With both artists releasing new albums and singles in the weeks to come, it is of no surprise to me that they both decided to break the silence over what really happened that night in February. Many wonder why did the ex-couple waited 9 months before they told the public what happened. Also, many find it very suspicious that they both did it at the same time and around the same time that they both have albums coming out. Could it be that they broke the silence so others suffering from domestic violence can learn from their mistakes, or could the breaking of the silence be a way to garnish publicity for album sales? The latter is looking to be more plausible, since they waited 9 months before they even said anything. Whatever the case may be, these artists came clean with what really happened, and to be honest, it wasn’t anything that we already didn’t know through rumors, blogs, and mainstream media.We already knew that he beat her to a pulp (the photo released by TMZ a day later told us that)(I can understand a slap or two, maybe even a punch, but he banged her head against the car and busted her lip open). I would have also loved to hear why it took them so long to say something. None of these questions were answered in either of their interviews which leaves viewer wondering, what was the point of the interview in the first place?

Rihanna had her interview with Diane Sawyer. This was considered more important and exclusive than Chris Brown’s video because she is the victim, she received the most damage, and of course, most of the public sided with her and berated Chris Brown. I doubt if anyone even wanted to hear what Chris Brown wanted to say in his interview, but there is no doubt that Rihanna’s interview with Diane Sawyer would receive high ratings. Despite her lack of incoherence and pronunciation, the central message of her story got across–That is, her ex-boyfriend was belligerent beyond sub-conscious capacities which is evident in this quote that she gave to the police:

“I am going to beat the s**t out of you when we get home….Now I am really going to kill you!” – Chris Brown

“I know he was saying it to scare me..but..he had no..no soul in his eyes..just blank.” – Rihanna

Rihanna sits down with Diane Sawyer and tells about the abuse she suffered from ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown.

Aside from that, Rihanna was bit in the ear and on the fingers, she was put in a headlock and was unable to breathe for an extended period of time. Now at first, I did think to myself, “What on Earth did Rihanna do to provoke him?”, but there is nothing that she could have said or done to merit such a heinous response. Back to the quotes–those quotes obviously convey hat Brown has some type of psychological problem that needs to be treated right away. Someone that tells the love of their life that they are going to kill them, and to be described as having a blank expression on their face is someone who is in need of some serious professional help. Now, on a side note, I tend to be a little wary in stories that on put 100% blame on the other person and not accept some responsibility. I know there are some cases where the fault lies 100% on one person, and it may be that this is one of those cases, but I would have liked to know a little more than,”..so, it escalated into him being violent towards me.” I would ave wanted to know HOW it escalated? What was the last thing Rihanna said before he struck her? Did he strike her in the car? Or did he pull over and drag her out the car? She mentioned that she tried to phone her assistant and he threw the phone out the window. So obviously it started inside the car and not outside as we were led to believe. Even after the two interviews, we do not have a chronological story of what happened, we were just fed the juicy parts.

(watch part 2 and part 3 of the interview)

My opinion on Rihanna’s interview, whether she did it garnish publicity for her new album or to genuinely send a message to these women getting abused by their lovers, is that you can not help but feel sympathy for her. I really just wanted to reach through the T.V. and give her the biggest hug that I could give. There is such an innocence about her and it is very unfortunate that it had to happen to such a sweet girl, I don’t care what she said or did. And for these ignorant people out there that claims that she had to do something to provoke him, they should know that the average relationship in America consist a man doing something insensitive and stupid and the woman screaming his head off about it. As hysterical as it may sound, it is true. In an instance like this, Chris getting a message from his ex-girlfriend, (whatever the message said must not have been good) would have expectantly resulted in Rihanna nagging him about it and “not dropping it”. She should have slapped him across the face, which she probably did. At the end of the day, he should have been faithful. There is absolutely NO excuse as to why Chris Brown abused Rihanna like that and for anyone out there that would justify his action, you are just as ignorant and delusional as he is.

Chris Brown opens up to MTV about his relationship with ex-girlfriend, Rihanna.

Chris Brown’s interview with Sway from MTV, was not as revealing as the interview Rihanna had with Diane Sawyer. Instead of talking about the details of what happened that night after the party, he talked about how he was currently coping with his actions and the advice he would give to anyone who was in a domestic violence relationship. If that wasn’t daunting enough, they had some random lady frequently come in and talk about what websites women could visit if their boyfriend’s or husbands are physically abusing them. I wonder if they have a website for men who get abused by women? It seems as though they never really address that issue at all. Anyways, when I heard Chris Brown was doing an interview about what happened, I immediately thought two things. 1. He has an album coming out soon, so this interview would definitely get publicity for the album. 2. He is doing this because Rihanna is doing it too. He knows that Rihanna is going to tell everything and make him look bad, so he wanted to get his side of the story out too. Whatever the case is, this interview really didn’t get nothing across to the public. One thing I did find funny was when Chris said that when he goes out, people say things to him like, “Woman-Beater!” or “You suck! I hate you!” The funniest one was, “Don’t get to close, he might punch you in the face!” I know these people are just ignorant and should just leave him alone. I wouldn’t call it a mistake, because you don’t mistakenly bash someone’s head in a window, bit them in their ears or fingers, and punch them in the face. I feel as though this is just something he should learn from and move on.

(watch part 2 and part 3 of the interview)

The part that has me confused is that Chris Brown has sat down and had this interview with Sway back in 2006. He told Sway how his step-father used to beat up on his mom and he acquired this hatred for any man who puts his hands on a female. If that is the case, what happened? Maybe, after witnessing all of that abuse and violence on his mother, he soon possessed the mentality that it is ok to hit another woman. Maybe he got it subconsciously and needs to work on it. What captured my attention was at the near end of the interview when Chris stated that he would never put his hands on another woman for as long as he lives. It made me wonder whether this was true or not. He already did it before, and he did it with such extremity. Has he really learned his lesson? Did it take almost the lost of his career to realize that domestic violence is wrong? Only time will tell.

Emerging from the darkness of Hell in November of 1990 at Survivor Series (a very popular pay-per view in the WWE), the Undertaker has since became a force to be reckoned with. Also referred to as “The Phenom”, the Undertaker will be remembered for a lot of things, such as going undefeated for an entire year after he debuted, his omnipresent entrance, his remarkable Wrestlemania streak, his relationship to manager, Paul Bearer, and younger brother, Kane, his “Ministry of Darkness” (a group of people who have been sacrificed to the demons in hell and who’s souls were in control by the Undertaker), the countless amount of souls he has taken and sent to the fiery pits of hell, and most importantly, being the originator, master, and greatest influence over three of the WWE’s most brutal matches: the Casket match, Buried Alive match, and the “Hell in a Cell” match.

The Undertaker wins the World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell

The Undertaker took part in the first “Hell in a Cell” match in October of 1997. The torturous chamber was designed specifically for him, by him. It is a place of no escape for his victims and a place were he could execute the most demonic rituals which would often result in excruciating pain and being sent to hell. After being in more “Hell in a Cell” matches than any other wrestler and making the match his domain, it was only right that the WWE had the Undertaker grace the cover of the event, as well as the first match of the pay-per view. The first “Hell in a Cell” match of the pay-per view event was between the Undertaker and then-world heavyweight champion, CM Punk. (see photos of the match) On Sunday, October 25, 2009, in a 10-minute match, the Undertaker would prove to be victorious by being the first superstar ever to win a Championship or World title at the “Hell in a Cell” pay-per view event–another impact to add to his long list of accomplishments. At this event, strictly inspired by the dead-man, the Undertaker captured the World Heavyweight Champion, making it his 7th World title reign. As Jim Ross best puts it, “If Yankee Stadium is the house that Ruth built, then Hell in a Cell belongs to Undertaker!” (watch the Undertaker defeat CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship)

The other two matches that took place inside the “Hell in a Cell” were John Cena vs Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, and DX (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. The Legacy (Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes). Even though these were fairly decent matches, none came close to the adversity and intensity of that in the Undertaker vs. CM Punk match. The Randy Orton vs. John Cena match is the first “Hell in a Cell” match that didn’t include the Undertaker or Triple H. The Viper, Randy Orton, vowed to defeat the WWE Champion, John Cena, and reclaim his Championship. Indeed he did, making it the second time a Championship has changed hands inside the “Hell in a Cell” (the first time being Undertaker defeating CM Punk for the Word Heavyweight Championship). The DX vs. Legacy match resulted in DX having the upper hand. Some parts of the match took place outside of the cell, as a lot of “Hell in a Cell” matches do. In some instances, a member of one team would be locked outside of the cage, resulting in a two on one encounter inside the cage. At the end of the match, DX proved to be victorious, and as one of the many stimuli of the “Hell in a Cell” matches, the rivalry saw somewhat of an ending.

The Undertaker sends Edge to Hell in one of the most memorable Hell in a Cell matches--Summerslam 2008

Other matches, that were not main-event matches, so therefore did not take place inside a “Hell in a Cell”, were the Unified Tag team Champions, the Intercontinental Champion, the U.S. Champion, and the Diva’s Champion, all which resulted in the current champion retaining their Championships. Overall, the pay-per view received mixed reviews. A lot of the negative feedback suggested that multiple “Hell in a Cell” matches was a bad idea and that such a match of great prestige should be rarely seen on television (as rare as once a year). The good reviews were in favor of the Undertaker being the “face” of the pay-per view, making history multiple times inside the steel structure that he has influenced. Undertaker’s 10th “Hell in a Cell” match at the pay-per view made history as he became the first to win a Championship at the event and the first time a Championship has ever changed hands. He also took part in the first match ever at this event. The DVD sales of this event were fairly well so this proves to be a moderately successful event by the WWE.

The host, Russel Brand, is moronic, incoherent, and bland. His constant, nonsensical babbling is evident that the show needed a way to kill time being that the vast number of performances and awards were surprisingly not enough. There is a queued time for everything and when you surpass that, it makes you look either retarded, desperate, or both.

Lady Gaga at the 2009 MTV VMAs

Lady Gaga looked a hot mess! Halloween is coming a bit too early this year! Her performance was of the typical pop genre: unorganized, out-of sync, and remotely disturbing. She could not keep up with the choreography of her dancers and also, the stage design and costumes were not tantamount with the theme of the song. It was confusing and painstakingly plain. Another big Thumbs Down! Taylor Swift’s dress was atrocious and her performance was very lackadaisical and unorganized. If Britney Spears could not pull of a performance in a train station then what makes Taylor Swift, who is very insignificant and talentless compared to Ms. Spears, think that she can pull it off. Another big Thumbs Down! I am very shocked at Alicia Keys. The straight hair look does not work for her. Her forehead looks like it has a hernia! I am extremely disappointed in her because she usually looks the best and she ended up looking like one of the worst.

Taylor Swift winning “Best Female Video” was another upset. She is a good artist but she did not deserve the award. What Kanye West said was 100% true. Beyonce had the best video of the year, OBVIOUSLY, since she won the “Video of the Year” award. So how is it she won “Video of the Year” and not the “Best Female Video” award? Much props for Kanye standing up to the exposed contradiction of the VMA’s. What’s even sadder is that people actually take pity on Taylor Swift for standing there and letting Kanye speak the truth about her and her undeserved award. Get over it! She did not deserve the award, end of discussion. Her time will come, just not now.

Beyonce being nominated for “Best Pop Video” was already a big enough upset. How someone can get nominated for an award that is completely out of their genre is totally beyond my understanding of contemporary music. Maybe she will get best country album at the Grammys. My only great satisfaction came was when Britney Spears won the much deserved award. She is truly the only real pop artist nominated and her hit single, “Womanizer” which was the most successful pop song released in the year of 2008. Given the nominees, it was pretty predictable that Ms. Spears would walk away with the award. I was also endowed with great joy when I heard that B. Spears is out enjoying herself on tour, rather than being bedazzled and tortured by the plain mediocrity that MTV dishes out award show after award show. Unfortunately, her presence and iconic performance could not save the plummeting ratings of the award show.

The New Moon trailer did nothing but add to the hype of the release of the new movie. It is one thing to promote a movie, but to over-promote it is just as bad as not promoting it at all. Especially if it does not live up to the hype and end up disappointing all of its viewers. It could hurt the success of future projects to come and judging from the book releases of the movie, there would undoubtedly be more films to come.

Beyonce’s performance was the typical Beyonce performance; focusing more on the choreography and appearances rather than the vocals. The beginning was very weak, but the performance was saved when the lights went out and she sung her hit single, “Single Ladies”. It was full of pop locks, rump shaking, and sassy pauses that added suspense and kept the attention of the audience. This was definitely the best performance of the night. Thumbs up for Beyonce! She did an amazing job overall!

Congratulations to T.I. winning “Best Male Video”. He deserved it and his effort put into the album was rewarded greatly. Also, congratulations to Eminem for winning “Best Hip-Hop Video”. He seemed tense and upset coming to the stage but given what happened to him at the last MTV awards (MTV Movie Awards), I’m not surprised.

Pink’s performance is tied with Lady Gaga’s performance as one of the worst in VMA history. As the typical pop artist (minus Britney Spears, N’synce, MJ and a few others), the performance was disturbing, confusing, and not related to the theme of the song at all. It was more of a horrible circus than a performance, but given the type of reputation Pink has built as an artist over the past years, this type of nauseating atrocity was expected of her.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I see the recession is taking it’s toll on everyone and not playing any favorites.i love how they make it seem as if they “CHOSE” to make these cuts as opposed to being forced to do so by unsubstantial circumstances. It’s ok Mike, you are not the only business to suffer through the recession. All though I have to say it is not the recession’s fault entirely. Apparently this new “Win 7″ project costs a lot to complete so these cuts were necessary to complete anyways. Also, it was said that a lot of the positions were created specifically for that project, and being that t is nearly completed, these people are not needed anymore. I doubt I believe that but that is the rumor the giant corporation is spreading. Not to mention, who is going to believe that 6,000+ people were needed for a project? I guess that is 6,000 people who are free to NOT advertise for a money hungry corporation and possible 6000 new Mac users.

Being that there will be more software cuts, hopefully they get rid of this stupid Windows Vista and this stupid X-Box 360. In all actuality, these two software had run their course, and have been beaten out by their rival counterparts (apple and Sony PS3)  in terms of quality. Once the sale numbers come in at the end of the fiscal year and shows that Mike has come in second to their rivals, it will be the end of the road for the,. More jo cuts and software cut will begin to come into play. I just wonder how their user would react to such travesty. it will be very interesting to find out. and production

-T-Mobile

On Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, T-Mobile offered a public apology to those who were affected by the software outage, which occurred a day prior and prevented customers from sending/receiving phone calls and text messages for the entire day. T-Mobile officials blame the software malfunction on a computer glitch that caused congestion within the network and claims that they are working on the problem, even though they never stated which software caused the glitch in the first place. Despite this lack of information, many users believe that it was a sidekick that caused the glitch, being that the sidekick users were punished the worst out of everyone. Their address books, as well as texts and other media, were erased from their phones.

I have T-Mobile as a cell phone carrier, and from experience, I can tell you that they are horrible when it comes to receiving adequate service. They get 5 full bright stars in terms of customer services and pricing, but their service, in a way, SUCKS! I had a Blackberry last year and after a year or so passed, I began to get “call drops”, which T-Mobile is VERY famous for. In addition to that, I would be in the middle of a conversation, and all of a sudden, the person I am talking to could not hear me anymore, even though I could hear them perfectly. This led to me purchasing a new phone from T-Mobile (The Samsung Behold).

Another thing that I hate about T-Mobile, is that they do not allow me to block numbers. Anyone out there that who is as beautiful as I am will understand that we have stalkers–people that can’t stop thinking about us and calling us. Those unwanted phone calls and text messages annoys us, disturbs us, and most importantly, runs up our minutes and text messages. I called T-Mobile and explained the situation and asked them if they could block this certain number, and they replied saying that they don’t have the technology to do so, and gave me 10 extra text messages. UNBELIEVABLE! You are, supposedly, a multi-million dollar company and you can’t supply your customers with call blocking features? What am I supposed to do if this person continues to call me and text me, which they don’t anymore THANK GOD!

I am not the only one who is dissatisfied with T-Mobile’s lack of good service. Here are some other quotes from T-Mobile users who were affected on Tuesdays’ outage:

“It would be nice if they offer compensation. I could not make or receive calls from 5:30pm until after midnight eastern time in the DC area.” – Tom

“My wife got home with anger on November 3rd, 2009. That afternoon after work, she couldn’t make a phone call from her cell phone. She carried plenty of goods both hands, and she wanted my help but she just couldn’t reach me from the phone. I was sleeping on sofa until she entered the house and woke me up with anger. I supposed to open the door and helped her out on her stuff, but I did not. I tried to call 611, but failed. I wonder if T-mobile can fix that problem forever or I will switch to other carrier after my contract ends.” – cwang4ever

“In New York, their service is spotty anyway, unless you live in Manhattan. There were many people in Tmobile store near Wall Street and most of us were understandably UNHAPPY. I switched from Verizon due to cost but I’d rather pay for good service than no service. 10 months left and counting.” – sonji3

“It is not true that the outage is over. My phone is fine but wife’s phone can only place outgoing calls, it cannot recieve phone calls, texts or voicemails. I just talked to tech support and they said that the outage was still going on. I think they should prob say that on their website instead of saying that everything is fixed now.” – jbsutts

The list goes on and on. I agree with all of these statements. I think Tom, and other T-Mobile users, should get compensation. I was at school all day on Tuesday, so I didn’t really notice if my phone was affected or not. Probably not. But anyways, in regards to cwang4ever, I couldn’t help but laugh. I know his wife was really upset that no one was able to help her with those groceries. She has no one to blame but T-Mobile. Also, if what jbsutts is saying is true, than I think that is bad publicity on T-Mobile’s part. You don’t say a problem is fixed with your company when it is not. What is wrong with these people? I don’t blame sonji3 for switching over to Verizon if that is the case.

It is of no surprise that Sony will be coming out with a new business plan to market the PS3 to consumers, given that sales have worsened in the past year and the ever-increasing price/sales-gap between the PS3 and it’s rival, X-Box 360. A lot of the price production has been made possible due to Sony cutting most of its production cost by 70% meaning they will still be able to generate some type of profit from sales starting at $299.

I am in full support for Sony. I have been an avid Playstation fan since it came out in the early 90′s and I still am til this day. Sony has been losing the Sony vs. Microsoft war for quite sometime and I couldn’t have thought of a better way for them to make a comeback. PS3 is a way better system than the X-Box 360 in terms of quality, enhancement, ethernet connectivity. X-Box 360 charges $50 a year to access their internet and communicate with other users. PS3 does not charge and it is much better in my opinion. Not to mention X-Box ethernet connectivity is always malfunctioning.

Some may wonder why these two systems are rivals when nearly 80% of all of their games are available for each of their systems (for example: Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto games are available for both PS3 and X-Box 360). Well it is the principle of the matter. Sony has always been a techno-savy company that specializes in the realm of video game programming and software. In one of Microsoft’s many attempts in taking over the world as we know it, they see Sony as competition and try to eradicate them by beating them in what they are good at, video game software. I hope anyone that reads this and brought the X-Box 360 (or any of Microsoft’s VIDEO GAME software) knows that Microsoft is only using these people and their money to take over Sony and eventually all of mainstream media. They want to monopolize the world’s media into one efficient medium as a way of controlling the masses, and thus gaining a near infinite amount of profit. This is very evident in their purchase of Google and their merging of Google with Amazon so they may compete against e-bay and other top-selling internet shopping sites. No, I am not saying Microsoft is some evil corporation headed by a possessed monkey that wants to enslave the world. These people are motivated by money, MONEY, MONEY!!! And what I am saying is that, though Sony and other corporations such as CORE, EiDos, etc takes a general passion in video gaming and cares about their passionate video gaming consumers, that is not the case with Microsoft. All they are really generated by is $$$ and they will do whatever it takes to generate as much profit as they can–even if that means monopolizing the media.

The deadly debris was stored in the Los Alamos National Laboratory which is located on a high plateau in New Mexico. Even the roughness and strength of these mountains wasn’t enough to contain the waste before it started seeping out into the Rio Grande, one of the most popular drinking sources in the country. Despite such alarming predicaments, labortory officials strongly suggests that human health is not at risks. They go on to say that the waste doesn’t jeopardize people’s health because even when storm water rushing down a canyon stirs up highly contaminated sediment, it is soon diluted or trapped in canyon bottoms, where it can be excavated and hauled away.

“We are seeing no human or ecological risk,“ said Danny Katzman, director of the lab’s water stewardship program. “We won’t be surprised on occasion to see a higher than normal reading. But those higher values last for 40 minutes during a flood, and maybe two hours out of a year.“

Are you serious? Toxic wastes spill out into a stream, not just any stream, but A STREAM WHERE PEOPLE DRINK FROM, and you tell me that it is not serious/hazardous to people’s health? First of all, these are the same toxic wastes that were used in the world’s most deadliest bombing, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We all know (or should know) the effects that the bombing had on the japanese people and continues to have on them even today. (click here to read more about how the bombings affected the japanese people physically) Long story short, they turned into mutants. And you want us to be ok with this type of toxic material in our drinking supply? I don’t think so.

There are a lot of TV shows and segments that make fun of toxic waste spills such as this one that just occurred. In such segements, someone gets contaminated with toxic wastes, either through drinking or skin touch, and they will either mutate (garnishing a grotesque appearance) or they will gain super powers. This scenario that happened in New Mexico reminds me of these TV  segments and makes me wonder if someone in New Mexico drinks from this intoxicated water, would they mutate or gain superpowers? Also, in said segemnts, toxic wastes is put on an empty space ship and launched into outerspace, light years away, never to be seen again. That also makes me wonder how come we just can’t do that. it is very feasible and a lot better than storing them on mountain tops were it has easy access to drinking supply water.

All I know is that they better do something quick about that toxic waste spill other than telling us that it is not that serious. If they really feel for some reason that it is not hazardous to our health, how about they make some kind of attempt to stop the problem before it actually does become worst. It seems as though they just going to leave it alone until the next storm comes and gathers uo all of the debris. However, the spill might get alot worst before the next storm comes. Sometimes, it feels as though I have to run this entire world by myself.

“The wind and the rain and the floods have still caused quite a considerable amount of damage, certainly in the southeastern portion of the city, which is where we were,” said Reynolds, a local civilian from Manila. “We saw many shanty-type houses that had been washed away and residents frantically try to get hold of their household material.“

Thank God nothing like this has happpened in New York City, and hopefully, it never will. After the fourth typhoon, you would think that people would get the hint that the Phillipines isn’t a safe place to live. It is in fact, one of the most scariest and dangerous places to be. Bridges were being destroyed, cars were being swallowed like hair down a sink. As you see in the video above, the water is up to their knees (in some places up to their necks). I really feel sorry for these people. I think it is time for them to pack their bags and move away from this island, because they might not be so lucky on the fifth Typhoon.

Another thing–Don’t these people have enough technology to let them know when a storm is coming ahead of time? They should have also known how many inches (or feet in this case) of rain that the typhoon was bringing and at what time. I am sure all of these things are predictable ahead of time. Is it because they do not have the funds to allocate such technologies? If that is the case, I think after four typhoons, some of these technological advanced countries should step in and give these people some type of equipment because I really don’t think they could survive another Typhoon and for some reason they are not leaving so PLEASE SOMEONE HELP THESE PEOPLE!

On Halloween day, apparently, we weren’t the only ones being spooked. An oil tanker accidentally spilled hundreds of gallons of fuel into the San Francisco bay. Wildlife rescue boats and coast guards were rushed to the scene to help clean up the mess and care for any wildlife that may have been affected by the fuel spill. About 53,000 feet of nonabsorbent barriers, known as boom, were deployed to contain the oil from Yerba Buena Island to the San Leandro Channel which is where the fuel spill occurred. According to local reports, there were 12 reports of birds affected by the oil spill, although the species of birds remain unknown. The California Department of Fish and Game suspended fishing and shellfish harvesting between the Bay Bridge and the San Mateo Bridge along the Alameda County shoreline until further and more positive information about the oil spill cleanup has been released. It is also advised that people refrain from swimming in the waters of the San Fransisco Bay.

It is crazy how the oil spill came eight days ahead of the two-year anniversary of a shipping accident that caused a massive fuel discharge into the San Francisco Bay. It seems as though these accidents happen a year or two right after each other. I really hope that those birds and any other wildlife affected by this incident will be ok. These type of accidents happen far to often. How come they can’t just use planes to transport these things to other countries. Then again, if they were to transport fuel that way, could you imagine an oil spill in the air? More than just wildlife would be affected. Therefore, I can not think of any other alternatives to transporting fuel without putting some type of species in danger. Does it hurt to be careful? And to do things cautiously? Apparently so.

Mr. Joseph loves baseball with a passion, as the average Dominican does. Even as an adolescent, he captured the attention of coaches and teachers with his luminous talent in pitching. As he grew older, his talent would go on to capture the attention of someone even greater, The San Fransisco Giants, who offered him $350,000 to sign with their team. All Joseph had to do was obtain a copy of his birth certificate so he may travel to the United States and proceed with his dreams. Unfortunately, Joseph was denied a copy of his birth certificate due to a new policy enacted by the Dominican government stating that children of Haitian decent, whether they were born and raised in D.R. or not, were not granted citizenship or legal property rights in D.R.. As a result, the Giants withdrew their offer and Joseph missed out on an opportunity to acheive his goals.

Joseph’s parents, like hundreds of thousands of others, moved from Haiti to the Dominican Republic in the 1970s to work in the sugar cane fields. Their children were born in the Dominican Republic, grew up here and became, in their eyes at least, full-fledged Dominicans–They speak Spanish, dance merengue and play “pelota,” the popular name for the Dominican pastime baseball.

“They don’t play baseball in Haiti,” said Melanie Teff, who has studied the issue for Refugees International, an advocacy group in Washington. “That shows how Dominican this guy and many people like him are.”

The Dominican government does not necessarily agree with this quote, and Joseph still awaits a ruling on his appeal for access to his Dominican birth record.

This issue came to past several years ago when the Dominican supreme court stated, “The Dominican Constitution grants citizenship to those born on Dominican soil, except the children of diplomats and those in transit.” meaning that the children of immigrants, no matter their legal status, can gain Dominican citizenship. Years later, the Dominican Supreme court changed their policy, stating that Haitian workers were considered “in transit” and that their children were therefore Haitian, not Dominican. The Dominican government states that the new policy is a security matter, aimed at decreasing fraud. And in some cases over the years, young Haitians who had crossed the border illegally claimed to have been born on the Dominican side.

This is where I have had enough. I can no longer further report on such a matter that expresses hatred and intolerance to another group of people, and then cover it up with lies. Are they serious? Who do they think they are fooling? This new policy was NOT enacted as an attempt to decrease fraud, it was enacted out of anger and animosity towards Haitians. Discrimination towards Haitians from Dominicans have been going on for decades. Whenever Haitians migrate to the Dominican Republic, whether it is for economic reasons or just a mere vacation, they are faced with violence, hostility, and racism.

“The racist beliefs of some are being used to twist our laws,” said Cristóbal Rodríguez Gómez, a Dominican constitutional law professor at Ibero-American University, who is acting as counsel for another descendant of Haitians who lacks documents. “This is a crime, a monstrous crime.”

Mr. Gómez, who is a Dominican himself, even sees the racism that occurs in his own country. In my opinion, it is stupid. I have heard of many racist situations in the past, but none like this. How could you hate on a group of people who share similar customs and traditions as you do? Not only are you both similar in appearance, but you both are poor, economically struggling countries (yes, Haiti is “poorer” but they both are still struggling financially) and you guys share the same land. What exactly is there to discriminate against? If anything, they should just tear down the borders and unify as one nation. They can call it “Domincaiti” . They should unify and help each other out instead of all of this unnecessary hatred.

Where is the love that we were taught to have for one another? And the compassion we should have for our fellow human beings? Here we have a boy who not only was born in D.R. (so should automatically have citizenship) but embraced the culture. He embodied the language, the sports, the customs, the traditions,–he may have had Haitian parents, but this boy was DOMINICAN. Instead of taking pride in the fact this boy is a living representation of this country, they took his dream away of becoming a huge baseball star, a sport that they themselves (Dominicans) value greatly. This boy is so Dominican, that it is hard for him to prove that he is of Haitian descent, because now he has to go to Haitian courts to get his legal documentations. I am disgusted at the country’s bigoted ways and racist ideologies. I really hope that Joseph gets signed to a huge baseball team with a lucrative deal. Him and his family can move to the United States, a country that is free for all immigrants and he won’t have to worry about any intolerance and bigotry (from the government at least).

I will end this by addressing the dominant political party in D.R. that enacted this policy. Just put yourself in their (Haiti) shoes. You are a struggling country just as they are (maybe not as bad as they are but you’re no where close to moderate prosperity). A lot of your citizens know what it feels like to be hated and discriminated against when they come to America. They know how it feels to get deported, which entails a sense of abandonment and failed accomplishments. So why impose those same feelings on another group of people? Especially a group of people who looks just like you and share the same land as well as similar lifestyles as you do. And for the rest of the world, when are you going to wake up and stop the nonsense? And realize that all of this unnecessary war, violence, hatred, and killing accomplishes absolutely NOTHING! It seems as though reality will not kick in until it ceases to exist. And then, it will be too late.