Current Event #2 - British restructures border agency after furor over relaxation of controls

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/british-restructures-border-agency-after-furor-over-relaxation-of-controls/2012/02/20/gIQAOzHTPR_story.html


British officials have announced plans to restructure their border agencies recently after controversy has risen over the fact that they may have not been following through on security checks at ports and airports. 


Home Secretary Theresa May wants to completely recreate a system that has been known to, in the past, "suspend important checks without permission," waste money on unused technology, and send inaccurate and incorrect information to the government. 


May will also split the border force from the U.K. Border Agency to "give it a whole new management culture." Brodie Clark, head of the former agency, was fired earlier this year and is now filing a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. 

Current Event #1 - Iran halts oil shipments to Britain, France

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-halts-oil-shipments-to-britain-france/2012/02/19/gIQAnLtUNR_story.html


Iran has decided to cut off oil shipments to Britain and France as a retaliation for them supporting "economic sanctions against the Islamic republic."


This is a huge loss for Iran, as 18% of their petroleum exports go to European customers. 


This move is largely symbolic, and its effect will be minimal on France and Britain. Britain no longer imports oil from Iran, and France is in the process of phasing out Iranian crude, which currently makes up less than 4% of the country's oil imports. 


However, this hasn't stopped global oil prices from shooting up to an eight-month high as investors weigh the chances of shortages occurring. 


In the meantime, Western powers continue to encourage Iranian officials to halt nuclear programs. If Iran makes it clear that they do not want to do so, European Union nations will exclude Iranian banks from the international financial messaging system (Swift), making it harder for Iran to collect money from its foreign oil sales. 


Despite these threats, Iran has staunchly refused to halt any programs they may be conducting. The White House and Obama administration are trying to undermine any idea that they may be  using military force against Iranian nuclear facilities. 

Question of the Week #6 - Senior Year!

So far, senior year has been going pretty well for me. Except for the fact that because of "senioritis" my grades our worse than ever, I'm doing just fine. I'm surprisingly stress free at this point now that I've finished and turned in all my applications. All I get to do now is wait :O

The schools I applied to, in order of preference:

University of Virginia

Virginia Tech

James Madison University

George Mason

"Unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell."

1. Who drew the cartoon?
Jimmy Margulies, The Record of Hackensack, NJ

2. List and describe the key objects in the cartoon and describe what each represents:Boy = Marines
Words = pee
Droplets at end = Taliban


3. What techniques or devices does the cartoonist use?
Symbolism
Caricature
Analogy

4. What issue or event does the cartoon deal with?
US Marines urinating on bodies of Taliban members

5. What is the cartoon's message?
The fact that the Marines urinated on those bodies is in return for "years of United States sacrifice in Afghanistan"

6. What is the cartoonist's point-of-view?
The soldiers were just doing this as a way of "blowing off some steam," per se. They have suffered in Afghanistan for so long and have seen horrendous things and they have all this built up hatred towards the Taliban that they thought this would be ok. 

Question of the Week #5 - Predictions

I think Romney will win the GOP race for the nomination because so far he has proven himself able to win both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary (which are both good predictors of who will win). Also, he is a strong candidate who can withstand any criticism that is thrown at him by his fellow competitors, unlike Gingrich who faltered under the pressure. However, even if Romney is able to win the nomination, I do not think he will win against President Obama. Romney, when compared to Obama, is not nearly as consistent in his ideas and has not really presented a valid solution to all our problems.

Iowa - Week of January 8

1. Who drew the cartoon?
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant

2. List and describe the key objects in the cartoon and describe what each represents:Racing field/horse race - Iowa Caucus
Winner - Mitt Romney
Runner up - Rick Santorum
2nd Runner up - Newt Gingrich

3. What techniques or devices does the cartoonist use?
Symbolism - horse race symbolizes race for presidency
Caricature - Romney's features are really exaggerated
Juxtaposition - the men on horses are in the same order as the Iowa caucus results showed


4. What issue or event does the cartoon deal with?
Iowa caucus

5. What is the cartoon's message?
Romney came in first, with Santorum and Gingrich in a close second and third

6. What is the cartoonist's point-of-view?
Its not even about the politics anymore... people only care who wins or loses

Question of the Week #4 - Deck The Halls With Boughs of Hollyyy Fa La La La La La La La La

My favorite holiday memory is probably one every kid can relate to!

When my brother and I were younger, we would set out cookies and milk for Santa Clause, food for the reindeers and stay up as late as my mom would let us. Then, we would wake up really, really early and sit in front of the tree waiting for our parents to wake up. The anticipation actually leading up to the present opening was always the best, sometimes better than the excitement (or lack thereof) obtained from the presents we received.

Anyway, ^^^ that's what I love about the holidays. I don't really have just one specifically great memory. However, I do remember how one year when we were at our cousin's house for Christmas, my parents, Santa rang the doorbell in the morning and our presents were sitting on the doorstep because there was no chimney at their house. :)

In any case, I really appreciate the lengths my parents went to make sure we had a enjoyable Christmas, especially seeing how its not even my religion. I can't wait to do it for my kids!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a blessed New Year :) Happy 2012!