Your Move Trump!

           Recently it has been announced that there may have been some Russian interference in our previous election. Apparently the hackers were able to get into the system and aid Trump win the election. It is said that they aligned organizations AGAINST the Democratic party which in turn is direct support for Trump. It has not been made official to the public that this did occur but President Obama has made moves against Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the article the White House has announced plans to expel 35 Russian diplomats from the US giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the country. They have also closed down Russian compounds in New York and Maryland. This is a big move against Russia which has sparked talk of another Cold War. In response to the White House's move against Russia their President has made an interesting move himself. He has chosen to delay any retaliation against the US and has even been a bit friendly by inviting US citizens, Obama, and Trump to celebrate the holidays with him. In the eyes of some paying attention to this event it seems as though Putin is "backing off". While some say Putin is in fact giving Trump space to make his move. Since this began with Russia presumably aiding Trump this move would make some sense. Putin is giving Trump the floor to show whether or not he is with him or against him. On a previous post we saw how this idea of Trump allying with Russia is not something new. So if he is planning to lay in bed with the president of Russia what will he move be? Will it be soon or will he wait till he is put into power officially where he can make executive decisions? What will Putin's response be? These are all questions needing to be asked by the public to push these political figures to respond. That is not all that should be a concern though. With these sanctions against the Russian diplomats being put in place how come the accusations have not been proven and formally released to the public. The most information we have on it is through leaks which can't always be reliable. We the people are not being provided with all the information and are being sat down only able to watch what comes next. What do you think about the accusations against Russia and what do you think of the White House's move. For more information you can read the article here:  http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/30/politics/russia-us-obama-putin-trump-hacking-sanctions/index.html

Underwater Drone In China

An underwater drone has been found in Chinese waters by the Chinese navy. This drone has been found and has caused America to pull back on some of the surveillance they have on the country. In addition, it has been stated that this drone is the "tip of the iceberg" of US military surveillance. So now that the U.S has been caught red handed will China try to "strike" back at us or will they sweep it under the rug? If China takes offense to this and tries to attack how prepared is the U.S.? Is the government ready to protect us and will they tell us we are at war? These are just somethings I am concerned about, but I'm also concerned about how the media will portray the U.S and China. Will they make the people see the true intentions of both countries or will they spin this to make America look like they had good intentions behind their actionshttp://www.cnn.com/2016/12/18/politics/china-us-underwater-vehicle-south-china-sea/index.html

Another Cole War ?

Donald Trump wants to join forces with Russia, even though they were hacking the democratic party. Putin admits to doing so, and he wasn't punished for doing so. The reason why Trump is with this, is because it helped him win the election. There are some people who disagree with this, for example South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. He said "I can't imagine I would vote for anybody that believes that we should not sanction Russia, given the fact that they did in fact interfere in our election." This sort of thing can be interpreted as no good because this is a republican man that voted for Trump and he thinks that this is a bad idea. We cannot afford to go through anymore war. There is a lot that we would have to give up and there will be a lot of time wasted on it. I just hope that Trump knows what he's doing and i hope we don't have another cold war or a great depression or anything of that nature.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/16/politics/republican-party-tension/index.html

McCain: Russian election-related hacks threaten to 'destroy democracy'

Last month's election proved to be a controversial event with the defeat of democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and the election of our soon to be president, Donald Trump. But, just last week after a CIA investigation, we found out that Russia had been hacking democratic emails in an attempt to sabotage them and aid Donald Trump. The article focuses on John McCain's reaction to the incident. McCain's main argument was that our country has a lack of leadership and talks about Obama not taking action. He also talks about how the incident is "Paralyzing our country". I agree with his statement. Although I do not agree with blaming Obama for not doing enough, these situations can turn for the worst.  When such incidents happen, it creates further division amongst our country and makes us question our government. If it is true that  Russians have been aiding Trump, why is he still going to be president? And as McCain said in the article, we do not even know the full effects of what they did. In class, we will soon be doing a mock election. Although we will not have any foreign hackers messing with the process, what does this mean for our country's electoral system? Is it still valid after this incident? How do we prevent this from happening another time?




Article

Trump Speaks On China

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/11/politics/donald-trump-china-taiwan/index.html
 The article speaks on Trump's feelings toward the One china policy. In the case of the United States, the One-China Policy was first stated in the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972: "the United States acknowledges that Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China; as stated online. This can be seen as an issue world-wide because it counters policies we have already had in place. Yes, change is bound to come with every presidency, but It is odd how some of his change is starting to be seen before he is in office. This was interesting to me because it showed how Trump is changing things around and always tries to voice himself along the lines of topics when its not opinions that are necessary, but the voters want to see. That is the true change. 

Blast at Cairo Cathedral kills at least 25

At a key Coptic Church in Cairo on Sunday morning, a 12-kilogram TNT bomb caused an explosion. The blast ripped through the church in the city's Abbassyia district. At least 25 people are dead and dozens injured. The attack targeted one of the most symbolic religious sites for Copts. Copts is an ethnoreligious group centered in Egypt. This is a problem and effects the U.S. Government because we pride ourselves on freedom and liberty. We should get involved to protect sacred places like churches and holy areas. This isnt anything worth fighting a war over, but there must be consequences once the mastermind behind the whole thing is found.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/11/middleeast/egypt-coptic-church/index.html

Biden

According to CNN.com Biden keeps door open for 2020 run against Trump: "who knows where we're going to be". Vice President Joe Biden want a say in the position of the Democratic Party and isn't willing to fully rule out a bid for the presidency if he thinks issues of economic fairness aren't being voiced. His comments came after a week of public back-and-forth on saying that he is going to run in 2020; he somewhat facetiously told reporters on Capitol Hill Monday he was going to run, only to return Wednesday to the Capitol and insist "I have no intention of running." The article says If Biden, now 74, decides to run for president in 2020, he'd be asking Americans to elect the oldest commander-in-chief in US history. "Age could be very much an issue, and it may not be," Biden acknowledged in the interview. "It depends on the state of my health and the health of whoever is running." Said Biden 

      My opinion on this article is that joe Biden should have the right to vote in 2020 with no complaints. All he is trying to do is help the Democratic Party weather he said it or not shouldn't matter. He may be old, 74 years old but who says a 74 year old can't lead America. I honestly feel that Donald trump is not an American figure and is not fit for office . Joe Biden has been in office with barrack Obama for 8 years now, proving that he knows the ropes and the political problem and issues better the Donald trump not only does he know them but how to fix them. Joe Biden is more serious and ready as to trump is for office. Do you think biden can have a greater impact on America than trump.

Link

Jill Stein Pennsylvania Recount

Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee, said she would "escalate" her election recount efforts in Pennsylvania through a federal lawsuit after she told the public she would drop it but, there is a major cost to this recount. The court ruled that  all voters requesting the recount must pay a million dollar bond.  Stein said that "this request is an unacceptable barrier to democratic participation" and that "Americans deserve an election system that we can trust, and that is accurate, that is secure against hacking, against human error, against machine error, and in which the votes are being counted because right now it is not clear that all the votes are being counted." I totally agree with Stein on this topic. At this point the government can say they are going to do one thing but do another and we can't really tell if they did it or not. We are forced to trust that our government will do what they say but, I feel like there should be systems put in place so the people can actually see their vote being counted and many people feel like that this past election was an example if this. I don't know about y'all but I don't trust the government to be truthful in all they do. It seems as though they try to filter out minorities during elections in order to elect who they want constantly and this 1 million dollar bond as a prime example they are limiting participation because the minority is the only group that wants the recount to begin with but, now that they have to spend money for it most of them won't follow through with it. Therefore the recount won't occur because there is no one left that wants to pay for it. So how can we, the people, ensure that our votes are being counted and what can we do to hold the government accountable for the fairness of their actions?

 http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/03/politics/jill-stein-drops-pennsylvania-recount/index.html

Harassment in schools skyrockets after election, teachers report

Many problematic events have occurred since Donald Trumps victory in the election. It has been reported that many students from various states are experiencing harassment from their peers in school. Examples of these hate-filled actions include chanting "you're going back to Mexico", "Trump, Trump", and overall negatively affecting the learning environment for children. As a result, teaching tolerance has formed to reduce prejudice and improve relations among children in school. Many of these actions have been noticed in states down south where the majority of the population voted for Trump. However, here in New York where we are accustomed to diversity, I noticed similar actions being taken to fight against prejudice. Americans have come too far to begin going back in the other direction. According to the article, teachers are bing told to disregard this behavior, however, it is necessary to do the exact opposite in hopes of change and development.Do you think Trump being president is going to effect the way people look at immigrants. Do you think it's right kids are kids are looking up to Trump and supporting how he feels about things ? 
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/health/school-survey-post-election-negative-incidents/index.html#

Death of ex-NFL player Joe McKnight came during road-rage incident

Former NFL running back Joe McKnight who played for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs was fatally shot in Terrytown, Louisiana during an apparent road-rage incident while standing beside a man's car at a suburban New Orleans intersections on a Friday night.The problem may have been that one man cut the other off in traffic. One driver followed the other to an intersection, where McKnight parked his Audi Q7 SUV on the right shoulder of the road Gasser's Infiniti G37 two-door sedan was in the right lane and parallel to the SUV, the release said. Witnesses said the two were "in a heated verbal exchange" from their vehicles. At some point, Gasser "discharged three rounds from a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun from the driver's seat of the blue Infiniti through the open passenger window. These rounds struck (McKnight), who had previously exited the gray Audi Q7 and was positioned at the passenger window of the Infiniti,". Gasser remained at the scene, handed over his weapon to authorities and admitted to shooting McKnight. Gasser, 54, was released from custody Thursday night. In explaining why Gasser was allowed to leave, Normand said authorities need to talk to more witnesses.

What is wrong in this situation is that a man is released after a fatal shooting of a man and there justification is that they don't have enough witnesses is absurd. There were witnesses that said the two were in a heated argument and the murder was turned in which should give the cops more than enough evidence. Do you agree with Gassers release and should this situation be brought to federal court?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/us/nfl-player-joe-mcknight-shooting/index.html

Second chance law second chance (D week)

The Article I chose talks about the  Second chance law for young criminals. hundreds of criminals are sentenced by D.C Judges under an obscure local law craft to give second chances to young adult offenders have gone on to rob, rape, or kill residents of national capital. This law's main purpose of the law is for the sole purpose of  this law is rehabilitation. through my eyes I see this as an opportunity to get these young convicts back on the streets and to help better them while they are still young. I'm sure the people of D.C thought the same like the article says "the youth rehabilitation act is to allow for shorter sentences for some criminals and opportunity for offenders to emerge with no criminal record" however a Washington investigator have found a pattern of offenders returning to there criminal ways. I could see the problem here people who fight to put these criminals away don't want them on the streets again and don't care for who is being locked away for the rest of their life.  but my thoughts are to offer more help to prevent this from happening again. a good solution  could be to put these ex criminals through programs that could keep them off the streets and help to repair their life and keep them from resorting back to a life of crime. to make sure of this they should only help criminals with petty crimes which doesn't lead to murder. i feel like this law should be tweaked and used in many different states. i also strongly believe this law should be of aid to criminals who had to plead guilty for a crime they did not commit to get a shorter sentence.  What do you think is the right way to rehabilitate a young criminal? do you think criminals should be rehabilitated? Should future jobs who are looking to hire employees should ask if they were criminals? what about Government jobs should they hire ex criminals?  Link