Monday, January 10, 2011

Global News:
Paris Phone Scandal
The New York Times


In Paris, the public transport system has been facing a dramatic increase of robberies by 40%. A government official who blames it on the "I-phone effect", Brice Hortefeux. Métro thieves seem to look for smart-phones in particular and this has brought up the violence ratings in Paris. In November, there were " 2,813 objects reported stolen on Paris regional transit, 1,395 were cellphones, nearly 50 percent of the total, and of those, 64 percent were smart-phones." Instead of guns, people typically use knvies and "robbers tend to work in small groups, so that a stolen phone can be quickly passed to someone else to prevent an easy chase." Security camera's will increase and laws are trying to be passed to stop cell phone use after theft has been declared.


(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/world/europe/09paris.html?_r=1&ref=world)




National News:
Outlandish Behavior
The New York Times


Jared L. Loughner was a student in Ben McGahee's basic Algebra class in a local community college when his professor became concerned about the safety of his students. Jared “would laugh a lot at inappropriate times, and a lot of the comments he made had no relevance to the discussion topic.” He went "from being a young man whom acquaintances described as odd, he became the sole suspect in the (a) shooting." They do not know if this is from a troubles life, seeking attention, or a threat to his peers. As he began to study the extremist philosophies, his relationships with friends and peers began to unravel. Police are further ivestigating what his purpose is with this outlandish behavior and a family friend said, "It just seems so out of character for the Jared I grew up with." 



(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/us/10shooter.html?ref=us)


Local News:
Seeking Replenishment
The New York Times


In New York, a kabbalah teacher by the name of Ken Nunoo has come up with the formular for 'mind', Mind = Square root of (sound squared + light squared).” People pay $100 - $1,000 to get their 'soul's cleansed.' The process of cleansing began with deep breaths, sipping of holy waters, lighting a piece of paper of what one wanted to leave behind from 2010 on fire, then concluded with the lighting of a candle which symbolized the new year. Outside of ones home, Ken burns herbs from around the world to use their "mystical powers to attract, absorb or dispel negativity." Some people get the squeaky clean feeling from this 'cleansing', and some do not.




(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/nyregion/09critic.html?ref=nyregion)