History Readings

A Gunman entered the Canadian Parliament building and opened fire. He killed a Canadian armed forces man before being shot and killed. The attacker appeared to have been motivated by Islamic Extremism, which is also the second deadly event in 3 days in Canada. Many people are becoming panicked over the recent events.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/world/canada-shootings-hero/index.html?hpt=wo_c1 Kevin Vickers is being called a "hero" for taking down the gunman.

Princeton University used to limit the number of students who could receive A's, but recently changed their policy, concerned with the fact that students with lower GPAs would be disadvantaged when it came to applying for jobs. The UK is taking a different approach to grade inflation, acknowledging that students may often get similar grades, despite the different efforts they may take to get there.

A man who lived 45,000 years ago has recently had his genome reconstructed by a team of scientists. This study began in 2012, by Dr. Paabo and his colleagues, after taking samples from the man's thigh bone and further examining the DNA-related aspects of it. The man's genomes is by far the oldest genetic record ever obtained from modern humans.

Canadian gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was identified in killing a soldier that was guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Having recently converted to Islam and expressing extremist tendencies, there is mounting concern of an increased number of attacks linked to extremism in the West.

Within the last week, Kim Jong-un personally ordered the release of Jeffrey E. Fowle, one of three Americans who were detained in North Korea, an incredibly isolated country with little interaction with the outside world. Fowle's release only occurred after several requests from President Barack Obama to bring the Americans home.

Within the past week, a collection of movies amateur movies have been discovered. While they would typically be seen as insignificant and irrelevant to our lives today, these home movies come from American Jews that returned to their hometowns in Poland in the 1920s and 1930s. These videos evoke unsettling emotions, as most of the relatives in these movies were soon after slaughtered in killing camps of Nazi-occupied Poland.

The Internet is full of cruel, hateful people who hide behind the disguise of fake usernames and profile pictures. While online harassment is to be expected in this modern time of technology and online interactions, human behavior has the power to change. A recent study, known as the Pew Study, suggests that there is hope for the future in regards to online harassment. Danielle Citron, law professor at the University of Maryland relates this to the incredible decrease in harassment of women in the work force from the mid 20th century to present day.

Many have recently been looking into the American tradition that people who aren't economically independent do not have the right to make reasonable political decisions and vote in society. Political and economical exclusion of the poor has existed for years, but the impact that it has had on the morale of the impoverished population in America has been highly negative.

Millennials are stereotypically broke, underemployed, and living in their parents' basements. While this is true to some extent, in many cases Millennials hope to become homeowners and start families. The delay in doing so is seen as "a mix of generational preferences and economic circumstances." Lacking consistent wages prevents Millennials from reaching their dreams of homeownership.

In this article, a recent study on the relationship between inequality and violence is investigated. The study acknowledges the fact that it is difficult to accurately gauge an individual's income. Authors from the University of Oklahoma have stated that "the link between conspicuous consumption and high crime rates is much stronger than the link between income inequality and crime."

Three teenage girls from America recently attempted to travel galway across the world and join the efforts of Isis. These young girls were picked up in Germany, midway through their travels, and brought home to the U.S. last week. They stole $2000 in cash from their parents, who contacted the FBI when they discovered their disappearance. ISIS has allegedly recruited over 100 Americans, even after posting videos of an American journalist's murder in August. It is unclear what draws Americans to join this terrorist group, but many suggest that the terrorist group attempts to brainwash youth through social media and videos posted.

Florida has successfully passed a measure restricting food distribution to the homeless. This has become an increasingly popular trend in the U.S. as of recently, and many wonder whether its effects will ultimately be beneficial to the homeless. Those who have passed the measure believe that feeding the homeless will simply keep them in a static state of a homeless lifestyle. They believe that if the homeless population no longer receives food from civilians, it will encourage them to rise above their current impoverished state.

The Swedish military has made three sightings of foreign undersea activity in its waters. It is suspected to be an intrusion of Russian forces, while the Defense Ministry in Moscow claims to simply have been "fulfilling their tasks in the world's oceans." Russia's intentions are unclear, but Swedish officials continue to be attentive and are prepared to take necessary action.

As one of the most isolated countries in the world, this article looks into the many factors that have contributed to this title. Citizens of North Korea are incredibly restricted in their abilities to interact with the outside world; this traces back to the Choson dynasty's decision to keep NK separate from the rest of the world. Additionally, ensuing wars have only added to the reclusion of the country. With a history of isolationism, it is unlikely that North Korea will be welcomed back into the international playground.

American video journalist, Ashoka Mukpo, contracted Ebola during a business trip with NBC to Liberia. Both he and another patient, Rick Sacra, have recovered completely from the disease under the care of hospital workers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Mukpo recognizes his privilege, addressing the fact that "so many Liberians die [of ebola] alone with minimal care" every day.

Justus Uwayesu was orphaned by ethnic genocide at nine years old and lived in a car in a Rwandan garbage dump. He begged for money and scrounged for food. Clare Effiong, an American charity worker, visited the dump one day, and Justus made his ambitions very clear, stating, "I want to go to school." Through hard work and motivation to escape the slum community he lived in, he got his wish. He now attends Harvard on a full scholarship, studying math, economics, and human rights.

A Swiss Company recently withdrew over 2,000 coffee cream containers, their labels possessing images of dictators Hitler and Mussolini. This error in production and distribution occurred when an external company asked to feature vintage cigar labels on the coffee cream containers, two of which were portraits of the dictators. Migros, a Swiss retail store, has apologized for this "unforgivable incident," horrified that such coffee cream containers found their way into the homes of thousands of people.