Suge Knight is '100% Innocent'

Suge Knight was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon involving a firearm and also driving with a suspended license. This happened when an unidentified man told police Knight had pointed a gun at him. Police later found Knight driving around the same area with a suspended license. Knight was arrested on the spot without incident. Knight's lawyer says he is 100% innocent and that the man that made these accusations is lying. Knight's lawyer says he was only driving in the area to meet with a potential client. Knight posted bail of $60,000 and was released from jail. Knight's lawyer says he should be cleared of all charges because Knight is not someone that would carry a gun on him. He did not do this and shouldn't be charged with the crime. Knight's lawyer says that the man who accused Knight should be the one that needs to be investigated.

I really don't know who is lieing in this situation. Knight is a big name in the Hip-Hop industry and this could be a case where he is paying the lawyer to get him off of the charges. He may actually be guilty and he will most likely get off. On the other hand, I don't see why a man of his stature would commit a crime of such stupidity. I don't believe Knight would have any reason destroy another person through assault with a firearm. That is a "thuggish" crime, and a man with his kind of money doesn't need to commit "thuggish" crimes. So he either didn't do it or he is a dumb man who put himself in the way of the law by committing a foolish crime. Either way he won't be charged though, not with his kind of power.

Read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/21/suge.knight.arrested/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Mothers Meet With Detained Hikers In Iran

The mothers of the three hikers detained while accidently crossing over into the Iranian border when hiking in Iraq were able to see their children. It took them six months to be able to get the visas to allow them to go see their children. It was a tearful reunion said reporters. The mothers are also asking for a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There is no word on if that meeting is going to happen or not. The three hikers are said to be charged with espionage and put on trial. The Swiss have been representing the Americans in the absence of formal U.S. -Iran diplomatic relation.

I think the Iranian government is taking this whole incident out of porportion. There is no way that they actually think the three hikers were spies. Spies don't cross the border and end up in the middle of nowhere. They would have a plan. I think the government is almost doing it for both attention and a way to try and get some of their prisoner's freed from America's grasp. I am glad to see that the mothers got to visit their sons though, and find out that they are ok. They must have been worried sick. I hope for the families and hikers sake they get let off and get to go home soon. I think the Swiss will pull through for us on this one, because Iran doesn't have a good case.

Read more at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/20/iran.hikers.mothers/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Wash Your Regrets Away?

Studies have shown that washing your hands can help you to temporarily forget things that you have done previously that are thought to be unethical. Sciencetists have found that washing your hands and getting rid of bacteria often improves your mental state to a feeling of cleanliness and feeling better about previous unethical behaviors. "When people have done bad things, they have sort of sins or traces or residuals from the past," he said. "By washing away the hands, there’s a sense of abstractly also washing away the past sins. Some students have conducted research and experiments to back up this theory. Their results were in line with the theories results and they backed it up.

I can understand the thinking behind this theory. I find that when people are stressed out or have a lot on their minds, they often like to take hot showers. This both cleans the body and relax's the person. This relaxation is like a cleansing of the soul. Connecting that same thinking to your hands could work. Washing the dirt off of your hands is like washing the 'dirt' off of your soul. Plus, studies have shown that this theory is true, at least in some cases. So it has to be a believable theory.

Read more about it at:

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/06/wash-your-regrets-away/?hpt=Sbin

Children's Cold and Allergy Medicine Recalled

Over 40 over-the-counter child drugs have been recalled because they do not meet quality standards. They say that the recall had nothing to do with any health issues but only as a precaution. They recalled the medicines after meeting the the FDA and realizing that some ingredients are inactive and may also contain too much of some ingredients. There are many different types of medicines that are affected by the recall. These medicines were made in the U.S. and distributed to a dozen different countries. However, there are still a number of other products, generic and otherwise that are not affected by the recall.

It was a good heads up by the company to meet with the FDA to see if their products were up to par. There were a lot of medicines on the shelfs that could have harmed children. Children are weaker than adults and some of these medicines could have endangered lives. Instead parents now know to be cautionary about what products to buy to keep their kid's safe. Its good when different branches in this country work together to solve problems. The wide distribution of these products may be a challenge, but hopefully they will be able to get them all.

Read more about it at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/01/drug.recall/index.html?hpt=T2

Issue #1 - All Things Being Unequal

Issue #1 is all about the increasing gap between the incomes of the upper and lower classes. Since 1979, the income of the upper class has increased from 45.4 percent to 53.5 percent. At the same time, the income of the lower class has decreased from 5.8 percent to 4.1 percent. These statistics show the increasing gap between the classes. Similarly, the gap between the upper classes and the middle class have also been increasing. This is due to the middle classes almost stagnant wages, while their cost of living has still been on the rise. Many government officials agree that the current economic gap is unfairly wide. However, they aren't sure what to do about it. Some people think that the federal government should impose restrictions on trade and outsourcing, in order to maintain salary levels and protect domestic jobs. These restrictions follow the rule of protectionism. Other people suggest the government should increase taxes on the upper classes and reduce taxes on the lower and middle classes. However, not all people feel that the problem needs to be fixed. People who oppose change suggest that inforcing trade barriers would reduce bussiness profits which would leave less money to distribute to the workers. Other people say that the gap between economic growth actually helps stimulate the economy. Some opponents also say that federal spending on social safety nets already consumes about half of the federal budget, and there just isn't enough money for more.

I believe that the government shouldn't do anything to help decrease the gap between the upper and lower classes. The fact of the matter is, if the middle and lower class jobs earned wages that were similar to the upper class jobs, no one would work for those jobs. People who become doctors and lawyers spend many years in college doing hard work and studying in order to get a high class salary. But if they could do less schooling and still get a fairly high paying job, I would imagine they would take it. Its really a motivational thing. Plus, if the income gap helps the economy, why would we want to decrease it? In doing so we would be hurting the economy which is what makes our country tick. I also believe that our government spends to much on programs that aren't really necessary, and they just don't have the funds to take on a project that would decrease the gap between the social classes. There isn't even a need for it. Thomas Friedman wants to raise taxes, instead of stopping trade with all countries. By doing this we would open up more markets and expand exsisting ones, which would create more jobs. This way we could expand the business profit without stopping outsourcing.

>Read more on Thomas L. Friedman

>Issue #2

>Issue #3

Big Spill in the Gulf?

The Deepwater Horizon has sunk 36 hours after a huge explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Now officials are worried that many gallons of crude oil could spill into the sea. So far there have been ship skimming oil off the surface. But it won't be until tomorrow, at the least, before they find out if the rig is still spilling more crude oil under the surface. They are currently using a remote controlled vehicle to look around the sunken rig to see if in fact the crude is spilling from the well of the rig. Besides the worry of the spill that may occur, there are still 11 workers missing from the explosion. The Coast Guard has been patrolling the area searching for the missing workers, but they are assuming all of them are dead.

This whole situation is just getting worse by the hour. The longer it takes the Coast Guard to find the missing workers, the more likely it is that they will be dead. Plus, on top of that we have to worry about the potential of gallons upon gallons of crude oil coming out of the rig. That poses two problems: it's bad for the Gulf Coast and it hits us financially. If they don't get the leak stopped, we could potentially lose thousands of gallons of crude oil that could be used for our vehicles and other uses. I can't imagine the collateral damage that the oil will have on the ecosystem and the ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico. Not to mention the damage it will do on American's wallats. The oil companies will use this incident as an excuse to jack up oil prices.

Read more at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36683314/ns/us_news-life/?GT1=43001#36717831

Gov. Manchin: Let's Honor Miners Friday with Safety Review

West Virginia's Governor Joe Manchin stated today that he wants miners to return to work on Friday. But instead of mining coal on Friday he wants them all to take the day to re-evaluate safety procedures. The accident in the Big Branch Mine in Naoma killed 29 miners and proves to be the worst incident since 1972 when 91 miners died. Manchin wants everyone to work together to come up with better and safer working conditions in the mines. After all, he feels that safety is the number one concern. Upper Big Branch Mine, the part where the explosion took place, is closed until the investigation is complete. There have also been some interesting details leaked about the record of Massey Energy, the owner of the mine. Davitt McAteer, whose overseen other mine investigations, states that Massey Energy has a "checkered" record. Massey Energy also has a record of doing things the cheapest way. This way includes cutting corners and not following safety laws. In fact, just last year, Big Branch Mine got 450 citations.

This is a very tradgic event. My heart goes out to all the miners and their families that were involved in this event. Hopefully a lot of good can come out of this though. It's sad that, as Americans, we have to wait for a tradgedy before we can move forward. But since the collapsing happened, hopefully the governor will keep pushing until new safety regulations and equipment are created to prevent these things from happening in the future. It's the least we can do to honor the dead miners. Some of the new regulations could include federal inspectors checking on the mine shafts on a more regular basis. They also have to make sure that companies aren't cutting corners on safety. No amount of money is worth risking lives for.

Read more about the incident at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/14/west.virginia.mine.safety/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Environmentalists Critical of Obama Drilling Plan

Some environmentalists slam Obama's plan, citing that it will be a danger to the ecosystem and to tourism. The Florida senator says the plan is better than others that have been proposed in the past. Obama's proposal would keep offshore drilling 125 miles from the Florida coast. Another environmentalist praises protection for sensitive areas on the West Coast. Basically, the environmentalists are angry that Obama has these plans set. You can see in the picture people have already been protesting his plans by standing on a beach next to the ocean, holding hands. This symbolizes a barrier that is trying to stop the government from drilling in the ocean.

I agree with Obama's oil drilling plans. It may endanger some of the ecosystem, but the president wouldn't allow anything that would hurt the majority of it. The people who are protesting need to realize that we live in a world that needs oil. The more oil we can drill ourselves will mean lower costs for the consumers. I would say that most of America can live with a little bit less beauty if it fattens their wallets a little more.

Read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/31/energy.environmentalists/index.html

White-Supremacist Murder Suspect Found With Throat Slashed

A white murderer accused of the deaths of two people in Brockton last year was found with a self-inflicted slash wound to his neck in his prison cell Thursday morning. He was taken in ambulance to Boston to the hospital. They are investigating the incident. He is awaiting trial for the January 2009 slayings of two people on Clinton Street in Brockton, including his former neighbor, Selma Goncalves, 20, and Arlindo Depina Goncalves, 72, a homeless man who was collecting cans. He is also accused of attacking and raping Selma Goncalves' sister. After his arrest,he allegedly told police he planned to kill as many Jews, blacks and "non-white" people as possible before turning the gun on himself.

This guy seems to have many issues that he should have had addressed while in prison. First of all, he did terrible things to multiple people which got him landed in the clink. Then after he got arrested he went on a rant about how he plans to kill 'non-white' people and other minority groups. It is sad that a man died, but he seemed to be a good choice for death. I know that that seems saddistic, but the man was a bad person. He was overally into white supremacy and he didn't care about minority groups or other races.

Read more at:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/23023589/detail.html

Autopsy: SeaWorld Trainer Died From Drowning, Traumatic Injuries

An autopsy report released Wednesday confirmed that SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau died of drowning and traumatic injuries to her spine, ribs, and head after a 12,000-pound killer whale pulled her underwater. On February 24, Brancheau was working with a whale named Tilikum at an Orlando SeaWorld, when the animal grabbed her by the pony tail and dragged her underwater. The medical officer's report says that Brancheau suffered a severed spinal cord, fractures to her jawbone, ribs, and cervical vertebra, in addition to drowning. Because of Tilikum's "aggressive nature," the rescuers weren't able to recover Brancheau's body until 40 minutes later. Tilikum has also been linked to two other deaths. In 1991, a trainer in Canada fell into the tank and was drowned by three whales, including Tilikum. Also, in 1999, the same whale was blamed for the death of a 27-year-old man who hid in the park and climbed into the whales tank after hours. Despite Brancheau's death and Tilikums storied background, the head of SeaWorld said that Tilikum "is a wonderful animal" and "will remain an active and contributing member of the team despite what happened." There has always been special precautions taking with Tilikum, due to his special size and weight. Now there will be even more special procedures put in place for trainers handling this whale.

I don't understand how SeaWorld can keep this whale in active duty. This whale has shown aggression on several occasions, and should not be handled by humans. I think SeaWorld should do one of two things: either put the animal down or release it into the ocean. By keeping this oversized, aggressive whale around, they are endangering the lives of any trainer who handles Tilikum. In my opinion, they are asking for another tragic event to happen. How many deaths does this whale have to be tied to in order for it to be dealt with in more of a permanent matter. He may be "a wonderful animal," but that doesn't make up for his history of aggressive "fits," where someone usually ends up dead. These situations could surely be avoided. I also don't understand why we think we can train whales. Dolphins are one thing, because they are not aggressive by nature. But why would we want to train animals with the nickname of Killer Whale. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Read more about Brancheau and Tilikum at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/31/florida.seaworld.autopsy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

House Passes Senate's Health Care 'Fixes' Bill

The House of Representatives passed the health care "fixes" bill Thursday to send the measure to President Obama's desk. This vote is approving changes to the broader health care reform bill that the president signed into earlier this week. This fixes bill was approved by a 56-43 vote in the Senate earlier Thursday. On Sunday, the House passed both the overall health care bill and the fixes bill under the reconciliation rules. Democrats had to go under the reconciliation rules in order to overcome unanimous Republican opposition. The Democrats' passed the fixes bill in order to get their original health care reform passed without having to do any changes to it. This two-bill strategy helped the House pass the Senate bill without changes, and also get fixes through that they want. Since these bills were passed under the reconciliation rules, the Senate only needed 51 votes to pass the bills.

I feel that the Democrats are using pretty sneaky methods in order to get this bill passed. They have the Republicans constantly looking for ways to prolong, or even perhaps stop the bill in its tracks. They have been able to prolong it with the finding of minor changes that needed to be made in the wording. They also filibustered the bill once. Most polls in America tell us that the majority of Americans in this country do not want this bill to go through. Also, not one Republican and a handful of Democrats don't want this bill to go through. Yet, it is being passed anyway. I think the Democrats and president Obama are jamming this bill down the public's throats, even if we don't want it. As soon as they lost Ted Kennedy and the majority vote, they went to the reconciliation rules. This allowed them to pass the bills with less votes. I'm not saying that health care for everyone is a bad thing, but I don't appreciate the methods that the Democrats are using to give us health care. I also don't like that the Democrats through some random issues in with this bill in order to get votes. Some issues I'm talking about include money for a new hospital and student loans. Neither of those sound like health care to me.

Read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/25/health.care.main/index.html

Fargo: A Fortress of Sandbags

The city of Fargo, North Dakota is surrounded by 700,000 sandbags. The volunteers in the area have made up a total of 1 million sandbags. This is in hopes to safe the city from the raising Red River. The river has already risen 3 feet in the last 24 hours. Karena Carlson, the spokeswomen for Fargo, stated that they hope the sand bags will allow the city to be protected up to 40 feet. Just last year the record was set when the river hit 40.8 feet. As of early this morning the river was already at 32.54 feet. That is more than 18 feet above major flood stage. The good news is experts are predicted the crest to be at 38 feet, which will likely occur already this Sunday. College students in Moorhead are also preparing for the flooding on the otherside of the same river.

It makes me feel good to see that there are still good hard working people in this world. When flood season comes around, the people in this area don't complain or ask for the government to bail them out. Many college students and residents in the city work together to fill and place sandbags in order to keep the city safe. It takes a lot of dedication, teamwork, cooperation, and hard work to fill 1 million sandbags and place 700,000 of those around the city. Its great that this many people are willing to volunteer their time and services for the good of the whole city.

Read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/03/18/severe.weather/index.html?iref=allsearch

Texas Tour Bus Crash Kills 2, Injures 18

A tour bus that was going to Matamoros, Mexico tipped over near Campbellton, Texas. The tour bus was a subsidiary of Greyhound. It flipped on its right side on the side of Interstate 37. The bus was carrying about forty people all between the ages of 40 and 60. Two people were killed and 18 were injured. Most of the injured are being transported to San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center and University Hospital to get treated for their injuries.

This is a very scary, and also sad event. When people go on these tour buses, they aren't sitting there thinking: "Man, I sure hope this bus doesn't flip over on me." But that is exactly what happened. When people ride these buses they are expecting to be in safe hands. I almost have to wonder if these accident was due to corporations trying to cut expenses. It raises the questions like: was this bus inspected before it left? Were the tires re-treads? Was the driver being careless? I could have been a result of anyone of these problems. However, it could have been just a freak accident. In any case, 2 people were killed and 18 more were injured. My condolences go out to those families who had loved ones on this bus. This accident could have resulted in many more deaths however. In my knowledge, these tour buses generally don't have seat belts. That would mean these people weren't stapped in and they could've ended up anywhere. This is just sad moment.

Read more at:


http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/16/texas.bus.crash/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Costa Rica Elects First Woman President

Costa Rica elected its first female president, Laura Chinchilla. Chinchilla is a part of the National Liberation Party. She also gave thanks to the pioneering women of Costa Rica, who years ago opened the door for women in politics. Earlier that day, second-place candidate Otton Solis conceaded from the race as Chinchilla had an overwhelmenly 46.8 percent of the vote. Election day was also festive throughout the nation. They had mock elections for the kids and many people came out to support their favorite canidate. In all, some 2.8 million Costa Ricans were eligible to vote in this election. The outgoing president Oscar Arias cast his vote in the election and stated that the electoral process was transparent and trustworthy. He also added, "I would like to thank the Costan Rican people for filling the streets with color."

In my eyes, and in the eyes of many, this is truly a historical event. This is the first female president in Costa Rica's history. That says a lot for the country that they don't discriminate on gender, and they chose the best possible canidate. This is comparable to the United States latest election, when we elected the first African-American into office. That was a big change in our country, but it was a good change. In fact, Costa Rican's were equally excited when Obama was put into office and they wished us the best of luck with him. However, I don't think the United States is ready for a female president. We can all watch and see how Chinchilla does, but in the end the countries are two different worlds. Costa Rica is more of a third-world country that for the most part sticks to themselves. A female president in the U.S. would have to deal with a lot more baggage. For instance, she would have to deal with the tremendous debt, the war on terror, and numerous other difficulties. I just don't think there is a woman out there who would be ready to become president in the U.S.

Read more about the election at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/08/costarica.election/index.html?iref=allsearch

‘Unjustifiable’ Airstrike Kills 27 Afghan Civilians

Over this past weekend NATO authorized an "unjustifiable" airstrike that lead to the deaths of 27 civilians. NATO received, what was supposed to be reliable Intel, from an Afghan saying that there would be many Taliban leaders traveling to a destination in 3 buses. So NATO and the American commander thought this would be a perfect opportunity to take out some strong leaders. So they saw on their satellites that there are 3 buses traveling, and this matched there Intel. So planes fired at the buses and took them out, when they sent people into inspect the damage, they found innocent civilians and among them four women and children. NATO apologized Monday saying the attacks were "Unjustifiable". This is the third time this has happened in Afghanistan since starting there major offensive there.

This is a horrible event that could have easily been avoided. The army should never take intel from an Afghanistan source unless they know for a fact that it is reliable. Really, the only intel I would take from over there is intel that comes either straight from American's or Afghanistan officials. With so many terrorists over there, it is to easy for a group of them to fake intel. Plus, NATO should have looked into the intel more. They easily could have checked the buses before dropping an airstrike on them. With all of the satellites out there today, and with our technology, it wouldn't have been too hard to confirm if it was the Taliban leaders. Besides from being a sad event, it also hurts the civilian trust that we were gaining. We swore to protect civilians, and instead we killed 27 innocent ones. This also makes NATO look incompitent. With the war going the way it is, NATO leaders need to have a little more patience and look into decisions before they make them.

Read more about the airstrike at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35515880/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#storyContinued

Issue #2 - Spending What We Can Afford

In our country, both the president and Congress help prepare an annual budget for the federal government. Together they decide what we will spend our money on. It can be spent on things like defense, health care, education and many other federal programs. What the budget does is it outlines the nation's priorities for the coming year and describes how the government will reach those goals. Our budget is supposed to be less or the same as our governement earns, otherwise we have a budget deficit. In the last few decades, our government has spent more money than it has earned, making these deficits happen. Every time our country has a deficit, it needs to borrow more money, which puts us further into debt. This over spending is threatening our entitlement spending programs. An example of this is Social Security. Many of the "baby boomer" generation is starting to take more money from Social Security than is being put in, threatening its very existense. To counteract this persistent budget deficit, Congress passed a pay-as-you-go (otherwise known as paygo) budgeting measure. This basically means that Congress can only spend what they can pay for. Many supporters of paygo argue that paygo rightly responds to citizens' concerns about profligate spending and the rising national debt. Some opponents to this measure argue that paygo will merely result in higher taxes in order to pay for the new programs.

I believe that paygo is a good idea. It shows and helps Congress to understand that deficits matter and should be contained. Our national debt is rising at a horrific pace. Right now it is at astaggering 12 trillion dollars. Paygo could help manage this debt, and hopefully somewhere down the road even eliminate the debt. Some critics claim that paygo will restrict Congress's ability to respond to national emergencies, such as recession. But the in those times of emergency, the government can suspend paygo if necessary. Current President Obama also agrees with paygo. He as said, "paying for what you spend is basic common sense." And he proposed making paygo a law.

Read more about Obama's stand on paygo here:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/09/obama.paygo/

Link to Issue #1:

http://jordanericksonsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/issue-1-war-dollars.html

Link to Issue # 3:

http://dbcooper2424.blogspot.com/2010/02/issue-3.html

Three Die as Plane Hits California Neighborhood

A small twin-engine plane crashed into a California neighborhood on Wednesday morning. All three people on board the plane were killed. There were no more reported deaths. All three of the victims on board the plane were employees of Telsa Motors, which is a luxury electric car company. The Cessna 310 took off from an airport and hit some power lines that were 60-foot in the air. This entanglement instantly forced the plane down into the nearby neighborhood. 4 homes were damaged from the crash, and two had fire damage. On top of the deaths and the damage to the homes, the crash also caused a massive power outage in the area. The plane hit a transmission tower during the crash which caused 28,000 customers to lose their electricity.

This is a very tragic event. Three people were killed, and four other families lost their homes during this crash. Even though this event was very unfortunate, I am thankful that it wasn't a lot worse. The people that were in the houses could have been killed, instead of just having ruined houses. There is no way to prepare for an airplane crash in your neighborhood. My condolensces go out to all the families that were affected by the crash, especially the families of the victims who died.

Read more about the plane crash at:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/02/17/california.plane.crash/

Who Will Light the Torch?

Speculation at the games have been focused on who would light the Olympic caldron at Friday night's opening ceremonies. This would be a national honor for whoever is chosen. Some say the honor will go to Wayne Gretzky, while others have campaigned for Betty Fox. Betty Fox is the mother of the late Terry Fox, who is a national hero in Canada. The Olympic Committee wants to choose the right person, since this is a huge deal. It is expected that hundreds of millions of viewers will tune in around the world to watch the event. Other acts at the opening ceremonies include singers Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan, and a ski jumper leaping through the Olympic rings. Canada is also expected to do better than the last time they hosted the Olympics. They are indeed looking for their first Winter Olympic gold medal on their home soil. However, not all Canadians are happy to be hosting the games this year. The biggest reason for the protest against the games is the money that is being spent on them. As for the torch lighter goes, the identity of the person is still a mystery.

I'll be honest, I really don't know anything about Terry Fox. But if I had the pleasure of choosing the person who lights the torch, I would go with Wayne Gretzky. He is a national hero who is also a NHL legend. He is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest hockey player of all time. And since this is a world-wide event and not just a Canadian event, I think Wayne Gretzky is a great choice. More people would be able to connect with Gretzky than Terry Fox. Fox is to much of a local hero. On another note, I'm glad Canada is hosting the Winter Games this year. It is close to home, so I can relate more to the Olympics than I could if they were half way around the world. I know it costs a lot of money to host them, but the country will also get a big income from the tourists. I also hope, and almost guarantee that Cananda will get their first home gold medal. They are too strong of a nation not to get it. Especially with the talented line-up they have on their hockey team. They are definantly strong favorites. As far as the person who is going to light the torch, your guess is as good as mine.

Read more about the opening ceremonies at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/02/11/olympic.ceremony.preview/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Johnson & Johnson Heiress Dies

It has been determined that 30-year-old Casey Johnson died of natural causes related to diabetes. Casey Johnson was the heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. She was a real socialite, and she was found dead at a friend's home January 4. Even though Johnson was recently in the news for her relationship with Tila Tequila, the coroner found that she died of diabetic ketoacidosis, which is described as a serious complication of untreated diabetes. Many people have expressed sadness over this loss, including Tila Tequila, the Johnson family, and the New York Jets.

This is a very sad article. But I do not see it to be very news worthy. I feel bad for the family, and I think it is a tragedy that Johnson died. However, many people die of natural causes every day and none of them get a news article. CNN only found this news worthy because of her last name. On the other hand, the Mayo Clinic gave there definition for ketoacidosis, but that is not always the right lead. Many type 1 diabetics can have major complications after missing just one shot of insulin. I don't know how bad her Johnson's diabetes were, but this could have been the case. If her diabetes weren't that bad, there could be another explanation. Ketoacidosis can also be intentionally brought on by people who want to decrease their body fat levels quickly. With her lifestyle, and having a relationship with Tila Tequila, this could be a possible explanation for the death. However, this is just speculation and in no way fact. I also find it rather nice that the Jets organization is mourning her loss. Her father is the owner of the franchise, so she is like part of the team in a sense. Its nice to see so many people show their appreciation.

To see more about the article go to:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/02/04/casey.johnson.cause.death/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Avatar: Is it Bigger Than Titanic?

Avatar has officially rolled past the worldwide box-office record with tallies of $1.86 billion. Even though Avatar has passed Titanic's box-office record, the question remains on whether it can beat Titanic's Oscar total for nominations. Most experts say no. Since Avatar was mainly digitally done, most people say it won't get any nods in the acting department. The Academy won't be willing to give out a nomination for a digital portrayal. Other weak areas for Avatar are in the costume, music, and makeup categories. The film won't be able to overcome these low spots. But even though Avatar won't beat the record, it will still have its fair share of nominations with around 9 or 10. There is one record that Avatar can boast however, and that is the $300 million that was spent on creating this film.

I personally saw both of these movies, and I would have to agree with the experts. I think that Avatar won't get as many nominations as Titanic did. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a phenomenal film that deserves to get the best picture and best director awards. But it lacks enough depth to gain a lot of nominations. And even though the actors and actresses who played the Na'vi roles did an outstanding job, it's hard to nominate them for best actor or actress when they are never seen. It was mostly just their voice that was brought through. I hope this film can keep up its hype and stay at number 1 for a long, long time. It is one of my personal favorite movies of all time. I'm glad Cameron waited for the right technology, and spent that hefty $300 million to bring the audience a one of a kind experience.

Read more about Avatar at:

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Avatar+office+king+never+sink+Titanic+Oscar+tally/2488917/story.html