Basketball Used As a Tool For a New Nation

   

     The article, "Lithuania Basketball Team Helped To Inspire Nation's Freedom and Independence" was written by Jordon Schultz in The Huffington Post on September 21, 2012. Many people think of basketball as a sport they love to play, watch, or collect valuable cards on. However, the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team saw a different vision. For fifty years, the country of Lithuania had been under the heavy rule of Soviet Russia. The Communist reign had such an enormous role, that it even went to as far as trying to change the language, religion, and even the flags of this small country. The basketball players wanted no part of this. They were sick of being burdened by the heavy rules forced upon them by the USSR. They decided to use basketball as a means of inspiration not only for themselves, but for the rest of the country. In 1992, they achieved their goal by winning the olympic bronze medal in Barcelona, which represented the end of the atrocious fifty years that the citizens of Lithuania had to endure. This was one of their greatest achievements, especially because the United States had one of the greatest basketball teams to ever participate in the basketball category in the Olympics, with Michael Jordon leading "The Dream Team." Although Marius Markevicius, a Lithuanian living in Los Angeles,was only sixteen years old in 1992, he understood the cultural conflict of what was happening at home. He reports the significance of the 1992 Lithuanian team in his new film, "The Dream Team," which debuted at the Sundance festival, will appear in theaters on September 28. During their road to achieving the bronze medal, the Lithuanian team had no support, other than the band The Grateful Dead. The band loved the cause the team was fighting for, and decided to donate tie-dye warmups, with a dunking skeleton on the front. It signified the pride, rebelliousness, and soul the team had. Lithuania, a small and independent Baltic country with over 3.5 million people, views basketball as the tool which was able to unite a nation in their time of need, and give inspiration to each person belonging to that culture, wether they lived in Lithuania or another country.

Zombie Apocalypse

     On September 17, 2012, Andy Campbell wrote the article, "Zombie Apocalypse Training: HALO Corp. To Train Military, Law Enforcement on Virus Outbreak" in the Huffington Post. On September 16, security from HALO Corp. announced that about 1,000 military personnel, police officials, medical experts, and federal workers will learn to deal with "a zombie apocalypse", otherwise known as a worldwide pandemic. Currently, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with gun owners, are ready for a zombie apocalypse. The Military Times said that zombies, people who are crazy, violent, and fearful, will roam San Diego, CA. Their job is to harass the people participating in this training session, so that the participants will learn how to prepare for a real disaster. The Military Times and CDC have assured that zombies are not real. They are just a way to ensure that the public is prepared for situations similar to the "zombie apocalypse." In the article, Campbell wrote, "Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security reported that "the zombies are coming" as part of a hilarious bid to get citizens to prepare for a real disaster."

"Speech in the Virginia Convention" by Patrick Henry

     "Speech in the Virginia Convention" was a speech said by Patrick Henry, a strong opposer of the British rule on the American colonies. The occasion of this speech occurs during the Virginia Convention in the 1770s. During this time, the colonists in America were being mistreated by their rulers, England. Although some people were in agreement that the British should keep ruling the colonies in the same manner, another group of colonists, called patriots, were in strong favor of a revolution. The Virginia Convention speech by Patrick Henry was to persuade the President and Congress members that by starting a revolution, they would be able to be a free, independent country, and govern themselves. He persuades them to believe that they should no longer subject to merely hoping for change, but to actually stand up and fight or their rights. Henry also inspires the audience to join him in this fight, because the end results would become beneficial for them, since they would not suffer any more. The subject of the speech was freedom and independence. Henry's speech was centered around the idea that the colonies needed to stop surrendering to British invasion, and fight to become an independent country. They had done everything possible, such as petitioning, to gain freedom, but had failed. Henry urged the colonists that now was the time to physically fight, since there was no other option left.

Czech Republic Bans Alcohol

     On September 15, 2012, Karel Janicek wrote the article, "Czech Republic Alcohol Ban: Country Bans Hard Liquor Sales Amid Wave of Methanol Poisoning" in the Huffington Post. After the death toll rising to 19 people on Friday, Czech Republic has decided to ban the sale of spirits containing more than 20 percent of alcohol. This decision was made effective immediately after the country was swept with methanol poisoning. The ban applies to all restaurants, hotels, stores, and the Internet. The problem is mostly centered around northeastern Czech Republic. Methanol, because it is cheap,  is a common alternative to producing alcohol, and is used because it cannot be distinguished from real alcohol. Labs around the country have been testing suspicious alcohol samples that were seized by police raids. The sources are not clear of the worst methanol poising "in decades", according to police spokeswoman Stepanka Zatloukalova, however almost 20 people have been arrested. If this problem continues to span out for over a few months, it will become a big problem for the economy.

Scaring Children Into Behaving

Bill Lichtenstein wrote the article "A Terrifying Way to Discipline Children" on September 8, 2012 in the New York Times. The article introduces a brief background about how more than 400,000 students were restrained or isolated in seclusion rooms. Of those 400,000 students, about 12% had learning, behavioral, physical, or developmental disabilities. Currently, there are no federal laws banning this practice of punishment, which has no evidence of being effective. This issue has been introduced to the House of Representatives and Senate, but there is no expectation of voting on it this year. The author of this article included his own personal experience, with the abuse of his daughter, Rose. Rose had speech and language delays when she first started kindergarten in Lexington, Mass. On January 6, 2006, her parents received a phone call from her school asking them to come pick their daughter up, because she had taken her clothes off. Lichtenstein said, "At school, her mother and I found Rose standing alone on the cement floor of a basement mop closet, illuminated by a single light bulb. There was nothing in the closet for a child — no chair, no books, no crayons, nothing but our daughter standing naked in a pool of urine, looking frightened as she tried to cover herself with her hands. On the floor lay her favorite purple-striped Hanna Andersson outfit and panties. Rose got dressed and we removed her from the school. We later learned that Rose had been locked in the closet five times that morning. She said that during the last confinement, she needed to use the restroom but didn’t want to wet her outfit. So she disrobed. Rather than help her, the school called us and then covered the narrow door’s small window with a file folder, on which someone had written “Don’t touch!” Rose still has nightmares and severe stress symptoms. Her parents filed an action against her school system, who agreed to pay for her treatment needed to recover from her trauma. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

     I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! The ice cream I scream for, is mint chocolate chip. This delectable flavor of ice cream is a combination of mint, whose flavor comes from either creme de menthe, spearmint, or peppermint, ice cream and small chocolate chips. Mint chocolate chip is tied in second place with cookies in cream for the second most popular ice cream flavor in America, with 3.7% votes in a survey conducted by the International Ice Cream Association. This flavor of ice cream hits a home run because of all the different experiences you enjoy with just one bite. The mint ice cream is the main component of this desert. Its chill, refreshing, creamy aspect creates a flavor marriage in heaven with the chocolate chips. Chocolate chips, chips of chocolate, are the reason why this flavor is so heavenly because of their crunchy, bittersweet, divine, and just sinfully delicious taste. On July 12, 2012, President Obama, while campaigning in Iowa, relaxed by visiting a local ice cream shop, and told the cashier, "I think I'll go with the classic mint chocolate chip." If the President of the United States chose this flavor, then you know there must be something delicious about it! How could your taste buds not have the urge to just try one spoonful?