Here is our thread for the 6th week. Please make sure you post in a timely manner. Going back to do this in June will be deadly.
Trump is in Israel this week. What events are transpiring there? What are the issues between Palestine and Israel?
-Kailey mentioned the events in Venezuela and the uprising taking place.
- We also discussed the Manchester bombing. What are some issues with tackling a group like ISIS?
-Outside, we talked about UN / Provincial protection of environmental resources and how governments work to this goal - witnessed on our Niagara Escarpment tour of a UN World Biosphere Preserve. Are there any issues with a government that protects land and then turns around to grant approval for the mines and quarries at the top of the escarpment metres away from these hiking trails? Gravel quarries (mines) are a hot issue on the escarpment. Find out more and share.
Manchester Bombing
ReplyDeleteA quick summary of the bombing:
There was a bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert last week in Manchester which resulted in the deaths of 22 people, including 7 children. Not only did people die, but many people, mainly children and teenagers went missing during this crisis. Local hotel. Inns, and even some families offered to take in people who were missing their families. Luckily, most of the missing people have been found. This was a suicide bombing, so Salman Abedi, the man responsible for the bombing, also died. ISIS stated that they claimed responsibility for the attack.
The struggle with tackling a group like ISIS is that they are a large and spread out group with no exact confirmed locations. There could be members of ISIS anywhere, even close to or in our own city for all we know. Also, ISIS takes responsibility for many terrorist attacks and hate crimes all around the world. There is no way to completely confirm that ISIS actually was behind the attack, and that they weren’t just saying that it was them. Because of the spread out locations of ISIS members, it is very difficult to locate most of them or at least a small group of them down to a specific location. The amount of attacks in different places around the world make it even more difficult to investigate into each attack, to see if there was any relation to other recent attacks. In the case of the Manchester bombing, the man involved could have been a member of ISIS or he could have had that idea on his own. There is no true way to determine this since the whereabouts of other potential members are unknown.
Overall, tackling a large group like ISIS is a very hard task to do.
Sources
Deletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/26/manchester-arena-bombing-salman-abedi-latest-updates/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/manchester-bombing-2017/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/26/everything-know-manchester-suicide-bomber-salman-abedi/
This is an excellent summary of the events with solid support from your list of news references.
DeleteYou make a good point about the difficulty of targeting a network of anonymous people.
On Monday, President Trump arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel to push forward his deal. He met with the prime minister and the president of Israel and Palestine. He is looking forward to make peace between Israel and Palestine and resolve the Israeli-palestinian conflict. Donald Trump called this peace “the untimate deal”. Trump has ran a pro-israeli campaign. Obama’s administration’s peace talk failed in 2014. His trip was not only to resolve these two countries’ conflicts, but it was to also make all middle eastern countries clear that Israel is the closest to the U.S, and make peace between the Arab states in the middle east and Israel. Prior to his visit to Israel, he visited Saudi Arabia. However, for Donald Trump himself, he visited Israel to strengthen his standing in America through his sympathy towards Israel and the alliance with the U.S. and the Jewish state.
ReplyDeleteThe palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met with President Trump. The meeting was seen to renew the stagnating diplomatic situation between Israel and the Palestine. In order to make the deal, Palestine has to admit and recognize that Israel is a Jewish State. Also, they would have to stop paying money to Palestinian terrorists. The deal is in the favor of Israel as the U.S. is conspicuously supporting the Israeli state.
The history of Israel and Palestine goes back to 1948 when Israel was first established. The Jewish people always had Zionism present in their mind. However, the actual movement started when the modern Zionism emerged in the 19th century due to anti-Semitism in Europe. Zionism is a belief and a movement for Jews who believe that re-establishing their homeland territory, the Holy Land, is essential. The land is now called Palestine. Their goal was to create their empire in Palestine, which was then controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Jews all over the world were encouraged to immigrate to Palestine and fund for the purchase of land, which was controlled by Britain and Ottoman. As Ottomans joined the allies (the central force) during the WW1, in 1917, the British Empire got in control of the Palestinian territories as they defeated them. Before the WW2, a significant number of Jews immigrated to Palestine due to growing anti-Semitism and persecution. Again with Nazis and pogrom, the Jewish population in Palestine doubled. These became a large support to Zionist movements. Finally, in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly discussed the Jewish population in Palestine. They granted an independent Jewish State in Palestine while the other parts were controlled by the Arabic state. After few wars between Arab states and Israel, Israel was able to grow their territory. Of course, Palestinians were not happy with this, and ever since, militant organizations such as Hamas use artillery and small rockets to attack Israel.
With violence and dispute between Israel and Palestine, a lot of people were killed and injured. Also, the budget for defending for Israel is significantly large and they are being used every year. It has been a long time wish to end the dispute and the United States has been trying to stop the war. It is interesting to see what will come up next.
Citations:
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/22/donald-trump-arrives-in-israel-will-push-peace-process.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4967234,00.html
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/trump-to-take-first-step-towards-the-ultimate-deal-at-meeting-with-abbas-1.437759
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
I think this is very interesting and I appreciate you posting about this because it's not taught in schools. All I learned in history from grade 7 to 9 was about how Europeans came to Canada, and the World Wars. We were never even taught about the Aboriginal People who were here before us. I believe we should be more educated about events such as this as they can impact how we see other people and nationalities, and help us to be more aware of current, global events.
DeleteExcellent historical summary of how this conflict came to be. I think I would have started with 1917 and then worked up to WWII since the time sequence jumps back a bit. Or you could make a new paragraph - but this is a minor detail in a very well written piece of work. Keep it up!
DeleteVery interesting summary. Thank you for sharing what you learned in this blog post. I know that many of us were not aware of the history of Israel and Palestine.
DeleteTrump Israel/Palestine Peace
ReplyDeleteTrump landed in Israel on monday this week, this is the second part of his first foreign trip as president. While in Israel, he spoke to the Israeli and Palestinian president and prime minister about a peace treaty. Trump refers to the peace treaty as “the ultimate deal”. “I want to see peace with Israel and the palestinians” he told reuters, “There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians, none whatsoever.” . While in Israel, Donald Trump aims to unite both Israel and Palestine, but also to highlight the importance of the world’s three largest monotheistic religions, and that it is important that they manage to cooperate.
However, there is not a lot of apparent change coming up. The Israeli PM offered nothing more than increased border crossing hours. The PM says that he sees the possibility of an a peace deal with Arab neighbors, but did not tie it in with the Palestinian dispute. Right wing politicians pressured the PM not to make concessions, while left wing politicians pressured him into linking an anti-Iran coalition to help bring Israel and Palestine together.
Despite the long term peace project, Israel and Palestine have not yet succeeded in making peace. The conflict started in the late 19th/early 20th century, although you could make claims that the conflict began in biblical times. The cause of the more recent dispute can be mostly connected to Zionism, which was the movement (originally) to re-establish the Jewish dominion over Israel. This created problems because Israel exited within the border of Palestine, and the re-formation of Israel meant that Palestine had to give up land. Due to this, Palestine and Israel have not gotten along, and many Palestinians believe that Israel should belong to them, while Jewish people claim that Israel should belong to them, as they believe that Israel is their holy land, and was given to them by their God.
Whether or not U.S. President Donald Trump can manage to bring the two countries together remains to be seen, although many believe that it is unlikely, and that the conflict will continue until one takes over the other, or until a common enemy arrives, which forces them to unite. Only time can tell, personally, I do not think that the meeting of the U.S. president will accomplish anything, and rather, he is simply trying to make sure that their relations with the U.S. remain strong, and does not truly care if Israel and Palestine make peace. Do you think that Donald Trump intended for his meeting to help bring peace to Israel and Palestine?
Sources
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-israel-what-to-watch/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/world/middleeast/trump-israel-visit.html?_r=0
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/22/donald-trump-arrives-in-israel-will-push-peace-process.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
Isaac - this is an excellent use of quotes for referencing. To be top notch, you can put a number next to the quotes and match it with the source at the end of your write up. Endnotes.
Delete"srael exited within the " should be "existed"
Your final paragraph shows a high degree of critical thinking. Keep it up!
Trump's intentions were very interesting, considering it would take a lot more than that for the two countries to end their conflict. It will be interesting to see how/if this progresses, though.
DeleteManchester Bombing
ReplyDeleteOn May 22nd 2017, a suicide bombing was carried out at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, following a concert by Ariana Grande. The attacker was identified as Salman Ramadan Abedi, a 22-year-old British Muslim who detonated a shrapnel-laden improvised explosive device at the exit of the arena as the event was ending. Twenty-three adults and children, including Abedi, were killed and 116 were injured, some critically. Abedi was suspected of working within a terrorist network, and 13 people were arrested in connection with the incident, two of whom were released without charge.
Now, defeating an organisation like ISIS is extremely difficult - some experts say that it's impossible. Why? Because these organisations have gone from middle east-based to internationally supported efforts through the use of the internet and social media. Conventional efforts, such as carpet bombings or surgical strikes, have further expanded ISIS's recruiting efforts, creating a never-ending paradox. If we fight ISIS using weapons, we indirectly breed more ISIS recruits due to inevitable civilians deaths; if we don't fight ISIS, they still get recruits. There is no simple solution to terrorism.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Manchester_Arena_bombing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-insurgency#United_States
http://www.realclearworld.com/blog/2016/02/the_problem_with_isis_111713.html
Your knowledge of the events is sound, I think you should follow up by expanding on some of the details and questions you pose in the second paragraph.
DeleteIf you post second on the same topic, you'll need to take in a different direction than the person before you (Tessa). I'd love to see you expand on social media and what legal implications there are in events like these.
I agree that expanding on the ideas you introduced in your second paragraph would be an excellent idea. Expanding on their efforts assisted by social media/the internet would be a very educational topic to discuss in your post.
DeleteThe use of social media by terrorist organisations, either for communication or for recruitment, has become a major problem for governments. Attempts have been made by various governments and agencies to thwart the use of social media by terrorist organisations. These, however, often get shut down due to the freedom of speech, privacy, and expression.
DeleteAccording to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), ISIS has repeatedly tried to recruit Canadians through social media. CSIS warned the terror group continues to use its large online presence to recruit people on social media to travel to Syria and Iraq.
In August, terrorism suspect Aaron Driver was killed in a confrontation with police in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy. Driver was suspected of having ties to a terrorist group, after several run-ins with police. It was suggested Driver posted messages on social media that praised terrorist activities, including Bibeau‘s attack, and expressed a desire to move overseas.
Terrorism expert J.M. Berger and data scientist Jonathon Morgan found some 46,000 Twitter accounts were used to support ISIS.
There is an Act, however, that can limit the extent of the freedom of speech. This Act, formally called the “Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015”, criminalises the promotion of terrorism. The use of these powers have already been used two dozen times, reports the CSIS director.
SOURCES:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-anti-terror-bill-could-put-chill-on-freedom-of-speech-1.2935312
http://globalnews.ca/news/3280939/isis-recuiting-canadians-online-csis-warns/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_and_social_media
Hate Crime
ReplyDeleteOn May 22, 2017 a bombing took place in the Manchester Arena, Eng. Ariana Grande had just finished her performance when a man detonated a shrapnel-laden device at the exit of the arena. 23 killed, over 116 injured. There are many incidents like this occurring more frequently. Last year a 29 year old security guard killed 49 people and wounded another 53 during a shooting of a Gay Nightclub. More and more hate crimes are taking place rapidly, who is going to stop it?
Last Wednesday, infamous Kevin Pillar spewed out a homophobic slur towards pitcher Jason Motte. Pillar was suspended for a few days and wrote apologies to many people after the fact. I think that hate crime is getting way too out of hand, especially when a MLB baseball player is convicted on national TV.
How can the government stop it? The government can play a bigger part in stopping hate crimes by approving less false advertisement, and stop encouraging the general public to categorize and differentiate between each other. How can we stop it? Treat others the way you want to be treated, stop taking out your stress on others, and stop deprioritizing the important aspect of good communication with others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Orlando_nightclub_shooting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Manchester_Arena_bombing
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/may/18/kevin-pillar-alleged-homophobic-slur-investigation-jason-motte
Good retelling of events, but it jumps around quite a bit. I think you should have focused on either terrorism or homophobia. Although I can see that the Miami shooting is related to both topics, Pillar's words aren't nearly as severe as the actions in the other incidents.
DeleteCan you expand further on the government's role in events like these? I think that your last paragraph is worthy of further discussion.
You used effective examples of the hate crimes that are happening. While there is a big difference between the nightclub and Manchester attacks and the homophobic slur said by Kevin Pillar, they are both very wrong and should not have happened. Also, as Mr. Forsyth said, you should expand on what you think the government should do and what the process of them introducing preventive measures would look like.
DeleteI agree with the fact that a homophobic slur is much different than the Orlando shooting, but I also think that both events were related to my topic and both were important to bring up.
DeleteVery good description of the controversy surrounding ISIS. Excellent use of referencing by linking the map in the paragraph. I think you could explore the topic of funding for this group in further detail - great idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they want? If they are attacking in the Middle East, why are more events taking place in westernized nations? Or are there more events at all?
A tragic event occurred on May 22nd, 2017. A bomb detonated in the Manchester Arena at an Ariana Grande concert near the end of the performance. Due to the timing of the blast, many people thought the noise was just fireworks or stage effects that were planned. In result of the bombing, 22 people were killed, and over 100 people were injured. The man responsible for this terrorist act was later identified as Salman Abedi. However 14 other men have been arrested for suspected roles in this attack. Since then, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the events.
ReplyDeleteOrganizations like ISIS are very difficult for governments to deal with. This is because they also have to deal with the fear of their country’s citizens. Also, like we discussed in class, groups like ISIS are difficult to deal with because these groups aren’t contained within one specific area, they are spread out and recruited throughout the entire globe. What governments need to do is find a way to prevent this organization from recruiting new individuals.
In conclusion, organizations like ISIS are threats to governments and their citizens. In my opinion, tackling this terrorist group is a difficult task that the government really has to think through carefully in order to attempt to keep as peaceful as possible. Also, I think that the government will have to brainstorm certain ideas on how to prevent the recruitment of new ISIS members.
http://nypost.com/2017/05/29/police-arrest-14th-man-in-manchester-bombing-inquiry/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Manchester_Arena_bombing
As you said, the best way to stop ISIS from doing more attacks is to stop the recruitment of new members. It's a tricky thing for the government to help with, because of the scattered locations of ISIS members. Do you have any ideas of how the government could approach this issue?
DeleteI am not very educated on the Entire ISIS ordeal. However, I think the government should somehow compromise a peace treaty of some sorts with ISIS in order to protect our citizens.
DeleteThat could potentially help with the ISIS problem, but that brings it back to the main issue: it's very difficult to locate members of ISIS. Good idea, though.
DeleteYou made very good points about this issue and the struggle of stopping ISIS. Their size and strength makes them a difficult force to face. I also agree that you could provide a bit more information on the funding that ISIS has, to give us a better understanding of how exactly they get our funds.
ReplyDeletein the news there was a story of a elder veteran who saw all the broken and homeless veterans. he then he wanted to make a place for veterans, and that's what he did. this year is the 10th year of operating. This is an amazing act that you don't see often. in 2014 there were 50,000 homeless veterans. when you see the army posters they don't show what happens after you're done serving. this is especially scary as i am planing on enlisting... but this could change things.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of the veteran? That is truly an amazing thing that he did. No one deserves to be homeless, especially veterans. If more people like him start to take similar actions, do you think the number of homeless veterans will decrease over the next few years?
DeleteSince February, Venezuela has been rocked by often violent anti-government protests. Triggered largely by inflation, food shortages, and high crime rates, the protests are being spearheaded by Venezuelan students. The Venezuelan middle class also make up a large amount of the protesters. On the first day, three peaceful protesters were killed by gunmen. Early on in the protests, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested. Since then, the demands of the protesters have also included the release of these prisoners.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Venezuelan government, the protests are being led by “fascists” that are attempting a military coup backed by the U.S.
The violence in the protests has been deadly. So far, almost 100 people have been killed, and thousands injured. Tear gas has been used heavily by the Venezuelan forces, and gunfire is common. In response to the violence, a group of 200 some medical students has taken to the streets, caring for injured protesters and transporting them away from the worst of the fighting. Even away from the fighting, people are still not completely safe; as a result of the shortage and food and medicine, many people have died of starvation and illness. The volunteering medical students, known as the Green Helmets, risk their lives caring for injured protesters, and operate largely using basic supplies donated from locals and international sympathizers.
Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, has the highest murder rate in the world, at 103 out of 100,000 people. This number is 100 times higher than in Toronto. It is ranked as the most violent country in south America.
Venezuela's economy is in crisis, with extreme inflation making living unaffordable. Many small businesses have shut down, and the minimum wage is at a monthly rate equivalent to 28 USD. Many people are unemployed. Aid for low income families is available, but is covers almost nothing, and doesn’t always arrive. In a survey, 90% of Venezuelans do not earn enough money to pay for food, which is expensive and nearly impossible to come by due to the nationwide shortages.
Not long ago, Venezuela was a well functioning country with vast natural resources. Despite the current state of events, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez still insists on clinging to this long-gone success. He celebrates that nation's “achievements” on national television and radio, insisting that there is nothing wrong. He even went on air to declare the country’s falling obesity rates- while his citizens are starving to death.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26335287
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/venezuela-crisis/amid-protests-venezuela-medical-students-become-vital-survival-n772386
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/while-the-people-of-venezuela-suffer-its-president-paints-a-rosypicture/article35279590/
That's definitely a crisis going on there. With so many people dead it is obvious that there is a big problem here. Comparing the murder rates with Toronto really puts this into perspective.
DeleteIsraeli and Palestinian Conflict
ReplyDeleteThe conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is a conflict over who owns the land we currently call Israel. The people who originally lived here claim that the land belongs to them, while the Israelis claim the same. Israel only exists because after World War II, European Jews needed somewhere to live, so they were sent to Palestine, under control by Britain at the time, and it with the influx of Jews, it was changed into Israel.
Although Israel and Palestine aren’t actually in any real combat, they both do not like each other. However, there is a Palestinian organization named Hamas that has gone to war against Israel in 2014 for control of the Gaza Strip, an area of Israel comprised almost exclusively of Palestinians.
I personally do not have an opinion on who should own the land, for I’m not informed enough and can’t make a decision with the information I currently have.
https://www.vox.com/cards/israel-palestine/gaza-basics
It's hard to form opinions on topics like this, especially when you are not informed of that many details of this topic. Thank you for sharing the information that you learned, though.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAt least 22 people, including children, have been killed and 59 injured in a suicide bombing at a crowded pop concert in Manchester, the most deadly attack in Britain in a decade. 22-year-old Salman Abedi was responsible for the suicide bombing, which ISIS has claimed responsibility for.
Witnesses in Manchester described how, after the concert had finished, the house lights came up and then a loud bang was heard. Majid Khan, 22, said: “A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena.
A group of young men from Sheffield said they had seen at least five people covered in blood and others being carried out by bouncers.
Defeating ISIS is impossible. ISIS is a group that rooted off of Al Qaeda, in Syria. Being said, ISIS is all over the world. The outbreaks of terror attacks in western culture was what made ISIS so feared of. Personally, I remember when I questioned going outside to play basketball because of the news, full of these horrible things. Recently, terror attacks have been slowing down. The US military has been doing air raids in Syria over ISIS and just recently dropped the “mother of all bombs” on 36 ISIS targets in Afghanistan (which was mostly for the purpose of intimidating North Korea). World efforts have diminished ISIS’s power, but will most likely never completely defeat them due to them being all over the world without a given location.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3720576/ariana-grande-manchester-one-love-gig-london-terror-attack/
http://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/How-to-stop-ISIS-435801
The struggle with ISIS is most definitely a difficult thing. With all these attacks in the news, it's hard not to fear what could happen next. Overall, you did a good job summarizing the Manchester attack and the difficulty with stopping ISIS.
DeleteManchester Bombing
ReplyDeleteThe attack at Manchester is the worst terrorist attack in Britain since 2005.At least 22 people have been killed and 59 have been injured, during a terrorist attack in Manchester. On May 22nd, around 10:30pm, an explosion detonated outside an Ariana Grande concert. ISIS has taken claim for the attack. The Manchester police believe that the attacker have identified Salman Abedi as the one who carried out the attack, but as of May 25th 10 other suspects have been arrested to connection with the attack, 2 of which have been released. The Manchester police have identified Salman Abedi as the one who executed the attack.
The explosion took place in the foyer of the arena. The injuries on victims and the leftover wreckage from the scene suggests that the type of bomb used was a nail-bomb. One witness stated that he could see nuts and bolts on the foyer floor.
The demonstration of kindness from people in the wake of the bomb is hopeful. Some taxis did not charge people trying to escape and many people opened the homes for those looking for protection from the attack. Also Sikh temples and hotels also opened their doors.
This attack stands out though for the fact that it was targeting defenseless children and teenagers. With the youngest victim being 8 years old. It is sickening to think about the intend of this attack, but it is amazing to see so many trying to help those affected by the attack and offering shelter and safe passages home.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/22/manchester-arena-police-explosion-ariana-grande-concert-england
https://www.theatlantic.com/liveblogs/2017/05/manchester-explosion/527706/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/world/europe/uk-manchester-attack-survivors.html?_r=0
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/23/europe/manchester-attack-victims/index.html
It was truly an awful event. But it was heartwarming to see all the people who helped injured or lost people. Do you have any ideas on how attacks like this can be prevented in the future? Also, do you think that people attending concerts/events should always be prepared in the case of an attack happening?
Delete