The Catalyst

California Cop Killed by Fellow Cop

jsher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:17:11 +0000

In Santa Maria, California, a police officer was shot and killed by his fellow officer for being under investigation of sexual misconduct with a minor. The officer was working at a DUI checkpoint post around 1:00 a.m. when he was shot and killed. He was a four-year department veteran in Santa Maria, but his fellow officer said that he had no choice but to arrest him immediately. The officer struggled during the attempted arrest and fired shots, so the arresting officer made the choice to shoot back at him.

The investigators of the case for sexual misconduct with the minor suspected the relationship on Thursday. Details of the investigation could not be released because of the concern for sensitivity.

Yelmy Nimbley, ’14, Staff Writer

“Honor Killings” in Canada

jsher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:08:19 +0000

Three members of a Muslim family, Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their eldest son Hamed Shafia, 21, were found guilty of killing four of their other family members. The victims were Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, Geeti, 13, and Rona Mohammad, 52. The four bodies were found on June 30^th, 2009, in a Nissan Sentra at the bottom of the Rideau Canal, near Kingston. The vehicle had been pushed into the water on a late Tuesday night.

These teenage girls, Zainab, Sahar, and Geeti came from a very strict family and were murdered by their own father, brother and step mother, and the victim Mohammad was Shafia’s first wife. This very strict family believed that the teenage girls had brought disgrace to their family name. This type of culture killing is called ‘honor killings.’

The girls were referred to as whores by Shafia, their father, for having Boyfriends, wearing unsuitable clothing and socializing online. Shafia was caught on tape saying, “Would they come back to life 100 times, you should do the same thing again. May the devil defecate on their graves. This is what a daughter should be. Would a daughter be such a whore?”

All three family members pleaded not guilty, commenting that they would never do such a thing to their own family members. However, evidence says otherwise. Each of the three members will serve a minimum of 25 years in prison without parole.

Cristina Rodriguez,’13, Staff Writer

Son died from the choking game

jsher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:06:32 +0000

Brent Riley, a 12-year-old from Johns Creek, was found dead on October 14, 2011. His mother, Sartee Riley, believes it was caused by the choking game. In Riley’s memory, his mother is beginning to launch a campaign, The Life of Riley Organization Inc.: “No game, No shame,” in order to help generate national awareness about the deadly activity that killed her child. Riley’s mother had never heard of the choking game before her son’s death. “I wish I had…I really wish I had.” she said recently said recently. She and other parents are also trying to make sure that information about the choking game be added to the D.A.R.E curriculum, which is presented to teenagers. Riley is doing everything in her power to ensure that this tragic accident not happen to anybody else.

Austin Thomas, ’13, Staff Writer

Duluth High School Football Player Receives Full-Ride at Georgia State

jsher — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:04:58 +0000

Mark Ruskell, Senior at our very own Duluth High School, found out last week that he will be getting a full ride at Georgia State for football. Being a very talented football player, as well as a good student, nothing short of this was expected. Ruskell has played football all four years and has been exceptional. When asking Ruskell what he expected in the next four years , he said that he wanted to be business major and maintain good grades as well as his performance on the Georgia State Football team. This kind of news is nothing but pleasant to the community of Duluth, presenting a fine young man who shows that hard work really does pay off in wonderful ways. Having officially signed the contract to the school, Ruskell will begin playing football for and attending Georgia State in the fall of 2012.

Della Lokk, ’12, Staff Writer

College’s Strongest Cheerleader

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:50:01 +0000

Anna Watson, a University of Georgia cheerleader, has to be America’s strongest female cheerleader. She constantly spends her time in the weight room, and people definitely notice. Watson recently passed up a well-paying contract for a fitness modeling job because she didn’t want to use a legal steroid. Watson considers it a “big deal to hold an elite position” on the cheerleading squad at UGA. Watson competed as a gymnast for 10 years and became a cheerleader during her sophomore year of high school. She can bench 155 pounds, squat 255 pounds, and dead lift 230 pounds. According to the local UGA newspaper, Watson added four inches of muscles on her arms in only 10 months. Watson was offered a $75,000 fitness modeling contract, but she turned it down. The modeling agency wanted her to use Anavar, a legal steroid that would help her gain up to 50 pounds of muscle. Watson wants to have children and was worried about the effects the steroid would have on her body, so she passed. Watson says her life is “not all about exercise and working out.” Watson is currently out for the season after rupturing her Achilles tendon.

Kelsey Carniglia, ’12, Staff Writer

The Grey Review

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:49:02 +0000

On January 27^th, director Joe Carnahan released his latest film The Grey. A group of men, who are part of an Alaskan oil drill team, are on their way to Anchorage when their plane crashes. Only eight survivors walk away. Among them is John Ottaway, played by Liam Neeson, who takes charge of the situation when the team is target by a pack of wolves. Neeson has been described as a stellar bad-ass and a fantastic actor in this cold thriller. The film is 117 minutes long and has received a rating of 7.8 out of 10.

Critics are torn between this new film. Some have called it the must-see movie of the month and describe it as tense, engrossing, extremely well-crafted, and an edge-of-your-seat movie. One critic says that the cast is superb, and the film is insanely gritty and shockingly tense. However, other critics are also saying that it was a big downer. Some have said that the characterization of the cast was horrible, and that the ending was unnecessary, while others have called the portrayal of the wolves to be disapproving and wrong. The film is also being called the feel-bad movie of the year. In one word, it was a rut.

Kate Croxton, ’13, Staff Writer

Outrage Over EBay Selling Tickets for Joe Paterno’s Funeral

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:48:21 +0000

Penn State University gave out 10,000 tickets for Paterno’s funeral, and they sold out in seven minutes. Many of the people at Penn State, including students, staff, faculty, and alumni were furious. One ticket on eBay had received 71 bids, with the highest bid being 99,000 dollars. Some of the people were trying to sell tickets with a t-shirt included for 99 dollars. The highest bids were north of five figures. All the listings that were posted on eBay have since been taken off. The funeral service was held at Bryce Jordan Center and was located right next to Beaver Stadium, also known as “Happy Valley.” Joe Paterno lived from 1926-2012, and he was 85 years old.

Sam Rubenstein, ’12, Staff Writer

Australian Politician Plagiarizes Speech from “The American President”

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:47:18 +0000

Australian Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, plagiarized his speech from the movie, “The American President.” He stole it from Michael Douglas’s role as President of the United States, Andrew Shepard. Many of the people that saw the incident quickly went to twitter and ranted about Albanese. Liberal Party director Brian Loughnane said that Albanese was “unoriginal and devoid of ideas.” Since that speech, Albanese has apologized through Twitter. Many of the speeches people write are done by using your brain. Albanese took the same speech Michael Douglas used in “The American President.” He admits that he plagiarized the Michael Douglas speech on Twitter saying that he messed up or, “D’oh! Stuff up.” This statement was also made famous by an animated character, Homer Simpson.

Sam Rubenstein, ’12, Staff Writer

‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ Mom Sues TMZ

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:46:14 +0000

Who knew that so much controversy could revolve around little girls on TV shows? One girl, Isabella Barrett, is featured on the show, “Toddlers & Tiaras” and was filmed singing the song “Sexy and I know It” by LMFAO at a charity event for pets. The video shows Barrett in a DJ booth holding a microphone and singing along to the song. Her mom, Susanna Barrett, soon found the video and sued TMZ, one of the many media sites to publish the video. Barrett said the sites were trying to “sexualize” her 5-year-old daughter.

Mandy Frandsen, ’15, Staff Writer

Australian Open Finals

Kate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:45:10 +0000

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal fought their way through the Australian Open and met in the finals. The final match took place on Sunday, January, 29, 2012. Everyone knew that this would be a great match, but nobody was expecting it to be record breaking. These two men battled it out in a match that will go down in history. It was the longest finals match ever in the Australian Open. It took them five hours and fifty three minutes to finish it. Nadal and Djokovic were dead even the whole time, but only one man came out on top. Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, but Nadal still performed extremely well. Djokovic is truly the number one tennis player in the world. They were so tired after this match that they couldn’t even stand through the award ceremony. The announcer saw how much pain they were in, and he requested that they take a seat. Nobody could have asked for a better match to start of a new year of tennis.

Rick DeVries, ’13, Staff Writer