TOW #7

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/27/us-saudi-womendriving-idINBRE99Q05H20131027

In countries like Saudi Arabia, where the religious, conservative mindset still controls a lot of the social policies, women are prohibited from doing things like showing bare skin and riding bikes. Recently, however, women have been pushing for their right to drive, seeing as no law in Saudi Arabia explicitly bans them from doing so. However, when women are seen driving, they are stopped by police and forced to sign pledges saying that they will not drive again. Police had even set up blockades around the city so that they could peer into the windows of oncoming cars to ensure that no women were behind the steering wheels. Women, however, are taking more and more control of the situation. Activists have started filming themselves driving and publishing videos on places like Youtube, and have also been taking pictures of themselves and sharing them using social media. Male Saudis who support the movement have also been sharing social media clips, including a parody of the Bob Marley song "No Woman No Cry" called "No Woman No Drive". This seems like a positive movement for the women's campaign, although it may become dangerous for some of the women involved. However, they seem prepared to sacrifice a lot for this civil rights campaign, and are continuing to drive regardless of police actions and conservative cleric riots. This article was published on Reuters, and covers the topic adequately. It seems to be written for an audience of people who are globally aware, or they wouldn't understand why women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.

TOW #6

http://www.medicaldaily.com/brown-eyes-turn-blue-new-laser-procedure-may-permanently-change-eye-color-video-245514

Doctors at Stroma Medical have created a new way to make people's eyes blue that doesn't involve colored contacts or the the incredibly dangerous synthetic iris surgery. Apparently, the technique involves a precision laser that will disrupt the layer of melanin, which is the pigment that makes eyes darker, which will in turn lead to the body enacting a normal tissue removal process. The key behind this laser surgery is that all humans have blue eyes, but that some of us are born with a darker layer that covers it. Articles on this topic have been printed on multiple websites, including the Huffington Post and TIME, and the surgery, according to doctors, will be available to the public within the next 3 years. At present, scientists are still testing the surgery and waiting to see if any long-term negative side effects appear. They are also turning to investing and funding to keep their research going. This topic is clearly controversial, as many scientists and doctors alike have said that this seems dangerous and puts a vital body part at risk. Why would you risk your eyes for a purely aesthetic reason? The tone of this article also suggests that the author doesn't completely agree with the process, and that she is somewhat skeptical about the results and the possible negative effects.

TOW #5

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/10/11/adrian-peterson-dealing-with-tragic-situation/

Two days ago, on October 11th, 2013, the "secret" son of professional American football player Adrian Peterson was pronounced dead. Adrian Peterson had only just heard about being the father of the child months ago, and therefore probably did not have a very involved relationship with the mother. The child was apparently severely beaten by the mother's current boyfriend, James Robert Patterson, 27, with a steel rod. James Patterson had reportedly had a previous altercation with another girlfriend's child, which ended with another beating. So far, Peterson has asked people to respect his privacy regarding the matter, confirms that he'll "still be playing on Sunday", and he thanks everyone for their support and prayers. This article is definitely credible because they included a video link to Adrian Peterson himself talking about the issue, and was reported on by the Associated Press. Adrian Peterson himself appears to be handling himself very maturely, and doesn't seem to be too emotionally consumed by it, although the media must feel somewhat obsessive to him.

TOW #4

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/30/politics/government-shutdown-up-to-speed/index.html

By now, we've all heard about the government shutdown, which is what the US government is currently going through due to an inability to pass a spending bill. A part of the Republican party, or GOP, refuses to agree to a spending bill because they want to strip funding for the new Obamacare bill. The democrats refuse to agree to a new Obamacare budget cut, so a spending bill was never agreed on. This article was written by CNN as a guide on how to understand the government shutdown, and to make clear some confusion about which positions of the government would be temporarily out of work. This, however, could be bad for the government long-term because a lot of people aren't getting paid and because congress has to decide on what to do about the debt ceiling before October 17th, or the country might default on its 16.99 trillion USD debt. As far as public reaction goes, this government shutdown will negatively affect the GOP because most Americans lay the blame unto them.

TOW #3

http://news.yahoo.com/dodger-fan-stabbing-suspect-released-sf-jail-071711963--spt.html

This article, released by the Associated Press and featured on Yahoo news, was about the suspect in a baseball-fueled stabbing being released from custody this weekend. According to reporters, a man named Jonathan Denver, the victim, found himself in a heated argument with Michael Montgomery, the man who ended up stabbing Denver to death. Denver was with a few family members including his father and older brother, and two friends that had come with them to the game. They were a few blocks from the Giants' stadium when they met with some Giants fans (Montgomery and his friends) and they started to go back and forth with "Go Giants! Go Dodgers!" Afterwards, the banter turned from a loyal-sports-fan-like argument to a brawl between the two men, and eventually between all of the people involved. The suspect was brought in for questioning after saying "incriminating things" about the victim while being questioned on the scene by the police. They were probably comments about the sports game, about the fight, or he may have appeared to be injured when questioned.

TOW #2

http://gma.yahoo.com/woman-arrested-missouri-allegedly-kidnapping-infant-nearly-13-164508975--abc-news-topstories.html

This article was about a 60 year old woman named Sandy Hatte, who was arrested in Missouri this weekend. She was arrested under suspicion of kidnapping the child and the child was returned to his or her father. Hatte had tried to enroll the child in a high school in Livingston when people became suspicious because they wondered whether or not Hatte was the actual parent/guardian of the child. Investigators then discovered that this was a child who had been missing for over a decade, and who was abducted when he or she was only an infant. The child's father had returned home from work one day, and the child had disappeared as well as Sandy Hatte. Hatte had been elusive for the past decade, and couldn't be found by authorities until now. Authorities haven't released any personal information about the child, and Hatte is currently awaiting trial on a $25,000 bail at the Davvies-Dekalb Regional Jail in Pattonsburg,  MO. They have, however, said that Hatte is not the child's mother, although she is related to the child and his or her family. 

IRB Intro

The book that I chose for the first marking period is from the list of the 100 greatest non fiction books, called I Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I chose the book because I've read some of his essays before and I think that he's a very funny person, especially in his writing. This book will probably be enjoyable to me, and although I don't actually have a copy yet, I'm looking forward to getting started with it.