated drinks, tea, energy drink and even chocolate contain this substance. 

However, the cause of these hallucinations cannot be purely blamed on caffeine intake. Stress, the major reason why most of us drink coffee in the first place forces us to release a chemical called cortisol, which causes us to hallucinate. Also, factors such as childhood trauma could be linked to the hallucinations as it the caffeine might magnify the hallucinations. 

Simon James, a PhD student in psychology, argues that even if caffeine can increase your risk of hallucinations, it plays a minuscule role compared to other outside factors in a person's life. Researchers are investigating up on this to find out whether the other ingredients in caffeinated drinks might lead to the same problems. 

Although the article isn't biased, it hints at us that we should all probably try to reduce the amount of caffeine we take in each day and perhaps try an alternative: sleep. Or plan out our time a bit more wisely. 

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Restrictions on stem cell research to be lifted?

8 years ago, while President Bush was still in office, he imposed a number of restrictions on stem cell lines that were permitted to carry on. According to scientists and experts in the field, this has greatly hindered their research and their pace. Now that our current President Obama holds to be a strong supporter of this cell research, scientists might be relieved of the heavy weight of the limitations. 

They are presently pursuing the idea of using their information to re create cells to be injected into patients suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, possibly allowing the patients to recover or improve their state. They have already tested this idea on rats, which was proven to be somewhat successful. This injection of cells into damaged tissues also effective with diabetes, liver disease, heart failure, bone and cartilage repair.

"The impact of eight years under the previous administration for stem cell research has really been devastating," company chief of Geron (a biotech company),Dr Okarma, tells us. He wants the new system "to do more...-... reversing the prior administration's ban." If his wishes come true, we'll all be filled with embryonic cells that keep us healthy until and past 90 years of age.

Not only does this article give us the views of the scientists working on these projects, it also voices the opinions of those who see the destruction of embryos immoral, most of them being the evangelistic Christians. The article can be relied on because it isn't biased and it clearly lays the cards down for each side. Adding to that, it signifies the advancement of our scientific technology and how we're using it to our advantage.

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