Does anybody have right to torture?

 

Lately the whole media is covered of news about torture of suspected terrorist at CIA's 'Salt Pit' prison. As I read in this article the first detainee interrogated in the old abandoned brick factory north of Kabul became the model for what would later unfold in the cave-like halls of a CIA interrogation facility known as the "Salt Pit." Suspected terrorists, often were left alone in the shadows, under a barrage of shrieking music, cold, shackled and hooded. Some senior leaders in the factory did not have the linguistic or analytical experience to conduct effective questioning of CIA detainees and the result was diminished intelligence.

After reading this article I thought that nothing else can surprise me about this. But then I read another article which tells about that The United States government paid two military psychologists $80 million to develop torture tactics that were used against suspected terrorists. Even if one could get past the repulsive idea of paying someone to come up with new ways to torture people, the huge amount of taxpayer dollars spent on two individuals is simply unacceptable, especially when they didn’t seem to “invent” anything. So, basically US government paid millions of dollars for nothing. Couldn’t they spend that money for making better living conditions for US citizens instead of paying non-professional people to develop torture tactics. 

Here is one more article that I read about torturing.

This torturing is being done to know more information about Al Qaeda. I think that this torturing can’t have any excuse and the torturers should be convicted. Some people think that “they are terrorists, and they deserve it”, but I’ll say NO. No one deserves being tortured. In my opinion these people who torture terrorists are not better than they. If they require terrorists not to terrorize and torture, do they have right to do the same thing with them? I think that they can use better and more civilized methods to know the information they need. 

    

                             MUCKRAKING

          Muckraking is the action of searching out and publicizing scandalous information about famous people in an underhanded way. Muckraking is considered an early form of investigative journalism. In the early 1900’s before World War I, muckrakers reported on topics concerning crime, politics and corruption in society and were often considered watchdogs. Muckraking is considered an early form of investigative journalism. In the early 1900’s before World War I, muckrakers reported on topics concerning crime, politics and corruption in society and were often considered watchdogs. They revealed scandal among the government and important issues that led to reform. The news today is constantly filled with stories of scandal in the government in politics. Journalists and reporters indulge in different types of reporting, especially investigative journalism and have turned into modern day muckrakers.

    After long research, I’ve found a muckraking article, written by one of “McClure’s” magazine’s journalists. It has been written on February 10^th, 2014. This article attracted my attention from first words. The article’s title is “The Real Story of Slavery”. The author start his article talking about that mentioning the word ‘slavery’ most people think of the American South from the 1600s to 1800s but according to black historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., of the nearly 12 million Africans shipped across the Atlantic, only 388,000 were bound for the United States. Yet as history is told, and widely believed, the United States was the demon of the world, and is held in contempt alone for this shameful period of history.
           In author’s conviction slavery was not an American problem. It was a worldwide epidemic. Throughout history, people have been enslaved because they were vulnerable, not because of the way they looked. For most of history Europeans enslaved other Europeans, Asians enslaved other Asians, Africans enslaved other Africans.
     The author insists that it’s forgiven for student of American history to believe that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves because American education system provides wrong ideas. The worldwide evil of slavery did not come to the end because one man made a speech. Instead there were longer processes at work. It was Africans who enslaved their fellow Africans, selling some to Europeans, some to Arabs, and keeping the majority for themselves. West Africa was a slave-trading region before, during, and after Europeans arrived.  It was primarily the British, who became the destroyers of slavery not only in Europe, but in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and everywhere else. The people who began this movement were conservative religious activists—people who today would be called the “religious right.”
     The author has also mentioned that blaming Western Culture, or America, or even racism, for slavery can only be done in complete ignorance of history. Unlike the African slaves who were at least released onto dry land, these ‘white slaves,’ were often chained to their ships or the rest of their lives.

The reason that this article has been written is to destroy people’s wrong ideas about slavery and its history. Some people still think that the slavery was America’s problem but the author assures with his facts that the slavery was a worldwide epidemic.

   

                                                       Taking Chance

  Recently in our history class we watched the movie “Taking Chance”   that grabbed
my heart in the first few minutes like no other film I’ve seen recently.  This movie quickly became one of my favorites, it truly brought me to tears.

     “Taking Chance” is a movie based on real-life events. This movie has no plot, no outward dramatic conflict.  The movie is about Lt Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, who accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps , back to his hometown. Chance was killed in Iraq while protecting his friends from enemy fire. Michael Strobl says goodbye to his wife and children and embarks on the journey.

     The filmmakers show us in striking detail many of the little rituals that are part of the larger procedure, from the gentle cleansing of the dead man’s fingers to the fastening of a bar-code tag to the black body bag.

     Rendering honor is one of the film's themes, and also one of its singular accomplishments. 

     Along the way, we saw the respect, the dignity, and the honor rightly given to fallen heroes. One of the good points of the movie is that not only people from military showed respect to killed hero but also all citizens not matter their age, sex or race.

     The movie teaches us enormous respect for the military uniform. It teaches us to love and honor those young men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. They give their lives to make us live in peaceful and safe environment. The only thing that we can give them back is the love and enormous respect.

     The movie shows the incredible gift that goes back to those who serve others without  recompense. The way Michael Strobl showed such honor and the enormous respect showed by ordinary Americans for his service and the dead soldier he was escorting was deeply touching.

     19-year-old Chance who was killed on the war is only example from thousands of victims. I think that all of us have stories of people who didn’t come back from war. They are going to war not even thinking about their own lives.

     How many of us would leave their families at the age of 19 and would join the army? I’m sure that not all of us would be brave and patriot enough to endanger our own lives to serve and make other people, living in our country, live under peaceful sky. But now we live in peace and we have to respect and honor them who make that peace for us. We should not honor only those who died in war but also those who now serve on army and put their life in danger to protect us.

     I think that one of the reasons that this movie touched me deeply is dangerous situation in my country’s border. 18-year-old boys are joining the army knowing about the forthcoming danger. Not only killed solders’ families mourn for their lost but the whole nation. Every soldier means so much for us and we respect and honor them all.

     Seeing people with military uniform make fill enormous respect. They expose themselves to inconceivable dangers under conditions of enormous hardship and fight because they want to keep the country safe. We owe them respect and gratitude - even if we think the wars they’re asked to fight are sometimes wrong.

     When his own mission is over, Michael Strobl says "I didn't know Chance Phelps before he died, but today, I miss him." Just like that we don’t know all of the soldiers who died for us be it shouldn’t prevent us to respect and miss them. 
Click here to read the essay that inspired the movie.

Throughout the history of the Constitution, 27 changes have been made through the Amendment process. Amendments are not easy to pass, and several amendments have been proposed over time, but which failed to pass the second hurdle - acceptance by the states. The last amendment of US constitution was ratified in 1992. It took over 202 years to be ratified.

One of proposed constitution amendment to the United States Constitution is Flag Desecration Amendment. This would allow United States Congress to prohibit statutorily the physical desecration of the flag of United States. Proponents of legislation to prescribe flag burning argue that burning the flag is a very offensive gesture that deserves to be outlawed.

The full text of proposed amendment would be:

“The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States”

The phrase "physical desecration" might be open to various interpretations concerning the uncertainty of the context of desecration. For example, uncertainty exists over whether the term includes wearing of the flag as clothing or as a tattoo. It is uncertain what can be interpreted as "physical desecration". Does it require that the flag be physically damaged, or made to appear damaged? I don’t think that wearing of the flag as clothing or as a tattoo would be physical desecration of flag. The physical desecration of flag is burning or defacing it in front of public. I think that this is serious crime and it should be charged.

I would also like to include one more change in this amendment. Not only the desecration of US flag shall be prohibit but also desecration of all countries’ flags. For every nation flag is a symbol and I think that to desecrate the flag means to desecrate nation. And if US wants other nations to respect their national symbols they must do the same.

                          "BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE"

So we watched documentary called “Bowling for Columbine”. The film is written and directed by Michael Moore and it explores what he suggests are the main causes for the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 and other acts of violence with guns. Moore's views are anti-gun but he tries to show the opposite side also. Moore asks why there are so many killings in America by guns comparing with other countries. He gives no real answer to this question. 

  After watching the film it made me think about that question but as most of the people I can’t give a right answer.  Some people trying to connect it with violent history that America has. But now try to remember how violent was histories of Armenia, Russia, Germany or any other countries. But there is not too many murders in those countries as in USA. Personally I think that there is something connected with national character and thinking.

  The next think I want talk about is US social media and how does it affect people. In the film Moore talked about this question and explored one of the darkest side of America - the society built on fear. He compared US media with Canadian media and I would like to compare it with Armenian media. In Armenian TV-channels you can’t see too much news about killing and murders as in US news.  It’s only one month that I’m living in USA but it was enough to understand that US social media spread fear. So I think that media affect murder rate in USA but it is not the main reason.

  Moore's views are definitely anti-gun. But the question is “Do guns kill people or do people kill people?” This question can have many contradictory answers. Some people think that if people don’t have guns they can’t kill people and they blame only gun for killing. But I think that on the killing most of all is the human factor. If the person really wants to kill somebody nothing can prevent him even if he doesn’t have gun. People can own guns just to protect themselves and their families but it doesn’t mean that they can take it school and shot their classmates. So that’s why I think that people kill people not guns.

  Here is the article about Obamas's executive orders on gun control. Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for preventing gun violence. Now if the person want to own gun he has to have background check. And I'm completely agree with this point. Obama Said "This is our firs task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged."

  So what can be done to make schools safer in USA? I think that this all depends on parents. They must be more careful. If they have any guns they must hide it. Because most of the minors who shot people don’t understand how serious is it and how serious consequences it can have.

What does the future hold for America and for gun laws? I’m sure that thousands of people have tried to answer to this question but no one can say what will happen in the future.

  I hope that US government will do something to reduce the number of murders is USA. However people have right to live and no one and nothing has right to take it away.

ISIS

ISIS or ISIL advance through Iraq brings with the fear of human rights atrocities against civilians. It is an unrecognized state and a group active in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East. It claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world. Its goal is to bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control. 

  They have been very active lately and have spread very fast. ISIS is one of the biggest humanitarian-disaster in contemporary history. ISIS is known for killing dozens of people at a time and carrying out public executions, crucifixions and other acts.

  As we know the worst crime in the world is killing. No one has right to kill and this crime has no forgiveness. But they killed and continuing to kill innocent people. So, something should be done to prevent this terrorist. But what should be done and who should do it? This terrorists have become really strong and it's even hard to understand if there is anything that can prevent them.

 We saw in news report video that there are many people all around the world who join ISIS. And it also become very popular among teenagers and young people. Even young girls started to join ISIS. So what's the reason? What makes them to do it? I've heard that they attracted to ISIS by its brutality. But how brutality can attract young girls when there are so many nice things in the world? I really don't understand them  and I have no idea why they do it.

  I hope someone will find the way to prevent this terrorist and one day in close future this humanitarian disaster will end.

Armenia-USA