Kobane: The City that Just Can't Catch a Break

According to BBC, at the city of Kobane, Kurdish forces had pushed combatants from ISIS back, and they had even seen somewhat of a peace in the city for two day, but after that, fighting broke out again between the two forces. ISIS believes that the city is a strategic location for them. The United States has attempted to aid the Kurdish forces by providing air strikes near Kobane against the terrorists of ISIS. All this fighting has obviously come with a cost. Many of the civilians living in the city have been forced to evacuate to safer locations due to the intense fighting. Kobane was not the only city that had been attacked. ISIS had attacked multiple locations in northern Iraq in 15 near-simultaneous attacks. However, it is said that "ISIS [had] sustained many casualties..." Even though ISIS had faced many casualties, they still continue to shell Kobane and attack the city with great force. Kurdish forces still retain control approximately 70% of the city, but they are cut off from supplies due to ISIS surrounding the city. The Kurds may finally have found a way to aid their forces. Turkey has promised to help Kurdish forces cross the border into Syria to fight ISIS forces. The United States have also supplied weapons and equipment, such as anti-tank rounds and sniper rifles, to the Kurdish forces. I personally believe that the United States needs to be more involved in the fight against ISIS, even if that means supplying forces on the ground because we all know what happened when we did not destroy the Taliban as soon as possible.   

Al "Scarface" Capone: The Luckiest Gangster

According to BBC, in London, a .38 caliber revolver that was owned and used in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre by Al Capone, who was also known as "Scarface," was sold in an auction for 67,250 pounds, which roughly converts to $108,539.83. For those who do not know, Al "Scarface" Capone was a mobster during the Prohibition Era of the early 1930s. It had been rumored that Capone had been committing crimes long before he had even fully grown. He eventually climbed his way up the crime ladder and became a famous face in the public eye. He was very large in the bootlegging industry, as many Prohibition gangsters were. Mr. "Scarface's" empire was worth $62,000,000 by 1929. His luck eventually ran out, however, as he had gone and left many penitentiaries, he eventually got into an argument with another inmate at Alcatraz while in line to get a hair cut and was stabbed with a pair of shears. He had been reported for minor injuries, but later was found to have syphilis. Capone passed away on January 25, 1947. He is now buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Cook County, Illinois. Due to his work as a bootlegger, Al Capone obviously enjoyed his fair share of drinking. Al Capone's favorite drink was Templeton Rye, which is still distilled to this day. Al "Scarface" Capone was a legend and will go down in history as one of the richest and most notorious mobsters of the Prohibition Era.

One of Al Capone's Jail Cells

Cities and Crimes Go Hand in Hand

According to Al Jazeera USA, Chicago had suffered through just another weekend of gun related deaths. Chicago had been gripped with 22 shootings that had injured around 31 people and had actually killed three people. On the Fourth of July this year, even more people were shot, resulting in around nine people dead and at least 60 injured from criminals using firearms. There were approximately 414 murders in just the last year in Chicago. These crimes have caused the governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, to create even stricter gun laws. This call for harsher gun laws is absolutely ridiculous because obviously harsh gun restrictions only allow criminals to obtain firearms and law abiding citizens are left with almost nothing to defend themselves. Chicago is not the only city facing massive amounts of crime. New York City has had around one murder every day, while Guatemala City suffers approximately 17 murders every day. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had even gone to Guatemala City and attempted to aid in the reduction of crime there. It is reported that crime had even gone down by 63 percent, but some of the techniques used became criticized due to racial profiling and harsh tactics. Burlington, Vermont has also taken steps to solve the crime in their city, but they too have followed the bandwagon of Illinois. The City Councilor Norm Blair proposed a bill to ban "assault weapons" and "high capacity" magazines. Blair has stated, "if someone was not a convicted felon and was walking through our thoroughfare and had an AK-47 slung over his shoulder, there's nothing we could do about that." Ironically, this statement is incorrect. The police would have the right to stop the person in question and ask if they had a carry permit. If the suspected person had such a permit, then they would legally be allowed to carry the firearm, no matter what it is (unless the ban on "assault weapons" passed). Oddly enough though, Burlington's firearm crime comes mostly from handguns, not rifles. The problem with cities is that there seems to be a lack of common sense when it comes to firearms and crimes. If the law abiding citizens have the ability to protect themselves with firearms, then crime would be mitigated greatly.

Tattoos: Military Doesn't Like Them Either

According to CBSnews, the United States Marine Corps has banned tattoos that go below the elbow and/or knee. The ban was aimed at sleeve tattoos. Marines already with tattoos are grandfathered in, however, but anyone found with a new tattoo can be faced with disciplinary action, even to the extent of being sent to prison for up to two years and being dishonorably discharged. Tattoos on the face and neck have also been banned. These tattoos have been banned due to the belief that they do not hold up to the traditional image and values of the Marine Corps. Many Marines are furious about the new rules pertaining to tattoos. Marine Cpl. Jeremy Slaton, who has the word "Death" tattooed down his right arm and planned on getting "Life" tattooed down his left, has stated, "I guess I'll get the other half later... It's kind of messed up." Another Marine, Cpl. David Nadrchal, said, "The fact I can't put something on my body that I want - it's a big thing to tell me I can't do that." The Army has also changed their tattoo rules, but the new revisions have actually lifted some of the restrictions. The old rules limited soldiers to four visible tattoos that were smaller than that soldier's hand. The new rule lifted this restriction. The revision also lifts some of the rules with the way a soldier in the Army can wear their hair. Personally, I believe that a soldier should be allowed to get any tattoo he wants, as long as it is not offensive. The United States Marine Corps and United States Army are the forerunners in the fight overseas. They are dying and protecting all Americans who do not have the ability to fight. This being said, I have no right to question a rule the Marines set in place. They say something is not allowed, well then it is not allowed.

DEA Agent Becomes A Woman on Facebook

According to CBSnews, a Drug Enforcement Agency agent named Timothy Sinnigen was sued because he created a fake Facebook page based on the photographs and personal information contained on a woman's phone who had been arrested in a drug case. The page was created to trick the woman's friends into telling the DEA drug secrets. Initially, the act was protected in court, but the Justice Department later stated that it is going to look into the practice to determine whether or not it went too far. The Facebook account looked extremely real, containing photos of the woman posing on the hood of a BMW and her holding her son and niece. There were even posts about how she missed her boyfriend, who had also been arrested. After learning about these events, Sondra Arquiett, the woman who was arrested, had filed a complaint and sued the federal government and the DEA for the false Facebook page. In the trial, both the Drug Enforcement Agency and the DEA agent himself, Timothy Sinnigen, would be named as defendants. Ms. Arquiett had demanded 250,000 dollars to repay for the damages done. Many people seem to have sided with the criminal who had been arrested for drug dealing. But at least one criminal had been captured through this one case none-the-less. The DEA had claimed to have the ability to use the woman's cell phone for whatever purpose they felt necessary, due to Ms. Arquiett handing her phone over to police. I personally believe that the agent did nothing wrong. In my opinion, once someone has committed a major illegal act, such as murder or drug dealing, then that person's rights should become void. No matter what is truly morally right or wrong, there is no denying the truth that the fake Facebook page had managed to aid in the arrest of at least one criminal involved with drugs.

School Security: A Necessary Evil

According to Al Jazeera America, ever since the shooting of Sandy Hook, schools have cracked down extremely hard on security measures. In the Cerritos Elementary School in California, people can only enter the school through one door. Inside, there is a counter that has a glass shield in front of it. People must then be buzzed into the school, but if the person poses a threat, a silent alarm can be pressed, calling the police. Some schools have even been installing bullet-proof boards and some have armed licensed teachers with firearms. I personally agree with the latter of the two, as I would feel much safer in a school where I knew that, if necessary, a teacher could neutralize the threat. Drills have become a massive part of security as well. Tennessee now requires "intruder drills" to sharpen the skills of those who could possibly be harmed by someone involved in an intruder situation. A school in Cincinnati now has a system called the "Bearicade." Basically, the device blocks the door from being opened by a pin holding it in place. It is very simple to use and all that is needed is a door and the device. One sheriff has even created a "posse" system of 3,500 well armed and well trained people who will patrol and scan the outer perimeters of different schools to aid in eliminating threats, whether through deterrence or by force. Some of the states in which schools that have implemented this "posse" system have been Utah, Texas, and Arizona, just to name a few. I believe that this system should be implemented into every school system, along with armed teachers who have the mindset to protect those they teach and the training to follow through. Security in school, however annoying it may seem, is absolutely necessary, as has been demonstrated in the past few years.

Legendary Gunsmith Passes Away

According to USAtoday, Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the legendary AK-47 and its many variants, had passed away in 2013 at the age of 94. The gunsmith had once wished to create farming tools, but decided instead to create a firearm that would go down in history. Kalashnikov was a tank commander during WWII and saw how poorly the Russian weapons held up against the German weapons, so when he returned home, he set a goal to create a firearm to protect Russia, his homeland. The "AK" stands for "Avtomat Kalashnikov" and the "47" stands for the year of production for the firearm. It is estimated that over 100 million copies of the Kalashnikov rifle are circulating worldwide. The AK platform rifle tends to be associated with guerrilla forces, terrorists, and criminals due to the cheap price of one, leading to the stereotype of the rifle as a "murderer's gun." However, Mikhail Kalashnikov has said, "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," in reference to the amount of people who have been killed by someone using an AK platform rifle. The AK-47 rifle, along with its variants are so widely praised in Russia that Kalashnikov received the "Hero of Russia" award when he was 90 years old. Kalashnikov himself hated being asked if he regretted building a weapon that has killed so many people. He responded by saying, "I've designed my weapon to defend the borders of our Fatherland, and let it continue to serve this purpose." Mikhail Kalashnikov had created a firearm that has gone down in history and will continue to be used throughout time due to its reliability, affordability, and simplicity.

AK-47 Prototype