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ISIS Update

By Emma Calvert, Staff writer

ISIS, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a terrorist organization that has taken over parts of Syria and Iraq. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now called by his followers, Al-Khalifah Ibrahim, is the leader of ISIS. ISIS’s goal is to establish an Islamic state across Sunni areas in both Iraq and Syria, which is ruled with Shariah law. Shariah law as a legal system is very strict and conservative, especially on women.  Compared to al Qaeda,  ISIS has a lot more money and funding going into the terrorist  program.

President Obama decided to launch war in Iraq to fight the extremist group. He did this without going through congressional approval, which is allowed because of President Bush’s Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. President Obama’s decision has caused controversy across the U.S. But, the majority of U.S. citizens want the U.S. to take action and defeat the extremist group.

Recently, the U.S. has made an alliance with France, Australia, and 13 Arab countries including Syria and Iraq to end the terrorist group. The U.S. is launching an air strike on the terrorist group in Baghdad. Iraq and its allies, are  fighting for control of Baghdad. ISIS is being very aggressive despite international airstrikes. As a result, Iraqi militants are taking a more defensive approach, but are still confident in their abilities to defeat ISIS and regain control of Baghdad.

ISIS continues to make advances on Syrian territory and is nearing Turkey’s border, but Turkey is hesitant on entering the ground war. Turkey does not want to get involved, even when they see bordering cities like Kobani, becoming captured by ISIS soldiers. Huge protests are now happening across Turkey–either for or against involvement in the war.

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What Else Could Go Wrong In The NFL?

By Brian Ishisaka, Staff writer

What a start to the NFL season, right? The Niners starting off slow, the Broncos not looking too good, and the Seahawks showing why they are the reigning league champions.  Now of course that isn’t what’s on the mind of those who pay attention to news surrounding the NFL.  That’s right- we’re talking about the recent disciplinary decisions made by the league.

For those who aren’t educated on the situation, the league has recently made some controversial decision that have banned or suspended players, and caused tempers to flare up at an all time high.

The first of a couple decisions that has caused controversy in the league is Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to ban former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, for domestic violence towards his wife.  Many of us heard the news a couple of months ago that Ray Rice had allegedly beaten up his wife in an elevator, which was publicized by TMZ. Upon news of this, the league thought about the situation and decided that the Raven’s running back would be suspended for the first two games of the season. Then about three weeks ago, another clip of footage from inside the elevator surfaced, showing Rice hitting his wife and knocking her unconscious. After seeing this new footage, Commissioner Goodell decided to kick Rice off of the Raven’s and ban him from the league indefinitely. Now let’s be realistic here- the league must have already known about the entire scene in and outside of the elevator. However, it wasn’t until TMZ released the actual footage of the running back punching his wife that they worsened his punishment. Domestic violence is wrong and there is no place for it in the world, but honestly the league needs to make one decision and have that be their final decision, instead of being so wishy-washy.  They only changed their punishment because they knew that the public would criticize them for taking it easy on Ray Rice, since the fans didn’t yet see the whole scene.

This brings me to the second controversial decision, which involves Adrian Peterson. Reports say that a few months ago, Peterson punished his son by grabbing a tree branch and spanking his son repeatedly, which left bruises and injuries all over his 4-year old’s body. He has not denied these claims and in fact says that we was doing his job parenting. However, after seeing this child abuse, the league decided to suspend Peterson for one game against the Patriots.

What are the differences between domestic and child abuse? A little consistency would be nice in the NFL. So Ray Rice beats his wife, knocking her unconscious, and it was all publicly released on video. He is then banned from the league. But an NFL star beats up his child and is only suspended one game? Let’s not forget that that child suffered some brutal injuries and will have scars, physical and mental, to remember that day for the rest of his life. The reasoning of the league just doesn’t seem to make sense, especially that of Commissioner Roger Goodell. If he is going to give a punishment, he should stand by it. In addition to that, he should make reasonable punishments, ones that makes sense, and when another player makes a mistake, he should make another reasonable punishment regardless of the name on the player’s jersey.  All in all, the league just needs to think before their decisions and make reasonable judgments on the situations at hand.

 

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Best Kings Team Since ‘01

By Brian Ishisaka, Staff writer

What a start to the season for the Sacramento Kings!  The Kings originally started the 2014-2015 season with a 5-2 record, something that hasn’t been done since the 2001-2002 season.  However, with a recent losses to teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans, their record now stands at 11-10, which is still very good compared to some of the top teams in the NBA.

So what is the difference from this season’s start compared to previous years? Some may say that it is rookie Nik Stauskas’ play, but he hasn’t quite made his mark yet.  The main difference is the team’s DEFENSE AND TEAM CHEMISTRY.

Two of the King’s stars, Demarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, seem to be playing the game with ease after winning a gold medal with Team USA this past summer.  Demarcus is proving to the league why he is in the talks of being the best big man in the league.  Additionally, Ben McLemore, who is now in his sophomore season, is shining as a player in the starting five.  Ben has tremendously improved his defense and his shot will come back in due time. Not only are Ben, Rudy, and Demarcus the talk of the town right now, but the King’s new point guard, Darren Collison is the catalyst to the King’s success.  Collison was acquired in free agency and he formerly played for the Los Angeles Clippers.  The former Clipper made key plays during their playoff run last year and knows the ins and outs of the game, since he was able to learn from one of the top guards in the NBA, that in Chris Paul.  Not to mention, Bleacher Report, ranked Collison number four on the top fourteen most underrated players on the NBA.  His speed, ball handling, and court vision, complements this team perfectly.

A big factor in the Kings early success is the new ownership too.  The owners have

brought a new pride to the city of Sacramento.  Their enthusiasm and charisma are bringing a spirit of greatness to this team.  Also, by changing the jerseys and the court layout in the arena, this ball club is looking better than ever.

All these changes have definitely not gone to waste as well.  Since their outstanding start to the season, the Kings have obtained more national televised games and have been recognized more by sports analysts too.  The Sacramento Kings are definitely a team to keep an eye on this season.

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News Blurb: White House Break in

By Emily Griesenbeck, Staff writer

On October 3rd, 2014, 42 year-old Omar Jose Gonzalez scaled the fence of the White House, ran across the lawn, and into the North Wing of the White House before being apprehended by Secret Service. In his car, Mr. Gonzalez had eight hundred rounds of ammunition, two hatchets and a machete. He was previously arrested in July of this year and when his car was searched, officers found a vast array of guns, some with scopes and bipods (like those a sniper would use), and a map of Washington D.C. with a line drawn to the White House. Luckily, the President and his family were not in when Mr. Gonzalez ran through the White House grounds. Gonzalez, a US military veteran who fought in the Iraq War, is facing charges of unlawful entering and carrying a deadly weapon. Immediately following the incident, the Secret Service increased surveillance around the fence’s perimeter and changed procedures for making sure the White House entrances were secure.

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News Blurb: Chicken Murders

By Emily Griesenbeck, Staff writer

On September 20th, 2014 over nine hundred chickens were bludgeoned  to death with a golf club and other blunt objects in a Foster Farms facility in Fresno. The Fresno police have arrested four teenagers for the crime- two brothers who lived about a mile away from the farm, a relative of the brothers, and a friend of theirs. The teens were charged with animal cruelty and burglary. Police attribute much of the information they received to the news coverage and social media. Many of the Fresno police officers are concerned about what this act of violence means for the teens in the future, even saying that this act of brutality was that of a psychopath.

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This Album is All Mine

By Emily Griesenbeck, Staff writer

Relaxed. That’s how I would describe Alt-j’s new album, This is all Yours. It’s like going from 100 to 0.  Alt-j’s first album, An Awesome Wave, was just that– an awesome wave of instruments and vocals, all thrown down at once, like a wave crashing against the sand. It was everything from weird noises and chaotic instrumental backgrounds (Fitzpleasure, specifically) to fifty-three seconds of soft, cooing voices (Interlude 3, anyone?).

This is all Yours brings a different element to the table. Their second album is like An Awesome Wave, but after their neighbors asked them to turn the music down. It’s calmer and doesn’t have as many explosions of sound thrown into generally relaxing songs. As I listened to it, all I could think about was things in slow motion because, overall, the album is a lot slower and smoother than their first album. It did, however, include much of the indecipherable English that so frequently appeared in their first album. Much of This is all Yours was easily identifiable with the style of Alt-j, but many of their songs were also songs that you would assume a yoga instructor would play during final relaxation.

Although I felt that this was a more mature and toned down version of the Alt-j that I know, I liked it. As I lay in my bed, headphones in, listening to the album, I felt as if I were falling, slowly, so incredibly slowly, through the air for an infinite distance. Not to mention their sixteen minute song, Leaving Nara–that went by pretty slowly.

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Jon Stewart: A Double Threat

By Emily Griesenbeck, Staff writer

Not only does Jon Stewart host a great political talk show, but he is also an amazing movie director and screenwriter. When Jon Stewart came out with a movie, I was not expecting anything half as good as what I saw. His film, Rosewater, based on the true story of the journalist, Maziar Bahari (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), was riveting, revolutionary, and rebellious!

In 2009, a young journalist, Maziar Bahari, traveled to Iran to cover their elections. What he finds, and records, is that Iranians are rising up against “the dictator” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in favor of a more democratic leader, Mir-Houssein Mousavi. In the midst of all this, Bahari participates in a Jon Stewart spoof segment, where Bahari is called a spy, which subsequently lands him in solitary confinement for 118 days.

During his time in prison, Bahari is interrogated relentlessly by a man dubbed “Rosewater” for his familiar scent. Bahari is completely torn apart by Rosewater, but stays sane by seeking guidance from his Communist revolutionary father and sister. Stewart’s portrayal of Bahari’s time in prison is one of pain, but also a little joy and very Jon Stewart-y humor. We see Bahari lose all hope of leaving prison and returning home to his pregnant wife and loving mother, but we also see his ingenuity and wit guide him into some preposterously funny scenes.

Rosewater, I think, has the potential to become a film to guide revolutions because it shows the emotion of the Iranian people and their relentless fight for freedom. The fact that such a powerful and informative movie came from the hard work of the marvelous Jon Stewart is just the cherry on top.

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Ebola Could Threaten 2015 Africa Cup

By Abby Douglas, Staff writer

On Tuesday, November 11, the African country of Morocco was expelled from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The Africa Cup is the continent’s largest and most competitive soccer tournament. It is a biennial championship between 16 teams from many African countries scheduled to take place from January 17 to February 8, 2015.

Morocco was originally scheduled to be the host of the 2015 Africa Cup, but it attempted to postpone the tournament by six months or a year in order to decrease the threat of the Ebola virus to the Cup’s thousands of participants and attendees. This attempted postponement resulted the Confederation of African Football’s expulsion of Morocco both from the position of host country and the privilege of sending a team to represent the country in the Africa Cup.

Morocco was expelled from the tournament due to the Confederation of African Football’s accusation that Moroccan officials were being “alarmist” in attempting to push the Cup back to a later date. According to the New York Times, a postponement of the championship could potentially be financially crippling to the regional soccer governing body.

Currently, the Ebola virus has not reached Morocco, though it is relatively close to the countries of West Africa where the virus has reached catastrophically epidemic levels. The countries of Western Sahara and Mauritania lie between Morocco and Senegal, Mali, and Guinea, three countries either very recently declared Ebola-free, at high risk of Ebola, or currently facing an Ebola outbreak.

Even so, Moroccan soccer officials remain worried about the possibility of Ebola spreading to their country through the Africa Cup. They firmly refused to host the tournament championships at the scheduled time in January 2015.

The West African countries with the largest outbreaks of Ebola are Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. These countries have participated in the Africa Cup in previous years, but no teams from any of these countries have qualified to compete in 2015. Liberia’s soccer team has already been eliminated in preliminary rounds. Sierra Leone is still in the running, but their team is less likely to qualify because it is in last-place in its group. Guinea, however, has a team tied for third in its group that has the chance to qualify later this month.

In the months since the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, these countries have faced issues surrounding their soccer teams playing in other places. Sierra Leone in particular experienced brutal discrimination against their soccer team when they played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as in Cameroon. While Sierra Leone’s team was on the field, a chant of “Ebola, Ebola” started. They were also placed in an empty hotel while playing in Cameroon as well as forced to undergo checks for the Ebola virus twice a day, even though the players had not been in Sierra Leone for about three months.

No country has stepped up enthusiastically to take Morocco’s place, though Angola, Nigeria, and Gabon are possibilities. The Confederation of African Football will have to either find a new host country, postpone the tournament, or cancel it altogether. African soccer players, officials, and fans await their decision, which is expected to come soon.

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CKM vs JFK Volleyball Game

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

On Monday, October 20th, our girl’s volleyball team battled against Kennedy in an intense game defining who would be one step closer to becoming the metro league champions. Kennedy came out strong the first set and beat our lions 25 to 17. With the help of Legion cheering our girls on and the hatred against Kennedy growing, CKM came back the second set to win. Rallying back and forth, having to go over the 25 point set limit, our lions pushed through to win 28 to 26. Trying to stay in the game, Kennedy came back to win the third set 26 to 24. CKM had to win the 4th set or the win would go to JFK, so our lions turned up the heat and won 25 to 18. Starting the last set off strong with a lead of 4-0, our CKM Lions just came up short on the last few hits. With a sad, unfortunate loss for our girls, the JFK Cougars left the Lion’s den with a 16 to 14 victory.

Even though we didn’t come through with a win, it was a very intense, exciting rivalry game. Key players that stood out were Nia Evans, ‘16, and Kelsey Wong, ‘16. These juniors made a great duo. With Kelsey’s perfect sets and Nia’s stellar spikes and blocks, JFK struggled to keep up. But overall, if anyone saw our girl’s volleyball team competing, they would agree that our team is stacked with strong, hard-working players.

November 3rd, our girls got the chance to go up against the Sac high Dragons to tie Kennedy for metro league champions, but unfortunately, they lost by 2 in the very last set. However, they still got the chance to be in playoffs, ending in 3rd place.

On November 10th, the girls got the chance to move on in playoffs, playing the competitive Pitman High School. Sadly, our lady lions lost all three games and Pitman ended up winning the Division 1 playoffs. Despite their loss, what a great season our McClatchy girl’s volleyball team had!

 

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Has the Dress Code “Sweep” Gone Too Far?

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

As Mr. Lambert always says, “Remember, it’s a great day to be a lion,”…. unless it’s 98 degrees outside and you’re on the verge of having a heat stroke. This comes from the dress code rule that’s gone WAY too far. Has the school administration crossed the line with the new dress code “sweep?” Is it really necessary to dress code students (mainly girls) for exposing too much shoulder or lower thigh? Does faculty really need to take a student from class, and interrupt lecture, to make them change?

On the announcements, Mr. Lambert always says we need to learn how to express our style in a “school” appropriate way, but it’s more than wanting to represent ourselves and our style. We wear certain clothes depending on the weather and wanting to be comfortable in class. When it’s hot outside, the first thing students are going to think about wearing are shorts and a tank top, NOT jeans that will suffocate our body, or long sleeves that will make it hard to focus in class because we’re too worried about the sweat stains we’re acquiring under our pits. They can try to scare students into conforming to the dress code, but the reality is the majority of students will still break the rules. And I’m sure students don’t wake up every morning with the main goal to try and attract the opposite sex by exposing their shoulders and thighs. The administration is trying to over-sexualize the appearance of students by claiming it is distracting. However, what’s distracting is conducting unnecessary “sweeps,” disrupting students and keeping them out of class.

The dress code has become so harsh that the idea of uniforms is starting to sound more appealing. But why should it even have to come to that point? McClatchy High School is a public school, not a private school, and it shouldn’t be treated like one.

Besides the fact that uniforms would be way too expensive for our school’s budget, they are uncomfortable with their cheap fabric. “Inappropriate” clothing is said to be the reason why students aren’t paying attention, but uniforms aren’t going to change that. Not only are uniforms expensive for the school, but some parents may not be able to buy uniforms for their child. Also, uniforms may violate certain students’ religion or beliefs. What will happen then? Will that child be forced to go to a different school? And last but not least, uniforms suppress individual expression and creativity. Uniforms don’t allow students to represent themselves and be unique.

Montana Vince (‘16), exclaimed, “Uniforms are expensive and would be ugly. I don’t want to be conformed to dress like everyone else. I want to be able to show my creativity through my clothes.”

McClatchy’s administration needs to loosen up and realize that there are a wide variety of clothes that are considered “in style,” but uniforms will never be a fan favorite.