Earthquakes and Aftershocks in Nepal (Post 5)

Earthquakes and Aftershocks in Nepal (Post 5)

     This weekend, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated parts of Nepal and killed over 2,000 people. People could be seen at night huddling outside in the rain for protection from the aftershocks, some of which reached magnitude 6.8. As the aftershocks have become less frequent, people have begun the search for survivors. Celebration always followed the recovery of a living person even though most of the people found were dead. Apart from the massive loss of life, many temples that have stood in the area for centuries were also leveled, taking with them much of the area's historical and religious landmarks.

     Not only did the earthquakes hit cities such as Kathmandu, but they also shook Tibet and even caused avalanches on Mount Everest. In the city of Tibet, China reported losing 17 of their visiting officials. On Mt. Everest, 17 climbers have been reported deceased. The death toll, which is expected to rise, is now 2,336.

     It must be terrifying to be huddled in the open wondering if another tremor would end you life. I can't even begin to imagine how brave these people are and how difficult it must be to dig through the rubble to find survivors and bodies. To hear of the historic monuments that were lost just adds to the horror story even more. Hopefully, aid organizations will be able to provide assistance to these people soon.

Here is the link to the article on CNN.com:
     http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/26/asia/nepal-earthquake/index.html
Here is a link to the image I used from Time.com:
     http://time.com/3835665/nepal-earthquake-relief-google-person-finder/

Sexism in the FBI (Post 3)

Sexism in the FBI (Post 3)

     Recently, the FBI has been accused of sexism in the workplace by some of its female employees. One of these employees, in particular, has come forward to prove just how unfairly she was treated by her bosses at the bureau. This former agent Robyn Gritz claims she was falsely accused of skipping an important meeting and being late to work.

     Gritz gave 16 years of her life to homeland security and even suffered an aggressive divorce partially due to her demanding job at the FBI. Gritz states, "I had dedicated my life to protecting the people of the United States ... and then I was not protected and I felt it was because I was a strong female." Gritz now claims that the reason she has to work in the cosmetics department at Macy's is because she suspects the FBI of black balling her job offers in like organizations.

      Other stories of sexism in the FBI include a woman being called "emotionally unstable" and "difficult" purely for pointing out that "her men's size 40 hazardous materials suit didn't fit her." In another instance, a woman was denied a job even though she was rated first for the promotion because her supervisors called her "emotionally unstable following a divorce."

     Clearly, this is a case of discrimination in the workplace. It is depressing to think that one of the most powerful organizations involved in United States homeland security is unable to see past gender. Even though Robyn's case is being brought under investigation, I feel that not enough is being done. If the FBI is truly mistreating women in the workplace, they must be stopped. To mistreat someone based on gender, race, or religion is unconstitutional. It is disappointing to find that our own government organization cannot follow the very laws and ways it strives to protect.

The article used to write this post can be found on NPR.com or through this link:

     http://www.npr.org/2015/04/15/399853577/former-fbi-agent-speaks-out-i-was-not-protected

Airdropping The Interview Into North Korea (Post 2)

Airdropping The Interview Into North Korea (Post 2)

     One former citizen of North Korea, Lee Min-bok, recently decided that it was time North Koreans saw their leader and self proclaimed god as a normal human being. Even though Lee stated that the movie The Interview was not very funny and purely "vulgar," he hopes that the under informed residents of North Korea will benefit from seeing their leader in his true human form.

     Lee realizes the importance of a film like this, especially in the country where the movie is based. He hopes that by using helium inflated balloons he can drop large amounts of propaganda including the movie. In fact he has 80,000 copies ready, even though he is totally unaware what is to become of these videos once they cross the border.

     In the past, North Korea's capital Pyongyang has fired upon balloons carrying propaganda like these preventing most of their cargo from ever being seen, however Lee still thinks the cause is worth fighting for. Lee is accompanied by the South Korean police and military to the border of North Korea. He makes final checks of the weather conditions and then launches the balloons over the border.

     This all happens within the dead of night, the launch taking place about 1 in the morning. Many infer that this is to avoid retaliation from North Korea, however it is not purely for that. Lee said that even some South Koreans will become angry with the balloon launches. This is because, in the past, South Korean towns near the border have been caught in the middle of gunfire from both North Korea and their own government. The North Korean troops were aiming to destroy the balloons before they reached their destinations and the South Korean troops decided to fire back.

     I personally believe that Lee Min-bok is doing a great service to the people of North Korea. I can only dream that these copies lead to the downfall of such a horrible dictatorship as Kim Jong Un's. However, the border towns in South Korea must be kept safe. If this means that these propaganda balloons cannot be launched anymore, the government of South Korea must strongly discourage balloon launches. As for The Interview, I have seen it and I can truthfully say that it wasn't one of the funniest or most memorable movies I have seen.

If interested please read the original article on CNN.com which also contains a few videos: 

     http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/asia/north-korea-interview-balloons/index.html

This article is where I obtained my image:

     http://www.newsweek.com/activists-send-interview-north-korea-balloon-292767

Afghan Woman Beaten to Death (Post 1)

Afghan Woman Beaten to Death (Post 1)

     
     This week I was shocked as I clicked on one of the top stories on CNN's website. I've had previous experience with bad news coming from the Middle East, but very rarely have I read a news article as disheartening as this. This is not to say that evil groups such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State do not anger me as much as this particular story did. However, the story I have chosen portrays just how poorly the Middle East handles sexism.

This is the article on CNN's website that I will be analyzing today:

     http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/asia/afghanistan-woman-killed/index.html

Another source I found on BBC:
     http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32056593

(Here we see protesters outraged by the murder of Farkhunda)

Please be warned! The video that accompanies the article on CNN is graphic and disturbing to some.

     As I read this article I was overcome with a feeling of injustice. I knew that the Middle East's culture discriminated against women however I never truly heard how poor of a job their laws do at preventing hate crimes against women.

Farkhunda, age 27, who taught the Quran to children was outside a mosque when she noticed a man was selling false tawiz (a form of prayer card worn around the neck to protect from spirits). The man, who felt cornered by her accusation, retaliated by falsely accusing her of burning pages in the Quran. A crowd gathered around them and, because the vender was a man and she was a woman, they automatically agreed with him. The crowd proceeded to beat her to death, then set her on fire, and dump her body into the river.

     Following her death, the community has rallied and plans to protest outside Afghanistan's Supreme Court in Kabul. Among citizen arrests, eleven police officers have been suspended for failing to help effectively. Hopefully the community can learn from this horrible tragedy and begin to overturn their deeply rooted misogynistic customs.

Welcome to the Blog!

     I would like to start off my first post by welcoming you all to the blog!  I will be updating this for an Honors English II class.  I hope you find my posts either interesting or just self indulgent enough to want to stew over how terrible a person I am!  Either way it will be nice to have some readers!

     As this is my first post, I would like to tell you a bit about myself.  I am hoping that I can either go into the engineering field or the medical field, however, right now, I am leaning more towards engineering. I have always loved electronics and the sciences, and I absolutely adore finding ways that I can apply these fields to improve something.


     I currently am enrolled in two after school activities.  One is Operation Others (O.O.), which I hope to find a leadership role in within the next year.  This program collects and boxes food to send out to families in my community who can't afford to have a holiday meal.  This year we fed around 1,000 families!  The picture to the right shows a section of the warehouse we fill up with boxes in one weekend.  On the third day of the delivery week, we give all the food to families in our area with the help of caring volunteers.


          The second activity is trap shooting.  I have always loved guns, and although I am in favor of gun control, I feel that it is one of the best feelings in the world when you hit a clay pigeon and see the orange dust shower down onto the field.  Currently, my record for number of hits is 40 out of 50.  Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be consistently shooting above 40 targets out of 50.

   


     If you know me at all you know that I love dogs, and my dog Millie is no exception (no matter how dirty she gets).  Even though I think she causes some of my minor allergies, I could never bring myself to not pet a dog when I get the chance. Recently, I have noticed that most of the pictures on my iPhone are of her.  This picture was taken as I was cleaning my car one sunny day. I realized that she was dozing off in the grass beside the driveway and I couldn't help myself from taking her portrait.

     I hope that you have enjoyed my first blog post! I look forward to presenting you with some true material in the future.