Global Warming!

I decided to rent a documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth", a film by Al Gore. He starts by showing pictures of how the glaciers looked at one time and it certainly is not beautiful now. It looks like dirt and rocks, nothing beautiful about these wonderful sites or a place to travel to.

So what do you think will happen in 50 years? It made me think about what could happen once the earth has reached its highest level of global warming. Our kids’ kids will not see trees, the sun, or be able to play outside! What can we do, we ask ourselves, after the damage we have done over the years? How can we slow the process down, or stop our ozone layer from melting away? This is our only home, the only planet that we humans own until we find another planet.

Recycle, clean the air, stop big industries from polluting - how? When money talks? How can we humans start to take this situation serious? One person cannot just do it alone; it takes a group to get the word out and make both Houses of Congress pass a bill that will help the environment. We need to do more than just rent a documentary to let us know what is happening to our earth. We need to start now to help our kids’ kids have a place were they can breath clean air and be able to walk outside. Our earth is heating up each year more and more, and new viruses have occurred because of the warming of the earth’s atmosphere due to the destruction of trees in Brazil.

Although Al Gore has tried to pass a bill, he was not successful since the Senate and House turned his bill down because we are not that serious about wanting to do something. He even says it all has to do with politics, and laughs.

I ask myself what can we do? We do not have the money as many industries have to buy out those politicians to be in favor of preventing the earth’s ozone from melting away. Even though Al Gore continues to travel all over the world to teach about what is happening to our planet, he has reached few countries and few states in America willing to do something about pollution. He still says not all countries want to do anything because it would effect their business if his bills pass.

So what is more important: money or your health?

I recommend you see this documentary for yourself. You can see what we have done to our beautiful earth, and what is happening to those beautiful sites once loved by tourists. For example, in the Peruvian mountains Argentinean ice has melted completely, leaving only small amounts on the top of the mountain. We need to start cleaning up, protesting for our planet, and demanding our Congress start taking Global Warming seriously! Let’s try to do our share, even if it is something small, to help our planet. We need to think about the future or our kids’ kids future. Fifty years is not that far away, time goes so fast that we won't even realize fifty years have gone by.

SJSU Disability Expo 2006


Today I attended SJSU Disability Sport Expo 2006, and it made me think about how much we take our arms and legs for granted.
At first I participated in Boccia event. You had to throw balls and try to not make it pass the white ball. I kept throwing it underhand and the ball would roll further then the white ball. Later as I lost the event against my friend Karla, who made me see what the secret was and that was to throw it up and let it land on the ground so it would not roll so much. We learned that you had to throw the ball in order to not pass the white ball.

The second event that I joined was indoor soccer funny thing about this was that my friend and I at first thought this will be fun and easy since we both played soccer but we realized that we could not use our feet, we would be sitting on a wheelchair. It was hard to not lean back on the wheelchair and you must move with one hand, while holding the ball in the other hand. You would only get to catch the ball three times and after you would pass it to your team member. You would also have to move your wheelchair by pulling on the wheel three times and throw the ball or you lost. Of course our team won…yeah!

The third event, which I had a blast and out team won was sitting volleyball. In this event you could not use your feet, you must sit all times, you could move but you must have one butt cheek touching the ground. It reminded me when I used to play volleyball, but much harder and challenging versus when you stand you have control of your legs to move fast.

Finally, I was asked to try Goal Ball boy was this event challenging and needed a lot of concentration, and listening to the bells inside the ball. You would be blindfolded and could not pass the tape on the floor. You would throw the ball to the other side and try to make it pass through the players, like playing Red Robbin but you would see where you were going. I felt alone, not being able to see what was coming my way but to listen to the noise of the ball. It made me nervous and scared because I did not know what was happening or who was winning.

In the end I started to think, mostly on this last event how scared I was. I had to make my brain hear the ball coming towards my way or the other way. It would have to be a training process if I ever was to become blind and scary at the same time. I know now a little bit more what disabled people have to learn or what they feel when they feel helpless. Although, I feel that they are more appreciative of what they have and live life to the fullest we take for granted. I know now that disabled people should not be taken for granted and they still have a healthy life as we do.

What is section 8?


Section 8 is a Housing Authority Voucher program. A program that began during the Great Depression to help housing crisis in 1960s and 1970s in assisting low income families pay their rent.

Housing Authority would select families from the waiting list. A list of people who waited up to 5 years. Once they called you, you would be placed in a subsidized unit and determine what was your share to pay, which was 30% of your income, as the rest was paid by the Federal Government. I believe it is 40% of your income now.

Most of these families under this program would have to abide and qualify by the rules given to them in order to receive a voucher. Their incomes were checked every year and every year an investigator would come to check the house or apartment to make sure it was up to their standards. As the general rule was “All subsidized houses or apartment must meet Federal Housing Quality Standards to ensure families have a healthy and safe place to live.”

Now that you understand what section 8 is, let me tell you why I am talking about it. I had the opportunity to help a friend out who has section 8. She is a single mom with four kids and needs to move out due to the fact the owner of the house she lives in wants to sell the house.

She gave HUD (Housing Authority) her notice but wait, she gave them an advance notice of 90 days. Her last day was supposed to be October 30, 2006. She kept calling her case worker and after calling three – four times she finally got a hold of her on October 20, 2006. So what happen during this whole time? Why did she not call her back? The case worker excused herself by stating that she knew who my friend was, and could not get the voucher number. She just forgot to generate the papers for her to pick up.

Being stressed out with my friend, I decided to go with her and check some of this places that accept section 8. Let me tell you that this is not “Federal Housing Quality Standards and safe place to live”, so what is the meaning of “quality and safe” for the Federal government?

Some of these homes had toilets in front of the lawn and old junk cars. Once you entered these houses or apartments for rent you could immediately smell mildew and most were located in a bad neighborhood.

We saw gangster selling drugs, alcoholics coming out of houses and once you looked in Kelly’s Law website of all registered molesters around that area, let me tell you multiples live in the same street or around the corner!

My friend started to cry because she was living in a nice, quiet, safe and perfect place for her kids to live in. I gave her a hug and told her to not give up and have faith. So we continue to search and search.

We found a house that was being remodeled but the owner was asking to much for rent, which Housing Authority will not pay. Second, we found a duplex and it was nice but the owner wanted to much for deposit. Finally, the tenants of both houses liked my friend that they kept calling her in order to work something out with the deposit and try to negotiate with HUD. Now it is up to her to choose as she has two weeks till she moves out.

I do not want to give you a bad impression about section 8, although the Federal government has built nice subsidized apartments but have you gone inside these places? The rooms are the size of a prison cell, especially those with 3-4 bedrooms. Once I entered the apartment I felt like I was in a tiny box with no room to even breath or move.

So next time you hear someone call you and ask you if you accept section 8: think about it and just listen.

One important thing to remember its guaranteed money and you won’t ever be told “I DO NOT HAVE THE RENT!”

I just hope that many of you stop thinking that it’s a program for losers, druggies or people that do not care about their families, who take advantage of the system. Yes, there are those who do but I know someone who really needs it. She does not fall in any of these categories but is a wonderful person with goals and is almost done with school.

What will happen next?

In the sentencing of Saddam Hussein many are celebrating for his death sentence verdict. Saddam and two of his other high rank members are to be hanged within 30 days. Other lower level officers that work with Saddam Hussein have been sentenced 15 years in prison. Saddam still demonstrated his power and shouted when he was taken out “Long live the people!” and “God is Greater”!
How can he chant words after all the evil he has caused? He has killed many people without a fair trial. So who are those that are saying that the special tribunal must demonstrate Saddam had a fair trial? Why do they want to make sure he has a fair trial, what about all those innocent people he killed in a Shia village? Why are we not questioning Saddam where were the fair trials for them?
Those of the Sunni areas are angry to hear his death sentence demonstrating in streets, well what about those who were murdered by Saddam Hussein? I guess hatred of a different religious sects of Islam can have a person agree with everything a ruler does in order to make his kind of people, like the Sunnis powerful.
In my opinion, I feel that with so many Shias celebrating and Sunnis demonstrating anger towards the sentence will cause civil wars between this two religious groups. To prove that their race will not give in to the new Iraq government becoming democratic. Instead we will see more and more violence, as they have started to put curfews, and many other restrictions on Iraq citizens.
I do not think this will improve what Bush is trying to do or Iraq government in becoming democratic. It will also establish people or terrorists attack against those of the Shia religion supporting democracy. Although, I do agree with the decision made from the Special Tribunal of Iraq that Saddam Hussein should be hanged.