Thursday, November 20, 2014
Week 11
I'll start with the open thread here and add a few more in the next day.
Use this thread to report on global news events taking place this week.
You may use a global media or geopolitical theme if you wish (based on what we are discussing in class at the moment), or any other you feel relevant.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is my weekly post
ReplyDeleteI thought this topic would be relevant because of the other thread topics. In our world we see or hear about shootings all the time, usually they involve a mass killing of people but in some cases it's just one. Recently a twelve year old was shot, he was the "shooter" and the victim. Tamir Rice, a twelve year old boy in Cleaveland was shot and killed after pulling out a replica gun at a playground1. It may have also been a toy. The police were called to the playground when Rice was said to have a gun on him. When Rice was told to put his hands in the air, he reached in his pocket, and was shot, what happen to reason?, The police couldn't talk him out of it? This isn't the first time police have shot an innocent person but I think this is one of the most riddiculus situations, the 911 call said they didn't know if it was real or not, couldn't the police have taken greater notice first? Found out if it was real before firing. In the Police's defense he wasn't killed on the spot, but died of his wounds in a hospital bed later2. I think that this was an honest mistake but if the gun was already reported as "not a real gun"3 they could have found a way out of shooting him, this wasn't in the middle of the street, or a building it was a playground, that's what I find most sick is that this happened infront of other kids at a playground. No kid should witness a shooting, the Police could have put him in handcuffs and showed kids why they shouldn't do this. He didn't even point the gun at the officers or say any threats4, when he reached for the gun he was probably going to try and scare the officers, if so, this boy needed some help. We need to stop letting situations like this happen, get troubling kids help and make sure our officers, shoot the right people.
1 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ohio-officer-shoots-kills-boy-brandishing-toy-gun-1.2846326
2 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ohio-officer-shoots-kills-boy-brandishing-toy-gun-1.2846326
3 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ohio-officer-shoots-kills-boy-brandishing-toy-gun-1.2846326
4 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ohio-officer-shoots-kills-boy-brandishing-toy-gun-1.2846326
This is my weekly post...
ReplyDeleteLake effect snow occurs when a cold air mass moves over a body of warmer water. Snow is produced when the ambient air is cold enough, causing snow squalls when the mass moves over land (Source 1). This is exactly what happened last week in Buffalo, New York, which was buried in 7 feet of snow over a three day period(Source 2). City officials are making progress in clearing the roads, and now citizens prepare for the meltdown of it all, as the temperature increases back over 0 degrees.The expected melting over two meters of snow, has people preparing for flooded basements, collapsing roofs and flooding in the streets, as government offices, schools and business re-open Monday. Thirty major roof collapes have taken place with more predicted, as Mayor Byron Brown states, "We are preparing for the worst but hoping for the best," (Source 3).
More serious than collapsing roofs or flooded basements is the amount of casualties that have taken place due to the record-breaking storm. At least a dozen deaths have been accounted for so far, according to CTV News, which compares to another storm that took place in January of 2011, which was responsible for twice the number of casualties. On January 31, a similar lake-effect snow storm affected many areas in north eastern Unites States and Southern parts of Canada. This storm lasted until February 2 2011, and caused large power outages, roof collapses, road closures etc. Although this storm only dropped approximately 20-30 centimeteres of snow in Southern Ontario, and areas close to Buffalo, it was responsible for 24 casualties(Source 4)(Source 5).
The similar storm, only delivered about one foot of snow compared to the 7 feet that covered Buffalo last week, showing that this new storm is likely to break records, and be memorable to many citizens that were involved in the city and surrounding areas.
Source 1: http://www.newsnet5.com/weather/winter/what-is-lake-effect-snow-how-does-it-work
Source 2: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/buffalo-braces-for-potential-flooding-as-warm-weather-melts-snow/article21718724/
Source 3: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/as-buffalo-continues-to-clear-snow-residents-brace-for-flooding-1.2115102
Source 4: http://livenews.thestar.com/Event/Toronto_Now_-_January_31_2011
Source 5:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_31_%E2%80%93_February_2,_2011_North_American_blizzard
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post
ReplyDeleteA contentious bill that names Israel as the official nation of Jewish people has been approved by Israeli cabinet ministers.The law would recognize Israel’s Jewish character, encourage lawmakers to draw from Jewish law for legislation, and remove Arabic as the second official language. Arabs, who make up approximately 20 per cent of the population, strongly disapprove of the bill; some activist groups have called the bill “racist” (1). There have also been accusations from opponents that the bill threatens the nation’s democratic character. The Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, defended the proposed law, claiming that many challenge the notion that Israel is the homeland of Jewish people (2).
Many, including cabinet ministers, warn that the bill could aggravate already heightened tensions between Arabs and Jews (1). The bill was proposed at a time when tensions are running especially high; a current source of friction is a dispute over a major holy site in Jerusalem. Another cause of enmity is the police shooting of an Arab man in a northern Israeli village; this particular occurrence sparked days of protests. Just last week in Jerusalem, there was a vicious attack on a synagog that resulted in five deaths.
I think that passing such a bill would only worsen the already strained relations between Jewish people and Arabs. The bill would put the Arab minority at a disadvantage, which would only aggravate the situation. Treating both groups the same way would be a step in the right direction in resolving this age-old conflict.
1. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/23/israeli-cabinet-approves-bill-defining-nation-state-jewish-people
2. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-s-cabinet-approved-controversial-nationality-bill-1.2846269\
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/world/middleeast/israeli-cabinet-backs-nationality-bill-that-risks-wider-rift-with-arab-minority.html?rref=world/middleeast&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Middle%20East&action=keypress®ion=FixedRight&pgtype=article
This is my weekly post (from last week)...
ReplyDeleteAs you all should know by now, officer Darren Wilson has not been charged with the shooting of teen, Mike Brown.
I cannot even begin to say how livid I am about the events happening around the world lately involving police brutality. I realize that, yes, there are incredible police officers that risk their lives to protect us every day. But I am also not blind to the fact that, when put into a position of authority, it seems to be a trend that ones morals begin to disintegrate.
I just read a news article on Twitter about a man getting 35 years prison time for shooting a police dog. 35 years for murdering an animal. I understand that animal cruelty is disgusting; however, how can this be justified when an officer of the law can shoot an unarmed teen 6 times and face no jail time. Whether you believe this is coincidence or not, the man sentenced to 35 years was a black male, as was the teen that was murdered by the police officer, who just so happened to be white.
Just scrolling through social media sights and seeing footage from Ferguson as well as comments from people around the world, I have to say that the only thing that shocked me was some of the comments from the white people via Twitter. I was not overly shocked by the verdict of the court because it's seemed to be a trend over the past while for courts to give outrageous verdicts. I was; however, appalled to see comments such as "If you don't like it here then go back to Africa. We shouldn't have bought you in the first place" and other things along those lines. I actually had a difficult time reading those and grasping the fact that those thoughts are actually in the minds of many, many people today.
When the dust settles after these riots, we will not see any more on the news of the injustice that occurred tonight. We will only see and hear about the damage the riots created in the city and further altercations between police and citizens. The reason behind all of this will be almost completely lost to everyone world-wide except for those in Ferguson.
I may just be a teenager but I think it is rather disturbing (to say the least) that a person's skin colour or geography determines where they sit on the human hierarchy of importance. We don't choose the lives we were given, the skin colour we were given or where we were born. It amazes me (not in a good way) that people continue to judge others based on those facts. We judge and kill others based on things that they had no choice in. We don't judge others by their character or their contributions to the world or lack thereof, but by things they had no control over. It sickens me and I highly doubt I will be getting any sleep tonight after this.
I would like to conclude this post by saying that we all need to recognize just how privileged we all are. I mean, I didn't grow up in the best of situations but I'd take that over some of my other options any day. We may not all have heaps of money, but we don't have to deal with the kind of things that are happening in Africa or the Middle East, or even in America. Don't get me wrong, I am not at all saying that our problems don't have merit, but if you put yourself in their shoes, our problems don't look so bad anymore. I am so thankful for the situation that I was born into but it shouldn't be this way. People shouldn't be born into poverty or racism or neglect. I understand that "life's not fair" but to put it simply, that really sucks.