Christmas-the season of giving or the season of spending?

            What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think that Christmas is right around the corner? For many of us, we immediately think of presents, our wish lists, and how much shopping we have left to do. The holidays have always been a time of giving, but how much giving is too much? When does the giving of the Holiday season become more materialistic than generous? The Christmas season is becoming less and less about family or traditions and more about the gifts we get and the money we spend. Crazed shoppers skip the sleep on Thanksgiving to fight off others to save money on the years hottest appliances. People spend hundreds of dollars buying for friends and family, and worry more about the money value of the gift than the meaning behind it. The Holiday season becomes more of a competition for who can give the better present than a celebration of religion, family, and loved ones.  

Now more than ever, with the state of our economy, people should be more frugal with their money. So many people are struggling to make ends meet; yet families spend immense amounts of money buying gifts that put them in debt for months. Despite the downward fall of the economy this year, online spending is anticipated to increase by almost 12% from previous years.  While I agree with trying to keep Christmas and other Holidays the same despite financial difficulties, where do we draw the line between attempting to normalize and senseless spending that will cause more problems later? I think that if people focused more on the joy and spirit of the Holiday season than the materialistic aspect, this time of year would be much more joyful.

http://emol.org/emclub/?q=holidayshoppingguide

Downloading is NOT Stealing

Websites and programs that allow music sharing and downloading tend to be thought of as illegal, but why? Yes, stealing is wrong, but downloading is not stealing. Stealing is considered taking something that no one else can now have. When you download songs, it is still accessible for other people. Consider it in relation to a library or video store. They rent out movies, but do not pay per rental to the director of the movie. In fact, most libraries do not even have a charge for movie rentals as long as you have a library card. This is the same as what the internet does for music. Does that make libraries and movie stores illegal?

In regards to the copyrights, it also proves to show that downloading and sharing is not illegal. The copyrights are there for the purpose of showing ownership, not allowing illegal reproduction. This means copyrighted objects are not to be reproduced or used for a profit. These rules are being followed because there is no profit and it is not being reproduced, but instead it is being shared. It is not being sold, it is not being recreated, so what makes it wrong? Why do you think music sharing networks are considered illegal? All they do is allow a circulation of music, not the thievery of it.

Leave that toy on the shelf!

Recent findings in St. Louis discovered that the popular Zhu Zhu hamster pet toy is unsafe. It contains Antimony, which is known to cause cancer, lung and heart problems. It is found on the hair and nose of the hamster. The toy's maker, Cepia LLC claims that this toy is safe for children and has passed all safety tests required. These toys are the latest craze of the holiday season, and in being so, a company named GoodGuide came into play to test these latest toys. The Ceo of the company, Dara O'Rourke, stated to the Associated Press that they have bought 3 of each of this years 30 most popular toys and tested them numerous times. The results founded that Antimony was on 93 parts per million in the hamster's fur and at 106 parts per million on the hamster's nose. The normal amount should be 60 parts per million.

The question here is, why are these toys even on the shelves? If children are prone to these types of serious cancers and heart issues, then why are they offered for sale, when they are aware that they can potentially cause serious health issues?

Think back to when led was a huge health risk across the globe. Parents are more cautious than ever now when it comes to buying gifts for their kids. Stores even sell led testers so that parents can be more aware of what their children are playing with. So do you think it is right that parents have to be so on edge about buying toys for their children? Should these companies be punished more frequnetly? Is there enough testing going on to begin with? What do you think?

Take a look at this article to read more about the dangerous Zhu Zhu...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091206/ap_on_bi_ge/us_zhu_zhu_pets_safety;_ylt=AjI3wOgrCW4wUlFpL6gIQI_VJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJubHRpOXMzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjA2L3VzX3podV96aHVfcGV0c19zYWZldHkEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2dyb3VwY29udGVuZA--