While You Were Out: This Week’s Top News
by Briana Gallucio
We know you’re busy. Syllabus week is a tornado of things to do: settling in, switching classes, buying books, getting ready for a football game, etc. If you didn’t have time to grab a newspaper or watch the news, we’ve got you covered on some pretty big things that have happened this past week.
World: Update on Syria
Despite how busy you may have been this week, I hope you all have at least heard about the situation in Syria. Although the conflict in Syria has been ongoing for the past couple of years, recently it has reached a climax. In August, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime launched chemical attacks in the suburbs of Damascus. These attacks violated international regulations and roused outrage from all over the world. The chemical attacks killed a large number of civilians, including many children. The Syrian government denies that they used chemical weapons.
And despite Syrian denial, President Obama and his administration are highly confident that it was the Syrian government that carried out the chemical weapon attacks. President Obama has decided that the United States should take military action in response to the chemical weapons attack, but he is first seeking approval from Congress in hopes of a unified decision.
In the meantime, French President François Hollande called for a coalition with the United States, Europe, and Arab states. Hollande wants a united Europe, but he did say that if the U.S. Congress fails to approve American action in Syria, France would not act alone. The United Kingdom, however, believes that British forces should not intervene, and should the U.S. make limited military strikes, the UK will not get involved. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who supports President Obama’s decision to take military action to stop the Syrian regime from using more chemical weapons, tried to get agreement from parliament. However, a narrow majority rejected the motion to aid the U.S. with British military forces.
President Obama seen this week at G-20 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin
This past week, President Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned the U.S. against military action in Syria. He stated that Russia has plans on how it would react if such events occurred. In an interview, Putin said, “We have our ideas about what we will do and how we will do it in case the situation develops toward the use of force or otherwise.” However, Putin also said that Russia is not excluding a United Nations resolution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin seen with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Congress is set to make a decision next week. What do you think the U.S. should do? Do you think President Obama was right to bring the matter to Congress or should he have acted without the approval of Congress? Let’s be sure to talk about these issues!
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Justice: Kidnapper Ariel Castro commits suicide
Kidnapper Ariel Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years for his crimes. He was convicted of kidnapping and raping three women as well as murder. On Tuesday night, he ended his prison sentence early and committed suicide. The 52-year-old inmate hanged himself using his bed sheet.
Many people are outraged and speaking out about this. In a CNN interview, Timothy McGinty said, “These degenerate molesters are cowards… This man couldn’t take, even for a month, a small portion of what he had dished out for more than a decade.”
The three women whom Castro held captive are aware of the suicide, but none of them are making a statement.
Some people see this as a happy ending, while others see this as an easy way out for a man who created his own brand of criminal.
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Entertainment: 50 Shades Cast Released
We all remember last summer’s best-selling trilogy, EL James’ 50 Shades of Grey. Fans everywhere imagined their favorite actors as the steamy couple Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. When news broke out that there would be a movie in the works, fan selections were made public. It was rumored that Matt Bomer would play seductive Christian Grey and Alexis Bledel would play Anastasia Steele. These were the choices that the fans wanted—the choices that the fans expected.
This week the cast was released to the public, and fans everywhere were outraged. Charlie Hunnam was selected as the film’s lead instead of fan favorite Bomer, and Dakota Johnson instead of Bledel.
While some fans support the decision of these lesser-known actors, the majority of fans are vocally petitioning the selection. There is an online petition, which already has more than 18,000 signatures. However, the people behind the film, set to release next summer, are content with the choices. Even author EL James supports the decision to cast Hunnam and Johnson.
These readers need to realize that this happens when any book is transformed into a movie—the actors they imagined while reading the book usually never are cast as the characters. English majors everywhere have been facing this problem forever. This new brand of readers needs to learn to accept this decision, because we all know these readers are going to see the movie nonetheless.
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Sports: Patriots Release Tim Tebow
This past week, the Patriots cut the much talked-about Tim Tebow. In his relatively brief NFL career, Tebow has become a fascinating figure. However, the Patriots wondered whether he had the skills needed to be a professional quarterback: accuracy and decision-making. Throughout training, it became clear to Coach Bill Belichick that Tebow lacked those two things.
After being released by the Patriots, Tebow was seeking a job, but refused to change positions after an NFL team expressed interest in him. He also turned down an offer to play in the Canadian Football League as well as USA Rugby. Tebow has said that he will be in “relentless pursuit” of playing as an NFL quarterback.
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WHAT!: Dennis Rodman visits North Korea…AGAIN
Basketball legend Dennis Rodman visited North Korea again this week. This is his second trip to North Korea this year. Earlier in the year, Rodman visited North Korea and was pictured with Kim Jong Un. The two were seen in photos laughing and watching basketball. A lot of criticism came from the trip as tension between the U.S. and North Korea escalated.
Before leaving for his second trip to North Korea, Rodman was pressured and publicly asked what he would do about detained Kenneth Bae, an American citizen who was convicted of unspecified hostile acts against North Korea while visiting for tourism. The North Korean government sentenced Bae to fifteen years of hard labor. Rodman tweeted that he wanted Kim to “do him a solid” and free Bae, but he changed his tune when reporters in Beijing asked him about Bae. Rodman told them, “It’s not my job to talk about Kenneth Bae… Ask Obama about that, ask Hillary Clinton about that, ask those ***holes.” An irate Rodman continued, saying about the dictator, “He’s my friend for life. I don’t care what you guys think about him. I don’t give a sh*t what the world thinks about him, but he’s my friend.”
Photo Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/09/05/syria_n_3872742.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
http://www.enca.com/world/serial-rapist-ariel-castro-found-dead-cell
http://theberry.com/2012/07/30/afternoon-eye-candy-charlie-hunnam-26-photos/charlie-hunnam-12/