Nepalese Man, 22 inches, Seeks Title Of The World's Shortest Man

In Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, a man left the country to be recognized as the world's shortest man. He is going to apply for the Guinness Book Title in Europe. When he was 14 his parents filed a claim for him in Guinness but it was rejected because there was a chance of growth spurts any time. Now he is 18 and he has filed another claim but no response has come back yet. No doctors have been able to explain why this young man is indeed so small. Khagendra Thapa Magar is his name and his dad, Rup Bahadur Thapa Magar, told reporters recently that they were going to Italy to get Khagendra's name in the Guinness Book of World Records. They might even decide to be on an Italian show for an interview possibly. He left Kathmandu with bouquets and garlands being offered. The current record for the shortest man alive title is held by He Pingping of China who is 7 inches taller than Magar.

I find it a bit reasonable why Khagendra and his family would be so hasty or enthusiastic about trying to gain fame in some way through the Guinness World Book. It would be exactly what an average family from Nepal would want too; based on the fact that Nepal has a very low GDP and annual income per person per year. If Khagendra makes it in to the Guinness Book then it will be definitely a great pleasure for his family and him and maybe some pride for the city of Kathmandu (as they were seen giving him garlands and bouquets of flowers while he was leaving for Italy).

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/100221/K022102AU.html

Alberta Mother Charged In Slaying Of Sons

A mother recently killed her two boys in a house in Millet, Alta in Alberta. The RCMP found their bodies. The woman's name is Allyson Louise McConnell. She is 31 years old and charged with two cases of second-degree murder of her sons Jayden (10 months old) and Connor (2 and a half years old). Corporal Wayne Oakes of the RCMP said that the police was forced to wait 3 weeks before putting a charge on Allyson because they had to do the investigation diligently as a duty. For now McConnel is is custody and will attend court in Wetaskiwin on March 16th. Her custody is in a medical facility from where she will be put into a correctional facility once the doctors think she can be moved. Oakes said that McConnell has not given a consent to speak about her and privacy laws also do not allow the relase of ay further information. Curtis McConnell, Allyson's husband found his dead sons in the bathtub at the house. No other information is revealed.

This story is sadly a true reflection of human nature. The fact that a mother who should be caring and warm to the heart can become so upset in a way about something that would lead her to kill her own sons is astonishing. I believe women who have a potential anger problem or maybe other social aggrevating issues should think twice before giving birth or reproducing for that matter. It is very likely that a woman or man with high stress levels and social and job issues in their life will be more aggressive towards humanity or generally become so disconnected with society, that they get the urge to do things out of extreme feelings. Additionally the worst part about this murder is that the mother killed a almost newborn and a 2 and a half year child; that is highly sickening.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/02/23/edmonton-millet-boys-murder-charges.html

Fossil Fish Were Filter Feeders

New facts have neen unearthed about a 70 million year old fish kown as the Bonnerichthys by paleontologists. It is now thought that these fish fed by filtering small organisms from the water around them, much like the baleen whales of today. These several metres long fish opened their mouth to let everything come in, then would filter out the water through their gills with only the food left in their food. Modern aquatic animals such as the manta ray, whale sharks, and baleen whales use this process. Fossils of these fish have been found in Asia, Europe, and North America, where old seas used to exist. These fish lived from 170 million to 65 million years ago according to Matt Friedman of Oxford University. This was the middle of the Jurassic Era to the end of the Cretacious Era when the dinosaurs died out. The article appeared in this week's Science journal.

For some reason it does not make sense to me that fossils are still being discovered and cared about because they do not provide any help whatsoever to the modern global crisis. They are only adding to millions of documents worth of information on ancient prehistoric animals and other life. Learning about the prehistoric environment could be of some help to finding future problems by looking at nature's patterns. But problems aren't solving current problems. However there is potential in this type of work of finding some missing link between modern whales or fish and past ones. Maybe we can save today's animals and not let the same thing happen again.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/02/18/tech-fossil-fish-filter.html

Airport Body Scanners Violate the Teachings of Islam, Says Muslim Group

Muslim scholars are saying that body scanners at airports should not be allowed because it goes strictly against their teachings. The scanners show nude images of the human body which according to the FCNA (The Fiqh Council of North America) is against the teachings of decency and modesty in all religions and cultures. The institution said that it is very wrong in Islam for another man or woman to see other men or women naked. The Qur'an, the religious book of Islam, wants all followers of the faith to cover their private regions and dress modestly. If there is an extreme necessity then the body scans may be done, but they are now quite at that level yet. The institution wants scanners to be altered so only body outlines are produced instead of specific details. A better way they said is to use pat-down searches. The Fiqh Council helps teach the Islamic Law in North America along with the Islamic Society of North America.

This is unfair to some extent as people's privacy is at stake here. Unfortunately it is not only Muslims, but all brown skinned people who are being targeted at airports as suspects of terrorism. Their integrity, pride and now in this case privacy is being taken away when they are taken to full scanning and searching sessions. This is really ruthless in the case of Muslim women as it is clearly stated in the Qur'an that women must be covered at all time so much so to the extent that they are not even allowed to reproduce in some parts of extreme Islamic regions. When they get to the airport, they are suddenly completely uncovered.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/61231

Deterring Terrorists

Deterring terrorism in U.K. seems too be very serious. Unfortunately they have taken it into their consent to start a new program called Prevent which basically lets them spy on innocent Muslims who have no history of terrorism in their pasts. They have additionally started to pick out certain skin-colored people from classes and university lectures who they feel are showing signs of extremism. They want to drive fear and the feeling of failure into the hearts of suicide-bombers and others.

http://www.cnn.com/video/

Sri Lankan Political Protests Draw Thousands

The supporters of the opposition of the candidate who won the elections were protesting because their candidate had both lost and been arrested. This took place in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, before police had to use tear gas to break up the fights. Sarath Fonseka who had lost the elections was the candidate who all the supporters were behind saving. They filed an appeal in Supreme Court to let him go. Mahinda Rajapaksa who had won the elections was being constantly made fun of as citizens chose to burn lifesize posters of him and smah coconuts which was a religious intervention in hopes of letting God help. These keen men decided to further throw stones at supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Again the police was forced to use water and tear gas to silent the crowds. This was the first clash since the elections. Sarath Fonseka had crushed the Tamil Tigers dilemna, which is why he gained much support, and he was arrested by military police because he had planned to overthrow the government while still in control of the military. He was still an army chief. Unfortunately Sarath Fonseka's followers believed the police was doing this so that he would not be able to try for the next parliamentary elections. Amidst the clashes a total of only 6 people were injured: two policemen and 4 citizens. The protests will likely keep continuing until Fonseka is released.

There is something ver politically wrong going on with this country. The public is making assumptions about Sarath Fonseka's arrest and should be cleared on details. There was a reason he was arrested and that is because he wanted to take over the government in a violent manner. The majority of the public, his supporters, need to understand that he is not necessarily a very good elect for president. Just by noticing the fact that he was planning on taking advantage of his position as army chief and being in control of the army shows what he could do to literally "reign" over Sri Lanka. The likelyhood of Fonseka imposing military power and rule over the country if he released and he wins the April elections is high. However on behalf of the government, I think the public is taking this too far. It's just one election and the supporters have to be less paranoid about the fact that the government is doing this to block any chances of Sarath Fonseka winning the elections.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/02/10/sri-lanka-clashes.html

Pakistan Rocked by 2 Bombs

The Shi'a Muslims, one of the two types of Islamic people, were targeted in Karachi, one of the biggest cities in Pakistan. The second bomb blasted in front of the hospital where survivors from the first blast were. 22 people were killed and 50 were wounded. The police chief Waseem Ahmad had trouble calming the Shia's in the grand city down. The first bomb blasted on a motorcycle which was close to a bus that drove by full of Shi'a Muslims. The second one was in front of Jinnah Hospital as reported by witness Imran Ahmad. The effects of the first blast were a torn and twisted motorcycle, a broken bus, and nearby shattered windows in buildings. Another police official said that the bus had mainly women and children on their way to attend a religious festival. Of what is known from the doctors, around 11 bodies were brought to the nearby hospitals. The cause of these riots that have happened before is thought to originate from Sunni Extremists who are the other type of Islamic people and unfortunately a majority in the country. These two sects of Islam generally maintain peace however Extremists are always on the rise and do disturb relations. The Talibans, which are strongly Sunni, use this port city of Pakistan for their leisure and finance.

I simply think that it is one of the worst things that has ever been declared on the news channel or written about in an article. The Talibans like attention, like all other Extremists and occasionally is even what terrorists want. They don't care about their representation in the world but if their name is in fame, they will do anything to keep upto it. From another viewpoint, honestly the Pakistanis should cease this turmoil. In the past year they have also bombed Mumbai, one of the largest and most economically successful cities in India. The religion of Islam is steadily being destroyed due to what the Talibans and other Extremists have done to it. Arguments and violence to the point of bombs are being created because of the difference between two major sects in the same religion.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/02/05/pakistan-blast-karachi.html

China's Child In Chains

This happens to be unfortunately one of those things that is unfair to children across the world. It happens to be a fact that thousands of children like the one in the video above are stolen every day across China. This is very wrong of the general public because families out of sheer fear have to put their child in such conditions and steal his freedom to live his childhood like other boys in the world. If a father has to go to the extent to chain his very young almost baby to a street corner, there is something horribly wrong going on.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

Yesterday, two american soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device (a purposely set hand made bomb) in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The location was a prime spot amidst the fight between the Taliban and the Western Continental troops. The deaths were only reported on Wednesday in Afghanistan but no other specific details were given. In another district in Afghanistan, Garmsir, on Tuesday, Talibans admitted to having killed 9 other soldiers and others as well. The only problem that there seems to be with this is that the Talibans usually tend to exaggerate with their reports over the telephone because no one can harm them for what they say or do over the phone. They are almost unreachable. The Afghanistan government officials are also saying they don't remember hearing about these "new" attacks. In the month of February, a total of 5 troops have been killed. In January, 45 troops were killed. These stats are much greater than last year's at the same time. However last year, there were a total of 520 troops killed, one of the worst times for the U.S and also for the Afghan civilians because of the danger of roadside bombs. They were provided by icasualties.org which is a organization keeping track of the army's casualties. This death increasing death toll is the cause of U.S.A. sending more and more troops for reinforcements. The Afghani government wants the Talibans to give up once in for all to end the fight.

The fact that the U.S. is even considering to keep deploying troops to the already beaten country of Afghanistan is not a good stand. The Western Hemisphere has power but that does not mean they can use it in excess. If the Talibans are not giving in to the Afghani government it is not the business of the Americans to come in and try and stop them. It is up to Afghanistan and neighboring countries who Afghanistan calls for help herself. Adjoining to this, the U.S. knows it is basically sending men on suicide missions then why continue this act of letting men, television reporters, and Afghan civilians die in terrible roadside bomb accidents. If the Western countries moved out, then the Talibans would not lay out roadside bombs anymore to kill them or innocent people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04afghan.html

More Than 300 People Linked To Suspected Case Of Citizenship Fraud

The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mountain Police) suspects something strange is happening after over 300 people claimed to live at the same address in Mississauga, Ontario. The address is in the same building as the Palestine House which helps new immigrants learn the languages they need and is also a lawyer in the favor of Palestinian and Arabic cases in the court. According to the Globe and Mail, citizenship judges were warned to look out for more applications for that address. This case of massive citizenship fraud is starting to be a problem for the Canadian government. The government thinks this is due to the fact that in some countries salaries vary on the passport someone may have. That is why some people want the Canadian passport and then might go back to for example Dubai where they would get paid more as they are an employee with a Canadian passport. The problem resides in the fact that the Palestine House is not a residential building. It is a learning centre to which the government paid a huge sum of money last year for helping teach English. The building manager said that the private offices on the upper floors are only sharing a roof with the Palestine House. It has nothing to do with those rooms. It is not known how many of the 300 or more applicants were actually accepted however it is possible they were simply using the Palestine House as an address to get citizenship.

This is simply an outrageous case on behalf of the Canadian government. What the 300 immigrants applying for Palestine House are doing could simply be a prank to warn Canada to tighten up its social security, or could be a address put in place meanwhile they are waiting for their 3 year residence before the granted citizenship to end. The RCMP should simply figure this out by individually somehow meeting with the 300 or more applicants and getting them to give a reason for why they applied for the Palestine House. If the cases turn out to be indeed a massive case of fraud immigration then the RCMP and the Canadian government has the right to deport these 300 people back to where they came from. It should be understood that the Western Hemisphere is not a place to be used for such as getting a passport and taking advantage of the status in an Eastern country for higher salary.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/more-than-300-people-linked-to-suspected-case-of-citizenship-fraud/article1451454/