Thursday, May 17, 2007

Comparing the American's culture with the Saudi Arabian's

Nassar Alnassar, Sultan Almutairi and Fahad Alghanem

GW6

David Pearson

15 May 2007


 


 

Making comparisons is the first thing that some people do when they arrive in a country that has a different culture. People form all countries around the world have their own culture, values, customs and way of life. Some cultures have at least one or two common things with others. For instance, a lot of countries have the same religious values, customs and even dating rules. On the other hand, there are these countries that have their own independent culture that is almost unique. Because America is the country of immigrants, the American culture has a lot of similarities with other cultures around the world. However, American culture is completely different than Saudi culture. In fact, culture is not the only different thing between these two countries. The work system in the United States is more strict and fair. Moreover, When Saudis come to the United States, they will be surprised when they see how friendly the people are. Also, they will notice the big difference in the food, weather, and the geography of the United States.

There are so many differences between Saudi Arabia and the United states. People are different in the way they treat each other, and the way they treat foreigners. People in United States are friendly and smiley, especially in South Carolina whose motto is "smiling faces, beautiful places" because of its people. Also people when they deal with each other, they treat people as if they just knew them. Consequently, it is hard to find what is called in Arabic "wasstah," a relationship with a person who is of high regard in society. People who have wasttah can get better jobs, and more opportunities. Furthermore, people from different parts of the world cannot imagine the way they will be treated when they visit the United States. Americans treat foreigners in a friendly way. Foreigners will never feel discriminated against in the U.S. Moreover, foreigners who are Muslims may be surprised by the type of food in the U.S because most of the foods in America contain pork. In Islam, eating pork is prohibited.

There are also other differences that distinguish the U.S from Saudi Arabia. The first one is the weather. In the United States, the weather is cool during the year, and it rains a lot during the summer, not to mention the fact that the United States is a huge country so it has many different weathers. Incidentally, since the United States is a huge country, foreigners may be surprised when they learn that they will spend about seven hours by plane to cross the country from the west to the east.

What differentiates Saudi Arabia from the United States is that the Saudi people are conservative about their culture and values that they can not accept new things in their culture. Unlike the United States, Saudi Arabia is smaller and has a very hot and dry weather. One of the other things that distinguishes Saudi Arabia from the U.S is that Saudi people are not as friendly with foreigners as Americans. The reason is that most of the foreigners come to the United States to study or to find a good life, and most of them are usually higher class people. However, most of the foreigners in Saudi Arabia are from the lower classes. They come to Saudi Arabia to find money in any way no matter how. One of the good things about Saudi culture is that families are the most important thing in people's lives. They see families as their candles that light their way towards future success. They see themselves in their families. They reach out to them. They help them, and they take care of them. This habit is not common in the United States. When boys or girls reach the age of 18, they become totally independent from their families so they lose their family relationships as time passes.

Finally, American culture is completely different than Saudi culture. The work system, food, friendliness, and the weather are the first things travelers from Saudi Arabia will notice. As long as Saudis live in the United States, they will find more differences, especially the ones related to people and communities. In general, by spending more time in the United States, Saudi Arabians can easily adapt to American culture. Americans, on the other hand, will find it really difficult to adapt to life in Saudi Arabia.

Smoking

Sultan Almutairi

David Pearson

GW6

May 11, 2007

Who wants to jeopardize his health? Nobody. Then why do huge numbers of people worldwide smoke. There must be a reason for them to smoke. A lot of consequences might happen to them. And sooner or later, they are going to suffer from this bad habit, unless they quit early. Although people know the consequences of smoking, they still smoke. Many years ago people were encouraged to smoke to be relaxed and cool, but today they are begged not to smoke because scientists have proved that smoking is so hazardous that it causes death sometimes. Many reasons cause people to smoke. Some of these reasons are Advertisements and Smoking Addiction.

The consequences of smoking are enough for smokers to quit, but they do not know how dangerous these diseases are. If people knew what the diseases are, they would never hold a cigarette. Smoking causes lung diseases, cancers and heart diseases. Furthermore, depending on the number of cigarettes they smoke per day, "smokers are six times more likely to die from different mouth related cancers" ("Mouth" par. 1). However, smokers should quit smoking immediately. According to Healthy Living, "Quitting smoking greatly reduces the risks of all tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer, many other cancers, heart diseases and other respiratory illnesses" ("Sleeping" par. 12).


 

There are many factors that cause people to smoke. Advertising is one of these factors and the most effective one. Tobacco companies promote their products around the world. Furthermore, they exploit the reputation of the countries they are in. For example, the U.S. tobacco companies promote their products outside the U.S using the American Lifestyle. According to William Ecenbarger, "the ads are seen as a way of learning about the United States itself" (Ecenbarger 50-7). In addition, students in China said, "Every day we listen to the Marlboro music hour. We enjoy Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. We smoke American cigarettes and wear American clothes. We are eager to gain more information about American life" (qtd. in Ecenbarger 50-7). And children outside the United states think that every one in the U.S. smokes (Ecenbarger 50-7). However, some countries—including the U.S.--banned cigarette commercials on TV and radio. Therefore, these companies use what is called Brand-Stretching, "advertising nontobacco products and services named after their brands" (50-7). For example, "In Malaysia, a music store called Salem Power Station wraps customers' tapes and CDs in plastic bags bearing the Salem logo" (50-7).

Another way of promoting cigarettes is to distribute them to young people for free. According to William Ecenbarger, "A jeep decorated with the yellow camel logo pulls up in front of a high school in Buenos Aires. The driver, a blond woman, begins handing out cigarettes to 15- and 16-year-olds during their lunch break" (Ecenbarger 50-7). The tobacco companies focus on young people because they easily are influenced. According to William Ecenbarger, "if a young person hasn't begun by 18, he or she is unlikely ever to smoke" (Ecenbarger 50-7).


 

Another reason why people smoke is smoking addiction. According to E-health-MD.com, "smoking addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping smoking would cause severe emotional, mental, or physical reactions" ("What Is" par.1). Some smokers try to quit, but only a few succeed. According to E-health-MD, "Most smokers want to stop and do indeed try, but only one in three succeeds in stopping permanently before age 60. By this time, much harm may have been done to the body--some of it irreversible" ("What Is" par.4). They are addicted to tobacco because of the drug in tobacco, Nicotine. It affects smokers and makes them relaxed. Furthermore, when smokers want to quit smoking, they must go through a stage called withdrawal. According to the American Diabetes Association, "Symptoms of withdrawal include: being irritable, sweating, having headaches, diarrhea, or constipation, as well as feeling restless, tired, or dizzy" ("why Quitting" par.1).

To sum up, smoking is a bad habit that is hard to stop. Advertising and Smoking Addiction are what make it easy to start smoking and very hard to quit. Furthermore, after smokers quit smoking, they experience the bad feeling of withdrawal, but later as the American Diabetes Association says, they "enjoy the benefits of quitting, such as having more energy" (par. 2). Smoking jeopardizes your health, So stop smoking.


 


 


 


 

Works Cited

Ecenbarger, William. America's new merchants of death. "cigarette makers targeting youth in the third world". Reader's Digest v. 142. Apr. 1993. P. 50-7.

"Mouth Diseases and Smoking." HC: Health Canada. 2005-05-01. hc-sc.gc.ca. 2007-05-14 < http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/tobac-tabac/body-corps/disease-maladie/mouth-bouche/index_e.html>.

"Sleeping With A Killer: A Report from Health Canada's Tobacco Control Programme." HC: Health Canada. 2005-05-01. hc-sc.gc.ca. 2007-05-14< http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/swk-dat/intro01_e.html>.

"Why Quitting Is So Hard." American Diabetes Association. diabetes.org. May 14, 2007<
http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/smoking.jsp>.

"What Is A Smoking Addiction?" E-Health-MD. October 2004. Health Information Publications. May 14, 2007 < http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/smoking/SMO_whatis.html>.

The Causes of Virginia Tech Tragedy

David Pearson

GW6

April 30, 2007

"Massacre," "Bloodbath," "32 killed people," "backlash," "ordeal," and "Chu." These words reflect what happened at Virginia tech when a student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed 32 innocent students before turning his gun on himself. At first he killed two students in a dormitory. Two hours later, the shooter went to the engineering building to continue his crime. The consequence of the second shooting is that 30 students were gunned down. Between the two shootings Chu went to a post office to send NBC news a package that contained some pictures and video clips of himself. People are wondering what caused this student to commit this crime. There are many factors involved in this crime such as mental illness, oppression, the ease of buying guns and violent video games.

One cause of the massacre at Virginia Tech is the gunman's mental illness. The gunman was a threat to himself and everybody else. According to Chorn.com, "On Dec. 13, 2005, a magistrate ordered Cho to undergo an evaluation at Carilion St. Albans, a private psychiatric hospital. The magistrate signed the order after an initial evaluation found probable cause that Cho was a danger to himself or others as a result of mental illness"(
Apuzzo par15). Furthermore, one of the experts said that the killer, Cho Seung-Hui, had mental illness not only because of the pressures of studying but also because of the lack of encouragement from his family. According to ABC7Chicago.com:

"This type of mental illness that this poor man had was not something that was likely precipitated by teasing or bullying," he said. More likely, he said, is that Cho had a biological psychiatric disorder that may have worsened in recent years because of the pressures of college life and his leaving the support of his family."(AP par 24)

Moreover, the shooter, an English major, had aggressive and pessimistic writing. His teacher, Lucinda Roy, noticed when she looked at his papers that they indicated a potential for violent. Consequently, she reported what she noticed to the police officers because she wondered if Cho were mentally illness or not. However, the police officers could not decide whether or not they should arrest him because the violence was not obvious in his writings, and the police officers could not base their decision on the teacher's feeling. According to CNN.com Cho's teacher said "Cho, an English major, never wrote about guns or killing people... But his writing was disturbing enough that she went to police and other university officials to seek help" she added "the threats seemed to be underneath the surface" ("Shooter" par.8).

In addition to his mental illness, his feeling of being oppressed is one of the causes of the shooting. Oppression sometimes leads to aggressive behaviors. And being oppressed might be a reason that Cho killed people. He may have felt it would restore his dignity. According to Dissident1's blog, "It doesn't matter what form of oppression it is, the inevitable consequence of oppression is aggression" (Dissident par.1). Cho's classmates were ironic when he read in class. A student at Virginia tech says "As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, 'Go Back to China'" ("Va. Tech" par.4). Consequently, Cho made a dire decision, which was to kill students.

It is understandable that a person with mental problems and a weak personality would do such a crime, but it is depressing that such people can get guns easily. Buying guns in the U.S. is a piece of cake. A person who wants to buy a gun "needs only two forms of ID" (Reich par. 1). Thus, the gun culture in the U.S. contributed to this matter. But what if it had been difficult to get guns? Would Cho have killed those innocent students? Definitely not. At the very least Cho would have committed a crime with fewer effects.

There was also less chance that students would have been killed if Cho had not been influenced by video games. Many people have blamed violent video games for displaying violent scenes which increase people's aggressive thoughts. According to Pam Willenz, "Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life.

The reason that people blame violent media is that there was a video game called GRAND THEFT AUTO 3("Fox news" par. 1). The game displays acts similar to those at Virginia Tech. According to MSNBC, "Violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor" (par. 14).

In conclusion, there are many causes that made Cho commit this crime. One cause is Cho's mental illness. Another cause is his feelings of being oppressed. The ease of buying guns in the U.S. is also a cause of this tragedy. In addition, many people believe that violent video games had an impact on Cho's life because of the similarity between one of the video games and the shooting in Virginia Tech. There are at least three causes of this tragedy, but none of them justifies his deed.


 

Work Citied

Apuzzo, Matt. "Virginia Tech Gunman Sent Material to NBC Before He Died." Houston Chronicle (2007): 15 pars. 30 Apr. 2007 <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4724976.html>.

Benedetti, Winda. "Were Video Games to Blame for Massacre?" MSNBC. 20 Apr. 2007. 01 May 2007 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18220228/>.

Dissident. "oppression leads to aggression." Online posting. 2 Feb. 2007. 1 May 2007 <

http://www.rationalresponders.com/oppression_leads_to_aggression>.

"FOX NEWS blames Virginia Tech shooting on violent games (GRAND THEFT AUTO)." Online posting. 16 Apr. 2007. 3 may 2007 <http://digg.com/world_news/FOX_NEW

S_blames_Virginia_Tech_shooting_on_violent_games_GRAND_THEFT_AUTO>.

Reich, Robert "U.S. needs a prescription for gun control." Market Place 18 Apr. 2007. . 23 Apr.2007<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/04/18/PM2007

04184.html?refid=0>.

"Shooter's Writing Dripped with Anger." CNN.Com (2007). 30 Apr. 2007 <http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting/index.html>.

"Va. Tech Killer Picked On, Classmates Say." CBS News 19 Apr. 2007. 1 May 2007 <
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/virginiatechshooting/main2703671.shtml>.


 


 

Willenz, Pam. "VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES CAN INCREASE AGGRESSION." APA Online. 23 Apr. 2000. 01 May 2007 <http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html>.


 

"Wisconsin Web Site Sold Gun to Va. Tech Shooter." ABC7Chicago.Com (2007): 24 pars. 30 Apr. 2007 <http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=nation_world&id=5220576>.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Gun Control in America

For some reason, many people say that America should not have gun control. However, others say if the American government does not take any steps toward gun control, the whole society will be in danger. This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against gun control.

Many Americans say that America should not have gun control because they use guns for sporting activities. Others say that they carry guns for personal protection or self defense. In 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student at Virginia Tech University, killed 33 people, including himself, using guns. Chris Mucklow, a 22-year-old sociology student at the same university, said, “I wish I had had a gun that day. I wish some of the professors had had guns on them. They could have taken the shooter down” (Frei par.12).

Even though lots of deadly shootings have happened all around America, the American government has not yet taken any steps toward gun control. The latest shooting was in Virginia, where 33 people were killed by a madman who bought two guns. He was able to buy these guns because there were no strict regulations. As I mentioned before, some people think that if someone had had a gun at that time, he or she could have killed him before he killed all of those people. Brendan Quirk, an engineering student at Virginia Tech University, said, "You can't control guns with more guns" (par.15).

In conclusion, we can prevent cases, like this one in Virginia, from happening again by limiting the ability to get guns easily. The American government should legislate for gun control. If not, there might be another shooting soon.


Work Cited

Frei, Matt. "Washington Diary: Virginia Shootings." BBC News. 18 Apr. 2007. 19
Apr. 2007 .


Anas Ghandorah

The Gun Control

Many people who live in the United States have guns. Many of these people use their guns for hunting. It is very easy to have a gun in the United States. As a result, there are many negative effects of how easy it is to buy a gun. After what happened at Virginia Tech, many people are asking the government to legislate more gun control. However, some people still believe that the best way to defend yourself is to have a gun.

There is gun control in the United States, but it is weak. For example, the shooting that took place at Virginia Tech caused by a mentally ill student. If there was a strong gun control, this student would not have two guns in short time. The Virginia Tech shooting showed that the government needs more gun control. Many people are mad at the government, because they think that the government has to focus more on this issue. One of the students at Virginia Tech, Chris Mucklow, said to the BBC News reporter that the government should have more background checks and that would help to find out if people have mental problems or criminal history (Frei par.12). Another student, Brendan Quirk, said that “you can not control guns with more guns for chrissake” (Par.15).

There are some people who want to keep their guns. Most of them are against gun control. They use their guns to protect themselves. They believe that if you have a gun, you will be safe. Chris Mucklow, who is a student at Virginia Tech, said “I wish I had had a gun that day. I wish some of the professors had had guns on them. They could have taken the shooter down” (par. 12).

Gun control is important to keep everybody safe. The government should make strict rules that help to control guns. Even though the government can not take away all the guns, they can be more careful giving people the rights to have guns. Some people like to have guns just for hunting, but other people use their guns to steal and kill innocent people. Therefore, the government should make new rules to keep crimes and firearms violence to the minimum rate in the United States society.

Work Cited
Frei, Matt. “Washington Diary: Virginia Shootings.” BBC News. 18 Apr. 2007. 19 Apr. 2007 .

Mohanad Alsherebi

Friday, May 4, 2007

Being Much Safer

Amjad Roboey
Dived Pearson
G/W 6
April 29, 2007

A week ago, the history of the U.S. changed when the dimwitted killer, as I like to call him, killed 32 people in Virginia. The killer got his gun as easy as getting a coke from a grocery store. This ease of carrying a gun causes a lot of trouble. Nowadays, people argue whether adults can carry guns or not as if they are brainless.

I strongly believe that people should not be allowed to bear arms. This right does nothing but increase the chance of violent accidents crimes. Many people think that guns are necessary because they can be used as protection at certain times. Everyone wants safety, but allowing more and more people to purchase guns will not help achieve this. Most of the people who commit violent crime, such as the man who killed students at Virginia Tech last week, had easy access to these guns. The person who sold the guns did not know the intentions of the shooter. There are so many people who buy guns that it is hard to separate the people with good intentions from those with bad intentions. However, if we could stop the selling of guns, then there would not be crimes and it would decrease the number of killings. Consequently, people will feel much safer so that they will not need to buy weapons.

Also, we have police to protect us in situations where we may be harmed. Having policemen everywhere for protection is a very helpful and a convenient resource. If the government wants legislating better safety systems in campuses, they should spread groups of policemen in all campuses. I certainly agree with Brendan Quirk who has interviewed by BBC. He stated, “you can’t control guns with more guns…” (Frei par 15). This is true. There really isn’t a point in having more guns. You will only increase violence. It is like the idiom, you cannot fight fire with fire.

There seems to be no solution right now to the issue of holding guns in Congress. It is not a simple to decide nether people can carry guns nor not. There are two strong sides for carrying guns and against it. According to the article Gun Laws Not Likely To Change, there are many political reasons in this issue. “Democrats have not said much on this issue because they might lose votes in areas that support guns” (Frei par 19). I think carrying guns is not a good idea. Therefore, this issue needs immediate attention. If nothing is done, we will see an increasing homicide rate. Government and societies need to do the best to avoid this problem and we.

Work Cited
Frei, Matt. “Gun Laws Not Likely To Chang.” Washington diary: Virginia shootings. Washington, BBC News. 26 Apr. 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6566763.stm

Best Wishes..
Amjad Roboey

Gun Control

Luay Alghalibi
David Pearson
Gw:6
April 27, 2007
Gun Control

Deciding whether or not there is a need for more gun control in America is a difficult subject about which to write. However, I don’t think the question should be gun control or no gun control, but rather I think it should be better gun control than what is currently in place in the United States.

I think that gun store owners should be held more responsible for who they sell guns to. Gun owners should have to do background checks before selling someone a gun. For example, store owners should have to call police to see if the person that wants to buy the gun has a criminal record. There are a lot of people who say this wouldn’t make a difference though. As the article Washington diary: Virginia shootings reads, “Would John Markell, the owner of the Roanoke firearms shop really have wanted to sell Cho the 9mm Glock if he had read some of these pages? After all four guns sold from his shop had already been reportedly involved in other homicides” (Frei par. 17). I think that the store owner should be held responsible for who he sells guns to, and he should be held accountable for any crime that happens with a gun he has sold
.
I don’t agree that weakening the rules of gun control would help decrease the crime in the United States. Many people think that if everyone had guns, then no one would kill each other because they would be afraid of being shot themselves . I agree with Brendan Quirk who is quoted in the article Washington diary: Virginia shootings as saying, "You can't control guns with more guns for chrissake" (par. 15). Trying to control guns while giving people more guns will just cause more chaos and murders. There has to be some sort of control on who can or can not own and carry guns or else people will easily be able to commit crimes with guns.

Lastly, there are lots of people who argue that guns don’t kill people, but people kill people. This argument is no longer valid since obviously there are some people in America who are unable to control their mental states and keep themselves for harming other people. While people are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the murder, allowing people less access to guns would help decrease the chance for the murder in the first place.

Solving the issue of gun control in the United States is a problem that is not easily fixed. Many politicians try to stay neutral on the topic because so many people have different opinions about it. It is difficult to make the majority of the country happy with new legislation about guns. However, in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, it is obvious that tightening the current legislation in place and adding some extra precautions that would make it harder for criminals to get guns would help the situation.

Works Cited

Frei, Matt. “Washington diary: Virginia shootings” BBC Washington. 18 Apr.2007.
23 Apr.2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6566763.stm