Detained U.S. hikers get engaged in Iranian prison, relatives say

Of the three hikers that were detained in Iran 10 months, two of them have become engaged. Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd have decided to get married while over in prison in Iran. Shane engaged on the front lawn when the news of their mothers applying for visas was heard. Josh Fattal, the third hiker, has been choosen as the best man for the wedding. They are not sure when the wedding is going to take place because of how the hikers have not yet been formerly charged and it is also said that they will stand trial for espionage charges. The families are overjoyed and cannot wait for them to be set free so they can start planning.

I think it is great that in this time of need for the three that there can be at least a little hope for the future. They have no idea what is going to happen with their situation in the next few months but at least they are together and happy. I think it is really cute that Shane made rings out of a string from his shirt for the two of them to wear while they are stuck in Iran. I hope that they will be set free as soon as possible so that they can start their lives back over in the States and can have the wedding that they are dreaming of right now. Good luck to them. That is wonderful news to hear.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/24/iran.hikers.engaged/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Suge Knight is '100 percent innocent,' lawyer says

Suge Knight was arrested and charge with assault with a deadly weapon involving a firearm and also driving with a suspended license. This happened when an unidentified man told police Knight had pointed a gun at him, police later found Knight driving around the same area with a suspended license. Knight was arrested on the spot without incident. Knight's lawyer says he is 100% innocent and that the man that made this accusations is lying. Knight's lawyer says he was only driving in the area to meet with a potential client. Knight posted bail of $60,000 and was released from jail. Knight's lawyer says he should be cleared of all charges because Knight is not someone that would carry a gun on him. He did not do this and shouldn't be charged with the crime. Knight's lawyer says that the man who accused Knight should be the one that needs to be investigated.

We are all innocent until proven guilty, right? It seems as if the police might be looking at Knight's past and 'assuming' he is guilty because of how he was with Tupac when he was shot and killed and that murder has yet to be solved. I feel that Knight needs to be proven guilty before any allegations can be made/proved. They need to show the evidence that he was involved with the man who is accusing Knight of assault with a deadly weapon involving a firearm. Yes, Knight deserves his punishment for driving with a suspended license, he did do that, there's proof. Yet, if there's no proof of him pointing a gun at this man how can you know that he was really involved? This man could have made the whole story up just because he was angry with Knight for not doing what this man wanted. Or, Knight could have pointed the gun at him and evidence will be found and he will be served with the proper punishment. No one is above the law. Someone will be found guilty.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/21/suge.knight.arrested/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Mothers meet with detained hikers in Iran, report says

The mothers of the three hikers detained while accidently crossing over into the Iranian border when hiking in Iraq were able to see their children. It took them six months to be able to get the visas to allow them to go see their children. It was a tearful reunion said reporters. The mothers are also asking for a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There is no word on if that meeting is going to happen or not. The three hikers are said to be charged with espionage and put on trial. Swish have been representing the Americans in this case.

I think it is good the mothers were able to see their children. They have been detained for almost a year now. I do find it a little ridiculous that they think the hikers were spies, though. I don't see how accidently crossing over the border makes you a spy but I guess it is a matter of national security for the Iranians so it is important to them. As long as everyone is treated with the rights they deserve it will all work out. I do hope that these hikers are either tried or sent home soon though. They have been away from home in detainment for a very long time and they deserve some answers.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/20/iran.hikers.mothers/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Boosting the Minimum

Minimum wage has been a topic of argument for many years. People were angry with minimum wage being at $5.15 so they created efforts to raise it to $7.25 an hour. They wanted this so that it would raise the take home pay for millions of Americans around the nation. This raise helped many people in poverty-with the help of food stamps and Earned Income Tax Credit- out of poverty. In May 2007 Congress signed a large Iraq war funding bill that included the raise in minimum wage and gave small businesses tax breaks. Even with the new law in place, arguments still continue over the minimum wage. There are many supporters to the federal minimum age and many people that are against the minimum wage. Some supporters say that it will positively affect the lives of millions of American workers. It will give more people money that they can spend which will positively affect the economy and counter any negative effect from businesses raising prices to cover increased wages. Some of the people against minimum wage say that raising it is counterproductive. They say poverty only affects a small percentage of Americans and most of the people earning minimum wage are teenagers who aren't living in poverty anyway. Also, critics say that the market works best for the economy when the laws of supply and demand determine wages.

I feel that we should keep raising the minimum wage to increase the amount of disposable income that low-income families will have. Yes, teens are the majority of workforce earning minimum wage, but that will also give us teens more disposable income to spend to help out the economy and keep prices for products reasonable. People earning minimum wage are being paid that to keep them above the poverty threshold. That's the whole point of setting a minimum wage, but yet people that are only being paid minimum wage aren't even close to being above that line. Most are acutally below it. So, why is it that people being paid minimum wage have to be on multiple federal programs to become above that line? Why do they have to rely on food stamps and the EITC to get by every month. Not to mention if they have families to pay for as well. We need to continue to keep raising the minimum wage as the cost of living becomes higher because we don't want millions of our workforce to be in poverty and only a small percentage of high paid workers ruling the nation. Article at the New York Times on Minimum wage.

Putting Welfare to Work, All Things Being Unequal

House passes Senate's health care 'fixes' bill

So the House of Representatives passed a little bit different bill than the Senate passed initially on Thursday night. So this "fixes" bill was sent back to the Senate and was approved by a 220-207 vote. And now the healthcare bill put into law once Obama signs it. Democrats are very happy with this bill being passed because they have been working on a bill like this for almost a century. Republicans are not so happy as the Democrats because they've been fighting against a bill like this for the same amount of time.

I personally do not like the bill. It has things that do not even apply to healthcare that are now going to be regulated. For example, student loans. In what universe are student loans and healthcare related? Why is it okay for politicians to make under the table deals in order to pass bills into law? I have also heard that there is 100 million dollars going to some hospital so that a representative would change their vote from no to yes, all because the Democrats feel that this bill is the right way to go to "help" the American people. I personally do not like the bill. They try to make it sound good by telling us young adults we can stay on our parents' insurance until we are 26 and all of the other "good" things about this bill. But really we are going to be paying for it and it will just make our social security and medicare disappear even fast than they already are. I do not agree with Obama and the Democrats that this is a monumental advancement. I feel that this is taking away our freedoms and it shouldn't have passed in the first place. Get out of Washington.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/health.care.main/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Volcano erupts in Iceland; hundreds evacuated

A volcano erupted in Iceland Sunday. More than 600 people were evacuated to a safer area as scientists monitored the fissure where lava was erupting. It was a volcano that had erupted for the first time since 1821 that was underneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. The fissure measured 1,620 to 3,281 feet. Even though the eruption was in a remote area, if the eruption moves further towards the glacier it could cause dangerous flooding. The Eyjafjallajokull glacier is about 100 miles from the capital of Iceland.

I think volcanoes themselves are pretty amazing. I do not feel that people having to be moved from their homes and put on watch for major flooding is very amazing. I'm glad that scientists were monitoring this eruption and got people out of there in a safe amount of time. I hope that their homes are going to be safe as well. At least they can rebuild homes, you can't however bring someone back from the dead if they got trapped from the volcano. I also hope that no one becomes injured or trapped from the possible flooding that could also occur with this eruption. Hopefully scientists can monitor this and keep people safe.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/21/iceland.volcano/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

Teacher-student sex 'never the kid's fault'

33-year-old Amy Beck has reported herself to the authorities because of the guilt she has been carrying after she had an inappropriate sexual relations with a 14-year-old student. Amy Beck was a 6th-grade teacher in Burbank, California. She has now resigned and is currently being held in the jail. She is being charged with 4 counts of sex with a person under 16, and 1 count of oral copulation. She is married to a police officer with three children and has been teaching for ten years. Her arraignment was supposed to be held on Wednesday but has been postponed until March 25.

I think this is quite disturbing. How can a teacher let themselves be put in that situation? I cannot believe that this 33-year-old mother of 3 could do such a grotesque action. How can you allow yourself to have sexual intercourse with someone that is 19-years younger than you. She is an adult and this poor child was being taken advantage of. He didn't know that it was wrong. He just knew that it was pleasurable. She should have never let this happen. Now, this poor child is going to be messed up for the rest of his life. He probably just thought that they were in a loving relationship. And now that this news has broke, he doesn't know what to think anymore. How can you mess with someone little kids head like this? I cannot believe what this world is coming to. Teachers should never let this type of situtations even occur that would spark something like this. They are they adults they should know better. This is disgusting.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/12/teacher.student.sex.scandal/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Police: Couple nurtured virtual child while real baby starved

A toddler starved to death in South Korea because her parents were too busy escaping reality by taking care of a virtual child. At Prius Online, a 3-D game, you can raise a virtual baby, Anima, with supernatural powers that grow and increase as she does. The parents were only feeding their real premature daughter once a day between stretches of playing Prius Online at a local internet cafe.

I feel that this is a ridiculous excuse for killing your baby. How can you forget about your living, breathing child? This is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever heard! I just cannot believe how someone can actually forget about a living person. These parents had lost their jobs and were trying to escape but that does not give them any reason to only feed their baby once a day between silly game stretches. I hope that these people are put in jail or at least something like this. I cannot believe that someone can forget about their child like this. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have ever heard of. They killed their own child for goodness sake!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/07/south.korea.baby.dead/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)

2 U.S. Army pilots killed in Iraq helicopter accident

On Sunday, there was a military helicopter accident that ended up killing two U.S. Army pilots. The aircraft has said to have made a hard landing inside Contingency Operating Base Speicher in northern Iraq. It has also been said that no enemy forces or hostile fire was present in the accident. The names of the pilots have been withheld due to family notification. These soldiers were assigned to Task Force Marne, which takes care of operations in northern Iraq. The location of the base is also being withheld.

I feel very sorry for the families of soldiers that were killed in this tragic accident. I would not like to hear about this accident over the news and then later find out that it was your family member that was killed in the crash. It is very unfortunate that this had to happen to these brave persons that are fighting for our country. I am proud of our military for putting up with all of the attacks and stress they have to go through everyday to keep our country safe from harm. I am also very proud of every military family that has to go through the stress and worry that is involved with having a service member in the family. I hope that these two soldiers will be remembered for what they were doing to keep us safe and that their actions will never be forgotten.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/21/iraq.main/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Spending We Can Afford

The government issued a new way of being able to spend in 2007. They deemed it "paygo". It was a bill that allows Congress to participate in a pay-as-you-budgeting system. Paygo requires that any tax cuts or increase in entitlement spending be balanced with spending reductions in other areas. If they feel that they are spending an excessive amount in one area, they need to reduce spending another to balance out the total spending. Some say that Paygo will hold Congress to spend only what you can afford. It will help force Congress to eleminate wasteful spending and collect unpaid taxes, which will in turn, raise money to cover the National Debt. Others don't feel so warm to the idea. They believe that Paygo will result in tax hikes for Americans that will hurt them in the long run. They believe Paygo will be doing more hurt than good.

I feel that this "paygo" system could work. It makes sense that Congress can only be allowed to spend so much, and in turn they much spend less on one thing than another to achieve that goal of spending only what they can afford. Another plus of this system is that it can be suspended if in a recession or crisis, which is very good for out economy considering we are already in a recession. I believe that this system could actually help Congress get control over the crazy Nation Debt that is being added to by the second in our country. Another supporter of this bill is President Obama. He stated that we was very please that this bill was passed into law during his February Press Release.

For more issues relating to the national budget: Social Insecurity, War Dollars

Snowbound mid-Atlantic faces monumental shovel-out

Snowmageddon is what they are calling the 55 inches of snow that has fallen on the mid-Atlantic this past week. The major snowfall came in two days with record snow fall totals in many cities,
including, Washington, Baltimore, and Wilmington. And other cities, including, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Atlantic City, and New Jersey are on their way to setting records. In Washington, government workers were told to stay home for four days before the snow was cleared enough for them to get back to work. Not only did the government enjoy a holiday, but the students in Washington also enjoyed their three snow days in a row. Airports all over the region were closed with hundreds and sometimes thousands of flights cancelled due to the over whelming amounts of snow that fell. There were also multiple multiple car pile ups on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania. One crash included 17 cars, and they other seven cars. Unfortunately one person did lose their life, but only one was seriously injured.

I love snow. I think it is a little funny how this amount of snow has literally shut down some cities to the point where they cannot even function. I believe that is this amount of snow had fallen say on our region here in Minnesota, that we would have had maybe a little trouble, but we would have still been able to go on with our lives. I would have loved the three day snow day that the children got to enjoy, but I do not believe that our workers and parents would have had too much trouble getting to work. I believe that we here in Minnesota are a little bit more adaptable to large amounts of snowfall. We ourselves have received large amounts of snow this winter, not quite as much as 55 inches in one sitting, but we did have a nice amount that fell last week with totals near 12 inches. I am a little surprised, but than again not quite so much at how long it took the regions to come back and get going after all of that snow that did fall. Yet, if you think about it 55 inches is almost as tall as I myself am. That would be a lot of snow to try and snowplow off of your driveway, sidewalks, and streets. I personally am jealous of all of the snow that region has received and wish that it was us here in Minnesota that was receiving the record snow totals versus the Capital that doesn't quite appreciated the beauty that causing them to miss work for four days.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/02/11/winter.storm/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

John Edwards admits he fathered child with mistress

John Edwards is finally admitting that he infact is the father of Rielle Hunter's daughter, Quinn. During his previous run for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination he denied his fathering to Ms. Hunter's new born. He did however admitt his affair with Ms. Hunter. He claimed at the time that his affair ended before Ms. Hunter became pregnant. During the campaign, Ms. Hunter was paid $114,000 to travel with Edward's entourage. When Ms. Hunter gave birth in 2008, Edward's denied fathering this child for over a year. Now, he is admitting it. "'I am Quinn's father,' his statement said. 'I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.'"

Apparently, for politicians it's ok to deny your child, and then go change your mind and claim them back. It's ok to lie and pay off the woman involved in the scandal. It's ok to cheat on your wife. Why is it that almost everytime you hear about a scandal, it involves some sort of person in power, for example, politicians. I feel that it is extremely dishonorable for Edwards to not only deny the child as his own, but to have the long term affair in the first place! What gives him the right to cheat on his wife and then deny it. So, now that time has past and he has 'decided' it's 'ok' to admit his involvment and the fact that he fathered a child with this women, now he says that that child will get 'the love and affection she deserves'. How would you feel if your father denied involvment with your mother, and then later admitted it, and then later denied the fact that he was your father, and then later admits it! What type of childhood will this poor girl grow up in? Who will save her from the affects of everyone knowing this scandal and telling her about it all her life? Who will help her? John Edwards sure isn't going to help much, considering he is the main problem with this scandal.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/edwards.baby/index.html?hpt=T2

Judge rules enough evidence to hold officer on murder charge

Oscar Grant III was shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle on New Year's Day. Mehserle was a transit officer at in Oakland, California. He resigned a few days after the incident was found on the internet. A rainy phone video was taken by a witness of the event. One officer was kneeling on Grant, holding him down, while Mehserle is seen taking out his gun and shooting Grant in the back, killing him. Some say that Mehserle meant to grab for his Taser not his gun, but none will ever know for sure what was really going on. Mehserle was released on $3 million bail, which upset many people and fueled more demonstrations. The Grant family is filing a $50 million wrongful death suit against Mehserle.

I am a little surprised that I do not remember this happening on New Year's. I do not think I ever heard of this incident. I do not understand it either. I do not know if I should believe that Mehserle was reaching for his Taser instead of his gun and "accidently" picked the wrong one. Or if I Should believe that he meant to grab his gun and shoot Grant. It's a very tricky subject to discuss. Maybe Mehserle did accidently grab his gun, but would that change things? Probably not. Grant is still dead. His family will still mourne his death. Nothing can bring him back. I do think that it is good that the Grant family is filing a suit against Mehserle. I do not believe that someone should have died over a small transit fight. Especially shot by police, the people that are supposed to protect and serve. Not shoot from behind and kill.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/04/bart.transit.officer.murder.charge/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Wal-Mart: We're hiring 22,000

Need a job? Walmart is hiring this year. They are reportedly going to open 142 to 157 new or expanded stores in the United States in 2009. States with new or expanded stores opening that will be hiring new workers include, Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. The new or expanded stores opening this year is fewer than the number of stores that were opened in 2008, but the company is not specifying that exact number from the previous year. Walmart hired 33,000 people last year, this years projected number is less by almost 11,000 people at 22,000 new jobs that will be needed to be filled this year. These jobs include cashiers and sales associates, as well as pharmacists, human resource managers and customer service associates. They are also going to fill their business units. This information came out before the May report on national employment. The national unemployment rate has risen to a 25-year high to %9.2.

I think that it this is great. It does not really make a huge dent in the unemployment numbers but it will at least get 22,000 people a job that did not have one before. The economy is terrible so any way that people can get it moving again is always good! I cannot believe that the nation unemployment rate is so high now. A 25-year high of %9.2! That is just crazy. We should really get on that and do something about that so nothing like the Great Depression happens again. It is good that at least one company does not need the help of the Government to stay on its feet, too. For example, all of the insurance and car companies that needed/wanted a bailout to keep them going. As well as those car companies that filled for Bankruptcy. At least someone is still on their feet.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/companies/walmart_jobs/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories

Ex-soldier apologizes to Iraqi family for raping, killing

Ex-solider, Steven Green, apologized to the family he hurt while a soldier in Iraq. He had raped a 14-year-old girl and killed her, killed her parents and 6-year-old brother while in Iraq. He was discharged from the army as soon as the crimes surfaced, so he was charged in a civilian court in Kentucky. The jury could not unanimously decide on the death penalty so as law states the judge charged him with life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Iraq family members of the family the Green killed did not accept his apology. They refused. Green said, "you wish I was dead, and I do not hold that against you. If I was in your place, I am convinced beyond any doubt that I would feel the same way. I know that I have done evil, and I fear that the wrath of the Lord will come upon me on that day. But, I hope that you and your family at least can find some comfort in God's justice." Green was one of the five soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division that has been charged with crimes and a subsequent cover-up.

I think that this is disgusting. I completely agree with Amanda on this one. The family should not have accepted his apology. There is absolutely nothing that he can do to make them forgive him, especially not just by saying he's sorry. Yes, he can not really do anything to make the family members come back and to take away his actions, but they should not have to accept his apology for that. He brutally murdered an entire family! That is just something I do not understand, how can people do those types of things? I supposed that the war got to him and made him crazy, but who knows? I'm not going to make up excuses for him. He definitely does not deserve it, that is for sure. I believe that he got the sentence he deserved. Two wrongs does not make a right, like Amanda said. Just because he killed that family does not mean that he should be killed as well. What good does that do? He will have never learned from his mistakes and will just be gone. No good will have been done. He deserves to sit in prison for the rest of his life and to think about all the terrible things he has brought onto that poor family.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/28/kentucky.iraq.murder/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

4 teens charged as adults in locker room sexual assault case

Randall John Moye, 14; Raymond A. Price-Murray, 14; Lee Louis Myers, 14; and Diamante J. Roberts, 15 have all been charged with four counts each of sexual battery. They have allegedly been sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy with broomsticks and a hockey stick for two months. All four are being charged as adults. Prosecutor Kimberly Hindman stated that two of the boys held down the victim while the other two violently sodomized him with hockey stick and broomsticks. There were multiple witnesses to these crimes as they were being committed but no one reported them, including the victim. The investigation started with a fight that started on the football field and continued into the locker room. During this fight the victim screamed, "I'm tired of them getting on me," Hindman said. All four of the defendants admitted to the crimes in a written statement. The bond for each defendant was set at $15,000, also all but one of them have to wear ankle monitors, the one that does not, has left the area. The defendants could spend up to 120 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.

This makes me sick to my stomach. Reading about this, I almost became ill. How could these boys do this to that 13-year-old victim and no one reports it? It was stated that MULTIPLE people witnessed the crimes in process and no one ever said anything. How can you stand by and watch something like that, with the victim screaming for them to stop, and not try and help? I just can not believe that people could just walk past it and not say anything! It's amazing to me. How can you be so cruel as to not help this poor kid out? He's being raped and harassed and abused and you just walk by and do not try to stop it? I just can not believe people could do that. I hope that these boys are convicted. They do not deserve to go free in anyway. They should definitely go to jail for what they did. It is horrific. It really makes me sick to my stomach. How can people be so cruel and messed up in the head to think that that is okay to do to someone? Those four boys do deserve to go to jail for that 120 years. They do not deserve to have a life after what they did to that poor young boys. He is going to be haunted for the rest of his life because of those four, he will never forget what they did to them. They should never have to forget what they did. I hope it haunts them for the rest of their lives. They do not deserve to be free.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/04/florida.sexual.assault/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Tyson's daughter dies after accident, police say

Heavy weight champion Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. local time Tuesday. She was on life support before she passed and was in critical condition. Her older brother had found her the day earlier strangled with one of the cords on the families treadmill in their Phoenix home in Arizona. The boy called his mother and she untangled her and tried to perform CPR while calling 911 but by the time the emergency workers arrived she already needed to be on life support. After an investigation, it was found that this was just a terrible accident that happened while she was supposedly playing on the treadmill like it was on.

I believe that this is a terrible accident. The article said that about 1,000 children under the age of 14 die of unintentional strangulation each year. This is an alarming number. I did not know that this many children die each year from this. The article also said that 88 percent of the children are under the age of 4. This is just terrible to think about. It is a shame that we can child proof and child proof our homes, but it is still not enough sometimes. It is terrbile that some children are killed by the very things that they live with everyday. I cannot even begin to think of how the Tyson is feeling, or what they are going through. I feel terrible for them and anyone else who has lost their children for any reason. I cannot believe that this happened.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/26/arizona.tyson.daughter/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Saudi judge: It's OK to slap spendthrift wives

Recently, Judge Hamad Al-Razine, from Saudi Arabia, stated, "if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment." The women in the court house heard this and were outraged. They were shocked to hear this from a judge. Arab News said that Al-Razine was trying to state the reason for domestic violence in Saudi Arabia. He said that women and men shared their responsibilities, but added that "nobody puts even a fraction of blame" on women, Arab News said. Al-Razine "also pointed out that women's indecent behavior and use of offensive words against their husbands were some of the reasons for domestic violence in the country," it added. Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider told CNN, "This is how men in Saudi Arabia see women. It's not something they read in a book or learned from a friend. They've been raised to see women this way, that they're less than a person."

I believe that this Judge said some things that were very ignorant. I think that these men have been brought up to see women as someone that is not a person. I cannot believe that countries still have these beliefs. I do not understand this custom because I was not brought up in this way. I do not understand how someone can even believe this. I know how you are brought up, is how you are going to act when you do grow up, but I still do not undersatnd. How can you look at someone that is just a different gender than you and believe that you are better than them, just because of that difference between you? Sexist beliefs that this should not be practiced, I believe. It is just something that I feel is completely wrong. You cannot be better than someone else just because you may be a different gender. I feel that this judge was completely out of line when he made this comment and ruling. I thought that if you were a judge you were supposed to have an unbiased opinion and that you were just supposed to rule on justice and what is right and wrong. It seems to me that this judge had already made up his mind on who he was going to side with before he even started this case. I think it is wrong that this judge made such a sexist comment, and that he should not have made his ruling on his opinions but on justice instead.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/05/10/saudi.court.wife.slapping/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo

Police say that on Friday, a woman jumped over a fence and into the water habitat of the polar bears at the Berlin Zoo. She jumped into their water during feeding time. The polar bears proceeded to attack her. Biting her and hitting her. The zookeepers then threw out life perservers and rescue rings into the water to try and get her out. They also used the rescue rings to distract the other polar bears while they tried to hoist her out of the water. At one point they had her but she ended up falling back into the water and grabbed by another bear. The zookeepers did eventually get her out of the habitat to safety. She is now being treated at a nearby hospital with severe injuries. No one knows why she went into the polar bear habitat, but the police did issue her with a trespassing citation.



I believe that she woman must not have known what she was really doing. Especially since she went into the habitat during feeding time. I mean really, why would you want to go into a polar bear habitat at all? Yes, they are cute and fluffy from behind the fence, but once you are inside the fenced in area, they can be killers. I honestly do not understand why someone would want to go into a polar bear habitat, other than if you were a trained professional who was feeding them or something. Even then I do not understand why you would want to go in there. I am glad that the zookeepers managed to get her out of the water and save her life. That is an amazing thing that they did. I just do not understand how or why this woman decided to go into the habitat. It really does not make any sense what so ever to me. It is basically common sense that you do not, under any circumstances, go into the cage. The only way I could see that she got into the cage would be falling in by accident. But that is why they have all of the fencing and barriers they do at zoos. So people don't fall in by accident. It is a very good thing that this woman is safe from the polar bears and I do hope that she makes a full recovery.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/11/polar.bear.attack/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Residents race to fill sandbags as flooding threatens North Dakota

The Red River Valley area in North Dakota and Minnesota is experiencing some of the worst weather lately. They are experiencing some very bad flooding because of all of the rain they have recieved lately. The Red River as of Monday was supposed to crest at about 40 ft during the weekend. Flood stage starts at 17 ft. The River continues to rise as they keep getting the worst types of weather when in flood stages. They need more than 1 million sandbags to save more than 6,000 homes that are in danger. As of now they only have 310,000 sandbags ready to go. That is definetly not enough to have when they need 1.5 million to be on the safe side. The National Guard and FEMA have been helping out. Yet, it is still not enough. Citizens have really stepped up and have been going out to help sandbag as well. Hopefully it will be enough to save those homes that people are so desperately trying to save.

I agree with Lauren on this subject. I also love the fact that people are giving up their time to go and help when people are in need. This is a crisis that needs to be taken care of as much as we possibly can. We can't really control and really know how Mother Nature is going to change and affect us, but we can prepare for it as best as we can and hope that it is all enough. It's quite amazing what some rain and snow can do to a River. Its quite amazing what mother nature can do when you let it. I cannot believe that all of this flooding and crisis has happened in such a short amout of time. It looks like the Red River Valley might even have more flooding than their record from years ago. The river is going to crest pretty high and hopefully all of the efforts to save those houses with sandbags and levies will be enough. It will be a devastating thing to clean up when it is all over, as well. Hopefully someone is watching out for them from upstairs.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/23/dakota.flooding/index.html?iref=newssearch