Bus Driver Fired for Aiding Student

A Georgia bus driver, Johnny Cook, was recently fired for aiding a student on face book. The child was unable to purchase lunch due to being 40 cents over his account. When his bus driver heard this he was crushed and put a post up on face book that if any student ever was in a financial situation they could come to him and he would assist them. He also posted his number as well. The school demanded he take the post and apologized but he refused and is now unemployed because of it. He still stands firm in his position and is still doing all he can to help kids with sticky financial situations. That being said, do you think the school was wrong in firing him? Do you believe he was fired under good circumstances? Was Johnny Cook right in the actions that he took? Should he have been commended instead?

http://gawker.com/school-bus-driver-fired-for-facebook-post-about-hungry-511444892

Sewer Baby's Mother Revealed

A few days ago a baby boy was found in a sewer pipeline of an apartment complex in China. The baby was believed to be a couple days old and until now, there were many conspiracies as to how the baby got to be in the pipes and where the parents were. However, after an extensive rescue which included having to walk down one floor underground to cut the pipe free and then performing a two hour “surgery” in which they had to cut the pipe with a saw and pliers to free the baby. The child’s mother was later found by the police. She claimed that she was unable to afford an abortion and hid her pregnancy during its entire duration. She claimed that she had plans for raising the baby and it was accidental the baby fell into the pipe as she gave birth in a toilet. She is also the one believed to have let the authorities know about the baby being stuck in the pipe. All of this being said, what is your opinion on this? Do you believe her story? Is it the mothers fault that the baby was stuck? Should she have done more to protect the baby? Should the mother be tried for attempted homicide?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mother-of-newborn-baby-no-59-found-trapped-in-chinese-sewer-pipe-is-traced-by-police-8635710.html

Abercrombie and Fitch Controversy

A few years ago, Abercrombie and Fitch’s retailer CEO, Mike Jeffries, was criticized on account of his comments toward why the company doesn’t make clothes for women over the size of XL or a size ten pants. His reply was that he “doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people.” He also was quoted saying, "we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." Unfortunately, his discrimination and negativity hasn’t stopped with his crude remarks, but in his employment process as well. Abercrombie and Fitch only hires “good looking individuals” and the least “good looking” employees they force to stay in the back of the store; out of the sight of customers.  His argument for this mindset is that he’s trying to target a specific group of people however his biased goes far beyond that. That being said, how do you feel about the decisions Abercrombie has made? How does it affect women over size ten? Is this type of mindset the reasoning behind the existence of eating disorders in our country? Is there such thing as the “perfect body” and should those who don’t fit the description be treated differently because of it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2320868/Thin-beautiful-customers-ONLY-How-Abercrombie--Fitch-doesnt-want-larger-people-shopping-stores.html

Fastfood Restaurants: Truth or Dare?

In the past few decades, fast food restaurants have been showing trends in leaning towards a healthier menu. For example, salads and fruit are being provided as healthier alternatives to fries. These changes have been made in order to better the health of their consumers. They have also been known to be “heart-healthy” and “waistline friendly” which is both helpful and appealing to the average American. It seemed as though consuming fast food was not something to be worried about. However, recently it has been discovered that the alternatives being provided are equally as harmful as or even worse than the meals beforehand. Salads alone have been found to contain high levels of sugar, salt and fat, sometimes equivalent to a burger. That being said, what is your opinion on fast foods serving healthier selections? Should fast food restaurants be forced to comply with their healthy claims? Or should people just accept the health factors putting them at risk by eating fast foods? Should people be better informed about what they are ingesting?

http://www.livescience.com/32070-fast-food-health-quality-nutrition.html

Casey Dugard's Past Stolen Life and Future Hope

Although this article was based on an event that took place two years ago this is still one of the most incomprehensible stories that I have ever heard. Casey Dugard was 11 years old the day that she was kidnapped. She was zapped with a stun gun, pulled into a van and stripped of the life that she knew. For eighteen years she remained locked in the sound proof studio of Phillip Garrido, where she was tortured and raped continuously on a daily basis; the result being the birth of her two daughters, the oldest being born when she was fourteen. She has told sources that she was to afraid to leave mainly because she wasn’t sure whether or not she could handle the world or protect her daughters from it. 18 years were taken from Casey Dugard’s life yet she still holds onto hope for the life that wasn’t lost.

After reading this article and watching Casey Dugard’s interview, I was almost unable to finish because of how heart breaking this event was to me. The conditions she experienced and described are unimaginable and the fact that more and more stories are arising similar to her own is devastating. This leaves us with the question, what are we doing wrong? Why are these girls not being protected and how can we change it? What do you think of Casey Dugard’s story and what should we learn/ apply from it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/10/jaycee-dugard-describes-1_n_894309.html

 

    India's Outcry

The past few months, there has been a dramatic increase of rape victims in India. This is not a secret, but is projected everyday through their news and through boastful despicable men. Both women and young girls are raped every 22 minutes and many are killed afterward. 95% of women are afraid to go out in public places in New Delhi and in most cases they lack protection to avoid this fear. The people are becoming fed up with the maltreatment and are crying out nationally for help. The government has done little to change this situation though they are working toward passing legislation to protect these women by hiring more women police officers. However that being said, the assault is still continuing to increase. 
     I picked this article because it was eye opening for me and I want it to be eye opening for all of you as well. Here in America, women have come extremely far in being thought of as more than property to men. They hold jobs and can have their own homes. Most importantly,they are given rights that protect them and hold others that may try and harm them accountable. However, the fact of the matter is that we take all of these things for granted. These women are hurting and are crying out for assistance and no one is responding. Their own police officers are some of the ones that treat them like material the most. I cannot comprehend what these women are going through and it's almost impossible to realize that these women are living in the same world as we are. This situation must change because they deserve a life apart from fear and hate, just like we did.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/22/world/asia/india-rape-sexism/index.html?hpt=wo_t4