Ryan Evans

National:
The term "dropout factory" is used to desribe one in ten high schools where less than sixty percent of the students drop out. These schools are much more frequent in the south and southwest where schools have a surplus of minorities in attendence.(haha surplus, minority, sounds like an oxymoron!!) These schools are obviously much more difficult to run because of the social problems facing them. The two states with the highest amount of "dropout factories" are Florida and South Carolina, and Utah is the one state without a 'factory.' In these Southern states, a high school education is not valued highly because of the work in textile mills which did not require a diploma. However, those jobs are now gone.

Opinion:
It is quite frightening to think of what is happening with the future of this country. The students are not taking anything seriously, unless it comes from MTV or can have socialite repercussions. The attitude of this country must change. We say how failure is alright, and a kid's primary goal is to have fun. This is not at all accurate. We must be taught to succeed and genuinly try our best. It seems as though succeeding at something difficult is not in fashion anymore. Maybe we should learn from the Asian culture which does not accept anything less than the best.

National:
On December 3, Don Imus will return to the airwaves with his "Imus in the Morning" program. He is coming off a very well-funded, 8 month long hiatus. He was dismissed earlier this year because of his "nappy headed ho's" remark regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team. The spokespersons for Citadel Broadcastings accredited Imus' ability to land big name guests and his offbeat sense of humor as the reasons for bringing him back. So be sure to tune in people.

Opinion:
I would not have thought the contemporaries in the media would've allowed him to come back but it is a fickle industry. I am sure there will be other such fireworks on his show, just give it time. He is however protected under the first amendment to say whatever rude remark he wants to. He does not seem to be someone I would prefer to listen to, but some people do. His comments were rude, not racist. But people always have to blow things out of proportion and be made a victim don't they.

International:
United States, Canadien, and Afghan troops have surrounded 250 Taliban militants who have been invading civilian homes. These villages are outside of Afghanistan's second largest city, Arghandab. Airstrikes have not been in full affect as of yet because of fear of injuring civilians. They are trying to aim for areas which consist soley of Taliban. Western and Afghan forces have killed around 50 Taliban militants in 3 days of fighting. There have been repeated demonstrations in Afghanistan as a result of injured civilians. Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has apparently asked Western forces to prevent this from happening.

Opinion:
As the threat of terrosism continues to multiply in the eastern part of the world, so does resentment of the United States. No matter what seems to happen, the US is never quite free of fault. I am growing quite weary of this because when we don't do anything, we get antagonized just as well. It is coming to point where I want to withdraw all troops and simply stock them around our borders. Why protect an ungrateful world? That will never happen and I will probably change my mind of this in a few minutes, but I am tired of being in such an unappreciative country.

International:
In Belgrade, Serbia, at one of the most notorious Nazi death camps in the Balkins, a rock concert will soon be held. This is a site where around forty-eight thousand Jews, Serbians, and Gypsies died. The miniscule Jewish community in Serbia views this as yet another indignity to the site which has been detiorating at a rapid pace since the Second World War. This camp, known as Sajmiste, was different because it was in plain sight of the people on the West bank of the Sava River. The British band, Kosheen, will play at Sajmiste on an undisclosed date. The Jews view this as holding a wedding at a funeral.

Opinion:
I find this quite disrespectful. It is a bit creepy to want to rock on where almost fifty thousand people died. It is also quite disturbing to think of, and want to play at a locati0n such as that. I hope no one attends. If one of my favorite groups decided to pull a stunt like that, I doubt I would support them anymore. This as a cataclysmic indigity to the history and ideal of the Holocaust. It is almost as if Kosheen is celebrating the Holocaust. I had no idea it was a big joke. The memory of Sajmiste is indeed tarnished.