Recently the Ivory Coast in Africa has been experiencing a major conflict between two influential men, Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo. The former is the incoming President of Ivory Coast and the latter is the outgoing President.
Gbagbo does not want to go quietly. He is forcefully trying to keep the presidency although Ouattara is internationally(UN) backed. The switch of presidents is resulting in numerous deaths, which has caused the UN to step in. The UN, since it backs Ouattara, wants to make sure that he is not doing anything that he should not be doing. This includes his followers. In turn, Ouattara claims that his followers have not been doing anything wrong. He has not yet set up an investigation on the many deaths, but the UN is urging him to do so.
One headline in the article was "Shocking Brutality", trying to emphasize how bad the situation is in the city of Duekoue, Ivory Coast. I do agree with the choice of the word "brutality", but the word shocking does not seem right. Of course, we as a world should hope that every new election in every country will go smoothly, but we should know by now that is not always the case. Presidents in most countries are not willing to give up their power, this is partly because they believe that they can fight to retain it. They don't understand that they lost fairly and the people want change, they just care about retaining their power. Sounds more like brutal negligence to me.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Getting Involved
As we all know, America has been known to step in and save the day, or hurt more than help. Keeping up with our reputation, we have been getting involved with the Libya situation and trying to help when necessary. Out first step was just being supportive of a democratic government while being cautious with concern for the oil supply we receive from them.
As most American are aware, we recently enforced a no fly zone and missile mission in Libya. People are questions whether it is right or not and if the money is worth spending. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton recently talked to ABC news defending the Mission on Libya along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates:
"Mr. Gates acknowledged on the same show that what was unfolding in Libya was not a threat to the United States and was “not a vital national interest to the United States,” but that the intervention was justified because of “the engagement of the Arabs, the engagement of the Europeans, the general humanitarian question that was at stake.” "
The Politicians are satisfied with how the mission is playing out and reported there have been few civilian casualties .
Continuing on the same subject, NATO has stated they are taking full control of the military operation taking place. I believe this is beneficial because it avoids putting all the blame of the mission on one country, and NATO is perfectly able to handle the situation well.
As most American are aware, we recently enforced a no fly zone and missile mission in Libya. People are questions whether it is right or not and if the money is worth spending. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton recently talked to ABC news defending the Mission on Libya along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates:
"Mr. Gates acknowledged on the same show that what was unfolding in Libya was not a threat to the United States and was “not a vital national interest to the United States,” but that the intervention was justified because of “the engagement of the Arabs, the engagement of the Europeans, the general humanitarian question that was at stake.” "
The Politicians are satisfied with how the mission is playing out and reported there have been few civilian casualties .
Continuing on the same subject, NATO has stated they are taking full control of the military operation taking place. I believe this is beneficial because it avoids putting all the blame of the mission on one country, and NATO is perfectly able to handle the situation well.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Gas on an Uproar
Considering how gas prices are shooting to the sky due to the situation in Libya, i figured it would be appropriate to talk of this issue.
Since Libya has caused pain at the pump for America lately, President Obama is considering our options. Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 727 millions of gallons of oil, and has been used in rare occasions. Obama has mentioned his thought of using it. The reason for the reserve is in case our supply is cut short we have emergency backup oil.
If the reason for using the reserve is for when we are short on supply, why would the president be considering using it now. It has been expressed that we are not lacking supply of oil, and are not close to that even though the situation is Libya is taking place.
President Obama has expressed his options in order to send the right message to drivers. He is showing his concern for the economy and considering what to do. I understand his reason for sharing his options, but i am not sure if this is the correct option. What i know little about is how this could hurt us and that is what i am most interested in finding out.
So do you think this is a good option? Thoughts? Leave them Here!
Since Libya has caused pain at the pump for America lately, President Obama is considering our options. Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 727 millions of gallons of oil, and has been used in rare occasions. Obama has mentioned his thought of using it. The reason for the reserve is in case our supply is cut short we have emergency backup oil.
If the reason for using the reserve is for when we are short on supply, why would the president be considering using it now. It has been expressed that we are not lacking supply of oil, and are not close to that even though the situation is Libya is taking place.
President Obama has expressed his options in order to send the right message to drivers. He is showing his concern for the economy and considering what to do. I understand his reason for sharing his options, but i am not sure if this is the correct option. What i know little about is how this could hurt us and that is what i am most interested in finding out.
So do you think this is a good option? Thoughts? Leave them Here!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
What good is coming from the Recession?
As we are well aware of the height of the recession is over; however, there is still a ways to go. We have heard all over the news of how gas prices continue to rise, people are being laid off left and right, and how our country is suffering from our economic downfall. But no one is talking about the good side of the recession. So here i am, about to inform you of a situation that is not necessarily a bad result of our economy.
Photo Cred: etftrends.com
It has been very unfortunate for current college graduates to land a job out of college in the past couple of years. So where are some students turning too? The answer is Public Service. College Graduates who have had a tough time finding a job have turned to public service, such as Alison Sadock. She graduated in 2009 and had no job waiting for her after school. She turned to public service after working with friends on odd jobs and doing community service as well. She was hired at the Starlight Children's Foundation immediately partly because of her business degree, something rare in their applicants resumes.
"Ms. Sadock is part of a cohort of young college graduates who ended up doing good because the economy did them wrong." Their pay may not be as high as graduates in 2005, but they are giving back. Applicants for jobs relating to public service have increased by up to 32% since 2008 and are consumed with applicants right out of college.
Here is a video of another student working for a non-profit company after graduating in 2009
As we continue to move forward in our economy, it is important to see how we have grown as well. This i one example of a good situation coming from the recession and i hope to continue to read more examples like these. If you have heard of any, please share! you can never have too much good news :)
Thanks for reading!
It has been very unfortunate for current college graduates to land a job out of college in the past couple of years. So where are some students turning too? The answer is Public Service. College Graduates who have had a tough time finding a job have turned to public service, such as Alison Sadock. She graduated in 2009 and had no job waiting for her after school. She turned to public service after working with friends on odd jobs and doing community service as well. She was hired at the Starlight Children's Foundation immediately partly because of her business degree, something rare in their applicants resumes.
"Ms. Sadock is part of a cohort of young college graduates who ended up doing good because the economy did them wrong." Their pay may not be as high as graduates in 2005, but they are giving back. Applicants for jobs relating to public service have increased by up to 32% since 2008 and are consumed with applicants right out of college.
Here is a video of another student working for a non-profit company after graduating in 2009
As we continue to move forward in our economy, it is important to see how we have grown as well. This i one example of a good situation coming from the recession and i hope to continue to read more examples like these. If you have heard of any, please share! you can never have too much good news :)
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Peaceful End?
http://abcnews.go.com/International/egypt-uprising-jordan-king-abdullah-sacks-cabinet-cairo/story?id=12809623
Shocker! I'm going to blog about Egypt and the conclusion i read in this article. So it talked about how Obama and Mubarak had a meeting today and what was said during it. Obama talked to him how stepping down is the right thing to do for his country. "Obama also praised the peaceful demonstrators in Egypt, calling them an 'inspiration to people around the world.'" So do we think this is too good to be true, or are there some things we can not see yet. Personally i am very happy to hear this news and I believe the people of Egypt are grateful too. I understand that he can not step down immediately because he still has a duty to his country to leave them in good hands and organize people in order to run everything smoothly. I am hopeful to see less protesting now and that Egypt will regain their pride. But i am still questioning if there is something we may not be seeing. What do you think? Is this ending too good to be true? What are your thoughts on Obama stating where America stands on this Issue?
Shocker! I'm going to blog about Egypt and the conclusion i read in this article. So it talked about how Obama and Mubarak had a meeting today and what was said during it. Obama talked to him how stepping down is the right thing to do for his country. "Obama also praised the peaceful demonstrators in Egypt, calling them an 'inspiration to people around the world.'" So do we think this is too good to be true, or are there some things we can not see yet. Personally i am very happy to hear this news and I believe the people of Egypt are grateful too. I understand that he can not step down immediately because he still has a duty to his country to leave them in good hands and organize people in order to run everything smoothly. I am hopeful to see less protesting now and that Egypt will regain their pride. But i am still questioning if there is something we may not be seeing. What do you think? Is this ending too good to be true? What are your thoughts on Obama stating where America stands on this Issue?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Oh hey!
Hi everyone! My name is Callee and i am a 17 year old senior from Cheshire, CT. I can honestly say i never thought I would blog a day in my life but here I am! This blog has been created thanks to my Online Class for AP Gov, and I will be talking about current events weekly. I do not have very strong opinions on much about politics right now, so there will be different views on each subject. I am very excited to start blogging about current events because it is something my family and I discuss each night while watching the news, so I am excited to start sharing my opinions, whatever they may be. I hope whoever reads enjoys and they keep you interested! :)
<3 Callee
<3 Callee
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