Response; Iraqi Kids Play Make-Believe War Games

I feel that extremely violent games can’t possibly have positive outcomes. With such high percentages of children buying guns and pretending to kill people, the violence will no doubt be translated in some way to the way that they live their daily lives. These children portray things that happen in their everyday lives and that they are forced to witness. If parents allow their children to behave this destructively while "playing"... will they really turn out to be any different when they're not playing? I think it is very sad that some of these kids act out how they have possibly seen people really die. Some of these people could even be relatives of these children. Not only are adults killed by violent warfare, so are children the same ages of those that are playing these violent games. There needs to be a higher regard for human life in the lives of these young people. I feel that it would help the continuingly growing violence and murder in Iraq.

Response; Battle Stories Bringing Former Enemies Togther

The fact that the Israelis and the Palestinians were able to come together and find common ground to form the Combatants for Peace group is good. These people are putting their lives on the line for their own freedom, as well as their families and other people. They are trying to find peace without war and with non-violent peace talks and meetings. This is an attempt that is foreign to many of the people in their land, who have been around fighting their entire lives. The Israeli government forbids its people from taking Palestinians into their cars on the West Bank… they see dialogue between the people as a menace, something to be prevented. The tap the Combatants for Peace’s phones and harass them at checkpoints. I feel that although that they are doing can be dangerous for themselves, it is better than doing nothing. Government corruption is a very difficult issue to deal with and I respect them for trying to make things better peacefully.

Response; Some Convenient Truths

I agree with Easterbrook that we need to take immediate action to help better our environment. He comments that “a paralyzing negativism dominates global-warming politics”. The media portrays only the dangers of global warming. We continue to hear that if is a devastating problem, yet we rarely hear that we have the power to change it. Recently we have been learning about different ways to be “green” and help prevent more environmental damage, from the media. We still haven’t been told to a sufficient extent that we, as everyday citizens, have the power to reduce global warming and rewind some of its effects. In the past, looming environmental problems frightened the US population, but as soon as there were regulations and laws put into effect, most of those problems began to get less and less severe. We need to stop arguing over global warming and take bigger and better actions against it. The sooner we take control, the sooner the problem and start to be fixed, and the sooner the rest of the world with take part in rescuing our planet.

Response; DNA Test Gives Students Ethnic Shocks

I think DNA tests to help discover your genetic make-up are interesting. They have the power to reveal certain disease that you might be subject too, and allow you to possibly take preventions against them. Although they have a medical use, I do not think they have the power to change how you feel about yourself, or at least they shouldn’t. It can, however, change the way the feel about other people. People, who have certain issues or prejudices toward certain races, sometimes learn that they are in fact a part of that race, sometimes a large part. This knowledge can help them understand that racial prejudices are wrong, and can make them a more understanding rounded person. I think genetic profiling shows how multi cultural all of us really are, and will definitely bring many people together in many ways they didn’t think possible.

Response; Your Gamete, Myself

Personally, if I were unable to conceive a child, I would choose adoption. There are so many unwanted children that are stuck in orphanages. To me, it seems sort of morally wrong to choose a person to help make a child for you, when there are plenty of healthy children that would give anything for a loving family. It seems a bit selfish, especially when you have the parents picking people only with good looks, IQs, psychological histories, among other factors. Additionally, the procedure can be dangerous and is not guaranteed to work every time. I feel that if a child is conceived through in vitro fertilization, they should definitely be told about it. If not from the beginning, they should at least have the right to understand where they came from when they become a legal adult. Everyone has the right to know the truth about their life, and have the opportunity to meet their biological parent if they have an interest too.

Response; "Amateur Culture" Set to Explode

Overall, I do think that the ability of new technology to inspire and enable “amateur culture” is a positive thing. There are so many places on the internet for any individual to express, create, and learn. Although there are undoubtedly less than mediocre works out there, the surplus of genuine innovative thinking is good. The internet can be a way for ordinary people to get their feelings, thoughts, and art, heard and seen. We can share with each other and motivate others to contribute their artistic minds. I feel that the internet makes many things more interesting. You can discover all sorts of things, and stumble upon a wealth of knowledge you never knew of.