My Favorite Piece From This Year

My favorite piece of literature this year was the one of a kind book, Into the Wild. Already knowing the plot of the story, I started reading the book thinking that it is going to be an adventure where the main character “miraculously” survives the dangerous forest and returns back to his/her family. Although, this was something different. Chris McCandless left his family and friends for an adventure in Alaska, a place considered treacherous for what he was going to do. Taking an unusual path, he did finally end up where he wanted to. Why did I enjoy this book? What was so different about it? The actions in this book went against everything considered normal. At the start of the book, I hated the main character. Chris McCandless had 25,000 $ in his bank account, his parents were going to buy him a new car, he finished his university. He was now in the stage of life where a person finds a suitable job for them and continues working and enjoying their life. McCandless threw all that away. As the story progressed, I started thinking like him. I realized that he did not need any of those things. All those were irrelevant now, and had no value. After I finished this book, I spent nights imagining how my adventure would be, how I would go on trying to be different. This book opened eyes for me. I had always thought that being different is substandard, but now I strive to be different.

Voyage of a Lifetime

If money were no object, I would have the adventure of a lifetime. I still remember now when I thought the earth was flat, having edges and corners. Although, I soon learned that it is round, and if you end up going one way for a long enough time, then you would return to the same place. That is an adventure I would want to take. I would follow the equator line from one location, circle the world and return to the same place. For this adventure, I would need a trailer car, an RV, in which I would live in and drive through land. I would also need a huge yacht, which could be towed by the RV. The yacht must be big and strong enough to be able to carry the RV when crossing oceans. My starting point would probably be somewhere in South America, since it is the closest place to my current location. No matter if I have to cross a desert, a dangerous forest or an overpopulated city, I would do it. Also with some basic hunting gear, I would hunt animals such as deer and birds, catch whatever fish I could find, and barbeque them. I would stock up enough food in South America that would be enough to get me across the ocean to Africa. Even if my food runs out, I can simply fish during the voyage. Entering forests and wild areas that I go through in Africa, I would record everything I see. Through the Indian Ocean I would cross through southern Asia, and return to the Pacific Coast where I would soon return to South America. This is a trip I would brag about.

Drilling Rule

“U.S. to Impose Offshore Drilling Rule: Report:

By: Eric Beech

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/10/us-offshore-drilling-rule_n_7044794.html

                In a couple of days it is the five year anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico spill. It was a huge disaster that killed eleven men and sent millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This disaster occurred since the drill pipe malfunctioned. This certainly was a horrible disaster that President Barrack Obama faced. It took almost forever to clean that gulf, and officials are unsure if it has spread to other areas that they did not search. Obama does not was any more catastrophes similar to this. In order to stop disasters like this one happening, President Barrack Obama is imposing an offshore drilling rule. The government is sure that this rule will play a major role in stopping further catastrophes from happening. This regulation that the government proposed would be the third biggest new drilling equipment regulation. The Obama administration has really been trying to fight this. The rule on the drilling equipment is expected to tighten safety requirements on blowout preventers, which are devices that are the last line of protection to stop explosions in undersea oil and gas wells. The Obama administration has also announced that new areas of federal waters off the Southeast Atlantic Coast for drilling will open up. Environmentalists have gone mad. They are infuriated with this idea from the President.

                Obama is taking a big step in imposing this drilling rule, expecting to stop catastrophes similar to what happened in 2010 at the Gulf of Mexico to not happen. Will the President succeed in providing the county with safety? Results will show.

World War 3?

“Russia Threatens To Aim Nuclear Missiles At Denmark Ships If It Joins NATO Shield”

By: Teis Jensen

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/22/russia-nato-denmark_n_6919418.html

                Russia, the enemy of the majority of countries in the world. President Vladimir Putin has transformed Russia from a normal growing country into a warship that fires at its surrounding countries. First, it wanted to dominate all of Ukraine and make it part of Russia, and now it threatens to shoot down Denmark ships.

                Denmark is trying its best to join the NATO shield. In August of 2014, officials said that Denmark “would contribute radar capacity on some of its warships to the missile shield, which the Western alliance says is designed to protect members from missile launches from countries like Iran” (Jensen). Moscow does not agree with this system. The Russian ambassador to Denmark, Mikhail Vanin spoke on behalf all of Russia. During his speech, he talked about how Denmark joining NATO would make Denmark targets for Russian missiles.

                Russia thought it was speaking on behalf of NATO, but they were wrong. A NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, called Denmark a “staunch” member of NATO, a loyal one. NATO stands behind Denmark, and ensure that no harm will be caused to Russia if Denmark joins.

                The tensions between Russia and the West have tremendously increased. “NATO has recorded increased activity by the Russian navy and air force in the Nordic region” (Jensen). Will they attack? Most probably not, since it would make Russia NATO’s target, a group which the United States and many other powerful countries are in. It is extremely important to know the current situation in Europe. What is today a threat can turn into a war tomorrow.

Stereotypical Roles

    Gender roles stating what each person’s job is in the family has been set for a long time. Although, as time has progressed, the need for more money has gradually changed the set gender roles. The man of the house would work in order to earn money which would be used for expenses such as food, rent, clothing and other so on. They would also protect the family, and go around the house fixing what is broken and relaxing, to be able to work the next day. A typical woman’s role is to stay home and take care of the remaining things. They would not have a job, and stay home. Cleaning, cooking, taking care of the kids, and making the husband comfortable were all part of the women’s duties. Although, times have changed. Even though women have started working like men, they still do not receive the same opportunities. Although, it is not because they do not have rights in order to work important jobs and receive higher wages. It is because they are not physically and mentally capable of performing the same way as a man. The majority of females cannot handle tools and equipment, therefore losing the opportunity of getting jobs in one branch. Women’s emotions are another reason why they have less of an opportunity getting a job than males. People cannot depend on a woman’s emotions to decide whether the city where a notorious ISIS member is hiding should be bombed or not. A man will look at the facts, the pros and cons of what would happen as a result, and commence with their plan. Gender roles have changed from what they were back then, and the stereotypes have changed. Currently, a man and a woman are both required to work in a family in order to be able to take care of all the expenses.

Tony Robinson Shooting

“Tony Robinson Was Unarmed When Fatally Shot By Wisconsin Police Officer”

By: Huffington Post Blogger (Unknown)

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/07/police-chief-19-year-old_n_6823624.html

                Unfortunately, yet another shooting occurred. It is even more unfortunate that the shooter was a white police officer, while the victim was another African American. Tony Robinson, a 19 year old young man, died after being shot by an officer. This occurrence resulted in tons of protests. Many African American protesters spent their day chanting “Black Lives Matter.” Their purpose was to get the Police Department to defend African American rights. Tony Robinson assaulted Officer Matt Kenny, and that is the reason why he got shot. Although he assaulted a police officer, there was no real reason why he got shot. He was unarmed, and was posing no threat to officers. After all, police officers have guns and Tasers, so there should be no real reason why they should be afraid, or feel threatened from the victim, especially when they are unarmed. This case is being taken extremely seriously and carefully, especially since there have been several high profile deaths of African Americans killed by police officers in the recent months. Another example is the video of Eric Garner repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe” when put into a chokehold position. At first, it was believable that these continuous killings of innocent African Americans was simply a coincidence, but after all these incidents, that lie holds no more weight. Tony Robinson was a 2014 graduate of Sun Prairie High School, and he was well liked by the school staff and students. A neighbor, Olga Ennis, stated that “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

The Implody Award

                The following video is from The Daily Show, hosted by the one and only humorous Jon Stewart. The video was about President Barrack Obama’s State of the Union Speech. Every year, as presidents give speeches like these, there is always opposing speeches. Mostly Republicans, everyone was accusing the President of America that he is failing in ruling this important and huge country, and there has been nothing but failure since he has gotten the position. Although, every person that gives these types of speeches ends up making a mistake which makes their speech ineffective, useless and humorous. As a result, Jon Stewart hands out an “Implody Award” every year, to the opposing speaker that gives the worst speech. The first speaker was a Republican member, Joni Ernst who has grown up castrating pigs and riding Harley Davidsons’. Having such an aggressive childhood, she ends up talking about how her shoes were dirty when she was a child, in a robotic voice… Jon Steward ends up saying, “Is that you Siri” (The Daily Show- Majority Retort). Although, this was not the worst one. Senator Ted Cruz, another Republican Tea Party Member who wants to run for the President’s seat wasn’t able to even say two complete sentences. “Medium incomes have stagnated…..  For over a decade. Uhh let me start over again” (The Daily Show – Majority Retort). Jon Stewart gives the man a tip by saying that if he wants to run for president, he should not make his response look like a ransom video. Due to this huge failure, Senator Ted Cruz receives the Implody Award.

                This video was effective in showing how unprepared and ineffective the Tea Party’s speeches were. As a result of their failures, Jon Stewart used these failed speeches to make fun of them for opposing the President’s speech without sufficient evidence.

Kelly Mance Eight Months Later

“Police Release Haircut-Progressed Photo Of Missing Woman”

Source: the ONION

http://www.theonion.com/articles/police-release-haircutprogressed-photo-of-missing,38038/

                Recently, a middle aged woman has gone missing around the Sycamore area in Texas. The Sycamore Police Department has been consistently searching, even though eight months have passed since people have last seen her. No results have been made, but that is not stopping the Police Department from searching for her. In order to get the people of Sycamore, Texas involved in searching for Kelly Mance also, the department has released a photo of how Kelly Mance would look about eight months later. “We ask for the public’s help in circulating this image, which has been adjusted to show what we believe Ms. Mance’s haircut may look like today” said department member Jacob Frederickson to a reporter (“Police Release Haircut-Progressed Photo Of Missing Woman”). Since eight months of searching by the Police Department had no results, they hope that the people will help search for Kelly Mance. The Police have guessed how she would look like eight months later, due to previous experiences. “Given her personal style, previous cuts, and current trends, we’ve been able to estimate how Ms. Mance would most likely have altered her look to keep her hairstyle cute and up to date” (“Police Release Haircut-Progressed Photo Of Missing Woman”). The police are only afraid about one thing. If by any chance, Kelly Mance got highlights, the whole picture would be ruined.

                The satirical part of this blog comes towards the end. The blog is made humorous when the department states that their whole plan of releasing this photo could go wrong, if Kelly gets highlights. They are exaggerating by saying that one small change to a hair style would ruin their whole plan.

"I'm Glad it's a Girl"

“I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (20, Fitzgerald).

The audience was introduced to this quote towards the beginning of the novel. Daisy and Nick met for the first time in the novel, and they were discussing about Daisy’s daughter, Pam or Pammy. It was also during this time when Tom had to leave his guests and take a “work call”, which turned out to be Myrtle, Tom’s mistress. Daisy and Jordan knew about this, and eventually Nick found out too. Daisy is angry at herself, sad for ending up this way. She cannot believe that she made the mistake of marrying someone like Tom, whom she does not love. Although living a luxurious life, she is home all day long, full of boredom and loneliness. Daisy expresses to Nick about the gender of her child, saying that she is happy it is a girl. Eventually she will turn out to be a fool, because that is what every girl turns out to be. Daisy has formed this opinion due to social values of the current time they are living in (1920s), plus through the life she lived with. Daisy is sure that her offspring will turn out to be someone like her, a woman of this era, living with boredom and no action. Although she states what the current generation’s mistakes are, she does not propose ways to change them, yet follows what others do.

4.4 Million People Saved

“Obama Moves to Protect Millions From Deportation”

By: Elise Foley

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/20/obama-immigration-plan_n_6178774.html

                The whole country was waiting for President Barack Obama to announce what will happen to this beautiful country. On Thursday night, Obama stated in his address new policies and goals for the United States. He put an extra emphasis on the immigration policy, stating that the deportation relief will dramatically increase for illegal people in the United States, for about 4.4 million undocumented immigrants. This policy protects parents, people who have come to the United States from when they were a child, and people who have been living here for a long time, having long-standing ties to the country. Obama is protecting the undocumented people that are currently in the United States, plus at the same time making it harder for people to as they say “jump the border.” The President stated that it is impossible and at the same time unfair to do mass deportation, therefore a middle ground must be found. The people currently staying here will continue living here, besides those who are criminals and offenders of the law. Entering the United States illegally will be harder, and the chances of getting caught and deported would be higher. Obama made this policy for the 4.4 million undocumented immigrants. This policy would allow them to get work permits and start working legitimate jobs, unlike being stuck cutting grass and washing cars. Along with this, they will get other government support that normal citizens or permanent residents receive. The President wants to show that the United States is a forgiving and a fair country.

Allianz Arena

If I were to throw an extravagant Gatsby style party where money is no object, it would take place nowhere else, besides at the Allianz Arena, located in Munich, Germany. Having a party at a house or at a restaurant is something, but at a football stadium? It would be an unforgettable day, an ever-lasting experience which one would be honored to attend. The stadium has 71,137 seats, EXCLUDING the soccer field. The Allianz Arena is home to the best football, the original not the “American”, club in the world, Bayern Munchen. Bayern stars players from all around the world, such as Poland, France, Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Italy and many more. Think about the crowd this party would attract! Hosting a party at the Allianz Arena without some Bayern players, is not a party. Along with my class members plus fans of Bayern being invited, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Phillip Lahm, Xabi Alonso and Jerome Boateng would also be invited. Every party comer would receive a complimentary jersey, a foam finger and a whistle which bring life to the stadium. The Bayern players would entertain the audience with their one of a kind skills that no other club in the world has. After all that partying, the party members would be hungry. What is a German party without beer and wienersnitzels? The party would also include a small friendly soccer match between the Bayern players and the Pilibos Class of 2016. The day would end with beautiful fireworks coloring the sky, filing it with red and white (Bayern colors).

Tax the Rich!

“Obama To Propose Tax Hikes On Wealthy, Breaks For Middle Class”

By: Dave Jamieson

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/17/obama-sotu-taxes_n_6493144.html

This is what every person thinks will be the best for the country, and President Barrack Obama is the one that is proposing it. Taxing the rich will save the country, will open doors for middle class and lower class people. Obama believes that this tax will not affect the wealthy people at all, yet he wants to raise the taxes from 23.8 % to 28 %. If one makes about 500,000 dollars per year that is about 140,000 gone to taxes. How would one feel when their hard worked money is taken away from them? Although this money would be put to an excellent use. Officials say that the revenue from taxes would be used to finance credits aimed at the middle class, especially extending the income tax to families without children. The top 1 percent would face these taxes, giving a break to the large middle and lower class. Some of the money would be used to improve the retirement programs people receive. President Obama has created an IRA plan, which is basically a different version of the 401(k). “This proposal is probably the most impactful way we can address the manifest unfairness in our tax system” said an administration official (1). Obama should receive a lot of credit for this, because the middle class has been demanding this for over six years. Other presidents have tried proposing this, yet no progress has been made. Officials are sure that this action would improve the economy for the middle class.

Mafia in the 1920s

The 1920s was famous for many things, one of which was the rise of power in the mafia. The mafia, or the mob, had the biggest rise in these couple of years due to factors such as prohibition and changes in leadership. Johnny Torrin, a crime boss, handed his seat to Al Capone, who became the people’s number one enemy. It is estimated that Al Capone spent approximately 75 million dollars only on bribes per year. At this time, the government had banned alcohol. It was illegal to drink, sell or buy drinks. When people have the opportunity to drink and buy alcohol, they do not value it as much. Although, when the ability to buy or sell is taken away from them, they realize the value and will do almost anything to get what they want. The mafia took advantage of this, and started importing alcohol from other countries, mostly Europe, and selling it for high prices. No matter how high the price was, people still bought it, making the mafia rich and wealthy. Al Capone received approximately 60 million dollars by selling alcohol. Here are some facts that show the people’s desire for alcohol after it was prohibited. Arrests for drunkenness and disorderly conduct increased 41% and arrests of drunken drivers increased 81%, and this is right after it was prohibited. The 5 main mafia families were the Lucchese, the Bonanno, the Gambino, the Colombo and the Genovese. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was caused due to mob rivalries. Seven members of the Moran mob were machine-gunned against a garage wall by rivals who wore police attire. It is said that this was Capone’s job, but Capone himself was in Florida.

Sources:

https://lifeinthetwenties.wikispaces.com/Mafia+in+the+1920s

https://prezi.com/z0nyw-flcw4x/the-rise-of-the-mafia-in-the-1920s/

Yet Another Accident

“AirAsia Black Boxes Found”

By: Alana Horowitz

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/11/airasia-black-boxes-found_n_6451374.html

                

     There have been many missing planes and ones that malfunction lately. First it was Malaysian Airlines and now AirAsia. People are beginning to question the safety of flying. The causes of these accidents are unknown at the moment. An Indonesian Transport Ministry announced that divers had found boxes, boxes that might reveal important information. These black boxes might be the only way people find out the causes of these accidents and find ways to stop more from happening. Both AirAsia and Malaysian Airlines have lost business due to these events, and there might never be a way to regain it. This AirAsia flight was on its way to Singapore from Indonesia. It went missing on the 28^th of December, 2014, approximately forty minutes after its takeoff from the airport. All 162 people on board died, leaving their families devastated and sad. A couple days later, some debris and human remains were found in the Java Sea. Monday, January 9, the plane’s tail was found and recovered. “The black boxes contain the plane’s cockpit-voice recorder and flight data recorder” (1). The divers have not yet physically recovered the black box, because it is covered under debris. Finding this black box may answer the questions everyone is asking. Was it a hijacking? Are the current planes not able to fly in these weather conditions? These companies need this black box to know whether to increase their security or to improve and upgrade their planes. An Indonesian official said that a rescue crew will try to recover the box on Monday.