Black Friday

First story can be found here. 

Second story can be found here. 

Every year when Black Friday rolls around, the media makes a huge deal out of the crowds of people who swarm stores in search of shopping deals. This is the first year, however, that I remember the deal toll climbing to 3 people. 

In Palm Desert, California, two people were shot in a Toys R Us. A Wal-Mart employee in Long Island was killed when people stormed the store. Four others were taken to the hospital. 

I don't know if it's the economic recession that's causing the madness this year or if it's just two isolated cases that happened on the same day, but this is disgusting. The holidays are time to enjoy being with loved ones, not to kill others over the last Tickle Me Elmo on sale or run over sales clerks so that you can get an ipod for less money than normal. It's just all so trivial. It's just shopping. 

Larceny in the Circle Apartments

Congo

Story can be found here. 

I found this story significant for a few reasons. 

Firstly, I consider myself fairly well informed on world events, but I had no idea that anything like this was going on the in the Congo. My TA for my Media and Politics class last year was from Zimbabwe and always complained how little accurate press coverage Africa gets. I guess that this proves her point. 

Secondly, I found the layout of this story pretty awful. I am not a huge fan of Yahoo! news but I use it because I have an Yahoo! email account and it makes it easy to read important headlines. However, they should have used more maps and graphics to make this story less tedious to read. I don't know if I could pick the Congo out on a map of Africa (I have a general idea, but I would probably be wrong) and I know that a lot of Americans don't know their African geography. 

Haiti

Story can be found here.

I found this story particularly heartbreaking because 2 years ago, I went to Haiti. I have never seen a more beautiful, yet depressing place in my entire life. Our tour guide told us that one private home on the entire Haitian side of the  island has internet service. The children that we saw were starving and underfed. I've traveled around the Caribbean fairly extensively and I've never seen poverty like that before. However, the Haitian people were also by far the most friendly, accommodating and welcoming people that I have ever met in my travels. 

The fact that something like this could happen after all of the economic and natural disasters that the people of Haiti have had to endure is awful. I hope that whoever is responsible for the poor conditions of this school is punished accordingly. 

As far as the presentation of this story, kudos to CNN.com. It is easy to read and organized, like usual. 

Sociology Professor Threatens to Sue Ithaca College

Hillary Clinton

Story can be found here. 

Politics is one of my greatest passions (it's also my second major). So, I found this particular article to be upsetting. I don't like Barack Obama or John McCain. I don't believe one word that comes out of Obama's mouth and think that he is IMMENSELY under-qualified to be the president. I have the upmost respect for John McCain as a person. He went through a great deal of hardships in life, mostly in service to our country. My dad is a Vietnam veteran too, so I have been taught to respect those who serve our country in the military. However, with that being said, as a die hard Hillary supporter, I am offended that McCain thought he could add Sarah Palin to his ticket and therefore gain support from the women who supported Hillary. 

There are so many differences between Senator Clinton and Governor Palin. Hillary is an intelligent, experienced and well educated woman. Sarah Palin is caribou Barbie. I would sooner vote for Tina Fey for president than Sarah Palin herself. 

The article posted above states that the McCain campaign is using Senator Clinton's voice in machine phone calls in battle ground states. To me, this political tactic is quite telling. I think that McCain, unlike Obama, understands Senator Clinton's importance in this election despite the fact that she didn't get the nomination. (I know plenty of Hillary supporters, myself included, who refuse to vote for either Obama or McCain). 

The quote that they used in the phone calls is: "In the White House, there is no time for speeches and on-the-job training. Sen. McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, and Sen. Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002. I think that is a significant difference." 

I couldn't agree with her more.