2017: Are We Off To A Great Start or Not?

[Cccgala]

Last 2016, as the Earth took its last days of revolution around the Sun, the world wished for a prosperous and a great new year to arrive. Most of us took to social media and diaries to express how much we loathed 2016 so much that we desperately awaited 11:59 of 2016's December 31st to 2017's January 1st.

The question is: is our unanimous wish for a prosperous and a great new year coming true?

This myTake is inspired by recent events that has taken place around the world this January 2017 and some of the events that are bound to happen this 2017.

Here are some of the unfortunate events that shook the first week of January 2017:

The Trial of Cédric Herrou

France

Image credit: Le Parisien

A French farmer in the name of Cédric Herrou is on trial for assisting illegal migrants, mostly migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in crossing the border of France from Italy and for sheltering migrants in his home to provide physiological needs like food and water.

Multiple Casualties From Gun Shots on January 1st

United States of America

Image credit: Vox

On January 1st, 64 people and 146 people were killed and injured, respectively, with a total of 210 recorded casualties. Numerous incidences of gun shots were reported from the contiguous states alone: Georgia, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Ohio, California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Iowa, Washington State, Nevada, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, and Nebraska.

7.2-Magnitude Earthquake

Fiji

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of island nation Fiji on January 3rd. According to reports submitted by the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck 284 kilometers off the coast of Fiji.

Mass Molestation of Women

India

Image credit: Broadly - Vice

The first incidences of molestation of Indian women in southern city Bangalore first occurred on December 31st 2016. Although the mass molestation of women in Bangalore, India didn't exactly happen in 2017, the incidences prolonged on the first hours of January 1st. Indian women were reported to have experienced sexual assaults in back in New Year's Eve on December 2016. Moreover, there is an available CCTV footage after New Year was glorified which showed a woman experiencing sexual assault on an isolated road as she returned home after working a late shift.

Here are some great things to look forward in the course of time:

WhatsApp Upgrade And Incompatibility Announcement

Worldwide / To take effect starting June 30, 2017

From their site on https://www.whatsapp.com :

As announced in our blog, we will soon be ending support for certain devices. On J

une 30, 2017, we will no longer support the following platforms:

- BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10
- Nokia S40
- Nokia Symbian S60

The following platforms will no longer be supported at the beginning of 2017:

- Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
- Windows Phone 7
- iPhone 3GS/iOS 6

These platforms don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android running OS 2.3+, a Windows Phone 8+, or an iPhone running iOS 7+ before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.

China's Ban for Elephant Ivory Trade

China and the African continent / To take effect on March 2017

Image credit: PRI.org

A ban on ivory has been announced by China, in particular with elephant ivory which originates all the way from Africa. On March 2017, the world expects China's regard for trade involving ivory and the processing thereof as illegal.

Zero Tuition Fees for State Colleges and Universities

The Philippines / To take effect this year

Image credit: Philstar

The Philippines' Commission on Higher Education had announced on the previous year that an additional 8.3 billion Philippine pesos was supplemented to the annual budget of the commission that will be used as subsidies for state colleges and universities in the country.

Release of Technological Advancements

There are many new revolutionary products showcased at the CES 2017, the Consumer Electronics Show 2017. Most of them are bound to be released this year in the market.

____

There are countless tragedies, of course, given the nuisance presented by people with ill intentions. However, those tragedies are at par and may be outnumbered by the great things happening in the world today.

This year grants us another twelve months to be more wary of harm, deception, and evil.

Despite the unfortunate occurrences happened, we are truly off to a great start in acknowledging and being aware of what's happening around us.

[JuicyBrain]

All the problems you showed were already problems in the years before. Indian males didn't become horny dogs in need of being neutered on the 1st of January. There were plenty of earthquakes before and there will be plenty after. Whatsapp, who cares? Who are still using old Windows phones? Did anybody use them in the first place? Americans expressing their emotions by shooting at each other has been a problem for years already. It's become a drinking game now. This won't change, especially under Trump's reign for sure. So I don't think it counts either. All I see is good things.

[vishna]

Really great MyTake :) You did such an awesome job on this :)

Yay for Filipino students, elephants, and possibly the world because of the new advancements :)

[rjroy3]

There's been over roughly 97,200 successful child births this year. Elon Musk is pushing forward on his Hyper Loop program. There's more new millionaire's being made in America as we speak. We're in an age of information where good ideas are easily accessible. Little gadgets like Twister smartphone cables are making life just a little more convenient. There's a lot of good : )

[Cccgala]

That's a lot of good news! Thank you very much for sharing! 😊

[John_Doesnt]

No, we're fucked. We elected a moron to run to US. Hide your kids, hide your wife because there's a rapist in the White House.

[Cccgala]

I can see where you're coming from. I just can't wait for January 22nd!

[Cccgala]

*January 20th

[YourFutureEx]

Excellent take!

Isn't that WhatsApp news negative?

[Cccgala]

Oh, I think it can be negative but I see it more in a positive light since I see an update as a sign of progress.

[coolbreeze]

Crazy thing's is happening world wide and I expect more crazier stuff to happen this year. It's going to keep getting worse before it gets better.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for making us depressed about our fellow man :(

[Cccgala]

I upvoted your opinion not because I feel honored but because I'm aware that most of the things I've shown were truly disappointing. 😞

[Kachatterjee]

We can hope for better...

[Lucifer_666]

Not off to a good start

[Anonymous]

unfortunately