Iraq Prison Break: 12 Killed In Riots

Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Huffington Post

Yesterday, on September 29, 2012, A prison break was taken place in Iraq about eighty miles away from Baghdad. In this prison break, the security was breached, the guards were overpowered, and many Al-Qaeda related inmates had escaped. According to Iraqi officials, ten guards and two inmates were casualties of this clash as well as thirty-two wounded. They also claim that they have caught most of them men on the run but their task to capture the ones who escaped has been difficult because they inmates burned all records before leaving. This is a big embarrassment to the Iraqi government. Since the United States gave Iraq the power to control their own prisons, many escapes have been made and those people that have escaped may be a very large threat to the United States of America. This just gives America one more problem to take care of. However, the Iraqi government has assured that all these men will be caught.

Builders Aim for Super-Energy-Efficient Homes

Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times


On September 22, 2012 KB Home, a home construction company has introduced their model of a net-zero home in Lake Forest. A net-zero home is a home that produces as much if not more energy than your home is consuming. This model ended up to be a success. After running numerous tests, it was concluded that on a warm sunny day if using the proper appliances and lighting, your home can produce more energy than it consumes. The surplus of energy can be sold to the Southern California Edison Co. The California state government has tried to promote the use of methods of green energy such as solar panels by providing incentives to customers. However these promotions have failed due to the weak housing market. Now that the house market is starting to pick up again, people are expected to remodel their homes to make them more energy efficient. In coming years, California laws will require more energy-efficient homes, with the goal of having all homes built in 2020 being net-zero. This can be a huge step towards a bright future and an answer to many of the world's problems. 

SOAPST "Speech in the Virginia Convention"

"Speech in the Virginia Convention", Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention" is arguably one of the most important speeches we have had in our country's history. He was an attorney who had an amazing talent in public speech. He was also one of our founding fathers and was even willing to fight and die along-side the soldiers to gain independence from Great Britain. Patrick Henry is speaking at The Virginia Convention. His audience members are the congress members of the Second Continental Congress, and The President. The delegation has gathered in Virginia to decide whether they want to fight for their independence or not. Patrick Henry's intention was to persuade his audience. He speaks in a scholarly, and enthusiastic tone to show that he is very serious and polite. He is enthusiastic in order to inspire the fellow Americans so they can also join the battle for independence. It is the bravery of Patrick Henry and the rest of our founding fathers we owe our independent nation to.

City College Of San Francisco Budget Meeting Spurs Protests, Threats Of Bankruptcy

Robin Wilkey, Huffington Post


On September 13, 2012 a board meeting took place at City College of San Francisco. The purpose of the meeting was to address the financial problems that California's largest public school was having. This institution provides a learning environment for 86,000 students. The meeting was interrupted by dozens of student protesters who demanded the board's resignation. They protested against increased tuition and educational cuts that limit a student's potential to learn and excel. The Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges stated that the cause of this financial crisis is the weakness of leadership on all levels.After a financial review in July, it was made clear that ninety-two percent of the schools funds were spent on salaries and benefits.The college chancellor, Jack Scott, was quoted saying, "all hell would break loose if trustees did not take necessary austerity measures". City College of San Francisco has until October 15 to submit a financial plan to save the school. It would be sad to see 86,000 students being refused education due to insufficient funds.

Jobs Data Weigh on Obama, Fed

On September 7, 2012, Conor Daughtery and Damian Paletta of the Wall Street Journal called,"Jobs Data Weigh on Obama, Fed" The article consisted of both politics and economics. Currently, we have twelve million people unemployed in America. The Labor Department just announced that more jobs are being created as time progresses. Just this month alone, 96,000 jobs were created. In the month of July, 146,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate decreased from a national average of 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent. President Obama says, "We need to create more jobs faster." He also stressed the importance of being patient as the severity of the job crisis will not be taken care of over night. The Republicans immediately took advantage of this opportunity and restated the answer to why we need change in the oval office. This is important because these economic facts show us that America is past the stage of being at rock bottom and is now finally starting to get up on its feet. The path to a better future is more clear. 

Cookies 'n Cream

In the fall of 1978, Huggs McShane made Oreo ice cream in the Galleria Mall in downtown Portland, Oregon. McShane wanted to experiment with new flavors which resulted in the creation of the best ice cream flavor, coookies 'n cream. Cookies 'n cream is also called "King Kong of Ice Cream" because it rapidly climbed to the top of the World's Favorite Ice Cream Flavor list. This ice cream flavor contains vanilla, milkshake, Oreo cookie, and a sweet taste which will never leave your taste buds. With cookies 'n cream you get the best of both worlds. You get the chocolaty Oreo flavor and the sweet vanilla flavor. Your indulgence in this flavor will want you to come back for more. This desert is in fact delicious, or tasty, and appeals to the majority. Dunking your Oreos in milk? A no-brainer. Dunking them in vanilla flavored ice cream? Now that's genius. Do you want another good reason to have cookies 'n cream? Oreo cookies 'n cream is Kosher! So people of all religions could enjoy it without conflicting their own religious laws. This ice cream also has one gram of fiber, five grams of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron! Can anyone please find a reason not to enjoy one right now?