Saturday, May 23, 2015

Entry #20 - May 23rd,2015

Dashcam shows plane's deadly descent onto highway

May 23rd, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News




Earlier this month, a video of a deadly plane crash was caught by the dashboard camera installed in a police car on an Atlanta-area highway.
53 years old Greg Byrd, and his two sons, 27 years old Christopher and 25 years old Phillip, died in the crash on May 8th, along with Christopher's fiancee, Jackie Kulzer. They were headed to the University of Mississippi in Oxford to see Greg Byrd's younger son, Robert, Graduate.
The small plane shown in the video released by the Chamblee Police Department, appeared to be flying low and at an angle along the highway. Immediately after the plane banked behind a tree line, a black cloud of an obvious explosion rose up.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The NTSB's final report should be released in a few months.

My Own Thoughts & Opinion

This crash is absolutely tragic, but the dashboard camera installed on the police car definitely helped out the situation right after the crash happened. My opinion is that small planes like this one involved in this accident are not safe, and definitely would not be the best choice of vehicle for travel. I think people should choose train or bus for long distance travel. But if the distance is extremely long, try to avoid small planes like this and go for bigger ones. 

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Entry #19 - May 19th, 2015

10-year-old girl drowns on cruise ship

May 19th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


A 10-year-old girl drowned on a cruise ship off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Authorities are currently investigating.
The medical team on the Norwegian Gem tried to revive the girl after she was reported unresponsive on the ship's pool deck on Sunday afternoon, but it was too late.
"After extensive efforts, the guest could not be revived," Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello said. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this very difficult time. Norwegian's care team is providing full assistance and support to the family."
The ship left New York on Saturday on a seven-day cruise to Florida and the Bahamas, and the girl drowned when the ship was about 75 miles east of Myrtle Beach.

My Own Thoughts & Opinion

This is a very tragic accident that happened on Sunday and should cause our attention. People should always watch over their children while staying on the cruise. This is because a cruise is not a small boat, and there is a high possibility that kids would like to run around on it which is very dangerous. Adults should always keep their children in sight in case of emergency. We can't afford another young, innocent life to be lost.
Entry #18 - May 19th, 2015

UK police: 9 arrested over London's Hatton Garden heist

May 19th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News



Nine men were arrested due to their connection with the so-called Hatton Garden heist (this heist was a month ago) , which was a theft of gems and cash from a safe deposit company in the heart of London's jewelry district.
Seven suspects (British) between the age of 48 to 76 were detained on Tuesday morning and two more were detained later Tuesday in north London on the same grounds.
A number of large bags that contained significant amounts of high value property were recovered by the police on Tuesday morning as well. Officers were confident that these are the stolen items during the burglary.
The men have been taken to a police station in London for questioning, and the search of the properties are still continuing.

My Own Thoughts & Opinion

What you have done incorrectly will always come back and haunt you no matter where you go. And these thieves clearly proved my point here. A month ago they performed the heist and ran away with the valuables they had stolen, but they could not stay outside of the law forever. The police found them one month later, and arrested them right away. After reading this article, I have to say that our law enforcement system is still trustworthy.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Entry #17 - Apr 15th, 2015

Man taken into custody after landing a single-person aircraft on Capitol grounds

Apr 15th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


On Wednesday a small manned aircraft landed on the west front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Police have taken the pilot into custody. The President also has been briefed on the situation according to White House spokesman, Eric Schultz.
The pilot is a mailman from Florida who planned the flight to protest the Supreme Court decisions in Citizens' United case and the influence of outside money in politics. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he wanted to deliver a mail to lawmakers outlining his complaints.
The Capitol Police have not yet disclosed the pilot's identity. They were questioning him in custody and trying to find out whether the landing was a mechanical issue or something else.
A friend who have known the pilot for years said "there's nothing on the helicopter that is dangerous". He also said that the flight was meat to send a message to Congress about campaign finance reform.

My Thoughts & Opinion


The unexpected landing that the pilot did on Capitol grounds was extremely foolish. I understand that the pilot was worried about his country and wanted to deliver his own message, but landing outside of U.S. Capitol would not only get yourself in trouble, the message you wanted to deliver would probably get taken away by the police. That pilot should really thought about the consequences before he decided to do the landing.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Entry #16 - April 11th, 2015

Shooting at U.S. Capitol was a suicide, police say; lockdown has been lifted

Apr 11th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


A shooting that caused the lockdown of the U.S. Capitol for several hours on Saturday turned out to be a suicide that has no connection to terrorism, said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine in a news conference.
Dine told reporters that an unidentified male walked through a public area on the west front of the Capitol early Saturday afternoon and shot himself. The unidentified shooter had a backpack and a rolling suitcase that authorities treated as suspicious packages, the lockdown was prompted as they were discovered.
The male carried a sign with a message about "social justice" and something about taxing the "1%." There was "no nexus to terrorism" apparent so far in this incident, said Dine.

My Thoughts & Opinions


Why would people want to kill themselves just because life has been a little harsh on them. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Also if someone really wants to kill him/herself and end his/her pain, pick somewhere private and no one would see. Public areas are the worst places for suicides. Because your death might scare innocent citizens and children, leave them something they would never want to see in their lives. So really, think thoroughly before doing things, as they could affect yourself, even people around you.
Entry #15 - April 11th, 2015

Can squid help make soldiers invisible?

Apr 11th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News




Scientists say that cephalopods, like squid, octopus and cuttlefish, may hold the key to develop a brand new combat technology that will allow soldiers to avoid infrared detection.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine claimed that they have found a way to use proteins in the cells of pencil squid to develop "invisibility stickers" which can be worn by ground troops.
Alon Gorodetsky, assistant professor of chemical engineering and material sciences, along with his team, have put all their attention on specialized squid cells known as iridocytes, which contain a unique light-reflecting protein called reflectin. They were also able to engineer E. coli bacteria to synthesize reflectin and coat the protein onto a packing tape-like surface to create the "invisibility stickers".
These reflectin-coated stickers can change into virtually any color with a chemical or mechanical stimulus, causing ground troops to be invisible towards enemies.

My Thoughts & Opinions


The future is finally coming. Invisible soldiers that usually appear in fictions and sci-fi movies are no longer fictional. But this development does not mean that world peace will be easily achieved. We have no idea which country will be the one getting the patent from the developers once the development is done. We also have no idea what the country with the patent would do with this development because if they use it to fight other countries, their chance of winning the fight is much greater than others. Let's just hope this development will not fall into wrong hands once its finished.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Entry #14 - April 6th, 2015

Craig Hicks may face death penalty in slaying of 3 Muslim students

Apr 6th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


Craig Hicks, who is responsible for the deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, can face death penalty, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. ruled on Monday.
Hicks was arrested on February 10th in the deaths of Yusor Mohammad, 21, her 23-year-old husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. They were all brutally shot in the head.
Hicks was the victims' neighbor, and he turned himself in to police on the night of the killings. Immediately next week, he was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and a count of discharging a firearm to an occupied dwelling. "He had no prior criminal record," said police.
On what might have been Hicks' Facebook page, numerous posts against religion were found. The victims' family members have asked authorities to investigate the slaying as a hate crime.

My Thoughts & Opinions

Ones religions don't have to do with anyone else's opinions. We live in a free society, so mind your own business. This Hicks guy obviously went too far in this racial discrimination thing and caused innocent young people to lose their lives. One should never judge other people based on what he/she knows. Instead, we need to tolerate and learn to understand each other. This is the only way to end terrible things like this killing and make our world a better place.
Entry #13 - March 28th, 2015

Police: 2, perhaps 3, missing in New York building explosion

Mar 28th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


New York's East Village was turned into piles of blocks by a powerful explosion. It used to be a block filled with artists, college students and urban eclectics.
Investigators are checking whether a gas line was accessed incorrectly at the building where the explosion happened, and left more than 20 people injured. NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce also said that one additional person might be missing.
Officials provided a rough timeline about what appears to be a gas-related explosion, and the evidences showed that gas utility inspectors checking in the building's basement left the premises about 30 minutes before the blast went off at 3:17 p.m.

My Thoughts & Opinions

At this point, I have no idea whether this explosion is caused by gas utility inspectors' mistakes, or someone messed up the gas line without noticing. But what I need to say is that people need to be more careful and all the maintenance workers should really make sure that everything is well in the buildings that people live. Because one little mistake, might cause the loss hundreds people's lives. 

Monday, April 6, 2015

Entry #12 - March 4th, 2015

With no bodies found in past week, AirAsia Flight 8501 main search ends

Mar 4th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News



National research and rescue chief of Indonesia, Bambang Soelistyo, announced that the main search-and-recovery operation surrounding crashed AirAsia Flight 8501 officially ended on Tuesday.
On December 28, the crew on the Airbus A320-200 jet lost contact with air traffic controllers. Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan later explained the plane climbed rapidly and stalled shortly before it crashed.
Searchers found remnants from the AirAsia aircraft and the remains of some passengers in the Java Sea.
As of Tuesday, 94 bodies were identified as passengers who had been on the AirAsia plane, with six other bodies still in Surabaya's Bhayangkara Hospital. But this result still leaves some families waiting.

My Own Thoughts & Opinions

Authorities need to be more aware about plane safety. We already had many crashes in the past years, and they all left families grieving for their lost ones. Airlines always tell the families who lost their loved ones that they are sorry about the accident, but instead of saying sorry, why don't you make sure that same accident will not happen again in the future? What is lost is lost and will never come back. So airlines, think about this and be more careful in the future.
Entry #11 - March 4th, 2015

One of FBI's most wanted terrorists captured in Somalia

Mar 4th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


Somali intelligence announced on Tuesday that a Somali-American on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list has been captured.
Liban Haji Mohamed, once a taxi driver, was arrested when he traveled from an area controlled by terror group Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, and is now being held and interrogated by Somali officials.
Mohamed was born in Somalia but is an U.S. citizen. He left United States when he was 29 years old and joined Al Qaeda in Somalia. He was wanted by the FBI for providing material support to terrorists.

My Own Thoughts & Opinions

It is great seeing that another threat has been wiped off citizens' daily lives. One thing I don't understand is that why would anyone leave United States to join a terrorized organization. There are so many opportunities in United States, this Mohamed guy could have just find a normal job and live peacefully like everyone else. Instead he decided to support terrorists who do nothing other than tearing people's lives apart. We all need to think thoroughly before deciding what to do, I guess this guy just did not care about what would happen to him if he joined a terrorized organization.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Entry #10 - February 28th, 2015

More drones hover over Paris; authorities investigate

Feb 28th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


The city prosecutor's office in Paris said on Wednesday that more drones were spotted flying over Paris overnight.
These drones were spotted over Rue de Vaugirard, the Assembly, the city's east train station, Porte de Saint-Ouen and Porte de la Chapelle between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities are currently investigating these unknown aerial vehicle activities.
The sightings shown that five drones were flying over other sensitive and well-known areas of Paris. They were seen over the Eiffel Tower, the Bastille, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides and the U.S. Embassy between midnight and 6 a.m.
Three journalists working for Al-Jazeera were arrested Wednesday afternoon after being spotted using drones in the Bois de Boulogne, but all three were released Thursday.
"We will comment further when more information is available," said a spokeswoman.


My Own Thoughts & Opinions


Personally, I think this is not a very big deal, but we still need to find out who really is controlling all these drones. The reason that made me think this is not a big deal is that there are lots of remote controlled quad-copters, helicopters and planes out on the market for people to buy. And some of these comes with high resolution cameras for pilots to take videos and images. So these drone activities might just be some dude playing with these remote controlled toys and having a good time. The other reason of mine was about finding out the guy behind all these drone activities. This is because we have no idea whether these drone activities were caused by some random citizen who owns a remote controlled drone, or by some terrorized organization that wants to gain information on French government. Once this is mystery is solved, I guess every citizen in Paris will feel relieved.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Entry #9 - February 24th, 2015

Officials: Train technology prevented tragedy in S. California

Feb 24th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


A terrible train crash happened on Tuesday involving a passenger train and a pickup truck in Southern California. If this had occurred five years ago, more people would have been injured or killed, said officials with the commuter service.
Some of the Metrolink cars in the crash were equipped with collision energy management technology. This safety technology was implanted after the crash between a freight train and a Metrolink train in 2008, which caused the death of 25 people.
Gladly, no one died in this accident. What happened was that before sunrise, a driver of a produce truck accidentally mistook the train tracks for the road and tried to turn onto them. But at least 28 people were injured, including three in critical condition.
Apparently the train cars in this accident were relatively new and the safety features were much better at absorbing the impact of a crash than older trains. The front end of the car that hit the truck was designed to crumple and disperse the energy of the collision, said Metrolink spokesman Jeff Lustgarten.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a written statement that the train could have been going at the speed of 79 mph before the crash. The driver of the truck was hospitalized and questioned by investigators, but later arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run.


My Own Thoughts & Opinions


Technology these days is not only developing for entertainment and convenience, it is also developing for our safety. Like the safety technology they used on the train cars in this crash, it prevented what could have been a huge accident involving a lot of deaths, and saved many people's lives. As for the driver of the pickup truck, I just want to say that please drive with caution. Your little mistake could have killed many people. Also after the accident, there is no point of trying to run away from it, it would only make the scenario worse. After all, I am glad that the passengers' safety was put on priority for public transportation.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Entry #8 - February 23rd, 2015

11 at Wesleyan University hospitalized after taking Molly

Feb 23th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News



Ten students at Connecticut's Wesleyan University along with two visitors were hospitalized Sunday from the use of the drug Molly or alcohol.
The Middletown Police Department reported that 11 people were hospitalized because of Molly and one because of alcohol.
On Monday, four people were still remained in the hospital, and two of them were in critical condition.
University President Michael S. Roth said that Molly is a remastered version of MDMA that can have extremely dangerous effects. MDMA is an active ingredient in the well-known drug Ecstasy.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, most often Molly is not MDMA, but a toxic mixture of lab-created chemicals.


My Own Thoughts & Opinions



More and more people, especially teenagers, are being lured into taking drugs illegally. There are already enough positive advertisements and posters about staying away from drugs, but people still does it. Our government should pay more attention to it and try to eliminate the problem once and for all. It's not like our government haven't put enough attention, it's just that they need to pay more attention. Remember, drug abuse does nothing to you except ruining your life and your reputation.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Entry #7 - February 17th, 2015

China's military not ready 'to fight and win future wars,' new report says

Feb 17th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News



China's military suffers from "serious weakness" that could make it unable "to fight and win future wars," a congressional study released recently suggests.
A 184-page report made by the U.S. Congress mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission suggests that the People's Liberation Army has made huge progress in a reasonably short time.
But, weaknesses in the Army's organizational structure (corruption among its ranks) and in its combat capabilities mean the Army faces serious challenges.
These disadvantages could limit the Army's ability to successfully conduct the information-centered, integrated joint operations Chinese military strategists see as required to fight and win future wars.


My Own Opinions & Thoughts

Even though the media says China is still unable to fight the future wars, I think they have come a long way. It is a sure thing that I agree with them about the corruption among ranks. Because officers are always trying to get higher ranks so they could earn more benefits. When they cannot rank up by doing hard work, they would think about corrupt their superiors with money. This is a bad thing to do and the People's Liberation Army should really look into it and make sure these terrible acts stops right away. For other things like combat capabilities, I think the Chinese army is working on it. They've had a huge progress already, and I believe that one day, they will become as good as other countries' army.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Entry #6 - February 10th 2015

North Korea flaunts its 'cutting - edge' missiles



North Korea recently tested what seemed to be a new type of anti-ship missile with a picture of its leader, Kim Jong Un, at the launch site. But some analysts said North Korea's missiles appeared to be Russian designs.
The announcement of the test occurred just weeks before the annual joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. The test-firing took place in the East Sea and the North Korean media described the missiles as 'intelligent rocket', and that the missiles tracked and hit the 'enemy' ship after taking a safe flight.
The South Korean Defense ministry said five short-range missiles were fired on Sunday with a range of 200 kilometers. According to North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency, the purpose of the new missiles are for North Korea to defend its waters and any attempt of military attack.
North Korean media also reported that Kim Jong Un expressed "satisfaction" over the "highest level: of rockets being developed in North Korea. But according an analytical officer, the weapon appeared to be a Russian Kh-35E anti-ship cruise missile. "Whether the KPN (Korean People's Navy) acquired the system directly from Russia or a third party is unclear," wrote Joseph S. Bermudez in the North Korea analysis site, 38 North.

My Own Thoughts & Opinion

It is definitely good to see that North Korea is trying to develop by creating weapons which can be as good as weapons that are owned by countries like United States. But with the question of whether the missile is really North Korean or not, I have to say that if the weapon is North Korean, great; if not, then Kim Jong Un himself should be ashamed for taking other people's work and make it his. It is also hard to know whether North Korea is actually trying to use these missiles to defend itself, or trying to use them as weapons to threat and attack other countries. For now, I think we should wish for the best, and hope Kim Jong Un knows what is the best thing for him to do with these missiles.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Entry #5 - February 8th, 2015

'Mayday. Engine flameout': Call shortly before plane hits bridge in Taiwan

Feb 8th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News


Someone in the cockpit of a TransAsia Airways flight made a mayday call because of an engine malfunction shortly before the plane crashed Wednesday into a river in Taiwan. At least 32 people were killed.
A male voice on a recording of radio conversations between air traffic control and TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 says, "GE235. Mayday, mayday. Engine flameout." It is still unclear whether the man was a pilot or not.
The passenger plane clipped a bridge and crashed into a river in Taipei. Rescuers hurried to pull survivors from the submerged wreck of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft, which went down shortly after takeoff from the capital of Taiwan.
58 people were on this flight to Kinmen, off the coast of the Chinese province of Fujian. After the accident, 32 people confirmed dead and 11 missing. The search and rescue are still continuing.
Out of the 15 people who survived, many of them were injured. Two other people, who were in a taxi on the bridge that was clipped by the wing of the plane, also got hurt, but their condition was stable.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said they already had local airlines to carry out inspections on all their ATR 72s before using them again. The checks will include various aspects of the engine system, including fuel and propeller control.

My Thoughts & Opinions

It is very sad to hear that another terrible tragedy has happened. But it is very glad to hear that after this tragedy, all airlines which use this kind of air planes are checking for problems. We are trying to prevent such terrible thing to happen, which is a nice thing to do. Still, it is very harsh to hear that out of the 58 people who boarded the plane, only 15 survived the accident. I hope the government could care about the families who lost their dearest member a lot, and compensate their loss. Meanwhile, I want to say good job to all the rescuers. According to the news article, the rescuers swarmed the place where the accident happened as soon as possible and started rescuing survivors. Their spirits made me feel very touched, and I think the families who got their family members back will also be very thankful for their brave act.
Entry #4 - February 4th, 2015

6 killed when train hits SUV in New York

February 7th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News




An SUV driver who stopped at a railroad crossing north of New York caused a railroad collision that left her and five train passengers dead. An official also said that this is the deadliest crash in Metro-North Railroad history.
According to the investigation, the reason for the woman's Mercedes SUV to stop on the tracks on Tuesday night was unknown. Robert Sumwalt, a National Transportation Safety Board Member, told reporters that they will continue to look for the reason even though it is unclear at this moment.
The SUV driver was later identified as Ellen Brody, who was the mother of three girls. An MTA official who knew about the incident said the gates at crossing came down on top of her vehicle. She got out to examine the rear of her vehicle, got back in, drove forward and was struck shortly before 7 p.m. The vehicle was dragged 1,000 feet.
The victims on the train was identified later. The victims on the train were: Walter Liedtke, an European painting curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Eric Vandercar, 52 years old, a senior managing director in institutional sales and trading for Mesirow Financial; Joseph Nadol, an analyst at J.P. Morgan; Robert Dirks, who worked at D.E. Shaw Research; and Aditya Tomar, who worked at J.P. Morgan.
15 other people were injured due to the crash. After the crash, passenger Justin Kaback said he hardly felt a thing when the train smashed into the vehicle. He also said that he received no warning of the fire caused by the crash, which was about to ignite the first car of the train. It was until the people in the front of the train said they smelled gasoline, that everyone on the train started evacuate to the back.


My Thoughts & Opinions

This is a horrible disaster that happened among us. But this disaster also warned all the drivers: do not come out of the car when you cross a railway crossing. It is an extremely dangerous thing to do. You are not only putting yourself at danger, you are putting the lives of the passengers on the train in danger. I also think that the train staff should let the passengers know that there was an accident as soon as it happened. In this case, People who were not in the first car of the train had no idea about the accident. They weren't even being told of the fire until the people in the front smelled gasoline. Imagine if the people didn't smell gasoline, and the fire continued to spread towards the rest of the train, the passengers would start panicking and turning into a chaos. Overall, my opinion was that if you are driving, pay close attention; if you are a staff on the train, let the passengers know as soon as possible if there is an accident.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Entry #3 - February 1st, 2015

Incredible 50-foot 'dragon' dinosaur unearthed by Chinese farmers

Feb 1st, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News

























Paleontologists discovered a 50-foot "dragon" dinosaur species in China that may have lived on the earth 160 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. The huge skeleton of the dinosaur was found in 2006 by farmers when they were digging for a fish pond in Qijiang city, which is in the southwestern Chongqing province. Lida Xing, who made the discovery and is in a research team from the University of Alberta, told CNN the dinosaur is named Qijianglong, which means "dragon of Qijiang". He said this is because the farmers thought the bones looked like the shape of Chinese mythical dragons. The finding was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and it shows that the new species belongs to a group of dinosaurs called mamenchisaurids. Mamenchisaurids are dinosaurs that had extremely long necks, and sometimes the neck would be as long as half the dinosaur's body. Tetsuto Miyashita, a PhD student at the University of Alberta, also said if you imagine Qijianglong's long neck, you would find that evolution can do quite extraordinary things.The skeleton is currently displayed in a museum in Qijiang, but will be moved to a new dinosaur museum in the city which is still under construction.


My Opinions & Thoughts

It is amazing to see how the scientists have found a brand new dinosaur species that used to live on Earth a long time ago. This discovery also makes me wonder: will there be some other species of long-necked dinosaurs within the area where they found Qijianglong? Or maybe within the continent of Asia? Because if Qijianglong used to live in Qijiang area, then it means that this area probably used to be a natural habitat for long-necked dinosaurs -- the mamenchisaurids. But one thing I am sure about is that the discovery of Qijianglong definitely made us one step closer to understand and picture what Earth was like before we even existed.
Entry #2 01/27/2015

Gunmen attack Corinthia Hotel in Libya

Jan 27th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News



At lease 10 people including 2 attackers were killed, and six injured on Tuesday in a car bomb explosion and gun attack against the luxurious Corinthia Hotel in central Tripoli. Five people -- one American, one French citizen, and three people from Tajikistan -- were killed during the attack. Five Libyans were also killed. The Libyan branch of ISIS took responsibility for the attack, and released photos of the two gunmen -- Abu Ibraheen Al-Tunsi and Abu Sulaiman Al-Sudani. Their names suggests respectively that the men were of Tunisian and Sudanese origin. Essam al-Nass, a spokeman for a security division of the Ministry of Interior in Tripoli, said it appears that the attackers were Libyans. The FBI is expected to investigate into the incident, two U.S. officials said to CNN. A State Department official confirmed the death of one U.S. citizen, but would not provide any other information. The French Foreign Ministry also announced the death of one French citizen. An online group that supports ISIS said the attack was in the name of Abu Anas al-Libi, who was an alleged al Qaeda operative accused of involvement in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa. A spokesman for the Corinthia Group in Malta said they are trying to take possession of the hotel in order to assess the damage, but the Libyan security forces are not yet allowing that to happen.


My Opinions & Thoughts

It is understandable that ISIS wanted to take revenge on what the U.S. government did to al-Libi, who was one of them and recently passed away in a U.S. hospital. But they don't have to do everything in a violent way. Because the people they are killed have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S. government, they were just normal citizen who happened to be in the hotel at that time. Also, I think the Libya government should act more serious about the ISIS branch in Libya. We simply can't afford more deaths of innocent citizens caused by the ISIS. If we don't act seriously, one day they will get out of our hands and do harmful things more than just killing people.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Entry #1 01/26/2015

Kobani falls: Kurds take strategic city from ISIS

Jan 26th, 2015
By: Johnny Yu
CNN News





ISIS loses battle for Kobani

Kurdish soldiers have won the Syrian city of Kobani from ISIS after 112 days of fighting. The announcement was heard one day after the Iraq's Diyala Province's "libation" from the ISIS. Idriss Nassan, Kobani's deputy foreign minister, told CNN that YPG is currently in control of the situation, and they are making sure to clear Kobani from ISIS and declare it a free city. YPG spokesman Polat Can also confirmed the news with a tweet to congratulate all Kobanians of the libration. A Kobani official who did not want to be named, said the Kurds were going house to house in the newly librated area to check for traps. Once they are removed, the residents will be able to return to their homes. According to London-based opposition group, since October 6th, YPG and the rebel battalions backing YPG has killed 979 ISIS combatants. The dedication of soldiers fighting against ISIS made the libration of Kobani happen, and brought thousands people's homes back.

Iraqi victory claimed over ISIS in Diyala

A large-scale military operation to reclaim Iraq's Diyala Province from ISIS was successful. The operation began last week, but there were already 58 casualties, including two journalists. And about 300 others were wounded. Al-Amiri, the head of the a powerful Shiite militia, said that Iraqi security forces are searching for ISIS militants who escaped into orchards and farms in remote areas.


My own opinions

It is good to see the city of Kobani, which was under the terror of ISIS for a long time, gets liberated. This not only gave Kobani's residents their homeland back, it also taught the terrorists a lesson so they would think twice before performing harmful acts to a city, a country, and innocent citizens. Through this act of libration, the government of Kobani also showed their people that they are trustworthy and reliable. I am also impressed by the efficiency of Kurdish soldiers, who took over the whole city within 112 days of fighting with a fully armed terrorist organization. Even after they took over the city, instead of taking a break, they immediately went searching and disabling booby traps so that the residents of Kobani could get to their homes as soon as possible. This impressed me a lot, and I think the people of Kobani are also greatful for their act, too.