http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9th-grader-arrested-clock_55f96557e4b0b48f6701519c
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Ahmed Mohamed Arrested For Bringing Homemade Clock To School
Ahmed Mohamed is a 14 year old living in Irving, Texas. Ahmed's favorite hobby is robotics, and his latest creation has been a digital clock. On Monday, September 14, 2015, Ahmed was arrested for bringing this handmade clock to school. The Dallas Morning News said "He brought the device to school hoping to impress some teachers, but the first one who saw the clock immediately told him 'not to show any other teachers.'" His creation was taken to the principles office, where he was threatened with expulsion for "trying to make a bomb." He was escorted from school in handcuffs and taken to a juvenile detention center, where he was searched and questioned about the "suspicious object" until his parents could come get him. He was not expelled, but he was given a 3 day suspension. The director of the North Texas Council on American-Islamic Relations, Alia Salem, said the arrest was "an egregious and inappropriate response."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9th-grader-arrested-clock_55f96557e4b0b48f6701519c
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9th-grader-arrested-clock_55f96557e4b0b48f6701519c
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Federalism
1. Federalism is the mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in such a way as to allow each to maintain its own fundamental political integrity. Federal systems do this by requiring that basic policies be made and implemented through negotiation in some form, so that all the members can share in making and executing decisions. The political principles that animate federal systems emphasize the primacy of bargaining and negotiated coordination among several power centres; they stress the virtues of dispersed power centres as a means for safeguarding individual and local liberties.
2. There are approximatley 195 nation-states in the world.
3. There are about 25 countries in the world today that use the federal system of government. These countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Comoros, Malaysia, Micronesia, Nepal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United States of America, Switzerland, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates.
4. Compared to other countries of the world, these countries are all relatively large in land mass, so their size would be what they have in common.
5. The Unitary system is a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government. It contrasts with a federal system.
6. 150+ countries use a unitary system of government, but the 5 largest unitary countries are China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Khazakstan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
7. The difference between federal and unitary systems is that unitary systems have one big government that is in charge of everything but federal systems have national governments that interact with the state governments and their citizens -- one aspect of government is not all powerful. One could argue there is an advantage to the unitary system, because decision making would be solely based on government officials ideas and no citizen could really do anything about it or challenge their ideas. However, federal governments vote on everything and request citizens' preferences, which can be a long and difficult process; especially when citizens want to challenge the government. On the other hand, this ability for people to have a say in their government is also an advantage because it is a blessing to have the ability to have an impact on how you and the people of your country live, whereas in unitary countries, no one has a say in anything. When people are unhappy and dying, there is nothing anyone can do about it.
8. I sense attitudes of laziness and choosiness from this cartoon. Oftentimes, people want the good without having to deal with the bad, so this picture represents a politician wanting to receive the benefits and money and the title of working in office, but not wanting to deal with having responsibilities and the authority of having to make hard decisions.
9. Medical Marijuana can be used as a treatment for symptoms of cancer, but since the drug itself is illegal, the government (in 23/50 states) prohibits the use of it as treatment, even though it can supposedly help with symptoms. The perspective on federal government in this picture is that they are more concerned with following the strict law rather than helping a dying citizen become (or at least feel) better.
10. The perspective of federal government offered here is that the government (Republicans in this cartoon) says that the people should be allowed to set new policies. However, when the people actually offer them up, the ideas are shut down and the government is appalled that we would even consider implementing a policy, for instance, to help the environment.
11. The video's metaphor for federalism is the three layered cake, with local government as the first layer, then state government, and then national government on the bottom. It describes federalism because each layer gets bigger as the cake grows. So, the local layer would only deal with local affairs like trash pick up and police stations, the middle state government layer would have multiple bigger responsibilities like education and health services, and the bottom national government layer deals with national affairs like military and space exploration.
12. This picture is a metaphor for federalism because it has all three forms of governments blended into one, rather than separating the one united government into three forms of governments like in the video. The picture suggests that the relationship between different levels of government is all intertwined, rather than set in slots or levels like a hierarchy.
2. There are approximatley 195 nation-states in the world.
3. There are about 25 countries in the world today that use the federal system of government. These countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Comoros, Malaysia, Micronesia, Nepal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United States of America, Switzerland, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates.
4. Compared to other countries of the world, these countries are all relatively large in land mass, so their size would be what they have in common.
5. The Unitary system is a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government. It contrasts with a federal system.
6. 150+ countries use a unitary system of government, but the 5 largest unitary countries are China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Khazakstan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
7. The difference between federal and unitary systems is that unitary systems have one big government that is in charge of everything but federal systems have national governments that interact with the state governments and their citizens -- one aspect of government is not all powerful. One could argue there is an advantage to the unitary system, because decision making would be solely based on government officials ideas and no citizen could really do anything about it or challenge their ideas. However, federal governments vote on everything and request citizens' preferences, which can be a long and difficult process; especially when citizens want to challenge the government. On the other hand, this ability for people to have a say in their government is also an advantage because it is a blessing to have the ability to have an impact on how you and the people of your country live, whereas in unitary countries, no one has a say in anything. When people are unhappy and dying, there is nothing anyone can do about it.
8. I sense attitudes of laziness and choosiness from this cartoon. Oftentimes, people want the good without having to deal with the bad, so this picture represents a politician wanting to receive the benefits and money and the title of working in office, but not wanting to deal with having responsibilities and the authority of having to make hard decisions.
9. Medical Marijuana can be used as a treatment for symptoms of cancer, but since the drug itself is illegal, the government (in 23/50 states) prohibits the use of it as treatment, even though it can supposedly help with symptoms. The perspective on federal government in this picture is that they are more concerned with following the strict law rather than helping a dying citizen become (or at least feel) better.
10. The perspective of federal government offered here is that the government (Republicans in this cartoon) says that the people should be allowed to set new policies. However, when the people actually offer them up, the ideas are shut down and the government is appalled that we would even consider implementing a policy, for instance, to help the environment.
11. The video's metaphor for federalism is the three layered cake, with local government as the first layer, then state government, and then national government on the bottom. It describes federalism because each layer gets bigger as the cake grows. So, the local layer would only deal with local affairs like trash pick up and police stations, the middle state government layer would have multiple bigger responsibilities like education and health services, and the bottom national government layer deals with national affairs like military and space exploration.
12. This picture is a metaphor for federalism because it has all three forms of governments blended into one, rather than separating the one united government into three forms of governments like in the video. The picture suggests that the relationship between different levels of government is all intertwined, rather than set in slots or levels like a hierarchy.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Donald Trump Says Jeb Bush Should Stop Speaking Spanish
“He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States,” said Trump in an interview regarding Jeb Bush. Trump has made his feelings towards Hispanics very clear, however now he is attacking Jeb's decision to use the Spanish language while explaining that Trump is not a conservative at an event in Miami. Bush and his team were offended because he often speaks Spanish at home with his wife, Columba, who was born in Mexico. Obviously, the use of English in America should be promoted, so Mr. Bush has proposed a website to help immigrants learn English that will be a requirement for earning citizenship.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/02/donald-trump-says-jeb-bush-should-stop-speaking-spanish/
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/02/donald-trump-says-jeb-bush-should-stop-speaking-spanish/
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Naegleria Fowleri
Naegleria Fowleri, also known as "Brain-Eating Amoeba," lives in the sediment of warm, freshwater ponds and lakes in the southern states of America. The amoeba has been found to be extremely dangerous and efficient, with a 97% death rate in its victims. When people go swimming, the amoeba gets into their noses and find their way to the brain. On average, it takes about 5 days for the amoeba to kill its victims, however, scientists haven't been extremely worried about it because chances of infection are extremely low. From 2005-2014 there have only been 35 cases in the U.S.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/08/31/brain-eating-amoeba-cohen-explainer-orig-mg.cnn/video/playlists/brain-eating-amoebas/
http://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/08/31/brain-eating-amoeba-cohen-explainer-orig-mg.cnn/video/playlists/brain-eating-amoebas/
The End Of Long-Term Solitary Confinement
In recent years, isolation has become a more popular method of punishment in prison systems due to gang violence. Todd Ashker and Danny Troxell, inmates of Pelican Bay's secure housing unit (California), have filed a lawsuit to improve the conditions in solitary confinement as well as alter the time limit as to how long an inmate can be kept in solitary. The lawsuit argued that confinement after a certain amount of time was cruel and unusual punishment. The case ended with an agreement that 5 years is the maximum amount of time an inmate can be in the SHU, with the exception of gang members who can get up to 7. The state is trying to deal with the inmates without segregating them as much as well, so it has elected to create a non-solitary area for prisoners who have been in the SHU for 10 years or more. This new unit will give inmates access to phone calls, visitors, and educational classes.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Football Hazing Case In New Jersey
Hazing is a very touchy subject, and being the judge of what crosses the line can often be hard for teenagers to do. High school football players in Sayreville, New Jersey (ranging in ages of 15 to 17 years old) have been charged of sexual abuse and were nearly registered as sex offenders. The teammates have plead guilty to hazing the younger players by pushing them, kicking them, touching their genitals, and more graphic actions. The school has elected to cancel the football season in addition to firing the coach. The six players have been placed on probation for two years, as well as being sentenced to 50 hours of community service.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/nyregion/6-get-probation-in-sayreville-nj-football-hazing-case.html?ref=us
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/nyregion/6-get-probation-in-sayreville-nj-football-hazing-case.html?ref=us
Gender Inequality In Missouri
Gender and sexual orientation equality seems to be a hot topic this year, especially in Missouri. Lila Perry began identifying herself as a girl last February, so her being transgender isn't exactly new information. However, protests have recently erupted over her request to be able to use the girl's bathroom, rather than a unisex bathroom. The school’s superintendent, Aaron D. Cornman, claimed that the school “accepts all students no matter race, nationality/ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation,” but his statement was almost immediately challenged. Derrick Good, a parent to two female students enrolled in the school, argued that facilities should be used based on the students' biological sex. He claims it is a violation to his daughters' privacy to be sharing bathrooms with biological males. With all the commotion of protesting, Ms. Perry completely dropped out of the class that developed her need to use of the girls’ locker room, and spent nearly two hours in her guidance counselor’s office due to safety concerns. The Missouri Gay-Straight Alliance Network is planning to host a rally to explain the difference between sex and gender.
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