news for week 4/20

Blog Article #1

MLA Citation:

     Perez, Evan. "How ISIS Is Luring so Many Americans to Join Its Ranks." CNN.

    Cable News Network, 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/

    22/politics/isis-recruits-american-arrests/index.html>.

This article talks about the ISIS group growing and becoming a powerful force. A reason why this terrorist group is becoming very strong is the persuasion of the group to Westerners which then have friends across the world who would be lured into joining. They become in contact by social media propaganda like Youtube trailers of the group and the group’s Twitter page. Reports and arrests, about 25 since January, has had a big impact on the U.S. Many young people are involved with the group and since ISIS has control over a lot of territory, it is harder to keep track of who is contact with the group. U.S. enforcements said they are opening up more cases than closing them which is a very scary thought for this country.

Like I have said in my previous blogs concerning the ISIS issue, the terrorist group needs to be stopped right away. They are controlling more and more territory each day. They are making advances and use propaganda to get people to join. Their Youtube videos and Twitter page must be very persuading because terrorist-related cases and charges are becoming more common, especially in the U.S. We need to make a stand and show people what is the right thing to do. They might seem like the right thing to believe in when you watch their propaganda videos, but in reality they are causing a massive genocide which is not okay. They need to be stopped.

Blog Article #2

MLA Citation:

Gay, Sheryl. "Scenes of Chaos in Baltimore as Thousands Protest Freddie's Gray's

    Death." The New York Times. New York Times Company, 2015. Web. 26 Apr.

    2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/us/

    baltimore-crowd-swells-in-protest-of-freddie-grays-death.html?_r=0>\

The spinal cord injury while in police custody caused the death of Freddie Gray who was a 25-year-old African-American. This tragedy has sparked the interest of many people because it was yet again another police killing involving a black victim. In Baltimore on April 25th, a peaceful protest that turned violent was being held downtown. This protest was during a baseball game and the fans had to wait until it was safe to leave the stadium. The protesters smashed storefront windows, threw rocks and bottles, and damaged police cruisers. Officers made 12 arrest that night. The twin sister of Freddie said that she knows her brother, their mother, and father would not want violence to be used in order to get their justice. After this was said, a better, more peaceful protest was taken place, stopping traffic and letting their voice be heard. The people just want justice for the family and to end the violence between the police and the African-American race.    

This is another case that has involved an African-American victim who has been killed by a police officer. This again has video proof of the mistreatment of an violent arrest occurring. People across the American want the justice they deserve, which means these police officers need to be fired. I also think that police officers should learn how to deal with situations like this and not to try to kill the person unless it is absolutely needed. This should not happen again and I support the peaceful protest. They are allowed to speak freely and should say how wrong it is that this situation keeps happening. I respect that they are fighting for what they believe in. However, i do not respect violent protest because violence gets you nowhere. Being peaceful is very hard, especially when everyone is very angry about this, but when you are peaceful, it shows how much you are willing to stand up to and fight for what you want. It shows you are not weak and will power through to let your voice be heard.    

Blog Article #3

MLA Citation:

Ellis, Ralph. "British Police Arrest 14-year-old on Terror Charges." CNN. Cable

    News Network, 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/23/

    europe/14-year-old-held-on-terror-charge/>.

As one of the youngest person to be charged with a terror-related case in England, the fourteen year old boy was taken into custody on April 2nd. The teenager was reported by the deputy head of terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service to be encouraging an attack on an Australian parade and the beheading of an Australian. The UK’s greater Manchester police discovered communication between the teen and and Australian man. The boy was charged with two counts and will appear in court sometime Friday.

The amount of terrorism that is happening around the world is not okay whatsoever. The fear people have to live with in these areas and how they have to struggle is just not right. All of the countries need to make peace, which I know is really hard to do in times like this, and figure out a way to stop these terrible acts that impact so many. The fact that this is a teenager who is involved in this is not okay at all. Parents should watch what their kids do on the internet more and wouldn't  they have noticed anything different about this boys behavior? Has he been acting weird or gets angry easily or encourages the ISIS when it is on the news? These questions gives the message to families that they need to watch out for any signs of terrorism and stop the thoughts immediately.

News for week of 4/11

Article #1
Article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/world/asia/afghanistan-jalalabad-suicide-bombing-bank.html?ref=world&_r=0
MLA Citation:
Alokozay, Khalid. "Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani, Blames ISIS for Deadly
     Suicide Bombing at Bank." The New York Times. The New York Times Company,
     2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.


On Wednesday April 18, three bombs on incident civilians in Jalalabad, Afghanistan had killed 35 people and wounded about 125. One bombing was a suicide bomber who had placed himself in the middle of the Kabul Bank. All of the people that were wounded or killed were all civilians. Many people thought the Taliban were responsible for this horrific attack but then the Taliban Spokesman for this region went on social media and said that they did not do this attack. President Ghani said that the Taliban did not say they were responsible but Daesh (Arabic acronym for Islamic State or ISIS) claimed they were responsible. It is still unclarified if they are actual held accountable for this attack but reports of ISIS activity in this area gives evidence that they are responsible.

Terrorism is a big issue in the world and it has impacted many countries. ISIS is a judge current problem that has caused fear for many people. It is getting worse too and this attack shows this because it is the first attack that has happened very far from their homeland in the Middle East. We need our resources from that area, but we can find different resources in the world to get them from. This could then slow down the ISIS movement because they believe we are trying to change their religion and become the overpowering West nation. We could stop these mass killings and help the people there. Since we have removed our troops from this area, so much has happened that takes a turn for the worse. I agree that our troops should come home but we need them there for now to help these countries fix themselves and to control the violence happening. Yes we still have troops there training the Afghan army, but that is not enough to make a difference and help. We are blind to what violence really happens overseas and we need to recognize how hard those people have it. The poor civilians have to live in fear and have very little protection to help their country.

Article #2
Article Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/17/middleeast/iraq-violence/index.html
MLA Citation:
   Alkshali, Hamdi. "ISIS claims blast near U.S. Consulate in Irbil, Iraq." CNN.
  Cable News Network, 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

On Sunday April 19, a suicide car bomber attack happened in Irbil, Iraq. According to the ISIS twitter accounts, they claimed responsible for the attack and were targeting the U.S. Consulate but all of them were safe after the explosion. Although they did not get hurt, 18 others are injured and 4 were killed. A blast was heard by security not far away and then a car was coming at the consulate but did not reach. They shot at the car and it exploded, but then about an hour of a gunbattle against the attackers occurred. This attack was near a strip of pubic places that innocent civilians were at. The State Department said that the U.S. thanks the Iraqis and will continue to work together with the Iraqis to stand up and defeat ISIS.

The terrorism in the Middle East is very extreme and needs to be stop. People live in fear and can't go out without being scared. This attack happened right next to a strip of bars, cafes, and shops that extract many civilians. They are attacking innocent people and now targeting the U.S. overseas. The ISIS group need to be controlled and this can happen when the U.S. Works with the nations to train their army to protect the citizens and put an end to ISIS. Also, a lot of this is happening on social media like Twitter. They have their own accounts and their groups can all be connected that way too. If we put a stop to that, they that can help us advance to end this terrible problem overall.

Article #3
Article Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/18/health/new-york-synthetic-marijuana-hospitalizations/index.html
MLA Citation:
     Ferrigno, Lorenzo. "Rash of Hospitalizations in New York State Linked to
     Synthetic Marijuana." CNN. Cable News Network, 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.




The increase of synthetic marijuana, also known as "spice", has increased within this past year. This marijuana is shown as better than actual marijuana when really it is worse. It is basically fake and filled with many different chemicals. People don't know what they are smoking because of the many different substances mixed all together. 160 patients in nine days were rushed to hospitals just in New York. Many other states have reported just as bad statics and say they also have a problem with this. Symptoms vary from mild which is headaches or drowsiness to extreme such as seizures or increased heart rate. The health department says that "spice" is more common in teenagers because they think it is more safe when actually it is not made for the human body. They think it is more safe because it is sold over the counter and are in colorful packaging, but it has a long term effects on the human brain.

The problem that has been a recent issue dealing with marijuana is whether or not it should be legalized. I personally think if you need medical marijuana that is okay because you are using it to deal with a sickness or to help chemo symptoms if you have cancer. If you are using it just for "fun", that is not smart because it causes health problems and for people to make irrational decisions because they are not in their right state of mind. Now with this "fake" marijuana, the hospitals visits are increasing which causes a lot money to be spent for the victim. Also, this causes a lot of trouble for the hospitals because they treat these patients who are using this to just have a good time and do not realize the health issues that can occur. I think it should not be legalized for these types of reasons. I think it is for the better to not legalize it, it prevents less danger for people.

News for the Week of 4/5/15

Article #1
Article link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-charged-with-murder/index.html
MLA Citation:
 Fantz, Ashley, ed. "South Carolina Shooting: Officer Charged and Fired;
     Protesters Demand Justice." CNN. Ed. Holly Yan. Cable News Network, 2015.
     Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/
     south-carolina-officer-charged-with-murder/index.h


On Tuesday April 7, a white South Carolina police officer, Michael Slager, shot and killed an African-American man, Walter Scott, after Walter ran from the officer. Walter was pulled over by officer Slager for a broken taillight but then used his taser gun and Scott tried to take his weapon according to police reports. There is a video that shows officer Slager shooting Scott eight times and the officer handcuffing him while he is on the ground suffering from a shot in the back. The video shows much more and that the officer did not help until the ambulance had come. Scott was pronounced dead at the scene and protest are going on now because Scott was unarmed and appeared to be innocent. Office Slager is now in custody and the people of the state are speaking out and showing what they think.

This article connects to the Michael Brown case by mentioning the protesters and how they do not want another case like that one. It brings up the trouble this world has with black against white, especially in the police force. Scott was unarmed but ran away from the officer and this article makes it clear that even if he did run away, that does not deserve to be killed. I agree with that statement, but there is not enough evidence to show who was right or wrong. The video shows the officer doing the wrong things and it also raises a question of him lying that the victim was trying to take his weapon from him. I am not really sure if race has to do with any of this, but many people do believe it does. They are tired of this happening and especially after the Michael Brown case the world needs peace between this issue of officers being racist.

Article #2
Article Link:
MLA Citation:
Seelye, Katharine. "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is Guilty on All 30 Counts in Boston
     Marathon Bombing." The New York Times. New York Times Company, 8 Apr. 2015.
     Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/
     redirect?to-mobile=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F04%2F09%2Fus%2Fdzhokhar-
     tsarnaev-verdict-boston-marathan-bombing-trial.html%3Fhp%26action%3Dclick%26pgtyp
     e%3DHomepage%26module%3Dfirst-column-region%26region%3Dtop-news%26WT.nav%3Dtop-ne
     ws%26_r%3D5%26referrer%3D>.


In the afternoon of Wednesday April 8, the verdict for the trial for the Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was determined and had courtroom silenced as the heard his fate. He was guilty for all 30 counts and this was not much of a surprise for the world. The tragic bombing had impacted the city and all of America emotionally and physically. Three were killed and a police officer was also killed trying to stop the two brothers. The article explained what had happened two years ago and the chase with the police force to find the two terrorist. Dzhokhar's brother was killed while they captured Dzhokhar's himself. Of course he was guilty, but the prosecutors were nervous as to if he would be guilty on all counts. Now the decision for the upcoming week is to whether he will be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.

This article gives the readers a feel for what the court room was like during this intense trial. Interviews from some of the many victims of the bombing talked and said he should get what he deserves. I think it says a lot when the defense did not try to say he isn't guilty because the evidence that was given shows he is. "We are not asking you to go easy on him" was what the the defense lawyer said to the jury. The United States was impacted by this tragic event and I think everyone feels the same about this subject and this feeling is sadness. We feel as if this terrorism needs to be stop and I think this is a big step to stopping these kind of attacks. It shows we will not sit around and watch it happen and we will take action to preventing this. I think he should serve his time in jail so he can realize his actions and take his punishment. Most of the country agrees with this according to surveys from news stations so I think the jury should recognize what we want as well.

Article #3
Article Link: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/world/africa/idle-ebola-clinics-in-liberia-are-seen-as-misstep-in-us-relief-effort.html?_r=0
MLA Citation:
Onishi, Norimitsu. "Empty Ebola Clinics in Liberia Are Seen as Misstep in U.S.
     Relief Effort." The New York Times. New York Times Company, 2015. Web. 12
     Apr. 2015. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/world/africa/
     idle-ebola-clinics-in-liberia-are-seen-as-misstep-in-us-relief-effort.html?_r=0>.

With the Ebola outbreak happening in Liberia, the United States is doing all it can to help. This includes sending many troops, lots of money for doctors and to find cures and medicines, and also building care centers. The country's health care is not good at all so they need aid from countries across the world. The President of the country also said that the communities should help each other and to organize aid to each other that the government can not give to them. The people of the country have to help themselves because their government has not helped them when the outbreak came. With this, the aid was increased to give to the country from the United Nations. This helped volunteers to come but it is still hard for the country to function when their people are dying. Liberia is in need of help from many countries and the U.S. has put in a lot of help to this country.

I agree with the point that was made about the world getting involved earlier and helping this poor country to stop the outbreak of this terrible disease. However, I disagree with some of the things the article had said. One thing would be the United States spending hundreds of millions of dollars and sending about 3,000 troops to build care centers for the sick but only one or two actually are in use. There was even a decrease in the disease before the first care center even opened. I'm not saying that we shouldn't get involved and help them, we just should've done it sooner. We started helping them when the disease started to spread toward our country and I think this is was very selfish of us. We put in all of this money, which we really can't afford to spend, to build hospitals that have only a couple of patients are in. It is important that we get involved, but wasting money and military use for a disease that has been decreasing is just not smart of us as a country.

Symbolic Moments during The Holocausts

RECOGNIZE SOMEONE?

A German policeman supervises the hanging of two men in Olkusz.

Rabbi Morris Dembowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1915. His family had originally come from the Bialystok region of Poland. Morris Dembowitz attended Yeshiva University and then received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He married Leonore Markson in 1942. He served as a chaplain during World War II and was stationed first in Rouen, then in the children's home Ecouis where he worked with child survivors of Buchenwald and eventually in the Heidenheim displaced persons camp. Among his activities was the overseeing of the exhumation and reburial of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. He later served as the Executive Director of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia. Rabbi Dembowitz passed away in 2006. 

pg.64-65 “The SS seemed more preoccupied…..That night, the soup tasted of corpses.”

This picture shows the tragic hanging of two men and gives more depth into the situation of the Holocaust. Concentration camps would kill thousands and thousands of people and the prisoners who survived would live a horrific life. Often the death penalty would come into play if you were to disobey the Germans. A scene from the book Night by Elie Wiesel shows what it is like to experience the hanging right in front of your own eyes. When the narrator says, “He was pale, almost calm, but he was biting his lips as he stood in the shadow of the gallows” (Wiesel, 64). The way he explains how the young boy is acting by using imagery makes the scene much more intense. The “shadow of the gallows” makes the mood of the scene seem darker which symbolizes death is to come soon. The picture of the men being hung is black and white, but you get the feeling that the mood is dark and depressing. Both connect in this way and they both should be sad because it represents the brutal death of innocent people.

Another moment in the passage where it can connect to the photo is when all the inmates are watching with such disgrace and sorrow. One of the inmates says, “Where is merciful God, where is he?” (Wiesel, 64). This moment shows how all the prisoners are questioning their faith by thinking this, how can God be real and let this cruelty happen? The narrator gets the author thinking this themselfs and creates the idea behind this scene. He uses such gruesome details such as, “His tongue was red, his eyes not yet extinguishing” (Wiesel, 65) to let his readers to know how he felt at that time and how cruel people can actually be when they controlled by a powerful source. This relates to the photo because when you look at the two men hung, you cannot help but feel disgusted that humans did this to the poor people. The passage and the photo both get the audience to realize how awful the Holocausts was. People started to lose their faith and the Germans let this happen.