0 - Dr. Andrea Strauss

Dr. Andrea Strauss, a director of bands, was the band director of Carrollton High School from 2008-2009. Before Carrollton High School, Dr. Strauss was affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology's marching and concert bands. She gained the title of Director of Bands at Georgia Tech because of her previous credentials. Along with teaching and directing, Dr. Andrea Strauss remains active in several music organizations. She is currently on the National Band Association's Board of Directors, and she is a representative for the CBDNA, NBA, Tau Beta Sigma, and on the Board of Directors for Phi Beta Mu. While she actually spends the majority of her time in Carrollton, she is known for traveling abroad to participate as either a director or a musician, in multiple prestigious orchestras. Japan, Ireland, Italy, and Russia are only a few of the places she has directed/played at. Because of her credibility, Dr. Strauss has worked with several world-renowned musicians. One of these musicians happens to be Yo Yo Ma, a famous cellist. Because of this connection, Yo Yo Ma is the first degree of separation from Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

1 - Yo-Yo Ma

Yo Yo Ma is a world-renowned cellist who was born on October 7, 1955 in Paris, France to his Chinese parents. Throughout his life, Ma has been around music. Actually, both of his parents were highly involved in music. Ma's mother was a singer, and his father was a professor of music. Yo Yo Ma began his music career at a very young age. His first instrument was the violin. After experimenting with it, Ma moved onto the viola, and by the age of 4, he discovered his passion lay in the cello. Because of his remarkable advancements in music at such a young age, he was seen as a modern child prodigy. For this reason, Yo Yo Ma was asked to perform at President Kennedy's Inauguration at the age of seven. Later on in his life, Ma attended Julliard School of Music, Colombia University, and finally Harvard University. At theses three institutes, Ma studied music, and he eventually gained his bachelor's degree from Harvard. Once he became an acclaimed classical artist, Ma was targeted for several appearances in movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and live appearances at the White House and the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. Ma's grace and style of playing are what make him stand out above the rest. He does not use traditional classical techniques. Instead, he is seen as a very eclectic musician that uses influences from multiple cultures. Because of his unique style, Yo Yo Ma was asked to perform, along with three other musicians, at President Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration. Because of this connection, the 2009 Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama is the 2nd degree of separation from Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

Video of Yo Yo Ma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9DPfp7-Ck

2 - 2009 Presidential Inaguration

The 2009 Presidential Inauguration took place on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. It was on this day that President-Elect Barack Obama was sworn into office. Several days before the actual inauguration, inaugural celebrations began, the first of which was Obama and Biden's train ride to Washington D.C. On the actual inauguration day, the President-Elect went through the typical procedures. During the morning, Barack Obama attended a morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church. Following his morning service, President-Elect Obama traveled to the Capitol to begin the Presidential Inauguration. At around 11:30, the ceremony began. Before the swearing-in portions of the ceremony, a quartet played "Air and Simple Gifts". The world-renowned cellist, Yo Yo Ma, was one of the members of the quartet. After the quartet's performance, the Vice President-Elect, Joe Biden, was sworn into office, and at 12:00, President-Elect Obama was sworn in. During the swearing in, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court stumbled over his wording, which caused the President to say the wrong lines; he decided to be re-sworn-in in the White House a few days later. After the Vice-President and the President officially took their offices and the 21 Gun Salute was finished, Obama gave the traditional Inaugural Address. Once Obama concluded his speech, the former-President and the First Lady departed from the Capitol. Following the Inauguration, the President attended several traditional events such as the Inaugural Luncheon, the Inaugural Parade, and the Inaugural Ball. Because this event links to the new president, Barack Obama is the 3rd degree of separation from Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

Video of Presidential Inauguration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4

3 - President Barack H. Obama

President Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States. He is the successor of former-president George W. Bush. Furthermore, he is also the first black president of the United States. Simply because of this feat, he is already guaranteed to be one of the most memorable presidents in American history.
President Barack H. Obama has a very "American" life story. He was born in Hawaii to a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas. Ever since he was born, he lived a common, middle-class lifestyle. After he finished high school, President Obama attended the Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. After two years there, Obama transferred to the Ivy League School, Columbia University where he majored in Political Science. Once graduated, Obama moved to Chicago and helped with a few civil organizations. In 1988, Obama was accepted and attend Harvard Law School. It was there that he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Because of this momentous success, Obama became an author shortly after graduating Harvard Law School. Eventually, Obama moved onto teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. President Obama did not enter the field of politics until 1996. It was in that year that Obama was elected as a State Legislator of Illinois. From that position, he worked his way into the Senate as an Illinois Senator in 2005. From 2005 to 2008, Obama remained Illinois's State Senator, but in November 2008, Obama won the presidential election. He currently bears the title of the President of the United States of America at least until 2012. President Obama's political goals revolve around multiple topics. He hopes to achieve universal health care in America, an alternative energy program, and an end to the war in Iraq along with several other reforms. Before President Obama entered the White House, he met with former-president George W. Bush for traditional purposes. What they discussed may not be exactly known, but nevertheless they met, and that leads us to thefourth degree from Al-Qaeda and terrorism, Former-President George W. Bush



Video of President Barack Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfGx4G8tjo

4 - Former President George W. Bush

Former-President George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States of America. He served the maximum of two terms consecutively as President of the U.S. His first term started in 2001 and his second term started in 2005. President George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946 to Barbara and George W. H. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. Bush grew up for the most part in Midland and Houston, Texas. After high school, President Bush attended Yale University where he gained a degree in history. From there, Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard. At the end of his service, Bush returned to school. This time he attended Harvard's Business School; he achieved a master's degree there. In 1994, George W. Bush became the 46th Governor of Texas. He became the first Texas governor ever to win 4 consecutive elections after his 1998 election. From his role has governor, Bush evolved into a presidential candidate, and in 2000, he was elected as President of the United States; his inauguration followed in January 2001. Throughout both of President Bush's terms, he has been met with several issues. He tackled education with the No Child Left Behind Act; he helped citizens by issuing tax cuts; he helped secure more free trade agreements; he launched a HIV/AIDS program that helped save millions of lives. Of all of his feats that he accomplished, his most momentous came on September 11, 2001 when Al-Qaeda terrorists flew two airliners into the Twin Towers and one airliner into the Pentagon. Because of Bush's actions, his approval rating soared to 90%. After the attacks, Bush set up a system to secure America from further attacks by creating the Department of Homeland Security. He even reformed America's intelligence agency to gain efficiency. Next, he initiated a counterattack on Al-Qaeda and groups like them by starting the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush's measures after September 11, 2001 were the most momentous federal government reorganization tactics used since the Cold War. For seven years now, the U.S. has yet to be struck by a terrorist organization. Because of George Bush's involvement in New York on September 11, the 9/11 attacks are the 5th degree from Al-Qeada and terrorism.


Video of George W. Bush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dVm66pxBMw

5 - September 11, 2001 Attacks

In New York City, on September 11, 2001, a massive terrorist attack took place. That morning, 19 Al-Qaeda-affiliated men boarded 4 commercial jetliners in different parts of the United States. In flight, the men hijacked the planes and re-routed them towards major building on the eastern side of the U.S. Two planes were targeting each tower of the World Trade Center; theses two were successful in hitting their target. Upon impact with the two towers, both of the jetliners exploded. The heat caused from the explosion weakened the World Trade Center's steel framework, and it eventually collapsed. The third plane launched itself towards the Pentagon; it too was successful in hitting its target. At the Pentagon, the terrorists were able to penetrate the E, D, and C rings of the building. The fourth plane was the only failure for the terrorists. It was supposedly targeting the White House, but because the people on the plane, the airliner instead landed in a Pennsylvania field where the only people killed where the ones on board. These fliers are thought to have attacked the terrorists which caused them to inevitably miss their intended destination. 2,974 people died due these attacks. Along with that, the World Trade Center was demolished, and the Pentagon's western side was badly damaged from the plane's impact, fires, smoke, and water. After the attacks occurred, the United States government was able to easily acquire the names of the terrorists and the organization that they were affiliated with. All 19 terrorists were part of Al-Qaeda, and because of other intelligence, the U.S. was able to conclude that Osama bin Ladin approved this terrorist mission as early as 1996. Although bin Ladin was not the man that concocted this attack, he was a key organizer of the attacks. The idea for the 9/11 attacks came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Also, directly following the attacks, the U.S. basically closed the United States' airways. Inevitably, the attacks caused America to boost air security, and many new administrations, such as the Department of Home Land Security, were created for security matters. Furthermore, clean-up after the event took months. Help was received not only for the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department, but several states allowed many of their firefighters and police officers to travel to New York city to help with the wreckage. Currently, the area where the towers fell is known as Ground Zero. Building plans here are still pending. Because of its link with 9/11, Al-Qaeda is the 6th and final link to its own organization and terrorism.


Videos of 9/11 attacks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAaP4Z3zls8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOEzTInapa4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Qu6eyyr4c&feature=related

6 - Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist group that is centralized in the Middle East. Currently, its leader is Osama bin Ladin. Al-Qaeda's key objective is to eliminate all western influences from Muslim countries and establish these countries, instead, as fundamentalist Islamic administrations. This particular terrorist group started as a group of "holy warriors" that wanted to expand the the "holy war" outside the borders of Afghanistan, and by 1988, the group acknowledged themselves as Al-Qaeda. Because of their extremist views, they are well known throughout the world for their radical behavior. They have been linked directly to multiple terrorist attacks across the globe since 1998. Their most significant attack occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington D.C. It was this particular attack that caused the United States to begin its War on Terrorism. From about October 7, 2001 to the present, the War on Terrorism has been in effect. The first part of the War on Terror was the War in Afghanistan. This war has yet to be won or resolved. Along with that war, the United States has also entered into a military campaign in the Middle Eastern country of Iraq; this war's end is also pending. Al-Qaeda has one distinct characteristic that makes it so dangerous; it has no exact location where its members operate. Essentially, Al-Qaeda could be anywhere that it sees as a threat to its extremist Muslim religion, and because of its successes in past terrorist attacks, many smaller terrorist organizations follow Al-Qaeda's lead and listen to their directives. This primarily makes Al-Qaeda the most influential terrorist group in the world. For that reason, the United States is targeting this group and its leaders in its War on Terrorism the most. They believe that if the most influential group is stopped, then the rest should crumble as well.

Video of Al-Qaeda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2RokLUFusY