Phil Robertson Suspended from Duck Dynasty

Reality TV show star Phil Robertson is suspended from the hit show Duck Dynasty because of the remarks he made against homosexuality during an interview with GQ. During the interview he called homosexuality "not logical" and "bestiality". Because of these remarks A&E suspended him from the show for the time being. What might be more surprising than the original comments is the support from former vice president candidate Sarah Palin. She said that it was Phil's right to speak freely and that the actions taken by A&E is intolerable. Who knows when Phil will be back, but for the next couple weeks, or months, we'll just have to make do with Sy for now.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson-equates-homosexuality-bestiality-article-1.1551556

The Golden Globes

It's that time of year again: the award season. This time every year actors and musicians get recognition for their work in the cinema or music industry. The nominations for the Grammys were announced earlier this week, but in the film business the Golden Globe nominations were announced earlier this morning. This year the most nominated movies include 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle with 7 nominations a piece. Another movie that is likely to win several awards is The Wolf of Wall Street. Also several actors from American Hustle received individual nominations. Those actors include Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Jennifer Lawrence. So keep your eyes peeled America, you aren't going to want to miss this.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-golden-globes-nominations-main,0,4163377.story#axzz2nGzEmgnt

Rebellious Biden

Vice President Joe Biden is in China this week and he is encouraging Chinese youth to challenge the authority of the Chinese government. In addition to the government Biden also urged the youth to challenge their teachers and religious leaders. He stated that the reason America is so successful is because they challenge themselves to be individuals. He and the rest of the world fears that China is breeding robots who will do whatever the government says, and that's a scary thought. He showed them what life was like in America and hopes that this generation of Chinese youth will become individuals instead of carbon copies of the rest of the nation. Who knows what kind of reaction China and its youth will give Biden and his words after this, but Joe Biden might have sparked something that will become a big deal in the next decade or so to come.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-12-04/biden-urges-chinese-youth-to-challenge-authority

White Supremacist Executed

Joseph Franklin was convicted of over 22 killings between 1977 and 1990. He murdered these people in an attempt to start a race war between white and black people. He said that he was, "doing the will of God." He was given the death penalty and was killed by lethal injection at 6:07 Wednesday morning. The execution was originally scheduled for midnight, but was delayed by countless appeals saying that it was an unfair way to die. He refused his final meal and declined to make a final statement.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/20/justice/missouri-franklin-execution/

Suicide Bomber in Iraq Kills 30 and Wounds 67 More

During a Muslim religious ritual known as Shi'ite, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the town of al-Sadiya. The blast killed 30 people and left 67 more wounded. Shi'ite is a ritual used to commemorate Imam Hussein, a grandson of Mohammad. The bomber ran into a crowd of people and blew himself up with the explosives in his belt. No group is blamed for the event, but the government believes that it might have been Al-Queda. The violence and crime rate has been growing in the last several months and people fear that if the number of causalities continue to rise we could see the death toll get close to that in 2006-2007 where tens of thousands of people were killed by insurgent attacks. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/iraq-attack-suicide-bombing-alsadiya_n_4272304.html

 

Same Love

Illinois lawmakers voted on a bill Tuesday that would make same sex marriage legal in that state. The bill passed and the governor pledges to sign the bill, but a date has not been announced as to when this bill will go into effect. Illinois is now the 15th state that allows same sex marriage and it is the biggest in the mid-west where this movement has passed. Illinois was a major state for the law to pass because it is a state with a large population as a whole and also has a large population of homosexual individuals. More and more states in America are passing laws to legalize gay marriage and with almost one third of the nation already legalizing it, it might not be long before all of the U.S. is allowing this kind of marriage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/illinois-lawmakers-vote-to-allow-same-sex-marriage-governor-pledges-to-sign-bill/2013/11/05/4d148ac8-467a-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html

No We Can't?

According to a recent nation-wide poll, Barack Obama's approval rating in the lowest it had ever been since he was elected in 2008. His new approval rating now stands at forty two percent. Over the last couple of months his approval rating had been going down steadily. Most people attribute this to the latest NSA allegations, the troubles in Syria, and the recent government shutdown. When Obama first took office his approval rating was at almost eighty percent. So obviously Obama has to CHANGE his ways or this country will continue to disapprove of him more and more. However in this poll Americans said that they still prefer democrats to republicans by four percent. Whatever's going on in Washington has got to get better because the people have started to make their disapproval more and more known.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/obama-approval-poll_n_4179530.html

iPad: The Same, but Slightly Different

Apple has just unveiled the new iPad Air, which is basically the exact same thing as the last iPad except this one is lighter and thinner for only $499. This new tablet is twenty percent thinner and thirty percent lighter. It also comes with the same processor as the iPhone5S. Apple has released this iPad now in order to stay competitive with Samsung, HTC, and Android, who have all made major gains on Apple in the sales of tablets. With this new iPad Apple is hoping that more people will buy this iPad as well as the iPad 2 which will now be on sale for $399.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/ipad-air_n_4143699.html

Curious George

In March of 2014 Iran plans to send a second monkey into orbit. This comes after launching a monkey into space last January. Iran has also launched worms, mice, and other small animals into orbit in the past few years. The simian will likely not be too pleased about being blasted out of the atmosphere, but he will play a major part in Iran preparing for a manned space program. Due to these launches in the past few years it is apparent that Iran is trying to build a space program able to send men into orbit. This is one of the last stepping stones for them to take to achieve this goal. The last monkey came back with very few health problems and if this monkey comes back in good health then Iran may try to launch a man into space in the next couple years. This will be one small step for a monkey and one huge step for mankind.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/iran-prepares-to-launch-new-monkey-in-space

A Whole New World

Researchers have been studying climate change extensively the past decade, but the discoveries they have recently made are astonishing. Between  1986 and 2005 most of the Earth's surface stayed mainly the same temperature. However in the last 8 years the temperature on Earth has increased drastically. It is now estimated that the surface temperature of the Earth will be 45 degrees hotter than it is today. This means that the polar caps will likely be gone and Wisconsin, along with much of the world, will never see snow again. The rain forests will likely be the first to be affected because they cannot adapt to rapid climate conditions. Because of all the C02  we are producing the ocean has increased its acidity has increased by as much as 30 percent. It is predicted that by 2081 the Earth will be almost uninhabitable and unrecognizable. If we don't change how much gases and waste we as a race produce than our planet will not be able to adapt and we will all die or live miserably. Scientists say that if we don't turn things around now then we will be in serious trouble in the coming decades.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131009-climate-change-worldwide-cities-science/

The Real King Has Spoken

With Lebron James winning his second championship and his forth MVP the question that is now on every basketball fan's mind is, "Who is the greatest NBA player of all time?" According to MJ it's not up for discussion. Yesterday His Airness told reporters that he would beat anyone when he was in his prime. He mentioned he could beat Lebron, Doctor J, Elgin Baylor, among many others. He did throw in that he might lose to Kobe, but that's only because Kobe steals his moves. MJ is now 50 and recently there was a video put up of him still being able to dunk. He's still a cocky guy and unless Lebron retires three times and still puts up the numbers Jordan did the question has been lied to rest. Personally I think Jordan should run the 2 spot for the Bobcats this year, but that's just me. 

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/mj-says-he-could-have-beaten-lebron-his-prime/nbCt3/

Yellow Brick Road Booty

In Massachusetts an undersea explorer named Barry Clifford and his team has discovered an area of ocean floor sprinkled with gold dust that they believe leads to a pirate ship. Barry says that they are very, very close to finding this shipwreck because they have found thousands of gold ornaments and coins, and a young boy's arm. The ship Whydah crashed in 1717, according to colonial reports, with over 400,000 coins on board as well as countless expensive cargo. Barry is putting his explorations on hold for the winter, but he is excited to resume explorations next spring.

Just a Really Nice Homeless Man

This weekend a homeless man in Boston found a backpack filled with over forty-two thousand U.S. dollars and traveler checks, as well as Chinese passports and paperwork. The man says he found the pack in the South Bay Mall at around 5:30 and he promptly took it to an officer working in the mall. The man who lost the backpack told employees working at a local Best Buy to keep their eyes out for it and was returned his bag an hour or so later. The homeless man received no reward; just the satisfaction of doing a good deed. As he turned out of the mall, dressed in cargo shorts and a ragged tee shirt, some witnesses say they could hear him start to whistle "What a Wonderful World", then he turned around and gave one last gentle half smile to the Chinese man as if to say, "I'll be around". The man refused to have his name be made public, so for now we will just call him The Boondocks Saint.

FAMILY Jewels

A recent study shows that males with smaller testicles are better at caring for their children. Jennifer Mascaro measured the testicles of 70 fathers in the Atlanta area after she asked them twenty four questions about parenting. These questions included what the fathers would do if their child needing changing, had a dirty diaper, or woke up in the middle of the night. The fathers who answered in a positive, helpful way all had smaller testicles than the fathers who didn't. Coincidence? She says that the MRI of the males brains showed that smaller testicles were associated with caring and nurturing. So fellas, does size matter? Maybe, but not in the way you'd think.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/09/10/science-testicle-size-father-parenting.html

Mayor Stubbs Narrowly Escapes the Icy Clutches of a Local Dog

Saturday most of the world held its breath as the honorary cat mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska was almost slain by a vicious street dog. After three hours of surgery to repair a punctured lung and a fractured sternum; Stubbs has pulled through and is licking his wounds in a local vet's office. Lauri Stec is the vet that masterfully put Stubbs back together. She states that she is planning to file a police report in hopes that the cops will clean up the streets. As Talkeetna lays in turmoil, the rest of the world can finally exhale for Stubbs will not take this near assassination lightly.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Dog-injures-Stubbs-honorary-mayor-in-Alaska-4782993.php


https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=stubbs&btnG=Search+by+image&biw=1366&bih=667&sei=-y4mUoL0NKL4yQG284GgCw#hl=en&q=stubbs+cat+mayor&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgrc=6CzwS-GS14QvcM%3A%3BW7lQvdLQ_gom3M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi2.cdn.turner.com%252Fcnn%252Fdam%252Fassets%252F120717064055-stubbs-the-cat-mayor-of-talkeetna-story-top.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.cnn.com%252F2012%252F07%252F17%252Fus%252Falaska-cat-mayor%3B640%3B360