BR 12-16-13

1. Miley Cyrus's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards; this risqué performance drew a huge crowd and a lot of attention. Although the publicity it gained can be deemed somewhat infamous, Miley acquires the attention she desired and in the exact manner she planned to do so.

2. Cloning of stem cells; a huge scientific breakthrough was made in the Oregon Health and Science University. Scientists were finally able to create stem cells by means of cloning.

3. Nelson Mandela dies; a huge political leader in South Africa, known for freedom fighting, emerged out of prison for 27 years and went on to fight against the struggle of racial oppression. He argued on the basis of reconciliation, rather than vengeance.

4. China moon rover lands on the moon; for the first time in history China has launched a successful space mission to the moon by means of a rover.

5. US government shutdown; from October 1 through 16, 2013, the United States federal government entered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations after Congress failed to enact legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014. Regular government operations resumed on Oct. 17 after a temporary appropriations bill was passed.

6. US NSA prism program; PRISM is a clandestine mass electronic surveillance data mining program known to have been operated by the United States NSA since 2007.

7. Yahoo buys out Tumblr; for a sum of $1.1 billion, Yahoo buys the well-known, popular social media site known at Tumblr.

8. Boston Marathon Bombings; during this year's Boston Marathon, 3 pressure-cooker explosives went off near the finish line, which killed 3 people and wounded a total of 264 others.

9. Pope Benedict XVI resigned; the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI occurred on 28 February 2013.  Benedict's decision to step down as leader of the Catholic Church made him the first pope to relinquish the office since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. The resignation was surprising, as being Pope is typically an office that is held from election to death.

10. Detroit files for bankruptcy; although not surprising, Detroit, MI filed for bankruptcy. It was the largest bankruptcy request ever, as they were in debt in upwards of 18-20 billion dollars.

BR 12-11-13

1. No; I feel like looking into cell phone records should be only done in certain situations and should be confined to a small group of anonymous individuals.

2. It's getting to that point. We still keep certain privacies held secret, while others are being exploited by certain organizations.

3. They use it to monitor everything.

4. Cell phone records of specific suspicious individuals.

Questions for Prisoner Debate

Pro:
-Would allowing prisoners to vote put a potential skew or bias in the results?

Con:
-Is this violating the rights of the prisoners?

BR 12-9-13

1. Yes, for national security reasons. 

2. They don't want to lose business in the U.S. and abroad.

BR 12-6-13

1. South Africa's first black president.

2. Negotiated with the nation's white leaders for democracy.

3. Led to the development of rights for all South African citizens.

BR 12-4-13

1. The way the justice system is set up in the U.S., this type of bias to masculinity would not go through. Personally I agree with it, but it would never go through in court.

2. He's a tough guy with strong beliefs. Twisted moral maybe, but he was mislead and thought he must take advantage of the situation.

BR 12-3-13

1. He called the Pope a Marxist and dissed his morals or beliefs.

BR 12-2-13

1. No. I feel certain rights should be taken as a result of their criminal actions, the right to vote being one of those.

2. Yes. They served their time and they deserved this right back, as they have served all punishment dealt to them.