Waiting with bated breath...

I don't know about the rest of the Chicago population, but I'm guessing they are all as excited as I am to hear whether Chicago gets the bid for the 2016 summer Olympics. The results are said to announced sometime Friday, and even the Obamas have put in a good word for the city...

But what would happen if we did get the vote? Undoubtedly, the Olympics would cost a large sum of money and we are spending about $100 million on the bid alone. In an article I read recently the reported estimate cost is $3.8 billion (I'm not even really sure if I can grasp how much money that is...), but Robert Livingstone, an expert in the Olympic selection process says, "It will probably cost more..." The city, however, still has a strong argument due to the fact that we don't need to do much to augment the infrastructure that is already in place. Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College, even seemed to think that Chicago could make money from the Olympics if we can learn from cities like Atlanta and Los Angeles. This surprised me quite a bit... I always thought of it only as how much it would cost and not that there was even really a possibility of making money. Which makes me think... If the city can make money is it worth the huge amounts of money it will cost us now? The city has put in their bid, but is this good for the city or will we regret it if we get the bid?

Why so secret?

I recently read an interesting article about 10 restaurants (all of them fast-food based) that talked about all the hidden or "secret" items on their menus. I thought it was interesting that restaurants would go out of their way to hide things by not putting them on the menu but still be willing to sell them. These restaurants ranged from Starbucks to Subway and included everything in between.

 

Personally, I think putting more items on your menu could bring in more customers because it gives you more of a variety of choices. My favorite example is Jamba Juice. What if you get there, but then realize you aren't in the mood for a fruity smoothy? No worries. You can just order a candy-based smoothy!! I love Jamba Juice, but I never would have thought that they sold candy-based smoothies because it's never on the menu and it screams fruit smoothies to me, but who knows?? Another restaurant that I found particularly interesting was Popeye's. Ever heard of 'naked chicken'? I didn't think so... but it exists, so next time you are feeling like unbreaded Popeye's chicken go ahead and ask.

I suppose I can understand taking something off the menu if it unhealthy, but if it's something you aren't proud of offering then why not get rid of it altogether? Why do restaurants even hide items in the first place?

Is one enough?

During Obama's speech about health care this past wednesday, Republican Joe Wilson shocked everyone when he yelled "You lie!" in the middle of Obama's statement about whether the plan would cover illegal immigrants. Telling the president that he is lying in front of the entire nation watching the broadcast on TV is bold, and probably pretty irrational. Almost immediately after the speech, Wilson issued a statement apologizing for his actions and he called the White House that evening as well; Obama accepted his apology saying Wilson "apologized quickly and unequivocally, and I'm appreciative of that." Although Wilson said "sorry" directly after the speech he refuses to say it again. As of late Sunday afternoon he told CNN that he will not apologize again for yelling out.

This is what surprised me. It is an unspoken rule in American culture that you don't call someone a liar to their face (especially the President himself), but it is a whole other thing to make one simple apology and then refuse to do it again, as he is doing right now. The House Democrats want him to apologize on the House floor this week, and plan to censure him if he does not. The fact that he refuses to make one more simple apology surprises me because he has already put out a statement and made his direct apology, so why not one more? It makes me wonder...

Was Wilson truly sorry about what he said or did he only apologize because he knew it was the right thing to do? Is saying sorry once enough or should he be more willing to express his apologies to other people (such as the House Democrats)? Is this true in all cases or just this one?

Do you want to be an organ doner? What if someone payed you $20,000?

I read an article the other day on CNN titled "Donor says he got thousands for his kidney". I was intrigued by the title, which had appeared on the home page, and decided to read the article. Nick Rosen, a young, Israeli responded to an ad in a newspaper labled "Organ donor wanted" so he flew to New York and had his kidney removed at Mount Sinai Medical Center. It may sound absurd, but he didn't just do this on a whim, he was payed $20,000 dollars to donate his kidney. Many of the people who are donating their organs for money are from Eastern Europe, and their reasoning: they need the money. Almost all of the patients were poor and simply needed the money. Rosen's story is only one of many that have been uncovered in a recent investigation about the black market for human organs. What Rosen did, however, is not a unique situation. Recent studies show that about 10% of transplants are illicit. This number amazed me. What also amazed me was the extent of the underground traffiking.

I mean, what compels people to bribe others into selling their organs? Why is there so much underground traffiking, and where did it all get started?