Ender's Game questions 12-15

Chapter 12

11.      Ender provoked Bonzo by mentioning honor, and how Bonzo’s father would want him to have honor, and not fight a little kid with multiple accomplices. Bonzo responded by fighting Ender one on one, but also getting very angry with him.

22.      Stilson was a bully that was bullying Ender, and was going to beat him up, but Ender attacked him first and beat him brutally. Ender was thinking of Stilson because like Bonzo, Ender beat them both brutally when they were fighting Ender in a bullying manner.

33.      Ender still expects help from his teachers because he is still a kid, and they say he is there tool to save the human race, so if they need him why let him get killed or mortally injured.

4.4.     “The sickening way Stilson’s bones had given way.” (209) “Bonzo collapsed, fell to the side, and sprawled directly under the spray of steaming water from a shower.” (211) “…the empty dead look in his eyes. He was already finished then. Already unconscious….just that dead stupid look on his face, that terrible look, the way Stilson looked when I finished him.”(212) “Only the second death in the history of the school. At least it wasn’t suicide this time.” (226) These quotes from the book is all evidence that Ender killed Stilson and Bonzo, that they were dead after Ender fought them.

55.      I think Ender was justified in the murders of Bonzo and Stilson. For one he didn’t attack either of them first, in fact he tried to stop them from getting involved in a fight with Ender. Also Ender logically killed them, if there is such a thing. He accidently killed them, he just brutally beat them up, and so they would never attack him again.

Chapter 13

1.       What this quote means is if one creates a fake identity with different beliefs than their own. The person with the fake identity adopts the beliefs of their alter ego. For example, when Valentine writes as Demosthenes, she adopts some of his ideas and beliefs.

2.      I believe that it is a natural instinct for humans to be killers. Although I think that most of the time it isn’t a good instinct for us to be killers. It does come in handy for humans to be killers, because if one gets in a bad situation the killer, self-preservation instinct, could save your life.

3.      What Ender reveals about himself and his enemies is that they are similar, because he has studied them, and that maybe they aren't that different. That the buggers and he think similar in the sense of innovative war tactics.

4.      Peter and Ender’s roles have shifted in Valentine’s life by Peter being the main brother in her life and that she isn’t as afraid of Peter as of Ender. Valentine loves Peter, but also she doesn’t completely trust him. She still loves Ender but not as much as Peter, and now she is kind of afraid of him.

5.      The war with the buggers was inevitable according to Graff because the humans and buggers will never be able to communicate, so will never be able to talk about a peace treaty. Also there isn’t room for two races in on universe, and the Buggers attacked Earth first so they want us dead, so war is going to happen.

Chapter 14

1.       What disturbs Ender about Eros is that it’s crowded and the floors slope up instead of down. How Ender figures out the truth about Eros is Mazer tells him that it was a bugger outpost.

2.      Mazer is going to be the real teacher Ender ever has is because Mazer is the only person smarter than Ender. Additionally Mazer is the only person who actually will teach Ender something that he hasn't figured out himself.

3.      Mazer was dishonest with Ender because if Ender knew he was sending real living men to their death, and causing the genocide of a whole race he wouldn't have been able to handle it.

4.      I think they pushed the children too far, but only because I think it wasn't necessary to attack the buggers. If I thought it was I would think it was necessary to push the children that hard.

5.      Neither Genocide nor xenocide is ever justified. The annihilation of an entire race or group is never okay; in fact it’s disgusting and even if the race is evil, the race can be forgiven and change. The xenocide of the Buggers wasn't inevitable because the Buggers were going to leave the Humans alone, but now the Humans had to invade the Buggers and kill them off.

Chapter 15

1.       After what has happened in Ender’s life what he would think of this statement is that he would be angry that he didn't realize this earlier in his life. Also He would be confused because he did things for people that he didn’t love.

2.      Ender’s beliefs about the deaths of Bonzo and Stilson is that the trial said it was for Graff, but really it was an attack on him, it was meant to make him look like an insane criminal. Also he thinks that it is ironic that they consider those murders a crime but not the xenocide of the Buggers.

3.      Valentine made sure that Ender could never return to earth, because if he did Peter would use Ender as a tool to keep himself in power by showing that Ender was his brother, and he would just make Enders life a stressful political mess.

4.      What’s Ironic about Valentine stating that Peter has saved millions of lives, because he has terrorized Valentines and Ender’s lives, and because he had Valentine write as Demosthenes which pretty much started the human war? Additionally Ender took millions of lives, even though it would seem as if it should be the other way for peter and Ender.

5.      The knowledge Ender gained to write the Hive Queen came from the Bugger egg. It shared its memories and ideas with him when he came in physical contact with it. "We did not mean to murder, and when we understood, we never came again. We thought we were the only thinking beings in the universe…" (321). This is the hive queen transferring its knowledge about how it didn't want to attack Earth again.

6.      Ender publishes the book using the pseudonym, Speaker for the Dead, because he doesn't want people to read the book because he wrote it, he wants people to read the book for what it is. He also doesn't want to be famous anymore, he just wants to spread the knowledge that the buggers weren't evil, and were intelligent beings.

           
           
           

CEJ 5

February 26, 2013

Garrett Kitchen

CEJ Five

Wave of Immigrants Released Ahead of Automatic Budget Cuts

Semple, Kirk
February 26, 2013
Politics
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/us/immigrants-released-ahead-of-automatic-budget-cuts.html?hp&_r=0

            Recently many illegal immigrants have been released into the US by Federal Immigration officials to save the government money. The immigrants still have deportation cases that will remain in court (nytimes.com). “It’s abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration, by releasing criminal immigrants onto the streets, the administration is needlessly endangering American lives.” (Representative Robert W. Goodlatte, chairman of the Judiciary Committee) Goodlatte, among other republicans are angry with Obama, and think it is his scheme to deal with the immigration negotiation. Detaining illegal immigrants in the US is very expensive. The cost could be reduced by about $100-$150(National Immigration Forum).

            I have no personal involvement in illegal immigration. I think that it is sad that so many good people are detained for fleeing the terrible situations in their countries and coming to America “the promise land” and being detained. It is unfair that many people have to illegally enter the US, because their own countries won’t cooperate and let them come here. Fortunately this article had no bias, because I enjoyed learning more about this event and illegal immigration, and I may not have read it if the author’s opinions leaked into his article. I think this is a god way for the government to save money, but I think the immigration officials should look into alternative cheaper ways of detainment. 

Orson Scott Card Article Response

February 26, 2013

Garrett Kitchen

            I am disgusted by individuals who oppose gay rights and same-sex marriage. I feel that this is equivalent to black rights and women’s rights; I feel that there is no freedom in America until everyone here has equality. When Card said “Marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down."  I was appalled and surprised. I cannot believe that someone who wrote such an open minded bromancy book, Ender’s Game, would threaten to attempt to destroy a government that legalized same-sex marriage. Although I am pro-gay rights, I still love Ender’s Game and many other books written by Card. Card can still be very creative and open minded in other ways in his books, I don’t think his gay rights opinion affect his books. I don’t think that Mr. Vack should remove Ender’s Game from his curriculum, because the book doesn't show an anti-gay points of view, in fact it is very open minded in other way that I admire. For example, when Ender finds the Bugger egg, he is searching for a place to rehabilitate the Bugger race in an attempt to undue his genocide. I think this reflects on America should’ve tried more to undue it’s mistreatment of African-Americans and the genocide of American Indians. I think it is a pathetic attempt to try to keep Card “out of the limelight” and the movie company should let Card talk about the movie, but try to avoid his anti-gay views. Just like letting the book remain in Mr. Vack’s curriculum, I think the movie should be allowed to continue on to release date boycott free. Even though Card will benefit financially from the movie, he still deserves money for the great story that is Ender’s Game.

An Ode to Water

February 26, 2013

Garrett Kitchen

Flowing, gurgling, splashing

Oh water

Your beauty so serene

Your graceful acts of nourishment

Water, sweet ambrosia

Like a benevolent goddess

Granting us life

Sustaining us

I gave up on other liquids

Oh water

How you gift me with simply being

Water

I love you

Ender’s Game Questions chapters 9-11

Garrett Kitchen

February 12th, 2013

Chapter 9 – Locke and Demosthenes

1.       In the internal and unspoken battle between Peter and Valentine, I think Peter is winning. Peter is manipulating Valentine, by tempting her with power, and acting like he is regretful and sad about the way he used to treat Ender. Peter really has the power, he gets Valentine to write like him, but in turn he has to write like her. This makes it so Peter has more power, because he got Valentine to write in the first place, but they also can’t write without each other.

2.      How Locke and Demosthenes relate to Peter and Valentine’s personas is that Locke was a liberal, just like the type of writing Peter is going for. Demosthenes was a revolutionary, and he was opposed against change, and he tried to start a war with Macedonia. In this case Valentine’s writing is geared towards opposing change, and going to war with Russia.

3.      Ender is still angry because even when a letter from Valentine finally made it through to him, it was because Graff had forced Valentine to write it. All it said was how he wasn’t like Peter, and that made him realize that Graff was the one dictating what could be said in the letter, and the only reason they had her write it was because they wanted to solve Ender’s fear of being like Peter. It made him extra angry because Graff had used Valentine, the thing Ender loved most, and forced her onto their side.

3.

Chapter 10 – Dragon

1.       Ender is a strong, but not abusive leader. A leader one respects and one trusts to lead them in the right direction, but not a leader to be messed with or questioned. Ender is this kind of leader, because of the way he observed how tyrannical and cruel Bonzo was, he observed how Rose the Nose was too laid back and relaxed, and learned good leadership skills from Dink.

2.      What Ender did to Bean was exactly what Graff did to Ender. He singled him out as the smartest kid in his army, and made the rest of his army resent Bean because he made them all look bad. Why Ender did this to Bean is because, habit are formed from the way one is previously treated, but also because it will bring out the strength in Bean, just like it did for Ender.

3.      The word Salaam means peace. What this tells me about the power of religious identity is it forms one's personality, and it gives someone a place to belong, and creates powerful ideas and beliefs

4.      What’s important about the end of this chapter is it tells the reader how Ender feels about the battle school, and how he is going to beat the teachers some way because he is angry with them for making Valentine into their tool, and making Alai a stranger and not a close friend. For the most part I think the teacher didn’t want Ender to have this reaction, because now he hates them even more, and wants to defeat them, because currently they are the Ender’s greatest enemies. The only part of this reaction the teachers meant Ender to have is a little bit of anger, and solitude, because with his anger he will perform better as a commander, and it will bring out the strength in him.

Chapter 11 – Veni Vidi Vici

1.       The computer knows Ender so well, because it can view any file the government has on him, even the monitor file, but it also observes how he plays the fairy game, and can shape it to his personality when he plays the game. The computer doesn’t really know Ender very well it just knows all the physical and psychological information, but doesn’t actually know him in real life. So the computer doesn’t understand what Ender’s true personality is, and how he will act in certain situations.

2.      “Yes. That’s the worst that could happen. I can’t lose any games. Because if I lose any--” (page 198) What this means is that if Ender loses any games the other commanders will see his weaknesses, he will lose against his personal enemies the battle school teachers and I.F., and he won’t be the amazing leader he is to his army and to the leaders of I.F.3.             

3.      The battle school teachers are pushing Ender so hard, because they believe to squeeze the utmost success and brilliance out of Ender, to make him the tool for human survival; they must push him to the limit. During war with the Buggers he won’t have someone to be soft on him; the Buggers will have no mercy.

4.      The importance of the last two sentences of chapter eleven is that it takes the perspective Bean. Before bean goes to bed the last thing he thinks of a dozen ideas for the special task force he will lead in case of emergencies. Bean thinks that all of the ideas were stupid, but Ender would be pleased. Ender will be pleased with what seems like stupid ideas, because to win battles one has to think of ridiculous stupid seeming ideas that will succeed. For example, Ender shoots orders his army to shoot their legs, which seems ridiculous, but actually their frozen legs function as state of the art shields, and if they push of the wall they don’t need them.

5.          “Veni Vidi Vici”, which means I came, I saw, I conquered, is an appropriate title to this chapter because Ender came to the battle school, observed how it worked, became a commander, and conquered as the best commander to play in the War games ever.

Drone Response

Garrett Kitchen

February 11, 2013

Our Government can kill anyone

            I am not pro military. When I hear about these remote controlled drone killing machines I get upset. The Idea of war drones is a good one. If you fly a plane without a person flying in it, then if it gets shot down nobody dies. But seeing someone on a camera rather than in real life it makes it easier to kill them, because even if you fully understand that. The person on a streaming video is real one cannot understand how alive their target is. For example, I play Call of Duty, an online first person shooter video game, and I shoot my enemies without remorse, I know that there aren't real people, but the graphics look like real life. What if I was controlling a robot, and killing my enemies, it is a lot easier to kill without hesitation if one isn’t there with their enemies. I am glad the US has drones for civilian non-violent uses. There are drone traffic cams, drones that the stunning pictures, and drones that people use for entertainment. But it would be simple to have experienced personnel put guns on the modified drones, or build a homemade bomb that detonates on impact and perform obscene acts of terrorism on anyone, at anywhere, from anywhere with an app one’s phone. Drones relate to Ender’s Game because the government can do anything they want, and kill anyone they deem so. A document was just released that said could kill anyone a US citizen or not, if they deem that the person poses a threat to America. In Ender’s game the government forces Ender’s parents to have a third child, just because they deem it a possibility to save the world. Then the government basically robs Ender of his childhood because they think it might save the world. They said they gave Ender a choice even though they really didn't  Just like the document speaks of killing the individual if they are a terrorist, and they threaten our country, but really they can kill the individual regardless.

CEJ 4

Garrett Kitchen

February 11, 2013

The ‘Die Hard’ Quandary

Nocera, Joe
nytimes.com
February 11, 2013
Opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/opinion/nocera-the-die-hard-quandry.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
        This Wednesday, A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth movie in the Bruce Willis starred series. Like done for many franchises of movies, the Regal and AMC theatre companies are featuring a twelve hour marathon of all five movies (Joe Nocera, nytimes.com). The general plotline of all the movies is John McClane (Bruce Willis) an ex lieutenant of the NYPD and LAPD, has to save the nation from terrorists attacking others, himself, or the nation. The author’s opinion on the franchise is that he sides with the second amendment abolitionists, and relates violent imagery back to the pornography issue, which would lead to the abolition of the first amendment. The author touches on a larger topic, but doesn't delve into it.
        I immediately disagreed with the Nocera. I believe that the shooting in Connecticut is a real issue, but if our government banned all weapons, or even assault weapons, who’s to say it will stop illegal import of the banned weapons. Crack, meth, Heroin, and many other drugs are illegal, yet the import and use of these illegal drugs is still a prominent issue in America. On the topic of violent imagery affecting peoples anger and tendency to do violent things, I don’t disagree with it may having some effect on people’s aggression, but I don’t think prohibiting violent content. The people, who perform these disgusting acts of violence, also have mental disabilities or are negatively affected by their social lives, along with many people on earth, playing violent video games. Additionally I disagree with the way our country has portrayed pornography and sex as an act or image worse than violence. I don’t believe that creating lives should be treated as more naughty than taking them, although I do not support teen pregnancy. Obviously the author’s article was bias, because it was an opinion, but I think it was bias towards banning guns because he works for the New York Times, which is generally a more liberal newspaper. I think my opinion was also bias, because on the gun issue I may be a democrat, but I own guns and enjoy hunting and target shooting. I was also bias on the imagery issue, because I am from a younger generation, where sex is not as shielded from the youth as it used to be.

CEJ 3

Garrett Kitchen

February 8, 2013

In California, Reading the Snow to Tell the Future for the Water SupplyCalifornia

Onishi, Norimitsu

nytimes.com

February 7^th, 2013

US

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/us/in-california-the-snow-tells-the-future-for-the-water-supply.html?ref=us

            This month Frank Gehrke California’s chief snow surveyor plunged a long silver tube into the snow to figure out the results of the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack survey. “There’ve been only incremental changes…This course is very uniform, which is normal, because the snowpack during accumulation is kind of uniform. But once you start getting into the melt, it starts to go crazy.” (Frank Gehrke). The results of the Snowpack survey determine the water distribution to the districts in that area. The Sierra Nevada survey is very important indicator of how much snowmelt water will be supplied to the river that in turn supply water to the rivers that help the one million acres of farmland in California (nytimes.com). A good stake of America’s water supply comes from the Sierra Nevada snowmelt, so California has to edit its water plans for the year depending on the outcome of the survey. “Fresno County is the No. 1 agricultural county in the nation, but we also happen to be situated climatically in the middle of a desert,” he said. It really is the Sierra Nevada snowpack that makes this desert bloom.” (Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau)

            At first I thought that viewing the Sierra Nevada snowpack survey as the Groundhog Day was odd, but after studying how much affect this snowmelt has on my state I understand. It is amazing to see how much our society depends on the snow, something so taken for granted by everyday people. It was interesting to learn that the Sierra Nevada, a fairly luscious place, is actually a desert. In my opinion this article was slightly boring, but I learned a lot of new information. The article was purely informational, although every once in a while I think that a bias can make an article interesting.

           

Ender's Game Questions Chapt. 6 - 8

  Garrett Kitchen

February 8, 2013

Chapter 6

1.       The purpose of the “Giant’s game” is to help the player discover themselves, and the computer generated story accesses data on the person, in any file the government has to help the player learn about themselves. Another purpose of the game is to relax the player and to provide them with some “down time”. I think Ender shouldn't evaluate his success in the Giant’s game because there is no winning it, although in a sense you can win by learning more about yourself from the game. I think Ender has some hardcore predatory defenses, and if extremely threatened he would murder, but I wouldn't consider Ender a general murderer.

Chapter 7

1.       Alai said “Salaam” to Ender. This exchange between the two is so important because it signifies that Ender and Alai are both good friends, and Alai trust Ender enough to tell him this sacred word, that could be forbidden.

2.      The “just living” mentioned in this chapter is exactly what it says: just living. Specifically just living means leading a normal life, not having the government monitor you, just being a normal human being. I think it is true that Ender has never done this, for starters the government forced his parents to have him, he is an abnormal third, he had the government monitor him for four years, and now he is at a battle school training to save the world. What Ender wants out of life is to live free of the bugger induced trauma on the nation, where he isn’t a tool for the survival of humanity, and to just be with his sister Valentine free of Peter. I would feel depressed if I were Ender,  because I don’t want to be training to have humanity rest on my shoulders, I wouldn't want an evil older brother, and overall I wouldn't want to be an outcast third. Although I do want to be genius, who learned arithmetic at three years old.

3.      How Petra helps Ender is she teaches him how to shoot accurately, and how to be a “lone wolf” solider in the battlefield. Petra’s friendship is a hindrance to Ender, because he is already a seven year old in a teenagers world, therefore he is an outcast, and Petra, who is an outcast, befriending him makes him even more of an outcast.

4.      What Ender learns about leadership and tactics from Bonzo is mostly what not to do. Ender learns not to be tyrannical towards your army, and not have too much honor, because Bonzo’s honor got in the way of him winning. But he did learn some good tactics from Bonzo too. He learned to mix up your good and bad soldiers in your platoon.  He also learned that you don’t not want to have your platoon’s set in a pattern with no room to change it, because if the battle plan isn’t working the toon needs to adjust its tactic, although he did learn this from Bonzo not doing it.

Chapter 8

1.       When Graff says “Ender Wiggin is ten times smarter and stronger than I am.” He means that Ender can handle the tough trials Graff is putting him through because he is ten times smarter than Graff, and he is ten times morally stronger than Graff. I think it is moral strength because a seven year old isn’t stronger than a grown man. Also the type of strength Ender needs to make it through his trials is to not crack under pressure, though he does need physical strength too.

2.      What I think is significant about the quote “so teach me, so learn.”  Is that Ender asks his platoon leader Dink to teach him how to be a good solider, and Dink replied with “So learn.” What I think he means by this that he will teach Ender, but Ender has to put out the effort to learn too.

3.      Ender’s response to the attack was so significant, because it shows that he can do well under pressure, and can defend himself when backed into a corner. Also after the attack Ender wanted to continue on with his launch group, and that shows great determination.

4.      The scene with the snake and Peter’s reflection represents that Ender is afraid of the treachery and hidden dangers of life. Also he is very afraid of becoming like peter, he is afraid to become an evil, almost murderous, insane person.

5.      The fairy world game, knows all about Ender and his life, because the computer that creates the game is allowed to access any file that the government has. It knows about Ender’s fear of Peter, because it can view the monitor’s information, which knows practically everything about Ender.

6.      I think Ender was having such negative thoughts in the last paragraph, because he is upset that he is becoming like Peter. Additionally I think he is angry at the government for basically creating him and using him for them. He also calls himself a bloody bastard killer, because he is angry with the more predatory part of himself, and so he is becoming more angry from it.

Video Game Response: Minecraft

Garrett Kitchen

February 7, 2013

In this modern day and age there are many great video games that span every genre and fulfill every possibility. But there is one game that stands out to me when I think of my favorite game, Minecraft. Minecraft is an open world, freed roam computer game. In Minecraft everything is a square and it is purposefully pixelated, but only where it’s intended. It’s actually quite high definition (HD). There are three different ways to play Minecraft: survival mode, creative mode, and online mode. In survival mode you have a health and hunger bar, and to replenish health your hunger bar must be filled with food, which you get from killing animals or farming wheat and making bread. The goal of survival mode isn’t just to survive, it’s to thrive. You can build tools such as: swords, pickaxes, axes, hos for farming, bows, and shovels out of tiers of materials from wood to diamond. You have to go in mines to get materials and build houses or what you want. At night skeletons, zombies, and explosive creatures called creepers emerge and attack you.  In creative you have unlimited, and can yourself any item in the game. The goal of creative is to build amazing structures.  In online mode you can PVP (player versus player) or play with your friends in survival mode online.

What I really enjoy about Minecraft is unlike most modern games, there is no objective, no beating the game and everything you do is up to you. Because there are no objectives besides the ones you create, playing Minecraft is generally a relaxing experience, and that’s a very uncommon feature of a video game. In fact most video games have a slight bit of stress, especially if you’re not looking for a challenge. The most lovable, almost philosophical feature of Minecraft is its ability to bring out the creativity in oneself, because there no architectural boundaries, you can build anything imaginable and more. But I think there is a downside to this, because if one doesn’t have the ability or doesn’t enjoy being creative then they will probably dislike Minecraft and get bored while playing it. Additionally, one can create their characters story in their head. Minecraft is the game of creativity, and I think that is what makes it my favorite game. Downloading the game is free, but getting an account is $25 dollars which is very cheap, currently most games are $60. This price makes it seem like Minecraft is an even greater deal because not only is it actually a lot a cheaper, but psychologically I think people like something that goes against the normal game, a rebel if you will. I think this price is outstanding especially for the countless hours of enjoyment I have gotten from the game.

CEJ 2

Garrett Kitchen

February 5, 2013

Language Arts

Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private

De La Merced, Michael J.
nytimes.com
February 5, 2013
Business
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/dell-sets-23-8-billion-deal-to-go-private/?hp
            Today Dell came out and said that it is going private in a 24.4 billion dollar deal (nytimes.com) with Microsoft and the investment company Silver Lake along with other companies who are a part of the deal. Dell is going through with this deal because for the last few years the company has been on a financial decline. The companies will pay 13.5 dollars per share in cash (nytimes.com). Additionally Microsoft is giving another 2 billion and Silver Lake another 1 billion (nytimes.com). This is another attempt of Dells to revive itself. Dell and Microsoft are major business partners, and Microsoft would have a lot to lose if Dell went under. Betting 700 million and his own stake in the company (nytimes.com), Michael Dell will keep control of his company if its own shareholders go along with the deal.
            Directly this deal doesn't have a large effect on my life, with this in mind if Dell goes under it could affect the price of other products that dell sells the hardware for, or people may have to buy products that Dell made, elsewhere and for a larger price. Personally I am glad that Dell is trying to save itself, because it would be a depressing icon for a bad economy if it went bankrupt. Although if it did go bankrupt I think Microsoft or Google would buy it out. Unfortunately, even with the revival attempts, I think Dell will go bankrupt and be bought or disappear in the next five years, especially with the US’s current bad economy. This article wasn't bias in the slightest; it had many great facts about Dell without opinion in between.

CEJ 1

Garrett Kitchen

January 31st, 2013

Malnourished Gain Lifesaver in Antibiotics

Malawi, Africa

Grady,Denise
The New York Times.com
January 30, 2013
Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/health/antibiotics-can-save-lives-of-severely-malnourished-children-studies-find.html?ref=science
    Antibiotics were given to kids for a week along with a peanut butter mixture with sugar, oil, milk powder, and micronutrients in a test to see how this affected 2,767 malnourished children ranging from six months to five years old (Denise Grady, nytimes.com). Also the research was on how kwashiorkor, an extreme form of malnutrition could be partially caused by a bacterial imbalance in the gut (Denise Grady, nytimes.com). A good contributor to helping fight that kwashiorkor was the enriched peanut butter. But  “for the improvement to last, it may be necessary to continue the feeding for longer than the few months that is now customary. Eventually, he said, it may be possible to help children with kwashiorkor by giving them the bacteria they lack, but such treatments have not been developed yet.” (Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon) The test results of treating the 2,767 children were: 8.51% of the children taking a placebo recovered, of the children taking amoxicillin (antibiotic) 88.7% survived, and taking cefdinir (antibiotic) 90.9%. Additionally all the children were given the peanut butter, and the ones taking antibiotics gained weight quicker. If the peanut butter was given to the children for a week, there was notable increase in health, but as soon as that treatment was withheld from the body the became malnourished again.
    This research means that a fairly cheap antibiotic donated by governments and people can help cure the a part of the malnourished children of people on our planet. I think it is very good that this research is being conducted, and It will be interesting to see if the research actually has outcomes on the people of Malawi or anywhere. I feel worried about the fact that some children died in these tests, although overall it will have more positive effects than negative. The article had no bias whatsoever, it suck to being strictly informational. I wonder if they give out the antibiotics to malnourished people, will they use the one that had a few percent less effectiveness, because it may be cheaper?