young smokers

Smoking ciggarettes is not a healthy habit; Smokers and non smokers alike both know this.  However, it doesn’t seem to stop the 6,000 children who start smoking every single day in America, all under the age of 18.

An article titled Mississippi Should Stop Subsidizing Teen Smokers, gave smoking statistics, ranging from the amount of adolescent smokers in the United States(4.5 million), as well as the percent of smokers who pick up the habit before the age of 21(90%).   In a study done in Mississippi, it showed that 23% of students at their highschool had addmitted smoking in 2003, and the percent had jumped about 15% about a decade ago.  The article showed that the main problem in Mississippi seemed to have is the low ciggarette taxes, and that raising such would help alleviate the problem.  It seems odd that so many people feel the urge to start smoking, knowing very well what it does the the body, which could very well result in cancer and death.  Especially Missipissippi, many other states in the US have had their smoking statistics rise with each year. 

The saddest part about all of this is that the smokers are getting younger and younger, many before the age of 18.  The result of smoking is something that needs to be urged more towards others the younger generation, and raising ciggarette taxes, as well as the smoking age, could help sway people not to start.  It’s an addictive deadly habit that will eventually deterierate the body, and Mississippi, as well as every other state in America, needs to promote not smoking before it’s too late.

South Los Angeles

California: Some think of this as the place where dreams come true.  As of lately, however, it has become a place where fires spread rampantly, and have been destroying the beautiful acres that Los Angeles has to offer, not to mention destroying more than 800 homes, as stated on BBC News.com in an article titled “California Fires Wreak Havoc”.

The wildfires have taken over without stop, and firefighters have been trying constantly to lessen them, with the help of bulldozers and helicopters, all doing their best to put out the terrible flames.  It’s painful to read about thousands of people having to flee their homes in order to escape the fire, and due to the high winds that have been present in L.A, the fires have been jumping to an incredible height, making it more difficult for the firemen to put them out.  Arnold Schwarzenegger thought the firefighters were extremley quick in their response, as they fight what is called “The Perfect Storm”.

The Perfect Storm was described as condiitions in Califonia where there is high wind, high temperatures, and everything becomes extremley dry, thus causing the chaotic fires.  It was stated that 15,00 acres of land had been burned by the fires, which is disheartening news as you think of how beautiful California is, and how many acres it had to offer.  When reading about the weather conditions there, you can’t help but wish that the residents who are affected are okay, as they try and figure out where they are going to reside, and how they are going to rebuild their homes.  Mother nature is unfortunatley something that cannot be predicted, and despite the warning of weather conditions from meteorologists on TV, there is no telling when something as terrible as unstoppable fires will come and have a deep impact on your life. 

Though there were no reported deaths in this article, it was stated the firemen were worried about Oakridge Mobile Home Park, where the line of fire went directly through, however, they will have to wait until things cool down so that they can investiage the damage that was done.  Overall, this article was upsetting to read as you realize that part of the US is being destoryed by the rampant fires, and there is only hope that the fireman as well as the rest of California, will come together to stop this terrible weather.

When I came across a story about several people around the world trying to trick voters, I had to read through and was appalled by the information I found relating to the lengths people had gone to in order to convince the public to vote in a different direction, or scare them into voting by threatening them with certain things.

It was interesting to see what lows people will stoop to in order to ensure votes for their favorite candidate, and in an election as important as this one, especially with an african american candidate, there have been several negative racial issues surrounding the upcoming election day.  Several people in different parts of the United States were trying very hard to wean down the votes for Barack Obama, taking the racial path and stating that he had been linked to the Holocaust,(stated by anonymous email in Pennsylvania) that he was more focused on Palestinians than to Israel, and trying to confuse them by making anonymous phone calls notifying the public to cast their ballots over the phone, or that the voting will take place on two seperate days.

Due to the overwhelming turnout of voters, many people are doing all they can to influence people to vote a certain way.  As stated in the article, it is a crime to try and indimidate and harass people into voting a certain way, but with anonymous phone calls as well as emails, it is difficult to be traced back to one person.  It was alarming to see what people would do in order to have their candidate win, and sad because you realize how much of a riot the election could cause the world, should Obama win.  First time voters are trying to support the candidate they feel would do best, but it also leaves a scary outcome, due to the affect the public will have and how we will make it as a whole, with all this anger and deciet already coming about.  Despite everything, the hostility people have within them could remain, and grow to an eve

Despite who wins, the outcome will cause hostility from many people around the world.

n greater extent, depending on who is elected.