Rising homicide rate in Mexico wiping out recent gains

  Straight  from  the  article  it states  " the  first  two  months  of  2016  saw  a  total  of  3,158  people  killed,,," As  soon  as  I  read  that  I  think  to  myself  that  gang  violence  must  be  the  reason  why the  homicide  rate  went  up. Then  I as  I  continued  to  read  the  article  it  later  stated  that" the  increase  of  homicides  during  the  first  two  months  of  2016  has  affected  more  than  half  of  the  country,,," The  main  questions  in  my  head  at  this  point  is  "what  is  the  mexican  government  going  to  do  to  bring  the  homicide  rate  back  down?" "How  will  the  government  assure  the  peolinkple  of  its  safety?"

Residents evacuate Cedar Rapids homes ahead of flooding in Iowa

Article

       Natural disasters occur yearly all across the globe, and part of being prepared for these disasters is for our government to be involved in protecting its citizens. The article you will read discusses how Iowa's planned preparation helped prevent the loss of lives and save tons of money. According to the article, they told citizens that the flood was coming days before it had happened and that they needed to get out of the city. All 130,000 residents of Cedar Rapids made it out with just enough time to move furniture and valuables away from the flood's destructive path. Also, they houses that were destroyed from a previous flood where destroyed to prevent anyone else from losing more money. They even ended up closing schools just  till the next week just as a precaution. This is an excellent example of how the government and it's various programs should protect and provide for it's people. This is an example of a good government. As Ceder Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said... "All the work is coming together, and you can see the benefit of planning and preparation,". This city knew that in the past they have had situations similar to this one, and decided to prepare for it. This is an excellent decision by the City Manager. Other cities need to take note on what was done. There have been several situations in New York alone where natural disasters have occurred and we were not fully prepared. Even for simple things like in the winter when it snows heavily, some people can't even get off their block because snow plows are not on time, or are not in abundance. Why are we not preparing for situations like this? Our country certainly has enough money to do it. we already waste money on things that are necessary, so why not. I'm sure there are some behind the scenes prep, but nothing major that would help us like the people of Iowa received help This is related to APGOPO because we are currently talking about the foundation of our government, and the steps it took to find the necessary requirements and services to our people. We also learned about how philosophers like John Locke believed that the purpose of the government was to help all people achieve equal natural rights, and that the government was obliged to protect and defend its citizens.This scenario is a definitely how John Locke wanted the government to protect and serve the people. Our government needs to do a better job preparing for situations like this in other locations.




http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/25/residents-evacuate-cedar-rapids-homes-ahead-flooding-in-iowa.html

How The Rich Are Paying Less In Estate Taxes

Ezekiel Franklin

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have two different plays for estate taxes. Clinton wants to make it higher, and Trump wants to make it lower. Yet behind the political noise, its contribution to revenue has gotten smaller over the years. As a result, any changes made to the policy are likely to have a minimal impact on tax receipts. According to the IRS, the estate tax generated $16.4 billion in 2014. That's down roughly a third from 2006, when collections added up to $24.6 billion. Receipts have fallen even more dramatically when looking farther back. In 2011, the latest year analyzed, that number was only 0.13 percent.
The estate tax now accounts for less than 1 percent of federal revenue, according to the Tax Foundation. That drop is surprising given the rising number of millionaires and billionaires that came up from two decades, and the trillions of dollars supposedly being passed on to the next generation. The main reason behind the decline is a higher number of exemptions. In 1976, estates had to pay a tax on a value of more than $60,000. Today, the threshold is $5.5 million for individual estates. That means that anyone who leaves their heirs less than that amount is excluded. The top estate tax rate has also come down, from 70 percent in 1981, to 55 percent in 2000, to 40 percent today. Another reason the estate tax is quietly dying is that the rich have become better at avoiding it. A vast array of trusts and estate-planning tools have made it easier for wealthy families to pass down assets without being subjected to the tax. This relates to APGOV because the government is the ones who take our tax money. When they get that money, it is then distributed back to the people. Majority of that money goes to the military and then the government and then it goes to everyone else. If Trump lowers the taxes then less money will be going towards things. If Hilary increases the taxes then everyone would have to pay more taxes, but will still get money back.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/how-the-rich-are-paying-less-in-estate-taxes.html

Hate Crimes Against American Muslims Most Since Post-9/11 Era

    LINK

This article speaks on the hate crimes that have taken place against American Muslims since September 11th. It says " The trend has alarmed hate crime scholars and law-enforcement officials, who have documented hundreds of attacks — including arsons at mosques, assaults, shootings and threats of violence — since the beginning of 2015. " This was an interesting topic for me for several reasons. One major reason it is important is because as the article continues it mentions The Presidential Election. First thing I thought was " How does this tie in?" According to the article, many people feel the hate crimes and tension grew stronger as candidate Donald Trump started making plans for bans on Immigration by Muslims. One key person in the study of Hate and Extremism is Brian Levin. Brian says  “We’re seeing these stereotypes and derogative statements become part of the political discourse." I found this interesting because certain things Trump has said is causing more than just a political reaction. Another reason I chose this article is because the article mentions the abundance of shootings and violence since the beginning of 2015. Lately, when we watch the news, we are constantly seeing stories on Officers killing black people or stories on how the presidential election is going, but very rarely, if any, are there stories on this topic. Now why is that? Do they not want us to know? If this is something that could possibly affect us on a larger scale, why isn't it something brought to our attention sooner? 

Explosion Rocks NYC's Chelsea Neighborhood




Early indications of the explosion at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan were at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday "was an intentional act." The explosion injured 29 people in Manhattan. Police investigators found a second suspicious device nearby the explosion site. The device at the second location in Chelsea appears to be a pressure cooker according to local and federal law enforcement officials. Investigators believe the blast was an act of terrorism. Because of this police have increased the security across New York's five boroughs as a precaution. This relates to AP GOPO because the government is there to provide security for the people. When people around the nation see this fear will set in. Americans will fear for their safety and if our government can keep us safe. They will want to find out what government official are doing to keep everything under control. I believe that once they find out who is to blame for the explosion and their motive they should try to prevent it from happening again.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/17/us/new-york-explosion/index.html

Russian river turned red by metallurgical waste, Norilsk Nickel says

According to CNN.com; Russian river, the Dalyan River, turned red after a nickel spill from Norilsk Nickel which is the world’s largest nickel producer. “On the 5th of september after abnormal heavy rain” Nickel stated. This heavy rain alarmed residents as the unidentified chemical stained the water red. The flooding due to heavy rain initially led to this flood that distributed massive deposits of nickel, copper and aluminium. However, as previously mentioned, the chemical that turned the water red is still unknown.Residents have seen similar surrealistic scenes before. There is a lot of mining near Norilsk, because the area has massive deposits of nickel, copper and palladium. Because of that is why the dalyan river is red. 

    From my prior knowledge and my opinion I believe that this is very unhealthy towards the people that are currently living there due to the fact that they have to find a different water source to live off of  for the time being. To add on to that,  as well as losing a water source they are also losing a small amount of supply from the nickele spill. Also the loss of nickel, copper, and aluminum



Link : http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/12/world/russia-red-river-siberia/index.html

Colin Kaepernick's True Sin

Link

Colin Kaepernick, an NFL player, decided to silently protest the injustices against people of color and police brutality by refusing to stand for the national anthem. Kaepernick, a biracial man, said "the stand wasn’t because I feel like I’m being put down in any kind of way. This is because I’m seeing things happen to people that don’t have a voice, people that don’t have a platform to talk and have their voices heard, and effect change." He has been publicly ridiculed by former and current NFL players, "fans," and some media channels.

Kaepernick is accused of being unpatriotic by his detractors but he is actually exercising his freedom of expression. There is no specific way to be a patriot. And if he has freedom, why is he NOT free to express himself how he wants? Race and class seem to be huge factors. A news anchor said that Kaepernick was too rich to protest. One would argue that people would pay more attention because he is rich and famous than they would if he was an everyday, poor person. A former player even remarked that Kaepernick shouldn't protest because he doesn't understand what it is to be a black man. This statement made no sense because it implies that someone cannot be against the injustice that another person faces. Even if Kaepernick was not black (which he is), why wouldn't black people want him to speak up for the injustices they face? Can men not protest against sexism?  Furthermore, some of the most prolific civil rights advocates have been lighter skinned men of color (See: Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Harry Belafonte, Thurgood Marshall) so to make the argument that Kaepernickis not black enough does not make sense. Being called unAmerican for exercising your constitutional right is hypocrisy. It seems that some Americans don't want Kaepernick to be engaged in the community and politically active. To me, being silent or apathetic when injustices happen is the most unAmerican and unpatriotic thing to do.