Al-Shabab

"Somalia's Al-Shabab Says It Killed 28 In Kenya"
By: Tom Odula
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/22/al-shabab-kenya_n_6203708.html?ir=WorldPost

On Saturday al-Shabab infiltrated a bus and made people read from the Koran and those who refused and could not recite them were shot and brutally killed. "Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, attacked a bus in northern Kenya at dawn Saturday, singling out and killing 28 passengers who could not recite an Islamic creed and were assumed to be non-Muslims, Kenyan police said" (Source 1). Specifically speaking, nineteen men and nine women were the people who were killed and someone by the name of Ochwodho was though to be killed, but in reality he was not, so he survived and shared his perspective and his eye-witness on the tragedy. Al-Shabab was not ashamed of this act! "Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the killings through its radio station in Somalia, saying it was in retaliation for raids by Kenyan security forces carried out earlier this week on four mosques at the Kenyan coast" (Source 1). The Kenyans were not silent and peaceful about this. They retaliated with force when Kenya's military sent out airstrikes and killed forty-five rebels, so the twenty-eight who were killed; their deaths were avenged and then some. "Ochwodho told AP that the passengers who did not look Somali were separated from the others. The non-Somali passengers were then asked to recite the Shahada, an Islamic creed declaring oneness with God. Those who couldn't recite the creed were ordered to lie down. Ochwodho was among those who had to lie on the ground" (Source 1).

What the Somalian rebels did was absurd! Killing innocent civilians for not being able to recite some sort of Islamic "creed". It was awfully brave for the Kenyans to retaliate in such fashion, bombing a rebel camp and killing forty-five rebels from them. What happened to those twenty-eight innocent people was uncalled for and tragic, may them rest in peace, but it just unfortunate and frightening to see that the world does not have any sense of humanity remaining.

Technology?

Not touching any technology for just half an hour was a tough challenge that I greatly accepted. I felt like a part of me was ripped away from me and after those thirty minutes, when I reconnected with my phone and especially my music, I went back to normal. I went outside and just looked at the sky, the cars passing by, and the people passing my home. I saw this homeless man walking, but in an extremely drunk manner. This pizza man delivered some pizza to the neighboring home and their dog ruthlessly began barking as if the pizza man was a sort of threat to the people he was delivering pizza to. After the pizza man left, the dog stopped barking. All types of people were either going to LACC or leaving, and it made me wonder, where are these people going? Who are they? What do they want out of their lives? Finally, I saw another homeless man, who was Armenian, that was looking at the sky and it looked like he was having an altercation with it. I began to laugh, then I decided that I had done enough without my phone.

Honestly, thirty minutes like this was not enough for me to feel a sort of change or difference. I still feel the same. I felt blessed to have a home and a family because by looking at those homeless people struggling to find shelter or get food I realized how blessed I am to have a permanent home and a loving family I have. I realized that everyone has their own life. Right now I am typing a blog post but somebody else can be doing something totally different. I realized that life keeps moving. It is not worth having a bad day because the world is still going to keep moving, it is not going to stop because you are sad, so their should not be a day where you are sad and you should do whatever you want to do and not pay attention or listen to others opinions because at the end of the day it is your life and you dictate it.

Bankrupt Detroit Not So Bankrupt Anymore

"Judge Approves Bankruptcy Exit Plan For Detroit"
By: Ed White
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/07/detroit-bankruptcy-plan-approved_n_6122660.html?ir=Business

Detroit has finally come up with a plan that will expel them from bankruptcy. This city has been bankrupt for a while now and the violence and danger rate has raised significantly. Although, on Friday, a judge cleared an 'exit plan' that will free Detroit from the bankruptcy and also make it safer. "The plan calls for cutting the pensions of 12,000 non-public safety retirees by 4.5 percent, erasing $7 billion of debt and spending $1.7 billion to demolish thousands of blighted buildings, make the city safer and improve long-neglected basic services" (Source 1). Detroit which is the base for the car industry; that is they are nicknamed the Motor City, became the largest city to ever claim for bankruptcy in U.S. history. "Detroit was brought down by a combination of factors, including corruption and mismanagement at City Hall, a long decline in the auto industry, and a flight to the suburbs that caused the population to plummet to 688,000 from 1.2 million in 1980. The exodus has turned entire neighborhoods into desolate, boarded-up landscapes" (Source 1). Detroit's size was also a factor to claim for bankruptcy. They just did not have enough revenue because of the decline in the auto industry, so they remained in debt for years. "With more square miles than Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco combined, Detroit didn't have enough tax revenue to cover pensions, retiree health insurance and buckets of debt sold to keep the budget afloat" (Source 1).

This is great news and another step forward for the Untied States and especially the city of Detroit. By finding a way to free Detroit from bankruptcy had to be done, it was unacceptable. What was done so efficiently on Friday leaves the corruption and debt in the history of Detroit that people wish never to see again and makes the future a brighter day and something that the people who live in Detroit will look forward to. The darkest days are behind Detroit. Whatever happens now will only get better and be for the better.

2035

Although I do not have a vivid idea on what the year 2035 would be like, I do have a slightly vague imagination. The high schoolers will be rather less social because of how much more advanced the technology is going to be. I could definitely imagine technology being the foundation of every students curriculum with holograms and tablets as computers. There would be no need for any paper. Twenty years from now Siri might be your teacher and all you would have to do is submit your answer my talking to it or typing notes instead of jotting them down like it is done today. The next generation experiencing a backlash concerning education is unlikely because once again the technology would be so advanced that it would corrupt the students mentality and though process and learning ways and study habits. I still believe high school students will go to classes and interact with other students but not as much as it would be now or before now, but if a teacher were to be absent, I can definitely see a robot filling in or a hologram of the teacher popping up and the teacher teaching the class in that form. School will still be based on memorization and the act of just passing the class. I do not think it will ever be about just purely learning the subject. Reading to me is inevitable when it comes to school, because what else can you possibly do if reading literature of some sort is not incorporated into the agenda. Nothing I have said is a guarantee, but one thing is a guarantee and it is that I can not see myself being a teacher ever; not just twenty years from now.

Power Trip

"Power Struggle Plunges Burkina Faso Into Chaos"
By: Brahima Ouedraogo
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/02/burkina-faso-power-struggle_n_6089460.html?utm_hp_ref=world

Pandemonium struck after the long time president had been forced out of presidency in Burkina Faso, a West African country. One fatality had already been recorded during the outbreak. This is started when Blaise Compaore, a president for 27 years, resigned and fled to Ivory Coast with his family. "About 1,000 people had gathered Sunday afternoon at the Place de Nation in Burkina Faso's capital to demand a civilian and democratic transition a day after the military announced that a lieutenant colonel would serve as interim leader until elections could be held" (Source 1). Saran Serene went to the headquarters who is the opposition politician, was planning on being interim president, but Gen. Kwame Lougue showed up and decided to use military force. The people although, though otherwise, "The army cannot lead us. They have disqualified themselves," said Sankara, who is of no relation to the late slain Burkinabe leader with the same name. "This is the result of a popular insurrection." (Source 1). "We call on the military to immediately transfer power to civilian authorities," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. "We urge civilian leadership to be guided by the spirit of the constitution of Burkina Faso and to move immediately towards free and fair Presidential elections."

Considering the fact that Burkina Faso has been stable in the political standpoint ever since Compaore became president brings some worry to the citizens. However, the people should get the power and it would not be a good idea to have a military dictatorship type of government, so it would not be rather right if the army lead the country. The army taking full control of the country is a horrible idea, so a the end of the day the people should get the power and decide what to do with it, but in a proper and fair manner.