Rape or Murder?

'Montana teacher -- initially given 31 days in rape of student -- now gets 10 years'
By Joshua Berlinger and Jack Hannah

Source: CNN News

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/justice/montana-rape-sentence/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

2007 started off as a normal year for 14-year-old Cherice Moralez. It was her freshman year in high school and she decided to take a business class with Mr.Rambold. Everything went great until she was raped by Rambold. Initially, he was only sentenced to 31 days in prison. But here we are, 7 years later, and this young girl’s family is still awaiting justice. Cherice Moralez committed suicide in 2010 before the case went to trial and before she turned 17. Rambold, now 55 years old, pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and was sentenced to a 15 years with 31 days suspended by Judge G.Todd Baugh. On Friday, September 26, he was resentenced to 15 years with a 5 year suspension by a different judge. Former Judge Baugh was taken off the case due to intense criticism, because he had placed partial blame on the victim. He claimed that the victim looked older than she was and that she had as much control over the situation as Rambold. Due to his biased and inappropriate comments, along with his doubt on the appearance of justice, he apologized and was replaced. He said, “I am sorry I made those remarks. They focused on the victim when that aspect of the case should have been focused on the defendant”(1).  He states that he will be retiring at the end of the year, but claims it is not related to Rambold’s controversy.

I chose this article because it is important for us to try to understand the amount of pain and grief this family has been put through in the short time span of 3 years; their daughter, not only lost a part of her in a forceful way, but she also had her own blood on her hands. Not only is the injustice of the situation upsetting and heart wrenching, but also the very inappropriate comments of Judge Baugh. No family should ever be placed in a situation such as this one and have to endure the sorrow that comes along with it.

Am I Talar or Aquamarine?

 

Ice cream solves so many problems. A person can eat it while in any mood, and it will make them feel better instantly. Chocolate ice cream is the most effective for someone like me who has an extreme addiction to chocolate; I’m talking “eat spoonfuls of Nutella out of the jar then wash it down with chocolate milk” kind of addiction. But when it comes to ice cream, just a plain chocolate flavor does not do the trick for me. My favorite ice cream flavor is called Phish Food. It is a heavenly combination of chocolate ice cream, caramel and marshmallow swirls, and fish-shaped chocolate pieces. This unique ice cream flavor is considered ‘too sweet’ or ‘heavy on the stomach’ to most people, but it is just perfect for my sweet tooth.

Whether I am in a giddy, happy mood, or upset and sad over boys, this ice cream flavor always does the trick for me. I am not one to eat out of sadness- I usually lose my appetite- but if I was offered a carton of this ice cream, it would be gone in the matter of minutes. Just the thought of the rich, creamy chocolate, mixed in with the smooth, thick marshmallow and caramel swirls and crunchy chocolate fish causes me to lick my lips and stomach growl in hunger. As the heartbroken mermaid says in the movie Aquamarine while eating this ice cream, as long as I have Ben & Jerry in my life, I do not need any other men!

The Beheader

'The British connection to ISIS beheadings'
By Peter Bergen
Source: CNN News
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/14/opinion/bergen-british-connection-isis-beheadings/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

People in England are all wondering the same thing; who is ‘the beheader’. A tall, masked British man with the London accent has just beheaded his third victim. According to this article, this man is working with ISIS. His first two victims were American journalists and the third was a British aid worker. According to British officials, British Prime Minister David Cameron already knows the identity of the executioner. He knows of the crimes of the executioner and knows that he holds at least two other Americans hostage. This executioner is a part of a larger group of British hostage-takers working for ISIS, also known as “The Beatles”. About 500 British citizens have gone to Syria to fight, as well as about 100 Americans. This war is not only attracting British fighters from Syrian descent, but British fighters from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. The British government has cancelled 23 passports and revoked citizenship of eight British citizens due to the threat that these rebellious citizens are posing for England.

The entire world is ready to fight in Syria against this terrorist group. According to the British government, 700 fighters from France,400 from Germany, 300-500 from Belgium, 130 from Netherlands, over 100 from Denmark, 100 from Austria, 80 from Sweden, and 50-100 from Spain. This all adds up to 2,620-2,870 fighters from Westerners fighting in Syria against these injustices. Although the identity of this masked murderer is known by the British government, they think it is best to keep his identity a secret for “operational reasons”. A mission to rebel and stand up for what is right is in progress; let us just hope it works out for the sake of humanity...

Don't Forget To Wash Your Hands!

A respiratory virus is a leading problem throughout the Midwest. It is affecting hundreds, sending 30 children to a hospital per day. Fifteen percent of the 450(+) children were even sent to ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Doctors have theories that this virus started spreading after school started, but are completely astonished by it because they claim they have never seen anything like it before.  At least 19 of the children in Kansas City showed to be positive to Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no specific treatment for this infection and vaccines are currently unavailable. The virus can push to the point of death, but so far there haven’t been any reports of death in Missouri. One hospital said that symptoms include fever, body/muscle aches, sneezing, coughing, and rash. One case stated that a 13 year old boy came down with a cold, and then woke up a few days later with an asthma attack that could not be subsided by his medicine.

This type of infection occurs less commonly, making it a shock to doctors and health agencies. The way it is spread is through close contact with infected people. The infection has been associated almost exclusively with respiratory disease. The easiest way to avoid getting this disease is by washing hands frequently, which children do not do; avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands; avoid kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or utensils with people who are sick. These are all common knowledge to us, but for some reason we are indifferent towards all these simple rules. Hopefully, this disease will be wiped out soon and the amount of spreading diseases will decrease.  

"The Giver" Review

link to review: http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/giver.aspx

This review of “The Giver” cannot be described as “good” or “bad”, but rather “relatable” and “understandable”. The reviewer, Paul Asay, uses the main claim of the story as a main claim in his review. The main appeal would be ethos, and the main claim would be the claim of policy. Throughout the summary of the movie, Asay repeatedly mentions how he agrees with the founders of the Community that “When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong. Every single time” (1). Due to this mindset, the Community decided to erase anything having to do with emotions or arts from within the people. Asay says, “It is in our nature, a nature that’s overwhelmed with sin”, regarding the society’s morality choices. He refers to the movie as ambitious and a good family movie to watch due to the inspiring storyline and the images of emotion and happiness shown throughout the movie. These images of emotions and happiness are what tap into the claim of value or the pathos appeal. Throughout the review, the reviewer does not use the claim of fact or the logos appeal, but focuses more on the other two claims and appeals.                          

Reviews and movies such as this one should make us realize that everything we have is very essential to us; even the simplest thing, such as a color. Asay also brings this up in his review while explaining the content of the movie. He starts comparing the movie to real life situations; one example being the comparison of escaping from life’s pain and unpleasantness in one way or another. He says that, just like in the movie, humans create or invent modern distractions in order to easily slip into a “sort of half-life”.

Future Terrorists in Training...

"CNN Exclusive: A 13-year-old witness to ISIS' beheadings, crucifixion in Syria"
By: Raja Razek,Nick Paton Walsh, and Nick Thompson
Source: CNN news
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/28/world/meast/syria-isis-atrocities-boy/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
         

               Members of ISIS, a Sunni terror group, have been forcing young children to learn the ways of their group. According to a 13 year old boy named Mohammed, who fled to Turkey for safety, they would be forced to go to a camp, where they were taught everything. They would wake up early, jog, eat breakfast, learn the Quran and the Hadith of the Prophet, then they would take courses on weapons and other military equipment. Some of the militants from ISIS were nice and would joke around with the young boys, but some were cruel and would force them to watch disturbing things. "They used to bring young [kids] to the camp to lash them," Mohammed says. "When we go to the mosque, they order us to come the next day at a specific time and place to [watch] heads cut off, lashings or stonings. We saw a young man who did not fast for Ramadan, so they crucified him for three days, and we saw a woman being stoned [to death] because she committed adultery” (1).

               The young boys that were brought to this camp were too young to understand that what they were being taught was very wrong. In the video below, it shows a child about 4/5 years old. When asked what he would do to infidels, he said he would kill them. Another child is shown in the video, probably around the same age, shooting an AK-47. It is unfair to these boys that they are being fed wrong and violent ideas. If their parents were to not send them to this camp, they would be be-headed, so it was as if they had no choice. Mohammed and his father got very lucky, but they live in fear of ISIS. Mohammed’s father taught him that religion is not about fighting, but about love and forgiveness, and I agree 100% with that statement.

               This information is important for the public’s awareness because what is being done in the Middle East by this terror group is inhumane, unfair, frightening, and cruel and if ISIS were to ever become even more powerful, it is a threat and danger to us all. ISIS is spreading all throughout the Middle East as we speak, with a murderous drive to convert any non-Muslim who stand in their way, no matter what age group they stand in. And if one refuses to convert, they have no issue in murdering the non-Muslim, as we have already seen in the gloating videos of young boys in training.

LINK TO VIDEO: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/08/28/pkg-paton-walsh-isis-children.cnn.html

SOAPST

S- the Queen’s support for her troops ; she spoke with words, such as “we”, in order to encourage and motivate them and let them know that they are united as one.

O-before going to war with the Spanish Armada; battle of 1588

A- soldiers of England and anybody else hearing her speech

P-to motivate, encourage, and ease the soldiers of their pre-war stress

S- Queen Elizabeth I  

T- emotional, powerful, honest, united, encouraging, motivational, reassuring

Without SOAPST, a piece of literature would not make sense or be complete. If one of the 6 letters making up the acronym were left blank above, this speech would not make sense either. SOAPST helps the readers understand the purpose and reasoning of this piece of literature and its effectiveness to the audience.

This speech is effective due to the greatness of the pathos appeal used. Queen Elizabeth starts the speech off using “we” instead of “you”, meaning they are united as one when it comes to this war. She also mentions how she is a feeble, weak woman, but her physical appearance will not stop her from leading her men into war. Her speech is emotional due to her heartwarming words that she uses as encouragement for the soldiers. She boosts up their confidence and reassures them of a victory in order to take some of the weight off their shoulders. She concludes her speech using the words “of my people”, making it clear that although they are united at this time of war,  she is still their leader.