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. 

My Type of Party

If I were to throw a party with a $100,000 budget, it would definitely be a beach party. First I would rent out a house in Santa Barbara for $4000 a night. Having a great venue is the most important part of a party. Second, I would acquire party buses to have all my friends picked up from Los Angeles and be  brought to the beach. And, a party is not a party without proper music, and that is why I would have a professional disc jockey such as Kaskade make an appearance, along with a rapper like 2 Chainz. For food we would have Armenian barbecue in addition to a lot of vodka because after all, it is an Armenian party. I would invite all of Pilibos high school, plus all of my friends from outside of school. And, anyone else who is willing to drive is surely welcome because the more the merrier. 

Hugo Chavez

In a recent article published March 2, 2013 in the Los Angeles Times titled, "Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Undergoing Chemotherapy, Official Says" Mery Mogollan and Chris Kraul write about Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, and his ongoing troubles with cancer. Chavez had been out of the public's eyes since his surgery in December, but Vice President Nicolas Maduro has recently announced that he will be undergoing chemotherapy once again. Chavez has been fighting against cancer for approximately two years, and is currently on a respirator. "But he has a strength superior to the treatments that he is receiving, and he is in a good state of mind," Maduro says. Officials believe that Chavez will be able to recover, fight through this battle successfully. It is unfortunate to hear about tragedies such as this, especially because its impact affects an entire country. Hopefully, Chavez will recover sooner than later, and be back in position to lead his country. 

Prohibition

The prohibition in the United States was instituted with the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution on January 16, 1919. The prohibition was heavily sponsored by the evangelical protestant churches, and it made the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol illegal in the states. However, one misconception is that drinking alcohol itself was illegal, which is not true. In essence, the prohibition made it much more difficult to obtain alcohol, it was not strictly enforced  because many large cities were uninterested in following through with the legislation. As a result of the prohibition organized crime in relation to the production and distribution of alcohol, opening up the black market to it. At the time of the prohibition, only the most wealthy people had unlimited access to alcohol just like Jay Gatsby, making them extremely popular amongst the normal crowd. In The Great Gatsby this is already evident. We can see how Gatsby's parties are filled with uninvited guests leaching off of his wealth and access to alcoholic drinks. These people lack morals and values because they do not even care where they are or who the host of the party is; they are only concerned about drinking and partying. However, Gatsby does not seem to be bothered by this actuality which is quite mysterious.

Bootleggers

Burger King Hacked by McDonald's

Early Monday morning Burger King's twitter was hacked by a group of people and made to look like the twitter page for McDonald's. Salvador Rodriguez writes about it in an article titled, "Burger King's Twitter Page Hacked, Made to Look Like McDonald's" published on February 18, 2013, in the Los Angeles Times. The entire page has been completely altered, from the profile picture to the cover photos and even tweets. Instead of having the Burger King logo as the profile picture hackers changed it to the McDonald's logo and replace cover photos with pictures of McDonald's food. The last time Burger King seemed to be in control of the twitter account was Sunday night. The hackers have identified themselves to be a part of the LulzSec group, who have previously gone after several other companies such as, Sony and other governmental agencies. It surprises me how open they are about their hacking skills, considering its illegal. However, I find this extremely funny and it shows the great rivalry between the two great American burger companies.

The Daily Show

In The Daily Show episode from May 7th, 2012 John Stewart, the host of the show, satirizes several people and events such as, Vladimir Putin being sworn in as president and the idea of dictatorships through the character of Admiral General Aladeen from the movie The Dictator. He satirizes Vladimir Putin facial expressions as he is being sworn in as the President of Russia. It is funny because Putin does not show any excitement throughout the entire process. He keeps a straight face the whole time, almost as if he is mad. Clearly Putin is the target and Jon Stewart uses techniques such as verbal irony, and more specifically sarcasm to get his point across. The motive is to make fun of Putin as a commander and possible Russia as a whole. Then he brings in Admiral General Aladeen the character from the move The Dictator and compares him to former dictators such as, Muammer Gaddafi and Kim Jon Il, who are all dead. He is trying to prove a point that dictatorships are out of date and no longer belong in the present time period. His target is all dictators and his purpose is to criticize the stupidity of a dictatorship in a humorous manner through General Aladeen's character and techniques like distortion, where he takes the dictators and puts them in different surroundings to show their faults. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPVR_ymMqDg

God

An unknown author writes about God in an article titled, "God Freaks Self Out By Lying Awake Contemplating Own Immortality" published on January 31, 2013 in the Onion, a humorous, so-called news source. The author writes about God's sleepless night, in which he tossed and turned in bed and contemplates how much longer he is going to live. According to the author's "sources" God was pacing through the heavens questioning his own significance. “This is worse than a prison sentence,” the Lord said. “At least prisoners can escape, die, or be released. But I’ve been stuck here doing the same thing for 14 billion years, and in another 14 billion, I’ll still be here. I create things, I destroy them. I’m omnipotent—how insane is that? I am He Who Commanded Light to Shine Out of Darkness, but eventually everything I create disappears. And I have to sit around and watch it all die”(the Onion). God's anxiety does not allow him to sleep all throughout the night. According to the author, God is just exhausted from being so powerful and no longer wants to be so omniscient. Sources say that when God finally fell asleep and woke up the next morning he decided to create an immortal dog or cat to keep him company forever. This article is funny because the author is satirizing God's existence, however at the same time it is quite disrespectful to all those who truly believe in God. 

Illegal Immigrants

Brian Bennett and Lisa Mascaro from the Washington Bureau write about illegal immigrants in the article "Senators Agree on Immigration Overhaul Plan" in the Los Angeles Times published January 27, 2013. Several bipartisan senators have recently been working on a plan to grant legal status to approximately eleven million illegal immigrants across the United States. It is being constructed by eight senators representing all parties, and they intend to release their plans to the public on Monday, January 28th.The record setting amount of Latino voters in the November election has drastically changed any politicians' views on the huge issues. Especially, considering how miserably previous attempts to pass such proposals have failed. The senators involved in constructing the plan are in hopes to have bill set up as early as March. This is huge step towards ending the bipartisan gridlock in congress. If our politicians can agree on a solution for this issue the possibilities for a better America are endless. There is no point in spending any more money on trying to deport illegal immigrants. Those who are here are here to stay, therefore, they should receive citizenship and there should be more efforts put into preventing illegal immigration.

Observations

As I sat outside on the front steps of my porch with a paper in one hand and a pencil in the other I noticed many different aspects of nature that I have never payed attention to ever before. The early morning breeze hit my face along with the powerful rays of the sun, as several birds soared across the bright blue sky and others chirped to each other in the tall fir trees. You could hear the cars zooming passed on the main street with a long honk every once in a while. For the most part, however, it was a placid setting partly because of the soothing waterfall in the front yard and the delightful smell of the flowers. Slowly the suns glare became overpowering, and so I moved under the shade of my lemon tree and sat on the unusually comfortable grass enjoying every second of the greenery around me, wishing that it was spring, and all the flowers were in full bloom, so I may be overwhelmed by the powerful aroma of the roses and tulips lined against the border of our front yard. Eventually, the temperature began to rise and it began to feel like a hot summer day bringing back memories of our great vacation. Reminiscing on the days of our last summer I ran to the pool hoping for it to be warm enough to swim, however, it was just as cold as it was in the rainy weather.

Inauguration Speech

David Lauter writes about President Obama's Inauguration in the article "Inauguration 2013: Obama Addresses Gays, Compromise, Climate Change" published January 21, 2013 in the Los Angeles Times. Today, President Barack Obama took his second oath to office, as he advocated the democratic party's ideologies about gay marriage and climate change. President Obama's inaugural address stressed some major policy priorities that he would like to accomplish throughout his second term. This inaugural speech was unlike any other. For the first time ever, the rights of gay Americans was mentioned in an inaugural speech as President Obama said that America's, “...journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well”(Obama qtd. by Lauter). He also briefly mentioned his proposals for gun control and immigration reform throughout his eighteen minute speech. All Americans are in hopes that during President Obama's second term the bipartisan gridlock in congress will end and we can finally construct new and long-awaited policies. 

Most Likely; Least Likely

     If I were to chose one book to read from all the books that were presented in class during this week I would most probably pick Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos. Harout's presentation on this memoir was quite intriguing and convinced me that this book is definitely worth reading. The novel has a great story line and Jack Gantos' character seems very entertaining. Unlike most of the other stories this one was not dark and depressing, and almost had a movie feeling to it. It takes the reader into the mind of a true criminal trying to bring a large amount of hashish from St. Croix into the United States, and through the process of his imprisonment.
     From all of the books that were presented this week the one I would be least likely to read would definitely be Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Maria Hornbacher because it seems weird and rather frightening. I also feel as if the entire story takes place in several different hospitals which is very depressing, and not so entertaining.

Survivor

Elaine Woo writes about the death of Leon Leyson, the youngest survivor on Schindler's list in an article titled, "Leon Leyson Dies At 83; Youngest Survivor On Schindler's List" published on January 13, 2012. Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist who saved approximately 1,100 Jews from the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. After being rescued by Schindler, Leyson went on to start a new life in America. Eventually, he became a high school teacher in Huntington, California and taught for thirty-nine years, thereafter. However, he rarely ever mentioned any of the troubles that he faced during the holocaust to anyone, until the movie "Schindler's List" came out in 1993. After which, Leyson became a public speaker and told his story of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the world lost a great hero on Saturday when Leyson passed away after his four year battle against Lymphoma. The last time he had seen Schindler was in 1977 as he greeted him in the airport along with many other Jews.