Life imitates art? A Dexter fan in Indiana pleads guilty to the murder of his little brother

A 17-year-old boy from Rising Sun, Indiana, is being tried as an adult in the strangling death of his little brother, 10, the Associated Press reported Dec. 4^th.

According to prosecutors, Andrew Conley is an avid follower of the Showtime television series Dexter, which chronicles the exploits of a sociopathic serial killer. Conley believed that he too was a sociopath, and had had homicidal fantasies since he was in grade eight.

Conley is, without a doubt, mentally ill. Cold-blooded murder is not something a sane, healthy person is prone to. But Dexter is not to blame.

Anyone who’s ever watched the show knows that Dexter Morgan, serial killer and adopted son of a police officer, kills according to a code of ethics: his victims must deserve to die.

This doesn’t excuse murder by any means, but it does beg the question, if Conley is such a huge fan of Dexter, why target his own little brother?

Perhaps Conley’s grasp on reality is so tenuous that he saw his little brother, Connor, as Dexter’s deranged serial-killing brother Rudy, who Dexter kills in defence of himself and his sister.

Whatever the circumstances, Connor Conley’s death is not Dexter’s fault. Dexter is a television show. It’s fiction.

In fact, despite a multitude of insinuations by the news media that violence in TV, movies and video games increases violent crime, there is no concrete scientific evidence to prove this.

Years of psychological research have proven that witnessing violence can increase aggression, but no causal link between media violence and crime has been found, according to a 2006 study by University of California scientists.

The study found that in the short term, exposure to violent movies actually decreases crime.

Even violent videogames, which are even more widely blamed for youth violence,  cannot scientifically be proven to do so, a similar study out of Harvard found.

So rather than heaping blame on Dexter, let’s take a closer look at Andrew Conley’s life. It may well be that he was in at a high risk for violent offences all along, and his fascination with Dexter just an unfortunate coincidence.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

Snow hits the usually sunny Las Vegas in a winter phenomenon. Image courtesy of: telegraph.co.uk

Canada has far surpassed becoming a winter wonderland, as the excessive amounts of snowfall have left travelers stranded at airports and even put some lives at risk.

One woman was buried in deep snow for three days in an isolated field near the Hamilton airport before she was found alive. The woman was suffering from hypothermia and was sent immediately to the hospital to recover. Police told the Hamilton media that it was a miracle that she survived such “horrific” weather conditions.

These obscure weather patterns mystified scientists south of the border as well, as hell really did freeze over. The city of sin, Las Vegas, experienced snow fall of up to and over 3 inches, canceling all flights into and out of the Nevadan city as a result.

“Sometimes you have to travel to the mountains to see the snow, and now you don’t have to,” said Jose Villeda, a 38 year old Vegas resident about the rare occurrence. It is commonly known around Nevada that the mountains experience annual snowfall, but the Las Vegas strip itself had never experienced more than 1/2 inch of snow, until this frozen phenomenon occurred.

The latest flurry of extreme snowfall and high velocity winds has people scratching their heads in puzzlement. Canadian residents especially, are baffled by the near blizzard conditions that has them swimming under several inches of snow so early into the winter season.

“Bad weather is affecting everyone across the country. Any storm systems beginning in the West are being directed by the jet stream in the East,” said Johanna Wagstaffe of the CBC Weather Centre in Toronto.

So what could be causing these uncommon arctic snowstorms? Many meteorologists say that our good and controversial friend, global warming, is to blame for this extreme in snowfall.

Most of the less knowledgeable audiences assume that global warming strictly involves the warming of climates. However, global warming advocates state that global warming actually entails short-term swings in climate, either hot or cold.

The India Times reports that Arctic ice volume has hit its lowest point ever in recorded history. These melting ice caps result in colder fronts being brought to the countries in the Northern Hemisphere over the winter months, while also bringing extremes in climate change.

This would explain the records being shattered all across the globe in terms of highest temperatures being hit during the summer, and unexpected snow storms in the winter.

However, with every argument proving global warming there is one against it; as some meteorologists state that the earth is going through a natural global cooling period, and it is this cooling period that is being mistaken for global warming.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, 2008 will be America’s coldest year since 1997, but only due to La Niña and precipitation in the central and eastern states. Solar quietude also may underlie global cooling. This year’s sunspots and solar radiation approach the minimum in the sun’s cycle, corresponding with lower Earth temperatures. This echoes Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Sallie Baliunas’ belief that solar variability, much more than CO2, sways global temperatures.

So is it that our carbon emissions are actually the cause of these extreme weather patterns, and the inhabitants of this planet are too ignorant to act upon their own mistakes? Or are we overreacting over a cooling pattern that the earth’s cycle naturally encounters?

Only time will tell who is right, and who is left out in the snow.

O.J. Simpson sentenced to jail

O.J. Simpson is going to jail for upwards of fifteen years. Photo: Canada.com

For the family of Ron Goldman, Friday was a day that justice was served. Although it has been thirteen years since former National Football League superstar O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the charges that he faced for allegedly murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, it was common knowledge that the family of Goldman continued to believe that Simpson was culpable for the death of their son, brother and his friend.

And today, Simpson was sentenced to at least fifteen years in jail – with parole eligibility after five years – for an entirely different crime. In a Las Vegas courtroom, Simpson was found guilty and sentenced to upwards of fifteen years in prison for several counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. These charges came after Simpson and his associates were attempting to reattain memorabilia that Simpson claimed was stolen from him.

While Simpson is going to jail for his latest crime and not the one that he was acquitted of, to the Goldmans Simpson is paying for what they believe he did to their son and brother, Ron Goldman.

In a press conference with media after the sentencing, Goldman’s father stated that if their efforts over the last thirteen years had caused Simpson into the foreray of his latest crimes which led him to jail, then “great, it put him where he belongs”. He also referred to Simpson as an S.O.B. While today’s sentencing may seem to carry with it a sense of vindication for the Goldmans, they are quick to deny that fact.

When speaking to the media after the sentencing, Goldman’s father said that “there is never closure” as his son “Ron will always be gone”. For the rest of the world, however, this in fact may finally be a time for closure. Simpson has been in and out of the media for over a decade now and has left a sour taste in the mouths of many that have followed his story.

But for now, although Simpson’s lawyers are appealing the conviction, at least, Simpson – who entered the courtroom smug and left quivering – will be out of sight and out of mind.

Terror in Tibet

Since 2005, the city of Vancouver has been buzzing. Everybody who is anybody in the city, is counting down the 2 years (as of March 12th, 2008) remaining until Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics. While Vancouver ‘cleans-up,’ gets organized and undergoes extreme aesthetic makeovers, another city counts down to their Olympic Games in a slightly different manner.

The highly anticipate 2008 Beijing Olympics is supposed to be China’s opportunity to showcase it capital achievements in recent times. Recent riots and violence in Tibet and neighbouring provinces, are however taking away from this showcase and leading to humiliation and hatred.

Conflict between Tibet and the rest of China have been long-standing. With the signing of the ‘Seventeen Point Agreement’ in 1951, Tibet was officially incorporated into China. However, neither the Republic of China nor the People’s Republic of China claim sovereignty over Tibet. (Wikipedia). The agreement stated that Tibet would be a self-governed area of China. From this point on conflict arose when China would intervene in the modernization of Tibet. In June of 1956, a rebellion led by noblemen and monasteries broke out in Amdo and eastern Kham. Tens of Thousands of Tibetans were killed in this eruption of violence. The violence has continued through the many years that has passed, and has recently surfaced in the media once again.

On March 10th, 2008, which is the anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Beijing rule, Buddhist monks began to protest in Tibet. Many began hunger strikes, while two others attempted suicide. The protests have lead to high amounts of violence and many protestors being killed by Chinese forces. Tear gas fills the streets and gun fire echoes while Chinese shops government buildings are destroyed and burned. On March 16th, the Dalai Lama made a strong claim to the world, calling for an international investigation of China’s treatment of Tibet, which he termed a “cultural genocide.” Having done extensive research in Darfur, and considering the Rwandan crisis, KOW understands the severity of this term and it seems that perhaps the term has been used irresponsibly in this situation. While the situation COULD show signs of a genocide, certainly it is not a term which can simply be thrown around. In the same commentary the Dalai Lama stated that he would step down as leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile if the violence by protesters worsens.

The following is a summary of what has happened in recent days, up to and including today, taken from Wikipedia.:

March 20th– China acknowledged for the first time, that anti-government riots that rocked Tibet in the week of March 10, 2008 spread to the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu. The Dalai Lama stated he was powerless to stop anti-Chinese violence.

March 21st– U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized China for its crackdown on anti-government protesters in Tibet and called on “freedom-loving people” worldwide to denounce China.

March 22nd– People’s Daily, the newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, called for efforts to “resolutely crush” anti-government demonstrations by Tibetans, while Beijing urged people to turn in those on a “Most Wanted” list of 21 protesters.

March 23rd– The Chinese government said through official media, that the restive areas were under control. The Communist Party newspapers accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the riots in Tibet to try to mar the 2008 Summer Olympics in August 2008 and overthrow the area’s communist leaders. The government disseminated footage of Tibetan protesters attacking Chinese and accusations of biased reporting by Western media via TV, the Internet, e-mail and YouTube, which is blocked in China.

Placing Blame

It seems these days that no matter who or what you are talking about in American politics that the conversation always degrades into how evil of a man President Bush is. His tyrannical administration is war hungry and bringing upon the destruction of the United States. While I think there is a certain validity in these statements they are exaggerated beyond belief and a product of ignorance. It has become almost a fad to bash the Bush administration and is done by those with little or no knowledge of how the presidency works. I am by no means a Bush supporter, a right winger, or an expert on American politics; however a little research and unbiased review will enlighten a person on how Bush is not the only one to be blamed for America’s problems.

The American political system is a series of ‘checks and balances’ and the president of the country has a very powerful but still limited set of powers. Moreover, the president is not responsible for making laws or policies, for that is the job of congress. The presidents job is the role of the commander and chief. He oversees the executive branch of the United States government: a branch whose duty it is to execute the laws of congress. If congress disapproves of a decision the executive has made they hold the constitutional power to make changes. The changes may not be quick but they can be done. Even with a presidential veto on a new legislation, it can still be passed by congress with a two thirds majority.

Congress also controls military spending and is responsible for declaring war on any state or nation. If war is declared it is now in the presidents domain to make wartime decisions. Decisions that are always funded by congress. Congress holds the power to pressure the executive branch into keeping within its natural bounds. If you don’t believe me merely look at the American Constitution. So if congress holds this power why don’t they make change? Is President Bush not merely acting out their wishes? He receives his funding from congress and he acts within the bounds of the constitution. If he has done something unconstitutional why has he not been seriously challenged in the judiciary branch of government? Or at a greater magnitude why has not been impeached? If he is so out of line as the majority of people so readily seem to lecture on, why has he not been seriously challenged by the legislative or judiciary branch of the United States government.

Now lets blame congress. Congress is weak and they have let the Bush administration over run them and dictate the policies of the United States. Ah yes here lies the answer. But wait, who is directly elected by the people. Who is the peoples voice in American politics? That would be the house of representative and the Senate. So if we are blaming Bush for his policies, there by we are indirectly blaming a weak congress for letting the president dictate policy, we have no choice but the blame the people of the United States. After all isn’t this how a democracy works? Don’t we all love democracy?

Before we are so quick to blame President Bush lets take a second to step back and look at the bigger picture. He merely is the head of one branch of government. His job is to execute laws and decisions created by congress. Is that not what he is doing?

Another Super Tuesday in the States

Tomorrow is an important day for the United States President election process as Primaries will be held in the large states of Texas and Ohio. For those of you who are not aware of the US’ election processes, the Primaries are preliminary votes in all states that measure the support for each party’s (Democrats and Republicans) nominees running to become it’s respective parties Presidential candidate.

Te become a party’s Presidential candidate, a nominee has to win a certain number of ‘Delegates’ throughout the primary process. For the Democrats, who have Senators Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama in the final running, this number is 2,025. For the Republicans, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, the number is 1,191. In February ‘Super Tuesday’, a day in which a majority of the US states hold their primary elections, failed to give birth to a clear-cut winner for either party. While John McCain has all but won the Republican nomination with 1,047 delegates already to his name, the Democrats are still in a heated race. Currently, Obama leads the Democrats with 1,378 delegates while Clinton is close behind with 1,269.

Tuesday’s primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont will most likely end up naming McCain as the Republican candidate while they may very well determine the Democratic Presidential candidate as Texas and Ohio are two of the largest and most delegate-laden states. With McCain penciled in, as Canadians, who should we pulling for in this version of Super Tuesday?

If you ask Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpher which democract he wants to win, he would probably tell you neither. That’s because Harper is most likely pulling for the potential republican nominee John McCain. Over the past couple days both Democratic candidates vowed to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because they don’t believe that the States are getting a fair deal. If the States are not happy with NAFTA, they will most likely want to renegotiate at the expense of Canada and I doubt Prime Minister Harper is ready to let that happen. McCain has said nothing to the effect of pulling out of NAFTA, and as the Conservatives have gotten along quite well with the Republicans in the past, you can guess what outcome our Prime Minister may be pulling for.

As for the Democrats, I say pull for Barack Obama. Many of the policies up for debate obviously concern the United States, but even if they did or do concern Canada it would not be important as Obama and Clinton largely have the same views on most questions. Barack Obama is the type of leader that the world has been waiting for. When he speaks, people listen. Obama is inspiring to the uninspired and for that reason alone I would say vote Obama. I am not necessarily looking for Obama to right all that is wrong with the United States but what I do hope he can do is cause change. Change that will see the population become more involved in its politics and change that will have the majority of the population believe in its leader and what he is doing. It is something that we are lacking today in the world as many are extremely cynical and skeptical of what leaders such as George Bush and to an extent Stephen Harper have to say.

Photo courtesy of: http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Reuters_Photo/2008/02/27/1204140102_5934/539w.jpg