-The 'Glance editors
Oregon
By Rose Gotlieb
A group of armed protestors have been occupying a wildlife refuge in Oregon for weeks. They started to support two ranchers convicted of arson, but the protest grew much bigger, and they started to argue about what they call government overreach when it comes to federal lands.
Earlier this week, seven of the protestors, including their leader, Ammon Bundy, were arrested during a traffic stop. During the whole deal, guns were fired and a protester - identified as LaVoy Finicum - was killed. Protest leaders had been going to a community meeting when the authorities attempted to pull them over. One vehicle stopped, but Finicum did not, and ended up getting shot.
In the beginning, the protesters who were still there were standing their ground. but Bundy told them they should stand down, (through a statement from his attorney, as he is in jail).
The Zika Virus
By Maddy Art
We are now well into winter, and even though western Massachusetts has seen virtually no snow (see Owen’s entry for national snow news), many of us may have begun to dread and complain about the mildly cold temperatures. However, I can guarantee that nobody is missing the buggy-ness of summer. Right, our good old friends the mosquitos. Forget about them? Well, not for long - the pests are making international news. Recently, a mosquito-carried virus called Zika has been in the headlines quite a bit. Zika has affected mainly Central and South America, with cases also in the Caribbean and Africa. Specifically, Brazil has recently seen a jump in the number of cases reported. Several cases have been reported in the United States and in Europe, but these cases were all contracted in foreign countries. So what are the symptoms of this ominous virus? Well, in most people, the virus brings fever, vomiting, joint and muscle pain, red eyes, and rashes. Having said that, the symptoms worsen when seen in pregnant women. For instance, birth defects (such as abnormally small heads) are found in infants whose mothers passed the Zika virus along to them. Currently, there is neither a vaccine or a cure, but that is a top priority of health officials at the moment.
Let it Snow
By Owen Tucker-Smith
Remember that snowstorm you heard about last week that you got all excited about? You thought, “yes, finally! I can ski, I can sled, I can build a snowman in a winter wonderland!” Well, it was a lose lose for you, because you didn’t get to ski, and you probably had to watch and hear about destruction occurring all over the country.
What exactly happened? Blizzard Jonas happened. Jonas went over the east coast and caused death, floods, highway closures, flight cancellations, and more death. Among the most affected were Jersey Shore, (they seem to always be a target) New York City, Washington DC, Baltimore, West Virginia, and Philadelphia.
What was the effect? As I said, Jonas canceled flights, closed highways, and killed thirty people across America. The result was probably the worst on the Jersey shore, which received major flooding. Remember Hurricane Sandy? That hit Jersey shore like crazy. The mayor says that this was worse than Hurricane sandy. The effect wasn’t as horrible in NYC, Philly, Baltimore, and D.C., who received more than two feet of snow, but it certainly got in the way. In West Virginia, there was forty-two inches of snow! (That’s the record for this storm) In D.C. voting was put on hold by the House of Representatives. This snow didn’t stop the WVU swim team, who just swam in the snow!
Legacy? So this was a pretty big snowstorm? Understatement. This could have been the worst in decades! Some spots on the coast got it worse than others, but overall it made a pretty big impact. Many cities are still cleaning up after it.
The Letterbox
Planned Parenthood Shooting Follow-up
By Maddy Art
So a few weeks ago I covered Robert Dear’s Planned Parenthood shooting. We have received a request to keep you updated on Dear’s sentence. On November 30th, Dear attended his hearing through video feed, during which he said four words. He replied that he understood his legal rights and the charge he was faced with (first degree murder). Later, he said that he had no questions. So, Dear was pretty much just ears at his first court appearance. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at the least, and the death penalty at the most. At the moment, it is still unclear as to which punishment he will receive. The police believe the cause for Dear’s actions is his hatred for Planned Parenthood and a desire to end abortions. Again, funny that he deals with being “pro-life” by committing murder.
Russian Plane Follow-Up
By Owen Tucker-Smith
After I talked about the Turkish downing of the Russian plane, we got a message with some questions, just as who were the known passengers, could a war with Turkey and Russia start, and whether people could make an investigation to see exactly where the plane landed. The passengers on the plane were two pilots and supposedly no more; this was a warplane, not your standard United Airlines plane. One is reported dead, and what happened to the other is unknown. We do know that a marine that tried to save the pilots was also killed. As for a war, it is unlikely. Turkey and Russia have always had a pretty tense relationship, this isn't the first time Turkey complained of Russia being in its airspace. This relationship will continue to get worse, but these countries aren't ready to go to war. Click here to learn more about that. As for the location, it was quite near the border. Nobody knows exactly where it crashed, but each side says something a little different, even if they are both using “reliable data.” And who are “people?”
Global Warming, The Kyoto Protocol, and the U.S.
By Rose Gotlieb
So what’s up with this “Kyoto Protocol”? To start this, I'm gonna give you the low down on the Kyoto Protocal. It's basically an international agreement that commits its parties to "internationally binding reduction targets". Because developed countries are mostly responsible for the current high levels of green house gasses (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere, the protocol places a bigger burden on developed nations. It was developed in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on February 16, 2005. It's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 20012.
During the first commitment period, 37 industrial countries plus the European Community committed to reduce GHG emissions to 5% against 1990 levels. During the second, parties committed to reduce them by at least 18% below 1990 levels in the eight-year period from 2013-2020.
I don't know if that answers your first question, but the parties - so far - are keeping up with the Kyoto protocol.
An Update in the Polls
Because we haven’t been talking about the election, we thought we should at least distribute the current primary polls to you for the Republicans and the Democrats. Here they are: (source: HuffPost Pollster)
REPUBLICAN (top ten)
- Donald Trump 36.1%
- Ted Cruz 16.3%
- Marco Rubio 9.8%
- Ben Carson 8.3%
- Jeb Bush 5.5%
- Rand Paul 2.8%
- John Kasich 2.6%
- Chris Christie 2.5%
- Mike Huckabee 2.1%
- Carly Fiorina 2.0%
DEMOCRATIC
- Hillary Clinton 50.3%
- Bernie Sanders 35.8%
- Martin O'Malley 2.2%
Good info! I'll keep my bug spray handy:) Love The Letterbox feature and the presidential polls. Keep up the great reporting!
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