The Pashtunwali Code in "Lone Survivor"

The Pashtunwali Code in "Lone Survivor"

             In the movie the Lone Survivor an American Navy SEALs team is ambushed during a secret operation in rural Afghanistan. This ambush lead by the Taliban killed 19 American soldiers leaving only one Navy SEAL alive. This movie is based on a true story depicted by the real life survivor Marcus Luttrel. The main reason Marcus was the only survivor from the mission was because he was protected by a group of Taliban opposed villagers. These people protected Marcus from the heavily armed Taliban fighters because of a 2,000 year old code of honour these rural Pashtun villagers have. This is called the Pashtunwali code which is based on ten principles of hospitality, asylum, justice, bravery, loyalty, righteousness, respect, honour, courage and the protection of women. These strangers sacrificed their own lives to protect Marcus all because of their cultural pact and beliefs. This shows the commitment the Pashtun people have to their belief in their own culture and Pashtunwali code. These villagers followed their code for no benefit to them and saved the life of an American soldier out of their own generosity and honour. 

Car Insurance for Teenagers

Car Insurance

           I believe that car insurance companies are unfairly charging new drivers by categorizing everyone as a bad driver. This is especially true with male teenage drivers, they have some of the highest insurance costs compared to all other drivers. They have the highest costs because on average these drivers are most likely to be involved in serious accidents. Insurance costs can be slightly lowered if a new driver attends a provincially approved driving school but these prices are still higher compared to female new drivers and other drivers. I believe that young drivers should be individually tested or evaluated to determine their monthly insurance costs. It is not fair for a new driver like me to have to pay the same amount of money as a dangerous, inexperienced male driver that has barely passed their G2 test. I think that the system could be improved by taking a second test for the insurance company to decide on how much insurance they pay. This would benefit the companies because they aren't taking as large of a risk on each new driver they will know the performance of each customer. It will also greatly benefit the new drivers especially the male ones because their insurance costs could easily be lowered to a more fair price for them. 

ODSS Timetable

Why ODSS Should Change It's Class Rotation

      I strongly believe that Orangeville District Secondary School should change it's class rotation from only afternoon classes to include morning classes too. Presently, ODSS has a Day 1 and Day 2 this means that each student's afternoon classes switch every Day Two. This is a very useful system for students who are active in school sports or other extra-curricular activities where they miss classes at the end of the day. The rotation allows students to miss different afternoon classes when they are away making it easier to catch up on the work they missed. However, I think this system can be greatly improved by including the morning classes into the rotation. Instead of 2 different days I suggest that we have 4 different days so by Day 3 and 4 the morning classes will be in the afternoon. Even though this may be confusing and hard to understand at first the benefits of a full class rotation are impressive. It will allow students who miss many last classes to even out their work load when they get back, so they won't only fall behind in one class. Systems like this have already been introduced in schools like Center Dufferin District High School in Shelburne, Ontario. In conclusion, I think that ODSS should change it's class timetable rotation to include morning classes to benefit students involved in extra-curricular activities where they miss class. 

Rohinton Mistry Background Information

Rohinton Mistry Background

            Rohinton Mistry was born on July 3rd, 1952 in Mumbai, India he is of Indian origin and belongs to the Parsi community. Rohinton has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Economics, English and Philosophy from St. Xavier's College in Mumbai and the University of Toronto. He has a number of published short stories about modern day life in India and also has two other published books A Fine Balance (1995) and Family Matters (2002). Rohinton is a very acclaimed author, he has won multiple literary awards including the Hart House Literary Contest in 1983 and 1984, the 1985 Annual Contributor's Prize and most recently the Neustadt International Prize for Literature last year. My ISU novel Such a long Journey (1991) has won the Governor General's Award and was on the Man Booker Prize short list both in 1991. This novel takes place in 1971 Bombay it accurately references to international conflicts with Pakistan in 1948 and then again in 1971. Rohinton Mistry definitely has the authority to write about life in India because that's where he was born and raised and his other books detail the Indian socioeconomic life. 

Why There Should be Body Checking in Younger Ages of Hockey

Why There Should be Body Checking in Younger Ages of Hockey

           I strongly disagree with Hockey Canada's recent decision to eliminate body checking in the Pee Wee age level. The Hockey Canada board explains that there research has found that many Pee Wee aged players are being injured because of body checking and it has become a safety issue. My opinion is that body checking should be brought in at an earlier age in the Atom level which is for kids playing at the 9 to 10 age level. I think it should be brought in earlier so that the players can learn how to hit properly when they begin playing competitive hockey. The real problem is that when these older kids start using body checking their skills haven't been developed and they don't know how to make a safe and legal hit. The other issue is that when kids start to hit at the 13 and 14 age there can be a huge difference between their height and weight. Many kids can almost be fully grown and up to six feet in height while others still haven't gone into puberty and are under five feet tall.  This is the real problem because these developed kids can serious injure the players that are much smaller than them. For these reasons, I strongly believe that body checking should brought in at the Atom level across the country instead of the Bantam level.