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Teen Reads Around the World
Article posted June 1, 2009 at 01:36 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 967
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Around the world teens are reading many different types of books in places such as Toronto and New York the books that teens are reading are about other teenagers and their lives. The most popular novel in Toronto is “potential” it is about the author’s life in high school. The most popular book in New York is “It’s complicated: the American Teenager”. In Vancouver teens enjoy reading the novel “Tea Time for the Traditionally Built”. In Sydney the most popular book is “A Brief History of Montmaray”. In London one very popular book for the teenage population is “North of Beautiful”. In Paris teens enjoy reading a wide variety of mystery books, one of them is “Revolution of Sabine”. In Tokyo teens enjoy reading books graphic novels. The number one graphic novel for teens in Tokyo is “Amulet: The Stone Keeper”. In Brazil teens enjoy reading books such as “The savage Candle Wick”. Around the world teens are reading a wide variety of books from graphic novels to mystery novels.
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Article posted June 1, 2009 at 01:36 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 967
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Ipperwash and Caledonia compared to Oka Crisis
Article posted May 8, 2009 at 01:20 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 486
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Throughout the history of Canada there have been many scenarios in which the Government has abused the Native Land rights. There are many land disputes in Canada; three main and important ones are the Oka Crisis, Ipperwash and Caledonia.
The Oka crisis was a land dispute in, the town of Oka just outside of Montreal, between the Mohawks and the town of Oka. The crisis started when the Mayor of Oka, Jean Ouellette, had announced that he would be expanding the local golf course from a 9 hole course to an 18 hole course. The Mohawks responded to his announcement by protesting. The protests couldn’t be stopped by the police so the government had to call in the Canadian army to deal with the issue. To defend their land the Mohawks had set up 12 barriers around their land. The army’s method in trying to get them to evacuate was using tear gas and smoke grenades. Their plan had back fired because the wind was blowing the gas back at them. After 78 days of conflict the crisis had ended with the Mohawks burning their weapons and Tobacco then surrendering. In the end the golf course was not extended and the Mohawks kept the land.
The Ipperwash Crisis was a dispute over land between the Ipperwash provincial park and the Ojibway tribe. Many Ojibway members gathered in the provincial park to assert their land claim. It quickly became a violent dispute between the Ojibway protesters and the Ontario Provincial Police. During the Ipperwash crisis one Ojibway tribes’ man was killed by the police. After the crisis had ended the land wasn’t given back until December 2007.
The Caledonia Crisis is a dispute over land between the six nations of the Grand River against the government. The government tried to take the land from the Natives in many areas of Ontario. Caledonia was one of those areas. All of the land was going to be bought up by Henco industries. Henco wanted to turn the land into a subdivision known as the Douglas Creek Estates. The crisis started when the people from the six nations of the Grand River put up tents and a large wooden building on the land known as the Douglas Creek Estates. Henco ordered for the people to leave the land. The sheriff delivered the order, but it was quickly burned by one of the six nations peoples. The crisis has not yet been resolved.
All of these three events have been disputes over land. In all three cases there has been an area of land that someone has wanted to take from the native groups. The natives stood up to them by protesting in similar and different ways. In two of the three events the natives have one but the third has not yet been resolved. All Native groups in Canada are facing troubles because of their rights. People don’t believe that the land belongs to the natives because they don’t have any official paperwork. The Natives were there way before them so the land should belong to them.
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Article posted May 8, 2009 at 01:20 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 486
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The Oka Crisis in Perspective
Article posted April 27, 2009 at 02:15 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 140
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In Oka, a small town outside of Montreal there was a huge land dispute between two groups living in the area the Mohawks and the citizens of Oka. The Mohawks believed that the land was there own and that the citizens had no right to take it from them. The citizens believed that the land was public and no one owned the land. The land was going to be turned into a golf course to extend the 9 hole golf course.
The people were trying to reason with the government but they wouldn’t listen. It was on July 11th that the government sent soldiers to stop the protests. The native people were not happy about this they called in their own warriors. The Mohawks had set up barricades to protect them and guard their land. The Warriors said that they would only fire on the soldiers if fired upon.
The army stood out side of their land and monitored all actions at all times. They tried to create confusion by throwing smoke bombs. They also would deliver their food but it would be sabotaged.
After the crisis ended with the Mohawks surrendering and the police arresting them no one had really won.
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Article posted April 27, 2009 at 02:15 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 140
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Conflict Diamonds
Article posted April 21, 2009 at 01:06 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 141
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Diamonds are created over millions of years under the earth’s surface. They are then later brought up to the surface by volcanoes. Diamonds are beautiful shiny stones, but they also cause people to die. Diamonds that are sold to fund conflicts are called “blood” or conflict diamonds. They are sold by rebel groups that are fighting internationally recognized governments
In some countries across the world people are dying because of the illegal trade of diamonds. One country that is affected by this is Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone in the late 1990s there were a group of African rebels that went by the name of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front). At the time the RUF were at war with the government, they used the trade of Conflict diamonds to fund their war. The RUF drove people out of their homes and forced them, if they met the requirements, to either work in their diamond mines or used them as soldiers. If they didn’t meet the requirements they would have their hands chopped off or if they were a woman they would have been raped.
We the people in the western world are really funding their war and prolonging the terror by buying diamonds from their country. When the rebels use the people to mine diamonds, these diamonds are brought to places such as Antwerp to be cut, sorted and arranged at a certain price. These cut clean diamonds are then sent out to countries across the world. People buy these diamonds as jewellery. The big diamond companies keep buying the diamonds and that means that the rebels are making more money to buy weapons.
The United Nations have tried to stop the illegal trade of conflict diamonds by introducing the Kimberly Process. The Kimberly is a certificate to show the spot of origin from where the diamond originally came from. At stores when you purchase a diamond you will receive a certificate assuring you that your diamond is conflict free. This means that it has not come from an area controlled by Rebel forces.
If the trade of conflict diamonds occurs it will help the countries in many ways. First of all the countries will no longer be suffering from the rebel groups because they will no longer be able to fund their wars and there will be peace. If the Rebel groups no longer control the country there is room for development.
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Article posted April 21, 2009 at 01:06 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 141
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Compare and Contrast: Blood Diamond and Chanda's Secrets
Article posted April 14, 2009 at 03:16 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 234
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There are many similarities and there are many differences between the movie “Blood Diamond” and the book “Chanda’s” secrets. I will be comparing the two and finding those similarities and those differences.
The movie Blood Diamond is about a British Man who is involved in the illegal trade of conflict diamonds. It is because of these conflict diamonds that people are being killed every day, and that is why they are called “blood” diamonds. They are bought from poor African countries to be sold in developed countries for large amounts of money. Archer, the main character in this movie, has come to Sierra Leone to trade weapons to the rebels known as the R.U.F. These rebels are using child soldiers and diamonds to support them in their rebellion against Sierra Leone’s Government. Archer helps a man named Salomon find his family and escape from Sierra Leone. Salomon has found a large pink diamond while working in one of the R.U.F’s mines and he has hidden it so he can later go back and retrieve it. Archer helps him find the Diamond while they make their way through the corrupt streets of Serra Leone.
The novel Chanda’s Secrets is about a young girl living with her family in a country in Africa. She and her family face many hard times through their life. The Aids virus is spreading all over Africa, and Chanda is very much affected by it. People she knows, and even people she loves have been infected. They all live in shame, hiding their secrets because they don’t want to be avoided. Everyone avoids the people with Aids because they are afraid that they and their families will become infected. Chanda over comes this shame by admitting to the public that her mother has Aids.
Both the Movie and the book display all of the hardships in Africa. People in Africa are suffering from poverty and one way for them to make money to support their families is by becoming a prostitute. In both the movie and the book there are parts where someone is a prostitute. In Chanda’s Secrets Esther, Chanda’s best friend is a prostitute. In Blood Diamond Archer encounters a prostitute who wants for him to do business with her. Both Esther and the prostitute from Blood Diamond are struggling with issues related to money. Esther needs to raise money so she can afford for her brothers and sisters to come live with her again, and the movie prostitute was probably under a lot of pressure to make money for her family. Another similarity between the novel and the movie is cheap labour. In Blood Diamond Archer came to Africa to trade conflict Diamonds for money. In Chanda’s Secrets, both of her brothers and her father have been paid to work in an American mine so the Americans don’t have to pay them as much as they would have to pay in their own country.
Both the movie and the novel show how hard it is for people and families to live in Africa. They have many hardships that they must get over every day such as Aids, cheap labour, poverty, and death. The movie and the book both show how developed countries take advantage of the poor in Africa.
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Article posted April 14, 2009 at 03:16 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 234
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Symbolism
Article posted March 30, 2009 at 02:24 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 193
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In The book Chanda’s secrets the author uses a special writing tool to hint certain scenarios that you find out later in the book. The method he uses is called symbolism. The definition of symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. I think this is a great way of telling a story because it builds up suspense. It builds up suspense because it makes you guess parts off the book that you have not reached. Sometimes your guesses can turn out to be completely true or sometimes can turn out to be completely wrong. One main example of when he uses symbolism in the novel is when Jonah is in the wagon and his sister drops him off at Chanda’s house. She drops him off because he has become very ill and it is too much of a hassle for her and her boyfriend to take care of him. Chanda realizes that he isn’t just sick he has AIDS. This makes Chanda worry because her mother had a baby with Jonah and she died. She starts to worry if her mother has AIDS as well. Another main example is when Chanda meets Esther in the internet cafe. Esther says that the manager gives her coupons so she can use the computer. She says he gives her the coupons because he likes her. He doesn’t really like her he likes what she does to him. Those are only a couple of the many times when the author uses symbolism.
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Article posted March 30, 2009 at 02:24 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 193
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Editorial
Article posted March 1, 2009 at 09:14 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 194
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Last week a serious issue ended up with the death of a Montreal Woman, Marie-Josée Fortin. While a Montreal couple was on a romantic get a way they went for a walk. During their walk they took a wrong turn, they couldn’t find their way back to the path. They left many SOS signs. A couple of days later a skier at the resort noticed the SOS signs. He had reported it to the Kicking Horse resort. The resort listened to the report but, they did not report it to the RMCP. The Death of Marie-Josée Fortin could of easily been prevented.
There is no excuse for the resorts inappropriate actions of not reporting the SOS signs to the Mounted Police; the resort didn’t even know that anyone was missing. Two more SOS signs had been found by a group of skiers why had the RCMP not started search? The resort told the police that the SOS signs were not fresh. A member of the police said that there are always rumors going around the small town that so and so is lost or so and so is trapped. The police members say that they are just rumors. Had they thought that this would have been another rumor? Is this why they didn’t react or start the search? The job of the RCMP is to protect and help people in the area. So if someone is lost in the woods it is their job to save them not to just sit back and wait for something to happen.
The only time when the SOS signals were replied to was when a private helicopter skiing company saw the fourth SOS and a man waving his arms frantically back and fourth. The helicopter pilot lowered and picked the man up. The man who had been picked up was Marie-Josée Fortin’s Husband.
This is completely ignorant on the fact that nothing was done by either the RCMP or the Kicking Horse Resort manager.
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Article posted March 1, 2009 at 09:14 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 194
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Michael Phelps and his Bong
Article posted February 9, 2009 at 01:04 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 163
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Michael Phelps and His Bong
Recently Michael Phelps has made a bad decision that will force him to stop swimming for a couple months. The reason he can’t swim for a couple of months is not injury related, he decided to smoke some marijuana. Here are two completely different newspaper perspectives on the event.
According to “Associated Content” he just wanted to have a little fun when a “friend” took the picture of him. And that’s not the worst of it. The “friend sold the picture to publicity magazines and is now probably rich, but for Phelps he has a major loss of sponsors and three month suspension. Subway restaurants are disappointed in their athlete but as most Americans are willing to accept his apology. This article is from a left wing perspective saying that it’s not that big of a deal.
According to the “Washington Times” Michael Phelps made a dumb mistake. He has earned so much and kids look up to him it was a stupid idea to smoke marijuana. Many young swimmers look up to Michael Phelps because he is a swimming legend, but now they will all be disappointed when they see a photo of Michael Phelps holding a bong. This article is from a rightwing perspective.
Both writers have two different perspectives on the same story. It doesn’t mean that one is right or one is wrong it means that both writers see the event differently.
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Article posted February 9, 2009 at 01:04 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 163
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Review: Hot Rod
Article posted February 2, 2009 at 04:40 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 252
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For this weeks blog I am going to write a review for the movie ‘Hot Rod”. “Hot Rod” is the story of Rod Kimble an amateur stuntman played by Andy Samberg. This movie is an extremely funny movie with high action stunts that are failed miserably. Rod is just a normal guy who has always wanted to be a stuntman after his father, who he thinks was the man who tested all of Evel Knievel stunts before he did to make sure they were safe. But when his step dad has only a couple of days left to live he decides to perform the ultimate jump to save him so he can beat him in a fair fight. Yesterday I watched this movie for the second time; it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen even though it was my second time watching it. For any one who likes movies with funny jokes and funny accidents you will love Hot Rod.
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Article posted February 2, 2009 at 04:40 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 252
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Newspaper Article
Article posted January 25, 2009 at 10:51 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 207
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Super Bowl 43
Last weekend, the two NFL division championships were held. In the NFC championship game the Arizona Cardinals battled it out against the Philadelphia Eagles for their position in Super Bowl 43. In the end Arizona came out on top. The final score was 32-24 Arizona. In the AFC championships the Baltimore Ravens fought an all defensive battle against the Pittsburg Steelers. Both teams played a strong defensive game but in the end there could only be one victor. The final score of the game was 23-14 Pittsburg. Both teams Arizona and Pittsburg will be playing each other in the most important NFL game of the year. Both teams deserve to be playing in the Super Bowl but only one team will be able to claim the championship. The Super Bowl will be played on February1 in Tampa bay Florida. To find out whom the best team of the 2008-2009 season is watch the game.
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Article posted January 25, 2009 at 10:51 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 207
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