Current Events Report What Happened in Our World December 2015 Section 4 Social Studies
Syrian Refugees have similar plight to Anne Frank By Abby and Julia Published: Author: Washington Post - NewsELA Image from NEWSELA website
Summary President Obama is faced with a problem, repeating history. In 1939, Otto Frank and his family became a target of the Nazi Operation. Otto was one of the 300,000 refugees trying to get into America. The American government are afraid to let in refugees, in case a Islamic state representative slips in. The same reason why the Americans tried to keep out refugees in 1939 ( except, afraid that a Nazi would slip in ). Otto tried many, many ways to get at least his daughters, Margot Frank and Anne Frank, the author of The Diary of a Young Girl into America. When declined numerous times, the Frank family went into hiding in 1942. When discovered by the Nazis, Anne and Margot were sent to a concentration camp and died from typhus and Edith Frank (their mother) died from starvation. Otto Frank was the only survivor.
I am forced to look out for emigration and as far as I can see, the U.S.A is the only place we can go This quote was said by Otto Frank, Anne Frank s father. We find this quote important because it really shows how the victims of the holocaust and people in Syria are almost in the same situation. The Jews were trying to escape from Europe and away from the war and Syrian refugees are trying to escape from the war in their country, both groups wanting to come to the United States. This quote shows the struggle of trying to escape the war and trying to get into a safer country, and it is very important.
Going further For our going further, we picked was affect. I found this article sad because it talked about world WW2 and the holocaust and that is a very emotional time in history. Many, Many people lost their lives, including the well-known writer, Anne Frank. It also talked about what is going on today, in Syria. It is very upsetting what is going on there, with the war and all. It is all very emotional and it makes me sad to even think about it.
THANKS FOR WATCHING!!! - Abby and Julia :)
Distracted Biking is a Problem By Celena Budd and Julia Zack By Stateline.org Date Published: 12/02/15 News Article:
Summary: Some cities and states are telling bike riders to not go on their cell phones while riding their bikes. If a bike rider is wearing headphones and listening to music, it can end up disastrous for not only themselves, but pedestrians, car drivers, and other bike riders. Steven Howitt is a lawmaker from Massachusetts and created a bill (an idea lawmakers make they would like to become a law) that states bicyclists should not be allowed to wear headphones because if a car is coming and one is listening to music, they will not hear it and could end up injured (most likely.) Some can even text while riding (which is like texting and driving.) Bikes are not considered vehicles so, therefore, they are not included in texting and cell phone laws but only in some states like Chicago, for instance. New York City is also thinking about creating a law where the police would give the biker a ticket for having a device with you. However, there are people who think that there is no need for a law, like the lawyer, Ken McLeod. McLeod is part of a bicyclist group and the group believes that the rider should choose whether or not they want to wear headphones. In conclusion, bicyclists should pay more attention while riding their bikes since there are so many things that can go wrong, like an accident, for example and can be hazardous towards others.
Quote: I ve seen people bicycling and talking on their cellphones at the same time. I ve seen people texting. That s crazy." This quote explains how easily it for one to kill themselves. By listening to music or texting, it could harm a person -- possibly others. Furthermore, the importance of this quote is to show how harmful and dangerous it can be to not focus on what s around you. To add on, the impact of this is for us the reader to further understand how bad it is to do such a thing and not pay attention at all. To conclude, this quote shows how easily it is to get killed by not focusing.
Going Further: (Reaction) A large portion of cyclists do not pay attention when riding. When we first read this article, we thought to ourselves how the bike riders should really be paying more attention to their surroundings then an electronic device. Additionally, many people could get seriously injured if they do not focus on the road before them. An idea that we had is for the person to put their phone in their pocket, or a basket. This way they can listen to music while having both ears open and can look up more often. It is crucial that all cyclists are aware of their surroundings while riding their bike, because if they are using headphones to listen to music, they could end up injured severely in a hospital. To me, that is upsetting and a problem that can easily be solved. One could just not use headphones while riding their bike because it isn t a necessity to use them to listen to music and the bicyclist should pay more attention to the road. I also think that although bikes aren t technically considered a vehicle, the riders should treat them like they are.
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Summery The brand Under Armour now creates shoes based on athletes personal stories. One example of this is Steph Curry, the famous NBA star. Curry loves sour candy so the brand Under Armour made a shoe that is green, yellow and red to show how Curry loves Sour Patch candy. Another famous athlete is Bryce Harper. Harper drives a black Chevrolet Camaro. Under Armour has announced a black shoe coming out later this year to represent Harper s Camaro. Finally, one more example is the star quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton. Newton has worn shoes to represent the military, shoes to represent breast cancer, even shoes to represent his college football team when they were in a bowl game. This new strategy is supposed to bring in more money by making emotional connections to what the athletes enjoy.
Quote We did a quick flash sale and it sold out within minutes. This quote was said by Josh Rattet, the current vice president of footwear for Under Armour. This quote means Under Armour tried a test-sale on their new products and they sold very quickly. This is important because id shows the new strategy is working.
Going Furthur- Association I have seen many articles on ESPN where professional athletes have gotten shoe deals such as James Harden making a deal with Adidas. Even with my odd knowledge of shoe deals this a unique concept. An example of this would be that I have KD s and they don t have any special connection to Kevin Durant. This idea would show us the stories of athletes such as Stephen Curry.
Youth Sports Are Short On Referees Due To The Lack Of Respect By Thomas Larsen and Alex Borg Link to Article By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff 12.08.15
Summary It is becoming harder and harder for people to find referees due to lack of respect. For example, in September two San Antonio football players smacked into a referee on purpose. But that isn t the only case, some refs have even died because the simple disagreements have turned into heated arguments very quickly. Don Boss has overseen high school and adult soccer leagues for 20 years. Don Boss s job is to weed out the refs who will not be willing to back down from an argument. The problem isn t finding refs, he said it is about finding good refs. More people should help Don Boss find good refs so there are no more physical disagreements. Overall, it is becoming extremely hard to find referees due to the lack of respect and danger.
Quote Over two years' time, referees in Utah and Michigan died after they were punched by angry players during games This quote is extremely important and relevant to the article because things like this actually happen to innocent refs who are just doing their job. These actions taken by mad players are affecting the little league industry majorly because it is harder to find refs since some potential refs would prefer a safer job. Overall this quote really embodies what this article is about and the risk the refs get into when taking up the job.
Going Further - Surprise Alex and I were both surprised by the risk that that refs get into and how little they get paid for it. The refs get paid 50 to 60 dollars a game for an average high school game. Just for that small sum they could possibly die or get fatally injured. Many refs have quit because of that and that makes me sad because of some mad kids refs are becoming scarce and ruining the game for everyone else. Overall Alex and I think that the government should create laws that have drastic consequences if you assault a ref and hopefully that would give the refs more reassurance so everyone else can enjoy the game.
Defense chief tanks military s last barrier to women in combat By Associated Press, Published 12.08.15 By Gina Kahn and Alexandra Van Epps
Summary For the first time in American military history, women will be able to participate and hold any job the military offers, including combat behind enemy lines. Any woman who meets the same standards as the men will be allowed to serve. This ruling opens up about 10% of the jobs that had been closed to women, especially the elite special forces like Navy SEALS and the Army Delta Force. Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, ordered all branches of the service to create a plan on how to add women to the positions within the next thirty days. Although the Army, Air Force and Navy have been allowing women to hold most positions, one branch of service, the Marines have not wanted women to join them. General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Marine does not agree with adding women to units. He said that units that included women were not as effective as all male units. He said that although he disagrees with Carter s opinion, he will comply with the order.
Quote You have to recruit from the American population. Half the population is female. So I d be crazy, not to be, so to speak, fishing in that pond for qualified service members. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Secretary of Defense Ash Carter believes that women should be able to hold any job in the military they are qualified for. He believes that although men and women have different physical abilities, men and women should be given jobs based on ability not gender. Carter believes that the military needs the best qualified person, male or female and that women should not be excluded from any job if they are qualified. Carter believes that for the military to be the best, it cannot ignore half of the population.
Going Further: Persuasion General Dunford, the Marine commander says that studies show that military units with both men and women in them do not do as well as units with just men. Although Dunford makes the statement, he does not mention a specific study or the details of the study that proves his point. He does not provide data. He thinks the reader should believe his opinion just because he says it s true. Without proof, Dunford s statement becomes his opinion, not one based on evidence. Carter, on the other hand, came to a different opinion. He believes that all jobs should be open to qualified women even if there are difficulties in opening some jobs to women. I agree with Secretary of Defense Carter. Qualified women should be allowed to compete for any military jobs that are open to men. Ability not gender should be the reason a person gets a job.
Presidential candidate joins snapchat to connect with young votes By Darby Roskowski, and Kiera Semcer By Bloomberg News, adapted by Newsela staff Published on December 9th 2015
Summary The key aspect discussed is about how the presidential candidates have joined an app called snapchat. The candidates are aiming towards getting all the young adults to vote, and contribute in government. 100 million people use Snapchat daily. Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders is used to having young voters, so he thought that this was a good opportunity to draw young adults into voting. To conclude, The government is aiming towards more voters, and they believe that snapchat will help.
Quote Compared to other kinds of social media, Snapchat really gives a true behind-the-scenes look at campaigns and candidates," said Robert Blizzard. This quote is very important to the article because it shows that the presidential candidates didn t just choose any social media they chose snapchat instead of twitter or instagram. They chose snapchat instead because of all the young adults that have snapchat and are able to vote. In addition, the presidential candidates chose snapchat because of how it is running. For example, there are live stories. This could be a great thing for presidential candidates because if you re not home but want to watch the debate you ll get a chance to watch it on snapchat with the live stories.
Going Further- Persuasion Some parts of this article can be very interesting, but other parts are more factual than others. One part of the article that I found very interesting was when the author compared scientific things to more modern day things. One thing in the article that I am a bit suspicious of is how they are mentioning one person in every paragraph. We are assuming that he is a main part in the article but the publisher didn't say so. There are also many opinions in the article that I either agree or disagree with. For example, In the article, people are saying that to win the Democratic award, the candidate needs to get an abundance of young people to come out and vote for them. I disagree with this, because young adults have just about the same chance, or an even a lower chance of voting. But I agreed with the article when it talked about how only about 37 percent of Snapchats daily users are 18 through 34 years old; However, two thirds of 18 through 24 year olds on Snapchat will probably vote. About one third of them choose not to. I agree with this because the more mature and adult portion (which is not much) of Snapchat will be interested in such.
Donald Trump defends his proposal to ban Muslims from the U.S Published by Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff 12.10.15 By Sahej Sandhu and Connor Nicol
Summary Candidate Donald Trump says that when he becomes president he will not let any Muslims into the United States. He compares this with President Franklin Roosevelt's actions after world war II but he says what President Roosevelt was worse. President. Roosevelt gave a order to imprison every Japanese-American in special centers called internment camps. That time in history is remembered as a terrible time in American history.
Quote "I don't care about them," Trump told the TV news network CNN when asked about the strong disapproval by Republican party leaders. "I'm doing what's right." (This quote was from the beginning of the article) This quote basically says that Trump hates any muslims and he tries to defend himself he also sounds like a crazy super villain.
Going Further-Surprise I was very surprised that Donald Trump defends his horrible idea.it s just mind boggling how someone could possibly defend such a horrendous idea of banning an entire race from this country.america is supposed the land of the free not the land of racists and many muslims are trying to get better lives and seemingly Trump doesn't even care about them it enrages me that someone could deny people who have lost their friends and family they are refugees and Trump is banning them! It s horrible and he says that he doesn't believe in immigration we all are immigrants Native Americans were immigrants from Asia so we are all immigrants. To wrap this up i say that Donald Trump has no right to ban an entire race from this country.