The russian people have begun protesting the results of the last russian election. The results showed that Putin retained the senate majority but suffered major loses. The Russians believe the elections were rigged due to Russias shady political past. The president of Russia announced via facebook that a thorough investigation would be done. The protests have resulted in hundreds of aressts. The Russian government has claimed the protests were unlawful and disorderely.

Is Russia corrupt?
Are the demonstrations going to expose fruad

Empire lost

the symbol I chose for the week is the SPQR that appears everywhere in rome. It appears not only in the streets and main squares but also in the main government building. The SPQR is short for the latin phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus meaning the senate and people pf Rome. Along with the symbol I found many reminants of the old roman empire such as phrases and pictures from the old empire. The Italians in Rome have great pride in the ancient roman empire and have pride in the old empire. The economy swing in italy may also have equated for such apride and a look back into the greater days of the peninsula. It is generally equated with th republic of Rome and the new foundation of the oung republic sparked te rebirth of the symbol.

Tergiversate

Dictionary.com selects one word of the year each year. They recently announced that the word of 2011 is: "Tergiversate. Pronounced "ter-JIV-er-sate", it means “to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject;etc.; equivocate.” A committee of lexicographers (people who study words and compile dictionaries) choose the annual word not based on the number of times it has been used that year, but on which word best encapsulates the events of the yearI think it's very interesting that the year 2011 is defined by constantly changing states and opinions. The lexicographers explained that the word tergiversate relates to events like the occupy movements and stock markets.(note: this blog does not have the word tergiversate in its database)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/word-of-the-year-2011-tergiversate_n_1119524.html?ref=culture&ir=Culture

I have to admit I've never really known which symbol went to which gender until now. I felt like by the time I was 21 it was just embarrassing to ask, so whenever the symbols come up I pretend I know which is which. Finally, as I'm reaching the ripe old age of 22 I've decided the time has come for me to learn. I remember Julia saying she always gets them mixed up too, so here's to the 22 year olds!

These symbolos are astrological symbols that stand for the planets Mars for males and Venus for females. Their first use was to distinguish different gender of plants. I couldn't find that much more information on them, but something else I noticed in this picture is that I knew which was female because it was pink and blue was for the male. I wonder if boys actually inherently prefer blue and girls pink, or if this color genderization is and environmental influence beginning from the moment they're born.

Japan withdraws

A major Japanese bank slashed its connections to Europe by dropping debt in countries like ireland, portugal, and Spain. The dramati slash comes from the instability of the market in the region and the Japanese no lnger want to rely on the mercy of the European Market. The bank is slashing these debts also due to a 46.1 billion Yen net losss after the last quarter. The Moody council, a local reviewer for foriegn investors says the company maybe moved down to a level just above junk.The move by the major Japanese bank also caused other Japenese banks to slash their ties to Europe dropping such as the Bank Kakosi. This bank has dropped nearly all of its foregin bonds eventhough the Italian Bond exceeded 7 per cent return.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/28/business/japan-nomura-eurozone-debt/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdDLhPwpp4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MGagKL_tvS8 (in this video you can hear the protesters chanting: If you let them go, we will let you leave.)

I'm sure everyone has heard about the UC Davis pepper spray incident on November 18th. I have been reading articles and watching videos about the incident and as of right now there is a private investigation going on to see why the police used pepper spray and if they were right in doing so. The popular belief follows the viral youtube video that shows students peacefully protesting on campus and then suddenly being pepper sprayed in the face. I have heard many people talking about the incident and the story on the street is that the pepper spray came almost out of no where. As I researched a few more pieces of the story on the side of the police have turned up: 1. The police warned the students that they were going to be pepper sprayed if they didn't move. 2. Police had been ordered to remove the tents and as they were doing this, students encircled them, blocking their exit. This article: http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-uc-davis-pepper-spray-2011-11?op=1 is one of the best I have found. It has chronologically ordered pictures showing what happened at the event. Questions about police control are central to this topic. The two police officers that used pepper spray are on temporary paid leave as of right now.