Fire rips through crowded Brazil nightclub killing 233

Taken From: CNN

Date Published: January 28th, 2013

Kiss Nightclub, Santa Maria, Brazil - After the fire.

Summary: On January 27th, there was a fire at a Brazilian night club, in Santa Maria, Brazil. The club is popular and packed that night. There were about 2,000, people in the club when the fire started. The maximum capacity is 1,000, said Guido de Melo, a state fire official. The club's license was also expired and had not been renewed. Brazil claims there are around 233 dead, of the 233, only 185 have been identified. The club that night was packed, many died from smoke inhalation and others were trampled, while trying to make a rush for the exits. Investigators are still unsure on how the fire started, but many believe it was the pyrotechnics show that started the fire. The fire started at around 2 a.m. after the sound-proof insulation caught fire. This cause the roof to quickly set on fire. The fumes caused by the insulation on fire, killed many. Eyewitnesses claim many club-goers ran for the bathrooms mistaking them for the exits. Dozens of victims were found in the bathroom, over 90% of the victims were found in that part of the club. There was only one exit at the club and that was the main entrance. 

Opinion: I think it's terrible how so many died. Many of the people were young, and many were students, at a nearby university. I think the fire could have been easily avoided if they had followed the regulations and policies put into place. The rules are there to prevent something like this from happening but they didn't follow them. They went over the maximum capacity, by almost double and also didn't have their license renewed. There were so many ways this terrible tragedy could have been avoided. The club should also have fire exits. There was only one exit and it was not clearly marked. 90% of the victims were found in the bathroom, showing how confused they were. It is also very dangerous to have a pyrotechnics show in a condensed space of over 2,000 people. I think this is a good lesson learned for Brazil, to be more careful, and to follow the rules. This event will ensure better safety as, Brazil will be hosting the Olympics and the World Cup in 2016. 

French Court says Twitter must identify racist tweeters

Taken From: France 24

Date Published: January 24th, 2013

Summary: French court recently ruled on Thursday that Twitter, the giant online social networking, and microblogging service had to hand over data that would help identify the authors of racist and anti-Semetic tweets (posts). This ruling was because of France's Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) filing a legal complaint about some of the tweets they had been seeing recently online. Many of the tweets online breached French Law, which prohibits the provoking/incitement of racial hatred. 

An example of an anti-Semetic tweet.
Translation: #AGoodJew is a dead jew

Many of the anti-Semetic tweets were posted under the hashtag #unbonjuif. Which translates to #agoodjew. Twitter under the pressure of the union, removed some of the offending tweets. France's Union of Jewish Students took legal action against Twitter forcing them to identify or provide data to identify the authors of the tweets. 

Later, under the request from the government of Berlin, Twitter suspended the account of a neo-Nazi group in Germany. The tweets from the neo-Nazi groups were used under the hashtag #IfIwereANazi. 

Opinion: In my opinion, it was right of the UEJF, to step up and take legal action. When social media sites first became popular, they were used for their initial purpose. Twitter's purpose was to post/blog about what's happening. I think it's purpose is now veering off course. People are now using social media to post offending things like such. People nowadays think they are protected by some shield over the internet. People think they can put whatever they want onto the internet and get away with it. There are many things that people say over the internet, that they wouldn't dare say in real life. People should get over the fact that they are completely anonymous over the internet. I think it's outrageous people are posting racist comments, through the internet. I strongly believe that the people that are posting/tweeting offending or racist comments, through any social media medium, should be punished.