Victorian Bushfire Appeal WIRES-Emergency Fund for Wildlife Pics That Sum Up The Hell On Earth That Is Taking Place In Australia.

Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires :

https://au.gofundme.com/f/help-thirsty-koalas-devastated-by-recent-fires

Mogo Zoo Fire Recovery

https://au.gofundme.com/f/mogo-zoo-fire-recovery

WIRES-Emergency Fund for Wildlife

https://www.facebook.com/donate/1386120504919105/10158318179549750/

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

https://www.vic.gov.au/bushfireappeal

“The function of freedom is to free someone else.”

~ Toni Morrison (1931 - 2019)

Toni Morrison, a Nobel Laurete, an icon of the literary world, and an elder in the womanisn movement has died at the age of 88. Born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, Morrison was an unfailing leader in the push for Black women narratives and wrote such classics as Song of Solomon, Sula, and Beloved, the latter of which earned her a Pulitzer Prize. Much can be said about the transformative power of her works, but I’d rather leave you with her own words right now:

“You can’t fly with regrets of yesterdays on your wings.

You can’t fly if you’re still in love with that ex that’s bad for you. Give that shit up!

You can’t fly if you’re afraid of standing up and taking power. Give that shit up!

You can’t fly if you’re spending the time you should be using to fly on other less important things. Give that shit up!

Focus on flying, if you wanna to fly. Because if you really wanna fly, nothing should be able to stop you. And if you’re not flying, realize something is. And lose that shit!”

Rest in Power, Toni Morrison. Thank you for the gift of your words and the beauty of your life.

7 tips to Surviving the end of the Semester

Santa Ana’s Mercy House

ABC 7’s Greg Lee took to the streets of Santa Ana to report on how the officials that work for Orange County work to assist the homeless in their cities. Greg Lee does a good job in getting first-hand stories of the benefits of the new progressive programs and housings for the homeless by getting first-hand reports from tenants living in the new permanent residents. Greg Lee interviews Alicia Euzarraga, a lady who had lived in the streets with her children and hows found permanent residency at “ The Link”. Permanent housing for the homeless run by a non-profit organization known as Mercy Housing. U.S. District Attorney David Carter has overseen this the landmark case over the past 2 years.

Greg Lee has a video attached to the article that shows him interviewing two tenants of The Link and how they would like more assistance for the homeless in the future.

This article has great information, great first-hand interviews, and helps in showing the reader what the homeless would like to see be done. The author should show as to how the public could assist the homeless in their own neighborhoods, and how different cities could instate progressive planning like Mercy House into our own communities.

https://abc7.com/society/oc-makes-progress-in-fight-to-end-homelessness/5293822/

Moonquakes and More

 The moon is shrinking and quaking and there is nothing we can do about it. At least that’s what Ashley Strickland reports on in a CNN published article titled, “The Earth is Shrinking and Quaking.” The CNN web page has no information on Ms. Strickland on the article’s page, but it does offer a hyperlink on her name. Upon clicking the link it brings you to more articles she has written at CNN and simply states that she is a space and science reporter for CNN.

This article is about a study conducted by NASA about the seismic activity on Earth’s Moon and how that affects the moon for time to come. It states that the moon has a lot cooler core compared to Earth’s causing the crust to shrink and wrinkle. “Unlike the flexible skin of a grape when it shrinks into a raisin, the moon's brittle crust breaks.” The premise of the article seems to be that we need new studies to be sure of the future of the moon, this would obviously mean more moon explorations by NASA, and more tax dollars spent.

Attached to the article is video clips of old space explorations, Apollo 11-17, and different experiments they lead on the moon, but nothing pertaining to the article. She states that NASA is able to understand the shrinking of the moon by comparing the seismic information with the information they are able to gather from the moon’s orbiter.

This article seems to be suggesting that we send more astronauts to study the moon, accompanied by the video clips of the old explorations of the moon. In order for the article to be more complete, I believe it should report on how the moons “shrinking” effects our future, or our everyday life, in order to be more compelling and in order to agree with the author.

Facebook Research App Ban

Josh Constine writes an article on Tech Crunch about Apple banning Facebook from using the business app program. This app is a program designed to let businesses control iPhones used by their employees to monitor phone usage i.e websites visited, photos, usage. Facebook was paying users to install an app called Facebook Research App which gave them access to all the information that an employer would be able to see with the business app. Facebook was gathering all this information on its users to later develop ads for them. The Research app asked users for root network access to all data passing through their phone in exchange for $20 per month. Tech Crunch is the source of all the information provided in this article. They had a thorough investigation were informed by Apple that Facebook was breaking Apple’s policy and was therefore banned. Facebook later released a statement saying, “It wasn’t ‘spying’ as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate. Finally, less than 5 percent of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were teens.” Mark Zuckerberg continues saying that Facebook did not break any policy. 

https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/30/apple-bans-facebook-vpn/

Alabama Abortion Law

USA TODAY published an article by Alia E. Dastagir On May 15, 2019, at 11:35 am. Alia writes on the ban on abortion at every stage of pregnancy unless the mother’s physical health is in jeopardy. It states that 25 male Republicans voted for it and it will become the most restrictive abortion law in the country if Gov. Kay Ivey signs the bill. The article continues below stating facts about what Americans say about abortion. It states, nearly 60% of U.S adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases according to a survey taken in 2018. This article provides statistics from different categories, partisan views, gender views, and religious views. It gives the reader a statistic of what people in those categories thing about abortion laws. Most people of each category would vote pro-choice according to this article, which we all know is not the case because a lot of voters have voted pro-life. This article seems to be written from a pro-choice standpoint but all statistics were provided still giving the author credibility. Since this article is about the state of Alabama, I think it would be more effective to take statistic from people living in that state to understand why this abortion law would be passed.

To read more about this article:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/15/alabama-abortion-law-american-views-abortion-poll-pro-life-pro-choice-republicans-catholic-heartbeat/3678315002/

Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened

Director: Chris Smith

Release Date: 2019

Fyre Festival was supposed to be a luxury music experience on a private island in the Bahamas. They managed to book 400 of the biggest influencers in the world, models, actors, actresses, comedians to shoot a promotional video. The commercial got released with a caption saying “Come meet me @fyrefestival.com” and their photos hashtagged #FYREFESTIVAL. They advertised these ticket packages, everything from private homes, private yachts, small tents, and within  48 hours they sold 95% of their tickets (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. A good case of FOMO for everyone. The island they had planned the event on initially was 40 acres. The number of people that had planned to go could not physically fit on the island. They also had to think about safety issues and inebriated young men and women on an island. Billy had really wanted tents out on the island so they tested them out overnight and it was terrible. It was incredibly cold, windy, loud and there were so many mosquitos. Kieth raised a lot of questions about the tents and was opposed to it that he was asked to leave. Months went by and they had not planned anything further than the concept of the festival. The organizers are subject to at least eight lawsuits for defrauding ticket buyers and investors.

 Billy Mcfarland – Co Founder

JA Rule – FYRE Co-Founder

Andy King- Event Producer

Gabrielle Bluestone- Vice News Journalist

Keith van der Linde- Festival planner

Captain Marvel: Movie Review!

Captain Marvel directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck is the ‘woman in power’ movie all MCU fans have been waiting for. It is the first superhero movie with a woman at the very center along with a woman writer. It is a long overdue achievement. The initial screenwriter is quoted saying “We’ve been talking a lot about archetypes and what we want this movie to be about and just how to write a strong female superhero without making it Superman with boobs … we’ll catch ourselves and say, ‘Wait a minute, what are we saying [here] about women in power?’ Then we have to say, ‘Why are we getting so hung up on that? We should just tell the best story and build the best character.’ And then we have this constant back-and-forth about how to tell a story that is compelling, entertaining, moving, kick-ass, and fun, and also be aware of what those larger implications might be.” This quote alone says a lot about how far we have come in writing female superheroes and how many people taught about female superheroes at the time. Brie Larson does an outstanding job at being the first woman superhero we all wanted and needed. This movie offers the audience a female perspective at last and a superhero for all young girls to look up to and relate to.

Brie Larson plays the character Carol Danvers who was an ex US Air force fighter pilot but after an intergalactic incident became a part of the Kree military with a serious case of amnesia. The Kree Empire takes her under their wing and makes her believe she is inferior to them and suppress her powers knowing she is the most powerful. She says “ I have been fighting with one hand tied behind my back,” and when she realizes this, she becomes unstoppable. This is a parallel now to how women have been suppressed throughout history. Women haven't had the right to vote for more than a hundred years of our nations birth, and that’s just white women. Women of color didn't get the right to vote on a statewide level until the 1960s. Women have been “ fighting with one hand tied behind [there] back” against legislation, elections, and everyday struggle for hundred of years. Only in the past century have women had any real footing to stand against oppression. Larson does an excellent job of portraying the strong, independent, and spunky female hero. Carol Danvers reminds me of Serena Williams, in that they are both perfect role models for young women, but are still scrutinized by men and other women, for not being ‘charming’ or having the attitude that would make people more comfortable. Carol Danvers and Brie Larson alike are subjected to judgment by men for not abiding by whatever societal norm they “should” fit. Brie Larson is judged for not having the charisma of her fellow star actors and is seen as an inferior actress. Carol Danvers is judged because she chooses to not abide by the mold her peers tried to place her in. Not only does Brie Larson carry the aura we needed from a woman superhero but also the music and filmography do an excellent job. “Just a Girl” by No Doubt was an excellent choice of song to have when Captain Marvel finally realized her full potential. It is the empowering, ‘stick it to the man’ song every girl loves.

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/captain-marvel-movie-review-brie-larson-802831/

Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California

Union of Concerned Scientists published an article Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California (2019). I found a link to the full article through the news source ABC 7 News. This article is pushing for more electric vehicles to help reduce on-road air pollution. It states that Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans are exposed to more air pollution (PM 2.5) than any other demographic. PM 2.5 is defined in a small caption as fine particles that pose a serious threat to human health as they penetrate into the lungs. This article states the different percentages in race and their exposure to air pollution. There are multiple graphs and data given in the article. I read this article with an interest in understanding why Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans are exposed to more air pollution than any other demographic. The title of the article is misleading because there is no reason behind the facts they are stating. Before reading this, I thought I was going to learn about how people of color are more likely to live in an area more polluted because its more populated and/or most of them cannot afford to live in a suburban area or “richer” area as the other demographic can. Overall, it is an interesting article but it is still missing the reason behind the facts they stated to further develop this article.

Read the full article here : https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/CA-air-quality-equity