Adam Wall

 

It’s over boys

 

            So I try to avoid the situation in Afghanistan as much as possible, it was pointless and wasted so much money but something probably needed to be done. One thing that everyone seems to agree with is getting out of there as fast as possible because we are losing a lot of reputation and money at alarming rates. This month Obama finally announced the war is over in Afghanistan.  After 13 years of accomplishing nothing, the war is finally over. Well what America did accomplish is the fact that we spent about a trillion dollars and let solders go to Afghanistan to die for what might be nothing.

 

            At least it’s over now right? Obama finally got everyone out of that country and our solders are all home. Nope, I really do wish we were all out.  But United States influence, although on paper is technically over, is far from done in Afghanistan. Troops, recourses and other things will still take years to remove; we will still have a presence in Afghanistan for a long time. Afghanistan is such a difficult situation that seems impossible to solve. I recently read “The Kite Runner” an amazing book, it also gave a lot of insight on Afghanistan before the Taliban and how the Taliban took over. I feel sorry for a lot of Afghan people who are against the Taliban, I feel sorry for our government who is in a tough situation between finally getting out of that country and remaining as far away from the problem as possible. The people who cause these problems are terrible, to everyone, including their own. It’s sad, they might not have the best weapons or brains but yet they still find a way to control parts of a country while the world’s largest army is trying to stop them. A lot of people are suffering in Afghanistan and there is little the United States can do about it so getting as far away from the problem, although unlikely, is probably the best choice for now. So lets not totally hate on our leaders, sure they’ve made some terrible choices but they are in a extremely stressful and difficult situation. Afghanistan and the middle east is probably never going to get better, peace sounds and probably is impossible due to historical and religious hate towards groups of people.  

Adam Wall

Offend

 

 

            This week terror has struck Paris. Two terrorists invaded and killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters. Read more about it here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo_shooting). Although it is only speculation, the motive seems quite clear; Charlie Hebdo is a satire newspaper that pokes fun at politics and a lot of problems around the world, specifically the Islam religion. These Islamic radicals probably attacked Charlie Hebdo due to the fact that the people in charge, specifically cartoonists were making fun of Muhammad by drawing pictures of him and making fun of the Islamic religion as a whole.

 

            Support for Charlie Hebdo is extremely strong and people around the world are standing up for the cause. “Je Suis Charlie” or I am Charlie is the slogan used worldwide to promote freedom of speech and freedom of expression, whether it is through cartoons or some other media form. Cartoonists around the world are creating strips such as these (http://www.thedrum.com/uploads/news/tmp/10557/banksy.jpg) to support Charlie Hebdo.

 

            Let’s talk about satire in the media and in general. Charile Hebdo uses satire through comics and other articles; it is very popular in France. If done right it can be extremely funny. IN American, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are examples of satire media and are also extremely popular. Satire media is a double edged sword though, most of the time it is extremely funny and a lot of people like it but if you cross the line, which is undefined, there is no going back. You can offend a lot of people, specifically in this case, Muslims. But you can offend everyone, and I am in no way defending the people who did this horrible act of terror. It was a sad day and the criminals are monsters. Also, these people, the cartoonists, the writers, have the right to write what they want and express what they want.  I just can’t get over the fact that you are hurting a lot of other people that don’t deserve it. Sure it’s all a joke and people need to grow some tougher skin, but satire is something you have to be careful with especially if you’re getting extremely offensive.

 

            Cultures are also very different around the world. Different cultures find different things humorous. For the Germans, its nothing, for Americans, its immature jokes, it is different for every culture. What we might thing is offensive, another group thinks its hilarious, comedy is like food, different every where you go. In this case, I don’t think the French find this humor at all offensive while places like Saudi Arabia or anywhere in the middle east for that matter would find something like this such a terrible sin and that they should be punished. Cultures are different and that’s probably why these Muslims radicals attacked. But these people shouldn’t be punished. “I am Charlie”.

           

Adam Wall

Stewart Scott

 

Stewart Scott changed the sports world. He had such a lively expression and attitude towards life. He reflected that attitude on the TV screen when he joined ESPN in 1993. With his bombastic commentating, he made sports more interesting; he boosted and made ESPN what it is today. With his amazing and memorable side comments such as “Booyah” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow”, he brought smiles to his audience. This week, Steward after battling cancer, died at the age of 50, he had 2 daughters which he loved and support of sports fans around the country. If you want to here more about his story with cancer, I highly suggest watching his speech when receiving the Jimmy V award. He talks about his fight with cancer and it is very inspiring. ESPN also did a nice 15 minute tribute to him that I also suggest watching.

           Sports are a very close knit community, especially ESPN. Commentators and newscasters are popular, really popular. They can become common names in the household, if you watch sports enough, you can learn their styles, the way they speak and talk during a show. Stephan A. Smith is extremely passionate and a little bit too much sometimes, Chris Berman has an active voice that can get anyone’s attention, they’re all different. It’s odd, you can learn a lot about the person even when they’re just relaying highlights and facts from the game. As a big sports fan, I never realize how much I hear these people, see their faces, I feel connected to them. I feel like I really know the people talking behind the screen. It hit me that I’m going to miss Stewart, I’m going to miss hearing his enthusiastic voice as he talks about Lebron or golf or something even though I know little to nothing about the guy. I really do respect the guy though; his speech and his philosophy on life really motivate me and make me think of what a great guy he was.

Adam Wall

Good old days

                We are coming back to the good old days, although candy is not a nickel and people are on their phones 24/7, gas prices have dropped off the edge. Oil has been lowest in over 5 years, even with inflation. Prices here in Iowa are almost under two dollars, something I thought I’d never see again. Competition is heated and supply is at an all-time high.  A lot of countries are really taking a hit from the fallen prices while buyers really like the lower cost.

                Russia is entering a recession thanks to the oil prices dropping. Their country’s economy is going down the drain and inflation is at extreme rates all because oil is less profitable. Other countries whose economy is dependent of oil like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates can survive on the lower prices for a while due to reserves. If oil stays non profitable, these countries might have serious issues. There are a lot of countries dependent on oil as well, more than just the Middle East and everyone’s economy will take a hit if the world doesn’t prepare for change. Countries like Saudi Arabia know that oil will not last forever, other technologies, short supply, and many others reasons will cause oil to continue to fall out of the market. Countries need to figure out other sources of income because sooner or later, oil will fall off the charts and bad things will happen if countries aren’t prepared for it. Their economies will crumble just like Russia’s. 

                The drop in oil prices, although it sounds great right now, might crush a lot of countries. Hopefully investments in newer energy sources will help with this cause along with creating cleaner, renewable, and more efficient energy. Oil maybe is important and good right now for the world but hopefully we can all start leaning away from it and moving on away from black gold.

Adam Wall

The Embargo

                Cuba has had the odd distinction of not becoming Americanized.  They have no imports of American goods, no McDonalds, no ford F-150’s, no new technologies.  They are stuck in a world without all of these things. They do have one thing - Cuban cigars and that’s all they need.

                This week, after decades of giving the silent treatment to Cuba, Obama finally decided to reverse the embargo on Cuba. After years and years of zero trade with them, the United States has finally had enough, they want their cigars again. It’s odd, this whole change of heart seems so sudden, They is no recent evidence of cooperation between the two countries, no talks, it all just happened. This embargo has been in place for such a long time, I’m not really sure why Obama decided to remove the embargo. Obama just decided he wanted a smoke so he took that embargo away I guess.

                The controversy is pretty anticlimactic because it does not seem like it with have a big impact on anything.  If something like this happened 20 to 25 years ago then there would be serious outrage. Today, people realize that what Castro is doing is not good, communism isn’t good but the embargo really hasn’t done anything to either country other than a minor inconvenience. Neither countries economy was destroyed or affected that much. When I first read this, I’m pretty sure I had the same reaction as everyone else in the country, “heh, cool”. But of course this is politics so people always have to disagree and rage about it so you might hear about how we’re giving into Castro and all communisms. Really though, that embargo is probably what kept Cuba going for so long.  They are one of very few communist countries and the last one to be following the Marxist/ Soviet Union beliefs.   This ideology seems to have helped them more than its hurt them.  It also probably what made millions of Cubans cross the gulf to come to Florida, land of the fancy new cars, McDonalds, and great American products. Who wouldn’t want what we have here in beautiful, free, and amazing ‘murica. 

Adam Wall

The Interview

                This week has been an odd, odd week. Who knew that Seth Rogan and James Franco could start an all-out technology war? We are used to seeing these two get high as a kite in some movie while partying all the time, but now they’re making fun of the supreme ruler of North Korea and making him a bit mad.

                Reports this week show that North Korea has been behind hacks and threats to Sony, the maker of The Interview, a comedy about going to North Korea and meeting Kim Jong Un.  The movie’s release has now been canceled by Sony and they’ve decided not to show it. The outrage in Hollywood occurring since that announcement has changed Sony’s thinking and now they will probably show it. Many people want the film to be released online for free and for everyone to see which would be amazing. I think they should show it.  I don’t think giving in to the demands of an arrogant, evil, and spoiled leader helps to prevent them from doing bad things. It will just make them more arrogant and powerful; they cannot have control over our media and entertainment. This is especially the case since its North Korea, the country who threatens every other country in the world every other day.

                It really makes me happy though that so many people around the country are standing up for this movie. They’re standing up for freedom of speech, from actors like George Clooney, to the average person, to the President of the United States, the whole country wants this movie to be released and proving that we will not give into the demands of Kim Jong Un.  The president especially asked Sony to not give in, he wants them to stand up for freedom of speech. I mean, if you’re going to give into demands, Kim Jung Un is really the last person you should give into, he threats to bomb us all and yet nothing happens, he has no resources, no money, and absolutely no respect so I really don’t understand why Sony gave in. You have to be careful though, something bad could happen, North Korea is a crazy place ruled by maniacs, they’re unpredictable and crazy. You should really be careful ticking off a guy with a gigantic ego, an army that he is really not afraid to use, and a brainwashed society.

                I really hope good things will come out of this. The movie could be released all over the world for everyone to see, free for everyone to watch and laugh at, including Kim Jong Un and his goons. I hope patriotism becomes stronger and stronger in this country,  that we can all unite again under a common enemy. I hope that North Korea finds a way to humiliate themselves as a country like they always do and I hope that this whole escapade can somehow bring an end to all the death and suffering most of the people of North Korea are feeling. Who knows, maybe Seth Rogan and James Franco can save millions of lives by making another comedy movie. 

Torture

                The United States has been known for its freedom for everyone along with fair trial and punishment, as said in the constitution/ bill of rights. This week, huge allegations and information about the CIA shows torture was used on suspects for the thing we crave the most, information. Many allegations have been made, most have been confirmed and it is really sad that our country has these terrible things happening within it. Torture is the worst things you can do to another human being, it’s monstrous and I can’t believe our country would do it, especially in the manner that we preformed it. People defend torture and say that it provides answers, solutions, and vital information to save lives, but it’s not worth it. Torture is the worst, it doesn’t provide answers, and it just provides what the person who is torturing wants to hear. Torturing doesn’t give more information, it gives false hope and conformation of being correct, when really one little lie can stop all the pain.

                The government has been hiding a lot of things from the general public lately. The NSA, spying on us to know our every move and they are doing all of this without anyone knowing about it. There is probably so much more we don’t know about our government and what goes on behind closed doors. Snowden really showed us how much in the dark the public really is.  Sure he revealed government secrets but he showed how much we don’t know about the people who are running the government for us. We had no clue that our calls, our internet searches are all being monitored, everyone is being watched and yet, the public had no clue this was going on.

                The people in power keep secrets, things that they don’t want everyone else to know. It’s the people in power, the people who allowed the torturing with the CIA to happen that we should be mad at. The president, congress, people in power allowed this and approved of it, the people in power have the power to torture anyone without the public knowing about it. It’s really unsettling how much the United States can do, especially without the consent from the rest of the public. The secret cy and power of our government is a serious issue in my eyes and something has to change. You want to know more about what’s going on in our country but you don’t want riots, chaos, or security secrets to be realized to the world, so this whole situation is a double edged sword.