The Taliban administration had closed down girls high schools for seven months. Just recently, the Taliban announced they would reopen the schools on March 22, 2022 and they reopened them just to close them back down again several hours later. What this means is that no female students above the sixth grade is allowed to attend school. The reason that they closed the schools down again is a puzzling one. The Ministry of Education released a statement stating that the schools will remain closed until a plan is drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture.

Education has been a main focal point that people across the globe have been trying to give afghan girls access to. One of the major issues that prevents that from happening is the lack of teachers. It worsened when the Taliban took control of the government because a majority of the teachers fled from Afghanistan. A spokesperson said that they need thousands of teachers to fill the void that is in Afghanistan.

This announcement was heart-wrenching to all girls in Afghanistan who’s dream is to have access to education. The girls that went to school on that day were so excited to finally be back, getting their education; but at the end of the day they were told that they wouldn’t be coming back which absolutely gutted them. The Taliban is notorious for saying one thing but then doing the exact opposite which is why the schools being closed down is a very frightening thing because the girls of Afghanistan don’t know when they will be going back to school again.

This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations. 

“A Life on Our Planet” by David Attenborough offers insight into our planet’s past and a vision for its future. David Attenborough is a British broadcaster and natural scientist who has visited every continent on Earth. With his passion for the planet, Attenborough created this documentary with Netflix to show the world the effects of climate change and what we can do to save our planet. Attenborough has made many documentaries and docuseries in the past, but he calls “A Life on Our Planet” his “witness statement.” In this documentary, Attenborough discusses the effects that deforestation and overfishing have on animals and our environment as a whole. He also discusses how humans have contributed to climate change and the steps people can take to try to make our planet a healthier place for both humans and animals alike. Although “A Life On Our Planet” by David Attenborough is potentially his last documentary, it is an influential documentary because it utilizes personal connection, purpose, and statistics to engage the audience. 

Unlike the traditional position of a narrator, Attenborough is seen routinely in the documentary. This helps the reader feel more connected to the topic of the documentary. He routinely makes eye contact with the audience and maintains a relaxed posture which makes the film feel more personal. The article “Connecting with the Audience” by Grand Valley State University states how vital personal connections to your audience are in presentations of any kind. The article highlights something it calls “immediacy.” Immediacy consists of both eye contact and the posture of the speaker. Attenborough displays a relaxed demeanor throughout the film. This aids in making the audience feel comfortable and naturally allows the audience to focus on the topic at hand. Eye contact was a tremendously effective tool used in this documentary. Several times in the documentary, Attenborough looks directly at the camera and speaks to the audience with his complete attention. During these moments, the audience can witness how much Attenborough truly cares for the environment and our planet’s future. 

Having a direct purpose is a crucial component of what makes this documentary effective. For many years of his life, David Attenborough has dedicated his time to educating the public about the climate crisis and the natural world. This documentary had a clear purpose. “A Life on This Planet” served as Attenborough’s witness statement about the environment and how he has experienced the world over his lifetime. An article called “What Are The 5 Elements of A Good Documentary” by the Film District of Dubai discusses how effective the purpose is in attracting the audience’s attention. According to this article, having purpose is also used when the documentary captures the problem instead of just discussing the problem. While watching the documentary, the audience can see how the images that are shown match Attenborough’s purpose. For example, when talking about deforestation, Attenborough will show the audience one place before deforestation, and then he would show that same place after deforestation. This is extremely helpful for the audience to see the actual change climate change was brought on. The use of purpose in the documentary effectively absorbs the audience’s attention and informs the audience about the climate crisis. 

Since this was a documentary that revolved around the issues that stem from climate change, statistics were crucial in backing up Attenborough’s experiences with scientific facts. Since climate change can be a controversial topic, it was even more critical that strong and honest statistics were brought into this film. While the audience may question Attenborough’s experiences, it’s harder for the audience to question scientific facts. The article “Why and How to bring Statistics Into Your Speech” by VIRTUALSPEECH discusses the importance and efficacy of statistics in speeches and presentations. According to the report, statistics increase the credibility of the presentation. In “A Life On Our Planet,” statistics about how the climate has changed are used to make Attenborough’s experiences more credible. Statistics also aid in helping the audience remember key takeaways from the presentation. In the documentary, Attenborough displays statistics of the world population in relation to the percentage of untouched wilderness left. These were robust statistics which he backed with his own experience, having traveled for most of his adult life. Statistics strengthened Attenborough’s documentary by backing up Attenborough’s claims and relaying key scientific facts to the audience. 

Although David Attenborough’s “A Life On Our Planet” may be his last documentary, it is a successful documentary because it uses personal connection, purpose, and statistics to absorb the audience’s attention. This documentary was Attenborough’s witness statement as someone who has experienced raw nature and traveled the world for most of his life. He, himself, has witnessed the consequences of deforestation and overpopulation. “A Life On Our Planet” uses personal connection through using David Attenborough on the screen, instead of just as a narrator. Using Attenborough on the screen helps make the documentary personal and emotional to the audience. The purpose of this presentation is clear, and Attenborough uses purpose to document the issue at hand instead of just spreading information about the topic. Seeing the problem makes the documentary more memorable and authentic for the audience. Statistics were applied throughout the film to enforce Attenborough’s experiences and findings. From the audience’s perspective, statistics help boost the speaker’s credibility. The factual statistics used also serve as vital takeaways that the audience can remember once the film ends. This documentary is powerful and necessary because it documents the effects of climate change first-hand from the perspective of someone who has been traveling for sixty years. From this, people can learn about climate change and what they can do to help our planet’s resources, animals, and humans.

This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations. 

A new bill will seek to ensure that the mental health crisis hotline will serve the most vulnerable first. Lawmakers want to gather certain funding on the new mental health crisis hotline which will be dialed as 988. This will be done in order to avoid unnecessary police calls and be given to mental health specialists. Along with this, it allows those dealing with mental health issues to be given the help they deserve during difficult times.

When callers dial 988 they will be routed to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. People will be able to call or text this number across the United States beginning on July 16, 2022. This will put them in direct contact with mental health specialists who can give them the support needed.

There has been a lack of resources for those dealing with mental health issues. Jonathan Murillo, who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police this past February, has opened up many peoples eyes. He was in contact with mental health specialists however, they did not show up in time which lead to a tragic ending with police. Those in support of this bill believe if people are able to use this hotline it will reduce violent and deadly interactions between law enforcement and those dealing with mental illnesses.

In California, the department of health and services announced that it will spend twenty million dollars to help launch the 988 system. The system itself would need up to 80 cents a month on phone lines in the state. Due to this, the bill has faced some oppositions on whether or not it is worth it. People have argued that the fee should be capped at ten cents and fund only the cost of routing 988 calls. However, those in support say it will be worth it to save the many lives that have been lost.

This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations. 

As of March 18th, 2022, the House has passed the CROWN Act, also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act. The new bill will address the underlining works of systemic racism, where Black women and men are forced to change their natural hair to fit in. Several states, such as Massachusetts, have implemented their versions of the act, but it will be mandatory across the country if passed in the Senate.

Furthermore, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J, who introduced the bill, spoke to the House Floor describing how there are people “who think because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots, or it is not straight and blonde and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access to those issues.” This new initiative is establishing a future for children of color not to be ashamed of who they are and to embrace their natural hair for what it is. On the other hand, it is unfortunate it took a bill to be introduced for society to see the “norm” of hair is, in reality, can be used as a form of discrimination. 

The Biden administration has stated their strong support for this bill. Although with Biden’s support, the bill has some pushback from Republican leaders. Republic representatives such as Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to see the bill’s importance in changing how institutionalized racism is embedded in our society. Republicans rather focus on issues such as inflation and gas prices. 

This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations. 

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has dislodged the everyday life of people around the world. While the worst of everything is happening to Ukrainian citizens, there has been a ripple effect worldwide. Because of Russian control on oil, the most felt effect to those outside of Ukraine has been a steep rise in gas prices. In a way, the rise in prices and the almost panic that we see because of it is highlighting the dependence not just on Russian oil, but a possible over-dependence on oil itself. There are hundreds of uses for petroleum products, from generating electricity to fuel for cars or gas for stoves, the world is built around relying on this energy source. Though it is a very useful product, there are downsides to its use. One of the large problems is the fact that it is not a renewable energy source, and with a global reliance on it, we are quite literally burning through it too quickly. The means that we go about extracting oil is harsh on the environment and depletes other natural resources and destroys habitats for thousands of animals. 

On the home front, modern houses as a whole have not been built with proper insulation, so when gas is used to heat a home it has to work much harder than it should, both wasting energy and increasing expenses. According to the IEA if Europeans are able to reduce the heat in their homes by a single degree, it would help save 10% of the energy and cost associated with heating homes. This is part of their attempt to conserve energy and limit the control Russia has. 

Those in the UK specifically are looking towards Prime Minister  Boris Johnson in anticipation of his response. Debating if he will resort to fracking, and do a complete turnaround from working towards clean energy or if he will decide to accelerate the plans for energy independence already set in place. Some difficulty comes with this solution as well, the plans for renewable energy are strong but implementing them is projected to take decades for most projects. For projects like offshore wind turbines, there is expressed hope from companies that with extra funding and full support from the government they can cut the time down, but it is unclear if it would fully be within a reasonable timeframe. The same issue and others arise with nuclear power, including disposal problems and the potential cost of nuclear disasters. 

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.

On Tuesday March 15th, 2022 Senate passed a bill that could potentially make Daylight Savings Time permanent across the United States. The bill passed was called the Sunshine Protection Act and it was passed in the senate with unanimous consent. Daylight saving time was implemented in the United States in 1918. So if this bill passes it will be almost a hundred years since it was implemented.

The bill hasn’t been passed yet, it still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Joe Biden. If it gets approved and signed into law that means that there wouldn’t be “time lost” when we transition into fall. The senate’s main reason that they wanted to sign a bill to is because it was somewhat redundant.

The spring switch that the daylight saving times makes, causes most Americans to lose sleep and make them alter their clocks once more when that switch occurs. The fall switch however has a different effect. A study has proved that there was an 11% increase in depressive episodes because of the loss of sunlight. However on the other side of the spectrum, scientists argue that changing the daylight saving time could affect public health in a negative manner. If they change the daylight savings time, the fall switch would mean darker mornings, and lighter evenings which could tremendously effect peoples sleep cycle.

If the bill does pass the house and is signed by President Joe Biden, it should be taken effect in November of 2023.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.