-Tiana Bouma
The weeks have flown by fast and the news keeps changing every day. After the Super Bowl and its occasionally entertaining halftime show and commercials, it seemed like a good time to break down the news worthy events of the past week. These are topics that caught my eye, were searched a lot on the internet, or talked about with friends.
Obama’s Courts
A second term for President Barack Obama would allow him to expand his replacement of Republican-appointed majorities with Democratic ones in the nation’s appeals courts. For those who don’t follow judiciary news, these courts are the final stop for almost all federal court rulings that have been challenged. Obama has already managed to alter the balance on power on four of the nation’s 13 circuit courts of appeals. On top of this, the next president, whoever that may be, has a decent shot at transforming the majority of the Supreme Court. Three justices will be turning 80 before the next presidential term ends. It looks like we could see a major shift of power in the United States courts. Is that good or bad?
US Embassy in Syria
The United States has decided to close its embassy in Damacus, Syria and has already removed all remaining diplomats from the contry. Operations have been suspended in Damacus because the violence there has continued to increase. The skeletal staff departed quietly despite some staff members being denied exit visas by Syrian authorities. The latest effort by the United Nations to oust President Assad from power in Syria was proposed by Morocco and backed by the Arab League. Unfortunately, it was vetoed by Russia and China who support Assad and are reluctant to endorse another revolution that could include foreign intervention. I hope that Syria can find a peaceful resolution soon, the United Nations stopped counting the dead late last month, citing that it was hard to keep up with and verify body count. At that time, the death toll was above 5,400 and counting.
Fukushima Zone
The most striking part of Japan’s nuclear exclusion zone (where the nuclear meltdown occurred after the tsunami and earthquake in 2011) is that there is nothing to see. There are no people, no cars, and no signs of life except the occasional wandering livestock. The area that was once home to 80,000 people is now a ghost town frozen in time. Workers of the Fukushima plants are bused in daily and the government has maintained a 12-mile no-go radius around the area for everyone else. Only brief, supervised visits home are allowed for residents who still have homes there. The Japanese government has said it will take at least 30 years to decommission the crippled reactors. In reality, this nuclear wasteland may not be livable for years, but residents are still fighting to save and stay with their contaminated livestock and livelihoods.
Follow Tiana at @TianaBouma
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