Spread of the Corona virus

                                      

                          

                                             Coronavirus affecting Apple supply

            Apple CEO Tim Cook tended to the coronavirus during a call Tuesday with experts, saying the organization restricted representative travel to “business basic" regions in China and is checking the circumstances intently. Tim Cook said "Apple includes a few providers" within the Wuhan territory, the sickness put concentration that's under control, however, the organization has elected alternatives that are based on different cases of the virus. In any case, Apple anticipates that some disturbance should its stock in light of the infection, the impacts of which are felt the state over. Industrial facilities that make Apple items and parts were set to revive toward the month's end, following the Lunar year festivities, yet that date has been deferred until Feb. 10, Cook said on the decision. Apple is likewise observing a disruption in retail deals in China owing to the infection, Cook said. While Wuhan just contributes a touch a part of offers to Apple's general Chinese business, and Apple has shut only 1 store, various stores outside Wuhan that sell Apple items have likewise shut. a substantial lot of the stores that haven't shut have diminished their working hours. Apple has started profound cleaning its stores and leading temperature checks of workers, he stated, which is one method for deciding if somebody may have gotten the infection. In the midst of the vulnerability, the organization gave financial specialists a more extensive territory for income direction next quarter, fully expecting a possible interruption in its China deals.

Questions:

•  what else do you think the virus could have an impact on?
• what additional things do you propose apple should do to solve this problem?
• do you think they should relocate stores near the places with the highest percentage of virus exposure?

Kobe Bryant Passes Away

Over the weekend, American Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, widely known as the “Black Mamba”, passed away at 41, along with his 13 year old daughter, Giana Bryant, and 7 other passengers.  Kobe and the other passengers were flying in his private helicopter, headed to Thousand Oaks for a basketball game, where Giana and 2 other girls on the helicopter were expected to play, with Kobe coaching. The helicopter experienced some sort of malfunction while in flight which led to the crash. The malfunction is still trying to be identified by the LAPD to get a better understanding of what actually happened. The helicopter went down just before 10am on Sunday morning in Calabasas. Kobe spent all 20 seasons of his NBA career with the Las Angeles Lakers, becoming a 5 time NBA champion, 2 time finals MVP, 18 time all star, with many more accomplishments outside of his basketball career. He was a father of 4 girls and a husband to Vanessa Bryant. Kobe Bryant was an inspiration to not only Lakers fans, not even only basketball fans, but he was looked up to by people all over the globe. He became a symbol of dedication to ones craft to millions. He helped inspire an entire generation of athletes to reach for new heights and to never give up on their dreams. This year, he was finally going to become eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame and was widely expected to be inducted. Kobe’s death was a tragedy that came too soon for him, his family, and his fans. And his death will be mourned by millions across the world.

Discussion Questions:

1. Will the NBA hold any sort of memorial or event to commemorate Kobe’s legacy? If so, what?
2. How will Kobe’s legacy remembered by future athletes?
3. With Kobe’s sudden passing, what new views do you have on the reality that someone can be taken from us at any time?

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/kobe-bryant-dies-in-helicopter-crash/index.html

Trump soon to reveal peace plan for Israel and Palestine

          In the 'Deal of the Century', a plan that has been worked on three years has finally been unveiled by Donald Trump. In it, he has provided a map, and key points have been made. Israel is to retain 20% of the West Bank, while Palestinians gain a pathway of sorts. Jerusalem will be shared as a capital, with Palestine gaining East Jerusalem, and the rest being Israel's capital. A Palestinian state has not officially been recognized, however, Israel is trusted to recognize it. No refugees will be allowed inside Israel, and only a few in Palestine. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas believes this to be 'The Slap of the Century'.

Discussion Questions:

1. What would you change about the plan?
2. How would you react if you were the PAP (Palestinian Authority President) or the PM of Israel?
3. How will this change violence on the Israel-Palestine front?

https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/The-Deal-of-the-Century-What-are-its-key-points-615680

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Peace-group-Joint-List-slam-Deal-of-the-Century-615711

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US Air Force Plane Crashes in Afghanistan

   On Monday, January 27, an E-11A battlefield-communications aircraft crashed in an area of eastern Afghanistan under control of the Taliban. The Taliban claimed to have shot it down, and further claimed that they had shot down several other planes recently as well. However, US authorities are refusing to accept the Talibans' claims, with one colonel saying that "there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire." There were "less than five" people on board at the time, all high-ranking CIA officers, and as of now it seems none of them survived the crash. The details of why the plane went down, as well as whether or not there was any classified information on board, is still unclear. Only time will tell whether or not this crash will escalate the conflict in Afghanistan in a major way.


Discussion Questions: 

1) What do you think the best way for US officials to respond to the crash is?

2) Do you think it is a good idea to ignore the Talibans' claims that they shot the plane down? Is there a significant chance that they did?

3) If the Taliban did shoot down the plane, what might their motives be?

https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-e11-crashes-in-eastern-afghanistan-taliban-takes-credit-2020-1

ISIS Strikes Back Through Messages to Target Jews With Chemical Weapons

Many were convinced that with the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS was finally falling. However, ISIS' spokesman sent a recorded message to their operatives. The message was directed to the organization's workers who lived in Syria and Sinai. It stated that despite what people might believe, ISIS was ready to come back with a new wave of terrorist attacks that targeted the Jews. The message told the operatives to begin to launch attacks on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and in Israel using chemical weapons. They told the operatives to turn all Israeli settlements into a war field through the use of chemical weapons. ISIS has carried out terrorist attacks in the past, so they will undoubtably follow through with these threats. In the last part of the message, ISIS called on Muslims worldwide to provoke them to support ISIS' fight against Trump's peace plan. The peace plan is believed to favor Israel, so ISIS will violently oppose this. ISIS was officially declaring a religious war.

Discussion Questions:
1) How do you think ISIS' attacks will impact Israel?
2) How do you think these attacks will affect the rising anti-semitism? Will it provoke anti-semitism or reduce it?
3) How should Israel take try to prevent these attacks?

Rockets Strike US Embassy

On Sunday, January 26 three rockets struck the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. According to reporters, one of the rockets hit the dining area in the Embassy, and the other two landed not far from the site. Only one was minorly injured in the attack. No one has claimed the attack, however, the recent attacks on the Iraqi military base where American troops are deployed lead many to think Iranian-backed militia are responsible. Since September more than 14 attacks had been planned and executed by Iran on US personnel in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi stated that the continuation of these attacks could “drag Iraq into becoming a battlefield”. On the other hand, he said that the Iraqi forces will “deploy, search and investigate to prevent the occurrence of another attack”.

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think that it is possible that Iran is behind this attack?
2. What is a possible reason for this newest attack?
3. Lastly, do you think that Iraq helping the US will benefit or detriment their reputation?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/politics/rocket-hits-us-embassy-compound-baghdad/index.html

After months of protests Lebanese police fire tear gas at protesters

After months of protests by anti-government movements, the police in Lebanon turn violent and
fired tear gas at the protesters. As described by reporters this week is “a week of rage” as the
officers respond to the protests. As an attempt to try and throw the officers of as tear gas was
thrown, the protesters threw cocktail Molotovs and tried to shine lasers in their eyes however
this still caused 80 people to be treated at the hospital and 140 to be treated at the scene of the
protests. The people in Lebanon are protesting because of the economic and political crisis in
their country for their government is extremely unstable, and inflation in their country has spiked
60%, these protests started off peaceful however ever protests this week things have been
getting more violent as protesters are more getting frustrated and they started breaking ATMs
and bank windows, despite ongoing protests and the recent event of throwing tear gas at the
protesters, the government has failed to take any action or establish any sort of stability. 

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think it was appropriate for the officers to throw tear gas at the protesters?
2. Do you think breaking the atm and bank windows is justified or adding to the problem
3. Have we seen things like this in history before if so where?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/18/middleeast/beirut-protests-lebanon-intl/index.html

Rain comes to Australia with a cost

Rain came to Australia earlier this week in severe thunderstorms. These thunderstorms are helping to fight the massive fires. The rain is helping to relieve firefighters from the inferno. The fires had started earlier this month have ravaged Australia thus creating surreal and terrifying images. From a CNN article earlier this weak, it stated "Rain has fallen on most of the fire grounds in the state over the last 24 hours, the RFS said. However, it wasn't enough to put out the flames. Eighty-two fires are still burning, including 30 that are yet to be contained." Rain had not hit many of these locations in many months or years. This rain has created flash floods have hit record highs. Due to the lack of rain, regions are so dry the water can't soak into the ground. This creates a big issue with tons of flash flooding all across the country. This helps to solve Australia's problem but at the same time sets up a new one. Although the flooding is important to handle, the fires still should have the most attention given to them.

Questions:
1. What is the bigger issue, the fires or now the floods?

2. With the Australian Open going on, what should be done about the players health?

3. How can the animals be helped that are stuck in the fires?https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/16/australia/australia-weather-intl-hnk/index.html

Greece elects the first female president

Katerina Sakellaropoulou SOURCE: NBC

Katerina Sakellaropoulou became the first female elected president of Greece on January 22nd. She was a human rights activist and a high court judge, and was nominated by the New Democracy party. This was not the only time she has been the first woman to do something--she was president of Greece's Council of State for a whole 15 months before becoming president. She received more than 86% of the parliamentary vote, which was already way more than what was required by Greece's constitution. 

        Historically, Greece has been known to lag behind other European nations in terms of gender equality. In 2017, they ranked very low in a gender equality index performed by the European Institute for Gender Equality. Furthermore, the wage gap between men and women in 2017 was more than 12%, as reported by Eurostat. However, 55% of respondents saw Katerina Sakellaropoulou as a positive choice, as recently as this Tuesday, which was reported by a poll by MRB pollsters. As the president of Greece, she will hold a five-year term and succeeds President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Questions:
1. What is the benefit of having more women in high government positions?

2. What is a possible reason that Greece could be lagging behind? 

3. What could a female president mean for change in Greece? 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/22/europe/greece-president-katerina-sakellaropoulou-intl/index.html 

Isabel dos Santos's Years of Fraudulence Exposed

Isabel dos Santos had been the 8th richest woman in the world, Africa’s richest woman and former president of Angola Jose Eduardo dos Santos's oldest child. However, her fortune seems to have been built through years of money laundering, with more than 75,000 transaction letters that had been analyzed to expose the means behind her wealth. There is a huge underlying problem that had also impacted the Mozambican scandal, African corruption - how businesses overseas launder money without feeling remorse; a problem that Santos had been a perpetrator in. She had, according to documents been given access to many suspicious deals involving land, oil, etc. while her father had been president.
However, that isn’t the only issue as people had known about Santos’s involvement with fraud. Rafael Marques de Morais was a reporter that had been reporting about Santos and her whole family’s financial history for years, working against the Angolan authorities. But unfortunately, businesses and governments were easily persuaded into turning a blind eye in favor of Angola’s vast wealth in oil. There had been many institutions that had ignored the clear reports of her fraud, instead choosing to focus on her image instead. The Yale Undergraduate Association for African Peace and Development had invited her to talk about the development of Africa, disregarding her faulty background. In doing so, they protected her image and presented her as a successful woman to the world, valuing her reputation over the well being of millions of Angolans. Why would so many businesses and organizations prefer her reputation rather than the truth?


1. Why would so many businesses and organizations prefer her reputation rather than the truth?

2. How can we prevent these problems such as African corruption from happening again?

3. What are some ways to bring more support to these situations?

https://mg.co.za/article/2020-01-21-laundering-isabel-dos-santos/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51128950

The 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem

Monday, January 27, marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz
extermination camp. Leaders from 49 countries, along with their high-level 
delegations, are traveling to Jerusalem to take part in remembering the Holocaust 
and committing to fighting anti-semitism. 

The main event will take place at Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims
of the Holocaust. The guest list includes US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Vice
President Mike Pence, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and many other prominent
world leaders. 

The ceremony has caused some controversy. Although 780 people are invited to the
ceremony, only 24-30 of the invitations went to the approximately 100,000 Holocaust
survivors living in Israel today. In response, several ministers have transferred their
invitations to survivors, and urged other ministers to follow suit. Also, the 75th
anniversary comes at a time when anti-semitism is on the rise across the world. This
was brought up by several world leaders, including French Prime Minister Emmanuel
Macron, who said that “Holocaust survivors, citizens of France and of other states,
are being persecuted only because they are Jews.”

Discussion Questions:
1. Of the 780 people invited, only a fraction were Holocaust survivors. Should more

survivors have been invited to the event commemorating the victims of the Holocaust?
2. Why does anti-semitism exist, and why is it still on the rise today?
3. Will the message of the Holocaust still be as strong after all the survivors are gone?

Sources:

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Netanyahu-to-world-leaders-Important-they-remember-
where-we-came-from-614833

https://israel.travel/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yad3-min.jpg

China's New Virus

A new respiratory virus has recently developed in China. It was first discovered in Wuhan, but the virus has spread to other areas, and even other countries like Japan, Thailand, and South Korea. The virus was believed to be spread from animals to humans, and it first appeared in a fish market that has since been shut down. However, it has been discovered that the virus can also travel from human to human. This has led to countries in the area beginning to screen people who are traveling in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. The screening will be hard to continue through the lunar new year though, with people traveling to all different parts of the area to celebrate. If left unchecked, the virus could spread like a fire through the people that are traveling. 

Questions:

1. What do you think is the “right” way to try and contain the virus?
2. Should there be more concern surrounding the new virus?
3. Should China add more screening to the areas being traveled through to try and control the spread of the virus?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/19/asia/china-coronavirus-spike-intl-hnk/index.html 

How memes are helping deescalate the fear of war

Tensions are peaking between the US and Iran after a US drone strike killed Qassim Soleimani, an important Iranian General. In response, Iran sent ballistic missiles to military bases in Iraq containing American and Iraqi soldiers. With all of the hysteria being shared between the two nations, one thing has brought citizens of both together, memes. This age of online and instant global connection has popularized humor as a way of coping with modern terrors. While reactions like “#ww3” would have been very inappropriate during previous war times, the results are actually bringing people closer together. Memes have been very helpful for connecting the US citizens to the Iranian citizens, they show that we are all struggling and scared of the powers above us. Appropriate or not, they disassociate citizens of these nations from their leaders who don’t necessarily represent them, adding humanity to the perceived enemy of our state.

Questions:

1. Is the lack of seriousness in our youth going to be dangerous for us?
2. How might previous war figures (Chamberlain, Churchill, Truman) react to #ww3?
3. Is this humorous way of coping with fear good for us? How else should we be reacting?

Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/11/middleeast/iran-us-memes-ww3-twitter-trnd/index.html
https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/world-war-3-memes/