SThe ending of this book is quite upsetting, but was expected. The main character, Adolf Tolkachev, was executed. The tension between the Soviet Union and the United States is the main conflict of this story. This book basically gives us details about all the deeper information about the spies trying to get information about the other countries military technologies. These two super powers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., had tension for over forty years and were constantly trying to get information about one another. This story mainly focuses on the U.S.'s side of trying to get information. They had to higher soviet citizens to be spies for the CIA, which was extremely risky because that citizen could easily betray the U.S. and inform the U.S.S.R on what they are doing. "In 1963, Kim Philby was revealed to have been a KGB spy." This is just one out of many examples of KGB spies pretending to be helping the CIA. To sum it all up, the main takeaway of "The Billion Dollar Spy" says it in the title, "A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal." So what, you may ask. So, the main takeaway is can you really trust somebody in times of conflict and what are the consequences of secrecy.
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I am currently reading the book "The Billion Dollar Spy," This is a nonfiction text based on actual events during the Cold War. The main character Adolf Tolkachev, is one of the CIA's most valuable spies. If you are interested in reading about the espionage and betrayal of the Cold War, I definitely recommend this book for you. The quote “This is a country that can’t even make toasters,” he said. “And while they can make missiles, they can’t feed their population.” resembles the hatred between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Also, according to The New York Times, the title “The Billion Dollar Spy” refers to the research and manufacturing costs saved by the United States as a result of Mr. Tolkachev’s revelations from 1978 to 1985; the actual savings were estimated to be more than $2 billion. (Shane, 2015) Currently in Wake County, North Carolina, more than 4,000 people are homeless. This problem needs attention because over half of these people are children. According to the University of Tennessee, most of them are exposed to violence, affecting their performance in school. Just yesterday I was in downtown Raleigh, walking back to my car. I noticed a man and a young child laying down on a bench. They looked cold, sad, and lonely. Around them were trash bags full of cloths, towels, and blankets. I also saw a similar situation week before. These events caused me to question and research homelessness in Wake County. If you think that homeless shelters are an easy solution for the homeless, you are wrong. Being able to find a shelter with space for you or your family is hard. Most shelters are packed full with people. If a homeless person does manage to get a spot in the shelter, it's not the safest place. Many of the people in there are drug addicts, child predators, and have mental problems. This is not the only concern, very little homeless shelters are actually kept clean, most are filthy with many people having diseases, inflections, and other health conditions. This is why there are many people on the streets, because homeless shelters are a hit or a miss. Homelessness also has effects on the community. It has an economic impact because the shelters and food they provide are costly. Also, the amount of homeless people in your community can represent the condition of it. If there are many homeless people on streets with shops, it will drive tourists away and affect your income. Our goal is to supply homeless shelters, and others organizations with over $3000 worth of donations, consisting of toys, food, toiletries, etc, by the end of the school year. Homelessness is a big issue in wake county. In 2013 Wake County had 1,098 homeless individuals. According to the NCCEH data, children make up 22% of north carolina's homeless population and another 13% are their parents. Single men make up nearly half of the homeless population (47%) while single women are 17%, Veterans are 10% of the homeless population. And this could be an issue because some homeless kids go to school but might not afford to buy lunch or breakfast and kids will not be able to learn on an empty stomach. The number of homeless children in wake county school system has increased by 23% since 2009 to 2,736 students for the past school year. There are 1.3 million homeless students in the U.S. and 24,492 in North Carolina according to a report released in November by the national center for homeless education at UNC Greensboro. Michelle Mozingo, the wake county system’s district liaison for providing help under the McKinney-Vento act, said said about half of the district’s homeless students are from families who are temporarily sharing living spaces. Project CATCH estimates the number of homeless children in Wake County at close to 5,000. Tisdale said those children are invisible to many people because most of them aren’t living in shelters or on the Streets. Raleigh Rescue Mission (RRM) is a big contributor to helping the homeless. More than 4000 people in Wake county are homeless and 2736 are students attending school (Raleigh Rescue Mission, 2017). RRM provides food, shelter, education, and support to the homeless. The RRM regularity holds drives for clothing, food, and other household items. Everyday RRM makes an average of 383 meals a day. Yet there are many more homeless men and women in Wake county. Though the contribution of RRM is large and substantial it does not cover every single man and women in Wake county. Though RRM is not the only organization helping in Raleigh. Another organization is looking into building houses for the homeless. AIA North Carolina Activate14 was looking for a design for building tiny houses (J. Michael Weldon, 2015). The design consisted of a small living area, that contained a kitchen and dining facility, laundry and showers. Along with little walkways that led to 12 small homes include a bathroom, bed, and dining area. These tiny houses are planned to be built in a small community along with a garden. Even with volunteers willing to build this community, 12 tiny homes adds up to almost $120,000. Overall, the development would house just 12 out of the hundreds of homeless men and women in Wake County, and would costs a fortune. Raleigh and it’s citizens are helping too. Many citizens volunteer at shelters and soup kitchens, but there is still a need for more. The only thing many companies need now is the community’s contribution. There are already many supporters and new ones join everyday. Raleigh Rescue Mission and AIA North Carolina Activate14 are definitely helping to lower homelessness rates but it is not enough. The plan for tiny homes can house only 12 and Raleigh Rescue Mission is only based on those who come in and seek assistance. There are still many living on the streets begging for money who have no idea where to go for help. Now that you know what other people are doing to help, here is some information on what you can do to help the issue. We all know that it is very hard for the homeless to get jobs, which means they receive no commission. So, what we can do is give the homeless a job. In many states, there is something call the “Container Deposit Law.” This is a way to make a few dollars a day by recycling cans, containers, bottles, etc. With this, we can collect recyclables and donate them to homeless shelter to give the the homeless. Or, we could carry a bag of recyclables and give them to homeless people that we see on the streets. Giving recyclables to the homeless isn't the only thing you can do to help. Things like clothes, toys, and other things you don't need, can be donated to homeless shelters or Good Wills. Also, you can volunteer at homeless shelters or soup kitchens. Take a look at our Action Plan to donate things you don't need or don't use anymore to homeless shelters and homeless organizations. Bibliography "HomelessShelterDirectory." Cary Homeless Shelters and Services - Cary NC Homeless Shelters - Cary North Carolina Homeless Shelters. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. Borden, James. "Wake County Sees Nearly 25% Decline in Homeless Population." Raleigh Public Record. N.p., 22 June 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. "Homelessness in North Carolina: 2014 Update." Carolina Demography. N.p., 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. "Local Statistics." Raleigh Rescue Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. "35 Ways to Help the Homeless." JustGive.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. WeltonCorrespondent, J. Michael. "Tiny Houses for Raleigh's Homeless." Newsobserver. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. Brenoff, Ann. "7 Myths About Homeless People Debunked." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 May 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. The monarch butterfly, one of the most beautiful insects in all of NC are being endangered. Over the past twenty-seven years, over 1 BILLION monarchs have died.
The main reason for the decline has been caused by loss of habitat. Milkweed is the ONLY source of food for these butterflies and the only plant they will lay there eggs in. Farmers have been using pesticides on there crops, killing the milkweed. The monarchs habitat is also being lost to the construction of houses, office building, stores, ect. All these factors are destroying the population of these butterflies, but with your help, we can lower, or even stop, the decline in monarch butterflies. Doing things like not using pesticides in your garden, planting native milkweed, or avoiding GMO's can make a big impact in the survival of the monarch butterflies. Don't let this year be the last migration of these butterflies, spread the word to your friends and family about the fight to save the monarchs! Wake County thought it was a good idea o cut bus routes and stops to save money, but it backfired. I am a student who takes the bus almost everyday and I am VERY unhappy with the Wake County schools bus issue.
Last year, it took me about forty to thirty to forty minutes to get home by the bus. This year, because of the cutting of routes, I spend about two hours on the bus. In addition to longer routes, every kid on my bus sits THREE to a seat, sometimes even FOUR or FIVE. This is RIDICULOUS. A kid should not spend more than one hour on the bus and no more than two to a seat. For busy kids with sports or other extra curricular thing, they are struggling to get all the stuff done and get a good night sleep. Please higher more bus drivers so students don't have to spend over and hour on the bus. If there is no improvement I and many other people will send letter to you about this situation until you do something about the problem. |
AuthorRivers, student philanthropist. Categories |