Knife-wielding New Orleans airport attacker dies
Source: BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32003847
Carol Richel, a TSA worker at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, shared the detail as she recounted how a man suddenly produced a machete and chased her down the airport section Concourse B. He was apparently swinging the blade wildly. He stopped when a lieutenant, Officer Heather Sylve, with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, took out a weapon on him and striked him three times. "Officer Sylve is my hero," Richel said Saturday, referring to Lt. Heather Sylve. "She saved my life ... and saved probably a lot of others." The 63-year-old Army veteran died of his wounds Saturday afternoon, the day after he unleashed this terror. The reason however is still unknown. All this confusion came from a man that a neighbor described as sociable, religious and never violent person. On the same day, just before 8 p.m., authorities said, White walked into the airport's security checkpoint and pulled out a can of wasp spray. He sprayed Transportation Security Administration agents and passengers waiting in line. Then he pulled the machete from his waistband and went for another TSA agent, who blocked the weapon with a piece of luggage. White was "unresponsive" when rushed to a hospital, Normand said. And the worst part of it all, when searching White's car, "a bomb squad found smoke bombs in the trunk, as well as three tanks holding acetylene, oxygen and Freon," says BBC News reporter. It was a crazy night at New Orleans International Airport.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Gender
What is the impact of the gender roles that society creates and enforces?
Gender roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society. In the United States, 'masculine roles' are usually associated with strength, aggression, and being dominant, while 'feminine roles' are usually associated with passivity, nurturing, and being subordinate. The attitudes and expectations surrounding gender roles are typically based on, not any natural gender differences, but on stereotypes, or over-generalizations about attitudes, traits, or behavior patterns of women or men. Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism. "Sexism is the prejudiced beliefs that value one sex over another," says a psychologist from Rice University. Gender roles in our society create a sexist environment, where some men or some women do not feel comfortable being themselves or doing what they love. These people face discrimination, oppression, and violence for not going along with society's traditional gender roles. And this type of behavior caused by gender roles should not be acceptable.
Gender roles are based on norms, or standards, created by society. In the United States, 'masculine roles' are usually associated with strength, aggression, and being dominant, while 'feminine roles' are usually associated with passivity, nurturing, and being subordinate. The attitudes and expectations surrounding gender roles are typically based on, not any natural gender differences, but on stereotypes, or over-generalizations about attitudes, traits, or behavior patterns of women or men. Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism. "Sexism is the prejudiced beliefs that value one sex over another," says a psychologist from Rice University. Gender roles in our society create a sexist environment, where some men or some women do not feel comfortable being themselves or doing what they love. These people face discrimination, oppression, and violence for not going along with society's traditional gender roles. And this type of behavior caused by gender roles should not be acceptable.
Baby in River
"Utah baby found alive in river 14 hours after car crash"
Source: BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31791086
On Sunday, an 18-month-old baby girl survived a car crash in a frigid river in Utah. The girl, after being strapped in a car seat for about 14 hours upside-down, was found by a fisherman fishing in that river. The toddler, who was identified as Lily Groesbeck, was upgraded from critical to stable condition after being rescued. However, for her 25 year-old mother, things did not look so good. She was found dead in the car. "Investigators believe the vehicle careered into the Spanish Fork River after striking a cement barrier at about 22:30 local time on Friday," says the reporter from BBC News. They also mention that, "the fisherman raised the alarm at 12:30 local time (18:30 GMT) the next day, after he saw the girl dangling above the water as it flowed through the car." A tragedy, since the toddler lost her mother, but a miracle that the child survived such tough conditions. The water in that river was so cold and frigid. Three police officers and four firefighters who entered the river to rescue the child were later treated in hospital for hypothermia.The temperature dipped to the low- to mid-30s overnight while the child was trapped in the car, investigators said. The 18-month-old is a survivor and the love of her mother's life.
Source: BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31791086
On Sunday, an 18-month-old baby girl survived a car crash in a frigid river in Utah. The girl, after being strapped in a car seat for about 14 hours upside-down, was found by a fisherman fishing in that river. The toddler, who was identified as Lily Groesbeck, was upgraded from critical to stable condition after being rescued. However, for her 25 year-old mother, things did not look so good. She was found dead in the car. "Investigators believe the vehicle careered into the Spanish Fork River after striking a cement barrier at about 22:30 local time on Friday," says the reporter from BBC News. They also mention that, "the fisherman raised the alarm at 12:30 local time (18:30 GMT) the next day, after he saw the girl dangling above the water as it flowed through the car." A tragedy, since the toddler lost her mother, but a miracle that the child survived such tough conditions. The water in that river was so cold and frigid. Three police officers and four firefighters who entered the river to rescue the child were later treated in hospital for hypothermia.The temperature dipped to the low- to mid-30s overnight while the child was trapped in the car, investigators said. The 18-month-old is a survivor and the love of her mother's life.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Undecided Voters- Satire
In this clip from an episode of Family Guy, the main character's wife, Louis Griffin, is running in an election and must make speeches and answer questions to win over undecided voters in her neighborhood. She realizes that her opponent is not answering the questions properly and the crowd is going wild for his answers. In order to beat her opponent, Mrs. Griffin answers the questions with irrelevant, short answers that the crowd wants to hear. With every random answer, she wins over the undecided voters even more. Satire is being used in this scene especially because it is criticizing the voting system in an entertaining and playful way. There are two types of satirical techniques being used: exaggeration and parody.
There is exaggeration to prove that people running for elections do use responses to avoid the true question but are not as random as the ones said in the clip. The exaggeration is just used to let the viewer understand the situation while being amused. There is parody used to show how funny it is that voters actually fall for the sweet nothings they hear runners say. Both these types of satire are successfully used to prove a point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOh-rpvjYg&list=PL1C74535C1D3EABE0&index=3
There is exaggeration to prove that people running for elections do use responses to avoid the true question but are not as random as the ones said in the clip. The exaggeration is just used to let the viewer understand the situation while being amused. There is parody used to show how funny it is that voters actually fall for the sweet nothings they hear runners say. Both these types of satire are successfully used to prove a point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOh-rpvjYg&list=PL1C74535C1D3EABE0&index=3
God's Blessings in the Atmosphere
"New Study Finds Majority Of God’s Blessings Burn Up On Entry Into Atmosphere"
Source: The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-study-finds-majority-of-gods-blessings-burn-up,37946/
In a study released on Thursday, February 5, 2014, by the University of Texas Department of Astronomy, it was found that the majority of "God's blessings" end up burning up when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere. In this context, "God's blessings" are referring to all floating or burning particles found in space, like comets and so on. “We discovered that due to the thickness and density of the gases surrounding our planet, 80 percent of God’s graces will completely disintegrate by the time they are about 75 to 100 kilometers away from the surface,” said professor Donald Northcote (The Onion, 1). The most generous gifts sent by God even disintegrate and get reduced so quickly into "fragments of His original intention during the journey". One exclusion to this statement was the powerful blessing from God that struck Earth during the Cretaceous Period, or the Dinosaur era, which also is believed to have wiped out about 75 percent of the world’s species.
In this article, the reader can find the use of satire throughout the whole writing. By using the words "God's blessings" or "the generous gifts sent by God", the writer uses parody satire to amuse the reader, interest them about reading more, and help them understand the particular subject.
Source: The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-study-finds-majority-of-gods-blessings-burn-up,37946/
In a study released on Thursday, February 5, 2014, by the University of Texas Department of Astronomy, it was found that the majority of "God's blessings" end up burning up when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere. In this context, "God's blessings" are referring to all floating or burning particles found in space, like comets and so on. “We discovered that due to the thickness and density of the gases surrounding our planet, 80 percent of God’s graces will completely disintegrate by the time they are about 75 to 100 kilometers away from the surface,” said professor Donald Northcote (The Onion, 1). The most generous gifts sent by God even disintegrate and get reduced so quickly into "fragments of His original intention during the journey". One exclusion to this statement was the powerful blessing from God that struck Earth during the Cretaceous Period, or the Dinosaur era, which also is believed to have wiped out about 75 percent of the world’s species.
In this article, the reader can find the use of satire throughout the whole writing. By using the words "God's blessings" or "the generous gifts sent by God", the writer uses parody satire to amuse the reader, interest them about reading more, and help them understand the particular subject.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
The Great Gatsby
"He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself." -Great Gatsby (Chapter 3)Within this quote, the reader sees Nick, the narrator of the story, meet, analyze, and closely examine Gatsby, his character, and his appearance. Gatsby is a rich man whose story is not fully known or even understood. His name and money were the only things people knew about him. However, Nick is not one to judge someone for their money. Nick was a kind hearted person who saw Gatsby differently from everyone else. He saw Gatsby's character and qualities by seeing him smile. His smile was special; it was rare and genuine. This quote is important since it is the point where Gatsby, an important character is finally introduced, and it's when Nick's and Gatsby's relationship first begins. Nick saw hope in his smile and seemed fascinated and inspired by it. Gatsby had the ability to make anyone he smiles at feel special. This shows that Gatsby is a man full of hope and kindness. It leads the reader to think that only good will follow him.
State of the Union Address
The 2015 State of the Union Address was given by Barack Obama who is the 44th president of the United States. This took place on January 20, 2015, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, sent President Obama a letter on December 19, formally inviting him to speak. It was addressed to the 114th United States Congress. The speech was broadcast on various television and radio stations and webcast from the White House. Webcasts were also provided by other sponsors, including a webcast from the U.S. Republican Party. In summary, the speech focused the following points: the improvement of the American economic situation, the fight against terrorism, especially against the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq, the call for free community college to provide education, and a new tax on Wall Street companies. He also announced that he would issue an executive order to guarantee workers up to seven days of paid sick leave. The most fascinating part for me was when he used the words "lesbian", "gay", "bisexual" and "transgender", being the first President to use them in a State of the Union Address, when talking about protecting the human rights of religious, sexual and gender minorities.By using these words, President Obama made a strong point of standing up for what is right and protecting the people he is leading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)