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Every Monday, we have our “Monday’s Five” segment. But this Monday is going to be different. We’ll be relaying to you the latest news, the latest update and hopefully the final one about the war in Marawi, Philippines.

To give you a backstory, the war started on May 23, 2017. When the once peaceful city, turned into a war zone overnight. The parties who had conflict were the Philippine Government  security forces and affiliated militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups.

Martial Law was declared in the area soon after and it was even extended until December 31, 2017. 

As of yesterday, there are already  822 militants killed which includes 12 foreigners, 11 militants captured,  163 government forces killed,  60 government forces missing,   1,400+ government forces wounded,  87 civilians dead where 40 of them had passed due to illness.

All will be hopefully ending. Because just this morning, the Philippine troops have finally executed the remaining leaders of the ISIS-affiliated leaders. 

According to The Guardian,  four military and police officials told Associated Press that Isnilon Hapilon, who is listed among the FBI’s most-wanted terror suspects, and Omarkhayam Maute were killed in a gun battle and their bodies were found.

Let’s all take a moment to thank all of the soldiers and military officials who have sacrificed their precious lives in the Marawi seige. We should all be proud of them.

Now, that the conclusion has come to this tragedy, we all should hope this would be the last type of war we’ll be experiencing. This should be a reminder for us to spread peace and justice. This is our time to speak for things that matter just like the safety of our fellow brothers and sisters, and to fight against terrorism.

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Today, we’ll be tackling an issue that has been trending. Gun Ban. There are news of killings daily. One of the most common way of killing is the use of guns. There isn’t a day where there isn’t a news about someone getting killed because of a bullet.  

 Remember the tragic shooting that happened in Las Vegas just recently? Well, the tragedy triggered plenty to push the implementation of banning guns. Not only in the United States, but also in other countries.

So when a country issues an act that will ban guns, would that be the answer or would that be the problem? Let’s take a look.

Gun ban would be the answer because this would lessen the killings. This would promote peace and order. This could be the start of change, a good one for that matter. 

Gun ban would be a problem because what would happen in times where your safety or others’ safety is put to danger.  What would happen to people who’s hobby is to fire guns in shooting ranges, the police, gun collectors would they be affected? Are they going to surrender their acquired guns?

Every government should study the limits and exceptions if they would want to implement a gun ban, for the long run. 

Because of the recent events, there should be a concrete set of rules and regulations about guns. Guns aren’t toys and they’re not meant to be played with. They shouldn’t just be given to someone unauthorized. 

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Today’s topic is none other than

(Source: Google Images)

Money lau­ndering happens in almost every country in the world, and a single scheme typically involves transferring money through several countries in order to obscure its origins. 

BREAKING DOWN 'Money Laundering'

Illegally earned money needs laundering in order for criminal organization to use it effectively. Dealing in large amounts of illegal cash is inefficient and dangerous. The criminals need a way to deposit the money in financial institutions, yet they can only do so if the money appears to come from legitimate sources. 

Strict rules prescribe measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, both in Iceland and abroad. Act No. 64/2006, on Measures to Prevent Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, was adopted in 2006. The purpose of the Act is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing by obliging parties who undertake activities that may be used to launder money and finance terrorism to know their customers and the business they conduct.

Money laundering, at its simplest, is the act of making money that comes from Source A look like it comes from Source B. In practice, criminals are trying to disguise the origins of money obtained through illegal activities so it looks like it was obtained from legal sources. Otherwise, they can't use the money because it would connect them to the criminal activity, and law-enforcement officials would seize it.

(Source: Google Images)

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For this week’s Save Me Saturdays, we’ll be featuring The Carter Center. 

WHO ARE THEY?

It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1982. It was founded by former US President, Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. They also teamed up with Emory University.

The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy and human rights; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. 

Their aim is to advance peace and health worldwide.

WHAT DO THEY DO?

Their mission is “The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering. It seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.”

For the advancement of peace:

The Center seeks to break new ground and not duplicate the effective efforts of others.

The Carter Center has become a pioneer in the field of election observation, monitoring 104 national elections to help ensure that the results reflect the will of the people.

They have recently observed the  elections in Kenya, Philippines, Zambia, Guyana, and Tunisia.

They have projects to strengthen rule of law and access to justice in post-conflict Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

They hold forums to strengthen the voices of human rights defenders worldwide and an initiative to achieve more equitable treatment of women and girls.

For the advancement of health: 

The Center has prevented the suffering of millions of people around the world from illnesses often ignored by others. 

Health programs seek to provide people with the information and access to medical services they need in order to treat their illnesses and take steps to prevent future spread of disease.

Currently, they have campaigns and projects for:   

Guinea Worm Eradication Program Hispaniola Initiative International Task Force for Disease Eradication Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program Mental Health Program Public Health Training Initiative River Blindness Elimination Program Schistosomiasis Control Program Trachoma Control Program

HOW TO GET INVOLVED?

You can intern at The Carter Center. Interns come all over the world in order to make important contributions.

You can also volunteer at The Carter Center. The volunteers personally commit their time and energy in order to serve the people who are in need of help. 

You can find more information to get involved here, on their website. 

All of their social media are linked here.

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Today on Feature Fridays, we’ll be featuring Indigenous People. 

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Indigenous People are a significant and important portion of humanity. The word Indigenous have many meanings. In every region of the world, many different cultural groups live together and interact, but not all of these groups are considered indigenous or inherent geographically. In fact, it is only in the face of a collective or shared sense of identity that the term indigenous peoples has been internationally recognized.

(Source: Google Images)

INDIGENOUS CULTURE

Each indigenous culture is distinct and unique. While many peoples may express similar worldviews and a common indigenous identity, their cultures are nonetheless based on different histories, environments, and creative spirits.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the inherent dignity, equality, and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. The rights of all members of indigenous populations are included in this declaration. However, Indigenous Peoples also have rights as distinct cultural groups or nations

THEIR RIGHTS

This is the most comprehensive statement of the rights of Indigenous Peoples to date, establishing collective rights to a greater extent than any other document in international human rights law. It establishes the rights of Indigenous Peoples to the protection of their cultural property and identity as well as the rights to education, employment, health, religion, language and more. It also protects the right of Indigenous Peoples to own land collectively.

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2 days ago, we have witnessed another cruel and twisted tragedy that happened in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though the wounds are still fresh and it is quite difficult to talk about, we still need to address what really happened.

It has been dubbed as one of the worst mass shooting in America. Some have labeled it as terrorism. Some just stated it as an act of evil. No matter what label or name we call the shooting that happened in Las Vegas, people still have lost their lives. 

From 22,000 concertgoers, 59 people passed away. More than 500 injured. From the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, one twisted, evil gunman is to blame. A night that could have been a fun one, filled with music and life turned into a nightmare. 

Stephen Paddock is the one to blame for what happened. According to the Las Vegas police, it took him 9 to 11 minutes to fire those bullets with 23 firearms. He took his own life moments after. That’s why the motive of this shooting is still a mystery. The shooting, however, is not connected to international terrorism. 

We just wish we all could have done something to prevent this tragedy. But we cannot turn back time. The one thing we can do is to continue fighting for gun ban or gun control. Sure, guns are for protection but let’s take this tragedy as an example of how guns can ruin, even end, the lives of innocent people. They should be more strict with selling firearms. Establishments need to be heighten their security measures.

For now, let’s take a moment for all the victims of this terrible tragedy. 

I love the internet and the social media. It helps me connect faster with people, my family, friends and classmates. It makes everyday life so much easier. I get to share my happiness with other people and get updated on theirs. I read funny memes everyday and watch videos to inspire my soul. I actually check my newsfeed as I wake up in the morning, a lot of people do. I get excited to see whats new and laugh at memes I get tag at and read my messages from friends, see people who liked my photos and follow my crush’s updates.

Social media is a wonderful place. We meet new people whom we have mutual friends with or people from different parts of the world. That how wide and how convenient internet is and more.  

But this wonderful place can be very very dark for some users who get cornered by opinionated people who comments on everything and sometimes those comments hurt the person involved or people who engage in arguments then shame the other and think it’s okay since its social media and it happens.

 I know that you know this. You often see posts or comments that is degrading for others where they judge a person and call them names. Where they use other person’s photo to create those memes for humor. 

A good and recent example for this is Marlou Arizala. Marlou is now very popular as Xander Ford. He changed his name as he changed his appearance. I think it is really sad he had to change his whole appearance and why other people, mostly girls had to go through this kind of operation to achieve “beauty”. Why they can’t see their own beauty and depend on society’s definition of “beautiful”. I am not against it but I just feel sad. I too have a part of me that I would like to change but its sad that they actually do because of other people shaming them for it or emphasizing it for them that that flaw is a big flaw and they are ugly because of it. 

Marlou is being called names, used at jokes for the whole country to laugh at and be shamed. They may see it and say it as a joke. But it does not feel good to be always laughed at and used for ugly jokes. To open your newsfeed and see people whom you do not know making fun of you because you are far from society’s definition of beauty. Now that Marlou Arizala is Xander Ford all I can see in my newsfeed are people shaming him for altering his appearance and still calling him names. Nothings changed and they are shaming him more than before. I just hope he feels better now.

We may not be perfect or beautiful to other people but we can create our own definition of beautiful.

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Aside from Halloween, here are some dates to remember for the month of October. 

OCTOBER 2 -  International Day of Non-Violence

Today, we are celebrating International Day of Non-Violence. This is also the birthday of  of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement. He fought against discrimination and violence while he was living.

This is an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.

OCTOBER 10 - World Mental Health Day

This is a day where the World Health Organization aims to raise awareness about mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health.

OCTOBER 11 - International Day of the Girl Child

The ambition for gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the preponderance of disadvantage and discrimination borne by girls everywhere on a daily basis. 

Though this is still connected to Goal 16 because one of the targets is  to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

The theme for this year's International Day of the Girl is Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls.  When we invest in girls’ health, safety, education and rights - even in times of peace or crisis, we encourage them to reach for their dreams and build better futures for themselves and their communities.

OCTOBER 15 - International Day of Rural Women

The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This day pays tribute to rural women, including indigenous women all over the world and their contributions  in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

OCTOBER 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year’s theme is  Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies.  The theme for this year’s commemoration reminds us of the importance of the values of dignity, solidarity and voice underscored in the Call to Action to fight to end poverty everywhere. (source)