Apple becomes World's Top Brand

The maker of the iPhone and other popular products, Apple, has bumped Coca-Cola off the top mark. Coca-Cola led a 13 year stretch over every other company for the Interbrand Most Valuable brand name study.  Apple came in recently with a company value of over $98.3 Billion, Google coming in second place with a value of $93.2. Coca-Cola dropped to third place in the study, with IBM and Microsoft making the top 5. When the study began in the year of 2000, Apple was in 36^th place. They expressed the largest rising of any company, coming to 1^st place in 13 years. The only other company that’s expressing an even larger growth is Google, starting in 2005 and rising to 2^nd. Apple started in 2000 with a value of $15.4 billion. Every other year, it’s grown from $15.4, to $21.1, to $33.4, to $76.5 and reaching $98.3. This rise is 28% from the recent study.

 

 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57605207-37/apple-bumps-coca-cola-to-become-worlds-top-brand/

Tsarnaev Death Penalty

Boston Bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, will appear in court to go over protocol for the Death Penalty. On April 15th, he detonated bombs during the Boston Marathon, killing 3 and injuring over 200 innocent people. The State of Massachusetts doesn't have the death penalty, but at age 20, he will be facing federal charges that may allow the death penalty. 1 Charge included is possession of Weapons of mass destruction, and there are close to 16 other charges that may allow death. Authorities say that the two brothers were inspired by the Al-Queda Terrorist group, therefore wanting to bomb the U.S. in regards to the 'U.S. killing innocent Muslim people.'


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/23/boston-bombing-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-death-penalty/2854293/

Navy Yard shooting suspect's past

Aaron Alexis calls police and says that 'he heard voices through the walls.' How did this not raise alarms that he sought Physciatric help at the Veterans Affairs Office & and a near month later, he killed 12 innocent people. Alexis had a long history of being in trouble with the law; infractions with the Navy, Gun violence ending with police involvement & mental health problems that rose greater as the years came by. Officials of the Navy say that his mental problems would've earned him a discharge from the Navy... But people are wondering, why didn't it? Arising from this ordeal, is a question of how the Department of Defense grants security clearences for all Federal Agencies. Alexis had was granted clearence for the navy yard; that's how he was able to get in. Little red-flags such as his insomnia & run-ins with the law, are all things that should be noticed by the law; all of the law. A quote from The New York Times says as much, "Mr. Alexis had shown a 'pattern of misbehavior' during his four years as a reservist, according to Navy officials. That pattern caused some of his commanders to consider giving him a general discharge — one level below honorable, which could have derailed his security clearance."


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/us/washington-navy-yard-shootings.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

War Veteran comments on Syria Strike 'Big Mistake'

Tulsi Gabbard is a Democrat of Barack Obama’s home State of Hawaii, an Iraq-War Veteran, and one mad person/lawmaker when it comes to the President’s choice of wanting to strike on Syria. As Gabbard said in a statement, "It is with gravity that I have carefully considered all the facts, arguments and evidence and soberly weighed concerns regarding our national security and moral responsibility. As a result, I have come to the conclusion that a U.S. military strike against Syria would be a serious mistake." Everyone across the country has mixed reviews about this decision, even the Congress. Very few congress members have spoken publicly about this event, mostly due to the fact that this situation has such mixed reviews. Two War veterans of Iraq have favored publicly of Obama’s decision to strike. What everyone is worried about in this situation is that if the strike goes down, it would become a conflict just like the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars. In the past, the U.S. conducted a Strike on Bosnia, due to mass genocide. This strike was considered effective, & the U.S. is pondering on the thought if this one will too…

Ariel Castro found dead in Ohio Prison

Recently, Ariel Castro was found guilty and given life in Prison due to holding 3 women captive for over a decade. 10 + years those women were put through hell and sexually abused and beaten and Castro says it was an ‘obsession with sex.’ At 9:20 p.m. he was found by guards hanging in his cell and was announced dead later at a local hospital. People across the country are in joy hearing that this monster was found dead, but others not so much. People are in grief that Castro would do this, being that this was a ‘weak way to die.’ Mostly, they would’ve liked to see him spend the rest of his life in Prison given the 1000 year penalty. Personally, it was nice to see him get that sentence because I think what he did was just on a whole new level… but there are still people out there like him and they need to be found.