The New York Times article "133,000 Flee Besieged Syrian Towns in Eastern Ghouta" was written by Nick Cummings-Bruce on April 10, 2018. It is about how 133,000 refugees fled Syrian towns in Eastern Ghouta after a suspected chemical attack. The Syrian government had begun its campaign to take back rebel-held territories, which was the cause of such bombardment and violence. Relief efforts are slowly but surely taking hold to counteract the harm the siege has caused to the tens of thousands of people trapped in Eastern Ghouta. On Sunday April 8, a suspected government chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma drove 133,000 Syrians out of their homes and eastern Ghouta. Though Syrian officials denied that chemical agents were involved, the Syrian government has been known throughout its ongoing civil war to have used chemical weapons against its own citizens. This recently alleged attack has further increased the number of displaced refugees and casualties as well as the shortage of essentials such as medicines and food in the besieged towns within eastern Ghouta. According to the article, President Trump “has promised a ‘forceful’ response” to the latest attack, while Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif countered that Mr. Trump’s position on the matter was “hypocritical,” especially considering the fact that “America supported Iraq in the 1980s, when it used chemical weapons against its own people” as well as how his ‘threats to repeat impulsive acts of aggression is symptomatic of U.S. policy helping extremists.’ Meanwhile, relief agencies have to look to the needs of 45,000 more refugees fleeing eastern Ghouta, who are presently packed off into eight camps on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria’s capital city. Because of the cramped living conditions and lack of sanitation in said camps, the risk of falling ill is much higher. Many of those who fled eastern Ghouta after the attack had come to Damascus with “nothing but the clothes on their backs,” which left relief agencies with the task of supplying more essentials to the refugees. As of right now, the U.N. relief agencies have had the area sealed off by government forces and their allies and could not comment on chemical weapons use. To provide background for this event, Syria’s seven-year civil war is an armed conflict involving fighting mainly between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government as well as its allies and several forces opposing the Syrian government, such as an alliance of Sunni Arab rebel groups, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), and Salafi jihadist groups, to name a few. Iran, Russia, and Shi’a Islamist political party and militant group Hezbollah have been providing Assad’s government military support while an international coalition headed by the U.S. (est. 2014) conducts air strikes against ISIL in Syria. However, the cost of this war has been severe, and not just funds wise. Human rights have been exploited, and massacres of large proportions have been accredited to the Syrian government, ISIL, and other rebel groups. Peace talks on Syria have been initiated in Geneva by the U.N. but have had almost little to no effect on the amount of fighting still going on. Chemical weapons attacks such as the recent one described above are not new phenomena, as they have been orchestrated by the Syrian government as well as ISIL almost since the beginning of the civil war. The most well known gas attacks involved the use of the sarin nerve agent in the cities and towns of Khan al-Assal, Saraqib, Ghouta (2013), Jobar, and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. In my opinion, I believe that the U.S. should not engage in any aggressive involvement with regards to Syria's chemical attack situation, because as the foreign minister of Iran earlier stated, it would be hypocritical for the U.S. to respond with such aggression especially keeping in mind that the nation supported Iraq in using chemical weapons against its citizens. I believe that for now, remaining neutral in the conflict in that respect would be the best course of action as of right now. More attention can be given to sorting out the refugee crisis outside of Damascus and providing them all of the aid they require. The link to my article is attached below, as are those to the other sources I used for background information. www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/world/middleeast/syria-gas-attack-east-ghouta.html I will be commenting on the current event blogs of Maddy T., Michael, and Matthew E.
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"Opioid Overdose Among Children Doubles, Study Says" When we picture a patient who is undergoing the effects of a drug overdose, the image of a young child going through this painful ordeal is hardly what comes to mind. According to the CNN Health article "Opioid Overdose Among Children Nearly Doubles, Study Says," this is a painfully real situation which has only recently come to the attention of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and in turn, pediatric medical professionals. This crisis is currently taking place in the U.S. and has become a major issue since 2004. The article, written by Mark Lieber on March 5, 2018, mainly centers around a study published in the journal Pediatrics. The study focused on children aged 1-17 years who were admitted to hospitals and pediatric ICUs due to opioid drug overdose. It found that the numbers of children admitted to hospitals due to overdose has doubled in recent years, starting in 2004. Dr. Jason Kane, an associate professor of pediatrics who is a lead author of the study, stated that the children who overdosed either accidentally did so after stumbling upon their parents' medication or had overdosed intentionally, either for self-harming or recreational purposes.
It was also observed in the study that over 40% of the children who were admitted to hospitals wound up in the pediatric intensive care unit. Kane then explained that this was risky because compared to the number of adult ICU beds, the pediatric ICU's beds are very limited in number and are therefore reserved for severe and life-threatening cases. If the majority of these beds are given to patients with preventable conditions, those who truly have a need of them will not be able to receive immediate help. The article also gave some background information on the other opioid crisis currently taking place such as the number of people dying from substance abuse in 2016 alone (approximately 42,000 adults). One aspect of the crisis which is not as frequently mentioned is the vulnerability of "secondary victims" to drug overdose, which in this case means children. According to Rajesh Daftary, the medical director of the pediatric emergency department at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, children are experiencing an increased exposure to opioid drugs. On a side note, Daftary was not involved in the study. Daftary stated that one aspect of the situation the study did not address was whether overdose among 12-17 year olds was intentional or accidental. On a slightly more positive note, medical personnel are able to treat overdose in children more effectively and efficiently, particularly without the use of mechanical ventilation or other such techniques. In the end, both Daftary and Kane advise parents to exercise caution around their children when bringing home prescription or non-prescription drugs. In order to minimize the risk of accidental or intentional overdose, parents must keep medication out of reach of their children and make sure to bring drugs that have expired or are otherwise being unused to pharmacies, where they can be safely disposed of. As we know, the opioid crisis in the United States has been going on since the late 1990s, but only recently have the numbers of opioid overdose-related deaths sharply increased, averaging at about 115 deaths per day. Mortality rates aside, even more people (2 million to be exact) are suffering from substance abuse disorders due to prescription opioid painkillers. The majority of people who suffer from opioid addiction abused prescription drugs originally given for chronic pain and later went on to use more dangerous substances such as heroin and a synthetic opioid called fentanyl. While addicts are being treated for substance abuse, another population becomes vulnerable to the crisis; the children of opioid users. I believe that overdosing on opioids is completely preventable in children, as much of the time they are not struggling with addiction and overdoses are usually purely accidental. If parents become more informed about the risks their prescription or non-prescription drugs poses to their children, better and more immediate action will be taken to ensure that overdose does not occur, accidental or otherwise. I believe that small preventative measures like these will protect children from immediate as well as the long-term dangers of opioid overdose and turn the tides of the opioid crisis for the better. The link to the article used is included below. I will be commenting on the blogs of Maddy T., Michael, and Matthew E. www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/health/opioid-overdose-children-doubles-study/index.html “India Tests Ballistic Missile, Posing New Threat to China” This article was found on the New York Times website. It was published on January 18, 2018 and is titled, “India Tests Ballistic Missile, Posing New Threat to China.” The authors of this article are Kai Schultz and Hari Kumar. The article is about the long range intercontinental ballistic missile that India tested on Thursday (Agni-V) and how China could be affected by India as a rapidly growing nuclear power. On January 18, 2018, Agni-V was test launched from an island off the coast of the state of Odisha. The Indian Defense Ministry has stated that the test was merely for technical purposes, but it can easily be presumed that India is stepping up its defenses in case of an attack. With a 5,000 mile strike range, Agni-V could easily hit China’s major cities, which contain most of its population. The article also mentioned a recent border dispute between China and India over remote lands in the Himalayas, which gives us background on why India could have tested the missile, especially at such a tense time in its relationship with China. On a related note, India has not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, which is "a legally binding global ban on nuclear explosive testing," as stated in the third link at the end of this post. This treaty essentially bars all nations entering into it from testing new missiles or advancing their nuclear weapons programs. As of right now, 13 countries (including India) have not signed the treaty, namely Bhutan, Cuba, Dominica, India, Mauritius, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Agni-V was fired from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the Indian state of Odisha on the morning of January 18, 2018 in India time and traveled 3,000 miles in 19 minutes. The Indian Defense Ministry test -fired the Agni-V in order to test its ejection, flight performance, and accuracy. Agni-V is a long range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with nuclear capabilities, a strike range of over 5,000 miles, and a payload of 1.5 tons. It is thought to be the most advanced missile of the Agni series and was test fired four times previously since 2012. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty is, as stated earlier, a global ban on nuclear weapons testing. It was put in place by President John F. Kennedy, but was open for signature in 1996. For countries without expertise in nuclear capabilities, it prevents them from advancing their nuclear capabilities. For those who have more advanced nuclear weapons programs, the treaty does not allow them to confirm the performance of advanced nuclear weapons designs that they have not tested successfully in the past. I believe that while it is good that India has started to build up its nuclear arsenal, continually testing its missiles could put the safety of not only other countries but that of its own citizens at risk. Not signing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty also poses the threat of a regional arms race as its nuclear program becomes more advanced. In the future, India's signing the treaty would contribute much to relative peace and diplomacy between all nations, particularly China. The first link is to my article and the one below that is to the CNN website, where I did some more research on my topic. The third link is to a site giving information on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/world/asia/india-ballistic-missile-icbm.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FIndia&action=click&contentCollection=world®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collec www.cnn.com/2018/01/18/asia/india-icbm-tests/index.html www.state.gov/t/avc/c42328.htm I will be commenting on Matthew E.'s and Michael's blog posts.
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