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Friday, February 21, 2014

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 2-21-14

Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog:









Possible Corruption in Olympic Figure Skating
Through all of the madness in Sochi, people are skeptical if the home teams are getting special privileges and special scores. Specifically, when it comes to figure skating, people are questioning if Adelina Sotnikova was given better scores than she deserved. Many think South Korean skater Yuna Kim deserved the gold, who received the silver, but was beaten out by Adelina. Many critics noticed tha

Panties for President
In Kazakhstan, an interesting struggle has erupted between the government and Kazakh women -- over lacy panties. The Customs Union, a "Moscow-initiated trade allliance between Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus," imposed a ban on the import of the panties because they apparently didn't meet the threshold for dampness absorption that underwear need to me to be sold in Kazakhstan and were in
G-20 finance ministers focus on global growth
A group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s biggest economies which make up the G-20, plan to meet in Sydney this weekend with the top priority of addressing the issue of market turmoil present within the global economy and discussing ways to reinvigorate global growth. In December, the U.S. central bank said it would start reducing its monthly Treasury and mortgage bond p
Putin will teach you how to love the motherland
Pussy Riot is at it again. On a trip back to Moscow the band members of this music video decided to stop by Sochi, Russia and produce a video showing off their hooliganism. As a result, twenty people have been arrested and are facing charges of up to ten years in another drab Russian prison. During the creation of this new video a large group of old bearded Cossacks came and beat/whipped the troub
G-20 financial ministers focus on global growth
A group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s biggest economies, which make up the G-20, plan to meet in Sydney this weekend with the top priority of addressing the issue of market turmoil present within the global economy and discussing ways to reinvigorate global growth. In December, the U.S. central bank said it would start reducing its monthly Treasury and mortgage bond
So Much for Fighting Corruption
      What happens when a man tries to fight corruption in the most populous African country? He receives death threats and is fired by the President. The former Central Bank Governor of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, was "dismissed" from his job for revealing that billions of dollars were missing from the coffers of Nigeria's biggest oil companies. This revelation devalued the Nigerian currenc
North Korea Executes Relatives of Purged Uncle
North Korea Executes Relatives of Purged UncleLast month, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly executed the husband of his aunt, Jang Song Thaek. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Kim also ordered the execution of the relatives of Jang following the killing of his uncle. Those he ordered to be eliminated included Jang's sons, grandchildren, nephews, and sister and her husband,
UN Warns of North Korea, Modern Nazi Germany
Recently the UN announced results of their ongoing investigation of North Korean human rights violations. Through a set of prison camps throughout the nation the North Korean gov't has been imprisioning enemies of the state and torture all prisoners. Some torture even goes as far as rape and forced abortions, or when the baby is born they will make the mother drown it in water. The UN warns the wo

YESTERDAY

writing about the Ukraine is pretty popular so, EU imposes sanctions after deadly Kiev clashes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26280710Sorry for link, if it does not work just copy and paste it into the url address bar.After the Ukrainian government's recent violence towards protesters in the countries capital of Kiev on Thursday, the European Union has decide to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials. On Thursday many of the protesters were killed by snipers and in all over 75 peop
Protests Swell in Venezuela as Places to Rally Disappear
NY Times Venezuela protest crack downAs protests in Venezuela continue, government crackdowns and violent intervention are on the rise. Reason for citizen unrest in the country is mainly due to dissatisfaction with current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. However, specific criticism from the protestors side include dissatisfaction with rising violent crime rates, shortages with basic goods (su
Wii controllers, the new sidearm of choice
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/georgia-teen-holding-wii-remote-shot-cops-front-door-family-lawyer-article-1.1619842Small town Georgian trailer park, there's a dude on probation.  Now that you've got the scene set in your mind, lets add in some new factors:  1. parole guy has a kid- Christopher Roupe  2. Probation check, kid answers the door. What happens next?  Being a teenager, you woul
Another Redundant Current Event About the Ukraine
So,The Ukraine has been in the midst of political upheaval due to President Yanukovych's refusal to sign a deal with the EU in favor of a deal with Russia over natural gas prices. The protests have grown largely into citizens' demands to change the constitution and the entire power structure of the country. Regular citizens want more power placed in the parliament than the presidency. The Ukraine
Egypt Extends Crackdown to Journalists
On Thursday, three journalists were put before the court for filing news reports for Al-Jazeera English.  The prosecutors believed that they had links to terrorists, detaining the men for weeks.  Their charges are part of a crackdown by Egypt's military-backed government that has captured reporters, filmmakers, and bloggers. This all began with the mass arrests of the Egyptian government's enemies
Still Dealing with Fukushima
Three years ago, the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant devastated Japan. At the time, Californians were terrified of being contaminated; by now we have all but forgotten the incident. Unfortunately, forgetting isn’t an option for the Eastern coast of Japan. Groundwater is constantly being contaminated by the site, and must be pumped out and stored in tanks to contain the damage
U.S. DRONE MAY HAVE KILLED A DOZEN CIVILIANS + 3 men tried in Nicaragua for stealing two bananas
A U.S. military drone strike in December of 2013 may have killed 12 civilians at a wedding in Yemen, injured at least 15 others including the bride. The U.S. officials claim that only members of Al-Qaida were killed but refused to make the details of the investigation public. The Human Rights Watch released a report on this issue citing interviews with eight eye witnesses and the relatives of the
Putin on the Ritz
Article hereBasically, Vladimir Putin is not being entirely forthcoming (shocking!) about his personal net worth. Though he claims to have a net worth of under $500,000, that seems highly unlikely considering his rather expensive tastes. He has been seen wearing a watch valued at $150,000, has several houses and getaways, including one valued at roughly $1 billion, and access to a $40 million yach
China threatens damaged relations if US continues to meet with Dalai Lama
In the past there was a lot of buzz about the public protests of monks in China.  They were burning themselves alive, and sacrificing their lives in what they believed in, independence for Tibet.  Many people then became concerned, advocated for their rights and freedom.  Controversy arose, and the U.S. was crossed with the decision of help the people of Tibet or keep relations with China peaceful
Deadly drone strike in Yemen failed to comply with Obama’s rules to protect civilians
Another day, another drone strike. In an attempt to take top members of Al Qaeda out, the U.S. government instead blew up cars coming from a wedding, killing 12 and wounding 15 last December. What's worse is that there has been no evidence that even anybody involved with Al Qaeda was killed or injured. A sloppy and disgusting job and an even sloppier cover up - the U.S. stated that only militants
Controversial Death of Teenage Syrian Photographer Sheds Light on Unethical News Agencies
Molhem Barakat, a Syrian photographer and journalist died on December 20, 2013 at age eighteen. Barakat was employed by the news agency, Reuters, and provided with cameras and equipment, although given knnadiquit protection. Barakat was not an unbiased journalist, having wanted to be a soldier in the rebellion. Although an active and serious politically involved man, Barakat's other social media w
Worst Spill in 6 Months Is Reported at Fukushima
The Fukishima nuclear power plant is still facing repercussions after being struck by a tsunami in 2011. The newest incident is the leak that occurred on Wednesday and was contained by Thursday. The leak allowed about 100 tons of highly radioactive materials to flow into surrounding water. It is speculated that the leak was not bad enough to contaminate the Pacific Ocean, like others have, but thi
Climate Change: "The most fearsome weapon of mass destruction," says Kerry
Article HEREEarlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to groups in Jakarta, Indonesia about the dangers of climate change for their nation. After China and the United States, Indonesia has moved into third place in greenhouse gas emissions because of its deforestation and reliance on cheap electricity from coal power in recent years. In his speech, Kerry stated that the fishing econom
Pistorius Murder Trial to Bring Scrutiny to South Africa
Summary of Article: On February 14th, 2013, aka Valentine's Day, Oscar Pistorious, a 29 year old Olympic and Paralypmic track star, aka Blade Runner, murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a 25 year old model and law graduate. He recently has been scheduled to go on trial next month since he was charged by prosecutors with  premeditated murder. Oscar Pistorious claims to have accidentally shot
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Deadliest Day: Ukrainian Protesters Remain Defiant After Dozens KilledReports indicate that another bloody battle broke out late Thursday, February 20, between the anti-government protesters and Ukrainian police in central Kiev's Independence Square. In the last few days, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have spent significant time advising Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych, who wa
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In London, researchers have found new evidence that Greece’s financial crisis is taking a toll on the health of its citizens, including rising rates of HIV, tuberculosis, depression, and even infant deaths.            Since the economic crisis hit several years ago, the government’s health spending has been cut and hundreds of thousands of people have been left without health insurance. Previous s
Uganda dismisses Obama pressure on anti-gay law
On Tuesday, Uganda dismissed Obama's call made towards Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's leader, to not sign an anti-homosexuality law, claiming that the United States was trying to blackmail their country. Obama warned that signing for this bill would complicate America's relations with Uganda and be a "step backward for all Ugandans." This anti-gay bill was first introduced in 2009 and initial
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 2-20-14
Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog: Is Obama hurting himself by not reaching out?To us Californian's there are two major issues currently taking place, health care and the water crisis.Obama recently came over to Fresno, California to check out the impact of the drought. He only brought along a few other Democrats for his three hour tour, despite the fact that the House Majority Whip, Kevin McCarthy is cr