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SLG is Here Top Leaderboard
The Student News Site of Louisiana State University

Reveille
SLG is Here Top Leaderboard
The Student News Site of Louisiana State University

Reveille
All content by Joshua Hajiakbarifini
President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks bout increasing the minimum wage, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Earlier, Senate Republicans blocked an election-year Democratic bill that would boost the federal minimum wage, handing a defeat to the president on a vote that is sure to reverberate in this year's congressional elections. (AP Photo)

Opinion: Study is correct in claiming the U.S. is an oligarchy

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 30, 2014
Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso opens the West Fertilizer Explosion and Fire public meeting, Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in West, Texas. The deadly explosion in West a year ago was preventable and resulted from unsafe storage practices by West Fertilizer Co., and government oversight, U.S. Chemical Safety Board leaders said earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte)

Opinion: Lack of regulation caused the West Texas disaster

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 24, 2014
Jennifer Scalzo, left, and her husband Anthony Scalzo stand by the Virgin River during a rally in support of Cliven Bundy near Bunkerville, Nev. Friday, April 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Locher)

Opinion: No, because if laws are not enforced then they are not laws at all

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 21, 2014
FILE - This March 22, 2013, file photo shows the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. Struggling to figure out your federal tax return? You're not alone, but you're in the minority. With the tax filing deadline looming on April 15, a majority of Americans say completing a federal tax return is easy, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Opinion: It’s time to tax corporate wealth

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 9, 2014
FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2014, file photo, a helmet wearing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cheers motorcyclists during a rally in support of his government in Caracas, Venezuela. Since Feb. 12, opponents of President Nicolas Maduro have been staging countrywide protests that the government says have resulted in scores of deaths and more than more than a hundred injured. The demonstrators blame Maduro's administration for the country's high crime rate and economic troubles. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Opinion: Yes, Maduro seeks support from the American people.

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 7, 2014
Kevin Spacey, left, and Robin Wright arrive at a special screening for season 2 of "House of Cards", on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Opinion: ‘House of Cards’ not to blame for skewed politics

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
April 2, 2014
In this March 27, 2014, photo, President Barack Obama meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican. From the heart of Europe to the expanse of Saudi Arabia's desert, Obama's weeklong overseas trip amounted to a reassurance tour for stalwart, but sometimes skeptical, American allies. At a time when Obama is grappling with crises and conflict in both Europe and the Middle East, the four-country swing also served as a reminder that even those longtime partners still need some personal attention from the president.. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

April Fools’: Opinion: Obama comes out of the socialist closet!!!

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 31, 2014
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Opinion: Minimum wage debate should interest students

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 26, 2014
Keynote speaker and estranged son of the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, Nathan Phelps speaks to secular humanists Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Opinion: Pain could offer Phelps’ family perspective

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 23, 2014
File- This March 13, 2014, file photo shows Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., listening on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a Senate Transportation subcommittee hearing. In the aftermath of committee chairwoman Sen. Feinstein’s accusations that the CIA’s intimidating tactics and breaching of its constitutional authority for filing a criminal complaint against congressional aides, observers say the U.S. intelligence community and its congressional minders have committed serious missteps over the 13 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Opinion: Defender or Pretender: Defender of the NSA goes after the CIA

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 18, 2014
A photo taken of Peter Joseph as he answers questions at the Q&A session after the Zeitgeist: Moving Forward screening the day before Zday 2011.

Opinion: World’s 6th annual Z-Day call for a change in society

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 16, 2014
In this Jan. 28, 2014, photo President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington. A Democratic push to boost the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour is a long shot in Congress this election year, even after President Barack Obama made it a centerpiece of his State of the Union address. (AP Photo)

Opinion: No. Policies play a role in the American Dream.

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 10, 2014
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Opinion: Hypocritical Corporate Media attacks RT

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 9, 2014
In this photo tweeted by the office of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Brewer vetoes Senate Bill 1062, a Republican bill that set off a national debate over gay rights, religion and discrimination and subjected Arizona to blistering criticism from major corporations and political leaders from both parties, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, in Phoenix. The caption that accompanied the photo on Twitter read, "Moments ago, I vetoed #SB1062." (AP Photo/Office of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer)

Opinion: No, because civil and equal rights will be violated by private tyrannies.

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
March 5, 2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech prior to a concert marking the Defenders of the Fatherland Day, celebrated in Russia on Feb. 23, which honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. Putin pledged that the government will continue efforts to modernize the Russian military.(AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

Opinion: Ukraine: A Victory for the U.S. in a New Cold War

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
February 23, 2014
FILE - This Feb. 11, 2011 file photo shows the Comcast logo on one of the company's vehicles, in Pittsburgh. Comcast has agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion in stock, or $158.82 per share, in a deal that would combine the top two cable TV companies in the nation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced formally. An announcement is set for Thursday morning, Feb. 13, 2014, the person said. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Opinion: Comcast’s merger highlights dangers of media consolidation

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
February 19, 2014
An Egyptian man holds a poster of Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi with Arabic that reads, "we authorize you," as he chants slogans on a street leading to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014. Demonstrators began gathering Saturday in Egypt's Tahrir Square to mark the third anniversary of the start of its 2011 revolution, following a spate of bombings claimed by militants. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Opinion: Egypt needs to prove democratic commitment

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
February 10, 2014
Donny Rose, a Forward Arts member, talks to a group about adultism Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 at the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union Hall on Airline Highway.

Opinion: State should have more events for progressives

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
February 9, 2014
National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander, left, and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a member of the House Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees, stand after President Barack Obama spoke about National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, at the Justice Department in Washington. Seeking to calm a furor over U.S. surveillance, President Barack Obama on Friday called for ending the government's control of phone data from hundreds of millions of Americans and immediately ordered intelligence agencies to get a secretive court's permission before accessing such records. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Opinion: Illegality of NSA PRISM a step in the right direction

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
February 3, 2014
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. De Blasio told a packed audience Monday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music that the "price of inequality has deepened." The mayor says economic inequality is closing doors for hard-working people in the city and around the country. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mr. Fini: Is income inequality a serious threat to the global economy?

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
January 22, 2014
Israeli army officers lower the coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon into the grave during his funeral during his funeral near Sycamore Farm, Sharon's residence in southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. Sharon was laid to rest Monday at his ranch in southern Israel as the nation bid a final farewell to one of its most colorful and influential leaders — a man venerated by supporters as a warrior and statesman but reviled in the Arab world as a war criminal.(AP Photo/Baz Ratner, Pool)

Opinion: The Butcher of Beirut leaves behind legacy

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
January 15, 2014
FILE - In this Thursday, June 6, 2013, file photo, a sign stands outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. The National Security Agency tracks the locations of nearly 5 billion cellphones every day overseas, including those belonging to Americans abroad, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. Such data means the NSA can track the movements of almost any cellphone around the world, and map the relationships of the cellphone user. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Opinion: Revolutionary renaissance, time to be the change

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
December 5, 2013
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Opinion: The next financial crisis looms inevitably in near future

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
December 2, 2013
A protester chants her slogans as she is taken into custody after participating in a protest outside the new Chinatown Walmart store on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles police have arrested more than 50 people in the protest of more than 200 people. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Opinion: Students should support efforts of Walmart workers

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
November 24, 2013
FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963 file photo, mourners form a long line as they assemble in front of the Capitol to pay their respects to slain President John F. Kennedy in Washington. (AP Photo/File)

Opinion: Conspiracy theories surrounding JFK murder founded

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
November 21, 2013
Lincoln Memorial Washington DC

Opinion: Gettysburg revisited for contemporary times

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
November 18, 2013
In this Nov. 6, 2013 photo, Washington County Commissioner Lea Ann Laybourn works in her office in the rural town of Akron, the county seat of Washington County, Colo. A day earlier, a majority in Washington and four other counties on Colorado’s Eastern Plains voted yes on the creation of a 51st state, largely over residents' alienation from voters statewide on issues such as civil unions for gay couples, new renewable energy standards, and limits on ammunition magazines. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Opinion: Secession in Colorado raises question if South is next

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
November 12, 2013
Barack Obama is greeted by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after speaking at the Port of New Orleans, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. Obama traveled to the Gulf Coast region to make a case that more exports equal more jobs. After New Orleans he will go to Miami area for three Democratic fundraisers.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Head to Head: Affordable Care Act could aid Louisiana residents

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
November 10, 2013
FILE - In this Thursday, May 10, 2012, file photo, automobiles pass a JP Morgan Chase building in New York. JPMorgan said Friday, Oct. 25, 2013, that it has agreed to pay $5.1 billion to resolve claims that it misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage securities it sold them before the housing market collapsed. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Opinion: Derivatives risky to economy, must be regulated

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 27, 2013
FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2013, file photo, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal addresses attendees during the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Defending the American Dream Summit in Orlando, Fla. With no end in sight to the federal government shutdown, Republican governors eyeing the 2016 presidential race are pitching themselves as can-do politicians and highlighting records of achievement. "Republican governors are not going to take it anymore," says Jindal, among those state leaders and potential presidential candidates using the shutdown to try to position themselves as outsiders at a time of voter disgust with Congress and anyone connected with Washington. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Opinion: Rightward political shift won’t solve anything

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 22, 2013
FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo shows a Tesla Model S driving outside the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. Shares of Tesla Motors are down another 5 percent as investors in the high-flying company assess the fallout from a fire in one of its $70,000 electric cars. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

Opinion: Tesla Motors CEO could shape the future of technology

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 15, 2013
The new check-out machine for the snack shop stands on display in the Union. This machine replaced the job that a person used to occupy.

Opinion: Technology so great, it’s destroying jobs

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 13, 2013
In this Sept. 10, 2013, photo, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., walks to a Republican strategy session at the Capitol, in Washington. A revolt by tea party conservatives forced House GOP leaders on Wednesday, Sept. 11, to delay a vote on a temporary spending bill required to prevent a government shutdown next month. The plan by top Republicans like Cantor is designed to keep government agencies running through Dec. 15. Cantor's office announced the delay. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Opinion: Market fundamentalism threatens government unity

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 8, 2013
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 68th session of the General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Opinion: Netanyahu Ruining Peace between countries

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 7, 2013
David Smith, center, with Independence Blue Cross (IBC) discuses the opening health insurance exchange and provides information on health car reform to George Allen Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at IBC's mobile education and enrollment center in Philadelphia. Tuesday is the first day of the open enrollment period for new health insurance options under the 2010 federal health care law. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Opinion: The government needs more socialized plans

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 2, 2013
Frank and Ursula Merkelbach stop at the barriers in front of the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2014. The National Park Service has been directed to close all memorials, and non-essential staff has been directed to go home. The couple are vacationing in the southern states and had hoped to visit the national park. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Opinion: The third option to win the government budget battle

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
October 1, 2013
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani walks through the hallway during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Opinion: America has chance for peace with Iran, if we want it

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
September 26, 2013
Bill Gates delivers a speech during the 2013 Lasker Awards ceremony, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Bill and Melinda Gates received the 2013 Lasker Bloomberg Pubic Service Award. Since 1945 the Lasker Awards has recognized the contributions of scientists, physicians, and public servants who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of human disease. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Opinion: Forbes’ list shows wealth inequality reaches dangerous highs

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
September 22, 2013
Oakland police officers in riot gear line Frank H. Ogawa plaza Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Occupy Oakland protestors were evicted from the plaza early this morning. Police in riot gear began clearing anti-Wall Street protesters on Tuesday morning from the plaza in front of Oakland's City Hall where they have been camped out for about two weeks. City officials had originally been supportive of the protesters, but the city later warned the protesters that they were breaking the law and could not stay in the encampment overnight. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Opinion: Why Occupy Wall Street matters two years out

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
September 16, 2013
Activist investor Carl Icahn speaks at the World Business Forum in New York in this photo from Oct. 11, 2007. In a letter that became public Tuesday, Icahn is giving back all of the money that outside investors hold in his hedge funds. In a letter to limited partners, the billionaire investor said he did not want to be responsible to investors for "another possible market crisis," especially given the rapid increase in markets over the past two years. Icahn, who has built a reputation as an activist investor, said he was also concerned about the economic outlook and political tensions in the Middle East.

Opinion: The billionaire who affects the products we use every day

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
September 8, 2013
Patrick F Taylor is the beneficiary of a $2 million donation from a corporation.

Opinion: Corporations tend to corrupt higher education

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
September 3, 2013
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Opinion: I spy with many eyes a surveillance culture

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
August 29, 2013
Trader Andrew O'Connor, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013. Worries about a potential military strike against Syria are dragging down the U.S. stock market in early trading. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Opinion: Penalties not severe enough for Wall Street

By Joshua Hajiakbarifini
August 28, 2013