4 Arizona boys accused of raping 8-year-old girl

Just when you think things are so bad in the world today that nothing can shock you, you turn on your computer, read my blog, and see this.

According to USA Today, "Officers [in Arizona] responding to a report of hysterical screams found an 8-year-old girl partially clothed and four boys, barely in their teens, running from an empty shed."

"She was brutally sexually assaulted for a period of about 10 to 15 minutes," police Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Now although the boys are way too young to be called paedophiles (they're not even 15 yet) the story still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, due to the fact that rape is hardly something associated with young children.

The boys, ages ranging between 9 and 14, were later taken into custody (that alone sounds weird) and were all charged with sexual assault. The weirdness continues, because the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said that the 14-year-old boy was charged Wednesday as an adult with two counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, and was being held without bond after appearing in court Thursday. He does not yet have a defense lawyer.

It is fair to say that he carried dumbness to a new level, but should he be tried as an adult at 14? Read on.

As said earlier, all four of the boys received charges for sexual assault, and two of them, aged 10 and 13, were charged with kidnapping, the office said Thursday. The fourth boy, a 9 year old, received no additional charges.

What could these boys be watching that could make them commit such a violent crime? At 9, I refuse to believe that he conspired to sexually assault the girl, but surely that young boy should have known by now, what to do, and what NOT to do.

As for the older boys, who most likely led the conspiracy, it must be queried: "What kind of environment were they raised in, and is it dissimilar to that which exists in the average home?" If it isn't, then this case will be joined by many similar ones in the near future.

In my opinion, it is a little easier to correct a child who is led or coerced into a violent, senseless act, but for a young child who is capable of plotting and carrying out such a heinous plan, such as the 14 year old, I see no reformation possible. He deserves to be tried as an adult, and be tagged as a sexual offender. Sounds harsh, but not if you consider that while many boys his age were playing video games, he was out sexually assaulting and ruining a young girl's childhood.

UPDATE: Maybe this incident is not a result of declining morals in the American society after all. CNN reported that "The girl and the boys charged are all from families that have come to the United States from the West African nation of Liberia."

Nonetheless, the story is still a sick one, and as a result, the one thing I won't change my stance on, is that the boys' parents are to blame for failing so miserably to train their children.

The issue has sparked a series of comments from Liberia, where the Liberian president spoke about the sexual assault incident, decrying reports that the parents believe their family has been shamed by the girl.

Just for laughs Part 2

I will keep hoping that this was staged. That way, I won't feel bad for laughing so hard.

This one is less random, but I still think it is quite funny..... together, these two videos made my night.... I hope they do the same for you.

I think that man needs new friends.

Real-life Spiderman in India aiming to climb higher heights.... literally

Above: India's real-life Spiderman, Jyothi Karnataka

Without the use of harnesses or anything which can remotely save his life should he fall, 22-year-old Jyothi Karnataka from India has climbed some of India's highest points and building sites with no fear, and no equipment.

If he keeps that up, he can forget about trying to get life insurance. Though it is impressive to witness his skills, there is something ominous about what he is doing, and his cockiness supreme confidence is not in the least bit comforting.

His tricks and stunts, such as the one above, make him more daring than most other climbers in the world

Considering himself to be superior to other climbers, Jyothi said "My ability to see the foothold that others can't is proof to me that I was born to climb," adding that his strength and hand speed are the tools which set him apart from other climbers.

Referring to when he climbs with friends: "They of course use safety harnesses, they do not have my ability to move fast or grasp the rock face"

Expressing the satisfaction which he gets from entertaining on-lookers with his gravity-defying acts, Karnataka says "I love to see their faces when I position myself upside down".

The self-taught climber stated that he honed his technique by watching monkeys climb trees (no that is not a joke on my part), and analyzing stunts from his favorite movies. I can only hope that he understands the difference between reality and movies with special effects.

This guy personifies throwing caution to the wind..... not a harness or safety net in sight

Not content with the stunts he has accomplished, Jyothi stated that he intends to show the world that he can climb buildings and mountains - and emulate French free-climber Alain Robert.

View more photos of Jyothi's stunts here.

Madame Tussauds waxworks museum set to open in Hollywood

Above: A wax sculpture of A-list actor Will Smith.... quite an impressive piece of work, it must be said

Boasting 115 wax figures, a new Madame Tussauds branch is set to be opened to the public on August 1, in Hollywood Boulevard, next to the historic Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

From the looks of these photos, the figures in the Hollywood branch have maintained the same level of accuracy and attention to detail, as seen in the other Madame Tussauds locations throughout the world.

The Johnny Depp wax figure doesn't look too shabby either

Check out the picture slide of some of the realistic waxworks, at the Telegraph.

America is the land of dreams.... this guy is testament to that

Above: Mayor Michael Bloomerg's competitor for the next New York mayoral race.... I kid you not

I can safely presume that Robert Burck, renowned as "The Naked Cowboy", is going to be BY FAR the most colorful mayoral candidate in New York history.

I can't predict if this man is going to win or not, but his announcement to run for New York mayor has made my day. Before you call him a clown, let me warn you that looks are deceiving. Judging from the photos, I prematurely wrote him off as a joker, but his aspirations, accomplishments and qualifications, prove that he is anything but.

Clearly, the weather conditions don't seem to affect his intent....

Burck, believe it or not, is actually qualified in politics, and is not the average Joe (hehe) who is running as a grassroots politician. He earned a political science degree from the University of Cincinnati, and has also written several self-published motivational books. Though his entertainment antics may be comedy to most, there is an element of seriousness involved, because he earns as much as $1,000 a day, working in Times Square from about 11 am to 2 pm, and he donates some of the earnings to charity.

"I know how to do more with less," he said, insisting that he doesn't need clothes to campaign.

Unfortunately, being an icon, and a source of entertainment for people does not necessarily equate to being taken seriously as a politician, and despite his efforts and qualifications, I predict that Burck will have a hard time not being laughed at.

But hey..... America is the land of dreams and opportunity.... Right?

View more pics of Burck and his campaign announcement here.

British scientist says artificial brain '10 years away'

BBC: "The research could give insights into brain disease".... and then what?

Henry Markram, a leading British scientist, and director of the Blue Brain Project, boldly predicted that a detailed, and

functional synthetic brain can be built within the next 10 years.

The BBC reported that Markram told the TED global conference in Oxford that an artificial human brain will aid the research of treatments for mental illnesses.

Oh dear. Is there any organ left for man to artificially replicate? Mr. Markram and his "Blue Brain Project" have failed to

realize that they are not addressing fools. Though he might intend to use it for mental illness research, anyone that does

not fall under the category of being mentally ill, will know that it is only a matter of time before someone seeks to create

a brain for transplanting purposes.

I refuse to believe that they will possess the power of creating a brain, and not seek to use it to gain some level of

superiority. There is no doubt in my mind that this development will lead to the erosion of not just the reverence for

Christianity, but of all religions. After all, if man can literally create himself, what is going to make religion appealing to

the generations to come? The world is headed in a starkly dark direction. I say this, because, like with every new

technological development, the initial intentions for its usage are always positive, but then when the power consumes its

possessor (à la missiles and nuclear bombs for example), the rest of the world suffers.

I am all for free, open minds, and expanding one's knowledge, but what cost will mankind pay for this constant probing?

Let us remember the old (and extremely corny but relevant) adage that curiosity killed the cat.

Chinese worker commits suicide over lost iPhone prototype

There is a public uproar in China over Apple's secretive culture, which many believe has led to the recent events

Chinese factory worker Sun Danyong committed suicide, after a prototype for the 4th Generation iPhone went missing.

According to USA Today, Sun, 25, worked at a Taiwanese firm named Foxconn Technology group, a Taiwanese firm that makes many Apple products at a massive factory in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.

Although Sun's death was acknowledged by Apple and Foxconn, no details about the circumstances were revealed, as Apple released a statement saying that it's suppliers are required to treat its workers with dignity and respect.

Very fishy. Why?

BBC reported that after one of the the 16 prototypes went missing, "Sun reported the loss, and the company launched an investigation."

Three days later he allegedly jumped from his 12-floor apartment to his death.

The BBC report stated that "Sun's former classmates have told Chinese newspapers that during that investigation he was beaten, his house was searched and he was locked up in a room alone. They say he described the experience in an online chat with them as one of the most humiliating experiences of his life."

This incident has shed more light on the secretive culture of Apple (which I always hated, because they have the knack of releasing something new, right after I make a purchase).

To add another twist to the developing story, Foxconn has allegedly suspended its chief of security, reportedly because of his rough treatment and illegal search of Sun, who he suspected to be in possession of the missing phone.

Attempts to discredit President Obama's citizenship described as 'hilarious'

Roland Martin, you are the man! I tried, but I could not have better described the persons disseminating a plethora of invalid claims about President Obama's citizenship.

While I was deciding whether to call them ignorant, brainwashed, or just plain daft; Martin, like the seasoned journalist that he is, showed how to keep things concise by simply calling them "nut-jobs" and "losers".

It's people in videos like the one above that give the USA a bad name. Martin described the woman's behavior as "hilarious" and said "To watch others cheer her insanity, and then boo the congressman who says the president is an American, shows you that we have a serious problem with mental illness in this country."

As for the soldier who requested a restraining order so that he wasn't deployed, I think he has contradicted himself with his actions. With all his patriotism, why isn't he focussing on serving his country? Rather than being political and taking stances against the President, why not do your job, Sir?

If he was wise, he would keep himself out of politics, and instead focus on what his job is supposed to be. Where was this interest in politics, when the previous President was seemingly doing all in his power to run the country into ruins? Why didn't this soldier come out and take a patriotic stance then?

I think I'll stop here, and take Martin's advice and just laugh at it all, or emulate President Obama and just ignore the naysayers.

Study shows link between social networks and financial success

Above: The top ten brands engaged in social network media, according to a new study's findings

A new study by enterprise wiki provider Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group revealed a direct relation between a brand's success, and its usage of social networking media.

The study shows that the brands most engaged in social media are also experiencing higher financial success rates than those of their non-engaged peers.

The findings were derived from an analysis of the usage of Facebook, Twitter, forums and blogs, by the top 100 companies from the 2008 Business Week/Interbrand Best Global Brands survey.

After examining the companies and their social media activity levels, the brands were ranked on an "engagement scale", which is how they were evaluated, and later placed into one of four "engagement profiles." Each profile is representative of the number of social channels a brand is involved in, and its level of involvement.

An analysis of the study showed that the brands that were the most engaged, saw revenue growths of up to 10% over the past year, compared to the least engaged brands, which suffered negative 6% losses.

At the top of the list were the "Mavens", or those brands which were heavily involved in seven or more social media channels. The second category is "Butterflies", for brands which are engaged in seven or more social media channels but are guilty of investing in some channels more than others.

"Selectives" is the third rating, given to brands that engage customers deeply, but only in the six or fewer social mediums that they chose. The lowest rating in the survey given to brands is "Wallflowers", and it is reserved for brands with sub-par engagement in six or fewer social mediums.

Unsurprisingly, all of the "Mavens" have occupied the top 10 spots for brands engaged in social media. These maven brands were able to realize financial success despite the economic downturn, which is indicative of the credibility of the study's findings. ReadWriteWeb.com rightly said, that "Although it's difficult to prove for certain that the companies' involvement in social media has led to their increased revenues, the implication behind the new data is that it has."

The list of the top ten brands involved in social media:

1. Starbucks (127)
2. Dell (123)
3. eBay (115)
4. Google (105)
5. Microsoft (103)
6. Thomson Reuters (101)
7. Nike (100)
8. Amazon (88)
9. SAP (86)
10. Tie - Yahoo!/Intel (85)

In case you were wondering like I was, Blackberry received a #12 ranking (due to the #10 tie between Yahoo and Intel), while Apple received a rather dismal #33 despite the success and popularity of their iphone. A simple reason for the disparate rankings of the two competitors can be found in the study's Engagement Profiles.

While Blackberry scored 85 points and achieved Maven status with their use of 9 channels, Apple utilized 6 social media channels, and were placed in the Selective category, scoring a meagre (by their standards) 43 points.

US couple with same name set to tie the knot in October

Above: Mr. and Ms. Kelly Hildebrandt - left and right

In April last year, when Kelly Katrina Hildebrandt, 20, put her name into Facebook out of boredom, she never expected to come across her husband-to-be, Kelly Carl Hildebrandt, 24, from Lubbock, Texas.

Ms. Hildebrandt, a student from Miami, Florida, messaged Mr. Hildebrandt, and soon afterwards, the two became friends. Admitting that he was initially concerned about the possibility of them being related, Mr. Hildebrandt said that he thought she was pretty cute.

Soon, the two were in daily contact via the phone and email, and when he visited her in Florida, he "fell head over heels" and was love-struck. With their marriage only a few months away - after being engaged in December - the couple stated that they do not intend to pass their first names onto any of their children. Funny.

Cute. I wish them all the best.