2009 has gone by really quick. This semester has also gone by really quick as well. Although I have pushed in a lot of effort for this semester, I'm not sure if I will get any A's for any of my classes. The reason is because most of the classes that I am taking are not really easy and required a lot of hard effort. One class that I find enjoyable is a Political Science class called Classical Political Thought (Poli Sci 160A), a class that focuses on philosophy and political theory in the classical world. The professor is Lawrence Quill, who I find to be very interesting to have as someone who would teach philosophy. Quill is originally from the United Kingdom and joined the faculty at San Jose State University in 2005. The thing that I find amazing about Quill is not only his charismatic British accent, but he wrote two books titled Liberty After Liberalism (2006) and Civil Disobedience: (Un)Common Sense in Mass Democracies (2009) and they are on sale on Amazon.com. Since I took two of his classes in both Spring and Fall of 2009, my writings in the essays have improved a lot. In my opinion, it is good to gain the knowledge from his teachings on philosophy. Quill is also a nice professor as well. I don't like professors who have this effrontery attitude, in which they looked down on their students or speak rudly to them. There are sometimes that when you try to ask a professor a simple question, they would respond to you in a rude and annoying response. As a result, students, such as me, have to take umbrage because of it. I hated that! Overall, I hope next year will be a good semester for me.

VOCABUALRY WORDS:
1. effrontery - behavior or an attitude that is so bold and arrogant as to be insulting.
2. umbrage - resentment or annoyance arising from some offense.

Today in Switzerland, the Swiss voters passed a controversial constitutional initiative that would ban the Islamic minarets in the liberal and democratic European neutral country of Switzerland. The outcome of the vote was 57% for 'Yes' that would support a ban on the minarets and 41% 'No' that was against the ban. The controversial initiative was supported by the Swiss populist right-wing political party called the People's Party, which is known for their anti-immigrant views in Switzerland. The vote was considered to be a surprise to many in Switzerland, especially to the Swiss government who opposed the ban on the Muslim minarets. For those who do not know what minarets are, they are tall slender towers attached to mosques, from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer. The people, especially the People's Party, who supported the ban on the Muslim minarets, claimed that the towers represent militant Islam in Europe. Also, they feared that the rise of Islam is erasing the image of the Europe that they once had known. Opponents of the initiative say that it is intolerant and wrong to ban such a religious structure in a free and democratic country like Switzerland. Before voters when out to the polls and vote for the controversial initiative, the majority of Swiss voters was against it. In my opinion, I believe that the Swiss people have some caprice about the initiative that they decided to vote overwhelmingly on it. Also, I believe that Europeans are fed up with the left-wing ideology and political correctness in Europe that causes the rise of Islam to flourish in countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, and others. The opponents of the initiative said that banning the minarets in Switzerland would create an onerous relationship with wealthy Muslim people who want to invest in the country. The initiative also shocked other countries around Europe where some seen as extreme.

VOCABULARY:
1. caprice - a sudden unexpected action or change of mind; a tendency to sudden impulsive decisions or changes of mind.
2. onerous - representing a great burden or much trouble; difficult.

Over the weekend, it was announced that the suspects who were involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our soil would not be tried in a military court, but a civilian court in New York City. The civilian court for the 9/11 suspects would be a couple of blocks where the World Trade Center once stood and fell. I considered this to be an outrageous move by the Obama administration. I felt that the administration is worried about the concerns and rights of the Islamic terrorists who have killed more than 3,000 Americans on one of the darkest days in American history. With this, I felt that the Obama administration is treating like this is like any other crime in the United States that is being prosecuted. I believe that 9/11 suspects such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and along with four others should not get any rights like regular criminals. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other four men are war criminals and the attack on our control is an act of war. Even though the Obama administration is offering voluble talk that this allows 9/11 victims to see the bad guys up close and personal, it makes New York City a target of future terrorist attacks. I considered the four years of the Obama administration is a setback on the United States' efforts in the War on Terror (a term abandoned by the Obama administration in which it is now called 'Overseas Contigency Operations'). Just recently, the Obama administration planned to lower the bar for success in Afghanistan. If we pull out of Afghanistan, we will lose and suffer a huge humiliation just like the Soviets did during the 1980s. Can the Obama administration understand that? I can give acumen about President Barack Obama and it is likely that he does not want to fight the War on Terror. He thinks that capturing terrorists is like any other crime-fighting method in the United States. Really sad!

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. voluble - talking easily and at length, or involving lengthy talk.
2. acumen - the ability to make accurate intelligent judgments about people or situations.

Over the week, there was a mass shooting incident that occurred at Fort Hood, located outside of the Killeen, Texas. Fort Hood is considered to be the largest American military base in the world. There was a gunman named, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Center killing 13 people and injured 30 others. Hasan was a U.S. Army psychiatrist who was transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center to Fort Hood. The reason why he was transferred to Fort Hood is because of the poor job that Hasan did while he was at Walter Reed. There was a possible motive that Hasan was angry at the foreign policy of the United States. Hasan was strongly opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as angered at the Israeli-Palestinian issue. As a result, before deployment to Afghanistan, he abjured about going to the war-torn country to fight alongside with his men. Hasan was injured when he was shot by civilian police officers. He is currently hospitalized and is initially on a ventilator under heavy guard. In my opinion, I considered the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas to be a terrorist attack. I believe that Hasan was carrying out the killings because of his extremist and anti-American views. Also, he was saying that the attacks were justified under the name of Islam. Although it is unclear whether it was a terrorist attack or not, it was considered to be the worst mass shooting on a military base in U.S. history. My condolences goes out to the victims of families, friends, and love ones. I believe this guy committed a terrorist act and acted cowardly. While we should ruminate about the sequences of the massacre, we must not forget that these brave men and women serve honorably to protect our country and freedom. What a sad day it was for the United States.

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. abjured - to abstain from, reject, or avoid something.
2. ruminate - to think carefully and at length about something.

Next Tuesday on the 3rd of November will be the gubernatorial elections in the states of New Jersey and Virginia. They are states in which President Barack Obama won during the 2008 U.S. presidential elections. But the election in the next week will define if residents in those two states approve of Obama's policies since taking office on January 20th of this year. And sadly, the polls showed Democrats either in a dead heat or trailing by a wide margin of points in the gubernatorial races. In New Jersey, the incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, a liberal Democrat, is in a virtual neck-and-neck with his opponent Chris Christie, a moderate-conservative Republican. Polls in the past show Corzine trailing Christie by 8 to 10 points. Many New Jersyans are angry at the Governor for raising taxes and the corruption going on around Trenton. Although Corzine is very unpopular among Republicans and independents in the blue Democratic state, he is highly popular among registered Democrats. The lost of fiscal discipline, government reform, and ridiculous tolls created a lot of anger among many who once voted for Corzine. Many jobs have left the Garden State as well. Currently, Corzine is trying to tie his Republican opponent, who was a U.S. attorney, to former U.S. president George W. Bush. But that tactic is not working. Several months ago, many New Jersey lawmakers were arrested in a sting operation carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. marshals. Political corruption created opprobrium throughout the state, including in Trenton. In Virginia, the Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds is trailing his Republican opponent Bob McDonnell by a margin of 10 to 13 points. A majority of Virginians are dissatisfied with Obama's policies, even though the President carried the state last year. Obama was in both states trying to rally support for both Corzine and Deeds. Obama was trying to give the Democratic supporters some raillery on the Republcian opponents on the campaign trail for Corzine and Deeds, but they are lagging behind the polls. Even though I am not a resident any of the two states, I proudly support Chris Christie (R) for Governor of New Jersey and Bob McDonnell (R) for Governor of Virginia.

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. opprobrium - shame or disgrace that stems from disruptive behavior; something or somebody that brings shame or disgrace.
2. raillery - humorous, playful, or friendly ridiculing of somebody or something.

The United States, the United Kingdom, NATO forces, and our other allies have been in Afghanistan for almost 8 years, since after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The conflict in the mountain-rugged country, which began in October 2001, has now considered being unpopular. Last month, U.S. general Stanley McChrystal has asked for an additional 40,000 U.S. troops to the war-torn country after conditions have deteriorated. Another reason why McChrystal asked for that additional 40,000 is because some of our allies in NATO won't send more troops to the war-torn country. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Denmark are doing the fighting, but not France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The governments of those four countries who refuse to send more won't allow their troops to fight in the southern part of Afghanistan, where it is the real dangerous spot. Since McChrystal has asked for the request for two months, President Obama had stayed silent. In my opinion, he is taking a very long time to decide. And as a result, it shows me that Obama is not only indecisive, but a very weak and ineffective president. A couple of weeks ago, the Obama administration foolishly paltered about the fact that the Taliban is not a threat to the United States. I say that is totally absurd, naive and foolish for the administration to actually believe that. The Taliban were supportive of the al-Qaeda terrorists and the 19 hijackers that killed 3,000 innocent Americans on September 11. And the administration believes that they are not a threat to American soil? How can Obama possibly defend the United States and keep us safe if he actually believes that? This is one of the reasons why Obama was one of the senators that opposed to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (Quds Force) in Iran as a terrorist organization. And now that he is president, he is trying to paint a lugubrious image of America's history. This is sad really.

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. palter - to act or talk insincerely or deceitfully.
2. lugubrious - extremely mournful, sad, or gloomy.

On Thursday, one of the most oddest and unusual incident took place in the state of Colorado where it captures the nation's attention very briefly. A six-year-old boy named Falcon Heene from Fort Collins, Colorado was mistakenly believed to be traveling in a helium balloon shaped and colored like a UFO flying saucer. Falcon, where he was dubbed as "Balloon Boy" by some media outlets, was thought to have climb onto the balloon saucer when it became launched into the skies. When the balloon fell to the ground, with authorities and the members of the U.S. military acting on the incident, the boy was not in the balloon. A search was later conducted, but later turned out that the boy was hiding inside the family's garage. In a live television, where the boy was vomiting for some reason, he said that he did it for the show, adding speculations that the incident was a hoax. The Colorado sheriff stated that they would press charges against the father of the boy. In my opinion, it is pellucid that these people wanted to grab some attention from the media. Also, it is no surprise that these people were on an ABC reality television show called “Wife Swap”. What was his dad thinking? Does he think that his attention is more important than the safety of his son or any of his family members? What a dumb and dangerous move his father had created, where it was not sagacious. Today, most people want attention because they just want to be famous on television.

VOCABULARY WORDS:

1. pellucid - easy to understand or clear in meaning.

2. sagacious - having or based on a profound knowledge and understanding of the world combined with intelligence and good judgment.

The United States and the rest of the world was stunned and surprised when U.S. president Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Nobel Peace Committee in Oslo, Norway announced the award on Friday and took many people around the world by surprise. Since taking office in January 20, 2009, President Obama has not accomplished many of the things that he promised to do from his agenda. In my opinion, Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. The president will be flying out to Oslo to pick up the award. Critics pointed out that Obama has not done anything in the world that has brought peace. Also, it came at the same time when Obama is being pressured by U.S. commander Stanley A. McChrystal, whether to bring an additional 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. I see the Nobel Peace Prize as an award of appeasement and pacifism, as well as anti-American. The Nobel Peace Prize appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the laureate for the Peace Prize. Throughout the 20th century, figures such as Shimon Peres, Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama and others were awarded the Prize. However, there were speculation that the award to President Obama was just pre-presidential rhetoric and a rejection of U.S. foreign policy under former President George W. Bush. The Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, which is currently controlled by many left-wing politicians, tends to be tendentious in their attitude towards the foreign policy of the United States. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is consists of anti-American, left-wing, and peace-loving members who wants to the United States to be weak and non-superior in the world. But still, Obama will nevertheless travel to Oslo this week to obtain the award. This, unfortunately, shows that Obama will be a weak leader who will appease our enemies abroad and sacrifice our allies in the sake of peace. Obama has also shown his recreant image to the U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. tendentious - written or spoken with personal bias in order to promote a cause or support a viewpoint.
2. recreant - disloyal to a cause of duty; cowardly.

This weekend is considered to be an embarrassment and humiliation for the President of the United States. Last Thursday, President Barack Obama flew over to Copenhagen, Denmark on Air Force One to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting to hear the announcement for the city that will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Since Obama's roots are from the Windy City, he thinks that his star power and charisma would persuade the IOC board to pick Chicago as the host city. Before Obama flew over to Denmark, his wife Michelle and television personality Oprah Winfrey was already there in Copenhagen. The cities that made it to the final of the IOC's pick for the Summer Olympic Games in 2016 were Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro. Obama tried to show his popular image that he did last year when he won the presidential elections, but this time, it did not work. While Chicagoans waited anxiously for the announcement of which city is going to host the Games, Chicago was the first city in Round One to be eliminated. The announcement shocked and saddened Chicagoans. Not only that it hurt Obama, it embarrassed and humiliated him severely. At the end, Brazilians celebrated when Rio de Janeiro won to host the Games. In my opinion, I felt that Obama was not only being arrogant and showy, but was showing himself to the IOC that he was a panjandrum. Now, the star power of Barack Obama has faded and nobody is interested in that anymore. The IOC members probably see Obama as more of a celebrity than a statesman. Also, they probably see him as all talk but no action. During the speech, Michelle Obama tried to persuade the IOC that she grew up in Chicago's toughest neighborhood of South Side. Also, she said that Chicagoans are proud of the Windy City overall, but that was seen to be meretricious. Because of all of this, in my opinion, Chicago does not deserve the Olympics in 2016. I would want the Olympics in Chicago if only Obama didn't traveled all the way to Copenhagen and make some annoying un-persuasive speech. Not only that the flight was a waste of time, it was a waste of hardworking taxpayers' dollars to go for the construction of an Olympic stadium if Chicago has won. Obama's flight to Copenhagen was also paid by taxpayers' dollars.

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. panjandrum - somebody, especially an official, who is pompous or pretentious.
2. meretricious - seemingly plausible or significant, but actually insincere or false.