Scuttlebutt Pipeline

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If you or a loved one turns up missing it doesn’t matter what your age, race, sex, and social status is. This is the United States and everyone is equal darn it! But according to this article statistics show that race, sex, and age does play a huge factor in the reporting of missing people:

If you are kidnapped or missing, it helps to be the right race, age, social class and gender. Otherwise, don’t expect the media to cover your story.

“Sex sells, kidnapping sells, but not every kidnapping is equal,” says Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a training center for journalists in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kelly Bennett, a case manager for the National Center for Missing Adults, agrees. “Unless it’s a pretty girl ages 20 to 35, the media exposure is just not there,” she says. The most highly profiled missing persons cases in recent years have fit into this category: Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, Jessie Marie Davis. All of these women were also white.

(full article)

Doesn’t this just make you sick? I know my stomach became rather queasy at the thought that such disparity occurs, but when I think about it I have to wonder how I never noticed this before. Years ago there was quite a sensational case here in New Mexico, Carly Martinez a very pretty young woman attending NMSU disappeared. She received tons of coverage her in our state and in parts of Texas but when it came to reporting on the national level - nada, nothing, zip, zero.

She was a pretty young woman but she was Hispanic.

HOUSTON - In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn, sending both man and child crashing to the floor.

Now the man says the baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped.

“I’ve got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby,” said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at Florida State University. “It doesn’t take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall.”

(Full Article)

Well, on the stupidity scale with 1 being the least and 10 being the stupidest I’d have to give the security guard an 8.5. Basic common sense says that if the person holding the baby falls than gravity will take effect and the baby will come tumbling down as well. Depending on the person’s reactions to the voltage they may involuntarily clutch the child too hard or drop it all together, either way it does not bode well for the infant. Then there is the fact that electricity can jump and travel and the amount you would use to taser a man you do not want hitting a newborn child.

But wait, people do lack common sense it seems. Then there is the fact that security guards don’t have to have much in way of training or an education beyond a high school diploma either. Now that’s a recipe for disaster.

Of course the man trying to walk out with the child didn’t show that much intelligence either and if I didn’t know any better, which granted I might not, I’d be inclined to believe he’s trying his damndest to get some money and publicity out of this.

Thoughts?

Boat Angel is a non-for-profit organization that aims to help people donate their old boats, yachts, or trailers to a charity of the owner’s choice.

Boat Donations, among other large luxury vehicles, seems almost crazy when you first hear about it but then if you stop to think about it then it doesn’t seem like such a crazy idea anymore. Many of us already donate regularly to our favorite causes, no matter what income bracket we’re at. By donating a boat or other vehicle that is no longer being used as much anymore you can donate a larger sum at once to your favorite charity and you can even claim your contributions when you file your taxes.

How do I Donate my Boat?

The process is fairly simple and the site’s easy to follow navigation makes it even easier to do. Just click on donate now, fill out the requested information and submit. If that proves to be too tedious or you have some questions you’d like answered first you can call their toll free number and arrange the donation that way. Boat Angel is very accommodating.

While Boat Angel’s site is easy to use and navigate, and I certainly admire what they’re doing, I would like to see a longer list of accepted charities. I would also like to see the option of splitting the revenue from a boat donation to multiple charities. If that option is available I didn’t see it which suggests that a bit more clarity there is needed.

You know it’s beginning to seem as though all amusement park rides are exceptionally dangerous and that riding them may prove to be more hazardous to your health than anyone ever realized.

SEOUL, South Korea - Five family members fell 65 feet to their deaths from a Ferris wheel Monday after the car they were riding in unexpectedly overturned at an amusement park, police said.

Two members of the family in the car clung to handholds and survived without injury, police officer Yoon Jae-man said.

Jeon Un-sung, 70, one of those rescued from the ill-fated car in the southern city of Busan, said “the slowly moving gondola suddenly stopped and turned upside down and family members fell in a flash” when the window behind the seats fell out of the car, according to Yonhap news agency.

Among the dead were a 68-year-old woman, a 7-year-old boy and two others killed at the scene, police said. A 28-year-old woman who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment died later.

The 216-foot-high “Giant Wheel” ride has 42 cars. It was among about 30 rides at the World Carnival mobile amusement park that opened in Busan last month for a 40-day run after arriving from Hong Kong, Yonhap reported.

Police were still investigating the accident and interviewing witnesses, Yoon said. The amusement park did not answer repeated calls.

(article source)

I’ve been very fortunate in that all of the people who I care about that have reached their later years have never suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease. I have had friends though who were not so fortunate.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that robs people and their loved ones of time and it hurts and impacts all those involved. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia that is most commonly found in people ages sixty-five and over. It is estimated that over twenty-four million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s. Here is a textbook definition of what the disease is and what it does:

[…] Alzheimer’s is characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. […]

Which is a very clear and cut way to say that a person who suffers from this disease essentially loses their selves, their identity, and can no longer truly process and understand the world around them. This definition does not even begin to touch upon the pain that is felt by the victim’s loved ones. Currently there is no known cause of Alzheimer’s, and as you can guess, that makes finding a cure incredibly difficult.

Memory Walk is a non-for-profit organization that has raised over $225 million dollars towards finding a cure. Memory Walk was begun in 1989 and has been dedicated to “walking” for a cure. You can visit their official website to locate a team near your location to join, or even better yet, you can sign up as a Team Captain and create your own team. If you’re in my position however you might not have a schedule that is very flexible, in which case you can select a walker and choose to sponsor them.

There is a local team in my area whom I plan to sponsor, which other Southern New Mexico residents may want to take notice of. Lizzie has put together a team that will meet and walk on October 13, 2007 at Young Park in Las Cruces. Please see the team’s page for more information on how to sign up or to sponsor a walker.

Please consider donating your time or money to a very charitable cause.