Haiti cholera outbreak stabilizing, group says

The Pan American Health Organization announced on Monday October 10th, that the cholera outbreak had killed more than 250 people in Haiti. Moreover, Haitian health department also announced that over 3300 cases of Cholera have been reported within Haiti. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that "Reported cases and deaths continue to increase although compared to the initial days of outbreak the rate of increase is less extreme." This statement made by the United Nations Office suggested that the cholera outbreak is slowly stabilizing in Haiti. However despite the stabilization of the cholera outbreak, many people believe that larger amount of aids and supports are necessary to halt the further expansion of the disease.

The cholera outbreak has been highly concentrated in rural communities in Artibonite area, just north of the densely populated capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. The leader of the sanitation team for Red Cross said "Our main concern now is to be prepared if the cholera spreads down south, that we're ready to respond very quickly and effectively." The Haitian government and other organizations such as Red Cross and United Nations are now sending in clean water supplies, chlorine tablets, food products and medical aids across the regions in Haiti that are suffering from cholera outbreak. Despite the supports from these groups, larger and immediate supports are necessairy to deal with the outbreak more effectively. An Oxfam spokesman, Schindall is sending out messages to the public of Haiti about the effective methods for preventing cholera. Schindall said "Washing hands, only eating cooked food, only drinking potable water - this is very, very important... to stop the spread of disease."

According to the statistics from the World Health Organization, there are between three to five million cases of cholera and over 100 000 people who die from the treatable disease every year. There are also other regions where the cholera outbreak is present today such as Nigeria and Pakistan.

It is horrifying to see mass outbreak of cholera occurring in various places around the world, especially in Haiti. It is extremely more devastating to see the poor conditions the treatment towards the people suffering from cholera because of the fact that cholera is an easily treatable disease with the medical technology the world have today. Moreover, it has only been about 9 months since the horrific natural catastrophe (earth quake) took place in Haiti, killing thousands of people. Therefore I believe that it must be very distressing and dreadful for Haiti to face another unfortunate disaster in such short interval of time. In my opinion, I believe that the whole world should step up and support countries that are suffering from cholera outbreaks as soon as possible. The whole world should be involved in minimizing the number of infection cases as well as enhancing the conditions of treatment and environment to halt the disease from spreading. Cholera is not a very deadly disease in countries like Canada today; however it can be a life threatening disease in countries like Haiti. Therefore, I strongly believe that outbreak of cholera should be dealt immediately with supports from every country around the world. Remember, all human lives are equal and those who are suffering from cholera in countries such as Haiti have equal rights and desire towards surviving and escaping from the suffering just like anyone around the world would have including myself.

Secondly, I know that the cholera can spread very easily from infected and unclean water and food. I believe that this is why the cholera outbreaks are occurring frequently in poorer countries. Countries such as Haiti, Pakistan and so on aren't able to afford fully cleaned and edible water and food for everyone which are the major factors of producing and spreading diseases such as cholera. In order to prevent further outbreaks of terrible diseases like cholera especially in poorer countries, the whole world especially the wealthier countries should support and help the poorer countries at all times when necessairy. We should learn from the mistakes we have made which allowed various outbreaks of disease to occur around the world. These mistakes will remind our self to not to make the same mistake again or else the great sorrow and tragedy caused by the outbreaks of diseases in the past once again will be inevitable.

On the whole, immediate supports from the world should be provided towards countries that are suffering from outbreaks of cholera as soon as possible. Secondly, further consistant supports from the world should be provided to poorer countries such as Haiti to prevent further outbreaks of any kind of dieases including cholera. In my opinion, it is critical that the whole world work together to resolve problems around the world in order to make the world a better place to live for every single people on this planet.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/10/25/haiti-cholera-water.html

Toyota recalls 1.5 million vehicles

On Thursday October 21, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that they will be recalling over 1.5 million vehicles around the world, mostly from U.S. and Japan for brake fluid and fuel pump problems. Over the past years, Toyota, one of the biggest automaker has called back over 10 million vehicles for a variety of problems which had brought major blow to its reputation, including this incident. Spokesman of Toyota, Nolasco said "Most vehicles need to be fixed for a problem with the brake master cylinder; the small amount of brake fluid slowly leaking through the brake master cylinder can result in illumination of the brake warning lamp and weaker braking power." Nolasco also said "Some models in Japan also have electrical problem with fuel pump, which can lead the engines to stall." Lastly, Nolasoco quoted that no accidents were reported by these two problems from Toyota vehicles. The models that are being affected by these two problems are Lexus GS300, and IS250 and Avalone 2005 and 2006 to just name a few.

Toyota announced that U.S. based owners of the problematic vehicles will be notified by mailing at the beginning of November. When they are called back, Toyota and Lexus dealers will be replacing the newly designed brake cylinder for no charge. Other problematic vehicles in other regions such as Japan is expected to be dealt separately from U.S. based owners as soon as possible.

In my opinion, it is very problematic to see Toyota recall back their vehicles. It has only been 2 months since last August when Toyota had called back over million vehicles for other technical glitches. I have always thought that Japanese made cars, especially Toyota's vehicles are very delicate and doesn't break easily. Therefore it was extremely stunning to see Toyota call back extra 1.5 million vehicles back for repairs just 2 months after their call back in August. I believe that having enormous amount of vehicles called back for repairs in 2 months interval surely would've been a critical blow the reputation of Toyota.

In my opinion, brake is one of the most significant functions any vehicle could have regarding to safety. Without brakes, you could say that accidents are inevitable. Therefore, seeing 1.5 million vehicles called back for brake problems was frightening. Just to think that over 1.5 million people could've been in severe danger if this problem wasn't discovered fast enough... It is absolutely horrifying. I strongly believe that Toyota must reshape and enhance their production system and fix the vehicle's problematic issues beforehand in order to halt the production of fragile and malfunctioning vehicles. It isn't right that people should be risking their lives when riding a vehicle due to the vehicle's problems. Moreover I strongly believe that government should set much stricter and heavier laws towards vehicle production in order to ensure perfect conditions for every vehicle that will be sold on the market for people to ride on.

Although, Toyota's action of calling back the vehicles for repair in order to ensure the consumer's safety was rightful, the heavier consequences regarding to production, responsibility, and so on will be inevitable. On the whole, Toyota should learn from their mistakes and make sure to change and fix their problems to produce vehicles with perfect conditions for consumers in the future. Or else, Toyota won't be able to keep up their position and reputation in the automobile industry. In addition, other automobile industries should also keep in mind about the consequences which Toyota have to go through for their mistakes to remind themselves not to make the same mistake Toyota had made. I hope that one day, everyone will be living in the world where people's lives aren't threatened by the fragility and malfunctions of any vehicles or machines.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/10/21/toyota-recall-brake-fuel.html?ref=rss

Taliban leaders given safe passage

On Friday October 15, the commander of the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Petraus stated that he had arranged safe passage of a senior Taliban commander to Kabul for peace talks. General Petraus made this announcement at the Royal United Services Institute in London, England. According to the news, the Talibans are open to peace talks as long as it is led by the Afghanistan group and monitored by U.S. and NATO. NATO is hoping for this peace talk to be arranged as soon as possible in order to put an end to the bloody nine-year war in Afghanistan.

The arrangement of safe passage for peace talk first began Thursday October 14, when a senior NATO official first released the information about the safe passage to Afghan public. When this arrangement was released to public, the Taliban immediately refused. Taliban stated that they will not negotiate until all the foreign troops withdraw. However, due to the tremendous military pressure on the insurgents of Taliban, increasing number of Taliban associates are reaching out and supporting the peace talk. The increasing number of Talibans said "We want to talk about an alternative to war". This tremendous military pressure is factual since the Afghan security forces and International troops have been putting significant pressure on the Talibans in eastern and southern areas which are their heartland of movement in recent months. However, Talibans although outnumbered had fought back and inflicted significant casualties to NATO forces as well, letting the war to drag on. The whole world will be focusing their views to whether the peace talk will be arranged as well as if the peace talk can put an end to this bloody nine-year war.

In my opinion, I whole-heartedly believe that NATO's resolution of peace talk in order to put an end to the Afghan war is very equitable in every aspect. It is evident that thousands of military casualties were produced from both NATO and Taliban forces as well as thousands of innocent civilian casualties for the past decade due to the Afghan war. I believe that there are two major possible solutions to this war. The first one is letting the war drag on for longer time to defeat the Talibans with military force creating additional casualties, sorrows, and bleak atmosphere. The second and the most appropriate solution is to negotiate fairly with the Talibans in order to put an end to the war as soon as possible with minimum casualties from both militia and civilians.

I asked a particular question to myself. "I am pretty sure that both the NATO and the Taliban had tried to arrange peaceful negotiation in the past decade. Then why weren't they arranged? What are the significant factors bringing positivity and increasing the possibility of this peace talk? After thoughtful consideration, I have identified two major factors which could've significantly influence the possibility of peace talk stated on October 14, 2010. First factor is the fact that the war had dragged on for longer than both sides thought it would have. The war had dragged on for 9 years! 9 years is a time it takes a new born baby to become a 4th grader. Due to this lengthy interval of war, I believe that both opposition sides are exhausted of the war, hoping to put an end to it as soon as possible. The second factor is the safe passage given to Taliban leaders as well as the additional authority given, allowing the peace talk to be arranged by Afghan groups. These two conditions reassured the safety of Talibans' leaders and showed definite sign of trust. These two reasons significantly influenced the increasing probability of peace talk.

I hope to see the end of the Afghan war in the near future. Moreover, I believe that it was very agreeable to see NATO step up and announce the idea of peace talk with impartial conditions towards Talibans. Giving the safe passage to Taliban insurgents as well as giving up the authority to arrange the peace talk to gain the genuine trust from Taliban was ingenious! However, the Talibans would also have to put approperiate effort in order to make the peace talk happen. This is because negotiation cannot be arranged with one-sided support from the NATO. It is vital that Taliban makes right decision, because this peace talk might be the greatest chance to put an end to this war, and this chance might never comeback again if they decide to discard it.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/15/taliban-safe-passage-105.html

World cheers Chile miners rescue

Two months after the San Jose gold and copper mine collapsed in Chile, all of 33 miners who were trapped under more than 2000 feet of rock were saved on Wednesday (October 13th). As each worker, one by one, was hoisted up by a steel capsule which is little bit wider than man's shoulders, the whole world watched this magnificent event and cheered on both the rescuers and miners who were being rescued.

It took almost 22 hours for all 33 miners to be rescued since the rescue operation had started. After the rescue, all miners were immediately transported to hospital for treatment. However, the hospital announced that majority of them were in healthy physical conditions although they were still struggling to overcome the emotional stress. The official of the hospital in Copiapo said "They've been in a situation of stress for two months ... Nonetheless, most of them are coming along perfectly well." Moreover, the hospital official also stated that two or three miners will be released this afternoon, allowing them to return back to their home.

The successful rescue of the miners is celebrated around the world especially in Chile. "It's so incredible that they all made it out alive." said Pina, a 51-year old miner while hugging a complete stranger and celebrating the phenomenon that took place today. The rescued miners are unlikely to go back to their original mining employment as they are offered with many other job opportunities, book, film and advertisement contracts. In addition, the statement which a miner had made to the president of Chile, Pinera, after being rescued is being issued through the media today. Luiz Urzua, 54, the last miner to be rescued said "I hand over this shift over to you and hope this never happens again". Lastly, the popularity of the president Pinera has risen over his handling of the crisis as the whole world is celebrating and cheering on the miracle which they have witness today.

In my opinion, what the world, including myself, have witness today was miraculous, sensational and phenomenal. What is chance of a person surviving under a collapsed mine, over 2000 feet deep, for a week? I say the chance is very slim. Therefore it was completely astounding to see all thirty three miners being rescued successfully after being trapped under a collapsed mine for 2 months. It is a true miracle and blessing for these miners to be rescued successfully without any life losses. I am very pleased to see every miner being rescued successfully and will celebrate and cheer on the miners, their families, friends, neighbors and so on.

On the other hand, I would like to analyze and discuss what we can learn from this incident and how we can improve as a world. First of all, could the mine collapse be prevented? My answer is yes. If the mines were built stronger in order to be stable against every possible disasters to secure the employees safety, this collapsing could've been prevented. Secondly, why did it take over 2 month to rescue these miners? I strongly believe that if the government took immediate initiative with full supports in order to rescue these miners, this rescue could've been possible in advance. I believe that the rescue project should've been initiated as soon as possible which didn't happen regarding to San Jose mine incident. It was miracle that the miners survived for 2 months, however what if the miners died waiting for a rescue beforehand? Then, this incident would've been a horrible tragedy and government would've got criticized and blamed for taking lengthy time to perform the rescue. On the whole, I believe that the world should learn from San Jose mine incident and make sure no more tragedies like this ever happen again. Moreover, all the governments in the world should initiate immediate response regarding to rescue of their own citizens at all times if they are in any form of severe danger.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/10/12/15659241.html

Hungary asks for EU help as sludge reaches Danube

On Monday(Oct. 3), the reservoir burst took place at metal plant in Ajka, town located about 160 km southwest of Budapest. Due to this burst, over 1-million cubic metres of toxic sludge was dumped out of the reservoir and flowed all over the area, causing great damages to the environment, cities and town. At first, the Hungarian government told EU(European Union) that this natural disaster will be managable on their own. However three days later, the situation had gotten worse as the toxic sludge flowed in to the Danube river, the second largest river in Europe which connects other countries such as Romania, Moldova, Germany, etc.

As the situation got significantly worse, the Hungarian government asked for assistance from the European Union to help contain a flood of toxic sludge that had reached the waters of the Danube River. In particular, the Hungarian government is seeking for experts who deals with toxic sludge and decontamination. The pH level of this toxic sludge is 10 compared to the normal pH level of the water typically being between 6.8 and 8.5. This means that the toxic sludge contains 1000 times more alkaline than the water with neutral pH level of 7. Dobson, a Hungarian rescue agency spokesperson said that the life in the country's Marcal River, a smaller river in Hungary, had been extinguished due to the toxic sludge. This suggests the deadliness of the toxic sludge, and encourage people to support Hungary in order to clean up the deadly mass in order to prevent further damages. The EU is yet to give official response to Hungarian government, however the Hungarian government is expecting to hear positive response soon since other EU countries were placed on alert in the wake of the disaster.

I was completely, stunned to hear about the natural catastrophe which occured in Hungary. I think the conditions which Hungary is facing today is critical and should be dealt with full support from other nations immediately to prevent further damages. As proven by its pH level, the toxic sludge is deadly especially towards the environment and any living life. Therefore, regarding to the fact that the sludge has reached the Danube river, I strongly believe that the EU must try and contain the sludges from spreading with Hungarian government since Danube river flows through 9 other countries in Europe.

Secondly, it is very devastating to see no immediate supports from EU as Hungary struggles to deal with the toxic sludge on their own. Since the toxic sludge had reached the Danube river, it is possible for the toxic sludge to spread and damage other countries and regions. In my opinion, this toxic sludge crisis is no longer a national problem, but a significant international catastorophe which the entire EU or perhaps the world should be concerend with. It would be great to see supports to clean up and contain the toxic sludges from spreading further as soon as possible. On the whole, I strongly believe that the EU as well as Hungarian government should put full effort in trying to clean up the toxic sludge as soon as possible. Moreover, I also believe that the whole world should learn from this disaster in order to never make the same mistakes again, causing great natural disasters like the toxic sludge in Hungary. The world must find definite methods to prevent incidents like this at all times.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20101007/toxic-river-danube-101007/

Fewer jobs for well-educated new immigrants

The recent study released by Community Foundations of Canada stated that recent immigrants to Canada with university degree are more than four times more likely to be unemployed than the Canadian-born workers with university degree. In 2009, the unemployment rates of the newcomers with university education was 13.9 percent while the unemployment rates of the Canadian-born counterparts was 3.4 percent. Moreover, it also found out that the recent immigrants without the university degree's unemployment is around 30 % higher than the Canadian-born counterparts.

Canadian economic centres and government responded back through the media by making statement regarding to the problem the Canadian economy is facing today. "It is disheartening to see such a significant gap between well-educated newcomers. Their experience in our labour market is dramatically different than that of non-immigrants with a comparable education level." said Patten, CFC's president. In addition, Fehr, the executive director of the immigrant Access Fund Society of Alberta said "Integrating newcomers into our workplace is necessity, not an option.. We need to act now". These 2 statements made by Patten and Fehr suggests the significance of the problematic issues Canada is facing todayand promises that Canada will be taking immediate initiatives towards this issue. According to the Community Foundations of Canada, they are intending to provide 10 key areas where the improvements are exigent to resolve the high unemployment rate between recent immigrants. Canada is expected to take actions immediately, as the study shows that the next year's net labour force growth will be relying on the immigrant labours.

It is very concerning to see the sky-high unemployment rates of the new immigrants, especially regarding to the fact that they have university education. Almsot 20% of the current Canadian residents are immigrants and they are bringing experience, technology, and labour force to this country. I myself is an immigrant and the reason I've came to Canada is to seek for better oppurtunities and life style. Moreover, I believe that this condition applies to almost every other immigrants and it is frustrating to see large amount of immigrants struggling to reach their original goal due to the unemployment. As Canada's study states, the immigrant's labour force is the main factor which will increase Canada's future net labour force growth and with such high unemployment rate, large improvement on net labour force growth wouldn't be possible.

Secondly, why is it that the unemployment rate of recent immigrants is 500% higher than the unemployment rate of Canadian-born citizens when they have same degree of education such as university degree? Although, the language might be an issue, the immigrants should be able to speak English fluently if they've gotten full university education. Therefore, the most reasonable answer to the significant unemployment rate difference between Immigrant workers and Canadian-born worker is prejudice. Although the Canadian Charter of Rights protect equality rights, I still believe some form of bias exist in the work force. For example, the employers would hire Canadian-born worker rather than an immigrant worker for a certain position if both workers have same or similar degree of education or experience. This is because the employer might believe that working with a compatriot is a much easier rather than a newcommer who the employer is less familiar with. In my opinion, in order to ensure the equal rights and to resolve the high unemployment rate problems, the employers and workforce in Canada should be tolerant and more open and accepting towards newcommers. It is important for employers to judge all workers equally without any biased preference.

On the whole, although, the high unemployment rate of immigrant workers are very frustrating, it still is great to hear promising words from economic centres and government of Canada. I would hope to see equal oppurtunities being distributed fairly too all workers including newcomers as soon as possible. Moreover, government and economic centres of Canada should put great amount of effort towards approperiate measures immediately to improve on 10 key areas where the improvement is urgent in order to create more oppurtunities and lower the unemployment rates of recent immigrant workers.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/04/immigrants-jobs-study.html

Woman who shot husband in N.L. found not guilty

After nine days of testimony, Mary Beth Harshbarger, a Pennsylvania women was found not guilty of criminal negligence and murder after shooting her husband Mark in the abdomen 4 years ago which eventually killed him in Newfoundland. According to Mary Harshbarger's lawyer, this incident was just a terrible accident due to a horrific constellation and unfortunate facts. Moreover, the juries from Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador after thorough investigation stated that the crown wasn't able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mary Harshbarger breached the standard of care expectated of someone in her situation.

The incident took place on September 2006,when Mark and MaryHarshbarger was on a hunting trip near Buchans Junction, Newfoundland. Mark Harshbarger was shot by his own wife, Mary, in the abdomen during the hunting trip and was eventually killed. According to Mary Harshbarger, she saw "a big black thing" emerge from bushes and shot a "big black thing" immediately thinking that it was a bear without fully identifying it since her sight wasn't very clear due to the dusky weather. Moreover, two hunting guides also acted as re-enactament witness and testified that what they saw through Mary Harshbarger's rifle scope could have been mistaken for a black bear.

The crown lawyer O'Reilly told to the court that Mary Harshbarger, a seasoned hunter shouldn't have fired at a target that she could not identify in the fading light in her closing argument. Moreover O'Reilly also said that Mary Harshbarger knew it was possible that her husband would be emerging from woods soon. Anyhow, because the crown wasn't able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mary Harshbarger breached the standard of care expectated of someone in her situation, she was found not guilty of criminal negligence and murder.

In my opinion , it was a right decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to not charge Mary Harshbarger for a murder. I believe that if I was in Mary Harshbarger's situation, it would be hard to identify if a "big black thing" emerging from a bush is a bear or a person especially on a dusky days in the hunting forest field with bushes and trees. Moreover, as proven by two hunting guides, it is possible that what Mary Harshbarger saw through her scope could have mistaken as a bear especially because she was in the middle of dusky hunting field filled with bushes and trees. Therefore because there are legitimate reasons to believe that the shooting was an accident, it was right choice to not charge her for a murder of her husband.

However, I still believe that she should've been charged with some degree of violence or criminal negligence and took some kind of responsibility towards death of her husband. Although it is very convincing that the shooting was an accident and unintentional towards her husband with various evidences, it does not change the fact that she "killed" her husband. As stated by the crown lawyer O'Reilly, this incident could've been prevented. Mary Harshbarger, a seasoned hunter shouldn't have took the shot before fully identifying whether the target is a bear or a person. Secondly, the fact that Mary Harshbarger knew that it was possible for her husband to emerge from the woods soon wearing black clothes proves that she should've been well aware of the chances of the "big black thing" being her husband. Therefore, although it seems that the shooting of her husband was an unintentional accident, it still was caused by her negligence and carelessness, therefore I believe that she is partly responsible for this tragic incident. In conclusion, although being charged for "murder" is unjustifiable, she should still be charged with some degree of violence or criminal negligence for her actions and responsibility towards this incident.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101001/harshbarger-verdict-101001/