Solving The Immigration Issue

Throughout the past decade, illegal immigration has been a hot topic in our country. As of 2012, there were 11.4 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. This amount will possibly increase substantially in the next decade if we do not take action. How are we supposed to lower the number of immigrants who illegally enter the U.S? Donald Trump, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate thinks a wall should be built in between U.S and Mexico. He says, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton has other ideas on solving the issue. She wants to secure our borders with more security, while also give the illegal immigrants a chance to become legal. She stated, “I am 100% behind comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.” Along with these two presidential candidates, many others have their own ideas on this topic.  

IMMIG-BORDER
Although there are many ideas to stopping illegal immigrants from entering this country, I believe there is only one good idea. This idea is similar to Hillary Clinton’s idea. I think that the illegal immigrants deserve a chance at becoming a legal citizen. Unlike Trump’s opinion, I believe that deporting millions of these immigrants is the wrong thing to do. In my opinion, that is inhumane and unfair. Many of the illegal immigrants that enter the country are looking for a better life, and deporting them would not be fair. In addition, if we have secure our borders with more border patrol, without building a wall, the United States would be much better off. This would save them a lot of money as well as time. Overall, I think that the amount of illegal immigrants entering this country can be decreased, and the only way to rightfully do that is to listen to Hilary Clinton’s idea.

~Ben

Songs for ten cents?

Is it possible to buy music from your favorite artists for ten cents?  With stores like iTunes charging upwards of at least one dollar per track and services like Spotify offering unlimited streaming of however many songs you want for ten bucks a month, it seems unreasonable to believe that you can buy a song for a dime.  But it’s possible–with a catch.

MP3Million is a website that offers its entire 2.4 million song library of good quality MP3 files for ten cents a song.  They also offer a twenty percent discount if you buy an entire album.  All you have to do is create an account and deposit money using a credit card or through PayPal using a service like Pincode Reseller.  Once you deposit the money, you shop their large selection of music.  When you are ready to buy, all you have to do is checkout and download your audio files.  The process of buying music online does not get much easier than that.

As said earlier, there is a catch.  This service may or may not be legal.  MP3Million is based in Russia, where copyright laws are less enforced than in countries like the United States.  As a result, the music is cheaper.  In the United States, the royalty rate is 9.1 cents per reproduction of a song, plus a bit more if it’s over five minutes.  Outside of the States, the royalty isn’t a fixed amount but rather about eight to ten percent of the purchase price.  In that way, this service could be running perfectly legally for customers in Russia.  It is still unclear whether or not people outside of that country can buy from MP3Million.

Can you really buy songs for ten cents?  The answer is that you definitely can, but it may not be legal.  If you’re willing to take the risk, go to MP3Million online and purchase music for a dime a piece.

~Jason

The Severe Recovery Process that the Philippines Has to Face

On November 7, 2013, a devastating typhoon hit the Philippines. The typhoon was the strongest tropical storm that has ever been recorded in history, with wind speeds over 195 mph! With wind speeds at that intensity level, it was estimated at first, that over 10,000 people in Tacloban City have died alone. Although reports show that over 5,000 people have died so far, the death toll is still increasing. As the toll is shown in reports, the typhoon is not even in the top 35 deadliest hurricanes list, because not many people died, as of previous hurricanes. After the major destruction that this intense storm had caused, the Philippines now has to face major cleanup and recovery. The image above shows flipped over vehicles, demolished homes and buildings, and trees that have fallen. The damage was so bad, that U.S troops have been sent over to help out. It shows that the storm was a terrible thing that people had to face, but hey, the people have to face it.

In my opinion, I think that this was a crazily tragic event, but most people were prepared. With the fact that the typhoon didn’t even make it into the top 35 list of deadliest storms, it shows that many people were prepared for the strongest hurricane in the world. Even though many people were prepared, I think it is really sad to hear that over 5,000 people died. What I am really concerned about is the recovery. This should take a long time because of the amount of devastation the typhoon left behind, even with hundreds of U.S troops helping out. People should really try to help out the Philippines, such as making donations, sending more people to help out, and even making wishes and hoping for the best. The Philippines will hopefully recover soon!

~Sameer

Crisis in Syria

The violence in Syria first began in March 2011.  What started as a peaceful protest, after 15 children from school were arrested, and reportedly tortured for writing anti government graffiti on a wall.  The people were calling for the release of the children,  but the government responded very violently. On March 14, the government opened fire on the protesters, killing 4 innocent people.  The next day, they killed another innocent civilian after opening fire at the mourners attending the victims funerals.  Now, enraged by the governments actions, the protestors demanded that President Assad to step down, but he refused.  In August, things went too far, when the government used chemical weapons against their own people, killing hundreds including many children.  This attack caused international outrage, mainly because chemical warfare is a weapon of mass destruction, and has been banned.  Now, there is a big debate on if the US should take military action on Syria.

Personally, I think the US government should take military action in Syria. I think this because if no one responds to how they used chemical weapons, they will set a precedent for other countries to use them, because they will think that no one is going to stop them if they do. Also, as a result of President Assad leadership, hundreds of innocent lives are being lost because of a corrupt government killing their own people.

~Maryam

Syrian Civil War

The issue that started the war between the rebels and the government of Syria is the fact that President, al-Assad and his entire family has held presidency since 1971.  In April of 2011 the government deployed their army to stop the demonstrations across the country. By 2013 the death total had reached the 100,000 mark and by September the toll reached 120,000 deaths. Also ten’s of thousands of protesters were imprisoned and tortured. One of the most mind blowing things is that the government is using chemical weapons on their own people.  President al Assad denies using chemical weapons.


Something should be done! The government doesn’t seem stable and because the rebels are fighting back with force the president was pressured and made a poor decision in using chemical weapons. President al Assad said that the rebels cannot be negotiated with.  This sounds like a lousy excuse for taking innocent peoples’ lives.  There is no excuse!   However, President al Assad did admit that both sides were at fault for  starting the war.   No explanation seems like a good one.

~Joey

Military Action Against Syria: Is It Necessary?

President Obama surprises the United States when he announced that he requires the approval from Congress that he wants to put military force against Syria. The reason for this military force, if you do not know, is to rejoinder against the chemical attack in Syria that killed over a thousand people. President Obama says that a failure to respond “could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons of their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm. In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted.”  Three days later, on September 4th, The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes to authorize military action in Syria. Obama then tries to retrieve support for the attack, but the public and Congress show reluctance for the military action.

I, myself, believe that we should take action against this. It may not seem necessary for us to do it, because it’s not our country, but who else will do it? We need someone to cleanse the world of chemical weapons, and we’re the the country that is going to do it. Seriously, how could we just watch Syria slowly get destroyed? I believe that this military action is necessary, even though it may not seem fit.

~Ryan

Government Shutdown

On October 1st,  the government officially went into shutdown.  How did this happen, you might be asking. Well, one of Congresses key duties is to help fund the government by passing spending bills.  If the bill doesn’t pass, most services of the government can’t run, such as funding agencies and processing passport requests.  The reason that this bill didn’t pass, causing the government to go into shutdown, was because the Republicans in the house are determined stop funding Obamacare, a law that requires all Americans to have health insurance.  In contrast, the Democrats are just as stubborn to keep the program running.  Some of the arguments the Republicans are giving, are that this will hurt employers.  Some also argue that the medical device tax that is included in the law for Obamacare, “basically sending jobs overseas.”  Some counterattacks that the Democrats are giving are that since Obamacare prevents people who have pre existing health issues from being denied health care, those who do have health care won’t have to indirectly pay for those who are uninsured.

Personally, I don’t really have an opinion on the matter of Obamacare, mostly because I don’t buy insurance or pay taxes.  I do know, however, that this decision will impact many others. Such as people who don’t want to pay extra taxes, and people who can’t afford health insurance.  I think that it was slightly unnecessary for the government to go into shutdown over this matter, instead of them coming to a consensus.  Soon, hopefully, The House will come to an agreement and the government will be restored.

~ Maryam

Civil War

Watch this video

President Bashar al-Assad has been involved in an on going civil war against rebels from his country for political and religious reasons. He thinks that the rebels from his country are being supported and told to attack the Syrian Government from other countries. President Assad is being accused of using chemical weapons, to attack his people. President Assad used a chemical called “Nerve Gas”. Nerve gas attacks the central nervous system causing death or severe injury. However Russia and Syria think the rebels used the chemical weapons to try and get other countries such as the United States involved. If the rebels did use the chemical weapons killing Syrian citizens, they probably blamed it on the government, so other countries would help the rebels defeat the Syrian Government.

I think that this is a very serious and dangerous situation. The United States should think of a diplomatic solution before we commit to using violence, because we don’t need to start another war. The U.S should sit down with the Syrian leaders and talk in a friendly way to take away the chemical weapons and destroy them, so the world will be safe. But you never know, because the rebels could be the ones who used the chemical weapons, and if they take over the government the United States could be in a lot of danger. Some of the rebels could be terrorists or supported by terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, who are the terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers on September 11,2001. It’s very hard to decide to be on one’s side because you never know which side is telling the truth.

~Aliya

Gulf of Hormuz Lockoff

Earlier this year, as tensions over the nuclear missile crisis in Iran began to rise, Iran threatened to shut off all travel through the Gulf of Hormuz. The Gulf of Hormuz is the biggest transportation means of oil in the world. Iran’s economy is largely dependent on oil exports so why would they want to shut down the biggest method of exportation of oil? On February 14, 2012, the USS Abraham Lincoln passed through the Strait of Hormuz during a time when Iran said they were doing nuclear missile testing and warned foreign countries to stay clear of the Strait.

Apart from doing a routine oil run, was there any ulterior motive by the U.S? They had all hands on the ship in General Quarters which means that they should be ready to move to their battle stations quickly. In addition, the USS Abraham Lincoln had its F/A-18 fighter pilots ready to launch within 15 minutes. They also had helicopters escort them through the Gulf of Hormuz. Was all this extra preparation just due to the warning or was the USS Abraham Lincoln trying to purposely disrupt Iran’s missile testing? Or were we showing them that nuclear missiles wouldn’t work in a war.

~Darren Barile

Massacre of Afghan Civilians

In the early days of March, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales slips away from his guard duty and kills 16 Afghan civilians.  Investigators say that it was because of his brain injury. He was put on three tours of duty when this happened. The Taliban swore revenge on the killings that happened on March 11th. He is now being charged on 16 counts of murder and six counts of assault. Investigators also say that he does not remember anything from the night of the murders. Does this have to do with the brain damage and the three tours of duty? This is what everyone wants to know.

On the evening of March 11th, Staff Sergeant Bales kills 16 Afghan civilians. Before his third tour of duty, the Army knows he has a brain injury that could result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and still sends him on another tour of duty! This means the U.S. Army is knowing that this Staff Sergeant could have a brain disorder while on duty. The U.S. Army should have limited the number of tours that this man could go on. Now, learning this mistake, the U.S. Army will know better on what to do with troops with Brain disorders.

~Trai Gozzi