Archives for July 2015

Passengers in the car were thrown to the side as the subway jolted to a stop.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing momentary delay due to train traffic ahead of us. Sorry for the inconvenience,” the speakers crackled. Groans sounded around the subway as businessmen checked their watches and tapped their feet.

Commuters who rely on the Metropolitan Transit Authority are aware of how unreliable the subway system in New York City can be. Although the MTA website, http://www.mta.info/ says which trains are in good service and which have delays or planned services, there are usually sporadic issues with the subways.

On July 20, 2015, the website says that the 4, 5, 6, 7, and SIR trains have planned work. In addition, the A, C, E, N, Q, and R trains have delays. Even though it wasn’t mentioned on the site, the F train was also delayed in the 57^th St station.

Many times, passengers will sit in a motionless subway car with no idea what problem the subway is facing. They are given vague announcements, such as the one previously mentioned. Perhaps ten or twenty minutes later, the subway will be in the same position and passengers will then be told to take an alternative way to get to their destinations. Some people will stay on the train, hoping that the problem will resolve itself quickly. Others, who choose to transfer, will be faced with hordes of people who are also trying to get on the alternative trains.

According to the Transit Museum Education, “Most of the subway system we know today was built swiftly during a great burst of construction from 1913 to 1931” and was added to the MTA, when it was created in 1968.

Subway systems were still relatively new when the first subway line in New York City was built in 1904. Subways were considered high-tech and select countries had them. However, the subway system in New York City is now old and disgusting compared to many other cities such as Seoul, Hong Kong, and Berlin.

The subway fare is increasing but the commuters are not receiving better results. Even the MTA admits that the subway system in New York City is slowly deteriorating. In fact, the trains seldom arrive on time, Andrew Hawkins wrote in Crain’s. According to the Daily News, “‘The system currently is severely overcrowded and potentially dangerous — you have crowds on these platforms waiting to get onto trains.’”

The city should fix the subway system. Although the subway system is getting a lot of attention and there are a lot of plans to fix it, none have been very successful. There should be changes to fix train delays, overcrowding, cleanliness, etc. The MTA has come up with a five-year plan to repair the subway system. However, the “$32 billion capital plan is short $15 billion,” Hawkins reports.

A well-repaired subway system with little to no delays would benefit everyone.

 

“These tests… are designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work,” according to the College Board. However, how can a 170-question test possibly measure a student’s capability?

Colleges supposedly base their admissions decisions partly on these test scores.. A student can take the SAT at most four times during his or her high school career. According to PrepScholar, an online test prep for the SAT and ACT, the national average SAT score was 1497 out of 2400. If the average SAT score is 903 less than the highest score, it would seem logical that the “standards” of the test poorly represent the performance of students in the education system. If it doesn’t represent education as a whole, how can the SAT tests accurately indicate how enlightened a student is.

Not only the SAT, but other “standard” means of evaluating students fail to actually represent student learning. Being forced to take an assessment not only intimidates a student, it limits the student’s ability to represent themselves. Tests force students to focus on a specific topic, perhaps a topic that the student does not find suitable.

For example, tests such as the ACT and SAT only test students on English, math, and sometimes science. However, not all students want to pursue a career in mathematics or in English. So students who focus on English and math have an ever-so-slight advantage over those who have an interest in other topics.

Tests pressure students. When a teacher or society burdens a student with a test, the student immediately feels obligated to study. However, a test should be a measurement of how a student can devise a reasonable response, not how well a student can memorize theories and data the night before. The idea that the test will drastically affect a student’s future educational choices, such as choosing colleges, will encumber them.

In a different light, tests can be seen to not evaluate the students at all. A student from Central High School in Pennsylvania says that he thinks tests are a “waste of time and paper. They require all students to take it as a way to test, not us but, teachers. For example, in Philly, if a school’s average in a standardized test isn’t higher than required, most of the staff is fired and replaced.” So, it seems that instead of examining how well a student performs academically, standardized tests evaluate the capability of the teachers.

Tests are being given a high priority. Teachers and the Department of Education seem to no longer value education. In the Bronx High School of Science, in-class tests often make up 40-50 percent of a student’s grade, with an additional 15-20 percent of their grade being composed of a mid term/final examination grade. Test grades in Bronx Science can account for 70 percent of a student’s grade.

When I asked a student from Bronx Science how she felt about tests, she said, “They’re stressful and weighed too much to test a student’s ability. Not everyone is a good test taker.” Those who are more accustomed to taking tests have an advantage over those who aren’t as suited to tests.

The original purpose of schools was to provide education for students to create a “brighter” future. Schools meant enlighten students both academically and socially, not to determine which student can be the next Cam Jansen.

 

Did you ever go to a restaurant where they served poor quantity seafood? Well, at Popei’s Clam Bar, you will not have to worry about that. Popei’s Clam Bar is a family friendly restaurant. Everyone is welcome and the food is affordable. At Popei’s, the seafood is fresh and fulfilling.

The moment you walk in, the sensational aroma flows through your nasal cavity and a cheerful smile greets you. The hostess quickly writes your name down and tells you how long you have to wait. I suggest you go early or make a reservation because it can be a long wait. When your table is finally ready, the hostess briskly sits you down and hands you a menu. Popei’s is a casual restaurant and you can hear the seagulls crying, since it is so close to the water.

The moment you sit, a waiter brings a small basket of bread. The bread is light, flaky, and airy. Then another waiter comes and takes your order. You can ask the waiter questions about the food and they will answer to the best of their ability. A dish that is fit for a seafood lover is “Linguine with the Works,” it comes with mussels, shrimp, scallops, calamari, scungilli, clams and crab legs served over linguine with marinara sauce. Another favorite is “The Sebastian,” it comes with a classic shrimp a la vodka, a 6oz lobster, it can served with baked potato, linguine, fries or tossed house salad.

The food is seasoned with balanced flavors of sweet, salty, and spicy that makes your mouth water. Most of the meals comes with a small portion of pasta. If you are not a seafood fan, that’s okay. Popei’s has food for “land lubbers” too. One of the most popular land dishes is the “Shell Steak,” it comes with a 14oz tender cut beef and is served with a baked potato, linguine, fries, or a tossed house salad.

Popei’s is the perfect place for your birthday because they will sing their special happy birthday song and give you a free cake with ice cream on the side.

Popei’s Clam Bar is a restaurant where seafood comes to shore. If you are ever in the mood for real seafood, go to Popei’s.

The Greek Debt Crisis needs to be seen through the eyes of people. The outside world has a tendency to focus on the Greek Debt Crisis as an issue for the nation of Greece, or of the EU.

 

During the global financial crisis of 2008, a credit crunch, the sudden and sharp reduction in how much credit is available from banks, led investors to discover that the Greek government had misreported statistics so that the Greek economic situation looked much more stable than it actually was. As investors raced to pull their stocks and other resources out of the Greek economy, the Greek economic situation worsened until it threatened to collapse.

 

The resulting 110 billion euros in bailout funds by the troika—the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission—in 2010 came with the catch of austerity measures that would require budget cuts to social welfare spending and pension programs. The Greeks agreed.

 

In 2012, the threat of a Greek economic collapse rose again, and the troika handed the Greeks another 100 billion euros, along with more austerity measures. Once again, the Greeks agreed.

 

Meanwhile, Greece’s citizens were suffering. The age of retirement was pushed back. Government workers were laid off. According to a 2013 video by the New York Times, the Greek government raised taxes on heating oil by 450 percent alone, leading people to use dirty and environmentally dangerous alternatives for heat. Greece had an unnegotiable $1.7 billion IMF payment coming up on June 30, 2015, so politicians passed even more stringent cuts.The Greek population was desperate for an end to the austerity measures as they continued to impact their daily lives.

 

On January 25, 2015, the radical left wing party Syriza won the majority of votes in the Greek parliament elections. Its leader Alexis Tsipras became prime minister. Syriza had campaigned successfully on the promise of ending the crisis with the implementation of the Thessaloniki Program.

 

The Thessaloniki Program calls the Greek debt crisis a “humanitarian crisis” and advocates for a “comprehensive grid of emergency interventions, so as to raise a shield of protection for the most vulnerable social strata.” The cost of such emergency interventions? An estimated 1,882 billion euros. Not surprisingly, the proposal has been criticized by both opposition and party members.

 

Putting the cost of the Thessaloniki Program aside, Greece still owes double the country’s annual economic output. That’s more than 240 billion euros, or about $264 billion at today’s exchange rates, plus interest to its creditors: 63 billion euros to private lenders, and a 195 billion euro debt on the bailouts, including 57 billion from Germany and 43 billion from France. It would be a hard road to repay such debt.

 

According to the New York Times, the Greek government doesn’t have to make any payments on 200 billion euros of its debt until 2023, and the IMF has proposed extending the grace period until 2050. Greece has defaulted on the $1.7 billion IMF payment, and the ECB has been putting pressure on the repayment of the bonds it procured for Greece during the worst of the 2008 financial crisis.

 

On July 5, 2015, the Greek government held a referendum to decide whether Greece was to accept the bailout conditions proposed by the troika on June 25. In a move that shocked the world, which had expected a repeat of 2010 and 2012, the Greek people voted NO.

 

As a result, Greece must work on the negotiations surrounding the austerity measures that still exist, as well as the unintended consequences of the Greek government’s actions on its citizens. The first week of July, Greek citizens, both in the country and abroad, found their accounts frozen by the Greek government to prevent bank runs. Limits on withdrawals continue. According to Endeavour Greece, a non-profit group that supports entrepreneurs,

Greek businesses are finding it difficult to procure resources and offices abroad, while investors in Greek businesses are pulling out.

 

Whether the Greek government chooses to exit the European Union and hope that the resulting deflation would spike exports, or to stay and take out more loans from the troika, experts predict a difficult adjustment period for both the nation and the people.

A lighted ventilated tunnel with five foot, six inches in height and a bit more than two and a half feet wide ensured the escape of the infamous drug lord El Chapo. We all have the ideal of correctional facilities keeping menaces to society in captivity for our safety, but this all takes a turn when Mexico’s correctional system is overruled the officers, but the criminals inside.

His third time escaping a prison, the head of Sinaloa Cartel, considered the “most powerful drug trafficker in the world” by the United States Department of the Treasury and practically a billionaire has a never ending list of titles.

This man is more than a menace to society; he is rather a plague to the positive progression of an economy. He controlled the Sinaloa Cartel tunnel that had twelve million worth of drugs that was only shut down in the year of 2013. Including 17,292 pounds of marijuana and 325 pounds of cocaine, this man provided an abundance of drugs to millions before this in which the constant fight for the end of drug abuse was ridiculed. His charges range from manslaughter to drug trafficking. Such a man as such should not be out on the streets nor should he have not been monitored carefully that he was able to escape.

The Mexican government needs to put away their ego and find El Chapo to put him in jail permanently this time. According to CNN, the Mexican government won’t accept U.S. help as they feel completely embarrassed by this escape.

They won’t accept U.S. help but they’re not even controlling the problem as El Chapo has both threatened Donald Trump and assaulted Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Twitter. After Donald Trump comments that he would  kick El Chapo’s a– if he were president, translated in proper terms, El Chapo on Twitter  responds saying that he will make him suffer. He then harassed the President saying that he needs to stop calling him a delinquent because he gives people jobs unlike the government. Threatening and assaulting politicians on social media should not be acceptable and scares the population as they no longer feel safe.

Since El Chapo  escaped three times already, what makes the Mexican government think that this won’t happen again in their hands? The tunnel for his escapes are estimated to have had 2,000 tons of dirt removed, a year at least to complete as it is lighted, have real transportation and an air conditioner. This is completely outstanding for a criminal to do inside a correctional facility. His infamous reputation for his planned tunnels has even started the joke that Mexico should let El Chapo renovate it subways  as they are in terrible condition. This complexity of the escape raises questions about corruption in Mexico as the U.S. is appalled that no one noticed this.

Violence has increased in Mexico’s prisons and the majority is controlled by inmates, the Mexican National Human Rights Commission said. The number of riots, fights, escapes and homicides increased last year with 261 inmates escaping and 73 acts of violence that left 154 inmates dead and 103 wounded. Critics say that inmates involved in the Cartel are able to leave the prison to operate their business and return to the safety of ethir cell. In addition they report that some inmates are allow to have kitchen appliances and certain weapons in their cell.The prisons are out of control making this infamous drug lord’s escape not a surprise. In 2008 when he was returned to prison, the US  asked for him to be handed over to them to promise his captivity, but Mexico’s ego again rejects this. Now the U.S. is still subject to this danger as our borders touch.

A son, a brother, an uncle, and even a father could be subject to this never ending drug abuse promoted by this man and his organization the Cartel. He needs to be captured and put into captivity permanently in order for the positive progression for the economy, not only Mexico, but the U.S. as well. Correctional facilities need to be back into the shape it was implemented for, to ensure the safety of the people and to put an end to this long fight of drug abuse.