Contemporary History 2-28-11

Video: Robber's "Duh" Moment

Three Adopted Children Living In Inhumane Conditions
A couple was arrested for keeping their three adopted children in awful conditions.  They forced them to eat dog food and confined the 15 year old child in a plastic dog carrier for 2 months.  They were released on a bond of $9000.
Should the bond be higher for these kind of crimes?

Man Who Threatened 'South Park' Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
He threatened the makers of 'South Park' for an episode of the show that had Mohammed in a Bear Suit.  He gave out their addresses and told everybody to pay them a visit.  He is now sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Should more be done to stop these kind of threats?

Genetic Engineering: Designer Babies and Cloning

       Genetics has come very far.  A few years ago, you would have no idea weather or not your baby was a boy or a girl.  You wouldn’t know anything about it until it was born.  Now you are able to predetermine its gender, hair color, eye color, and body type.  Gene therapy has very high expectations.  If it lives up to what scientists are saying, you should be able to separate undesirable genes.  In the future it may be like shopping.  You can make the child have a certain hair color or eye color.  You may also be able to choose to have a tall muscular kid, or a short skinny kid.  They call it the ‘ultimate shopping experience.’  A lot of people criticize these procedures.  They say that it crosses many ethical boundaries.  They say that this kind of gene therapy is still a few years away.  This is actually a lot closer to becoming a reality than people think.  They are already using this type engineering on certain different species.  Some types of bacteria are very common for genetic engineering.  Only a few different types of animals have been used, but it’s proven to be a success.

       This isn’t the only type of genetic engineering that is becoming popular.  Cloning is a big issue.  Cloning is the act of making a copy of the original one.  They’ve cloned only one animal so far.  It was a sheep named Dolly.  Cloning isn’t quite what people think it is though.  When an animal is cloned, the clone starts out as a newborn.  As it ages it may become different than the original one.  The environment and eating habits are different things that may effect how the clone grows up.  They are basically like twins, twins aren’t the same person, but they usually look alike.  The main purpose for cloning would be for health though.  People can use the cloning to create new organs for people who need a transplant.  The body won’t reject it and it becomes easier and healthier for the person.

       I think that this will really help families that have many genetic diseases.  It will be more likely that people won’t have a mutated child.  Also, if the technology becomes as advanced as they say it will, we may be able to get rid of some genetic diseases.  Maybe one day you will be able to totally design your baby to be very smart, or athletic.  Maybe you can design him to be a specific height or body weight.  I think that this is a good thing.  I think that if people can get passed the ethical issues, it will be very effective.  When diseases that are life threatening are no longer here, I think everybody will jump aboard and stop criticizing.  The only bad thing is that maybe there won’t be as much diversity in people.  People will decide that there is one certain child that everybody wants, and everybody will start to look more and more alike. Cloning will be useful for making organ transplants, the body won’t try to reject the new Organ.  These are both a good idea for health and will one day be a success.

Contemporary History 2-22-11

Mother Accused of Being Drunk and Falling on and Smothering Baby
This woman from West Virginia was drunk and high and fell on the baby, which smothered it.
How should she be charged?

Florida City Loses 3 Officers in 28 Days
Within the last 28 days, 3 police officers in St. Petersburg, Florida have been shot and killed.
Should the city do more to protects it's officers?

Video: Roof Collapse Caught on Camera

2-18-11

Curfews Ordered for 5 Teen Bullies
5 admitted to attacking a 13 year old boy on his way home from school and were assigned curfews, community service, and electric monitoring.

Do you think that this should be better enforced and more punishments be assigned?

Mother Charged for Allegedly Binding Child in Duct Tape
She was arrested for illegal restraint and put in prison.

Why would she wrap a baby in duct tape?

Video: Naked Sausage Thief Caught on Tape

Contemporary History 2-11-11

Video: Egypt's Mubarak Steps Down



3 Teenage Boys Among 7 Somalis Facing Death Penalty

Seven Somalis, including three boys under 15 years old, could face the death penalty if convicted on charges of firing on Malaysian armed forces while attempting to a hijack a merchant ship.

Do you think that the teens should face death?

Trees Protecting Villagers From Deadly Mudslides

Trees are protecting villages in Guatemala from mudslides.

Should more trees be planted along mountains and whatnot to protect the villages?

Contemporary History 2-3-11

Elementary Principal Fatally Shot
A custodian shot the principal of a school in northern California to death.
Should staff be checked as well as students.

Man arrested for driving a snowmobile drunk
He was spotted and police could tell he was drunk.  He fled and got stuck.  He may be charged with drunk driving and fleeing police.
Should this be as big of a deal as they are making it?

Journalists Under Attack in Cairo