Wednesday, May 11, 2011


Islam Study Guide
Islam is the _____ most popular religion.                                             Second
The word Islam is derived from  ______                                              Submission
The word Muslim means _______                                                      one who submits
There are ____ Muslim followers world wide                                    about 1 billion
The _____ is the Holy Text                                                                 Quran
____ Is the Seal of the Prophets                                                          Muhammad
The word Quran means ______                                                          Reading or Recitation
The Quran cannot be translated because __                         It would not be Allah’s words.
Muhammad was born where, when                                             Born 570 AD in Mecca
Who did Muhammad marry and work for                                          Khadija
610 AD was the _______                                                   Night of Power and Excellence
People did not convert to Islam because__                      they liked having many Gods
Muhammad left to go to _____                                                           Medina
Muhammad invaded _____                                                                 Mecca
Muslims believe Jesus was not ____                                               God’s (Allah’s) son
The custom of the profit is the ____                                      Sunna (actions and teachings)
The three main branches of Islam are ____                              Sunni, Shiite, and Sufism
The _____ is “the way”  or Divine Law                                             Sharia
Five Pillars  ________                                             Shahada (submission), Prayer, Fasting,   Pillars cont.                                                                           Wealth Sharing, Pilgrimage
Jihad is the ____                                                               Struggle
Seven Dimensions help                                My Dog Eats Really Expensive Special Meats
Seven Dimensions are _____                  Mythical Doctrinal Ritual Ethical Social Material

Friday, April 15, 2011

3 Points for the Court Case

1. Elliot harassed Ellery on several occasions.

This was not a one-time event, Eliot was a repeat offender. Incident 1 was in Spanish class, when Eliot refused to give Ellery a worksheet. Eliot had two of them, Ellery had none, but Eliot refused to give her a sheet. The second incident was at the capitol. Michael was not there, but he heard Ellery saying that "He is always being mean to me, I wish someone wold tell him to stop whenever I ask him to he doesn't."


2. Ellery charged Eliot earlier in the year, but the case dropped.

Earlier in the year, ELlery charged Eliot for being mean, but the case was dropped. Ellery has already tried to defend herself, but was unsuccessful.

3. Michael came to Ellery's defense when she asked for someone to "Deal with Eliot."

Michael was the bystander who came to the defense of a victim. Just like in the Dateline special, he stood up to the bully, even though the bully wasn't bullying him. Michael is setting an example for anyone and everyone who is a bystander of bullying.

Conclusion: Michael, an innocent bystander, came to the defense if a victim who was being bullied.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Homework: Yay or Nay?

        I believe that homework is a useful tool for reinforcing what kids have learned. However, too much homework can be harmful, as it can lead to the hatred of school and learning. Students usually only read books, do research, and write essays when they are assigned it as homework. A large amount of learning comes from books, research, and essays, so dismissing with that would completely reduce learning drastically.
         However, too much homework takes away all possible time for sports, which are needed for a well rounded student. Everyone has been at the point when they have too much homework for one night, and that is a really bad point in your school-year, which I believe is a big cause for low-grades. People get too much homework in one night, the start to dislike school and learning, they get the "Screw it" attitude and a 1.5 GPA.
         Homework teaches a good work ethic as well as reinforcing what was taught in class. Kids who come from wealthier families usually finish all of their homework, while kids who come from poorer families have a higher chance of not finishing. This may be due to a better work ethic of the wealthier families, as that is usually how they became rich, and vice versa for the poorer families. However, there are exceptions to everything. Asian students also tend to finish all their homework more-so than others, which may be due to the emphasis Asian societies have for education.
        Overall, Homework should not be taken to any extremes, some is good, too much is bad, and none at all leads to unintelligent children.

Friday, February 25, 2011

9/11

1) What are your memories of 9/11? Do you have any? Are there images in your mind of the tragedy? Where do these images come from? 

I don't remember too much. The images I have are all from the internet, they have a lot of smoke a rubble and dead people and what not in them. I remember once confusing a 7/11 Gas Station with 9/11, but that doesn't cause a lot of memories and/or tragedy.


2) What do you know about the causes and consequences of 9/11?

I know that 3,000 people died, somewhere I heard 17 of them were Muslim. I know that al Queda was behind the attack, and the two planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The third plane was saved by brave men and women who said "Let's Roll" as they recaptured the plane, which then crashed into the ground. I know one of the consequences was the infamous Gate Rape, or "Bodily Inspection," now enforced by the TSA. The shoe bomber and underwear bomber also led to reinforced air port security, and more racial profiling. Al Queda has described themselves as wanting Global Jihad, so I think the attack was an example of the Muslim concept of Jihad.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dead Zone Water Project: Houston & Aidan

          What is a Dead Zone? A Dead Zone is a place near the sea floor, not on the surface, where the dissolved oxygen levels are so low, very few organisms are able to survive.
          How is a Dead Zone formed?  It is formed by the process called anoxia. Anoxia is the process where carbon respiratory organisms generate organic materials which are then processed by oxygen respiratory organisms that generate carbon not oxygen. This may sound confusing, so to some it up; there is not enough oxygen. Hence the name, An (meaning absence of, or opposite) and Oxia (meaning oxygen.) Put those two together and you have anoxia. Dissolved oxygen is the oxygen that is in the water, so when the fish try to breath in the dissolved oxygen with their gills, they don't get enough oxygen to maintain life. With the fish dead, marine mammals that surface to breath don't have anything to eat. So, they starve and die too, because they rely on the fish for food.
          Where does this usually occur? A Dead Zone is usually formed where a large river meets the ocean, such as the Mississippi River meeting the Golf of Mexico. The rivers cause Dead Zones due to the large amounts of sediment (very small rocks that lye on the river bed) are put into the ocean. When the sediment is put into the ocean, oxygen respiratory organisms then process the sediment. Oxygen respiratory organisms  are organisms that need oxygen to live, lungs and gills are respiratory systems. Because of this, the organisms that rely on oxygen from the water receive less oxygen that usual from the water, because they are also breathing in the sediment. Pesticides and fertilizers also contribute to anoxia. Pesticides kill fish just as well as they kill bugs, creating an even bigger area void of life. The Pesticides and Fertilizers have a lot of nitrogen in them. With this more nitrogen enriched water, there is no longer a limit to how much algae can grow. This results in an increased number of phytoplankton (Plankton that are plants, and photosynthesize). With all this extra phytoplankton, the oxygen is being sucked up, because it is needed for photosynthesis. Thus, depleting the water or oxygen and life. The Seven Largest Dead Zones in the world are located in the Baltic Sea. Many Farming Pesticides and Fertilizers are being brought into the Baltic Sea by rivers. Many researchers say that this could be the end of life in the Baltic Sea as we know it. Also, the Dead Zone in the Mississippi & Golf of Mexico sediment depository is approximately 6,000-7,000 square miles, an area as big as metropolitan Atlanta.

This has been an Aidan Brooks and Houston Shrader production.

  • "World's Largest Dead Zone Suffocating Sea." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/>.


  • "SCIENCE FOCUS: DEAD ZONES — GES DISC: Goddard Earth Sciences, Data & Information Services Center." GES DISC Home Page — GES DISC: Goddard Earth Sciences, Data & Information Services Center. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/additional/science-focus/ocean-color/science_focus.shtml/dead_zones.shtml>.


"The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone." SERC. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/deadzone/>.




SMM. "Dead Zone Home." Science Museum of Minnesota - Minnesota's Favorite Museum. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.smm.org/deadzone/>.


Perlman, David. "Scientists Alarmed by Ocean Dead-zone Growth - SFGate." Featured Articles From The SFGate. 15 Aug. 2008. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-08-15/news/17121340_1_dead-zones-marine-life-marine-science>.


Schmall, Jacquie. "The Baltic Sea: The Worlds Largest Dead Zone - by Jacquie Schmall - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.helium.com/items/1369623-worlds-largest-dead-zone-baltic-sea>.



Friday, February 4, 2011

Water




1.  Summarize the major water issues facing the world today?

There are many major water issues in the world today. Nearly one billion people in the world lack access to safe water. Thats 1 in 7 billion people, roughly 14% of people on this planet. Sewage from major cities are dumped in rivers and streams, effectively contaminating it for the rest of us. 

2.  What are people doing to help?

Famous people like Matt Damon are helping to distribute clean water. A young boy named Ryan is also trying to help. Ryan built his first well in 1999.

3.  How can the problem of water allocation and safety issues be resolved?


We can reduce dumping in lakes/oceans/rivers so as to reduce dead zones in the water. Which will in turn lead to more drinkable and clean water, and less polluted water void of all life.

4.  How can we, as a class, contribute to these solutions?


We can take fewer lengthy showers, upgrade our toilets to water-efficient ones. We can also volunteer for helping build water infrastructure for places in need, such as Haiti.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Breaking News

The housing market seems as if it may take a "double dip", when housing prices go down shortly after them going down en going back to normal. according to new statistics this Tuesday. 8  have been hit by the decline of house prices, these cities include: Atlanta, Charlotte, Portland, Miami, Seattle, and Tampa. These cities had the lowest prices on their records. One reason this is happening is that not many houses are being sold.
This is odd since normally it Is the housing market that will help a country get out of a recession but this time it is doing the opposite. Not many homes are being sold and mortgages are extremely hard to get. Some government programs are helping deal with the problem but one are really helping to stop the problem.

Breaking News: Florida Police Deaths
            In St. Petersburg, Florida two police officers were gunned down on Monday, helping to serve a warrant. Florida is in shock, after already mourning police deaths in Miama. Nationwide, 11 officers were shot in a 24 hour time span, only two of them were fatal.
            In the month of January alone, 14 police men and women have been shot and killed, according to the Nation Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF.)
            Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz were killed helping other officers to serve a warrant.
            “Than’s not normal,” said Steve Groeninger, a spokesman for NLEOMF. “It kind of seems like law enforcement, because of their uniform, have a target on their back.”
            

Protesters taking to the streets in Cairo, Egypt were restrained by police forces after a day of public rage and protest of the government. The police used water cannons and tear gas to break up the violent protests on the streets. Four people died when the protesters first hit the streets, and the protests ere partly inspired by the tumult in nearby Tunisia. The protesters were mad at the rising cost of living, failed economic policies and corruption, but all of the reasons were condensed into a single chant, that President Hosni Mubarak must go, a man who has been in power for three decades. The protests are being organized by facebook, where protesters are calling for “strikes and marches and marches in populous neighborhoods” for Wednesday, but they did not outline specific plans. Twitter was also blocked on Tuesday after saying that “the open exchange of info and views benefits society and helps governments better connect with their people.” The Prime Minister of Egypt denied blocking Twitter, saying that “The website might be slow due to heavy usage.” Protesters claim that the police/security turned into monsters, having no distinction between an elderly man, a woman, or a child. The president of Egypt is known as a U.S ally, known for helping to stabilize Iraq and helping forge peace between the Palestinians and Israel. America contributes over 1.3 billion dollars in military aid anaully to Egypt, and a spokesman speaking on behalf of Obama said that all parties should refrain from violence and lift all bans on protests.