Christian-Backed School Teaches Scions of The Elite in Atheist North Korea

America has had tension with the United States for decades. This article only further shows how serious this tension is, and how it hinders any future relationships. The article shows us the roots of this hatred and the problems that it creates. In North Korea there is a school where the teachers are american and not atheist. These teachers are forced to follow certain rules, and are not allowed to teach or enforce any religion. Although the teachers follow these guidelines, it does not stop conflict from surfacing. In the past month, two teachers were arrested and deported because of hostile acts. They were accused of breaking the rules and teaching religion. One of the teachers was seen showing a student a bible. The other was a Christian pastor.I believe that Americans should stay out of North Korea. The article mentions that there was no actual evidence that these teachers were violating any rules on campus. I believe that because North Koreans feel threatened by their presence, they were deported. In the article, it says that the students say that they are taught to fear and hate american people. Yet, as they got to know their teachers, they realized that they hate our government and not us. However, we should not step foot in a country where we are hated. Their government is teaching its people what they want to. Therefore we should attempt to teach religion to them, especially an atheist country. This country is not in any position to accept change. Although there are Americans that enter Korea with good intentions, our conflict prevents people from seeing past the hatred. Instead they accuse us of being spies and deport us whenever they feel we have violated their laws. Maybe there should be a policy created that will prevent people from traveling to those countries. It would not be a solution to our problems, but it will prevent Americans from suffering at the hands of the Korean government.Do you feel there should be a policy that prevents travel to countries with increased tension? Do You think we should continue to travel to this country with hopes that they will change their views and opinions?

Article Link

Freed Chibok girls reunited with families

82 Chinok school girls were released by Boko Haram and reunited with their families on Saturday. The former captives are now ages 18-21. They are believed to have been among the 276 pupils forced from their beds by Boko Haram militants in the middle of the night. This happened April 2014. The kidnapping from the Chibok school sparked global outrage and the social media movement #BringBackOurGirls. The nigerian government had to make negotiations to retrieve the girls who were abducted from their school. 5 Top commanders have been released in exchange for some of the girls. I think this is an issue that we as a country should get involved in and try to help the Nigerian community to get their girls back.  The military is acting as a tyrant and using forceful and negative tactics to get what they want. Donald Trump should send troops to alleviate the problem there and sign treaties that can help further our relations between other African countries. What do you think should be done?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/africa/nigeria-chibok-girls-family-boko-haram/index.html

Trumps new attitude

In the article, it speaks about trumps latest visit to Saudi, Arabia while he was over there he seemed to be a different man. Someone who knows what their doing. He spoke to many leaders over there and told them what was the issue that he believed and what needs to be done. During his visit he spoke in a decent manner. This shows everything that has been happening obviously was part of a plan Trump had. Many people wouldn't have expected that four months into his term President Donald Trump would find himself addressing a room of Muslim leaders .In a major address Sunday to the leaders of 50 nations where Islam is the predominant faith, Trump veered closer than ever to the establishment views of American influence abroad, a sharp and jarring break for a man whose campaign was built upon uncensored language about America's security and role in the world.

"I stand before you as a representative of the American people to deliver a message of friendship and hope and love," Trump said. "Our vision is one of peace, security and prosperity in this region and all throughout the world. Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God." - these words spoke out to me. It changed my view on him not because it sounds right but because he shows a level of maturity that i did not have for him. What do you feel about trumps efforts to bring peace to muslim countries? Does your view on him change in anyway ? What  do you think made him change?

 Link

Saudi Arabia to Invest $20 Billion in Infrastructure, Mostly in U.S.

This article had my attention because as i was reading it said that a company that goes by the name of blackstone was the one that worked with them first so that they can help out with the infrastructure in the us. Now the first surprise was that Trump was supporting them, because he has a problem with terrorist and hes big on racial discrimination. Then as i kept on reading, it stated that trump line up 110 million dollars in arms deals. This is one thing that has been turned into another. Trump is planning something big if he has to spend that much money on an arms deal. We are at a time where we must fear what his next steps are because the decisions hes making looks like he is trying to start another war. What are you guys views on this article ?




https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/business/dealbook/saudi-arabia-to-invest-20-billion-in-infrastructure-mostly-in-us.html?ref=politics

Trump, Shouting ‘Death Spiral,’ Has Nudged Affordable Care Act Downward

This all started with a tweet from Trump yelling out "Death Spiral" after the announcement of pulling pout the affordable care act. Trump later goes on to say how  “Obamacare continues to fail.” on twitter as a response to hearing about  Humana announced plans to leave all the health law’s marketplaces next year. This article then talks about the Trump administration and its refusal to guarantee payment of subsidies to health insurance companies. I feel like the trump administration  should come up with a way to improve health care especially with all the trash being talked about Obamacare. The administration’s refusal to guarantee payment of subsidies to health insurance companies, the murky outlook for the Affordable Care Act in Congress and doubts about enforcement of the mandate for most people to have insurance are driving up insurance prices for 2018, insurers say in rate requests filed with state officials. With whats going on with today's health care system it would be nice if our government could have a plan to keep the poor healthy and so that the rich wont be the only ones benefiting from our new health care system being implemented.  what do you think about whats going on with the trump administration an d our new health care? is it good bad can it be fixed? what will be the end game?
  

Senators push Trump not to choose a political figure to head FBI

Trump has had a rough first 100 days of his presidency. He just doesn't know how to take the media's attention off of him. All he does is add on to the issues that he causes by himself.This past week he fired the FBI director. This had sparked many questions and made people think that there was a reason why he would do such a thing out of the blue. One reason people believe that the FBI director was fired because he was the one that is investigating the story behind russia interfering with the election. I feel that trump should be wise about who he places in the position of FBI director. I feel that if he places somebody with credentials that doesn't live up to that position the media will come up with all these theories and reasons why he did that. Also I feel that the Democrats are asking great questions when they talk about what was the reason for doing that. Democrats should definitely try and challenge who he try to appoint. Knowing trump he will probably try to appoint someone that has 0 experience.Why do you guys think Trump fired the FBI agent? Should the new FBI director have lots of experience ? Or do you feel that it's appropriate to have a airhead in that place of power?

http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-top-senate-democrat-says-dems-may-try-1494774185-htmlstory.html

Help Wanted Sign Posted outside FBI headquarters?

If you're in the market for a new job and want a change of pace a look no further then the united states federal bureau of investigation. After the removal of former director Comey the spot has now been opened up for a new Trump nominee. As with previous Trump nominees the new director for the FBI is expected to be rejected by the Democratic party, but it has less to do with the nomination itself. The democratic senate party refuses to vote on a Republican nominee until an independent investigator is appointed to look in to the presidents and his associates ties to Russian affiliates. The recent news of cyber attacks and the results of the election has put Russia on the radar of many government officials. The reasoning behind this would be to prevent the president from placing a ally in a high position of authority within the justice system to ensure no more investigations are made surrounding the results of the elections, but these are just rumors and speculation. So far our possible nominees  include two former FBI agents, a former Texas judge who is now a senator, a Michigan republican senator and a former appeals court judge during the Bush administration from New York all of whom are viable candidates for the position. What I found concerning about this article is the almost uncalled for firing of Comey and the response we got from the U.S ambassador who said that Trump is the president "The president is the CEO and can fire whoever he wants". Not only is it suspicious that Comey was fired like this but the mindset that Trump is the CEO to just another one of his businesses is disturbing. America is our home, our land and property, our government is not just a board of directors sitting around trying to come up with ways to fill their pockets and take out their opponents they are the trusted officials who we elected to be our representatives and the keeping order and upholding justice while protecting our liberties. America is not just another business for Trump to make money which is what Nixon tried to do  with the Watergate scandal. What is our opinion on the whole situation and how much trust do you have for Trump?https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-races-to-fill-fbi-job-amid-democrats-resistance-1494804820

For Cuomo’s Free-Tuition Plan, Lessons From Tennessee

In this article it talks about the plans that Cuomo has for free tuition. It begins by speaking on how Tennessee basically started the whole trend with making college more affordable/ free when they made it so that all community colleges had free tuition. Specifically it says "a speaker came to her school to talk about a new state program, Tennessee Promise, that would pay the tuition for all students at the state’s community colleges ... Her journey is an increasingly familiar one in Tennessee, and one that a growing number of states are trying to replicate with programs that pay tuition, usually at the community college level, for a broad number of students." It then goes on to mention New York's version of what Tennessee was doing-the excelsior scholarship-and briefly mentions how its different. Basically while the excelsior scholarship is geared towards free tuition for "middle class students", Tennessee is just making all the community colleges tuition-free for all students there. The article then goes on to give some of the already-present after effects of what Tennessee is doing. In the article it says "For the past two years, Tennessee has led the nation in Fafsa applications. Seventy percent of high school seniors there fill one out, 13 percentage points higher than New York, according to federal Department of Education figures. The number of Tennessee students applying for federal loans, meanwhile, dropped by 17 percent in 2015, said Joni E. Finney, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, who was a co-author of a report in April analyzing higher education in Tennessee." My question for you guys is do you think that New York should follow Tennessee's lead and just make community college tuition free? The article also mentioned the fact that while, as a whole, college enrollment went up, it still went down for four year institutions because more and more people were just going to two year community colleges since it offered free tuition. This could potentially cause people to want to work after instead of just pursuing their bachelors degree in one go. What do you feel would be the most optimal and realistic pathway towards raising the education level of New York citizens as a whole?

Link - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/14/nyregion/for-cuomos-free-tuition-plan-lessons-from-tennessee.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

Republicans Are Messing With A Major Source of Jobs

This article speaks about how the new health care bill will affect jobs in America. In the article it states how Obamacare provided more funding into healthcare. With more funding more jobs were able to be created for those who could provide that health care. This means doctors, nurses, or any other healthcare providers had more jobs created for them. Under the Obamacare or the Affordable Health Care Act people were able to make up to approximately $56,000 a year. With this new healthcare bill funding will be cut by $60 billion which means so will the income of those health care providers. Not only will the salaries of the workers decrease but if there is less funding then companies won't be able to hire as much so there will be less jobs and less working people able to help with the health of those who need it. This was an issue that was stated in the article about the dive in employment in some areas if there is less funding to healthcare. Personally I think this will completely blow up in the Republicans face. It seems as though this bill is hurting people who need affordable health care a lot. If you aren't someone who is rich and can pay for their own personal doctors and nurses then you won't be helped as well under this bill. It makes no sense that something as basic as the health of the people is in jeopardy. I think once this is officially passed we will have to wait and see how hard it hits the public. Hopefully it doesn't have the impact that people are saying it will but what do you guys think about this new health care bill? What are your opinions on Trumps new act or Trumpcare?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/07/news/economy/health-care-jobs/index.html?iid=SF_LN

On eve of fired Justice Department official's testimony, Trump tweets about Russia inquiry Laura King

President Trump went to Twitter on Sunday to criticize the scope and nature of investigations into Russian interfering within the U.S. presidential election back in 2016.Trump’s Sunday tweet did not mention former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates name or have mentioned to her scheduled testimony on Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.But Trump being Trump  he is repeatedly between constant ongoing congressional and FBI probes of potential collusion between his campaign and Russia, Trump says that investigative attention, and media reports, were misdirected and should be appointed to more important matters. Yates, was serving at the as acting attorney general,until she was fired by Trump at the end of January for refusing to defend Trumps travel ban in court which she has every right and the power too, and it remains under legal challenge for not supporting freedom of religion. She is expected to be questioned by senators about her warnings to the White House in January regarding the then-national security advisor, Michael Flynn. Flynn was fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and others about his contacts with the Russian ambassador,there is  caution that Flynn could have left himself vulnerable to Russian blackmail by making untrue statements and his firing.  Flynn’s dismissal came was after the Washington Post reported that he had misled Pence about what discussions in his phone calls with the Russian envoy. Trump has tried to misguide attention from him and his possible ties between Moscow and his campaign, in March, he accused former President Barack Obama of having his wires tapped at Trump Tower. Intelligence officials and congressional investigators have said there is no evidence to support that claim. 

This has to do with AP Gov because this is similar to Nixon and the Watergate situation. I hope the government contines to investigate and find that Russia played a role in his election because that would make him look like a president worse than he actually is, and I hope that the punishment leads to his impeachment and the vice president too because it looks like he fired Flynn to cut loose ends. What do you think of the situation? Do you think Trump receivedaid from russia?What should the punishment be if he did? http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-on-eve-of-fired-justice-official-s-1494159676-htmlstory.html

Another US citizen detained in North Korea

North Korea has detained another U.S. Citizen again. This time the citizen was detained on suspicion of hostile acts against the regime. Kim Hak-song was described as "a man who was doing business in relation to the operation  of Pyoongyang University of Science and Technology" by the regime. The state-run Korean News Agency said that the American was detained Saturday, but didn't release any more information on this alleged crime. There are 3 others detained in North Korea right now. Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2016 for removing a political sign. Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, a university professor, was detained in Pyongyang in 2017 and accused of attempting to overthrow the government. Kim Dong Chul, the president of a company involved in international trade and hotel services, was arrested in 2015 and is serving 10 years on espionage charges. The relevant authority is currently conducting a detailed investigation into his crime. It seems to me as if North Korea is prejudice against 
U.S. Citizens. This reminds me of a discussion we were having in class about foreign affairs and its effects. The question that was proposed was "What would happen if you commit a crime in a nonnative country and how does that effect the relationship between the two countries?" I personally think that this situation will cause some major conflict between North Korea and the U.S. especially when we have 45 as president. Who do you think? Is this an detrimental situation for the U.S.? Can this stir up enough conflict to possibly start a war? How can the U.S. Dissolve this situation?





http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/07/asia/north-korea-american-detained/index.html