Shopping Malls Are Not Sage

One innocent man dead, and still not sight of the shooter. During the evening time, at downtown Toronto, there was a gun shooting incident that happened in one of the major attractions, Eaton Centre. A man was killed at scene, but they still haven't been able to catch the shooter. Several people were also injured. However, these injuries did not occur because of the gun shoot but due to the mad exodus that took place inside the mall for evacuation. A 19 year old victim, Marcus described the scene "Unbelievable". He said he didn't see the victim, but as he heard the trigger, he ducked under the table. He said it was out of the blue and was not expected what so ever. It said that there were 15 gun shots. Shoppers Drug Mart went into an mediate lock down and in matter of minutes, the building was empty. On the ground, there was a young little girl who had a bleeding toe which she later said she was shot. Luckily no severe damages were done to her. Even the near stations were temporarily shut down.

The world today is not a safe place to live in. Now, with many incidents, people fear of what to expect in the world today. Even with cameras, and people still have the pride to shoot a gun in a big populated mall where many people could of got hurt or died. I think it is necessary to set up metal or weapon detectors before someone enters a mall, store, or even schools. Dangerous weapons are affordable which makes the world a dangerous place.

Link: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/dead+Toronto+Eaton+Centre+shooting+eight+victims+total/6720888/story.html

Making An Effort

Determination, and not loosing hopes are some words to describe a paralyzed woman named Claire Lomas. She is 32 and was paralyzed from a freak incident during her horse riding competition in 2007. She never thought she could of finished the 42km marathon but she say her friends', husband's and the robotic machine's support helped her to cross the line. The robotic machine is a machine that uses the balance force to help her walk. It is an estimate cost of $69,000. She said she took it a little step at a time. She walked about 3.2 kms a day a took 17 days to complete the course. So far, she raised over $152,000 for spinal research. After the marathon, many runners donated the medal to her acknowledging her achievement.

I think it is great to see a paralyzed woman participating in the event, not just for the sake of herself but to help raise money for the research. I'm also glad to see many people donating their medals, money and time to help find a solution to this problem. I would be very relieved if there was a cure or treatment for people who are paralyzed because that would allow many unfortunates to enjoy the regular days of life.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1175081--paralyzed-woman-completes-london-marathon-wearing-bionic-suit

Taxi Driver Kills a Man

The world today is becoming more and more dangerous.Many innocent people are being killed and dying due to unfortunate accidents. On Monday, 6pm, a skateboarder Ralph was hit by a silver Toyota taxi and died. It was near King and St.George's Street . The driver was charged with second degree murder. Ralph was 28 years old riding along with his skateboard when he was hit by the taxi driver. The taxi driver is 43 years old and was in court on Tuesday to explain his case. They are still investigating on how exactly this happened, but it is expected for the taxi Driver to spend 10-15 years in prison.

This shows how dangerous and careful you ned to be in this world. Many people are dying due to stupid and unfortunate events. It really hurts to see one person die and negatively impact their families. I think many people need to realize how important a life of a person is. With one mistake, you can get killed and it can never be recovered. As a 16 year old boy, I am starting to realize that I should second think my actions if I don't want any of my family members, and people around me to suffer.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1178554--cabbie-charged-with-murder-in-skateboarder-s-death

Taxi Incident

On Sunday a Montreal citizen was run over by a angry taxi driver. Shown in the video evidence, the taxi driver's customers were kicking and harassing the taxi. However, the driver explains it was an accident being he panicked. The citizen who was run over has a head injury and is not close to any death situation. There was no charge accused to the taxi driver because they believe it was not on purpose. The taxi driver was driving in circles trying to scare the customers because they closed the door too hard.

I think the taxi drivers actions were very childish. Because he slammed the door I don't think the should of started driving in circles trying to scare the customers. I think as a taxi driver you should know there are sometimes when they are going to slam the door and you have to deal with that if you are a taxi driver. I'm glad he wasn't seriously hurt after being driven over. But the citizen and the taxi driver both have faults.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1170271--taxi-driver-in-custody-after-altercation-graphic-video-shows-man-being-run-over?bn=1

Hidden North Koreans

Three North Koreans had an interview regarding their secretive life in Canada. They were bought from brokers as maids, and "house wives" in china. “Our lives meant nothing,” one of them says. “We were like flies.” Those were the words the North Koreans described their lives. The traveled to Canada because they were afraid they would get caught and be sentenced with death penalties. Their son, a 13 year old boy named Sol-Han was reported missing and many believe they will never see him again. It was reported that there were some Korean imprisoned in Ottawa but their identity weren't revealed for safety reasons.

I feel very poor and bad for the North Koreans in the world. They are restricted from the rest of the world and they don't have free access to anything. I really hope one day, North Koreans will be able to feel the freedom.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1169769--north-korean-refugees-in-toronto-carry-burden-of-fear?bn=1

Charity Work

Marathon runner Claire Squires will be over the news through the United Kingdom. She was a marathon runner who passed  away during the end half of her race. The London Marathon has raised over £1m in less than a week after her collapse. More than ten thousand people has logged into the web and supported the charity fund raiser. Her news has been spreading rapidly and the collections has been also rapidly rising. During the past few days of the fund raiser, there has be a £30,000 an hour with  people donating with an average of £11. Despite her death, her father was very proud but emotional about the incident. He said " It seems as though my daughter has captured the hearts of a nation. She was a wonderful, loving, giving person and it is some comfort to us as a family that people have responded in this way. It is amazing." This is already the 11th participant to past away in the 31 years this marathon has been running for. Her funeral will be at St. Andrew's church right beside the grave of her brother who died 11 years ago at the age of 25.

While reading this article I thought to myself why these things happen to the good people in the world. She was running without any problems or defects in her body. Reading and noticing her death almost at the end of her race was really shocking. I also felt really bad for her family since two of their kids have passed away. But in a positive note, it was really nice to see everyone showing their work and effort by donation their money on behalf of Claire Squires.

Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/27/claire-squires-samaritans-site-raises-1m

Chars turns 30!

Even though they celebrated their 30th birthday, some politicians weren't on the same page. Some opposed and believed it gave courts the new power to review the decisions the Parliament's made. But this makes it more frustrating for the Parliament because of the second change the judges have. Many Canadians question is the Charter has been a mistake. But they say no. It has helped Canada in many positive ways to think it is negative. Many people it has reshaped the community of Canada in many ways because it helped and guided citizens through political, legal and other popular issues that many Canadians face.

I think it is not a mistake. Chars has helped Canadians to answer their own questions and reshape their lives. It has guided many Canadians to be successful and intelligent about their lives.

Link:http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1162615--canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedoms-at-30

Suing Facebok

A Facebook use Debbie Douez has sued facebook for using her pictures for an advertisement last year. She said when she liked page, Cool Entrepreneurs,  her name was appeared and read on the side bars saying "Debbie Douez liked Cool Entrepreneurs". Her lawyer said she was not informed or asked about using her name. Her lawyer said "If you're going to be using somebody's name or somebody's portrait for advertising purposes, you need to obtain their consent," which is highly agreeable. Facebook Inc has a month to respond to supreme court.

I think social networking is developing into a problematic feature. Each day, more and more people are dealing with social networking problems. For example, there is a huge amount of cyber bullies and situations like this.


Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/04/02/bc-facebook-ads-lawsuit.html

Big Changes In Her Life

A 17 year old girl name Carly was told she has severe autism, apraxia, an oral motor condition that makes her difficult to speak. Her doctor said she would likely never develop beyond an mental age of a small child. However, the book published by her father, "Carly’s Voice, Breaking Through Autism" shows in great detail that she is an intelligent, witty and a very smart girl. Right now, she attends a high school in Toronto and she is enrolled in a gifted class. She is comfortably able to use iPads, and social networking sites such as Facebook, tweeter, and she often goes out with her friends. This is what people never even thought of happening due to her autistic disabilities. 

I think this is a great thing for everyone to know and it should be openly told to many people around the world. Many people in the world doubt many who face challenged with autistic challenges. But I believe what Carly went through is a miracle. From her autistic side, to being enrolled into a gifted class is a miracle and I am more than happy for her and her family. A person who is able to make a big change like this, was very pleasing to read.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1152330--computer-unlocks-autistic-teen-s-exceptional-voice

Current Event Video( Rant )

Shooting at the TTC Station

A violent accident happened at Dupon station invovling a 52 year old man named William Anderson. He was a full time employee when at 7:30pm on Sunday, a customer with a gun, (shot gun) demanded for money. William Anderson took two shots to the upper chest and to the neck. He was rushed to the hospital by the paramedics to St. Michael's Hospital. Fortunatly he will survive the shot. Police are looking at the cameras and trying to find out who the shooter was. They weren't sure how much money or even took any money. But he ran down the street right after the shot.  The Chairman of the TTC was "shocked" and is expected to change the way of payment to Presto Smart Card by the year 2015. William, had been working with the TTC since 2003, and is expected to make a full recoveryt after going through surgeries.

 I think this is a very scary event. I believe this will affect the people who take the TTC often due to numerous shooting events that occured during the year through 2011- 2012. I don't usually take the TTC but after reading this article, I am starting to give it a second thought on if I shoould take the car even though it might cause to be more expensive. Even though, its a great way for transportation, it seems very dangerous. And it was described by the Chairman saying, " no one is safe around a person or people with a gun. No one." I hope Mr. Anderson makes a well and fast recovery while, they improve the protection of the TTC customers and as well as the employees.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1137045--ttc-employee-shot-at-dupont-station

US accident

An unfortunate accident happened in the midnight at California. 7 Marines of the US amry died due to an unforgettable inccident regarding two helicopters during a midnight training time.

Two Helicopters controled by 7 Marines accidentally crashed and died in California. It was during a midnight, but the names of the soldiers still haven't been revealed due to family issues.

I think this was a very unfortunate inccident that happened. This also tells everyone how being a soldier can be dangerous and very cautionary not just on the battle field but even on practice fields while doing drills. After hearing this incident, I continue to give more and more respect for these soldiers who go to battles or choose to become a soldier to risk their lives for their country.  They go through a lot for our country yet, some people still don't give the full respect they deserve.

They are our National Heroes.


LinkLhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/02/23/us-marines-helicopters.html

Romantic Day of Valentines Day

Today was a great memory for a couple of Mike and Michele Thompson. Mike Thompson, a 49 year old was rushed into the operating room because he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Then, later, he was rushde into the operating room once again due to postsurgery paralysis from Guillain-Barré syndrome. Because of thie sybdrome, he is unable to speak fluently and have a memory of what happened recently. Him and his wife are trying to regain speec and movement from the past. Mike was a mainframe computer operator, but won't be resuming his work because of the memory losses. He is now at home receving help from technical aids, such as his blackberry. During the day, he texts his wife Michele saying " Have I told you today I love you" several times. Many people in their neighbour hood question how Michele lives with Mike despite the difficulties and problems the couples face.

I think this is a very ironic because today is valentines day. After reading this story, it encourages me to become a doctor and find a cure for these deases. Im also touched by his wife continunig to care for him and helping him trhough his life even though it might be hard for herself too. I hope everything goes well for these couples and wish the best of luck in the future.


Link:
http://www.thestar.com/living/valentinesday/article/1130975--valentine-s-day-2012-love-endures-despite-husband-s-memory-loss-following-brain-aneurysm

Big, Bigger , Biggest

Countries, Cities, and Communities need their own type of identity. Many of Contries, cities and the communities have captured their own identity by displaying giant statues of their own importance. For example, a Big Duck in New York Citythe giant curling rock in Manitoba, and don't forget the Big Banana in Australia or the Giant Easter Egg in Alberta, and last but not least, we have a 12m bright re apple near highway 401 between Toronto and Kingston. These giant figures, attract many travelers and tuorists from parts around the world. More than half a million people come to see the Big Apple annually. These giant statues are developing as years pass on. In Australia, the Big Banana has evolved into a main attraction at an amusement park, with slides, ice rinks, cafeterias and not to for get, the famous choc coated bananas. These attractions also helps people learn more about the community and the meaning of why they were built.

I think this is a great way to build an identity of a country, city, and communties. They are built for a reason which will show some kind of detail and identity of them. It was told that there are more and more statues and monuments being built in order to expand on their name. This is a great idea if your starting with something small, because as mentioned, tourists from all over the world come and observe the big statues which is a great way if you want to lure attractors.

Link:
http://www.thestar.com/travel/article/1126565--big-bigger-biggest-weird-roadside-attractions-of-the-world

Twitter Unites With The Super Bowl

The 46th Super Bowl, one of the most anticipated events every year. The Super Bowl helped Twitter break the record for the most tweets in a second, with 10,000. The performance of Madonna at yesterday's half time show averaged about 8,000 tweets per second for five minutes. There were also 10,000 tweets sent in the last three minutes of the game. The last outraging three minutes' tweet broke the record for the most amount of tweets by a thousand which was when Beyonce's pregnancy announcement at the MTV Video Music Awards was spread. Yesterday was one of the most intense tweeting events of all time. Moe than 100 million users were active and sent more than 60 billions tweets.

I think this whos how much communication has evolved and a certain sports event is becoming a thing for everyone around the country and even the world. Communicating and updating the score over a website shows how much eaiser communicating with each other is and how helpful it can be for us from all over the world. With a single click, you can express your thoughts, message and opinion.
Sports has been  developing drastically over the past 5 years. The Super Bowl was broadcasted in over 232 countries and in 34 different languages. This shows how much passion the whole world shows about each sports events.

A Forced Apology

" Jailed killers should have suicide option rather than run up millions of dollars in prison costs." are some of the words Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu told the country which short after, was forced to apologize for very violent words. This had many impacts to the citizens around him. Families and relatives were shocked and upset about this saying because of their own losses of their loved ones due to suicidal. Some people thought this was a reasonable answer due to the over expenses the Canadian Government has to pay for their cell. For example, two criminals  Mohammad Shafia, Tooba Yahya will be improisoned with a cost of 10million dollars. He also backed up his statement by saying that the big money should be going towards to people who have responsibilities. However, with his back up ideas and minds, the Liberal Interim Leader Bob Rae said it was “completely unacceptable,”.



On some parts, I agree with Mr. Boisvenu saying on the criminals. However, I think he should of worded it a bit differently instead of directly saying it towards the criminals. Even though the words might of been harsh, it is true that the fact it will cost around 10million dollars is unbelivable. It can be spent somewhere else, to help a community or give a hand to the poor. Despite agreeing with Mr. Boisvenu, the words from Mr. Boisvenu seemed very harsh. I think this gives a very poor reputation of him and will affect him in the future. I found this a big dicussion because he is one of the people who have a saying in Canada, but when a respected man speaks like that, it can sometimes change the view on a him.
But at the end, I agree with Mr. Rae by saying it was completely unacceptable. Even though those people have comitted an unforgettable they are still human and the words were too harsh.

http://www.thestar.com/article/1124663--give-murderers-rope-inside-their-prison-cells-tory-senator-says

Shark slide is fin-tastic

Sliding through a 4in-thick acrylic with sharks swimming and surronding you sounds pretty extreme.
Golden Nugget hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada has built a slide that you will never expierence anywhere else. Part of a 13Million Dollar Swimming Complex, the ride offers a suprising expierence for the customers of the hotel. This slide is inside a 200,000 gallon tank surronded with all kinds of dangerous sharks. (Sandtiger sharks, brown sharks, Pacific blacktip sharks, nurse sharks and zebra sharks and southern stingrays. ) This thrilling ride allows you to slide past the many sharks swimming along. An life lasting expierence for all.

Opinion: I believe this slide can bring many smiles and suprsies to people around the world. It is a great way to attract customers and help them to enjoy a thrilling expierence. I personally found it fascinating that a hotel came up with a built in, in water slide, where you can observe sea animals and water falls. What slide will be created in the future?