Group+2

= = =O: Kat, Neil, Summer, Morgan, Micaela, Sasha, Sam, Sabrina= =B: Caitlyn, Stephanie, Derek, Nick, Marla=

Link 3 I found this article very interesting, I think that it is so cool that Eli will be able to receive a kidney and that it comes from long lost friend. I feel that Eli would have never have received Paul's kidney if it had not been advertised on Facebook. Still, I find it creepy that he got a kidney through the internet and that things like this are possible in this day and age. I feel that too many transplants are needed and that more people should be donors, though it is a scary thought. Would you give a kidney to a long lost friend, who asked for one through Facebook? Sabrina, June 3

Why not give a kidney to someone who needs its. Why do you have to know them, knowing them doesn't make them need the kidney more. I think it is kind of cool that it happened to be a friend. I would have thought it was a little shady being over the internet but some people are really trusting.I would have wondered how desperate you would have to be to advertise on facebook you need a kidney. What do you think the chances are of finding a long lost friend through facebook because you need a kidney? Neil June,5

I think the chances of getting a kidney through Facebook from a long lost friend are higher than we think. I believe that if you asked for a kidney on Facebook, you are most likely to get it from someone you were once friendly with because so many people are on Facebook. Many people may not realize it but Facebook is one of the number one factors that is emphasizing that we all are citizens of the world, not just our separate countries. The only problem with having friends on Facebook that you have never met is you do not know who they really are, they could be lying about everything and that is quite scary. That brings me to the question would you accept a kidney, or anything, from a friend on Facebook you have never really met? Sabrina, June 6.

No I would not accept anything from anybody I have on facebook if I do not know them. You have know idea what the people have got into throughout there lives. People could have got into smoking, drinking and much more. If they have got into any of these things it could mess up your body even more. But if I have met somebody like this person did I would have to think about it more but I probably would take something that i needed. Why do you think they would post it on facebook in the first place, there must be people in his community that would have a match. There is many people in the world that would give you a kidney so why post it on facebook. Nick June 6th

I would not accept anything from anyone I don't know. Even if it is as important as a kidney. Because this event was so important, it was posted on the news, facebook, and maybe even more websites. Why would anyone even accept something from strangers? As children, we were taught not to. So why now? Some people choose not to be honest and they could say that they don't have any dirty habits such as drinking or smoking and that their kidney is as healthy as an average kidney. Morgan June, 6

It is true, they could be lying. However, I'm sure tests were run by doctors before they ended up actually transplanting the kidney. I think it was a very nice gesture, but I personally wouldn't accept a kidney from someone I didn't know. It makes me glad though, to know that there are people kind enough to do something like that. I don't think it was really necessary to make it so public. What would you do in the situation? Micaela, June 6th

If I were in the situation that i need a kidney desperatly i would definatly not post it on facebook in need of kidney please help. I dont think it is so important for every person who owns facebook to know that you need a kidney. There are lots of people in the world that need a kidney so why would this person be so important to have it posted on facebook. I might spread it around family and close friends that i need a kidney but not most people of facebook. Nick June 6th

This is a good example of how Facebook can connect people to help eachother out. Even though personally i feel like I hate the time I spend on there, im on there. Its cool that this happend, but at the same time he probably would have found a kidney somewhere, the hospital looks for on for you. But maybe he found it faster this way, I don't really know, but its also a good way of showing how it connects people. It makes me think about how digital the world is becoming, and how useless we, as a society would be if all the computers in the world just crashed. Its good that these old friends got back together now, im sure there going to be closer then close. I agree that it was kind of a strange way to get a kidney, and if I saw one of my friends status's as a kidney i'd be shocked he put that. It worked though. Sam June 6

People are saying they wouldn't take the kidney but if it's life or death, I think everyone would take the kidney. When your dying fast you don't have the luxury of saying no to a perfect match. I don't think I would have posted it on facebook but when you have no options left I guess you'll try anything. I definitely wouldn't care where the kidney came from.The way the hospital would have found one you probably wouldn't know the person anyways. If it where life or death would you take the random kidney?Neil June,7

I found this article showed one of the really positive factors of social networking and great compassion towards friends. It takes months or even years to find organ donors, you need to be in critical condition to be put on the waiting list, and it is fairly unlikely that you will find a match. I never would have thought of looking for organ donors through Facebook, although in a way in makes sense, I would like to think that if I was in need of a kidney that one of my friends would come to my rescue. To answer the question above if I was about to die unless I received kidney transplant of course I would take it! Why wouldn't you, it's unlikely as it is that you would even find a match, or someone thats willing to give up a kidney--personally I think it would be ridiculous not to take it, what does everyone else think? Stephanie 7/6/10:03 P.M.

I agree, and this is an also id like to think that these websites are a fantastic way of connecting people, and any way to get a kidney is fantastic. And the luck of the situation is bordering on a miracle. It's hard enough to find a kidney compatible with your body, let alone one that came from somebody you know. It's a heart warming story that makes you think about the positives of the technology we have developed, despite all the negatives that come almong with them. I hope I have friends that would do the same for me if I were in a situation of need. I think an interesting question to ask is if you know anybody you would give a kidney for, if they just asked you over facebook. Sam 7/6/ 10:15

A downside that I did not think about earlier is that if this did catch on and people in need of organ transplants started asking around on Facebook I feel like it could put you in an awkward situation. I have some Facebook friends that I don't even know personally, and if they asked me for a kidney I would be very reluctant but at the same time feel compelled to do the right thing, even if it put boundary's on my lifestyle. I do know people I would give up a kidney for, family (of course) and my closest friends, even though I would really like to say that I would I would give up a part of me for an almost stranger to live, I'm not sure what I would do--I would probably end up thinking why me out of all people would be asked to do such. Stephanie 7/6/10:32 P.M.

I agree, if someone came up to me and asked if i would give them a kidney on facebook i would find it very awkward. To answer Sams question i think the only person i would give a kidney to on facebook would be my family and maybe a few of my friends and it is a miracle that they managed to contact the person. Although im not sure why she would do that. Derek 8/6/7:29 am

It is a little creepy that he found a donor on facebook, but on the othe hand,its cool that it was along lost friend. Now i hink they will be friends again, and he will live becaus of the new kidney. If it had een one of my friends from long ago, i would have done the same thing. IM sure they will do many tests/have done many tests to make sre the kidney is safe for his body and everything, so i see no problems with this. It all seems pretty cool to me. Caitlin 8/9/6:06 =Link 2 - Watch the video (if you are unable, read the article) and make your comments.= = = I find this video quite difficult to watch. This is mainly the mothers fault for buying her two year old son cigarettes. If the mother wanted Aldi to quit so bad she would either stop buying the cigarettes or stop giving them to him. Espescially since he is two young to know the difference on how bad they are for you and now that he is hooked there is much less of a chance to quit when he relises it because he is way to young. In ways I do think Aldi could possibly have the same problem here there is people all over the world that should not be parents and Aldi's in my mind are definatly one of those parents. Nick June 3rd 2010

I have the same question, who would buy cigarettes for a two year old? That to me is just not right. Then again, the video said that in Indonesia smoking had become part of their culture and they didn't see it as "hazardous", but two years old is a bit outrageous. I think the parents should send Aldi to rehab or just not give him cigarettes. You can't just wait around while your child's body is still fragile and hasn't even finished growing, slowly wheening him off. It's just cruel to do that to a child. Sasha June 1, 2010

I think Aldi's mother is to blame for this because she let him continue smoking. Also, who is buying the cigarettes for a two year old!? The Child Protection Service is already involved but for some reason nothing is happening. Why don't they just send Aldi to rehab like the other four year old? Instead of waiting and cutting down, why not just stop giving him cigarettes? If Aldi kept up his smoking habbit, he would probably end up with some kind of cancer or disease in his early life. Morgan June 1, 2010

Nasty. Dont give somebody anything addictive when there to young to make decisions for themselves. Sam June 1, 2010

Everyone seems to be trying to place blame on other people. Just get the kid some help, he needs to stop his addiction. Who cares how he started just focus on helping him quit. Don't make him a "celebrity" because if he's getting attention for smoking he's not going to want to stop. The cigarettes may not be that bad for him, because it keeps your apatite low. So he could be even fatter he should get help with his weight also. Do you think Aldi would have this problem if he lived here? Neil June,1

I strongly believe Aldi would not have this problem if he lived here because over here the moment someone besides his close family found out that he smoked they would report it to the police, or a social worker. If this were to happen in Canada the parents would be charged, their kid taken away and the child (I am 99% sure) would never get a cigarette (until he is legal age) again. Unfortunately that is not the case in Indonesia, and we can never be quite sure of the resolution or how this problem, of infant smokers, is being dealt with. I think that the kid is in a very sad situation and that whoever thinks this is funny and the person who gave him his first cigarette are very very sick. Do you find it strange that the parents did not know where his first cigarette came from? Sabrina, June 1

In my opinion, this is extremely disgusting. He is two and smoking about 40 cigarettes a day, that's more than the average smoker. They really need to get this child away for cigarettes, they need to cut him off, get rid of this addiction. Its not right. People finding it funny and entertaining makes me really sick. Its not healthy for anyone, especially young children. It is really amazing to watch a child that young actually smoke a cigarette properly though, its not right in any way, but it is fascinating. I do find it very strange that the parents arnt sure about where his first cigarette came from. I think they may be lying. They may have gave it to him themselves just to see what would happen, or to see how funny it would look. Possibly even to get all this publicity. Do you think they will actually get this young boy off of his addiction? Summer, June 2

I am not sure if they will be able to stop Aldi's addiction, it all depends on whether he gets proper help and has support from his family. However I do think it is possible to stop an addiction at his age, especially since all the power to stop it is not in the smokers hands, it is in the adults. I found that the mother did not seem determined enough, to me, to get her child's addiction corrected, but that may be because it is socially correct where she lives. This news of such a young smoker shocked me but I think it is because this is a very serious crime (for parents) in Canada. What do you think the companies of the cigarettes think when they see this, happy or disgusted? Sabrina, June 2

I think the companies are probably laughing at this fact. Although they would never laugh in public because of how much they would be hounded on. They are probably enjoying this fact though because lots of children around that area are smoking and they are getting lots of money out of it. They just dont understand how much harm it is doing to our world, they don't see the truth of it, they only car about the money. If they would just make smoking illegal already, we wouldn't see this problem happening so much. How do you think the cigarette companies should react to this, and what should they do about it? Summer, June 2

There's a difference between how the cigarette companies should act, and how they will and do act. They should act on it as if it is as horrible of a situation as it is. They should try to the best of their ability to stop Aldi's Habit. What they will and are doing, however, is ignoring it. Letting it be. They probably like the fact that there is a two year old smoking. More money for them, and who knows how much wider this could expand. I think it is horrible for children to even have access to cigarettes. Being exposed to something so dangerous at such a young age is extremely unhealthy. What do you think his mother should do about this? And why do you think she hasn't acted on it yet?

Like the video said, the mothers trying to get help for her son, but tabacco companies know that cigarettes are more addictive then herion, and more available. I think what's most to blame is the culture Aldi is surrounded by. Its not the peoples fault that it's this way, but it is true that they are surrounded by advertising and pressures to take up something that will kill them. It's stupid how the worlds evolved to profit off the deaths and diseases of so many, thats how things are though. The most depressing part about it is, this boys probably gonna be hooked for life. Most people know that if you start when your a teen its very difficult to quit, but when your 2 years old, smoking 40 cigarettes a day, thats a dependancy on tabacco. He doesn't even understand what he's doing to himself. As far as he's concerned, he needs it to get by, and will suffer withdrawls for the rest of his life without it. My biggest question is probably how can people watch this infant take years off his life, and laugh about it as if its some joke. Sam June, 3

I found this video was disturbingly shocking, since society today is strongly against tobacco use. A two year old child smoking is completely unacceptable as it is, but a two year old child smoking 40 cigarettes a day! I'm sure this is enough to upset and concern anyone-- I feel that the parents are to blame for this, there is no way a child that young would pick up a habit like that on their own. To answer Sam's question, there are a lot of people in the world that are very inhumane, and will do crude things for their so called form of "entertainment." Stephanie 6/6/10:39 P.M.

I wonder if this video will have an even bigger impact on society's opinion on how much harm smoking can cause. This video had just about the same impact on me as other horrible tobacco stories, and how it's ruined so many peoples health. This child's body is very undeveloped, his lungs probably haven't even grown to their full size, and this can do nothing but harm to a growing body. Stephanie 7/6/10:41 P.M.

Link 1

In my opinion, this is a North Korea/South Korea problem. The world and USA specifically, should stay out of this one. No one wins in war especially one that could go nuclear. South Korea will have to remain calm and civil despite their people calling for action. The best way in my opinion is for South Korea to enter peace talks with North Korea and try to get something diplomatically instead of getting revenge. What do you think should happen? Neil May, 28

I agree that the world should just stay out of this problem. This is something South Korea and North Korea need to deal with themselves. If a war is about to occur because of all this, I really don't think the rest of the world should get involved with it. Something big could evolve from it and it could end terribly. I think South Korea and North Korea should keep to themselves instead of getting other countries involved, it's just not right. Do you think everyone else should get involved with this? Or should they all just stay out of it and let South Korea and North Korea handle it themselves? Summer, May, 29

I believe that yes, this is something that North and South Korea should deal with themselves. The USA should not reinforce the fact that they believe North Korea is accentual evil. Doing this will only anger North Korea and make this ongoing conflict worse, (and don't forget that somehow, Canada is always pulled into the U.S.A's problems). I believe that if the U.S.A wants to help they should encourage peace without being biased. What do you think the States and even China should do about this situation? Sabrina, May, 30

I think the USA should stay out of this mainly because they are already at war with other countries. They should not want to be going into another war which would make other places also want to go to war with them. South Korea should not be asking other countries to go help them in war. This is between North Korea and South Korea, other countries should not have to get involved. Nick, May, 30

I think the U.S shouldn't get involved because North Korea and South Korea need to solve their own problems without getting any other countries involved. If other countries intruded on the issue, it would become even bigger. It seems that North and South Korea want to get people involved and take sides. Taking sides would make an even bigger impact on this event because it would be an unfair numbers. That is because there would be more people agree with one side than the other. Morgan, May, 30

We seem to have forgotten the fact that North Korea regularly does things that the world condemns.They don't care what the world or South Korea thinks, which is dangerous considering they have nukes. Sanctions imposed on them don't affect the decision makers it just adds to the problems of the poor. Whether we like it or not it may take the entire world to put a stop to these aggressive actions. What response should the world take to the sinking Neil, May, 30

I think the world (each country) should announce that they find the sinking of the ships disturbing but that they acknowledge that they are not taking sides, while including the fact this must be further analyzed. I also believe that Hilary should not have made such a big deal or gone public with her biased beliefs. I hope that her careless actions don't jeopardize her countries safety. I believe that Canada should state there own beliefs, so they are not mixed up with this. What do you think Canada should do about this, or if they should even do anything? Sabrina, May 30

I agree with Neil and in others i don't. North Korea may have nukes but if we attack them then they will definatly set them off, but if we leave North and South Korea to deal with it themselves there will be much less of a chance that they will set off there nukes. Nick May 30

What if Russia attacked Canada? Would that be any business of the U.S.? If you agree, because the U.S and Canada are close allies, an attack against one ally is considered an attack against every ally. United States and South Korea have been strong allies since the Korean war, and the U.S. has a large troop presence along the border with North Korea. The whole purpose of an alliance is when one ally is attacked the other allies come to their defense, so therefore it would be wrong for the U.S. to not get involved and help South Korea, since they're part of an alliance. To answer the question above, Canada is a member of the United Nations and not a direct ally with South Korea, so Canada should act through the United Nations to condemn the aggression against South Korea as they should against any country that attacks another country. Stephanie 31/5/10:03 P.M.

It is true, ally's should always stick within their alliances, and maybe the united states are doing the right thing. Hillary should have kept more discreet about the whole situation, though, because now everyone knows. If Canada stated their opinion that might drag them farther in to this situation and become dangerous. The United States are almost obligated to get involved in this and be biassed, because other wise the Koreans would be mad at the United States and thus would arise a bigger issue. The other countries, however, who aren't in an alliance with Korea should not get involved. It is not their problem and this whole situation probably shouldn't have been as publicized by Hillary Clinton as it was. But what would happen if Canada does end up getting involved? Micaela, May 31st

I don't think anything would happen if Canada were to get involved, because really I don't think that would happen. If someone were to ask Canada's opinion I think they would keep discrete, because it's not really any of their concern. United States got involved because it was their duty to do so, Canada has other things to deal with. Stephanie 2/6/9:51 P.M.

Stephanie is probably right, because we have no power over issues between north and south korea. Its not like Canada has very much political power in the eastern world anyways, but I think the best country to intervene would probably be China, but they've said they wont be doing anything. Who can blame them though. It's crazy the world is like this, but i think i'd want to know is why other countries feel they need to be involved. This is between north and south korea, bringing in people to take sides is how wars start. Sam June 6