Apple apologizes to black students for refusing them store entry, says 'diversity' among core values

Tech giant Apple say they have apologised to six black students after they were told they
could not come into a store in Melbourne because staff thought they might steal
something.
On Tuesday afternoon, year 10 students from Maribyrnong College in Melbourne's west
visited an Apple store at the nearby Highpoint Shopping Centre in their uniforms.
The students accused Apple Of "racial profiling" after one Of the students said he and his
friends left the store, but later returned and a security guard told them they could not re-
enter.
One of the students filmed the exchange on their phone.
"These guys (the security guardsl are just a bit worried about your presence in our store,-
an Apple staff member can be heard saying in the video.
"They're just worried you might steal something."
A member of the group then replied: "Why would we steal something?"
Apple told triple j's Hack in a statement that they have apologised to the students.
"We've looked into the details Of the situation and we apologise to the customers

involved," Apple said.
"We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated
the way they should be.
"Inclusion and diversity are among Apple's core values.
"We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity,
ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
"That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions. "
Angry with how they were treated, the students uploaded the video to Facebook.
Student Maboir Ater said it was not the first time he had experienced "racial profiling".
"When we walk into a store with a group Of minimum three people, the security watches
us — they follow us and that just makes us feel like we're not welcome in the store," he
said.
"They judge us before we can show our character.
"It's because we're teenage boys, but also because we're black teenagers.
"They see us and think of all the stereotypes."

The past has not
been left behind. No matter what people say or think, racism is still a very
real deal today. Whether it be the rising antisemitism in Europe or, as this
article states, suspicions placed on black teenagers specifically because
they're black is evidence of a past that still has roots. It is almost
impossible to completely uproot these ideas without breaking the
"tree" or society in the process so generally we like to leave it
underground, where its hidden. It's in seemingly small incidences such as these
that racism and other deep issues buried come to light. It's interesting how
our modern society reacts to such issues, where in earlier years they might
have protested, today people simply post it to social media and automatically
millions hear about it. The author seems at least slightly biased and between
the lines you can even feel emotion. He is an author desperately trying to let
the world know about these inequalities. It is by journalists such as these
that even big companies are stood up against and the truth is revealed. Overall
this article exposes a truth that are world is still bias, unequal, and not
everyone has the same rights (as we like to claim in modern society), it is
statement calling for a need for change as well as moving into the future but
leaving the past behind. 
Hack, Triple J. "Apple Apologises to Black Students for Refusing Them Store Entry." ABC News. ABC 2015, 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

2 Americans among dead in Jordan 

Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2015, 12:16 AM 

AMMAN, Jordan - A Jordanian police captain opened fire yesterday on instructors at an 

international police training center in Jordan's capital, killing at least five people, 

including two Americans, before being shot dead by security forces. 

It was not clear if there was a political motive to the shooting spree, which also wounded 

six people, including two Americans. But concern has swirled in staunchly pro-Western 

Jordan over possible revenge attacks by Islamic militants since the country assumed a 

high level role in the U.S.-Ied military campaign against the Islamic State extremist 

group, which controls large areas of neighboring Syria and Iraq. 

The unprecedented assault inside a Jordanian security compound also raised questions 

about the kingdom's image as an island of relative stability in a turbulent region. 

The shooting took place at the Jordan International Police Training Center in Amman, 

where Jordanian and foreign instructors, including Americans, have trained thousands Of 

police officers from the Palestinian territories and other parts of the Arab world in recent 

years. 

The Jordanian officer opened fire, killing the two Americans and a South African 

contractor before being shot dead, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said. 

Two Jordanians were critically wounded and later died, he said. 

Momani did not release the assailant's name, but a former Jordanian parliament member, 

Suleiman Saed, identified him as his 29-year-old relative, Anwar Abu Zaid, a captain in 

the police force. He said the assailant's identity was given to him by a senior official in 

the Public Security Department. 

Israel still lacks evidence in arson 

JERUSALEM - Israel is still lacking evidence to charge those responsible for a deadly 

arson attack on a Palestinian family this summer, Israeli media reported the country's 

defense minister as saying yesterday, in a case that Palestinians say helped fuel the past 

weeks of bloodshed 

In July, assailants, believed to be Jewish extremists, lobbed a firebomb into the 

Dawabsheh family's home in the West Bank village of Duma, where four family members 

were asleep. Ali Dawabsheh, a toddler, was burned to death, while his mother and father 

later died of their wounds. His 4-year-old brother Ahmad is being treated in an Israeli 

hospital. 

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said a "group of Jewish fanatics" who want to install a 

"religious kingdom" based on biblical law were behind the attack. Yaalon's remarks to 

military correspondents were reported by Israel's Walla news site. 

But Yaalon said, "We don't currently have evidence that directly ties the one who carried 

out the terror attack but I believe we will get that, I hope that we will solve the case 

completely," Yaalon said. 

Israeli leaders across the political spectrum have strongly condemned the firebomb 

attack and vowed to apprehend the assailants. But the fact that no one has been officially 

charged months after the attack is a sore point among Palestinians and many cite the 

case as a big factor in fueling the current violence. 

Since mid-September, 12 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbing 

assaults. Meanwhile, 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 48 said by 

Israel to have been involved in attacks or attempted attacks. The other Palestinians died 

in clashes between stone-throwers and security forces. 

Rout for opposition in Myanmar elections 

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military-backed ruling party today was headed for a 

massive rout at the hands of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was set for a 

historic electoral victory that could give her party the presidency and loosen the 

military's grip on the country. 

With official results from Sunday's general elections slow to come, Suu Kyi's National 

League for Democracy started announcing its victories late yesterday - by midnight it had 

declared it had won virtually every seat in four of 14 states where counting was complete. 

The announcement at the NLD headquarters set Off a new round Of jubilation among the 

party's red-shirted supporters, who already had been celebrating the result of Sunday's 

vote. 

Even without official results, it was clear that the Union Solidarity Development Party 

was facing a rout. The party is made up former junta members who ruled the Southeast 

Asian country for a half-century and as a quasi-civilian government since 2011. 

Judge: Man must demolish castle 

LONDON - The old adage says an Englishman's home is his castle. But a court says 

Robert Fidler.s castle can't be his home. 

A judge ruled yesterday that the 66-year-old farmer will go to prison if he doesn't 

demolish a mock-Tudor castle he built without planning permission. 

Fidler built the four-bedroom structure - complete with two turrets - on his farm about 

20 miles south Of London in 2000, keeping it hidden behind piles Of straw bales and 

tarpaulin. 

Local authorities ordered him to tear it down in 2007, saying it breached planning rules 

designed to protect the countryside, and Fidler lost several legal challenges against the 

order. 






It is very interesting to note that in this article these were Americans that helped train
Palestinians and other Arab nations were still murdered. Again this is an
outcry to the world to make them aware of the very real threat and constant
death in the Middle Eastern area. Its also interesting that the headline is
made mentioning the Americans while there were more than just these citizens
involved, this displays slight bias for the American side. As the article
mentions this definitely raises questions as to how peaceful and neutral Jordan
really is, this puts a huge question mark as to whether they are to be trusted.




Associated Press. "2 Americans among Dead in Jordan." Philly.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Popular Hotel in Somalia Is Bombed by Militants

Popular Hotel in Somalia Is Bombed by Militants 

  

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamist militants stormed a popular hotel in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalian's capital, on Sunday, blowing up the 

front gate With a car bomb, shooting guests and hotel workers, and then battling With security forces from the hotel's rooftop for several hours. 

Somali government officials said at least 14 people at the Sahafi Hotel were killed in the attack, which was immediately — and gleefully — claimed 

by the Shabab militant group. 

If there is one hotel everyone knows in Mogadishu, it is the Sahafi_ Warlords and militants alike used to hang out and p Ot schemes in the lounge 

and courtyard While sipping grapefruit juice and pulling apart camel meat Steaks. 

Sahafi means journalist in Arabic, and for years the hotel has served as the gateway to one of the world's most dangerous countries for foreign 

journalists, aid workers and the rare brave businessman. Even in the hardest times, the staff managed to prov'de clean rooms and good food. 

Lobster was one of the house specialties, served alongside mountains of French fries. Recently, the hotel was a popular rendezvous spot for 

officials from Somalias fledgling government. 

The Sahafi Hotel after a car bomb exploded and killed at least 14 people. 
Around dawn on Sunday, Witnesses said, a Car rammed into the Sahafi's front gate and immediately exploded Several Shababl-Sl fighters then 

scrambled into the hotel, Shooting guestSA second Car bomb exploded hours later, wounding several journalists and Other people Who had 

rushed to the hotel, located at a busy traffic Circle in central Mogadishu, to See What had happened. One young journalist, Mustaf Abdinur 

Safaana161 a freelance TV cameraman, was killed. 

Among the other dead, witnesses said, were a Somali lawmaker, a Somali Army general and the hotel's owner, Abdirashid Ilgayte, who used to 

welcome guests into his office just off the hotel's entrance and regale them With stories ofvlolence and intrigue from Somalia's darkest days. 

-The Shabab fighters seized the hotel and controlled it for several hours," said Mohamed Ali, a taxi driver who was outside the Sahafi while the 

fighting was going on. 

The Shabab remain a potent force in Somalia. They have lost many fighters and much of their territory, pushed out by a coalition of troops from 

neighboring African countries. But they are still highly dangerous and considered one of Al Qaeda's most murderous offshoots. They seemed to 

have perfected mass murder on the cheap, including an attack on a university in Kenya in April In which four young Shabab gunmen killed more 

than 140 people. 

"Muiahedeen entered and took over Sahaft Hotel where enemies lived," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, the Shabab's military operations spokesman, 

told Reuters on Sunday, using a common term for Islamic guerrilla fighters. 

Multipronged attacks on hotels191 have become one of the hallmarks of the Shabab, who have killed scores in Mogadishu in recent years by 

overwhelming security guards at the gates and rhen sending in suicidal fighters. The Shabab have vowed to turn Somalia into a pure Islamic state; 

most of their Victims have been Somali Muslims. 

Photographs taken by bystanders on Sunday showed a huge hole punched through the Sahafi's third floor, along with streams of black smoke 

uncoiling into the sky. Rubble was scattered for blocks. Witnesses said several members of the hotel staff had been hiding in locked rooms, calling 

for help, as Shabab fighters stalked the smoke filled corridors, looking for more Victims. 

By I a.m., African Union1101 troops in Somalia, along With government forces, the attackers and Shot them dead. Somali 

Officials said there Were Seven attackers. 

Mogadishu may safer than it used to be, but it is still not safe. The Shabab once controlled much of the city, bullwhipping women and 

terrorizing the population by enforcing a harsh version of Islamic law. But even after being pushed out by African Union( I I I troops, Shabab 

fighters have shown they can strike anywhere at any time. 

Somalia's government tried to play down some ofthe concerns stirred up by the attack. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia said on 

Sunday, "We want to confirm that such terrorist acts does not mean Shabab's revival, but in the contrary show'S clear signs that they are in 

desperate situation." 

This article is an outcry to the world to make them aware, once again, of the constant terror in
the Somali nation. Although the New York Times reports on the situation in
Somalia, them being so far away makes them often less truly sympathetic or
urgent to make a change even as they learn the truth. It is very significant
that the Shabab hits such prominent hotel, hosting what little is left of the
"outside world." It shows how they want to completely cut off Somali
a and be in absolute control. It also shows just how vulnerable the nation is
constantly, despite political leaders' statements. It is also significant how
they name the hurt and dead, putting very little emphasis on the Somalians
killed. It shows just how little the West has come to care for the situation
unless their own citizens are involved. This article shines a little light on
the dark situation in Somalia,  a call to the world not to forget this nation despite their voice being muffled to a mere
whisper.  



Author: Mohammad Ibrahim



Ibrahim, Mohammad.
"Popular Hotel in Somalia Is Bombed by Militants." The New York Times. New York Times Company, 1
Nov. 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

South Africa's huge student protests

South Africa's huge student protests, explained 

Student protests over tuition fees have rocked South Africa's universities for about a 

week. The protests have been so large that a number of universities across the country 

were shut down. Friday's protest in the capital, Pretoria, attracted 10,000 people — the 

largest student protest since the famous 1976 Soweto anti-apartheid demonstration, 

according to the Guardian.

The protests were frequently met with riot police, occasionally equipped with tear gas 

and stun grenades This kind of conflict is "not seen since the apartheid era," the 

Financial Times' Andrew England reports. 

Here's where the protests came from — and why they've become such a big deal.  

The protests began at the elite University Of the Witwatersrand (called Wits) in 

Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city On October 14151 Wits students organized a 

mass rally against what they saw as exorbitant increases in fees: students were being 

asked to pay 10.5 percent more in tuition and other fees, as well as 6 percent more in an 

up-front registration fee. 

According to David Dickinson , a sociologist at Wits and a member Of its council, the 

university felt it needed to raise fees to stay afloat financially. Dickinson, who voted 

against the fee increase on the council, blames South Africa 's government for providing 

insufficient financial support to schools and students. Without more government 

support, he writes, many poor and middle class black South Africans will not be able to 

afford higher education. 

"The increasing reduction Of state subsidies...is turning Wits and Other universities into 

de facto private institutions," Dickinson writes. "Elite not on the basis of intellectual 

ability, but on the basis of social class." 

This anger over perceived race and class discrimination fueled the initial round of anti- 

fees protest at Wits. But similar issues affected universities across the country, not just 

Wits, and so the protests spread like wildfire. Social media hashtags like #FeesMustFall 

and #NationalShutdown helped student protestors organize and share information 

across the country. 

The government seemed to have no answer for this protest: tear gas did little to quell 

their growth. By the end of last week, the New York Times reports, the protests had 

"spread outside the campuses, as students have leveled their ire directly at the 

government. " Demonstrators -and police officers clashed outside the Parliament building 

in Cape Town, and students marched on Wednesday to the headquarters here Of the 

African National Congress." 

Where the protests are going the demonstrations are pretty big. 

On Friday, the government caved — kind of. President Jacob Zuma announced that the 

government would freeze all tuition increases at public universities. 

"Government understands the difficulty faced by students from poor households and 

urges all affected to allow the process to unfold to find long-term solutions in order to 

ensure access to education by all students," Zuma said in a televised statement. 

But it's not clear if this is enough; students may demands that fees fall rather than simply 

be frozen. And when Zuma failed to appear personally, protesters outside his office "tore 

up security fences, burned portable toilets and threw rocks at police," the Guardiant 

reports. "It is unclear whether the students will put their placards away and return to 

class on Monday." 

That's because this isn't just about one year Of rising fees. It's about growing frustration 

with the African National Congress, Zuma's party and the dominant political force in 

South Africa since the fall of apartheid in 1994. Andrew England, the Financial Times 

reporter, puts the issue really neatly: 

Many of those protesting are part Of the black middle class that has emerged in the 

democratic era. But with the economy producing anaemic growth, while poverty, 

unemployment and gaping inequalities still blight the nation, disgruntlement is seen 

to be on the rise. 

Against this backdrop, many black South Africans feel that not enough has been done 

to redress the economic and social structures created under apartheid that severely 

discriminated against blacks, while favoring whites. 

Protesters on the ground echo these sentiments. "We're bring robbed here," Thando 

Khumalo, a student at the University of Johannesburg, told the New York Times1101. 

"Why are we still struggling after we were promised so much in 1994?" 

So these student protests are a big deal in their own right. But they're also a 

manifestation Of a seemingly widespread belief that the ANC has simply failed to deliver 

for its citizens. 

This is not simply a
protest against tuition fees rising, this is a protest against the long awaited
promises not being fulfilled by the Zuma Party. Being a South African myself,
and visiting there often I know firsthand the discontentment the population as
a whole feels towards this party. Coming from an "upper" class by
South African standards of division, I know this "upper class" group
to be unhappy with the government, how much more those who struggle to survive
daily due to its lack of care? This article and furthermore, these protests are
the voices of millions of South African citizens fed up with unfulfilled
promises.  The fact that the author
sympathizes with the protesters by representing their history shows a slight
bias towards the protesters, showing little of the government's side of the
issue. Again by bringing up South African history and statistics this is a
clear message to the government and to the whole world listening that the past
should not recur, but rather something must be done. 

Beauchamp, Zack.
"South Africa's Huge Student Protests, Explained." 

Vox. Vox Media, Inc., 24 Oct. 2015. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

http://www.vox.com/2015/10/24/9607236/south-africas-huge-student-protests-explained

Eldoret Street Children Recall Night of Horror

Eldoret street children recall night of horror

Sarah Kai, a 16-year-old street mother in Eldoret, was deep in slumber near Sosiani River when she was woken up by a big commotion.

“We were surrounded by many people and they warned us not to run away. They ordered us to board a waiting lorry. We were moved to different spots in town where street children stay until the lorry was full. We were then driven away to an unknown destination,” Kai said.

She is among the 250 urchins who were rounded up by Uasin Gishu county government officers on October 11 and ‘deported’ to their counties of origin.

The street families, who included mothers suckling their kids, were then dumped at Kochoria trading centre in Amagoro, Teso North sub-county.

“It was some kind of torture since there was no space in the lorry. We were packed like potatoes and there was no room to stretch our legs. It was worse for us with young children.”

According to the county government, they were sending the children to the counties they identified as their homes.

However, the street children have since returned to Eldoret town.

Martin Ngatia, 30, said they left Eldoret around 9pm. “After many hours of travelling, they told us to alight for a short call before continuing our journey. The driver then said the vehicle had run out of fuel… after a short while, two armed policemen boarded the lorry and drove away… they left us stranded yet it was still dark,” Ngatia said.

The group decided to sleep until morning while others trekked several kilometres to Kanduyi in Bungoma county.

“We slept until morning when the police came and interrogated us. We explained the whole scenario and were taken to the police station. Thereafter they brought us back to Eldoret,” Ngatia said.

Others who had trekked to Kanduyi asked for lifts from truck drivers heading to Eldoret.

Most of them said they have lived in Eldoret town all their lives and they know no other home.

“I think the county government doesn’t want us here and that is why they wanted to take us far. Some of us have their homes but far from this town. Why were those from Turkana or Kericho taken to Busia?” Wilson Achola, another street boy, said.

Sarah Kai says she came to Eldoret town in 2008 from Lokichar town in Turkana county.

Aged nine, she joined some people who were ferried by a lorry going to Kitale town.

“I have my parents and I know my home in Lokichar but poverty made me to run away from home. After reaching Kitale, we stayed in the streets for about a week and we started our journey to Eldoret town. That is how I ended up here,” she said.

Kai later cohabited with a street boy with whom they have a two-week-old boy, who is now being raised up at a children’s home.

“My ‘husband’ is helping the jua kali artisans here and he is paid peanuts. Since I am idle and I need to make ends meet, I go to the streets to beg. Eldoret has become my home,” Kai said.

Kevin Mwangu, 13, said both his parents were alive when he left his Trans Nzoia home five years ago.

He said his parents separated and his father married a second wife. “After my mom left our home, my father remarried and my stepmother mistreated me. That is why I ran way from home and moved to Kitale town,” he said.

He stayed in the streets of Kitale for about five months before he moved to Eldoret with four of his friends.

“We heard that Eldoret town was good and we could make money here. I didn’t want to go back home because I knew I would be mistreated. Since then no one has bothered to look for me,” he said.

Ngatia moved to Eldoret from Mai Mahiu after the death of his mother in 2007.

“We are only two boys in my family. My brother was a casual worker in Eldoret. After the death of my mother, I came with my uncle thinking my life will be better here,” Ngatia said.

After staying for two days with his brother in Eldoret, his uncle left for Mai Mahiu.

“Because he was a casual worker, it was rare to get money to sustain us and we always lacked food. That is when I decided to leave his house in Langas and come to the streets.”

Abigael Jeptoo is aged 14 and comes from Uasin Gishu county.

Her mother hails from West Pokot county but her parents live near Hill School in Eldoret town.

She studied at Penon Primary School until class seven.

“I was staying with my grandmother but when she died in 2012, I came to Eldoret where my parents live. Since they had no money to take me to school, I ran away to the streets,” she said.

“I don’t see any benefit of being in the streets and if I get someone to sponsor me, I would love to go back to school,” Jeptoo said.

Isaac Mudavadi and John Muli, aged 17 and 29 respectively, said they were born in Eldoret town.

“Both my mum and dad are with me here in the streets. I was born here and up to now, I have not understood why we were taken far from our home,” Mudavadi said.

Sheilah Chebet from Baringo county was among those ferried to Busia.

Busia county government was irked by the move to dump the street children in the county.

Busia governor Sospeter Ojaamong regretted the dumping of people to a county they don’t have homes.

“A decent way to settle children should have been followed… dumping is reminiscent of slavery,” Ojaamong said.

“Those who have been dumped here could be recruited into serious crimes network with catastrophic consequences,”Ojaamong said.

“Our county is open and willing to receive people but only in a structured way,” he said.

Ojaamong said instead of rounding up innocent Kenyans and relocating them, Uasin Gishu county should seek support from various government institutions and international agencies.

However, Uasin Gishu county defended itself, arguing that the street children were behind a spate of crimes in Eldoret town.

“The street families have been linked to several killings in the town, muggings, robbery, pickpocketing and vandalism of vehicles tyres, side mirrors among other criminal activities,” Deputy governor Daniel Chemno said.

“Many people have been complaining about them and we want to make this town secure. The same people who were pressuring us to ensure that the town’s security is beefed up are rushing to criticise us for taking the street children to their homes,” Chemno said.

Chemno said the right procedure of identifying the children’s counties of origin were followed.

“It was not a case of pick and dump but most of them have homes and they had run away and were unwilling to go back to school. They identified their homes and we took them to places near their homes,” Chemno said.

He said those with no known homes were taken to various children’s orphanages in the county.

“I find it very ridiculous for many people to complain of being robbed off their phones and belongings by the street urchins and now they pretend to be sympathetic,” he said.

Chemno said he understands the constitution provides that everybody has a right to live wherever he chooses.

“However, these are children and they should be guided by their parents. What we did is to connect them with their parents,” he said.

Uasin Gishu deputy county commissioner Christopher Wanjahu said they were not involved in the plan to repatriate the children.

“We were not involved in the plans… we only learned it through the media,” Wanjahu said.

Orphans Separated Children Assessment Related (Oscar) organisation took the children to their health clinic in Eldoret and has been treating them. They have also provided them with clothes.

John Ayieko, a social worker at the clinic, said they have been offering the children treatment free of charge. The services offered include HIV/Aids counselling and pregnancy and child protection.

“We visit them wherever they are to ensure that their health is well taken care of. They need to live in good conditions and the government should really think about resettling street families,” Ayieko said.

BY STANLEY MAGUT
Magut, Stanley. "Eldoret Street Children Recall Night of Horror." The Star. The Star, 21 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/eldoret-street-children-recall-night-horror

This is a problem not only in Kenya but throughout Africa. Although this was a drastic and unapproved act this movement is an outcry to the government/ authority to do something about the situation in Eldoret. As the author of this article is Kenyan it is easy for him to envision the situation these children are in. He is accustomed to poverty and knows the serious issues associated with it. Although I agree loading everyone in a truck to be deported isn't the answer, I do think the government shouldn't leave this situation. They shouldn't ignore the fact that this causes issues not only for street kids but also for the citizens being affected by them.

North Korea Releases Student Held Since April

 

North Korea Monday released a New York University student who had been detained for 

five months after illegally entering the country. 

Joo Won-moon, 21 is a South Korean citizen but has permanent residency status in the 

United States, where he has been living since 2001. He was apprehended on April 22 after 

he crossed into North Korea from the Chinese border town Dandong. 

In a written statement Monday, South Korea's Minist1Y of Unification said, "Under the 

name of North Korea Red Cross Central Committee, North Korea sent a letter today to 

inform that they will repatriate our citizen, Mr. JOO Won-moon." 

 

Joo was released to South Korean custody at the heavily fortified Panmunjom inter- 

Korean border crossing inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) late Monday. 

Prior to his arrest in North Korea, 100 was living in New Jersey and studying at New York 

University, but he had taken a semester off to travel. 


In May, during an interview with American news broadcaster CNN, 100 said he wanted to 

be arrested in North Korea and thought it would somehow lead to better inter-Korean 

relations. 

In September, Joo was allowed to speak to the media and in a statement that appeared to 

be coached by North Korean officials, he expressed praise for the North Korean 

government and its people. 

Choi Yong-sang, an activist with the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human 

Rights in Seoul, said Joo's release may be part of a diplomatic effort to convince the 

United States to engage with Pyongyang to ease economic sanctions. 

"His permanent residency in the United States might have played a small but significant 

role as North Korea has been continuously requesting the U.S. for talks or 

normalization," Choi said. 

 

He said there are also signs that North Korea may have decided to halt the launch of a 

satellite next week on the 70th anniversary of its ruling party to improve relations with 

China. 


And Joo's release comes ahead of a scheduled reunion later this month of families 

separated by the 1950-53 civil war that ended in an uneasy truce between the communist 

North and democratic South 

Seoul Monday also pressed for the release of three other South Korean citizens that are 

being held in the North. 

Pyongyang has accused missionary Kim Jung-wook of anti-North Korean religious acts, 

and missionary Kim Kook-ki and businessman Choi Chun-gil of spying for South Korea. 

All three were sentenced to hard labor for life. All three confessed and apologized for 

their crimes, although it is not clear if their confessions were made under duress. 

FILE - Kim Jung Wook, a South Korean Baptist missionary, speaks during a news 

conference in Pyongyang, North Korea. 

Seoul has denied the charges and criticized Pyongyang for sentencing them without a fair 

trial and access to legal counsel. 

Choi said unlike Joo, who is considered an innocent but naive student, Pyongyang 

believes the other detainees were involved in crimes against the state. 

"The one South Korean being held in North Korea is because of his religious work, and 

Other two have been arrested as they worked as a spy, which is unforgivable and 

unacceptable crime in North Korea," he said. 

North Korea is considered to be one Of the most secretive and repressive regimes in the 

world and has been accused in the past of arresting foreign nationals for politically 

motivated reasons and forcing false confessions. 

North Korea is a hot topic of debate today.

Their extremely secretive and harsh government often clashes with many nations in the modern
world. This article proves how, although not the hottest topic on the news
everyday anymore, North Korea's policies still cause quite a stir. This article
is published by Voice of America an organization you almost expect to publish
such articles. Since Joo was living in the US so long the US has personal
involvement in this issue and this probably altered the perspective and bias
from which this article was written. Although this article does describe the
student as naive, it puts little emphasize on the student actually willingly
going to North Korea, especially even wanting to be arrested. He might have
thought twice about this had he known the consequences. However, the article
seems to shift all the blame again on North Korea. For some this article once
again angers a personal devotion, for others it justifies the hate against
North Korea. This article out for all of the world (but primarily Americans
read it) seems to be a bias against North Korea and yet so relieved and the
release of their lost individual. It also almost makes it seem that in some
senses North Korea is turning for the better, but once again this is sharply
contrasted when they mention the unwillingness of other prisoners' release.
Overall this article touches at a very debated topic still today, North Korea,
its policies, government and what should be done.




http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-to-free-university-student-detained-since-april/2991675.html

Euro Political Cartoon

The European Union consists of many nations and some of the main countries such as England, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Germany are displayed in this cartoon. Whether they boost or drain the Euro currency they are all a part of the European Union. Each nation is symbolized by a cartoon character absorbed in their own country. The fact that each nation only holds a mask not a real face or head symbolizes how each nation is predominately interested in their own nation and issues. Each cartoon is clearly labeled as a separate country to portray individuality and to represent the main Euro nations. It shows how each nation holds a part to the European Union as a whole. Depending on individual’s background, response to this cartoon differs. Europeans may often agree that ultimately each country should be interested in their own affairs predominately. For the millions of immigrants, this voices their frustrations of no one actually caring that much about them and everyone being too absorbed in their own affairs. It presents a definite point but isn’t very persuasive. Whether you agree or not with this cartoon’s statement it presents a groups’ opinion about the EU. The fact that each cartoon character is literally stuck in the ground, their own portion, presents just how little nations care for others. Furthermore the masks show how despite being absorbed they try to keep up false pretenses about being interested.

http://www.toonpool.com/user/82858/files/european_union_1982815.jpg

Police Arrest in Rotterdam

Police officers arrest a suspect in a Thalys train at Rotterdam Central Station, 

Netherlands, September 18, 2015


Police arrested a man who locked himself in a toilet on a high-speed train in Rotterdam 

early Friday, triggering fears Of another terrorist attack. 

A Rotterdam police spokesperson said: "Around 7:30 a.m. several witnesses saw a man 

jump on the train at Rotterdam central train and hide himself directly in the bathroom. 

They didn't trust it and neither did the police, so they evacuated the train and a large 

part Of central station." 

According to a spokesperson, at about 9.45 a.m. "(police) went in with a special team and 

a dog and we now have one man in custody." 

Police said the man was taken to hospital on a stretcher because he was feeling unwell. 

A backpack found in the train is being examined by Dutch explosive experts. 


Earlier Friday, a negotiator had been talking to the man while heavily armed special 

police could be seen on the platform. 

The train, operated by Thalys, was traveling from Amsterdam to Paris — the same route 

on which bystanders thwarted a potential terrorist attack last month, when 26-year-old 

Moroccan national Ayoub el-Khazani emerged from a bathroom carrying a Kalashnikov 

rifle. 

A spokesperson said police had no information that the man taken into custody this 

morning was armed. 

Europe is scared. Not only are there millions upon millions of refugees flooding in, but along with these new immigrants have come the threat of terrorist attacks as well. This article is directed at the public to make them aware that the authorities do have this issue in mind. With the recent threat on the train, on this same route, the authorities are taking extra measures with to protect public transport. The author of this article has been covering and living in Europe for a while so he is well acquainted with the culture and lifestyle. Since he's lived there for a while this automatically hits closer to home and he too feels the threat of these attacks. He wants to broadcast incidents that display the control authorities still have in Europe despite the recent problems with immigrant containment. The publisher for this article has been heavily involved in European politics and economy and so have special insight into Europe's issues but also want to present awareness and security to the public. A European myself, this new issue of terrorism in Europe hits close to home. Although many disagree, I think suspects, like the one in this incident, should be investigated even if it only turns out to be a false alarm. It's better to be safe than sorry and it sends out a vibe of authoritative care the public desperately needs.

Near General Assassination

Burundi army chief narrowly escapes assassination. 

The bid to kill a close ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza provides 

more evidence of the country's descent into bloodshed 

A coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza took place in May this year.

Burundi's political unrest Illescalated on Friday when the country's army commander 

narrowly survived an assassination attempt on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura. 

Gunmen ambushed a motorcade carrying General Prime Niyongabo, the chief of staff of the 

army, as he travelled through the city. 

The attackers killed four Of Gen Niyongabo's bodyguards, but the general himself escaped 

unharmed. A police source told Agence France Press news agency that the gunmen wore army 

uniforms and travelled in a military vehicle. 

"It was sudden and violent," he said. "Four bodyguards were killed instantly. He (Gen 

Niyongabol managed to survive only because the driver managed to overtake a bus 

transporting police officers to work, and the attackers could not keep up." 

Burundi, which shares the same ethnic balance as neighbouring Rwanda, endured years of 

civil war between a Tutsi minority and Hutu majority. 

Unrest has mounted since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would amend the 

constitution and seek a third term of office. He was briefly overthrown during an attempted 

coup121 in May, but quickly restored to office. In July, Mr Nkurunziza won an election marred 

by boycotts131 and a turnout of only 30 per cent. 

But the opposition consider Mr Nkurunziza to be an illegal leader. The attempt to kill the 

army commander may be further evidence of a bid to overthrow the president by force. 

Last month, a senior ally of the president, Gen Adolphe Nshimirimana, was assassinated in 

similar circumstances. Meanwhile, the regime has been mounting a violent campaign against 

critics of Mr Nkurunziza's third term. Earlier this week, the spokesman of an opposition party 

was shot dead in Bujumbura. 

Tens of thousands of refugees have fled Burundi, fearing the possible outbreak of another 

civil war. Decades of fighting claimed perhaps 300,000 lives until a final peace agreement was 

signed in 2006. 

Burundian Events Response

Burundi has a history of violence. The genocide and civil war this country has endured has left so many scars that will take a long time to heal or never will.  This article should awaken people to the fact that Burundi is once again at the brink of a civil war. The author David Blair has been the voice of many Africans throughout the years. Starting in Zimbabwe where he was kicked out by the president, he understands dictators and exactly how much power they have over their citizens. David Blair is more experienced in African politics and thus can predict the truth but also be cynical about the prospects of Burundi. For the individual tucked away safely at home this article has little meaning. Many care very little simply because it doesn't affect them. For the Burundian civilian or even refugee, this article is desperate hope for their voice to finally be heard. Besides keeping those interested and involved in the conflict informed, this article presents to countries again just how desperately fragile the Burundian situation is right now. It’s a warning, a call to peace, before this problem becomes a repeat of events in Burundi's violent history.

Bio

When people ask me where I’m from I often ask them to sit down because it’s a little complicated. I have both Dutch and South African roots but have lived in Africa almost all my life. Because I’ve lived in Africa so long I have experienced firsthand the struggles many people have simply to survive. I go to an international boarding school and have learned about many different cultures around the world. I’ve been to Europe quite a number of times and experienced how different the western and developing nations’ cultures are. Most importantly I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and hope to make a difference one day in whichever part of the kingdom He calls me to build. 

Life on the Streets& Response

Life on the Streets
By NATE SCHWEBERIII SEPT. 6, 2015
A reporter and a photographer visited homeless encampments across New York City,
interviewing dozens of people, from teenagers to those in their 70s. Some had serious
medical conditions; one woman was pregnant. They spoke of job losses, mental health
issues, substance abuse and problems with the city shelter system that drove them to the
streets.
Jose Morales and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Kimberly Williams, who is five months
pregnant, had built a shelter out of a blanket tethered to a fence, underneath the No.
4 train.Mr. Morales said he grew up in a troubled home in the Bronx and eventually attended
high school at a residential treatment center for drug and alcohol addiction. When he
got out, he went into foster care with a family in Brooklyn, because his mother had
been sent to prison on drug charges. He rebelled.
"I didn't want to listen, I didn't want to do no chores, I didn't want to Obey no curfew, "
he said. "If I was able to go back right now, I'd apologize and fix it."
He was sent to another foster home in the Bronx. That was when he met Ms. Williams
over Facebook. When she was kicked out of her home on Long Island after a fight with
her grandmother, Mr. Morales allowed her to stay with him — a violation Of house
rules. They were both evicted.
They squatted on a rooftop in Brooklyn before taking up residence in their current
location. They went to the city intake center in the Bronx for homeless families, but
learned they were ineligible because they were not married or in a domestic
partnership.
On Wednesday night, they huddled together on the sidewalk and watched a praying
mantis crawl on the fence above their bed.
"I go around, I ask for a job here and there, but nobody's hiring," Mr. Morales said.
This isn't good for her, it isn't good for me."
Dawn Johnson and her domestic partner, Mohamed Diallo, used to live in a shabby
Bronx apartment, supported by his job as a mechanic. The building owner allowed the
apartment to go weeks without running water and more than a year without heat.
They took the landlord to housing court, but Ms. Johnson said the constant crises
over basic utilities and the stress of navigating the legal process were too much to
juggle for Mr. Diallo, 32, who worked at a mechanic's shop. In 2013 he lost his job,
and then they lost their home.
"We had no place to go and we had no funds backed up," she said.
They tried the shelter system, but they said it lacked resources for couples without
children. Ms. Johnson said she had been treated in the past for depression, anxiety
and bipolar disorder —
conditions that make it hard for her to hold a job. She is not
being treated currently.
She and Mr. Diallo sat on folding chairs Wednesday night, next to a tattered suitcase,
a shopping cart and two coolers with bottles Of water that he hawks for money. They
shared hand-rolled cigarettes, and Mr. Diallo swilled a 24-ounce can of malt liquor.
Terrified Of being separated from Mr. Diallo, Ms. Johnson said she chose to live in city
parks and train stations, rather than risk checking into a shelter.
"I don't want to leave Mohamed," she said, weeping.
Underneath the NO. 4 train platform, Heather Pittenger raised up her tank top to
reveal a huge scar down her belly, where she said her abusive ex-husband shot her in
the late 1990s during a fight.
She had been living in Allentown, Pa., and they ran a shop called Hellbound Tattoo.
Her father, a former New York police officer, rescued her and brought her back home
to Staten Island.
Ms. Pittenger grew up in what she described as a good Jewish home. Her mother
worked as a nurse.
"I'm middle-class America," she said. "I was raised very well."
In 1999, she found her father dead — she believes of natural causes — in their home.
"I just walked away," she said. "It was the first time in my life I walked away from
everything. "
Living on the streets, she was mugged and bashed in the head with a brick — the
hairless scar still visible beneath her short, sandy hair. It took her two years to relearn
to walk, but the fatigue and vertigo made working impossible. She collects cans to
recycle for food money and begs for cigarettes. She has avoided shelters, calling them
"unsafe.
"Being sober — it just didn't work for me, " said Jason Jones, who is married and has a
daughter on Long Island.
Mr. Jones said he served in the Army and once did a stint as a fund-raiser for a
congressional candidate. It was around 2006 that alcohol began to take control of his
life, he said, along with what he described as a desire to be more aware of "what's
really going on in the world, like in Rwanda," rather than the mundane daily duties Of
working a job and tending to his family.
He bounced around the homes of family members and girlfriends before finally
winding up in the city shelter system, but he hated it. He spent time in the Wards
Island shelter, and went on to share a house with Other men from the shelter.
One Of the roommates took him on a walk through McCarren Park, where he met a
group of people who hang out around the northwest corner. He fell in with them
quickly and has spent his summer with them. But he is already thinking about the
winter, and said he intended to enroll in a back to-work program and either make
amends with family or re-enter the shelter system.
"If you're willing to work with the people inside it's not that bad," he said. "It is just
perseverance, with the winos. "

John Ruiz's parents moved from Puerto Rico to New York when he was 3 and lived in
the same apartment in Yonkers their entire lives. When they died in 1998, he
continued living there but got into an altercation with a neighbor and was arrested.
The neighbor got a restraining order, and when Mr. Ruiz was released from jail he was
told he could not return.
"The manager Of the building said I couldn't come back," he said.
Mr. Ruiz, wearing an unbuttoned shirt and blue plaid pajama pants, ate beef and rice
out of a foam container as he sat on a bench beside a push-cart with garbage bags of
clothes early on Thursday morning.
He said he had never worked.
"I suffer from depression," he said. "I was taking medication for that, and high blood
pressure. And I have problems with my legs It makes it hard to walk."
People in the neighborhood now know him well enough that he can survive on
charity.
"I got a lot of people here, they know me, when they see me around they give me a
couple Of dollars, they buy me food," he said. He tried the shelter system but
contracted tuberculosis during a stay, he said. "I'll sleep on a train,- he said, "when
the winter comes. "

C. J. and Tiffany Dillinger cut a tender image in the midst of hard circumstance early
on Thursday as they spooned together on Broadway on a bed made from pedestrian
plaza chairs that they had dressed with a foam mat, sheets and pillows, cocooned in
corrugated cardboard.
They were shaken awake just before 7 a.m. by a security guard for the Gramercy
District Alliance. As they stuffed their pillows and blankets into a ratty rolling
suitcase, they said they had been homeless since their house in Old Bridge, N.J., was
foreclosed on a year ago.
They had fallen behind on their mortgage. Then they were both laid Off. She had a
shipping and receiving position. He was a construction worker.
"We're trying to get some housing," Ms. Dillinger said. "I don't want to be separated
from him. "
They married 16 years ago, and homelessness is the hardest challenge they have
faced, Ms. Dillinger said. They started taking public transportation into New York City
in July because they heard it was a more manageable place to be homeless.
"Believe it or not, there's more resources here, " Ms. Dillinger said. "Soup kitchens,
places to eat. We came because we heard about a couples' shelter."
When they tried to get into the couples' shelter, however, they were denied. But Ms.
Dillinger said, "I'd rather be out here than in shelters."
As Mr. Dillinger turned the walls from their previous night's room back into flattened
cardboard and dropped it beside a curbside trash can, Ms. Dillinger's eyes misted.
"There's more resources for survival here," she said. "But I wouldn't call it living."

lerelyn Fisher sat in a wheelchair early on Thursday under a building scaffolding,
bathed in bright light, with newspapers spread across her lap. She rested her bare,
badly swollen feet on a black suitcase. Trash bags were piled high around her, nearly
bursting with her belongings.
Ms. Fisher lived for years in an apartment on Avenue D and Third Street. She taught
sewing classes in New York City public housing and also in a fabric store until 2003.
"I just couldn't find another job," she said. "I became homeless and discovered a
whole new way of living. "
She has avoided the shelter system because she says she finds the other residents
challenging.
"There are a lot of people who are upset and angry because they are homeless," she
said.
She turned to religion to deal with the stresses of being homeless and now preaches
to others.
"The biggest thing I've learned is how Satan has mistreated humans," she said. "I've
learned that God Jehovah lives above us and you have to know how to pray if you 're
going to survive in this world.
Her plan for the winter is to wrap herself in double plastic bags, as she has done for
years.
"It insulates you from the cold," she said. "Sometimes you get so hot inside you have
to take Off one Of the bags.

Manuel Reyes was upfront about the reason he was thrown out Of the apartment he
shared with his wife and three children and had to stay overnight in a playground:
alcoholism.
"I don't have another problem," he said. "Only drinking.
After he immigrated to the United States, he worked for 20 years as a superintendent
of a building, not far from the playground, he said.
People warned him that his addiction would cost him his job, Mr. Reyes said, but he
did not listen.
"Drinking, drinking, drinking," he said. "I lost my job.
By attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he managed to stay sober for
two years, but that ended last month.
"It's not easy, not drinking," he said.
Mr. Reyes, who has a short gray beard and was wearing a raggedy flannel shirt, carried
a blue duffel bag that he said contained everything he owned. Come daylight, he
planned to visit a friend who owns a nearby bodega. They had worked out a deal. If
Mr. Reyes bought beer from the bodega, he could sleep for a few hours in the dank
downstairs storage room.
"I'm going to drink a couple of beers and stay in the basement of the bodega," he said.
"What can I tell you? It's the life. I have to live the life."

Response:

Today many don't consider the streets because all the media's attention is focused on the conflicts around the world and issues affecting a greater number of people. When fifty people die in an attack no one is really concerned about the struggles the homeless people of New York endure. A common cause to many of these individuals' situations was alcohol.  The new Yorker on the streets cries out simply to be heard, known, and cared for by somebody and I think they deserve to be heard. However, the article explaining why some of these people often get into these predicaments makes me wonder if the harsh reality of not being heard for some is justified. This by no means implies I don't have sympathy for those individuals on the streets, however, when they choose drinking over family, love, and a home, knowing they may lose all three, I find no one to blame but them. A hard childhood makes it difficult to turn away, but judging by their previously described situation, many had already begun their life anew, but threw it all away when they chose alcohol, girlfriends, and having no responsibility. The voices of those who innocently lost their home and livelihood do deserve better though. As this article was published in the New York Times, it cries out to the citizens of New York who don't even see this misery simply because it isn't their reality. This article was published to open people's eyes, so that while they are caught up in their own lives and are even occasionally are interested in the conflicts far away, they don't forget the issues and struggles of those on their doorstep. Nate Schweber grew up in the country but experienced firsthand what it was like to live at the bottom when he moved to the big city. Schweber isn't afraid of the streets and wants to help those who started on the bottom, just like him. He knows what it's like to be beat up and rejected and even through his music reflects some of these emotions. The New York Times covers a broad scoop of issues from around the world but also likes to reveal the needs even in their own city. Depending on who you are this article may be a relief to a long-awaited prayer, a issue that doesn't concern you at all, or even an article that disgusts you with its insignificance when compared to the bigger world's issues. None the less, this is a call to action for the city of New York to invest more in the generation of the streets. To invest in homeless shelters and providing basic needs.

Schweber, Nate. "Life on the Streets." 

The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Sept. 2015. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/06/nyregion/07homeless-in-new-york-city.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0