Violence against women act passed!

Struggling again with an issue important to women and minority groups, House Republicans on Thursday failed to pass their version of a new Violence Against Women Act and then split over a Senate version that won approval with unanimous Democratic support.

The measure now goes to President Barack Obama, who said in a statement that it was "an important step towards making sure no one in America is forced to live in fear." "I look forward to signing it into law as soon as it hits my desk," Obama said.

 

Thursday's votes reflected an emerging political reality in the GOP-led House, with a minority of Republicans joining Democrats to pass legislation supported by the public, including increasingly influential demographics such as Hispanic Americans. By a vote of 166-257, the GOP version of the Violence Against Women Act failed to win a majority after almost 90 minutes of debate. The House then voted 286-138 to pass the Senate version, with 87 Republicans joining all 199 Democrats to provide majority support.

Originally passed in 1994 and reauthorized since, the act provides support for organizations that serve domestic violence victims. Criminal prosecutions of abusers are generally the responsibility of local authorities, but the act stiffened sentences for stalking under federal law. Supporters credit the act with sharply reducing the number of lives lost to domestic violence over the past two decades.

Last year, the House and Senate were unable to compromise on another extension of the act, with Republicans opposing Democratic attempts to specify inclusion of native Americans, undocumented immigrants and lesbian, transgender and bisexual women. However, exit polling showed Obama won strong support among women and Latino voters in the November election that also strengthened the Democratic majority in the Senate and weakened the Republican majority in the House.

Unsolved mystery

The unidentified family of four — including two children under 8 — had been sailing a small vessel Sunday west of Monterey Bay. Forecasters had issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas in the area, and water temperatures typically are in the 40s and 50s, making long-term survival difficult. The group made its first distress call late Sunday afternoon. Investigators used the boat's radio signal and radar to determine the call came from an area about 60 miles west of Monterey. The boaters reported that their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and the electronics were failing. Crews planned to search by sea and air through the night Monday to find the family, who said in the calls that they were fashioning a raft from a cooler and a life-preserver ring before they lost contact with the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard released one of the family's recorded distress calls, in hopes that it would lead to new information from the public that could help in the search. So far the agency has received no reports of missing persons in the case. The agency believes the boat's name was Charmblow. In the crackling recording, a man's voice is heard saying, "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the (Charmblow), we are abandoning ship."

Investigators determined from the broken distress calls that the family included a husband and wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin. The boat's location initially was reported farther north, but investigators now believe the call came from west of Monterey Bay, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. The boat did not have a working GPS system. Calls to harbors in California have failed to locate the boat, and database searches have come up empty. . The Coast Guard was expanding its search to Hawaii, the Seattle area and north into Canada.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0226/Family-missing-at-sea-An-unsolved-mystery-video

Up and Away

A balloon had exploded, and its 21 passengers and operators plummeted about 1,000 feet to the ground. The number of dead had climbed to 19, making it the world's deadliest hot air balloon accident in at least 20 years. It was a gas explosion. Passengers in the balloon included 19 foreign tourists: nine from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three from Britain, and two from France and one from Hungary, officials said. An Egyptian pilot and another Egyptian also were on board. Two people, a Briton and the pilot, are hospitalized

Conflicting reports emerged about the company that operated the doomed balloon, Sky Cruise. The head of the country's civil aviation authority said the company was licensed and working legally. The agency has begun an investigation of the incident. The balloon's basket was divided into four parts, he said, each holding five passengers.

Meanwhile, Luxor's chamber of tourism said the company had previous violations. Several balloon companies had terminated contracts with the local meteorological service after the Egyptian revolution. Sky Cruise and other companies were known to violate safety and security instructions by flying out of East Luxor, instead of the recommended West Luxor. Luxor is among Egypt's top tourist draws. Visitors go to see ancient temples and tombs, and travel sites often recommend the hot air balloon trips.

The last hot air balloon accident in Luxor occurred in 2009, when 16 foreign tourists were injured after a balloon struck a cell phone transmission tower. Until Tuesday's incident, the deadliest accident in recent memory took place in 1989, when 13 people were killed as two hot air balloons collided in Australia.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/world/africa/egypt-balloon-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

Seals and Science

Elephant seals wearing head sensors and swimming deep beneath Antarctic ice have helped scientists better understand how the ocean's coldest, deepest waters are formed, providing vital clues to understanding its role in the world's climate. The tagged seals, along with sophisticated satellite data and moorings in ocean canyons, all played a role in providing data from the extreme Antarctic environment, where observations are very rare and ships could not go.

Scientists have long known of the existence of "Antarctic bottom water," a dense, deep layer of water near the ocean floor that has a significant impact on the movement of the world's oceans. Three areas where this water is formed were known of, and the existence of a fourth suspected for decades, but the area was far too inaccessible, until now, thanks to the seals.

Southern Ocean Elephant seals are the largest of all seals, with males growing up to six meters (20 feet) long and weighing up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lbs). Twenty of the seals were deployed from Davis Station in east Antarctica in 2011 with a sensor, weighing about 100 to 200 grams, on their head. Each of the sensors had a small satellite relay which transmitted data on a daily basis during the five to 10 minute intervals when the seals surfaced.

The scientists get four dives worth of data a day but the seals actually doing up to 60 dives. The elephant seals ... went to the very source and found this very cold, very saline dense water in the middle of winter beneath a polynya, which is what we call an ice factory around the coast of Antarctica. Previous studies have shown that there are 50-year-long trends in the properties of the Antarctic bottom water, and Williams said the latest study will help better assess those changes, perhaps providing clues for climate change modeling.

http://news.yahoo.com/seals-scientists-antarctics-ocean-floor-035440809.html

Fighting the Lions

This kid is a genius. Really though! no training, hardly and materials, just pure brain power. He managed to put together a contraption that helped save his father's cows. He learned from experience that the lions are afraid of flashing lights. So, being the genius he his, he earned himself a scholarship, a trip to the TED conference, and his family's honor. Hell yeah I'd be proud of my kid if he did this all by himself. Seriously though, all he did was gather dozens of LED lights and rig them to a battery and solar panel that powered the family television. He devised a way to make the lights flash and placed the bulbs on poles surrounding the livestock enclosure. What a smart guy!

He mentioned his other tactics on how he was planning on to save the cows, one was a fire, which just let the lions actually see and be able to get through the enclosure. Another was a scarecrow. The scarecrow didn't quite work the second day and on, because just like the kid said, lions are smart. They noticed that the scarecrow didn't move. What sneaky kitties.

 

I'm sure this guy is hella honored to be able to speak at the TED conference. and get a full blown scholarship? damn. I wish I would of thought of this! But, i don't live in Africa, and I don't have to protect my cows from giant cats.

Oh, and by the way, this guy's name is Richard, and he's 13.



http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/51172/kenya+boy+13+gains+fame+for+protecting+livestock+from+lions/

Colorado child

This little girl, who is physically a boy, is being told that she cannot use the girl's bathroom. Even though the little girl, Coy, dresses, looks, and acts like a girl, she is told to either use the teacher bathroom or the nurse’s bathroom. She is six years old, and lives in Colorado. There is a lawsuit going on between her parents, and the school district.

I think that the parents, and Coy, should win. I know this is a psychological disorder and all, but this is her. Just as the quote goes, "This is me, take me as I am" the school just should deal with it. The parents had a good point stating that using the bathroom is a private thing in general. How is this little girl going to get bullied for using the proper bathroom? If anything, she'll be bullied for having to go to the teachers/nurses bathroom, and not the girl’s bathroom, like all the other little girls.

 
What I can’t believe, is that Coy knew about getting “fixed”. She specifically told her parents that she wanted to go to the doctor and get fixed. I’m pretty sure that Disney channel and Cartoon Network aren’t talking about transgender problems. Another thing, you can’t blame the parents for this. They had triplets, two boys, 1 girl, even though the other two seem “normal” something could have happened, such as if this was invitro, and something happened during the science thing. The world should just let people be themselves, with no judgment, especially to this little girl.


http://news.yahoo.com/colo-transgender-girl-cant-school-bathroom-214244912.html

Violence for a cause

A controversial group opposing Japanese whaling in the Antarctic region on Monday released video showing one of its ships, the Bob Barker, being sandwiched tightly between two larger vessels: a Japanese whaling ship and a Korean refueling tanker. It also shows what's said to be a flash-bang grenade explosion near the stern of the refueling ship, Sun Laurel. The dramatic incident surely ranks as among the most tense in the years-long history of clashes between the whalers and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The latter group, which annually opposes Japan's whaling effort with harassment techniques, reports that the Bob Barker has been badly damaged but its crew is safe. Sea Shepherd also stated that another of its vessels, the Sam Simon, was dinged during another collision with the Nisshin Maru, and that there was a third collision that involved the Nisshin Maru. All three Sea Shepherd vessels are experiencing engine room flooding caused by water cannons, the group claims.

"The Bob Barker has sustained major damage from being sandwiched between the Nisshin Maru and the fuel tanker Sun Laurel," Sea Shepherd stated. "The engine room is now visible through a crack in the floor of the galley. The Sam Simon has massive scratches and dings along their hull, and a smashed satellite dome." Sea Shepherd's boats, trying to thwart refueling attempts, had been trailing propeller-fouling ropes when the collisions occurred.

This is the second set of collision incidents that occurred during the whalers' attempts to refuel. After last week's incidents, the government of Japan and the Institute of Cetacean Research, which manages the annual minke whale hunts, announced that they had temporarily suspended whaling operations. The ICR blamed Sea Shepherd for last week's collisions.

Japan annually targets nearly 1,000 whales, claiming the missions are scientific and using a lethal research loophole in the wording of an international moratorium on commercial whaling to skirt the ban

Silent Killers

A woman last week, named Tatyana Lokshina, who is a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Russia, received a lot of threatening text messages involving harm to her and her unborn child. The Human Rights Watch said that this was a response to the “hostile climate” for these activists. There are many other human rights groups’ organizations that are also facing threats to their workers/volunteers. This is all happening because President Vladimir Putin returned to Kremlin a few months ago. Lokshina received messages that included threats to her and her pregnancy, and her private, unlisted home address. Some of the messages stated that she would have an “uneasy birth” and that the senders of the messages were nearby and coming after her. The messages were implied to make people think about trying to help the Russians and their human rights. The Human Rights Watch organizer Kenneth Roth has called on the Russian authorities to investigate these messages.

President Putin had signed a law in July that stated that all foreign-funded NGO’s as “foreign agents” and that they are not welcomed. The U.S. Agency for International Development was ordered to stop operating in Russia this current month. Many Russians are concerned about what will happen. The Human Rights Watch stated that “The hostile climate in Russia for human rights work is worsening”.

I honestly had no idea that the United states was even involved in Russia. I know that Russia is having a hard time, but I did not know that we had human rights activists there trying to help. It is a very weird and cruel thing to threaten a women who is with child. Isn't it illegal to harm women AND children? that's basically life in jail. Then, you throw in all of the other people they threatened, and your just screwed over for eternity. Why would President Putin even come back? didn't no one like him? i just wish everything could go back to "normal" where everyone just wants to help each other become better people.

Helping Russia

A woman last week, named Tatyana Lokshina, who is a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Russia, received a lot of threatening text messages involving harm to her and her unborn child. The Human Rights Watch said that this was a response to the “hostile climate” for these activists. There are many other human rights groups’ organizations that are also facing threats to their workers/volunteers. This is all happening because President Vladimir Putin returned to Kremlin a few months ago. Lokshina received messages that included threats to her and her pregnancy, and her private, unlisted home address. Some of the messages stated that she would have an “uneasy birth” and that the senders of the messages were nearby and coming after her. The messages were implied to make people think about trying to help the Russians and their human rights. The Human Rights Watch organizer Kenneth Roth has called on the Russian authorities to investigate these messages.

President Putin had signed a law in July that stated that all foreign-funded NGO’s as “foreign agents” and that they are not welcomed. The U.S. Agency for International Development was ordered to stop operating in Russia this current month. Many Russians are concerned about what will happen. The Human Rights Watch stated that “The hostile climate in Russia for human rights work is worsening”.

I honestly had no idea that the United states was even involved in Russia. I know that Russia is having a hard time, but I did not know that we had human rights activists there trying to help. It is a very weird and cruel thing to threaten a women who is with child. Isn't it illegal to harm women AND children? that's basically life in jail. Then, you throw in all of the other people they threatened, and your just screwed over for eternity. Why would President Putin even come back? didn't no one like him? i just wish everything could go back to "normal" where everyone just wants to help each other become better people.

http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-human-rights-worker-gets-text-threats-russia-172228924.html

Rare Kitty

A rare tiger born was born at the San Francisco zoo. It is a highly endangered species, the Sumatran tiger. The tiger gave birth to a small but healthy cub. The two seem to be doing just fine.Zookeepers are watching the baby through web cam so the mother and cub can bond. They don't want to bring much human contact towards the two.

The mother , Leanne, is one of only an estimated 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. This made the rare tiger born news  more important for this endangered species. The young cub is still unnamed because they will not check until it is at least 2 weeks old. This birth marks the first Sumatran tiger born in the U.S. since 2008

This is such great news! everybody loves a happy ending. Now that they know the cub is healthy and so is mom, things will be going good for the San Francisco Zoo. I would personally love to travel to the zoo just to see these amazing rare creatures. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/rare-tiger-born-endangered-tiger-gives-birth-to-new-cub-at-san-francisco-zoo

Freezing Babies?

In this article, they had talked about how they "froze" a baby, to save it's life.The baby had a heart rate of about 300 beats per minute, nearly double the normal 160. The baby, Edward, was born with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and was given a five percent chance of survival. SVT is caused by improper electrical impulses in the heart that leads to an irregular rapid heartbeat heart, which then can lead to heart failure or affect internal organs. When the heart beats too quickly, it can’t fill up properly and then distribute blood to vital organs correctly. Hours after little Edward was born, his heart started racing again. Doctors tried shocking his heart and giving him different medications. None of those those treatments worked so they tried something new; lowering the body temperature to slow the heart rate. They had succeded, but a few hours later his little heart sped up again. They tried it one more time, but very very slowly brought his temperature back up. His body temperature got as low as 91 degrees. When they were bringing his budy temperature back to normal, they raised the temperature 1 degree, every 12 hours. They had kept little Edward afterwards for another month just to be safe, and then he got to go home. Now little Edward is a happy, healthy little boy.


So, just to get this out there, they techincally didn't even "freeze" the baby... They just brought the temperature down, as if he was just cold. Im really happy though that they were able to do this and save little Edward, and his parents from grief. Hopefully, this will help start a new treatment to help save children with SVT.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/02/15/to-save-newborn-doctors-freeze-baby/

Texas Drama

A judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the abortion while the case is ongoing.
The 16-year-old, who is identified only by the initials R.E.K., claims in the lawsuit her parents are Forcing her to abort her 9-week-old fetus through both verbal and physical threats and harassment. Her father stated he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story.

 The lawsuit claims R.E.K.'s parents kept her home from school, took her phone and car and that she, the father of her child and the child's paternal grandmother have been harassed by her father. It also claims R.E.K.'s mother suggested she was going to slip her daughter the abortion pill.

R.E.K is being represented by attorney for the Texas Center for Defense of Life. Under Roe v. Wade a woman has a right to decide whether she wants an abortion and under Bellotti v. Baird a teenager has the right to make her own decisions concerning her reproductive health.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/13/texas-teen-sues-parents-to-stop-them-from-forcing-her-abortion/

It makes a difference

Babies born by C-section had a different set of microbes in their digestive tracts than those born vaginally, and that infants who were breast-fed had a different type of bacteria in their guts than those who were given formula. Previous studies have linked cesarean delivery to a higher risk of asthma, diabetes and obesity, but the reason wasn't clear.

During vaginal delivery, for example, babies are baptized to the world of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens as they pass through the birth canal; birth is, in a sense, their first immunization against the bugs they are likely to encounter in their new environment as their still developing immune systems get to work taking stock of the microbes. Babies pick up the microbial content of their mother's gut.

Over time, the babies' immune systems start to distinguish between friend and foe in the microbial world, and launch attacks on potentially harmful bugs while leaving beneficial ones, like those that live in the gut, alone.

Cesarean section, however, bypasses this immunizing opportunity, and may leave newborns more vulnerable to certain infections since their immune systems are still catching up. In the study, infants born by C-section had fewer colonies of Escherichia and Shigella bacteria than those born vaginally.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/health/time-bacteria-children/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

UPDATE: WTF?

Apprently, the "nine" year old girl who gave birth a couple weeks ago in Mexico, is actually about 12/13. Oh, and, the father, is actually her STEP-FATHER. Not some 17 year old boy she met at a party. Like, WTF! Paternity test had proven that the father is her step dad, and now he is under arrest. And now, they giving her birth control!? SHE IS TWEVLE people, not  16! As I was reading some comments, one of them was saying how they gave her birth control because they knew she would get touched again by her creep of a step father.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/02/14/9-year-old-mom-is-actually-12-or-13-officials-say/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/9-yearold-mother_n_2682652.html

Obama's STU: Gun Control

I personally think that President Obama won’t be able to pass the gun control bill. Guns have been a huge part of this country and it’s written, in our Constitution that we have “The right to bear arms”. With that, we are legally allowed to have guns. Yes, I think there should be a law saying how we can’t have certain types of guns, and how they should have crazy-checks going on before people get guns, but people are still going to get them. Whether it’s from gun shows, another country, or your neighbor, people are still going to find a way to get what they want, whether or not they are following the law.

There are going to be thousands and thousands of articles going on and on about Obama and his gun control. There is also going to be a whole bunch of blogs our there that are either for or against Obama and what he wants to do. There are millions fo ad's out there that are all about Obama getting rid of guns. No matter what happens, people are still going to have guns. And besides, "guns don't kill people, People kill people."

Obama's STU: Military

The military was mentions numerous of times in President Obama’s State of the Union Speech. He mainly focused on the military by stating how he was bringing home our troops and how we are basically going to have the best military ever. Obama stated that we have already brought home 33,000 of our troops and that we are going to be bringing home another 34,000 troops, just from Afghanistan. He said that by the end of next year that the war in Afghanistan is going to be over.

I think Obama mentioned this in his speech because it is such a big deal. I mean, our military is the best in the world and it’s going to stay the best. Mentioning that the war in Afghanistan is going to be over by the end of next year is huge! He was being very factorial by giving such good numbers and hopefully an accurate timeline. He needed to prove his point to the Congress, and the world, that he is doing the right thing and that no matter what, we are always the best.

That's a big croc.

LoLong, a 20 foot long, 2370 pound saltwater crocodile has died. He was a captive crocodile since September 2011, in a crocodile park in the Philippines. The reason he was captured was because was accused of eating a little girl in 2009, and a man also disapearing. He holds a record in the Guiness Book Of World Records, and the worlds longest crocdile. He will be missed, they say. They are planning on preserving his skin, and stuffing him, as a reminder to their people.

LoLong

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/asia/philippines-crocodile-death/?hpt=zite_zite5_featured

WTF?

A nine year old girl gave birth in Mexico. The father is about 16/17 years old. A good 7/8 year old difference. The only details they have released is that mother and baby are doing fine, and that their out searching for the father.

This is just all wrong. Way way way wrong. a NINE year old girl? like WTF. and it's like a 16/17 year old boy who is the father? CHILD MOLESTER ALERT. They need to find this guy fast. The fact that he is on the run is sketchy. The fact that he isn't even, like, turning himself in is horrible. Once again, this is a NINE year old girl. She is suppose to be playing with barbies still, not buying barbies for her child. In the article thuogh, it never said if she was raped/molested, or if it was consentual. This whole thing is just super disturbing and it grosses me out severly. Like, even if i am a young mom, I would never ever want my son in this position, or my daughter in this position. I am glad though that the authorites are involved and are trying to catch this evil twisted guy.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-9-year-old-gives-birth-to-baby-girl-and-purported-teenage-father-is-being-sought/2013/02/06/bb5901ae-70b4-11e2-b3f3-b263d708ca37_story.html