New Cases of Ebola Discovered in Africa

The Ebola disease has created mass paranoia in Africa. The disease has killed countless Africans and infected a few American doctors, where as some of the Americans were saved by a new treatment. The treatment appears to work but only very small amounts can be produced at a time and they are very difficult to get a hold of. In Freetown, Sierra Lione health teams have gone door to door counting the number of infected cases and so far have recorded 130 confirmed cases. The nation is trying to contain the disease by locking down the sick and keeping the healthy as far away as possible. The outbreak in Africa has overwhelmed the infected nation's health systems. The lack of ambulances doesn't allow the sick to reach treatment centers and the dead infected bodies have begun to accumulate due to lack of burial service. Western countries have promised to send in help to build treatment centers and doctors to assist the diseased. 
"It's important for African governments to innovate and find new ways of getting messages out to the people," said Heymann, professor of infectious diseases at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Allowing for information regarding the disease and how to try and prevent it could be one of the best ways to eliminate this disease's outbreak. Most citizens are not well informed of the disease and this ignorance is causing them to visit the sick and continue to spread Ebola among the cities. It is believed that if the outbreak is not continued the toll could hit 21,000 in the next six weeks or so. "Dr. Peter Horby, of Oxford University who is heading the effort, said he and colleagues will start assessing which clinics in the region might be able to conduct the trials. Horby said they are hoping to enroll 100 to 200 patients once they decide which treatment to test." 

Webpage: http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leone-considers-repeating-ebola-shutdown-122447760.html

Mock Trial of Mann vs. State of North Carolina

             In class today, we decided to conduct a mock trial of a court case involving the beating and mistreatment of a slave in the 1830's of North Carolina. I thought the process of mock trial considering the case of Mann vs. State of North Carolina was very interesting and it was very easy to distinguish the two sides of each court. Each side delivered strong facts and steady defending points to counteract the other team. Neither team gave up on their arguments nor decided to side with the other team. The four prosecutors and four defendants were very prepared and gave the judge a tough decision to conclude even though the decision was concluded over 150 years ago. The trial seemed legitimate and well thought it. The decision to allow Mann to walk free was upheld in the their day but in the modern age he would've have been put in jail or even worse put to death. We can all consider that shooting an innocent woman is inhumane and morally wrong. But in their day and age, the Southern traditions of beatings of a slave were common and they believed these beatings to help the slave become a more trained and perfect worker. They didn't see that slave as having rights to fight back but only the right to work until that slaves job was done or their contract expired unto which they were to be freed. The South has most definitely changed but the racism still exists today even in the 21st century. I believe the racism will fade from generation to generation as long as the world continues to view slavery in the way it does today. The case can be viewed here www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/268/entry

Obama plans to arm syrian rebels

President Obama has spoken in the latest news conference that he has no problem with bombing ISIS powers in the middle east. He also has asked Congress for the authority to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight against the terrorist group ISIS. I find this rediculous that he has the nerve to take millions of dollars to train forces in the middle east instead of supporting the poor and homeless here in the United States. Now, I understand that the people fighting against ISIS are seriously losing and being killed everyday as the terrorist group romps across the deserts of the middle east. Their conditions are much worse than the citizens in America. But I find that the president of the United States should be tending to his main job of supporting the homeland rather than going off at any chance and fighting someone else's battles. I completely support fighting against the terrorists when they begin to threaten United States soil. But until that point comes I think we should stay out of their business and mind our own. In the end I believe that the people of the middle east would be completely fine with us leaving them alone for the time being and for us to stop trying to push our way of lives upon theirs. It was proven in Afghanistan and Iraq and someday Obama will learn this lesson and help the United States build up its own infrastructure instead of a small desert towns.

The state of Texas has begun to require all citizens who wish to vote to receive ID cards. The cards are free and require records such as a birth certificate or travel records. Minority rights groups, democrats, and political groups have begun to fight back against the new law set it in court by a federal judge on tuesday. The law is being sued by the groups of people for racial discrimination. Democrats complain that the ID will cost the less fortunate because it will cause the people to pay for birth certificates and records in order to receive the ID. However, Lawyers for Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, has said that "this requirement is one that Americans comply with every day to engage in mundane activities like cashing a check, opening a bank account or boarding a plane." I see this as a valid reason to require photo ID. Illegal immigrants don't have the ability to vote nor should they. In this fact, I do not see any problem in requiring voters to gain access to a "free" ID card. According to the State of Texas, 13.6 million registered voters will be required to have an ID in order to vote. For the election of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the system has been used in both elections since his beginning as the Attorney General. The system has run flawlessly and easy.