Start of the Week

I start with some great news; a few friends and I have managed to get hold on some tickets for a charity benefit in Los Angeles. The line-up includes Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Tegan & Sara and Sara Bareilles. It is a fundraiser for the breast-cancer focused 'Young Survival Coalition' and is on the 23rd October. Ellie Goulding is one of my favorite artists, so I am so excited to watch her perform. She's really big in England and I always find it crazy to think a few years ago she was studying Politics at University. Favorite song is linked just under this text. Anyway, this is why it is just so great to live so close to Los Angeles. 

I also just wanted to strongly encourage you to get to the Farmers Market on Sundays. A subject that our house has been talking about is how can we healthily but cheaply. The market seems to be the best option; everything is really fresh and cheap. We also like how sweet the sellers are, it’s nice to know you are supporting them. We go to the one in Goleta; it is outside Sundance Beach in the Camino Real Marketplace.

In other news, in my Comparative Politics class we have been speaking a lot about Syria.  The latest news is that chemical arms experts have crossed the border into Syria. The US-Russia initiative, which Syria has agreed to, means that chemical stockpiles the Assad regime has, will be destroyed by the middle of the next year. Of course, most people are of the opinion that this is brilliant progress. Here Assad will no longer be able to carry out chemical atrocities as we saw. However I would be lying if I did not have some discrepancies about what is occurring. Firstly, what concerns me is that if the chemical weapons are gone there is still in place Assad, and a brutal civil war continues. Whilst American military intervention is clearly not the solution, more has to be done for the ongoing refugee crisis and on the humanitarian level. Especially if this fighting is going to continue for the foreseeable future, removing weapons does not help the larger picture. There is a problem that the UN's $4.4bn appeal for Syrian refugees is only 50% funded. The overspill of refugees across borders especially into Lebanon, is putting strains on resources Lebanon does not have. You can read more on this at
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24328050
Or an article on Education in Syria, former English Prime Minister is asking for a special UN envoy for schooling refugees. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24034422

I have always wanted to go into International Development, so these are issues I passionately like to speak about. I really think its important people know about what is going on and have their own opinions, after all “knowledge is power”!