Start of Fourth Quarter

Start of Fourth Quarter!!!

Can Memorials Trigger Suicide?

On March 22, 2010 Candace Kallevig wrote a blog saying that when a person commits suicide, others many commit suicide too to get the same attention. One of the first reaction that people take is to mourn and grieve, sometimes publicly and sometimes just to themselves. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention tells schools that if a student has committed suicide have a "muted response." It is likely that if the school makes a big deal out of the suicide, that students who are already thinking about suicide might like the thought of getting attention in death. Researchers say that suicide is contagious and that groups of people commit suicide relatively close to the time someone else in the group commits suicide. From the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Ann Haas says that there should be memorials, but that the schools should try to develop a suicide prevention organization in their honor.

Candace thinks that suicide can be contagious and that people shouldn't give a lot of attention to a person who took their own life. She is all for a suicide prevention center, but not in honor of someone.

I agree with Candace. Suicide can be contagious and is a terrible thing. I think that opening a suicide prevention center could be a good idea, but if we really think about it, people who are thinking of committing suicide aren't in the right state of mind to think to go to a suicide prevention center. I think that the center wouldn't get a lot of people to come to it unless they give informational sessions on signs that might lead to a suicide and those people who know the signs could help the people who might commit suicide. I also agree with Candace when she says that opening a center in honor of someone who took their life is not a good idea. The thought of maybe a memorial being opened in their honor could lead students considering suicide to actually commit suicide.

To answer the question in my title, Can memorials trigger suicide? I believe so.

Avalanche in Canada Kills 3, injures 30

During a snowmobile competition in western Canada an avalanche struck. Three people killed and 30 injured. There were about 200 people at the Saturday event when the avalanche happened. It hit a mountain in British Columbia, says Cpl. Dan Moskaluk (spokesman for Revelstoke police). At hotels, police were making rounds to determine how many people were still missing. Crews used many resources, like canine units, to search for survivors after clearing the area. On Boulder mountain near Revelstoke was the event "Big Iron Shoot Out". The accident occurred during the event. Authorities stated that three people were killed late Saturday.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/14/canada.avalanche/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

I think that it is sad that people died during the avalanche, but I think that people should be glad that only three people were killed when there was a a snowmobile competition going on. I feel for the three peoples families and I hope that they are all doing well and move forward in their lives. May those three people rest in peace. As for the 30 people who are injured, I hope they are all doing well and are on a speedy road to recovery. I am glad that the Canadian Police department did all they could to find all of the people still out in the avalanche mess. I think that the police departments should really do everything to find everyone in an avalanche or any kind of accident. I hope that everyone injured and those families are doing well and can move forward from this tragic incident.

A Trainer from SeaWorld Died from Injuries and Drowning

On Thursday, March 4, 2010, Krista wrote a blog about Dawn Brancheau, a whale trainer, who was killed by a killer whale named Tilikum at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida on February 24th, 2010. Brancheau died from multiple injuries and drowning after Tilikum pulled her into a pool. They say that Tilikum has a history involved with deaths. 1991, Tilikum killed a trainer in British Columbia after the trainer fell into the tank. Tilikum drug him down. In 1999, a man was found in the tank and was said to have been killed by Tilikum's horseplay. Tilikum's history and size emphasized that the trainers shouldn't get in the water with the whale. Brancheau was in knee deep water when Tilikum came and grabbed her ponytail and pulled her underwater. Tilikum had to be coax into a different tank before Brancheau could be reached. This is a tragic accident. Researchers believe that Tilikum didn't tried to kill the trainer, he was probably trying to play with her as they behave in nature. This has raised a lot of questions about the captivity of animals, issues about space, tricks and situations the whales are put in.

Web site:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/25/florida.seaworld.death/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Krista thinks this is a tragic incident and I agree with her. It is tragic because a person was lost doing something that she loved. I think that the killer whale didn't try to kill Brancheau, I think that he was just trying to play with her. Brancheau had been training the whale for a long time and loved the animal. A killer whale and other animals are like kids in a way, they don't know better. There have been stories about animals acting out before, whether they are in captivity, the wild, or a family pet. Krista says that animals are animals, they are living creatures, just like us. She also says that people act out all the time and that humans are animals too. I agree with her. Animals are animals, living creatures like us. We act out, so animals act out too. Neither one, human or animal, is perfect. People love zoos, they love the fact that they get to see animals that they don't normally get to see, up close. I think that if we are going to put animals in captivity, we need to give them enough space and the thinks they would have in the wild. I think that having animal shows, where the animals do tricks, is a good way to show how smart the animals are but we need to remember that they are wild animals. They are animals who need their space and don't need to be forced to do things they don't want to do.

Krista's Blog:
http://earlyushistory8.blogspot.com/2010/03/seaworld-trainer-died-from-traumatic.html

Students, Professors protest education cutbacks

California movement protests $1 billion in budget cuts to state's university system. In many states, students and professors are challenging administrators and state lawmakers about budget cuts and increasing tuition that are reducing class options and increasing expenses. One student says that she works two jobs, goes to school full time, and struggles to get the classes needed. Many demonstrations focused on state-funded colleges and universities cuts. There were 122 events scheduled in 33 states on campuses and some state capitols. Dissatisfaction, anger and uncertain futures led to a "Day of Action." Increasing fees and canceling classes, cutting student support programs are two ways California schools are responding. In Georgia, legislative committee proposed $300 million in cuts to the state's college system. Students at colleges in Georgia are planing to wear black this week to show the 'death' of our education.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/04/us.day.of.action/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

I think that all these budget cuts are really crazy. At my school they have cut a lot of the music departments budget. This means a lot to me since I spend most of my day in the music department. I know that it is hard for schools to find the money to finance everything and to keep each program up and running with kids interested in it, but we need to do something about it so that we can go to a college and be able to take most, if not all, the classes for the occupation we choose at that college. A person who is working more than one job and going to school full time probably don't get that much time to study and probably really wear themselves out. I think that they should be able to apply for scholarships and financial aid to help them out. I think that we really need to figure out all the budget cuts so that when younger people go off to college they would really have to worry as much as we do about what classes might be cut.

'Shutter Island' wins weekend box office with $40.2 million

Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" dominated the box office with a $40.2 million take because there were no other wide releases to challenge it. It's a career best for the director and Leonardo DiCaprio. The victory is sweet for studio Paramount. The studio blamed the slated October 2009 release date on marketing expenses along with suspicion about the movie's quality. The switch generated curiosity among the fans of DiCaprio, Scorses, and horror pics. All fans packed the theaters. Coming in second was "Valentine's Day" which managed another $17.2 million despite the lose of love from the audiences. The movie droped a 69.5% from its holiday debut. This won't effect Warner Bro's plans to make more holiday-themed movies in the future. "Percy Jackson" (number 4) dipped 51%. "The Wolfman" (number 5) lost 68.7%. "Avatar" managed another record-breaking performance in the 10th weekend, dropping only 31.8% for a 3rd place finish. In 4th place "The Ghost Writer" banked a decent %179K thanks to media attention about the director's continuing legal troubles.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/21/boxoffice.ew/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

As I have said in another blog, you cannot out beat the box office, but I do think that a movie can win the weekend box office because the movie was just released and it was appealing to the movie goers who have already seen the other movies out in theaters. I am glad that, although there was a confusing about the release date and the quality of the movie, "Shutter Island" appealed to its viewers the same way the movie would have if it have been released earlier. I still find it odd that a lot of people put the movies into a sort of peeking order of which one is selling the most. Some people may see that a movie is selling out at the box office and is gaining a lot of money, so they go to see the movie and may not like it at all. I think that when they tell how much a movie is making they also need to put in a description of the movie, so people will know if they will like the movie or not and if the movie is selling out because it is a new movie or because so many other people have gone to see it.

Teens shot during California church service

In Richmond, California a church service erupted into chaos. Three gunmen opened fire on comgregants. They injured two teens. At about 12:30 p.m. after three hooded men shot at the churchgoers, police headed to New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ. Bisa Frech, police spokeswoman, says that they are unsure if the two victims were targeted, but someone in the area of the victims was. Filled with more than 100 people, police don't know why the church was attacked. The victims were both male ages 14 and 19. Both are expected to make a full recoveries. The assailants were described as being in their late teens to early 20s.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/14/california.church.shooting/index.html?hpt=Sbin

I think that this is a very sad story. The people in the church were just there to worship and grow in their faith and religion. It is sad that the gunmen would target a person while they are in church. I think that for the gunmen to even want to kill someone is very horrible and unhuman. I think that anyone who wants to kill someone and will go to great lengths to kill someone is not in the right state of mind. I am glad that the two people will be okay and be able to go about their lives, but they must be wondering, was I the person he was targeting? I hope that the three gunmen are found, so that no one else will die and so that the two victims know that they will be safe and that the targeted person has nothing to worry about.