Gruesome crimes barely shock Brazil

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/01/world/americas/brazil-crime/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

 “A pregnant 14-year-old raped, a grenade tossed into a crowd by robbers during a getaway. Those are just a few of the stories tucked inside Rio de Janeiro's main newspaper, O Globo, this week.” This is extremely shocking that so many bad things happened just this week in Brazil. Brazil is one of the top places where murder rate is high, even worse than Mexico. I had no clue that Brazil had some much crime in it. The article says that the killing of a former professional football player didn’t even make many newspaper headings. I can see why now, they are probably so used to crime that they forgot to mention another usual thing. I would never want to live in a country where they are so accustomed to it, it doesn’t seem that important.

“The news did, however, make headlines around the world, shining the spotlight yet again on violence in one of the host cities of the 2014 World Cup.” The news not really informing anybody about the terrible things happening in Brazil is very risky and not very respectful of the people. I would never ever want to go to the World Cup knowing about all this. The fact that the citizens are so used to crime it doesn’t really phase them that bad, is pretty much a warning sign. Even if you are a tourist staying for a couple days, a tragedy could still happen, whether the degree of it is high or low. In fact, being a tourist probably puts you at a higher risk. You aren’t accustomed to the type of things that happen in Brazil and what safety measures need to be taken.

“In Rio de Janeiro, cars drive through red lights at night. The drivers don't stop for fear of being robbed. Brazilians rarely carry cash, using debit cards even to pay for a cup of espresso. In Sao Paulo, criminal "sweeps" of restaurants and bars are common. An armed gang moves through in a matter of minutes, relieving patrons of all their valuables.” This is why tourist should be extra cautious because if you didn’t know this about Brazil, all these things could happen to you because you didn’t know what went on in Brazil. I think this article is very helpful, because now I’m going in further in depth with the situation. When you travel you should research the place so you are well informed of what to look out for and if you should take extra care of your money. 

Halloween just for kids?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/disfigured-freaks-hellish-hounds-halloween-irpt/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

“It's that time of year when revelers can let loose with their desire to shock. Getting dressed up ready to terrorize friends, family and strangers in the street has long been the goal for the holiday -- but a few partiers are taking it to another level, with masterfully executed, Hollywood-standard disguises.”  I enjoy seeing all the different creations people can come up with. You can really tell when people actually go all out and try to create an original costume and not just go out and buy a store bought costume. The more scary costumes tend to be created since store bought ones are easily recognized to be “that one from the store we went to look for costumes...”

 "What is a Halloween costume if not to be scary?" asked 26-year-old Californian Amada Kroon, whose ripped-off flesh makeup shocked and turned stomachs. Borinnnnnggg! That’s what I think when I see generic costumes that unoriginal people wear. Of course I do it too, but I don’t care too much about making a scene. When I do see costumes that strike my eye and actually down right scare me, I give them props for it. I get tired of seeing the same slutty girl costumes and the same men costumes of being a vampire or some well-known scary movie character. So I find it so cool when I see someone go outside of the book and really express the Halloween spirit and try to really scare people. Some people do go a little over board and scare off their little trick or treater’s but to us older people it’s pretty cool.

"I think the more realistic the costume is, the better. Sure, vampires and zombies are cool, but what is really freaky are the costumes that are basically normal people, but with some type of creepy or disturbing element added." I completely agree with this statement, the more realistic, the more it will scare me truly. Also if you are used to a common costume it won’t scare you as much as one you haven’t seen before. It would be like going through the same haunted house 10 times, you would get old of it and be expectant of everything. Now if you go through a new one, new original costume, you aren’t expecting it and you think wow that really scared me! New things always appear to be better and they really are. Old things simply put are just old and boring. So next Halloween try something more original than your average store bought costume.  

Georgia father points out daughters burned body in trash can

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/02/us/georgia-girl-burned-body/index.html?hpt=us_c2

“The grisly episode began with a 911 call around 3:40 a.m. Saturday by a man who said he wanted to commit suicide, the Gwinnett County Police Department said.” The man had said that his daughter drunk a chemical and was poisoned. His daughter is said to be ten years old which makes the whole story not make much sense. If she was ten wouldn’t you think she’d know what to drink and what would be unsafe? I think that the father had made that up and she was found dead in the trash can for another reason. She would be smarter than to drink something with deadly chemicals in it, unless her parents didn’t teach her well and weren’t watching her.

It seems suspicious on why she wasn’t sent to the emergency room and getting checked out right away, I’m sure if the parents called 911 right away or even rushed her in she would have survived. The cops said that when they showed up they were outside the apartment complex and his daughter was dead in a trash can and he was just standing next to her. He must have been out of his mind because it doesn’t make sense to put your daughter in a trash can. I guarantee she didn’t just get in there, someone had to of put her inside it. The father seemed very suspicious because of all these weird events. He also said that he was considering committing suicide which didn’t make much sense if he didn’t do anything wrong. He had to of had hope his daughter would live because she was just poisoned and if you can get sent to the hospital right away they could of easily been able to help her.

“The slain girl's father and her stepmother were subsequently arrested. Gwinnett County police announced Saturday evening that both are being charged with felony murder, first-degree cruelty to children and concealing a body.” I find this to be easily believed because of everything I talked about. It seems to me he called the cops after beating her to death or whatever he happened to do to kill her, he might have actually poisoned her like he said but did not claim it was him at first. Either way, I think he called the police to make himself look better in the situation and said he wanted to commit suicide so they would feel he would never kill his daughter. With all the evidence, it seems to me and the police that he in fact did do this. 

Woman carries wounded pit bull down mountain

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/24/us/arizona-woman-rescues-dog/index.html?hpt=us_t3

                “She hesitated for a moment before approaching the pit bull, Nelson said. But when he lifted his head as she reached for her water bottle, Davis put her apprehension aside, gave him a drink and then lifted the 47-pound dog into her arms, Nelson said. Then, she began walking.” I’m so proud of this woman for doing what she did, even though it was not her responsibility and she could have just walked on instead of troubling herself by carrying this heavy dog. She seems to truly be a hero to this dog and everyone reading this story, especially those animal lovers, like me. Given the opportunity I would do the same thing, if I hadn’t I would feel like a terrible person. Even if I had nothing to do with it, I have compassion in my heart and couldn’t find the strength not to help out.

                “Doctors found an open abdominal wound, bullet fragments near his spinal cord and a bullet in the middle of his neck, Nelson said.” I don’t understand why anyone would ever shoot a dog and just abandonment and not feel any kind of guilt. Why even shoot a dog in the first place? They are so innocent and usually pretty faithful and loveable to anybody they meet. I just can’t quite comprehend what was going on in that person’s mind to make them such a terrible thing to such a good dog. The new owner of the dog, Jessi was very happy to see this dog alive and be able to have a dog of her own. It seems to me the dog is in a better place now and is doing great.

                “Nelson said it's unlikely any investigation will be conducted to find the person who injured Elijah since there isn't a clear timetable and no witnesses have come forward.” I think since the dog is in a better place now and has owner’s that truly care for him and went out of their way to save him, it is unnecessary to worry about who did this to the dog. Even though it would be even better to find what kind of cruel person would do this and make sure they pay for what they did. All that really matters though is that the dog is in better hands and will be safe for now on. I’m glad that the dog ended being alive after all this!

Missing parents, scared kids

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/26/us/immigration-parents-deported-children-left-behind/index.html?hpt=us_c2

               “Suddenly, the teens' parents were gone and the Soza children faced a frightening future with foster families and unfamiliar schools.” I can’t even begin to imagine having to go through what these kids have gone through with trying to find a family to live with now that their parents have been deported. I also don’t understand why the U.S. would allow families to have to separate like this and leave behind their kids with no kind of goodbye before being departed. They were still in school and came home to an empty house with no clue as to where they are but remember their mother being taken away so put two and two together. Now they are hit with that sort of idea that are stranded and stuck with foster parents and have to live a whole new life.

                “The siblings represent America's young legal residents who are at risk for long-term emotional trauma because of a system that doesn't deal with the situation. About 5,100 U.S. children in 22 states have lost parents to deportation, according to the Applied Research Center -- a 30-year-old racial justice think tank. Some 15,000 more face similar threat in the next five years.” This to me is so shocking but at the same time America doesn’t really consider the kind of hurt they are doing to these kids. I’m sure if they thought about their kids being stranded because of deportation and having to go off and live a whole new life without their parents and unable to see them, they would think differently about their decisions to deport these kids parents. They can only connect them over phone which is crazy to me. I couldn’t imagine not having my parents right now, because they are the only people in my life I can truly trust to have my back and be there for me. I would be even more depressed than I am now, along with most teenagers in high school going through drama at school. And now they have nobody to vent to about it and nobody to show them someone cares, this could even lead to a bigger problem already in the world, suicide. Sure they have their foster parents but that is not the same as your actually parents and family members.

                “Desperate to reunite with their parents, Cesia and Robert Jr. have considered moving to Nicaragua -- an idea opposed by their father, who believes there's no future for them there. The parents left Nicaragua in the 1980s because the government, they said, was putting too much emphasis on political indoctrination and social control.” It’s not like they can easily leave the U.S. if they wanted to. They would leave many opportunities behind if they left, like their father has said. They barely know anything about the culture and language in Nicaragua. It would be quite in adjustment but it’s hard to cope without a parent. I think that I would do anything to be with my parents but when it really came down to it you would want to be in a better place that would be more suitable for a good and promising future. Even if you are stuck with no sort of family, at least you have your sibling that is going through the same exact thing but it isn’t the same without your parents. 

Ride operator arrested after 5 hurt at North Carolina State Fair

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/26/us/north-carolina-state-fair-incident/index.html?hpt=us_c1

"After inspection of the ride, we determined that it had been tampered with and critical safety devices were compromised," Harrison said. I can’t believe that nobody knew about this. Nobody had any kind of clue that the ride’s safety wasn’t intact and that people’s lives were at danger. The point of inspections is to make sure everything is running smoothly and check everything out to make sure nothing bad could happen to anybody on the ride. Another thing is when you are in charge of the safety you need to be extra cautious because nobody else is responsible for it other than the operator. He should be at full blame even without evidence. It is nobody else’s job other than the operator and an inspector to make sure the ride is safe.

                “Witnesses said the ride had stopped Thursday night and people were getting off when it restarted, resulting in five injuries.”  They are very lucky that nobody else got hurt and died from this incident. Nobody that rides the ride expects things like this to happen at the fair. When you go to a fair, you don’t think oh what if I get injured or how safe is this I’m about to go on? You just think, wow this is going to be such a fun ride or to others who do think bad things you usually tell them everything will be alright and you won’t get hurt. Imagine if you were that person that thought you might get hurt and saw this or you were one of the victims. Could you imagine how that must of scarred that person for the rest of their life already? I know that before I even started riding rides and scary things that I was skeptical about, I would not do it even if you bet me money. So imagine what they will be like after seeing and experiencing this scene.

                “Harrison had said the ride operator was one of the people injured, though it wasn't clear whether he is among those still in the hospital this weekend. The victims included family members between the ages of 14 and 39.” I wouldn’t ever say it was anybody’s fault really but if you were in charge you need to take full responsibility. The best way to solve this problem is to charge the man and probably consider if the ride is safe enough to be at fairs because in the back of everybody’s minds now is going to be that fact that the Vortex was the ride that broke down and injured 5 people. Even on other rides they might think that. But hopefully the victims and bystanders will find the courage do go on another fair ride without being worried about it.

Mom promises to fight bullying

         http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/20/justice/rebecca-sedwick-bullying-death/index.html

                 "I remember so clearly the moment you were born. I knew I was gifted with a precious life and every moment since, I did my very best to protect you and now I feel like I failed that very important job that God gave me because He took you from me way too soon," Norman wrote. I think it’s really sad that the mother blamed herself for the death of her own daughter, when really it was the terrible girls in her grade. Nothing seemed to be wrong at home, maybe she could’ve supported her daughter more but you can’t change the way people treat someone and the way that person reacts. I would blame the bullies parents if anything for raising their kids in such a bad way, maybe the kid turned the way all by herself but parents need to be aware of what their kids are like and how they are treating others.

                “Rebecca and one of her alleged bullies were once friends, but they both had feelings for the same boy, police said. It soured their relationship.” Just hearing this I can tell that these kids are very young and immature, I can believe the fact that these girls were fighting over boys and letting them break up their friendship but what I can’t understand is why would that affect her so bad. But as I know and remember little girls don’t know how to handle things when they are young. Those girls weren’t the only girls bullying her many other girls were bullying her and it seemed like it was for no reason at all. The teachers in the school were very aware so what I don’t understand is why they didn’t take a step up into finding these girls that were making her feel this way sooner and talk to her about it and give her some sort of support.

                "Yes IK I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF," the message read. Judd said the online vernacular meant: "I don't give a (expletive)." Reading this makes me have no hope in this world at all. To see this little girl post something like that and be that cruel, makes me wonder what kind of parents she has and how she was raised and all those questions are answered clearly now. Her father told reporters that she must’ve been hacked because there was no way she could post this, which I can tell is a complete lie to save himself and his family. He claims she didn’t have anything to post this, kids are very sneaky so I highly doubt that is true and if it was like I said were sneaky, we will find a way to post things. Her mother shortly after was arrested for beating children, it had nothing to do with this case but seeing this shows why her daughter is so corrupted and doesn’t care. She probably doesn’t care because her mother beats her, which might have promoted her to want to bully other kids, to cope with her pain and suffering she goes through at home and to make others feel the things she has to feel. This is why most kids do bully others.