Category Archives: Anabella Zambrano

Students take a knee at Notre Dame

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

It all began when San Francisco’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem before a preseason game back in 2016 to protest racial injustices and police brutality.

Now, hundreds of students at Notre Dame followed the peaceful protest with an extra approach. Being a religious college, the students wanted to express their beliefs through a Catholic point of view.

When Notre Dame played Florida State University on Nov 10, while the “The Star- Spangled Banner” played, students took that time to express their opinion based on the issue not only on racial injustices, but the mistreatment someone faces when one does not have the same opinion as everyone else.

When Kaepernick knelt, he faced  a lot of backlash, death threats, and along trouble finding employment when he became a free agent.

“To me, this is something that has to change, and when there’s significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent and this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand,” Kaepernick said, according to CNN.

And just like Kaepernick inspired other players to kneel beside him, so had the students at Notre Dame. Some knelt, some took that moment for silence and others prayed.
“One of the things we want to stress the most with this movement is that this is not a protest against the military or the flag, this is about how we treat each other as human beings. We don’t need to reduce people down in order to make a point. We can have a good dialogue, even if we don’t agree with each other.” said Brian Gatter, one of the organizers of the protest, according to CNN.
Although this peaceful protest was not accepted by a lot of Americans including President Donald Trumph, this incident did blow up the news media and luckily it was not kept quiet and also Kaepernick was not fired by the NFL, since their policy does not require players to stand for the national anthem.
Peaceful protests like this deserve the coverage they get, because these are the incidents that make history. Like the students protested, they were also following their former President Theodore Hesburgh footsteps as he linked arms when he protested along with Martin Luther King Jr. during a civil rights rally in 1964 as they sang “We Shall Overcome”
As for the students, no disciplinary action has been taken.

Pageant greets first trans contestant

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Although Miss Universe has accepted trans participants since 2012, the 26-year-old Angela Ponce will be the first trans gender woman to participate in the global Miss Universe Pageant. After beating 20 other contestants in the Miss Universe Spain Gala and making it to the global pageant, Ponce aims to change the world.

Facing rejection throughout her career for being trans, Ponce wants to become a voice for trans kids and let them know they are beautiful and not alone in the world. Trans teenagers around the globe face high attempts of suicide and not enough help is being offered to this issue.

Transphobia is common all around the world and a topic that is quickly ignored, Ponce wants to use this pageant as a platform to bring awareness for transgender individuals of all ages all around the globe who face suffer suicidal thoughts and attempts as well as legal codes who discriminate against transgenders publicly either in public bathrooms and also employment discrimination.

According to NBC, an European transgender group TGEU published a study last year and discovered that “77.5 percent of 885 transgender people more than 16 years old polled in Georgia, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Sweden had considered taking their own lives and that 24.5 percent of respondents had made at least one attempt.”

News outlets have done a great job at communicating Ponce’s perspective on this milestone and not keeping quiet about this. Ponce’s interview with the Associated Press Madrid in Spain has gone viral allowing people around the world to know about this issue.

It is important that they have not ignored her message, where she does not aim for the title of the crown but more importantly fight for transgender rights.

Woman stabs 14 in Chinese kindergarten

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

In Chongqing, China, a 39-year-old woman stabbed numerous children with a kitchen knife as they were going back to class after their 9:30 a.m. exercises at Yudong New Century Kindergarten, said Chongqing City Banan district police.

According to residents, the kindergarten does not have any outdoor space for the children to play so they usually go to a local public park to play and for their morning exercises.

Graphic videos have gone viral due to nearby residents who intervened and tried to help as much as they could. Unfortunately, kids were rushed to the hospital with massive face cuts and wrapped in bandages around their heads.

According to CNN, this incident is not the first time school children have been stabbed and severely hurt. Nine students were killed at a middle school by a 28-year-old man in Shaanxi earlier this year in April.

In 2017, 11 students were attacked as a man invaded the school and climbed over a wall of a kindergarten with a knife.

Prior to this terrible event, there has been protests over faulty medicine for children also. And as America suffers from school and public place shootings, China also suffers as they constantly face knives attacks due to China’s strict gun laws.

The video shows furious nearby residents and some even shocked at what was going on. Luckily there was enough residents who were able to intervene and try to help the situation by attacking the attacker.

The power of today’s technology and social media outlets allow residents with the power of providing footage at the scene of events like this. As graphic and horrible these videos were, it allows the viewer to feel as if they were there.

Lolita remains at Miami Seaquarium

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Since the sensational, real tale of Keiko’s 1993 movie “Free Willy” came out, there has been numerous protests and campaigns to attempt Lolita to be the next killer whale to be returned to the ocean. Unfortunately, a federal appeals court has ditched once again Lolita’s freedom due because of the fact the 51-year-old killer whale is not fit to return to the ocean.

Lolita is the loneliest orca living in the smallest killer whale tank in the nation. She was taken from her pod as a baby and was sold for only $6,000. She’s been captive for 47 years and now suffers serious blindness from pool cleaning chemicals, deadly skin rashes from the sun, and head trauma due to slamming her head against the tank wall.

According to WLRN, a suit that involved claims of violating the Endangered Species Act due to the “harming” and forcing Lolita to do tricks she does not understand and teeth scratches from other dolphins that sometimes share her tank are just some of the mistreatment from which Lolita is suffering.

If it was not for social media, people would never find out that every Sunday animal activists gather together at the gate of the Miami Seaquarium to educate and encourage families to not buy a ticket and stop supporting the real mistreatment the park hides from its customers.

Thanks to another documentary called “Blackfish” in 2013, people have become more aware of the horrible and terrible conditions and routines killer whale orcas have to go through on a daily basis at Sea World. It showcases the psychological trauma the innocent orcas experience.

I do not believe this cause is getting enough attention in the news. Not enough reports are being made and not even broadcast stations are talking about it. The parking lot of Miami Seaquarium is more than triple the size the pool tank where Lolita lives.

This is not the first time Lolita’s case has been brought up to court. The non-profit advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, asked to reopen the case even though it was dismissed by a lower court.

“This ruling sentences a highly intelligent, deeply lonely and distressed orca to a lifetime of physical and psychological harm, confined to a tiny concrete cell without family, friends, or freedom, it ignores today’s understanding of the way orcas suffer deeply in captivity and PETA will continue pushing for Lolita’s release into a protected seaside sanctuary in her home waters,” PETA attorney Jared Goodman said.

News organizations should report about this incident. They need to take action to bring awareness about Lolita because the more people know, the more chances Lolita has of at least being transferred to a sanctuary. Lolita will be better in a sanctuary because no orca does the things she does in the wild; it is not in her nature.

The internet is a great outlet for news organizations that are advocates for Animal Rights. But if more news outlet join the cause, I am sure we can make a difference.

Animals that are used for entertainment suffer a lifetime of torture and mistreatment. If Lolita is not fit to return to the wild because she has been in captivity for too long, that is like saying kidnapped people cannot escape because they won’t function in society since they have been kidnapped for too long.

Sex slave survivor wins Nobel Prize

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

At the age of 25, Nadia Murad is using her experience and losses to fight against ISIS and is now a winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

Murad testified before a U.S. Senate committee in Washington in 2016, the world discovered and learned about her horrific experience.

The unexpected happened when ISIS militants kidnapped, enslaved and raped her in Mosul in 2014 while she was a high school student. Her mother along with six of her nine brothers were executed by ISIS militants.

“Nearly 6,500 women and children from the Yazidi were abducted and about 5,000 people from the community were killed during that day. For eight months, they separated us from our mothers and our sisters and our brothers, and some of them were killed and other disappeared,” said Murad, in an interview with CNN.

After an attempt to escape, she was gang-raped by ISIS militants but she eventually escaped to Mosul and a Muslim family helped her to escape ISIS territory.

It takes tremendous courage to attempt to escape ISIS militants and Murad not only escaped but is now fighting for women’s rights and advocate for Yazidi minority in Iraq and refugees’ rights as well.

While she survived ISIS, many kids and young women and men are still under the influence and enslavement of ISIS. It is up to news media outlets to change America’s perspective on refugees. Today’s society in America believes or feel that bringing in refugees is dangerous and unnecessary. People are scared of what bringing in refugees can mean to the country.

But these people need help. Thanks to stories like these, more awareness can be spread that refugees need help.

Murad spoke to members of the U.S. Congress and urged them to be more aggressive towards ISIS, declaring: “Daesh will not give up their weapons unless we force them to give up their weapons…. the Yazidi people cannot wait.”

According to CNN, Murad has won the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, the Sakharov Prize, the Clinton Global Citizen Award and the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association of Spain, United Nations’ first goodwill ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. She has published a New York Times bestselling memoir titled “The Last Girl.”

It is not about all the awards she has won, it is about the issue and how there are still underage girls and endless victims suffering under ISIS. The media as well as congress needs to do more, and teach our society that refugees are not the enemy. We should not be against refugees, but help them.

Nations unite against Venezula’s crisis

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Canada leaders signed on Wednesday reached out to the president of the International Criminal Court and signed a statement asking for a probe into possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela.

According to CNN, the crimes, dating to 2014, range from extra-judicical murder, torture and the random arrests and detention of political opponents and anti-government protesters.

The protests throughout the last five years has caused unforgivable types of punishments towards Venezuelan citizens and it does not matter the age. Kids as young as 14 years of age have been arrested, or as some say kidnapped, and taken to unknown prison locations. Protesting because citizens want a better, safe, respectful and fair type of government its considered a crime in Venezuela.

Once known as the richest and most potential country for opportunity, Venezuela it is now at the bottom of the list with the highest dead rates, food shortages, starvation, inflammation, the list goes on. The hospitals are overcrowded with not enough doctors or medicine and supermarket shelf stands still remain empty.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, where the request was made, will meet in New York this week with the UN General Assembly General Assembly. According to Human Rights Watch, this is the first time International Criminal Court member governments have decided to follow an investigation of crimes on the territory of another country.

Due to the financial and economic crisis, people have migrated to other countries by the millions. But there are still also millions of civilians living in Venezuela and those who are not as lucky or have the necessary assets to leave and start over in another country.

It is not only about moving to another country for a better life. Venezuela wants its country back. Citizens wants its once almost perfect country. People are dying of hunger and in need of medicine. President Maduro and his allies can no longer hide this throughout their media communications in the country or the world.

If it wasn’t for social media or other communication outlets like Skype, Face-Time and Whatsapp, I don’t believe President Nicholas Maduro would get away with lying to the world about how good and peaceful Venezuela currently is.

Human rights have been violated for years now in Venezuela, and jails are filled with protesters and there are rumors they are not allowed to communicate with one another or they are not allowed to see daylight.

This investigation will hopefully turn down Maduro and the government.

Maduro eats well, but others starving

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

Over the last decade, Venezuela has gone deep and deeper into a black hole. The economy has been damaged to an extent that today, Venezuela is facing its darkest poverty phase.

I hope it is just a phase, but as the years go by, hospitals loose more and more medicine, the super market shelves remain empty, and the Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, continues to lose its value all due to careless government.

This past Monday, President Nicolas Maduro had a feast at “Salt Bae” restaurant in Istanbul. Owned by Celebrity Chef Nusret Gökçe, who is known for his style of seasoning stakes, hung out with the president as Gökçe sliced the meat with his style and spent the day with the president as Maduro smoked cigars.

Not only were people furious back in Venezuela, but once the videos of this get together made it online and on the news, local citizens and Venezuelans went to the famous restaurant to protest against the chef for welcoming the president and his wife Celia Flores.

“I don’t know who this weirdo #Saltbae is but the guy he is so proud to host is not the president of #Venezuela,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

The news of this get together traveled fast though out the world and since the the videos have been removed by the chef himself, according to The New York Times.

I don’t think it is right these videos should have been removed because Venezuela’s crisis is real. By removing these videos, people back in Venezuela who support Maduro still believe he is trying to change the country.

People on social media have grieved the losses of children who have died due to starvation, because there is not food available to eat. And if there is food available, a salary a doctor makes is not enough to buy a dozen of eggs or even one piece of bread.

According to a study published by LACSO, found that 87 percent of citizens in Venezuela are facing starvation. People are trying to buy groceries by crossing the border in Colombia or migrate to other countries in South America or whenever they can.

The crisis Venezuela is facing is now more than violence and dangerous protests, but now a starvation matter.

Maduro stated he stopped by the restaurant on his way back from China to “secure financing for the cash-strapped country,” according to CNN. 

Some videos may have been removed, but I am glad CNN and social media outlets are bringing this issue to light because there is still plenty of people who believe Maduro will fix the economic crisis, even though his government is the one destroying the country.

FDA opposes plant-based milks

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

As people become more interested in plant-based diets, veganism is now the most talked about way of eating. Not only is the healthiest, if eaten right, but it also has thrived in market sales with vegan alternatives such as vegan Chao Cheese, Beyond Meat Burgers, and plant based milk.

Earlier this year, the dairy industry is troubled with a drop of sales. People are choosing alternatives to dairy whether it is for lactose intolerance reason, taste and simply just preference. The FDA argues consumers are being misled into buying milk alternatives since those alternatives have the word “milk” on their label.

According to Veganuary.com, the dairy industry has been in trouble for a while now due to milk alternatives. But until recently a bill was passed known as the Dairy Pride Act, which as it states, aims to “protect the integrity of dairy products by enforcing existing labeling requirements” with the purpose to enforce a new law against non-dairy products being labeled in the descriptor like milk and cheese with the claim that this is confusing to the consumer.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), sales of almond milk shot up over 250 percent between 2011 and 2016. Meanwhile, consumption of dairy milk has dropped 37 percent since the 1970s.

It is not a matter of consumers being confused. For a while, studies have shown that consuming dairy raises risks of osteoporosis and raises chances of having breast cancer for about 41 percent according to Cowspiracy.com.

Although it is not for sure whether or not plant-based milks will be limited to remain described as “milk,” it is no doubt that advertising affects what people consume. If it becomes popular, it will most probably end up on the news.

But when it comes down to deciding whether dairy will regain their sales or not, this milk war has become one of the hottest topics to talk about through YouTube, Instagram, and it has become an interesting thing to decide if consumers are being mislead, which I doubt.

Through out the news outlets, not enough is covered on the topic that dairy does increase risk of death by 93 percent, according to a study by the British Medical Journal. Or just the fact that milk from a cow is not healthy to consume.

But as long as it is about the labeling controversy, it will be more covered in the news.

California bans animal testing

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By ANABELLA ZAMBRANO

California is now first in line to pass the “Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act” which will make it illegal for any products tested on animals to be sold in the state. These products include make up brands, house cleaning detergents, medicine, air refreshers and even food.

Companies like Maybelline, NARS, Benefit Cosmetics and cleaning detergent TIDE are among the hundreds of companies who test on animals but will not make a direct statement admitting it. Even though they don’t test on animals within the U.S., they still are guilty of these practices because they still sell in mainland China.

By law, China requires animal testing for foreign cosmetics companies. Make up brand NARS was cruelty-free until last year, in 2017, when it decided to sell in China to expand its brand and raise sales.

These testing procedures range from injecting the product in a rabbit’s eye with no pain killers, beagle puppies forced to inhale toxic chemicals or rats eating certain products and study how they react. It is illegal for people to take pictures of these procedures or even document them. Lack of coverage or news reports have prevented this bill to be passed.

According to VegNews.com, The California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act (SB 1249) was unanimously passed with a vote of 80-0 in the state assembly. Sen. Cathleen Galliani sponsored the bill and it will officially become law on Jan. 1, 2020.

“I’m proud of California lawmakers for moving science, industry, and ethics forward today,” Galliani said.

The cruelty-free controversy would not even be happening if it wasn’t for social media. Through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook groups numerous animal activists and animal lovers are the one’s who brought this problem to the public eye.

Animal testing is something that is highly protected by powerful make up brands and they have tried to hide their animal practices to the consumer.