Missing Daughter

A British couple, Kate and Gerry McCann, were named suspects on September 7th for their three-year-old daughter’s disappearance on May 3rd in Portugal. A $2 million fund has already been set up to help find Madeline, and the family decided not to use the money from the Find Madeline fund to pay their legal bills. As a result, the McCanns were thinking of selling their home, as were some of the other members of the family in order to help the parents. When Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, heard about this he decided that something needed to be done. The billionaire donated $200,000 to help the couple clear their names, and had already donated money to the Find Madeline fund. Branson is also trying to get other wealthy people to donate money to help the couple. 


I’m a little bit divided on how I feel about this. On the one hand, I think that what Branson is doing is incredibly kind and generous, and I am very happy that he is doing what he can to help these parents. While on the other, I know that the parents are, unfortunately, often the ones to blame, and there must be some kind of evidence for them to be suspects in the case. However, if this ever happened to me, I would want someone to help out my parents. I don’t exactly know how I feel about this, or whether I think that what he is doing is right or not. Personally, I have always tried placing myself in other’s people’s shoes during a crisis such as this, but it is so hard to imagine losing a child. I know that I would want everything possible to be done in order to find a resolution. Therefore, I do recognize the fact that Branson is trying to help people and I think that that’s a good thing. These stories are always so sad, and I really hope that it turns out that the parents weren’t involved.

Arctic Ice

I just read a news story about how the ice coverage in the arctic has receded to record lows. The ice has withdrawn to 1 million square miles, with the previous low being 1.5 million square miles in 2005. As a result, ships now have the ability to sail trough the Northwest passage which has always been blocked by ice. This route could shorten the trip for boats from Europe to Asia by thousands of miles, and it is a route that “explorers and traders have long dreamt could open fully”. This passage is also potentially oil-rich, and with its opening, many country are trying to claim it. I believe that this is totally the wrong reaction. Many experts believe that global warming is the cause for the melting ice, and I agree. I think that instead of focusing on how this path will help them, these governments should be looking at why this area is opening up. It seems like they are only concerned about being in control of it rather than trying to fix a very real problem.