Field Hockey Player Dies From Snake Bite

On April 26, 2013, in an article called, “Karl berr, Australian Field Hockey Player, Dies From Snake Bite After Warm-Up Run” from The Huffington Post, Cavan Sieczkowski reported about a tragic death. An Australian field hockey player died after he received a bite from a snake and then decided to go running right after. The decision of running after he got bit was what caused the venom to spread. Berry, who was the captain of the Commerce-Pints Hockey Club, was cleaning up the center when he noticed what he thought was a python. He picked up the snake and removed it from the area because there were children playing nearby. At that point the snake bit him on the finger, but he apparently did not know that it was venomous. He went for a warm-up training run right after. At the group training, team members called an ambulance and reported that Berry was unconscious. After investigations, it was suspected that the snake was a highly venomous western brown. This tragic event left a huge mark in the teammates’ lives because they lost an amazing athlete and friend, who saved another person that could have been bit instead. The team members reported that they will hold a minute’s silence at every game during the coming weekend and wear black arm bands in memory of their friend’s passing.

Army Says "No Thanks" for Tanks

On April, 28, 2013, in an article titled, “Abrams Tank Pushed By Congress Despite Army’s Protests” from The Huffington Post, Richard Lardner posted about a Congressional topic regarding the government supply of tanks to the military. By providing a large supply of Abram tanks, which are seventy-ton military tanks, the nation is facing a budget battle. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have used nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of these tanks, but army officials are repeatedly saying that they do not want it anymore. General Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff said,” If we had out choice, we would use that money in a different way” (The Huffington Post). Keeping the Abrams production line rolling protects well-paying jobs in congressional districts where many of the tank suppliers are located. The nations tank plant is in Lima, Ohio. Therefore there is no question that the senators and representatives there are the champions for more tanks. Representative Jim Jordan used an excuse and stated, “The one area where we are supposed to spend taxpayer money is in defense of the country” (The Huffington Post).

Boston Marathon Suspects' Possible Motives

On April 20,2013, in an article titled, “Boston Marathon Inquiry Shifts to Suspect’s Russian Trip” from the New York Times, Eric Schmitt reported about possible motives of one of the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. who was killed in a shootout by the police on Friday. Federal investigators have made guesses that the significant visit Tamerlan made to Dagestan and Chechnya may have been the main reason for actions of him and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Of Chechen heritage, they lived in United States for years, and no direct ties have been established with known Chechen terrorist groups. Tamerlan stayed at Dagestan for nearly six months, but his father said that he went there to renew his passport. One month after he returned to the United States, a YouTube page that appeared to belong to him featured videos of an important ideologue preaching.

            This article is important because it brings into question about the two boys’ nationality and religion. As Muslim believers, they were extremely passionate about extremist ideas, which made them dangerous. According to schoolteachers, nineteen year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is wounded in a hospital, was always interested about his Chechen roots and ancestors. He even wrote an essay in class about his interests. His brother, Tamerlan, who was under F.B.I. surveillance since 2011, had the same attitude. Their mother stated, “They told me he is getting information from really extremist sites, and they are afraid of him” (New York Times). There is no question that the boys’ were influenced by their beliefs. However, exact information and reasons will be given only after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heals and is able to speak.

Hookah VS Cigarettes

On April 19,2013 in an article titled, “Study: Hookah no safer than cigarettes, just differently dangerous” from the Los Angeles Times, Amina Khan reported about an interesting study on hookah and cigarettes. Cigarettes have earned the reputation as a cancer-causing practice. New research now shows that water pipes, also known as shisha or hookah, are dangerous, like cigarettes, in a different way. A 2011 study found more than forty percent of college students had used hookah, and many of them believed that it was safer than cigarettes. Many doctors have tried to dissuade this notion. Therefore researchers at UC San Francisco conducted a randomized study of thirteen volunteers, who were smokers of both cigarettes and hookah. Each participant smokes cigarettes for four days and a week later smoked cigarettes for four days again. They each smoked an average of eleven cigarettes per day or three water-pipe sessions per day. The results that scientists found were that water pipers had a 2.5 times higher carbon monoxide level than cigarette smokers. Carbon monoxide can increase the risk for heart attacks, strokes, and sudden death in certain people who have lung illnesses or heart problems. They also found that hookah smokers’ urine had a higher level of benzene, which has been related to leukemia. According to researchers, “ Of particular concern is the risk of leukemia related to high levels of benzene exposure with water pipe use” (Los Angeles Times).

Stereotypes

For as long as humanity has existed, stereotyping has been around in the society. Some types of stereotyping are discrimination, sexism, racism, and propaganda. All of these are a result of certain groups thinking that their morals are higher than another group’s. To immediately judge an approaching person is instilled in the person who is judging. These come from past cultural or moral standards that not all cultures relate. Since every person is unique, the entire world will not have one point-of-view. The entire world is surrounded by numerous point-of-views. Some forms of stereotyping result in murderer and massacre. Adolf Hitler once stated, “Who still tells nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?” Armenians were a group of people who have been subject to discrimination and racism by the turks. In 1915, the Turks commit genocide on the Armenians people. Until today Turkey does not accept their crime. This statement has no validity today because Armenians have succeeded in fighting for their rights. They have succeeded in raising awareness to all cultures, so many people talk about their brutal past. The genocide has become subject in many schools, and it is a huge part of politics in certain countries.

            The question, “Is it possible to grow to adulthood without harboring at least some prejudice toward certain groups?” has numerous answers, but they all sum up to one final one: no. Each person is raised in a different way and in different families, who have their own way of living life. The world would be perfect if people did not judge and discriminate against other people. It is important to fight discrimination and racism, but it is useless to fight another person’s point-of-view. An example of prejudice would be the fact that Hitler considered Jews as animals, not humans. He threw the world’s hate towards those people. This is a form of prejudice that German children were taught to support. All German younglings were taught that Jews are terrible people. As a result every German child would grow up with this idea, and in later years when they came across a Jew, they thought of them as a terrible person. This is something that is impossible to overcome because even if people do not express themselves in public, they still think about it.

Juvenile Rape Case

The article, “Steubenville rape: More Charges Possible with Grand Jury Probe” was published in the Los Angeles Times by Tina Susman, on March 17, 2013. Sixteen year-old Ma’Lik Richmond and seventeen year-old Trent Mays were convicted of raping a sixteen year-old girl. Both boys began serving time in juvenile detention Sunday. Even though these two were convicted, more people could face charges if a grand jury investigation determines that witnesses, who include the defendants’ athletic coaches, turned a blind eye to the assaults. Judge Thomas Lipps, who heard the case in court, found both boys guilty. Mays was also convicted of distributing nude material because he had pictures of the naked victim on his phone. Therefore, he received two years in a juvenile detention facility, while Richmond received one. Ohio’s attorney general, Mike DeWine, and his office stepped in to handle the investigation said that there were some witnesses that his investigators had come across. It included forty-three people, from which twenty even of them had been interviewed. Dewine stated that sixteen of the juveniles “refused to cooperate, giving various reasons” (Los Angeles Times). In addition to all these investigations, cyber-crime experts have analyzed thirteen cellphones. From those phones, they reviewed and analyzed 396,270 text messages; 308,586 photos; 940 videos; 3,188 phone calls; and 16,422 contacts. All of these cellphones were from the juveniles that had attended the party where the assaults took place. All of these investigations reveal numerous amounts of secrets among the teens, which will eventually lead to the truth. There is no question that investigators can find out any bit of information about teens and their actions nowadays. DeWine stated, “It’s going to be broad, and we will follow the evidence wherever that evidence takes us” (Los Angeles Times).