Nate's Senior Project

I thought that Nate's senior project was very interesting and I could tell that he put a lot of emotion and personal experience in it. I could tell that it was a very important topic to him and has had a big impact in his life. It was interesting because it showed a lot of celebrities who suffered from such a widespread disease and people who you wouldn't think would be hiding it. I thought the interview with the person who had a rough childhood was pretty interesting because it shows how some people could hide their emotions in public but go home and fall apart.

Vincent's Senior Project

I thought that Vincent's senior project was very interesting because it involved football and concussions which I have both played and experienced. It was very interesting to see the science behind the impacts and contact in football and to see how it will affect football players in the future. There are a lot of companies who are making big advancements in protecting the players and the sport. This question came up in his documentary but I also want to ask. Do you guys think that football will be outlawed in the future or will these advancements allow the sport to go on?

Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian protesters

Palestinian protesters are being shot in the legs by Israeli soldiers along Gaza's boarder with Israel. In the past month, at least 17 protesters have suffered gunshots to their legs that required an amputation including Mohammad al-Ajouri. He is a medal-winning track star who loved run but now after protesting what he believed in, he had to get his legs amputated because they had become infected. In all, over 2,200 Palestinians have suffered leg injuries. A statement from the Israel Defense Forces stated that under their laws of engagement, what these soldiers were doing was justified but they declined to state the rules specifically. It makes me respect even more our right in the United States to be able to peacefully protest something we disagree with and not have to worry about being physically negatively affected.


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North Korea planning to close nuclear test site in May

I came across an article that showed some big advancements for North Korea towards peace with the rest of the world and especially South Korea. According to the president of South Korea, Kim Jong-un has agreed to stop the nuclear program and publicly shutdown the main North Korean nuclear facility. There have been 6 nuclear tests carried out in this facility and closing it shows great compromise from North Korea. Kim Jong-Un also stated that he would welcome experts of South Korea and the US to disclose the process to the international communities with transparency.


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Anti-Fascist Members arrested during protest against Neo-Nazi Rally

In the small town of Newnan, Georgia, Neo-Nazi's held a white power rally which they got permits from the city for and conducted rather peacefully. As peacefully as you can when you are yelling and chanting about white power and "getting the country back from illegal immigrants." There were a lot of Antifa members gathered around the Neo-Nazi rally to lawfully use their right to peacefully protest. There ended up being 10 protesters arrested because they were wearing masks. In Georgia, it is against the law to "wear a mask, hood, or device which conceals identity of wearer" according to statute OCGA § 16-11-38. I find it a little ironic that the law was implemented to prevent the KKK from wearing masks and now it is used against the protesters of the Neo-Nazis, who were supporting white power. It seems that there was a lot of controversy over how the police dealt with the situation and how "militarized" the police officers look nowadays and I am curious what your thoughts are on the way the law enforcement has shifted over the last few years and if the law prohibiting the wearing of masks is a good idea or not.

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Trump considering pardoning Jack Johnson

I thought this was a pretty interesting article considering that we just saw a documentary about the life of Jack Johnson and the struggle for African American gentlemen back in the early 1900's. Basically, in 1913, Jack Johnson was convicted for violating the Mann Act because he took his white girlfriend across state boarders for "immoral purposes." Sadly, he was put up against an all white jury and lost the case and was imprisoned for a year. It seemed like this law was implemented to prevent prostitution but only was enforced against people of African American race. In 2016, both senators Harry Reid and John McCain petitioned the Obama administration to pardon Johnson because it was the 70th anniversary of Johnson's death but it didn't seem to gain much attention. It was then brought up again now in the Trump administration and Trump tweeted his thoughts about it. Obviously it wouldn't do much for Jack Johnson now but I am curious to hear your thoughts on it. Would it be good to see Trump pardoning Jack Johnson or should he focus on other issues going on right now instead (like I see in a lot of hate filled twitter responses).

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Auschwitz: A Simplified Brutal Community

Auschwitz was undoubtedly one of the most brutal and horrendous places in Nazi Germany back in the World War Two days, but surprisingly a place that has caused so much pain and suffering can be looked at as a learning and teaching moment for many people because it illustrates aspects of human beings and how the world around us works. Auschwitz, despite the death camp part, has many concentration camp additions to model it more about the world outside of the walls. They had a soccer stadium, a library, photographic lab, and its own symphony orchestra. It also housed resistance groups along with religious services. It even had a brothel for the prisoners who had been behaving well and earned a good time. Tadeusz Borowski, a surviving prisoner and Polish writer, made the bold statement that "the whole world is really like a concentration camp. " Although tough to look at our world as a place with all these cruel events occurring, it holds similar basic fundamentals for human survival to a concentration camp. For example, the strong people control the weak ones and force them to work for them and when they can no longer work, they die. Borowski expressed that "There is no crime that a man will not commit in order to save himself." Essentially, the world is ruled by power, not by morals or being nice to everyone. Sometimes, things need to get done to survival and the basic primal instinct kicks in to push people through the hardships and work when they are holding on to any sliver of hope. A less extreme example would be in business in the real world. The strong ones who were able to make it to the top of the business are now able to hire the weaker or less experienced ones to do the dirty work for them. The most important part that ties these together is how the low wage, low experience workers are expendable much likes the prisoners in the camp. If the worker can't keep up with company standards or starts to rebel then they are fired. Much like at the camp, if a worker gets too weak and cannot keep up with doing work for the SS then they either die from starvation or are killed by the SS.

The Power of an Idea

There have been many times in history that an idea and a vision has caused a nationwide action and gained a huge following. A couple of examples would be Martin Luther King Jr. who had a vision for African Americans in the United States that pushed for equality for every man and woman, and Adolf Hitler who had a vision after World War 1 to revive Germany into a superpower country once again. Two vastly different causes but raised on a similar platform. They both started out with an idea that was small and not very backed in the beginning but through speech and presentation, it united people who felt the same way. Anyone could have an idea but it was how it was delivered to the community is what sparked the interest and belief that it could come true and provide a better life for many people. In the case of Adolf Hitler, it was very successful for the people who he accepted and supported him and unfortunately, the Jewish people got the short end of the stick and became the scapegoats. Ideas seem so small in the beginning but everything important in history that was caused by man was once an idea that transformed into action.