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.