All in Current Events
Warfare inevitably destroys human life. Human life is the fuel war runs on and the medium through which it is carried out. For all of history, humans have organized to destroy one another in this brutal contest. From clubs and spears to cannons and rifles, war has been an omnipresent fixture of human history. However, recent developments have seen a shift in how conflict is carried out - namely, the introduction and development of drone technology.
The death of Frank Pallett etched the fate of The Chance Theater in stone. A mainstay in Poughkeepsie’s live music scene, The Chance was a theater with over a century of heritage that offered a venue to Count Basie, BB King, and The Ramones when their music careers were still in their infancy. Pallett took ownership of the theater in February 1995 and spent the rest of his life developing it into a place worthy of acts like Bowie and The Rolling Stones, as well as making it a launchpad for local bands to cut their teeth as live performers. When he died in 2021, Poughkeepsie mourned the loss of a local hero, but the city pondered the fate of this historic venue. The venue permanently closed its doors in October 2023. Chai Developers, the new owners, plan to renovate the theater while maintaining its heritage; however, the theater’s indefinite closure indicates the end of an era and reflects a greater global grassroots music venue crisis.
The Russian-Ukrainian war shook the world with its dire consequences, and it might have shocked many. Still, this bloody turmoil’s genesis didn’t occur overnight; rather, an accumulation of past events gave birth to this war. So, what are these events, and how has the war impacted the world? Additionally, what can we do to prevent such a tragic event from taking place again?
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a revolutionary idea that ensures everyone receives the basics to survive. The goal is to provide citizens a monthly stipend, between $250-$1,000, to reduce the number of people who struggle to pay for necessities such as house payments, food, and water so that they can focus on other goals like education, quality time with family, and personal hobbies. Poverty creates a life of instability with work, unstable living situations, and little to no access to education. Whenever we speak about poverty, people tend to think that this is only an issue experienced by those unwilling to work (or considered lazy by some).
The war in Gaza has absorbed the attention of the international community, and for good reason. The humanitarian disaster there is an abhorrent consequence of the tactical reality in Gaza. The conflict, while a current event, is directly connected to the region's complex history. The history of Israel’s creation in the West is an unknown and often misunderstood story of tragedy, political strife, war, and intervention. It is a 20th-century phenomenon that stretches beyond the two central nations themselves. This article does not seek to assert an opinion on this issue but offers an accessible history to serve as a contextual backdrop to the origins of the ongoing conflict. The focus will be on the events leading up to the creation of Israel and how it connects to today.
Climate change is arguably the most relevant and impactful current event. Both its effects and countermeasures are felt globally, and many countries have begun implementing policies and goals in hopes of nullifying its impacts. Environmental catastrophes such as rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions are a direct result of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are on course to continue worsening if emissions don't dramatically decline.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been there for decades, and despite the agreements made to establish peace between both parties, the conflicts are still present to this day, and we are here to see its economic impact on both Israel and Palestine.
In February 2022 the war in Ukraine was widely expected to last less than a week against a Russian invasion. Now, there is speculation that the Western support of Ukraine could last beyond 2025. There are similar estimations on when Russia’s necessary material and logistics will be eroded. Ukraine has been in the Russian sphere of influence for much of its history, and for hundreds of years was adjoined to Moscow through different regimes. Once the conflict manifested positive results for Ukraine’s defense, 45 countries hastily sent weapons once designated for their own militaries, to the soldiers who were now fighting their enemy.
Analyzing the representation and roles of women in political organizations and public spaces, two observations become clear. Firstly, women are significantly under-represented in elected institutions and in the leadership of political organizations. In actuality, women make up 153 of the 540 voting and non-voting members of [US] Congress when both the House of Representatives and the Senate are taken into consideration. This represents 28% – less than one-third – of all congress(wo)men. And this observation is also true, and sometimes even more evident, in the global South. For example, in Guatemala 31 of the 160 elected representatives are women, which represents only 19% of all the country’s elected representatives. But, why is this the case?
The French Revolution arose in 1789 as the masses fought to redistribute power to the people and have their opinions to be represented in government. Yet in March 2023, the French citizens are fighting for their needs to be met just like they did 234 years ago.
