News For The Week Of April 26, 2015

Payne, Ed. Police: We failed to get Freddie Gray timely medical care after arrest.  2015 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. cnn.com. April 4 25, 2015.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QY9rpdVYOE. web

The city of Baltimore is under a huge turmoil as many people are angry over the death of Freddie Gray, which is another death that involves a white police killing/injuring a black man during an arrest. I used injure here because Freddie Gray was injured during his arrest but died later in the coma due to the officer's refusal to provide him with medical aid. On April 12, several white policemen arrested Freddie Gray in a foot chase breaking his neck and possibly damaging his spinal cord which lead him into a coma. Gray died  one week after his arrest. What many people in Baltimore are angry about is that Freddie Gray asked the cops for medical attention multiple times and he did not receive any. Police commissioner, Anthony Batts admitted that the police did not give him medical attention in a timely manner. Some people see this act as murder and are protesting heavily in the streets of Baltimore, vandalizing stores and destroying police cars in the process. Six police officers are involved in this current arrest and may face charges of murder or manslaughter. This is another event that is seen to be racist as a white cop kills a black person for no good reason which is causing a huge stir in America.

    This is one of the many cases that involves a white cop killing a black man that is similar to the death of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Walter Scott. What I’m curious is that would this case cause the same amount of hype if it involved a victim that was not black? I feel like the technology plays a huge role in this controversy of white cops killing black men in “cold blood”. With every cop is equipped with a camera and almost every witness has a cellphone, thus an arrest can easily be captured and uploaded on the internet for people see. A lot of videos of cops arresting black men are violent and horrifying which make people assume that cops are evil. The arrest all began when Freddie Gray ran after seeing the cops and the police chased after him under suspicion. Yes the police did have the right to arrest him under suspicion, but I feel like his arrest wasn’t necessary. Freddie Gray did nothing illegal or provoke the police that would justify his arrest. I hope that the tension between the police and the people of Baltimore eases as we wait for answer from Gray’s autopsy. 

Vergano, Dan. Ghorayshi, Azeen. Chinese Study Of Human Embryos Raises Fears Of Designer Babies.BuzzFeedNews. April 22, 2015. http://www.buzzfeed.com/danvergano/chinese-study-of-human-embryos-raises-fears-of-designer-babi. Web

An experiment was conducted in China which involved the genetic engineering of the human embryo for the first time in history. This experiment which was first reported by the Nature News on April 22 was unsuccessful with only 7 out of 86 embryos surviving the engineering process. The experiment which was sponsored by the Chinese government drew criticisms, both positive and negative from scientists around the world.  Some condemned the experiment to be ethically wrong and said the technology used in this experiment was obsolete. Others such as Paul Knoepfler praised the experiment for the use of technology which is becoming more ubiquitous in the field of science. The main technology used to alter the DNA in the embryos is called CRISPR/Cas9 which was invented by Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues. Although many American scientists frowned at the Chinese experiment, researchers in America are pursuing the research of genetically engineered animals.CRISPR can be used to create animals that are resistant to disease or “humanize” pigs so that their organs can be used in transplant. Due to the bad results, the experiment has been called to the halt but scientists hope to continue for the sake of science.

    Recombinant DNA Technology has been a hot topic of debate, which can be seen in GMO products. Should we humans wield the technology to alter DNA which would make the whole process of evolution be pointless? The theory proposed by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century states that life has been evolving through naturals selection for eons but now, with Recombinant DNA Technology, we humans can now practically skip this entire process of evolution. I feel like this technology usage should be limited, especially on humans. Since this technology has already been used on animals and plants, we should continue our development and research. However when this technology is used on humans, I feel that we are almost playing God and we are wielding a power that is almost omnipotent. There are also moral the ethical issues that arise when this technology is used on humans. As seen in the experiment, 79 human embryos died in this experiment; 79 human lives were lost. Is it worth it to kill human embryos for the sake of science?

Sutter, John. Climate: 7 questions on 2 degrees. 2015 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. cnn.com. April 25, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/24/opinions/sutter-questions-two-degrees-climate/index.html. Web

2 degrees Celsius. That's the temperature that stands between the current world and global catastrophe. An article, released on April 24 shows some of the possible repercussions the world will face if it continues to pollute the environment. 2 degrees Celsius seems like a small temperature change but this small number carries a huge importance that can change of course of mankind. A research from the National Research Concluded that the increase of the global temperature by 2 degrees Celsius  would lead to detrimental effects such as increased size of wildfire, hurricanes becoming more intense, the Arctic losing 30% of its ice, and the availability of ice water declining by 20%. This disaster can be avoided if the world cuts down their greenhouse gas emissions by 90% which is possible but difficult. The global direct of the World Resource Institute said that the world will significantly decrease the risk if the world focuses on using clean energy. If the world continues to pollute and the global temperature increases over 2 degrees Celsius, the world faces major extinction and reconfiguration of the coastline.

    The world recently celebrated Earth Day which was created to draw public awareness of pollution. In the 21st century, the world is beginning to see the damages being down onto the environment which began during the industrialization era. I feel like the world will have a hard time cutting their greenhouse gas emission due to our reliance on fossil fuel. In order for us to decrease of gas emission, we need an alternative clean energy, which exists today but are not ubiquitous. The world is already seeing the increased effects of pollution such as the drought in California and the ice melting in the Arctic. Despite our current effort to reduce pollution, I feel like this isn't enough to prevent us from reaching the increase of global temperature. The UN and other world organizations should order their members decrease their pollution and impose fines on countries that don't comply.

News Week Of April 19

O’ Neill, Ann. Tsarnaev guilty of all 30 counts in Boston bombing. cnn.com. April 8, 2015. Cable News Network. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/boston-marathon-bombing-trial/index.html. web

It has been roughly two years since Boston Marathon bombings took place, and for many, the terrible event has receded into the back of our minds, however old memories are resurfacing as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev received his verdict on April 8, 2015. After 11.5 hours of deliberation, the jurors reached a verdict. Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 charges and is currently facing the death penalty. The verdict took 26 minutes long to announce and 17 out of the 30 charges could send him to the death row. Tsarnaev act is seen as worst act of terrorism since 9/11 and the jurors now have to decide whether Tsarnaev should receive the death penalty. Now its up to Judy Clarke who is an expert at keeping her clients off the deathrow to convince the jurors to spare Tsarnaev life where he would receive life in prison. Many of the victims found relief from the verdict but were completely satisfied.

I believe that Tsarnaev should be killed for his heinous act but the victims that were affected by the bombing will never receive complete justice. How can the death of Tsarnaev repay the lost lives or the loss of limbs that occurred at the bombing? A sick person like him shouldn’t have the right to live and shouldn’t even be considered a human. What startles me is that he was influenced by his religion Islam, which is expected to surpass Christianity in the number of followers in a couple decades. The propaganda released by terrorist organization are affecting many muslims in the western world compelling them to join and support their organization by committing act of terrorism or betrayal. The hatred for America will cause for act of terrorism unless US decides hunt down terrorist groups. One of the most important tool for the terrorist organizations is the internet, where they communicate their messages and beliefs to thousands of other muslim to carry out act of terrorism. So the US government should focus less on stalking their own citizens and try to limit the terrorists access to the internet.

Gupta, Sanjay. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It's time for a medical marijuana revolution. cnn.com. April 17, 2015. 2015 Cable News Network. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/opinions/medical-marijuana-revolution-sanjay-gupta/index.html. web

On April 17, Dr. Sanjay Gupta advocated for the legalization of weed which is significant considering that he’s CNN’s main medical correspondent and a highly respected doctor. A recent document hosted Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows the benefits of marijuana and sees a potential revolution in marijuana as 53% of Americans( a majority) voted for legalization of the complete usage of marijuana with 77% supporting the legalization of medicinal marijuana. There are plenty of evidences proving that marijuana could positively impact ten major diseases in the world such as cancer, AIDS, Glaucoma, and epilepsy. Marijuana can help reduce the demand of pills which is the one the biggest cause preventable deaths. Dr. Gupta claims that there are many patients whose lives have improved by the usage of marijuana and sees it as a major medicine. Marijuana contains the chemical compound CDM, which is shown to help patients suffering from diseases like epilepsy. Dr. Gupta accentuates that the country should come together nationally and work to legalize marijuana in order for more research to be done on this mysterious plant.

A recent study done by Niskayuna HS shows that a majority of sophomores never smoked weed? It is stigmatized by the media and the school and we are often warned to stay away from it. However I feel like we have been deceived thinking that marijuana is worse than tobacco and alcohol since it is illegal furthermore, the school has failed us to show the benefits of marijuana. After reading the article, I discovered that there are new things about marijuana, like strains of plant that are meant for medicinal purposes only and its potential to cure Epilepsy or Glaucoma. Also by legalizing weed, drug cartels would go out of business since there is no need for them to ship the drugs to US, thus the expensive drug war would finally come to an end or abate. What is startling to me is that alcohol and tobacco kill more Americans than weed yet it remains legal while weed is illegal. I feel like Dr. Gupta’s article will cause a huge stir in the country and we will be seeing more things about the legalization of marijuana in the future.

Mack, David. Video Purports To Show ISIS Executing Dozens Of Ethiopian Christians. Buzzfeed.com. April 19, 2015. NYC. http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/video-isis-ethiopian-christians#.cq86kDRVqD. Web

ISIS on April 19, released a gruesome video of them executing dozens of Christians in Libya by either shooting or beheading them. The video begins with an ISIS member who condemns America and promises to kill every last infidel before the Christians are executed. The Christians that were in the video were either shot in the head or beheaded with a knife. The footage was condemned internationally and convinced Egypt to take action by carrying out airstrikes on ISIS targets. Many analysts believe that the men in the video are locals of Libya that claims to have affinity with ISIS. The video was released by ISIS to intimidate the west by showing them what ISIS will do if they establish a new Islamic Caliphate. The video may have also inspired some muslims to join ISIS.
After seeing some of the pictures from the article’s page, I am horrified at how far ISIS will go to refute Christianity. This video serves as a stark reminder of the terrible atrocities that ISIS had committed in the past years. How can this group consider themselves to practice Islam when they are killing people that worship the same God as them. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all worship the same God but through different ways, so why were the ISIS member killing Christians who worship the same God as them? The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate allowed Christians and Jews to live in their realm peacefully known as Dhimmi and prospered for centuries, so why do ISIS have to take their belief to the next level if their predecessors were more pragmatic? I feel that ISIS is just like cancer and must be stopped before they get out of control.

News for the week of April 12

Martino An

Current Event Blogs

Gray, Rosie. World Powers And Iran Agree On “Parameters” For A Final Nuclear Deal. BuzzFeedNews. April 3,2015. http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/world-powers-and-iran-agree-to-continue-talks-after-marathon#.lnvB4a9dva. web

In the city of Lausanne in Switzerland, the long conflict between the US and Iran over nuclear power may come to an end as both parties agreed on a set “parameter” to be implemented on the Iranian Nuclear Enrichment program. Although the deal has not been officially signed, by July, negotiators will work on tying up loose ends and work through the details of the deal so that both parties will be satisfied. By limiting Iran’s nuclear production and inspecting Iran’s nuclear facility by the International Atomic Energy Agency, many sanctions set by the EU and US will be lifted to reward Iran for their cooperation. This agreement called for a celebration in Iran however other countries like Israel were unhappy about the deal. The newly elected Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu believes that the grant allowed by US for Iran to continue their Enrichment program would threatened the security of Israel and bring insecurity to the middle east. Although US is working to block Iran’s nuclear program from creating a bomb in their deal, Netanyahu believes that the deal will only pave a pathway to a nuclear bomb.

It has been a long debate whether countries can deny other countries the right to create nuclear power. Major power countries like US and Russia are nuclear recognized state(NPT) that ratifies and administers the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, while countries like North Korea and Iran that do have nuclear power/weapon but are not formally recognized. Should countries like Iran that are weaker than nuclear recognized state be punished and be denied to right to create nuclear power. Nuclear power is an energy source not just for nuclear bombs but power plants and reactors. As our world is becoming warm due to CO2 emissions and pollution, I see nuclear energy as a viable clean energy source for the future, therefore countries that are developing nuclear power as an alternative energy source should not be denied the right to develop nuclear power. Despite all measures to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear bomb, I think that Iran will “sugarcoat” their program and eventually develop a nuclear bomb secret with repercussions that will ripple in the entire world and threaten the foundation of our society.

Shoichet, Catherine. Kansas governor signs abortion law. CNN. April 8, 2015. Cable News Network. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/politics/kansas-abortion-law/index.html. web

On April 7, was a day of victory for the Republicans as Kansas banned second term abortion which made it the first of its kind in the United States. The law which defines abortion as the “dismembering an unborn child” took a step closer to protect life at its most vulnerable stage. Although there is no time frame that restrains the abortion, the new law bans the specific abortion technique used in aborting a fetus in the second trimester. Kansas, being a republican state felt the need to make abortion illegal and took steps to ban parts of abortion, making it the state with the most restriction on abortion in US. This new law has sparked a national outcry as many feminists and democrats condemn the law claiming it denies women the right to make important decisions and their access to healthcare. Despite this new law, groups that advocates for planned parenthood and women’s right plan to fight back in hopes of gaining for rights when it comes to abortion.

Abortion is one of the many controversial issues such as gay marriage and death penalty that turns this country into a big turmoil. I feel that abortion should be left for women to decide instead of state officials that are mostly males bickering among each other when they have no idea what its like for a women when she has to make that monumental choice whether to kill her own son/daughter for her life. Being raised by the catholic doctrines, I was taught that abortion is terrible and evil but as I grew older, I saw that abortion wasn't as evil and terrible as I was taught at church. As I became aware of things such as rape and underage sex, abortion seemed to be to be a way to get out of that predicament. Should our country deny access to abortion towards patients that were raped or had underage sex? I firmly believe that abortion should be a woman’s choice and us males should not get involved in it because we will never have to make that choice. In spite of what I said, killing a fetus in the second trimester seems inhumane to me but again I’m a male and have no right to comment on a woman’s decision.

Arajuo, Felipe. Kenya Wants To Shut Down Africa’s Largest Refugee Camp. BuzzFeedNews. April 12, 2015. http://www.buzzfeed.com/felipearaujo/kenya-wants-to-shut-down-africas-largest-refugee-camp#.sbG4zdOPEd. Web

One of the repercussion of the al-Shabaab attack on Garissa University is the relocation of the Dadaab refugee camp located in Kenya and is believed to be a breeding ground for al-Shabaab militants. The Kenyan government has asked the UN to close the refugee camp and relocate 600,000 Somalis away from Kenya on April 12. 2015. The Kenyan government has given the UN only 3 months to relocate 600,000 Somalis before they completely shut down the camp. It seems that the country is “kicking out” the Somalis out of anger after the massacre that occurred at the University, however the Kenyan government is justifying their actions by saying that it is for the security of their country. In addition to closing down the refugee camp, the Kenyan government began building a 440 mile long wall on the border between Kenya and Somalia to prevent more Somalis from entering Kenya. Many experts doubt that the UN will be able to close down the refugee camp considering that there are more than 600,000 refugees living at the camp. It is highly unlikely that the UN will be able to move more than 600,000 refugees in a year.

I find this act to be extremely unfair to the Somalis living in the Dadaab refugee camp. It is unfair that 600,000 Somalis are being forced out of their homes because a couple Islamic extremists from Somalia wrecked havoc on the country. Kenya is not solving their terrorist problem but only running away from it. Instead of kicking out the Somalis out of their country,  Kenya should focus on working together with the US to put the al-Shabaab regime to an end. This tension between Somalia and Kenya can correspond to the relationship between US and Mexico. Kenya and US both have a superior economy over their neighbors, thus immigrants from Somalia and Mexico come flocking across the border in search of a better life. Developed countries like US should help those poor countries to improve their economy because that is the reason why many people migrate to another country. As the younger generation begins to control the world, we should take action and provide relief to the developing countries instead of ignoring them and focusing on our internal affairs.