Essay - Pro-Choice Vs. Pro-Life

Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life

Abortion - The removal of an embryo or foetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.

Abortion is one of the most conflict-ridden issues in modern history. The sharp divisions of opinion divide religion, politics and even families themselves. If a resolution is ever to occur, it will require that people make an effort to fully understand and appreciate the issues and perspectives of both sides. The biggest issues I can see in the abortion dilemma are questions of ethics; is it moral or immoral to have an abortion? Does the foetus have human rights while in utero?

Usually debates about abortion focus on politics and the law; should abortion be outlawed and treated like the murder of a human person, or remain a legal choice available to all women? Behind the debates are more fundamental ethical questions which aren’t always given the specific attention they deserve. Some believe that the law shouldn’t legislate morality. A failure to openly discuss those values can obscure important viewpoints. Most of the debate about the legality of abortion involves the legal status of the foetus. Anti-choice activists argue that if the foetus is a person, then abortion is essentially murder and should be outlawed.

However, I believe that even if the foetus is a person, abortion may be justified because it’s necessary to the woman, but that doesn’t mean that abortion is automatically ethical. Although pro-life could be argued as the most ethical choice, the government can’t force women to carry their pregnancies to term. I believe there are many reasons that a woman may chose not keep her baby, therefore she should have the choice whether or not she does. Many dispute this in saying that if the woman consented to intercourse and didn’t use proper contraception; she should know that there is a possibility of pregnancy. Although I believe this to be true, I also believe that people should have a chance to learn from their mistakes. Also, there are circumstances under which abortion would in fact, be the ethical decision, such as if the woman isn’t ready to be a mother, doesn’t have the financial strength to sustain a child, or is lacking the mental or physical stability to properly take care of a baby. What kind of life is the child going to have if her mother can hardly support herself and is still forced to have a baby although she doesn’t want to, or if she is homeless and/or reliant on an illegal substance and is still forced to have a baby, just because she got pregnant? Or if a woman does not want a child and is forced to have it anyways, there is a higher chance of neglect and abuse. In effect, choosing not to have a child could be the most moral conclusion in certain cases. And which cases those are, should be the choice of the woman in question.

On the other hand, women should never be forced to abort if they don’t want to, even if they are homeless, it should be their choice either way. Some argue that if a homeless woman has a child and it dies, it is constituted as abuse, but I think that it should always be the woman’s choice. It’s not that I do not value human life, but that I value the power to make our own choices as free individuals. I believe the issue of abortion should be purely the choice of the individual, no exceptions. What ever the woman’s choice may be, she will be the one faced with the consequences, good or bad, of her personal decision. Women who get pregnant should be allowed the choice of whether or not they want a baby in their lives at that time, not only for themselves but in the child’s best interest as well. All humans have the right to free will and to have control of their own bodies and minds. Pregnant women are no exception.

By Genessa Henderson

Quiz About Me!

Here is the link to a quiz on www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/

How much do you know about me?

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=about-genessa

HAWAII - Average Day and *Ziplining In The Rain Forest on April 21st*

Hello everyone. So much for my so-called "daily" updates, I have found that a lot of the time I either don't have the time or the energy to sit down and concentrate on updating after my long and busy days.

As a quick overview, an average day for me in Hawaii (one in which we are not doing anything specific like going on some touristy excursion) I am up at 6am and usually in bed by 9 or 10. Unlike at home I wake up this early naturally and am completely ready to start my day; it must be the fresh ocean air or something....at home you couldn't pay me enough to actually be happy about getting up before noon.

Anyways, I found out that getting such and fresh and early start makes my days seem a lot longer (imagine that!!). Once the whole family is up and we've all eaten breakfast, the three of us often head over to the farmer's market that goes on Wednesday to Sunday every week. From there, we sometimes wander from store to store along Ali'i drive and grab some lunch at one of the many restaurants on the strip, or sometimes my mom and I will head into the ocean and go snorkeling for a few hours. Although my days are longer, they still go by fast so with shopping, snorkeling, eating, and wandering around town we are all usually ready to come back to the resort and relax in the hot tub and pool for a little while and then slide into bed.

Other days, we do special activities like the luau, or go on day trips to different places on the island like the volcano tour, going to the City of Refuge, or going to the Captain Cook Monument; unfortunately I forgot my camera at the resort when we visited the monument.
On Tuesday of last week, my mom, my Aunt Shirley and I went on a day trip north up the island to the coastal town of Hawi (pronounced Ha-vee) to go ziplining. We arrived just before 1pm and got suited up.

My mom, aunt, and I in our harnesses and helmets, ready to go!

This is one of the
6 wheel drive ex-army
vehicles that the tour
company uses to get people
up the mountain to where
the zips are.
(As well as my aunt's
boyfriend's finger at
the top of the picture)

We started on the smallest zipline, about 50ft across and 10ft above the rain forest floor. From there we did short hikes through a rain forest with lush underbrush and a soaring tree canopy between each of the next seven zips.
As well as ziplines that stretch across bigger and bigger gorges and waterfalls, there was also a hand-carved bridge over a small waterfall and a larger suspension bridge above a rushing river.

My mom crossing the
wobbly suspension bridge.

My aunt gliding over one of
the mid-size valleys on the sixth zip.

Here I am coming for a landing and just about to be slowed down by one of our two guides.

Our trip took four hours altogether including lunch and the drives into and out of the zipline site on the impossibly rough mountain roads, and it was another great experience!

HAWAII - *City of Refuge and Volcanoes National Park* April 18th and 20th

Oooh boy, this is going to be a big one. Hi guys, during the past few days we have been taking day trips and tours to various parts of the Big Island. Follow me very briefly through The City of Refuge on Sunday the 18th and then on to the wonders of the active volcanoes that we visited on Tuesday the 20th.

The City of Refuge (Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau)

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park preserves the site where, up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians who broke a kapu, or one of the ancient laws against the gods could avoid an otherwise certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge. If they made it inside the walls of the city they could then be absolved by a priest and free to go. Defeated warriors and non-combatants could also find refuge here during times of battle.
The grounds just outside the great wall that encloses the pu’uhonua was home to several generations of powerful chiefs.

The beach, temples, and offerings in the City of Refuge. The man in the upper right corner is carving a replica of a tiki pole that had rotted over the years.

The winding road down to the park just about had me with my head between my knees for the whole ride, but I survived. When we arrived we walked through the Visitor Information building and then out into the park. Since there are no guided tours of the City of Refuge, we walked around on our own. We took followed the paths through the city walls and took pictures of the ocean and scenery, as well as the temples and tiki poles (as seen above). The whole place had an energy of ancientness about it, and it was a really cool way to spend a few hours.

We saw sea turtles and some kind of heron, along with the usual fish and other birds.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The park encompasses 230,000 acres and ranges from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet. Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, offers insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and gives visitors views of dramatic volcanic landscapes.
The Park includes barren lava flats and lush rain forests. Extensive caves formed by rivers of lava only 300-500 years ago stretch under forests of hearty palm and ohi'a trees.

This is the current active lava vent within the main crater Halema`ma`u, at the summit of Kilauea mountain. Kilauea hasn't erupted since 1982, and this secondary crater was formed in 2008 when the magma chamber underneath the area emptied enough to cause the ground above it to drop, causing a crater called a caldera.
We didn't see any flowing lava but we did see many steam plumes coming from both the main vent as well as other cracks in the lava crust throughout the park.

Fumes emitted along with the steam from the majority of the smaller vents include sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. The sulphur particles from the steam are deposited on the rocks outside of these vents and form feathery crystals of pure sulphur.











....................................................................................................................
Within the park there are vast climate differences. During our tour we went from lava flats with sparse vegetation to moist, extravagant rain forests.

While in the rain forest, our guide took us into a lava cave that was 334 meters long. The diameter was about two and a half meters and the deeper we got, of course thew less light there was. We each had our own small flashlights but they really didn't do all that much to illuminate our surroundings. Fortunately, our guide had one of those huge, one million candle-power flash lights to help light our way through this awesome cave.


These are the roots of the ohi'a tree growing through the roof of the lava tube. This tree can grow its roots straight through the solid lava rock, and flourish both in the rain forest and on the desolate-looking lava flats.




The entire day of hiking around the park, up the slopes of Kilauea and back down, through the rain forest and lava tubes and over shadeless flats took seven hours altogether. The day was long and all of our faces got pretty sunburned from climbing the mountain (Except for our guide's, of course...) but it was all entirely worth it. Seeing the active vent and craters from past eruptions was an incredible experience.

HAWAII Photos!! Days 4-6 *Special* LUAU Photos

Hello again from the big island, and here are some more photos of the lovely scenery and such :)

The sunsets over the ocean are amazing, and show off
awesome colours almost every night...

The island of Hawaii is mostly made up of lava rock, since the island itself was created by two large volcanoes, one of which is even currently active right now. The boulders seen along the coast are large and sharp, and there are some with interesting designs caused by air bubbles in the cooling lava hundreds of years
ago....like these ones!

The biggest cruise ship EVER: A couple of days ago, a ship that could probably fit our home town's entire population (plus) on it, stopped for the day just outside of Kona. Many cruise ships stop here, but this one was bigger than normal. By a lot.




The one with the starting-to-turn-orange fruit on it is a papaya tree; they are as common here as pine trees are at home. They grow wild all over the place along with tons of other tropical fruit trees.

As well as fruit trees, the wild flowers that grow here are incredible. Sometimes there are four or five different colours of flowers growing from the same plant.


And now for the moment we've all been waiting for..... (and that my camera wasn't ever ready for)
THE LUAU
Authentic, pit-roasted pig complete with fire and hula dancers. Oh, and very drool-worthy Hawaiian guys.

The pit (called an imu) that the pig (or puu puu) is roasted in.

The dancers preformed lots of beautiful, facinating, and diverse shows.

Oh yeah...Did I mention the gorgeous male performers? Maybe I did, but they're worth a second glance. And a third....

HAWAII Photos!! Days 1-3

Hello Everyone!! I made it to Kona, Hawaii and I'm just loving it here....I might just not come home ;)
Here is the beginning of my photo blog, starting from the air and going to my first real walk around Kona.


We left the Vancouver Airport just after 6am, and the sun was just rising over coastal mountain ranges in western Washington.
The tops of the mountains glowed in vivid pinks and oranges; unfortunately this picture doesn't even come close...but at least you get a bit of an idea.





After a short flight from Vancouver, we arrived in San Fransisco to wait out an eight hour layover.
It was cold and rainy there (although it doesn't really look it in this picture) and since we didn't bring warm jackets, we decided to hang around the airport until our connecting flight arrived.

The most interesting things to see in the airport, other than the people, were the BART trains that ran between terminal buildings. They look pretty old-fashioned and are cuter than your average sky-train.








We finally arrived in Kona, Hawaii, around 9:30pm (1:30am Sparwood time) after another five hours on a plane. After our long day of traveling, all any of us were ready to do was sleep.

Here is the view of our resort from the lanai (Hawaiian for balcony) of our third floor suite.








The palms directly in from of our balcony are home to many small geckos





On our first full day out on the town, we walked 2.5 to 3 kilometers along the sea wall from our resort to downtown Kona.

One of the smaller banyan trees along Alii Drive, which is main street in Kona. Yes...this is a small one, in comparison to some of the other banyan trees around here.










This is the largest and heartiest banyan tree on Alii Drive. In 1971, a hurricane ripped this tree's trunk into pieces, and has since grown back together into a mesh-like wall between the three main trunks (as seen in the next photos)

The ocean here is beautiful; the water is so clear and blue, it looks like something out of a tropical travel brochure, which I guess it is. As well, the fish and other underwater life is very brightly coloured, it's amazing to see!! We bought a cheap underwater film camera, but unfortunately there is no way to scan the developed photos onto the computer.

Key Question 04/08/10

Why do you think people are so obsessed with celebrities? Do you follow Hollywood gossip? Why/why not?!

There are many theories pertaining to this subject, almost as many as the different stories when (insert scandal of choice here) happened.

Perhaps people are so obsessed with celebrities because they are trying to compensate for feelings of unfulfillment in their own lives; that is why more popular celebrities are those who have never really achieved anything great or did anything useful in their lives except maybe pump out a couple of over-dramatized TV shows or flash a little you-know-what while getting out of a car. Our society has grown so shallow that the latest Hollywood scandal of so-and-so getting a DUI or what's-his-name cheating on his wife is all most people want to hear about.
Forget about the people who really make/made a difference in the world by fighting for rights and liberties of people or cultures that really need it, or standing against animal cruelty, or aiding the wounded, or...you get the idea. Yeah sure, ask anyone and they'll tell you that folks who do those things are great people, but tell them that Miss Lohan is in rehab or Miley Cyrus took naughty photos of herself, and they'll gobble it up like it's their last meal.
Could it be that people are so obsessed with these so called "scandals" because they are things that they, Jane/John Q. Public, have done themselves? About 44% of Americans admit to cheating on their significant other, most people have taken or thought about taking naked pictures, and there's always the friend of a friend who's in rehab. Oh and don't forget all of those sexual fantasies, whether realized or kept secret. When a celebrity gets caught cheating on their partner, do normal people pay so much attention to it because, hey, their wife never found out but Tiger Woods' did!

I don't follow Hollywood gossip if I can help it, but it's nearly impossible to avoid hearing it anyways. Simply because people seem to thrive off of the publicized embarrassment of celebrities, you can't help knowing about the latest. Even opening the Internet or a newspaper, there's a good chance you'll catch the latest on Mr. Big Celebrity. So unless you're pushing up daisies or live in a cave in the mountains with no outside contact whatsoever, somehow celeb. gossip always finds its way to you.

P.S. (Bonus Bias News)

Bias In The News: Billy Mays

I finished the draft for this post on Mic. Word on my Mac account at school. For some reason I didn't publish it to my blog, and can't access said account, but I will get the bonus published asap when I get back to school.

Key Question 04/01/10

Why does the media focus on negative and destructive information? How does this affect our view of the world?

The negative focus of the media affects our world view by exposing people only to destruction and fear, and by keeping this negativity dominant in people's minds from almost constant airing on TV, in newspapers, on the radio, etc. We turn on the TV in the morning and see a couple of explosions in the Middle East, coverage of a local rape/murder trial, maybe some footage of children fighting over food and wasting away in Haiti, but why aren't we ever shown the more positive sides of these disasters? Is it because positive news doesn't have enough shock value? If they showed Red-Cross volunteers in Somalia or children going to school in Iraq, perhaps people wouldn't be as interested; the more shocking and disturbing the information, the more people will view it.

By creating this mass focus on negativity, the content of the media can cause depression or sadness, or even just an overall dark cloud over most people's lives, whether they are fully aware of it or not. Either way, this constant exposure is bad for both the mental and physical health of the population. Plus, the more people see sadness and negativity, the more they think about it; the more they think about it, the easier it is for it to prevail.

Bias In The News - The Death Of Billy Mays

Bias In The News

Billy Mays

Article 1 Autopsy: Cocaine Contributed To Billy Mays’ Death

In this article, Billy Mays’ death is said to be his own fault. There is bias in the headline suggesting that Mays used cocaine, and was therefore a bad person. Further, it is reported that he had last used the drug in the few days prior to his death, as well as various prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs. The bias behind these facts gives the reader the impression that Billy Mays was a “druggie”. The article goes on to explain the heart condition that caused Mays' death, and how that condition is very similar to several caused by prolonged cocaine use. A spokeswoman is quoted as not being able to indicate the frequency of his cocaine use, but does state that although he was not under its influence at the time of his death, Mays had used cocaine in the few days prior to his heart failure. The article also includes information about other prescription drugs such as therapeutic amounts of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam, which also suggests to the reader that Billy Mays may have had a drug use problem.

Article 2 Billy Mays Dies After US Airways Flight — Is There a Link?

In the second article, a TV news reporter is blaming the death on an airline. The author is suggesting that Billy Mays' death was caused  by an emergency landing on a US Airways flight the day before he was found dead. During this rough landing, carry-on baggage from the luggage racks came loose and a piece of it hit Mays on the head. Although none of the passengers or crew were injured, this article seems to suggest that Mays being hit on the head may have something to do with his passing. There isn't much evidence to back it up but the airway reports that he was not wearing his seat belt when the airplane's front tires blew out. Is US Air to blame for faulty equipment?

Article 3 Legendary Pitchman Billy Mays' Death Today Leaves Fans, Friends Stunned

The last article says that Billy Mays' death was a very unfortunate event, but points no fingers. It talks about how he became an internationally known celebrity because of his energetic infomercials and well known products, and expresses a lot of remorse over the death of this legend. The article interviews Mays' longtime business partner and good friend Anthony Sullivan as he gives highlights of Mays' career and reminisces over good times, and is quoted as saying that Mays was "the best friend a man could wish for - he was much more than people knew". The article makes the reader feel sad about Billy's death and sorry for the loss his friends, family, and fans experienced with his death.

10 To See Before You Croak.

1. http://www.facebook.com
"Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life."
This site helps you keep in touch and up to date with friends and family and any other people in your life, through messaging, instant chat, status updates, picture uploading, and information profiles. You can also can find out about current news and events, both locally and globally. On Facebook there are games you can play, fan pages and groups about pretty much anything you can think of, and quizzes ranging from the mundane to the ridiculous.

2. http://www.youtube.com
"Broadcast Yourself"
YouTube is a video sharing website onto which users can upload and view videos files online, for free. On this site videos containing practically any content are available to anybody with an Internet-able computer. In addition to hosting videos, the service lets users rate videos, add comments, and subscribe to their favorite producers. Registration is free; it is not required to view videos, but you do need to register for some features. You can find videos on YouTube in one of many ways; you can search by keyword, browse by topic, or you can just scan the list of the most popular videos at that time.

3. http://www.dragulator.com
"Become a drag superstar. Let the Dragulator take you from ZERO TO FABULOUS!"
On this funky site, you can find out what you (or any body else you can get your hands on a picture of...) would look like in drag. Once you're done "dragifying" your image with hair, makeup, lips, and fabulous dresses and accessories, you can download and save your creation to your computer or you can upload it onto Facebook, Twitter, or email it to a friend.

4. http://www.google.ca
"Search"
Google is currently probably the most popular Internet search engine. When using Google, you can look up information in many different languages (and translate between them), post ads, check sports scores, find news headlines, and research pretty much anything you can think of. Google allows you to search images, websites, videos, blogs, maps, books, stock quotes and much, much more. This search engine gives a user access to virtually any information with a simple click of the mouse.

5. http://www.ebay.ca
"Shop Victoriously"
This site is a global Internet Marketplace, on which people from all over the world buy and sell items. There are thousands of buying categories, from antique collectibles to real estate and used cars to kitchen wares. You can even buy a "detailed Email reading from a Psychic Clairvoyant" (if that's what flips your pancake)

6. http://www.wikipedia.com
"The Free Encyclopedia"
Wikipedia is an online free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit and contribute to. This encyclopedia site is multilingual, free, and usually a very worldly source of information concerning, again, just about any topic you can think of. Since anybody can edit any article, it is possible for biased, out-of-date, or incorrect information to be posted. However, since there are so many other people reading the articles and monitoring contributions, incorrect information is usually corrected quickly. Thus, the overall accuracy of the encyclopedia is quite high.

7. http://www.tvduck.com
"Watch all your favourite TV shows online for FREE!"
TVduck.com offers numerous free working links to most TV shows. Featuring a Top 100 list of both popular TV shows and Internet videos, with streaming of full length episodes online, as well as options to rate, comment on, and upload your own Internet videos or links.

8. http://www.flickr.com
"Share your photos. Watch The World"
This site is community-based and allows users to create profiles and upload, tag, and organize their photos to share with friends, family, and the world wide web. It also has groups so users can share photos about similar topics, themes, or concepts. Amateur photographers can show off their work; on Flickr, outstanding photographs rise to the top by achieving recognition from other Flickr users who make comments, post blog entries, and cause the photos to become part of the "most popular" lists.

9. http://www.blogger.com
"Create Your Free Blog"
This site allows users to write about whatever topic they wish and it is published to the web for the world to see. They can create their own personal blogs for any use they choose, such as informational, personal, for school or work, etc. It offers an easy way to collaborate, discuss, or share your thoughts with others, and it's free!

10. http://www.designshard.com
"Design & Inspiration"
Design Shard is a site containing valuable resource for designers ranging from design tips, inspiration and free resources such as photoshop brushes or textures to be downloaded. It offers tutorial videos on photoshop effects and other design and illustration skills, as well as lists of current design trends from websites to T-shirts. They also have free backgrounds and image archives for personal or web design use, such as Twitter backgrounds and templates for personal blogs/sites.

10

Top 10:

Tattoos

Couples

Top in 2010

Most/Least Likely To...

Grad Bio's 

Staff

Custodians

Dances

Quotes

Grand March

Maybe the theme should be the same as the theme for Grad ceremonies? (Masquerade) 

:)