CC#3: Ireland Pledges €4.7m For Syria

In a current article by Genevieve Carbery, an Irish Times news writer, entitled "Ireland Pledges €4.7m For Syria," Genevieve Carbery educates how 1) the Syrian government needs to stop fighting in the name of humanity, 2) how money plays a contribution to other countries and 3) how many people need humanitarian help.

"I appeal to all sides and particularly the Syrian government, to stop killing... in the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence."  In summary, Mr. Costello stated at least 60,000 people had been killed since the violence begun in 2011...; the world body warned earlier this week by saying that without more money, it would not be able to help millions of Syrians.  With all these soldiers dying, the expenses would be more and they would need more humanitarian help...

"The contribution was made at a UN donor conference in Kuwait today seeking pledges of $1.5 billion of aid."  Additionally, Ireland pledged €4.7 million to help fund humanitarian efforts for millions of Syria affected by nearly two years of conflict.  All of the donations will support the provision of the life saving humanitarian supplies and essential services...

"...with 2 million people displaced and 4 million Syrians in need of immediate humanitarian assistance."  All of these people really needed humanitarian help because the donations brought the State's total contribution to the relief effort in the region to over €7 million.  Syrians are sheltering 700,000 registered refugees with another five hundred million dollars to bankroll humanitarian work for four million Syrians inside the country."

Personally, I can connect this article to myself because I have donated money to Nigeria before.  They were in need of supplies at a time, so I heartly made a contribution to stop the struggle.  Relating to another text, the article connects with "The Good Samarian" story in the Bible.  The man got help from the Samarian, expressing how Ireland assisted Syria financially.  Globally, the countries of the world are having to help each other with money as friends to help fund militia, weapons, and/or possibly the government!  This situation can connect to the American Dream because if we aid other countries like Ireland did Syria, then we can become a better nation, including the opportunity of peace with other nations in the world too!

Genevieve Carbery educates how Syria struggles through the war humanly and financially, looking for and finding a helping hand to get them through the tough situation they happen to be in.

BR#1: Slam! - Walter Dean Myers

"Basketball is my thing. I can hoop. Case closed."  Greg "Slam" Harris, the main character, started out in the book on how his prodigious skills on the court represents his life.  Walter Dean Myers's Slam! symbolizes the connection of Slam himself and me.

What can I say about this book? The novel's theme shows one how life is more than a basketball game; life is a game itself.  "Slam! will fly off the shelves into the hands of basketball fans, and will give them a lot more than a game."  The Voice of the Youth Advocates describes how this book will give one a broader perspective of life in the book, rather than a simple, fictional book on a ball player. With many athletes reading sports books, Walter Dean Myers aspires them at the same time by putting the content of life in the novel too.  "A Harlem teenager learns how to apply the will he has to win at hoops to other parts of his life in this vivid, fluent story..."  Kirkus Reviews summarizes how Slam's game can be distributed personally, not physically.  While never doubting himself on the court, he applies the will he has to win at hoops to other parts of his life to "portray the dream of a Harlem teenager."  "Myers has a neat trick of making the reader see the world through Slam's streetwise, life-naive eyes....The conclusion is hopeful, and the basketball scenes are tough."  Metaphorically, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books compares Slam's hoodlum-like struggle in his life with the quote stated.  As described in the quote, the basketball scenes are tough; the quote also analyzes that life can be tough too, just like times in a basketball game.

"Slam's game is like his temper---hard and fast."  Walter Dean Myers makes me believe in him as a person because of the trials and tribulations Slam has to go through. Anybody can come to a common ground with this character because of all the reality-like sections he faces in the novel.  "With me it's not like playing a game, it's like the only time I'm being for real."  I like how Slam's dedication to what he loves makes him conscience of his character.   His seriousness of the game delineates himself throughout the book.  "That's the word and I know it the same way I know my tag, Slam. Yeah, that's it. Slam."  If he was not a bit cocky and confident, the novel would be depressing.  Feeling influenced by the book, the way Myers scripts his literature and draws out Slam assembles the book to be a phenomenon.

"It's hard to compare [great things] to [things in general.]"  Since the novel to me exemplifies sensation, I can closely relate this novel to Myers other classic, The Beast; "...with the connections and situations teenagers face today," the novel glistens to The Beast with real-life scenarios, creating the bond with Slam!.  Currently, this book relates to events and issues in life generally; even though the novel was copyrighted in 1996, seventeen years later, the essence of the novel still reflects among humans today.  Personally, this book develops a connection with me because I admire track; when I eventually "go one-on-one with my own future, I [arguably] will not have the crowd chanting my name, sprinting down the straightaway to the finish line..."

I recommend this novel to anyone and everyone due to the fact that with any position and problem one has, the book will permeate one's life just by reading the book.  Because of the life-changing magic the novel presented to me, I can conclude that Slam! is an astonishing piece of literature towards everyone who read the amazing novel.

"What Is Your American Dream?" Essay

    

The Notorious B.I.G. tells us that "no dream is too big. The sky is the limit."  The famous, deceased, diamond-selling rapper quoted this because everyone dreams.  Whether the dream happens to be an eight-hour sleeping fantasy of one's celebrity crush or a vision of becoming the President of the United States of America, dreams apply to everyone.  As a citizen of this nation, I see quite a few "ups and downs" going on in our nation.  To take into consideration, would one prefer more high times or low times?  In my perspective, I would LOVE to have more good, "up" times in our nation, making this LOVE a dream.  My universal dream towards America, the patriotic palace of the best nation in the world, is to revive peace among the people socially and personally.

Socially, to gain national peace for the fulfillment of my dream, we need to acknowledge "the rules" in order to be more tolerant and polite to each other.  "...And that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things..."  For instance, our Founding Fathers created the Declaration of Independence not only to become an independent country from the King, but also to create a peaceful nation.  After the independence of this country, we, the fifty states, were responsible to develop peace among each other.  "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  While comprehending this statement closely, I concluded that the roots of all the components in the Preamble to the United States Constitution redirects to peace.  If the thought of peace was not considered, the United States Constitution would simply be feckless.  With establishing peace in a society, if we do not abide to the important documents that our Founding Fathers composed or tolerate people politely in general, my dream of national peace would become a nightmare.

Personally, to gain national peace for the fulfillment of my dream, we need to individually build our character to the pinnacle of our lives.  "Nobody can bring [one] peace but [oneself.]"  This powerful quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson means that as long as people are nice to one, their approach to peace towards one is not as important unless one happens to be at peace with oneself.  To build character, inner-peace must be a prerequisite before the construction begins.  "Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves."  Word from William Hazlitt, the quote indirectly states that if one poses cruelty to others, basically, one poses cruelty to themselves. For example, if one judges a person negatively, one primarily judges themselves because the concept of peace is not present; if one does not treat other people the way they want to be treated, character-building will definitely be difficult, especially if one wants peace in their character.  The Peace Pilgrims tell us that "when [one] finds peace with [oneself,] [one] becomes the kind of person who can live at peace with others."  With establishing peace in one's persona, if we do not consider inner-peace within our character, my dream of national peace would not only be an issue, but possibly, a failure towards the country.

Without any peace, our nation would be corrupt.  Dreaming national peace, we should strive to assemble peace socially and personally.  God shaped this world to be peaceful.  While America struggles on that, if we all apply peace to each other socially and personally, my dream of national peace will be accomplished, making the achievement an "up" to everyone in the country and myself.

CC#2: Flu, Whooping Cough and Vomiting Virus: What's Going On?

In a current article by Rachael Rettner, a MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer, entitled "Flu, Whooping Cough and Vomiting Virus: What's Going On?," Rachael Rettner describes how 1) vaccines can play a vital role to overcome the outbreaks 2) how seriously and badly any of the viruses affect the people and that 3) there is no relations within the diseases.

"...As more people get vaccinated against them, and more perfect vaccines are developed, rates of these illnesses are expected to go down."  Dr. Andy Pavia says this about the outbreaks.  "They are both vaccine-preventable diseases."  "...Since 2012, higher numbers of people have presumably developed immunity to the virus after being infected."

"Cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been on the rise in recent years, and in 2012, the numbers of illnesses soared to more than 41,000 --- more than any other year since 1955."  The vaccines made back then did not protect the people as well until today; "the early start to this year's season, as well as the particular strains in circulation, may be reasons why more people are sick this year."

"As far as we know, they're completely coincidental and separate."  Dr. Andy Pavia mentions the uncertainty of all the outbreaks occurring at once.  Even though quite a few Americans are getting sick, the diseases are not all influencing their queasy attitudes simultaneously.  "Despite the seeming inundation of illness, experts say there is no connection between the three outbreaks, or any reason why all would be happening now."

I personally can connect this to myself because I was affected by the flu when I was in middle school.  I received yearly shot now and the vaccine has helped me overcome the disease.  In the Bible, people were impinged by the Ten Deadly Plagues in the book of Exodus.  Worldwide, everybody interacts with diseases in general whether   it is a common cold or cancer.

Rachael Rettner describes how we should not confuse the fact that all of the outbreaks have a special relationship and how the situation has not shown forth in such a horrible in over fifty years.

CC#1: Gunmen Kill 10 In Remote Northwest Nigeria: Police

In a current article by Rueters, an international news agency, entitled "Gunmen Kill 10 In Remote Northwest Nigeria: Police," Rueters informs 1) where the attack was located 2) how the Islamist insurgency was at fault 3) who the possible gunmen were.

"There was an attack in these villages in Zamfara and people were killed."  Specifically in Kaduna, Nigeria, Zamfara was the setting of "the raiding in two neighbouring villages."  The neighbouring villages, Makera and Usu, had around 10 deaths reported by the local police.

"Analysts say the insurgency has also brought a breakdown of law and order across the north, creating opportunities for armed gangs and ethnic militias with scores to settle."  By forming such policies, the insurgency is shown to be vulnerable, giving chances for ANYONE to come through, including robbers and criminals.  They tried to focus on the insurgency was "northeastern Borno state and surrounding areas, but a military crackdown this year has pushed it into several states further south and west, including Zamfara."

"[Hassan Usman Talba] said the prime suspects were gangs of Fulani herdsman but that police were still investigating."  The Fulani herdsmen "led to decades of conflict with farming communities across central and northern Nigeria that often erupts into violence."  They assume it was them due to all of the trouble and chaos inflicted in the area; the police first did not suspect anybody, but they decided to lean towards the Fulani herdsmen.

I can become an active participant in my learning by taking more interest into what goes on in a country where my roots are linked to.  I can take responsibility for my learning by routinely logging on to news websites to read such current events happening in our world.

Rueters informs how this article is one of the pieces of reported Nigerian killings happening in a weekly basis.

The 3 In 1 Compilation: An Essay, a Test, a Lesson

One of the most important life lessons I acquired from my sixteen years on this planet is how dishonesty cannot save all and foolishness never ages when born.  While these express my two themes, there happens to be much more to the ides than how the idea is displayed.  The themes interact because the consequence of each word can be the same.  In addition, they also build because the more foolish present the more dishonesty forms.  In this case, do not EVER be dishonest and foolish!!!  Why would one consider that an option in life?  To sum up the main point, when deceit and stupidity mingle, the aftermath results in sin.

     
The Crucible may be a well-scripted play, but The Crucible defines a test; the test alludes to the characters, referring to the two themes of the play.  First, John Proctor and Abigail Williams exchanged and distributed lies throughout the play.  Then, she and the Girls committed licentious, idiotic crimes and actions towards the citizens of Salem and towards themselves, too.  Eventually, the play gets crucial around the ending when Proctor determines his prophecy with a suspenseful decision.  Who passes the test of conquering dishonesty and foolishness?  The answer can be simple to evaluate, yet the answer can be hard if one reading this is both dishonest and foolish.

One theme of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, shows one how dishonesty cannot save all.  In Act I, page 22 of The Crucible, John Proctor, the protagonist of the play, demanded Abigail, “…wipe it out of mind.  We never touched…”  John Proctor cheated on his wife, Elizabeth, with Abigail Williams; he did not want to go to court for lechery.  In fact, Elizabeth was sick and distant from him.  To John, she, “…counted [herself] so plain.”  (Miller 127)  Right after Mr. Proctor told Abby to forget about what they did, she quoted, “aye, but we did.” (Miller 22)  At the same time, Proctor quoted, “aye, but we did not.” (Miller 22)  Next, on page 94, in Act III of The Crucible, Mary Warren, the servant of John and Elizabeth Proctor, confessed, “[she] did…” when Deputy Governor Danforth asked, “…[she] sat in [his] court, callously lying when [she] knew that people would hang by [her] evidence?...”  To point out, Mary Warren did not want to charge murder on Abigail because, “she’ll kill [her] for saying that!” (Miller 76)  Meanwhile, Proctor stated, “[he] will bring [her] guts into her mouth…” if she does not defend him in court. (Miller 76)  In The Crucible, on Act IV, page 129, Rebecca Nurse, the wife of Francis Nurse, affirmed, “…it is a lie… how many [she] damn [herself?]”  After Danforth pleaded “…will you confess yourself, Goody Nurse?”  As an illustration, Deputy Governor Danforth pleaded to Mrs. Nurse twice about admitting to taking part of the conspiracy; he knew she kept on lying about the conspiracy so he adduced, “…[she] surely [saw] it profit nothin’ to keep [the] conspiracy any further.” (Miller 129)  Proctor acknowledged how he contributed himself to the Devil’s service.  When Danforth asked Proctor if he ever saw Rebecca Nurse with the Devil, he said no, lying about Mrs. Nurse seeing the Devil.  On balance, Abu Bakr once said, “the greatest truth is honesty, and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty.”  Stating that dishonesty cannot save all, look at the outcome of John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Rebecca Nurse.

The other theme of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, shows one how foolishness never ages when born.  In Act I, page 40 and 41 of The Crucible, Abigail Williams, an accuser in the Salem Witch Trials, exclaimed, “[Tituba] made [her] do it!  She made Betty do it… She [made] her drink blood... [send] her spirit on [her] in church… [laughed] at prayers… [dreamed] corruptions…”  Abigail said, “we danced” to the girls. (Miller 19) Significantly, all of the Girls took part of the fiasco.  Henceforth, she told the Girls, “[they] breathed a word, or the edge of a word, about the other thing, [she] [would]…bring a pointy reckoning that would shudder [them].” (Miller 19)  Later, Abby unintelligently threatened the Girls because she did not want any other person to know about their actions.  When Mrs. Putnam entered with Tituba after Reverend Hale interrogated her, she immediately blamed Tituba for the actions they committed and other activities brought upon Abby herself.  Next, on page 70, in Act II of The Crucible, Ezekiel Cheever, a character in the play, uncertainly declared, “why, a poppet --- a poppet may signify--- Now, [Elizabeth] come with me…”  John Proctor asked Mr. Cheever “what [signified] a poppet.”  (Miller 70)  Sooner or later, Cheever started to answer the question, but he intentionally switched topics to save himself from explaining a question he did not know the answer to.  Every time he was asked what a poppet was, he would timidly explain what a poppet was.  At this instant, Cheever went after Elizabeth for his first excuse.  Immediately, he pulled out a needle from the poppet for his second excuse.  Since the needle caught everyone’s attention, Cheever did not have to explain what a poppet was, presenting foolishness in front of everybody.  In The Crucible, on Act III, page 79, Deputy Governor Danforth, a grave man in his sixties, quoted, “do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?”  As one can see, Danforth said this to Giles Corey.  To elaborate on what Danforth quoted, he basically told Giles that the court can believe whoever they want to believe no matter who was innocent, guilty, right, or wrong rather than the person who happened to be innocent, guilty, right, or wrong.  Under the circumstances, Mr. Corey was not aware that, “… [Salem General Court] is the highest court of the supreme government of [the] province…” (Miller 79)  When Danforth received “disrespect” from Giles Corey, he felt that he had to mention how he belonged in the highest court of the supreme government, hoping that what he stated would intimidate Mr. Corey.  Describing daft situations is Danforth because he felt that since he was a “supreme judge,” he had uncontrollable powers, meaning he can take advantage of anybody and any situation possible.  As can be seen, Alfred Lord Tennysone once said, “sin is too stupid to see beyond itself.”  Specifying how foolishness never ages when born, as soon as foolishness was presented in the play, it never left the play from beginning to end.

One interaction of The Crucible, a play about the Salem Witch Trials, shows one how the consequence of each word can be the same.  In Act IV, page 129 of The Crucible, Rebecca Nurse, a well-respected woman in the community, evilly bellowed to Mr. Proctor, “Oh, John--- God send his mercy on you!”  Shortly, Proctor admitted to what he did, showing honesty; Nurse kept lying, thinking she could get away with the crime.  Certainly, Mrs. Nurse showed stupidity on what she said.  God should not send mercy on Proctor’s soul just because he told the truth!  On page 17, in Act I of The Crucible, Abigail Williams, one of the main characters in the play, commanded, “No, he’ll be comin’ up.  Listen, now; if they be questioning us, tell them we danced--- I told him as much already.  By all means, they did not dance!  First, the Girls baked a witch cake and fed it to a dog.  Second, they made sacrifices and conjured spirits with their base attitudes present, doing more in the woods than anywhere else.  Moreover, the calamity committed got them under deeper waters; Abigail claimed to tell Reverend Parris as much as she could.  Furthermore, the intimation hinted in her quote exhibited her stupidity.  As a result, the more one tells, the more one knows and the closer they get to the truth.  Dealing with two different themes like dishonesty and foolishness can compare and contrast.  For the most part, the way they are expressed in the play created them to display the same result on every character in the drama.

     The other interaction of The Crucible, a play about the Salem Witch Trials, shows one how the more foolishness is present, the more dishonesty forms.  In Act I, page 18 of The Crucible, Abigail Williams, a 17-year-old teenage girl, forcefully said, “Betty, you never say that again! You will never---…”  In brief, Abby committed witchcraft and other deceitful crimes, affecting the people of the city; she presented stupidity because she knew she committed the crimes, so she lied about the crimes.  At that point, Abby lied about drinking blood and not telling Reverend Parris about what happened.  Her “foolishness role” went into effect right then and there.  In the course of time, dishonesty played a role in the situation she happened to be in with Betty.  On page 42, in Act I of The Crucible, Tituba, one of the Girls in the play, blurted, “I don’t compact with no Devil!”  Obviously, Reverend Parris knew that she was lying; he threatened to whip her to death if she did not tell the truth.  Additionally, Tituba told Reverend Hale that she did not mess with the Devil because he accused her of enlisting children to the Devil, expressing dishonesty to him and herself.  During Act IV of the paly, Tituba informed Marshal Herrick how the Devil was a “pleasureman” in Barbados; likewise, he sang and danced there.  Correspondingly, the Devil was also known as “a sweet man” to the people in Barbados, too.  Forming the theme is dishonesty and foolishness.  Given these points, the way the two themes construct among one another creates the play’s atmosphere, making The Crucible a notorious drama.

How do these themes impact the overall drama?  All in all, they impact the overall drama by revealing a little bit of the theme among every character in the play.  Although a couple of characters strongly represented the two themes, the themes permeated the play via characters in small portions to reach out to all of the characters, containing both dishonesty and foolishness in them.  In any event, this impact has been felt throughout history because EVERYBODY has these two thematic characteristics existing in them.  In essence, we all have good and bad characteristics in us; clearly, the bad characteristics are statistically lying and stupidity.  Therefore, today, we should overcome deceit and stupidity.  In conclusion, sin is the product of the combination of deceit and stupidity, emphasizing the negative side of The Crucible.  To take into consideration, one should try their best to surmount the disease of dishonesty and foolishness.  If this does not illustrate any practice, the future will be an abyss in our lives; consequently, we will have a deep, bottomless chasm of lies, idiots, and sins.

CC#6: Boston Celtics' Chris Wilcox Fined For Flipping Off The Kiss Cam

In a current article by the Los Angeles Times,  entitled "Boston Celtics' Chris Wilcox Fined For Flipping Off The Kiss Cam," the Los Angeles Times narrates 1) why Chris Wilcox did it 2) what the "Kiss Cam" is and 3) the results of his actions.

"Yes, with a sold-out crowd of nearly 18,000 watching, Wilcox greeted the Kiss Cam with his middle finger." Since partners kiss when the Kiss Cam is reflected on them, they expected Chris to kiss his own teammate! He felt anger when the camera reflected onto him, so he reacted to the situation by giving the camera "The Bird."

"...The camera operator finds couples sitting in the stands and puts them on the big video screen, trying to get them to kiss?" The Kiss Cam happens to be a harmless bit many sporting events run between innings or during timeouts.  In consideration of the Kiss cam being annoying, I can see why Chris Wilcox flipped off the camera.

"As a result... Stu Jackson announced Monday that Wilcox has been fined $25,000 for making an obscene gesture directed toward fans during a game." Some people thought he was directing "the message" towards the fans, not the camera. The fans do not control the camera, the cameramen do; therefore, he directed "the message" to them, not the fans.

I can become an active participant in my learning by watching fouls actions committed on TV that are unexpected, not expected like most reality shows.  I can take responsibility for my learning by learning why people react in such a way, leading them into bad news.

The Los Angeles Times narratates how such actions like what Chris Wilcox committed can advance into a lot of trouble.