"Little Girl" by Mosul (Michael) Yon

A group of soldiers were in an Iraqi neighborhood, surrounded by a group of about 20 delighted little children when a suicide bomber exploded a car nearby, harming and killing some of the children, including this small girl who was taken to the hospital by Major Bieger (above). The child did not survive the bombing.

This photograph grabbed my heart and attention as soon as it popped up on my screen. To see a child bleeding endlessly and so vulnerable and fragile, it really made me want to break down. It is a paradoxical photo because despite the despair it provokes in me seeing the little child dying, it also gives me hope and comfort to see the Major treating her as if she were his own, with such love and compassion amidst war.

I guess this photo tells me that no matter how horrific human actions may be, there will always be another more beautiful aspect of human nature: that we are capable of the better, that we can love no matter how much in suffering or how deep in the war zone we may be. They may take away their children, their security, even their very lives. But they cannot take away love.

Egypt Post-Mubarak

What's going to happen to Egypt now? That is the question the world is asking. One thing is certain; there are still protests going on. The people of the Egyptian nation are resented, not only because of more than 300 people being wounded and killed during the protests that took place to force Mubarak to resign, but now it seems the economy is losing itself. The Egyptian people are desperate. Many are out seeking for jobs, and especially those with college degrees are anguished. A young man named Ahmed, for example, has a degree and a master’s in archeology and, after graduating in 2004 and being the top second student in his class, has not been able to find a job. Those touristic places that would normally be packed with foreigners are pretty much drained. Tourist guides have had not a single customer in weeks now. The country’s present minister is very concerned.  For now, the military will seek to implant a new democracy for the country by calling for electoral votes in six months. Best wishes the Egyptian people!

President Obama and the 2011 State of the Union Address

Like most other addresses, this seemed like a very promising one and a very optimistic one. However, it seemed to me as though President Obama was all about competence and being the "#1 country" and compared the nation to others in the world. I felt a bit of arrogance in the speech. It also seemed to focus only on the positive effects on the nation ever since he has been president and it also only talked about the possible "good" effects many of his plans for the future will have. This is not to say that it would be foolish to believe that his plans will bear fruit, though.
There were a few words from him that disappointed me a lot. For one thing, he said that the "progress of the nation is measured by the success of the people." It sounded like a line a hard-core fascist would say. He talked about the business owner who wants to have a "better life." In a few words, he pretty much had nothing to say to the lower class, although he made sure to mention the fact that tax cuts for the upper class are almost impossible. He kept talking about people as money-making machines, or so it seemed to me, and focused almost not at all on the American person as that; a person. He hardly touched on issues such as racism (although this issue is a very dangerous one to touch, so I can see why he would stay away from this one), which are other issues that need to be addressed besides money, money, money.
I was relieved when he said that teachers need to be viewed as they are in Korea, as "Nation Builders." I fell in love with his plans to fund more for education, whether the students' parents were born here or not. I have never felt (or heard of) a nation that pulls out of poverty by depriving its people of education. I also was very happy to hear that he plans on funding more money for research on clean energy and the environment. However my question was, will this funding be made after or before the nation is out of debt?