How does this text make you feel about justice in the world? Response to upfront article- JULIA SANTOS

In 2011, a bunch of protests were happening in the Arab world, toppling long-time rulers in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya and starting an uprising against Syria's dictator. Many people were excited for democracy. This was known as the Arab Spring. Now, the enthusiasm is long dead. Militias cover the area and thousands of people are dead. America had been allies with Egypt, and now there is the fall of the first democratic president. The U.S aid doesn't want to help anymore. Should they help?

I think that is not fair and there is no justice in the world. Barack Obama wants to keep the relationship between Egypt and the US but he doesn't want to help the civilians who are being killed in the street. It is kind of scary; Egypt's army killed their own democratic president and all the supporters. Does that show that America, in fact, fears to help Egypt? Thousands died in August from military clashes, people are being killed in the street, and we just can't help? This makes me think, that Obama knows we can help, but he can't take that chance. There's no difference from thousands being killed in Egypt than a bunch of Obama supporters being killed.

The title to the article is called "Has the Arab Spring FAILED?" Well, indeed it has and we need America to help fix it. Sometimes, America has no justice. I know sometimes, there's no justice. We're scared but I think we should always stand up for what is right no matter how scary.

How does this text make you feel about justice in the world? by Julia Santos

Justice Denied , page 8 of upfront magazine by Dan Barry, Campbell Robertson, and Robbie Brown

The article is about a black man who was shot by two white men for no reason in the 1960s. The police suspended his case after a short time because frankly, I don't think they even cared about his case. What makes me angry is, stuff like this happens today. There is no justice in our government and police. The police decided a black guy's case wasn't worth their time and sent the man's wife a letter shortly after the case saying they suspended it. But, I'm sure if the man who was shot was a white man, the police wouldn't leave his case unsolved for 50 years.

This stuff really makes me disapoints me. Shouldn't we, America, be past this racism crap? I feel like the police find ways "to make us safe" by stop and frisking every black guy or muslim guy. I saw on another source that a black 14-year-old was shot by a white man because he was "suspicious" and the case was never solved even though the boy was only carrying and soda and candy, not a weapon. The shooter was never punished. Then, a woman accused a black man of "pointing a gun at her" and the black man went to jail but he didn't even do anything to the woman. You see that? Racism. If the black guy is a victim, police don't care. Once its a white person, jail and 'solved'.

Why is this man who was shot in 1963, never got a solved case in 50 years?! Injustice and unfairness in our government. Why can't we grow up? Why can't we have a brave person in government come and say, "Thats not right!"

by julia santos

research question- julia santos

Don't wanna be an American IdiotOne nation controlled by the mediaInformation age of hysteriaIts calling out to idiot America

"American Idiot" - Green Day by Billie Joel Armstrong

Not only is this Green Day's best song, but it has a lot of meaning and I feel like it relates to our lives everyday. Like Billie Joel said, "One nation controlled by the media", our whole country is sucked into the Internet, IPhones, and our tablets and computers more than other countries. We are addicted to TV, new information, and simply having the coolest thing. I'm not saying I don't do it, everyone does it.

Also, the way he calls Americans idiots. Its true, we rely so much on technology and use screens so much everyday, by this point, we are idiots. I know what you're thinking, that you are smart. Of course, everyone is smart, but if you think about the internet usages, its stupid. Most people will stare at a screen for 90000000 hours and not learn any valuable information. Also, its stupid that instead of talking to people while we wait for something, we use our phones. Its so hard to make conversation. Just today, mr friend sat next to me on the bus. She talked to once and went on Instagram the whole time. I know I do it too, but what we do is so stupid, and I think Billie Joel is right to call us idiots.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/greenday/americanidiot.html

Letter to ms Berber about banning books by Julia Santos

Julia Santos 11-12-13

Dear Ms. Berner,

Banning books is useless because it only benefits few people and not the community. It isn't necessary to take books out of sixth library because banning books is like preventing someone from learning. People who don't like a certain book try to ban it, but they don't know that it teaches students because they can relate to the character's life. Books should remain in sixth grade libraries because the students need to learn from them.

Alton Verm claims that he didn't have time to read the first pages of [Fahrenheit 451] because of profanities and it has the gods name in vain. If Verm actually read he would understand it's meaning. Profanities should not be the reason a book has to be banned, if it really had to be banned at all. Any book I would understand you would take out is an adult book that extremely dark and inappropriate. Also, if Verm doesn't have time for profanities, or time to read the book, don't read it! If one person doesn't like a book, it doesn't mean his community can't read that one book. You can't take out books to help students, when books could be potentially helping them.

"You can't ban books and expect to have good readers and writers." according to the Denver Post. If the school community expect good works of writing, then they better not expect that they will ban books. Students can learn from deep books and can relate and express their own feelings into writing. They can't have that when books are taken away.

Dark books and subjects have value. "As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they are struggling with those issues". according to William Porter from the Denver Post. How can they learn life lessons? If books are banned, how can students relate their problems to anyone? Personally, I don't always want to talk about what's going on, and I'm sure my classmates and 6th graders feel that way too. Books are almost like a guide to show a way out and they are fun to read. If you take books out of the sixth grade library because they can't handle them, how can they handle life?

Books need to remain in sixth grade libraries because students need to learn from these books. Our sixth graders are going to have a dull library with books with no lessons and truth. "Censorship is the enemy truth. even more than a lie. a lie can be exposed, censorship can prevent us from knowing the difference." according to Bill Moyers.

Where Your Cell Phone Goes to Die- Upfront response by Julia Santos

What do you think it would take for U.S Cellphone manufacturers to change their e-trash disposal practices?

Every year, millions of cellphones are trashed and sent to Ghana, India, and China for children and women to disassemble. Exposure to the chemicals in old phones can damage the brain. US cellphone manufacturers need to change their e-trash disposal practices even if that means spending more money or reinforcing laws.

There have been laws passed making it illegal to export toxic waste to poor countries. A law was first introduced in 2011, but it was never put to a vote. What I don't understand is, if Europe and Japan have laws for this, America should have laws as well. In Europe, sellers are required to take back used phones to recycle. In Japan, manufacturers are required to establish recycling facilities.

Overall, US cellphone manufacturers need to establish a safe way of recycling. Children in poor countries are being intoxicated because of our lack of recycling. We need an establishment like Japan or Europe's.

By julia santos
i couldnt think of anything to say for the last part.

Looking for Alaska- Response to inquiry question 2

The Fault in our Stars by John Green inspired me to read some of his other books. Recently, I read "Looking for Alaska". It is about "Pudge" falling in love with Alaska and when they grow closer, Alaska dies in a car crash. Pudge and one of Alaska's friends, The Colonel, find out the reason for her death. Something that Alaska taught Pudge was to smoke and drink alcohol to deal with issues. This activity was also what all of his friends did.

One reason to prove this drinking problem was "The Prank". After a prank was conducted on the campus, Alaska brought out wine to calm everyone, whilst everyone was smoking mostly because the kids were worried that the principal, The Eagle, would find out an ban them from school. Soon after that, Alaska invited them to play a drinking game where they would tell one happy story and one sad story. Alaska told a very devastating story about her mom's death, this makes me think that Alaska was dealing with some emotional problems. Another small detail I noticed was when Alaska was long dead, Colonel was filled with so much grief, he couldn't deal and he just said, "Wanna get *shoot* faced?" Instead of talking about it, he wants to drink.

A reason to prove the smoking problem was when Alaska, The Colonel, and Pudge were smoking. He noticed Alaska wasn't "smoking to enjoy it" and Alaska replied, "You smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." That made me think that she was suicidal or still full of grief from her mother's death. Alaska only ever told the story about her mother's death until "The Prank". She hadn't even called the cops when her mother started spazzing out, I conclude that she wants to die because of her mother.

Overall, smoking and drinking were only the result of the characters dealing with their issues. The issues, I noticed, were just the character's feelings, which they didn't know how to control.

*** I didn't have a copy of the book with me, so I couldn't do page numbers.***

xJulia S

Response to Persepolis - Inquiry Question 2 - Julia Santos 811

How are the issues treated in the book?

In "Persepolis", I notice that Marjane Satrapi's family and the Iranian society treat their problems differently. Most Iranians treat their problems like plastic bags; they try to get rid of it right away, even if they aren't completely solving the problem. On the other hand, The Satrapis, would make sure their problems are resolved. This trait makes the Satrapis important and how Marjane lives her life.

I witnessed, that if one would break a law, the higher authority didn't care if the victim was guilty or not. For example: One page 51, a man is being whipped and burned with an iron for being apart of a group that didn't believe in Iranian laws. Also, I notice that the police would yell and disrespect victims if they weren't following rules.

What makes Marjane's family different is their way of treating their issues. For example: When Marjane's father disagreed with a law, he would go out and protest! Maybe a normal Iranian would just say, "Oh, fine". This taught Marjane to rebel. She would stand up in class and yell at the teacher if she disagreed with her opinion.

***** I didn't want to exactly make this an essay, so I didn't add essay like things. xJulia*****

Faithful Elephants Response

Imagine, everyday you saw a kid get bullied and he begged for help and used the last of his hope on you. You couldn't help him because you were too scared that you might become the bully's next victim and risk you life. This is similar to the short story, Faithful Elephants  by Yukio Tsuchiya. This story portrays a zoo where its animals must be put down because the government said bombs from the war could be dropped and let a dangerous animal loose. The elephants, Tonky and Wanly die in the end of hunger because poisoning them wouldn't work. The theme depicts that it is necessary to always help others in need.

One reason to support the theme is when a trainer broke down and helped the elephants. The elephants were nearly begging for food doing their trick. The trainer couldn't take feeling guilty about seeing the innocent elephants get punished. He took a risk by doing this, and when he was done giving them food, he was sobbing at the dangerous risk he took. The other trainers stood there, pretending that they hadn't seen the first trainer take such a risk. Those trainers were the scared bystanders afraid to take that jeopardy.

Another reason is that the elephants die because of their trainer fear to help. Before their death, the elephants performed their trick for food with every last bit of hope. No trainer could bring themselves to help the elephants anymore. The elephants were so innocent and hopeful, they didn't need to die; they weren't dangerous.

Overall, Faithful Elephants challenges the reader to think about how they treat others and if they care enough to help someone. If the trainers could stand up to avail or support the elephants with no fear, there would have been a "happy ending" for the elephants.

*****The conclusion sucks :((((( and also I wanted stronger words and I feel like I couldn't do that.*****

xJulia

Response to TFIOS*

Over the summer I read "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. The book is about a 16-year-old girl with lung cancer who is forced by her parents to join a cancer support group, where she meets and falls in love with, Augustus Waters, a former cancer patient. They fall deeper in love when they visit Amsterdam when Augustus reveals something tragic. The theme of the book is about moving on, you can't evade death. Overall, I liked this book because it was comedic and tragic and taught a very important lesson.

*I tried hard not to spoil anything, so I just touched base with some important things that I had to mention.

Response to Persepolis

I notice the that the time period that Marjane lives in is rough and whats happening is affecting her greatly. She lives in Iran and there is a war during the 80's then. The war and government have a big effect on her. Marjane wants to go to demonstration , form her own opinions, and fight for whats right. She read all the time when she was 10 to learn about her country and government. I notice that she follows a lot of her dad's opinions.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT MARJANE AND HER REBELLIOUS LITTLE SELF. First of all, this little girl would stand up in class and point the teacher out when the teacher would tell the girls to wear the veil. I notice often Marjane would stand up and yell out her opinion if she thought the teacher was wrong. Also, on page 111, she hit the teacher when the teacher told a lot to not wear jewelry.

DIDNT MEAN TO PUBLISH THIS... I thought our first post was supposed to be about our young adult books.