Investigating Possible Links To Terrorism

The United States Justice Department acted upon possible threats to National Security by investigating the phone records of the Associated Press. Skeptics believe that the Justice Department invaded AP’s privacy and had no right to search through their records. However, with the recent tragedies in our country, the country can never be too safe. The Justice Department had probable cause; they believed that the AP’s phone records could link to terrorism acts. In the best interest of our country it seems like this was necessary to investigate.  The government is looking out for its citizens even though it may mean upsetting people within AP. They shouldn’t have anything to hide anyways. Nevertheless, this investigation into the phone records should only be to search for links to terrorism nothing more.  

Army Wives

     Lifetime is the host of seven seasons of Army Wives. The series Army Wives began in 2007 and has been coming back year after year for its success. The drama is set in South Carolina at Fort Marshall. Over the years the show has developed and changed like any army life does. The show began with four wives and a husband who bonded over having a spouse in the army.

     The show portrays realistic events that occur in the life of an army family. It covers the struggles and obstacles that the families face. Not only does it show the wives side but it also shows the soldiers lives as well. The show brings to life what it is like to be a soldier exposed to enemy combat. That's what is truly great about the show, both sides are shown without hesitation. 

     The wives face many struggles at home while their husbands are away. Some go through pregnancies and early childhood without their spouse. Others face financial problems and struggle to pay rent. At several different occasions spouses at home got notice that their loved one is MIA or has been injured in the field. However, when their loved ones come home all the problems don't go away. One couple goes through a divorce with two children. Another couple loses their daughter to a tragedy at home. One soldier faces post traumatic stress disorder, which is a common thing in returning soldiers. 

     While watching the series it is hard not to become infatuated with the members of each family. When a cast member deploys, as a viewer, you almost fear that they might not survive another episode. This isn't even half of the feeling that loved ones get when their daughter, son, husband, sister, or brother get deployed. The show makes one appreciate what our soldiers are doing for us each day and realize that not only are the soldiers making sacrifices but their families are as well. 

Boston Marathon Tragedy

At 2:50 p.m. during the Boston Marathon two bombs were detonated by brother terrorists, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, with the intention of murdering spectators and participants. An event that is supposed to be a time when people come together quickly turned to a day filled with fear and anticipation of what might happen next. In the city of Boston things like this don’t seem to happen so close to home. Monday April 15^th, 2013 was the day that all this changed.

After long brutal days of tracking down the two suspects, the case finally came closer to the end when they caught Dzhokhar, suspect number two, four days after the bombing. Once officials identified the suspects of the bombing they were on the hunt to track them down.  Shortly after being identified as suspects, the two brothers killed a MIT officer and then stole a Mercedes with the owner in the vehicle. The suspects then let the owner out and he fled and called police. Police located the vehicle and a shootout erupted. During this shootout Tamerlan was shot and killed, while his younger brother ran over him and then fled the scene in the vehicle. The town of Watertown was on lockdown all Friday but as soon as the lockdown had been lifted a Watertown resident noticed a body in his boat. The police were notified and the suspect was caught. After being treated in the hospital the suspect is now communicating with officials.

The true heroes in this event were the brave first responders that reacted so quickly to help the people of their city. As soon as the first bomb went off the video shows first responders running towards the blast instead of running away to safety. The Boston police and FBI worked day and night to track down these killers. They did all that they could to secure the city while making sure people’s lives were still going on. During one of the lock down a family with children ran out of milk. When a Boston police officer became aware of this he brought two jugs of milk to the family that was ordered to stay in their house.

One of the most traumatizing events in Boston brought the city together and showed that in times of misery our city stands together. The term Boston Strong has been used to describe the “resilient” city. Social Networking has been a way for people to express their support for people that ran or watched the marathon. People all over the world have been showing their support for the city and its people. During the London Marathon on Sunday April 21^st people showed their support for Boston with signs, t-shirts, flags, and a moment of silence for the victims of the bombings. The support from people within the city and from people all over the world show how truly great the city of Boston is.

Massachusetts Best Pizzeria

Briggs Corner Pizzeria is run by a Greek family in Attleboro and is being acknowledged for their service and food with Massachusetts Best Pizzeria Award.  Within Briggs there is a lot of Greek history. The business is run by Niko Nikolos and Vassilli Nikolos, two brothers from a little village called Vasilliki in Greece. Niko Nikolos’s son, Christos, helps his father out at the pizzeria in any way he is asked.

Certainly if you were to taste one of Briggs pizza’s you would agree that it deserved this award. Christos told us that the pizza is made fresh daily in the kitchen. But what makes Brigg’s pizza different from everyone else’s is their seasonal pizza. Each season Briggs created a unique pizza to go along with the season. These pizzas are an aspect of the restaurant that makes people keep going back. One of their seasonal pizzas was the “Summer Veggie Pizza”, covered in garlic and herb sauce topped with zucchini, corn, and fresh mozzarella.

The atmosphere of Briggs is almost as appealing as their pizza. Christos described his family restaurant with an attitude that “everyone’s welcomed”. The friendly atmosphere invites people of all kinds. The staff helps create this atmosphere with welcoming demeanors while serving their customers.

Briggs all started when two “young entrepreneurs” from Greece came to the United States in the 80’s in hope of taking advantage of the thriving economy of Greece. After Niko came to the United States he went back after a couple of years to bring his girlfriend, Lamprini, back with him. Lamprini followed her love Niko to the United States where they currently still live with three kids.

Niko left Vasilliki, a village that’s on the outskirts of Ioninna, where he still has a house to visit. While Lamprini left Ios Nikolaos, a village that’s on the outskirts of Lefkas. Life in the mountains was peaceful and quiet compared to life in the United States. Christos describes life in Greece as “laid back” compared to the busy life in the United States. Although this Greek family left behind a more laid back lifestyle they worked to create a successful well known business.

Thrift Shopping

The rapper Macklemore sings about going thrift shopping in his popular song “Thrift Shop”. The rapper states that “one man’s trash, that’s another man’s come up”, which is basically what a thrift shop is all about. This is the beauty of thrift shops, what someone may classify as trash someone else might see it as unique or valueable.

Some people may have negative views on thrift shops but in fact you can find decent things at thrift shops. Macklemore sings about searching through the shop to find bargains. If you really search through a thrift shop you can find decent things at a very reasonable price.

As far as findings at a thrift shop you can find anything from clothing to decorations for your home. For clothing items you can find shirt, dresses, pants, hats, and jewelry. Some thrift shops have prom dresses at a low price that are in good shape. Prom dresses are a low price are hard to find today but are easy to find in a thrift shop. For decorations you can find vases, decorative signs, and other household items. You may also be able to find various designer items at thrift shops for extremely low prices compared to what they once were sold at.

Thrift shops aren’t hard to find either. If you look around your local area you will be able to find at least one thrift shop. The amount of thrift shops makes thrift shops all the more convient. Some of the thrift shops in our area are Second Helpings, Thirds, Savers, Ann's Atic, and Salvation Army.

Harlem Shake

     The Harlem shake, a recent online sensation has caused some problems for participants of this dance crave. Although the Harlem shake may seem like an innocent dance some people have taken it to a whole new level.
     For some people doing this dance while on duty has cost them their job. Over a dozen miners in Australia were seen in a video while working underground resulting in them being fired.
     The setting of these videos has also became an issue. Students have become expelled for participating in videos like these while on school grounds.
     Recently, a plane full of people recorded a video of the Harlem shake while in flight. This is a very serious issue and is now being further investigated to determine consequences.
     People may question to what degree should one get punished for participating in the types of videos. While it may just seem like a harmless act some people are paying the unfortunate price for having a little fun.