China Scrambles Jets Over Disputed Air Space

China recently decided to claim some islands that are under dispute as to if they belong to China or Japan and said the airspace was restricted. The United States promptly flew some planes through the area because we love being America. Japan is obviously upset by this as they believe that the Islands belong to them, and have been under that impression for many years. The United States is obligated by treaty to defend Japan if they are invaded, so the situation is understandably tense. Several other countries are ignoring the call for restricted air space, including Japan and South Korea. However, the US states that they aren't making a statement by flying over the area as this is a common practice for them. Even some of Japan's major airlines have decided to ignore the restrictions.

I think it's hilarious that the US flew aircraft over the area right after the restriction was released. 'Merica. On a serious note, China needs to calm down. There are pictures of these islands online, and they are tiny. It's not that big of an achievement to get these little islands. Also, if we get dragged into a war with China over stupid tiny islands that would be ridiculous. Hopefully it doesn't escalate that far.

Syria's Children

Since conflict broke out in 2011 in Syria between Rebels and Soldiers, families have been torn apart and the destruction is easy to see. Millions of children are now refugees, living alone or otherwise separated from their parents, dealing with serious psychological issues, receiving no medical care or education, or being forced into illegal child labor. A British doctor said that recently pregnant women and children have been targeted in gruesome "war games". As these children are living in great poverty, they are extremely malnourished. This leads to a lot of serious medical issues for these children.
It's really horrible that innocent children are the major victims of such a tragic war. Children are basically helpless, especially when they're uneducated, so they really don't have a chance in this world.

Crane Collapses and Destroys Part of Brazil's World Cup Stadium

The San Paulo, Brazil World Cup Stadium suffered major structural damage when a crane collapsed. The crane was supposed to be putting on the final piece of roofing when it snapped in the middle, causing a huge setback for the stadium. Two people were killed in the collapse, and there is a possible third fatality that is yet to be verified. The third person is thought to be trapped in the rubble, and is possiby dead. However, these claims haven't been verified yet by CNN. The stadium was actually on schedule and is very close to being finished, which is pretty rare in terms of World Cup stadiums as they are usually behind. They don't believe that this will hurt Brazil holding the opening ceremony or delay that in any way. This will definitely set back the plans of the stadium, but it'll more than likely be completed in time for the World Cup in 2014.
This news was big to me because I absolutely love to watch the World Cup. It's so sad to hear that this happened so close to game time, and that they were almost ready; but at least they weren't already behind schedule! That would have made it even more difficult if they were as behind schedule as other World Cup stadiums.

U.N. Report: Too Many Girls Too Young to Give Birth

A 16 year old girl from India named Kamol is forced into an arranged marriage that she didn't want to be a part of, as it conflicted with her plans to continue her education. So at the tender age of 16, Kamol is pregnant with her first child. Kamol gave birth to a girl, for which she is blamed and punished because she did not provide a son. Since the birth of her baby Kamol claims that she is barely allowed to leave her home. She states that when she is alone she reads her old school books, holds her baby girl, and cries. One in every five girls (about 19%) gives birth before she turns 18 in developing countries, according to the report. Of the 7.3 million girls who give birth every year, 2 million of them are under the age of 14.The report states that pregnancies, especially for these girls, "are not the result of a deliberate choice" but rather "the result of an absence of choices and of circumstances beyond a girl's control," affecting their health, education and future job opportunities. "For these very young adolescents who do not have a say in whether or when they will become pregnant, their futures are destroyed, and their basic human rights are violated," said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund in an e-mail. 

It is so sad to me that this kind of stuff is still happening in the modern world today. The fact that a 16 year old girl can be forced into an arranged marriage against her will, then punished when the baby she births is not a boy, forced to stay home all day, and not allowed to persue her dreams. If they baby is born by choice, however, I don't think it's anyones business to say that a 16 year old girl is too young to be a mother. While in some countries it's frowned upon, not all cultures are the same. In some countries it's completely acceptable for a young girl to give birth and she does so willingly, and it's not our right or responsibility to say that it's ok or not ok.

36 Killed in Blasts Targetting Iraqi Shiite Muslims on Holy Day

At least 27 people were killed, and 58 others were wounded when a man wearing a police uniform with a bomb strapped to his chest blew himself up near some Shiite pilgrims. This occurred about 75 miles northeast of Baghdad. This suicide bombing followed a pair of bombings that occurred in eastern Iraq, killing 8 and injuring 25. The twin blasts targeted a procession tent. During Ashura, pilgrims often set up tents to distribute water and food to passersby. The tents also give fellow pilgrims a place to rest, mourn, chant and pray before they march to Karbala, the holy shrine of Imam Hussein. The explosions are the latest in a spate of attacks apparently targeting Shiite Muslims during this holy week. On Wednesday, four coordinated blasts killed 10 people in Baquba, police said. Those explosions targeted a series of Shiite processions. Imam Hussein's death was one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunni and Shiite Islam, the two main Muslim religious movements. He was killed in Karbala during battle in 680 A.D.

It's really horrible that these people are being killed just because of their religion. It's amazing to me that this amount of horrible crimes can occur in such a short amount of time, and it's just commonplace for these people. It's sad that they aren't allowed to worship in peace, or with any sense of security for their safety. 

African Pirates Use Millions of Dollars on Drugs, Real Estate, and Prosititutes

According to new information released on Friday, Somali pirates have made over $400 million in ransom over the last eight years. Most of their profits don't even come from the ships they overtake, but rather capturing individuals and collecting ransom. The lowest level pirates who do most of the dirty work take home about $30,000-$75,000 per vessel, while their "money kingpins" take home anywhere between 50-75% of the money.

This issue of piracy is really causing major problems in that part of the world, and it's shocking to hear how profitable it has been for them. I really have no idea what they could possibly do to stop it, but something has got to be done. It's alarming that they can make half a million dollars a year just from ransoms!

cnn.com

Germany Makes Third Gender Option Legal

Germany recently passed a law that states that parents are not required to check a gender box on a child's birth certificate. This came about as certain adult members of society claim that they were born with both male and female characteristics. However, it is not clear as to how this is going to affect other aspects of the law such as marriage. It is also not clear if a child is going to have to choose a gender to identify with as they get older, and when such a decision must be made.

At first I thought this was really strange, but as I listened to the 2 individuals who spoke of how difficult it was to not be able to identify with a gender it started to make some sort of sense. However I really think they should have thought this through a little better as it pertains to things like marriage, prisons, and other gender specific institutions.

cnn.com

NSA Spying in Germany

NSA is at it again. A German magazine published an article stating that the United States has been collecting information on the communications of allied leaders; including their Chancellor, Angela Merkel. The Chancellor says that her confidence in America has definitely been shaken. President Obama is claiming that he didn't know that the spying was going on, but this comment has drawn sharp criticism from both the right and the left. Democratic Senator Fienstein from California expressed her concern that Congress didn't know what the intelligence community was up to and that they should really involve themselves more in keeping an eye on them.

This story really irritated me because the United States is already hated by a lot of countries in the world, we shouldn't be spying on our allies. I don't necessarily believe that the President didn't know that this was going on, but if that's true there better be some pretty serious laws enacted to prevent this kind of crap from happening. If we are going to be spying on an ally, we better have a pretty freaking good reason to be doing so. Thus far, no credible reasons for the spying have come out. The NSA has received so much bad press you'd think they would calm down and take a step back for a while, but where is the fun in that? It'll be really interesting to see how Germany reacts to this breach, and to see if they are still our friend after this.

South Korean Military Shoot Man Trying to Swim to North Korea

A 40 year old man named Nam was killed as hundreds of bullets rained down on him as he tried to cross the most heavily fortified border in the world to get into North Korea. Nam managed to get over the barbed wire fence, into the demilitarized zone which includes the river and jumped in with a styrofoam float. Officials say that Nam was warned several times to get out of the water and return to land in South Korea. After not heeding their warnings to get out of the 800 meter wide river, 30 soldiers fired hundreds of shots at him and he was killed. When questioned about the shooting the General said that it is standard protocol to shoot anyone in the area unauthorized. It is the first account of the military shooting someone trying to defect to North Korea. While North Koreans trying to get to South Korea is very common, it's essentially unheard of for someone to try to leave the South to get to the North. His reasons for this are unknown.

I think it's very interesting and bizarre that someone would try to defect to North Korea. Ten's of thousands of North Korean's have defected to the South, but to go the other way around sort of defies logic. However, officials were refusing to give away information about this man. Perhaps he had family on the other side that he was trying to get to, who knows. The military members involved in this incident were questioned as to whether or not this action was a bit over the top, which I can definitely see why it would be seen as a drastic response. However with the history between these countries, I think they were justified in shooting the man. He defied direct orders and he had to suffer the consequences.