Hi everyone,
It is the midpoint of term 2, which means we don't have a lot of time left! This week's blog inspiration came to me as I have been watching the events unfold in Kyiev, Ukraine. What events???? you may be thinking to yourself, because they haven't been covered much in the U.S.
A good friend of mine from graduate school teaches English to students in Kyiev. Over the past week he has been posting pictures of the uprising/rebellion in the city. There are 2 factions, those who want to join the European Union and those who wish to join forces with Russia. There have been clashes, battles, and more between the protestors and the police. Some of the pictures and video he has posted look like a post apocalyptic event.
This made me start thinking about my writing classes and how we are finishing up our unit on Argument....and how there are two sides to every story.
This week I'd like you to write about one current event that interests you. Tell us about the event and your feelings about it. Then, a few days later, go back and comment on two others' postings as well.
Ms. Z.
I think that the typhoon that occurred in the Philippines is very important to talk about. Although the typhoon occurred a month ago - there are still many unfortunate people who are suffering and dying from the effects it had on their country. 1,779 people are still missing. and over 5,924 people have died. It really shows how we should never take anyone in our lives for granted and that we are so fortunate to have a roof above our heads.
ReplyDeleteIts awful that people are still missing and without homes. This is definitely a noteworthy event that we should still be thinking about.
DeleteSomething that the media really skipped over when discussing the death of Nelson Mandela was his anti-United States sentiments. He spoke of the dangers of the US form of capitalism and even briefly dabbled in communism while trying to reunify South Africa. Our media lauds his bravery and courage while skipping over his sometimes very poignant commentary on the United States. This platform was a large part of Mandela's post-apartheid presence and in his death he should be presented as a whole. Perhaps we could benefit from some of his lessons.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite depressing
DeleteIn Oklahoma there has been a group of Satanists who wish to create a structure in front of the state senate building. This was spurred by a group of people who created a structure representing the Ten Commandments in front of the stairs of the building. They argued that as long as it was privately funded that it is okay to put in front of the building. I think this is really funny and hope that the Satanists get representation
ReplyDeleteI heard about this too!
DeleteA current even that interests me is something that took place this morning. This morning, on December 9th, there was a domestic violence charge in Florida, after a girlfriend held her boyfriend at gun point.... squirt gun gun point... This was after the boyfriend had hit her with a feather pillow. Courts decided to not allow this issue to go to court, and ended up just giving the girlfriend a restraining order.
ReplyDeleteread this this morning and thought it was funny.
I like how this current event did not result in any harm
DeleteThis is not class appopriate
Deletecant believe this even made it to the court's eyes
Deletewho accused it of being domestic "Violence"?
Delete@ Zayne: The initial police responder charged the women with it
DeleteI recently read on cnn.com that a police officer shot and killed a student of the University of the Incarnate Word in Alamo Heights in Texas. The report said that the student was driving erratically and the officer pulled him over because he was a danger to the public. Apparently, the suspect grabbed the officers baton and struck him. The officer followed by shooting the suspect, ultimately killing him. The two sides of the story were what I found interesting and I have seen these types of sides in the news repeatedly. The public, friends, and family of the deceased said he was "the gentlest" and "wasn't the type to attack the police", while the police officer described him as uncontrollably violent. Also, there were some inconsistencies, such as the camera on the police officer's car fell off so the attack was not recorded. Also, they officer claimed not to know the student or where he lived, but it could not be proven. Incidents like this happen everyday and there are always two sides to the story. Sometimes it is hard to choose who to believe.
ReplyDeleteThe death of Nelson Mandela is something that should have been talked about much more in today's media. He was an important person for not only South Africa but for the whole world. He was able to beat the odds and become the first black democractically elected President of South Africa. That alone should have been a reason to talk about him more than we have. He was a great inspiration to many people in this world. It was sad in my opinion to see the media not give him the respect he deserved.
ReplyDeleteI believe that he deserves more credit too. I strongly believe that his legend should live on and that he should not be forgotten… He should definitely be getting more recognition - it seems he is not getting as much recognition as Paul Walker did when he passed away last week.
DeleteI think the death of Eleanor Parker has been greatly over shadowed by other media and should be acknowledged more than it was. Parker was nominated for three Oscars and is most well known for her part in the Sound of Music. She is a talented actress who, although living a long life and dying at the age of 91, should be recognized for all the amazing work she did for the movie industry.
ReplyDeletei agree, she was a good actress.
DeleteOne story that wasn’t acknowledged nearly as much as the world series itself is the riot that broke out at UMass Amherst after the win. There were more arrests in Amherst than there were in Boston which is extremely shocking. There are two major sides to this event: the students, and the police force. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to show how the police handled that situation but many students think they went too far. The videos show students climbing and shaking trees and some even fighting which on its own, certainty isn’t tolerated on a school property, but the police handled the event with what some say are extreme measures. Many students were arrested for “assault on police offer” just for talking back to officers. These students had no choice but to drop out of school and this was not the case for just a couple students. The argument in this case is whether the police handled to situation too far, setting off false grenades and guns and if those students deserved to be kicked out of school or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPqVaI_K82A watch the riot for yourself and see!
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy! The fact that students acted out like that on a school campus is outrageous and completely uncalled for (even off of a school campus)
DeleteOh no. Hope that doesn't happen when I go there.
DeleteI think a very noteworthy event in the news today is that Caroline Kennedy is visiting Japan this week. Caroline went to Nagasaki, the city where the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. Caroline went to meet with survivors of the bomb and to visit the museum in the city. She went and discussed how the relationship between America and Japan has evolved over the last fifty years. I think that this event is so important because it shows how the relationship between America and Japan has changed immensely in the last 50 years and how important it is that we maintain and improve our relationship with this world super power.
ReplyDeletevery interesting. its always good to hear on how the US tries to create good relationships with other countries
DeleteI think it is good to see how far our relationship has come with Japan.
DeleteI just read an article about six people that were lost in the snow in Nevada. Two adults and four children were driving in their jeep to go play in the snow in the mountains of Nevada when suddenly,the jeep slid off the dirt road and into a pit that they couldn't get out of. A huge search went out with planes, helicopters and cars. They went missing on Sunday and were found today (Tuesday). They were in fairly good condition and the article mentioned that the adults did a great job at keeping the kids as warm as possible. Yesterday, one of the adult's cell phones was helping searchers find them. However, with no luck in finding them yesterday, a searcher found them today with binoculars. I thought this was an interesting article because it shows that people don't give up hope! More than 200 people were searching and it was very very cold. The fact that they survived amazes me.
ReplyDeleteI saw this on the news, so sad and scary.
DeleteI saw this on the news too. Its amazing how many people came together to search for them, and they were still alive!
DeleteI think that an interesting story is that General Motors promoted a women to be the CEO of the largest automotive business in the U.S. She is the first women to achieve this position, and that is very noteworthy. Mary Barra will be the first women to be an Chief Executive for an automotive business, showing that women are climbing up in ranks for high up jobs.
ReplyDeletevery cool! GO WOMEN!
Deleteconsidering that 54% of the car purchases that take place in the US are from women, this may be a smart move for GM
DeleteAs I was looking on NBC, I came across an event in Maryland where a tree is set up in a town made completely out of toys and children's objects for the holiday season. The tree is 35 feet tall and contains toys such as soccer balls, sleds, chairs and tables, xylaphones, and many more items. I love this idea of giving to underprivileged kids during the holidays!
ReplyDeletewow so newsworthy!
ReplyDeletewow you're really funny Lindsay!
DeleteThis is so sweet, Caroline !
DeleteI think that one of the most interesting current events being reported today is that of the Bitcoin. This is a new form of currency not specific to one place, but the internet as a whole. People have been investing in this internet "money" in hopes of the value rising, as they would any other stock or investment.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous money that can be used on the online black market, basically. Bitcoin is actually crashing ever since the government shut down the Silk Road.
DeleteThis idea seems dangerous to me.
Deleteit is currently cold out. i think this is interesting because it shows that it is winter
ReplyDeletethanks Peter!!!
DeleteI saw a articles on google about a lady named Yoselyn Ortega who is a nanny from New York was indicted for murder. Ortega killed 6 year old Lucia Krim and her two year and her two year old brother Leo in their Manhattan apartment.
ReplyDeleteThe death of Nelson Mandela really touched my family. We are South African, and my mom was a in her 20s when he was released from prison. Born and raised in South Africa, she grew up hearing he was an evil man. When he was released from prison she was scared for her freedom as a white person, but that obviously turned out not to be true. He changed South Africa in a way my whole family has insane gratitude for as does the rest of the country of South Africa. We don't always realize how current the Apartheid is, but this reminded me how close that hits to home. We have so much to be thankful for as a result of what he did for the world!
ReplyDeleteMy mother was upset with his death. He is a true leader. But it is amazing how long he managed to live for.
DeleteThe article I found wasn't tragic, but very peculiar. During Mandela's memorial somebody snapped a couple of pictures of President Obama. Obama was taking a selfie with a couple of other leaders who were present at the memorial. The First Lady didn't seem too pleased. She actually switched seats with Obama so he wouldn't be distracted. While Mandela's death was tragic, I found it strange that the President would do such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI think I head from a lot of news sources that Mandela's funeral was much more of a celebration than our traditional idea of a funeral. There was a lot of singing and dancing, and I think Obama and the other officials he took the picture with may have been wrapped up in the overall sentiment of it.
DeleteA current event which is grabbing my attention is the LGBT discrimination going on in Russia. Putin and the Duma unanimously passed a bill which bans the discussion of the LGBT community and non-conventional sexual practices with adolescents in order to stop the spread of "homosexual propoganda," and violations can result in up to $100,000 fines (obviously converted into Russian ruples) or detention in jail for being gay or a "suspect gay." Because of this, the Russian winter olypmics have become controversial for LGBT athletes who are choosing to boycott the games and not play. It is not against the law in Russia to detain foreigners or tourists under the suspicion of spreading gay propaganda without due process of even legitimate evidence, so this is encouraging people to not come to the games. There are also no laws against gay hate crimes or police brutality, so the enormous social stigma against gay people is resulting in violent attacks against gay couples, gay pride parades and festivals, etc. LGBT people in Russia are under huge constraints of the government (for example they can't adopt children) and their existence has become taboo because they can't even discuss the fact that they exist. The Putin side of this argument is that they're trying to shelter the minds of the youth from such disturbing and corrupting subject matter as these evil gay people who are invading their country, and that gay people are second class citizens. Baically, being gay in Russia right now is hell on Earth. I often think that being gay in the US is strenuous alone, but I thank god every day I don't live in Russia. Or Ethiopia.
ReplyDeleteThe death of Nelson Mandela is a current event that is very sad bjut also interests me. The number of people that showed up to his memorial ceremony including all of the world leaders. He was released from jail just over twenty years ago and now all of these people view him as a great person. While his death was a tragedy, it is good to see all of these poeple respecting the work he did for racial equality in South Africa, influencing the entire world.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not sure if this qualifies as a "current event", I think it is a current phenomenon that is occurring more and more often throughout the 21st century. People are creating all these organizations to help others in need and many of us just say "Oh, I can't do anything about it, I'm just one person". But like the Lorax says, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
ReplyDeleteThe article is below, so go check it out. pce & blessins'.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dhairya-pujara/who-cares-generation_b_4389802.html
There is a current event that nobody knows about yet this topic has it own tv show along with 2 spin-offs. Just recently, I read an article that the Japanese whaling fleet was returning to the whale sanctuary in Australia. Every summer, a group of 4 to 5 ships leave Japan and head south towards Antarctica to hunt hump back whales, sperm whales along with others. A show called Whale Wars has been on and off tv for a few years. The show focuses on a group called the Sea Shepherd who are a branch of Green Peace and work to prevent the illegal whaling. Last year, with the acts of the Sea Shepherd, they forced the Japanese whaling fleet to return home. But just recently, I heard that the fleet is on their way south to whale with bigger, better ships. I feel very strongly towards this topic. I know and believe that the Japanese are breaking the law that banned all whaling expeditions. This is something I have been following for years and wish would gain the attention of more people.
ReplyDeletethe fake sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial seemed like a very big screw up. the fact that he was signing complete non-sense took the ability of deaf and hard of hearing peoples chance to join in on a huge recent event.
ReplyDeletehow could they even mess something up like this
DeleteA couple in China had a heated argument that lead to the boyfriend killing himself. The girlfriend had made the boyfriend shop with her for over 5 hours and the boyfriend had been carrying her bundles of bags the whole time. He finally stopped her and complained saying he wanted to leave but she insisted she needed to go to another store. The man took the bags, threw them over the edge of the 7 story balcony, and jumped off after the bags. I think he took the widely used term "im gonna kill myself" if we continue shopping too far.
ReplyDeletethat guy sounds like a drama queen
Deleteunderstandable thing to do
DeleteKim Jong Un had his uncle executed for treason which is weird because it was his uncle
ReplyDeletethe uncle CHALLENEGED Kim Jon Un's authority, because HE WAS THe leader of the National Defense Commission, and UN wants full authority OVER the whole country. HE WAS ALso a counterrevolutionary which KIM JON UN obviously did not like.
Deletethats whY peter
A 16 year old in Texas was arrested for three offenses for alcohol consumption as well as for the murder of 4 people and injuring 9 other bystanders. The boy was put on trial and released free of charge because his lawyer claimed that the child has affluenza, a disease that that claims that you are too rich to learn right from wrong.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, it is proven that money can buy you out of anything.
holy shite
Deletewow
ReplyDeleteA man in the UK stole 112,000 euros so he could feed 120 cats. He broke into around 32 houses and stole jewelrey and money to pay for it. He wanted to give his cats the good stuff; fresh fish and chicken, none of that canned ish.
ReplyDeletethere is a huge contaversy over santa being white, he should now not longer be white
ReplyDeletehttp://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/13/call-jesus-white-expect-a-fight/?hpt=hp_c2
Interesting!
DeleteAbout 6,000 people participated in a "mini marathon" through the city center of Madrid, Spain. It was not just any run, all that participated, dressed up. The adults dressed up as Santa Claus and the children had elf costumes. This was a nice way for the people of Spain to come together before Christmas. Especially because of the two year recession the country has had, they hope to bounce out of it with all of the festive cheer. The race was also organized by Spain`s leading department stores whom donated 1 euro from each participant, and donated that money to a fund. The charity buys Christmas presents for deprived children all over the world so they can have the best Christmas they could have. I think its nice and fun idea for the people of Madrid to show their festive sides and raising money a great cause.
ReplyDeleteI ended up finding this article randomly while on Tumblr, but it really struck a cord with me. Iceland police are seeking counseling for emotional distress after one of their own shot and killed a criminal.They try to subdue the criminal at first but after he had shot and injured two of their police officers they had no choice. He later died in the hospital and the police apologized to the man's family. The man was 59 years old. The Iceland police are not known for having to carry and use thier weapons often, but to us their reaction to what happened is bizarre because we are so used to the violence within our law enforcement.
ReplyDelete