Scores arrested in wildlife poaching raids

Interpol announced on Monday that in an operation targeting the "biggest ever transnational wildlife crime operation in Africa" they arrested more than 100 people and seized more than 2 tons of ivory. The very successful 'Operation Costa' worked across six Eastern African countries with police, wildlife, customs, and national intelligence agencies. The inspections, raids, and arrests took place in markets in these countries. This operation was one of the biggest busts on record, and shows the willingness of law enforcement to defeat wildlife crime. The illegal ivory trade not only harms animals, but has killed many law enforcement officers, threatened citizens with violence, corruption, and negatively impacted the economy.

I have seen many gruesome images of the effects of illegal poaching in Africa. Being an animal lover, it is always hard to hear and see such majestic creatures as elephants reduced to a rotting carcass and some ivory tusks. Hopefully a successful raid like this will help to destroy the ivory trade and poaching business. There must be consequences around the globe for endangering species of animals simply for the sake of greed. Slaughtering an enormous elephant, simply to harvest two tusks and leave the rest is an incredibly inconsiderate and wasteful act. I hope that people who contribute to the ivory trade by purchasing such contraband realize what they are a part of. I think that a far more profitable business would be to invest in the natural beauty of the land and animals of Africa. Protecting these valuable resources will do abundant good for people and the world.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/30/kenya.poaching.arrests/index.htmleref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Father of 'balloon boy' pleads guilty

In a Colorado Court this morning Richard Heene pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to influence a public servant. The Heene family was brought into the media spotlight in October when a large helium balloon broke free from their yard, and flew high over Colorado. Heene's wife, Mayumi, called 911 saying their 6-year-old son, Falcon, was in the balloon. Rescuers frantically tracked the balloon for 2 hours, and brought it down safely, all this as millions of tv viewers watched on nervously. It turns out that Falcon never was in the balloon, he had been safe at home the whole time, with his parent's knowledge. The Heene parents had planned this as a publicity stunt for weeks "to make their family more marketable for future media interests", even instructing their children on how to lie to authorities. Richard Heene could end up with as much as 90 days in jail, and Mayumi (charged with misdemeanor of false reporting to authorities) could serve 60 days.

One of my biggest pet peeves is stage parents. Parents who tirelessly push their children into the spotlight in order to reap the glory for themselves. The children who are stuck in such a demanding situation never seem to turn out ok. Just look at the lives of former child stars. Drugs, alcohol, depression, rehab, eating disorders, divorce, bankrupcy. These are just a few of the side-affects of a childhood in the spotlight, if you can even call it a childhood. This story about the 'balloon boy' is stage parenting taken to another level. The Heene parents were so desperate for attention that they were willing to fake the near death of one of their children, and willing to corrupt their children by training them to lie to authorities. I can't think of an example of more irresponsible parenting. Obviously not a single thought went into the well being of their children as the Heenes plotted this publicity stunt. I think that after exibiting such direguard for their kids mental and physical health these parent should have their custody revoked. I only hope that Falcon and his siblings can grow up in a safe and loving environment where people actually care about their well-being. Hopefully the destructive actions of their parents haven't already corrupted their futures.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/13/balloon.boy.heene/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Safe to Eat?

America is a country with many health-concious citizens, but even as people try to make healthy eating choices there are growing concerns over the safety of fresh produce and meats in U.S. markets. Food-poisoning epidemics have made headlines many times in the past few years. In 2006 an outbreak of the dangerous E.coli bacteria in bagged spinach killed three people, and made more than 200 others ill. This case is just one of many similar occurances. The increase in food-bourne illnesses can be attributed to several things. First, as more Americans strive towards healthier living they eat greater quantities of raw produce, which is more likely to contain harmful microorganisms which aren't killed without the cooking process. Also, the population demographics of the U.S. are shifting, and a larger percentage of the population is made up of elderly people, who are more at risk from food-bourne toxins. Lastly, agriculture is becoming centralized, and production and packaging are taking place on large scales. Because of this, an outbreak from one area can affect the whole country. Many people believe that the government must reform food safety standards to protect consumers. At the moment the government relies on self-regulation by the industry, and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to regulate produce, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture strictly regulates meat and poultry. After so many safety breaches in recent times, many Americans have called for the formation of a single government food safety agency. One agency could better enforce more specific rules for growing, handling, and processing fruits and veggies. More funding also is needed to make the agency more effective. Other people however argue that this plan will only raise price of food on consumers, and reverse recent healthy eating trends. They suggest that the best solution is to let the industry self-regulate, because in order for the industry to succeed it must win consumer trust by becoming safer. It can do this better than any government agency. Should the U.S. do more to protect safety of consumers?

I think that food poisoning scares are becoming far to common in this country. Something must be wrong with the current food-regulation system, so something must be changed. There is no question that the government should have very high and very strict standards on producers to ensure that U.S. consumers can shop at grocery stores without fear. Somehow bad products must be prevented or caught before they reach the shelves. I agree that the food industry itself can probably react faster and more effectively than the government to raise safety standards, after all their income depends entirely on consumer trust. So, a certain degree of self-regulation is necessary so that the industry can become better for its own good. At the same time I feel much safer with the knowledge that every food producer is held to the highest standard by a third party. The FDA, Dept. of Agriculture, or one giant government agency should always be closely scrutinizing every detail of the industry. Enforcing regulations and laws, etc. I think that creating one agency would be more efficient in the long run, leaving less loopholes for epidemics to slip through. The possibility that food prices might rise slightly from more responsibility in the food industry is totally worth the lives that could be saved by preventing unsafe foods. The bottom line is we need to make food safe again, catching bad food before its too late. Many politicians share my opinion on this topic, including Senator Gillibrand of New York who recently proposing legislation to eliminate E.coli from the U.S. food system. "E.coli Eradication Act"

To learn about two other health care issues check out:

• Randee's Blog on Comprehensive vs. Incremental Health Care Reform.


• Sarah's Blog on Ensuring Quality Care for Medicare Patients

Teen says he drowned 4-year-old to protect secret, police say

Summary: Raul Castro, a 14 year old boy from California, told police that he drowned his 4 year old neighbor so that he wouldn't tell on him. The young victim, Alex Mercato, had threatened to tell his mother that Castro had molested him. On Friday, Castro lured the boy to his home where he molested him. Mercato tripped, hit his head, and then threatened to tell. When this happened the older boy got nervous, and drowned the toddler in a bathtub. Fresno County has charged Castro as an adult with special circumstances including murder, sodomy, kidnapping and murder of a witness to prevent testimony. In California 14-year-olds aren't eligable for the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole. If found guilty, Castro could get no more than 32 years to life plus 15 years.

Opinion: Sometimes it is hard to fathom the horrible things that take place in our world. This is one such crime that seems too awful to have ever happened. I agree completely with Sarah Wadi when she questions how a boy of just 14 years of age could possibly be so messed up, so mentally unstable, to commit these acts. Middle schoolers are supposed to have lots of their innocence still intact, 14 year olds may be teenagers but they are still very young. What has Raul Castro been exposed to in those years that has caused him to be such a malicious and dangerous person? I usually don't believe that people that younger people should be tried as adults, but in this case I think an exception is possibly needed. If Castro is capable of this thoughtless crime now, what about the future? As Sarah says in her blog, my thoughts are mainly with the poor family of little Alex Mercato. The pain they must feel after losing a child to such a horrific fate must be excruciating.

Sources: Sarah Wadi's blog

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/04/california.boy.slaying/index.html

Coroner says 6 women whose bodies were found at home died violently

Summary: In Cleveland, Ohio the bodies of six women were found at the home of Anthony Sowell, a convicted rapist, as police went there to attempt to arrest him on more rape charges. The police did not find Sowell at the home, but instead discovered two bodies in the upstairs of the house, and later found two more in a crawlspace, and two in shallow graves. All the women appear to have been strangled, and their bodies have been in the home anywhere from weeks to years. Police tracked down Sowell on Saturday, and arrested him.

Opinion: This story horrified me, and I am not alone. In her blog, Olivia expressed her shock over the fact that these women have been missing for such a long time, possibly years, and yet nobody launched a search for any of them. I completely agree with her, no one should simply disappear without the police doing their best to locate and save them. That these women slipped through the cracks is disturbing, and strange. Olivia also questioned how a convicted rapist like Sowell, with obvious mental problems, had been released from jail and left unsupervised enough to go on commiting terrible crimes. Stories like this prove that something must be done to change our criminal justice system. This crime was preventable, and should not have gone undiscovered for so long.

Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/31/ohio.cleveland.bodies/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Olivia Rice's blog on this topic