Circus Elephant Down!!!!

      In our current day and age, we have been bombarded by various shootings at places like movie theatres, schools, and malls. The big question that we all ask is, "Are we safe at all anymore?" Apparently, not even a circus elephant is safe from the danger of guns as displayed this past Tuesday in Tupelo , Mississippi.

      A 39-year-old Asian circus elephant called Carol was shot in a drive- by shooting this Tuesday at 2 a.m. The bullet struck poor Carol her neck right in between her shoulder and her ear, but it is believed she will make a full recovery. The local authorities believe that the attack was deliberate and premeditated. The vehicle that was seen on the scene and that is being sought for is a silver or white Ford Explorer. Carol is a member of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and  Bailey Circus that carries the tag line "The Greatest Show on Earth. The show will go on according to the circus, but Carol will spend several weeks in Missouri recovering. The reward for information leading to the conviction of these idiotic criminals is $24,000 and part of it will come from the U.S. government because Asian elephants are endangered.

       It is sad to think that today not even an elephant is safe from the malicious crimes like this one. Guns don't cause the problem people do, that is my view on the entire thing. Therefore, why does our government allow mentally unstable people get weapons and then go commit pointless crimes like this one. Did Carol do anything to there morons in Missouri? Was that bullet wound that she received in her neck avoidable? I like to believe that it was avoidable, but in the way our society is going pretty soon crimes like these will seem like a normal part of society. They will look common life in America like how there's traffic to your job or how there are gangs. People won't look for a solution; they will just accept that there is no way to fix the problem. Am I completely off here? Will people always see random shootings a wrong thing? Do you think it will ever become a culture norm?

Link to original article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/10/us/mississippi-circus-elephant-shot/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Will North Korea go through with it?

Over the past few months, North Korea has been threatening us Americans with nuclear weapons. They have not only threatened us, but they have thrown threats at our allies in South Korea. The situation seems to be getting more tense as each day goes by ; therefore, there are no signs of the North Koreans being willing to back down. Their latest threat would not affect our shores, but it would cause harm to us just the same.

This past Thursday the Supreme Command of the Korean's People's Army came on to the state run  news channel to announce North Korea's latest threat. The Supreme Command told the United States to remember that the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam and the  naval bases in Okinawa and Japan proper are in ,"the striking range of the DPRK's precision strike means. "DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the name that North Korea is officially known by. The United States believes that the North Korean nuclear weapons aren't ready, but these bases are in the range of their conventional weapons.

The North Koreans issued this threat  after B-52 bombers were seen make their annually test flight over South Korea. They are apparently responding to our, "nuclear blackmail and threat." . Their primary motive seems to lift up their regime, but they also seem to be upset by the UN sanctions that happened recently.

The North Koreans truly seem to be acting insane. They are going after the strongest military power in the world just to lift their people's opinion of the regime. They don't see that they are obviously going to lose, with or without a war. Most of The UN voted against them including one of their closest allies China. Apparently, based on the facts that I received from this article, North Korea just wants to destroy the United States so that they can brag to their own people about how mighty they are. This is like a chiwawa going up against a pitbull. Of course, the chiwawa may think he is going to win, but from any onlooker the chiwawa challenging the pitbull looks psychotic. This same scenario applies to North Korea. Must onlookers don't just acknowledge that North Korea has lost its mind, but they laugh at them as well.

What do you think? Should the North Koreans just go back to being a silent isolated country and  drop the entire nuclear war thing? Do you think the chiwawa has any chance of defeating the pitbull?

Read the original article here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/world/asia/north-korea-threats/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

Los Angles Officer Manhunt is Linked with Racism

The origin of the recent Los Angles officer police hunt is linked with the L.A.P.D's history of racism. In decades past, the department was known for its racism against black and Latino people. One example of this abuse came in 1992 when the Los Angeles Police Department beat a black man, Rodney King. This beating was caught on tape and made its way to televisions all over the country. It now seems that the departments past actions are coming back to haunt them due to Christopher J. Dorner.

Christopher Dorner's online manifesto not only pledged his revenge against all L.A.P.D officers and their families, but it also claimed that his firing was due to racism showed by the L.A.P.D. However, his dismissal was actually due to him lying about his trainee kicking a suspect. His career as an officer for the L.A.P.D actual only lasted about three years, from 2005-2008. The Chief Charlie Beck is reopening Dorner's case to let people's trust with the department grow. He wants to show that the department is no longer extremely racist and to repair relations with the black and Latino peoples of Los Angles. However, he does emphasize that reopening the case won't let Dorner off the hook.

The manhunt has already gone to extremes. Dorner has already shot and killed three people, an officer's daughter, her fiancé, and an officer.. On Thursday morning, a truck that looked like Dorner's was repeatedly shot at, but it was actually only a truck with two women delivering newspapers. Both women survived and the police department is going to provide the women with a new truck. The manhunt now involves the L.A.P.D, the San Diego Police Department, the Riverside Police Department, various police departments in Nevada, The United States Marshal Service, and the F.B.I.

It was very surprising when I heard that the root of this problem was racism. This further drives home the point that racism is one of largest atrocities that has ever existed. Dorner's entire drive is that he feels that racism cost him his employment. This doesn't justify his actions of revenge, but it should make us all think about how we treat other people. The way we treat others can drive them insane because they will feel like they're garbage if we offend them. We don't have the right to belittle anyone because of their differences. The next time you want to insult someone you should think about Christopher Dorner and his revenge quest due to how poorly people treated him.


To see the article click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/us/los-angeles-police-to-reopen-dorner-case.html?ref=us&_r=0#h[MDpHiw,2,TkaTbw,2,4,TshTsh]

To see a timeline of the manhunt click here: http://timelines.latimes.com/statewide-manhunt-ex-lapd-officer/

You Can Be Too Extreme

The X-Games, as we all should suspect, are full of grown men risking their lives for the joy of competing in extreme sports. The X-Games have been coming under heavy fire recently due to a tragic event. Granted, these games have never been accident free, but they hadn't caused death until now. The 18 year track record for the X- Games was finally broken by Caleb Moore's death this past Thursday.

Caleb Moore, 25 years old, was competing in a snowmobile event in the Winter X-Games. Tragedy came when Caleb attempted a back flip using his vehicle. He crash landed and was knocked out by his snowmobile as he tumbled down the hill. A medical team began treating him, but he was taken to Aspen Valley Hospital shortly afterwards due to the severity of his injury. Ironically, his brother Colten Moore was taken to the hospital only thirty minutes after his brother due to injuries being sustained in his run. However, Colten got the "easy end" by just receiving a separated pelvis. He was able to leave the hospital the next day. Caleb’s injury was much worse. He was bleeding near his heart; therefore, he had to have surgery done to repair it. This surgery led to a complication in his brain that proved to be fatal. ESPN, official organizer of the X-Games, said they would review their protocols to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

This is a useless waste of a life. The only benefit I can pull out of this situation is that at least Caleb died doing something he loved, but even that isn't good enough. Why do these people willingly risk their lives? Organizations like ESPN and Red Bull, sponsor of the X- Games, have poured millions of dollars so we can watch grown men risk their lives. Is there a need for any of this? Obviously, this isn't the first injury at the Games. Jake Brown, for example, fell five stories while performing at the Mega Ramp in the 2007 Summer X-Games, one of six X-Games each year. Jake returned the following year to the Mega Ramp. In my opinion, this is a huge risk of life just to provide entertainment. I don't think the games can be stopped now due to the huge fan base; therefore, I agree that the safety should be reviewed to prevent any more deaths in the future. What do you think should be done to the X-Games? Do you believe that they should continue?

Here's the link to the original article
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/sports/snowmobile-rider-caleb-moore-dies-from-x-games-injuries.html?hp&_r=0

Here is a video of Caleb's fall as it was seen live by millions.

 

 

In case you have nothing better to do here is Jake Brown's fall off the Mega Ramp at the 2007 Summer X-Games.



Do We All Have a Voice?

Is a fetus a person? It is a question that has been hotly debated for years due to abortion. This action has now been legal in the United States for 40 years as of January 22, 2013. This latest case in Denver doesn't have to do with abortion, but it does add further fuel to the argument. On New Year's Day 2006, Lori Stodghill charged into St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Denver. She was throwing up and gasping for air. Suddenly, she had a heart attack right there in the lobby and died at the age of 31 along with the 28 week old twins she was carrying.

Jermy Stoghill, Lori's husband, then sued the hospital for not doing everything that was possible to save their lives. This case continued on for two years. Then, the defense, which included the Catholic hospital, made a surprising argument. They said that a fetus is not a person until it is alive. The court agreed with this point and Stodghill lost the case, but it got even worse for him. He got fined 118,000 dollars by the defendants due to legal fees. They also attempted to take his salary. Stodgill didn't give up ,even when the defendants said they would drop the charges if he did. Instead, he has asked the Colorado Supreme Court to hear the case and he also wants to hear from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church in response to this has said that it will review the Catholic Health Initiatives to check if they are still following the Church's teachings.

Read the full story here: :http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/26/us/colorado-fetus-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=us_c1

It is unfathomable for me to believe that a fetus is not a person. I believe that we are all here for God's purpose, even the unborn. We are naive to the fact that we are taking away natural rights from those who are not born yet because we think that our own rights are more important. The reason that abortion is around is due to the fact that most people still believe that the fetus is not a human being. The fetus is, in my opinion, a human being that is not fully developed. Why does the populace allow the killing of innocent lives just to give this unnecessary right to women? Why do they kill this unborn child when they get pregnant? They shouldn't be surprised that is the purpose of sexual intercourse, another thing that our fractured society has told us is okay to do all the time. Ponder on this. We were all fetuses once. We didn't have a voice and it was believed that we weren't really a person until our birth. So technically, that means that it would have been okay if our mothers went to an abortion clinic to kill us. Imagine a world without you. The belief that fetuses are not human will lead us to lose the value of life, a wonderful gift that God has given us.

Do you think that the belief that a fetus is not a human is right? Furthermore, do you think that abortion should continue? Why do think your anwser is correct?

How not to catch a train

I still see what happened here as unbelievable.

It happened in Philadelphia’s Chinatown last Tuesday at around 3:30 p.m. William Clark walked up to a 23- year old woman to apparently ask her for a lighter. They were the only ones at this Eighth and Race train stop. Then, out of nowhere the man started attacking the woman. This attack consisted of the man pulling her off of a bench and then dragging her toward train tracks. The woman was barely able to stand up at the edge of the tracks before this ill man pushed her off, took her cellphone, and left the scene. She miraculously was able to climb back up from the tracks with only minor injuries. This entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras, but the police didn’t released it because William, who is thought to be a mentally ill homeless man, was wearing distinct clothing, a jacket with a Tai Mahal logo, they were hoping find him with. William was caught and taken in on Thursday. The police see no clear motive for the attack.

I can't believe that in today's world we still have to be concerned with maniacs who assault innocent people. In the case of William, how did someone not notice that he had an issue early on in his life? Even if these issues are recent someone must have seen his issue before this attack. Why couldn't he have been treated before he got to the point of him injuring another human being? We should each be reliable and help each other out; therefore, if we see someone who has a mental issue for the safety of that person and those around him we should assist this person in getting professional help.

My Life!

                    My name is Ruben Quiros, but there is a lot more in this shell besides that name. My family originates from Panama and most of them still live there. My father Ruben Quiros Sr. and his wife Nubia Quiros moved to the United States in November 1994, less than a month after being married. Throughout my life, my dad has moved to various cities in the United States to advance his career as a gastrologist, digestive system doctor, therefore, I have only lived in Omaha for three years. I love it here and so do Jonathan and Jacob, my two brothers. Lola is the name of our lovely little Yorkie terrier and she is a much valued member of our family. Now back to me, my favorite pastimes are working out, playing the saxophone, playing videogames, reading, and watching movies. My favorite out of all of these is to play the saxophone because it an instrument that I use to express myself, no pun intended. The biggest passion in my life; however, is movies. I love watching movies they are an experience to me. I know just about any fact about them and it is the easiest topic for me to talk about. When I’m older I hope to do something in the field of entertainment because the saxophone and movies are what drives me on. This is who I am, a lot more than just a Ruben Quiros. Don’t you think so?