Can we Rely on Websites Information

Venezuela Analysis claims to be an independent website produced by a handful of individuals. The mandate of this organization is to provide an unbiased analysis of the current political setting in Venezuela. The article I have selected, Chavismo, is written by Elias Jaua Milano, a Venezuelan political leader selected by  Hugo Chavez to be the future governor, and the current main investor of the Venezuela Analysis website. Taking the clear bias of this writers position in the Chavez legislation it is easily conceivable this website supports the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, and is therefore not the independent, unbiased organization it claims to be.

Elias's article highlights interesting points supporting the conclusion above. Firstly he states the Chavista movement is a revolution embracing and protecting less fortunate individuals. Further, he identifies the wealthy as a hindrance - trying to strip Venezuela's identity by exploiting the nations natural resources. In reality neither Hugo Chavez nor Elias Milano have ever experienced poverty, both were born into wealthy and politically powerful families with the pure purpose of maximizing profit at any cost. Elias additionally affirms Hugo Chavez has never betrayed his country and recognizes everyone as equals, but it is proven that during some conservative "right wing" protestations, Hugo Chavez commanded  his political followers (chavistas) to open fire on the protestant crowd. Various people were injured and some killed. How is this recognizing everyone as equals?

Furthermore, Elias informed readers Chavez has made political links with Cuba, Iraq, and Iran by suggesting these connections are for people's well-being and will be used as a recovery process in order for progress to occur. According to other articles and prestigious newspapers Chavez has been purchasing rifles, fighter jets, tanks, and other weapons with the profit of oil and gas to have a stronger military base. Also he has made arrangements to trade oil and gas for more weaponry and nuclear power. How is excessive weaponry and nuclear power in the hands of a radical politician a way to rebuild and recover Venezuela from its current state?

In my opinion the Venezuela Analysis website is a non-neutral political website which only focuses on the accomplishments of Hugo Chavez but not the entire truth of his work and actions.

Hugo Chavez a true Dictator

          I have recently read some news of what is currently happening in Venezuela due to Hugo Chavez absence given that he had previous heart problems. Hugo Chavez to some is a savior to others he is the worst thing that could have happened to Venezuela. I am not from Venezuela but I do have various friends that are. In my opinion I do not think that Chavez intentions are to create a better Venezuela by providing jobs, health care and freedom. I believe that his intentions are to explode Venezuela's Oil and Gas industry. His main goal is to gain profit and create a stronger army, a true "dictator".

          All of these people who adore him only want him back because they need someone who can support them with food, shelter, and currency. Of course the only way of keeping power in a country whose population consists of mainly individuals who can’t support their basic needs, is to buy them out. I do understand the less unfortunate point of view but how are other countries able to help their people without being corrupted?
          So if you ever come across someone who speaks well of Venezuela's current president do not believe them! They are probably just obtaining money from his political party. Hugo Chavez is in fact a man who is not only full of rubbish but is also corrupted and unjust to his own people. 

          There have been multiple attempts of taking him down from his power, but it is extremely hard when at the same time there are so many Venezuelans who think they need his dirty support to survive (Chavistas), when in reality, if those Chavistas only realized that they could earn a conformable honest living by simply getting rid of him instead of accepting his "easy-money" (pathetic). 

Change Blindness (not so smart after all)

Hi everyone,
Attention and Higher Cognition, Chapter 18 of Biological Psychology is a chapter that really intrigued me. It  presents us with some interesting facts about ourselves and how our mind/memory actually works. Within the chapter the authors discuss a phenomenon called 'change blindness'. Through this body of research studies'  alarmingly demonstrate people are surprisingly poor at noticing robust changes in their environment, unless they are paying direct attention to the specific area of change occurrence. In a real world application of this work, one cannot help but question the validity of eye witness memory, especially with the importance held by such accounts when it comes to determining an accused perpetrators fate?

http://www.biopsychology.com/6e/activity1801.html

How do you take your Newspaper? Some thoughts for consideration

                In the present era of the mass media, conventional newspapers such as the Calgary Herald produce a small number of physical prints for public distribution in comparison to the pre dot-com boom. Subsequently though, the popularity of e-newspapers has skyrocketed. In society today,  online media is an immense part of our lives. Essentially everyone relies on it in order to be informed and to share ideas.

                An online copy of a newspaper is different than a physical printed copy. Online newspapers are more flexible and interactive for the user. It is flexible in that it allows you to simultaneously access multiple news items including global news or past-run articles. It is interactive as it allows you to access data in more versatile ways. For example, if by any chance you cannot manage to find or access information the internet will give you various options to pick from in order to reach your goal. Online newspapers also appear to be more alive. This is accomplished through the management of color and live images such as ads, which to the human eye is more appealing than your traditional black and white newsprint. Furthermore, others point out the e-newspaper is a more user friendly source of information compared to the physical copy due to the flaccidity of the web version. If you are unsure about a word or an argument presented in an article there is a plethora of websites at your fingertips to clear any confusion.

                On the converse, it can be argued that due to the "freedom" and presence of multiple ads found in an online copy of the newspaper it is difficult to concentrate and critically analyze the column at hand. Additionally, reading a hard-copy forces your brain think analytically which improves the quality of reading and also helps you to remember what was read instead of just skimming through it. Another advantage of a physical copy is that you can carry it anywhere you please without worrying about dropping it, being stolen, and/or charging the battery. 

                In my opinion both versions of the newspaper have valid appealing attributes for their users. I believe the type of medium you choose to read from effects your overall thinking. For instance the brain is more effective in adapting to an online copy then to a physical one because the information presented has a more appealing way to the human eye. Also your brain unconsciously connects easier to the more appealing information in some cases on a personal level. Another consideration though is how the natural human tendency of wanting to know the latest news is now boosted through the social media. We all want to be the first to know the latest news and the internet tends to "overload" us with this information consequentially not allowing our brain to absorb and understand all the material. Moreover, online copies sometimes tend to exaggerate to be able to catch the reader's attention. Overall the semantic differences are minimal, what does change is how the information is structured to the reader with more eye capturing colors and images. Conclusively, online copies are more flexible, interactive and user friendly therefore letting you feel like you have more control over the information presented. On the other hand physical copies force you to think more analytically and therefore enhance your learning process. 

We Are All One

Hey viewers,
This you tube video I am posting consists of the amazing relationship between a lion and human being. Many of us think of animals as simply another "thing" or as an "it" without realizing that they are a living species comparable to humans. They are just as capable of emotions including, but not limited to; happiness, sadness, enjoyment, and love. Furthermore, according to research animals are better than humans in building long lasting relationships based on loyalty. We should not buy into the bad reputation some of us give to the animal kingdom.
This video not only applies to lions - it applies to all species in that they are capable of building relationships and experiencing feelings just like us. We tend to give a bad reputation to anything that looks scary and find excuses to get rid of them almost to the point of extinction, but that should not be the case. If we just take a moment and think of them as equals, this problem would not exist.

K-T Asteroid Impact

Hi guys, have you ever wonder how dinosaurs were extinct 65 million years ago?, here is one of the theories which I found very interesting and very possible due to the physical evidence found.
K-T Asteroid Impact, also known as K-T extinction is the largest extraterrestrial impact known to humanity up to today. Some believe that this impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Yucatan Peninsula crater located in Mexico is believed to be one of the physical evidences that support the K-T impact theory. This crater extend 100km across the peninsula and is between 10 to 15km deep. Rocks found in this location were tested and found to contain iridium metal. Iridium is mostly found in meteorites site remains.
In order to create a 100km crater scientist calculated that the asteroid was 10km/6miles across and between 25 to 30km wide. The energy with which this asteroid stroked planet earth was comparable to one million nuclear bombs!
It is almost impossible to imagine the magnitude of this impact, but we gotta remember that when studying the earth and space there are not limits.

Earth at Large Introduction

Hi guys!

My name is German Contreras, I am currently attending Mount Royal University majoring in Geology. I am passionate about earth and its systems. As you can see this blog is called Earth at Large, I am planning to keep you guys updated with interesting facts and news on earth and its systems but also information on all living species and non living species within earth. This blog will be a nice way to keep you updated and at the same time build some basic knowledge.
I hope you guys enjoy this blog, I also hope that if you guys have anything interesting or anything that I have missed please let me know! this way we can all work together.

Thank you, Enjoy!