Blog Post: Jan 27

"How America's top general came to endorse women in combat"

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/24/us/military-women/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

On Thursday, General Martin Dempsey opened up the field of combat (front line combat duties) to women so they could also fight alongside the men of the military. Gen. Dempsey said this decision had been floating around his mind and forming since 2003, when he introduced himself to his new Humvee crew just outside of Baghdad. He slapped the turret-gunner on the leg and said, “Who are you?” A woman leaned down and said, “I’m Amanda.” From then on he realized something had to change, women had become an integral part of military operation so why shouldn’t they be allowed to fight at front line posts? So Thursday he announced his decision.

From this decision, I have tried to be as objective as I can. I am not against the decision for women to fight on the front lines, as long as they meet the physical and mental requirements that come with this type of diehard fighting. It seems to have been a positive thing, they can bring their own skills into the battlefield and I predict this mixture of soldiers will provide a plethora of abilities for the army, making them very dynamic for utilizing every possible positive entity. I do wonder why they are implementing this right now though; it doesn’t seem to be the most opportune time to. I guess time will tell, I am interested to see how this will play out.

Blog Post: January 20

“New York youth soccer club bans high fives and handshakes amid growing flu scare”

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/york-youth-soccer-club-bans-high-fives-handshakes-201533800.html

In recent weeks, a growing flu epidemic in New York has alarmed the city. Nearly 20,000 flu cases were reported by Monday, almost 5 times as many that was reported for all of last year. So in light of that, the soccer clubs of New York have put a “ban” on soccer players high-fiving and shaking hands after the game. They initiated this ban so as to stop or hinder the spreading of flu germs. There is no set time for how long this “ban” is going to last.

Severe as this ban seems, there are many supporters of it. I think this move by New York’s soccer association is a very smart, and shows their care of the health of their young citizens.

I’m glad they are making an effort to keep their people safe, but I wonder if this whole thing could have been avoided if there was a mandated flu shot for everyone, not just in New York. With this I think the amount of flu cases would be substantially lower.

The influenza virus is extremely unpredictable so I think everyone needs to be protected, so I am glad that New York is at least taking precaution with it and taking steps to improve their public health as a whole.

The things that most people don't know about me is that I'm 50% Itatlian, even though I don't look like it. My favorite thing to do is play soccer, but I also enjoy ping-pong, and ultimate frisbee. Other things people don't know about me is that I've lived in 4 different states in my lifetime, I like shooting archery and used to do it amateurly from 5th-7th grade. I hate the winter, and spring is my favorite season. I really enjoy seeing new movies, and my favorite sports teams are the New England Patriots, the Seattle Sounders, and the Boston Celtics.