Tiger Attack Claims Teen's Life

Two brothers, Kulbit and Amritpal Dhaliwal, survivors of a vicious tiger mauling at the San Francisco Zoo apologize to the police for being unable to save murdered friend. Though they attempted at saving Carlos Sousa Jr.'s life while they were already wounded, it wasn't enough to stop the tiger. The police report states that the two called the police and reported the attack and an escaped tiger, but it may be a hoax, though one was bleeding from the back of the head. A few minutes later, zoo officials reported the loose tiger and the zoo was locked down and evacuated. Medics on the scene refused to enter the zoo until it was secure.

The tiger was eventually shot and killed by police, however, the life of Carlos Sousa Jr. had already been lost and the body soon after found by medics. Zoo officials later disclosed the information that the wall enclosing the tiger was 4 ft. lower than the recommended standards, which is most likely how the tiger escaped. Family members and friends gathered for a tearful prayer vigil after no further comments had been made thus far.

Zoo Break Out

On Christmas Day, three young men went to the San Francisco Zoo at 5 p.m., the hour the zoo was closing. The men were gathered around the tiger grotto and were all alone. Tatiana, a 350 pound striped Siberian tiger, escaped its compound and killed a visitor. The police found the body of Carlos Sousa Jr., age 17, at the railing of the grotto. The wall between visitors and predator is 12 and ½ feet high, which is 4 feet shorter than recommended by the group that accredits the nation’s zoos. Official answers await a police investigation. Those proceeding may be guided by a record that includes charges of negligence by the zoo, because a year ago Tatiana mauled the arm of zookeeper Lori Komejan. The three had traveled from San Jose, an hour’s drive south. The other two young men with Sousa were brothers Kulbir, age 23, and Paul, age 19, Dhaliwal. Both brothers were arrested on public drunkenness charges in September, and Paul was also charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest, according to published reports. No proof has been offered by police or zoo officials that the three did taunt Tatiana. When Tatiana escaped her enclosure, she attacked Kulbir first then left him and attacked Sousa, tearing open his throat. The brothers fled, leaving a trail of blood about 300 yards to the outdoor cafe where the disbelieving worker dialed 911. The tiger was found a dozen minutes later, she had one of the brothers at her feet at the edge of the café when an unmarked police car arrived.

In 1985, Anthony Stopani received up to $20 million in an out of court settlement. In 1982, when he was 5 years old, he was mauled by a tiger that escaped from its cage at Lion Country Safari. He was attacked by a 500 pound Siberian tiger that dragged the screaming child into bushes in the park south of Irvine. The settlement will cover medical expenses, and compensate the child and his family for emotional distress. The child’s head and one leg are severely scarred and he suffers mild paralysis on the left side of his body.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/26/AR2007122601387.html

Babies Babies Babies

Juno is a movie about a 16 yr old girl who is going to have a baby. She was just a normal girl. She had friends played music, and she was in love with Bleecker (the father of the baby). She is doesn't plan to marry the father of her child. She plans on giving the child up to an other family.

Not to long ago people thought it was wrong to have a kid before getting married. Now you see it going on every where. I talked to my grandmother and she said "When people were having kids they would try to hide it". Most religions forbid having a kid before being married, and in some places women can be killed for having a kid.



The movie was good I would say go see it and sorry its a day late.

Border Torn Down in Europe

Do you think it will be safe if people are allowed to travel from country to country without showing a passport? Apparently nine mainly ex-East bloc countries do. On Friday, these countries tore down their borders to create a European zone which allows 400 million people to trek from Estonia in the east to Portugal in the west. All without showing a passport. There had been a concern of increased crime and illegal immigration. To deal with these concerns, the countries have strong security measures at the borders which are said to ensure safety. Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are the countries being added to the already present Schengen Treaty zone. The Schengen Treaty zone before today consisted of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. These countries are said to be pleased about the fact that they have overcome its Cold War separation. During the Cold War, an Iron Curtain was created to divide Europe into two sections beginning from the end of World War I until the end of the Cold War.

"Shame on You"

A seventy five year old pastor, Anne Gordon, of St. Anne's Cathedral Holy Church of Deliverance in Milwaukee was killed by her step-grandson.The criminal Eric Henry took her life by duct- taping a plastic bag over her head. Gordon suffocated to death.The reason for such a harsh crime was Gordon's refusal to give Henry $300 to be used for his girlfriend's abortion. While being taped down, Henry told police, Gordon was on the floor asking God to forgive Henry for what was about to happen.

In the 1820s abortion laws began to appear in the United States. The law forbad abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy.Early feminists such as Susana Anthony wrote against abortion: which was an unsafe medical procedure for women that could have endangered their health and life.These feminists blamed laws and men in pressuring women into doing a moral evil. Feminists later defended safe and effective birth control bills to avoid abortion. By 1965 all fifty states banned abortion with the exceptions such as to save the mother's life, deformed fetus, rape, or incest.

The American Dollar is Stronger, but Gold Prices Slipped!

Just recently, it has been reported that gold prices have began to slip. But, the dollar is stronger and investors are taking profit. The American dollar made gains against the British pound and the euro. The Commerce Department reiterated its earlier estimate that gross domestic product grew 4.9 percent in the third quarter of this year. With that percentage, it has grown at its fastest pace in four years. Inflation is rising at the same time, and that could prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates much further in 2008 after the central bank rolled back rates three times this year. Interest rates underpin a nation's currency; if rates in the U.S. remain steady, that could lend support to the greenback. When a dollar is strengthened, it puts pressure on the prices of gold. Investors are now beginning to pull their money out of precious metals, even though precious metals are a safe zone when a country's currency is declining. ''It looks like the dollar is recovering even more so that may be attributable to gold's decline,'' Carlos Sanchez, CPM Group precious metals analyst. ''Profit-taking is also pushing gold prices down a couple of dollars.'' Gold for February delivery dropped $2.20 to settle at $803.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver rose over eleven cents. The 13-nation euro bought $1.4323, down slightly from $1.4381 late Wednesday. The U.S. dollar was originally specified by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be a unit of weight (471.25 grains of troy silver (about 30.54 g of silver)) and not one of money as it is thought of today. The value of gold or silver contained in the dollar was then converted into relative value in the economy for the buying and selling of goods. This allowed the value of things to remain fairly constant over time, except for the influx and outflux of gold and silver in the nation's economy. According to an evaluation of data from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the cost of goods and services remained relatively consistent between 1635 and 1913, around a level of roughly 25 times the buying power of the U.S. dollar in 2006.



http://economics.about.com/od/exchangeratesbycountry/a/us_canadian.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Commodities-Review.html

FIRE! IN THE WHITE HOUSE!

There was a fire in the White House. On Wednesday morning 1,000 federal workers ran for safety because of the fire in Vice President Dick Cheney’s ceremonial suite in the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building across from the West Wing. Mr. Cheney was not there when the fire started. The fire started about 9:15 a.m. He and President was in the White House Situation Room for an intelligence briefing. They were told about the fire when they returned to the Oval Office, and later went outside together to shake the hands of firefighters who had stoped the fire. There were no serious injuries only one person, a marine, got cuts when he punched his hand through a fifth-floor window to escape.

During the War of 1812 the White House was not the White House yet. The British burned the President's House down. The building was recovered. Most of the building was black from when teh British burned it down, and it was painted white. That is how twh White House got its name.

When good things happen to cheap people

Relevant to what we are studying in class, last year Michael Sparks, musician equipment technician from Tennessee found an 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence in Music City Thrift Shop last March. He asked the clerk how much the old, yellowed, rolled up paper was and the clerk marked it for $2.48 plus tax! It was later discovered that this aged document turned out to be an "official copy" of the Declaration of Independence, which was one of 200 commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820 and finally printed on 1823 when he was secretary of state. A year later, Mark sold the document to Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions in Burlington, North Carolina. Since that Thursday, six bidders via phone or Internet had place bids, which first opened at $125,000. It was late bought for $477,650 by an unrevealed winner. Mark’s plan for his "new found wealth" remain simple and humble however, when asked what he was going to do with it, he replied by saying he just wanted to by a used car, a sun room for his house, use it to help to support his parents and to give some to charity. Mark also says "You think it is a huge fortune, but by the time you figure it up and put some off for the taxes it is not. It is not a huge fortune, but more like a small fortune.”

We, coming from just learning about the background and history on the Declaration of Independence, know much about it. But for those who don't listen in class, the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, and it declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were "Free and Independent States.” It is said to be the founding document of the Unites States. There were fifty signatures including John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklyn, all men who has in some way shaped early America and help form it into what is is today.

When Adoption Goes Wrong

Peggy Hilt adopted Nina, a two year old girls from Russia as an infant. Hilt wanted to be a good mother but every day with Nina was a constant struggle. Whenever Hilt tried to hug or kiss Nina she would pull away. Nina was also physically aggressive with her older sister, who had been adopted from Ukraine and destroyed furniture and possessions.

Things only got worse and Hilt fell into a deep depression. This is when she started drinking heavily, something she'd never done before. Ashamed, she hid her problem from everyone, including her husband.

July 1, 2005, Hilt was packing for a family vacation, drinking beer the whole time and growing increasingly aggravated with Nina's antics. When Hilt caught her reaching into her diaper and smearing feces on the walls and furniture, "a year and a half of frustration came to a head," Hilt says. "I snapped. I felt this uncontrollable rage." Hilt beat Nina relentlessly and shook her as she dragged her upstairs.

The next day Nina stopped breathing. By the time the ambulance got the child to the hospital, she was dead.

Although rare, clinicians say they are seeing more overwhelmed adopting parents that encounter children's unexpected emotional and behavioral problems. It is by no means the childs fault and their behavior can be the result of trauma, mistreatment, malnutrition or institutionalization in their home countries. But even families who request a "healthy" child sometimes go home with a troubled one. Some orphanages or adoption agencies overseas are eager to find homes for difficult children in their care and mislead prospective parents or fail to disclose the full extent of a child's problems or personal history.

Joyce Sterkel runs the Ranch for Kids, a Montana boarding school for disturbed international adoptees. She says she's come to see the parents as well as the kids as victims in these tragic cases. "It's a horrible thing, but I understand how some people end up killing these kids," she says. "They have no empathy, no affection, no love. My heart goes out to these parents because they don't know what to do." Today it houses 25 to 30 kids from all over the country, and has a waiting list.

Many of the children have been bullied or raped while institutionalized or were the children of prostitutes, drug addicts or alcoholics. "I have gotten calls from parents who say the child they adopted has killed the family dog, threatened to kill them, and no one will help them," she says.

Slavery still going on?

On December 17 in Islip New York, a jury convicted a millionaire couple, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, who is 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, who is 45, of enslaving two Indonesian woman. They brought the two women over to be housekeepers. They were convicted of forced labor, involuntary servitude, and bringing in aliens. The two enslaved women were forced to work 18 hours or more each day and were physically abused. The worked for $100-&150 a month and all the money was sent to their relatives. The odd thing about it is that the wife is also from Indonesia.

One of the women escaped on mother's day and said she was forced to eat chili peppers and when she threw up because she could not take it, she was forced to eat the vomit. She said they were beat with brooms and umbrellas, they were slashed with knives, forced to repeatedly climb stairs, and take freezing cold showers and punishments for things like eating out of the trash due to lack of food.

The couple have four children and operate a worldwide perfume business. If convicted they could face up to 40 years in prison. As the verdict was read, one of their daughters collapsed in the front row. The Sabhnanis' defense attorney said that the two women made up the story. The attorney also said that they practiced witchcraft and that the Sabhanis were always on vacation trips which would leave plenty of time for them to flee. The couple spent nearly three months in jail and are now under house arrest.

Slavery was a huge part of late 1700s and early 1800s. They were used for manual labor and at times beaten. Slavery caused a rift between the North and South which led to the Civil War. It was outlawed by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865 in the 13th Amendment.

NASA Releases E-Mails About Attempted Murder

NASA released 222 pages of e-mails that provide evidence of a friendly relationship between Captain Nowak and Cmdr. William A. Oefelein of the Navy. In the e-mails they planned things like lunch or bike rides. NASA did not release every e-mail and claimed that was because some were too personal. In April the trail for charges of assault and attempted kidnapping will begin.

The National Advisory Council was renamed on April 2, 1958, NASA. NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA was created during the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Opposition to Military Commissions Act

Last September, Hillary Clinton emphasized her opposition to ill-considered military commissions legislation and said, “serious implications for our national security interests abroad, the rights of Americans at home, our reputation in the world and the safety of our troops.” She said the Senate is responsible in getting this right and also that “we must convict and punish the guilty in a way that reinforces their guilt before the world and does not undermine our values.” Hillary Clinton clearly wants to end the war, but she finds it necessary to find and capture the terrorists held responsible for 9/11, and defeat the enemy using every resource. Republicans and Democrats alike both want an end to the war, but both also would like to be victorious in this war and punish the terrorists.

In Clinton's statement to the President, she made a reference to George Washington. She stated, "General George Washington and the Continental Army retreated across New Jersey to Pennsylvania, suffering tremendous casualties and a body blow to the cause of American Independence...Soon afterward, Washington lead his soldiers across the Delaware River and onto victory in the Battle of Trenton. There he captured nearly 1000 foreign mercenaries and he faced a crucial choice. How would General Washington treat these prisoners? The British had already committed atrocities against Americans, including torture...General Washington announced a decision unique in human history..." George Washington said:

Treat them with humanity, and Let them have no reason to Complain of our Copying the brutal example of the British army in their Treatment of our unfortunate brethren.

Today, George Washington's values are wasting away. Our enemies are torturing American soldiers, and when the day comes to capturing a terrorist, we are challenged with what we should do.

Security guard who stopped shooter credits God

Jeanne Assam, a hero to many, is a church sercurity guard who shot the gunman responsible for two attacks.The first incident at 12:30 a.m. Sunday at Youth With a Mission in Arvada, the gunman, Matthew Murray made his first attack. Matthew entered the facility, engaged in a dispute with a staff members about wanting to saty the night and he then opened fire. Staff members Tiffany Johnson,26, and Philip Crouse, 24, died from the bullets and two others members were injured. That same morning, Matthew traveled 80 miles to Colorado Springs' New Life Church as a service was letting out where another terrifying incident took place. He shot a family walking towards their car, killing two sisters, Rachael Works,16, and Stephanie Works, 18, and shot father, DavidWorks, 51, who suffered gunshot wounds. Matthew then entered the church hoping to kill more people. Jeanne Assam a volunteer security guard on duty shot the gunman several times and killed him as self- defense. She extened her sympathy to the familes of the victims and the gunman."I give the credit to God. And I say that very humbly. God was with me and the whole time I was behind cover -- this has got to be God, because of the firepower that [the gunman] had vs. what I had," Assam said.

September 15,1963 at Bethel Baptist Church in Alamaba, a bombing took place killing 4 young girls. Denise McNair 12, Addie Mae Collins 14, Cynthia Wesley 14, and Carol Robertson 14 listened to their sunday school teacher's instuctions. They were instructed, along with other students, to stay in the basement while Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was delivering a sermon. At 10:22 a.m., their world ended. A White supremacy group had placed a bomb in the church hours before the sermon. A massive explosion shook the church to its foundation. The basement room was filled with dust and all the lights went out. Many of the people escape including the children down in the basement, who only suffered minor injuries. It was only minutes later that people realized the death of those four young girls.

Study Sees Signs of Obesity Rates Stalling

Obesity rates in women stayed steady since 1999. The rates in men may be leveling off too. Obesity rates have held at about 35% since 1999. Men’s rates increased until 2003, and they hit 33 percent and the rates stayed there through 2006. Obesity is a body mass index, that is measured by weight and height. Example of this is if someone is 5 feet 6 inches tall they would be obese at the weight 186 pounds. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a goal for the obesity to be no more than 15% by 2010. The last time that rate was seen was 1980. Obesity rates varies with age the highest rates were people from 40-59, and 40% of men were obese and 41% of women were. In women the rates also varied with ethnicity. Whites, Aferican-Americans, and Mexican-American women had the highest rates. About half were obese when they hit their 40s and 50s.







In 1929 there was a great depression after the Stock Market Crashed. The Great Depression happened all over the world where people could not get jobs or food. During the deprssion poeple could not get food and they were starving, and some people where starving to death. During this time people were thin and by the 1980's people started to become over weigh. In the 1990's it got even worse.

Life on Mars?

On Monday , scientists said that the wheel that stopped turning on the NASA Mars rover Spirit has discovered evidence that there was once life on Mars. When the wheel stopped working back in March 2006, the Spirit had to drive backwards. While driving the scientists noticed a bright spot which they later found out was silica. Silica on earth can only be found near hot springs or a volcano. Both places are rich in life forms. After discovering the small spot of silica the scientists decided to break open a nearby rock. While trying to smash the rock, which withstood the blast, the rock nest to it which they names the "Innocent Bystander" cracked open revealing silicon all on the inside.

The Spirit's twin, Opportunity, explores the opposite side of Mars. It has discovered evidence of an environment once supplied by acidic groundwater. Spirit was chosen to land in a section called the Gusev Crater because from orbit, it looks as if a lake used to be there with river channels flowing away from it. But until the discovery of the silicon, every rock has been composed of volcanic basalt with very small traces of water. The Mars Global Surveyor has spotted from orbit years ago radical patterns of "spider" gullies like the picture above. The centers of the gullies were at the top of small hills and looked as if they were carved by something flowing upward which the scientists think was carbon dioxide.

In 1969 the United States sent the first person to land and walk on the moon. We have come so far. They have now discovered new planets and figuring out if there really is life on other planets. Russia sent the first people to outer space, but the U.S went above and beyond and sent a person on the moon.

To Ink or Not to Ink?

The Food and Drug Administration are finally cracking down on the issue of the safety of tattooing. Over the years, tattooing has been regulated by state and local authorities. It has come to public attention, however, that inks used in the tattoo process could be regulated under FDA rules for cosmetics and color additives. Due to recent popularity in inking, the FDA has become more aware of the public health concern present in the pigments used to create body art. Incidents involving bad reactions due to a tattoo including inflammation and itching have been reported to an agency called "Think Before You Ink." Now the FDA is investigating the chemicals used in tattoo inks and how they break down in the body. "Our hope is to get a better understanding of the body's response to tattoos and their impact on human health, and to identify products at greatest risk," said Dr. Linda Katz, director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The earliest records of American tattooing began amongst sailors in the nineteenth century. This practice common around sailors was first known as pricking. Sailors became more experimental with tattoos when they became intrigued by how Native Americans would decorate their bodies in this way. Tattoo shops began to open near ship ports as tattooists became more skilled with a needle and ink. Popular tattoos among sailors were that of inspiration and spirit. These designs included an anchor, crucifix, lady, lion, and eagle. These symbols also often were religious, patriotic, representations of courage and defiance of death, and of nautical themes. Tattooing became even more common after electric tattooing was developed in 1891.

Haterz part II

As seen in my past blogs, I have reported on different types of “ haterz”, people who share ignorant believes on different races, religion, sexualities, etc. In this case the word “hater” on which I am referring to is revolving around those of the up coming political election. As one would read a newspaper or watch the local news station, or just flip on any random channel, the upcoming election seems to be everywhere. Campaigns, the political bashing, and self-exaggeration seem to be everywhere. This election is also one that would be an historical one because for the first time an African American, a woman, and other “firsts” are running for the presidency. As usually in a country with as much as freedom of speech such as ours, along with history breaking campaigns also come the roles of the “haterz’, people who will make sure they place every type of obstacle in the way of those trying to make a difference. They fill the newspapers, magazines, television, and radio with critics, lies, and rude remarks about those who they feel should not be running elections.

Amongst the people who has fallen victim to the hands, of these “ haterz” and is probably one of the most targeted is Hilary Clinton. She seems to be one of the most controversial runners in this election and she is the prey on which the republicans prey on. Some of the reasons, some may say, Hilary is not high on the respected list of the Republics include: she doesn’t make exaggerated plans on pulling the troops out of Iraq, she wont endorse massive new payroll taxes to fund social security, and something revolving against guards of terrorist activity. The two things that Republicans really “hate” on her are her liberalism and what they say is her phoniness. Because she avoids being considered to liberal or to Democratic, whatever that may mean, conservatives see that as proof of her phoniness. In addition, Bill Clinton and his affair has also put her under attack, they say, the republican that is, her beliefs are corrupt.

Events that surround Hilary Clinton’s election could be compared to the events surrounding Victoria Woodhull. She too ran for presidency on April 2, 1870 under the Equal Rights Party, former slave Fredrick Douglas at that time ran for vice-president under the same party. Unfortunately this is an equation set up for failure for that time; a women and a black running for top government position was almost unheard of. The government had also refused to print her name on the ballot, thus making it controversial if she really is the first woman to run for president. Many saw that she should not even have the right to run because she was a woman and "they’re not citizens". She, like Hilary, had to combat much criticism and “haterz” due her gender and her position.

Mormon, Catholic, same thing?

This week Presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a speech at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas to talk about his Mormon faith. He confronted the suspicions of many. suspicions that his faith would cloud his decisions if he were elected. at one point he said “I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from the God who gave us liberty.” President John F. Kennedy faced almost the same problems while he was a candidate. He made a speech on his roman catholic fait. He stated that his faith had not and would not affect his politics. He spoke about his stands against the Vatican whilst in congress. There are many similarities between these two men and there struggles because of religion but one major difference exists. There were 42 million american roman catholics in 1960 but there are only about 6 million american mormons now.

Smugglers Build an Underground World

Smugglers Build an Underground World

TECATE, Calif., Dec. 6 — The tunnel opening cut into the floor of a shipping container drops three levels. The tunnel stretches 1,300 feet to the south, crossing the Mexican border some 50 feet below ground and proceeding to a sky-blue office building in sight of the steel-plated border fence.

Three or four feet wide and six feet high, the passageway is illuminated by compact fluorescent bulbs, supported by carefully placed wooden beams and kept dry by two pumps. The neatly squared walls, carved through solid rock, bear the signs of engineering skill and professional drilling tools.

Shrink-wrapped bundles of marijuana, nearly 14,000 pounds worth $5.6 million in street sales, were found in the shipping container and in a trailer next to it, making clear the tunnel’s purpose: to serve as another major smuggling corridor. Found Monday here in Tecate, it is the latest of 56 cross-border tunnels found in the Southwest since the onset of additional guards and fencing aboveground after Sept. 11, 2001.

The authorities believe that the increased border enforcement has helped deter illegal immigrant traffic and allowed agents to make more drug seizures. But they acknowledge that it has also been driving traffickers to redouble their efforts to find alternative ways of breaching the border.

But the tunnels are now found with alarming regularity, and often just under the noses of law enforcement officers. This latest one is a block from a Border Patrol station and next to a hill that agents often use to watch for illegal immigrant traffic. And in September, a Border Patrol vehicle became stuck in a sinkhole in San Luis, Ariz., 50 yards north of a border fence, that turned out to be a collapsed segment of a smuggling tunnel under construction.

A total of 69 such tunnels have been discovered — 68 along the Southwest border, the other at the Canadian border with Washington State — since the authorities began keeping records on them in 1990.

Because of concerns that terrorists could adopt the tactic to smuggle radioactive and chemical materials into the United States, a military team checks each underground passageway discovered; no residue from such materials has ever been found.

The tunnel, like the others found, will be sealed at the border and eventually filled with cement slurry.

Though few people have been prosecuted for activities related to the construction of these tunnels, a federal law enacted this year makes it a felony to design or build one, or to participate in smuggling involving it.

This tunnel can be linked to the underground railroad, used by Harriet Tubman to smuggle slaves to freedom. Although we may look at that as a good act because we now know that slavery is wrong, maybe future Americans will look at this tunnel incident with the same sympathy, believing immigration laws are wrong.

Pearl Harbor Remembered

Today marks 66th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, the day remembered by veterans across the nation. Memorials are being held everywhere to honor the fallen and the survivors of this catastrophe which signaled the beginning of WWII. The air raid by the Japanese on the Americans was a devastating loss, even to the innocent. The section of Hawaii, known as Pearl Harbor, was home to the U.S. Pacific fleet, the target of the Japanese.

Japan knew that they could not defeat the United States in a war unless using special tactics, and figured that they'd gamble at a chance of taking out their Pacific fleet and have a chance to be victors before America could recover. A successful air raid, believed by the Japanese, would delay the American entry into the war for months, and hopefully even let the U.S. consider negotiation instead of war. Fighter planes, dive bombers, and torpedo planes were the artillery used in the raid. Using the element of surprise, his targets were not only the ships in the base, but also the nearby airfields and oil storage facilities. The planes were, for the most part undetected until within a short distance of Pearl Harbor. Americans, in the morning before the attack, though an attack was figured to be imminent, were not on combat alert.

Minoru Genda, a Japanese navy officer, was the primary architect of the raid, and his plan unfolded almost perfectly. Keeping the element of surprise and using it to their advantage, the Japanese planes took out most of the American planes on the ground and ships in their ports, also destroying airfields. However, the planes failed to take out the American carriers, which would prove to be forces to be reckoned with. They also failed to destroy the oil storage facilities at Oahu, which would have taken months to restore. Another wave of attacks was supposed to hit, but the Japanese, fearing an American counter-attack, withdrew.

Summing up this historic event, it marked essentially the American entry into World War II. Though the losses were devastating, the United States was able to bounce back from the adversity suffered from the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Secret Passage..Hole to China? Or Maybe Something Else!

On Monday a secret underground passage was found. This was not a hole to China but instead a 1300 foot tunnel leading from Mexico to Tecate, California which is close to the Mexican border. This may seem like an original way to cross the border but in fact there have already been 56 other tunnels found, and authorities seem to think there are many more that lie below the surface having yet to be discovered.



The picture to the right shows the hole that was in a shipping container in Tecate that connects to a similar hole in an office building in Mexico. This hole drops down three stories and uses three latters on both sides. In this shipping container in Tecate they found 14,000 pounds of marijuana worth $5.6 million on the street. This proved that this tunnel served one main purpose, transporting drugs.



Tunnels are not the only thing that border control is concerned with. They are also concerned with more and more rickety boats they have found on San Diego beaches. Other immigrants have hollowed out dashboards of vans and crammed themselves in these tiny spaces to sneak across the border since the increase in border control following September 11th.

Most of these tunnels are just crawlspaces dug to smuggle people quickly. However others are more elaboratge with drainage, lighting and ventilation proving that these smugglers have been assisted by engineers. This hole like others will be sealed and filled with cement. Few people have been persecuted for this but this year a new law was enacted stating that building such a tunnel is a felony.

This could be compared to the time during World War 2. During this time the Jews were trying to flee their homleands to find safety and were turned down by nations, coincidentally the United States was one of them. We now look back and realize that denying them admitance into the United States was wrong and see that we should not have neglected them. In 50 years we could be saying the same thing about not allowing some Mexican residents admittance into the United States. Some of them might be facing troubles in their home countries and are looking for a place of safety that the United States is suppose to represent.

Employers Added 94,000 Jobs in November!

The Labor Department stated that the economy added 94,000 jobs in the month of November. This has eased fears of recession, but it also may add more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The rise in payrolls was not very strong, but it also did not disappoint anyone. The labor market is not doing much even as the deteriorating housing sector continues to drag on construction and manufacturing jobs. Economists had raised their estimates for today’s report after a separate employment survey showed an unexpected surge in November payrolls. But the Labor Department’s report, considered a bellwether for the broader economy, showed more modest gains, with a jump in service-sector and government jobs but declines in factory and construction payrolls. Average hourly wages among rank-and-file workers — about four-fifths of the work force — ticked up 8 cents, to $17.63, keeping wage growth only slightly ahead of rising prices. After taking inflation into account, wages have fallen over the last year, from roughly $17.69 last November. In the current expansion, the wage gains have been weaker than in other expansions. In the past four years, the hourly wage has risen just a penny. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent for the third consecutive month. October’s payroll gain was revised up slightly, the Labor Department sharply dropped its estimate for job growth in September to 44,000, from an original estimate of 110,000 jobs. That makes September the worst month for job growth since early 2004.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/business/07cnd-econ.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Not Your Average Cold

Sure, it seems like the average cold symptoms. Patients come in with the usual cough, runny nose, and sore throat. But, some of the doctors have been dead wrong. Now, patients are arriving with all of the above symptoms and cannot breathe. Adenovirus, the deadly cold, has infected at least 1, 035 in four states. As many as 10 have already died from the this virus. The odd thing is that the young and healthy are mostly infected.
Starting in 1966, military recruits were giving a shot to protect against adenovirus strands and infections. Most people come down with a case of an advenovirus infection through out their lifespan. Since there are fifty-one strands, a person is guaranteed to have had at least one. Common infections include conjunctivitis, croup, and pneumonia.

Omaha Mall Shooting

On December 6^th a 19 year old boy, Robert A. Hawkins, came into the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska with an assault rifle hidden under his hooded sweatshirt. He took the elevator to the third floor and when the doors opened started shooting shoppers and employees at random. Hawkins fired more than 30 rounds form an AK-47 assault rifle that police believe he stole from his stepfather’s house. When the police arrived seven minutes later the shooting was over and eight people had been shot and killed and five others were wounded before Hawkins turned the gun on himself. Two of the killed were shoppers and six were employees. All of the victims were killed in the Von Maur department store except for one man who was trying to call 911 at the top of an escalator in an atrium on the second floor when Hawkins shot him in the head form the third floor. Hawkins left a suicide not in which he put down himself and said he would no longer be a burden to anyone and said that he was “going to be famous now.”

President Bush offered his condolences and the federal government’s help. Ironically Bush was in Omaha that day for a fundraiser but left around an hour before the shooting. A woman who had taken Hawkins after he left his parents house said that he had suffered from a series of personal set backs which included losing his job at McDonald’s and his girlfriend. Sources say that he had taken drugs for anti depression in the past had stopped taking them.

On October 31, 1985 in Philadelphia, PA a woman wearing combat fatigues opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at a suburban mall. The woman killed two people and injured eight others. Police said that about 20 shots were fired in a span of about four minutes. The woman was stopped by a 24 year old college student grabbed the woman and was able to wrestle her to the floor and kick the gun away from her. The two people that died were a 2 year old boy from New Castle, DE, and a 64 year old man.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/06/

AR2007120601013_3.html?hpid=topnews