Rachel Bresnick Blog Post

"State Department issues worldwide travel alert"

           The United States' State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert. They said that terrorist groups such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram continue to plan attacks in many areas throughout the U.S. and the world. After the Paris Massacres it is important to ensure Americans the greatest safety possible especially when traveling.

Question: Do you trust the government's intell to keep you safe? What are your thoughts on this topic?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/23/politics/state-worldwide-travel-alert-paris-terrorist-attacks/index.html

Hotel in Mali attacked by several gunmen

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/21/africa/mali-hotel-attack/

Two or Three gunmen fired upon anything that moved in the unexpecting hotel in Mali. The Attackers did not say a word to anyone as they opened fire in the hotel. By the time Malian U.N. forces arrived the hotel was layered with bullets, and bodies spread across the floors of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako. The reports coming in have said at least 22 people were killed. The hotel had been hosting delegations there attending peace talks. Bamako is a main center for international guests being 15 minutes away from the airport. ISIS has claimed the responsibility of the attack alongside Al Queda. The reason the hotel was attacked was most likely because of the diplomats meetings there. This tragedy was not a loss for one lone nation. The victims were from around the world of all nationalities.
What do you think the correct response to this attack should be, along with the recent attacks in Paris?
What can we do in the future to prevent the increase in prevalence of these attacks?

After Paris attacks: France and U.S. struggle with Syrian refugee issue

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/world/paris-attacks-us-france-refugees/

             The attack by ISIS that killed 129 people in France has has left a lot of leaders and citizens  questioning whether or not to continue to let Syrian refugees, fleeing from civil war, into their country. Because it is believed that the ISIS terrorist was able to enter the country by posing as a Syrian refugee, a lot of the countries fear for their citizens safety and their overall national security. Although France refuses to hault what they feel is their "humanitarian duty" of accepting the refugees into their country, some Americans have a different outlook on the situation. Some believe that suspending the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the U.S. is crucial until key national security agencies certify they don't pose a security risk.

  Do you think that countries should discontinue programs to let in Syrian refugees? Why? Do you believe we have a duty to help Syrian refugees or do you believe that national security is more important? Why?

The Real Story About Syrian Refugees

      

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4628875313001/the-real-story-about-syrian-refugees/?intcmp=hpvid1#sp=show-clips
  In recent news the big topic is syrian refugees. Democrats view Republicans hard nose with immagrations and, Republicans view Democrats to soft, open and kind. The truth is that americans do not trust Obama to keep them safe in the month of October alone 5,000 children where cought trying to cross the Mexico border. And in the past six years 88,000 illegal imagrants where caught doing crimes and let go. Now is that safe for us? In a recent poll 43% of people support allowing refugees in and 54% oppose even affter background checks. With holes in our security system already is letting 10,000 refugees into the U.S. going to harm us or are the bad people already here?  

FDA Approves GMO Salmon Despite Widespread Opposition

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/fda-approves-gmo-salmon-despite-widespread-opposition/
11/23/2015

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first genetically modified animal for human consumption, GMO salmon. According to Greenpeace's article, FDA Approves GMO Salmon Despite Widespread Opposition, the biotech company, AquaBounty, genetically engineered salmon eggs that produce growth hormones, which will make them grow faster than wild salmon. Although "AquaBounty says it's safe," farmed salmon escapes are common, and can genetically contaminate the already stressed Atlantic stocks. "California has already banned GMO salmon..." because they threaten their wild counterparts. Thousands of grocery stores, such as Trader Joe's, have committed not to sell GMO salmon. However, consumers might not know if the salmon they're eating is modified or not because "the FDA does not require this new health experiment to be labeled." 

Questions:
 Is this morally right? What could be the pros of genetically modified salmon?

Paris Attacks Complicate Hillary Clinton’s Alignment With Obama

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/us/politics/paris-attacks-complicate-hillary-clintons-alignment-with-obama.html?ref=topics

In this recent debate, Hillary Clinton has her audience questioning her former ties with President Obama. With the ISIS attacks on Paris, Clinton has started to estrange from Obama, although she needs the democratic party’s support in order to succeed into the general presidential election. In attempt to keep close ties with her democratic supporters, Clinton declined a question concerning whether Obama had underestimated ISIS. She later contradicted Obama’s belief that ISIS is confined to Iraq and Syria. While Clinton stated that “it’s not our fight”, Obama argued that “it is our fight, and without our leadership in building a coalition to destroy ISIS, it won’t happen.” Evidently, Obama and Clinton do not share the same views on foreign affairs.

Questions:

What is your opinion? Should Hillary Clinton keep her ties and agree with President Obama to have the democratic vote? Or should Clinton outwardly state the different actions she would pursue when it comes to foreign affairs?

Meet the Woman Suing Anheuser-Busch Over Equal Pay

http://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/tips/a9523/francine-katz-anheuser-busch-equal-pay-lawsuit/

Francine Katz was a former executive of a brewing company until she resigned from the company in 2008.  She claims that she was paid less than half the base salary of her male coworkers; however, she was turned away every time she complained about the wage gap. In 2014, she sued her former employer for exclusion and salary discrimination due to her gender.  Her case went through many appeals and eventually was refused to be heard.  She was considered “ungrateful” when she brought up this discrepancy.  Michelle Chen, from The Nation, questioned whether or not employees’ salaries should be kept a secret, and their survey shows that around 50% of workers are already restricted to withholding this information. The only reason why Francine Katz was able to take her fight to court was because she found out about her coworker’s compensation package.  Not many employees are allowed to know such information at work.   

1.) In your opinion did the company do anything wrong?

2.) Should employees be allowed to know what their coworkers earn?