Christian McSweeney
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
French Gangster Escapes Prison
French Gangster Escapes Prison
See here for the article.
Modern-day French Gangster Redoine
Faid broke out of Sequedin Prison in Lille, France today. Faid allegedly held five men at gunpoint,
four of which were guards. He then was
able to blast his way out of five prison doors using explosives. He then got a getaway car, which he later set
on fire and got another car. Right now
authorities are on a European-wide manhunt for this gangster.
The main question is how did he escape? The answer to this goes back to previous
problems the prison already had, mainly overcrowding. Already the prison was overcrowded, and on
top of that the design of the prison made it particularly difficult to watch
prisoners. Another question that was
raised was how did he obtain these explosives and firearm? This question is still unanswered but police
suspect it occurred during the visiting hours, possibly by his wife or ex-wife.
To me
this seems like a Hollywood-style prison break.
And indeed it could be, as Faid mentioned in his book that he modeled
many of his robberies after Hollywood movies such as “Heat.” Still, Hollywood or not, I think that this is
a huge error on the French police’s part.
There should be far better surveillance on the visitors to the prison
and what they bring in with them. Also,
overcrowded prisons should relocate their inmates to different facilities so
that the overcrowding does not become an issue.
Finally, high-priority inmates like Faid should have a close watch on
them so that events like this won’t happen.
This really is an embarrassment to the French police and I hope that
this gangster can be caught again and sent back to a more secure prison. Comment your opinions below.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Innocent Baby Shot in the Head
Thursday, March 24, Brunswick, Georgia. Sherry West was out for a walk with her
13-month-old baby in a stroller. She
decided to go out for a walk early so she could get exercise without the fear
of too much traffic. It was 9 A.M. and
West was walking home from the post office.
Suddenly she is confronted by two teenage boys who demand for
money. When West replies that she has no
money with her, the older teen shoots West in the leg. But that’s not all. He takes it even farther. 17-year-old De’Marquise Elkins shoots the
baby Antonio in the face, square between the eyes.
911 was called almost immediately after the shooting by many
neighbors and bystanders present at the scene.
All were horrified at what had happened, many were crying and emotionally
distressed.
Elkins was soon brought custody, as well as his 14-year-old
accomplice who cannot be named at the time.
Both were charged with first-degree murder.
One of the saddest parts to this story is that this wasn't the
first time West had lost a child to violence.
In 2008 in New Jersey, her 18-year-old son was stabbed to death. Being the second death that West has had to
endure, she said that she is terrified to have any more children.
When asked about the events, West was distraught and had
very strong answers. "I hate you
and I don't forgive you. You killed an
innocent human life," she said. "I hope you die for it."
This is a very disturbing story. It shows how violent today’s world has
become. And the crime was committed by
teenagers, one only 14-years-old!!! You
begin to wonder what has happened to the morality of our world. I mean seriously, who in the right mind could
shoot a BABY in the face pointblank? Our
society is becoming a heartless one, devoid of human compassion, this story
being a prime example. Now I understand
how West must feel. Her words are strong
but sincere, and I don’t blame her one bit for saying them. She has suffered two tragedies in her
lifetime. What more could God ask of
her? Comment on your thoughts and
opinions. And God bless young Antonio
Santiago West.
Here is a link to 911 recordings from bystanders at the scene and the interview with Sherry West.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
America’s Top Three Sins
America’s Top Three Sins
Americans reveal their 3 favorite sins
A
recent study has tried to find the top three sins that Americans are tempted
with. A survey done by the Barna Group,
a Christian research firm, called “Temptations and America’s Favorite Sins”
found that the three biggest temptations of Americans are procrastination,
overeating, and spending too much time on media or electronics. They aren’t the stereotypical drugs, sex,
alcohol, and partying lifestyles. These
things are very real and are things that we face today, each of us. Results from the survey showed that 60% of
Americans are tempted to worry too much or procrastinate, 55% are tempted to
overeat, and 41% are tempted by sloth. The
drugs, sex, and partying lifestyle fall in dead last, with only about 10%. These stats are prevalent in all age groups, from
adults to teens. When divided into age
groups, procrastination and worrying too much were still the top temptations. But another main temptation is digital with
nearly half of Americans saying that they were tempted to use too much media or
technology.
The
worst part is people are not making any steps to resist these temptations. 59% of Americans said that they were not putting
up much of a fight when it came to resisting these temptations.
I
believe this is a sad example of what our country has become. Our main temptations are procrastination, overeating,
and overuse of media? Come on! Americans are lazy. We have become a lazy people, not wanting to
do things, just pushing them off to the side.
And in this laziness comes overeating.
What do many Americans do? They sit
on their butts and eat and eat and eat. That’s
where our obesity epidemic is coming from.
People are lazy and eat things that are plain and simple not good for you. And while Americans are sitting around, they
might as well play video games or be on Facebook for hours end, not doing one
thing that is good for them. Americans are
lazy, and it’s pretty sad. But that’s just
my opinion, which I will admit is a pretty strong one. I want to hear what you guys/gals think. So comment with your opinions! Thanks!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Ex-Navy SEAL Sniper Killed
When you first hear the words that a Navy SEAL sniper was
killed, you automatically assume that it was on the field of battle. But this isn’t the case and this wasn’t any
sniper. Chris Kyle is a former Navy SEAL
sniper with a record number of kills on the battlefield and the writer of the
novel “American Sniper.” He and his
friend Chad Littlefield, who also is a veteran, were on the gun range of Rough
Creek Lodge and Resort in Glen Rose, Texas. This facility has many different recreational
activities, which include shooting and hunting sports. As Kyle and Littlefield
were shooting, Eddie Ray Routh came from behind and shot both of the vets
dead. Routh then proceeded to drive to
his sister’s house and confessed to the murder.
Before she could question Routh about it, he left. Four hours after the shooting and 90 miles
away from the resort Routh was caught by the police. He was arrested without struggle and is
currently awaiting a court trial.
All of this talk about guns and gun control and now this! This is just going to make the situation even
worse. And the thing that makes this all
worse is that all three of the men were military vets. That’s right.
Even the shooter was a military veteran.
How far will we have to go to try to keep people safe from
shootings? These were trained military men
getting shot down while shooting for recreation. What kind of controversies will this bring
up? This is just more kindling to the
fire on the whole issue of gun control.
What do you think? What CAN we
do? It seems there is no solution for
our whole gun problem. Comment with your
ideas and opinions!
Watch the below video to see a news report on the shooting.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Is NASA Coming Back?
Is NASA Coming Back?
For over one and a half years NASA has stopped its shuttle
missions. But now it might be on the
comeback. NASA is teaming up with the
European Space Agency to get astronauts back out into space. The new project is named Orion. Orion was previously part of NASA’s Constellation
program which involved lunar bases and lunar studies, but President Barack Obama
cancelled Constellation. Orion, however,
has been brought back out of the Constellation mission and put on a mission of
its own. The Orion missions are all lunar
oriented, and right now consist of mainly lunar fly-bys. Upcoming missions scheduled include an
unmanned mission in 2017 and a manned mission in 2021. Europe and NASA will be a collaborating force
in this project. Europe will provide the
propulsion and power compartment for the crew capsule, while NASA will be providing
decommissioned space shuttle engines for the service modules on the Orion
spacecraft.
Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s human exploration chief, acknowledges
that getting to the point in 2017 where they will be able to launch is going to
be challenging. He himself said, “I’m
not 100 percent comfortable putting Europe in such a crucial role. But I’ve never been 100 percent comfortable with
spaceflight,” he noted.
Europe’s total contributions add up to around $600 million. Is it worth it? Is it worth sending astronauts back out into
space? Should NASA go ahead with the plan
to team up with Europe to get their space program back in the air? Or is it just a big waste of time and money
for both ends? Should NASA have just gone
along with what President Obama ordered and stopped sending shuttles into
space?
I for one am all for NASA getting back in the game. Ever since I was a kid I loved space
exploration. It was fascinating! I think it’s great that NASA is getting back
into space exploration, even if they are now working with Europe. I say that working with Europe to get back
into orbit was a good move by NASA. If
they aren’t getting any more federal funding, then they might as well team up
with someone else to keep the program alive.
That’s my stand point on it all, but I would like to hear what you have
to say. Comment as to what you think!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Priest Is Planning to Defy the Vatican’s Orders to Stay Quiet
“I refuse to be terrified into submission.” These are the words of Rev. Tony Flannery, an
Irish Catholic Priest in Dublin, Ireland. The
Vatican asked Fr. Flannery to create, sign, and publish a statement which said
he agreed with many things that were contrary to his beliefs. Some of the things that he would agree to
include that fact that women shouldn’t be ordained as priests and that he would
follow all of the church’s teachings on matters such as homosexuality and
contraception. Being ejected from the
Vatican last year, publishing such a document would allow him to be readmitted
into the Vatican ministry. However, Fr.
Flannery believes that such a statement is against all the he believes.
The Vatican had written a letter to Fr. Flannery’s superior
ordering him to remove Fr. Flannery from his ministry and to ensure he did not
publish any more articles in religious publications. Fr. Flannery had been, in the past, writing
articles and books that caused people to think and consider things that are
often times considered controversial.
But now, the Vatican is asking him to recant all that he has said and
believes.
One specific article that the Church has asked Fr. Flannery
to recant is one published in 2010 in an Irish religious magazine called Reality.
He said that he didn’t believe that our current priesthood originated
with Jesus and that Jesus did NOT designate a specific group of his followers
to act as priests. He said that instead
it was a select group of people after Jesus that gave themselves authority and
interpreted the Last Suppers in a way that would fit their own needs. Fr. Flannery claims that the Vatican wants
him to affirm that the church was instituted by Christ, the church has a
structure of power that was given to it by Christ to remain permanent, and that
the bishops are the successors of the apostles.
Fr. Flannery is now threatened by “canonical penalties” for
his view that can be seen as heresy.
These penalties include excommunication from the church.
I believe that this situation really doesn’t have a good solution. If the Vatican excommunicates Fr. Flannery
for speaking such beliefs, it could be seen as morally wrong for suppressing
one’s speech and beliefs. But if they
let him keep teaching these beliefs, they are risking heresy to be spread and
allowing Catholics to be taught ideas contrary to what the church teaches. But what do you think? Is it right for the Vatican to force Fr.
Flannery to recant his beliefs? Or is
Fr. Flannery justified in speaking his own opinion of the church? For those who read this and are Catholic,
this is something you might want to think about. Who is right in this situation? Who is justified and who is in the wrong?
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
About Me
About Me
My name is Nick. I am a sophomore in high school. I am an avid tennis player; I can’t get enough of it. I love playing tennis. I am also, or at least I consider myself,
academically inclined and I do well in school, maintaining a constant 4.0. I enjoy art, which is something my peers
might not know about me. I find joy in
just simply drawing and sketching.
Personality-wise, I am a quiet and reserved person. I keep my thoughts to myself and would rather
listen to you talk than talk myself. I
do not fit the stereotypical lazy teenage boy.
I am constantly doing things and I have a need to be organized. I like to have things set in a plan that I
can count on and I like to do things logically and efficiently. Finally, I am a perfectionist at heart. Many people know this of me, and I
undoubtedly show it. For me, something
can always be better, can always be improved, and I strive to do that. I try to improve upon every aspect of my
life. So that’s me in a nutshell. Like me or hate me, you can’t change me.
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