Nuclear Weaponry in the News

Gladstone, Rick. “A Treaty Is Reached to Ban Nuclear Arms. Now Comes the Hard Part.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 July 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/world/americas/united-nations-nuclear-weapons-prohibition-destruction-global-treaty.html

                        

On July 7th, a global treaty to ban the creation of nuclear weapons and to destroy all previously created bombs was ratified by 50 countries. The treaty, formally named The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, is open for any country to sign starting September 20, coming into law 90 days after it is ratified. All 9 countries currently holding nuclear power have not signed. Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, does not expect these countries to sign anytime soon, but does say that the treaty gives them a clear path to rid themselves of the nuclear weapons.

Terrorism in the News

Swann, Steve. “Islamist Terror and the Complex Legal Battle.” BBC News, BBC, 7 July 2017, www.bbc.com/news/uk-40355492

This article goes into depth about the way UK authorities prosecute suspected Islamic fighters living in their cities. This is an incredibly difficult task, as one must discern from many different situations. One described in the article include everything from a young man traveling to Syria to receive jihadist training to a Turkish political activist handing out political magazines. The focus of this article truly is the many different ways the IS draws in its supports, not by brainwashing, but by connecting them to part of something bigger, then having them carry out their wills wherever they live and whoever they are.

Nationalism in the News

Antle, W James. “The Liberal Error of Conflating Nationalism with Racism.” The Week, The Week, 11 July 2017, www.theweek.com/articles/710599/liberal-error-conflating-nationalism-racism

This article focuses on the misconception some have on the liberal side of American politics that nationalism in its purest form is intertwined with racism. It goes into detail about a speech in Poland made by Trump in which many reporters picked up on what they thought were alt-right terms. They misunderstand the term “The West”, viewing it as being a Christian and white only society used by the alt-right. The article goes on to explain that within the alt-right “The West” might as well mean white, but that intertwining nationalism constantly with racism will cause the more temperate conservatives to associate themselves with such racist principals.

Climate in the News

Plumer, Brad, and Coral Davenport. “E.P.A. to Give Dissenters a Voice on Climate, No Matter the Consensus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 June 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/climate/scott-pruitt-climate-change-red-team.html

Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, and a known skeptic of the scientific consensus on climate change has created a plan to further study human impact on climate change. The tactic he plans to use is used often in military tactics, called a red-team blue-team tactic, with scientists first stating the pitfalls in the scientific consensus, then the “blue-team” rebutting their claims and defending the current consensus. Scientists deem this as mocking the current scientific process, and say they have already weeded out any doubt that humans are causing this problem.

Religion in the News

Gjelten, Tom. “To Understand How Religion Shapes America, Look To Its Early Days.” NPR, NPR, 28 June 2017, www.npr.org/2017/06/28/534765046/smithsonian-exhibit-explores-religious-diversitys-role-in-u-s-history

This article focuses on Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, which has recently revealed their new exhibit, Religion in American History. Religion has always had an underlying theme in American history, with slaves first bringing Islam to the South, and Christian preachers leading abolition around the same time in the North. While housing many Christian artifacts, such as a specialized shortened version of the New Testament created by Thomas Jefferson, they also hold reminders that even it its founding days, America was not only a Catholic nation. Many slaves were Muslims, and often literate ones would create texts in Arabic to pass down their religion, such as a 13 page book with basic Islamic teachings.