Shark Caught

AMITY - The 4th of July is a day of double celebration this year on Amity Island. Not only the birth of the country is celebrated, also the shark responsible for two deaths and much panic in Amity was caught and killed this morning.

A Police Report by Chief Brody told everybody the good news that the beast was caught in waters one mile south-southwest of Amity. The fisherman, Mike Swenson, will receive $3,000 for his courage and selfless efforts.

The shark that has been stalking Amity beaches turned out to be a 11-feet-long nurse shark of 875 pounds. It was identified as such by Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from the Woods Hole, Mass., Oceanographic Institute, and one of the world's foremost experts on sharks.

He said that nurse sharks such as this one are among the most brutal and dangerous of all sharks. They have been responsible for numerous swimmers'  deaths along the East Coast of the United States, although Hooper said there have not been similar attacks of nurse sharks in this area as far as he can remember.

As a direct result of the catch of the shark, Amity beaches will be reopened immediately, just in time for the big flow of tourists that will visit Amity for the 4th of July national holiday. As beaches are open, local entrepreneurs need not worry anymore about loss of income.

Brody encouraged Amity inhabitants and visitors to enjoy Amity beaches once again, and enjoy the water, swimming and the water sports for which Amity is so renowned.

Despite the fact that the shark is caught, shark spotters will still be present at Amity beaches during the weekend from the Coast Guard, the Marine Patrol, the Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. Navy, Homeland Security, the FBI, and numerous other agencies. Brody tells Amity inhabitants that they are not at risk anymore, but that these people are there by means of a safety precaution.

The fact that these safety precautions are effective, can be seen by the little incident that happened on Amity beach today. With the beach full of locals and visitors who were swimming and enjoying themselves, two 12-year-olds, Wayne Winston, Brad Haplin, both of Amity, scared everybody out of the water and set the safety precaution system in working by diving under a shark-fin-shaped hood, making it appear as if a shark swam nearby.

"He made me do it!' was Winstons' only comment when the boys were caught red-handed, coming to the surface where all gunpoints of all available officers were pointed at them. Luckily, despite a couple of scratches and bruises caused by people who wanted to get out of the water as soon as possible, nobody was hurt in the prank. The boys have been handed over to the custody of their parents.

If anybody sees a real shark, however, they can call the shark hotline to report the sighting to the authorities: 1-800-sharksee.

Beaches closed, decides Town Council

The Amity Town Council has decided to close the beaches at least for 24 hours, as became known in the special meeting held tonight to discuss the current events. Also, shark spotters will be hired and specialists asked to come to Amity to reduce the risk of shark attack, said Chief of Police Brody.

The alleged shark attacks of the last two days, leaving senior high school student Christine W. Watson and the 10-year-old Alex B. Kintner dead by mauling, has caused much debate in the town. Local entrepreneurs are afraid to see their high seasons' profits endangered by the shark attacks, which cause tourists to stay away.

Ben Quint, an Amity fisherman who attended the meeting last night, quieted the audience down and announced that he was willing to hunt down and kill the shark by himself. "And we need to do it fast," he said, "for everybody's businesses." However, the difficulty and danger of the task left Quint to demand a higher price for the catch than the $3,000 offered by Mrs. Kintner, Alex Kintner's mother.

"It's not gonna be pleasant," Quint said to the attending audience, "It ain't easy". But for $10,000 dollars to be paid solely to Quint, he said he was willing to deliver "its head, its tail, the whole damn thing." Stressing the importance of the shark being caught, he said, "either you pay me, or play cheap and be on welfare the whole winter."

Mayor Vaughn told Quint that his offer would be considered, after which Quint left. When asked for commentary later, the Mayor considered a plan to have the municipality come up with $7,000, which would make $10,000 when Marion Kintner pays her promised $3,000.

Jaws II

Another death at Amity Beach today

Following the death by mauling of Christine W. Watson, whose body was found this morning washed up on the beach, the town of Amity has another casualty: the 10-year-old Alex B. Kintner, of 10 Mayfair Court in Amity, who was drawn into the water at 2 p.m. today at the Village Beach. 

A special meeting will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall to discuss the recent deaths in the Amity community.

Kintners’  death has remarkable similarities with Watson’s case. Both disappeared in the water, and both had mauling wounds. Watson’s body has already been found and investigated, but Kintner’s is still missing. Nonetheless, mauling wounds can be assumed. Kintner’s rubber raft has been found with a large bite out of it.

The difference between Watson’scase, who disappeared in the night after a party, and Kintner’s, was that Kintner disappeared today at 2 p.m., at a crowded and peaceful Village Beach with multiple villagers chatting, relaxing and watching over their playing children.

The remarkable accident is thought to be a “vicious and unprovoked shark attack,” as said Chief of Police Martin Brody, although he asks the press not to jump to conclusions before official data and results are published. 

Despite allegations of Nevin, the medical expert who examined Watson’s body, that her case would concern a motorboat accident, Chief of Police Martin Brody now links her case to possible shark activities in the waters surrounding Amity Island.  This investigation is still under way.

Both Chief Brody and Mayor Bob Farley expressed their condolences to the Kintner family today through a press release.

Marion Kintner, Alex’ mother, who was at the beach while her son disappeared, is still treated for shock at Amity General Hospital. Her condition seems stable. Apart from the death of Alex Kintner and the hospitalization of his mother, there were no other injuries.

The special meeting that is held today at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall will be attended by the Mayor, Chief Brody, the Board of Selectmen,  and any other interested parties. 

The meeting will concern the discussion of Chief Brody’s plan to close the beached on July 4^th, the reward of $ 3,000 that the Kintner family promised for capture of the perpetrator(s), and an offer by the old fisherman Ben Quint to hunt down the shark thought to be the vile perpetrator of this tragic incident.

Jaws I

Teenage girl found dead at Amity Village beaches

The body of Christine W. Watson, a 17-year-old of  23 Sharkstooth St., Amity, has been found this morning on the Amity beach. The body has been severely mauled by an attacker of unknown origin; a shark attack cannot be completely ruled out.

The girl was last seen alive at a beach party she attended, the night before at about 11 p.m. Watson left around that time with a male, Christopher P. Hoggenbottam III, a sophomore at Trinity College and former resident of Amity. 

After Watson, who decided to go swimming at a remote section of South Beach, near the South Beach Shoal bell buoy, did not return, Hoggenbottam alerted the police at about 6 a.m. this morning, after which a search for the body began.

Thereupon, Watson’s mangled body was found washed up on the beach. Research continues to find out what caused her death. Her body has been transported to the coroner’s office for autopsy.

“Other Amity residents and visitors are not in danger,” Chief of Police Martin Brody said. “Though a shark attack has not been completely ruled out, our lovely beaches will remain open for swimming pending the outcome of the investigation.” 

Police investigators learnt from witnesses that both Hoggenbottam and Watson have drunk heavily at the beach party they both attended, and allegedly smoked marijuana.

Watson, a senior at Amity High School, was a member of her schools’ varsity swim team, and was a lifeguard at the Amity Island YMCA pool in Oak Bluffs.

The weather conditions during the time of Watsons disappearance were calm, with a 72 degrees F air temperature and a 65 degrees F water temperature. 

At a short press conference given by the Mayor of Amity, Larry Vaughan, Chief of Police Martin Brody, and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, Robert Nevin, it became clear that the Mayor does consider the death of Watson an incident. “I am not planning to take any extra precautions to prevent a similar incident from happening at the 4^th of July,” he said.

Nevin, the medical examiner, seemed at times fairly certain of his results. “I think the mauling of Watson’s body was caused by a motorboat. I have seen many motorboat victims in my life, and this one looks just like all the others”, he said. When asked for commentary, the Mayor said, “We cannot protect everybody. I can’t prohibit swimming and I can’t prohibit motorboats, so if someone decides to go swimming in the middle of the night, we assume he or she will take the risks into account”. 

He went on saying an investigation was under way where all motorboat owners in Amity Harbour were questioned. “So far, though, nobody has been found that went out with a motorboat that late last night”.

Although this motorboat example seemed quite waterproof,  Nevin told journalists later in the press conference “to keep all options open,” regarding the cause of Watson’s death, saying there “ might have even been a murderer on that remote part of the island, who caused her death and then dumped her into the sea.”

Job Application

Sophie van Poele

Hobbemaplein 13

5151 SL Drunen

The Netherlands

Bain & Company Netherlands LLC,

Rembrandt Tower, 25th Floor.

Amstelplein 1

1096 HA Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Durham, N.H., 22 November 2011.

Concerns: Job application for Associate Consultant

Dear Sir, Madam,

Ever since visiting a workshop of Bain & Company that was given at my university, I was very much impressed by the work that you do and the changes that you make for companies all over the world. Since then, I have been interested in working for Bain & Company. Especially your vacancy of Associate Consultant appears to match my interests and talents perfectly.

                              

Throughout my high school and university career, I have always been eager to show the best of myself, in- as well as outside of college. I have been active for two years in a student association, Histos, of Utrecht, where I was a member of a committee that organizes parties, get-togethers and other sorts of organized events. Also, I have been working at a restaurant for 5 years, where I have been exposed to many different people, different work-relationships, and the solving of randomly occurring problems in the most favourable way. A job with problem-solving and leadership components, such as Bain & Company has on offer is therefore very appealing to me.

As I have travelled extensively, and have lived for half a year on exchange in the United States, I speak English, French and Dutch fluently, and also understand German and Spanish. Also, my home university, University College Utrecht, is a honours college aimed at international experience. This, to me, seems quintessential to be able to succeed not only in your office in Amsterdam, but in offices throughout the world.

Because of my travelling and love for trying out new and different things, I discovered that my interests and talents lie in the field of working that combines variety, and work with people as well as companies. I like to generate new ideas, be creative, and think of solutions in directions that might not be the most obvious. Apart from this, I graduated from Universiteit Utrecht with a degree in Political Science and Anthropology with a GPA of 3.5.

I would be pleased to put my talents and dedication in the service of a young, successful and growing company like Bain & Company. Regarding the diversity of the work, the leadership requirements, and the international component of the work, I am convinced that I can make the difference that Bain & Company is looking for.

            Yours sincerely,

            Sophie van Poele

NYT Reading Log Week of 7 Nov.

Monday, Nov. 7:
The article on censorship in China was particularly good. It has a delayed lede and I like the way in which they combined the story of Murong Xuecun with the common theme of censorship in China. The article on the Pearlses book for raising children was just ridiculous - if multiple children die after being beaten, then for obvious reasons beating is not the ideal way to raise a child, no matter what the clergy says :) Greece is still a mess, I liked the picture on page A5 with the chattering men on. I wonder how the Greece story is going to end.

Tuesday, Nov. 8:
I am still of the opinon that the private lives of politicians-to-be should mainly stay out of the centre of public debate, although with Mr. Cain there appears to be no stopping of the rumours concerning his attitude towards female co-workers or subordinates. I loved the article on page D1 concerning a before-its-time computer. I also wonder why the bands described in the fraud article on pag A3 still have customers at all.

Thursday Nov 10.
After Greece, Italy is also on the brink of a debt crisis. I'm beginning to think whether it is a good idea to just split the EU into two parts, so that the south can solve their own problems and the north can keep their money for themselves, I don't see how you cannot save a country's debts with litterally hundreds of billions of dollars in aid. The picture of the traumatized banker on the front page was funny. Also, the hospital-article on the front page was good. It wakes people up by showing them that there are people around that just need health care but despite their employment might not be able to pay for it.

Reading Log 31 Oct - 1 Nov - 2 Nov

Reading Log 31 oct - 1 nov - 2 nov

31 Oct: I found the article about the Asian-American soldier who died in Iraq during service for the army really good. It depicted the sorrow of the family (personal aspect to the story) but the article took this case as an example of a trend (more Asian-Americans feel discriminated in the army, and when soldiers die, the Army is not the best of communicators towards the families.) Also, I though it was refreshing to see a view published in the newspaper that does not unquestionably favour the army, as many Americans do. I also liked the story about the New York marathon runner who trains in NY and is one of the favourites to win the marathon,

1 Nov: On the first page was an article about Herman Cain, one of the possible Republican candidates, who was accused of harassing a woman in the 1990's. This article struck me as being quite an achievement, for nowhere in the article is stated what actually happened back in 1996 (!15 years ago!) and there was also no question of whether this personal information, might or might not be of influence on the man's functioning as a possible president. I think elections must be seen as a very complex job application, and the job of the voter is to decide who they think is the best president. I think articles of this nature change the focus of the general public to judging the job competency of Cain to judging his personal life. I also liked the Haiti trial article, it's the first time that Haiti tries its own government officers that did something wrong, and I think this is an important step to restore faith and credibility in the usually quite corrupt government. Then, I find it interesting to follow the development of the Occupy-movement, and the amount of homeless people that have joined with them, although they are not welcomed by all.

2 nov: The Levi's article on the front page favours sustainability, as the company is concerned with water shortage during the production of its jeans. I found it remarkable that the picture on the front page had the subscript: "America's diminishing power'. It said 'President Obama will attend  [the G20 meeting) at a time when American power seems to be waning'. There's still unrest in Libia and I am curious about how the situation over there is going to end.

Escaped Leopard Story 24 Oct

DURHAM - The Durham Zoo's rare spotted leopard, Fluffy, has disappeared without leaving a trace last Tuesday night.

The discovery was made by Fluffy-lover James Petronkis,. 36, of 34 West St. Newmarket. The man, who visits the zoo every morning to visit his favorite animal, "immediately  recognized that something was wrong". Fluffy had not made her straw nest, as she usually does when she goes to sleep.

When Petronkis alarmed the zookeepers, he was told not to worry and to mind his own business, for the cage door was shut and locked, and the fence appeared unbroken. Also, the escape alarm on Fluffy's cage did not sound,

However, official alarm was raised half an hour later when zookeepers noticed that the leopard was not inside of her little house.

Upon this alarm, the Zoo's gates were closed and visitors were escorted out of the zoo as quickly as possible.

The news of the escape was received with mixed feelings. The crowd of visitors at the gate mainly appeared scared and confused. Children were crying, grown-ups were scowling. As said a man from the crowd: "I want my money back, and then I'm never coming back here again! This place is out of control."

Durrell, the director of the Durham Zoo, reacted with as much emotion during the press conference the Zoo gave on the escape at 9.00 a.m. this morning. "We love that cat, and we don't want to lose her", he said with teary eyes. Kitty Smith, the Zoo's chief biologist, is also tear-struck when she reports on the news.

The escaped animal is an extremely rare 10-year-old Romanian leopard. Only 5 of such animals are still alive today, of which Fluffy is the only female. She has a black fur with white spots, weighs 146 pounds and can run op to 60 miles an hour.

In Romania, these animals have become extremely rare after they have been hunted down because of their appetite for young children. Despite the fact that Fluffy is being fed on chickens, she is still very dangerous and not to be tampered with.

Says Smith: "Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone. But if she is cornered, or encountered on a dark night, [...]  she will kill now and ask later."

Smith recommends people who run into Fluffy to lay down and keep still. Fluffy may be licking and sniffing on them, but she will not react violently if you do not look her in the eye nor are scared.

Later during the press conference, Police Chief William Blair takes the word. He is the head of the search for the missing leopard.

Zookeepers armed with high-powered rifles and pistols were searching the area thoroughly as Blair enlightened the audience with his plans for capturing the leopard.

"We will begin searching every inch of this zoo"  he said, " If we cannot find her in the zoo, we will be searching the neighbourhood, beginning close to the zoo and then enlarging the circle.

 He emphasizes the importance of the capturing of the hungry cat: "We don't want to have her wanrdering around when our children get out of school." Also, the cat is almost impossible to find in the dark, for Fluffy has perfect nightvision and humans do not.

Blair will be aided in his search by the New Hampshire State Police and the State Wildlife department.

Lede Class 10/11

17-year old James Laboke is the hero of the day today in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
When he walked his usual walk to work this morning somewhat before 6 a.m., he saw the car of 80-year-old Francois Truffaut standing on the Amtrak Downeaster railroad track, with the morning train of 6.10 bound to approach and the owner unconscious behind the steering wheel.
When Laboke saw the car,  he pounded on the windows to wake the driver up. The engine of the car was running, and the doors were locked.
When he did not manage to revive Truffault, the young man, who does not own a mobile phone, did not hesitate at this sight and ran 100 yards to the police station to alert the police and save Truffauts life. " I never thought about it," Laboke said, I just knew I couldn't let that man get crushed by a train".
After the police was alerted by Laboke at 6 a.m., they sent out a radio message, which was picked up by police officer Janet Paradiso. She acted immediately. "I knew I had to do something," she said later about her arrival on the scene at 6.05 a.m. "I knew there was no time".
When she heard the train' s  whistle just as she arrived, she rammed her police cruiser into Truffault's 1987 flamboyant pink Cadillac Seville, pushing it from the train track.
About thirty seconds later, the

17 Oct Class exercise

Saturday Disciplinary Sessions at School Stirs Debate in Monday's School Board Meeting

No more sleeping in on Saturday mornings for misbehaving schoolchildren in Portsmouth - and their parents.

This will be the case if Tim Steele of the School Board of Portsmouth gets his way.

The Boards' proposal was to discipline misbehaving children during a Saturday morning session from 8.00 a.m. to 12 p.m., instead of punishing them during weekdays. This measure, intended to lower the amount of people breaking school rules, will cost the community $3,000 per year for staffing.

This measure is intended to lower the amount of class time children miss when serving ' in-house suspension' , which means that they are punished during a weekday by having to sit in an empty classroom all day under close supervision of a faculty member.

Last year,  154 students missed at least one day of class each because of their punishment, which they are not allowed to make up for during this time. In-house detention is automatically given to students who are caught smoking in- or outside of Portsmouth High School.

The proposal was met with fierce opposition, such as the reaction of Peggy Bacon, a parent of a Portsmouth High School student: "I just don't think it's going to make any difference, and the parents are going to pay for it - in higher taxes as well as ruined Saturdays". Moreover, because Bacon works six days a week, getting her son from home to school is quite an effort, that she does not want to make on Saturday morning.

Also, Lisa Gallagher, one of the students of Portsmouth High School that attended the meeting, is against the proposal. "I don't like this idea. I think it's just being done to make life easier for the faculty." Moreover Gallagher, who has never been in detention herself, wonders about what is done about students that are just not showing up for their Saturday session.

Steele explained that when a student skips a Saturday session, he or she will not be allowed in class until their detention has been served.

Resident Bob Farley of 64 Elm St. likes the idea of Satuday school. It's time that parents in America were made to take a little responsibility for their kids." He argues that parents "are not teaching their kids any discipline". Farley is of the opinion that children will wisen up if they have to miss "a few Saturday morning cartoons".

After this discussion, the board voted 5-3 to table the issue until its next meeting on March 7, during which Steele will present figures on in-school detention so far this year.

NYT Reading Log Monday 3 Oct and Tuesday 4 Oct

Monday, Oct 3:
I liked the front-page story on migrant workers from Mexico that keep on coming back when they are 'deported' (what a terrible word!) back to Mexico after they have built a life in the US. Because they have got their families and friends in the US, their incentive to return is massive despite the stricter border patrols. The  delayed lede was well done, with a nutgraf in the third paragraph.
The discussion about increasing taxes, and if yes, what taxes, that has been going on in the US at least since the reach of the debt ceiling in August, is well described in the article that is continued on page A2. People that make the laws, are also the ones that pay many taxes because of their resulting income. The complex political loyalty system in the US causes many odd exceptions and loopholes in tax law. The fact that this article highlights the latter I think causes a good deal of discussion.
The very personal story of the retiring firefighter Longanecker is in my opinion too non-relevant to cover an entire page of news with several colour photographs.

Tuesday Oct. 4:
The first thing that strikes is the spelling mistake on the front page: 'Foreign Aid Faces Major Cutbacks in Budget Crisis - Both Parties Raise Ax.' Assuming 'Ax' should be 'Tax', we would have a very interesting story if this mistake was corrected as 'Axe' :) The front page story about hormonal contraceptives increasing the risk of contracting HIV is very very newsworthy, for as it says 'about 140 million women worldwide use hormonal contraception'. Therefore, very relevant. I loved the article on Scots refusing to let pay Scottish inhabitants university tuition fee, where the English have to pay up to $56,000 for a four-year degree. I have been to Scotland and this is a very typical thing to do. I also like the buildup of the story, with a delayed lede, via the Crown Prince and his wife, to the outraged English.

Scent of a Woman - Speech story summary lede

  Frank Slade, a retired Army Ranger lieutenant colonel, provided a passionate defense for highschool student Charlie Simms, when the latter was subject to a formal inquiry of his prep school disciplinary commission last Thursday.
 Slade harshly criticized the proceedings at the meeting, and displayed his views on character and honesty. "If I were five years younger, I'd have brought a flamethrower into this place!" 

NY Times Reading Log 27/9

The front page story about screening women for cervix cancer in Thailand, that was continued on page A3,  had some interesting quotes. This quote: ‘ “Some doctors resist” the cryptotherapy approach, said Dr. Wachara Eamratsameekool. This indicates a clear effort by the NYT to not plagiarize.

Furthermore I still think the American army’s casualties count in the daily newspaper is somewhat disturbing.

The follow-up story in the national section of the newspaper on the floodings in Penssylvania were well done, this time with more pictures and not as much focus on one individual.

Also, the article on poverty and unemployment is shocking, I hope it sparks the government to do something about the nonexistent social security.

NY Times Reading Log Monday 26/9

On the front page today, there was an article about Saudi-Arabia, that women are as of last Sunday allowed to vote and allowed to held public offices. I liked the news, and the article was well-written, certainly because the journalist points out the contradiction that women are probably not very likely to run for a public office, for they legally need a male chaperone for about every public action and they are not permitted to drive.
The Bronx article, also on the front page, was nice because I have just been in New York this weekend. I liked the delayed lede at the Mexican gangs-article on page 4.
The in-dept article about trial and the US judiciary system on page A18, I believe to be of great social significance, raising awareness about how certain things are done in your home country and sparking discussion is one of the things that 'good' news should do.

Delayed Lede in class 26/9

It was bound to be a quiet day at work. Ken Loughlin, who sat at the edge of the water near his beloved Wallace Stands State Beach in Rye, NH, was already daydreaming of his week off this summer.

                On this boiling Wednesday in July, he was to keep an eye on the swimmers, as he had done for the past 30 years, while planning his little holiday.

                Loughlin nor any of the swimmers could at that point foresee the tragedy that was about to happen this day.