http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/shooting-reported-at-connecticut-elementary-school.html?hp&_r=0

There has been another shooting at a Connecticut Elementary school.

It happened in Newton Connecticut, at the elementary school, and the shoot has been identified as 24-year-old Ryan Lanza. The death toll, say officials, is close to 30.

It seems like every few weeks there is a new horrific gun crime that happens in America. A mostly American phenomena, school shootings, are still happening despite the efforts of victims families and concerned citizens, and members of congress want to lower gun restrictions? And making them more strict is straight up out of the question. It reported that more than a 100 rounds were fired. This was no handgun, this was at least a semi-automatic firearm. That kind of power is unnecessary for even hunting or sport, and has one basic purpose: mass killing. That is what these guns were designed for, to kill as many enemies as quickly as possible, and that kind of power does not need to be in the hands of untrained civilians.

The old right to bear arms argument arises when ever this is brought up, that it is our "constitutional right" to own and carry firearms, but what people fail to realize is that the meaning of that simple statement has changed drastically over the years. If we go by the intent of the founders, then it simply means that every citizen has the right to form a militia, and not carry around the biggest cannon they can find.

I am not advocating that we take away peoples guns, but I do think that we need to at least have a better system in place to restrict who gets guns and possibly restrict what kind of guns can be owned by the general populace. Who really needs to own a RPG? The short answer, really, is the army, and that's about it.

TWEET 2

Another shark attack  victim, James Parks, 30, of Oak Bluffs. This is a confirmed shark attack. Beaches are to remain closed until further notice.

TWEET

Kids pose as shark to scare beach goers in Amity. Two people injured in stampede from the water.

Killer Shark Finally Captured

Dozens of local fisherman gathered at a local dock about a mile south of Amity to hunt down the killer shark that has been terrorizing the local waters.

After two deaths of Chrissie Watson and Alex Kitner, police were forced to close down the beaches in order to protect the public.

This all started last night at the Town meeting, where the reward for $3,000 was announced. “Are you going to close the beaches or not?” asked a concerned citizen at the meeting. After what appeared to be a strained response, Police chief Martin Brody could only respond with “yes, we are.”

In the midst of the uproar, Ben Quint dragged his nails across the chalkboard to get everyone’s attention. “You all know me, you all know what I do for a living,” said Quint. “I’ll catch this bird for you, but it ain’t gonna be easy.”

There was some disturbance in the crowd but Quirt silenced them, continuing, “but it’s not going to be pleasant, and I value my neck more than $3,000. I’ll find him for 3,000, but I’ll catch him and kill him for 10.”

Quint was not seen with the party that caught the supposed killer shark.

The caught shark, a large nurse shark, was identified by Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from Woods Hole, Mass. Oceanographic institute. “Nurse sharks are among the most brutal and dangerous of all sharks and have been reputable for hundreds of swimmers deaths,” said police.
 

Chief Brody has given the all clear for the beaches to open again, and just in time for the Fourth of July rush to the beaches. There will still be shark monitors out on the waters, however. “They are simply a safety precaution that we hope will put our visitors at ease,” said police.

If anyone spots a shark, the police have set up a hotline, 1-800-sharksee in order for the public to inform them of any unusual shark sightings.

Sharks of the New England Region

BOSTON - In the entire United States, each year there are only 16 shark attacks per year, compared to the total of lightning strikes, 41, that kill Americans each year. And in total there have been less than 100 recorded deaths since 1900.

The waters of New England are just as safe as any, with most sharks being relatively harmless, such as the Basking Shark and the Whale Shark, and of the three main perpetrators of shark attacks, Great Whites, Tiger, and Bull Sharks, most are uncommon in the area.

"While sharks kill fewer than 20 people a year, their own numbers suffer greatly at human hands," said Brian Handwerk, a shark expert, "but between 20 and 100 million sharks die each year due to fishing activity."

The largest shark, the Whale Shark, can grow up to 60 feet long, but luckily only feeds on plankton.

The last major shark incident in New England was earlier this year, when a large Great White attacked a swimmer of the coast of Cape Cod, but he was able to leave the hospital in a cast and bandaged leg a few days later, able to joke about his experience.

Unless the life gaurd informs you of a shark sighting, it is relatively safe to assume that the waters of New England are safe to swim in (from sharks, anyways). Be sure to stay safe and always swim with supervision.

Gay Conversion Therapy

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/us/judge-blocks-california-conversion-therapies-law.html?hp

This is one of the most atrocious things I have ever heard. The fact that this is even up for debate is terrifying. Children should NOT be allowed to be submitted to "conversion therapy." The implications of this law are horrifying, in what it can allow parents to do to there children in which the children would have no legal way to fight if it is decided upon as a freedom of speech issue.

The law is up for debate in California, where two federal judges had opposing rulings about the issue. The potential for these therapies to be damaging to the youths is a serious issue, especially for an isolated youth in a community that does not support homosexuality. The damage that could be caused due to regression and suppression, while not fully understood, is enough that this law should at least be given pause before being ruled legal or not.

Attack on Syrian School Kills Dozens

Today, amid heavy fighting between the Syrian army and the rebel forces, a mortar hit a school, killing up to 29 people.

There are differing reports coming from both sides of the conflict, with SANA, the state news agency, reporting 29 deaths, and the rebel forces only reported nine casualties.

This is not the first time rebels have had their bombs and improvised explosives have civilian casualties, and have angered both sides of the conflict.

The state of conflict has escalated in Syria over the past couple of days, and this event did not help things much. There are reports that the Syrian government may be preparing to use chemical weapons in its fight against the rebel forces, an act completely against international law.

The US has already pulled its non-essential foreign personal in the region.

There is also a large portion of the population relying on the UN World Food Program for aid, which is becoming ever more difficult to provide as the safety of Syria's roads becomes compromised.

World Oldest Women Dies

Today, the world oldest women died at the age of 116.

Besse Cooper lived in Moroe, Gerogia at a nursing home about 45 miles east of Atlanta.

She passed away at about 2 p.m. this morning after being sick over the weekend. While watching family home movies on Monday, she had trouble breathing and was was put on oxygen in her room but did not make it.

The previous record holder, Maria Valentin of Brazil, who was 48 days older than Besse, passed away on June 21, allowing Besse to be formally acknowledged as the worlds oldest person by Guinness Book of World Records.

Gul Meena, an Afghan woman, recently survived a brutal attempt at her life.

In Afghanistan, there is a strong culture of tribal laws and traditions that are very harsh towards there treatment of women, the worst of these being "honor killings." Most often carried out by the victims own family, these killings are for women who are a shame to the family and have to die, for things such as adultery, pre-marital sex, and even being raped.

But, while things may seem bleak, there is a silver lining in all of this. Doctors, who work in poor conditions with little or no money, were able to nurse Gul Meena from the brink of death. Even the doctors face harsh stigma even doing there jobs when helping these women (if they survive), just for doing there job.

Gul Meena has next to no visitors, the Afghan Woman's council has not sent any representatives  she has been dishonored and will likely be killed on sight by most of her family, and her lover was brutally murdered at the same time she was attacked. Without relatives, she doesn't even have a clean set of clothes to wear, and when reporters came to visit, she was lying in her own urine, as doctors have long ago run out of money to care for her on a constant basis.

She does, however, have some champions in her corner. There are a few on the provincial council that are in support of her. The only female member, and a few others would like to see a change in the tribal traditions and codes that hurt the women of the Afghan country so much.