To go to the youtube video that we received from the country, click here.

As for the process of going through all of this and doing the assignment, it was a rough one. At first, it took so long to actually get started. We tried to find different numbers, different people we could talk to, and even schools but we saw that it was landing us nowhere. We were not sure what to do. We went to Ms. Laufenberg and told her the situation, and she gave us an idea to get into contact with a british international school. We decided to give it a shot. We went to the website and found some emails, then we emailed each one stating what we needed and hopefully they could give us a response.

Finally, we received a response, but not only one, but two or three. Some people immediately offered to help us with the project. Even the people who could not do it gave us emails to other people and students that would be willing to help. With the extra push of Ms. Laufenberg, we were able to get the whole process running.

   There was one specific person we were in contact with whose name was Ms. Legg. She is a history teacher in the British International school, and she was the first to really give us anything. We stayed in contact with her, and though sometimes it took a long time for her to respond, she gave us what we needed, which was an interview of people on the voting process in Slovakia. Another person that really helped us alot was the principal of the school. He sent out to many people my message and through that, we got into contact with two different students. Both emailed us, but only one persisted, and his name was Juraj. He helped us out of the blue by sending a script of an interview, and that was a great addon to our project. To see that script that he sent us on the interviewing on their election process, click here.

In conclusion, we finally got into contact with people in Slovakia and were successful at receiving more information on the voting process in Slovakia by actual people there. It is very surprising and enlightening at the same time to think that we actually got into contact with someone on a completely other side of the globe. It just shows how technology is going far. To see some evidence of the process, look at the pictures below. We would like to thank Ms. Laufenberg for really giving us that push because without it we would not have gotten that far into the project.

My benchmark is here! :)

I had a great time with this project. It was very educational and I really enjoyed going in deep with the different things that are evidence of globalization. The most challenging thing about this project was actually thinking of the different evidence of globalization. It took a while to really think of the different signs of globalization, but after that, it got relatively easy and I just splattered my thoughts into the keynote. The first thing I did for the benchmark was find out the different evidence, write about why they are evidence of globalization in Philadelphia and more, and then finally I went to take the photos of what I had chosen. Most of the pictures were relatively easy to take because they were right in the center city area like the Red Cross and the flags on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The image that is definitely my favorite is the one with Trade and clothing because it is pretty unique how I took the photo. I literally went and grabbed Daniel Mambu's shirt and took a picture of the tag while he was still wearing it, which gave some great authenticity to it and really showed the true background to how clothing is definitely an example of globalization in not only Philadelphia but all around the world. The evidence of globalization in Philadelphia is very prevalent. Surprisingly enough, most of the evidence is very common and is a clear example of the effects globalization has had on the world. As for Philadelphia in specific, I would say it is more prevalent here compared to other places because of the trends we have and the fashion trends especially. Globalization really has had a surprisingly strong effect. As for the learning aspect of the benchmark, I learned so much. I would never have really realized the true effect of globalization on the world without this benchmark because in today's world that isn't really thought of that often. I also learned that globalization isn't always a good thing, because there are many negative effects globalization has had as well. Overall on the benchmark, I enjoyed it very much and it was a fantastic learning experience.

Summary:  

My capstone entails using dredged material to better our environment and plant trees in the Northeast Area. It also entails helping Science Leadership Academy and using dredged material to better the school’s community garden.

 Abstract: 

My capstone, as stated above, entailed the use of dredged material, or excavated soil from the bottom of rivers/lakes that has mineral/organic properties, to better the environment. Dredged material is seen to be a very dirty, useless substance that is contaminated and is inefficient. That is why so much dredged material is dumped in landfills and other areas to just sit there, and that hurts the environment. The truth is dredged material is actually very beneficial for many things such as aquaculture, wetland restoration, planting, and much more. It even has research studies to prove it to be so. Since I have ties with the EPA, I wanted to get this dredged material that is being ignored and neglected and put it to good use by using the material to plant trees in my Northeast Area and to better the community garden of SLA. Throughout the process, it gave me amazing insight on dredged material and also the process of actually getting an initiative like this one to happen. 

For my project, click here ;)

         For my Q3 Benchmark, I selected Slovakia, which is located in Central Europe, and Afghanistan, which is located in Central Asia. They both are basically completely different countries that have many differences and some similarities in many ways. I basically rated the collapsibility of each country based on the five point framework from Jared Diamond's "Collapse". The five point framework is Environmental Damage, Society's response to environmental problems, Friendly trade partners, and hostile neighbors. The process was pretty interesting for me, especially the time. I spent most of my time researching whereas I should have started putting toghether the project. For the wordpress work, we put our country's sources under the five point framework and it made it easier for me to put toghether the project. One thing I do think I should have done is I should not have procrastinated alot. Most of the time I pushed the BM off thinking I had time to do it but it soon came time to finish it up and I had a bit of trouble with time management. I did put alot of effort and time into the BM though, spending hours doing research and developing the best responses and collapsibility ratings for my countries, going in deep detail and long explanation. I also spent a large amount of time trying to find photos to make the product look nice and creative. Overall, I think my project is put together well and has good information entailed in it. As for the 5 point framework, doing the research was definitely the hardest part of all, especially because you needed the research to develop a true statement. Other than that, I think the 5 point framework was relatively easy to deal with and I think I had the necessary tools to assess the five point framework for my countries in my own mind. It was pretty straightforward, it just needed the time and thinking and that is exactly what I spent time doing and perfecting.  If I could change one thing about my product, it would probably be the design or the format, because I feel like I could have taken it to another level with creativity; nevertheless, I think I did a great job overall. I would also try to take back time and start the project earlier while doing the research so that i could multitask and get more done. I think this was a fantastic BM that really tested my ability to assess my countries and really learn a deeper understanding of the possible things that might make a country collapse and have problems, and how many of those problems are intertwined. I had a great experience that I definitely recommend to the students next year.

​Analysis

Surprisingly enough, out of the three categories that I chose (Poverty, Geography, Age), I was most accurate compared to the real answers in the Age category. I think I was most accurate in this category mostly because Age is much easier to predict, especially since it is most likely that a majority of people would be middle aged, and a small percentage either kids or old people. The category that I was extremely innacurate, and though it surprised me at first, I found to understand a bit more, was the Poverty. I was mostly innacurate because i assumed that basically everyone would be working with more than 2 USD a day when the real truth is around the world, there are many people that work under that. It is sort of split straight down the middle. The real/correct answer that really surprised me the most would be that almost 50% of the 100 people work under 2 USD. Its not only surprising, but it is also sad to really realize that the truth is most people around the world are actually working on that type of wage. The one that honestly didnt surprise me was that 60 out of 100 people would be from Asia. That is the case because there a huge amount more people around there, especially since not only are you including Asian/Chinese, but you are including Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and such. Some of my predictions were a bit off for some like the Geography, but I was more or less trying to split the population down the middle more than really realize the truth to how many people would actually be real and on point. Overall, I found it pretty surprising the outcomes I found out and it was pretty knowledgable.

​In my case, I wasn't really promoting a product, I was actually trying to promote a non-profit organization that is making a big difference in the world and trying to help those in need. The non-profit organization that I chose was the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation because not only are they granting wishes for the sick, needy children who really need a wish to come true, but they put smiles on those kids faces especially with everything that is going on in their lives. Also, my brother was actually granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and it inspired me even more. My intended audience is adults, or people who want to make a difference in their communities. Aim at people with a lot of money who are willing to donate for a cause worth fighting for. I think this is an effective way to reach my audience because the Make-A-Wish Foundation actually doesn't really advertise much and looking at a picture using the many ways to catch a person's attention in an ad will be effective in maybe sparking something. Poster ads are pretty effective themselves. If I were to do this BM again, I would not procrastinate and use my time a bit more wisely. Also, I would add on an actual commercial, especially since I had a whole one in my mind that I just needed to put together. I found this BM really interesting and it taught me alot about ads, how to set up ads to be effective, theyre role in media, and what they are trying to sell to the consumer, etc. Hope you enjoy.

Here's my Q2 BM based on the First Amendment: Freedom of Religion. Enjoy!



Ms. Laufenberg,

Sorry its on YouTube, I'll talk to you in class next time I see you.


Here it is!


Here's my Work Cited as well!


Reflection

To start this reflection off, I chose the topic "Freedom of Religion" in the First Amendment because it honestly means the most to me. It plays a huge part in who I am and if I was not able to practice the religion I wanted, my life would turn 360˚. Religion makes me, and the point that I am allowed to practice my religion without any judgement or doubt is really a true blessing that the US has. It is why it is so multi-cultural and diverse and that is what makes the US the land of the free. Also, since I can really relate alot to it and share my own experiences and thoughts, I thought it would be a great topic of choice. I liked this project because it was actually really interesting and fun to do, and it wasnt like a paper or anything, it was something visual which helped in my wanting to do the documentary to perfection. Also, there was a great amount of time for us to finish as well. As for some of the most challenging things, I had only one great and super hard challenge: Procastination/Time-Management. I really had a long time to do this and I always put it off to other days to the point where when I started when I got back home I would be tired and fall asleep. I finally put myself together in midst of turning it late, but I really do believe when I put my mind to things I can get them done really well.

The most interesting fact/event that I investigated was the point of view in which I would turn up if the freedom of religion did not exist. This project was fantastic, well put together, I would not change really anything. The only trouble I ran into was the procastination, but I finally got over it. Something that went well in this project was the way it was designed just like a documentary. If I could do this BM over again I would definitely make earlier decisions, get my footage earlier, and not procrastinate AT ALL. I really did like my topic, so I probably wouldnt change it. I learned alot about my own life and the blessings I have, and I really gained a good experience expressing my thoughts and feelings on the topic and its impact on my life.

​​In order to communicate my issue and the message I want to spread, I specifically have to aim my efforts at my senator, my house representative, and my mayor in order for them to support my cause. Most of my effort and actions have come from EarthJustice, and their movement against fracking. Their goal is to find out a different route and their belief is that there is always a different approach other than fracking. They say that they are basically "Earth's good lawyer" and aim toward a better future for the Earth. They also have many other campaigns, not just fracking. The site has a whole page dedicated to giving you some ways and steps that you can take if you want to play a role. I've subrscibed to their site ever since the lobbying project started, and I get any new information and news on fracking. EarthJustice gave me many options in joining the movement against fracking. I've done the many things that EarthJustice has advocated for me to do. On their website, they even provide a citizen a tip guide and the appropriate steps you as a citizen can take.



 As for me, I have done extensive research and attempted a few of the possible options provided to me.

-  EarthJustice urged citizens to build up alliances and demonstrate public support; get people power. On their website, EarthJustice asked members and non-members to sign a petition against fracking. The first thing I did was sign the public petition that would be aimed specifically at Tom Corbett and I even proceeded to share it on Facebook and Email. A great step is to spread the word, and I have shared it several times. Basically since many people are on Facebook a lot, a great way to spread the word would be through there. I also prepare to send out an email to all SLA students to sign the petition and join the movement in this easy, quick, simple way that may have a large impact. 




 - I wasn't going to stop there. Instead of doing only what was provided to me on the website, I also made a petition of my own directed against fracking, and when the break is over, I prepare to get friends, family, and SLA to sign it. The more petitions, and the more people that sign it, the merrier. I even went on to go online and find many other petitions that I could sign such as Food&WaterWatch and many others.


- Also, I plan to call my senators about the movement and leave a message. I plan on covering the main points I want to convey, and many people have suggested using a script so that there are not many ums and uhs, so I have started writing the script. On top of that, you can use email, and that would be a good way to use the script to my advantage and ask people to send an email with the script pasted in. Also contacting my senator Christine Tartaglione would be a great idea on my part, so I found a website that I could contact her, put in my words/concerns, and hopefully get an answer I want to hear.



 

In conclusion, my aim is to use petitions, emails, phone calls, and much more to convey the message. I may not have that much power, but in groups that power multiplies, and hopefully I can get many to join the cause and hopefully play a part. There are also many other ways that can get involved, and hopefully in time I can pursue those other actions.

   
To view our flowchart, click HERE son!


The task that Dylan and I selected was social security/disabilty benefits and how to apply/qualify. It was very interesting doing this and learning more about how you really apply and qualify for social security/disability benefits. I learned many new things that I didn't really know before and truly how you can be considered disabled. As for the first step of finding out the research and such, it was relatively easy since we only had a few things to look up and we were very efficient with our time so we could complete the project to perfection. It was very easy to get used to using the LucidChart app given to us and it just took a matter of learning the whole process, summarizing it, and putting it into a format of steps that is easy to comprehend and straightforward. 

     As for the paperwork, it was pretty simple and easy since the whole process was all online and the steps for the online process was straightforward. I believe there is a paperwork version of the online process, but you have to visit a social security office to obtain it I believe. The thing with the online version is it can tell when you are putting in accurate information and if you put something that is inaccurate it will tell you.

     As for the beuricratic process, I would not change anything about the beuricratic process flowcharted because it was very on point. Maybe change up the design or even go more in depth, but other than that, the flowchart was on tact. I believe that the systems have become so complicated because some people try to cheat the system. For example in our topic specific, many people could try to say they are disabled when they are not and get money that they really should not have. The system is put together in a way that is fair and very specific so no problems come up at hand. It was an insightful project. Cool.

Zayd Alsardary
American Government
Kawashima v. Holder: SCOTUS Case

Main Issue: Whether a person can be deported for filing a false statement on a corporate tax return under a statute that allows the government to deport anyone convicted of an aggravated felony involving fraud and deceit.



Overview of case:

Akio and Fusako Kawashima, the petitioners in the case, are residents of the United States and have been since 1984. In 1997, it was found out that Mr. Kawashima, with help from his wife, filed a false corporate tax return that understated their income and therefore basically cheated the government of owed tax revenue – and this violated Section 7206 of the tax code.

A provision in immigration law allows the government to deport anyone who has been convicted of an "aggravated felony", which is defined toward anything along the lines of murder and drug trafficking, but as time went on, an offense that was added is any offense that deals with fraud and deceit in which the victim loses more than $10,000 in the crime which is described in section 7201 of title 26.

Because the Kawashimas were convicted of filing a false return (a violation of Section 7206 of the tax code), rather tax evasion (a violation of Section 7201), they were not subject to deportation. Despite that, the government still put down deportation proceedings against them on the belief that the Kawashimas filing a false tax return is a form of “fraud or deceit”. ---> (There is no dispute that the crime resulted in a loss of more than $10,000 to the government.)


Main Question: Whether Congress meant for the broader fraud subsection to encompass tax violations which is specifically for tax evasion.

The Kawashimas are arguing that by only addressing tax violations in the second subsection (the revenue loss to the government exceeds $10,000) but basing that to tax evasion, Congress showed that they were trying to leave out other kinds of tax violations in the meaning of "aggravated felony". In turn, the government is agruing that tax evasion counts as fraud and deceit, which then falls into the first subsection (involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000). Basically it is trying to be decided whether tax evasion is fraud and deceit based on what is said in section 7201 of title 26.  The question in the case is whether filing a false tax return counts as an “aggravated felony”.

The case is to take place on November 7, 2011.


Predictions: I believe that the Kawashimas will be in favor a bit because the meaning of aggravated felony will be put down many times, especially since it is not clear when talking about it. I kind of do believe that filing a false tax return is fraud and especially deceit since you are purposely trying to mislead someone, but then the question that comes to play is the intentions. I am actually interested to know what the outcome will be.

Baklava (Arabic Pastry)

Ingredients:

- Fellow Sheets (Flour Sheets) One pack 20 sheets
- Canola oil half cup
- Almonds half pound
- Sugar 4 tbsp
- Vanilla
- Syrup (4 small cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 tbsp of lemon juice)

Directions:
1. Bring the a rectangular tray and brush it over with the canola oil so it doesn't stick to the pan
2. Divide the 20 sheets into 2 groups: one group for the bottom and one group for the top.
3. Put 10 flour sheets on the tray for the bottom and every two sheets you put down, brush the whole surface with canola oil.
4. Put half a pound of almonds into a food processor and grind until it is in small pieces.
5. Take the almonds out of the food processor and place into another bowl. Then proceed to add the 4 tbsp of sugar into the almonds and add the vanilla in as well.
6. Put in a bit of water and mix.
7. Spread the almonds onto the sheets you prepared and then take the other group of 10 sheets and every two sheets you put down, brush the surface of the sheet with canola oil.
8. Then proceed to cut the whole thing into small square pieces. (you can make the pieces big or small). Then spread canola oil all over the top.
9. Then put the whole tray into the oven on 325˚ for 30 minutes. Then after the 30 minutes has passed, raise the temperature to 450˚ for 5 minutes exact.

(Meanwhile you already prepared the syrup just by mixing the 4 small cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of water,  together and then put them on the stove until it boils. Then lower the flame a bit and add the 1 tbsp of lemon juice in. Let it proceed to boil until the mix looks like a honey mixture. Let it cool completely.)
10. Proceed to take the tray out.
11. Right when you take it out, spread the cooled syrup on top of the whole baklava.

Analysis

a. I would say that its approximately 25% processed and 75% whole foods. Everything is whole except the Almonds. The almonds are the only processed.

b. The caloric count is about 250 calories, about 7 grams of sugar id assume, and about 10 g of fat I'd say. My body will store some of sugar that it obtained from the baklava I made and get rid of what it doesnt need to the liver.  Some health issues that would come up if I ate this meal every day would be diabetes because of the amount of sugar it has, possibly get sick because I am not taking in certain amounts of nutrition, just alot of protein, sugar.

c.  About everything came from the United States I'd say, but I would say that it was mostly grown in California, because it is a popular place to grow many ingredients, especially the almonds. The sheets and vanilla traveled far I know because they were bought from an Arabic Store, in which most of the products were made in Middle Eastern countries. It was not organically grown. The processing for the sheets may effect the environment, but on the package it said it was processed in a factory, so the factory probably uses gas and that gas goes to the atmosphere, etc.

d. The meal, not counting everything in all of the packaging (only the amount of ingredients used) approximately costed 10 dollars. It is so much better than fast food because 2 sandwichs from Mcdonalds would cost about 10 dollars while this 10 dollar pastry would last you a very long time because of the large quantity made from the partial amount of ingredients.

Companies:
Fellow flour sheets

Berkley and Jensen

Wesson

Domino

Badia

I would say that Berkley and Jensen and Wesson are big companies and the others are smaller espeicially because they are from middle eastern companies. I believe that there is always a bigger company that controls everything.

e. I'd say that they probably added some preservatives and also grew them in a certain way to make them either grow faster or grow a certain size/ have a certain taste etc. Just like we saw in the movie, how they use different fertilizers and feed differently makes the product different than if you were to grow normally. Many companies say certain things to attract customers. They will say anything to please the people; money over everything basically. Growing the ingredients myself might not give me the best quality that you get from using different fertizlizers and such, but it would still be fresh and "clean".

_________________________________________________________________________

Personal Reflection

If it weren't for this quarter, I definitely would not have known this much about food and the real story behind where your food comes from. I learned things that I really was surprised about, such as the point that 90% of all foods are either made with or from corn, food conditions (how they are slaughtered, treated, etc.), how the food industry has a hold on everyone, and how every single word you say can be used against you. I could keep naming so many more things I learned, but it would make this more of a list, not a reflection. Learning all this information in this unit, making presentations on the Food Inc. movie, presenting all that infromation; it made me think about what I can do to inform people about what is truly in their food and how their food is produced. Many people don't get the chance to be informed like we did, and its a problem. People need to become educated and find out more; do research, do interviews, go the extra step. The government doesn't want us to know about the truth, but if we knew the truth and we spread the word, it would impact the world in a big way, and possibly make change in the food industry. Another problem in our food system is the point that its basically all about the money. If the people don't know about it, then why tell them and possibly lose the money? People have to really fight to put all of this out in the open. After watching and learning so much this unit, it has actually change my eating habits in a big way. I started eating less outside, I encouraged my parents to buy many products from the amish stores around the block and they finally did so, and I even started reading the nutrition facts and trying to avoid the bad stuff like high fructose corn syrup, etc. These choices have really played a great impact. I stopped spending so much money, I'm becoming more informed, and I'm more content with what I'm putting into my mouth. I think that if everyone were to take the same step I took, it would really impact their lives for the good as well. In conclusion, this unit has really taught me alot, and though many people might not think the same way I did after this unit, I'm really glad I learned what I did. From Food Inc. to organic/non-organic foods, this unit was a great learning experience.

__________________________________________________________________________

Food Rules Slide

For my Rethinking History Project, I decided to do Drug Criminilization and the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs is represented to be something effective that will stop drugs from being sold, used, or transported and keep the children/youth and streets safe. It is also represented as something that really works and takes all of the criminals off the streets. In all actuality, the War on Drugs has more of a negative impact than a positive one. The viewer of this documentary style video should see that the War on Drugs may have some positives, but it is not always good and the gray area behind it is not always put to light. People should not completely side with the War on Drugs being bad, because it does have its positives to it. Enjoy and take in some knowledge that you might not have known if you hadn't watched this video!

Reflection

In the beginning, right when Ms. Laufenberg mentioned this benchmark, the first thing I thought of doing for my bill was the Clean Water Act. Not only does it relate to my lobbying topic of fracking, but I also learned alot about it when I actually worked at the EPA over the summer. It seemed very interesting and I had heard that it was actually vetoed which made it seem like it would be an interesting story to tell. I chose a Prezi for my presentation format because it makes any presentation look great and keeps the attention of any viewer. Also it has great transitions from zoomed in to zoomed out to tilted right or left. I have used Prezi in the past, and I basically knew how to use it well. I would change up my project differently in the way in which I would change up the presentation format. I would probably make an iMovie that is sort of a skit and plays out the whole history in one little timeline, as I saw a classmate do last year. The research and investigation told me that the process from idea to bill to law is actually a hard, complicated one. Many people disagree or agree and many other people have their own opinions on things and it takes a long time to settle those disagreements. Also it takes time because the idea has to pass through so many different processes and stages until it finally becomes a law. The research was actually pretty easy, especially since I basically had the whole process in which it was passed. The only hard part was finding out background on when the Clean Water Act was vetoed, but later on I found it out. Overall, it was interesting finding out more about the Clean Water Act and the true insight to how a bill becomes a law.


Sources:

http://greenlaw.blogs.law.pace.edu/2011/04/01/cwa101/

www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwahistory.html

http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal14water/cwa.htm

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/fwatrpo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Act

Pictures:

http://www.brevardgreenhomes.com/images/clean_drinking_water.bmp

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/8/215/livinglifephoto/livinglifephoto0912/livinglifephoto091200011/6076679-young-boy-swimming-in-ocean-during-the-summer-in-florida-with-a-big-smile-on-face-fort-desoto-park-f.jpg

http://c0365781.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/datas/21202698/original/701px-Puffer_Fish_DSC01257.JPG

http://images.politico.com/global/070626_thisday6-27.jpg

http://limitlessdroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/shaking-hands.jpg

http://www.iphonebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/spglascampanaseccheck3e04e.jpg

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/pics/chamber.gif

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB195/photo1-350-drop.jpg

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20091015/470_great_lakes_091015.jpg

http://www.downloadwinzipfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/I__m_just_a_Bill_by_kilroyart.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1272200949_d4f811978e.jpg

http://www.manversusfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dirty-lake-water-bass-fishing.jpg

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?imgurl=f69baf8c0d7f7dc1

  The first people I need in my lobbying project/assignment are the State officials, since fracking deals with state. My Pennsylvania House Representative is John P. Sabatina Jr., my Pennsylvania Senate is Christine M. Tartaglione, and Governor Corbett.


     John P. Sabatina Jr. is a resident of Rhawnhurst in Northeast Philadelphia. He was elected in 2005 to the 174th District of The House of Representatives and re-elected 2 more times; in 2006 and 2010. His legislative priorities are crime prevention, fighting problems in communities and promoting urban renewal through economic, cultural and neighborhood development. Though he may not have been 100% involved in fracking problems and such, he has voted yes to many acts such as "Establishing a Natural Gas Severance Act" (SB-1155), "Clean Fuels and Energy Independence Act (HB-1202), "Other Energy Incentives" (HB-1200) and many other acts dealing with energy and the positives of using it and such. Running by my lobbying topic and fracking, I'm sure he would help me in what I am trying to accomplish. I actually feel like he would really get along with me and really have many good ideas in my lobbying process.

     My Pennsylvania Senate, Christine Tartaglione, is also a Philadelphia resident. In 1994, Senator Tartaglione became the fifth woman in state history to win election to the State Senate. Tartaglione has supported legislation for quality childcare, affordable healthcare, quality education, mental health/retardation programs, law enforment and emergency personnel, protecting workers jobs, and much more. She works in Senate District 2. As for fracking in the marcellus shale, Tartaglione was angry and called out the taxing of fracking companies, and how they were using the Delaware and Pennsylvania loophole to avoid paying taxes on certain operations. She called out to get rid of the loophole and even stated that this is a true violation. She seems like she would be a great person to talk to about lobbying against fracking in Pennsylvania. I feel like we would get along because she seems like she will fight for what she thinks is right and I am sort of the same way.

I

I write because when I have no other way to look, no other way to express my feelings, the paper of my hardback notebook is my escape from this world. Some have best friends, some have parents, some have Twitter and Facebook, but not me. It's just me, myself, and the notebook. I can speak my mind without being judged by others. I can release the things I hold close and dear to me, and never worry about its affect on those around me. When no one else understand me, the notebook is always there to be that understanding person. I can talk about my true feelings, talk about my stress, and relieve it without caution. My brain just leaks the thoughts on my mind onto the fine point of my #2 pencil and those thoughts end up on paper. And the process never ends. Whether its about how I feel about a person or about my experiences, writing will always give me positive feedback. It will never disagree, never reject those thoughts. And I like that. The brain can only hold so much till its breaking point. My brain is like a car, and writing is its oil change, giving me a fresh new start every time I close the pages.

​      Recently, a lot of commotion has gone on about fracking in the Marcellus Shale and how the government is fracking in the Marcellus Shale to release the trapped gas in the rock formation. You might be wondering, what is Marcellus Shale? Marcellus Shale is a geological formation that was formed by the accumulation of sediment into a sea. It stretches all the way from New York all the way through Kentucky, Virginia, and even Ohio. Scientists recently a few years ago discovered that gas was trapped in the huge geological formation, and were excited to see natural gas in huge amounts come from it.


That is why scientists use a process called hydraulic fracturing or for short "fracking", to retrieve that gas. Fracking is a process that entails drilling down and creating tiny explosions to shatter shale rocks to release the natural gas trapped inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which basically cracks the rock from the top and allows the natural gas flow out. The process can create new pathways to release gas or can be used to extend existing channels, and that is why it is the most efficient process. So right now you might be thinking: "Wow, fracking is so awesomee! It has so many upsides to it, why would you want to lobby it?" Though fracking may open up so many new jobs for America and provide tons of natural gas for America, possibly making it its own natural resource, lower pollution/emissions/greenhouse gases, and advance America a big step, there is controversy with it. Fracking requires tons of water. 3-5 million gallons of water are required per well, and many of the sites have multiple wells, so do the math and thats ALOT of water. This water needs to come from somewhere, and that could have a big impact on water supplies. Fracking also pollutes tons of water because of the many toxic chemicals that are involved in the fluid that is released down to crack the rock. That water gets contaminated and not only is it not safe if it gets into water bodies, but all the water has to go somewhere. Also one of the main concerns is it contaminates ground water and gets into tap water of the area, which if someone were to drink that water, it could get that person very sick. On top of that, The Pennsylvania Gas Legislation Act does not allow residents from regulating/taxing the fracking companies for any damage or anything done to the environment there.

      I chose to lobby fracking because of my experience with fracking in Mr. Best's class. I found it really appealing and interesting to read and talk about, and I instantly had thoughts and opinions on it based on the information and articles I had read. I am lobbying against it, as I did in Mr. Best's class. Fracking may be a huge finding and probably would be great for America, but are the lives of Americans really worth it? Is damaging the environment worth it? Is contamination in our own homes with nothing we can say or do about it really fair? I don't really think so. Fracking may have some positives, but they don't really negate all of the negatives. My goal is to see fracking put to an end really, but really mainly focusing on seeing what is put in the water conataminating it, rules put down so that any damage done to us can be repaid or fixed (having a say), and in general fixing the effect fracking has on us as Americans.

     There are many people supporting my lobbying idea. For example, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are doing many things such as doing a study to find out the relationship between fracking and drinking water resources. There are tons of other groups such as Food & Water Watch, Frack Action, Democracy for America, Friends of the Earth, Credo Action, Center for Heath Environment and Justice, Catskill Mountainkeeper and Citizen Action New York. They are all standing up for not only the environment, but for the citizens and the safety of the American people. Some people against my lobbying idea are the big oil companies such as Exxon and others that say that fracking is good, can provide alot, and the chemicals used aren't even alot, they are just "required" to perform the process. Exxon seems to be concerned, but they really dont want to lose fracking, especially since they made a 35 million dollar bet on shale gas.

       There hasnt been much response to protestors and such from the government, but I recently heard and was told by Mr. Best that Governer Corbett put down rules and regulations that require fracking companies to state what they are doing, and how the fracking has an effect. There is still time for action, and hopefully that action is taken soon to really make change to the downfall of fracking.

Reflection

I really liked this project because it truly was a great experience for me. I learned SO much that I didn't know about the United States government before what it actually is known to be today. It was a very great learning experience and I honestly got to test my skills and see how I could change history to make my own history and decide how changing one point in history will change all of history as a whole. It was fun to make my own magazine as well. The most interesting fact/thing that I investigated was the Articles of Confederation. I honestly never knew about how bad our government was before the Constitution and even that we actually had a government. The actions of individuals impact the historical record in a huge way because that one action my have prevented something terrible from happening or that one thing could have been the reason something happened the way it did. If those actions weren't there, the historical record could change completely. Systematic changes impact the historical record in many ways. For example, the constitution made a HUGE impact on the historical record by keeping the United States whole and dependent, and also making us the great power we are today. If that wasnt there, we would honestly be a whole different nation in general, controlled by others and weak. One decision can be extremely influential to the historical record because that decision can decide the outcome of the following events. For example, if James Madison was not there to encourage the Constitution, then we would have become an independent 13 colonies and we would have completely different laws, currencies, and much more. This project can be improved by maybe being a bit more descriptive and maybe a little more time to reflect and get feedback from others. If I had to do this project over, I would have not procastinated so much. I would have finished the project SO much faster. Overall, I had a great time with this project and it was very interesting and influential to me.

To view my project and learn more about what I did: Click Here!

To produce sound on a xylophone, you need to hit the bars on the xylophone with mallets. That sound is produced by vibration. When the bars are hit with the mallets, they vibrate and produce sound waves that are recognized and heard. However, bars with different properties produce different sound. Shorter, thinner bars create higher pitch while longer, thicker bars create lower pitch. To raise the pitch, I can start out with one long bar, and keep shortening bars and placing the after the next. It would go from low pitch to high pitch. I will be using rosewood or the metal bars as the material for the bars because they are the easiest to access and can produce the best sound. Another way to approach it is by getting a set of wine glasses and adding water gradually from the one glass to the next. The more water, the lower the pitch; the less water the higher the pitch.

    I can play the instrument by striking the wood or glass with mallets or something along those lines.

I don't have questions really, just feedback would be great from Ms. Echols.

To see a xylophone being played, click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHP5xjBP-9I

     The instrument that I plan on playing for the benchmark is the Xylophone. The xylophone originated in Asia and Africa. It consists of bars of different lengths that can be struck by plastic, wooden, or rubber to produce sound. Bars of different lengths produce different sound. The xylophone is played by striking the bars with mallets. The bars vibrate producing sound.

      The general form/shape that a xylophone is in is a rectangle or sometimes a square. To change the notes that are played on a xylophone, all you have to do is strike a different bar on the xylophone. You can change the sound by altering the density of the specific notes. This makes me think about the density of the notes and if the type of mallet matters. Also it makes me think whether hitting the bars with more force will make the sound louder. I wonder if the material of the xylophone (what its going to made of) will make a difference on the sound. The vibration of the bars when hitting them makes me think about the connection between that and the sound, and how the length matters as well.

a. What went well?

Many things went well in the infographics assignment. My group excelled and worked together very well. Everyone was assigned a role of research and a certain part and they all completed it on time and throughly. All the information was placed on a google doc for revision and then placed into the infographic. We were on time and finished everything nicely. We also found a great amount of research that helped us in the long run.

b. What did not?

Nothing really.

c. What would you do differently next time?

Maybe take a different approach at the infographic and maybe change the actual topic of the infographic.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics.

Be Concise
Be Visual
Be Smarter
Be Transparent
Be Different
Be Accurate
Be Attractive
Be Varied
Be Gracious
Be Creative

We excelled in all the areas but the concise area because we were a bit off in the beginning based on the information. We did not know there was a pages doc we needed to put the infographic on. Everything else we pretty much excelled in. We were very concise and based the infographic on the one idea, not going on into different thoughts and ideas scattered around. We were very visual and we kept everything in line from words to pictures, conveying the ideas very nicely from words to pictures. We were smarter and the reader does not have to look too hard to understand and convey the meaning of the whole infographic. It has numbers and things that convey lots of meaning. We were a bit transparent, but that could have increased. We were also very different and changed up the plain style to a eye-catching visualization style. We remembered to use geometry and visualize differences using area. We added alot of attractiveness in the infographic; lots of pictures that go along with the text and make the visualization much nicer to look at. We added sources and "More and more information". We were also varied and pretty creative with the visualization overall. In conclusion, I believe we did a pretty good job.


To view the infographic below in a larger format, click on it.

Enjoy!

Access my 5 photo stories HERE!

Enjoy!

Zayd Alsardary, Kabbour Rizq, Dennis Mawson

Q3 American History Benchmark

Ms. Laufenberg

America's Impact Throughout the Ages

This is the National History Project completed by Zayd Alsardary, Kabbour Rizq, and Dennis Mawson. We did our project based on the theme of debate and diplomacy and America's Impat Throughout the Ages. Enjoy! :)


Click HERE for the link to Project (iWeb)

Reflection:

For the project, we chose the topic on America's Impact Throughout the Ages and how America has had a part on how history played out in many events and the world today. We chose this topic because a while back my group came up with the thought about how the world would be like if America were to not have played a role in the world, and how their impact played parts on outcomes on events in history, and it seemed really interesting so we went for it. We chose doing it in a website because it was much easier to do and you could do many things in it: putting videos, adding pictures, having a whole website layed out for you. Also everyone in the group was very familiar with iWeb, so it was a bit less of a hassle to complete the benchmark. We never really ran into any problems with the project because we did everything pretty efficiently together and completed the project very nicely. Everything pretty much went well in the project. We had videos, pictures, explanations, it was pretty in depth, and we learned some things that we didnt know before. It was great project overall. A future consideration would be to maybe go more in depth in the explanations and such, and polish up the project a better, but overall our decisions and process were good. As a whole group, we learned many things we didnt know about events in history and America's impact. For me, I enjoyed this project very much. I learned SO much about the events that went on in the world, from what time period to what time period, who was involved, whether it was good or bad, and much more. I enjoyed the project. It was not only interesting but fun as well. 

So I went to Solis S. Cohen Elementary school to interview some people. I got one person and interviewed him, during the last minute of the interview, my computer shut off due to having a defective battery. So, i wrote a script for exactly what we said the entire interview. If you would like to contact the person I interviewed to see if I was there, you can contact him at:

5416.Phila.Dem@gmail.com
Michael Charles
Democratic Executive Committee
______________________________________________________________________
Zayd: Hi, my name is Zayd Alsardary from Science Leadership Academy and I am at the polling place right now interviewing...

Michael: Michael Charles.

Zayd: How are you doing Mr. Charles?

Michael: I am doing pretty well, pretty cold haha.

Zayd: I agree. So can I interview you and ask you a few questions for a school project?

Michael: Go right ahead.

Zayd: Thank you. First Question: Do you vote in every election?

Michael: I have voted in every election ever since I was the age of 18. Havent missed a single one.

Zayd: Haha thats fantastic. Next question is kind of a knowledge question: Do you know why we vote on Tuesdays?

Michael: Actually....No! Why do we vote on Tuesdays?

Zayd: Back then we were an agrarian society. Farmers needed a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote, and a day to get back, without interfering with the three days of worship. So that left Tuesday and Wednesday, but Wednesday was market day. So in the end it became Tuesday. (I had a notecard on the side to help me out :D)

Michael: Hmm, thats interesting.

Zayd: Yup. On to the next question: Are you always sure of who you are going to vote for when you walk into the booth or are you still dileberating?

Michael: I always know who I'm voting for. If that ever happened, I would probably take some time to think about it before wasting a vote that I'm not sure of haha.

Zayd: Haha thats good. Next question: What changes do you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this election?

Michael: Personally, I don't believe that there will be any changes. If there are, thats great, if there aren't then I was right ahaa. But ya, I dont think there will be changes. Maybe wage...but that can be debatable.

Zayd: Ah okay. Final Question! Did you learn about voting in school? If yes, did that impact your willingness to vote today?

Michael: Well that was a pretty long time ago, as you can see the gray beard hair hahahaa. But yes back then we did learn about something called civics, which is pretty much voting and things like that. It did a little but ever since I was around the age of 16 I was always into politics and debating and such. That brought me up to be the person I am today.

Zayd: Fascinating. Well thats all my questions, Thank you SO much for allowing me to interview you. And umm I think thats....(computer turns off.:/)

____
I also have a picture of me doing a chalk demonstration saying: VOTE NOW! NOVEMBER 2ND. ZAYD ALSARDARY that I did on Monday but I have it on my phone. Thanks.