More Dead in Venezuela Protests

Ongoing Protests Against President Nicolas Maduro Ending in More Deaths 

April 19, 2017

Two Venezuelans were shot dead Wednesday after pro-government forces clashed with opposition groups.

The protesting in Venezuela is the result of President Nicolas Madura slowly creating a dictatorship within the country. After discovering that the opposition was the majority force during the parliamentary elections of 2015, Maduro delayed all future elections.

In March 2017, the Supreme Court dissolved the legislative branch of the government, effectively making itself both the law-maker and interpreter. Once the populace discovered that two branches of the government were being run by the United Socialist Party, more protests began to emerge.

While protests have been going on in Venezuela since 2014, there has been a noticeable uptick in the severity of the protests since March.

Maduro, who is calling his opposition "terrorists" as been arming militias at an alarming rate. His harsh, undemocratic rule is causing anger among his people.

Many Venezuelans are living in fear and simply want to be free and prosperous again.

"We have to protest because this country is dying of hunger. There are a lot of people in the opposition and they are full of courage," said Alexis Mendoza, Venezuelan protester.

If a country wants a democracy, they deserve a democracy. Justice for Venezuela.

Reuters
CNN
The Guardian

No World War III in 2017

President Trump Says the U.S. Will Not be Going to Syria 

April 12, 2017 

After a major chemical attack in Syria on April 4, the world watched in horror as pictures and videos of children and teenagers dying and choking surfaced all over the web. 

In response, Trump launched nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Syria, targeting the base that housed the weapons and planes that carried out the attack. 

Because this attack was an unconstitutional declaration of war, rumors that the U.S. was initiating World War III (along with other conspiracy theories) began to surface. 

Policy makers seem to be torn between what factor weighs more in this situation. On one hand, Trump acted reasonably in response to a horrific act. On the other, this is an unjustified declaration of war that should not go unpunished, as the future implications of allowing such a response could be disastrous. 

Unfortunately, there will always be two sides to this story and there will never be a day where the world agrees in a unified manner on whether this attack was wrong or right. However, despite the backlash from both sides of this equation, Trump has announced that we will not be going to war with Syria. 

When we go to war, everyone loses. So whether you side with Trump or are against Trump in regards to this attack, the reality of it is that if we aren't going to war, it's impossible to miss the silver lining. 

Now that this attack happened, maybe Trump will open his eyes to the reason why Syrian refugees are seeking asylum into the U.S., and open our doors to them once again.  

At the end of the day,  regardless of the color of our skin, our religion, or our political affiliation, we are all human. We all deserve to be loved. We all deserve to be safe. We all deserve to be treated fairly. 

http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/04/11/trump-exclusive-were-not-going-into-syria.html

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/446633/donald-trump-syria-strike-unconstitutional-declaration-war

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/06/politics/donald-trump-syria-military/

Russian Hacking Larger Than the Presidential Election

The Russian Hacking is Larger Than the U.S. Election, it's a Threat to National Security 

Erin Worley 

April 4. 2017 

The Trump Administration has repeatedly implicated that the Democrats' accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is illegitimate and a way of trying to shift the blame of the election loss. However, according to former FBI agent Clint Watts, the problem is much larger than the U.S. election. 

Last week, Watts testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee where he explained the way Russia spread fake news during the presidential election by using armies of Twitter bots disguised as swing-voter Republicans from the Midwest. He explained that the profiles of these socially engineered bots perfectly mimic the targeted people.

Watts explained the way these bots will attempt to connect with the administration by responding to tweets the president puts out, and broadcasting stories that are false, manipulated, or conspiracies. 

The example Watts used was that of President Trump's accusation that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. These bots will react to such accusations by putting out more conspiracy theories about the accusation, thus amplifying the problem. 

This issue, which Watts has been tracking for three years, undermines the cyber security of the entire U.S. 

As a country that relies on the internet for e-commerce, national security, and day-to-day life, refusing to properly delve into this issue because of the political polarity of it puts the entire country at risk. After all, if Russia can get in, who else does that open up the doors to? And what is the extent of what Russia has done? It's time to stop looking at this as a Democrats vs. Republicans issue, and begin looking at it as a threat to national security. 

According to the 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, Cyber and Technology was the number one threat of 2016, as cyber security is becoming an increasingly complex issue. Furthermore, Russia was listed as the number one regional threat actor of the year due to its, "assertive cyber posture based on its willingness to target critical infrastructure systems and conduct espionage operations even when detected and under increased public scrutiny. Russian cyber operations are likely to target US interests to support several strategic objectives." 

It's time to focus on building up our country by focusing on our collective safety as a nation, not continuing to view this issue as a political one.

NPR Article on Russian Hacking
DNI Threat Assessment 2016  

Trump Administration Destroying Civilians

The Number of Civilians Trump has Killed Since Taking Office is Astounding

March 27, 2017 

Erin Worley 

The Trump Administration is devastating the international community and causing an anti-America rhetoric around the world. Our new leader of the free world, who, to the devastation millions of people, lacks any military or political experience, is certainly holding true to his promise to, "bomb the shit out of them" with the "them" turning out to be much more than just ISIS.

While the Obama Administration was certainly not innocent in regards to killing civilians or perpetuating the war that President Bush started, President Trump is taking matters to a new extreme. Not only is Trump continuing the legacy of the United States deciding that it is okay to ignore the sovereignty of other nations in order to kill anyone they deem as a terrorist (or anyone that happens who be nearby), but he is killing civilians at record-breaking speed. 

Just two short months into office Donald Trump has managed to kill hundreds of civilians in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, perpetuating the ongoing devastation in those countries and giving fuel to ISIS. 

While Trump's most avid supporters will continue to stand behind him until the day he gets impeached, regardless of how many innocent lives he takes or how much of the world he offends and turns against America, one thing that is certain: his approval rating is at an all-time low of 36 percent and will continue to drop. 

Syrian Rebels Attack on Sixth Anniversary of Uprising

Damascus Under Fire after Surprise Rebel Attack

March 20, 2017
Erin Worley

The Syrian capital was devastated by a surprise rebel attack on Sunday. The coordinated assault
began in the Jobar district, an area in northeastern Damascus split between rebel and government control.

The attack was led by Ahrar al-Sham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The invasion was carried out via secret tunnels, car bombs, and suicide attacks. 

Government forces responded by launching air strikes against the rebels. They were successful in pushing them back albeit at the expense of even more destruction to this war-torn city.

Though rebel groups are never truly strong because of all of the factions within them, the Syrian civil war will not end until the government is able to find some middle ground with the rebels. The attacks on Bashar al-Assad have been constant since the uprising of the Arab Spring.

I think the most important factor in the overall well-being of Syria is that there is no international intervention aside from humanitarian support for refugees. Any international intervention will undermine the sovereignty of the already delicate nation, while giving fuel to terrorist groups who would love nothing more than to have Assad knocked out of power without having to get their hands dirty.

Syria will undoubtedly struggle in the years to come. Only time will tell whether or not they will come out united and successful, or end up as a failed state.

Trump Makes More Unfounded Claims

When will Americans Decide Enough is Enough? 

March 6, 2017 

Erin Worley 

President Trump's track record for tweeting unfounded claims and even outright lies is through the roof. It's as if he's intentionally pushing the limit in an attempt to see how much the American people will let him get away with.

This week's unfounded claim is a big one. He's now accusing President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower during the election.
 

                                 
                               
                                 

It's pretty unbelievable that a sitting president is able to show so much ignorance and outright pettiness. He's already attempted to undermine the judicial branch by calling one of the judges who overruled his travel ban a "so called judge" for finding legal fault with his executive order.

He has also attempted to undermine the legislative branch by making false claims about his cabinet taking longer than other president's to get confirmed (another outright lie).

The crazy part is that he is now trying to undermine the presidency-- a position he currently holds, by picking false holes in the presidency of the last man in office.

Here are some facts about this case:

1. A president does not have the power to wiretap a U.S. citizen.

2. Trump has absolutely no evidence to support this absurd claim.

3. Trump is now trying to undermine the Justice Department by suggesting the the Federal Bureau of Investigation has broken the law.

4. FBI Director James Comey has denied the claim.

The ability of this new president to lie with such ease is mind boggling to me, but hopefully law and order will soon prevail, and the fake news being put out by our new president will be seen at face value.

It's time to stand up against the lies of this president and Make America Great Again.

Drought in Africa Increasing - Somalia is Hit Hard

Somalia is in Shambles Amid Drought 

Erin Worley

March 5, 2017 

Several countries in Africa are going through a devastating drought. Despite the strides made by its newly democratically elected president, Somalia is being hit the hardest of all. In this country of less than 13 million, 6.2 million are in danger of starvation. 

As families are struggling to relocate to areas with clean water or a food supply, their children and elderly are dying during the trek. This situation has been declared a national disaster, but with so many dying and millions on the verge of death, starvation, and malnourishment, this national disaster is deserving of international attention. 

The current aid agencies in Somalia are overwhelmed by the amount of people rushing into the capital in search of food or water. 

The United Nations and the World Food Program are both appealing for millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and assistance, but the problem is here and time is of the essence. 

Somalia has already seen mass casualties from famines and droughts in past years. The internationally community cannot stand by and continue to let this happen time and time again. It's time to take a stand and take back Somalia. 

International agencies need to come together not only to improve the current conditions, but also to improve future conditions. We are no longer a world of isolated nations, but one interdependent web of humans, and taking care of each other is part of our moral duty.