The Will to Survive in a Disaster Zone

Since the disaster in Haiti, people are struggling to support themselves and their families in the face of this great adversity. Whether it's a shopkeeper gouging customers for the scarce supply of water, a looter taking whatever he can find, or a rescue officer working tirelessly trying to save and reunite other families, people are clamoring for supplies and money to help rebuild their lives. Even the upper crust of society in Haiti has been dramatically humbled; with the falling of the capital building and medicines still days off, each and every human in Haiti is bearing his or her own cross. The city is in desperate need of fuel, food, and water, and much of the city is covered in red dots which signify fallen buildings. In light of all of this, though, people are still working diligently to find survivors and relief groups are bringing in supplies as best as possible.

It's very disturbing to see an already-poor nation being crippled so mercilessly by an earthquake. For the past week I haven't heard anything but bad reports coming from Haiti, and now they're almost out of gasoline on top of all of that. It really makes you appreciate the commodities we have at this very second, and it tears my heart out that people you never hear from to begin with are being ravaged by yet another natural disaster. Fortunately, though, there are ways to help. Many churches and charities are running food drives right now, and I know you can text a number set up by the Red Cross to donate $10 to the Haitian relief fund. It's not much, but it's a start to rebuilding a city that didn't have much to begin with.

'I See a Giant Monopoly Developing That's Reminiscent of Microsoft'

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,671426,00.html

This article follows an interview between Spiegel and the German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger is a conservative leader who addresses one central issue: privacy. Spiegel first asks her of her opinion on Google's rampant growth and use of technologies such as Google Earth and Google Street View, to which she replies with definite distaste. She goes on to say, "I have a hedge as a noise and visual barrier. If the images go beyond that, it will not be unproblematic, from a legal standpoint." The second issue Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger addresses is the proposed use of full-body scanners as another airport security measure. Her main concern with these is the fact that they should "no longer make the body visible, but should only image potential threat areas," and also be tested more stringently to ensure that no health risks could result from use of these full-body scanners. Overall, she agrees with the notion that airport security should be tighter, but fears Germans will be stripped of their privacy in the dawning of this new impenetrable security. Likewise, she acknowledges Google's ambition to grow and stick to their company motto of "Don't Be Evil," but fears they are quickly doing just that and attempting to monopolize the world.

I agree with many of the notions that Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger brought up, including not making sacrifices to people's humanity to ensure they won't explode something without the government's explicit permission. The world is becoming more and more like the Orwell's 1984 every year, and it should be a legitimate concern. At the same time, I feel it's silly to worry that people might look at the top of your house with Google Earth or see your front yard with Street View. As a matter of fact, I've seen images of crimes being caught clear as daylight on Google Street View, so it's definitely not all bad (www.failblog.org has a picture of a guy pointing a gun at a little kid on Google Street View). What I'm basically trying to say is that we need to have a concern for our own safety and privacy and to scrutinize every new invention to ensure it will only help in the long run, but we can't be so paranoid as to look at every street light and postbox with undying suspicion.

This Is the First Post In a Series of Many.

As I regain consciousness on the cold floor of an industrial freezer, the only thing I can collect is that I need to find an article to write about from a German news source. It is in my best interest to find an article on entertainment or technology, as to get an A in the class without reading too many asinine quotes from sissies about the environment. With this intelligence, it is my hope to compare German culture with American, to discover more about German viewpoints on popular subjects (especially politics), and to hopefully learn a few new things about Germany in general.