Lawyer: Beheading planned in Saudi sorcery case

This article informs the readers about a man named Ali Hussain Sibat who is sentenced to death by the Saudi Arabian government for committing the crime of sorcery. He is sent to be beheaded tomorrow, however his lawyer is not giving up. Sibat is the former TV host for a popular call-in show. In his show he would tell the future and give advice to his audience on air. During his visit to Saudi Arabia in May of 2008, he was arrested by the religious police on the charges of sorcery. He was put on trial in November of 2009 and found guilty. Sibat's lawyer told CNN that Sibat will appeal the verdict for the second time.

Sorcery. I seem to remember people believing in sorcery about a billion years ago! To arrest a man for committing sorcery is wrong but to sentence him to be BEHEADED is a little insane. Honestly how many people try to predict the future or give advice to the world... a lot. And how many of them are right? Slim to none my friends slim to none. I myself am starting to wonder if these judges even checked to see if his so called "predictions" turned out to be true, and if they turned out to be false..well than that's kinda embarrassing. This man was not even living in Saudi Arabia he was just visiting to preform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Urma. To me this guy sounds honest. He has a wife, looks like two kids from the picture.. those kids don't want to see their father's head cut off! Those types of things only happen in movies! If it were up to me, I would for sure let the guy go with his head attached and than have him tell me my future.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/31/saudi.arabia.sorcery/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Two suspected suicides confirmed at Cornell; total now at six

This article updates us on the suicide situation at Cornell University. In February, a freshman jumped off a bridge over one of the area's well-known gorges. The body of a sophomore engineering major was found March 11 under similar circumstances. Police are also searching for a body in another suicide witnessed March 12. David Skorton, the president of Cornell University, has been praised by many people because he encourages openness on issues that other colleges try to keep on the down low. He has done many things since this incident, like putting information on the school website for help and also putting ads in the paper reading, "If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help. It is a sign of wisdom and strength." This message may be getting through. The first sentence of the quote has been written in chalk on one of the bridges where the suicides took place. The cause of the suicides is still unknown.

Suicides are a terrible thing and I’m glad that there are many organizations out there to help people with that problem. However, six suicides in one academic year is far from normal. A college should have maybe two suicides a year, maybe. I think that there is a bigger picture here. I have talked about this issue in school with some classmates and one said that there was a group at Cornell trying to prove that they had academic stress and by doing so they think it’s a good idea to go and kill themselves to prove their point. This is ridiculous. Whoever thought of this idea needs serious help and for all the people in this group please get out of it. Killing yourself will just cause more problems like families being depressed, friends becoming depressed and thinking about committing suicide, and yes, it will cause more academic stress. So before you step on the top of that bridge to jump off take a second and think….there is Cymbalta!!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/20/new.york.cornell.suicides/index.html?npt=NP1

Health care reform anger takes a nasty, violent turn

This article informs the readers on how the health care bill has caused violence against politicians who voted yes towards it. Shots were fired during a congressman’s campaign and windows of Democratic offices were smashed all over the country. Even a coffin was laid on a lawmaker’s lawn. Many hate filled and even death threatening voicemails are being left on members of Congress’ phone lines. Republicans have the right to be angry over the Democrat's health care bill, but "resorting to violent measures is exactly the wrong way to send a message," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday night.

My view on this situation is that all these people who are threatening congressmen need to grow up. Honestly, the video shows a grown man holding up a poster of a women, who had voted yes for the bill, and making slapping gestures at her face. All this violence is childish. If you want to make a difference than you should have done so in who you voted into office. If it didn’t go your way than there are many different ways to express your views without using violence. Think of the children who are watching the news and seeing grownups, who they look up to, acting like immature fools because something didn’t go their way; its an embarrassment to our country. So for all you middle aged men and women who can’t get over the healthcare bill passing, its time to act like true adults and stop this nonsense of resorting to violence to express your words. Don’t you think its time to stop and think when “unruly” teenagers are laughing at your ridiculous attempts to change a bill that has already passed? Come on.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/congress.threats/index.html?hpt=Sbin

12-year-olds abusing inhalants

This article tells us about how drugs are not the only thing kids and parents have to look out for today. Kids as young as 12 have developed a new way to get high, without buying or using illegal drugs and it is called huffing. Huffing is inhaling substances to get the same high as you would drugs. They are using inhalants such as spray paint, shoe polish, glue, air fresheners, hair spray, nail polish, gasoline, aerosols, computer cleaners, even the refrigerant from air conditioners. The things about these items are that they are legal, cheap, and you can easily find them around your house. Recent studies have shown that kids are huffing these products more than marijuana, hallucinogens, and cocaine combined. Huffing can be fatal, leading to "sudden sniffing death." Many experts said 12 is considered a gateway age for inhalant use, but the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration would like to slam that gate shut. It is kicking off National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week, which starts Sunday. The American Osteopathic Association also is joining the national effort.

I think that the use of drugs and other substitutes for drugs has gotten out of hand. When kids as young as 12 have to resort to getting high off of hair spray and other things you can find in your own house, you have to start looking at why these kids feel the need to get high. One reason I think is the media. The media today is dangerous. Pictures and articles on celebrities having drug overdoses and getting smashed is not a good image to throw out to children who are going to hold the future of the country. Another reason to get high might be peers. Peers have such a huge influence on your kids today because coming from a kid in high school, kids are mean. You wear the wrong color of jeans one day and you can be shunned from your group. Now that kid has no friends and is going to do anything to become one of the group again and most likely that involves drugs. Things need to go further than to have a national awareness week. Kids find that funny and I can guarantee that peers are going to ignore that little pep fest at school to stop drug use. It needs to be taken further like maybe the celebrities that force the ideas of using drugs to the public should show up to schools, not just the rich ones but the average joes too, and talk about how they screwed up their life by using drugs. Get kids interested in doing other things than drugs. Have them try out for sports! Kill two birds with one stone, start on the obesity problem while we start on the drug problem.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/11/inhalant.abuse/index.html?hpt=Sbin