gothiclola's blog

Luckily I've found this page on CNN that has more places other than just the American Red Cross (there's also an International Red Cross, which I hadn't heard of until now), you can donate.

Here's the list.

So far, aid officials from 20 countries have responded to alleivate some of the hardship of the earthquake from survivors. While the death toll has unfortunately climbed to 5,800, the U.S. increased it's pledge of aid to 5 million this Tuesday. However, one pound of rice (half a kilogram) per family isn't really enough. Some survivors have still yet to recieve the aid they need. On a brighter note, hospitals in the Aceh province (where the tsunami killed 100,000 people in 2004), have greatly improved. Most patients now have beds they can be treated in. A main hospital in Bantul however, has more than 400 patients to 100 beds. There's also concern over how close they are to the equator and the possiblity for spread of disease. Luckily, emergency immunization programs have been launched to try and combat these risks. There's also a concern over the earthquake's affects on Mount Merapi, a volcano which had been rumbling weeks before the earthquake hit. The mountain was seen spouting hot lava and clouds sending debris two miles (four kilometers) down it's sides. Indoensia also has been dealing with a recent avian flu threat. Six more human cases of H5N1 strand were reported Monday. With all of this it seems really hard to look on a bright side, but luckily there are people out there that are being helped. CNN has a report on the victims who are being helped.  Read More »

If you haven't heard of Mr. Fred Phelps... I'm surprised. If you're interested head on over to godhatesfags.org. Lovely, yeah?

He's basically like any self righteous religious nut (of any religion for that matter). On his current agenda? Going around America protesting funerals of soilders who died in Iraq with signs saying, "Thank God For Dead Soldiers". Now I know what you must be thinking. A self righteous religious nut who doesn't support war? What are the odds!? Apparently the Phelps family takes issue with America. Why? Because America loves gay people. That's right! Soldiers are dying in Iraq because America tolerates homosexuality. Uh-huh. [/sarcasm]  Read More »

Luckily, a response has been made to the earthquake in Indonesia which has now killed more than 5,000 people (last I heard it was only 2,500), more than 20,000 injured and left 130,000 homeless (40% of those homeless are children) according to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Survivors are going to be given, by the government, $21 each for clothes and household items, while families will get 26.4 pounds of rice. Those with damaged homes will be compensated, all this according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.  Read More »

I type in msn.com to see the latest newsheadlines. What do I see? First headline: Angelina Jolie gives birth.

And yet 3,500 dead in Java, Indonesia from an earthquake.

It startles me how unaware America in particular is of the outside world. How focused our news is on us and other Americans specifically, without even giving much of a care to the world unless something big happens or Americans or war are involved.  Read More »

I'd like to say I'm pretty health savvy. Not all-knowing, but pretty smart. And yet, I didn't know of the apparent links between obesity and cancer.

And MSN news admits that most Americans know more about TV shows than they do about a link between obesity and cancer. With regards to weight, I believe that health should be the utmost goal. Not how cute, sexy, etc. you may look. While, that may be a motivation to get healthy, I don't believe that should be your number one goal. I'm not saying it's not okay to want to make yourself look better, or what you think looks better. But I believe that eating and living healthier are the steps to being healthy and, if applicable, loosing excess weight. I don't know why people think being skinny makes you attractive. I've seen very many skinny ugly people and very many fat attractive people. Attractiveness differs from person to person. I've found a lot of guys I think are attractive other girls think are hideous. And some girls don't even like guys! Attraction isn't as simple as what's on the cover of People. And it's certainly not a good start to a healthy lifestyle. Want to know why I think so? I'll tell you.  Read More »

I find it difficult to decide my position on the death penalty.

On the one hand, I understand what it's like to want someone that did something to you dead. But on the other hand, I see how hypocritical it is to kill someone for killing another person. I can't entirely find justification for either one. I understand wanting revenge. But I also understand that the problem witht he death penalty is the governmental execution of revenge. And what about saftey? Should we wait until the killer gets out and strikes again?  Read More »

I'm not sure how big this story is but apparently a boy in Indiana who's been wearing women's clothing all year was turned away from prom because he was wearing women's clothing.

I've heard a couple of sides. Of course, the liberal outrage of personal freedom, the other side saying men should always wear mens clothing and the people in the middle saying, "It's just a dance, who cares?" My point is it is just a dance, so what the hell's with the formal dress code? Why can't you just let the man wear a dress? If wants to wear it, let 'em! I considered wearing a tuxedo to my prom and I had to go to the office to make sure I could, because I knew guys weren't allowed to wear dresses. And my school, Poway High School (the birthplace of "The Day of Truth" with attending Chase Harper [google it]) allowed me to wear a tux. So why can girls cross dress but guys can't. I'm ecstatic that gender roles have bended enough to allow for the "tomboy" role to be more okay for girls. Even though they still get the dyke namecalling, at least it's not completely unheard of now. But if you notice, there's no "tomgirl". Enforcing binary gender roles bothers the HELL out of me.  Read More »

No pun intended. I've been browsing through the health articles on the news and, as I suspected, obesity is being linked to many things. I've found that obesity rises faster in poorer teens, weight gain is associated with not enough sleep, and being overweight raises breast cancer risk. At least 3 out of 5 articles on the health section had something to do with obesity.

I do come from a family where nearly everyone is obese. And it's mostly due to poor diet and lack of exercsize. I'm not surprised to find that obesity is rising faster among poorer teens. While the article reports that it is rising among the rich as well, gyms cost money and as do healthier foods at the grocery store. Poorer teens may have more family troubles which addes to stress and inability to sleep. Or, poorer teens may be uneducated about how to live healthy. That, I believe, is my family's biggest problem. We're not rich by any means. I wouldn't be surprised if my mother and I were the only ones out of the three generations alive to visit a gym regularly or eat whole wheat and the right amount of vegetables. I don't believe my family really wants to be obese, I just think they don't have the education to know why they should eat healthier.  Read More »