Research questions

How may these sentencing hamper future society?
Would should be the steps taken to evaluate proper sentencing?
Is life sentencing too severe in the first place?
What should people do to have this resolved?

My Review on Freedom Riders

http://soundcloud.com/addipietroburgo11/freedom-riders-documentary-project/s-44US5

I hope you enjoy my reflection of this great film by a great film maker Stanley Nelson.

Juveniles Facing Life imprisonment

In many states juveniles are being tried as adults and then depending on the crime able to be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. How, as Americans, do we feel about juveniles being given these sentences for crimes that full short of murder? How do we feel about holding these children in a juvenile prison for the majority of their lives and them transferring them to an adult prison where they are in even more danger of rape and violence as they have not matured properly as a human being?

Analysis of Image in Maus II

The image and description on page 71 particularly disturbed me as it showed and described how the Nazis would burn the jews alive and then use the already dead bodies of the Jewish as kindling for the still alive being burned. Obviously this description and the idea that this even happened is horrendous however the picture is disturbing. Obviously Spiegelman is a comic artist but it is obvious that his pictures add a sort of funky, disturbing mood to the ideas presented. (and this was obviously his objective).

Heartbreaking Report of Human RIghts Violations in the DR Congo

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/01/congo.atrocities.un.report/index.html?iref=allsearch

This article is truly heartbreaking. It is a sad reminder of the damage of the country so long ago continues to inflict itself upon the Congo. The crimes themselves are brutal but the sheer number of victims of these crimes is sickening.

Activist's Murder covered up by Officials as Suicide in The DR Congo

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11469140

This article is about a man, Armand Tungulu Mudiandambu, a Belgian resident, who was arrested and put in jail for throwing stones at Congolese President Joseph Kabila. He was found dead in his cell yesterday and the government has declared his death a suicide as he smothered himself with his own pillow. This is highly unlikely as well as the fact that there are no pillows in cells at the prison. This just shows the corruption that so regularly occurs in the Congo and the type of corruption these politicians will end up getting away with.

Lingering Thoughts after Today's Discussion

Something that generates the most thought for me is the comparison between the events that happened in the Congo and the Nazis. Obviously the two have been completely differently publicized events. I knew about the Nazi's and Auschwitz when I was in grade school and I knew very little about Europeans colonizing Africa up until now. We discussed how there were no journalists in the inland of Africa so the violence happening in Africa went unnoticed to the rest of the world and led to it being not very well publicized in today's education. We also discussed how people attempted to depersonalize the killings that happened by distancing themselves from the actions themselves while they ordered the killings and violence to be administered. This compares to the Nazi Doctors did not really "give" a lethal injection themselves however the nurse did...

Quotes from pg. 30-60

Stanley quotes:
"It is frustrating that the only African voices we hear are those recorded by Stanley himself......."
-This is interesting because it describes that the descriptions of the Africans by Stanley may not be likely.

How/why does Hochschild relate Leopold to a theatrical producer?
pg. 46- "If we take a step back and look at Leopold at this moment we can imagine him the political equivalent of a theatrical producer.

How much of Leopold's rule does Hochschild attribute to his childhood/upbringing?

Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Article Response

This article is responding to a recent occurrence of ever present Drug Cartel violence going on in Mexico currently. The article discusses how mass graves of Mexicans are being found in the country and some speculate that these groups are mostly innocents migrants going to the United States. This event specifically speaks of 72 bodies found at a ranch in North Mexico who were supposedly migrants. Many think that cartels are targeting these groups of migrants because they are normally required to carry large amounts of savings in order to get transportation to the United States. The cartels then can also force them to work for them in exchange for not being killed. This specific group being reported on was murdered due to their refusal to do so. 

This specific event is something that has just recently happened however this is just another occurrence of the same type of violence that has been discussed and been going in Mexico for quite some time now. Unfortunately this is not a random and surprising occurrence.

In order to understand the article more clearly I would ask how exactly the group of migrants were first confronted by the cartel and the circumstances leading up to the confrontation. People can only speculate at this point due to the fact that only one survivor remains and the incident is still under investigation by Mexican officials. Also to truly understand this event in particular you would need to understand the overall conflict going on in Mexico right now.

News Worthy Events From Childhood

Pick a list of news worthy events in my lifetime. Think about what you remember from these events. Ask parents the same question.


Myself:
I remember where I was on 9/11. I was in second grade and my parents had told me that a plane had hit a building in New York however at the time I thought it was simply a plane crash. As the day went on at school I remember realizing that something more serious was going on. By the time I got off of the bus and my mom was home which was not normal, I realized when watching the news and realizing what was happening. At the time I still did not have any idea on what impact this event would have on the world. I can also remember the day that the United States declared war on Iraq in March of 2002. I was in Colorado at the time for a ski trip and remember as they had Bush's press conference playing in a restaurant we were eating and everyone was silent as they listened. 


Parents:
My parents say they remember when the War in Vietnam had come officially to an end. They remember it being a particularly awkward time as many realized that it had come to a sudden end with many still torn on the issue. They said how they remember all the things in the news about the kidnappings in the 1972 Munich olympics. My dad said he could barely remember the news dealing with Apollo 11 however at the time it seemed so distant and fictional to him.