Mrs. Bhutto's Death

As most of us know by know, at 6:16 PM today in Pakistan, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto, twice former Prime Minister of Pakistan and first female PM in a Muslim nation was killed after a suicide bomber shot her and exploded a shrapnel filled bomb. While it is not clear whether the gun shots or shrapnels killed as, as there are many conflicting stories, Mrs. Bhutto was pronounced dead at a local hospital nearby the location of the suicide bombing. She was giving a speech at an open rally at the town of Rawalpnindi.

It is a great tragedy that such an event occurred, and even more tragic that she apparently was killed after willingly opening her car window to wave to the crowds, a customary action of hers, when she could have prevented serious injuries had she not done so since she was in her bullet-proof Toyota.

Many protests have erupted in Pakistan over this incident, with many of the disgruntled Pakistanis blaming the incident on Musharraf, calling him a murderer and the likes. Mr. Musharraf himself condemned the attacks and announced three days of national mourning for this horrendous act of terrorism and the unfortunate death of Mrs. Bhutto. Nevertheless, I believe that Mrs. Bhutto's legacy should not be in vain. Now is the time for the Western nations to push for more reform and the increased democratization in the region. Now that the people of Pakistan overwhelmingly despise the actions of the radical Islamists who are currently the prime suspect by analysts for the attacks on Bhutto, we should take advantage of this feeling and finish what Bhutto would have wanted us to do, promote moderate Islam in Muslim nations.

On the news, most candidates have expressed their condolences to Mrs. Bhutto, but none of them are giving solvency to the problem and any actions they will take because of this incident. It is important they give their grief to the people of Pakistan and those close to Mrs. Bhutto. But it is more important that they show the world that this incident is the reason why we must promote moderate Islam in Muslim nations and combat terrorism.

FDA Ban of Foreign Prescription Drugs

I firmly believe that the FDA ban of Foreign Prescription Drugs is wrong. After doing some additional research on this issue, I stumbled on a CATO institute transcript of Roger Pilon,vice president for legal affairs at the Cato Institute and director of Cato's Center for Constitutional Studies, and his testimony before the Senate's Special Committee on Aging (I didn't even know we made this committee.) Two important points I want to quote from him are...

1. People are already breaking the law: "The reimportation debate is before us, of course, because in recent years, owing in part to the rise of the Internet, Americans in increasing numbers have discovered that the patented prescription drugs they're using cost considerably less abroad. But they've also learned that American law, except under limited circumstances, prohibits them from buying those lower priced drugs. Thus, they're pressing Congress to lift the ban in the hope of lowering their medical bills. But in the meantime, they and many state and local officials are simply ignoring the ban and purchasing drugs abroad."

2. An elimination of the ban on drug reimportation should be Congress' course of action: "Thus, if the reimportation ban were lifted, and market principles and practices were to take its place, it would not follow necessarily that domestic drug prices would drop or that the free-rider problem would abate. {I do, however, believe a free market system would decrease prices.} In a free market, sellers and buyers are free to strike whatever bargains they wish. Americans might thus continue to face high prices if foreigners were unwilling to resell their limited supplies to them. But as price differentials increase, incentives on both sides to breach the market barriers only grow, as we are seeing today, even with a statutory ban in place. Thus, in a world of large differentials, multiple vendors, and ready information, it's not likely that no-resale contracts and supply limits would long stanch the cross-border flow of drugs. Companies in that case would have no choice but to adjust prices, raising them abroad and/or lowering them here sufficiently to discourage parallel trading."

A better resource to consider is Pilon's actual original CATO study about eliminating the ban.

What is the "Other" to the Academia?

What is intelligence? What is smartness? What is being knowledgeable? These are all concepts that are similar but different. I hear these terms used quite often and interchangeably. However, these terms should not be used to replace one another. I mention this point because I have been hearing lately a lot of criticisms that someone who doesn't have high grades isn't smart.

Here's the problem: having high grades does not mean you are smart. Certainly, it indicates you can do well on tests and manage to do well in a class, but does that lead to being intelligent? No.


Some people who get high grades are diligent, hard working students who may not be the most intelligent or smart but work hard to attain that knowledge. Some people who get high grades may be utter slackers who are naturally intelligent and can grasp concepts easily or can retain certain knowledge easier than others.

Similarly, on the converse. Not getting high grades means you are not smart. Untrue. Intelligence is how readily you can grasp concepts and attain knowledge. Knowledgeable means having lots of knowledge and information. You can be knowledgeable but not intelligent- though that is a difficult state of being to have since most knowledge people have some degree of intelligence. Being smart is being both intelligent- ie having the aptitude to learn and adapt in academic situations- and being knowledgeable- ie having the prior information with which to apply that intelligence.

Far too often, people mistake the converse of the statement to be true when both converse and original are false. I wish people who have high grades, are in higher-level classes, or are of the "academia" would be more humble when dealing with those who aren't in that academic class (figuratively and literally). It might be interesting that I make this comment seeing as how most people regard me as being of the "high academic level" in my high school. However, I find sometimes that the "smart" people can be condescending and patronizing to others they consider to be of "inferior" intelligence.

It irks me how haughty some smart people can be to others. While it may be true they aren't as smart or even as knowledgeable, it gives "us" no right to assume such a vain attitude. Humans are humans in the end and fallible. We should not assume role of superiority simply for being more intelligent.

Knowledge is not an ends, it is a means.


I have become concerned with this topic because I have met many new people this year in my new capacity as ASB President. As a result, I have slightly departed form the safety and company of the academia of my school I have grown so close and fond to. In retrospect, I find all too often that people of my "class" unassumingly take on an almost arrogant attitude to others- the other being those who don't have high GPA's, those who don't take 7 APs by the end of junior year, those who opt for lower level courses, those who aren't "overachievers." I only hope people will come to realize the dangers of such a faulty mentality towards the "other."

By the way...

That Chavez prediction about the referendum failing, who predicted that? That's right. I did.