Quote of the Day / Close of the Blog

Actually, quote of Monday, from Bobby's final:
"I believe if the original framers were resurrected, they would be disgusted and shocked by the corporate effect on American politics. They tried to create a government run by elites so they have the least to gain, but in present day America we have elites accepting bribes from elite elites so that they may become elite elite elites."


So the school year is over and the blog going back into hibernation. HAGS!!!

Al Qaeda threats, terror plans surface

Since the death of Osama the Al Quaeda has made threats to the U.S. "The blood of the mujahid sheikh, Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him, is very dear to us and more precious to us and to every Muslim from being shed in vain," the statement said. A mujahid is defined as a Muslim engaged in what he considers to be jihad. Investigators found material siezed from the raid with details of a possible attack on the 10th annivery of 9/11. The materials suggest that al Quaeda was interested in targeting Washington, New tork, Los Angeles amd Chicago on specifc dates such as July 4, Chrismas, and the opening day of the United Nations. With this information that has been presented; i have a question for you guys. Should we continue to pursue Al Queada? Even though it took us 10 years to find 1 man and with that 10 years brought us to our current economic situation. Or should we end this war since we already got the man responsible for 9/11? whats your guys input on this.

Search Allowed if Police Hear Evidence Being Destroyed

On Monday, in an 8 to 1 decision, the supreme court ruled that if police officers smell the scent of burning marijuana, knock loudly, and then enter, they are not violating the fourth amendment. samuel alito jr. was part of the majority and believed in the decision, but the dissenting judge (ruth bader ginsburg), believed that police officers were being given a power too far-reaching. although it is true that these officers no longer would need a warrant, technically, alito commented that if a citizen doesn't come to the door and tell the officers that a warrant is required, and they are burning marijuana, then they deserve to get caught, basically. this case came to the supreme court as a mistake actually. in lexington, kentucky, officers ran into an apartment building, going after a man who had dealt coke to an informant. they ended up following the smell of marijuana to a different apartment, busting in under the assumption that they were following their guy. kentucky courts ruled that the officers were in the wrong, but the supreme court overruled that decision. i believe that if you are stupid enough to have enough weed in your possession that you need to burn it to dispose of it, you deserve to be prosecuted, but this case (Kentucky v. king) raises an important point. how secure are we in our homes??

Conservative group sues over bin Laden death photos

So the Obama Adminstration has refused to release any photos showing Osama Bin Ladin death. A conserative legal watchdog group has filed a lawsiut agianst the administration saying that " The American people have a right to know , by law, basic information about the killing of Osama Bin Laden," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Since Obama has no intention in releasing the photos they must now take it to court. In Obama's defense he says he doesn't want to "spike the football" by releasing these graphic photos of a man getting shot in the head so that it could be used as a propaganda tool. I personally agree with the conserative group, we do have the right to view these photos and the Obama administration has no right to withhold it from us. I feel like they are trying to hide something from us, there has been suspicion on wether Osama is really dead, but thats just my piont of view. But what do you guys think? do you support Obama or the corservative group?

Before It Can Rebuild, Japanese Town Must Survive

hopefully this post doesn't post with extremely huge font like the last one for some reason hahah sorry. this post is on the topic that a lot of japanese coastal towns are fearing or currently facing. i had never even given this topic a thought before reading this article. clearly, the removal of debris and rubble from japan's devastated towns will take quite a lengthy period of time, but otsuchi, japan, faces a problem so tragic, but not unique in japan's coastal areas. otsuchi is in the clean-up phase, but they have encountered a problem. not only do former residents not want to continue to live there and build new houses simply because of the travesty that has scarred their memories there, but also, otsuchi will soon enough no longer any younger to middle-aged citizens. i never even realized this, but in the affected Japanese towns, there are currently no jobs, obviously..that leads to the clear lack of opportunities for younger citizens, and soon towns will have no middle aged people, because they simply cannot afford to continue life where there is no money..this may lead to the disappearance of literally whole towns. how tragic. not only that, but the elderly that stick behind are not capable of a hard, long restoration, especially while still fearing aftershocks and more tsunamis. although plans to save the city of otsuchi are flowing in from Tokyo, nothing has stuck yet. while talk of creating huge platforms to move otsuchi may have been practical talk in the past, japan may no longer be able to engage in construction endeavors like that. otsuchi's mayor was killed by the tsunami, as were 30 other officials, and the town hall they work at was crippled as well. although the city's vice mayor was one of few survivors, and has stepped up to lead the remaining citizens, the small port city was so close to the epicenter of the destruction that all forms of economy were washed away, and the city cannot survive on it's main staple, fishing. in otsuchi, a dozen or so bodies are still pulled from the wreckage every day. what do you suggest the town do? how would you react in this situation? share you thoughts.

After Bin Laden, U.S. Reassesses Afghan Strategy

Ok, so this is the second time I have written this post, as the first time there was an error. yay. anywho. as you all hopefully know, we have accomplished the goal that we set out to do in the afghan-u.s. war. osama bin laden is dead, and while politicians and civilians alike are still contemplating the actual significance of his death (is it crucial, or just symbolic?), there is debate over a bill introduced by california republican Representative Howard P. McKeon, chairman of the house armed services committee. the bill is riding the coattails of the concept that rather than withdraw all troops because of bin laden's death, we should actually use this moment as a catalyst for more anti-terror warfare, enough to bring al qaeda to the table for negotiation. the bill is a defense authorization bill, an update of the power granted to congress after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. it proposes that the US is in a conflict between "Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces", and that the president is able to use military force to quell those forces, including detention without trial of members or "substantial" supporters of terrorist groups. groups like the center for constitutional rights, and the american civil liberties union are in uproar about the possibility of so much open-ended power being given to the executive branch. they believe that this bill allows or the president to wage endless wars, with no time limits or ranges. although the article goes on to talk about insurgents and the pakistani government, i chose to focus on the issue of the proposed bill..how do you feel about so uch power being given to the president? and on a much-debated note, how do you react to the fact that there is the potential for detainment without trial??

New Cyber Security Bill on its way?

On Thursday, the White House planned to reveal its new draft legislation that is expected to better protect the nation from cyber crime threatening the national infrastructure and the economy.
"The administration has taken significant steps to better protect America against cyber threats," an official said. This cybersecurity legislative proposal is used to demonstrate Obama’s “commitment to addressing complex and systemic national vulnerabilities that place the American people and economy at risk," the official said.
The proposed bill will focus on improving cybersecurity in the critical national infrastructure and in the government's networks and computers. The official also commented on the potential opposition from privacy groups who may argue that the bill will affect the balance between protecting civil liberties and economic growth. The White House is anticipating Congress to take action on the cybersecurity bill this year.
I am not quite sure about how this process of improving cybersecurity will work, but ultimately it sounds like a good idea to me, especially in regards to the recent numerous Facebook hackings. Do you guys agree with the pursuit of this plan, and how do you think Congress should go about it?

Give me my medicine!- South San Francisco banning medical marijuana dispensaries

The City Council of South San Francisco has recently decided to prohibit the establishment of medical-marijuana dispensaries. Such a decision was influenced by drug cases involving local high school students.
The council voted 3-2 to ban dispensaries after the strong opposition from the community. Mayor Kevin Mullin, Vice Mayor Richard Garbarino and Councilman Pedro Gonzalez supported the prohibition, while Karyl Matsumoto and Mark Addiego dissented. Before this decision was made, the council heard from many community members who were against having a collective in South San Francisco. The council also took in consideration the recent incidents at El Camino High School in which students got their hands on drugs through connections to people with a medical card.
"It's unfortunate that patients in the South San Francisco community won't have a place locally to get their medicine," Scot Candell (an attorney for a group that had been trying to establish a dispensary there) said. "Their choice now is to procure it illegally in South San Francisco or travel distances to get it in compliance with the law. Unfortunately, some patients don't have the ability to travel distances."
Matsumoto (council member) voted against a ban, saying, "I feel strongly that there is a need for medical marijuana. I know there's abuse. But I believe medical marijuana is less insidious than potent drugs."
I personally strongly agree with Matsumoto in that medical marijuana is needed, and it is definitely not as dangerous as many other drugs.
But what do you guys think? Do you think medical marijuana dispensaries should be abolished although it is clearly legal to have them?

Brilliant Satire on the death of Bin Laden

I don't agree with the point of view being indirectly expressed by this Star Wars analogy, but it is clever and amusing.

On the other hand, I have grown tired of the ideology of "American Exceptionalism" (as has the blogger in the immediately preceding link) and the empire that feeds off that ideology. I'm perfectly happy to have the United States be a world leader through its ideas and innovation, becoming one of many successful and civilized societies on earth, and not an egotistical bully intent on maintaining global dominance no matter what the cost in lives, freedoms, and values.

The Jedi weren't terrorists and the US has never committed genocide as the Galactic Empire did with Alderan. But the empire creaks under its own weight nonetheless.

Senators push for better job training for service members

when Americans troops finally come home they face the challenge of finding a job. Apparently the military isn't such a good way to get training and experience to find a career in the civilian world, despite of what the defense department says. We spent billions of dollars training men and women to defend our country and when we're done with them we throw them away like yesterdays trash. There is an unemployment rate of over 27% of young veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Eric Smith, a U.S navy veterans says"I served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman for 5 1/2 years. During my tours I gained valuable experience in the medical field under extreme conditions. Despite my knowledge and service, I am struggling to find a job today and I'm not alone". So is joining the military such a good idea now? Or is it just how bad our economy is right now?

AZ Appeals to Supreme Court on Immigration Law

The article is about how Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is trying to ask the Supreme Court to repeal the Arizona Immigration Law Ruling. This planned appeal will happen for the second time after Brewer was denied by the Circuit Court of Appeals that refused to prevent key parts of the law to be enforced. The federal government says that the Arizona Law disrupts relations between the US and Mexico, intrudes on the exclusiveness of immigration, and severely burdens the legal immigrants in the country. The law was passed to quell complaints about how the federal is not doing much to regulate illegal immigration.
I believe that the Arizona Law must be banned. I think it is very racist and it contradicts the fundamentals of how our country is seen, to be a land of opportunity. The strict immigration policies in Arizona should be considered illegal because I believe that it has state powers mixing with federal powers.
An alternate solution that can happen is to get rid of the Arizona Law, and increase spending on the border patrol. It will satisfy those who say the federal government isn’t doing much on illegal immigration, it will get rid of the Arizona Law, make legal immigrants feel more secure, and it can also help our economy by creating jobs for more border patrol security. So what do you think will happen? Do you think Governor Brewer will get her repeal denied again? If so, what will happen with the people living here illegally in the US? What will happen with our relations with Mexico?

California teachers mobilize to pass taxes

So you may have noticed that all the teachers around campus today were wearing stickers that showed California with red markings around it and the title "State of Emergency". This is the teacher's reaction to the dwindling amount of money in the public school system, and the fact that Jerry Brown will be passing the revised budget plan on the 16th. Teachers are hoping that California will go ahead and just pass the legislation and new taxes, instead of waiting around for a popular vote, where the school system will lose even more money..(people hate paying taxes, even if it affects their child's education, apparently). Teachers are staging a sit-in at the Capitol building in Sacramento. I really respect the Teacher's Association for organizing a large movement of this scale. As the article mention, the numbers in the last few years are staggering. 30,000 teachers laid off, over 7 billion less being spent on education, etc..Such horrible statistics. teachers are emphasizing more taxation of the rich in California, as well as a tax on oil drilling. According to the article, funding has gone down in the last few years about 540 dollars per student, resulting in larger class sizes, and an even shorter school year..Although I enjoy our short school years, the cuts continue and should be a serious source of debate and tension now, as well as in the future..What do you guys think should happen? Are you fans of the popular vote? What about taxation of the rich? Feel free to voice your opinion.

Rising Waters in Memphis

Lets avert our attention off from all the news that has shocked the world with many different views, and look back to the U.S. for a period of time. In Memphis, Tennessee there has been a downpour of rain, creating a very high flood, which officials have said had to evacuate 1,300 residents near the flood area. The city has had as much as 48 ft- a outstanding record which had not been accomplished since the 1930's.
Many officials,and policemen say that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to the Levees, that they will not break down, but with so much water washing into town, that seems too much for levees to handle.20,000 bags are at the ready if the collapse of the levees were to happen, but is that enough to save the city?

So do you think this is normal flooding for that part of the country, or is it more about some mysterious global warming everyone is experiencing? Do you think the levees will hold and protect the town from such water, and can 20,000 bags really be the life saver of this situation?

Group homes to change troubled youth

Group homes all over the U.S. claim that they are helpful in trying to change or help youth make the right decisions in the streets. But are they really helping change the youth their societies? Many teenagers go into these group homes and come out falling back into the same situations and decisons they were making before they went in. Yes, there are youth, and adults even, that go through these kind of experiences in group homes and come out completely changed. Though, there are still the others that make no progress. Why would the government spend money on new housing and treatment for troubled youth, when many of them dont even want to change? There is also the issue about sending your youth out of state to a group home. Many kids would be upset and refuse treatment, especially since they are so far away from their families. Why spend the money on sending your child out of the state to have only a hope that they will come back changed. Chances are, that their parents will be missing them because it is their child.

Video Released of Bin Laden

President Obama recently decided to not release pictures of Osama bin Laden’s body due to their gruesome nature, but the White House has however recently released five videos that were found at his compound. The videos include footage of outtakes from bin Laden’s propaganda videos, footage of him watching news channels while wrapped in a blanket, and a propaganda video entitled “Message to the American People” in which, like his other videos, bin Laden made anti American statements. The government has released all of the videos without sound in order to not spread terroristic messages. The videos show that bin Laden’s propaganda videos were scripted and that he paid attention to his appearance since it can be seen that he dyed and trimmed his beard.

Notes, computer disks and thumb drives retrieved from the compound show evidence that bin Laden was still greatly involved in planning al-Qaida’s affairs and that he used the compound as an al-Qaida control center. Everything that was retrieved from the compound has been named the “largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever collected”. Within its contents, governments officials have found phone numbers and documents that they hope will help them break al-Qaida.

Bin Laden worked hard to create an image for himself, an image of being a strong tough leader. I agree with many who have said that the released footage greatly hurts that image. Seeing that everything he said in his videos was greatly rehearsed and seeing that he was self-conscious about his image makes him seem a lot less scary and threatening. I also think the fact that the government found evidence that bin Laden was still greatly involved in al-Qaida’s affairs and the fact that they found documents that could help them further try to stop al-Qaida, is good support to argument that it was good to have gone after him and deal with him in the way we did.

What are your thoughts on the released footage? Have they made you see bin Laden is a different light? Do you think pictures of bin Laden’s body should be released? Do you think the fact they are “gruesome” is a good excuse to not release them?

The videos can be watched here:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/07/world/asia/20110507-binladen-videos.html?ref=asia

Iraqi girl finally sees the photo the day her parents were killed

This now famous Iraqi war picture of Samar Hassan, was taken in 2005 as she watches her parents get killed by U.S. soldiers.
Samar's parents were taking their son, also Samar's brother, to the hospital because he was sick. On the way back was when their parents were shot and killed.
Three years later, Samar's brother died from an attack at their house. He was shot several times.
Many of Samar's sibilings are perscribed medication for their mental health problems.
Military forces asked that the pictures taken to no longer be shown to the public. But why are the photos being taken in the first place? Also, why are the U.S. killing the innocent? Why is it that Iraqi children have to see these tramatic actions all over their country? Shouldn't the Americans have some sympathy towards how these people are going to feel after the fact?

Slight Fall in Gas Prices

Gas prices have been rising daily for about a month, but the national average price for a gallon of gasoline fell by a tenth of a cent to $3.984 today on May 6^th. However, economists are saying that it might be too soon to predict if gas price are going to stay at this price. Gas prices might get higher later in the year. Gas prices depend a lot on the price of crude oil. Crude oil fell in price this week, which may have caused the drop in gas prices. It’s estimated by Chris Lafakis, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, that for each dollar that oil prices fall, gas prices fall by 2.2 cents.

Investors in oil believe that the energy demand worldwide isn’t as strong as they thought. This is a reason why oil prices fell. Part of the reason why the economy is at risk is because of the high gas prices. People spend less on other things when they spend more to buy gas. This will make economic growth slow down.

Gas is so expensive right now because the Middle East is having problems, which may cause a lot of oil to be taken from the global market. Gas refineries also shut down at this time of year for maintenance. This will push prices up for gas. Gas is also in higher demand in the summer because families take vacations and use a lot of gas to get to their vacation spots.

I think that this small drop in gas prices is a good thing for people, but I don’t think that gas prices will fall a lot more. It is getting close to summer, and a lot of people will be going on vacation. These people will need a lot of gas. Since gas is being demanded more, I think that gas prices will increase.

What do you think? Will gas prices go up or will they fall more? Do you think that high gas prices slow down the economy?

GOP Party Criticizes Obama on Foreign Policy

This article is about how the Republicans will not let President Obama’s success in the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden be praised for too long based on his foreign policy. I believe that they are trying to give him as little credit as possible to be able to gain more Republican seats in Congress. Republican speakers say about Obama that “He’s made a number of other decisions relating to our security here and around the world that I don’t agree with.” The Republicans criticize Obama by saying that the only thing he’s done right was “following Bush’s foreign policies.” I somewhat agree with this because our troops are still overseas but I think we should cut Obama some slack. America is full of problems and we cannot expect our President to solve all of them like magic. I believe we should congratulate Obama right now for his mission’s success. The article later goes on explaining about possible candidates the Republicans have for their presidential nominee.

I believe that the Republicans are just trying to prevent President Obama’s popularity from rising for the next presidential elections. What do you think? Do you believe that the Republicans are just sore because they can’t get any praise for the things they were able to do? Do you think we will have another Democratic president in office? What do you think will be the future of Congress? Will they be able to work together with the Executive Branch?

PG&E prices on the rise

With the new PG&E meters being installed, PG&E company is raising its' prices to make up profit for the money they lost in paying for the new meters. It's not a very high increase but it is still money.

The issue here is that PG&E is already making more money off the new meters and also raising the prices to make up for lost profit of replacing the analog meters. Last year, though, administrative law said that it would be okay if they did this but for less money than if the meters were actually being used.

The argument is that some feel that PG&E is making too much profit off these old meters, while others feels that it is okay.

A voted decision was made that PG&E will increase their rates about $13 million over the span of the next six years.

What is your opinion-do you think that PG&E should or shouldn't be able to increase their electricity charges due to the money spent on the new meters?

Father gives son canibus oil to treat his cancer

A toddler, Cash Hyde, is a very happy boy, but soon became very sick. Doctors had always told him that he has mono. Cash's father, Mike, knew something else was wrong and that it wasn't just mono, he believed it was something more serious. He had taken his son to the e.r. where they did different testing and found a 4.5 centimeter tumor in his brain. He was just one year old, almost two, at the time.

He was rushed to another hospital where they did brain surgery to take out the tumor, though he still had the cancer in him. At this point, Cash was extremely sick, sleeping more than half the day, and not eating one bit.

He was put on extreme doses of medication of kemo therapy, which made him feel extremly awful. Kemo was not working for him and he still felt terrible. They had tried many different solutions but nothing was cutting it. The doctors honestly thought that he was not going to make it.

Mike had mentioned canibus to the doctors, but they instantly denied it. So what his dad did was get authorization from another source to use the canibus oil, but did not tell cash's doctors why. He had asked the doctors to take Cash off of the medications he was taking, and instead he used the canibus oil through his feeding tube.

Miraculously enough, Cash felt alot better and he actually took his first bite of food after 40 days or so of not eating.

A week after an interview with the Hyde family, they got the incredible news that Cash was now cancer free.

What would you do in this situation? If nothing was working for your child, and canibus oil was your last resort, would you take the risk to give it to your child?

Is Celebrating Bin Laden’s Death Appropriate?

I’ve heard many of us ask each other, in class and in blog comments, if we think that celebrating bin Laden’s death is appropriate. I myself have had trouble trying to put my feelings into words, but I stumbled over an article by a Huffington Post blogger, Pamela Gerloff, and found that we both hold very similar views pertaining to this subject.

Gerloff believes that public celebration of bin Laden’s death is not proper behavior for not only Americans, but for human beings has a whole. Part of being human is having the ability appreciate the gift of life. Celebrating a death, no matter whose it may be, is to Gerloff, “a violation of human dignity”. Gerloff feels that celebrations are not portraying Americans in a good light, and states, “We are not a peaceful species. Nor are we a peaceful nation. The public celebrations of this killing throughout the country draw attention to these facts”.

Gerloff understands that bin Laden’s death may bring feelings of closure to some people, especially to those who had lost a loved one in the 9/11 attacks, however she does not think his death should be celebrated to the extent of chanting and singing in front of the White House. Instead of celebrating in such a gaudy and loud manner, Gerloff believes, “A more peaceable response to his killing would be to mourn the many tragedies that led up to his violent death and the thousands of violent deaths that occurred in the attempt to eliminate him from the face of the Earth; and to feel compassion for anyone who, because of their role in the military or government, American or otherwise, has had to play a role in killing another”.

Yes, bin Laden’s death was an achievement, but Gerloff points out the fact that his death has not stopped the War On Terror or created more peace. Gerloff states that since his death,“threat levels are going up, not down”. Gerloff also wants to remind readers that “The impulse to celebrate a death depends on what side you're on”. If another country were to kill an American leader and then go onto cheerfully celebrate his death, how would Americans feel about it?

What are your views on celebrating bin Laden’s death? Do you agree with Gerloff? Please feel free to play devil’s advocate!

Obama Ratings Rising

We all know about Osama Bin Laden now being killed. But has this National WorldWide Event changed Barack Obama's ratings as he is the President who had issued the order? Many people believe, with the killing of the Al-Qaeda leader, that Obama's ratings will surely rise over the next days-weeks.Keep this in mind, there are still many months left until his reelection and certaintely by then the joy/happiness of Osama will be long gone, will his death be strong enough to have voters pick for Obama again next fall?His ratings currently are at 40% but it is said recently that his ratings will now soar due to this event.

 Do you think Obama will have enough support from 9/11 families to have them vote for him after he issued American Troops to kill Osama Bin Laden, or will feelings die down by re-election that voters decide on other candidates for the 2012 election?

Possible Attack on Heathrow Airport in London

Going to London this summer? Well maybe think twice about which airport you might land and take off from. Possible leaks came from Al -Qaeda ( On Wikileaks )  have determined that Heathrow Airport, the busiest in the world, set in the center of London might be attacked if Osama Bin Laden ever be captured or killed. The highjackers would turn the plane around an fly into one of the terminals.After this would be completed a nuclear bomb would be set off, sending the city and possibly parts of the country into disarray.

So what do you think? Should Osama's life been treated in such a different way, that way ensuring the safety those who travel to London, Heathrow Airport? Do you think Al-Qaeda is being honest about this and are still discussing when and how to properly do this? Remember how California's Golden Gate Bridge was also a target for 9/11...?

So please, every traveling to London this summer, be safe...

Baby found dead in Bronx apartment

A single mother of a "happy" and "quiet" new baby boy, Ryan Ferrer, went on her way to work this morning and came home to find out that her 9 month old son was dead.

She had reportedly asked a friend / neighbor, which had been a 17 year old boy, to help her out with babysitting while she went to work and just until the actual babysitter came and took over.

The police had been called and showed up at the apartment, waiting for crime scene investigators to come.

The baby was then taken to the Montefiore hospital, where he was announced dead.

Neighbors had reported that a young man had gotten frustrated with the baby, and punched the baby in the chest, which could explain the trauma injuries, reported by the police, in the torso.

The 17 year old boy is being questioned, while the baby's autopsy scheduled for Wednesday. There is alot more of the story to be covered once the cause of the baby's death is released and also what happened and what will happen with the 17 year old boy who is being questioned.

Neighbors also report that the single mother also has a 15 year old son, who had been at school. She had also had her mother just pass away recently of stomach cancer. Her mother had lived with her and they were very close.

What else do you think happened that the neighbors didn't mention, or that they didn't know about? Could there be a more underlying cause of the death? If the 17 year old boy is eventually found guilty, what do you think will happen to him?

Osama bin Laden is DEAD.

He was the student of Abdullah Azzam and used his family’s fortune to help Azzam and the mujahedeen fight against the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

He took part in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and attacks against U.S. soldiers throughout the 1990’s in East Africa and Yemen.

He was the man behind the 9/11 attacks.

He was the leader of al Qaeda, making him one of the most infamous and most wanted men on earth.

He is dead.

Tonight crowds are standing in front of the White House and Ground Zero celebrating the death of a man who saw the United States as the ultimate enemy. Bin Laden was killed in a firefight which was carried out by CIA paramilitaries and the elite Navy SEAL Team Six in Pakistan. While addressing the U.S. of bin Laden’s death, Obama stated that exchanges with Pakistan helped lead us to his whereabouts and that no Americans were killed during the battle. bin Laden was found in a custom-built compound with two security gates located in wealthy Islamabad suburb. Three other men were also killed along side of bin Laden, including one of his sons. His remains were taken into custody and will be handled respectively to Islamic traditions

So how will bin Laden’s death affect the U.S. and the world? CNN's Nic Robertson stated that his death will “make our relations with Pakistan even more frayed and even more difficult” and that “it is unlikely to kill off al Qaeda but it is likely to have a huge psychological impact on the members of the organization.” Robertson went on to state that Al Qaeda members will mostly likely want to see proof of bin Laden’s death from the U.S. to make sure that this is not just propaganda. bin Laden’s death might even affect world markets, a Yahoo Finance article has stated “oil, gold, and silver are all trading lower as a result of the breaking news”. bin Laden’s death will also add to the list of Obama’s achievements and boost his public approval rating, most likely helping him in the 2012 elections.

What are your thoughts? Do you think bin Laden’s death will anger Al Qaeda members and inspire them to further harm the U.S.? How will this affect the 2012 elections? Will his death actually affect the price of oil? Do you think his death even matters? Are you still gushing over William and Kate and not even caring about this bin Laden guy? I am very excited to read what you all have to say!

Lazy bibliography:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/05/01/bin.laden.lok.robertson.cnn

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/05/01/sot.obama.bin.laden.dead.cnn?hpt=C2

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/How-Will-Osama-Bin-Laden-wscheats-3248083992.html?x=0&.v=1

For kicks and giggles:

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http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkjveovdg01qz7by3o1_500.jpg

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http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkjwhmfnTq1qz9bwro1_500.jpg