"CARRIE JOHNSTONE KILLED IN ACTION" was written in large, bold letters on the front page of the Bay Guardian. In smaller text below it read, "Whistleblower of DHS kidnappings shot in Iraq". I'd be lying if I said a smile didn't crack my face the moment I read those words, but no matter what problem arises, death is never a good solution.
Well, at least one that leaves both parties satisfied.
The newsstand I was situated at had a clear view of the new Bay Bridge, which had only been approved for construction a good 2 years after the terrorist attack that devastated San Francisco, and turned the old bridge into a pile of metal and sorrow. It symbolized the transition into a new age, where the Department of Homeland Security was given every right to spy on whatever weird crap was going on in your computers and used the ol’ “catching terrorists and maintaining your safety” excuse to justify their actions. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have been so pissed off about it if I hadn’t been kidnapped and held in a prison by those same people. Wrong place, wrong time was what I kept telling myself, but the blame was to be placed on whoever was involved in it, including Carrie Johnstone. Somehow, keeping a bunch of random innocents in prison and interrogating them for the passwords to their phones and electronic devices was how the DHS decided to investigate the attacks. In the end, it turned against them, but for a year, many of the death tolls in the attack were being held on Treasure Island, their families expecting them to be at the bottom of a river, dead. I was only in there for a few days, but it changed my life. They threatened me if I ever told anyone, and I lived in paranoia knowing that one word I say about it that gets to their ears, m...
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...ot calling you about that witch...well, yes, I kind of am, but I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. After everything that’s happened, that’s the least I could do. Even though we didn’t exactly end on good terms last time, I still care.”
There was a long moment of silence again, but this time it wasn’t about either of us being unsure of what to say. I looked at my clock. 5:32 pm.
“You wanna talk about it over a burrito?” I finally asked. Again, no reply for a second or so.
“You know it,” she replied. “Want me to bring the pepper spray?”
“Of course. No burrito is complete without it.”
A huge smile suddenly appeared as I got up, and ran out the door. I could’ve spent the night playing video games and answering emails like I’ve been doing for the past few weeks, but I had a date.
After dealing with all the media and fans, fatally spicy burritos sounded like heaven.
In this dystopian novel entitled Little Brother, Cory Doctorow creates a chilling story in which the protagonist Marcus Yallow fights the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for his rights and freedoms. Marcus, Jose-Luis (Jolu), Vanessa (Van) and Darryl skip class one day to play their favorite game, Harajuku Fun Madness. As they are searching for clues, terrorists strike the city blowing up the Bay Bridge. Darryl is stabbed in the confusion and fear and the four friends get caught up in a huge crowd. While trying to get help for Darryl, Marcus frantically flags down a military truck. Instead of helping Darryl, the people in the truck place hoods on the heads of Marcus and his friends. They are held for questioning for nearly a week before
In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, is about two separate groups. One group is called the socs, and the other one is called the greasers. They have some difficulties getting along. The poem is called, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, written by Robert Frost. The poem is about that sometimes we have had a long, busy day and then the next day will be a brand new day. These are some ideas between the book and the book.
In conclusion John Allen Muhammad was executed for the 2002 D.C. sniper shooting. Now the city of Washington D. C. can rest easy knowing they are not in harm’s way. Have the lives of the people who have lost loved ones been drastically changed for the worst, or has their lives become easier with time? Hopefully they will regain strength to carry on and pass this tragedy of the sniper shooting. This tragedy should be a lesson for everyone to deal with things and not let those things control every aspect of people’s lives and how they live it.
I am doing my book review on the biography Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis, who is a professor at Mount Holyoke College and who also, has graduated from Yale University with his PhD. Ellis is also known for writing American Sphinx: the Character of Thomas Jefferson and American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic. In Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation, Ellis explains many significant events that happened during the evolution of America.
Death can be perceived as many different things, either meaningful or meaningless. Deaths mainly occur during wars where bullets may hit targets where it was not intended. This is one of the many tragedies of war where accidental deaths are not taken seriously per say to the same extent. This is the main idea in Shihab Nye’s tribute poem For Mohammed Zeid of Gaza, Age 15 where she states that there is no such things as stray bullets or accidental deaths. Nye states that media tends to mask the truths about harsh and difficult subject matters in order to protect the truth from the public. She brings these issues to focus by emphasizing the bullets effects as well as sympathizing for Mohamed for his death from a stray bullet.
While we were on our D.C. trip we got to go to the 9/11 memorial, it was such an honor to be able to go. By going it was definitely an eye opener for me to really see how many people lost their lives and how many families lost their loved ones. You don’t truly understand how many people died and what a tragedy this event was until you actually see the memorial or if you saw what actually happened, it is amazing to think that all those firefighters gave their live to help protect others. These people should be honored throughout history because of what they did. By really hearing about the 9/11 attack and getting to see the memorial really opened my eyes to see how serious it really was and how many lives in ended and how many families it affected. The memorial is such an amazing place to be and to think that where you are standing is where the twin towers used to stand and where so many people used to work. Not only did the attack affect the people on the planes or in the buildings, but also the people who lived or worked around that area. Before seeing the 9/11 memorial and hearing about what happened, I didn’t really understand how big of a deal this attack was. While I was at the memorial I took a moment and looked around me and I saw other families and people there walking through the memorial or standing by a name. Seeing that really made me understand how
Timothy McVeigh proved that acts of terrorism can happen on United States soil by citizens. His actions resulted in crippling amounts of fear. However, those very same actions also brought people of Oklahoma and of this nation together as one. There were great amounts of sorrow as jobs, buildings, and loved ones were lost but these people chose to fight. Just as the bombing memorial’s mission statement reads, these people also fought for “comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity” amongst the chaos. Timothy McVeigh’s actions resulted in the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah building, and the lives of people for many years following the event, but he failed to destroy love amongst strangers and the Oklahoma
In order to adequately depict my feelings, I must start at the beginning. In the fall of 1996, I embarked on my maiden NYC voyage. Armed with a camera, city guide, and my little sister, I headed for New York to discover myself. As I began this adventure, I had no idea how it would end. When I landed at JFK I was a little girl, trying to have some fun, but by the time I boarded the plane to head home my world had changed.
..." he said looking at me in question. I smile to myself, and replied, "Hopefully, we will meet next time and things will getting better. Good luck, and hope you get better," I said in grand finale, and our time together ended.
There was a hint of worry in my voice as I said “She is okay and has received some medical help.
“Well we should catch up wi-” A loud noise interrupted me as I was speaking.
Aunt Leslie then snapped me out of my deep thought asking whether I was okay. I told her I was even if it was obviously a complete lie. "So shall we go back to Geraldine tomorrow morning? Or would you like to leave in the evening?"
The day started out as any other day, but I seemed more excited than I'd ever been. My happiness was radiating off of me. My friend Sean asked, "Seth, why are you so damn excited today?"
When I got home I quickly got ready, I ironed my cap and gown, did my make-up and hair, and made my last phone call to Andrew. I called him right before I left and asked him if he was sure he did not want a ride. Again he responded politely and on my way I went. When I got to the high school everyone was taking pictures, laughing, and talking about how they were g...
You were on the US terror watch list until 2008- at age 89. How did you react when you found out that the