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DEC-JAN Volume 5, ISSUE 2 ITALY QUAKE Clara Dunlop Over the past several years, the world has suf- found and horrific; in addition to at least 247 deaths fered from numerous natural disasters of diverse na- and the displacement of over 1,000 people, the Italian tures but with similarly catastrophic effects; just a few government has reported billions in economic losses examples include Hurricane Sandy, which left mil- and untold damage to historical buildings and monu- lions of Americans on the United States East Coast ments. homeless; Ty- In order to phoon Haiyan, appreciate the which resulted in cause and effect of the deaths of 6,340 the aforementioned Filipinos and cost natural disaster, the government of one first needs to the Philippines understand why $225 million dol- earthquakes occur lars in damages; and how an earth- and the 2010 Haiti quake could have earthquake, which struck central Italy. claimed at least Earthquakes are 316,000 human caused by under- lives and resulted ground rock break- in a political, med- ing along a seismic ical, and economic fault, the resulting crisis for the al- release of energy ready economically challenged nation. More recently, producing seismic waves that cause the earthquake. on August 24th, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake ravaged Italy has been majorly impacted by earthquakes the central regions of Italy. Although the aforemen- throughout history; according to Sky News, "The tioned earthquake did not strike an economically chal- country is one of the most seismically active in Eu- lenged developing country, the impact has been pro- rope, sitting at the meeting point of two tectonic Obama’s Legacy The Gaming Insider Good Fences … Pg 5 Pg 10 Pg 17 plates." The tectonic plates in question are the Afri- away from Amatrice. Historical sites have also suf- can and Eurasian plates; the Alps, located in northern fered greatly ; the Italian government has estimated Italy and in surrounding countries, such as Austria, that the earthquake has caused billions of U.S. dollars were formed by their collision. Continuing to move in damages. British news source The Guardian says at an estimated distance of 3 centimeters per year, the of the historical casualties: "Centuries-old structures, two plates frequently collide with each other, creating including the cathedral and basilica of San Benedetto fractures in the rock surrounding the fault and there- in Norcia, a 14th century church that was built to fore giving rise to a number of earthquakes. honor the patron saint of Europe, Saint Benedict, was The particular Italian earthquake being de- reduced to rubble, as was a tower and St Augustine tailed in this article occurred on August 24th, 2016, at church in Amatrice." Although the aforementioned approximately 3:36 a.m. (9:36 p.m. Tuesday ET), damage was not to human life, for a highly religious, leaving untold amounts of damage in its wake. CNN predominantly Catholic country with a history of ca- said that, according to Italy’s Civil Protection Depart- thedrals and architecture extending back to Roman ment, "At least 247 people were killed after a 6.2- times, such a loss is devastating. magnitude earthquake struck central Italy Wednes- Despite the catastrophic consequences of the day. " The Italian Civil Protection Agency reported at earthquake, the Italian people have come together as least 53 fatalities in Amatrice, as well as an estimated a community, demonstrating resilience and express- 100 injuries; additional deaths and injuries occurred ing their hope that they will be able to survive the in neighboring towns Accumoli and Arquata del tragedy and rebuild their lives. After visiting the vil- Tronto. In addition to losses of life, over 1,000 Ital- lage of Amatrice, Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime ians have been displaced from their homes; immedi- minister, thanked rescuers and gave the following ately after the earthquake, rescue officials sent out short yet optimistic speech: "At moments of trouble safety warnings and urged residents to seek shelter Italy knows how to cope. No family, no city, no ham- let will be left alone." Although many families are still struggling with the loss of their homes and grieving over de- ceased loved ones, the natural disaster has motivated the country to unite in solidarity, with Italians helping fellow Italians by launching rescue missions and providing shelter for displaced individuals. Such a community spirit can be seen as a "silver lining" of sorts to natural disasters; while they are undoubtedly tragic, leaving many individuals homeless, bereft of loved ones or disabled, the resulting community spirit paints a hopeful picture of the human spirit. DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN DISARRAY John Mari America has just completed its most grueling Obama (D) is leaving behind a legacy of progressive election cycle in modern history. And now, the politi- policies which are likely to soon be demolished by the cal party that seemed to be a shoo-in for the presiden- incoming President-Elect Donald J. Trump (R-NY). cy and control of the U.S. Senate, is reeling from divi- However, President Obama is also leaving his party in sions within the party itself, and from the withdrawal shambles, with no true leader stepping forward into of its most prominent leaders. President Barack the next presidential administration. He had hoped that ConƟnued from page 2 deadline. This delegate amount would have been enough to swing the delegate majority to Bernie Sand- ers. Many on both sides of the political spectrum have noted that this was obviously a statement depicting Wasserman-Schultz’s favoring of Hillary Clinton. Outrage among Sanders supporters, many of them among the millennial generation, forced Rep. Wasser- man Schultz to resign her post just before the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. After Wasserman-Schultz’s resignation, Donna Top-left to top-right: Former Democratic nominee for President Brazile, also biased in that she leaked primary debate th Hillary Clinton (D-NY), 44 President of the United States questions to Clinton, became interim-chair. According Barack Obama, former Democratic National Committee Chair- to the New York Daily News, on March 5, 2016, Bra- woman and House Representative Deborah Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), and 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton. zile sent an e-mail to two high-ranking members of the Clinton campaign. The e-mail detailed a question from Bottom-left to bottom-right: Interim DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile (D-LA), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a woman in Flint, Michigan, which has recently been former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and former affected by a lead water poisoning crisis. According to Democratic candidate for President Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Donna Brazile, the question read, “What, if anything,” Clinton would do to help the people of Flint during former candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY) would con- this catastrophe. This political bias led to outrage tinue the Democratic reign over the executive branch, among both Democrats and Republicans, and resulted but the election spoke differently. Now, the Democrat- in the tarnishing of Brazile’s reputation. On October ic party, with no permanent chairperson, has its future 14th, 2016, Brazile tendered her resignation as a Dem- in deep question. ocratic political commentator on the CNN network, U.S. Representative from Florida’s 23rd Con- which CNN accepted. gressional District, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the As Democrats lost control of the executive disgraced former chairwoman of the Democratic Na- th branch on November 8 , they turned towards the U.S. tional Committee (DNC), was forced to resign by Senate where they had hoped to gain a majority this many top Democrats when e-mails of hers were dis- election cycle. However, this initiative failed as Re- nd, 2016, detailing a closed by WikiLeaks on July 22 publicans took at least a 1-seat majority after the elec- seemingly biased opinion of whom the nominee of the tion. With the loss of the presidency and their failure Democratic party for president should be. Independent to regain both chambers of Congress, Democrats seem Senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, was to have lost all hopes of controlling new policies, at “undermined” according to the Washington Post, who least for the next two years. Retiring Senator Harry was, at the time, battling Hillary Clinton for the nomi- Reid of Nevada, the former Senate Minority Leader, nation. In a particular e-mail, Wasserman-Schultz has handed the reins to Senator Chuck Schumer (D- called Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver a NY). As this new face of the Democratic party emerg- “damn liar” and wrote that it was “particularly scum- es, many are hoping he will restore faith in the party my that [Weaver] barely acknowledges the violent and and will bring members of the working-class back to threatening behavior that occurred” after the Nevada the party after their Trump votes. Recently, many Democratic convention in which chaos erupted when white, blue-collar (working-class) Democrats have 56 Sanders delegates were denied delegate status due lost faith in their politicians to restore economic to them not being registered as Democrats by a certain ConƟnued from page 3 growth in their areas, which have suffered devastating As both the Clinton and Obama eras come to losses of manufacturing jobs. These voters were at- an end, the outlook for the Democratic party has be- tracted by the new face of the Republican party, Don- come quite bleak. Between biased chairpersons, con- ald Trump, who promised to bring their jobs back to troversial presidential policies, sexual misconduct, and old, failing superiors, the party has been roiled America. Democrats have begun to question whether over the past few decades.