In class we had to read two articles on Canadian articles. The first article I read was on the MP pensions in the Globe and Mail. Stephen Harper wants to make the mandatory retirement age higher to reduce the cost of pensions. In the article, it says that the government might also alter the MP’s pension. They say that it would not be fair to take away from the average citizen and not themselves. The NDP’s are not in favor of this plan. Their interium leader Anne McGrath says that it is only a distraction to take away from more pressing issues. She thinks they should be acting on the average Canadian pension and not their own. At the end of the article it mentions Mr. Dewar. Mr. Dewar wants to get more women into council. He has proposed a plan in which he will encourage more women to run in elections and he will campaign for free abortions, free government child care and free fertility treatments. He thinks all of these ideas will help women and maybe help him get more on his campaign and running in elections. This article was written by Jane Taber.
The second article I read was about public transit in Toronto. In Rob Ford’s election campaign for mayor of Toronto he said that he would expand on the city’s public transportation. He has recently released that he plans on building an underground light rail along Eglinton. Many of the councilors are against this idea. Ms. Stinks said that she was against him building the underground light rail. She has a compromise to put it on street level. She says that if it is on the street level the government would save 1.5 billion. With that money they could extend some of the subway lines. Mr. Mihevc states that Rob Ford over stepped his power by cancelling Transit City and told the TTC to direct its resources elsewhere. The article goes into Mr. Ford and his brother’s weight lost publicity stunt. They are both trying to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. This article was written by Elizabeth Church.
From the Article: Boutique Schools: Elitist or Evocative?
By: Tamara Baluja
This article discusses the increase in popularity of elementary schools which specialized in a certain area or field of study. In addition to teaching compulsory courses and all parts of the Ontario elementary school curriculum, these schools boast study for students aged 4 through 11 in things like drama, music, or even hockey. There are 50 “boutique schools” (which feature specialized areas of study) in the T.D.S.B. The Peel District School Board has proposed expanding its roster of specialized schools for elementary school students. A dramatic increase in boutique public schools across Ontario could have huge impacts of the way students learn; on how early students choose to specialized in a certain field.
Many parents believe that these schools are elitist, and nevertheless, a bad fit for such young learners. These parents hold true to the ideal that specialization in education should happen in high school, if not in university. Certain groups of people who’ve studied elementary education claim that grades 1 through 6 should be about foundation learning, rather than specialized learning. If young kids can obtain fundamental skills in things like math, reading and writing, they will, according to these professionals, be more well-rounded adults.
Others believe strongly in the development of specialized education for elementary school learners. They believe that in-depth learning in a specific field of study, from a young age, builds confidence and makes students enjoy learning more; if they love dancing, for example, they would love other subjects too (as dance would be incorporated). Enthusiasm for learning grows stronger, and young learners can form friendships faster by amalgamating around the basis of a shared passion.
That being said, I think that people across lots of different fields should learn together, and as a result, learn from each other. I do not think specialized learning should all the time in elementary schools, and I think that if specialized learning were to exist, different specialties should be encompassed within the same vicinity. If students can learn from each other’s passions and strengths, more cohesive communities can form, in which students can share different ideas from their own disciplines, and improve on their own skills as they learn from each other. While I believe it is important to nurture a child’s passion, and make them feel good about their skills, from a very young age, I do not think specialized learning should happen all the time. If a mix of fundamentals and specialization could be incorporated into a combined set of curricula, students would become relatively well-rounded while becoming extremely proficient in a certain area. With a mix of both, primary students would develop respects for all areas of learning while nurturing their skills in what they love to do most in life.
On October 23rd 2011, a disabled man was severely burned in a bath in a Calgary group home, suffering burns on 20% of his body. Two and a half hours later, he was rushed by a caretaker to a nearby hospital. It was not soon enough, five and a half weeks, four plastic surgeries, and a bowel operation later, he died.
The 35 year old man, named only as ‘David’ was non-verbal, and had a severe form of epilepsy. He would clap or hum when he was happy. He had been a member of the facility fr over 15 years, and was grieved by not only his family, but his caretakers in the facility as well.
This event is causing Alberta’s government to have bath temperature control gauges installed in 1000 centers, this will cost about $1,500,000. They are also creating new safety regulations.
I find this story very upsetting, and even a bit appalling. How can we trust government run facilities if people are dying in them? This wasn’t even the first time someone had been burned. Three or four years earlier, someone had been burned at the facility as well. I find this especially disturbing in places like centers for disabled persons, or elderly homes. These people have moved to these places so they can live a healthy and safe life, but if occasionally someone dies there, what does that say for the facilities.
Another thing I want to know it what happened during those two and a half hours? Why wasn’t the patient rushed to the hospital as soon as he was burned? The facility claims that his injuries didn’t show up right after, but I think they still should have gone sooner.
I am very glad that the Alberta government is attempting to fix this issue, but what I don’t understand is why this issue wasn’t even tested when they built the facilities, and I don’t understand why it wasn’t fixed sooner. As I mentioned earlier, someone was burned three or four years previously, the safety protocols around the water temperature were going to be fixed then, but they never were. However, as of this March, there will be inspections to ensure that the facilities are complying to the new safety regulations.
I give my well wishes to the loved ones of this individual,
Those words were said by John Baird (Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister), who recently went to Israel, in order to discuss peacemaking between Israel and Palestine. A day before he spoke to Mr. Netanyahu (Israeli PM) and Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian President), the 2 politicians had a problem in which they each blamed the other party for the Peace talks between the 2 nations being stalled: On sunday, Abbas accused Netanyahu of failing to present detailed proposals related to borders and security. Netanyahu lashes back with an accusation that Abbas was refusing to discuss Israel’s security nee. Mr. Baird made it clear that Canada supported Israel in this matter. He sided with Israel and blamed the Palestinian leader for the stalled peace talks. Abbas said that he didn’t wish to diminish Canada’s support of Israel, but rather to have Canada convince Israel to go ahead with the 2 state solution. He told Abbas that he should make peace with Israel, recognize it as a country, and only then return to the negotiating table once again. This was also suggested to Abbas by Netanyahu in a speech he gave in the United Nations General Assembly last fall. One of the thing Mr. Baird said is that, “For a country like Canada the easy thing to do would be to simply to go along with anti-Israel sentiment”. He also said that Israel craves freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law. He also described the attacks on Israel (both literally, such as rockets, and figuratively, like double standards) as “the new Anti-Semitism”.
Now, I can’t speak on this without any bias because as an Israeli, I will naturally support Israel in this conflict. Mr. Baird made it clear that Canada, under any circumstance, will support Israel, and I hope that this doesn’t become detrimental to the Canadian government, people, and reputation. I think, however, that the 2 state solution would not work because once an official Palestinian state is formed, then Israel would be undermined (so much so that the smallest area between Gaza and the West Bank would be about 9 miles wide – about the size of Washington DC. and the attacks could very well continue.
Information from the Globe and Mail, in an article written by Campbell Clark
Recently John Baird and Jim Flaherty, the Foreign affairs and finance ministers of Canada, met with the president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmous Abbas. He said that Canada should use its relationship with Israel to push the country into peace talks. The president of the Palestinian authority was not trying to change Canada’s position with Israel but simply convince Canada to use the close friendship to convince Israel into peace talks. John Baird has been openly against the UN recognizing Palestine as a state. He even went so far as to call it “profoundly wrong.” The Palestinian authority thinks that the negations should be based on the borders before the 1967 war. This has been a long standing condition and has been previously rejected by Israel. The pre-1967 borders were very indefensible in some places like the Golan Heights and Israel does not have good relations with it’s neighbors so it is essential that Israel has defensible borders. Canada has supported Israel in being against the two state solution which is making Palestine out of part of Israel. I believe that the two state solution should not happen because the Palestine want all of Israel in the end. Eventually, if Palestine is made a state, Palestine will most likely attack Israel and Israel is already surrounded by enough enemies not to need another one.
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.
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.
Source 1:
According to a recent arrtical written: Susan Munroe, in the 2015 federal election there will be 30 new MPs. The Fair Representation Act states that the amount of seats in the Canadian Federal House Of Commons will be increased from 308 to 338 with the addition of 30 new seats. This is “an attempt the federal government undergoes after every decennial census to readjust the representation of provinces in the House of Commons to the percentage of their population in Canada.” This upcoming election would be the 42nd Canadian Federal Election.
Did you Know That:
Sources
Canada’s retierment income system has not changed much over the last few years however recently Steven Harper (Canadian Federal Prime minister) stated that “major transformations would have to be made to Canada’s retirement income system.”. This is a very contraversial topic although many people would agree with lowering the retirement age the Canadian government, specifically Steven Harper wanted to raise the retirement age. He though this because, as health care has improved and people living to older ages, especially in their later years and we are lossing more and more money, assuming that people used to live for 65-75 and now 65-90.
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”
Students explore how artists view our natural landscape as they produce original pieces of art, get to know a local artist and outdoorsman, Dave Hodgetts, and explore Killarney Provincial Park’s hiking trails.
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 17th 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:
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
There are lots of busy and colorful places in Toronto, but the area around Spadina, and Dundas probably would get first prize if it was a contest. Chinatown is thronged with buskers, stalls selling their wares, small businesses selling anything from cuttlefish and bubble tea, to watches and jewelry. The streets bustle with shoppers, walking as if the world depended on them getting to their next stop quickly. Inside the stores and restaurants shopkeepers and staff bustle to, and fro shouting in Chinese. In these buys stores and restaurants it is almost impossible to get an interview. You ask and they usually give you a quick glance then a “no time”. In the few stores where business is slower, getting an interview is comparatively easy. If you ask politely and tell them it is for a school project, they will usually say yes. We got a few interview this way, but it was still difficult. We learned a lot from these interview though. Most people in Chinatown that we interviewed had either come from China or Vietnam, they had lived in Canada for about 10-15 years and had worked at their respective shops for about the same period. They all seemed like they loved living in Canada and had worked hard to make it all happen.
Stepping into Kensington Market, just a street over was like stepping into a whole other world. Its laid back atmosphere contrasted sharply with the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. It was just as interesting though. In the Market, there are people of many different ethnic origins, they sell clothing and other products inspired by their country of origin. This makes for a kaleidoscope of different cultures that all somehow fit together in harmony. The people here were generally very, very friendly and delighted in showing us their wares and answering our questions. It was a great experience and I hope to go back there soon.
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)
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.
On January 13th, a cruise liner from the company Costa Crociere ships, went off track from their designated route, and crashed into the reefs of the shore of Giglio, Italy. The company is now blaming the captain, Francesco Schettino, for the accident. This captain is facing suspected manslaughter, and has also been accused of abandoning the ship before the passengers were safe, which violates an Italian navigation code. The company, Costa Crociere states that the captain cannot have gone of course by accident, because there are alarms that go off when the ship goes off course. Spectators on the island say that they had never seen a Costa Cruise go that close to the island. They also say that it looked like the ship was trying to perform maneuvers to impress the spectators.
So far, of the 4,200 people on board, six have been found dead, and sixteen are still missing. Efforts are being made to recover the bodies of these sixteen passengers, dead or alive, but so far nothing has been found.
The waters around the Island of Giglio are very dangerous, very aggressive and full of reefs. The underwater search for the sixteen missing was put on hold mid-Monday, due to the turbulent water, which shifted the ship mere centimeters.
A centimeter may not feel like so much, but because of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board in 17 different tanks, a small shift could release thousands of gallons of oil into the pristine waters around the island. This would damage the wildlife in the area, and make the water even more dangerous than it already is.
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
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
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.
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)
