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Another Terrorist Attack?

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Im sure everyone heard about the recent attempted terrorist attack in times square. I personally think it is pretty scary that after all the security precautions that are in use these days at airports and in the United States in general, this could still happen. It kinda makes you think there is really nothing that we can do about terrorism. This article explains that Faisal Shahzad was pulled off of a plane in which he was attempting to escape to the middle east after a car bomb that he had set up in the middle of Times Square inadvertantly didnt go off. Shahzad was on a plane that was taxxing down the run way attempting to take off when authorities demanded the plane be turned around. The FBI has associated Shahzad with the Pakistan Taliban. He has admitted on video that he was behind the attempted bombing. He is facing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction charges. Obama stated that 100s of lives were saved thanks so the actions of an ordinary citizen and law enforcement.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100504/ap_on_re_us/us_times_square_car_bomb

The "Crimeless" Recession

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This article caught my eye, because as most of of think, when our economy is in a recession crime goes up.  However, as this artcile points out that is a meth.  Crime tends to follow whatever pattern it is currently in regardless of a recession.  This article provides some reasons why in the long run crime is going down and reasons why within this recession.

 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201004/the-crimeless-recession

This article is about a mother that gave birth to triplets. During the difficult birth she experienced severe brain damage that has caused her not to be able to raise them. She last seen her children in October of 2007 when they were toddlers, they will turn 4 on June 20th. I dont think that there is a question about if she is able to see her kids. Even if she is not able to fully interact with them. They are her kids and this unfortunate event should not keep her from seeing them. The family of the mother are fighting for her to be able to see her children. The family says she communicates through blinking. Blinking once means yes and not blinking means no. The family filed divorce papers on her behalf, and the husbands says that it is not in the childrens best interest to see their mother. I dont understand this at all... Why would it not be in the best interest for them, no matter what she is their mother! It dont make sense to me how people can be so greedy and selfish sometimes. The court proceding is scheduled for May 13, no matter the outcome, it is evident that this case will serve as a precedent for similiar cases in the future.

 http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/22/california.triplets.visitation.lawsuits/index.html

 

Recently, a jury in North Carolina awarded a woman $9 million in damages from her husband's mistress. The ruling was made based on North Carolina's "alienation of affection" adultery law.  The law, which was created in the 19th century, basically allows wives to sue their husband's mistresses if they believe the affair ruined their marriage.  The jury came up with the $9 million, which is comprised of $5 million in compensation and $4 million in punitive damages.  The mistress plans on appealing, based on the fact that she doesn't have a lot of money and thinks $9 million is ridiculous.  The husband also has stated that this affair didn't single-handedly ruin their marriage; he said it's suffered "significant problems" for years.  More on the story can be found here: http://www.smh.com.au/world/woman-told-to-pay-9m-to-lovers-wife-20100324-qwuv.html?

Why Tiger Woods Cheated

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The story of Tiger Woods has been the top story for the past how many weeks. It seems as if people cannot get enough on this topic. I can across an article on PsychCentral that gives several reasons as to why Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. To view the different studies and psychological reasons why he cheated you can visit the link here

I also chose to blog about this article because it seems as if people are being consumed by this personal issue of his life. Although he is a famous golfer and an idol to many people, is his infidelity really anyones business? Being famous does put some guidelines on how people should act, but everyone is human. How much of someone private life should be given to the public even if they are famous? I believe the media crosses the line and that someday there may even be a law banning this sort of publicity, at least I hope so. The US recently passed a health care bill and even still Tiger Woods cheating scandal was being aired more often than information on the bill. Hopefully people will realize the implications that media exposure has on people's lives, and stop supporting it so much.
At a homicide investigators conference in Las Vegas this week, there are several displays of many high-profile crimes.  For instance, there are exhibits on the OJ Simpson case, Marilyn Monroe's death, Robert Kennedy's assassination, Sharon Tate's murder (and the other Manson family's crimes), the Black Dahlia murder, and a few notable shootouts.  Included in these exhibits are actual evidence (a rope from Sharon Tate's murder, gloves from OJ Simpson's trial, etc), video footage and photographs.
This all sounds interesting; however, it is quite the opposite according to the victims' families.  Maxwell Kennedy, Robert's son, calls the display of his father's assassination "part of a macabre publicity stunt" and "a cheap bid for attention" because they were displaying the suit that was worn by Kennedy at the time of his death.  Debra Tate, Sharon's sister, says "A little warning would have been nice so we could prepare ourselves emotionally, ...It's part of the insensitivity the department shows toward victims. We're being victimized over and over again."
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and District Attorney Steve Cooley say they never intended to compound the grief of murder victims' families. They say they sought to depict the horror of homicide in hopes of deterring violence.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_oMgmSp4WdDuvbkginjpqkNb-3wD9E80TMG0

The Kennedy family complained about the clothing being on display, and the LAPD have since removed items that the family does not  want to be displayed.  Debra Tate plans on filing a complaint, but doesn't seem to expect anything to come of it.

Recently, a New Jersey man was charged with kidnapping and endangerment after locking and abandoning his 20-month-old daughter in a restroom of a gas station in Delaware.  The child seems to be okay and is currently in a foster home.  The thing I find interesting about the case is that it is linked (although officials aren't saying how right now) to another recent crime in New York.  A young woman was killed and burned in a parking lot.  It is speculated that the young woman is the child's mother, although that information hasn't been released. 

What could possibly make someone do this? Now, I'm not a parent, but I'm pretty sure most parents wouldn't kidnap and abandon their children.  Especially a 20-month-old. 

Here are some links to the stories I read:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100225/NEWS01/100225029/N.J.-man-charged-with-kidnapping-girl-abandoned-in-Del.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/toddler-abandoned-gas-station-bathroom-police-investigating-mother/story?id=9937791

Colorado school shooting

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I was on the WCF Courier website when I came across an article about a school shooting in Colorado.  The shooting occurred Tuesday February 23 at 3:30 PM.  This shooting occurred just a few miles from the Columbine high school shooting.  Only two students were shot, Reagan Webber and Matt Thieu.  Both victims were taken to the hospital and both had surgery Tuesday evening.  Reagan and Matt are both expected to be fine. After shooting these two students the gun-man went to reload his high-powered rifle, at that time a math teacher from the school, David Benke, tackled the suspect and prevented him from firing anymore shots.  The gunman was identified as Bruco Eastwood.  They have no motive for the shooting.  Mr. Eastwood had been in the school on different occasion and had been inside the building shortly being the shooting occurred.  One student stated that he heard Mr. Eastwood ask two students if they went to school here.  When the students answered yes, he shot them.

It is sad that school shooting happen.  I'm just happy that no one was killed and the suspect was taken down before more damage could be done.  It was very brave of David Benke to tackle the suspect, but his actions probably saved many lives.  I wonder why this guy decided to shoot kids at this middle school.  Authorities have not released Mr. Eastwood connection to the school if there is one.  The way the shooting took place is just kind of random.  What if those kids said that they didn't go to the school would he have let them go and not shoot them?  I have many questions about this case and I hope that they release more information soon.  What is also scary is that this shooting occurred so closely to the Columbine shooting, which I'm sure, everyone has heard about.

Here is a website from the Courier:

http://www.wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_b964f0a0-212b-11df-9587-001cc4c03286.html

 

Project 2 Movie: I Am Sam

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Sam is a mentally challenged man that seems to have an obsessive compulsive disorder who had barely became a father of a young baby girl and he is also a mentally challenged man.  The mom is normal but ditches the father along with the daughter.  So Sam is left alone to raise his daughter and with help from his neighbor he learns that babies need to be fed every two hours.  I am guessing that mentally challenged people have to have a set schedule and if it is changed it has to be changed gradually or else panic or a sense of anxiety will hit them.  His little girl is unbelievably smart; she and her father have a close relationship.  There comes a point where his daughter makes him realize that he is different from the other daddies and where she becomes the adult at a young age.  Sam's friends help them both a lot, "it takes a village to raise a child."  Lucy teaches him to read and finds it difficult at times to make her classmates understand the way he is.  Unfortunately he did not know that he was talking to a prostitute one night, so he got arrested and then they found out that he had a child.  A child can only learn or expand their mind so much depending on the environment that they are exposed to.  At times it will be easy for the child to rebel but discipline can still be added.  As all children they grow embarrassed of their parents so it gets harder for Lucy to deal with her father's special needs.  Because he is special, he could not control his emotions, since the social worker was there, a bit of it was exaggerated, that he poses as a danger to his daughter and other children.  The lawyer that he is trying to talk to is a bit of a snob but he tries, he can't afford her but he tries to impress his boss so he can get a promotion to pay for the lawyer.  His lawyer is a very selfish woman that will only do his case for free because of peer pressure; she is very miserable and treats the people around her like crap.  Lucy convinces her father to runaway with her so they can be together.  Finally Annie shows up even though she has something against the outside world to help testify in court for Sam's sake.  In the end Lucy's adopted family set up a schedule for Sam to spend time with Lucy, so at the same time Lucy may grow up normally.  So are there certain tests that by law a person who is considered to be mentally challege should take just to see if they are a fit parent or not, there are tons of unfit parents that abuse there children and still have them all because they are able to comprehend things the way society wants them to, or makes it seem like they do.  Another thing in real life if the father, even if he is mentally challenged, were to be tricked by his daughter to run away, I am pretty sure he would have been charged with kidnapping.

A high school in Pennsylvania recently issued laptops to its students.  This was to ensure that every student had an opportunity to access school resources after school is out.  However, one student was disciplined by an assistant principal at the school for "improper behavior" that took place while he was at home.  At the time, the assistant principal cited a picture that was taken of the student by the webcam on the laptop.

When the school issued the laptops, they were aware that they had the ability to view and capture images using the webcam by remotely accessing and activating the webcam.  They can do this whenever the students' laptop is on.  Parents and students, however, were not notified that the school has the capability to do such things when being issued the laptop.

The angry parents of the student who was disciplined for "improper behavior" are filing a class-action lawsuit against the district.

The article can be found here: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/02/school-under-fire-for-spying-on-kid-via-webcam-at-home.ars 


I know Dr. Maclin presented this story a little bit in class yesterday, but I decided to look up more details and websites for my post this week.

 

 Alabama University Shooting: Suspect Amy Bishop's Violent Past Gets Another Look

 

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/female-shooter-kills-university-alabama-huntsville/story?id=9823728

A biology professor, Dr. Amy Bishop, at the University of Alabama was denied tenure in upcoming April, and decided to go on a killing spree during a faculty meeting last Friday, Feb. 12. Bishop was arrested and charged with killing 3 professors and wounding three others. Killed, according to the Associated Press were, Maria Davis, Gopi K. Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and faculty member Adriel Johnson. The injured were identified as biology department members Luis Cruz-Vera and Joseph Leahy and university staff member Stephanie Monticello.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/alabama-university-shooting-suspect-amy-bishops-husband-idea/story?id=9839348

Bishop's husband is still in disbelief of his wife's outrage and said he has know idea why she did it or where she got the gun.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/professors-rampage-violent-past-9839637

http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/3-dead-in-shooting-at-university-of-alabama-huntsville/19356792

Investigation into the case and the past of Bishop brings up suspiciousness of a violent past for the professor. 17 years ago, Bishop was a suspect in the 1993 attempted mail bombing of a Harvard Medical School professor. Bishop was also accused of killing her brother in 1986, although the case was never completely solved. The shooting was ruled accidental and Bishop was never charged.  

 

I think Bishop has to have some mental instability to commit such an act on the basis of being denied tenure.  She appears to have an aggressive past and problems controlling her angry outbursts.  I think that investigators should reopen the case of the death Bishop's brother to see if there was any evidence that they may have missed that ties Bishop to the crime.  If a verdict had been reached that found Bishop responsible for her brother's death, this killing spree at UAH may have never occured.  It is hard to say "what if" but I think this case demonstrates how colleges and universities should do a thorough background check on their professors and faculty before hiring them and trusting them with today's students. 

Charles Manson

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I'm sure all of you know who Charles Manson is.  In my AP Psych class in high school, I watched a documentary about Manson and I've been interested in the story ever since.  The thing that I find interesting about his case is that Manson never killed anybody himself, yet he is in prison for first degree murder.  

I found a website that has his biography, a storyline of the crime, the arrest, the trial, and some aftermath of what happened.


I found the biography part particularly interesting.  It highlights his criminal background as a juvenile, and his abandonment by his mother. The biography also goes into his influences, such as LSD and The Beatles.  Perhaps most important, though, is the fact that he started "The Family" and was incredibly manipulative and persuasive.  This website doesn't go into detail about how he recruited members for his "family" but it does emphasize the fact that they did indeed believe he was Jesus like.

False Statistics Mislead Communities

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This is an interesting article I had to read for a Criminology class regarding the discussion of the Uniform Crime Report, and what police chiefs did in order to make their cities seem safer then they were. To do this they downgraded a lot of fleonies to misdemeanors and other crimes they simply just didnt report. Since then those official have obvioulsy been releaved of their duties and one new official told his community that when he enters office the crime rate will be a lot higher but at least it will be the correct one that they can work hard at to minimize. I guess the take home point of this type of article is to bring awarness in the dependece of statistics because they can be very misleading and in some cases just made up.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/03/us/as-crime-falls-pressure-rises-to-alter-data.html?scp=3&sq=senior police officials around the nation&st=cse

Caylee Anthony Case

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Can you imagine having your 2 year old go missing and not even bothering to look for her???  Well read the article about little Caylee Anthony who was reported missing 31 days AFTER her disappearance and how her remains were found near her home.  Read the articles and decide who you think did it....but the mom is looking pretty guilty with her string of lies and how she did not even bother to report that her daughter was missing (Caylee's grandmother filed the report).

http://investigation.discovery.com/blogs/criminal-report/casey_anthony_full_coverage/caylee_anthony.html

Photo from: http://www.blisstree.com/files/35/2008/08/caylee-anthony-nc.jpg 

The Twinkie Defense

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Have you ever seen the Oscar winning film, Milk? This article is about the man (Dan White) who murdered the San Francisco mayor, George Moscone, and the board supervisor, Harvey Milk. This case gained notoriety not only because the first openly gay official was murdered but also because many media agencies reported that White beat the murder conviction by using an insanity plea (stating that he ate too much junk food which made him insane). The media nicknamed this defense tactic as  the Twinkie Defense. 
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/insanity/7.html
 

The Texas Observer-Gone Baby Gone

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http://www.texasobserver.org/features/gone-baby-gone

 This article depicts the story of Otty Sanchez, who murdered her baby while she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. The article investigates how Sanchez actually sought help prior to the murder but had slipped through the cracks of an under-budgeted mental health system in Texas. Despite clear evidence supporting a legal insanity defense, prosecutors are planning to seek the death penalty. It is truly a tragic but eye-opening article for anybody who is interested in the problems that the mental health systems face and what happens when there is a break down in communication between professionals seeking mental health help for their clients. It is true that hindsight is 20-20. However, as it pertains to the Sanchez case, so many clear warning signs were left ignored by so many people and the two people who did recognize the pending break-down went unheard.
 Just to warn those who may read this article, some of the facts listed in it tend to be graphic in nature. 
 

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