TASK DEFINITION: Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.
PROBLEM: Sydney Hostage Crisis: Australia has lost its innocence. Australia is known as the "lucky country." It was a phrase first coined in 1964 by social critic Donald Horne, and has come to represent the visceral feelings of both Australians, and visitors to the nation . It is seen as a reflection of a high standard of living, and a geographical insulation from the bad actors of the world theater . But ten days out from Christmas, Australia has lost its innocence . On a day of brilliant blue skies, the terrorism of the post-9/11 world finally arrived on Australian soil , taking hold of city streets . A man wielding a gun and an Islamic flag took customers and staff hostage at a cafe in central Sydney . As a native of Sydney, home for the holidays, safe and sound but shaken and furious, December 15 is a day that will forever be seared into my mind . I've been to the Lindt Cafe ; in fact ,  I once worked across the street from it . Emotions have run high here all day -- from fear to anger to a desire for vengeance . I never expected this in Sydney . The profoundly shocking standoff with all its disruptions to city life has struck fear in Sydneysiders, unaccustomed to these types of events . The mood in Sydney is one of fear and uncertainty . Until now, Australian authorities have been flawless in preventing terror attacks on Australian soil . They have been aggressive in their pursuit of intelligence and would-be terrorists , foiling plot after plot . September saw the biggest anti-terrorism operation in Australia's history , involving up to 800 police in coordinated raids , sparked by intelligence reports that Islamic State supporters were planning to seize a random member of the public and behead them live on camera . Yet , it was inevitable that one would finally slip through the cracks , and Monday Sydney joined the ranks of cities such as New York, London and Madrid as the latest victim of what appears to be Islamic terrorism . Monday's distressing events have renewed Australians' concerns about Islamist objectives, and a growing Islamic presence in the country . Some Australians recognize that this likely terrorist attack is a result of the poor immigration decisions of Australian governments, both conservative and liberal, over the last four decades . A lack of liberty, an abandonment of reason, the imposition of Sharia on Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as the treatment of women are just some of the serious moral problems within the Muslim world . Islamist views are incompatible with the liberty enjoyed by Australians and Americans . Interestingly, Monday's events have also prompted Australians to revisit their gun laws . With Islamic supremacism a mainstream interpretation of Islam, deeply rooted in Islamic scripture and endorsed by many of Islam's most influential scholars, Australians are beginning to understand the nature of the Islamic threat , and studying their own weaknesses in its wake . The United Kingdom has had two beheadings of members of the public in the last two years, with neither police nor civilians able to prevent it . It also has prohibitive gun laws . Australians are looking to America, and not the UK for guidance . With this sort of threat, the normal calculus of a civilized society with a small, armed (or unarmed) police force upon which the citizens are forced to rely, no longer adds up . It is unsurprising that home-grown terrorism is most rampant in nations with strict gun control . It is a reality that Australia's powerful anti-gun lobby seems to wish to ignore . It is times like these that Americans should be thankful for their Second Amendment, and crush any effort or force seeking to weaken or remove it . Right now, they are the envy of a growing number of Australians that wish they were armed . Australia will never be the same again . Sydney just lost a little of its shine .

SOLUTION: A man wielding a gun and an Islamic flag took customers and staff hostage at a cafe in central Sydney On a day of brilliant blue skies, the terrorism of the post-9/11 world finally arrived on Australian soil

PROBLEM: The Paris attackers hijacked Islam but there is no war between Islam and the west. The attack on Charlie Hebdo compels us to be clear and to be consistent . We have to condemn what happened in Paris absolutely . I said the same after 7/7 and after 9/11 . And after Jordan and Bali and Mali . It is particularly important to be clear about where we stand , for the attackers said things that cannot be allowed to go unchallenged . They said they were avenging the prophet . That was wrong . In fact ,  it is the message of Islam, our principles and values, that have been betrayed and tainted . They refer to Islam to justify what they did . From a religious viewpoint, I feel it is my responsibility to say that this has nothing to do with the message of our religion . I would expect anyone, if something was happening in the name of their country or in the name of their religion, to take a stand . As a Muslim scholar I have to take that stand . That said , there is also a wider political side to this equation . We condemn what happened in France . We condemn the violent extremism that is targeting westerners . But it is not only westerners . We are reacting emotionally because 12 people were killed in Paris , but there are hundreds being killed day in, day out in Syria and Iraq , and still we send more bombs . We have to look at the big picture . Lives matter , but it is important to be clear that the lives of Muslims in Muslim majority countries have as much value as our own lives in the west . What happened this week is a tragedy heightened by familiarity , for I met the cartoonist Charb (Stephane Charbonnier), the editor of Charlie Hebdo , who was among those killed on Wednesday . We had a debate in which I told him that I respected his freedom to say whatever he wanted to say, and that there was no justification for any kind of censorship . But I also told him that he had to be clear about the way he was using that right . In 2008 his magazine fired a cartoonist who made a joke about a Jewish link to President Sarkozy's son . Where was the freedom of expression there, I asked the satirical magazine . I was told that when it comes to freedom of expression that there are limits, not everything can be said . The double standard is troubling, to say the least . I am shocked that something as terrible as this has happened to Charb and his colleagues, but less surprised that there was a backlash against them . There had been controversy concerning Charlie Hebdo on an almost six-monthly basis, and lots of threats . To have a sense of humour is fine, I told them , but to target an already stigmatised people in France is not really showing much courage . The shootings have been described as an act of war . I can understand why some might characterise it that way . But they are wrong to do so , for isn't this exactly what the violent extremists such as Da'esh, so-called Islamic State, want? They want to say the west is at war with Islam , but if we are to take the action of marginal groups and use that as evidence that there is a war between Islam and the west , aren't we merely falling into a trap? George Bush fell into that very trap immediately after 9/11 by calling it the war on terror , but actually he promoted it with his rhetoric . The most we can reasonably say now is that we are at war with violent extremists , wherever they are coming from . But why play that game at all? Let's be specific: these are criminals exploiting Islam . The great majority of the victims are actually Muslim . There are tensions in many countries , but things have been very difficult of late in France . Two recently published books reflect the atmosphere: very negative and very demoralising . The French Suicide by Eric Zemmour expresses the fear that millions of Muslims might be colonising and transforming the country (he is hoping they will be helped to leave) , and Michel Houellebecq's novel Submission, which predicts that in 2022 an Islamic party will take over France . Three years ago, Houellebecq said Islam was the most stupid religion in the world . In the UK, in terms of daily life, the situation is better . There isn't that feeling of permanent stigmatisation in the discourse as happens in France . But even so, things feel as if they are changing for the worse . It is no accident that Ukip has been on the rise , and in such a climate one feels the public discourse changing . There are parties happy to target migrants and to target Muslims . It's a drift we have to stop , for in my view we actually have a shared responsibility . Politicians, intellectuals, journalists, Muslims and people of other faiths (or none) must be clear and united about our common principles . We need politicians with more on their minds than winning the next election . One sees difficult days ahead as yesterday's dramatic events in France showed ; and there is the issue of media organisations intent on publishing the most offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoons, claiming that it would strike a blow for free speech . I support free speech , but I would urge them to desist , for what they plan to do is not courageous and will do nothing to afford people dignity . It will be another example of targeting all Muslims . It would say that if our fellow Muslim citizens are not part of the equation, we will target not the extremists- but Islam itself . It would hand the extremists a victory they could scarcely have achieved for themselves .

SOLUTION: We have to condemn what happened in Paris absolutely

PROBLEM: EEOC: School wrong to fire teacher who gave Bible to student. A New Jersey school district violated the law when it fired a teacher who handed a Bible to a student , the U.S  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled on December 15, 2014 . The ruling was made public Tuesday . The EEOC determined there was reasonable cause to believe the Phillipsburg School District discriminated against Walt Tutka, a substitute teacher . The EEOC also said religion and retaliation played a factor in Tutka's firing . "This is a great indication the EEOC is taking religious liberty seriously and they are going to enforce the law-- and in this case make sure Walt's rights are protected," Liberty Institute attorney Hiram Sasser told me . Liberty Institute is a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases . "This sends a message to school districts that their natural allergic reaction to religion is misplaced, and not only is it wrong-- but it's also an egregious violation of the law," Sasser said . As I first reported, Tutka was working as a substitute teacher on Oct  12, 2013 , when he ran afoul of school policies . He told a straggling student at the end of a line, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." The student asked on a number of occasions where the line was from , and Tutka told him it was from the Bible . When he discovered the child did not have a Bible , Tutka gave him his personal copy . It was not all that unusual because Tutka is a member of Gideons International, a ministry known for providing Bibles to school children across the world . On Oct  18, Tutka was summoned to the principal's office , where he was accused of violating a school policy that bans the distribution of religious materials and another that directs teachers to be neutral when discussion religious material . He was fired on Jan  14 . Sasser said he hopes the school district will reinstate Tutka . "If they don't do the right thing, they will face some serious consequences," he told me . "They are going to be liable for damages." I reached out to George Chando, the superintendent of the Phillipsburg School District . He declined to return my call . My advice to him is to do the right thing , or Liberty Institute will go after him like a pit bull going after a pork chop . Sasser said the EEOC ruling should serve as a warning to other school districts around the nation . "You can't just fire people because they happen to hand a Bible to somebody while they are at work," he said . Sasser said he believes the school district was out to get Walt because he is a Gideon . I obtained a copy of an email from Phillipsburg Middle School Assistant Principal John Stillo that suggest the school district had an issue with the well-known religious group . "It has been brought to the administration's attention that Gideons may be near our campus to distribute literature to our students," Stillo wrote in a memo to the school's staff . "Please make sure they DO NOT step foot onto our campus at any time. There will be added police and security presence at dismissal." Gideon International has a long history of providing Bibles to public school students , but many districts have banned the religious society in recent years . Ironically, the Gideons are welcome to distribute Bibles and deliver speeches in Russian schools . The Phillipsburg School District should rehire Walt . And it owes him a big apology . They waged a disgusting public war against this fine, upstanding man simply because he gave a child a Bible . Shame on you, Phillipsburg School District . Shame on you .

SOLUTION:
A New Jersey school district violated the law when it fired a teacher who handed a Bible to a student the U.S  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled on December 15, 2014