Bangladesh Building

Mark Magnier writes about the disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh in the Los Angeles Times in an article published April 28, 2013. The article is titled, "Owner of Collasped Building in Bangladesh is Arrested" and discusses the amount of casualties in the collapse and how the owner of the building was arrested. The death toll of the disastrous garment building collaps is at 370 and continues to rise with 800 people missing. Sohel Rana, the owner of the building, was caught and arrested while trying to flee the country. He was found in the border town of Benapole after being rescued from the wreckage of his own building. Sources say that Rana will tried for the collapse of the building and the death of all the people because an illegal ninth story was being contructed when cracks began to show in the buildings walls. And although it was evident that the building was not in good condition employess were forced to come in and work. It is when I stories like this that I am so thankful to be living in America where the infrastructure is so great. The United States has so many rules and codes for building constructors to follow that I feel safe in any building I step into, and that is how it should be all around the world. People's lives should not be at risk bcause of poor infrastructure.

Correspondents' Dinner

The 99th annual White House Correspondents' Dinner took place yesterday on
Saturday, April 27. Morgan Little writes about the event in the Los Angeles Times in an article titled, "Obama, O'Brien Headline 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner" published, April 27, 2013. Both President Obama and comedian Conan O'Brien dished out their own punchlines, leaving the crowd laughing hysterically before they shifted over to the recent tragic events that have taken place in America. President Obama took the podium with the DJ Khaled's hit song "All I Do is Win" playing the background, setting off a playful mood to the night. He continued with his great jokes making fun of his critics, after which he addressed the issues of the Boston bombings. The President sent a sincere thank you the law enforcement officials, first reponders, and National Guard troops for their tireless efforts to help every one that was effected by this tragedy. The White House Correspondents' dinner has been nicknamed the "nerd prom" because it is a gathering for our country's intellectuals. It is one night that America's politicians can take off, and team up with the celebrities of Hollywood, to enjoy eachother's company and the night's festivities before they go back to work the next day.

Syrian Conflict

The Syrian conflict continues to become worse and worse as time passes by. Ned Parker of the Los Angeles Times writes about it in an article titled, "Syrian Opposition Says At Least 80 Killed in Damascus Suburb" published April 21, 2013. The Syrian conflict is a very near and dear subject to many Armenians in the Diaspora. The Armenian community in Syria makes up a huge part of the Diaspora and they are the oldest Diaspora community that we have. However, they continue to suffer in the midst of the warfare taking place in Syria between the rebels and the government. Innocent civilian lives continue to be lost every single day. Sources say close to 80 people have been killed in a suburb of Damascus. Fighting in these areas has grown exponentially in the past few months. The rebels and government forces continue to clash over city centers. It is time for the United States to interfere in this conflict and help neutralize the situation in the middle east before it gets way to out of hand. The United States interfered in conflicts in Libya and Egypt, however they stray away from this one while lives continue to be lost.

Boston Bombing

Matt Pearce writes about the Boston Marathon bombers in an article titled, "Police: Bombing Suspects Lost Hostage While Buying Snacks" published in the Los Angeles Times April 21, 2013. Pearce writes about the hectic gun battle that took place just before Boston police killed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two marathon bombing brothers. Close to two-hundred rounds of were exchanged before Tamerlan was taken down, however his younger brother Dzokhar lived to fight another day that night. Although, soon enough he would face his fate. Dzokhar was found in a Boston resident's boat late Friday evening, wounded in the neck, and is currently being hospitalized. Boston Police confirmed today that neither of the two brothers were licensed to have guns. Dzokhar was not even old enough to apply for a license, since he is only nineteen and the legal age in Massachusetts is twenty-one. Yet, they were able to get their hands on them. It is great to see that these terrorists have been neutralized and can not cause anymore harm to any one. The events that took place on Monday in Boston were a true tragedy, and it is unfortunate that these types calamities occur. However, residents of Boston have shown the entire world what it means to be strong and come together as a community.

Stereotyping

Prejudice has existed in human society for as long as anyone can remember. Beginning from the stone age until now, prejudice has always been around us, and many factors have contributed to its continuation and growth. Stereotyping is a major aspect of prejudice. Stereotypes are generalizations about a community or ethnicity, which usually have a negative connotation. Stereotype such as "All athletes are black" and "He's a cheap Jew" stem from generalized ideas that are not necessarily true. For example, all athletes are not African-American, their are just as many athletes from different ethnicities that participate in a various amount of sports. These stereotypes come from sources such as television or sometimes a child's parents, and since children are so absorbent they record these ideas in their brains and believe in them, creating great prejudice in society. This is how groups such as the KKK form. children who have become brainwashed from a young age grow to hate minorities and join prejudice groups against them. They feel as if they are superior to all others, and should be the only race or ethnicity on this planet.

Paraplegic Marathon Runner

Edmund Sanders, of the Los Angeles Times, writes about the Radi Kaiuf in an article titled, "Paraplegic Will Leave Wheelchair Behind for Tel Aviv Marathon" published March 14, 2013. Radi Kaiuf was an Israeli paratrooper in 1988, when he was hit in the spine by a bullet during a firefight in Lebanon. The bullet left him paralyzed, and doctors said that he would not walk again or have a normal life. However, in just a few days on March 22nd Kaiuf will participate in the six-mile Tel Aviv marathon, using a robotic leg braces. Kaiuf never let his paralyzed state prevent him from living his life to the fullest. He has learned to drive with a specially designed car, and even gone skiing on a wheelchair. His progress has been amazing and it seems as though he is out to prove the world wrong. This is truly an inspirational story, and sets an example for every one to never give up and stay true to oneself.

Teen Tragedy

Matt Pearce writes about a great tragedy in Ohio, in an article titled "Six Ohio Teens Killed, Two Hurt When Packed SUV Plunges Into Pond" published March 10, 2013 in the Los Angeles Times. Officials say they do not know where the SUV was headed early sunday morning, however just south of the city of Warren the SUV hit a rail and flipped over into a pond. Police have confirmed that none of the eight teenagers, youngest of whom was only fourteen, were wearing seat belts in an SUV originally meant to seat five. Four of the teens died immediately. Another two were taken to a hospital where resuscitation efforts failed to revive them from the trauma they suffered from the extremely cold water. The only two surviving teen were identified as Brian Henry and Asher Lewis. This is such an unfortunate event, and it is very sad to hear, especially when it involves such young people. It reminds me of the assembly that we had about safe teen driving, and it is another example of why teens are not allowed to have drive other teens.