Whats Going On in Syria?

There have been many protests against President Bashar Al Assad and the government of Syria. President Al Assad started trying to stop these protests by killing and throwing many civilians in jail. This has been going on since January of 2011. What do you think the United States should do to help end Al Assad's regime and prevent from this spreading through the region? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/whats-going-on-in-syria_n_1564906.html?ref=world

US Navy: 'Hollow" force or 'The best in the world'?

In the Article Mitt Romney and Obama are in disagreement. Romney says that we have too small of a navy to protect ourselves and that since we have less soldiers they have to be out on deployment longer. He also argues that we are spending too much money on newer technology that we shouldnt be becuase we are already ahead of all the other countries. Obama argues that we have the strongest and best Navy in the world expecially with all our new technology so we dont need as many soldiers. Do you think we are in any danger becuase our navy is shrinking? Do you agree with Obama or Romney and why?

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us-navy-hollow-force-or-the-best-in-the-world/

Obama wants to start taking troop out of Afghanistan and move his focus to other nuclear powered countries such as Pakistan. My question is would U.S. intervening in Pakistan be considered just? Here is a article to help you answer my probing question; http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/world/asia/pakistan-says-us-drone-strike-kills-suspected-militants.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/us/obamas-journey-to-reshape-afghanistan-war.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

On Monday a suicide bomber tried to assassinate Minister of Defense and minutes before he arrived the explosion went off. Killing over 60 soldiers as they were lining up for  a march which they have been practicing all week long. The suicide bomber was a soldier that was hand picked by the Commander Yihia who is Saleh's nephew. Before this the president of Yemen and Saleh have been in a power struggle with controlling the military forces. So if Saleh was found guilty for the attack do you think U.S should get involved and help?

Afghanistan and America

When the terrorist attack on 9/11 happened in 2001, the United States declared war to try and get rid of al-Qaeda. On May 1st, 2012 Obama made a surprise speech in Afghanistan talking about how their goal was not create a new country in Americas image. People believe that in the next couple years more troops will get brought into Afghanistan. Some of the Americans agree with the speech while others disagree, and say that we start all these wars that we cannot finish. Do you think Obama should keep troops over there to help re-build we have ruined or completely take them out and let Afghanistan re-build?




http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/05/03/the_next_war

Civil War in Syria

The civil war in Syria has been going on for over a year, and last month the United Nations issued a cease fire. This didn't stop the violence, it actually made it worse. The U.N has deployed a small amount of troops to monitor areas in Syria, but this hasn't stop the violence either. The U.N's next move is undecided as of now, so my question for you is: What do you think the U.N should do to help end the violence in Syria? Will following the "Just War" guidelines work?

Read the article from CNN here:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/13/world/meast/syria-status/index.html?iref=allsearch

President Obama snubs Brazilian President

Last month, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff visited the United States. Despite the fact that President Rousseff has led her country to tremendous economic growth and is, arguably, the second-most powerful president in the Americas, President Obama's visit with her was brief and lacked all the luxury that is usually offered when foreign leaders visit the White House.

Read the article here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/11/brazil-president-rousseff-obama-washington

Why might President Obama have treated President Rousseff do coolly, and do you think he made a mistake in doing so? Be sure that your answer is thoughtful and reflects your reading of the article.

Pakistan Army of Chief meet with the top U.S. General.

After the NATO forces killed 24 Pakistani soldier in an airstrike, two senior U.S military officials, the head of the U.S. Command Gen, James Mattis and the U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen met with Pakistani Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. they discussed the  investigation  as well as ways to improve cooperation at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.  The Indian and Pakistani met in Seoul at the international nuclear summit to discuss there relationship as countries. During this India was trying to hide because of the lack of enforcement's in their army. Afghanistan is taking precautions (lock down). Afghan and NATO forces went into a joint raid into the northern province of Faryab, and killed Makhdum Nusrat, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Afghanistan. The Obama administration sent formal diplomatic letters to 64 countries, appealing for greater pledges of aid to Afghanistan following the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014.


Do you believe that Obama should take the NATO troop out in 2014, why or why not?

America Needs To Invest in Itself

http://economyincrisis.org/content/us-needs-education-industry-and-research-succeed

The article I read explained how to build an American economy that will be competitive with the rest of the world in the future. The education system in the United States is not not producing students who are well versed enough in math and science to compete around the world. In 2009, American 15-year-olds ranked 25th among their peers from 34 countries in a standardized math test administered by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. Investing in research and development can help to both reduce our trade deficit and rebuild our industrial base. For instance, development of green energy and cleaner, more efficient transportation could help reduce or eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, which currently sends huge sums of money out of the country each year.

Do you think the United States education system should focus mainly on math and science? 

RIM Adding BBM Integration to Facebook, Twitter Apps

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402874,00.asp

In the above article you will see all the information I discussed in class on Thursday morning. The article was about RIM (Research In Motion) integrating the top social media apps known as Facebook and Twitter with BBM (BlackBerry Messenger). They have successfully integrated with over 800 apps already and plans to integrate with the entire BlackBerry app world. What RIM has been doing was adding an in app-button to give BBM users the ability to share their status updates and tweets instantly with their BBM contacts. Do you think that BlackBerry App World compares to the Apple Store (iTunes) or even the Android Market or will they ever with their new strategy of integration?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/welfare-limits-left-poor-adrift-as-recession-hit.html?scp=2&sq=us%20economic%20issues&st=cse

"The drive to “end welfare as we know it,” which joined the late-’90s economic boom to send caseloads plunging, employment rates rising and officials of both parties hailing the virtues of tough love." And now..."The poor people who were dropped from cash assistance here, mostly single mothers, talk with surprising openness about the desperate, and sometimes illegal, ways they make ends meet. They have sold food stamps, sold blood, skipped meals, shoplifted, doubled up with friends, scavenged trash bins for bottles and cans and returned to relationships with violent partners —all with children in tow."

Do you believe that welfare should be increased, to reach out to more people, or should welfare be cut back, and people should become less reliant of the welfare assistance?

Entrepreneurs Struggling With Taxes

URL TO ARTICLE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/business/yourtaxes/entrepreneurs-face-mounds-of-tax-paperwork.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=smallbusiness&adxnnlx=1333685970-s9cP8d6sN/lf+ySuhbOnug



Overall the article is about the great amount of taxes being put on new small buisness owners. It is a concern because the taxes are coming as the buisness opens so if youre not prepared with a good accountant and the right finnancial income; it is very easy to go into debt. The question I would like to ask you is what challanges do all these taxes bring upon new small buisness owners, and do you think the buisnesses should be given all these taxes so quickly?

Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/10/business/la-fi-ikea-union-20110410

Ikea factories both in Sweden and in Danville, VA. are similar in which they both produce the same products, the only difference between the two factories are that workers in Sweden enjoy a minimum wage of 19$ an hour and a government mandated five weeks paid vacation. Full time workers in Danville start off at 8$ an hour with 12 vacation days 8 of which are chosen by the company.

Do you think that this is fair considering the economy and living conditions in the different countries?

Best Buy Goes to China

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/29/markets/best_buy/index.htm?source=cnn_bin

By the year 2013, Best Buy has plans to close 50 big box stores in the U.S. During the same time that they take these 50 stores down they will be rebuilding them in China. When these buildings close they will open 100 "mobile small format stand-alone stores" and will also open 14 in China. These mobile small format stand-alone stores are basically what the article says is they are mini stores inside of strip malls or something along the lines of it. Best Buy currently has 1,105 big box stores in the U.S not including the ones being closed. In China they currently have 185 big boxes under the company's Five Star brand. Best Buy has been struggling to compete in a market that has been dominated by online retailers such as Amazon. Best Buy states that they are closing stores to lower costs.the company says that they will save $250 million dollars in 2013 and will save $800 million dollars in costs in 2015. Considering the economy, consumers, and local communities do you think that it is a good thing that Best Buy is moving to China?

Zynga buys "Draw Something" maker OMGPop.

In recent news, the gaming company Zynga has furthered there business by buying out the makers of the Draw Something application OMGPop. OMGPop is a multi-million dollar company based in New York and there recent application for all smart phones and Ipod's "Draw Something" has reeled in over 35 million dollars in its first six weeks of existence. This isn't Zynga's first purchase, they have integrated horizontally by buying out Yoville and also have integrated vertically by teaming up with organizations such as Facebook, Orkut, Google+, and Myspace to further Zynga's advertisement. Do you think Draw Something will continue making millions now that its not run under OMGPop? Do you think this was a successful integration for Zynga?

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/21/technology/startups/zynga-buys-draw-something/index.htm

Racism in Sports

My current event was about racism in sports. A few soccer players in the UK have been charged with using racist comments towards other teams. Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was banned for eight games and fined 40,000 Euros. John Terry has also been charged with using racist comments towards other players. These events have reignited concerns about racism in the game. A new program has arisen called "Show Racism the Red Card Campaign." This program focuses on anti-racism in the UK. Some Teams seem to be "dragging their feet" over the issue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16490310

Do you think racism in sports is a problem? If so, what can we do to help prevent the use of racism?   

Danny Chen

Eight US soldiers have been charged over the death of infantryman Danny Chen in Afghanistan, international security forces have said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16290224


Does a person deserves to be treated like Danny chen was, just because he is different? For what i know U.S.A it was made by different people and race. Just because  a person is different they really have be treated on a different way?

OPS: I'm sorry about my bad English!

Current Event: 1- 5 - 12

My Current Event was about an Afghan girl being held and toturted for refusing to go into prostitution. I chose this article because it shows how fast the United States is improving when it comes to a womens rights compared to some other countries. Its also surprising that this crime was commited by soldiers that are supposed to be protecting that country. I also found it kind of gross that the age difference between the victim and her husband was 16 years. Overall I think that the people in the area where this happened do not feel safe due to this event not being uncommon.

Do you think the United States should focus on moving forward in our Women's Rights issues, or convert our focus to helpping countries where unhuman events such as this happen regularly?