Indonesian Judge Suggests Rape Victims Like It

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/16/world/asia/indonesia-rape-comments-controversy/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

             An Indonesian Judge has said something that has essentially killed every chance he had of being elected for the Indonesian Supreme Court. He said this: "Consideration needs to be taken thoroughly for the imposition of death penalty for a rapist because in a rape case both the rapist and the victim enjoy it."
He said this in response a question about the death penalty being used on rapists.



This picture shows a protest for anti-rape regulations in Indonesia.

              Now, I find this story both awful and amusing. Awful for obvious reason's. The fact that someone could say something as stupid and inappropriate as this is beyond me. And I find it amusing because he killed every chance he had ever had of becoming a member of the Supreme Court there. This case is very similar to the case in America during the elections, of Republican Todd Akin, and Richard Mourdock. Todd Akin was running for Senate when he said this: "First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down." This idiotic statement of course killed every chance of him winning his race. And Mourdock said "Life is that gift from God that I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Again, a very strange thing to say, because Church and State should be separate. All in all, this was awful thing to say and it clearly lost him his race.

Newtown: After the Blood

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/14/us/connecticut-newtown-one-month-on/index.html?hpt=us_c2

I'm sure we are all aware of the horrific incident that occurred a month ago in Newtown, Connecticut. An evil man (and yes, I believe he is evil, not insane) found his way into an elementary school and what followed can only be described as one of the most horrific massacres of this day and age. I'm not going to go into to much detail about the event itself, but I will talk more about the aftermath and my response.

After this brutal massacre, the entire nation of America came together. It was in all honestly one of those moments where it makes you feel hopeful. When everyone is hurting due to this incident, it's extremely uplifting to see the country come together to try to help.For the days that immediately followed the killings, people from surround states and cities flocked to Newtown with gifts and words of support.

With regards to what I said earlier about the killer being evil and not insane, I stand by that. I believe that he is evil because he knew what he was doing. He knew that using the gun would kill people, and he did exactly that. I'm not saying he is 100% sane. He has problems to say the least, but he is not completely 'crazy'. He knew what he was doing and from the looks of it, he had wanted to do more. This whole situation has also obviously brought up one of if not the biggest debate on guns in America. Some people think we should have more guns, to protect us from our already existing guns? Ok, not what I would think but all right. This incident brought out the worst and in some cases, the best of America.

France Protests Against Gay Rights

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/13/world/europe/france-marriage-rights-protest/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

In France, by the Eiffel Tower, this past Sunday, hundreds of thousands angry and ignorant people gathered to speak out against human rights. You may be thinking, that the title of this article specifies gay rights, well that's exactly gay rights are, they are human rights. I am very proud to be Canadian, because although it is not a perfect country, it is (at least in my opinion) better at human and social advancements. America has a huge problem with same sex relationships and marriages. Europe is usually not thought to be that prejudiced, yet here France is, carrying the flag in the name of ignorance. Now, I realize I might sound a bit angry towards France as a whole, and I totally understand that this is not the fault of France at all. It is the fault of certain people, unfortunately, there are many of these people. The President of France, Francois Hollande, had campaigned this issue when he was running, and he has held true. He has offered a bill that is expected to be passed soon that gives the LGBT community more rights, the main one being the ability to marry. Finally! I am ashamed that I live in a world that is so advanced as this one, yet still struggles with things like gay rights.

Some of these protesters argue that gay rights are wrong because of what the Bible says about traditional marriage. I'm not going to even really address that point in detail, because the Bible says a lot of things about marriage, and most people don't agree with them nowadays. But these protesters weren't just Christians, there were Muslims (who also have very interesting laws of marriage in the Qur'an) and people of the Jewish culture. Now of course, I'm not blaming solely religion, that would be very prejudiced of myself. I blame this reaction to a variety of things, including but not limited to religion. Some others include parental guidance and a bad upbringing, ignorance (which in this day, is a choice), and a few other minor things.

Again, I have nothing against France or the French people, but these hundreds of thousands who protested this long awaited bill, are the reasons this world isn't where it could be.

Is Black Friday its own Holiday Now?

Original Articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/18/opinion/greene-black-friday/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Is Black Friday its own holiday now? Its a good question. Its not like an amazing day of shopping and sales just goes with Thanksgiving. I mean, when you think about it, its really quite silly. Thanksgiving is all about being thankful and happy with what you have, so of course the obvious thing to do is spend tons of money to get more possessions, right? Well, apparently. Black Friday is a modern addition to an old tradition.

Black Friday has become this monster that can control people. Its such a materialistic holiday, if you can actually call it a holiday. "It is an annual festival of the cash register." says the writer of this article, Bob Greene. Thanksgiving is not the only holiday with a day like Black Friday attached to it. Christmas has Boxing Day, and most holidays are in themselves days to buy. Most holidays, like Christmas and Halloween have companies drooling at the opportunities to sell their merchandise. Holidays in general are merchandising advertisements now. Is quite sad...

Holidays are very materialistic now, and while its good for the economy, is it really good?

Ireland Considers Changes in Abortion Laws

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/14/world/europe/ireland-abortion-controversy/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

A woman in Ireland died recently due to a blood infection caused by her pregnancy which was miscarrying. Savita went to hospital with back pain, and was told that she was going to have a miscarriage. She was 17 weeks pregnant when she was told. Despite her increasing agony and the knowledge that she was almost 100% going to lose the child, they refused to "terminate" the pregnancy. The law in Ireland with regards to abortion says that abortion is legal if the pregnancy risks the mother's life. It has to put her in serious risk of death. If they feel it will damage her, but not kill her, they cannot perform the abortion.

This case has led to some serious debate in Ireland and Great Britain as a whole about the abortion laws in Ireland. There was many protests throughout the nation, the biggest being help outside of the Irish Embassy in England. I am openly pro-choice (supportive of abortion). I believe its disgusting for anyone to tell a woman what to do with her body, especially in such a personal case like pregnancy. So when a nation outlaws abortion, I see the nation in a whole new light, and I can't help but think of them as sexist. This woman's death was avoidable. They would not let her get the abortion. That means one of two things. Either the doctors broke their own law and refused to give the abortion to her despite her risk of death. Or, they didn't think she had a risk of death, which considering how quickly she dies, says something bad about their doctors. Either way, this is a monstrosity.

High Mortality Rates in Southern States

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/health/infant-mortality-mississippi/index.html?hpt=us_c2

This article talks in brief about the tragedy of the Dykes family: a family living Mississippi who lost their their prematurely born child in 2008. Mississippi ranks 50th out of 50 in all the states for highest mortality rate. We all know that the southern states of America have a bad reputation, and the truth is, its all true. They have the worst mortality rate, a high rate of obesity, a low annual income, etc. A question this articles asks is "What role does race play?". This is a good question because the south is thought to be still quite racist and 40% of infants are born to black women in Mississippi. Some people speculate that the reason the mortality rate is so high can be caused by high rates of obesity. If the mother is not healthy, that can easily lead to a risky birth. Another factor that can lead to unhealthy births would be drug and/or alcohol use.

Mortality rate is the rate of how many children survive to see their first birthday. Mississippi has a mortality rate of 9.4, which means that on average, out of 1,000 babies born, 9.4 will die before their first birthday. This is an appalling statistic. Especially for such a huge country like America. This mortality rate is more on par with countries like Sri Lanka and Botswana.

The south has a lot of problems. These are fixable problems, but the sheer size of them make them difficult to overcome. Death is always tragic but especially so when it comes to infants. America needs to work to fix this major problem.

Syrian Amputee's Amazing Journey

Original Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/world/damon-syria-amputee/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

This tells the powerful story of Syrian brothers Omar and Abdulrahman, and their amazing journey. Abdulrahman was injured in the violence that plagues Syria and lost his leg. Omar found him in a hospital and wept at his brothers injury. Omar made the promise to his brother that he would walk again. So Omar set his mind to raising money for a prosthetic. After realizing that it would take too long, he contacted the Global Medical Relief Fund to see if they could help. They responded and said if they were going to help, Omar would have to get his brother to Turkey. A driver was able to take them relatively close to the border, but he could not take them all the way. Omar had to carry Abdulrahman across many muddy fields, but he was able to get to Turkey. They did not have passports, but they were able to get in and they are now waiting for further treatment.

This is an amazing story. It is both heart wrenching and heart warming. This story shows the destructive nature of war zones, and simultaneously shows the good in man kind. The perseverance and will power of Omar and Abdulrahman is amazing. The hell that these two boys went through is something no one should experience, yet these boys fought through and made it. I certainly hope that Abdulrahman can get a new leg, and I hope they can make a better life, because they came from an awful and violent situation.