CAPE Mission Statement

Hello Professor Kubal my name is Andrea Garcia from your SOC 122 Social Movements M,W 3:30-4:45pm class my group C.A.P.E has completed our Mission Statement and wanted to know if you are still able to print these out for us for the March 4th protest?

Democracy Now assignment

Andrea Garcia SOC 122 Social Movements M,W 3:30-4:45pm 

For this weeks assignment we had to look at two articles in which we found interesting under Democracy Now. The two articles I saw that stood out the most to me was “Armed Men Seize Control of Airports in Crimea, Ukraine” and the other article I saw was “Protest Call for Release of Al Jazeera Journalist Jailed in Egypt “ these two articles I read were very interesting because they are severely effecting our society. Other nations are at world and peace isn’t being restored, it is very sad news to see other people getting hurt or even dying and that is what these two articles have in common is how nations are at war and their people aren’t happy with there government. The first article “Armed Men Seize Control of Airports in Crimea, Ukraine” discussed how armed men took control of two airports in the Crimea region of Ukraine as tension escalates with the new government. Protests have been held in Crimea condemning the ouster of Ukraine’s democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovych. The United States is rejecting claims that the change in power in Ukraine constitutes a coup. White House spokesperson Jay Carney claimed, “The next step is for the new government to resume talks with the IMF. And as the government engages the IMF, we will also begin taking steps in coordination with multilateral and bilateral partners as well as with the new government."

The other article in which I also found interesting on Democracy Now was “Protest Call for Release of Al Jazeera Journalist Jailed in Egypt”. Protests and vigils were held across the globe Thursday calling on Egypt to free four Al Jazeera journalists, three of them have been charged with aiding a "terrorist organization”. It is interesting to see how much the globe can join together for different causes like taking out these journalists from an Egyptian prison. One of the journalist Abdullah Elshamy wife jihad Khaled spoke that the Egyptian authorities are not treating Abdullah as a journalist just as another other detainee and they should be treating him as a journalist not a prisoner. 

Ricardo's first movement documentation paper china blue.

Ricardo Torres

Professor Kubal

Social Movements

02/27/14

Movie

            The purpose of our group was to raise awareness about sweatshops in America and abroad.  We decided as a group in a consensus that the best method of action would be to gather information on as many sweatshops as possible. In the process of understanding our movement better our Professor asked us to promote a movie dealing with issues in sweatshops. We all felt this was a great idea and after some planning we were able to organize a date a time to show the movie China blue a wonderfully powerful and moving film about a china sweatshop that produced denim apparel for different companies. The film was a documentary that chronicled several lives of sweatshops workers and management.  The film showed several aspects of working in a sweatshop in china. The workers were mainly from farm villages who spent all their money to get there once trained they were not permitted to leave at will and stayed in overcrowded boarding houses where their pay was deducted for room and board, food and enmities the conditions were overlooked by the visiting partners who cared little for human rights and more for capital gain. The film also showed the managers side of view. From the managers standpoint business was stiff and exploitation was just a part of the company’s competitiveness.  We were able to announce the movie and many thanks must be given to our professor for organizing the room and film; however, our group all showed up and shared our views on the problem after the movie was over and discussion began. The overall success was fairly good many students came to view the film; thus, the message of the negative aspect of sweatshops was permitted to be viewed by those who were otherwise unaware of our issue.

Join Us for a Day of Action
March Forth on March 4th
Information
Raffle
Refreshments
Music
Dancing
Protest
Date: March 4th
Location: Free Speech Area
Schedule:
Noon-1pm: Information tables, raffle, refreshments, and open mic
100-130pm: Music (Raging Grannies)
130-200pm: Dance (Rise Up Dancers)
200-245 Multi-Issue Protest March
Causes Currently Represented:
Animal rights, Education, Environment, Pretrial Expansion, Sweatshops, Hunger, Peace, Women’s issues and sexual violence

x


Chant Sheet (under construction)
What do we want? Animal rights!  When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want? Educational equity! When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want? oil divestment, When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want?  Pretrial Expansion! When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want? No more Sweatshops! When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want? No more Hunger, When do we want it?  Now!  What do we want? Peace! When do we want it?  Now! What do we want? Women’s rights! When do we want it?  Now!

Natural Gas

Hydraulic Fracturing- or "fracking" for short has many risks than can pose ware-related health issues.  In this processes drillers inject millions of gallons of fracking fluids made up of water, chemicals and sand into underground rock formations.  In this processes the pressure cracks the rocks and the gas escape and flow into wells. Fracking can deplete and contaminate local water and which can draw down local surface and groundwater resources. Also these chemicals can posion the water when spilled , leaked or injected into the ground. It is also very highly flammable. As matter of fact this fracking does not just harm water, but brings air pollution. there have been cases of residents having complained about unexplained sickness in humans and animals. What if any can we do to live longer?

Tyrandts are not above the law

In one of the articles that I have read is about a former president of Liberia. Charles Taylor. First of all he was he president and he supported rebels. How he forced thousands of people to have their limbs cut off, rape little girls and women and forced children mostly kids to became soldiers.  The rebels helped or financed him through so called "conflict diamonds". In his six-year term of horrific abuse as president of Liberia. During may of 2012, A special court sentenced Taylor to 50 years in prison for aiding and  abetting the Revolutionary United Front, a rebel group against Sierra Leone.  Since this is the first time to convict a former head of state since Nuremberg, this was sending a signal that no matter who you are the long arm of the law will always catch you, maybe not now but later.  The world is increasingly intolerant of whose who exploit their positions of power to commit serious crimes. Taylor's conviction is a small measure of justice for the thousands his crimes terrorized. So my conclusion of is writing no matter where you are or how long it has been you will always be caught.

march 4th

raging grannies confirmed for 1pm! http://www.auxiliary.com/diningservices/documents/2013-14%20Catering%20Menu.pdf Please spread the word: March Forth on March 4th Free Speech Area Information faire: noon-1pm Raging Grannies: 1pm-130pm March: 130-2pm Confirmed Student Groups will be holding informational tables about their causes: Pre-Trial Expansion Sweatshops Animal Rights Environment Education Hunger To reserve your spot to have your group represented, please contact tkubal@csufresno.edu no later than March 3rd, 3pm

Democracy Now Summary #2

Nadia Leon

Soc122 Wed:3:30-4:45

Democracy Now

1.       Feb. 24: One of the sections of an episode that I watched this week of Democracy Now was about how the author Luke Harding who was in the process of writing the book The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the Worlds Most Wanted Man witnessed paragraphs from his own document to disappear. He stated that his curser was moving around without his control and sections from his writing would be deleted. He suspects that is was the National Security Agency (NSA) that had hacked his computer and did not want these things that he was writing to be shared with the public. The sections that he wrote that began to delete themselves were about how he felt that Snowden had “damaged U.S. tech companies.” Edward Snowden was considered a NSA “whistleblower.” He tells how the government tracks everything and that no one truly has anytime of privacy. The government has placed trackers and cameras everywhere and also attached them to everyone. Harding believes that he was not the only target. He states that there must have been multiple journalists that were targeted due to Edward Snowden’s leak was not too soon before this. In order to keep certain information safe the government had to regulate and ultimately “spy” on citizens. Within this text that Harding was writing he was speaking down on the NSA and this may also be a reason he was targeted. Once he mentioned this incident in a newspaper interview in Germany he noticed that this suspicious activity stopped.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/24/the_paragraph_began_to_self_delete

 

2.       Feb. 25: The episode of Democracy Now that I watched included the story of how the army is spying on peace activist and anti-war groups. There was an email from a member in the army which made it clear that they were spying on these specific groups. Another story that was covered was about how a Pakistani military has conducted air strikes on North Waziristan. This attack that took place killed 30 people. This area that had been strike is a common target for US drones as well. Another story covered was one that involved an anti-gay law that was passed in Uganda. This law made it so that citizens are required to report homosexuals, homosexuals could also do time in jail for gay acts. Obama administration is urging those who passed this law to repeal it so that the rights of a LGBT’s are preserved. Steve Martin, who is a state Senator for Virginia, has made a statement that has offended many. The statement in which he made included calling pregnant women “hosts” of children. He made this comment in response to a post on Facebook that a pro-choice group made. After many made it clear that this statement was offensive he them went and change the word “host” to “bearer of the child.” In New York City there is an issue with the homeless within the subway stations. They are fighting to remove these individuals with a sweep. Many are standing up to this plan and are against it. One protester explains how the subway is somewhere someone who is homeless can stay warm in the cold nights and days of New York. He also appeals to those who live check to check and who are on the verge of being homeless.  One of the last stories covered was about the NSA and how they believe that senior German officials are now being spied on.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/25/headlines#2252

Movie slot

In our efforts to educate people about tuition we were hoping to reserve a movie slot on Monday March 10.  I also wanted to ask if our group could make t-shirts for our members in the attempt to spread our cause.  Would making t-shirts be an appropriate investment?  Thank You.

Soc Mov/ 2/20/14

Elizabeth Jorgensen

Environmental group film summary

A Crude Awakening:

A crude awakening is a film that focuses on the important issue we as a society face globally concerning the overuse of petroleum oil. The film focuses on the high demand for oil to power everything we use and consume, and the dwindling supplies throughout the world concerning what to do once this non-renewable source runs out. Interviews from former CEO’s, oil investment bankers, and political scientists help emphasize the growing concern for consumption rates of oil compared to the little oil we have yet to tap. As it is we are extracting oil in costly ways, in ways similar to mining, which results in more energy and money being spent for very little oil being extracted. As the quality of life increases throughout the world, the demand for oil to power the consumers continues to drastically increase. There is no way for us a global nation to reduce our demand in order to meet and sustain the needs of the people by strictly using oil. Society as a whole globally speaking needs to shift its focus from depending solely on oil to investing and expanded renewable energy sources such as hydrogen-powered cars, hemp, etc. If we don’t put more focus on developing new ideas, the issue of where to drill will continue to rise, resulting in higher tensions throughout the world in an attempt for the U.S. to secure more oil for an ever-growing consuming society. This has proven an issue in the past through struggles from the U.S. in other nations such as Kuwait in an attempt to secure oil drills. If we don’t consider options and continue to consume oil at the pace we are, the reality of us running out will become a reality that we can’t ignore. 

Week of Feb 17 Democracy Now

The video “Venezuelan Protests: Another Attempt by U.S.-Backed Right-Wing Groups to Oust Elected Government?” aired on Feb 20th, they talk about the innocent people and protesters who are being killed. Venezuela has a new president Nicolas Maduro and a lot of the Venezuela people do not approve this or to what his government is doing. Maduro is taking the wrong decisions and the people are the ones suffering for them. Also talks about how the Obama is still funding the Venezuela oppositions. The other Video “Excessive Force? Migrant Shot Dead by U.S. Border Agent Near San Diego After Throwing Rock” aired on the same day, talked about the accident that an agent went trough when on duty on border patrolling. A migrant that was being chanced by the agent started throwing rocks and the agent shot twice at the migrant killing him. Personally I think fire arms shouldn’t be used at bordered patrolling. Clearly this isn’t the first time that that a migrant gets shot by a border patrol, and there is investigations going on because the usage of fire arms is going over board. The immigrants are not a big threat enough to be shot at because of rock throwing, they are just trying to escape they don’t carry fire arms so they throw rocks to defend them selves. 

Democracy Now

Omar Ruiz

 

Social Movement

 

This week’s documentary was focused on the sweatshops and so far it has been one of the most gut wrenching documentary that I have seen. The documentary China Blue delivers a genuine truth and an emotional reality. Young girls and teenage girls work hours and hours without a proper pay and with no guarantee that they would be paid, the hours can range from 12-18 hours with very few breaks. Americans and many other retail stores that purchase accessories from the sweatshops do not pay much attention to what the laborers go through to get their order on time.  It not only is difficult at work but it is difficult for women because one girl said: ”me and my brother were to go to college and my dad did not have $500 yuan so I had to go [to work]” one can only imagine what kind of life the girl had to face with no choice. What kind of justice can be brought to this issue? We cannot stop the sweatshops in other countries and they would not do anything if we protested in front of their business. We can stop buying their products, probably just buy US. Products and stuff but it is heartbreaking to know that a little girl has to endure this kind of life for so long.

We have journalists around the world always trying to find news on everything and this time they find 12 year-old girls making old navy jeans for Gap in Bangladesh factory. They admitted that they were working for one of America’s great retailers and the problem here is; they are 12 years old!! How can we allow that, how can we ignore that for years? It also brings me to the question, how many little girls died in the fire? As Americans why we ask for more products from other countries when we should be making everything here knowing that there will be much less sweatshops here.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/18/journalists_find_12_year_old_girls

 

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/globalvoices/china-blue.html

Erik Guerra

February 23, 2014

Social Movements

Excessive Force? Migrant Shot Dead by U.S. Border Agent Near San Diego After Throwing Rock

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/20/excessive_force_migrant_shot_dead_by

I quickly learned that a U.S. Border patrol agent shot and killed a man in San Diego. Apparently the border patrol agent was pursuing a group of people suspected of crossing the border. The group was suspected of crossing over from Mexico. The border patrol agent opened fire when a man threw a rock at him. It is said that some fatalities were caused by rock throwing. I soon learned that one of the immigrants had been separated from the group and the border patrol agent was alone in pursuit. This is when the suspected migrant started throwing rocks. It was also said that the migrant threw a rock of the size of a basket ball. Soon after the border patrol agent fired his weapon two times at the suspected migrant killing him. I know understand why border partol policies have been brought back to light.

A New Cold War? Ukraine Violence Escalates, Leaked Tape Suggests U.S. Was Plotting Coup

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/20/a_new_cold_war_ukraine_violence

I have come to learn that Ukraine is divided into two standings. A part of the Ukraine wants to stay closer to Russia. The other half prefers to move away. This difference in political views has caused many fatalities. A truce was set in place but only lasted a couple hours. Soon after the truce was more fatalities. After all this the U.S. Has threatened to establish sanctions on the Ukrainian government. It is said that the anti movement in the streets of Ukraine are seizing weapons. This meaning that there is a possibility of a civil war. If this is a new clod war divide it is said that war could emerge and stay for decades. Some argue that the fight among police and Ukrainians would never be tolerated in the United States no matter how righteous the cause. I hope to see another truce. If peace is not restored I do agree that a civil war could break out.

Transgenger Attacks

David Baltierra
"CC Mcdononda
On a day Mrs Mcdononda was going to a bar with some of her friends and
got attacked from a white man and so he wanted to defend herself and
so she got a pair of sissors from her purse and killed her. So now she
had to go to jail for second degree man slauter. So she was sent to a
all man jail and can you inmage what they do to her there?. The white
man who she killed had been on drugs and not a case against him. So
she did her time and no is in NY. A lot of transgender people what to
kill themselves and then the cops saying bad thing about them.

"Dirty Wars"

David M Baltierra
"Dirty Wars"

Yemen, there has been a wedding and the U.S goverment sent a drone to
kill the enemys and us. So what they did was kill most of the people
that was there but most of them were cilvilans. The Oboma says that
killing these people is better than having the bad guys go to trail.
The humans shield is some times used to hid enemy forces, so thats
why Obama says will help us fight those against us. Jeremy Scahill
says that this people of us the ememies are not really a theart to us,
they just want to kill and do not care about anyone

Crude Awakening

Joseph Abdul

2/23/2014               

Social Movement Event Summary

Documentary: Crude Awakening

            As one of our tactics to draw attention to our cause, our group showed a related documentary, “Crude Awakening”. Movies and documentaries are powerful tools for social movements success; they don’t require a large budgets. Also, people who come to watch a movie are intending and willing to be there, unlike other tactics where we would be forcing individuals to hear our voices. Although not as many people attended as we shot for, it was still a step in the right direction.  

            Our first step was to decide to show the right movie. It had to have attention grabbers that would leave an impression on the viewers. I admired the beginning hook where the theory that we are worshiping oil was emphasized. Then we made flyers and posted them around campus. After showing the movie, our group led the discussion that focused on the fact that our oil supply is depleting. The twelve people who attended were truly engaged in the discussion. The movie did its job of focusing the viewers to the issue. I participated in the discussion by bringing up the good points of the movie. Also, as the vice president of our group, I viewed the movie before hand and approved that it will be appropriate for our topic.

            There were few things we could have done better. For example, we should have decided the event and posted the flyers sooner to give folks time to plan to attend. Also, the flyer itself could have been designed creatively, as our class discussion revealed that it could be offensive to certain prospective. Our group should have been on the same page at all times. For future projects, we need to work on bettering our communication methods. Over all, our group learned from the few mistakes that occurred and will work on eliminating them.     

summary stories

Tracy Galarza   

02-23-14

 

In the video I watched “Obama Administration Considers Assassinating Another American Overseas” dealt with issue of assassination towards an American citizen. The issue begin question in this video is weather is it right or wrong to assonate a U.S citizen whom is a member of al-Qaida. There is no evidence being provided by the U.S government that the former U.S citizen will make an attack but they have concluded predictions. The main issue that many people do not agree with is the power that the U.S president truly has towards citizen’s lives. As Jeremy Scahill mentions the U.S government feels the right to be able to take lives without feeling the need to provide evidence. I was surprise when watching this video, I never really thought how much power the U.S government has over citizens but I do agree with taking action upon those individuals who present threat against us.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/10/report_obama_administration_considers_assassinating_another

 

In the second video I watched “Apple Drops Objections to App Tracking U.S. Strikes Overseas” it dealt with the news about the new app Metadata+ by Josh Begley. This app was rejected three times prior to finally being accepted by apple. The creator Josh Begley had been normally named drone+ but after not being accepted multiple times, it got renamed to Metadata+, when Apple finally accepted the app. This new app is made to inform us when drone air strikes. We are now able to get notifications throughout the day to our phone. I think this new app can give us great knowledge in realizing what is actually going on around us.

 

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/drone_on_your_iphone_apple_drops

Democracy Now Videos

This week I watched a video discussing about the severe climate changes happening over the last few months due to the jet streams location. This is causing the lasting drought and warm weather on the western coast while causing major rain and snow storm on the eastern coast of the US. Though climate change has gotten a lot of talk in recent times, I still do not believe it is taken as seriously as it needs to be. I believe it would be wise, and if possible to try and come up with alternative/options to help counter these ongoing events. It is seriously damaging our country, peoples lives and the economy. if something isn't done t help alleviate the hardships by the climate, we could easily find ourselves in deeper trouble then we are now in the next one to two years.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/13/meteorologist_jeff_masters_climate_change_affecting

The second video I watched simply expands on the first video above. The US though is not the only one experiencing these drastic climate changes. This second video does also touch up other reasons or causes for these changes. Stating the well know "human affect", which I am sure we do have an affect on the climate, but human in my opinion are merely one aspect of the cause. Some stuff we can not control, as it has been shown extreme climates like these happen every so often. But yes, we should clean up our act all the same, simply to just make a cleaner environment to live in for ourselves and for future people. As I mentioned in the above paragraph, we need to find alternate sources and slowly move ourselves off of the current way we do things. Not just in the US, but hopefully around the world. It is just simply not working any longer.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/13/this_should_not_come_as_a

Jerrod Goertzen 

Soc 122 MW 3:30 pm

2/23/14

Article Summary

Article Summary 

Landon Clow

2/23/14

The article "The Day We Fight Back" gives great insight on just how far the United States government has gone to spy not only on the people of its country, but has mass surveillance on countries all over the world. Before Edward Snowden made many of the NSA's injustices public, a vast majority of the country had little knowledge on how far the government was able to spy with the passing of the patriot act. Some of the information brought to light was the fact that the government has a huge spying program that includes phone records, text messages, social media, and email. On February 11, was the "day we fight back against mass surveillance." Thousands of websites contributed and spread the word to its users on the social injustice of mass surveillance. Each website had a banner on its front page with information on how to make a change and to contact their congress men and women. Towards the end of the article the spokesperson for the movement put a great emphasis on the support of the USA Freedom Act that would put regulations on the surveillance ability of the NSA.

In the article Up To 100,000 Stage "Moral March", it covers a story of tens of thousands of people marching in Raleigh, North Carolina to take a stand against the far right polices created by the republican government. The idea of the " Moral March" stemmed from the protest last year called "Moral Monday's",which fought for the rights of the unemployed, and many other disadvantaged groups. The protest organizer of the event was Rev. William Barber,who is head of the NAACP in North Carolina. He emphasized that so many people are willing to come together to fight the injustice because of how extreme the polices are against the disadvantaged.  There were a few facts within the article that I found to be truly shocking. The first being that the state has cut Medicaid for more than 500,000 of the 1.7 million poor people in North Carolina. The other mind boggling stat was that taxes for the hard working people of North Carolina continue to rise while the wealthy few are receiving tax cuts from the state.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/11/the_day_we_fight_back_activism

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/10/headlines#2106

Joanna Sanchez

Dr. Kubal/Soc 122

Entry 4

 

This article talks about the recent death man who was migrating to the US near San Diego and was killed by a border patrol officer because he was throwing rocks at him. With many people trying to cross the border in recent years there have been 20 fatalities that have involved border patrol agents  8 of which include the deaths of people for throwing rocks. Border patrol agents have been taught to not use deadly force against rock throwers since it's become a common  thing that occurs. Rather border patrol agents are taught to take cover or move, tamp it down, or de-escalating the situation. The story claims in the past 10 years there has been 6000 confrontations of rock throwers but none have ever killed or severely hurt any border patrol agents. I believe it is unfair that this person had to die, the use of a lethal weapon against him was unfair when there  were obviously other methods that the border patrol agent could have used. Instead of shooting and killing him it makes more sense to taze him or use another method to calm him down.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/20/excessive_force_migrant_shot_dead_by

This second story is extremely interesting and is a must watch video! Many people believe that Obama is the first African American dwelling in the white house but this story covers an American history that many do not know. The white house which is one of the biggest monuments of the United States was helped built by African American slaves. There were 12 presidents that were reported to have been involved in human trafficking and slaves and more than half of those presidents kept their people bondage at the White House. Thomas Jefferson, Madison Monroe, George Washington and many others partook in buying and selling slaves for profit. It wasn't until Abraham Lincoln came into office that things began to change.  It's amazing that these facts are never taught in our history classes in schools. It is also ironic that the early presidents that wrote the Constitutions, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederations all extolled the principles of equality and liberty yet they had slaves themselves.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/17/untold_history_more_than_a_quarter

Weekly Democracy Now! Summary

Angelina Garcia

SOC 122 MW 3:30-4:45

2/23/14

Word Count: 501

 

The first article that I read/ watched was titled Silencing the Scientist: Tyrone Hayes on Being Targeted by Herbicide Firm Syngent. In 1997, a company called Syngenta hired Tyrone Hayes, who teaches Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, to study a herbicide called Atrazine. Initially, Syngenta was supportive of Tyrone Hayes’ research until he found that the herbicide causes sexual abnormalities in frogs. He found that testosterone was not being produced, and the male frogs started to develop ovaries. When he presented his findings, Syngenta went on to ask Hayes to manipulate his data. When he refused, they did not allow him to publish his findings. Before the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) became involved, Syngenta tried to purchase the date; they also hired other scientists to refute his data. At the insistence of the E.P.A., Hayes was released from the confidentiality contract by Syngenta and went on to publish his findings in high-ranking  journals. Hayes talks about how Tim Pastoor, who is a principal scientist from Syngenta, would show up to Dr. Hayes’ lectures and threaten Hayes and his family. The company even hacked into Hayes’ emails. They run a clip of a woman named Elizabeth Whelan, who is president of the American Council on Science and Health; she calls Hayes’ research bogus and says that Atrazine is tightly regulated. Anchor Juan Gonzalez then reveals that Syngeta is a financial supporter of Whelan’s American Council on Science and Health. Hayes goes on to call Whelan’s criticism paid remarks; he claims that he, and 22 other scientists from 12 different countries have found similar problems with Atrazine. He concludes by using calling Atrazine a big threat not only to environmental health, but public health as well.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/21/silencing_the_scientist_tyrone_hayes_on

The next article I read/watched was titled Turning a Wedding Into a Funeral: U.S. Drone Strike in Yemen Killed as Many as 12 Civilians. This story covers a topic I had previously written about. In my last article summary about drone strikes, I mentioned a wedding party where Yemen civilians were killed. This article was about that particular drone strike which happened in December. J.S.O.C., also known as the Joint Special Operations Command, targeted vehicles that were going to this wedding. Twelve civilians were killed, and none were members of al-Qaeda. The program runs a clip of an interview of a man who was injured during the drone strike; his son was also killed. Abdullah Muhammad Al-Tiri describes the wedding ceremony and drone strike; he says that they drone was hovering over them the entire morning. He goes on to talk about how he found the lifeless body of his son. The program is then joined by Letta Tayler of Human Rights Watch, who had recently visited Yemen. She reveals that the drone strike did indeed kill twelve and injure fifteen civilians. Tayler talks about how the United States is violating international law; the actions of the United States may influence other countries to use the so-called terrorism threat to justify the death of civilians.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/21/turning_a_wedding_into_a_funeral

Weekly Discussion

Alejandro Aguirre

February 22, 2014

SOC 122 – M/W 3:30 PM

Kubal

 

Weekly Discussion

 

      In the discussion of Democracy Now on Venezuelan Protests: Another Attempt by U.S-Backed Right-Wing Groups to Oust Elected Government?, it was generally expressed that the U.S Government was supporting groups to dismiss such a government from operation. There seems to be a conflict with this support since it was also mentioned that President Barack Obama funded Venezuelan government. The prominent individual in opposition to the Venezuelan government is Leopoldo Lopez, who is a highly educated person, but who has been incarcerated by his own government. It seems that he is attempting to rid of these protests through speech. It was mentioned, however, that these movements are actually the foundations of this government in that they try to build their government – perhaps a better government. This seems accurate considering the issue of insecurity these people are known to possess. This insecurity can be their strongest influence in achieving their goal.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/20/venezuelan_protests_another_attempt_by_us

 

      Sarah Sobierraj’s Reporting Conventions: Journalists, Activists, and the Thorny Struggle for Political Visibility discusses the problems activists have with the way the media portrays or broadcasts them. For example, even when activists make a significant effort to be “media-friendly”, which includes being professional, quotable, and credible, journalists will find them less appealing. In other words, activists may not know that they are following the wrong guidelines to truly be noticed by the media. It brings them more to a disadvantage that these “rules” are not explicitly addressed to these activists. Aside from knowing these rules, what would also bring activists to an advantage is if they are promoting a marginalized group (or if this group is the marginalized). The reason for this is that it will become mainstream because it would allow people to analyze or reflect on these new ideas and questions, thus strengthening their sense of democracy. It was also covered that certain forms of media (i.e. the news) is more effective than others because it provides this service on a larger scale rather than those that more exclusionary in the physical sense (i.e. church, school, park).

 

http://ase.tufts.edu/sociology/documents/sobierajReportingConventions.pdf

Democracy Now

Evelyn Espinoza

 

 The “Untold History: More than a Quarter of U.S. Presidents were Involved in Slavery, Human Trafficking” aired on Presidents’ Day. President Barack Obama visited Jefferson’s home and acknowledged that slaves helped build the structure. He continues on, referring to Jefferson as the drafter of the Declaration of Independence and the complex relation to slavery. Clarence Lusane was glad that President Obama acknowledge the slave history involved with Jefferson’s home but he noted the importance of the slavery that existed in the White House that seems to get overlooked by the millions who go through the building. Lusane could not have said it better when he said, “…Presidents’ Day should be a period of critical reflection, not some kind of blind celebration, but it should be one where we really try to get a better sense of the country’s history.” I believe Clarence is clearly pointing out the forgotten history of America because as American’s we take pride in being the best and have never really admitted the wrong doings as it is swept under the rug. He points out all the presidents who wrote the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Articles of Confederation, and such founding documents on democracy, liberty, equality and yet they were not following their word as they lived in “contradiction”.

The other video dealt with the excessive force used by U.S. border agents as a man was shot dead near San Diego. The U.S. border patrol agents have dangerous jobs but it is being questioned if whether excessive force is used for rock throwing.  Of all the fatalities along the border nearly half involved rock throwing. It is being suggested the use of nonlethal force such as firing rubber bullets.  Of all the confrontations of rock throwing it has not resulted in the death of an agent. The United States expects Mexico to be a friend as the third largest trading partner but is opposed to Mexican individuals coming over, seems a little absurd. John Carlos Frey points out the racism against Mexicans as he compares the same issues with other countries and feels the results would be different. Border patrol is literally physically pushing back and automatically identifying Mexicans as criminals. This will make it very difficult for and immigration reform to get approved by Congress.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/17/untold_history_more_than_a_quarter

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/20/excessive_force_migrant_shot_dead_by

 

Democracy Now!

Joseph            Abdul 

2/21/14

Democracy Now: week 4

            The topic of climate change is becoming more and more significant. The drought in California, record-breaking snow on the East Coast, major flooding in England, and rising temperatures in Russia are some examples of the issue. Most politicians find it easier to be reactive rather than proactive. Thus a lot of money is being designated to building shoreline walls to protect from flooding. On the other end of the spectrum, winter Olympic athletes are rising against big corporations that are profiting from fossil fuels. In this years winter Olympics temperatures had reached 60 degrees. This is hotter than last year’s temperatures during the summer Olympics in England. According to Bill Mckibben, author of “Oil and Honey”, the weather patterns we are seeing today are accurate with scientists’ predictions three decades ago. The climate issues need to be taken seriously soon or the next generations will suffer.

            On other news, Edward Snowden, former NSA counsel, leaked NSA files and documents that accused the government of wrong doings. The NSA has assisted the CIA assassinating suspected terrorists overseas by providing spied information. Also, some of the files compromised some Americans’ privacy. Email, phone, and Internet browsing records are now in the wrong hands. Are his actions patriotic or traderish?  These practices are known to result in murders of innocent people who have no connections with terrorism whatsoever. Some Americans still believe that it’s the right thing to do to defend our country while others are more concerned about their privacy and want to know what the NSA is doing.

With all the latest NSA issues, I can see a social movement in the making. As technology continues to develop, there will always be a dispute on laws controlling that technology and movements to take sides.   

Links to videos:

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/13/this_should_not_come_as_a   

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/14/debate_was_snowden_justified_former_nsa 

Democracy Now assignment

Andrea Garcia SOC 122 Social Movements M,W 3:30-4:45pm

For this weeks assignment we had to look up headlines on “Democracy Now” and reflect on the news we captured. One of the headlines that caught my attention was “Ukraine: Deal Proposed to Hold Early Election After Deadly Violence”. Even though this issue is not affecting the U.S it is still affecting society as a whole. In this article it explained how Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych announcing concessions to his pro-European opponents to hold early elections, but its unclear if the opponent is going to accept the deal. At first from reading the beginning of the article it didn’t seem like it was such a huge news but the more I read it I saw that people were fighting about this issue and people were dying. This Thursday at least forty-seven people died, considered the most violent day Ukraine has had since its independence 22 years ago. I didn’t believe people should have died if the police were taking the right precautions and skills. Even the U. N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “I continue to strongly appeal to all involved to cease the violence and for the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from excessive use and force.”

  Another article I looked that surprised me was headlined, “Family: Teen Shot Dead by Police Was Holding Video Game Controller Not a Gun”. In Georgia, a seventeen-year-old ROTC student who was shot and killed by a police officer says police mistook a video game controller the teenager was holding for a gun. Police claimed he was holding the video game controller right at the police officer and mistook it for a weapon and shot fire at the teenager. This is very disturbing news to see how our officers are misleading games as weapons. The officers were at the mobile home of the student to serve a violation warrant for his father. There could have been many reason the officer took fire on the child, it could have been because of discrimination or prejudice and now the family has to deal with a lose of death for a young teenager because of those reasons or miscommunication.  

Colleen Soares - 2/21/14 - Weekly Discussion 1

Hi Dr. Kubal,

Here is my Weekly discussion. 

Thank You,

Colleen

           In this article, “Kids For Cash: Inside One of the Nation’s Most Shocking Juvenile Justice Scandals,” there is a very interesting story about how kids were being put into jail in Pennsylvania and the judges in charge of their convictions were receiving money from the owners and builders of the prison facilities. I think that it is totally wrong for kids to be put into jail because they are too young to recognize what they are putting themselves into. Every kid should be scared of going to jail, but if they steal things or do horrible things then I think that there should be reasonable punishment for the kids. Of course, older kids know what they are doing. The judges are wrong and immoral for doing what they did so I am glad at least one of them is in jail for 28 years. I am also glad that some of the victims will get a share of the settlement of $2.5 million even though money cannot make up for damages or death. I hope mistakes and wrongdoings like this can be avoided and corrected in the future.

 

            In this article, “Freedom Summer: How Civil Rights Activists Braved Violence to Challenge Racism in 1964 Mississippi,” this year, 2014, marks the 50^th anniversary of Freedom Day. Fifty years ago in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, hundreds of people marched for their rights, freedom, and justice which came to be known as Freedom Day. I enjoy that people today are still participating and celebrating this day. It was important to participate back then because helping each other out is good the community. In addition, unfortunate events took three civil rights activists’ lives. I think that this was wrong to do because they were not bad people. They just wanted to do the right thing and live their lives,

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/4/kids_for_cash_inside_one_of

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/23/freedom_summer_how_civil_rights_activists

A Crude Awakening, film summary, (envir. group)

Soc Mov/ 2/20/14

Film Summary, environmental group

A Crude Awakening:

A crude awakening is a film that focuses on the important issue we as a society face globally concerning the overuse of petroleum oil. The film focuses on the high demand for oil to power everything we use and consume, and the dwindling supplies throughout the world concerning what to do once this non-renewable source runs out. Interviews from former CEO’s, oil investment bankers, and political scientists help emphasize the growing concern for consumption rates of oil compared to the little oil we have yet to tap. As it is we are extracting oil in costly ways, in ways similar to mining, which results in more energy and money being spent for very little oil being extracted. As the quality of life increases throughout the world, the demand for oil to power the consumers continues to drastically increase. There is no way for us a global nation to reduce our demand in order to meet and sustain the needs of the people by strictly using oil. Society as a whole globally speaking needs to shift its focus from depending solely on oil to investing and expanded renewable energy sources such as hydrogen-powered cars, hemp, etc. If we don’t put more focus on developing new ideas, the issue of where to drill will continue to rise, resulting in higher tensions throughout the world in an attempt for the U.S. to secure more oil for an ever-growing consuming society. This has proven an issue in the past through struggles from the U.S. in other nations such as Kuwait in an attempt to secure oil drills. If we don’t consider options and continue to consume oil at the pace we are, the reality of us running out will become a reality that we can’t ignore. 

Democracy Now - 3rd installment

From:  Sheila Edward

Subject:http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/17/former_fcc_commissioner_warns_about_comca

There goes the neighborhood.  With cable control of the internet, say good bye to information highway.  It is just more capitalism, more money for the already richer than God - the J. D. Rockfeller's of the last twenty years, and no concern for the consumers; again mass commercialism, controlled by a few.  The governmental bureaus are not interested in the the public interest as they are voted in; rather they bulldoze more money in their direction and public policy and consumer interests, our voice, goes out the window.  I mean, Comcast and Time-Warner are the most hated companies in America, along with AT&T and PG&G; because there is no competition, consumers are forced to pay whatever they tell you to pay.  I tell them, do not push me because I am ready to cut the cord.  There was an article in the Fresno Bee last summer about the very same subject - cutting the cord.

Democracy Now - 2nd installment

From:  Sheila Edward

Subject: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/17/untold_history_more_than_a_quarter

President's Day appears on the calendar every year.  What are we celebrating - furniture sales, car sales, Macy's sale - another opportunity (Holiday) to worship capitalism?  Basically that is every holiday.  Being that Presidents' Day is during Black History month, how ironic when the founding fathers were all involved in human trafficking and slavery, eight of them owned slaves while in the White House.  The way the history books are designed, children today barely understand the "Underground Railroad," and not least importantly, they may never know the rich history intertwined, this country and black people. There had to be much more to the relationship than emptying slop jars, and sweeping their floors.  I would like to think that children today are actually smarter than their teachers in elementary, middle, and high school.  They can research the available information, and form their own opinions; which most of them do anyway.

Re: Democracy Now! Thursday, February 6, 2014

I did not include my name, Sheila Edward, in the body of this submission, will I still get credit?  I will remember next time.  Thank you.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sheila Edward <sheilaedward24@mail.fresnostate.edu>
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 12:11 PM
Subject: Democracy Now! Thursday, February 6, 2014
To: tkubal2.2009.protest@blogger.com

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/from_jail_to_law_school_jimI viewed the YouTube news broadcast regarding Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, regarding the article,  "From Jail to Law School:  Jim Crow Era Law Bars Florida Man from Voting, Taking Bar, Serving on Jury."

After serving time in prison on a felony charge, Desmond Meade, put himself through rehab, a paralegal course, received a bachelor degree, and currently three months away from earning a law degree.  However, his story does not have a happy ending.  In the state of Florida, where Meade resides, as well as the states of Virginia and Kentucky, he is not able to vote, sit for the bar, or serve on a jury.  Due to his former incarceration, he is restricted from buying a where he wants, is restricted in employment opportunities, and ostracized.

Desmond Meade is 1 in 5 people disenfranchised in Florida, stripped of citizenship for life, stripped of most fundamental rights - banned from voting.  Attorney General Eric Holder call the laws "unnecessary and unjust."  Florida refuses to let go of theses Jim Crow laws.  These laws apply to with a prior felony conviction.   He stresses that it is a matter of human decency to help a person reintegrate into society after they have served  their time, and made amends; to be allowed back in the community to lead a productive life. 

What I hear Florida legislation saying is that - no matter if you were arrested, convicted, sentenced, serve your time, go back to school, earn and law degree - you still are restricted from voting, sitting for the bar, serving on a jury, or practice law if you have a prior conviction.  Why bother sending them to jail, stripping a person their most fundamental rights - democrat or republican - voting, and basically their citizenship, is punishment enough.

misc

http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/Striking-a-Balance.aspx
http://vimeo.com/86651097

Joanna Sanchez

Soc 122 

Democracy Now 3^rd Entry

 

This article covers a recent shooting that occurred in the state of Florida. Michael Dunn sot and killed a 17 year old African American boy named Jordan Davis at a dispute in a gas station.  Jordan Davis was in a vehicle with his friends playing loud music when Dunn began a dispute with the young people asking them to turn it down.  Certain words were exchanged amongst both parties and Dunn went to the extreme of shooting at the vehicle and killing an innocent person.  Dunn claims that Davis and his friends who were all black had weapons in their vehicle which police reports prove to be false. Dunn’s attorney is stating that the shooting is justified due to the fact that Dunn felt threatened but there are a lot of things behind the scenes that people do not know. A former neighbor of Dunn spoke about Dunn’s previous behavior which he described as violent and aggressive; he even stated that Dunn had a substance abuse issue as well.  As of right now, Dunn is looking at 60 years of prison to life for shooting at the unarmed black teenagers and for three attempted murder counts.  But the jury deadlocked on the main count which was the murder of Jordan Davis. The judge declared a mistrial on the count of murder. Why isn't he being charged for murder when it is obvious he committed the crime? It is completely unfair that he is getting away with the killing Jordan Davis. I think race has a lot to do with this issue. The fact that Michael Dunn is white and Jordan Davis is black causes a huge controversy as well. I think justice should be served regardless of the color of your skin. The jury on the trial was stated to be 2/3 white and did not include any black males. The fact that the majority of the jury is white shows that there’s obviously going to be some sort of bias formed against Jordan Davis although they may deny it the fact that Dunn isn’t being charged with the murder of Jordan Davis is just ridiculous and unfair.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/17/the_killing_of_jordan_davis_michael

In recent news the people have been trying to fight for the right to vote for ex felons. In 13 states anyone charged with a felony loses their right to vote and the majority of those felons are African American or Latino. An estimated amount of 5.8 million people don’t have the right to vote due to the fact that they lost it. This article talks about Desmond Meade from Florida who was at one point; unemployed, homeless, and a drug addict when he suddenly changed his life for the better.  He is only months away from receiving his law degree but due to the fact that he is an ex felon he is unable to join the bar and is unable to vote in Florida as well. For people like Desmond it is fair to give them their right to vote back regardless if they are an ex felon or not. People who prove themselves worthy and can prove to society that they are no longer interested in their old criminal and deviant ways deserve a second chance and that chance should be given to them.

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/2/13/people_of_color_are_losing_their

Social movements M,W 3:30

Crystal Gutierrez

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/10/report_obama_administration_considers_assassinating_another

     It has been reported by the Associated Press that there is an American citizen, a member of the Al-Qaeda, who is planning to attack Americans who are overseas. The Obama administration has taken into consideration whether or not they should kill him; if they do, this will not be the first time killing an American citizen who is thought to be a suspect. Glenn Greenwald included the term “pre-crime,” implying that a suspect is considered to be a suspect not based on what they are doing or did, but on what they might do. Greenwald stated, “The government will try to guess who will engage in crimes in the future and treat them as a criminal.” He also expresses that the government should not have the power to declare a person guilty just based on the suspicion to commit a crime in the future. I agree with Greenwald, the Obama administration should not have the power to treat any person as a criminal if they have not yet committed a crime.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/drone_on_your_iphone_apple_drops

     There is now an app for iphones that tracks every U.S. drone that has been reported; for two years Apple rejected it but now it is available. Josh Begley, a New York University graduate, created this app so that we would be notified every time there was a drone strikes overseas; his idea was for us to be more connected and aware of what is going on. This app was rejected 5 times and the reasons why it faced rejection was based on political views, not on its standard or lack of guidelines. In my opinion, I think Begley’s app was rejected because those who would download it would see how many drone strikes have been done. Begley had to create the app a certain way and then after it was accepted he submitted all of the data into it.

democracy now article

Omar Ruiz

Soc Movement

 

The NSA issue with Snowden has been going for a while now. It makes one wonder how much can America do? And ho good are they at what they say they are good to do. America having access to million things from spying to codes and other things that we might not know of, and yet America has not been able to bring Snowden to justice. We all are aware that he stole a great deal of information and who knows he might have sold them to other spies or countries but why America is not doing more than it seems they are doing to solve the damages Snowden has caused.  Wondering what is the justice for Snowden? Not that I want him to be let go free but I wonder why we seem not able to do anything?

 

Some people call Snowden a patriot, I know that there are many ways to describe patriot but what was so patriotic that he did? Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, called Edward Snowden “a patriot,” noting: “As a whistle-blower of illegal government activity that was sanctioned and kept secret by the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government for years, he undertook great personal risk for the public good. And he has single-handedly reignited a global debate about the extent and nature of government surveillance and our most fundamental rights as individuals.” I do not agree with what the government has done that Snowden revealed but there are many ways to fix the system and doing something then fleeing to another country is not the right way to address situations like that. People might say he is a patriot, I would say he is not if he flees to another country and not wanting to face his own consequences.  But again we know that eventually everyone has to face the consequences of his actions and hope that Snowden does what he know is right for this situation other than fleeing.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/12/19/obama_wrongs_the_bill_of_rights

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/14/debate_was_snowden_justified_former_nsa

articles for feb 16

 Oliver Moreno

Social movements 

MW 3:30-4:45

Recently I’ve been hearing on the news about people not being able to vote. From Jail to Law School: Jim Crow-Era Law Bars Florida Man from Voting, Taking Bar, Serving on Jury is an article discusses attorney General Eric Holder is advising the repeal of state laws that prohibit formerly incarcerated people from being able to vote. If general Eric Holder successes this action will result in restoring the right to vote to closely six million people. A huge problem that is stopping holder is the federal government doesn’t have the power to force states to change their voting laws. Advocates and civil rights groups are helping Holder.  A notable fan of Eric Holder is Desmond Meade; he’s the president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Meade

Is one of more than 1.3 million citizens in the state of Florida who don’t have the right to vote due to prior felony convictions. Desmond Meade had to overcome addiction to drugs and homelessness. Now he is finishing up a law degree, but like the right to vote. Florida laws prohibit Meade from taking the bar exam and being able to practice law. Despite the progress many states, felony disenfranchisement laws are still on the books.

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/from_jail_to_law_school_jim    

 

In the article Bill Moyers on Dark Money, the Attack on Voting Rights & How Racism Stills Drives Our Politics well-known broadcaster Bill Moyers discusses his latest investigation. Moyers talks about the influence of large, untraceable political donations a.k.a. “dark money” have become the greatest danger to democracy in the United States. According to Moyers democracy is supposed to check the excess of private power and private greed, and if money stops that equilibrium, we as a society are in trouble. While being interviewed Moyers discuses voting rights. In North Carolina African American are restricted. The Juice department is questioning North Carolina voting, but North Carolina voting laws are very restrictive. North Carolina laws are designed to perpetuate the Republican rule and make it harder for the young, and the elderly.

Both articles deal with African Americans are being restricted from being able to vote. It was interesting to read the laws that the State of North Carolina has. For example, learning about how citizens with prior felon don’t have the right to vote. In the United States some laws that should be abolished. Not letting citizens with a felony charges the right to vote should be abolish.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/27/bill_moyers_on_dark_money_the

Democracy Now 2

Tabitha Arambula

2/16/2014

Meteorologist Jeff Masters: Climate Change Affecting Weather Patterns Regardless of Season

            There was a snow and ice storm in the East coast of the U.S. with 13 deaths and over 550,000 people without power. A storm like this hasn’t been recorded since 2000.  Governors have declared states of emergency to the states from Louisiana to New Jersey. With states like Philadelphia getting 3 inches of snow per hour and an inch in New York. You don’t see 10 inches of snow very often in Alabama. The National Weather Service called the storm “an event of historical proportions…” identifying it as “catastrophic…crippling…paralyzing…choose your adjective” With this snow and ice storm going on in the east you can see the affect that climate change has made. Because the west is experiencing massive drought. Climate change patterns are affecting all weather patterns. Which also affects everyone.

 

Drone on Your iPhone: Apple Drops Objections to App Tracking U.S. Strikes Overseas

            Josh Begley made the app, Drones+. Apple had rejected the app about five times. The application notified you every time there is a U.S. drone strike. The app was the same Josh just changed the name to Metadata+ and finally Apple agreed, they rejected it before for political reasons. The app notifies you when drone attacks that the U.S. is conducting in various countries occurs. Waziristan and the tribal areas is where most of the strikes occur. And these places are virtual military occupation by Pakistani Military. There is intense repression, and the military do not treat them as citizens. They open fire, kill them there was a 24-hour curfew for months, and there were polio vaccinations as well. And now a three-year-old girl has polio, since 2001. The population in Waziristan is caught between the Pakistani state, military and militants.  

Elizabeth Jorgensen, Dem. Now 2nd jor.

Elizabeth Jorgensen

2/16/14

1. Obama Administration Considers Assassinating Another American Overseas:

(http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/10/report_obama_administration_considers_assassinating_another) 2/10/14

The report on Democracy Now covers the issue of the White House considering the authorization of using a drone to kill a U.S. American who is suspected of being an active member of al-Qaeda. The U.S. government has used this technique 4 times since 2009, and they are acting solely on the suspicion of what these individuals intend to do, not the actions they have previously committed. The name and country in which this suspected individual is residing is being withheld during these debates until the U.S. government decides whether to pursue lethal action. The guidelines used allow the U.S. government to play god and decide who lives or dies based on assumptions rather than convictions. 

2. Meteorologist Jeff Masters: Climate Change Affecting Weather Patterns Regardless of Season:

(http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/13/meteorologist_jeff_masters_climate_change_affecting) 2/13/14

Director of meteorology at the Weather Underground joins Democracy Now to cover the state of emergencies being declared by governors throughout the U.S. for one outrageous storm crippling places in the south and east of the United States, in places ranging from Louisiana to New Jersey. The Nor-easter storm has caused more than 13 deaths. Jeff covers the varying climate changes or lack there of by the Jet Stream, and questions whether global warming and human activity could be a contributor to abnormal weather patterns. The Jet Stream is stuck on the south part of the U.S., causing the intense ice/snow storm throughout the country, the worst in some places since 2000 causing detrimental power outages affecting more than 550,000 people while places on the west are struggling with a record drought. 

Ashley Holmes Week Summary

Democracy Now Summaries

Nadia Leon

Soc 122 Mon-Wed 3:30-4:45

Democracy Now

            One episode of democracy now that I watched was about an anti-drone activist that was going to speak out about drones and how they are destructive and should not be used. This anti-drone activist’s name was Karim Khan and he went missing on February 5. It was known that he was going to be speaking against drones and it is suspected that he was abducted for that reason. Those who seen him get abducted, stated that there were about twenty people who grabbed him. Some were dressed as cops and others looked like normal citizens. He was against drones because he lost family members to a drone strike and therefore believed there was no good reason for them. The timing of this kidnapping is very coincidental because he was planned to leave to Europe and speak to parliamentarians within the upcoming days. He was also targeted because he was a part of a documentary that was about the use of drones and those who have been attacked. There is hope for his safe return.  

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/karim_khan_anti_drone_activist_who

The second episode of democracy now that I watched showed the documentary Wounds of Waziristan this documentary had Karim Khan and he tell his story about how family members were killed by a drone. Within this documentary there are others who also tell their stories of how drones have disrupted their life in some way. Within the description of this episode of Democracy now it is stated that after being kidnapped on February 5^th Karim Khan was freed and he tells the human rights group about his experience. He says he was tortured and questioned about his involvement with drones. While being in captivity he was beaten and tortured. Tired in chains in a location that he was not aware of. Although he was gone through this traumatic experience he states that he is still going to travel to Europe and speak with the parliamentarians. He wants to make sure that those who seized him don’t get their way and know that there are people who will continue to fight even considering the consequences.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/2/11/watch_wounds_of_waziristan_features_anti?autostart=true

 

Discussion 2

Alejandro Aguirre

February 16, 2014

SOC 122 – M/W 3:30 PM

Kubal

 

Weekly Discussion 2

 

In The Day We Fight Back: Activism Sweeps the Internet with Global Action Against Mass Surveillance, the invasion of privacy from the government was met with discontent by the public at large. The public’s response was typically expected considering the various means the government would be able to access if the acts that would ban such personal invasions are not passed. These means include emails, phone conversations, instant messages, etc. The speakers representing the public expressed how many are considering that the majority of “victims” who have been (or will be) invaded have/will not be(en) involved in terrorist-related activity. Many have protested towards acts that will ban these acts of invasion on the public.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/11/the_day_we_fight_back_activism

 

      The video titled From Jail to Law School: Jim Crow-Era Law Bars Florida Man from Voting, Taking Bar, Serving on Jury, presents the issue of felons (post-incarcerated) not being able to vote, and in the case of Desmond Meade, not being able to take the bar exam. It was documented that 5.8 million Americans fall into this category – 90% of whom are black. Meade provided the shocking report that, in total, a felon must wait anywhere from 11 to 13 years just see if they simply have a chance of voting again. Another surprising bit of information is that this applies to both violent and non-violent felons. What is not surprising, however, is that most felons would vote for a democratic representative. It should also be noted that a party of felons – regardless of size – will not have the capability of legally changing the views of the elected candidates running for president. This same concept is also applied to non-presidential elections. It should be obvious that this issue predates to the issue between the U.S. Constitution and racial discrimination and disenfranchisement. The only difference – which should not exempt such a policy to thrive – is that the subjects are felons – some of which are non-violent.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/12/from_jail_to_law_school_jim