Murder Of A ‘Nice’ Guy By Another ‘Nice’ Guy

The circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of Tim Bosma continue to baffle Canadians and those following the story around the globe.  Myself included.  In case you are wondering who Tim Bosma is, read it here.  Robbery seems to be the motive at first glance but to my suspicious and conspiracy-theory-trained mind, something is out of place.

The suspect, Dellen Millard is described as well off with a clean record, so why would he want to steal a truck when he could buy one probably with cash?  The guy is heir to an aviation dynasty and has property that he bought two years ago for almost one million dollars!  Not that being rich has ever stopped rich folks from ripping off poor folks but come one…Tim’s body was also found burned beyond recognition.  Again, I thought to myself, A normal carjacker would have just kicked him out of the car or left him somewhere on the outskirts of town.   Seems like a lot of trouble to take him to a farm and incinerate him.  Just for a 2007 Dodge Ram? 

The victim’s wife also claimed two men came to their home to look at the truck and that they came on foot.  Did they travel from Toronto to Hamilton on foot?  Even though the suspect allegedly also owns a truck?  Again, a rich guy walking?  Not that they don’t.  The other guy is still at large and is not being mentioned.  Weird huh?  How about the trail of evidence?  Tim’s truck found in a trailer outside the house of the suspect’s mom.  How amateurish is that?  If you are starting to think ‘set up,’ I don’t blame you.

Now here’s the kicker or the stumper.  The victim is described by family and friends as the nicest person you could find.  A churchgoer, dad and husband.  I am not talking bad about the dead but from experience, what people say or think about you is sometimes not what you really are.   Take the suspect for example.  He’s also described as a nice young man from a decent family and no prior record of any kind.  So who’s the genuine nice guy?  Do we have a case of nice-guy/s-turned-bad?  Or maybe this is exactly what it seems and it is really a cut and dried case where an innocent man was murdered by a young man who got caught up in the wrong crowd.  So many questions, not enough answers.  We could go on and on and before long, we would be seeing everyone as a potential suspect.  Tim’s wife, his friends, Dellen’s connections…

To avoid such, let us leave it up to the authorities to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.  In the meantime, my condolences to Tim’s family and loved ones.  May his soul rest in peace.  No matter what life he lived, he didn’t deserve his fate.

 

Related articles

• Tim Bosma’s truck reportedly found north of Toronto (globalnews.ca)
• Hamilton police say they’ve found burned remains of Tim Bosma (metronews.ca)
• Dellen Millard charged with first-degree murder in death of Tim Bosma (metronews.ca)

Flogging A Dead Horse

I wanted to write something interesting.  A post that captures attention and screams to be read.  I thought that maybe I could write about how God’s grace keeps me alive and without him I’d be nothing.  But then you have heard all about that and can find it throughout my posts.  You’ll find more in my future posts as well, just so you know.  So no need flogging that, right?  In fact, I am doubly certain that you also know about Farrah Abraham of Teen Mom fame, becoming an entrepreneur.  Good for her! I love seeing people doing positive things.  Well so I thought until I read further that she made a sex tape ala Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc. etc.  No need to mention names as you know all about it.

Then I thought that maybe I could blog about Celebrities.  Amanda Bynes, the actress who I thought was the cute innocent girl that wouldn’t become like a Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears.  I could blog about Amanda tweeting topless pics while looking like she’s missing a few brain cells.  But you already know that, right?  And about Lindsay Lohan disappearing from rehab and almost facing sure jail time for violating a court order but being Lilo, it was all just Lilo being Lilo and the law being…well the law.  You already know that.  So no use blogging about that either.  How about America’s sweetheart Reese Witherspoon? Did you know the girl with the ‘squeaky clean’ image was recently arrested for disorderly behavior which included berating an officer?  How about Justin Beiber? Sorry, I guess he’s old news.

I could blog about the Boston bombings, the Obama administration, the Texas blast that came after the Boston Bombing that no one, well except the families of the victims, remembers.  Yet the Boston bombing is still major news.  I won’t even whisper anything about that as you know about that too.  How about the Stanley Cup?  Hockey playoffs that is.  Old news now right?  My Washington Capitals will win it all by the way.  Did you know that a building collapsed in Bangladesh killing over 600 people?  You did?  Then never mind.

You know just about everything so I won’t flog a dead horse.  How about God Loves You?  Don’t believe in God?  Then somebody out there loves you and maybe that’s something you didn’t know.

Related articles

• Lindsay Lohan Finally Made It To Rehab (now100fm.cbslocal.com)
• Fame On A Friday : Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan Should Hang Out and Share Their Crazy (7kindsofmind.com)
• Reese Witherspoon, Jenelle Evans & More: The Wildest Celebrity Arrests (hollywoodlife.com)
• WATCH: Reese Witherspoon Freaks Out In Arrest Video (huffingtonpost.com)

Assisted Suicide Revisited

I don’t mean to flag a dead horse here and no pun intended either but with the news a week ago that the woman from Winnipeg who went to Zurich to die by assisted suicide had died, I can’t help but revisit this very sensitive issue.  Read my take on that here.

After reading about her final moments, a few questions came to me.  take this excerpt for example:  In the moments before she died, Griffiths walked, talked and sang with family members in a sunny, warm garden on the Dignitas property just outside Zurich.  So she had all her faculties before she died, right?  So then why spend all that money when she could have done it herself in the privacy and comfort of her own home?

Next excerpt:  “Then Griffiths settled in and took the first of two drinks that would end her life. The first was bitter, so she ate chocolate to temper the taste.” If someone is really dead set on killing themself, do they really care about taste?  And why does it take two glasses of whatever it was?  Why complicate the process?

Coincidentally, I read in the papers today that the founder of the place where Susan Griffiths died, admitted to disposing of the ashes of those that died there by throwing them in Lake Zurich in the dark of night.  I hope Susan did her research.  She wanted to die with dignity but I doubt being dumped into the lake is dignifying.  

Just my take.

Related articles

• Winnipeg woman dies with aid of doctor in Zurich; wished it could have been in Canada (globalnews.ca)
• Susan Griffiths’s final blog entry (cbc.ca)
• Winnipegger’s assisted suicide completed in Swiss garden (cbc.ca)

Boston Bombing: And in other news you might have missed…

Breaking news banner logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last week Monday the United States was thrown into shock and mourning when two bombs exploded at the Boston marathon killing three people.  Since then, our televisions and social media have been bombarding us with Newscasts, sportscasts and talk shows, tweets and statues that keep rehashing the bombing.  You just cannot escape the coverage.   Tributes continue to pour in from everyone from everywhere.  In its quest to be the first with breaking news, CNN keep stumbling over their own feet, bringing us erroneous and contradictory briefs.

Two days later in Texas, a fertilizer plant exploded killing fifteen people and injuring over one hundred, including five firefighters. Homes were flattened including a nursing home.  There were stories of bravery by civilians who pitched in to help save victims. The toll on both humans and property was larger than that of the Boston bombing but you may have missed it.

A few days after, a large earthquake rocked china, killing over 200 people and injuring close to 10,000.  The sheer magnitude dwarfed the Boston bombing but again, it’s quite possible that you may have missed it.

Did you know that Iraq is gearing up for its elections and in the past two weeks 13 of the candidates have been murdered? You may have missed this.  It’s only Iraq.  It was important a few years ago when we sacrificed our loved ones in a ‘war’ to free the people from a tyrannical ruler.  Update:  Since the ousting and murder of Saddam, the country is now even more unstabilized but that’s just my opinion.  A week prior to the the worst terrorist act on US soil since 9/11,  a NATO strike killed 10 children.  Most of us didn’t get that news and heck, sacrificing a few kids to get those elusive militants is totally worth it.  We lost a few good men on the battlefield in Afghanistan too during the week. In fact, we are losing them almost daily but we seem to have given up on them a long time ago anyways so in reality, maybe they are already dead to us.

During the coming days and weeks, we will find out what the surviving brother has to say, if he’s allowed to live.  We will hear what he consumed the day of the bombing. His favorite quotes, his favorite music and maybe even his favorite blogger.  Information overload will be underway.  Some of us will care, some of us won’t give two hoots.  I will be one of the latter.

I do feel for the victims of this heinous crime but unfortunately, it comes with the territory.  It doesn’t matter if the perpetrators were Hindus or Muslims, Chechen or Czech.  These crimes will continue and strike close to home. Sorry for breaking the bad news.  Until someone close to me is a victim, I can be sympathetic but not empathetic.  While we are consumed with the Boston Bombing and whodunnit, babies are born, people are laughing, a kid is learning to walk, and the world turns and life goes on.  And you won’t want to miss it!

If I sound insensitive, it is unintentional.  It’s just My Take.

Related articles

• What separates a death in Iraq from one in Boston? (abc.net.au)
• Empathy for Boston, from Iraqi children (salon.com)
• How Can We Condemn Boston Murders But Excuse U.S. Bombing of Civilians? (blogs.scientificamerican.com)

Sex with troubled underage teen lands pastor in unholy water

He said he was sorry and he was a fool.  His wife begged for leniency and blamed his prostate and low lithium levels for his transgressions.  His congregation prayed. His lawyer pleaded.  ‘He was a good man with decades of good works’, they attested.  In the end, the former pastor was sentenced to 12 years in jail.  His crime? He took advantage of a young troubled teen, entering into a sexual relationship with her that was so deep that he allegedly sent texts to her from the pulpit.  The defendant, Mr. Jack Schaap, was pastor to a mega church of 15,000 members. Interestingly, just over 100 parishioners wrote letters of support and only about 70 showed up at the court.

What’s my take on this? Texting and preaching is wrong? Ok seriously, we wonder why some people are religion-shy, there’s the reason right there.  I realize we are human first before our chosen callings but come on…

 

Related articles

• Indiana pastor sentence to 12 years for sex with underaged girl (wgntv.com)
• Megachurch Pastor Jack Shaap Sentenced To 12 Years For Sex With Teen Girl (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Pastor: Sex With Minor God’s Plan (drudge.com)
• Former pastor accused of telling teen parishioner Jesus approved of their relationship (fox59.com)

 

Poking Becomes Serious On Facebook

Remember when poking your friends on Facebook was innocent and carried no intent or purpose?  Well that was so last year.   There’s now a new Facebook app that allows users to pick which friend they want to ‘poke’ and if said friend agree to their subtle request, ladies and gentlemen, we have a sex match!    Mama mia!

Let me weight in on this as you expect me to.  When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke.  No way!  How could they?  Well way.  And they not only could, they did.  Remember when things were sacred?  Not saying that I’ve never had meaningless sex, yes I have. So sue me.  Just kidding, don’t sue me.  But seriously, an app to set up sexual encounters with your Facebook friends?

I can imagine this conversation between a couple.  ”Honey, what are you doing?”  ”Oh nothing, just on Facebook.”  The wife comes running up.  ”Why are you going through your friends’ list?  Think I don’t know about that new app called ‘Bang with  friends’ that you can hook up with your friends with?”  ”Babes, I am just deleting some friends.  Cleaning house.  I don’t have that app and never will.  You are all the woman I need. I love you.”   “Honey, I think it’s time we cancel our Facebook accounts.”

Yes, Bang With Friends app is here.  A user, from the comfort of his bedroom, can let Jessica know he has harbored sexual thoughts and pent-up lusts over her.   Should she decide that she shares his feelings somewhat, they can get together and see if the sparks fly.

Why am I not vehement in my objection to this?  Well maybe because nothing like this surprises me anymore.   Love, marriage and sex are not what they used to be.  Self respect is fast disappearing.  It’s appalling to say the least.  It’s degrading but I am so desensitized that I can see the humor in it.   I am sorry if I say it’s funny but it’s my take, remember?  Must I always remind you of that?

Anyways, to each his own.  If consulting adults feel like poking their friends, knock  yourselves out.  It’s happening with or without the app.  The app just puts in more in our faces but it’s been happening while we snooze.

 

Related articles

• Facebook’s Poke app becomes unpopular in a hurry (tuaw.com)
• Banging My Facebook Friends or FILF
• http://ibnlive.in.com/news/new-facebook-sex-app-lets-you-bang-with-friends/369747-11.html

Gangnam Style Can Cause Death!

Gangnam_Style_PSY_31logo (Photo credit: KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea)

 

Told you there was something I didn’t like about this song.  Turns out that it is a killer!   You can read my blog about it here.

 

A man in England died Saturday after an office party performance of “Gangnam Style” led to chest pains and an eventual failure of the heart.

Eamonn Kilbride, 46, had just finished dancing to Korean pop star Psy’s wildly popular “Gangnam Style” at his company’s office party when he noticed chest pains around his heart and passed out onto the floor of Lancashire’s Whitehall Country Club.

Paramedics tried to revive the man, but their efforts proved unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the Royal Blackburn Hospital a few minutes after 11:30pm.

A spokesman for Blackburn coroner’s office told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that Kilbride died from acute heart failure caused by coronary artery atheroma, which can often derive from vigorous exercise.

According to Kilbride’s wife Julie, the former IT manager was a “loving husband” and avid golfer who “was always the life of the party and loved dancing.”

“We were having a fantastic time at the Christmas party and Eamonn had just finished dancing to ‘Gangnam Style,’” she told the Telegraph.

“He was up on stage and entertaining everybody. He said he had a bit of a pain and just collapsed.”

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• Gangnam Style Dance Ends in Man’s Death (mashable.com)
• Man dies of heart attack after dancing to ‘Gangnam Style’ (foxnews.com)
• A Man Dies Doing the “Gangnam Style” Dance at His Office Christmas Party (ksfm.cbslocal.com)
• dad of three dies gangnam (thesun.co.uk)

 

12.12.12 and its meaning

Today is the last of triple date you and I will ever see.  Sad eh?  Not really.  What does it mean?  Nothing.   Just another date that looks nice and will look even nicer at 12:12pm.   A palindrome as it is called.

Now consider 08.08.08.  That was four years ago and was the last time I would ever have a birthday in that sequence.  Ever!   Sad eh? Yeah, I’ll really miss those numbers.  Oh, consider this also, my birthday is August 8th, 08.08, multiply them by each other and you get 64 which coincidentally, is my birth year. Freaky!

So as you go about your day, try not to pay too much attention to the fact that it is 12.12.12.  It’s hard to ignore as it is on every media and your friends won’t let you forget it.   As I blog,  an ad on the radio beckons me to come on down and purchase a vehicle as today is a monumental day.   Sure, I’ll get right on that.  There are also quite a few weddings today.  Unusual for a Wednesday but it’s not a usual Wednesday, right?  Wrong!  Tell that to your boss.   The good thing about this though is the husbands would never again forget their anniversary, or would they?  So if you can’t escape it the 12.12.12 hype,  then have yourself a Happy 12.12.12, enjoy the palindrome.

Related articles

• Daily Teaching for Wednesday, December 12th (bishopcraig.com)
• Check your Calendars 12.12.12 (bloesem.blogs.com)
• 12.12.12 : Much Ado About Nothing? (nextbigwhat.com)
• Here’s the New York Times Fluff Piece From the Last Time the Date Was 12/12/12 (gawker.com)
• 12.12.12 (lucyfareyjones.com)
• Lucky 12! (avadfan.com)
• Wednesday is 12/12/12. So what? (mercurynews.com)
• 12/12/12: The last sequential date in our lifetimes (wjla.com)
• 12/12/12 – What Will You Do today? (kathryneriksen.wordpress.com)
• Wedding surge for 12/12/12 date (bbc.co.uk)
• What It Really Means
• http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/odd-facts-about-121212

My Take On Royal Hoax Gone Bad

Punk’d (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes a joke can have tragic or devastating effects when taken too far or when done without a thought.  Last week’s hoax by two Australian DJ’s were one such joke.   Without the grim results, it could very well have been a classic joke to be remembered and laughed about for a long time to come, garnering hits on YouTube and maybe upstaging Gangnam Style.

This morning, I was listening to a call-in debate on the radio on whether the DJ’s, or hoaxers, should be punished for what they did.  The legal ramifications were discussed.  It is illegal to impersonate the Royals, illegal to air a taped recording without the parties’ consent, etc.  So it seems like this has the potential to be remembered but not laughed about for some time to come.

One caller to the radio station was adamant in her stance that the announcers should not be punished.  She saw it as just a prank, not worthy of sentencing.  The female co-jockey was also adamant in her stance that of course they should be fined to the extent of their crime.  She felt laws were broken and therefore, a price should be paid.  Now I had mixed feelings listening to this.  I am not sure if these announcers should be punished.  I think the fallout is mostly because it was done to the Royal Family.  Would it have been some lesser person, I am sure the views would have been less inclined to heap coals on the heads on their heads.

I readily admit that I’m not exactly warm on Royalty.  I couldn’t care less about the sweet Kate and her Royal husband but that’s another blog for another time.  I do think everyone is entitled to some form of privacy but in the same breath, everyone is fair game for a little prank now and again.  (Seen Punk’d?).   Now, it is a sad thing that someone died because of this prank but the nurse, God bless her soul, did not follow hospital protocol.  It was her fault that pertinent information was released, not the fault of the DJ’s. Sorry.  Yes, they probably should not have aired it but that’s the whole point of the hoax.  They just couldn’t keep a copy for private viewing, doesn’t work the same way.  They probably should not have crossed the line and impersonate the ‘Untouchables’, but that’s also the fun of it.  Think of the Salahis, the couple who crashed a White House dinner.  Read it here.  It would not have carried the same punch had it been your dinner that they had crashed, would it?

So my take?  This is a hard one.  I am straddling the line a bit here.  You have to admit that our society thrive on shock value and sensationalism.    We can’t get enough of it, even with so much Reality TV.   YouTube and other media are forever trying to come up with ‘The Big One’.  The hoax or prank that would be the next big YouTube thing.  Get used to it.  On the flip side, I can sympathize a bit with The Family as it was a sensitive time for them and yes, someone did lose their life because of it, unfortunately.  I am sure it was not the intention of the DJ’s to hurt anyone.  Should they go to jail for impersonation?  Well only if Kim Kardashian also goes to jail for impersonating a real actress.

Just my take, nothing else.

Related articles

• DJs behind royal hoax tearfully apologize for ‘gut-wrenching’ death of nurse (with video) (vancouversun.com)
• The end of prank calls? (bbc.co.uk)
• Vancouver DJs halt prank calls after Australians’ royal hoax (vancouversun.com)
• Watch: Royal Hoax Tragedy: Could DJs Be Charged? (abcnews.go.com)
• DJs Behind ‘Royal Prank’ the Real Victims in Kate Middleton Hoax (celebs.gather.com)
• Royal hoax DJs’ first interview: The full transcript (itv.com)
• DJs ‘heartbroken’ at nurse’s death after hoax (itv.com)

Do you help or take a photo?

With the digital age, there’s a camera installed on almost every device.  Pens, ties, phones, you name it.  Photos tell a story and there are a lot of stories out there to be told.  There are also a lot of would-be-story tellers out there who have dreams of being the next Pulitzer prize winner.  Because of this, people are apt to take a photo rather than assist someone in need.  This was evident again this week when a freelance photographer took out his camera and took a photo of a man who was pushed off the subway platform and into the path of an oncoming train.  The photo showed the hapless man struggling to climb back unto the platform mere seconds before the train got him.  

Now the million dollar question is, ‘Could he have helped or at least offered help?’  Apparently, the victim was struggling to pull himself up but it was too little too late.  In his defense, Umar Abbasi claimed that he shot the picture in the hope that the flash would have alerted the driver of the impending danger.  Sounds kind of farfetched but that’s my opinion.  Maybe he was giving in to his instincts as a freelance photographer to shoot first then ask questions after.  Again, my opinion.

This not the first time a camera-happy photographer has ignored the plight of a victim to get his glory shot.   I once saw an award-winning photo of a starving child in Sudan crawling to reach a feeding center while a vulture hovered close.  He apparently owned up to taking the picture then leaving as ‘that what he was trained to do.’  How cold is that?  The photographer, Kevin Carter, committed suicide some years later at the age of 33.  His suicide note read:  “I am depressed … without phone … money for rent … money for child support … money for debts … money!!! … I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain … of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners … I have gone to join Ken [recently deceased colleague] if I am that lucky.”

We can’t stop at just blaming the photographers.  As a society, we too have the moral responsibility to come to the aid of our fellowmen.  After all, what award can be greater than the personal satisfaction we would feel for potentially saving someone’s life?   Don’t listen to the saying  ‘Take a photo, it lasts longer.’  The feeling of being a hero lasts way longer.  A photo is worth a thousand words but…it’s only words.

Just my take.

Related articles

• New York Post Publishes Photo of a Man Seconds Before Death – Would You? (nicolekraftosu.wordpress.com)
• WATCH: NY Post Photographer Defends Taking Horrifying Picture (huffingtonpost.com)
• Would You Have Taken the Post Subway Photo?: Pulitzer-Winning Photographers Respond (gawker.com)
• NBC TODAY Show – Photographer: ‘No Way’ I Could Have Saved Subway Victim (hulu.com)
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/28/gutted-photographers-who-didnt-help
• http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-serial-blasts-people-took-pictures-instead-of-helping-out_1565573