m@yR@

International
Cubans on new freedoms: 'We'll see how far we go'
In the past week, President Raúl Castro has legalized cell phone use for ordinary Cubans; legalized the sale within Cuba of microwaves, DVD players and personal computers. Cubans are liking the change, even if the costs are out of their reach. Cuba's government had previously forbidden the sale of consumer products under the argument that they consumed too much electricity. And although computers hadn't yet been seen on the shelves Wednesday, Yamile Batista, the commercial director of La Puntilla department store, said they were among various products that would appear this week. Most Cubans can't afford to rent cell phones or buy any of the new products available to them. The average monthly salary is just under $20.
Opinion
Well it is nice to know that Cubans are now like normal people having their own cell phones and haing homw tvs. Now they can be like normal people. However, the bad thing about this is that it caould probably bring alot of people in debt and Cuba could be in a huge debt like the US and other countries.

Kellye Harkey- International

International:
Lillian Asplund, who was 99 when she died, rarely spoke of the disaster that took her father Carl, and her three brothers, including a twin, to their watery graves that freezing cold night of April 14, 1912. The then 5-year-old Lillian, her 3-year-old brother Felix and their mother, Selma Asplund, were pushed into a life boat, and Lillian's last memory of the sinking ship was seeing her father and her brothers peering over the deck as their life boat pulled away while she clung to her mother's skirts for warmth. After her death, relatives found a shoe box filled with a historical treasure trove from the Titanic in Lillian's dresser drawer. The family approached the auction house Henry Aldridge and Sons of Devizes, England, to help them with the items, and later this month the contents will be sold at a highly anticipated auction.

Opinion:
Question, Why would you want to give up those things for auction? Don’t you think that the reason she kept the things a secret is so this kind of thing would not happen? I would think that the family would want to keep those things to pass down from generation to generation. But maybe the family needs the money and this is what they came up with. That is kind of sad and she is the last one from the titanic survivors. She was 3 years old when it happened so can she really remember that much from it? Well it is still pretty amazing.

International:
Two schoolgirls playing on a Scottish beach found a woman's severed head, police said Tuesday.
The girls found the head wrapped in a plastic bag on a beach outside Arbroath, about 55 miles south of Aberdeen. A hand and other body parts were found later.

Opinion:
Wow that must have been pretty traumatizing for those girls! Just imagine you are walking down the beach and then your like oh here is a plastic bag I wonder what is in it, oh look it’s a HEAD! I flip out when I see a bug so I probably would of passed out if I saw that. I really want to follow up on this story because I seems like this could turn out to be pretty interesting.

m@yR@

national
Wal-Mart: Brain-damaged former employee can keep money
Walmart told Shank's family that she would not have to pay for her medical expenses. Shank, A former Wal-Mart employee suffered severe brain damage in a traffic accident. Eight years ago, Debbie Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan. After a tractor-trailer slammed into her minivan, the 52-year-old mother of three lost much of her short-term memory and was confined to a wheelchair. She now lives in a nursing home. Shank also lost her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, who was killed shortly after arriving in Iraq. When Debbie Shank asks family members how her son is doing and they remind her that he's dead, she cries as if she heard the news for the first time. Wal-Mart's health care plan lets the retail giant recoup the cost of its expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit. Wal-Mart helped Shank and her husband, Jim, win $1 million after suing the trucking company involved in the wreck. After legal fees, the couple received $417,000. Wal-Mart sued the Shanks to recoup $470,000 it paid for her medical care. However, a court ruled that the company could only get about $275,000, the amount that was left in a trust fund for her care.
Opinion
This is very sad that Walmart first helps this lady get money because of her minivan and because now she is ina wheel chair in a nursing home and now they wnat her to pay them 470,000, more than what she actually got. It seems that alot of bad things are happening to this woman,. First her car, then her and now her son. I think that her husband is going through alot of things and the only way that he will be able to be strong by going through all of this is if he has faith and has spiritual support from people that are close to God. I hope that everything works out good for this couple.

Hayley Burns (international)( week of: 31-4 April 2008)

Scottish Schoolgirls Playing on Beach Find Woman's Severed Head

Summary:
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Two schoolgirls playing on a Scottish beach found a woman's severed head, police said Tuesday. The girls found the head wrapped in a plastic bag on a beach outside Arbroath, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Aberdeen. A hand and other body parts were found later. "They were upset by the discovery and their parents contacted the police," said Detective Chief Inspector Graham McMillan of Tayside Police. Part of the beach remains cordoned off, as 40 officers comb the area for evidence. Police have not released details of the dead woman's race, identity or age but say the head does not appear to be linked to any pending murder or missing person investigation.

Opinion:
Wow… how exciting and strange. I think I would be scared to ever go to the beach again. I wonder whom the head belonged to? I hope that they figure it out soon so the family of this missing person will be able to grieve both formally and properly. I wonder how long the head had been there? And if there were others who had seen it but never said/ did anything because they thought they would be accused.

Prank Caller Gets Four Years in Prison, Costs British Taxpayers Almost $2M

Summary:
Britain’s alleged worst prank caller was sentenced Sunday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance for 40 years of phony calls to emergency services, the Daily Mail reports. David Mason, 57, is accused of costing taxpayers almost $2 million by plaguing police, fire and ambulance crews with fake emergencies. He invented brawls, blazes, car accidents, medical emergencies and bomb alerts — for the sole purpose of seeing the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, the Daily Mail reports. He admitted to officers that he derived "excitement" from seeing emergency vehicles arrive at the scene. "Mason has been a menace to both the emergency services and the local community, whose lives he put at risk,” Bolton, England, police officer Ian Deary told the Daily Mail. Britain’s alleged worst prank caller was sentenced Sunday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to causing a public nuisance for 40 years of phony calls to emergency services, the Daily Mail reports.

Opinion:
That guy is so stupid! I think that he should go to jail, and that he is getting the proper punishment, also in four years when he is out he should be looked over by the government. They should make sure he is getting the help he needs. No about the money, if I was paying those taxes I would extremely upset with this man, he has even possible killed someone, because the vehicular needed for a different accident was where he could watch it instead.

Brooke Bellah (Make up)

Student Sues Wisconsin School After Getting a Zero for Religious Drawing

A senior boy sued his school after he received a zero on an art assignment. The art teacher instructed the students to draw a landscape, and the boy added a cross with the words "John 3:16 a sign of love" next to it. The teacher then asked him to remove the cross, because some students had been making comments about it. When he refused, she showed him a contract he had signed earlier this year which said no student could include any violence, blood, sexual connotations, or religious beliefs in their artwork. The boy then grabbed the piece of paper and ripped it. He received two detentions for tearing the piece of paper, and the school will not comment on the lawsuit.

Opinion:

This story really upsets me. It says that other religious references are displayed throughout the campus, including a Buddhist statue and a Hindu deity. If these are allowed, then Christian artifacts should also be represented. I don't believe anyone can argue against this. It will be interesting to see how the court rules in this case. It also brings to question the idea that constitutional rights can be forfeited by signing a piece of paper (that you have to sign in order to take a class that you have to have to graduate). I personally do not believe this is right.

3rd Graders Plotted to Kill Teacher

A group of special education students in Georgia were apparently planning to kill their teacher, after she made one of them mad by punishing her for standing on a chair. One of the students told a school worker about the plan before the start of the school day, and the kids were stopped. Officials confiscated a steak knife, duct tape, handcuffs, ribbon and a crystal paperweight from the children. The students all had special needs which ranged from attention deficit disorder, delayed development, and hyperactivity. The students may be expelled, but officials are not sure they can be charged with anything, because of a state law which does not allow children under the age of 13 to be charged with a crime.

Opinion:

Third graders????Seriously? Some of this has to do with the fact the students had special needs (but ADD, come on) but I believe the amount of violence children are exposed to now contributed more. It says the each student had a job assigned to them, like blocking all windows so no one would witness, and a group of students who were designated to clean up the mess afterward. This is just creepy--I believe if the student's plot hadn't been exposed there is a good chance the teacher could have been killed. Georgia should change the rule about prosecuting children under thirteen. There are plenty of 11 and 12 year olds (and apparantly 8 year old third graders) who are capable of horrible crimes.

Bronwen

National:
Sister Barbara Markey, a Roman Catholic nun in Nebraska, stole over $1,500 from the Omaha Archdiocese and gambled it away. She pleads guilty and agreed to pay $125,000 and faces up to twenty years in prison. This is not the first time Markey has been convicted of a crime; she was fired from her position as director of the archdiocese's family life office after an audit discovered Markey was spending $307,545 for her own use.

The Catholic church seems to be taking another hit. There are corrupt people affiliated with every religion, but Catholicism seems to be one of the most deficient or at least the most publicised. I wouldn't trust my money to such a large organization. The whole idea of nuns and priests is stupid.

International:
In Rome the Interior ministry said "cell phones or any other device that can take still pictures or video clips" will have to be left outside of the polling station during the April 13-14 elections. In Italy there are 61 phones to every 50 people. The law aims to prevent people from photographing ballots and showing the ballot to a politician in exchange for favor. All those who violate the law will face jail time.

How many people could a politician discreetly bribe anyway? That seems far fetched, but the rule certainly couldn't hurt anything. There could also be the instance when someone is forced rather than bribed to vote for a certain person. The law could protect against this. It still seems rather unlikely, especially for a country like Italy. I wonder if America will ever have a law banning cell phones in polling stations.

National:
Michelle Kosilek, a convicted killer serving time in a Boston prison, has been requesting a sex change. The prison commissioner, Harold Clarke, originally ignored Koselek's request on the basis of protecting the inmate from sexual assault, but now the commissioner says he is reexamining the request. I need to take a look at the information presented before I arrived, and with a fresh set of eyes, closely scrutinize it", Clarke said.
Kosilek faces life in prison for murdering his wife in 1990. He changed his name to Michelle.
It was ruled that Kosilek's eighth amendment rights (cruel and unusual punishment) were not violated because the commissioner did not deliberately ignore the request for a sex change. Medical experts say the change is essential for Kosilek, who has attempted suicide twice while in prison.

If the death penalty were enforced the prison wouldn't even have to deal with this.
The writer of this article called Kosilek "she". It's he, no matter what medical changes occur. I bet he would try suicide even after getting the sex change; it's a condition of the heart. Also, I wouldn't want to be a woman in prison with a sex changed man... nor would I want to be a man sharing a prison cell with a queer.

International:
Over 160 nations continue talks in Bankok about global warming. "The economic situation is going to make the fight about cost containment versus ambitious emissions reductions that much more controversial", Angela Anderson, head of the global warming campaign at the Washington-based Pew Environment Group said. The group expects global warming will kill many species of plants and animals by the end of this century. "The same people who opposed global warming legislation when the economy was doing well are now opposing it when the economy is doing poorly. They have only one constant and that is they oppose dealing with global warming", Yvo de Boer, head of the UN climate body said.

Well Mr, de Boer, I do oppose it. Here's why:
Global warming is a "problem" discussed everywhere from elementary school classrooms to political debates. It is such a concern that the United Nations feels obligated to issue a carbon tax. It seems Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth has people quite shaken.
Gore says his preferred explanation for global warming is depicted in two cartoons. The first shows a girl crying because her ice cream is melting and a man tells her it is because of global warming. The second shows the sky full of black demons killing sunbeams and then the dead sunbeams cause the earth to warm. As for the former illustration, the United States is warming by 0.5 degrees Celsius a century; that is not causing any ice cream to melt. In the latter depiction the demons are water and carbon dioxide molecules- these do not kill sunbeams. In fact, these elements comprise both humans and ice cream.
Al Gore shows pictures of a glacier melting between the years of 1980- 2007. This melting has been progressing at the same rate for 200 years previous (before man made hydrocarbon use at any significant level) but Gore does not reveal this fact. Since the dawn of earth temperatures have been fluctuating.Gore also shows CO2 as a factor in temperature increase. But in fact, carbon dioxide changes follow temperature changes. As heat increases oceans release more of the carbon dioxide molecules as do plants. Rising temperature is not a ramification of carbon dioxide output, it is vice versa.
If all 6 billion people on earth were to have 3 square feet, we would fit inside the parameters of Phoenix and Scottsdale. The sun is 109 times bigger than the earth and is responsible for 99.9% of the earth's heat. That leaves .1% of the blame on humans. To believe we caused and can control global temperature is to put ourselves above God.
For those who are afraid the planet will become unlivably hot, you are quite right. 2 Peter 3 :11-13 reads "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

Brooke Bellah (Make up)

International:

Mugabe Rival Denies Having Talks to Transfer Power in Zimbabwe:

Recently, an election was held in Zimbabwe for a new President, and Morgan Tsvangirai has claimed to have won the election. President Robert Mugabe has ruled over Zimbabwe for 28 years, so it is questionable whether he will give up his power for the sake of his country. "If Mr. Mugabe continues, there will be a coup d'etat," said Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitri Rupel. Tsvangirai says he will not meet with Mugabe before the election results are confirmed. However, rumors of such a meeting are still circling. At this point, election results have not been confirmed, but polling indicates that the opposition had won the election.

Opinion: I hope for the people of Zimbabwe's sake that Mugabe will step down peacefully. But history shows that a political change doesn't necessarily mean a change for the better (the French Revolution and Russian Revolution are two examples). But this Tsvangirai guy seems to be sincere in trying to create a better Zimbabwe. I hope that it will improve life for Zimbabweans.

Justice Department Declassifies 2003 'Torture Memo'

The Justice Department has just released previously withheld files containing the Bush Administration's justification for detaining enemy combatants and questioning them.The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman said the memo "reflects the expansive view of executive power that has been the hallmark of this administration" and that it "seeks to find ways to avoid legal restrictions and accountability on torture and threatens our country's status as a beacon of human rights around the world." He said he had been trying to get the memos from the White House for four months now, and that the release of these files was an important step forward, but complained that the White House was still withholding other files, even from members of Congress.

Opinion:

Of course it's going to be like pulling teeth to get these kinds of files released, and it should be this way. Releasing top secret interrogation techniques would endanger American lives. War is ugly, and torture is sometimes necessary to get information that could save lives. Since 9/11 there has not been another terrorist attack in the United States. Whatever the Bush Administration did to help prevent this I believe was the right thing to do, and I applaud the President for protecting our country--even if this means being in favor of torture as a means of extracting information. Remember these people's main goal is to kill Americans and treating them with respect should not be our main concern.