The Week of 1/11/16 in a Glance

Hi everybody! We hope you all are surviving the cold and the end of the semester. This week we have three stories in store for you. Comment and enjoy!

Thanks for reading,

The Greylock Glance editors

Terrorism Around The World

By Maddy Art

This week, two major terrorist attacks have occurred in Europe and Asia. First, an explosion in Istanbul, Turkey killed ten people and injured fifteen more. The explosion was the result of a suicide bombing by an Islamic State (ISIS) operative. Because the bomber had come from Syria, and because German tourists were the main target of this attack, speculation is occurring as to whether the attack’s purpose was to decrease the amount of refugees that other countries will take. (Germany pledged to take A LOT of refugees). By having ISIS members appear to be refugees or other Syrians, ISIS makes countries less likely to take refugees. Just what they want. Then, Jakarta, Indonesia was hit with attacks similar to last year’s Paris attacks. Seven people were killed, some of whom were attackers. Because the Jakarta attacks mirrored the Paris attacks, and because ISIS threatened to attack Indonesia, fingers are once again pointing to ISIS. If you haven’t gotten the message, ISIS is nonstop and dangerous.

Golden Globes

By Maddy Art

What do Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet have in common? Obviously, they are all actors, but they also each won a Golden Globe on Sunday the 10th! The Globes this year consisted of J-Law and Amy Schumer’s adorable friendship, Jamie Foxx pulling a Steve Harvey whilst presenting an award, and, most importantly, Leonardo DiCaprio’s now-famous glance at Lady Gaga. For all of your award-show needs, here is a list of seven of the awards and winners.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

The Revenant

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

The Martian

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Brie Larson, Room

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion PIcture, Musical or Comedy

Matt Damon, The Martian

Best Motion Picture, Animated

Inside Out

Obama Talks Progress

By Owen Tucker-Smith

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union speech to congress, explaining that as a president he has improved the nation a lot. Obama elaborated on five important areas: the economy, the climate, foreign policy, healthcare, and social progress.

What is a State of the Union Address? Every year, the president gives an address to members of congress, the Vice President, the House Speaker, the cabinet, (except for one member that stays behind with important numbers such as nuclear codes) and the Supreme Court. This year the “lucky cabinet member” was Homeland Security Sec. Jeh Johnson. The address covers the state of the union in addition to his “game plan” for being president. This year was Obama’s last State of the Union Address, so it was much directed at how far we’ve come. So how did he explain how far we’ve come?

Economy: Obama explained that America’s economy had just risen up since he had entered the white house. When he took office, he saw the country in a state of horrible depression. Now, the unemployment rate is actually lower than it has been in all seven years and more. In addition, Obama explained that 14.1 million jobs were tacked to the the job market in the past seventy months.

Climate Change: Well, first Obama talked about that huge global warming meeting you’ve heard about. He said that now America is in the most ambitious agreement ever to combat climate change. So the country is at the head of this fight against Global Warming. Also he explained that a plan is in place that will lower the rate of carbon pollution (via power plants) 32% by 2030.

Foreign Policy: In addition to the global warming meeting we mentioned before, Obama claimed that America has done well with foreign policy in many ways. Obama said that he ended two wars, and he stopped Iran from owning a nuclear weapon. Every method of them being able to access a bomb is blocked. Also. the president talked about how things with Cuba are pretty good. (Diplomatic relations restored)

Health Care: You can guess what Obama talked about when it came time to mention health care. The Affordable Care Act. He explained that because of the act, 90% of Americans, for the first time ever, have coverage. In the act’s six years of existence, almost 18 million Americans have gotten coverage. And, up to 129 million with previously existing conditions can’t be denied or made to pay extra just because of their conditions.

Social Justice: Obama also talked about how far we have come in terms of the social element. For one, Bisexual , Lesbian, and Gay workers are now able to serve openly in the army. Also, Obama claimed that LGBT federal workers can be discriminated upon no longer.

What did he say needed improvement? For one, Obama wanted a larger focus on education, specifically affordable college costs and universal pre-k. Also, get a cure for cancer and lessen oil and coal in transportation systems.