The End of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

  

On August 10, 2024, the Paris Olympics had tons of gold medal victories for the United States of America. The men's USA basketball team won gold against France with the score of 98 to 87. This game was close at times with Victor Wembanyama having 26 points. Yet, the American team with Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Embiid, and other players worked together to make a victory. France has silver for the fourth time. America has won five consecutive gold medals in men's basketball since 2008. Steph Curry made multiple threes at the end of the fourth quarter to have a victory. Famous people at the game are Jimmy Fallon, Carmelo Anthony, Scottie Pippen, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Pau Gasol, and Sa'Charri Richardson. So, America had gold, France had silver, and Serbia won bronze. Lin Yu-ting won gold in featherweight boxing. He defeated Poland's Julia Szeremeta. As for men's breakdancing, Canada's Phil Wizard had gold, Dany Dann of France had silver, and America's Victor had bronze. The U.S. won the women's 4 X 400m relay with the team of Alexis Holmes, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, and Shamier Little (including Quanera Hayes, Aaliyah Butler, and Kaylyn Brown). The Netherlands won silver, and Great Britain won bronze (with people like Victoria Ohuruogu, Yeargin, etc.). The USA men's track and field team won gold in the 4 X 400m relay too. Quincy Wilson being 16 years old is the youngest Olympic track and field gold medalist. The other members of the team are Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Rai Benjamin. Botswana won silver, and Great Britain won bronze. America's Shelby McEwen won silver in the men's high jump, and gold was won by New Zealand's Hamish Kerr. For women's breakdancing, Ami of Japan won gold, Nicka of Lithuania won silver, and 671 of China won bronze. For the 1500m women's race, Kenya's Faith Kipyegon won gold, Australia's Jessica Hull won silver, and Great Britain's Georgia Bell won bronze. Grant Fisher won bronze for the men's 5000m, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigsten won gold, and Kenya's Ronald Kwemoi won silver. For the women's 100m hurdles, America's Masai Russell got her wish and won gold with a time of 12.33 seconds, France's Cyrena Samba-Mayela won silver with 12.34, and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won bronze with a time of 12.36. The USA women's soccer team won gold in the finals. They defeated Brazil. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved potential goals from Brazil's team. This is Team USA's first goal in soccer since the 2012 Olympics. The team had Trinity Rodman (the daughter of Dennis Rodman), Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Crystal Dunn, and other women representing a new generation of soccer legends. Imane Khelif won gold in the women's welterweight match. For women's gold, Lydia Ko won gold for New Zealand, Germany's Esther Henseleit won silver, and China's Xiyu Lin won bronze. China won women's table tennis match in gold.

The end of the 2024 Paris Olympics has been exciting. Thousands of people are at the closing ceremony celebrating in Paris. The women winners of the marathon were Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands who won gold, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa who won silver, and Kenya's Hellen Obiri who won the bronze. The USA women's basketball team won gold in their historic eighth-straight gold medal. A'ja Wilson and other teammates worked hard to defeat France with a score of 67-66. Kahleah Cooper and Jackie Young were key in the victory by making crucial shots including playing great defense. A'ja Wilson scored 21 points, 13 boards, and 4 blocks in the game. Jennifer Valente won gold for Team USA in the women's cycling omnium. She defended the Olympic title that she won in Tokyo. Italy won gold in women's volleyball, USA won silver, and USA's Kennedy Blades won silver in the women's freestyle 76 kg wrestling event (Japan's Yuka Kagami won gold).

The closing ceremony has been filled with music. The Paris Games had world record-breaking track races, a historic first for the American women's rugby team, and other events. The closing ceremony started with a performance by Zaho de Sagazan, accompanied by a choir. The song is Sous le ciel de Paris or Under the Prais Skies, Paris's unofficial anthem. French swimmer Leon Marchand ended the Paris Olympic flames. French President Marcon and IOC President Bach started the ceremony in Stade de France. Then, countries enter the stadium by waving their own flags. Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead enter the arena as the Team USA flag bearers. Team USA athletes came into the stadium being cheered by the crowd. The team wore blue Ralph Lauren clothing from head to toe. The winners of the women's marathon earned their medals. The 45,000 Olympic volunteers were recognized. The track and field icon Allyson Felix has been introduced as the new member of the IOC Athletes' Commission. A golden voyager descended into the arena. The figure is masked in head-to-toe gold. The masked torch bearer came back. 

The golden voyager raised the Greek flag to commemorate the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Dancers presented the Olympic rings. Then, a watch party existed. Benjamin Bernheim sang Hymn to Apollo with pianist Alain Roche to exhume the Olympic rings. The rings are raised up. Then, the indie rock band Phoenix perform music in celebration of French artists and their influence in music. Tony Estanguet, the President of the Paris 2024 Olympics congratulates the athletes. He said that most marriage proposals ever took place at an Olympic Games. IOC President Thomas Bach thanked the athletes and called for the world to live in a culture of peace. Then, the Olympic flag was lowered in Paris after the performance of the Olympic anthem. The flag was given to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, then the IOC President Thomas Bach, and Bach gave it to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. This is to represent the transition of host cities. Mayor Bass was accompanied by gymnast Simone Biles. Simone Biles held the Olympic flag, and the R&B singer H.E.R. sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Then, Tom Cruise used a stunt by being lowered by cables from the top to the bottom of the Stade de France via harnesses. Then, Tom Cruise took the flag from Simone Biles and LA Mayor Karen Bass. Tom Cruise (who cheered for gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. He was filming the next chapter of Mission: Impossible in Europe) attached the flag to the back of his motorcycle to drive away. Later, there was a pre-recorded video of Cruise carrying the flag on a motorcycle to a large plane. He drops down at Los Angeles to place the flag on top of the Hollywood sign. Then, the Hollywood sign was shown and LA artists Red Hot Chili Peppers performed. Dr. Dre, Snoop and Billie Eilish performed music in Los Angeles too. Venus Williams gave an introduction to the future Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. The Paralympics was promoted. Leon Marchand extinguished the flame. The final song of the Paris Olympics was a rendition of Frank Sinatra's My Way, which was done by Paris singer Yseult. The song was composed by French composer Jacques Revaux and French lyricists Gillies Thibaut and Claude Francois. After the song was shown, fireworks erupted around the Stade de France. The 2024 Paris Olympics is officially over. The Paralympic Games will be next in September 2024, the Winter Olympics will take place in 2026 in Salt Lake City, and the Los Angeles Summer Olympics will happen in 2028.

 

The 1700's saw massive changes in fashion. By that century, many women wore Baroque and Rococo-influenced dresses. There was the brocaded silk mantua dress filled with fabric and images on it. Many women started to wear healed shows with designs on them made up of fabric. Complex gowns and petticoats were commonplace during that period too. Some of the gowns were white, pink, yellow, and other colors. It included a stomacher, box pleats, lace sleeve ruffles, cartridge plaeatings, and polonaise mechanism. Women hair was designed with feathers and braids, and other forms of clothing. Men, during the 1700's wore boats, petticoats with buttons on them, and linen filled vests. Many in Europe, American colonists, Africans, Asians, Native Americans, etc. wore diverse clothing from neoclassical fashion to fashion common to working-class people. Men wore shoes, boots, and specialized hats back in the 1800's too. Coats back then had cuffs, collars, and designs on them. People wore masks for parties including wearing canes as a fashion statement. 

 

During the 19th century, the world has changed. The early 19th century saw global Revolutions being against monarchs and imperialism like the Haitian Revolution, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Latin American Revolution, etc. The result of these events caused democracies to grow and Monarchs to reach the start of the beginning of the end of their empires. Also, imperialism was constantly in growth from Africa to Asia by the 1800's. Human beings by this century saw more population growth, human lifespans increasing, and the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a paradox when it did grow railroads, steamships, roads, and bridges, but it also had its imperfections like workers' exploitation, pollution, the growth of imperialism, and other evils too. The early 1800s saw neoclassicism rise up in fashion. Women wore headdresses, gowns, and sandal shoes. Feathered bonnets and other designs like umbrellas were expressed by women in the 1800's too. Urban culture growing via the Industrial Revolution influenced fashion too. Jewelry filled with pearls and many people wore ncklaces and umbrellas as fashion styles. Many women wore evening hourglass dresses. Many men back in the 1800's wore top hats, canes, and dress shoes. Many men wore wool cloth and tailoring to make their clothes fit. There was sportswear too. As the 1800's continued, there was more dresses with more elaborate designs and bonnets with feathers on them. Dresses began to have silk, there were tassels and specialized sheeves. Charles Worth was a famous designer of the 1800's. The bustle skirt was common too. The bustle was popular during the late 1800's. By the mid to late 1800's, men wore modern-day three-piece suits, dress shows, top hats, and quilted capes. The wardrobe became more business-like. Women wore sportswear with bustle dresses, collar dresses, nautical images, umbrellas, and a walking suit. Many people wore turbans and costumes. 

 

From the late Middle Ages to the early Modern Ages, fashion evolved massively. We saw tons of changes. From the early period, fashion was less detailed and filled with items similar to the days of the ancient Roman Empire. As time moved forward, we saw fabrics being more complex, the growth of elaborate dresses, and new styles of top hats too. During the centuries from 1500 to 1900, massive world changes existed. The monarchies of the world were challenged by revolutions from Haiti to France. People wanted real human rights beyond the centralization of power being contained by a select few Royal interests. 

 

COVID-19 is one of the most mysterious illnesses in human history. It is a very dangerous virus that has harmed and killed millions of people in the human family. The COVID-19 pandemic was the first pandemic of this magnitude since over a century ago with Spanish influenza. The virus started back in late 2019. It spread globally rapidly by early 2020. 2020 was one of the most important years in human history. It was a time of a recession worldwide (including in America), the lockdown of whole countries, and people wearing masks everywhere in the street. There have been massive debates about masks and the vaccine, but people have to experience legitimate health care regardless of background. We ought to act like we live in the 21st century filled with progressive thinking, not ignorance. COVID-19 polarized the nation in many ways, because some people believed in fanatical, false views like COVID-19 is a hoax or that the virus is just like a common cold. Scientific studies document that COVID-19 is much more powerful and dangerous than the common cold. COVID-19 is not as prevalent as it was in 2020, but it is still around globally. People have to take their health seriously, especially knowing about racial and class health disparities. We have to use real understanding in trying to save as many lives as possible. I will always remember COVID-19 and be further inspired to move forward in life. 

 

 

A lot of historical events have taken place recently. Recently, there has been a major prison swap involving America and Russia. There are many people sent back to America, including four U.S. residents. It took a long time for this event to happen, but the families of the innocent people jailed in Russia are celebrating massively. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were among two dozen detainees that were released on Thursday. This switch was the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. President Joe Biden gave a speech to praise the release while realizing many more innocent Americans still must be released from Russian jails. The released Americans include the Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. These human beings came to Turkey. Later, they came to the United States to meet with their families and friends. There were massive negotiations to make sure that this happened. Nations from Turkey, Germany, and other countries. Once again, diplomacy works to create more solutions in global negotiations. Marc Fogel, an American, must be released still. Vice President Kamala Harris has been very active in helping secure the prisoner deal, involving two high-level meetings in Germany with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golab, according to a Biden senior administration official. Russian-born dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was released too. Putin hugged the killer who was released. We all believe in democracy and freedom throughout the world. Vice President Kamala Harris said that she will fight to always allow all Americans to be released from Russian prisons.

President Biden was in Austin, Texas to go to the LBJ Presidential library. He made a speech about his proposed reforms to the Supreme Court. As we know, the Supreme Court has gone too far with ethics scandals, establishing reactionary decisions, and being low on popularity among the American populace. President Biden has criticized the Supreme Court's recent decision to give near immunity to the President. Biden is right to say that no one is above the law. Biden also said that one Justice has conflicts of interest with advocates of the January 6th insurrection in 2021. What is happening now is a contradiction of the legal precept of the separation of powers. President Joe Biden wants three bold reforms involving the Supreme Court. Biden wants a Constitutional Amendment called No One is Above the Law Amendment to give every President no unlimited immunity. Biden wants term limits for Supreme Court Justices as there are term limits for Senators and House members. Now, the Supreme Court has lifetime appointments. Biden wants an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court Justice to eliminate bias and to stop conflicts of interests. Biden condemned Project 2025. President Biden wants a bidding code of conduct for the Supreme Court as the current code of conduct is too weak. Biden wants the code of conduct (like the recusal of Justices on certain cases of a conflict of interests, releasing money records, etc.) to be enforceable.

Many MAGA extremists are trying to disenfranchise voters who are in Texas, Pennsylvania, California, and other places in America. Many thousands of voters have their right to cast a vote challenged by activists nearing the November 2024 election. Daniel Moss, a university administrator from Denton County Texas, has his voter registration challenged by one activist. Moss had been in the country and voted for two decades. Election officials have been harassed by evil people who made inaccurate complaints about voter rolls and tried to deny people the right to vote. One group doing this is the conservative Texas-based nonprofit group called True the Vote. It has promoted false theories about voter fraud. The group's founder, Catherine Engelbrecht, has called on followers to research voter data and try to challenge the eligibility of voters. This is Jim Crow 2.0. True the Vote claims to just want to stop fraud, but their challenges have been filled with errors and targeting vulnerable people like elderly human beings, homeless people, etc. This is why we say that voter suppression efforts are real.

 

One of the most important events now is the far-right extremists using riots all over the United Kingdom. These people are not freedom fighters. They are not for the interests of the people of the United Kingdom. They don't represent the vast majority of the people in the UK. They are of the same ilk as the Nazis decades ago who can't stand diversity, immigrants, and refugees. The Golden Rule dictates that you treat your neighbor as yourself. These far-right terrorists have burned buildings, beat black people in England, assaulted Muslims, abused people of Pakistani descent, and lied about their own history. Many of these far-right people are descendants of the Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Normans in England. These people were not indigenous to the United Kingdom originally. They came from Germany and Scandinavia. The Norman invasion of England took place in 1066 A.D. Recently, we have DNA evidence of black sub-Saharan African people who lived in the UK long before 1066. These riots represent the growth of the fascist movements. Many of my relatives were WWII veterans who fought in Normandy in real life and in other places to defeat fascism. In our generation in 2024, we have to defeat fascism again. Now, these far-right terrorists have been egged on by people like Tommy Robinson who falsely claimed that the perpetrator of the knife attack killing three innocent children (in Southport, England) was done by a Muslim asylum seeker. Now, these criminals have attacked immigrants' homes and shops They destroyed property. Richard Rice and Nigel Farage defend these terrorists as "concerned British citizens." They are not concerned citizens but thugs and far-right racist savages. These far-right terrorists don't care about children or morality. They only desire the power to oppress vulnerable human beings. Anti-fascist protesters have protected many immigrants in England too. Extreme nationalism and xenophobia merge readily into violence as history teaches us. This fascist movement is embraced by Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen in France, it's found in Hungary (with Orban), etc. It is important to confront poverty, end economic inequality, and reject austerity.

Cori Bush lost her primary to Bush in Missouri. This comes after AIPAC funded millions of dollars to defeat her. AIPAC believes in the old lie that any form of dissent with Israeli policy is equivalent to anti-Semitism. To AIPAC, if you stand for the human rights of Palestinians and progressive-minded Israelis, then you're anti-Semitic. AIPAC hypocritically claims to be for freedom, but financially funds pro-insurrectionist Republicans and far-right extremists. AIPAC claims to oppose Hamas killing Jewish people, and Hamas is a terrorist organization. Hamas is completely wrong to kill, rape, and kidnap Israeli people. Yet, AIPAC is morally bankrupt to back insurrectionist Republicans. This is documented by The Guardian and other mainstream media outlets too. AIPAC funded Jim Jordan and Scott Perry, who plotted with Trump to try to illegally overthrow the 2020 election results. This is why the moderate group J Street has condemned this action by AIPAC. A far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been documented by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations as committing war crimes, and AIPAC sugarcoats that truth. We can both promote a 2-state solution and advocate a ceasefire to end that war at the same time. Both things aren't mutually exclusive. Palestinians don't need to be in occupation and treated like 2nd class citizens. They desire their own liberation and real human rights. That is not anti-Semitism but reality.

By Timothy