Plastic Surgery for Teens

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36101073/ns/today-parenting_and_family/

Dr. Sam Rizk argues that, "It’s no different than kids getting braces for crooked teeth.” I can see the option of plastic surgery being reasonable for a teen if they had some type of physical deformity but in most cases I would feel like it would be wrong to alter your body in that way at such a young age. What do you think?

The Web Responds to Moscow Bombings

If you haven't heard yet, two bombings on Moscow's subway have killed dozens of people earlier today. When this was first announced, at least 38 people had been killed; with over 60 wounded. The bombers are being called, "black widows" by numerous news organizations. The term refers to Chechnyan female suicide bombers who have been radicalized by the continuing conflict in the North Caucasus of Russia. As you can imagine, the cold, hard facts have not come to light yet. Because of this many people are turning to the internet for answers. Key words such as "moscow bombings," "subway explosions," and "black widow bombings" have rocked Google and other searches.

Believe it or not, Twitter is covering the bombings. Twitter user "zlaw" has uploaded pictures and "RT_com" has a Twitter feed with the newest updates on the bombings. There is even a video with an eyewitness description of the bombings. *All of these contain disturbing images.* The question is whether or not social media sites should be allowed to be posting this information, and if so, should there be a censor/limit on what users can and cannot post? Also, should we wait for the more "legitimate" information from respected news organizations like CNN to be announced; or is it better to find the latest news on social media sites? What do yall think?

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93516?fp=1

Any 'Idol' Fans Left in the House?

I must admit that I still turn on Fox every Tuesday and Wednesday night at 8/7 central to get my 'American Idol' fix. However, for myself and many others, Season 9 has been quite the disappointment. It suddenly seems like this "talent" competition is more focused on style and appearance, rather than actual vocal ability. And yet, it still manages to take the top 2 spots every week in the TV ratings. Eventually, people are going to have to realize that most of these contestants just don't have what it takes.... My question for you: Can 'Idol' be saved? No matter what, those of us who continue to watch will have to endure what contestants we've been given. And with the show featuring such talented singers as Ke$ha and Orianthi (who can play guitar, but my oh my does she get off-pitch), my faith in the judges being able to choose successful contestants is slowly but surely dwindling. What say you?

http://www.mercurynews.com/tv/ci_14764269

CA Legalizes Marijuana

California recently voted on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana for people over 21. Isn't that a little old though? I mean if you think about it most people who have smoked weed in their life did it when they were young and eventually decide to put it to rest. If the legal age is going to be 21 then a large percentage of people smoking will still be doing it illegally. Then we have the law abiding citizens who are over 21 and have decided to give it a try now that it will be legal. This can cause a problem because they could potentially be going down a slippery slope and losing whatever progress they've made by getting a job or even a family due to the fact that they did not smoke marijuana in their younger years and don't have experience and can't be responsible about it. I just think that if you can buy cigarettes when you're 18, which are worse for you than marijuana, then why not weed? Here's an article from NY Times about it

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/us/26pot.html?hp

Can media not leave a good thing alone?

A few weeks ago Sandra Bullock was seemingly on top of the world and melting the hearts of all who watched her accept her Oscar for best actress. As if it was almost too good to be true, not soon after her big moment on the Oscars did news surface of her husband, Jesse James, having a long term affair with a tattoo model named Michelle McGee which supposedly all took place during Bullock's absence during the filming of "The Blind Side" for which she won her oscar. In addition to these reports of scandal from various sources, Sandra's husband troubles were coupled with various other stories of misfortune such as the James-Bullock family dog went missing, Jesse James was seen walking around in a controversial Nazi outfit in his home, and custody issues with James' child and his previous wife.

Is it just me or can media not leave a good thing alone? It seems as though the media can not solely report on a fortunate story but instead must couple it with something negative or tragic. Sandra's fortune was seemingly not enough for the media that more had to be dredged up. That or her husband and the insider sources saw her success at the Oscars as an outlet for them to receive publicity or present tabloids with lucrative and prevalent stories. Shouldn't a recent recognition in the Oscars be one of the happiest points in Bullock's life? I recognize that bad or shocking news sells more but sometimes good news has its success as well. Must all good press be followed with bad or does success as a celebrity come with inevitable misfortune?

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/popcast/35031/problemspersistforjessejamessandrabullock/

The FBI is Now Following You–On Twitter

I have always been amazed at the stuff that people put on social media sites. Whether it be pictures from the party last weekend or personal griping that's no longer personal, there's certain things that the whole world doesn't need to know. Some of us use privacy settings to manage who sees what, but that may not be enough...

The FBI has turned to social media to catch wanted criminals. No matter how careful a suspect may be, it may not be enough. Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the FBI can force social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, or LinkedIn to reveal confidential information such as private inbox messages. My question is this: Should the government be allowed to "intrude" on the privacy of anyone like this in order to protect the American people?

http://blog.brickhousesecurity.com/2010/03/22/fbi-twitter/

South Park: Crossing a Line?

Any other South Park fans in this class? I imagine there probably are, considering South Park is one of the longest running cartoons on television right now. Personally, I love everything about the show. I love that the creators are not afraid to call it like they see it in terms of making fun of celebrities and current events.
Many may say the creators of South Park are insensitive. Obviously, the creators of the show go all out in their attempts to rip on everything and anything. Because of television and the Internet, millions of people are able to watch South Park. My question is this: Should there be a line that separates what the creators of the show can and cannot do? Should they be allowed to call Tom Cruise gay, Kanye West a "gayfish", and Michael Jackson a "little white girl" and get away with it?
I personally think the creators of the show are some of the most down-to-earth people I can think of, even considering their crazy show. Whenever they rip on a celebrity or a current event, I can honestly say that I agree with them 99% of the time (excluding Cartman being racist, of course).
Attached is a clip from a new episode of the show, but I must warn you, it is uncensored and may be too much to handle for those with profanity sensitivity issues. It is just an example of how South Park is not afraid of lawsuits when it comes to making fun of celebrities.

March Madness Vasectomy?

As I was stumbling through online articles, I ran across an article about March madness. As I continued reading, I realized the article wasn't about March madness but rather it described a new trend sweeping across the middle-aged male population: enter a bracket, take care of chores, and get a vasectomy. While this may seem rather shocking, more and more males are scheduling vasectomies in March than any other month of the year. Why you ask? The answer is simple. Working men dream of sitting on the couch with a bag of chips in one hand and a beer in the other preparing to watch their bracket succeed (very unlikely). What better way to capture this dream than by scheduling a vasectomy? From this type of media exposure, I believe this vasectomy number will continue to increase each March.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHealthNews/march-madness-means-bets-basketball-vasectomies/story?id=10140703

Demi Moore's Twitter Stops Possible Suicide

I had many concerns when I saw this article. I use twitter and other social networking sites but it makes me very uncomfortable that there are people that use these when they are feeling suicidal. Or maybe it is a good thing since the responses to people's twitter, facebook, & myspace is so prompt. Good for Demi for being able to help out but when I am feeling down should I turn to social networking sites to find someone to help me out?

http://www.tmz.com/2010/03/19/demi-moore-twitter-suicide-nia-verdalos-call/

I see on CNN another fantastic story pertaining to a woman dressing her baby daughter up as historically significant terrorists. The whole idea from what I understood was to be a piece of art and to help us understand new ideas about why what they did was unacceptable. To quote from the article:"You need to be conscious that your actions have consequences that impact your fellow human beings," Kleivan told Haaretz. "The people I let my daughter portray didn't give a damn about the human cost, the casualties their thoughts caused."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1973372_2089555,00.html#ixzz0iaUUz1xX.

Do you think her intentions are honorable, and should this be considered art?

Pretty Wild

E!'s new reality show, "Pretty Wild", is pretty wildly terrible. I watched it as it premiered Sunday night and as Prof. Hendrickson said in class -- It is definitely worse than MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen." I honestly used to be a fan of reality tv when it first started. I thought it was very entertaining and I liked how people used it as a promotional/advertising tool, but now it is just annoying and there is soooooo much of it, and most of it is just watching people live out their overly dramatic lives to the point where I don't even know what is and is not real anymore. Is there any hope for reality television? Or is it just going to continue to suck?

12 Year Old Boy Charged With Murdering His Father's Pregnant Fiance.

I was speechless when I saw this on CNN.

In the small town of Pennsylvania, there's happening what is now considered one of the most controversial cases in the juvenile crime history. Jordan Brown is a suspect for shooting his father's pregant fiance, ultimately causing the death of the beloved Kenzie and his father's future child. Under Pennsylvania's law, anyone under the age of 13 who commits murder would be tried as an adult.
The court is debating whether to try him as an adult or a juvenile. Coincidentally, tomorrow, the Supreme Court will decide whether it is considered Unsual and Cruel Punishment to try a child as adult. Whatever the ruling might be, it will forever alter the fate of this 12 year old boy and the juvenile crime landscape in our country.

Video Link
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/crime/2010/03/15/carroll.juvenile.murder.charge.cnn

The Onion: Hilarious Parody or Blatantly Offensive

Most of you who browse the internet on a regular basis are likely to have come across an article or video done by The Onion. In case you’re not familiar with this establishment, it’s a satirical news website and newspaper that commonly follows current events but has many branches that poke fun at stereotypes and traits of American culture. The videos and articles on the website are written and acted out as if they are true so the unknowing visitor could be shocked to find that it is indeed not true.

I am clearly of fan of this website because I chose to write about it but I could see people being seriously offended by some of the content on the website. Do you think that even as an entertainment organization that they should not cross certain lines or do you think that they have the freedom to say what they like even if it could cause harm?

Here is some sample videos/articles, I tried to keep it PG rated, if you’re really curious look around some more on your own.

Articles:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/massive_earthquake_reveals_entire

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/supreme_court_allows

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/u_s_economy_grinds_to_halt_as

Videos:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_caught_lip_syncing_speech

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/bush_tours_america_to_survey

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/breaking_news_some_bullshit

Don't let this be you...

...as you return from Spring Break, and especially as you prepare to read "The Pirate's Dilemma."  It's OK...you're gonna make it through this...see you Monday.

From The Onion: Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text

Sarah Palin, Journalist.

Sarah Palin was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tuesday. She talked about how she'll now be commenting on Fox News, and how she chose to work with them for being fair and balanced. It still looks like she'll be running in 2012, too. For president.

Thoughts?

Social Networks: Windows into the World of Hacking

I found an article about a woman, Alice, who was sent a message via Facebook telling her about pictures that had been taken during an outing with a friend. However, when she clicked the link to view the pictures, it turned out not to be pictures at all, but an infection.

Hijackers had already taken over the Alice's friend's Facebook account, which is how they sent her the message about the photos. When she opened the link, she gave the hijackers access to her own account, and from there they were able to seize control of her company laptop and access privileged financial data, as well as take over two servers, all before they were detected.
Because of the use of social networks like this in the workplace, hijackers could continue to gain access to more private data that could seriously harm the well-being of many innocent citizens.

And unfortunately, Facebook is not the only endangered network. "Every network we see today has a significant problem with some form of organized threat," says Tim Belcher, CTO for a internet security firm.

What's most disturbing to me about these kinds of intrusions is that we won't see them coming, and are unlikely to realize that communications like the one between the hijackers and Alice are bogus until it's too late.

To read more about this issue click here.

Tasers: Good or bad?

I didn't know much about tasers until I read this article, but I know for sure that I would never want one used on me. I don't think anyone would. But the big problem thats posed in this article is if they're safe or not. They aren't considered a "firearm", but there are examples of times in the past that they've been used and resulted in death and injury. Now the Taser company has decided to change its recommendations on how they should be used. "Officers, it said, should no longer aim for the chest when using the device, instead targeting the arms, legs, buttocks." Yet the same company claims that it doesn't affect the heart when aimed at the chest.

I think that the company changed its recommendations on how it should be used while retaining their claim, because although they don't believe it affects or attracts heart conditions they don't want any bad claims against themselves. I believe this is a smart move because first of all, I don't want to get tasered in the chest if I have to get tasered, and secondly now no one can complain against them if they have a warning against it.

Read the article if you want to know more.

Lil wayne missing sentencing again?

For those of you who follow the ever exciting world of modern hip hop have most certainly heard about the charges brought about to Lil wayne. Chances are even if you don't follow hip hop music news you have heard about these charges. Lil wayne was charged with gun charges last year, and through a series of events as recorded by fox news, he has evaded his sentencing yet again. Now the real question to this story is, will he return to hip hop afterwards, and will this also boost his record sales and popularity. As far as hip hop goes people do like to see a more hardened personality of their artists. So it could make since that this boosts his sales. What do you think?

"Miss Me Yet" George Bush BillBoard

Recently I say a story on Yahoo news that I found very interesting. The topic at hand was that there is a billboard in Minnesota with a picture of our former president, George bush, waving and it says "Miss Me Yet?" I found it very humorous but others might have been offended. My first though is are there any rules or laws about what you can advertise or put on a billboard. If one had enough money they could possibly put anything up there right? the second question is was the billboard posted as a mockery of the George Bush administration from Obama supporters or was it put up by past bush supporters who are reminding people that Obama has not lived up to his promises. Either way it is still funny to me and I wonder why we dont see more things like this.

Here is a link to the article with a picture:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1122