week4- American Sniper

Dr. Ada Fisher: ‘American Sniper’ raises difficult questions

Bradley Cooper does a fantastic job in “American Sniper” portraying the life of a U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, based on recollections of the life of Chris Kyle. The brutality of war and the job of killing, though bothersome to some, depicts what war is truly all about — death and destruction towards an end which is often unclear.

Having worked in the VA and for veterans, one often is confronted by those who have been taught to kill with unclear parameters of how to put one’s life back together when the killing is done. The film also does a decent job in depicting how families may be impacted by this work.

Citizens need to know what is at stake when they send their loved ones, including their sons and daughters, off to fight.

It was the scene of amputated heads stacked on shelves by reported Islamic extremist groups which was most bothersome. If this was known as alluded to before Osama Bin Laden was captured, why are people so shocked now by the revelation of this savagery?

The bigger question and problem is how do you effectively respond to terrorists who don’t necessarily reflect a nation but are fulfilling a philosophical itch which can only be scratched by a blood sacrifice?

When I watch solicitations for the Wounded Warriors program, I question why the V.A. isn’t delivering these services to wounded military personnel. That is their purpose, with a mission obligation to those who have borne the burdens of war per Abraham Lincoln.

The most disturbing thing about the “American Sniper” film was that it was made at all. You don’t broadcast to possible enemy combatants what you have done. Given the skills of this one man, such revelations put his family at risk.

Those who have taken an oath to serve in classified positions for this nation — including spy agencies, the SEALS, the Special Forces and many special operations which may never be known — pledge their lives to protect and defend the United States without revealing that which may have been done. For their service we are grateful but must appreciate the costs involved both to liberty and personal constitutional freedoms.

http://www.salisburypost.com/2015/03/29/dr-ada-fisher-american-sniper-raises-difficult-questions/

who: Dr. Ada Fisher 

when: not given

where: not given

what:Citizens need to know what is at stake when they send their loved ones, including their sons and daughters, off to fight.

how: not given

Keyword:

sniper(n.)狙擊手

depict(v.)描述

brutality(n.)野蠻;殘忍

savagery(n.)野蠻人

week 3- Charlie Hebdo, Paris, magazine

Charlie Hebdo Attack Fails to Kill Satire, Stop Muhammad Cartoons

FRANKFURT, Germany — For the first time in years, German satirical Titanic magazine has sold out in many cities.

The February edition's cover draws inspiration from multimillion selling children's favorite "Where's Waldo" and poses the question "Where's Muhammad?"

But readers searching for the Prophet Muhammad were left disappointed. He was not depicted on the cover.

However, Muhammad is shown inside the magazine. A photomontage depicts the prophet going to a synagogue. "Out of shame over attacks: Muhammad converts to Judaism," the headline reads.

Last month's terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo — which had also published Muhammad cartoons in the past — triggered debate about satire, humor and free speech.

Image: The February edition of German satirical magazine Titanic CARLO ANGERER / NBC NEWS
The February edition of German satirical magazine Titanic reacts to the Charlie Hebdo attack by asking "Where's Muhammad?" on its cover. However, it does not depict the Prophet Muhammad.
Tim Wolff, editor-in-charge of Titanic, said the magazine had little choice but to comment on the Charlie Hebdo attack and refer to controversy over depictions of the Prophet Muhammad — which some Muslims regard as blasphemous.

"We had to make these jokes," Wolff said. "You cannot do satire in a way that Islamist terrorists are content with it. It doesn't work."

He added: "We want to make fun with the prophet, not of the prophet."

Like Charlie Hebdo, Titanic in 2006 reprinted controversial Muhammad cartoons that sparked global protests after they appeared in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.


Before the Attack: A Timeline of the Danish Muhammad CartoonsNBCNEWS.COM



Last weekend, a gunman opened fire with an automatic weapon outside a Copenhagen cafe hosting a free speech event featuring Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who received death threats after drawing Muhammad in 2007.

While the Charlie Hebdo attack sparked protests around the continent backing freedom of expression, Wolff said public support seemed to evaporate amid further threats of violence.

"The fear has come back fast and the 'Je suis Charlie' signs disappeared quickly," he said.

According to Wolff, Titanic has received no complaints over its latest issue. Instead, it's reporting record newsstand sales and a rise in subscriptions.

"There was a wave of solidarity — quite a surprising one," he said. "It's nice that satire is getting attention, but it's horrible that this was the reason."

The Charlie Hebdo attack provoked soul-searching across Europe.

"The killings have been a shock to French journalism," Jean-Paul Marthoz, the Europe representative at the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote in a blog post. "The shooting may be claimed by its perpetrators as revenge against the magazine, but many commentators see it as an attack against a cherished fundamental freedom."

Ian Hislop, editor of British satirical magazine Private Eye, issued a statement saying that victims of the Paris attack "paid a very high price for exercising their comic liberty." Representatives for the magazine declined interview requests from NBC News.


Eyewitness Video Shows Paris GunmenNBC NEWS



Meanwhile, security concerns prompted the removal of a "Je suis satire" sign from a float before the start of a Carnival parade in Wiesbaden, Germany, last weekend.

Andreas Taschler, one of the people behind the float, told NBC News that the event's organizing committee had tried to restrict media coverage of the Charlie Hebdo-inspired float. In the end, the float showing a pencil cannon was part of the parade but without the direct reference to the Paris attacks.

At Cologne's parade, a planned Charlie Hebdo float was banned, even though Facebook fans had overwhelmingly voted for it to be part of the event.

The Festival Committee of the Cologne Carnival said in a statement that it had cancelled the float so that everyone would be able to celebrate "without concern."

In Braunschweig, a Carnival parade was cancelled after police said there was a "concrete threat" of an Islamist attack.

However, Titanic's editor-in-charge insisted he would would remain defiant.

"I would say that at least for us not much changed, and not much will change," Wolff said. "For once we have a high feeling of a threat, but people in other jobs have that all the time, and they continue to work normally."



who:Charlie Hebdo
what:The Charlie Hebdo attack provoked soul-searching across Europe
when:not given
why:some Muslims regard as blasphemous
where:Paris, France
how: by gun

KEYWORD:
1.satirical(a.)諷刺的
2.depict(v.)描述;描寫
3.prophet(n.)先知
4.synagogue(n.)猶太教;猶太教會堂
5.satire(n.)諷刺文學
6.blasphemous(a.)褻瀆神明的;不敬神的
7.evaporate(v.)失蹤

week 2 -Sydney cafe hostage

Australia PM: Hostage-Taker Was Dropped From Watch List

A gunman responsible for a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe was once on the national security agency's watch list — but was dropped off it years ago for reasons that remain unclear, Australia's prime minister said Wednesday.

Man Haron Monis, a 50-year-old Iranian-born, self-styled cleric described by Prime Minister Tony Abbott as deeply disturbed, took 17 people hostage inside a downtown Sydney cafe on Monday. Sixteen hours later, the siege ended in a barrage of gunfire when police rushed in to free the captives. Two hostages died along with Monis.

Abbott said Wednesday that Monis was on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's watch list in 2008 and 2009, but had dropped off. The agency was watching Monis because he had sent a series of offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, Abbott said. "I don't know why he dropped off the watch list in those days, I really don't," Abbott said. The Australian government has launched an inquiry into how the former refugee was granted citizenship, and how he came to be in possession of a firearm.

who: Haron Moniswhat: the man took 17 people hostagewhen: on Mondaywhy: not givenhow: not givenwhere: in a Sydney cafe 

keyword:cleric(a.)書記的barrage(v.)火力攻擊(或狙擊)captive(a.)被俘虜的;被監禁的inquiry(n.)調查;詢問firearm(n.)火器;槍砲

Week 1-Eric Garner; Chokehold

Police: Chokehold Victim Eric Garner Complicit In Own Death

NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Garner was overweight and in poor health. He was a nuisance to shop owners who complained about him selling untaxed cigarettes on the street. When police came to arrest him, he resisted. And if he could repeatedly say, "I can't breathe," it means he could breathe.

Rank-and-file New York City police officers and their supporters have been making such arguments even before a grand jury decided against charges in Garner's death, saying the possibility that he contributed to his own demise has been drowned out in the furor over race and law enforcement.

Officers say the outcry has left them feeling betrayed and demonized by everyone from the president and the mayor to throngs of protesters who scream at them on the street.

"Police officers feel like they are being thrown under the bus," said Patrick Lynch, president of the police union.

The grand jury this week cleared a white patrolman, Daniel Pantaleo, who was caught on video applying what appeared to be an illegal chokehold on the black man. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the case underscores the NYPD's need to improve relations with minorities.

But Lynch said: "What we did not hear is this: You cannot go out and break the law. What we did not hear is that you cannot resist arrest. That's a crime."

At the noisy demonstrations that have broken out over the past few days, protesters have confronted police who had nothing to do with the case. Signs read: "NYPD: Blood on your hands," ''Racism kills" and "Hey officers, choke me or shoot me." Some demonstrators shouted, "NYPD pigs!" More than 280 people have been arrested, and more demonstrations were planned Friday.

In private and on Internet chat rooms, officers say they feel demoralized, misunderstood and "all alone."

Some are advising each other that the best way to preserve their careers is to stop making arrests like that of Garner's, in defiance of the NYPD's campaign of cracking down on minor "quality of life" offenses as a way to discourage serious crime.

"Everyone is just demonizing the police," said Maki Haberfeld, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of criminal justice. "But police follow orders and laws. Nobody talks about the responsibility of the politicians to explain to the community why quality-of-life enforcement is necessary."

The fatal encounter occurred in July after Pantaleo and other police officers responded to complaints about Garner, a heavyset 43-year-old father of six.

The video showed Garner telling officers to leave him alone and refusing to be handcuffed. Pantaleo, an eight-year veteran, appeared to wrap his arm around Garner's neck and take him down to the ground with the help of other officers.

Garner could be heard saying, "I can't breathe," several times before he went motionless.

The medical examiner later found that a chokehold resulted in Garner's death, but also that asthma, obesity and cardiovascular disease were contributing factors.

As the video sparked accusations of excessive force, the police unions mounted a counter-narrative: that Garner would still be alive if he had obeyed orders, that his poor health was the main cause of his death and that Pantaleo had used an authorized takedown move — more like a headlock than a chokehold — to subdue him.

While the grand jury proceedings were secret, Pantaleo's lawyer has said that the officer testified that he never tried to choke Garner and did not believe the man was in mortal danger.

Pantaleo's defenders have included Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who argued that the grand jury outcome would have been the same if Garner had been white, and that police were right to ignore his pleas that he couldn't breathe.

"The fact that he was able to say it meant he could breathe," said King, the son of a police officer.

"And if you've ever seen anyone locked up, anyone resisting arrest, they're always saying, 'You're breaking my arm, you're killing me, you're breaking my neck.' So if the cops had eased up or let him go at that stage, the whole struggle would have started in again."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/police-chokehold-eric-garner_n_6277790.html



who: Eric Garner
what: no give
when: in July
why: when police came to arrest Eric Garner, he resisted
where: New York City
how: no given


Keyword:
1.nuisance(n.)討厭的人(或事務)
2.enforcement(n.)強制
3.demonstration(n.)示範;表示
4.choke(v.)阻塞;使窒息
5.lock up(ph)關起來,鎖起來