The Epidemic Gets a Law

"Sierra Leone Makes Hiding Ebola Patients Illegal"
By: Clarence Roy-Macaulay
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/23/sierra-leone-ebola_n_5702536.html

Sierra Leone has passed a law on Friday which has hiding an Ebola patient illegal. The people hiding the patients will be arrested and can face up to two years in prison. This drastic standard was implemented to the people of Sierra Leone so there would be cooperation between the citizens and the government. Hiding an Ebola patient can put the healthy individual at risk of catching the disease and nobody wants this epidemic to spread more than it already has. The law is understandable, but possibly sentencing the person hiding the Ebola patient to a couple years in jail just instills fear in the people of Sierra Leone. "A total of 2,615 infections and 1,427 deaths have been recorded in the Ebola outbreak now hitting West Africa, according to figures released Friday by the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone has been hard-hit, with at least 910 cases and 392 deaths" (1). By neighboring countries closing the borders Sierra Leone is heart broken by the abandonment and isolation by their allies. A British national who was living in Sierra Leone was tested positive for Ebola; being the first British citizen to have the Ebola disease, but Ebola is a very low risk and concern for the people in the United Kingdom. "The overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low," (1) said John Watson, deputy chief medical officer, "Medical experts are currently assessing the situation in Sierra Leone to ensure that appropriate care is provided" (1).

This article shows the severity of the situation. The concern is so high for the countries in Africa that a blockade is in place through almost every country border such as Guniea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, and Cameroon are among some of the countries imposing border restrictions. Although the concern for other continents is low, people should not turn a cheek on this issue and stop the spread before it turns into a pandemic.

"Speech to the Troops at Tilbury"

Queen Elizabeth's speech, "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury", was a heartfelt and emotionally touching speech. By using SOAPST to decipher the speech and analyze it to get a better understanding, the audience will find out by doing the SOAPST that the subject is on going to war and motivating her people to fight till death. She says during her speech,"in the midst and heat of battle, to live and die amongst you all..."(Elizabeth, 41). She approaches the fact that she is an old lady by saying,"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king..."(Elizabeth, 41). She uses the proper syntax by using the word we, which states that she is the same as the people she is motivating, but towards the end of the speech she says my people, in order to solidify that she is the Queen of England and their ruler. The occasion is before going to war against the Spanish Armada. The audience is non other than the people of England and the military. The purpose of the queen's speech is to inform and to motivate. The speaker is obviously, Queen Elizabeth I. The speech's tone is rather emotional, powerful, optimistic, and courageous. By putting the SOAPST together the audience understands the reason of why she is giving the speech, who the speech is being addressed to, where the speech is being held, who the speaker is, and also what the tone and purpose of the speech is. The piece proves to be effective to the audience and purpose because after her speech, the English went on to defeat the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth was extremely inspirational, who's speech was arguably a major factor for their victory.

The Deadly Epidemic

"WHO: West Africa Ebola Death Toll Passes 1,200"
By: Clair MacDougall and Stephanie Nebehay
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/west-africa-ebola-death-toll_n_5690470.html

The symptoms of Ebola include fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhea. This epidemic was first detected in, which used to be Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the mid-1970s. Ebola is spread by connection with blood and body fluids of people or animals who have been infected, it is one of the world's deadliest diseases because scientists are still yet to find a cure; killing up to 90 percent of the people or animals who have been contaminated. Pandemonium has risen and Ebola has been amongst the world for 4 months now and the death toll has risen above 1,200. "As the Geneva-based World Health Organization rushed to ramp up the global response to the outbreak first detected in March, including emergency food deliveries to quarantined zones, it announced that deaths from it had risen to 1,299 as of Aug. 16, out of 2,240 cases"(1). "Between Aug. 14-16, Liberia recorded the most new deaths, 53, followed by Sierra Leone with 17, and Guinea with 14"(1). The WHO said, "Food has been delivered to hospitalized patients and people under quarantine who are not able to leave their homes to purchase food. Providing regular food supplies is a potent means of limiting unnecessary movement"(1).

This article justifies the importance of why the human population should take Ebola seriously and not think of it as a joke. The article informs the audience about the situation in parts of Africa and tells the audience to be prepared for the worst. Ebola is a serious matter, let the world hope it does not spread to neighboring countries to the point where the whole world is contaminated with Ebola. This article is exceptionally informative, giving the audience background information about the disease and also the present situation in parts of Africa. If it is not treated properly the epidemic can turn into a pandemic with a blink of an eye.

Most Valuable Power

Vitamin Water did a grand job with this advertisement in the year 2011. This advertisement uses ethos, logos, and pathos. One of the automatic ethos appeals in this advertisement is the picture of Kobe Bryant. The whole world knows who Kobe Bryant is; he is the All-Star shooting guard and future Hall of Fame inductee for the Los Angeles Lakers. The second and final ethos are the words "vitamin water" on the bottom of the advertisement under the checklist, because this shows that the advertisement is trustworthy and has credibility. The logos in this advertisement is the checklist which gives some of Kobe Bryant's accomplishments. Vitamin Water wants to tell the viewers that Kobe Bryant has achieved 3 championships and 1 MVP award while drinking Vitamin Water. The pathos in this advertisement are the words all the way at the bottom which read "try it... it works for kobe." Vitamin Water gives the viewer an emotional desire; if this sports drink works for Kobe Bryant it may work for the consumer too. Another pathos is the overall tone and physique of Kobe Bryant's body which tells the audience, the reason why Kobe Bryant is so defined is because he is drinking Vitamin Water, so it not only intrigues the audience but gives them an emotional hope that they can have the same physique of Kobe Bryant. The makers of this image also pick the luscious red flavor in order to catch the audiences' eye. This advertisement is effective to athletes everywhere and to the audience who idolize Kobe Bryant, because they would buy the drinks in the mind set of being just like him. In all honesty though, there is only one Kobe Bryant and there will never be a duplicate, so the audience should not get their hopes up.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Bradbury did an astonishing job by writing a book about the future where everyone is narrow minded and cannot express themselves. This book takes place in the twenty-fourth century. The book was written so beautifully that I could not put the book down until it had unfortunately come to an end. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was labeled as a “bestselling masterpiece” and I could not have agreed more. The novel gives a glimpse of life in the future and the changes that have been implemented on the American society. The future of the American society does not consist of any books. If any books were found they would be burned. Ironically, the individuals who would burn the books were called firemen. Firemen are supposed to put out fires but in Fahrenheit 451 the firemen commence fires. Ray Bradbury tries to tell us by books being outlawed in Fahrenheit 451 that books enhance your knowledge and thinking, so by putting a restriction on any piece of literature the superiors of America do not need to worry about any revolts because without books the civilians cannot distinguish if a situation is handled right or wrong. The American superiors or in other words the government do not want the people to be rebellious and develop new ideas and observations about how the American society should actually live. Bradbury has envisioned the United States’ future as a dystopia but also emphasizes the importance of books and how knowledgeable ideas would not be brought up if literature has not been read. Books should not be taken for granted; instead it should be appreciated because that is where we perceive our wisdom.