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Margaret Swofford

Maggie Swofford is an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing currently studying at Gordon College in Massachusetts.

Bull run injuries: woman gored

Four hospitalized amidst the final bull run in Spain

The bull run that occurs in Spain every year isn’t just fun and games. For some, it means extended stays at various hospitals.

One victim in particular was a 23-year-old Australian woman who was gored in the abdomen while she clung to wooden barriers on the outside of the bull ring’s entrance, according to regional health authority spokesman Javier Sesma. Appropriate to her dangerous position near where the bulls were entering, it makes sense that after arriving at the hospital it was seen that she suffered several rib fractures and damage to her right lung. There is no word on how she is doing now but she remains in serious condition.

It is actually quite rare for women to be injured during these dangerous runs. Only two other women are recorded to have been injured during the runs because of the majority of male participants. The ban on female participants was lifted 39 years ago, according to the IB Times.

The other injuries were from a 39-year-old man from California, a 23-year-old man from Madrid and two men from Navarra, but their injuries were minor in comparison. They only suffered from cuts and bruises after being tossed from bulls or falling during the run.

Ironically, though, what makes the onlookers tear up is not the serious condition of the runners, but seeing the bulls get killed at the end by the bullfighters. While the bulls are led to their own demise, people do have things like family and friends that would miss them and make their loss much more detrimental than the bulls’. The participants put their lives into question when they take part in this courageous and exciting event, trying to be a part of something bigger than themselves. But let’s hope next year the participants will be more careful and thoughtful with where they prioritize their livelihoods.

Asiana to sue TV station over false pilot names

Racist pilot names given out by San Francisco TV station

In the midst of such a traumatic event, Asiana isn’t focused on helping their passengers recover from such a terrible accident but is… suing a San Francisco TV station?

Asiana Airlines had all eyes on them when one of their 777 airplanes crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6. Three people were killed and dozens injured with this horrifying crash.

But now, instead of caring for the passengers on that fateful flight, their eyes have turned towards an apparently more important issue: the names of the pilots, which were incorrectly given out by KTVU-TV and The National Transportation Safety Board.

Asiana views this as a racist and horribly offensive insult and is planning to sue the TV station that mistakenly released the names.

Asiana’s spokesman Lee Hyomin was outraged at the names. She said that Asiana was going to sue the TV station in order to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report.”

She went on to say that the report severely damaged Asiana’s reputation. As if it wasn’t already damaged with the horrifying tragedy of three people dying while flying on Asiana’s airline…

The names were first read by a TV anchor who said the names during a report on Friday. After a break the anchor came back on and apologized for the incorrect names.

The National Transportation Safety Board also apologized soon afterwards, explaining that an intern confirmed the names without checking to make sure that they were correct.

“Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board apologizes for inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed as those of the pilots of Asiana flight 214, which crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6,” they said in a statement released on Friday.

Apparently an apology isn’t enough though, and in the midst of hundreds of people’s lives being changed forever as a result of injuries and deaths at the hands of their airline, Asiana finds the accidentally racist remarks to be more important.

Caylee Anthony's toys sold at grandparent's garage sale

That’s one way to get money: sell your dead daughter’s belongings

I don’t know what could be more disgusting than George and Cindy Anthony, Caylee Anthony’s grandparents, selling Caylee’s possessions in a garage sale.

Caylee Anthony was the daughter of Casey Anthony, who was found not guilty in 2011 of first-degree murder during a trial connecting her with her daughter’s murder in 2008.

It was suspicious when Anthony didn’t report her missing daughter until a month after she disappeared. Remains were later found of Caylee Anthony near the home in December of 2011. And on July 17, 2011 Casey Anthony was released from jail.

The only possible explanation of this horrific act of selling her daughter’s precious belongings is that Casey Anthony is really in need of money—especially now that she owes $800,000.

But whether selling her daughter’s clothing, toys and other (what should be) sentimental items will make the difference, that’s a whole other issue.

A curious driver, Christina Werner, first spotted the occurrence while driving past the grandparent’s house.

“When I pulled up, they were taking tarps off the yard sale items that were covered due to the rain,” Werner said to Radar Online. “I immediately noticed the two white canopies over the yard sale tables because they looked like the tents used in the search for Caylee.”

While she doesn’t know what she’s going to do with the items, she bought purses belonging to Casey Anthony, a children’s travel set and teddy bears. Hopefully something at least half-decent.

Abercrombie remains the most ridiculous clothing company

Abercrombie is at it again

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Abercrombie released another ridiculous statement, especially after their CEO said that he didn’t want any of the brand’s clothing to be given away to the homeless.

Now, on top of that, Abercrombie is saying that they banned black clothing. Because it’s too “formal.”

Of course, when it comes to suits and tuxes black is fine. But everywhere else it is a horrendous color.

An employee commented on the exile of black clothing with bewilderment.

“Management will tell people that Mike hates the color, and so we’re not supposed to wear it to work,” the anonymous employee said. “It even applies to coats in the winter.”

Of course, the company offered a thoughtful and genuine response, as usual.

“Abercrombie & Fitch does not sell black clothing and discourages wearing it at our home office and in our stores, because we are a casual lifestyle brand and feel black clothing is formal. We have nothing against black clothing and feel it is perfectly appropriate for things like tuxedos.”

But have no fear—you can still go and get your black clothing from other brands such as American Eagle and H&M, who still supply the dark color.

Even more shocking than the odd exile of the harmless color, the company actually admitted (and was proud of the fact) that they are an exclusive brand. In the day-and-age when people are being seen as beautiful no matter what their jean size, the CEO remains firm in his standards for beauty.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he said to Salon in 2006. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

Well, God forbid that the store will dim their lights any lower, or else that could be considered black.

Carolyn Moos still hurt by Jason Collins after shocking announcement

Much goes unresolved for the ex-couple

You are in a relationship with a wonderful man and are happily engaged. But just a few months from the wedding he tells you to come over and explains that he just can’t do it anymore and breaks off the engagement with no further explanation.

First off, you are upset over the loss of the engagement; secondly, you are upset that he didn’t explain himself further to you for why he broke off the engagement.

Then to top it off, four long years later he finally calls you over the phone and tells you that he’s gay.

…What?

You can imagine Carolyn Moos’ shock when this is exactly what happened to her. The six-foot-five former pro basketball player was blindsided with what her ex-fiance Jason Collins said to her that fateful day when he told her the full truth.

But the sad part is that she still feels hurt by him, even after being apart for so long.

Moos told the story of her relationship with Collins to Cosmopolitan. She first met Collins while going for a run on Standford’s campus and was immediately taken by his handsome appearance and abnormally tall height.

“I had just gone out for a jog when I ran smack into Jason and Jarron—two towering, stunning guys. I stopped and introduced myself, thrilled to meet people who were actually taller than I am,” Moos said. “I was attracted to Jason but shy. We had a brief chat, and I kept running. I called my mom that night and said, ‘I think I’m going to be at home at Stanford—I feel normal, like I fit in.’”

The ex-couple didn’t date while in college, but after a fateful meet-up in Denver during one of Collins’ basketball games. They agreed to meet up afterward and they shared an intimate moment while reconnecting.

“There he was, playing with the New Jersey Nets. We agreed to meet up after the game. When we did, we looked at each other and almost simultaneously asked why we hadn’t dated in college,” she shared. “I felt incredibly attracted to him. I always had been— I’d just been too shy and focused on my goals to show it.”

Little did she know that her attraction to the basketball star would cause her so much pain. After being romantically pursued by Collins with roses, deep talks and—what she thought was—a special connection and understanding between them, he finally proposed. He made the daring decision while the two of them were on vacation in Mexico in 2008.

“Some seven years after we had begun our relationship, he finally said the words I had waited so long to hear. … Over dinner on our last night, he started out slowly, saying, ‘I’ve been thinking about my life, what I want.’ I felt like finishing the sentence for him. Then he said, ‘I wanted to ask if you would marry me,’” she said.
“I remember feeling overwhelmed with joy and also thinking: finally.”

But one year after the engagement, Moos’ worst nightmare came true: Collins broke it off—and with no explanation. While Moos continued living her life and kept a strong face on, she admitted that it deeply hurt her.

“In the years that followed, I dated other men, I built up my business, I had a full life,” she said. “But when it came to Jason, deep sadness and confusion remained.”

Four years after the broken engagement, Collins finally shares what was the reason behind the broken engagement.

“He left a message on a Sunday, saying, ‘I have something important to talk about—please call me back.’ I was working and called the next morning. He uttered an eerily familiar phrase: ‘You may want to sit down.’ Then he said, ‘Carolyn, I’m gay.’ I was stunned,” Moos said. “I managed to say, after a silent moment and then a deep breath, ‘I had no idea. I’m sure a huge weight is off your shoulders.’ During all the years I had known him, I never would have guessed that he would come out as gay. We talked again briefly that night. He answered a few questions, but there was much left to discuss and he said he had to go.”

Sadly, within her situation with her ex-fiance, much still goes unsolved.

“As I tell this story, it has been several weeks since he told me his news and he has made no further time to talk, despite saying he would do so. I am sad that the media seems to be a higher priority,” Moos said.

Looking back now, she feels much more confident in the way that things have played out. She continues to date and sees a bright future ahead of her, despite this setback.

“I understand now that you can never truly know what’s going on in the mind of another person, no matter how well you think you know them,” she said.

“But you do know yourself. Be your own cheerleader. Trust in yourself.”

Tropical Storm Chantal poses new threat to Caribbean

Here we go again

After so many storms, fires and other traumatic experiences this year, it wasn’t exactly good news when tropical storm Chantal was spotted on Sunday.

Forming in the Atlantic, the storm is currently running at 26 mph (41 kph) and has a maximum estimated speed of 45 mph (72 kph) today. Chantal is racing towards the Caribbean, likely to gain speed. Currently Chantal’s position is located 470 miles (756 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados.

While most storms form in a month from now, Chantal is breaking the odds and is ahead of the usual hurricane season. This hurricane will be the third of the 2013 hurricane season.

After its birth from an easterly-aimed wave off of the coast of Africa on July 3, the National Hurricane Center 5-day forecast puts Chantal on a path to the Caribbean, entering within the sea’s boundaries on Tuesday. Wednesday it will be coming close to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Thursday brushing eastern Cuba and possibly the southern Bahamas and Friday the northern Bahamas and southern Florida.

There is some uncertainty when it comes to the storm because of the run-in that it will have with the Cuban mountains. Because of their presence the storm could either re-organize itself and continue raging on, or dissipate and become less intense.

For those who may be affected by the storm, I’d suggest staying inside or getting somewhere safe to evade this potential threat.

Women forced to be sterilized while in prison

Sterilizations galore!

First they put you into prison, and then they… sterilize you?

I’m not quite sure where they’re going with this whole idea, but it has come to light recently that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been promoting the option for female inmates to get sterilized. Since 2006, 150 inmates have been sterilized without permission from the state.

Why they’re doing this? Good question.

Apparently some psychologists have been putting out the idea that women are getting pregnant and then committing crimes just to get into prison in order to have better health care. While that may be true for some cases, some are just being forced to do something that they don’t even want.

Unsurprisingly, a man—Daun Martin, who is a licensed psychologist—agrees with the accusation.

“Do I criticize those women for manipulating the system because they’re pregnant? Absolutely not. But I don’t think it should happen. And I’d like to find ways to decrease that,” Martin said.

But this angry 73-year-old may have some personal biases going on. The prison’s former officer, William Kelsey, brings to light how the issue has been a disagreement between many of the staff (for good reason). Kelsey said that other officers, along with him, thought that the procedure wasn’t necessary. He suggested in a meeting in 2005 that those who were for the procedure just didn’t want to have to spend the time or money helping young women in prison have a baby.

“They were just fed up,” Kelsey said. “They didn’t think criminals and inmates had a right to the care we were providing them and they let their personal opinions be heard.”

Dr. Ricki Barnett, who oversees the costs of the California Prison Health Care Receivership Corp, is also weary of the decision to go through with the sterilizations, but brings an interesting perspective to the issue.

“When we heard about the tubal ligations, it made us all feel slightly queasy,” Barnett said. “It wasn’t so much that people were conspiratorial or coercive or sloppy. It concerns me that people never took a step back to project what they would feel if they were in the inmate’s shoes and what the inmate’s future might hold should they do this.”

Crystal Nguyen, another former inmate, tells of her thoughts when she first heard what the institution was doing to women while working in the infirmary in 2007.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not right,’ ” Nguyen said. “Do they think they’re animals, and they don’t want them to breed anymore?”

A woman who had the procedure done after she had her baby while in prison hadn’t even been told what was happening before getting sterilized. Nikki Montano, a mother of seven, had pleaded guilty to burglary, forgery and receiving stolen property. But that doesn’t make her the prime recipient of the procedure. According to Montano, she didn’t even know why she was being sterilized.

“I figured that’s just what happens in prison – that that’s the best kind of doctor you’re going get,” Montano said. “He never told me nothing about nothing.”

While she may have agreed without hesitation to proceed with the surgery and doesn’t regret it, that doesn’t mean that other women aren’t regretful of their decision. They need to be told exactly why they’re being offered the procedure and decide for themselves.

At first it was only women who have had three C-sections that were offered the option to be sterilized, because it could be dangerous for them to have any more children. If they get pregnant again, the risk of death is much higher.

But that wasn’t the case for another victim of the doctor’s firm hand.

Christina Cordero, a former inmate and mother of five, was pressured into getting the surgery by OB-GYN, Dr. James Heinrich, even though she hadn’t had three C-sections.

“As soon as he found out that I had five kids, he suggested that I look into getting it done. The closer I got to my due date, the more he talked about it. He made me feel like a bad mother if I didn’t do it,” said Cordero. She agreed to the surgery, but not without regrets. “Today, I wish I would have never had it done.”

While Heinrich denies pressuring women, he said that he was only providing the service to women who had severe health risks that came with another pregnancy. The question is how many women actually had “severe” health risks? It’s ridiculous to make that claim when he has sterilized 148 women.

It may seem okay at the time to pressure women to go through with the life-changing procedure, but when it encroaches on women’s rights to disagree then it gets muddy. It’s not okay to pressure a woman, let alone a pregnant woman. It’s obvious that the people who agree with the sterilizations are just angry workers who believe that the money should be going into their bank account rather than being invested in these pregnant women.

San Francisco plane crash leaves two dead and 47 injured

Who’s to blame?

I think it would be safe to say that this incident is everyone’s worst nightmare.

On Saturday, Asiana Airlines’ 777 flight from Seoul to San Francisco crash landed at San Francisco’s airport, killing two passengers and injuring 47 more.

While speculation from the FBI assures that it wasn’t an act of terrorism, they do suspect that the crash may have been a result of the pilot, who was inexperienced when it came to flying the 777 Boeing flight. The pilot did have 43 hours flying similar 777s, but he had never flown to San Francisco’s airport, which may have been the catch.

There may have been a malfunction on the plane, but given the reliability of the plane from previous flights along with Asiana’s clean flight history, it just seems strange to assume that the plane malfunctioned.

Witnesses say that the pilot was flying oddly before prematurely touching down on the runway, which could easily be looked at as a fault of the pilot.

“The nose of the plane was higher than usual for a plane coming in to land and I thought that was odd. It got closer and closer. I saw the back tail hit the ground,” Stephen Dear said.

According to Dear, the plane “caught fire immediately.”

Another source confirms that the plane was at the wrong angle for the landing.

“As we saw the approaching Asiana flight coming in, I noticed right away that the angle was wrong, that it was tilted too far back. The angle didn’t manage to straighten out and the tail broke off. It looked like the plane had completely broken apart,” Stephanie Turner said.

“The flames and smoke were just billowing.”

According to Lee Yoon-hye, a flight attendant who has 20 years of experience flying with Asiana Airlines, the plane tried to take off to retry the landing seconds before the crash.

“Right before touchdown, I felt like the plane was trying to take off. I was thinking, ‘What’s happening?’ and then I felt a bang,” Lee said. “That bang felt harder than a normal landing. It was a very big shock. Afterward, there was another shock and the plane swayed to the right and to the left.”

Records from the flight also show that the pilot attempted to take off again in order to try landing again.

Despite the traumatic circumstances, it can’t be denied that the flight crew performed incredibly. Lee told of several instances where the crew ushered the passengers to safety with admirable strength.

A flight attendant put a young boy who was scared on her back and slid down a slide, and a pilot helped an injured flight attendant get off the plane after the passengers had evacuated. But, a hero herself, Lee helped put out fires and kept cool throughout the entire incident.

The San Francisco fire chief, Joanne Hayes-White, tells reporters of Lee’s unbelievable courage in a Youtube video.

“She was so composed. I thought she had come from the terminal,” Hayes-White said. “She wanted to make sure that everyone was off. … She was a hero.”

No matter whose fault the crash was, you can’t deny the courage and humility of the crew, pilots and passengers who lead 305 of the 307 passengers to safety. Hopefully the results will show the pilot innocent regarding this fatal accident. But even if not, we must look upon this incident as just proof that we, as human beings, as brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers have the ability to be heroes. We just have to be willing to step up to the plate.

Outrageous complaint letter to airline

LIAT receives one of the best complaint letters of all time

If I were to receive a letter, I’d want to receive this one.

No, it’s not a love letter. It’s not even a happy letter. It’s the letter that a very peeved Londoner, Arthur Hicks, wrote to LIAT, a small airline that flies to 21 destinations in the Caribbean.

The letter surfaced after the CEO of another airline saw it and thought that it was so funny that he tweeted it out to his followers. Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group wrote about it in a tweet that he sent out to his three million followers.

“How to write a complaint letter — read this hilarious note from a frustrated airline passenger,” wrote Branson.

The letter contained nearly as much anger and spectacular word choice as a letter that Branson previously received, which he deemed as the best airline complaint letter ever. In the letter that he received, the writer described his journey on Branson’s airline as a “culinary journey of hell.”

In a more subdued manner, this complaint letter takes down LIAT in such a way that highlights Hicks’ unfortunate experiences with the airline.

“Dear LIAT,
May I say how considerate it is of you to enable your passengers such an in-depth and thorough tour of the Caribbean.

Most other airlines I have travelled on would simply wish to take me from point A to B in rather a hurry. I was intrigued that we were allowed to stop at not a lowly one or two but a magnificent six airports yesterday. And who wants to fly on the same airplane the entire time? We got to change and refuel every step of the way!

I particularly enjoyed sampling the security scanners at each and every airport. I find it preposterous that people imagine them all to be the same. And as for being patted down by a variety of islanders, well, I feel as if I’ve been hugged by most of the Caribbean already.

I also found it unique that this was all done on “island time,” because I do like to have time to absorb the atmosphere of the various departure lounges. As for our arrival, well, who wants to have to take a ferry at the end of all that flying anyway? I’m glad the boat was long gone by the time we arrived into Tortola last night — and that all those noisy bars and restaurants were closed.

So thank you, LIAT. I now truly understand why you are “The Caribbean Airline.”

P.S. Keep the bag. I never liked it anyway.”

It may not be the best airline letter ever received, according to Branson, but to me it certainly is the funniest. I hope that the writer found some sort of reconciliation with the airline in the end. But then again, I hope not. I’d rather read another angry letter written by Hicks again.

$200K stolen from Borgata

Jewelry heists don’t just happen in the movies

It’s just like a scene from the movie “Oceans Eleven”: the famous Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, located in Atlantic City, has been robbed. On Monday around 8:45 p.m. a group of burglars stole $200,000 of jewelry, primarily Rolex watches, from the lavish premises. Police originally valued the stolen goods at $500K, but they later readjusted the number to its actual amount.

John J. Kennedy, president of the Jewelers Security Alliance, says that it’s not surprising that this happened.

“What’s interesting is we’re seeing a big rash of smash-and-grabs between New Jersey and Atlanta on the east coast. A tremendous rash of them in that east coast region. The localities really have shifted,” Kennedy said. “There seems to be more instances where a large number of males go into the store and smash the case and get out of there in 20 or 30 seconds rather than point a gun at a store owner.”

Security cameras have sighted the “smash-and-grab”-ers. They are three darkly clad men, who, after smashing jewelry cases and grabbing the dazzling jewelry, drove off in an unmarked dark-colored vehicle. A fourth person, the driver, is also on the wanted list.

In a similar manner as “Oceans Eleven,” the heist occurred during the gambling resort’s 10-year anniversary, amid the chaos of a party.

The Borgata opened on July 2, 2003. It’s the home to thousands of rooms and suites and slot machines. It holds 3,400 slot machines, 11 shops and 2,000 guest rooms and suites.

As to finding those pretentious robbers, no information has been collected as of yet. But it’s sure the police will find the suspects and not let them get away with the scandal like in “Oceans Eleven.”