Pakistan

It is not hard to spot an individual from a Middle Eastern country. He or she most likely is wearing clothing that is a symbol of his or her region. Pakistanis are known for their culture. It is important to their people because it signifies their everyday life. Pakistan is a very unique place because it has a creative culture that includes their wardrobe, language, and education.
Pakistan is a country located in the Middle East, it borders the war zone that American troops are in right now. The surrounding countries are Iran, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and India, along with the Arabian Sea. Based on the location of Pakistan, it is a very hot place. There are many ways that Pakistanis can stand the heat. One way that they deal with it, is the way they dress.
Depending on the different regions of Pakistan, one can experience the unique styles of this countries people. Different areas have different styles, just like America does. The women in Pakistan prefer the Kameez and Shalwar because it fits the Koran’s description of the modest clothing. “The costume of a Kameez consists of a long loose shirt with tails down to the knees and baggy trousers called Shalwar” Most of the women in Pakistan are required to keep their rear ends, arms, legs, and the top of their heads covered. Because of the Pakistanis different styles of clothing, it is easy to recognize a person that is from the Middle East.
Throughout the many regions of Pakistan there are quite a few different languages spoken. Over 20 languages are spoken around the country . Some of them are Sindhi, Urdu, Pashto, Punjabi, and Baluchi. Punjabi is the most common language, it is spoken in over half of Pakistan. Punjabis speak many different dialects of the Punjabi language. Throughout the different regions, most Pakistanis can understand the different dialects even though they were never taught how to speak it, but they can recognize it from being around it most their lives.
Pakistan is not a very literate country, the people there are very uneducated. According to the director of the country’s literacy program “There are about 55 million adults who are illiterate in this county, and as far as the women are concerned, 3 out or 4 women in Pakistan can not read and write”. Most of the schools in Pakistan only teach fundamentals of Islam. That means that most of the people there never even get the chance to learn how to read and write, instead they spend all their time learning about their religion. The few schools that do teach are called Madrasah’s. After the students complete high school, they may go on to an intermediate college which are grades 11 and 12. Then they prepare for a college or university. Unlike America, the children in Pakistan are not required to go to school so they have very little education.
Pakistanis still to this day keep up with their way of things. They have stuck to their traditions for hundreds of years. Things such as religion, family gatherings, and marriage customs are very important to them.

New Government, New Ideas

Stem Cell Research… What’s Going to Happen?
The other day presidents Obama passed the stem cell research plan. Now I am not one to put my personal opinions in my posts on certain subjects, this is one of them. However I will address this issue because it is a very important topic that has been in debates for years.
Well, some people would say that stem cell research is a great idea, while others are very opposing to the whole idea. I can see both sides of this argument.
From one perspective the whole concept it a little creepy, taking a fetus and turning it into something that can actually make clones, maybe not that extreme, but to re grow body parts? Really?
However, what if they do find a cure for cancer, then thousands of people will be saved and be able to enjoy a long and happy life like the rest of us.
It is very easy to see both sides; however, is it really "murder" like some say because it is an actual fetus that would eventually create a human. So what stage is it an actual baby? Or when is it "just" a fetus? That is the biggest augment that the politics and everybody else is making.
Because of this being passed is it going to make abortion free? In that case won't young girl not care if they get pregnant? And in that case won’t that lead to more disease being spread?
Or on the other hand, is it just research that could eventually lead to saving thousands of lives and cure millions?
Either way, the document has been signed and so the only thing to do now is to wait and see if it can do what millions are arguing that it can do, or will it be a disaster and just kill babies for no reason and cause more transmitted diseases?

Possible Flood Again???

One of the biggest fears of the Cedar Rapids community is whether there is going to be a big disastrous flood again. Nobody can really tell, the mertorologist are saying that there will be because the precipitation pattern is almost identical to that's of last year. However, there is no snow in our forecast and last year it was snowing until April, causing it to evaporate and go nowhere else but back down, eventually the ground became so moist that is would not soak up any more water causing the flood to get way out of hand.
On the other hand, maybe everybody is just getting worked up over nothing here in Cedar Rapids. It's quite possible that all the rain that we have, and are expected to get, may just be our spring showers and won't cause any problems. Which I think that if that was the case everybody would be very pleased. After all, think of all the money that the people put into rebuilding their homes, and if it flooded again, I highly doubt that the government, along with all the other help such as jumpstart, will be so generous again.
So what exactly would happen if it was to flood again? Well I think that if it was as bad as last summer, the city of Cedar Rapids would be done, they would not have the option to rebuild because they put all their money into rebuilding from last year. And the people that would get their homes ruined again would be up and gone, they would know that it’s just going to keep happening. And the government, I don’t think would bother to help us again because that is basically putting the millions of dollars that they put into the town, to would all be wasted.
I think that the worst part of the whole flood experience is that a lot of people who worked really hard lost everything and some of the people who didn't lose much receive way more assistance than needed. The city of Cedar Rapids is taking the money to rebuild a new court house right in the middle of down town, so why not take the money and build levies so prevent it from happening again, I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Then there is the deal with all the buyouts… if it is suppose to flood again, why the government would want to buy out your property. So if there is a flood, people are basically more screwed than last year, by far more.