Google may leave China after cyber attack

Google said last Tuesday that it may leave China. When Google started in China in 2006, it was intended to strike a balance between reaching its goal by having the world's information widely available and doing buisiness with all other internet companies in China while following regulations involving censorship. While Google has done its part, China users have not. There have been a few targeted cyber attacks on its network infrastructure. David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer, says that they are sharing this information about the attacks not just because of the security and human rights implications, but also because this issue creates a much bigger debate about freedom of speech.

In my opinion, I agree with Google's choice to leave China. It's not their final decision, but it seems that they are leaning towards it. If the attacks weren't enough, they have also discovered accounts of dozens of Gmail users who are Chinese human rights activists that have been accessed by third parties most frequently through internet scams and malware. Staying with China seems to set them up for a bad road ahead. I'm glad that they have shared this information with the public, although I'm not sure it needs to strike up a debate about freedom of speech. I hope there's no tension between Google and China if they decide to leave. There is no reason Google should stay with China; they are only hurting them. If Google leaves China it could potientionally stop other cyber attack in the future. Google needs take a stand and let the world know that cyber attacks are not acceptable.

In winter, some homeless choose between independence, warmth

Brook, a 42-year-old Atlanta man, perfers sleeping in an abandoned house with no heat. The only heat he has is a large coat with a few layers underneath and hat. He rests his head on a bag where he keeps his belongings. Brook is among thousands of homeless who refuse to go to shelters. Some homeless use shelters for showers and meals but also refuse to sleep there. Brook describes shelters as an environment "where you can't keep your eyes closed." But with temperatures in the teens, there has been an increase in the number of homeless flocking to shelters. Some churches in Atlanta will become refuge shelters when extremely low temperatures are being experienced.

With the extremely low temperatures our country is facing, I hope everyone has a warm place to sleep. If we need to extend our shelters to churches, then so be it. I can't imagine sleeping outside in these kinds of temperatures. Brook seems insane for his preference of sleeping out in the cold rather than a shelter. I understand his fear of getting robbed, but it doesn't sound like he has much that could get robbed. I guess if all you own is the clothes on your back, you don't want to risk losing them. Kate Gearman (http://kategearman.%20blogspot.com/2010/01/in-winter-some-homeless-choose-between.html) suggests that security patrols the shelters to minimize the crimes that occurs and allows the homeless to feel at home and sleep easy. I agree with her 100%, everyone should have a warm and safe place to sleep at night.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/08/cold.homeless/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

Kenya elephant tramples U.S mother, baby

As an American family went hiking near Mount Kenya last Monday, an elephant unexpectedly charged out of the brush and killed a mother and her one year old daughter she was holding in her arms. The family was hiking on a nature trail just outside Mount Kenya National Park on Monday morning when the elephant charged. The woman, identified as Sharon Brown, tried running away but the weight of her baby slowed her down. Brown and her husband are listed as faculty members at the International School of Kenya. She was 39 years old at the time of her death and originally from New York. "She was loved by everybody and loved to travel extensively," says one of Brown's close friends.

I was really frusterated with the husband in this article! It says that there were three other adults hiking, one of them being Brown's husband. The three others ran away safely at the sight of the elephant. How did the husband forget about his wife and the baby? Why wasn't he desperately trying to help save them? I can't put all the blame on the husband though; this was obviously a very scary and rare incident and I'm sure he's suffering greatly from the loss of his wife and child. I hope hikers in the future are more cautious and I hope the Kenya Wildlife Service encourages hiking with armed guards more strongly. Incidents like this are said to happen about once a year, but I hope hikers will take more precautions so that these tragedies are reduced.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/01/06/kenya.americans.trampled/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29