Law & Order Excuse? Hm..

Police are still on the quest to find Sky Metalwala, the missing 2-year-old boy from Washington. It was announced Saturday that the police discovered several “items of interest” in a park in Kirkland, Washington. The police called their CIA investigators who looked at the items. Fox News says that the items have been sent to a forensic lab for further analysis and that there will hopefully be some conclusion soon. Julia Biryukova, Sky’s mother, is still refusing to talk with officials. Police continue to say that her story does not add up. Interestingly enough, the night before Sky went missing “Law & Order: SVU” aired a somewhat similar case. Could she have murdered (or planned for the murder of) Sky and used the story of Law & Order: SVU’s episode as a cover-up? Hopefully we will all find out soon.

         The author of this article, Ankita Mehta, only provided a brief summary of the story. I think this is okay because this case was presented many weeks ago and it is sort of hard to catch up now. It is more important to report on the current events than to keep summarizing the past. In this article, Mehta uses quotes and a picture to bring pathos, ethos, and logos to the scene.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Mehta, Ankita. "Sky Metalwala: Police Find Items of Interest in Search for Missing Toddler." International Business News, Financial News, Market News, Politics, Forex, Commodities - International Business Times - IBTimes.com. N.p., 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/256336/20111126/sky-metalwala-police-items-search-missing-toddler.htm>.

Watch out on the sidelines!

Melissa Kellerman, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who is also studying to become a teacher, has been forced to shut down her twitter account after she posted two tweets about being tackled by DC’s tight end. Jason Witten accidentally knocked Kellerman over during a play. No injuries were reported but that has to hurt! I think it is a little ridiculous that they would ask her to shut down her twitter when she only posted these tweets: “I'm not the best at Jason Witten trust falls ;)" and "Not hurtin' today, like some of y'all thought I would be! Our TE isn't as tough as he looks... That or I'm WAY tougher than I look. ;)". If you ask me, I think she was a really good sport about the whole thing. Gosh, the DCs should be happy that she didn’t press charges or something crazy like that.
 There were not really any rhetorical strategies in this post because there was not that much to report on. There was, however, a video that pretty much summed everything up.

"Dallas Cowboys reportedly order cheerleader felled by Witten to ax Twitter post - NFL - Sporting News."Sporting News - Real Insight. Real Fans. Real Conversations.. N.p., 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-11-27/dallas-cowboys-reportedly-order-cheerleader-felled-by-witten-to-ax-twitter-post?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec3_lnk2%7C115780>.

Facebook Porn Has Been Removed... FINALLY!

            If you have not noticed, for the past couple of days there have been extremely graphic and disturbing images being posted of Facebook. With thousands of “likes” these images soon spread EVERYWHERE. You could not open your Facebook account without seeing an abused dog, naked women, or celebrities photoshopped to look like they were performing sexual acts. It was truly disgusting and made most of the Facebook world turn to Twitter. Many tweets said things like, “Seeing a dead dog on my Facebook news feed ... Officially deactivating it," and "I saw a dead dog, Justin Bieber [performing a sex act] and a naked grandma. Time to delete facebook." Apparently Facebook users were tricked into pasting malicious script into their URL bars, which caused them to unknowingly share the offensive content (cnn.com). Facebook has not released any information regarding who might be responsible for this immature and foul act of rebellion. They are, however, urging users to report offensive content instead of just commenting on it. By reporting it, it alerts Facebook officials to remove the content quickly.

            The writer of this article is obviously very knowledgeable in the technology world. Later in the article the author goes on to talk more about different hacking techniques and groups that might be “out to get” Facebook. This is good because it reaffirms the readers that they are reading an article written by a knowledgeable author. Other than his knowledge, the writer used quotes from Twitter regarding the Facebook scandal as well as quotes from Facebook itself. Overall this was an informative and interesting article on a disgusting and foul topic.

"Facebook: Attack identified, most spammed porn removed - CNN.com."CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., 15 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/tech/social-media/facebook-porn-spam/index.html>.

Sky Metalwala's Disappearance Might Turn Criminal

            Sky Metalwala is a missing 2-year-old boy from Bellevue, WA. Allegedly, his mother left him in the car alone when she ran out of gas, taking her other child with her to get help. After returning an hour or two later, Sky was gone. Search parties have been exhausted, and hope is wearing thin. I hope that Julia Biryukova’s story was true because officials are now discussing the possibility of charging her for leaving Sky alone in the car. This will be discussed on this coming up Monday. On Sunday morning, the police returned to the Bellevue street where Biryukova says she ran out of gas. After checking the car, it was apparent that there was gas in the tank and that it ran fine. The officials have gotten around a dozen leads from 20-30 motorists and pedestrians on the street that night, but none have been quite helpful. When returning to Biryukova’s apartment complex, neighbors again made it clear that Sky was not seen after the two weeks before his disappearance. The only people to have claimed to see him since then are his mother and sister. This is a very scary time for all following this story as nobody wants to hear the devastating news that we all know is coming.

            The author of this article used relevant details to help support his facts. He used quotes from the Bellevue Police Dept., and slipped in a few recap sentences. It seems to me that the author wants to be biased and to side with the Police and Sky, but because of his job at cnn.com he cannot put in any personal opinions. This must be hard because this is a very upsetting story to write about. It is good that the writer used quotes to help to support his argument.

"Missing Boy's Disappearance Could Become Criminal Investigation." Nancy Grace Blog. N.p., 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/14/missing-boy’s-disappearance-could-become-criminal-investigation/?iref=allsearch>.

More Information About Sky Metalwala

            Julia Biryukova, the mother of two-year-old Sky Metalwala (the missing boy I blogged about twice before), is still refusing to take a polygraph test. Police find this suspicious and puzzling. According to Biryukova’s attorney, she is devastated and is in no condition to take a polygraph. The Huffington Post has made calls to her law firm and sent emails to her attorney, Veronica Freitas, but has gotten no response. Sky’s father, Solomon Metalwala, has been very helpful during the investigation. He took a polygraph examination on Sunday and when it came back inconclusive, he agreed to a follow-up examination. Major Mike Johnson, a police officer in Bellevue, WA, said that, "When you hear this story the mom has told, you have to scratch your head and wonder why? If that's really what happened, why?" (huffingtonpost.com). Her story makes absolutely no sense at all. Something is being hidden from the public and the police and it will be exposed. The truth always comes out in the end.

         The author of this story has been adamant on keeping up with this story. It is helpful because I am reading up to date news on the situation. Like myself, the author also wants Sky to return safely. The author uses relevant quotes and information that is necessary in order to make an accurate decision on what to think about all of this.

Click Here To Read The Whole Story

Baseball Player Didn't See This Ball Coming...

            Wednesday night the Washington Nationals’ catcher, Wilson Ramos, was kidnapped from his home in Venezuela. Four gunmen intruded into his house and snatched Ramos while his father and brother were present. His home is about 95 miles west of Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela. There has been no word from his captors and the condition of Ramos is unknown. Drew Storen, Nationals closer said, “Extremely upsetting news about Ramo. Thoughts and prayers with him. Scary situation,” on his Twitter account soon after Ramos was taken. For years, Venezuelan baseball players’ families have been the targets of kidnappings. For instance, in June 2009, the then-Colorado Rockies catcher, Yorvit Torrealba, had his son who was only 11 years old taken from his home. Other players have had their mothers, brothers, sisters, etc. kidnapped. I wonder why they want to harm these people? Maybe they are upset because baseball players have the stereotype of making a lot of money. Who knows, but it is wrong for them to harm innocent people. I am hoping for a safe return for Wilson Ramos.

            The author of this article made good use of previous accounts of kidnappings. By explaining other incidents, it makes readers wonder why it is happening so much. It also adds validity to the author’s argument. The writer seemed to have good knowledge on Ramos, which also added to the validity of the argument. I think the author is also hoping for a safe return for Ramos.

Click here to read the article