Reading response: "Breeding Pigeons on Rooftops, and Crossing Racial Lines"

   This article is about people who breed pigeons on their rooftops and some people race with their pigeons. According to the article, Delroy Sampson had spent 50 years to take care of pigeons, and choreographs them by using a stick from a flag. Few people breed pigeons these days, and according to the article,"there are no more than 300 pigeon fliers left in the city." Another pigeon breeder is Aaron Marshall, who was hooked when he was seven. He was taught to keep new birds in the coop for four weeks and let them out when they are hungry, which teaches the birds to be trained to return. It also said that the pigeon taught Aaron empathy.
   Some pigeon breeders started by being inspired by other pigeon breeders. For example, Ike Jones helped George Coppola, who was an Italian rooftop breeder in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Jones said,"He had electricity and running water, and I only had a box made of scrap wood. On Sunday his wife would cook spaghetti and meatballs and I would eat with them because I was always there." Mr. Sampson started his hobby of pigeon flying when he was a 10-year-old immigrant when he saw the Walt Disney movie "The Pigeon That Worked a Miracle".  Later, he fell under the influence of Joe LaRocca, who is the president of a pigeon racing club.After learning the basics of raising pigeons, Mr. LaRocca and his colleague talked to his mother about pigeon flying.
   Mr. Marshall, now 56 and a maintenance worker, tells the NY Times that breeding pigeons makes you "experience what it is to having a living thing...It shows you how good you are at caring caring for it when it comes back. What good is it for a child to have a violent video game compared to having a living, breathing, loving animal that needs your compassion and care? If I hadn't been on the roof who knows what kind of trouble I would have gotten into."
  Cited Page
   Berger, Joseph. "Breed Pigeons on Rooftops, and Crossing Racial Lines." New York Times on the Web 03 April 2013. N.Y./ Region. 04 April 2013 <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/nyregion/breeding-pigeons-on-rooftops-and-blurring-racial-lines.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Reading Response: From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, The War, and a Dog Named Lava

  This book is about how a marine named Jay Kopelman in Iraq, and how he tried to get a stray puppy named Lava back to the United States during a war in 2004. In the book, him and other fellow Marines learn the lessons about life and war while trying to get Lava to the United States. The book is written in many different perspectives like Jay Kopelman. In the book, many other people such as journalist Anne and several soldiers in the base at Iraq. Throughout the book, the author Jay talks about his feelings about war, life, and death, as well as his time of taking care of Lava and his time during the war. He also writes the difficult process of getting Lava to a safe place, and to avoid letting him roam the streets, where dogs eating corpses is typical. Some of them include getting Lava a passport, vaccinations, and to sneak him onto a plane to America.
   This book also includes the soldier's doubts about taking care of Lava when military laws forbid soldiers taking care of stray animals other than their dags that are trained to sniff out bombs and such. In the book, it also says that death in the war wasn't very rewarding, and that they don't get respect. Instead, they are taken and examined for any strapped bombs, and then sent to a camouflage refrigerator. He also says that either if you are an enemy to them or not, once you're dead, you're no longer dangerous to those people.
   I like how in the book, he talks about his theories of war and the rescuing of Lava, as well as his affection for the dog throughout the book. It shows that no matter how rough the war is, the caring for Lava can keep you sane and happy, sometimes.

Reading Response: "MetroCards Becomes More Flexible"

   This article is about the bus fares going up, but the MetroCards will be more flexible in the near future. The M.T.A (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) announced that on Wednesday, riders can fill their cards with unlimited-ride time and pay-per-ride dollars. According to the article, they produce almost 160 million MetroCards each year, and they costed almost ten million dollars. Also, a MetroCard that is loaded with a dollar value and either 7 days or thirty days of unlimited rides, a swipe will be drawn from the unlimited pool first, and when those expire, the fares will be collected from the pay-per-ride value of the card. That means that people can get a ride for a very low or no price at all. And that the authorities noted that the one dollar fee would not apply to people who bought MetroCards from vendors outside of the subway system, who got theirs from their employers, or people who bought a combination of railroad and MetroCard tickets.
    Also according to the article, it is said that the authorities voted that they will raise base fares on subways and buses by a quarter, which means that they will raise the cost to $2.50. They will also increase the cost of a thirty-day unlimited ride card by eight dollars, which also means that it will be raised form one hundred four dollars to $112. And the fares on the authority 's railroads will increase by nine percent and the tolls on many major crossings will rise as well.
   According to the article, Thomas F. Prendergast, the authority's executive director, says that "...by refilling your MetroCard, you'll reduce expenses and help the environment." This means that the new additions to the payment will help the people who live here and the local environment because it reduces the wasted cards and people can save money.
  All in all, the fares and cost of toll on major crossings will increase, but paying for it got more easier and flexible, and people will not be "trapped into buying a new MetroCard" says, Mr. Prendergast.

Cited page
Flegenheimer, Matt. "MetroCards Become More Flexible." New York Times on the Web 20 Feb. 2013. Transportation. 21   
      Feb. 2013 <http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/metrocards-become-more-flexible/>. 

Reading response: "Education Dept. to Hear School Closing Complaints"

   I have recently read an article called, "Education Dept. to Hear School Closing Complaints" by Jon Hurdle. This article is about some schools in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Newark that are planned to close or reorganize because of racism and complaints of discrimination against black, Hispanic, and people with disabilities. Jon Hurdle wrote this article to tell readers that some schools are racists of some people with different cultures or disabilities, and that they are planned to be closed because of this. Daren Briscoe had said, if a school district has been caught to violate civil rights through a closing program, it is will be taken to court or denied federal funds (Hurdle, 1). The article also says that last month, in the district in Philadelphia, they published a plan to close thirty seven schools in order to close a 1.1 billion dollars budget over five years. the plan will be voted on in the month of March by the School Reform Commission, a body that looks over the schools of Philadelphia.
   Many schools have been filed because of violating civil rights, and some of those schools have been planned to be closed. One example that shows is that in the article it says that "community groups in New York, Chicago, and Washington have also filed civil rights complaints, although those have not been investigated." This shows that there are several schools that have been filed for civil rights complaints, but only a few that have been investigated or been sent to court, and have been planned to be closed down. Another example is that Jitu Brown, a community organizer from the South Side of Chicago, is quoted, "Racism is real in the U.S. ...there are different rules for the students in our community." This means that there are racism and it is a major dilemma and it affects our schools.
  There many results on Monday, which was when a department official confirmed the complaints about those particular schools. One example is that Action United, a group that opposes the closing of schools, presented data that shows that "eighty percent of the students affected by the planned closings are black; the district's enrollment is 55 percent black and 19 percent Hispanic." This shows that the closings will affect the students, or more likely, the victims of the racism, will be affected by the closing of the school greatly because many of those people are enrolled there (Hurdle, 2). Although, another example is that Fernando Gallard, a spokesman for the Philadelphia school district, is quoted, "The district understands that a higher proportion of students in under-enrolled, low-performing schools are African-Americans, and these are the schools that are most affected by the recommended facility closures." This means that it is best for the schools to close down because of schools that are low-performing and are too under-enrolled.
  In conclusion, because of some school's racism, they are decided to be closed down for the better so that the students with the unfair advantages will get their opportunity. However, many other schools do not get their chance to become a better student, but wvwntually, it will change.

Works cited

Hurdle, Jon. "Education Dept. to Hear School Closing Complaints." New York Times on the Web 28 Jan. 2013. . 29 Jan. 2013 <http:/www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/education/education-department-to-hear-school-closing-complaints>.

Reading response: "After Hurricane Sandy, Stock Exchanges Prepare to Open"

   Susanne Craig, author of "After Hurricane Sandy, Stock Exchanges Prepare to Open", wrote this article to tell readers to know that after Hurricane Sandy, stock exchanges on Wall Street are preparing to open as soon as possible, but consultancy firms are saying that they should not open so that they can check if any bugs are in the system. It is mainly shows about the argument about whether or not stock exchanges should open soon. Even though they are preparing to open, there are many consequences to opening soon after Sandy, such as complications, federal authorities, technical problems, and the matter that there are still floods in progress.
    I think that stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange should stay closed because of the possibilities that might happen to the exchanges. For example, Matt Samelson, principal of the Woodbine Associates (a firm) says, "It'd better to have everything in place before flicking on the switch and having a misstep." This makes me feel that people are trying to be reasonable about consequences and the possible dangers, and it shows that there are people that are cautious about the stock markets. Another example is that Larry Leibowitz, chief operating officer of the NYSE Euronext, said, "Right now there are a lot of connectivity problems." This shows that there are problems when they open too soon. It makes me feel assured that stock markets shouldn't open because of problems that might happen when you rush too soon.
   Another example in the article is that if they open before they are really prepared, they might have complications that could weaken the financial system. This shows that if they find a problem too big, their system might fall apart, and the stock market might be wrecked. The author wants the reader to know about the possible dangers if they open as soon as possible.
   After reading this article, I have come to understand that if stock exchanges open too early, they might have problems with the system, and if they open too late, investors might feel agitated and it might ruin their image. So they need to be not too early, and not too late. This makes me think of all the complications of the stock exchanges whether if it's a regular day, or after a hurricane. I would like to research further on how the advantages and disadvantages to the stock markets. It makes me think about the effects of the stock markets on my life and other people's lives too.