Royal Hoax Nurse Hanged Herself

46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha

According to this article, Jacintha Saldanha, the London nurse who killed herself after she gave out Kate Middleton's personal information to a radio station, was found hanging from the neck, and left three notes. The 46-year-old nurse who worked at London's King Edward VII Hospital was discovered December 7th, hanging by a scarf. She also had injuries on her wrist. Harman, a police detective chief inspector told the coroner's inquest that two notes were found at the scene and a third was discovered among Saldanha's belongings. But he did not release the contents of the notes. The radio station has apologized for the prank call, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority has now launched an investigation into the incident.

Michael Christian (left) and Mel Greig (right) of 2Day FM in Sydney

Girl With Overgrown Tongue

t

Two-year-old Olivia Gillies
 

According to this article, two-year-old Olivia Gillies was born with an unusual birth defect that caused her tongue to grow uncontrollably. After her third smile, she can finally smile, as pictured above. She was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause, among other symptoms, "overgrowth," of a particular body part. Doctors believe the dangerous symptom of her condition is under control. "We were warned her tongue would be up to three times the size of a usual newborn baby and would keep growing. Nobody could tell us how big it would get. We were terrified," said by Emma Gillies, Olivia's mother. Olivia's tongue was oversized and could not fit in her mouth when she was born, and she had to be fed through a tube. She was kept in the hospital for six weeks after she was born. Her tongue continued to grow, eventually becoming so large that it made it difficult to breath. She had to be readmitted to the hospital for a tracheotomy - a surgery which would cut a hole into her neck to help her breathe. Eventually her breathing had stabilized and after her third surgery her tongue has stopped swelling and she can finally smile. Because Beckwith-Wiedemann is a genetic condition, there is no cure for it. Those with the condition can live long, healthy lives by treating individual symptoms of the condition.

Emily and Olivia Gillies when she was first born (left) when her tongue was overgrown. Olivia Gillies (right) after her third surgery, she can finally smile.

New monkey species identified in Democratic Republic of Congo

A new species of monkey; the lesula. 

According to this article, a new species of monkey has been identified in Africa, only the second time such a discovery has been made on the continent in 28 years. Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) has a naked face and a mane of long blond hairs, it lives on the ground and in trees in a 6,500 square mile habitat of the lowland rainforests and the upper Tshuapa Rivers. Its diet is mostly fruit and vegetation. John and Terese Hart of Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History first saw the species in 2007 at the home of a primary school director, who was keeping a young female captive. Later that year, the team found the species in the wild. Genetic tests later verified it was a new species. "This was a totally unexpected find, and we knew we had something unusual and possibly unknown when we first saw the animal. But it was not until we had the genetic and morphological analyses of our collaborating team that we knew we really had a new species," said the Harts, who are also conservation biologists at the Lukuru WildlifeResearch Project. "The challenge now is to make the lesula an iconic species that carries the message for conservation for all of Congo's endangered fauna," said John Hart. "Species with small ranges like the lesula can move from vulnerable to seriously endangered over the course of just a few years."

 (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) 

Tax Increases Seem Inevitable

According to this article, with only 24 days left of the fiscal cliff,  Republicans continue to be  opposed to raising tax rates–one of the major sticking points in the discussions, the House and Senate members this week shared their belief that a hike in rates is going to happen. “We have no leverage on that, so whether we want taxes to go up or not they’re going to,” Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Thursday. “We can’t stop that from happening. But the real elephant in the room is entitlements.” “The sense was that there’s a growing number of folks in our party that are saying, you know what, the president has won this round relative to the rates, but we need to you to sit down and get the second half of the deal and that’s the spending,” Ohio Republican Congressman Steve LaTourette said on CNN’s “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien. Despite the negative outlook right now though,  the timing is actually favorable right now for both party’s to strike an agreement.

President Obama

YOU, Mr. Varley

Kansas City Chief Jovan Belcher murders girlfriend before heading off to commit suicide

According to this article, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend nine times to death at their home Saturday morning, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of the team's coach and general manager. He arrived at the stadium, standing with a gun to his head in front of the General Manager Scott Piolo, and before pulling the trigger, confessed to the murder of his girlfriend. “Guys, I have to do this,” Belcher told Pioli and Coach Romeo Crennel. “I got to go. I can’t be here.” Both Pioli and Crennel tried to talk him out of pulling the trigger. “I was trying to get him to understand that life’s not over,” Crennel said. “He still has a chance, and let’s get this worked out." He knelt down behind a vehicle in the lot, made the sign of the cross and fired a single gunshot into his head, killing him. Cops told the Belcher the team was aware of problems with the couple and had provided counseling, and Crennel said Monday Belcher was struggling with personal issues that everyone faces. "He had no major issues," the coach said. Cops recovered several legally owned guns from the Belcher residence, and were conducting tests on all the weapons, including the one used in the murder and suicide.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher

Kasandra Michelle Perkins (left) with Jovan Belcher. Photo taken December 23, 2011

Royal baby

According to this article, Kate Middleton is currently being treated in King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnesfor acute morning sickness due to her recently announced pregnancy. The palace said that since the pregnancy is in a “very early stage,” Kate is expected to stay in the hospital for several days and will require a period of rest afterward. As the first-born to William, who is second in line heir for the throne after his father, Prince Charles, the couple’s baby is in line to become an heir. Whether boy or girl, the child will be next in line, behind William, to the throne, Cabinet Office officials have said.

Kate Middleton

Prince William

Reasons Why I Hate the Fiscal Cliff

According to this article, tax rated are going up and spending cuts will go into effect. The law's set to change at midnight on December 31, 2012. In dealing with the fiscal cliff, U.S. lawmakers have a choice among three options:

• They can let the current policy which is scheduled for the beginning of 2013. This policy includes tax increases and spending cuts that are expected to drive the economy into a recession.
• They can cancel the tax rates and and spending cuts, which would increase the odds of the United States going through something similar to the current crisis in Europe.
• They could address the budget issues to a limited extent which would have a better impact.

Te non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that if Congress takes the middle ground which would extend the Bush-era tax cuts and would cancel the automatic spending cuts then the result, would be modest growth but no major economic hit. As a result, the fiscal cliff won't necessarily be a struggle to grow even if Congress doesn't address the issue until after 2013 has already begun.

The Fiscal Cliff

*I hate the fiscal cliff because it doesn't make sense and I just want to blog about my life.

Hurricane Sandra



According to this article, restoring power is still being continued as the number one problem in Sullivan County. Around 6,000 people are still without power, slowly recovering from Hurricane Sandy. Shelters such as the Official Red Cross one at SUNY Sullivan and the Woodburne Firehouse have been in affect. oOfficials are calling for a “roundtable” meeting with NYSEG, Central Hudson, and the Orange & Rockland companies. “The utilities had time to prepare for this storm, but their response indicates that they did not,” said by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther. “There’s a responsibility to the public that needs to be met, and this round-table discussion is about making sure that it is.” For the time being, officials, emergency responders and local citizens are contributing to the recovery from Hurricane Sandy. In this article, the hurricane negatively affected Sullivan County. Snapping trees and downing power lines on the upper Delaware Valley. By October 30th, 24,300 NYSEG customers lost power, 20,078 people in Wayne County PA and 13,705 in Pike County. Before the storm even hit, officials were warning citizens that they would most likely be without power for up to several days. In this article, by the morning of November 5th, NYSEG reported that there were about 4,800 people without power, in Sullivan County from 24,000. 1,900 Orange and Rockland customers are still without power, down from a high of 6,500. Clayton Ellis, manager of corporate communications from NYSEG said, “We began preparing for Hurricane Sandy days in advance of the storm—and we were prepared to respond. We are continuing to bring resources on board to assist with the massive restoration effort and the outage counts are continuing to decline. Each and every day since the storm hit, causing unprecedented damage to our electricity delivery system, we have worked closely with local and state officials to address critical situations. We have already discussed a follow-up meeting with Assemblywoman Gunther, and we will gladly participate in a roundtable discussion once this emergency is behind us.” The gas shortages did not just affect NYC and New Jersey, but also Sullivan County. County manager David Fanslau issued a state of emergency including “prohibition of purchasing gasoline or diesel fuel at retail locations in any quantity greater than that which would fill the vehicle, with the exception of a small container necessary to fuel a generator or similar machine, as well as an exception for Sullivan County agricultural industry support.” There was a concern that customers were filling huge tanks of gas and selling them privately. The state of emergency, including the prohibition regarding large sales of gas, was lifted on November 5.

Volunteers, Harold Greaves, left, and Lance Mercado work on removing a tree.

Over 100 trees were down in Milford.

 

Nanny suspected of killing 2 kids in NY home

 A police crime scene vehicle is parked in front of the Manhattan apartment building where police say a nanny stabbed two small children to death in a bathtub

Left: 6-year-old Lulu. Right: 1-year-old Leo.

According to this article, a nanny was suspected of killing two young children she was looking after in an apartment in Upper East Side Manhattan. Marina Krim, the mother of the two children returned to the apartment that night, very confused and worried due to the dark home she returned to. She went down to the lobby to ask the doorman if the nanny had left with 1-year-old Leo and 6-year-old Lucia. She was told they hadn't left, so she went back upstairs to her apartment room. After searching around, she went into the bathroom where she found the bodies of the two children in the bath tub, with the body of the wounded nanny with a knife lying nearby. It is unclear how many times the children had been stabbed. "There was some kind of screaming about, 'You slit her throat!'" said music therapist Rima Starr, who lives on the same floor as the family, and said she heard screams coming from their apartment at around 5:30 p.m. The nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, was hospitilized in critical condition and was in police custody. The children were pronounced dead at the hospital. The children's father, CNBC digital media executive Kevin Krim, who was away on a business trip, was met by police at the airport and was an escort to the hospital. The couple's apartment building is a block from Central Park, near the Museum of Natural History and blocks from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Seeing children accompanied by nannies is an everyday part of life there, making the idea of such violence even more disturbing to residents. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said it's unclear how long the nanny had worked for the family and the police investigation was ongoing. No charges had been filed. He believes that the nanny had just been working for them recently. "I met her in the elevator, the day before yesterday, and was making small talk," said Krim. After finding the bodies and after the police arrived, the mother remained in the building's lobby, screaming hysterically and clutching her barely surviving children. The eldest of the children, Lulu, is described as loving "art projects, ballet, and all things princess." The youngest, Leo, was said to be just learning how to walk. The family had moved to New York from San Francisco within the lat few years. Click this link to read more.

Police outside the Manhattan apartment at the scene.

 

Mr. Varley you are the best teacher ever.

Teacher's Aide Fired for 1965 Killing

Paula Baniszewski's current photo & 1965 mugshot

According to this article, Paula Baniszewski, who is now Paula Pace, a teacher's aide in Iowa was fired from her job due to the revelation that she was a member of an Indiana family notorious for torturing and killing 16 year old Sylvia Likens in 1965. "A week ago today we got an anonymous report that the now Paula Pace was the previous Paula Baniszewski involved in this 1965 murder case in Indiana and it was a real attention-seeker out there, a heinous crime," Grundy County Sheriff Rick Penning told ABCnews.com today. Paula was 17 years old in the summer of 1965, living in Indiana, when Likens and her sister came to stay with Paula and her family. Likens was beatened, burned, malnourished and branded for the few months she was living in the Baniszewski household. Her body was found in the following October of that year in the Baniszewski basement. Gertrude Baniszewski, Paula's mother, was charged with first degree murder and Paula was found guilty of second degree murder for her participation of the torture of Sylvia Likens. Other Baniszewski family members were also convicted of such crimes. Paula Baniszewski pleaded guilty to manslaughter. She received a sentence of 7 years in prison, and was released in 1972. She completed her parole and moved to Iowa. Paula, now 64, 47 years after the killing, changed her name to Paula Pace and has worked for the BCLUW school district in Conrad, Iowa, since 1998. She has done custodial work and has recently been working as a teacher's aide in the school for students with special needs. Recently, information about Paula's real identity had been revealed over Facebook. An anonymous person confronted the police to check her background. Police immediately notified the school and began doing background checks. Pace's background and birth date matched those of Baniszewski's, comparing a current photo to her 1965 mugshot. "The superintendent had called her in and she admitted to it, so she was suspended," Penning said. The school called for a board meeting, and the members agreed to fire Paula. "Paula Pace's employment was terminated at a board meeting yesterday," superintendent Ben Petty told ABCnews.com. "Her employment was terminated for providing false information on her application." Petty would not comment further on how she was able to lie on her application. Penning said that Baniszewski is not facing any criminal charges, she could not be reached for comment. An Iowa phone number listed for Pace had been disconnected. The 1965 killing of Sylvia Likens criminal case has become one of the most infamous crimes in Indiana and has been the subject of several books and movies.

BLOG OF THE WEEK!!!

Skydiver Baumgartner breaks record for highest freefall

In this article, Felix Baumgartner broke the record for the highest freefall ever recorded. Yesterday, Baumgartner went up 128,100 ft (24 mi) in a US helium balloon over New Mexico. It took nine minutes for him to reach the ground at an estimated 833.9 mph. "On the step, I felt that the whole world is watching," Mr Baumgartner said after the jump. "I said I wish they would see what I see. It was amazing." The capsule which the skydiver fell from was equipped with cameras to provide a live internet feed. More than 8 million people viewed the live stream on YouTube, the largest number of concurrent live streams in the website's history. "We congratulate Felix Baumgartner and the entire Red Bull Stratos team for their successful mission, and for creating a live stream with the most concurrent views ever on YouTube," BBC the company said on their blog. After a weather delay of several hours, he set off at 9:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) Sunday from Roswell, New Mexico, in breezy, clear conditions, strapped into a pressurized capsule that hung from a giant helium balloon. It took two hours to reach his target altitude. After running through a 40-step checklist, Baumgartner opened the door of the capsule and climbed out onto a step before falling "Guardian angels will take care of you," said Mission Control just before Baumgartner jumped. "The whole world is watching now," he responded. He then jumped and about three minutes in, he reported, "My visor is fogging up." Then he began to spin, sending blood to rush to his head and leave him out of control. "There was a period of time where I really thought, 'I am in trouble,' " Baumgartner said, recalling how he considered pushing a button that would have released a chute to stabilize his position and to attempt to break the sound barrier. "But after a couple of seconds, I had that feeling I'm getting it under control. And I did," he added. "And that's why I broke the speed of sound today." After free-falling for about four minutes and 20 seconds, he deployed a parachute for the last mile down to Earth. "There's the chute," said a specialist in Mission Control, and the control room broke into applause. As soon as Baumgartner landed, he dropped to his knees and raised his fists. The team at Mission Control in Roswell burst into applause. His survival was no guarantee. Baumgartner's life depended on his pressure suit. The temperature when he jumped was expected to hit 70 degrees below zero Fahrenheit and the atmosphere was so thin that his blood would have vaporized if he wasn't protected by the suit. The outfit had sensors and recorders to measure everything from his speed to his heart rate. Sunday's successful jump breaks Col. Joe Kittinger's record set in 1960. Kittinger fell from 102,800 feet as part of a U.S. Air Force mission. Kittinger acknowledged the ups and downs of the years-long effort. He said Baumgartner "did perfect," and all the others involved in making the mission a success. "It was a team effort, and Felix did a fantastic job," he said. "It was an honor for all of us to work with this brave guy."
 
Australian Felix Baumgartner as he  Baumgartner after he successfully lands.
jumps out of a capsule on Oct. 14.

This image provided by Red Bull Stratos shows pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria as he jumps out of the capsule during the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos, Oct. 14, 2012.

New bizzare species of miniature dinosaur found

Not every dinosaur grew up to be a mighty predator like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, or a hulking vegan like Apatosaurus. A few stayed small and some of the smallest dinosaurs that ever lived  tiny enough to nip at your heels were among the first to spread across the planet more than 200 million years ago. Fossils of these miniature fanged plant eaters, known as heterodontosaurs or different toothed reptiles have turned up as far apart as England and China. Now in a discovery that has been at least 50 years in the making a new and especially bizarre species of these dwarf herbivores has been identified in a slab of red rock that was collected in the early 1960s by scientists working in South Africa. In a report published Wednesday in the online journal ZooKeys Paul C Sereno a paleontologist at the University of Chicago and a dinosaur specialist described the strange anatomy of the newfound member of the heterodontosaur family and gave the new species the name Pegomastax africanus or thick jaw from Africa. He also apologized in an interview for not getting around sooner to this piece of research. When he first viewed the specimen at a Harvard laboratory Dr. Sereno said "my eyes popped as it was clear this was a distinct species." Embedded in the rock were remains of a creature with a short parrotlike beak one inch jaws sharp teeth and a skull no less than three inches long. The entire body was less than two feet in length and probably weighed less than a small house cat. "I'm embarrassed to say how many years ago that was 1983" he said. "But I was an enterprising graduate student then at the American Museum of Natural History." All the while since then I wondered if anyone else might spot the creature hiding among the lab drawers. The Pegomastax fossils were eventually returned to the South African Museum in Cape Town the true nature of the one slab still undiscovered Dr. Sereno said.

Whale found on Northumberland beach was unusual species

The whale was discovered on Wednesday in the UK.

In this article, a rare species of whale was put down in Northumberland on Wednesday. Experts believe that it is a Sei whale. The 26- foot female was found and put down stranded on a North Sea beach. The whale was too thin to be sent back to sea. After being treated, she was put down due to being underweight. Experts from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue( BDMLR) operations director Stephen Marsh said: "Sei whales are an unusual species to find stranded in the UK." The whale was in poor nutritional condition, with thin blubber and bile staining, showing that she must have went through a ling period od starvation.

North Sea beach, UK.

Megan Stammers found in France with teacher

15-year-old Megan Stammers went missing on September 20.

According to this article, the 15 year old missing schoolgirl, Megan Stammers, was found in France and taken into protection by Sussex Police. She was found Friday at 12:15 with 30 year old school teacher, Jeremy Forrest. Forrest was arrested under charges of child abduction. Megan Stammers went missing Sepetember 20th, after not showing up to school on Friday. They were found in the centre of Bordeaux according to French news. A spokeswoman for Sussex Police, whom may not be named said "They were found today at 12.15pm UK time. Mr Forrest has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction and Megan has been taken into protection. The information which led to them being located came as a direct result of media coverage in France. Their families have been informed and arrangements will now be made for Megan and Jeremy's safe return." It was discovered, by french media, that the pair had boarded a ferry from Dover to Calais. A European arrest warrant was issued to Forrest on Thursday.

The pair was found in France by french media coverage.

Alligator rips off woman's arm in Florida canal

According to this article, in Leesburg Florida, an elderly woman's arm got ripped off by an alligator in a canal. The woman was in critical condition, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's spokeswoman Joy Hill. The woman was identified as 84 year old Carol Hough. Delmas Zickefoose, Hough's neighbor tells the Orlando Sentinental that he witnessed Hough falling into the 4- foot deep canal, which goes behind their mobile homes, although he does not know how she fell into the water. The alligator who attacked Hough will be put down and authorities will perform a necropsy, a procedure to ensure that the animal will never attack again.


Leesburg, Florida.

Three hundred killed in single day in Syria, group says

In this article, over 300 people were killed in Syria on Wednesday. It is said to be one of the bloodiest days since the uprising opposement over President Bashar al-Assad. Since March 2011, 30,000 lives have been taken. World leaders of the United Nation do not know how to respond to this violence. The British based organization monitors the violence in Syria. It shows that 55 people were killed in Damacus on Thursday, and at least 40 had been shot and killed in the southeast capital, al-Dhiyabia. Activists blame Assad's security forces for the massacre. Activists have published videos of these victims, their bloody corpses wrapped in blankets. Another 14 people were killed in a bomb attack between rebels and the security forces. The violence in Syria has increased since Assad became for militarized and used more force against rebels. In the first nine months of violence, it is said that 5,000 were killed. The violence is no longer monitored by the United Nations, but it is said that five times as many people have been killed since the first nine months. The overall death toll is at 27,318.


President Bashar al-Assad

Man mauled by tiger at New York zoo faces trespass charge

Pictured above is the species of tiger that attacked David Villabolos.

In this article, a man, after jumping over a fence into an animal den, was attacked by a Siberian Tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo. Said by the New York City police, the man will be charged with trespassing. The man, David Villalobos, 25, leapt from a monorail car Friday morning, jumped the fence into the tiger den. After being mauled, he was was taken to a local hopsital in critical condition, but became stable. Due to family request, no other information was given. Villalobos told a law enforcement, who wished to not be named, that he wanted to be "one with the tiger". Villabolos had bites and wounds covering his body after just 10 minutes in the enclosure with the tiger. Zoo keepers used a fire extinguisher to help resuce Villabolos, who was told to roll under an electrified perimeter to safety. "If not for the quick response by our staff and their ability to perform well in emergency situations, the outcome would have been very different," stated by the zoo director. It was decided that the tiger would not be put down, or taken out of the exhibit. "The tiger did nothing wrong in this case at all," the zoo director, Breheny, said.

David Villalobos, 25, was mauled by a tiger after jumping into a tiger enclosure at the Bronx Zoo.

Loneliest whale in the world

52 Hertz Whale, loneliest whale in the world.

According to this article, a 52 Hertz whale, the loneliest whale in the world, has been traveling the world alone. For decades, scientists have been tracking this whale, with interest to it's song. This whale sings a frequency like no other whale in the world. Most whales sing at frequencies between 15-12 Hertz, much lower than that of the loneliest whale who sings at a frequency of 52 Hertz. No other whales can hear his cries. He sings alone and travels the world alone. Whale biologists have proposed that this could be the last whale of a different species, or possibly a whale hybrid. His voice has deepened since 1992, so there is a possibilty that he is maturing. He has been traveling and singing alone for 20 years, since he was discovered off the Aleutians and Kodiak Island. Although he might be lonely, 52 Hertz is also healthy. Said by Dr. Kate Stafford, "The fact that this individual has been capable of existing in that harsh environment [for so many years] indicates there is nothing wrong with it," a researcher at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle. Despite being lonely for the last 20 years of his existence, he still sings.

3 killed in prophet protests in Pakistan

In this article, 3 people were killed and dozens injured due to protests of thousands of Pakistanis. On Friday, Pakistanis were infuriated by the anti-Islam film. Thousands of Muslims violently, including burning the American flag. Police were firing tear gas and live ammunition to tame the rioters from hurling rocks and setting fires to city buildings. Iraqi flags were raised as well as posters of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, while they were chanting "death to America". US officials try to explain to the Muslim world that they strongly disagree with the film, but they cannot block it due to freedom of speech. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the Pakistani Prime Minister summoned the international community to pass laws so no one can insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Coast Guard searching for woman, 21, who reportedly fell overboard on Florida cruise

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Allure of the Seas

According to this article, this past Sunday, a woman, 21, fell off a cruise ship and has been missing since. The woman was in Florida on a Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas ship, 47 miles east of Fort Lauderdale. One of the passangers claim they saw her go overboard around 9:25 p.m. The footage from one of the camera's on the ship showed that woman definitely did fall into the water Sunday night. United States Coast Guard has been searching the Atlantic for her ever since. By Monday, the Coast Guard had searched an area of 320 square miles. The Coast Guard not only are searching by ship, but also by aircraft. The woman's identity has not yet been confirmed, nor how she went overboard.

Mexico mass jailbreak sparks manhunt near Texas border

In this article, over 100 inmates escaped from a Mexico jail close to the United States border. They escaped from the prison in Piedras Negras, which borders an area the east of Texas. The inmates dug tunnels to escape. A manhunt has been in action to prevent any of the jailbroken inmates to cross the border. The state government offered rewards up to $15,600 for the capture of any inmate. This has been not the only, but the biggest jail breakout to happen in Mexico. Police have been protecting the border to prevent any of the jailbroken inmates from escaping.

Piedras Negras is located in Coahuila.

Iraqi gays in "hell on earth"

Gay Iraqis who fled from Syria return to Iraq.

According to this article, political and religious groups hunt, kill, and torture gays in Iraq. The main objective is to kill everyone who was thought to be gay. These groups do not believe in being gay, and deny these people their rights. Men and women who are perceived as gay are considered to be a danger to society and religion. Instead of protecting these people, they are murdered on the spot or handed over to militias who kill them. Other suspects are forced to give information such as names an addresses of gay Iraqi men and women by being threatened of being arrested. Activists continue to be arrested and killed. Refuge Iraqi gays that were in safe houses in Syria have been forced to be sent back to Iraq. If outside governments do not help the Iraqi gays, many more men and women will die.

No school for 400,000 students as Chicago teachers strike

For the first time in 25 years, Chicage teachers decided to go on strike, walking out on more than 400,000 students at 675 schools. What triggered the strike was the conflicts over salary and the cancellation of the teachers' 4 percent pay hike in the last year of their contract. From 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on Monday morning, the teachers went into full strike, keeping 144 schools open. Thousands of unsupervised kids were on the streets.

Varcat ~

This is Danielle's first blog post of 2012-2013 ~