What are your thoughts?
Showing posts with label CHANGE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHANGE. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19
Monday, August 24
Projected Population Estimates
The current (2009) world population is estimated to be 6.8 billion with a projected increase to 7 billion in 2011, and 8.1 billion in 2025 ( http://www.prb.org/). I can only help but wonder what this increase in population will result--more problems. I can't help but imagine, and i'm not being a pessimist here, that this means continued wars, poverty, inequalities, etc. What do you all expect from such drastic population rises?
Monday, July 27
No Lobbiests?
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/white-house-eases-stimulus-lobbyist-restrictions-2009-07-25.html so read the news there about Lobbiests and the stimulus bill. Now Lobbiests are ok.
Tuesday, July 14
Wednesday, July 1
What's happening?
change the economy
change our politicians
change our school systems, cheaper higher education, lower tuition fees, more classes to choose from
change our politicians
change our school systems, cheaper higher education, lower tuition fees, more classes to choose from
Sunday, June 7
Bread and Butter or Ideology
The media has been debating if we are in an economic recession or depression. It seems that there is not unanimous consent even among Nobel Price-winning economists as to what an unequivocal definition should be.
As a pragmatic person, I am inclined to believe the following is a better definition: when my neighbor lost his job it is a recession and when I lost my job, it would be a depression.
The national unemployment rate is approaching 10%, I would surmise that political and philosophical ideologies would be taking on a back seat. Simply put, when people are struggling for economic survival, they are not going to be as concerned as before right to die, equal right protection and etc. An implication arising from Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is that when one is suffering hunger, one is not going to ponder unresolved mysteries such as the origin of the universe, of life and of the mind.
As a pragmatic person, I am inclined to believe the following is a better definition: when my neighbor lost his job it is a recession and when I lost my job, it would be a depression.
The national unemployment rate is approaching 10%, I would surmise that political and philosophical ideologies would be taking on a back seat. Simply put, when people are struggling for economic survival, they are not going to be as concerned as before right to die, equal right protection and etc. An implication arising from Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is that when one is suffering hunger, one is not going to ponder unresolved mysteries such as the origin of the universe, of life and of the mind.
Sunday, February 15
Change
I find the recent dialogue that many people are re-enrolling in school due to the economy very interesting. Personally, I find the academic environment to be satisfying and inspirational! It can provide you with numerous opportunities as well as acquaintances. I think that our country is desperate for change (obviously!) and desperate for inspiration. Inspiration is a great catalyst. Perhaps we collectively feel as though we need to arm ourselves intellectually for the future. We must prepare and do the necessary 'work' in order to create a better world. There is a saying that things must get worse before they can get better. I think that this is a very exciting time for everyone in terms of change. I think that we have consciously or sub-consciously realized that we all need to participate and take responsibility for our (collective) future and it is inspiring to me at least to hear that more people are taking that realization and choosing to further educate themselves.
GREAT CHANGE QUOTES!
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
“We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” - Charles R. Swindoll
"The key to change... is to let go of fear.” -Rosanne Cash
“Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.”
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”
“We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” - Charles R. Swindoll
"The key to change... is to let go of fear.” -Rosanne Cash
“Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.”
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.”
Monday, February 9
A Union of Human Beings
I was most intrigued by Denzel Washington's character because of his secret cause. He wanted to create a union of workers with intigrated members no matter what race or status they were. His passion was deep that he continued his protest even with dangerous consequences. A student from CSULA once told me that if I were to read Martin L. King's Speeches, I would find that he was also trying to raise collective conscience among the lower and working classes. I like to image that such an idea is possible.
Saturday, January 24
Glad for change, held by fear
Though I consider myself lucky in witnessing and being part of history being made with the new administration, I have to admit that there's a part of me grasping on to fear. While watching all the events that took place on 1/20 I had this feeling of uneasiness that I could not shake. I felt fear not for the change that is to come, but for the new Chief in command. I couldn't help but feel like there was going to be some kind of tragic act that would leave us in complete devastation after coming this far. I could barely sit through the few minutes that I watched President Obama walk in the parade, all the while thinking to myself "get back in the car" and then sighing with relief once he did. This is an extraordinary time in history, I hope it follows with an extraordinary ending too.
Thursday, January 22
Change
Why is it hard for a person to accept change? Most people prefer playing it safe then facing the unexpeted occurrences from such change. This past year there was an election,in which history was made and the biggest CHANGE is about to take place. The thing is, expectations are high following this change and if such expectations are not met, will we be as unhopeful towards change for the future?
Tuesday, January 20
OBAMA'S SPEECH
Obama's speech was GREAT!!!
He concentrated on broad themes. In addition, he had words of praise for the previous Bush administration but also a few criticisms.
NOW, WE ALL NEED TO BE PATIENCE and continue to support OBAMA in the changes HE is going to make in the upcoming years NOT weeks or months!!
He concentrated on broad themes. In addition, he had words of praise for the previous Bush administration but also a few criticisms.
NOW, WE ALL NEED TO BE PATIENCE and continue to support OBAMA in the changes HE is going to make in the upcoming years NOT weeks or months!!
SECRET AGENTS GUARDING OBAMA
I found the information in the Los Angeles Time Parade magazine. Pictures of the agents didi not come through. For more information please log onto www.parade.com to view the pictures of Obama's Secret Service Agents.
Njoy!!!!!!!
Meet the agents inside the Secret Service
They'd Take a Bullet For The President
By Christopher Reich
Publication Date: 01/04/2009
Special Agent in Charge Eric Zahren (center), joined by Special Agents Laura Topolski (left) and Malcolm D. Wiley Sr. (right) Special Agent Malcolm D. Wiley Sr., a former college-football player, has a winning smile and a handshake that could bend steel. He's been in the U.S. Secret Service for 17 years, part of that time directly guarding the President. How does it feel to go to work knowing that he may have to take a bullet? "It comes with the job," he says crisply. "It's an honor to protect the President. End of discussion." Secret Service agents have a job that they must literally be willing to die for. "Cops are trained to retreat when gunfire starts, but the Secret Service has to stand tall and go into the gunfire," says James Previtera, a Secret Service agent from 1998 to 2005 who now runs Florida's Hillsborough County jail system. Adds Special Agent in Charge Eric Zahren, an 18-year veteran, " From day one, you're part of a larger mission and operate as part of a team. It's not about you as an individual." With the inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American President, just over two weeks away, more scrutiny than ever is on the members of the Secret Service--the anonymous, dark-suited men and women who guard his every move. Obama's Secret Service protection began earlier than that for any previous Presidential candidate--in May 2007, 18 months before Election Day--after top government officials expressed fears for his safety. Since his election, there's been speculation that the Secret Service has found a record number of individuals and groups to be plotting to harm him. Says Wiley, "We never comment on how many threats are made against the President."
From Lincoln to Obama: See the Secret Service Timeline »Observers point to extra measures that have been used to protect President-elect Obama, such as the bulletproof glass panels surrounding him during his acceptance speech at Chicago's Grant Park on Election Night. "Those are not new, nor do they reflect any specific threat to the President-elect's safety," says Wiley. "They are one more tool in the arsenal that we deploy." Agents joke that to want to join the Secret Service, you have to be "type-A squared." Says Thomas D. Sloan, who served on President Clinton's detail and now heads international security at the New York Stock Exchange, "Failure is not an option." So how do they prepare? I visited the Secret Service's James J. Rowley Training Center in Beltsville, Md., on a warm, sunny morning. Located 30 minutes outside Washington, D.C., the center is tucked away on 500 acres of rolling countryside. Trainees wear khakis and polo shirts and carry mock pistols on their belts. They undergo four months of intense instruction that focuses on responding to real-life scenarios. In simulated encounters, "you're attacked with guns and knives, then observed and graded on how you react," says Tim McCarthy, who was in the Secret Service for 22 years. He infamously took a bullet when John Hinckley Jr. shot at President Ronald Reagan in 1981. "What I did at that moment was based on training more than anything else." (McCarthy recovered completely from his injury and is now chief of police in Orland Park, Ill.) Firearms qualification was under way when I arrived. Putting on a pair of protective goggles and noise-suppressing earplugs, I watched as a candidate went through the demanding course. He was a young, athletic man who looked as if he could bench-press me with one arm. He started with a submachine gun, firing at a moving mix of paper targets. He shot slowly, not rapidly like you see in the movies. Later, I learned it's because Secret Service agents are accountable for every bullet they fire. They know that in a real-life crisis, a stray bullet will most likely strike an innocent bystander. His shots were right on, and he switched to a shotgun. Sweating now, he had difficulty loading it. Rattled, he hit the wrong target: a policeman with a badge around his neck. Finally, he picked up the last weapon that he was being tested on--a handgun--and hit just three of 10 targets. Test over. He had failed. "The bad guys only have to do their job one time in 100 to be successful. We have to do it 100 times out of 100," says Mark Sullivan, the agency's director for the past three years. Secret Service agents learn to drive the Presidential limousine, affectionately nicknamed "the Beast." The vehicle is built from Cadillac components at a secret facility. After being delivered to the Secret Service, it's promptly disassembled to search for GPS, eavesdropping, or surveillance devices and then reassembled. From this point on, it's never without a pair of eyes watching over it. Never. The limo is guarded as closely as a politician. The limo is like "a bank vault on wheels," according to agents. The doors appear to be 18 inches or so thick; the windows, 5 inches. I could see that the seats were covered in velour with the Presidential seal embroidered on them. Not leather--because it wouldn't do for the Chief Executive to be sliding around during a high-speed chase. Agents must master defensive moves such as the "J-turn," where a driver goes in reverse at full speed, makes a 180-degree turn, and heads off in the opposite direction, all without slowing down or leaving the lane. At Rowley, an instructor offered to give me a taste of what it takes to drive the President. When I stepped out of the vehicle 10 minutes later, my head was spinning. After graduating, agents are posted to one of the Secret Service's domestic or international offices. After five to seven years on the job, an agent can apply for the Presidential Protective Detail (PPD), which consists of a few hundred members. Drawn from the PPD is a rotating group of five to seven agents who surround the President at all times. They're known as "the shift," or what Director Sullivan calls "the sharp end of the spear." The Secret Service maintains a 24-hour mobile security "bubble" around the President--a protective sphere extending 360 degrees in every direction: on the ground, with agents and bomb-sniffing dogs; and above, with snipers on rooftops and helicopters in the air. Before every one of the President's public appearances--in and out of the country--agents must do painstaking advance work, negotiating with everybody from hotel maintenance engineers to high-level political staffers and creating a customized security plan for each venue. "If we've done a thorough job, then we've envisioned any theoretical incident and taken the steps to prevent it," says Special Agent Laura Topolski, who has been with the Secret Service for close to 10 years.The other major part of protecting the President lies in responding to threats. Many of them continue to be in the form of handwritten notes or voice messages left with the White House operator, and every one is seriously assessed. Says Richard Elias, deputy assistant director of the Secret Service and a 28-year veteran, "If a threat is made against the President, we want to know it. Whether it's a drunk in a bar or an identified terrorist, we're going to investigate it." During my days inside the Secret Service, I'm struck by two things. Number one is how sharp the agents are. They're personable and intelligent, but all of them have a glint of steel lurking just below the surface. The other quality isn't as easy to describe. It's a sense of purpose and mission I feel that permeates everything the Secret Service does and sends a buzz through the air. "All agents are aware of the responsibility of protecting the President of the United States," says Sloan. "And we're aware of the consequences should we fail, both for the agency and for the nation."
Njoy!!!!!!!
Meet the agents inside the Secret Service
They'd Take a Bullet For The President
By Christopher Reich
Publication Date: 01/04/2009
Special Agent in Charge Eric Zahren (center), joined by Special Agents Laura Topolski (left) and Malcolm D. Wiley Sr. (right) Special Agent Malcolm D. Wiley Sr., a former college-football player, has a winning smile and a handshake that could bend steel. He's been in the U.S. Secret Service for 17 years, part of that time directly guarding the President. How does it feel to go to work knowing that he may have to take a bullet? "It comes with the job," he says crisply. "It's an honor to protect the President. End of discussion." Secret Service agents have a job that they must literally be willing to die for. "Cops are trained to retreat when gunfire starts, but the Secret Service has to stand tall and go into the gunfire," says James Previtera, a Secret Service agent from 1998 to 2005 who now runs Florida's Hillsborough County jail system. Adds Special Agent in Charge Eric Zahren, an 18-year veteran, " From day one, you're part of a larger mission and operate as part of a team. It's not about you as an individual." With the inauguration of Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American President, just over two weeks away, more scrutiny than ever is on the members of the Secret Service--the anonymous, dark-suited men and women who guard his every move. Obama's Secret Service protection began earlier than that for any previous Presidential candidate--in May 2007, 18 months before Election Day--after top government officials expressed fears for his safety. Since his election, there's been speculation that the Secret Service has found a record number of individuals and groups to be plotting to harm him. Says Wiley, "We never comment on how many threats are made against the President."
From Lincoln to Obama: See the Secret Service Timeline »Observers point to extra measures that have been used to protect President-elect Obama, such as the bulletproof glass panels surrounding him during his acceptance speech at Chicago's Grant Park on Election Night. "Those are not new, nor do they reflect any specific threat to the President-elect's safety," says Wiley. "They are one more tool in the arsenal that we deploy." Agents joke that to want to join the Secret Service, you have to be "type-A squared." Says Thomas D. Sloan, who served on President Clinton's detail and now heads international security at the New York Stock Exchange, "Failure is not an option." So how do they prepare? I visited the Secret Service's James J. Rowley Training Center in Beltsville, Md., on a warm, sunny morning. Located 30 minutes outside Washington, D.C., the center is tucked away on 500 acres of rolling countryside. Trainees wear khakis and polo shirts and carry mock pistols on their belts. They undergo four months of intense instruction that focuses on responding to real-life scenarios. In simulated encounters, "you're attacked with guns and knives, then observed and graded on how you react," says Tim McCarthy, who was in the Secret Service for 22 years. He infamously took a bullet when John Hinckley Jr. shot at President Ronald Reagan in 1981. "What I did at that moment was based on training more than anything else." (McCarthy recovered completely from his injury and is now chief of police in Orland Park, Ill.) Firearms qualification was under way when I arrived. Putting on a pair of protective goggles and noise-suppressing earplugs, I watched as a candidate went through the demanding course. He was a young, athletic man who looked as if he could bench-press me with one arm. He started with a submachine gun, firing at a moving mix of paper targets. He shot slowly, not rapidly like you see in the movies. Later, I learned it's because Secret Service agents are accountable for every bullet they fire. They know that in a real-life crisis, a stray bullet will most likely strike an innocent bystander. His shots were right on, and he switched to a shotgun. Sweating now, he had difficulty loading it. Rattled, he hit the wrong target: a policeman with a badge around his neck. Finally, he picked up the last weapon that he was being tested on--a handgun--and hit just three of 10 targets. Test over. He had failed. "The bad guys only have to do their job one time in 100 to be successful. We have to do it 100 times out of 100," says Mark Sullivan, the agency's director for the past three years. Secret Service agents learn to drive the Presidential limousine, affectionately nicknamed "the Beast." The vehicle is built from Cadillac components at a secret facility. After being delivered to the Secret Service, it's promptly disassembled to search for GPS, eavesdropping, or surveillance devices and then reassembled. From this point on, it's never without a pair of eyes watching over it. Never. The limo is guarded as closely as a politician. The limo is like "a bank vault on wheels," according to agents. The doors appear to be 18 inches or so thick; the windows, 5 inches. I could see that the seats were covered in velour with the Presidential seal embroidered on them. Not leather--because it wouldn't do for the Chief Executive to be sliding around during a high-speed chase. Agents must master defensive moves such as the "J-turn," where a driver goes in reverse at full speed, makes a 180-degree turn, and heads off in the opposite direction, all without slowing down or leaving the lane. At Rowley, an instructor offered to give me a taste of what it takes to drive the President. When I stepped out of the vehicle 10 minutes later, my head was spinning. After graduating, agents are posted to one of the Secret Service's domestic or international offices. After five to seven years on the job, an agent can apply for the Presidential Protective Detail (PPD), which consists of a few hundred members. Drawn from the PPD is a rotating group of five to seven agents who surround the President at all times. They're known as "the shift," or what Director Sullivan calls "the sharp end of the spear." The Secret Service maintains a 24-hour mobile security "bubble" around the President--a protective sphere extending 360 degrees in every direction: on the ground, with agents and bomb-sniffing dogs; and above, with snipers on rooftops and helicopters in the air. Before every one of the President's public appearances--in and out of the country--agents must do painstaking advance work, negotiating with everybody from hotel maintenance engineers to high-level political staffers and creating a customized security plan for each venue. "If we've done a thorough job, then we've envisioned any theoretical incident and taken the steps to prevent it," says Special Agent Laura Topolski, who has been with the Secret Service for close to 10 years.The other major part of protecting the President lies in responding to threats. Many of them continue to be in the form of handwritten notes or voice messages left with the White House operator, and every one is seriously assessed. Says Richard Elias, deputy assistant director of the Secret Service and a 28-year veteran, "If a threat is made against the President, we want to know it. Whether it's a drunk in a bar or an identified terrorist, we're going to investigate it." During my days inside the Secret Service, I'm struck by two things. Number one is how sharp the agents are. They're personable and intelligent, but all of them have a glint of steel lurking just below the surface. The other quality isn't as easy to describe. It's a sense of purpose and mission I feel that permeates everything the Secret Service does and sends a buzz through the air. "All agents are aware of the responsibility of protecting the President of the United States," says Sloan. "And we're aware of the consequences should we fail, both for the agency and for the nation."
A Proud American
I am so proud to be an American today.. It has finally come... an end of an era- or should i say an Error... it is now Obama's turn to lead our country into some what of an order that we can all follow.. I am so emotional, that a country like the US has to go through so much... We as a nation have failed to secure one another in this tragic time of need. WE steal, lie, hate, and cause other chaos just to survive, i can not wait until some peacefulness arises after the storm has settled. i do not know how Obama is gonna do it... but i hope he has the patience and power to figure out how the super power of the world is going to get back on its feet. He has made very big promises and i hope he will be able to at least accomplish some of them. this nation does not need another failure, but a president that is preaching about hope, change, wisdom... as Obama has been doing! i wish him much luck and success in his 4 years in office!
Small Changes/ Big Effect
i don't know if i'm the only person who had thought about this. i'm pretty sure i'm not. Have you ever sat down by yourself after hearing or seeing something and thought, how can i make a difference? Then almost right after that think, small things don't make that big of a difference. We forget that it really does! Small ideas can cause large conclusion, and we tend to over look how important our thoughts and ideas are. What if someone else had the same thoughts in mind, then it's no longer just one person. Every effort makes a difference, maybe not a big one like we aim for, but it will change somebody's life. Get active
Monday, January 19
Remember The Significance
The impact Barack Obama's election to presidency has had on this country is powerful and inspirational. We've heard it said before from many people that they never thought they would see the day when there would be a black president. Obama represents progress and hope and has confirmed the idea within people that they can do something extraordinary with hard work and a positive attitude, no matter what adversities or social road blocks they have faced in their lives. It is so exciting to be able to witness the Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow. I only hope that people won't forget the meaning of his presidency and our country can continue to move forward toward tolerance and equality among every race, religion, sexual orientation, and social class.
Has Martin Luther's Dream Come True?
Is this election of hope and change become a reality? Is this what he wanted? Watching Larry King live and this was discussed. I think this is definetly what Dr. King wanted. We are changing the way Americans are thinking. Hope is definetly on its way.
INAUGURATION!
Hope everyone is having a great time.
I can't wait for Obama's inauguration!
CHANGE...CHANGE...CHANGE!!!
I can't wait for Obama's inauguration!
CHANGE...CHANGE...CHANGE!!!
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