Beyond the Bricks: Week of 10/28

ISIS Leader Killed

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the now former leader of ISIS, was announced dead by President Donald Trump on Oct. 27, 2019, reported the New York Times.

Known for his brutality, al-Baghdadi transformed the global terrorist network with horrific attacks. Al-Baghdadi is partial to beheadings and has carried them out on American captives throughout his time as an ISIS leader.

In a statement made on Oct. 27, 2019, Trump said, “Last night, the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”

The New York Times also reported that Trump reveled in the moment, and rather than using the solemn tone of presidents prior, he was rather provocative and boastful.

Al-Baghdadi was one of the world’s most wanted terrorists; the United States placed a $25 million bounty on him. The manhunt for al-Baghdadi lasted for two presidential administrations. The hunt came to its conclusion in Syria when an American commando raid discovered his location, reported the New York Times.

CNN reported that al-Baghdadi’s death was due to him detonating a suicide vest and taking his own life. Military officials believe that three children died alongside him when the explosion went off.

Twitter Advertising Ban

On Friday, Oct. 31, 2019, Twitter announced that they will be banning all political advertising worldwide, reported BBC. Twitter claimed that due to the reach of the platform, such messages “should be earned, not bought.”

With the upcoming 2020 election, the news of the ban divided American political camps, reported the BBC.

The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, claimed that the ban is going to take hold on Nov. 22, 2019 because internet political ads pose new challenges to civil discourse.

Dorsey is quoted by the BBC as saying, “While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics.”

Ned Segal, Twitter’s chief financial officer, told CNN that the decision is not based on finances.

“The decision was based on principle, not money,” Segal said.

This ban comes as a shock given how other social media platforms such as Facebook decided to rule out this sort of ban. Mark Zuckerberg spoke to CNN about the Twitter ban.

“In a democracy, I don’t think it’s right for private companies to censor politicians or the news,” Zuckerberg told CNN.

Whereas Twitter is not going to allow paid political advertising, Facebook is still evaluating the benefits of allowing these ads.

Chicago Teacher Strike Ends

USA Today reported that on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, the Chicago teacher strike ended after 11 days. The final agreement that the union leader and the mayor came to was that due to the missed class time, teachers and students would make up five days.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey is quoted by USA Today as saying, “I’m glad we get to return to work. Frankly, it’s been hard on teachers, on parents, on kids.”

The union was striking to improve their working conditions, pushing for smaller class sizes and more support staff being hired to aid them in their workload.

In response to the demands, Chicago Public Schools have begun to address matters of teacher compensation and student support. The union was unable to win the 30 extra minutes of prep time at the beginning of the day, which was one reason why the teachers had stayed on strike for as long as they did, reported USA Today.

Classes in Chicago Public Schools are set to resume on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019.