Around the Bend December 18, 2012

It has been a while, probably since around the time of Hurricane Sandy, since I have done more than one of these in a row. But I had to rush to get yesterday's done, and missed some things. Plus, of course, the Sandy Hook tragedy is still unfolding. So, I figured it would be a good opportunity to catch up. It's an abbreviated version, so apologies up front about that. Still, here goes...



Sandy Hook School Shooting

I heard on the radio that learning more about the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, has not been easy. He was described as one of the last remaining 20 year-old individuals that had few pictures of himself, and little to no documentation. He apparently had no criminal history, prior to this incident. So much about him, and his motives, remain a mystery. There was not obvious link to him and the school, as had been previously thought.

The first two funerals were held today, with many more scheduled for later this week.

As the debates begin to heat up as to how to respond appropriately and proceed as a nation, whether or not to pursue gun control laws or restrict access to guns in some way, or to really provide better and more serious mental health care to those who need it, I thought it would be interesting not only to show that the United States is not the only country that has had mass shootings, but to see how those other countries dealt with it. I should note here that no other country seems to have anywhere near the sheer number of mass shootings that the United States seems to have.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/17/world/world-newtown-shootings-gun-controls/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Also, since we obviously are talking, and should be talking right now, about the subject of mass shootings, which came out earlier this year. It has been updated to include the recent school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. Here is the link for that one:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map




Budget Talks & the Fiscal Cliff

One developing story that I personally overlooked was that House Speaker John Boehner seems to show the first signs of a willingness to cooperate this past weekend, saying that raising taxes on those who make a million and over could be part of a deal. The President has remained adamant that anyone making over 250,000 a year should see their taxes raised, and as of right now, the impasse stands.




Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye Dies

Daniel Inouye (September 7, 1924-December 17, 2012) died yesterday. He had served Hawaii since it first became a state, and ranks second only to the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia for the longest serving Senator. He was 88, and a veteran of World War II - surely one of the last of the prominent politicians from the World War II era (President George H.W. Bush was the last President of that generation that had been in power in the White House since the days of John F. Kennedy, and Senator Bob Dole had been the last Presidential nominee for that generation for a major party, with the Republicans back in 1996, before losing, as Bush had done before, to Clinton). Inouye was president pro tempore of the Senate - third in line of succession to be President of the United States.

Inouye was born of Japanese immigrants, but served during the war, sustaining very serious injuries, losing his right arm to a German grenade. The nurse who helped him to adjust to life without it wound up becoming his wife. He was the recipient of a World War II Medal of Honor.

Inouye returned to Hawaii, and he represented Hawaii in Congress since it became the 50th state officially in 1959. In 1962,  he decided to run for Senate, and has served in that capacity since January of 1963. For decades, he chaired the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and was so loved by Navajos that he was given the name "The Leader Who Has Returned With a Plan". Along the way of his career in the Senate, he played important roles in investigating such famous scandals as Watergate and the Iran-Contra Gate, and even gave the keynote speech in the 1968 Democratic National Convention, although he largely shirked the national spotlight.

He died of respiratory complications.

Below are a couple of the articles that I used in writing this summary of Inouye's life and career, and will provide you with more detailed information on his life upon reading them:


http://swampland.time.com/2012/12/17/sen-daniel-inouye-dies-of-respiratory-complications/?xid=rss-topstories

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Sen-Daniel-Inouye-of-Hawaii-dies-at-88-4124498.php



Around the World



Middle East

Egypt - Adding to the tensions here, the low voter turnout in the recent referendum that seems to have entrenched the power of the Islamists is raising some questions here.

Syria - Things continue to deteriorate for President Assad, who had relied on force to retain his power. His support is wavering, both at home and abroad, and it now seems not only possible, but likely, that he will be ousted from power in the relatively near future.

Israel - The government declared that it was going ahead with a plan to build in east Jerusalem, as tensions with the Palestinians continue to escalate.

Iraq - A wave of bombing throughout the country has killed 25 people.



Europe

Scotland - When I first heard about the shooting in Newtown, it reminded me of the town in Scotland that had seen a similar shooting back in the mid-nineties. That was, in fact, the first school shooting that I can remember, assuming memory serves correctly.

Well, the name of that town is Dublane (it rang a bell as soon as I saw the article), and they are sharing their sympathies with Newtown right now. I was actually wondering about this, wondering about how such a tragedy must reopen old wounds to those communities that have experienced it in the past. I have to assume that the same sentiment is shared in Port Arthur, Australia, or in Littleton, Colorado, or far too many other places that have experienced such tragedies in the past.

In any case, here is the article by Reuters about Dublane, Scotland, showing their sympathy to those in Newtown, Connecticut:

http://news.yahoo.com/scottish-town-shares-agony-u-school-tragedy-181733700.html




Asia


China - The Chinese government has detained more than one hundred people for spreading doomsday rumors. Included in these numbers are practitioners of a Christian fringe group.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-detains-100-plus-people-doomsday-rumors-060242294.html



Africa



Benin - Nineteen people were killed after a boat capsized on a river close to a village in the south of the country.

Sudan & South Sudan - Government representatives from both countries are meeting once again in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, to try and come to terms on oil.

Cameroon - Not all African countries are loosening up on gay rights. An appeals court in Cameroon upheld a three year term for a gay text message in that country.

http://news.yahoo.com/cameroon-upholds-3-term-gay-text-message-143001655.html




Sports



NFL

Mark Sanchez threw three picks, as the New York Jets lost to the Titans at Tennessee on Monday, 14-10. The New York Jets had entered the game still with a slim chance to qualify for the playoffs, despite some glaring debacles in what has been a comedy of errors kind of a season for them. The Jets had suffered three blowout losses at home, including shut out loss to San Francisco, 34-0, and a humiliating loss to hated division rivals, the New England Patriots, 49-19 - a game in which they allowed three touchdowns in a span of less than a minute to turn what had been a close game into an embarrassing blowout. The most telling play, indicative of not only the Jets season (and perhaps even the Jets history following their historic Super Bowl III upset victory), but also of the career of Mark Sanchez, was a debacle of a play that is destined to live in infamy in football history. He decided to keep the ball and run towards daylight, only he ran into the big butt of his own lineman instead, falling hard to the ground. But not before coughing up the ball, which was then picked up by a New England defender and run in for a rare defensive touchdown. Surely, it will be the single play that Sanchez will be best remembered for. These are supposed to be pros, but that play made Sanchez and the Jets look like Jokers, instead.

Still, if they had managed to win out the rest of their five games - all against struggling teams - the Jets might have had an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs. But the loss to Tennessee is fitting, because this Jets team really is not very good, and probably belongs nowhere near the postseason.

I like the Jets, but it is hard to root for them when they behave and talk with such an arrogant swagger, only to produce mediocre results. The coach talks about his team being "great" and regularly seems to predict Super Bowl caliber seasons, and there is a lot of infighting inside of the franchise. Indeed, it does seem that their focus is elsewhere, other than on winning, and despite a record that is not as horrible as their play sometimes might have indicated, this is a team that needs a lot of work before they fix some of these ongoing problems. A surprising sneak into the playoffs would have given the deceptive appearance of success, and masked some of these glaringly obvious problems, that now the Jets should have no reason not to address in the offseason, which will start now in two weeks.

In the meantime, let me add my own voice to the growing chorus that is demanding that anyone but Sanchez get a chance at starting at the quarterback position for the team, since these last two games mean nothing now. What harm can come out of giving McElroy a chance?


NBA

The Knicks dropped their first home game of the season last night, as Jeremy Lin's return to the Garden was a happy one. He was fouled hard at one point. In the beginning of the game, the crowd cheered him, but by the end, they were booing him. The Houston Rockets topped New York, 109-96. New York remains atop the Eastern standings, with a record of 18-6 overall.

Otherwise, Orlando defeated the T-Wolves, the Clippers got a win in Detroit, Chicago lost at Memphis, Phoenix downed Sacramento, and in a big Western showdown, OKC handled the Spurs (much like they did in last year's playoffs), 107-93. The Thunder have the best record in the league at the moment, at 20-4.