Guerrilla surveillance camera destruction hits the U.S.

Taken from: Salon

Date Published: February 15th, 2013

The cameras seized by The Barefoot Bandit Brigade.

Summary: It all started in Berlin - Anarchists, running around in black attire, covering their identities. They would roam the street at night in small groups or pairs, dismantling and breaking CCTV surveillance cameras. They call it guerrilla project "camover". This group of people recently announced a competition encouraging other to get involved. All you need to do, is recruit a mob or a group of people and smash camera. You then send pictures or videos of you smashing the cameras. They will then announce a winner. This anti-surveillance movement quickly spread across Europe - Through Germany, Finland, and Greece. This month, the project hit the West Coast of the United States. A group naming themselves: "The Barefoot Bandit Brigade" released a statement claiming to have removed/destroyed 17 surveillance cameras. They also provided substantial picture and video evidence. When asked: "Aren't you just wasting taxpayers' money, since the government will inevitably re-install any CCTV you take out?".  Camover replied with: "Isn't the government just going to waste taxpayers' money when they replace the cameras that we are inevitably going to take down again?".

Opinion: I think it's wrong that the people are doing this. They say they don't want to be watched or controlled. CCTV cameras are really for security. People don't constantly watch cameras to see what the public are doing. The footage from the cameras are usually reviewed a week or so after something happened - like a murder or an accident. Otherwise the footage is just deleted and not looked back upon. The cameras are for the public's safety and I don't think they have any intention to do anything else. Footage from cameras in the past have solved hundreds of murders and incidents by providing solid video evidence. It's for the better of the public to have surveillance cameras. It is against the law to be damaging camera's which are the property of others. I believe they are abusing something that is keeping them safe. 

Video showing the group Camover, destroying CCTV cameras. 

Stanislav Petrov from Russia to be awarded Dresden Peace Prize

Taken From: The Voice of Russia

Date Published: February 14th, 2013

Now retired - Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov.

Summary: The Dresden Peace Prize ceremony will take place on the 17th of February. This year it will be given too, now retired, Soviet Lieutenant-Colonel Stanislav Petrov. 30 years ago, on the 26th September 1983, Soviet officer, Petrov was on duty. His screens showed data, that 5 missiles with nuclear warheads were headed towards Russia, from the United States. His orders were to retaliate against the United States, by firing missiles back. However the officer decided not to, concluding it was a false alarm. It was proved later that, it was a false alarm. It was a technical failure.

   "We believe that the heroic deed of Stanislav Petrov will go down in history as one of the most significant events of the past few decades that contributed to the preservation of peace. Our prize is given for averting a conflict, not for its settlement, and Mr. Petrov averted a third world war – hence he is worthy of this award."

The story was kept secret for a long time, only being declassified (ceased to be top secret) in 1998. The awarding ceremony will be held on the 17th, in the Dresden Opera Theater. By tradition the giver of the award has to be linked with Dresden (A city in Germany). In this case it will be a 25 year old resident of Dresden. Only two people have been awarded the Dresden Peace Prize, Mikhail Gorbachev, for his contribution to nuclear disarmament and Stanislav Petrov. The second person to be awarded.

Opinion: I think this man is a hero, and very smart for preventing something that could have changed the way we live today. This man prevented an all out nuclear war. If Russia fired nukes at the United States, they would have fired back, creating national chaos and a huge disaster. This man was able to recognize a technical error, preventing - what could have been -  The biggest disaster in history. I think this man truely deserves the peace award.

This Guy's Car Got Stuck at 125mph—for an Hour

Taken From: The Atlantic

Date Published: February 13th, 2013

Frank's route - Starting in Northern France and ending in
Belgium.

Summary: "It all started with my routine drive to the supermarket" said Frank Lecerf. Frank Lecerf, from his home in Pont-de-Metz, near the French city of Amiens, was making his weekly trip to the supermarket. He was going around 60 miles an hour, which is 100 kilometers an hour, when the car's speed dial jammed. He tried to break, but instead of slowing down; the car accelerated every time. The car eventually hit a peak of 125 mph, which is 200 kph. That's around double the speed you would normally travel on the highway. He traveled at the same consistent speed for one whole hour. Frank frantically called the police from his car, and they brought in an escort of police cars to help him navigate and move other cars away. Through good coordination and communication three toll booths raised their barriers as Frank approached. The police ensured the highway as kept clear of the speeding car. The police put Frank and a  Renault engineer who tried, but failed to help Frank slow the speeding car down. After bearing an hour of blazing fast speed, the car had finally started to run out of gas. His car finally ran out of fuel and came to a rest. Frank, had driven from northern France, and ended up crossing the border, and into Belgium. 

Opinion: I think it's terrible the man had to endure so much a life threatening situation and go through it for an hour. I think it's great that people coordinated together to make sure the man was alive. He was very, lucky to be alive, and it was a collective effort from everybody. The man had driven a total of 125 miles, crossing a border into another country. It is still unclear what happened to the car to cause such an accident, but the man has an upcoming lawsuit against Renault. I am happy the man is alive, and I hope this raises awareness, so this doesn't happen again in the future. 

A penniless Canada: Mint begins years-long process of collecting and melting down 82-million kg in coins

Taken From: National Post

Date Published: February 6th, 2013

Jim Flaherty, Canada's Minister of Fiance, stamping the last
penny at the Royal Canadian Mint.

Summary: As of Wednesday, Canada has officially eliminated the penny. 35 Billion pennies, weighing around 82 million kg or 180 million pounds will be collected and melted down. This process will take around a year. All transactions will now be rounded to the nearest $0.05. Pennies will still be accepted as money, but it is up to businesses' discretion whether they will accept the coins. From there the business can hand them over to the bank, and from there the bank will pass it over to the Canadian Mint. It will be a slow process; It is estimated it will take around 3 - 4 years to get the pennies out of circulation. There is still a long way to go before they disappear completely from every day life. Canada is following many other countries' decision to stop producing low-denomination coins. The United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Brazil and many other countries have stopped. The reason is because in Canada, it costs 1.6 cents to produce one penny. The production cost exceeded the monetary value.

Opinion: I think it is a good decision to remove the penny.It's a big step to remove something so big out of our lives and out of Canadian culture. It will be, in a few years, weird to live without the penny. I want to keep the penny in circulation, but it's better for the country and it's economy. It will save the country around $11 Million dollars every year, as that is the price to produce the pennies.

Unruly Sunwing passengers on their way back to Canada

Taken From: CBC News

Date Published: January 13th, 2013

A "No Smoking" sign found commonly on aircraft. 

Summary: A family of Cape Breton, were allegedly caught smoking aboard a Sunwing Airlines jet from Halifax to the Dominican Republic last Friday. The pilot was forced to make an unscheduled, emergency landing which cost the airline an estimated $50,000. The airline had to pay for the unscheduled landing and hotel accommodation for all the other passengers. The family appeared in court in Hamilton, Bermuda on Monday after they were accused of smoking on a flight. The family was charged with disobeying lawful commands under Air Navigation Order. The two eldest in the family were charged with wither a $500 fine, or 10 days in prison. The family has received a permanent ban from flying with Sunwing, in the future. During the flight many passengers and flight crew smelled cigarette smoke. 

Opinion: I think it was very bad for the family to smoke the plane, as it poses an extreme safety issue, and a safety risk for them and everybody else on the plane. There were around 180 passengers on the plane. It is extremely dangerous to smoke on a plane, and I think it was right for the court to charge them. Smoking on a plane not only endangers themselves, but endangers other passengers on the plane. Many plane accidents in the past were caused by people smoking. In 1998, a man died to inhalation of second hand smoke on a plane. This is just an example of how dangerous it is to smoke on a plane. I hope this case raises awareness to others, and urges them not to make the same mistake and put many other peoples' lives at risk. 

Nunavut man who fired a semi-automatic rifle at five home intruders, killing three, has murder convictions overturned

Taken From: National Post

Date Published: January 31st, 2013

Mr. Bishop being led to the Iqaluit courthouse before the
the start of his trial. 

Summary: A Nunavut man who fired a semi-automatic rifle at five home intruders breaking into his house, has his murder convictions overturned. Out of the five the man killed three and wounded two. The court believes it was self-defense as the evidence shows all the bullet wounds were from the back. It all started at 3 a.m when Mr. Bishop heard people kicked his front door, he called the RCMP seeking help. Taking matters into his own hands, he retreated to his bedroom and readied his SKS-D. It was a semi-automatic rifle, that Mr. Bishop owned legally. It was only supposed to hold five bullets, but Mr. Bishop illegally attached a "banana clip", allowed the gun to hold 25 bullets. The first intruder had a samurai sword and the second had a broken golf club. When they finally broke down Mr. Bishop's door, he opened fire. Once, the shooting started, the invaders immediately starting running. Mr. Bishop followed shooting again in the hallway and in the entrance way. Mr. Bishop spotted a wounded invader fall in the snow, struggling to get up. Mr. Bishop raised his gun and fired at him, killing him. He fired off the rest of his clip, shooting at the intruders as they ran, scattering away. All three dead, were found outside, one of them 42 meters from the front door. He was guilty of three counts of second-degree murder and two of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. He later had his case overturned and was granted another trial.

Opinion: In my opinion, I don't think Mr. Bishop should have had his case overturned. I think Mr. Bishop went to the point, where it was no longer self defense. Yes, they were house intruders, but when Mr. Bishop fired the first shot, all of them started running and screaming. But instead of waiting for police to arrive, he continued to chase the intruders and shoot them. One of the intruders was struggling to get up in the snow and was clearly no longer a threat, but Mr. Bishop shot him, killing him. One of the intruders died 42 meters from his house. This shows that Mr. Bishop still shot at them, when they were blatantly running. After they started running, I firmly believe, Mr. Bishop should have stopped. The force that Mr. Bishop used was no longer for means of protecting himself.

Beijing air pollution hits "hazardous" level

Taken From: The Star

Published on: January 30, 2013

On the left is what China looks like with PM2.5 air pollution.
On the right is what it looks like normally. 

Summary: This is the fourth time in the past month were Beijing is covered in a white haze of industrial smog. Inhabitants were urged to stay indoors and more than 100 flights were canceled. Visibility was reduced around 100 meters. The government suspended 103 heavy-polluting factories, to ease the situation. Most of the pollution is coming from chemical factories surround Beijing and coal being burned for heating. The air pollution reach peak level at PM2.5. Meaning, the air can travel and embed deep into the lungs. This poses a serious health risk. Direct exposure to PM2.5 level pollution can lead to cardiovascular and lung disease; It also increases the risk of cancer. Children are at the most risk, because their lungs are still developing. In 2012, PM2.5 air pollution may have been connected to 8,572 premature deaths. People are wearing face masks to help filter out the polluted air, but they are only limited, because they cannot filter out harmful ozone. China is having trouble with balancing the citizens' demand for cleaner air and the need for economic development. Senior officials urge residents to take buses and subways instead of using private cars. 

Opinion: I think China needs to take more control, and take more care for the environment. As a growing country, I understand they want to have economic growth, but they need to learn when, it has gone too far and they are putting their citizens at risk. I believe the government should put pollution laws or policies into place to prevent this from happening. This is the fourth time in one month the same thing has happened. The poses a serious health risk for children, and even more of a problem for people already with respiratory problems. Babies are even dying prematurely from their mothers inhaling the polluted air. China's government needs to act fast to protect their citizens. China has always been ignoring the fact that their is bad air pollution. Authorities have always tried to cover it up. But they are no longer able to avoid it with the rise of social media. I think China should have acted upon the issue immediately.