The York School Student Blogs

Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty visited Israel and the Palestinian territories to asses the situation in the middle east. They can take comfort from a public poll taken on Tuesday by the Environics Research Group. 48% of Canadians believe that the government’s policy on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict is “right on”.  Since Stephen Harper has become prime minister the government has become more pro-Israel then past years. Almost a quarter of Canadians say that the government is too pro-Israel. Only 3% of Canadians believe that the Canadian government is too pro-Palestinian. 27% of people said they didn’t know enough to give an opinion. The people who believe the government is too pro-Israel are mainly people in Quebec. Also many people in the prairie provinces support this view, as well as the older Canadians. As well a large number of NDP supporters believe the government is too pro-Israel. The majority of people are fairly happy with the government’s stand on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict however they disagree on the idea of Palestine’s effort to have its territory recognized by the United Nations. Mr. Baird said that Palestine’s initative is “profoundly wrong”. 35% of Canadians support Palestine’s bid, 11% are against it and 53% have no opinion on the matter. Support for Palestine is mostly in Quebec in Ontario, especially Toronto and Montreal. Also among men, non-European immigrants and those who support the NDP or Green parties. Opposition to the bid is highly evident among men over the age of 60 and Conservative supporters. The government will stay where it is on both matters.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/nearly-half-canadians-say-ottawas-policy-on-israeli-palestinian-conflict-strikes-right-balance/article2321233/

It is generally understood that elephants come from warmer climates, and it is generally understood that you should not take an animal from warmer climates and expect it to thrive in colder ones. So why is it then, that elephants are still in the Toronto Zoo, when our winters here are brutally cold, let alone for animals that are native here, but definitely more so for animalsthat are adapted for warmer places.

Fact of the matter is, Elephants do not belong in captivity in Canada. It isn’t fair to expect elephants to be adapted to our climate when they have evolved to suit warmer climates in Asia and Africa, where they’ve never even seen snow, and just thrust them into a winter environment doesn’t seem right at all, does it?

Barker says the cold winter temperatures are not good for elephants, like this one seen at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in January. (Rob Carr/AP)

Just by looking at the picture above, you can clearly see that they are out of place and deserve much better.

Because of the conditions that they (the elephants) are kept in, they have developed foot problems from the concrete that their enclosures use on the floor, arthritis from the cold and have also been known to develop depression because of the lack of other elephants in their enclosure. In the wild, elephants live up to 70 years in groups of 12 and up while in captivity they live in smaller groups of 3-4 per enclosure. In captivity, elephants may live longer in the wild, but greatdreams.com states that “The physical, mental, and social aspects of the life of a wild elephant are so complex that scientists and researchers are still discovering unknown facts about elephants. How can we possibly ever account forall of an elephant’s needs in captivity? “

Bob Barker agrees with this statement, and has spoken to the CBC and the Toronto Zoo about sending the Elephants to a sanctuary in Galt, California called ARK 2000, which is run by PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society). However, the issue of the cost to transport these animals must also be taken into consideration. CBC article titled “Bob Barker says Canada ‘no place for elephants” states that “Legendary game show host Bob Barker says it will cost $200,000 to move three elephants from the Toronto Zoo to a California sanctuary, and he doesn’t mind paying for it himself.”

So, by moving the elephants to the California reserve, the elephant’s problems would be solved; there would be no concrete in the reserve to cause foot problems, there would be no cold to cause painful arthritis, and there would be higher numbers in a herd, therefore eliminating the issue of depression, and the cost would be completely covered by Bob Barker himself. What is keeping them here? Send them somewhere where they can live their lives in peace.

Cheers,

Julie

John Baird is the Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada and is in Israel and Palestine trying to create some sort of peace. I hate to be the pessimist here but it definitely looks like he’s just going up to all the different ministers and important people in Israel and saying all the right things, while at the same time blaming Palestine for everything. While this is a very controversial issue and I am most certainly not a person who has a vast range of knowledge on this topic, I think that there should be an equal amount of blame on either country (please don’t kill me Hamas). Let’s stop endangering Toby’s life and show you readers some excerpts:

The Minister told the audience of 350 that “Israel has no greater friend in the world than Canada,” then surprised people by saying “Canada does not stand behind Israel… .” After a slight pause he continued: “Canada stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel”

Now, while I am not saying Canada doesn’t stand “shoulder to shoulder” or behind Israel, I am saying that declaring your undying allegiance to one of two countries caught in a seemingly unsolvable conflict doesn’t sound like the greatest of ideas for making peace. Before I start, let me hand you one more quote:

“OTTAWA – Canada used its United Nations speaking slot Monday to lambaste opponents of Israel as no better than the appeasers who allowed fascism and communism to flourish before the Second World War.”

While there is clearly some form of antisemitism weaved into the fine cloak of this conflict, I am pretty sure that Palestinians aren’t about to go out killing 6 million Jews. There’s only around 14,000,000 Jews in the world, and quite frankly I don’t think wiping out around half of said population is a very nice thing to do, nor is it a very tactical thing.  So overall it doesn’t seem very likely, does it?

That’s my two cents on this topic, let’s just hope they’re not my last.

3 days ago, on January 29th 2012, Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were judged guilty for the first degree murder of Mohammad’s three daughters and ex-wife. Mohammad, Tooba and Hamed testify that the daughters and ex-wife dishonoured the family, calling them whores and sluts, for having boyfriends.

The National Post reports that extended family members that testified against Mohammad, Tooba and Hamed, are now being shunned by Afghani communities and the rest of their families, and threats have been made.

Family members report getting mysterious phone calls from places in the Middle East, like Diba Masoomi, who received a threatening phone call telling her to withdraw the complaints she made against the Shafia family, the phone call was tracked to Dubai.

Latif Hyderi, an uncle of the family told the police about a shocking coversation he had with Mohammad regarding his oldest daughter 19 year old Zainab. Zainab was desperate to leave the oppressive home, so she married her boyfriend. Latif recalled Mohammad stating that she was a whore and that “She is dirty. She is a curse to me, If I was there, I would have killed her.”

Latif’s son Reza says that after Latif went to the police with these reports, they received threats from the family and after ignoring the threats they were shunned by the Afghani soceity that they live in, Latif barely speaks and English or French, and the society he is part of  is a vital part of his life.

Other family has been testifying against the Shafias, reports of the family going to Sweden on a vacation and Mr Shafia would kill his daughter Zainab. there. Mr. Hyderi’s cousin Jahvad has reported that  “He (Mr. Shafia) told me that we will put her in water and drown her”

Le 17 Février, je me rendrai à Londres avec quelques autres étudiants de neuvième à la douzième de mon école. Nous irons en voyage musical à Londres, à Ypres, et à Paris. Pendant le voyage, nous serons préformage pour les différentes écoles et aussi aller à de nombreux concerts dont la performance dernier message à Ypres, en Belgique. Nous allons faire beaucoup de choses touristiquetels que Buckingham Palace, la Chambre des Lords, Versailles et la Tour Eiffel, mais à la fin du voyage, je vais sur un échange de trois semaines à Paris.
Même si je suis sur l’échange, je vais rester avec une autre famille et aussi à l’école à Paris. La famille ne vivent pas dans la ville, mais dans une petite ville en dehors de la ville appelée Laiffitte Maisons. Je vais en fait seulement aller à l’école pendant deux semaines de l’échange, car en France il ya unesemaine de congé en Mars, qui est l’équivalent de Pause Mars. Pour cette semaine de moi-même et la personne que je vais aller sur l’échange avec les rendrai à Paris pour être des touristes, et aussi nous pourrions aller à l’arrondissement historique de Le Lorie. Comme c’est bien France, j’ai besoin de pratiquer la lecture, l’écriture, et en parlant en français, ce qui explique pourquoi j’ai fait ce blog en français et en anglais.

On the 17^th of February, I will be travelling to London with some other students from grades nine to twelve from my school. We will be going on a music trip to London, Ypres, and Paris. During the trip we will be preforming for different schools and also going to many concerts including the last post performance in Ypres, Belgium. We will be doing many of the touristy things such as Buckingham Palace, the House of Lords, Versailles, and the Eiffel Tower, but at the end of the trip I am going on a three week long exchange in Paris.

While I’m on exchange, I will be staying with another family and also attending school in Paris. The family does not actually live in the city, but in a small town outside of the city called Maisons Laiffitte. I will actually only be going to school for two weeks of the exchange because in France there is a week off in March which is the equivalent of March Break. For that week myself and the person that I will be going on exchange with will be going into Paris to be tourists, and also we might go to the historic district of Le Lorie. As is it France though, I need to practice reading, writing, and speaking in French, which is why I have done this blog in French and English.

I just created a new website because I’m getting some professional art training and I thought it would be a good idea to make a portfolio and sell some of my work. Here’s the link to my website/portfolio:

http://www.diversityofexpression.com/

Thanks

old Toronto slideshow Daniel

Have you ever had an awkward moment that you wish you could have back? Check this video that’s been floating around the web, maybe this will cheer you up

Here is my China town photo story

food of chinatownFINAL

Old toronto Video Jason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyZwDcLGknU&feature=player_embedded

Mr. Burkett said that we must blog about something current in the news.  Less than 24hours ago were the Golden Globes.  As most of the people turn on their television sets at 8:00 pm (EST) to watch the award show, I go to E! at 6:00 to watch Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic interview celebrities about their outfit of choice.  Here are my fashion high lights of last night.

Jessica Chastain, who was there nominated for her role of Celia Foote in “The Help”.  She looked beautiful in a very fitted wedding white Givenchy dress with a turtle neck.  As well, there were what seemed to be white beads on the dress.   She wore a thin gold coloured belt around her waist as well as big, what looked to be diamonds, necklace and big Harry Winston pearl earrings.

Michelle Williams, who won for her outstanding performance in “My Week With Marilyn” was wearing a 1920s style Jason Wu dress.  It was navy blue 3/4 length sleeves paired with a vintage Fred Leighton  for Forevermark headband.    Her short strawberry blonde hair was arranged casually along with her Judith Leiber clutch.  After receiving her Golden Globe she apologized to her daughter she had with the late Heath Ledger for “6 months of bedtime stories in her Marilyn voice.”

Glee star Dianna Agron looked beautiful supporting her show and fellow cast.  She wore a vivid red floor-length dress with laser cut swam embellishments on top, and tiered lace came down  from her natural waist line.  She wore vintage Fred Leighton jewelry and put her hair up in a, what looked to be effortless, bun.

Presenter Salma Hayak looked ravishing in her Gucci dress.  Above the waist line there is gold with some silver beading over top the black fabric, as well, it is very form fitting.  The bottom of her dress is a shiny black pleated fabric.  She paired the gown with gold drop earrings and a little black clutch.

Rooney Mara stunned in a black Nina Ricci dress.  Her signature bangs were pulled back into a sleek and short ponytail.  Her dress’ neckline plunged with cut outs around her waist.  It hit the floor with elegance and edge.  Rooney Mara was nominated for her role in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and though I wanted her to win, the awards went to Meryl Streep.   It was her 234598223465658 nomination and 34098572342 win!

I can’t wait to see what the red carpet holds for us tonight at the SAG awards!! (Screen Actor Guild)

xxx

Quinn

Early Wednesday, two decapitated bodies were found inside a burning SUV at the entrance to one of Mexico’s high-end and luxurious malls.  The drug violence, thought before to have remained along the US border and in outlying states, has reached, what was once thought a haven from Mexico’s violence, the sprawling capital of Mexico City and, more specifically, the Santa Fe district.  Known to be the financial district, it houses the headquarters of major Mexican corporations, including Hewlett Packard and IBM, and, one of Mexico’s top private schools, Iberoamerican University.  Wealthy Mexicans and upper-class foreigners rest in the heavily-guarded, modern high-rises which cover the hilly landscape.  For more than a year now, gangs have been fighting over the increasingly dangerous and lucrative drug market, mainly in the capital’s working class outer neighborhoods and suburbs.

The charred car, which was found at the Centro Santa Fe mall was reported to have a note written on hot pink paper, signed by the drug gang Mano con Ojos, or Hand with Eyes.  Mexican police stated that the gang had been weakened by the arrest of its leader, Oscar Osvaldo Garcia, in August, yet clearly were still able to act on highly dangerous and gruesome measures.  The victims included a man and a woman, both in their 30’s, who had not been identified.

The extremely gruesome dump scene was cleaned up so quickly that shoppers weren’t even aware that anything had happened.  But you have to think: shouldn’t the people know all of the violence that surrounds them.  I’m sure they are aware of the drug trade that has been surrounding them the past decade and may even know people who have lost their lives, but, if the violence is entering this high-end district of the capital and those people think that they’re safe in their enclosed haven, something needs to be done.

Hours after the body had been retrieved, the government released a drug war body count recording more than 47,500 victims in five years, marking the highest death toll yet.  Quickly reading over, it may just seem like a number: 47,500, when in actuality, those are all precious lives; real people.  People who could have been still alive today except somehow they got wrapped up in extremely perilous and terrifying drug trade, or war, rather.  Because at this high number of mortalities, it really does seem like a war.

On January 9 the Costa  Concordia, a cruise ship carrying 4,200 people crashed at the west coast of Italy. Researchers found that the ship was off route and too close to the shore. The ship had hit rocks and they had created a hole in the ship. The ship started sinking and flipped onto its side. Six people have been found dead and sixteen are still missing. The blame was put on the captain who is currently under trial for man slaughter. It is said that he had left the ship before all of the passengers were evacuated although the captain has denied it. The ship crashed right outside the Gilgio islands on the west coast of Italy.  The cruise was part of Carnival which is currently the largest cruise line. In 2011 the cruise had been tested for its safety and had passed the test.  The cruise is currently flipped over and researchers are trying to figure out a way to remove the ship without disturbing the area around it.

Another problem is the fuel that is on the ship. The cruise had been carrying around 500,000 gallons of fuel. environmentalists are worried about the tank starting to leak and all of the fuel going into the water. This is something that people are going to have to take into consideration as they try to discover a way to move the ship.

The boat also had a shortage of life boats. there weren’t enough useable life boats for all the guests. After hearing about this some of the guest decided to swim to shore. It was only about 100 meters away and was a better option then just waiting on the sinking ship. One couple even claimed that they didn’t feel the coldness of the water  because of all the adrenaline they had. There had been 12 Canadians on the ship and all of them have survived.  This was probably a very traumatic experience for many of the guest on the cruise. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again.

According to an report from BBC news that researchers in Sweden have found a link between processed meat and cancer!

According to this report they said that ” eating an extra 50g of processed meat, approximately one sausage, every day would increase a person’s risk by 19%”! I think that this is shocking and makes me wonder more about what I am eating. This statement is even more worrying when you know that red and process meat has already been linked to bowl cancer.

One of the cancers which can be fatal and you would have increased risk of when you eat extra processed meat is Pancreatic cancer. According to professor Larsson “Pancreatic cancer has poor survival rates. So as well as diagnosing it early, it’s important to understand what can increase the risk of this disease.”

However do not be deceived that these are this is the only risky factors which contribute to cancer, others include:
Lack of Physical activity
Smoking
Obesity
Sunlight

There are many reports like this gone out around the internet. “People should cut back on red and processed meat to reduce their risk of getting cancer, the government says.” “Our findings did come as something of a surprise. At the simplest level if meat causes colorectal cancer you would expect to see lower rates in the vegetarians, and we didn’t,” says Professor Tim Key From a Third Report

First Report:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16526695

Second Report:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12571576

Third Report:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8509145.stm

Late last Friday the Cruise Ship of Costa Cruises crashed into rocks by the Tuscan Coast. Because of this crash with the Cruise Ship the Captain, Francesco Schettino, is suspected of manslaughter because he was of course and made an unapproved and unauthorized change to the Cruise Ships course. Because of his change in course 6 people were killeed in the accident and 15 people are still missing. What is even worse in my opinion is because of the weather now by the Tuscan coast the search for these missing 15 people has been stopped for a while. The CEO of Costa Cruises said that all the routes of the cruises are put in correctly and if the cruise goes out of course alarms go of. So it was the Captain of the ships error that he went of course and his decision and that his decision was not known to Costa Cruises. The CEO of Costa Cruises, Mr. Frochi, apologized for this accident in a pres conference and almost cried in it. Some people say that the Costa Concordia, name of the boat, crashed into the rocks because the Captain wanted to put on a show for the passengers of the boat to go close to the island of Giglio, on of the Tuscan Islands. Because the Costa Concordia was at an impossible angle to board the life boats on, some crew and passengers had to swim to land.

Another fear was the fear of an oil spill. Because there is such rough weather now by the Tuscan Coast and environmentalists are saying that there is an extremely high risk of the fuel in the Costa Concordia to leak. The cruise ship still has full reservoirs of fuel and the fuel is heavy diesel which could sink down into the seabed causing an environmental disaster. They want to get the fuel out as soon as possible but the ship is in a very bad state.

“You’re at work when you get word of unexpected dinner guests. No problem. Smart appliances to the rescue.”

reading this article really made me realize how quickly the world was evolving, in all senses of the world. on this article it talked about a new technology called smart appliances.

this works in a way in which you could take out your smartphone from anywhere then activate a small vaccum like machine with a camera, steer it around and see whats going around in your house, it even has a built in speaker in which you can talk out of and tell your kid to stop gaming and start his homework.

You switch to another related application which allows you to check the contents of your fridge and that will remind you that you are out of eggs! in this application you can also find recipes. say you have surprise visitors one day, you can decide on something from the recipe book, then have food preparing before you even get home. once you inform your fridge on what you are going to make it then tells the oven or stove and preheats it before you arrive. say your kids have made a mess with the house and you are really trying to impress your guests. the robot you have can even clean the floors and tidy up around the house before you get home to do some final touches.

in my opinion this is new technology can be a good and bad idea. i think that its a great idea but the application of the technology might be a hassle and hard, i cant think of how you could syncronize all your appliances. another poinbt that came to my mind is the danger factor, could this be dangerous and have risks? things like fires, leaving the stove one and breaking things while the robot tries to clean the floors. i think that in order for this technology to work there must be an extensive ammount of research done to make sure that everything is as neat, and organize and safe as possible

here are some things that developers are saying about this product,

“I see it as making household chores simpler, simplifying your life,

” Stirling said. “I don’t think it’s being Facebook friends with your fridge. And I don’t think it’s about surfing Facebook from your fridge.”

“There is a certain level of consumer who wants the latest and greatest and will be attracted by some of the new smart features,” he said

what do you think about this new idea?

On Saturday Ma was re-elected as the the President of Taiwan. He is a very divisive figure in Taiwan. He is controversial figure and the country is divided over it. The other presidential candidate was Tsai Ing-wen. The U.S. and China both supported Main this election. This election is one of the few thing that the U.S. and China agree upon. Ma and the nationalist party the he represents will bring Taiwan closer to China and China’s goal of reuniting Taiwan with as part of China. Certain people worry that Tsai and the proindependence progressive party would be pressured by the communist party to be more aggresive towards the island. China currently has over 1000 miossiles pointed at Taiwain and maintains constant threats to use force to capture it if Taiwan tries to get legal independance. The election was very close, with Ma winning with only 51.6 percent on votes. The U.S.  was happy with the results of this election because the close results means that Taiwans democratic system. The improved realtion between Taiwan and China is also in the U.S.’s interests. The Canadian Foreign Minister, John Baird, said that he and canada hopes that the improvement of relations between Taiwan and China continues and that peace is maintained. Canada also supports Taiwan becoming part of China but does not accept Chinas claim over Taiwan or Taiwans current independence.

In shanghai, there is a factory called Foxconn. They are known for supplying Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.

But why are they in the news?

Well, last week the workers were fed up. About 150 of them threatened to throw themselves off the roof of the building at which they work. This was especially stressful to the company, because there had been instances before where suicide occurred at this particular factory. The workers protested because Foxconn had a deal with the workers that in a nutshell, offered them a month’s wages if they decided to quit. However, a day after this deal was done, everyone who had quit found out that the bosses at Foxconn changed their mind, and they were left without a job or pay.

There are currently 1.2 million people that work for Foxconn, however, the company is moving towards automation and using robots. Robots would be better since they don’t have monthly wages, and they can carry out about half the jobs related to the company.

In my opinion, there is no argument whether the people were cheated or not – they clearly were. I don’t think a mass suicide would have helped them in any way, but threatening to do so put them on the news, and on the map. I don’t think Foxconn organized their change of heart well enough, and should have given the people back their jobs.

In other news, 2 Israeli websites were hacked today – the Tel Aviv stock exchange, and the website of Israel’s most popular airline. The group that claimed this attack is a Saudi Arabian group who call themselves nightmare, and one of their members contacted the Jerusalem Post via e-mail to send them what they will do.

“We decided to release (the) first part of our data about Israel.”

Earlier this month, Israeli credit card numbers were posted online, prompting an investigation. In my opinion, this could be a very big threat to Israel, and I don’t understand how it could’ve happened. Israel is known for being pretty technologically advanced, and if an important website gets hacked, especially if it’s government owned, I honestly don’t know how far the Israeli government will go to stop this hacking.

Last night, the 69^th annual Golden Globe Awards were presented to some of the most famous, accomplished actors and filmmakers in the world. It took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. The film The Descendants won the award for the best drama motion picture, and the film The Artist won the award for best motion picture – musical or comedy. I am glad that The Artist was given the highest honour at the awards. I loved the movie – it’s a French silent film set during the Great Depression. I thought it was funny, but also helped people understand how tough the Depression was on the film industry, particularly as silent films were declining in popularity, and “talkies” were rising in popularity.

I thought The Descendants was good – it starred George Clooney, and followed a man’s journey to come to terms with the inevitable death of his wife (who’d been put in a coma in a boating accident) whilst rebuilding shaky relationships with his unruly daughters. However, I didn’t think it was amazing, or necessarily worthy of winning best film at the Golden Globes. I think the characters were a little bit static and stereotyped. I also don’t think George Clooney’s performance was worthy of an award, which he won at last night’s ceremony; from what I hear, Leonardo Dicaprio’s performance in J. Edgar and Michael Fassbender’s performance in Shame were amazing, and maybe they were more worthy of winning.

My favourite moment from the Golden Globes last night was when Meryl Streep won the Best Actress – Drama award for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in the British biopic The Iron Lady (this was her 26^th Golden Globe nomination and 8^th win – she has won more Golden Globes for acting than anyone in history). When her name was called, and she went onstage to give her acceptance speech, she forgot her reading glasses and couldn’t read what she prepared. She got really frazzled and confused and flustered, and it was cool seeing her so different – so much more normal and human – than the characters she plays in her films.

Before I say anything, I’m just going to let you know this is mostly going to be about Community and The Walking Dead. If you don’t like either of those shows (which is pretty much impossible to do), I suggest that you don’t listen to this blog because you won’t like it. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin.

In case you guys haven’t heard yet, it looks at the moment as though Community might be cancelled. NBC is saying that they’re just trying to find better playing times, and that they’re “renewing” the show, but it looks to me like they’re cancelling it. Apparently only 3 million people are watching one of the funniest shows ever to be played on TV. Everyone saw this a few months ago when NBC announced it’s mid season lineup. It looks like it might get replaced by a new show from Chelsea Handler called “Are you there Vodka?“. I think that joke pretty much tells itself. Parks and Recreation and Rock Center with Brian Williams have pretty much the same ratings, but unfortunately they’ve decided to cut the rope on Community.

I also want to talk about another fantastic show called The Walking Dead. It’s a fantastic shows about a zombie apocalypse in which a man wakes up from a coma and sets out to find his family etc. They then have to fight off zombies and use tactics other zombie movies/shows haven’t used before them to evade and/or kill the zombies, and they actually show that people would contemplate suicide in a situation like a zombie apocalypse, which I thought was really interesting. I also really like how the show doesn’t just focus on guns and explosions, but actually has good actors and not huge guys that run around with assault rifles mowing down millions of zombies with 5 bullets.

That was my 10 cents on shows.

The Stop Online Piracy Act, is an American bill that allows the US department of justice and copyright holders to fight against copyrighted intellectual material online.

SOPA is a highly controversial bill, many people believe that SOPA prohibits freedom of speech through the internet, and they believe that SOPA is the end to the internet.  The bill would require internet service companies block websites that stream tv shows, music, and other copyrighted material. And using IP tracking if you vist these websites 10 times in a 6 month period, it would be considered a crime, with a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

I think that SOPA would start in the US, but continue to spread throughout many countries, including Canada. I believe that SOPA is a bad idea, not only would SOPA prohibit free speech, but also SOPA would prohibit access the information, and it would violate the First Amendment.

SOPA would also outlaw the use of proxy servers, like those used during the Arab Spring (to bypass government blocks), for the US government to pass this bill would be ridiculous, it would be counter-productive when the US wants to help these countries come to a democratic solution.

SOPA would also have a negative effect of user-based sites, such as Youtube. SOPA would prohibit any material that is copyrighted to be shared, whether that is a tiny clip, or a full song.

Some opponents to the law think that SOPA could become like China’s great Firewall. The bill would also prohibit linking to banned sites.

SOPA is overall a bad idea, even though the US government states that it’s protected US copyrighted material, I believe the internet should be free, and stay free. The bill is also highly impractical, how would the US come to monitor all of these sites and the users of the sites, it’s ridiculous. As I previously stated it is violated the First Amendment and SOPA would suppress Free Speech and Access to Free information.

Anyways the bill is still in Congress, and is confronting massive backlash from multiple communities on the internet.

Here’s a video on SOPA, and the rap is pretty awesome.

Happy Blogging,

Noah Powers

Sometimes, you have to choose between what is right and what is easy. Tonight is one of those times.

But first, lets rewind. Back to mid grade seven, when I had recently put my second rat Skittles to sleep. Not long after, we were in the pet store again, buying food for our dog Jo. And that’s when I saw Toffee.

So, we took her home, and we cleaned her crate; with a hose. In the back yard. For an hour. And that set the president for how we would look after her for the rest of her life. Always over-thinking, and always doing more than was necessary, and the reason for doing so was clear; we loved her. But it wasn’t in the way that you’d think one might love a rat, or in a way that a rat would love you. You could tell how much she cared about you, and you could tell that she knew how much you cared about her.

She trusted everyone, always gave people the benefit of the doubt. Immediately after we cleaned her cage for the first time, I sat on the couch and she fell asleep, right then and there. She didn’t consider me the one that took her away from her family; she trusted that I wouldn’t hurt her, though she didn’t really know for sure. Toffee loved and was loved-is loved- and is most definitely sorely missed.

Toffee was…infectious. She just had a magical little way of spreading joy, and making you think in ways you’d never imagine. She had a spirit that could just brighten a room, and even in the quietest moments, you could understand her complete and utter contentment. She had that special way of just completely making your day. You could spill your heart out to her and know that she was listening, feeling for you in every way possible. Even if she didn’t quite grasp the full extent of the situation, she could very well sense that there was something wrong. Always empathetic, she was. Precious, precious little Toffee. No matter how you knew her, Toffee impacted you. Changed you for the better, helped you in some way.

There’s so much that I could say, so many moments that I could share. But it really all boils down to the fact that she loved, and was loved, and will continue to be loved. And though the emptiness that grief comes with is virtually unbearable, she is worth every second of it. So thank you, Toffee. For every kiss, every snuggle, every late night movie, and every moment spent together. No regrets.

Cheers,

Julie

Hi! Hope everybody had a nice and restful break! I spent an entire break sleeping in, so mine was definitely that.

I also got a chance to read The Hunger Games, the first part of Suzanne’s Collins post-apocalyptic trilogy. The book is set in the dystopian society of Panem, which emerged from “the ashes of North America” after either a nuclear winter or severe climate change, and is controlled by the Capitol, a huge and glittering city in the Rocky Mountains. The Capitol is surrounded by 12 districts, each with a specific good or industry to better serve The Capitol, and many of the 12 districts are very difficult places to live in. In punishment for a rebellion 75 years previous to the book, there is an annual event called the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death . Every district must offer in tribute 1 boy and 1 girl between the ages of 12-18. 24 so called tributes enter the games, and only one emerges as the victor.

The novel’s protagonist is 16 year old Katniss Everdeen, a skilled hunter who lives with her mother and sister (her father being deceased) in one of the poorest districts, District 12. When Katniss’s 12 year old sister Primrose is selected to compete in the games, Katniss steps forwards to take her place. It is from there the story takes off.

Unlike many other teen novels, The Hunger Games does not make romance the central focus of the novel, rather it focuses on survival and what we are willing to do not only for the survival of ourselves, but the ones that we care about. This is mostly exemplified in the love that Katniss has for her younger sister, as she is willing to compete in the games and risk dying for her. That is not to say there is no romance, as we are introduced to Peeta Mellark, the male tribute of district 12 who is turns out, has had a long running crush on Katniss. Collins weaves a complicated relationship between the two, as in her fight to stay alive Katniss begins a relationship with Peeta in order to gain popularity with the viewers of the games.

All in all this book is a good read, as the protagonist is a strong yet real character, the world she lives in is an intriguing one, and just like the Hunger Games themselves, the plot keeps you on your toes.

Whenever I am not supposed to be in school, my family and I return to the United States to see our family and friends. We always go to Connecticut and New York, my two favorite places in the world. I spend a large portion of my year in New York; I felt like I had gotten the full experience of the city, knowing where to go, what to do, and especially where to eat. However one day it struck me that there was more to the full experience than just Manhattan…It is a placed that is so underestimated and ignored far too much. Of course i’m talking about Brooklyn…

Being the food fanatic that I am, and constantly looking for a new place to try, I along with my Dad and a friend(who also loved food and adventure), decided that we would go on a food crawl across the borough. We took the subway across the water, and ended up in a completely new surrounding. We spent the whole day walking around trying restaurants and cafe’s that had been raved about on the Internet. We tried everything from french Cafes to a classic Brooklyn Pizza joint. It was truly one of the most interesting and exciting experiences of my life!

I wish I could say more but other forces are telling me to wrap it up!

Happy Eating!

In the last few months I have been able to see quite a few concerts that were all very great. After meeting The Drums at Sonic Boom, there was another in-store later that month with Blitzen Trapper. I also got the chance to see Jeff Beck, The Sheepdogs, and The National.

Blitzen Trapper are a band from Portland Oregon and I had never heard of them before but decided to go to the in-store anyways since it seemed like a good opportunity. The band turned out to be very good and I was happy I went. Before this though in October I went to see Jeff Beck at Massey Hall. He also put on a great show, performing his classics and fusion material. The backing band touring with him and were all very talented. His opening act which he had personally chosen to tour with him was a young guitar prodigy who was also greatly talented. Jeff Beck’s concert turned out to be a great show!

Later I went to see one of my favourite bands The Sheepdogs, a Canadian group from Saskatchewan. They have a very 70s rock sound, somewhat similar to The Grateful Dead. They were the winners of a Rolling Stone cover contest back in August, which has led to the recently gained popularity. The show had originally been 19+ at a smaller venue but due to how fast the initial show sold out it was bumped up to bigger venue, making it all ages. They put on a great show which was very much like a concert from a few decades ago. Their opening acts were also superb, being two bands from Hamilton, Young Rival and Monster Truck. Monster Truck had an old school hard rock sound, whereas Young Rival a more modern indie rock sound which was a bit odd for the line up. Their guitar sound is actually very similar to that of The Drums.

Finally, I had the chance to see The National on tour. They put on a great and unique show, somewhat similar to that of Gorillaz. The lead singer had great stage presence and interacted a lot with the audience. Their opening acts were also great. Wye Oak, a folk rock indie duo from Baltimore were the first opening act and they were very talented, the drummer playing keyboards and singing harmonies as well while playing his initial instrument. Sadly there was only about thirty people in the crowd which was less than what they probably play in a club. Neko Case was also very talented, with unique vocals.

All in all, the concerts I saw towards the end of 2011 were all very great and I don’t believe I would be able to choose a favourite.

Unfortunately, the winter  break is finally over. For me, my winter break is best described by the word winter, not as much by a break. I traveled two hours to Collingwood to take a four day ski instructor certification course with some of my peers. This course was not easy. The days began at 8:30, and went as late as 4:30. During this time, temperatures plummeted as low as -16, and despite a student in the course having frostbite, we were not aloud to take any breaks aside from lunch. Luckily, me and all my peers passed this course, and are now level 1 certified ski instructors. Wheeww!!

But the work was not over. The very next day we began ski instructing, and it was anything but easy. One of my friends was almost fired and hour into his first day for allowing one of the kids to fall off of the chairlift just as everyone was about to get off. I was stuck with two three year old girls who needed help walking, let alone skiing. There is nothing more stressful then trying to lift two three year old kids onto a moving chair, and making sure they don’t fall thirty feet.

See ya,

Mitchell

Hello world! It seems like everything is back to normal as we resume our lives. I have several interesting stories from my winter break. Firstly, I began by going into a 4 day level 1 instructor’s course in Collingwood. If I managed to pass, I would become a certified ski instructor and could get a job almost anywhere in Ontario! The course was very tiring and grueling, but I learned a lot about my own skiing abilities as well as how to teach skiing to a person that has never been skiing before. In the end, I was able to pass the course, which is very exciting. I then was able to get a job teaching little kids (3-5 years old) for a 9 week program.

The very next day, I hopped on a 8 hour plane ride to Rome, Italy. If you have never been to Rome, I would highly recommend it. There are beautiful buildings at every corner, and fountains in every plaza. If we could get even one of these fountains, it would instantly be the best piece of art in Toronto by far. Next is the food, which is by far the best I have ever had on a trip. The pizzas are on a completely other level than Toronto “authentic” pizza. The thin crust is awesome, and the toppings are delicious. The pasta dishes were also very strong, but I think the reputation has gotten a bit over the top. Every day was a new adventure, and I saw things such as the Forum, Ostia Antica, The Coliseum and several art galleries. The amount of sculptures I saw in those 5 days was more than I will see in the rest of my lifetime. Overall, this was a trip to remember that I will think fondly of in the future.

Hi readers,

My peers and I just returned to school from winter break. It is great to see my friends however I am still half asleep, coming down with a cold and jet lagged. Everything i did over the break was completely worth the week of having the sniffles/soar throat and the hole bit. I started off my break with the annual North Toronto Christmas Tournament. After 7 years of not winning our own tournament, we pulled off a 3-2 victory. When I was in Toronto over the course of this tournament, there were 4 days in which i didn’t have a game. The solution to no organized hockey: shinny! For those of you who don’t know, shinny is basically pick up hockey in which two teams are selected after sticks are thrown in the middle ice and are sorted. There are usually 5 players on the ice at a time, and the rest sit on the bench. There are no goalies. “Won’t it be easy to score?” some say. No, if there is no goalie, you have to either hit the post or the crossbar. Anyways, I probably played 10 hours in total of shinny hockey over the break. Over the last week of this fortnight break, my family traveled to Vancouver. We had lunch, and watched the winter classic in the meantime between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. It only turned to be an entertaining game once Michael Rupp, (former Pittsburgh Penguins) scored, and gave “the salute” celebration made famous by Jaromir Jagr (of the Flyers). Jagr’s response to this was very classy explaining that anyone is entitled to do that celebration. Rupp was later interviewed on his thoughts of Jagr, and was shown scratching his head with his middle finger sticking out. Coincidence? I think not. Anyways, after this game, my family traveled to Whistler to ski. I was incredibly excited for several reasons, however one stood out. Whistler has the biggest base of any ski resort in all of North America. I had a great time. One night, 16 inches fell on to the entirety of the mountain. I skied from when the lifts opened, to when they closed for all of 4 days. If I were to pick any run that was my favorite, I would pick Jersey Cream bowl. I love bowls, because you feel so free with no trees surrounding you, just a lot of powder! The great part of this run was that there was a big drop leading into it. I was surprised the first time I did this run, but for the next 3 times, I took it with speed. There was no problem if I fell, because there was powder to break my fall. That day, It was sunny and hardly any wind. However, I truly did get the “Whistler Experience.” It was raining every other day, and I was wet! Oh well, i laid my pants and jacket next to the fireplace, and they were ready for the next day. Whistler is now my favorite place to ski. I have been skiing at other big places such as Vail, Lake Louise, Big White, Keystone and Stowe, but if I were given the opportunity to ski anywhere in North America tomorrow, I would chose Whistler without any hesitation.

Anyways, I loved whistler and I had an incredible break.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron

Whats in the daily news? I’ll tell you whats in the daily news; a scandal involving a fake Radiohead song that drove fans crazy. I don’t believe fake is the correct word to use actually. A song was leaked to the internet that was said to be an old song by Radiohead that was never released. Many people agreed it was one of their best work and people were raving about it. I only wish I could see the faces of these bloggers when they found it that it was not written by the band, but by a Canadian baker who had recorded this song and didn’t make it so gave up the music business. I found this article that will pretty much sum up exactly what happened and the song itself, which I, a big Radiohead fan, thought was a song by them myself.

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/music/2011/12/30/toronto-singer-christopher-stopa-discovered-cnn-through-radiohead-youtube-mix

Well that’s all I have to say for now! I hope you enjoy the song!