Every Penny Counts

This past Monday, the Islamic Center of Pflugerville in Austin, Texas was vandalized. Feces were found smeared on the sidewalk outside of the center, along with torn out pages of the Quran. "It's disgusting [...] It doesn't matter what you believe, what I believe, what he believes or anybody believes, all faith is important" said Laura Swanson, a Pflugerville resident. When Swanson's seven year old son found out what had happened, he tried to help by emptying out his piggy bank, which only contained about twenty dollars. He went to the mosque and gave the money to Faisal Naeem, a board member of the center. "It's 20 bucks, but coming from Jack collecting his pennies, it's worth 20 million bucks to me and to our community," Naeem said. Jack's actions give Naeem hope, he said, because "this means it's not once versus the other." The vandalism is still being investigated. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/us/boy-piggy-bank-mosque-vandalized/ 

Clarkston, Georgia - Refugee City

Clarkston, Georgia has become a very diverse community after it was mentioned as a good place for refugees to settle. Out of the 8,000 people, half of the population is made up of refugees. Those who were born in Clarkston say they love the diversity that the refugees bring, and some have gone so far as to start businesses to help refugees and keep them there. For example, a food truck called "Refuge Coffee" was started by Kitti Murray (a Clarkston native) and is the occupation of three refugees from Syria, Congo, and Ethiopia. The Community Center also helps in welcoming refugees by helping them transition into normal American life. Clarkston's Mayer, Ted Terry, says his mission is to "keep the city diverse" and "show the true principles of America."

http://www.cnn.com/videos

Hillary Clinton Proposes Middle Class Tax Cut

Hillary Clinton proposed a tax credit for those who face unexpected and overwhelming health care costs in order to give middle class Americans tax relief. The proposal provides up to $2,500 in tax credit for individuals, and $5,000 for families. When Clinton spoke at LeMoyne-Owen College, she acknowledged that the primarily black student body "deserved a raise -- not a tax increase." Clinton believes that the American Opportunity Tax Credits should be extended in order to help make college more affordable. On Sunday, Clinton will present more proposals for tax cuts, "in order to ensure the wealthiest of Americans pay their fair share."

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/22/donald-trump-again-insists-he-saw-celebrations-in-new-jersey-on-sept-11/

Donald Trump Supports Those Who ‘Roughed Up’ Protester at His Event

Mercutio Southall, a co-founder of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Birmingham, AL, was physically assaulted at a Donald Trump campaign rally. After Southall and his protesters began recording their being at the event on a cellphone, Mr. Southall found himself on the floor surrounded by Trump supporters kicking and punching him. Donald Trump, whose podium was too far away to see the commotion, later said he was in favor of the actions of his supporters. “Maybe he (Southall) should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/20/

Obama on ISIS

After days of criticism, Obama has finally come up with a strong a firm response to the terrorist attacks in Paris. At a press conference in Malaysia this weekend, Obama vowed that the global group formed with the goal to destroy ISIS will not give in or quit. "We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants and theaters and hotels are the new normal, or that we are powerless to stop them," Obama said. He made a great point that "they can't beat us on the battlefield," so instead they try to frighten us into panicking. Many frightened citizens all around the world have been blaming anyone following the Muslim religion for the terrorist attacks, in which Obama addressed that we are not at war with the Muslim religion. He explained "The United States could never be at any war with any religion because America is made up by multiple religions" and that "prejudice and discrimination helps ISIS and undermines our national security." Regarding policy, the Obama administration had originally wanted to accept 10,000+ Syrian refugees into the country, but as of Thursday, the House has passed a bill that will suspend that program. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/22/politics/obama-isis-killers-social-media/index.html

Political Parties in Nigeria

http://nigeriamasterweb.com/PoliticalFullist.html - parties fluctuate in transforming republics

1. Alliance for Democracy
2. All Nigeria Peoples’ Party
3. All Progressives Grand Alliance
4. All Peoples Liberation Party
5. African Renaissance Party
6. Better Nigeria Progressive Party
7. Community Party of Nigeria
8. The Democratic Alternative
9. The Green Party of Nigeria
10. Justice Party
11. Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria
12. Movement for Democracy and Justice
13. Masses Movement of Nigeria
14. National Action Council
15. Nigeria Advance Party 
16. National Conscience Party
17. New Democrats
18. National Democratic Party
19. National Mass Movement of Nigeria
20. New Nigeria Peoples Party
21. Nigerian Peoples Party
22. National Reformation Party
23. Progressive Action Congress
24. Peoples Democratic Party
25. Peoples Mandate Party
26. Peoples Redemption Party
27. Party for Social Democracy
28. Peoples Salvation Party
29. United Democratic Party
30. Uniter Nigeria Peoples Party

type of gov- federal republic (a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives) http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/government_type.html 

how power is organized- same as US

head of state- president

legislative branch- house of rep & senate

unitary or federal system- federal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Nigeria

which parties are considered major or ruling- Peoples Democratic Party 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_(Nigeria)

how are parties characterized- chaotic, lots of upheaval

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Nigeria#First_Republic_.281960-1966.29 

what issues are the parties organized around (ideological, economic, social issues)- integration or regionalization http://works.bepress.com/david_moveh/13/

UFO Sighting or Planned Missile Test?

Saturday night in Southern California was filled with lots of panicked star gazing, as people began to notice a bright white light shooting across the sky. Was it a star or meteor? Was it a UFO sighting? Both scenarios, wrong. U.S. military officials explained it was only a planned missile test flight from a submarine ("USS Kentucky") off the coast of Southern California. The Navy Strategic Systems Program also informed the public that the missile was unarmed and not dangerous, and tests will continue until November 12th. "Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/us/southern-california-navy-test-mystery-light/index.html

Missouri Football Players On Strike

Although we may not like to admit it, racism is still very evident in our society today. It is so prominent on the campus of Missouri University, that MU football players have gone on strike and are refusing to play to achieve some justice in their community. One player, Jonathan Butler, is on a hunger strike in hopes to get the university's president, Tim Wolfe, fired. Several racist accounts have been recorded over the past 90 days, consisting of the student body president being called "the N word" and a swastika being drawn on a dorm. "ConcernedStudent1950," a student lead protest group, held a protest during a parade in which Wolfe remained in his car and did not communicate with the students. Since then, Wolfe has made a public apology, but students still hold him accountable for not taking action against the racism on campus. Wolfe released a statement saying he will be working with representatives of the university to try and make some changes with a deadline of April. However, even with this statement, students still seem to want Wolfe fired.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/us/missouri-football-players-protest/index.html

Climate Controls Poverty

A World Bank report titled Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty writes that "climate change is a 'significant obstacle' to the eradication of poverty." It makes sense, poor people are exceedingly impacted by floods, droughts, diseases, agricultural issues, etc. The report finds that "if countries fail to sustain policies that combat the impacts of climate change while also providing safety nets for the world’s poor, global warming will drive an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030." World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim states that the report is proof and a statement that we cannot end poverty unless we first make efforts to reduce climate change. In order to make progress in the fight to eradicate poverty, he believes countries should: upgrade flood defenses, develop warning systems, grow climate-resistant crops, increase incomes, and provide universal health care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-bank-climate-change-poverty_563f712ce4b0b24aee4aa2f8?t9iicnmi

Spring Valley High School Officer Suspended

A recent video was released of a police officer at Spring Valley High School forcefully removing an African-American female student from her desk. I'll admit, at first glance, Sheriff Ben Fields' actions seem unwarranted. However, there is also another video that is longer, which shows the student being disrespectful and defiant, and also shows her punching the officer repeatedly beforehand. The officer clearly warned her that if she wouldn't get up, he would make her, and so he did. With so many outraged responses, the Sheriff Fields has been suspended. Fields' boss, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott,  said: "If she (the student) had not disrupted the school and disrupted that class, we would not be standing here today. So it started with her and it ended with my officer. What I'm going to deal with is what my deputy did," Lott said. In my opinion, the officer was doing his job and he shouldn't have to lose his job over this. The teenager was resisting arrest, and he was dealing with her in the classroom just as any other officer would have dealt with an adult on the street. His actions also had nothing to do with the color of her skin, and I feel as though some people are reacting much more harshly due to the fact that the student isn't white. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/27/us/south-carolina-school-arrest-video/

Wanted Murderer Tricks Police Into Releasing Him

On November 6th in Augusta, Georgia, a man under the alias of Terrance Brown was arrested under the charges of disorderly conduct. When arrested, he had no identification with him, so he was able to successfully lie to the police and use a fake name. When Terrance was booked originally, no fingerprints were required, but they were required once he was bailed out, just to be able to verify his identity. During the fingerprint process, Terrance's real identity would have shown up, which brings up the question: were the police officers not paying attention enough to see his true identity, along with a warrant for his arrest for murder in another county? The releasing officer and his/her supervisor obviously didn't follow the correct procedure. To make matters worse, Terrance's brother Antonio Brown bailed him out, also using a fake name, which proves once again that police failed to check for correct identification. Police are still searching to get Terrance Brown back in custody, but they have Antonio Brown with charges of assisted release. 

http://www.cnn.com/videos/justice/2015/11/08/georgia-murder-suspect-fake-name-police-released-dnt.wagt

Follow up: The Man Behind The Mosque

1. Cable news attended debates, rallies, and other events for both parties and interviewed historians as well as those effected by 9/11. There was no report on funding. 
2. Pamela Geller.
3. The news mainly focused on victims or families of victims of 9/11 and their feelings and stories, rather than factual information. 
4. No.
5. Cable news relied on non-muslim sources(historians). They reported on the history of Islam, however they molded the facts to change people's ideas of the purpose of the mosque. 
6. Ownership of a media source is crucial to bias in coverage. Owners can control what the media source shares, as well as how they present the information, in order to make an impression on viewers to support their opinions. 
7. Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.
8. Cable news probably stopped covering the story because there was no clear end in sight. It's such a controversial topic, and they were getting nowhere with both sides having such strong arguments. 

Americans and TV News

Link: http://www.journalism.org/files/2013/10/Nielsen_Latest_10-11.pdf 

This article is about statistics of how Americans receive news, based on airing times, the amount of time spent searching/viewing news, outlets, platforms, channels, etc. 

Top 10 Facts:
1. Television remains the dominant way that Americans get news
2.  The three major news competitors are CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC
3. Nightly network newscasts draw largest audiences - the local news audience is highest during the late 11 p.m. newscast

4. The heaviest users of cable news spend about 72 minutes a day to that platform, the heaviest users of local TV news average almost 22 minutes a day, and the network news level's heaviest users watch for almost 32 minutes day

5. Heavy users of any type of television news tend to also be heavy viewers of other platforms as well

6. Wide reach is important for newscasting, but “appointment” viewership is important as well in order to get viewers to tune in regularly for scheduled programs

7. 38% of Americans access news online 
8. The heaviest online news users spend about four minutes a day researching

9. Nbcnews.com is one of the most used news sites on the web, but only reaches about 9% of adults in America

10. There is more crossover news on the television side of news outlets than there is on digital outlets