Murders in Chicago are getting out of hand

Chicago, Illinois. It’s an amazing city with beautiful sites to see and interesting history. Yet, who knew that Chicago is considered the Murder Capital of America. Yes, it’s true, according to Time magazine, “The murder rate in the U.S. is projected to rise by about 13% this year, but almost half of that increase is due to violence in just one city-Chicago.” That was only at the beginning of the year and these murders have been happening since the 1800s. Now we are near the end of 2016 and the murders never stopped. As a matter of fact the longest Chicago has gone without murder is 5 days.

Why does this happen?

Well Jens Ludwig, the director of Crime Lab at the University of Chicago says “Chicago’s Police Department, overwhelmed, can respond only to the most serious problems, leaving citizens to feel responsible for their own security.” What he means by this is that the citizens of Chicago feel like they’re on their own.
since officers are not handling all of the cases that obviously means that there are not enough of them to help others.

Who's responsible for Chicago's history of murder?

It’s no surprise to anyone that there are tons of gangs and mobsters running about in Chicago. You never know who's in a gang until it's too late. However, it’s not only gangs that are the problem. There are some people who think crime is the solution to their problem (such as a breakup, loss of money, etc.) These men and women are like lost dogs trying to find their way in the world but, if you get in their way they’re way then they are bound to pounce. Then there are just crazy people such as H.H. Holmes who is known as America's first serial killer.

He was known for his crimes against humanity and his home the “Murder Castle”. H.H. Holmes was a notorious con man so he bought a pharmacy under a fake ID and decided it would be a good idea to lure his victims into the pharmacy (that he made into a giant death trap) and killed them. He was then captured and executed in 1896 (death by hanging).

Then there was the king of gangs Al Capone. He was a child from Italian culture and grew up to become the infamous leader of the Chicago Mafia. He was best known for illegally selling liquor during the prohibition. People even considered Al as a Robin Hood. He is most known for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre where he killed the men of Moran McGurn a rival gangster.

 Although, Capone met his fatal end in 1947 and Holmes in 1896 many people actually look up to them because they think they were cool or made easy money. That ends up creating a person who will kill in the near future. All of these gangsters and other criminals are all poisoning this city with so much violence.


Is there any hope?

It seems like as though there is no hope for anyone in Chicago. Tio Hardiman wrote an article for the Huffington Post and he said “In order to stop a killing, one must have a relationship with a would-be shooter in which that person will listen to reason before taking a life.” This would be extremely difficult and would take a lot of effort. The person would need to realize that their friend/family member/ or partner will take someone's life. Most people don't realize this until it is too late. Then someone is taken from their family and can never be brought back. This is a serious issue and there needs to be a better way to take care of this.

However, in most of the cases in Chicago the murders were school drop-outs, drug addicts, or had mental disabilities. These are things that people can treat such as making sure students stay in school and get a good job, find drug dealers in Chicago and destroy their stash of whatever drug they deal, and giving people with mental disabilities proper treatment and care. So in a way there is plenty of hope for Chicago we just need to use it to our advantage. The number of cops are increasing and the speed of responding to 911 calls are increasing.

Weird violations of human rights #20 right to assembly

This will be about the violation of human rights #20 “the right to assembly.” There's no doubt that with people terrorizing countries and others that are being kept as slaves that there are violations of human rights. However, around the world there are very strange and odd violations of human rights. This blog will be focusing on some of the most outrageous and ludicrous violations.



In St. Petersburg, Russia. A Russian woman by the name of Yelena Borisovna Mizulina. She decided that it was best for the country to have a ban on homosexual propaganda. If you are seen with anything rainbow or something related to homosexuality then the authorities will not hesitate to take charge. The reason this violates the right to assembly is because in Russia there are homosexuals that can't express who they are because of this law.


In North Korea. Kim Jong-un outlawed talking on the phone during the 100 day mourning period. The have this time to mourn over the death of their last leader Kim Jong-il. If anyone caught using a phone during this time is punished as a war criminal. Punishments for war criminals are very harsh and shouldn't be used on civilians. This violates the right of assembly because groups of people on their way to work during the mourning need to use their phone for business issues.

Nonfiction blog

For a nonfiction book I decided to get a book about the world famous and historic singer Ella Fitzgerald. She was a jazz singer who was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25 1918. She began her career when she got noticed at an amateur show. What makes her so famous is her amazing voice and dance moves.

Even though Ella Fitzgerald was one of a kind and extremely famous even she had obstacles in her path of stardom. On page 59 it says “Chick Webbs death in 1939 cast the future of his band in doubt. “I felt like quitting,” Ella Fitzgerald said, “[but] the fact that people like me and I like people...kept me going.” She had a huge problem when Chick died because he was such an inspiration for her. However, she found a way to keep going.

I've  learned so much about Ella and the world of jazz in the 1900s. I am a big fan of all types of music punk rock, classical, orchestra, rock and roll, etc. With so many bands and so many different genres there are some that take the cake for each genre. Such as Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Each of them inspired people with their music even after their death. These deceased stars will always be in the hearts of their fans.

Gratitude blog

This blog will present all the things im grateful for. There are so many things things that i'm so thankful for. Such as an education, family, a roof over my head, and items that brings me happiness. I would first like to talk about my education. I am so grateful to learn new things every day. There are so many kids around the world who don't get to go to school. That only makes me feel so lucky to have the education I get.

Now I would like to thank my family for everything. I wouldn’t have an education or a home. Without my parents I wouldn’t even be around today. Also, they gave me a home and allowed me to have a good childhood. In a way, they even allowed me to have friends by going to the schools that I went to. If I never gone to those schools then I would never make the friends that I have now.

Finally the last of example of gratitude is my friends. Without them I would be so lost and alone. They make me laugh and help me get through the day. There are friends that I’ve known since preschool. They still call me by my old nickname (Bobby). Then there are the friends that I’ve known only for a little bit. Just like school i'm always learning something new about them.


I commented on Emilio's blog

AOW review

Today in ELA I learned about many things going on in the world. These topics ranged from the recent election and the ninth planet found by scientists. My favorite topic is from Jesse Segura. His was about the ninth planet. He said some very interesting things such as “Planet 9 is slowly moving into our solar system and messing with the gravitational pulls.” This is amazing for the entire word to know because this ninth planet is affecting earth and is supposedly 10 times bigger than earth!

Science wasn't the only subject of topics I liked. I also enjoyed hearing about how students voted for Hillary Clinton in a mock election from Dena Ahmed. She said that “students voted Hillary more than Trump and this also affected how the community saw Trump and actually gave Hillary the votes that count.” This shows how one thing can change so many people's minds. Im sure the students didn't expect people to change their votes because students thought Hillary is better.

Election reflection

What are your thoughts on this election in general?

I think that the election was kind of rigged. If you think about it if Hillary Clinton won she would become the first female president in history. That would've been great for the country and Hillary also had good ideas for the country's well being. So it kind of seems off that Trump suddenly and quickly achieved a higher number of electoral votes than Hillary.

Would you like to be more involved in politics? If so how?

Yes in fact I would even like to be an elected official such as Mayor. I have an understanding of politics and it's inner workings. That knowledge could land me a spot in the government as an elected official. I even have some ideas for the town of Berwyn. Some are making sure that parks stay clean by increasing the number of trash cans. Or increasing the number of service hours either from criminals or student volunteers.

Some of you will be voting in the NEXT election! Are you excited? Why or why not?

I'm kind of in the middle because my opinions count on the candidates that we will have running for president. If Hillary ran again I would vote for her and hopefully she will win. If she doesn't run at all then I will have to vote for the candidate I think is best for the country. I know the problem has its problems. Such as corruption in the government. I would vote for a candidate that will do full background checks for people who become part of the government.

Veterans Day Blog

"The Great Heroes of War"

Heroes are not far
There all around
In homes
In cars
In offices
Heroes are never far


Some are fighting war
Some are fighting for their life
But there's the still the group that makes it home
To family
To friends
To pets
To you
Heroes are never far

Some have more honor than others
Some have none at all
But people know them
With or without a name
Then those names can make it home
To cars
To offices
To homes
To family
To friends
To pets
To YOU
Heroes are never far

Investigative journalism

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Newscast: 2016 Halloween weirdness

Costumes are getting weirder and weirder every year. On October 22, 2016 many costumes around Berwyn, IL caught people's attention. Now halloween isn't until a week from now but over the weekend a costume party was going on near Clinton Ave. As people were entering the party the costumes people wore ranged from funny to horrifying. One series of costumes that seemed to continue were comic book characters. Mostly Harley Quinn and other characters from recent movies based on comics. Some costumes were homemade and others were store bought. Although some may not be able to tell the difference, others can. 

One way you could tell what's store bought are if you see that costume in a store or online. One way you could tell if a costume is handmade is not seeing it on a store as well as the quality of the costume. If it’s a terrible costume where you can’t tell who it’s supposed to be and pieces falling of are most likely store bought. Although, store bought costumes are known to be more expensive. Homemade costumes could usually cost at low prices because everything you buy could be cheap. Here's a tip of advice from Lucy Van  Pelt (It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown) "A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality."

Many people have already started to put up their halloween decorations. Some houses don't really have a lot of effort put into them. While others are extremely detailed! The most popular decoration around Berwyn  is a gravestone. Most homes have about 2-5 gravestones on their lawn. Lots of the stones have the letters R.I.P which means Rest In Peace. ALso, some have motion sensors that cause either a sound (like a growl or scream) or something would pop out of the ground ( a hand or head). More declarations only add on to the entire creepiness of a house. Some decorations are so frightening they leave someone mortified. 

1st quarter reflection blog

1st quarter reflection blog Where are you in your 10 book challenge? In my 10 book challenge I have read The Giver (by Lois Lowry), Harry potter and the cursed child (by J.K. Rowling), Paper Towns (by John Green), and The Clockwork Three (Matthew J. Kirby). So far that is a total of four books which is not too bad and also not to amazing either. My goal is to do a 13 book challenge instead of the 10 book challenge. I’ve liked all of these books especially the Harry Potter book because this book was unique to the rest of the series. I’ve never read the other books but because my older sister is a Harry Potter freak she made me watch all the movies. So that made me want to read the rest of the books starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

 What strategies have benefitted you? I have lots of strategies for many things some for homework and others for studying. My strategy for homework is writing down everything i’m going to do on a stickie note on my book. I do that mostly in ELA because that's when I have my book out most of the time. Another strategy for homework is taking a picture of whatever I need to do and saving it as my lock screen on my ipad so that way i’m reminded to do whatever that assignment is. That also works with having to study. For subjects like math I take pictures of the questions I got wrong in IXL that way I can always look back and see what I did wrong and fix it.

 What have you learned about your world? I’ve learned so much about my world. I’ve mainly gained this knowledge in ELA and science. My favorite thing that i’ve learned about my world is how one person can do one little thing and could completely change the world. Everyone imagines the world in a different way some picture it as a utopia where nothing goes wrong and life is great. Even if those people face the hard truth of their reality not being so great they still choose to remain happy. Others however have a different point of view. Take a criminal for example some of those people choose to do the wrong thing. Why? That's because they see the world as a place where opportunity never comes. So they turn to a life of crime by theft, murder, ransom. I however am in the group of people who see things both ways. The world isn't perfect it's full of crime and death. However it’s also full of life and wonder. People can make a huge difference in the world if they choose to.

Film vs book

Film vs Book The Giver

Part 1

One event that was different in the movie The Giver the book was the ceremony for the release of the old. In the movie it is shown as being a ceremony that the entire community sees. However in the book there is a part when Jonas is volunteering at the house of old. There an old lady named Larissa tells him about the release ceremony for a resident named Roberto. Jonas didn't know what the ceremony was like. So Larissa gives him details that make the movie ceremony so much different from the book. One detail that Larissa gave on page 31 she says “They told his whole life before they released him.” Another detail she gives is “We chanted the anthem.”(32). This is important because release is such a serious matter in that community that the movie didn't even show that part because I believed that if the book wasn't going to show the anthem then I thought the movie would but they never have. I figured that an anthem would be great for the book to give the readers more knowledge about the community.


Part 2

They casted Brenton Thwaites to play the role of Jonas in The Giver. I don't like this decision because not only is the character itself different but in the book Jonas is described as being 12. Well, in the movie Jonas looks 16. Also the personalities of the two versions were very different. On page 1 it says “Frightened was the way he felt a year ago…” Another trait is when the chief elder says “We are all aware that Jonas has been a top student throughout his school days. This is important because we never see the plane that made him afraid and Jonas in the movie never seems afraid and anxious all the time. Also because the movie started so soon before the ceremony we never really see how the character is in school. So there is a huge difference between the two versions of the character. The character I think should've played Jonas is David Mazouz. He will be able to act out all of the attributes and look younger than Brenton. He currently plays Bruce Wayne in Gotham and when he plays that character he sometimes shows traits Jonas possesses.

Part 3

I say the book impacted my view on the story most. Although the movie gave me actual visuals of some events. The book still gave more details. On page 68 Jonas reads the rules and the first one says “Go immediately at the end of school hours each day to the Annex room behind the House of Old…” The house of old in the movie is in some field far away from the community. Another example is in page 69 it says “What if he did dream…” In the book dreaming comes as a natural thing everyone has. However in the book it comes as something no one possesses and is stopped by the injections. In my opinion the book is a lot better than the movie. It has more details and more plot development.

Giver Themes and Dynamic or Static?

Is Jonas a dynamic character? 

Jonas is definitely a dynamic character. During the beginning of the book he is a cowardly, nervous, and very anxious. This is shown when the airplane freaked him out “Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen.”(1). Jonas explaining what fear feels like shows that he has experienced it many times before. Then after he becomes the receiver of memory he begins to feel more confident about everything. Later in the book he begins to take risks this is shown when an unscheduled holiday occurs “He had not taken the pills, now for four weeks… and his new heightened feelings permeated a greater realm than his sleep… now he could see all the colors.” (130). This is important because it shows how much happier and confident he is after he gets a job. It seems as though as soon as he entered the Annex room on his first day on the job he started to have more confidence about everything.

What's the theme for The Giver? 

I’ve determined that the theme for The Giver is wisdom comes from memories. Memories are constantly being used throughout the entire book. One example is when Jonas is uncertain if he wants to be the receiver of memory “He didn't want the memories, didn't want the honor, didn't want the wisdom.” (121). This means that he knows that wisdom can come from memories. Bad memories are like warning signs that let you know what might happen if you do something without reason. Another example is when he looks back at what he has seen so far with the memories “Now, through the memories, he had seen oceans and mountain lakes and streams.” (131). This is important information because he has seen and learned so much through the memories The Giver has given to him. He’s learned about snow, sunshine, war, etc. all of those memories gave him wisdom and more knowledge about his community and helped him realize that his community is that great after all.    

The Giver - signposts blog

My blog will be focusing on two signposts one contrast and contradiction and one memory moment.

  While I read The Giver by Lois Lowry there have been many memories. The main memory I will focus on is when Jonas was volunteering at the house of old and Larissa gave details on, Roberto's, release. Why might this memory be important? This memory is important because it gives us a description of the release ceremony for the old. In chapter four Larissa says “They told his whole life before they released him.” This gives us vivid detail on the releasing of the old ceremony. We still don't know what happens after or where they go but I believe that release for the old basically means death. Sadly it may mean the same for the release of newborns because whenever it's mentioned the characters have depressed feelings. 

  Another signpost is a contrast and contradiction. In The Giver there are tons of contrasts and contradictions One contrast and contradiction that caught my eye is when Lily says the kids were acting like animals in chapter one. The weird thing about this is that they don't know what an animal is. Why is the character doing that? Well in chapter three page 21 Lily asks her father “what's his comfort object called?” Her father then replies with hippo. This brings up a lot of questions just two chapters ago neither child knew what an animal is but somehow the father knows what Lily meant. This makes no sense because since Jonas was an eleven and he was about to finish school and yet he never learned what the word animal really meant besides someone crazy. I believe that animals are either confined in one are kind of like a state park or they call animals by a different name like how kids are called by their age. 

                                

                                                                                 

                                                                                  

This is My Blog! My First Post!

Hello my name is Robert. This is my second time making a blogger account. I currently go to Heritage middle school. I've been in this school since 6th grade. I am currently 13 years old and I have 5 people in my family. Other than my family members I also have 3 dogs all of them are Japanese Akitas.

Some of my interests are robotics and I also hope to become a robotics engineer in the future. Some other ones are playing games and fencing. Some groups I'm involved in are OAV, NJHS, and Boy Scouts. My troop is troop 301. I also enjoy games that give me a challenge such as the Batman Arkham games, and undertale. Books I enjoy reading are sci-fi. One thing about me is that I'm a comic book nerd. I love to read the suicide squad comics or a batman detectives comic.



                                                        Thank you for reading my blog!