Record price on painting in Europe by Sam Stromness

A painting by Francis Bacon was just sold in Europe, it sold for even more than The Scream did last year. Bacon was an European artist working primarily in the mid-1900's. In the article it stated that his studio was destroyed in a fire at one point which probably made his work much more valuable. Bacon had a very interesting style and it was probably very influential in his time; however, personally, I find myself somewhat indifferent to his work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24922106

Student use gun to defend themselves by Eleanor E-W

Two students from Gonzaga University are in trouble for using a gun to defend themselves against an intruder. The intruder was a man who had just got out of prison and came to their apartment door looking for money. The man tried to walk inside of the house and one of the students brought out a pistol. At this point the man ran away. The University has a policy against having guns, and the students could be expelled for this.

I think that gun laws in the United States should be more restricted, however this has more to do with the University policy which the students disobeyed, then gun control.  The man didnt actually do anything to harm the students, although I suppose he potentially could have. I think the students should not have possessed guns in the first place, and should be punished.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/us/gonzaga-guns/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Civilian Uprisings Against Crime Gangs in a Mexican State - by Frances Garnett

In Tepalcatepec, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, there have been armed civilian uprisings where the citizens have actually taken control over the region's towns after being controlled by an organized crime gang, the Knights of Templar, for seven years, and before that being a spot with many drug trafficking groups. The Knights of Templar stolen a lot of iron ore and taxed it, making about sixty million dollars a month. This group has been also controlling the government in that area for some time, and victimized the people there as well. The merchants there said that they would either cut your head off or run you out of town if you didn't pay them. The accountants working for the gang require high amounts of tax on vehicles, housing, harvested fruit and profits of store owners. But, the residents saw that the catalyst for the uprising was their abductions of young girls, and how they would also get them pregnant. Jose Manuel Mireles, a physician started Tepalcatepec's self-defense group in February, and other groups have also arisen. They're now armed with several kinds of weapons, more than half of them taken from the crime group. Around five thousand civilians have joined the group, even knowing that it is illegal, and it may remain that way until the authorities "hand over" the leaders of the Knights Templar. It's been acknowledged that it might be years before the groups dissolve. In the "liberated" areas, mayors accused of working with the gang have also fled.

I don't really know who wrote the article, but I think they are trying to influence the audience so that they'll think that while this is possibly the only option available to the people of the region, it is not really a success story, because it's just replacing one illegally armed group with another. I agree with the writer, because I believe that violence is never the answer, but I also hope that this will spark a change in the government to make it less corrupt, so the people won't have to defend themselves like this anymore. After all, throughout history revolutions and uprisings have brought about (sometimes good, but usually productive) changes, and though this is not one of those, it is still a step in the right direction. From this article, we can draw the conclusion that something needs to be done about Mexico's current state, not just to eliminate armed groups, but also to bring justice to the people.

Source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/11/208200/vigilantes-weary-of-crime-gangs.html

Let's Take a Look at US Casualties BY TREVOR WALKER

     Did you know that in the 21st century alone there were more than 100,000 soldiers killed or wounded? Sure, that's nothing compared to the Civil War with at least a million killed or wounded because they didn't have the same medical equipment as today, but still. Think about the number of families and friends who are still grieving over a loved one's injury or death.
     And these people's lives had just begun to blossom into a flowery bush with so much fruit, not even the Garden of Eden could compete with it. The only good thing about these casualties is that they won, and it ended with a shower of confetti and a good minute of silence for them. But you still can't bring back the person you love and care for.

retired attorney helps girls in Nepal by Polly Hynds-Riddle

Olga Murray,88, decided the best thing for here to do is to help the young girls and families of Katmandu out of selling their daughters to slavery to have a small amount of money. she offers the families either a pig or goat if they bring their daughters home from or will not give their daughters to slavery. the program has been working and inspiring some of these young woman to do the same and help other girls form going away from home.

i really like this and i think it is really important! Olga Murray is an incredible person and i would love to do something tis import an with my life. she is 88 and she didn't just go "oh that is terrible but I'm too old to do something" or "but I'm retired" she just saw something wrong and did something.

source

Hungary Struggles With Anti-Semitism by Bob Cummins

   Hungary has one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe.  According to a study by Andras Kovaces from Budapest's Central European University, 24 percent of people living in Hungary had some kinds of anti-Semitic prejudices  back in 2011... That's a big part of the population, 10 to 15 percent more than 20 years ago.  He blamed the Jobbik party, which is openly anti-Semitic.  In the 2010 elections, this party won 17 percent of votes.  Many open acts against the Jews have happened in the past couple of years including anti-Semitic chants at a football game against Israel.  On a postitive note, the Jewish community is very vibrant in Hungary nowadays.

   Here's what I have to say to these people.  What have Jews done to you?  Is there really an issue here?  And lastly, if you have any prejudices or dislike for a group, just keep it to yourself.  If you're going to live in this world with everybody else, you should show some respect for groups, classes, races, etc. other than your own.  I do find it cool that the Jewish community is flourishing during this ridiculous religion/racism.

http://news.yahoo.com/hungary-jews-struggle-rising-anti-semitism-144414731.html

Talk about a heartless mom by: Hannah Kerman

A mom of 14 in Colombia sold her daughter's virginity. One of the daughters stepped up and told the police, but it was so hard to get more information from the girl, because she ran away. A year later, she came back and told the police who the man was that got her pregnant and the police arrested him, although he refuses to comment. Of the 14 children. two were not forced into prostitution only because of their age. Apparently when the girls turned 12, they had to sell their virginity for 100-200 dollars.

This is preposterous! People who do that, are absolutely sick and to make it worse, it was their own mother forcing this upon them! I'm sure it goes on in so many other places and lots of other innocent children are being put through that forced torture. Countries need to stop that stuff and lowering the rates of it happening. It's threatening to the people and the government.
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/world/americas/colombia-mom-sells-daughters/index.html