Pope Francis Describes Armenian Killing as Genocide

Huffington Post
On April 12, Pope Francis has described the killings of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Turks, in 1915, as "the first genocide of the 20th century" which sparked a rift with Turkey. As soon as Turkey heard this, they immediately summoned the Vatican ambassador to complain. "The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths is unacceptable," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred." The Pope announced that it was his duty to honor the memory of the 1.5 million men, women and children that were murdered by the Ottoman Turks a 100 years ago. "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," he said at the start of a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter's Basilica honoring the centenary. Turkey's embassy to the Holy See canceled a planned news conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the word "genocide" over its objections. Instead, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara issued a statement conveying its "great disappointment and sadness." It said the pope's words signaled a loss in trust, contradicted the pope's message of peace and was discriminatory because Francis only mentioned the pain of Christians, not Muslims or other religious groups. Reaction to the pope's declaration on the streets in Istanbul was mixed. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.
"I don't support the word genocide being used by a great religious figure who has many followers," said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. "Genocide is a serious allegation." The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many dispute which mass killings should be called genocide.

Art in Public Spaces

"The Magic of Creating Art in Public Spaces"

Alice Pasquini

"I have an academic background in art, and that's part of the reason I decided to get out into the streets. 'Art died with Duchamp, forget about drawing' -- that's what my professors taught me and that's why I wanted to get out of the studio and the academy. I wanted to find a stronger artistic potential: on the streets, I'm able to provoke a reaction in people and in the environment." Street Artist Alice Pasquini has provided her input on the magic of creating art in public spaces.She is interested in representing emotions, in a narrative style of art. She likes to create works of art that are universal and timeless. She paint moments of everyday life: moments that represent life's magic. I am sure that the real key to life is the way we choose to live every single moment."As an artist who works outside, you always have one problem: you work someplace which isn't your own, where you don't live and to which you may not even return. What you do should be artistically or politically important. But it is not a given that it will be a positive for the people who have to live with it every day. This is a risk I take with my form of art" (Pasquini,1). These words are inspirational to readers and other artists. Seeing passionate artists prosper and succeed in what they love, is a beautiful aspect of life. 

Gender Roles and its Impact on Society

Since the beginning of time, gender roles have had a major impact on society. About a century ago, women were suffering for rights to vote and for equal rights as men. Women are still struggling for equal rights as men. I do not define myself as a hardcore feminist, but I am a supporter of fighting for women's rights. I do not see why there should be a difference between men and women. Why is gender a classification? When someone is applying for a job, on the resume it asks if you are a female or a male. I do not understand why there is that classification. A female is just as capable of completing and succeeding at a job, just as much as a man is. The classification of a female and a male should be abolished because gender should not be playing a role in society, even though it already does. Today, in the world of work, women are still treated and being payed less than men, because of their gender. This is a proven fact. However, it should not be. Gender plays a role in society, which leads to long arguments from opposing sides and contributes to protests. I am not saying that women are superior to men. I am saying that women should be seen as equal to men. Men and women are both capable of being intelligent, outgoing and hardworking. Their personality and intelligence has nothing to do with their gender. Gender should not be a classification and should not have the impact it has on society as it has.

March Across Selma Bridge

"'Bloody Sunday' Anniversary Commemorated with March Across Selma Bridge"

  NY Times

Tens of thousands of people paraded across a Selma, Alabama bridge on Sunday to commemorate the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march, not waiting for dignitaries who had planned to lead them in marking the 50th anniversary of a turning point in the U.S. civil rights movement. In contrast to the police violence that marked the original march half a century ago, the mood was often celebratory, at times festive, as an estimated 70,000 demonstrators cheered, sang "We Shall Overcome" and carried signs as they walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, took its name from the beating that roughly 600 peaceful civil rights activists sustained at the hands of white state troopers and police who attacked them with batons and sprayed them with tear gas."It's very crowded but at the same time it's fun and really great to see everybody coming together all races, all people," one woman told CNN as marchers began moving across the bridge. A large group of people started walking across the bridge at the appointed time, before dignitaries could be brought to the front to lead them. Among the group were demonstrators who took part in the 1965 march, as well as others calling for immigration and gay rights. President Barack Obama visited Selma on Saturday and declared the work of the U.S. civil rights movement advanced but unfinished in the face of ongoing racial tensions.

The Office

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkN6OV-ueTQ

The Office is a very popular sitcom that was aired first in 2005 and was last aired in 2013. It is  mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes and inappropriate behavior. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience. This episode is one of my favorite episodes from the entire series. It displays chaos and makes me laugh every time I watch it. Michael steps on his grill and burns his foot. He then calls his workers to pick him up, because "he is unable to get up", when in reality he is overreacting. This entire episode is displaying Michael's exaggeration and his worker's nonchalant attitude toward it. This scene displays a lack of emotion or care towards Michael's over exaggeration. Satire is used throughout this entire scene. The word satire is defined as humor or mockery. This entire series is defined as satire. However in this scene we see that the workers are mocking Michael and making fun of the way he is acting, except Dwight. The entire series of The Office is full of satire and sarcastic remarks and humor.

State Of The Union Guests Sort Of Assumed White House Would Pay For Them To Get Home

While grateful to have been honored at one of the most important political events of the year, guests of President Obama at the State of the Union address told reporters Wednesday that they had naturally assumed the White House would pay for them to get home. “It was really nice of the president to fly me out here and mention the letter I wrote about how my family struggled during the recession, but I guess I thought our plane tickets would be round-trip,” said Rebekah Erler of Minneapolis, adding that she would never forget appearing next to Michelle Obama on national television but had also taken it as given that her return trip would be purchased in advance by someone in the federal government. “Now, I have to shell out $550 of my own money for a last-minute flight that gets me home at one in the morning, and I have no idea if I’ll ever be reimbursed. Who do I even talk to about that?” Erler went on to say that if she knew this was going to happen, there’s no way she would have written that stupid letter in the first place.
This news blog shows a form of satire because the author is making fun of the situation these guests were put in. Satire is defined as humor or the criticism of stupidity. This blog was written to provide the reader with humor. The whole situation came out to be a funny mishap. The writer definitely does a great job writing this in a humorous way, which kept the reader entertained. 
        

"Borne Back Ceaselessly into the Past"

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."


This quote is one of my favorites from the books I have read. Nick, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, says the quote on the last page and last sentence of the book. These words conclude the novel and find Nick returning to the theme of the significance of the past to dreams of the future, here represented by the green light. He focuses on the struggle of human beings to achieve their goals by both transcending and re-creating the past. Yet humans prove themselves unable to move beyond the past: in the metaphoric language used here, the current draws them backward as they row forward toward the green light. This past functions as the source of their ideas about the future and they cannot escape it as they continue to struggle to transform their dreams into reality. While they never lose their optimism (“tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther . . .”), they expend all of their energy in pursuit of a goal that moves ever farther away. This metaphor characterizes both Gatsby’s struggle and the American dream itself. Nick’s words register neither blind approval nor cynical disillusionment but rather the melancholy that he ultimately brings to his study of Gatsby’s life. Gatsby believed in this "green light" or this hope that him and Daisy will be together some day. However, he tries his best to fight to move on with his life an to continue towards the future, while fighting to forget the past. Because the present is constantly becoming the past, it is a constant fight to push forward. Stand still in a moment for even a second and you will find yourself in the past.