A year old burrito

"We need to understand the concerns of the people in the U.S. who are worried about this transaction and make sure they are addressed to the benefit of all parties," said Ted Bilkey. These concerns the American people have are more than justified. The sale of 6 major American ports to Dubai Ports World, a Middle Eastern owned company has put the population on edge. But can you blame us? Ports in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia will all be owned by the Dubai Ports World for the price on 6.8 billion dollars. Some fear that this will cause security issues, claiming its just asking for trouble, while others fear if the deal doesn’t go through it will drastically limit our Arab allies. It is quite the pickle Uncle Sam has gotten into. President Bush stands firm that this takeover is best for the country, but I’m going to go with my gut on this one and say no way. It just doesn’t sound right, a Middle Eastern company running 6 major U.S. ports? Come on. "America's busiest ports are vital to our economy and to the international economy, and that is why they remain top terrorist targets, just as we would not outsource military operations or law enforcement duties, we should be very careful before we outsource such sensitive homeland security duties," Said Sen. Charles E. Schumer. Dubai Ports World belongs to United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been described by President Bush as a vital ally to the war on terrorism. But the UAE, a loose federation of seven emirates on the Saudi peninsula, was an important operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, said the FBI. If homeland security is truly number one on the Bush Administration’s list than selling American ports to the “enemy” isn’t the best idea. The takeover could work out just fine as planned, but it just doesn’t sit right in my stomach, like a year old burrito.

Due Monday, February 27th

The state-controlled Arab firm Dubai Ports World is scheduled to take over management of six major U.S. ports. When Congress learned of the plan, many democratic and republican legislators demanded a delay, so national security concerns could be addressed. The Bush administration is defending the deal and says there is no threat. Give your opinion, citing sources for your information, and including the latest developments in this ongoing story.

How Silly

Piedmont changed the name of its school newspaper from the Lion’s Roar to the Navigator to try to get people to take it a little more seriously. But with articles like, “Three Floors of Whores and the Virgin Vault”, and “Why Martin Luther King Day” people are now starting to question the Navigator. In fact a group of students even published a magazine to contradict the paper called the Contrarian. The credibility of the opinion column has been critically damaged. In the January 30th edition of the Navigator, Three Floors of Whores and the Virgin Vault, by Charron Davis graced the front page of the Opinions section. My problem with this article is this, who cares? Rumor spreading belongs out on the Quad, not the newspaper. I realize that this is the opinion section, and everyone has a right to free speech but Davis didn’t even have an opinion about anything he just talked gossip. “I guess all our “hot popular” girls live in Swanson and our “ugly” or “hard to get” girls live in Wallace,” said Davis. The funny thing is I’ve never heard these rumors and neither have my any of my friends. What’s to say Davis didn’t make the whole thing up his self? He never citied or attributed any of the information or quotes he used. Charron summed it up best in his article by saying, “People talk because there is nothing better for them to do.” I guess he didn’t have anything better to write about. Another article caught flak in the Opinion section. Justin Poole’s, “Why Martin Luther King Jr. Day?” outraged a number of people. In this case I might disagree with what Poole had to say, but at least he had an opinion and then backed it up with information. Jesse Thompson wrote her rebuttal in the following issue. Both side were weighed out, this is the point of opinion columns, not to spread gossip.

Due Monday, February 20th

Recent editorials published in the Navigator have inspired some controversy among the paper's readers. React to editorials that have appeard this semester and give your critique. Take into consideration not only your own opinion, but also everything you have learned this semester in class about newswriting and opinion writing. In your own post, use what you know about writing an editorial; base it on research and logical reasoning. You should use specific editorial pieces and their writers as examples to support your statements, and you may even quote them. But remember that namecalling or personal attacks will only weaken your argument.

Let the Kids Learn

Georgia Promise states that all Georgia high school students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class are guaranteed a spot in any of the state’s public colleges or universities. This sounds like a good idea to me. The people ranked higher in their class usually are the ones who take school the most serious, and they deserve to have guaranteed enrollment. The Georgia promise does two things, encourages students to do better in school and also keeps Georgia youths in Georgia schools. Some democrats say that this bill will benefit teens living in rural areas more than others, but how can I argue with that? I myself am a rural teen, and if this bill is helping out my fellow Georgians to get into better schools then I am all for it. I know how hard going through high school is, I didn’t even make it to graduation day. So those who are responsible enough to tough it out all four years and make it in the top ten percent should get something for their hard work. The issue of race has also come up because of this bill. Researchers at the civil rights project at Harvard University claim that far more whites and Asians benefit from this than blacks or Hispanics. This claim is insane. Who cares? It’s not the white and Asian kids fault there are more of them in the top of the class. Pulling the race card is a low blow. Georgia should adopt the Georgia Promise. Why not reward the ones who deserve it this time?

Who is watching you?

President Bush’s Domestic Surveillance Program is now under a world a scrutiny. People like Al Gore have accused the President of flat out breaking the law repeatedly by authorizing domestic eavesdropping without court approval. Under this program the NSA uses Network Pattern Analysis and Detection to spot out certain relationships in a world of cellular and internet traffic. To pick out these threatening relationships the NSA screens traffic to and from the US using indicators such as keywords or financial transactions. Over the course of this program hundreds maybe even thousands of people have been watched by the government. This means that you or I could have been tapped. I agree that national security is a major issue that should be taken very seriously, but the American public doesn’t seem to care that their privacy has been violated in the name of safety. The big deal here to me isn’t that they are spying on people; the government has always done that and always will. It is the way they go about choosing the people they deem a threat. People are picked out on impersonal factors alone, not because they are a known villain.

Even though the legality of this program is under question the President assures the American public that he has done no wrong. “There’s no doubt in my mind it is legal… There’s no doubt in my mind there are safeguards in place to make sure the program focuses on calls coming from outside the United States in, with a belief that there’s an al Qaeda person making the call to somebody here in the States, or vice versa, but not domestic calls.” said President Bush. Taking in mind what he is saying then it is true, but what if these safe guards he is taking about fail. This program could be used for anything, from finding drug rings to spying on a specific person for the better of one man. The whole idea of this program is sketchy, but it does seem to be necessary at this point in time. The best idea would stop the program as soon as possible. And in all reality the terrorists are already probably on to us and are getting their messages through by other means.

Due Monday, February 13th

Give your opinion on President Bush's controversial domestic monitoring program. Under this program, the National Security Agency eavesdrops withouth court warrants on the international e-mails and phone calls of people inside the United States who have suspected terrorist ties. Consult other blogs and refer to them in your answer. Also, summarize the other side, while still defending your own point of view.

Due Monday February 6th

Find information about "Georgia Promise," proposed legislation that would guarantee the top 10% of students at every Georgia public high school, a place at UGA. The legislation is modeled after programs that were adopted in Texas and Florida. Find out how the programs are working in those states before posting your response. Do you think "Georgia Promise" should be adopted? Make sure your research is evident in your response.