Shirley Temple, Hollywood star and diplomat, Sudden Death

Da Kyung Lee

Mr. Calic

Humanities 8A

2/13/2014

Shirley Temple, Hollywood star and diplomat, Sudden Death

Do you remember Shirley Temple Black? Who shined the best actress and singer with dimpled face. We probably couldn't see her in TV or world any more. She died at 85.

Shirley Temple is one of the famous Hollywood stars as an actress and a singer and worked as a great diplomat. She died at her woodside house in California, United States. It happened on February. 10th. 2014, exactly on Monday night 10:57 PM. The reason of her death is an inevitable natural part of life. She died peacefully at her house without any pain or disease. Everyone who were part of her family or friends couldn't conceal their sadness. Her family has recently released a statement on her passing “We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife of fifty-five years,”

Shirley Temple was born on April. 23th. 1928. She had her jobs and work since early years. So she became famous by age 6. In 1934, she appeared in the film “Stand Up and Cheer!”, and her song and dance number in “Baby Burlesk,” stole the show. Other movies in the same year included “Little Miss Marker” and “Bright Eyes”. In 1935, she received a special Oscar for her “outstanding contribution to screen entertainment.”. In 1945, she married John Agar and had a daughter and retired in 1949 at her age 21. In 1998, she was one of a selected few to receive the annual award.

After her retirement, in 1950, she remarried Charles Black. They gave birth to two children and their marriage lasted until his death in 2005. When she was in her early 50s, she became interested in politics. She did volunteer work for the Republican Party while trying to make a comeback with two short-lived TV programs. She was later named to the United States delegation to United Nations. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed her ambassador to Ghana. Then two years later, he made her chief of protocol. In 1989, another president, George H.W. Bush made her ambassador to Prague.

The whole world will remember her forever as a young movie star and politician.

Sochi Olympics

The Grand Opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics

Jovana Kovac

Humanities 

Mr.Calic

February 13th, 2014

                February is the month of winter sports and winter wonderland, but this February is special. It’s the month of the $50 billion worth Sochi Winter Olympic Games that will truly amaze the world with all the preparations and work given into it.

                After having 7 years to prepare, Russians in Sochi will finally present themselves in the Olympic world. They will not present themselves as hosts but also as participants with amazing talented Russians they have. The opening ceremony on February 7^th, 2014 at exactly 20:16 marked the start of the winter sport spectacle. Over the next 17 days athletes from 88 different nationalities will compete in 15 disciplines that have been around for a while, but also 17 new events that will mark their debut here in Sochi for the first time. What is waiting for us in the next couple of weeks will provide us lots of victories, loses, tears, happiness and pain. Lot's of hearts will be left on the fields of Sochi just to fight for their countries. Let the Olympics begin!

                Many amazing disciplines and athletes are awaiting us. The pressure on athletes to defend their medals, Russians to show their glory in their home country and of course the many new events are just some of the things ahead of us the next 17 days. The new events that are making their debut in Sochi are women ski jumping, team event figure skating and luge, biathlon relay, halfpipe skiing, slopestyle skiing and snowboarding and snowboarding parallel slalom. These games are predicted to show a spectacle. The pricey, too pricey price tag of around $50 billion and the 40,000 long torch relay are just an indication of what next will these Olympics show us. The head of Sochi organization Dmitry Chernyshenko told Olympics.org that the 2014 Games “will really amaze the world”. The opening ceremony of the Olympics included the presentation of rich Russian history and their culture, of course not forgetting the Russian national anthem. The presentations of flags were a tradition that cannot get away. Just like always, the first flag to be presented was the Greek flag and then the rest going by the alphabetical order. Unfortunately, for many people the highlight of the opening was when the last 5^th circle of the Olympic sign was unable to open. It is thought that the unopened circle was meant to be the continent of North and South America but it is not still completely sure. It is guaranteed that the world will see even more spectacle and even more reasons to watch the Olympics live each day!

Dangerous Weather around Britain

Villages without electricity, enormous waves pounding coastlines and flood waters continue to rise in the River Thames, these are the main and really dangerous problems that the wet and really windy weather brought to many different parts of Britain.

The past days a really unexpected and strange phenomenon happened in Britain. The extremely power of wind with the “help” of the wet weather made River Thames reach record water levels, because of that there were many severe flood warnings in two parts of England, Berkshire and Surrey. This was a huge problem as the local police informed British people because around two thousand five hundred houses were at huge risk. One tragic example of this phenomenon was that one seven years old boy lost his life.

This was one of the many problems that took place, as many villages were out of electricity, rail links severed and huge waves pounding coastlines and were extremely dangerous for the people near the coastlines and the cars passing next to the beaches, because the waves would easily take them into the sea and this would be terrible.

Here are some important things said by people about the weather conditions in Britain: “Danger to life” and “The Thames is rising now to levels not seen for many, many years”. These quotes can show us how important and unsafe was this difficult weather situation in Britain.

Here are some examples that show you how tough it was for people during these days: Wettest January in 248 years, hundreds of people have already been forced out of their homes, storm waves have been beating rocks and spraying mist onto coastlines in seaside town, where many shops have been closed. As I said, the weather has caused some areas to be cut off from power as well as rail links and also military personnel have been sent out to some areas to deploy sandbags and improve flood defenses.

Let’s hope things will get better and no other people get hurt by this crazy phenomenon!

By Themistoklis Daniilidis

The Most Tragic Plane Crash of the Decade

The Most Tragic Plane Crash of the Decade

________________________________________

A military plane carrying Algerian armed forces crashed into a mountain and exploded, killing 77 people.

     On February 11th, 2014, The Hercule-C130 military transport plane carried 78 soldiers with their families and had four crew members. Due to the weather (a snowstorm), the plane crashed into a mountain, split into two pieces and exploded, killing 77 soldiers and an unknown total number of people (it is estimated that there were 103 people killed in total). The mountain it crashed into is called Mount Fertas and it is located near the village Oulea Galem, 500 kilometers away from Algiers in Algeria. 

     The weather conditions were very bad and the crew was not prepared, so the plane crashed into mount Fertas due to a snowstorm. An investigation team will be sent to investigate the wreck and the crash site.

     "Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika declared a three day national mourning period and offered his condolences to the families of the victims", the state run Algerie Presse Service (ASP) reported.

     "An investigation team has been created and sent to the scene to determine the cause and exact circumstances of this tragic accident", the Algerian Ministry of Defense stated.

     The plane was flying from Tamanrasset in Southern Algeria to Constantine in in the east of Algeria. The chief of staff and the Deputy defense minister Anmed Gaid Salah will investigate directly on the plane crash. The case was the worst plane crash in Algeria since 2003 when an Air Algerie jet crashed shortly after takeoff and 102 people were killed.

Sources: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/us-algeria-crash-idUSBREA1A0YK20140211

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/11/world/africa/algeria-military-plane-crash/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Clash of Rivals

Clash of Rivals

Chelsea ended Manchester City's perfect home record in the English Premiere League with a win of 1-0 at Etihad Stadium.

This weeks derby was held on Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England with Manchester City being hosts. On Monday, February 3, 2014, Manchester City had a derby match against yet powerful Chelsea FC with Jose Mourinho on the bench. This was 24th week of English Premiere League. Stadium was full with mostly Manchester City fans, but still Chelsea fans were loud enough to overcome Manchester City's cheering. Time of the match was at 8 pm, with the famous English Premiere League referee Mike Dean.

The goal which ultimately settled the match came in 32nd minute after threatening Chelsea attack looked to have broken down. Ramires, playing for Chelsea, was blocked by Vincent Kompany after Hazard had cut the ball back from the right, but somehow ball rolled to Chelsea's back Branislav Ivanovic who thundered the ball into the low right corner, where Hart was helpless. The visitors, Chelsea were very unlucky to double their lead just before the half time where, this time, Hazard found the space on the left. His cross got to Samuel Eto'o, but the Cameron striker was unlucky, only hitting the bar. In the second half Chelsea had some very good chances, and one of the was Nemanja Matic's beautiful shot from the outside of the box where he hit the post. Mourinho's plan in limiting Manchester City's chances was successful, he, once again proved who is the best coach alive.  

"I think we played fantastic," Mourinho told Sky Sports after the game. "Against a fantastic team to play the way we did I think is amazing. 

"The best team in Premiere League we beat the twice and especially today we were fantastic. They had couple of chances to score but we had the better chances to kill the game and the players played with fantastic spirit," Mourinho added.

"While they had the ball we were very humble and very ready to work defensively and when we had the ball we were trying to play and we played really well" 

This was the lead that Chelsea deserved after limiting helpless Manchester City to a few chances in the first half. Chelsea is the first team to beat Manchester City twice in one season, and last Everton was successful in doing that in 2010-2011 season. Most efficient player in Chelsea was Eden Hazard with 76%  completed passes.  

Sources:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/03/sport/football/football-man-city-chelsea-premier-league/

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25908324

UK Floods, Never Worse

UK Floods, Never Worse 

          "Roads round villages including Muchelney have been cut for almost a month and about 11,500 hectares (28,420 acres) of the levels are flooded by about 65 million cubic meters of water." In Southern England, according to The Met Office, it has rained twice the average amount within just a few days. 

            The immense amount of rainfall in the UK lately, has beat its previous record. The record is now 175.2mm (6.9 in.) of rainfall over the course of a few days in January. The last record set was back in 1988. The government has been in touch with the military, and both have been working closely planning what the next step to help the flood victims will be. They have also made sure that the military is ready at any point in time, to help anyone in need. There have been worries from the people that the heavy rain falling on the ready saturated pieces of land, could very well result in even more flooding. More and more villages are being cut off and it is becoming harder for people to maintain a 'normal' lifestyle.            

         
          It is claimed that properties in the South Coast have an even bigger risk of losing homes and being caught up in the floods because of the rain and high spring tides combined. In South England and South Wales, it has been reported that there was up to 8.8 in. of rainfall within a day! The strong winds throughout England have only added to the severe rainfall. To be exact, the rainfall has been 35% above the average in parts of the UK. With the military on guard and the government trying their best to help out the flood victims and the situation, the UK can only hope for the best and that the weather doesn't get worse but only better. 

Police Finds Guns, Ammunition and Meth-Making Supplies near a School

Nemanja

Mr. Calic

2/12/14

Humanities 8A

Police Finds Guns, Ammunition and Meth-Making Supplies near a School

                Deputies were investigating complaints on February 6^th that there were people living in a closed park near a school. There they found two tents with guns and products used for making methamphetamine. Thursday, February 6^th Trinity Shane Tucker, 37, was arrested for owning weapon and controlled substances near a school, carrying concealed firearms and trespassing in a closed park.

                Tucker was arrested when he arrived in his pickup truck with a women, Michelle Kolvinsky, 47. He entered the tent, when he exited he found himself face to face with the local authorities. During the time of arrest Tucker was carrying a concealed pistol. The police found a loaded rifle, an unloaded rifle and a loaded pistol, some ammunition and products that are typically used for making methamphetamine.

                Tucker was charged with “manufacturing methamphetamine, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm during felony, armed trespassing on school property, armed trespassing on county property, possession of controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a school, and unsafe storage of firearms”. Kolvinsky was charged only for trespassing. “Deputies said they believe Tucker was living on this property for anywhere from four to six weeks. 

All hell breaks loose in Ukraine

The chaos which has been unraveling in Ukraine for months is a brutal mess of riot officers and rebellious citizens. The riots which have taken place for around 4 months have no foreseeable ending since the citizens
and president of Ukraine can not come to an understanding. The protests began the night of
21, November, 2013 as the cause of the the government prolonging the signing of an association agreement as well as a free trade agreement with the European union for more economic dependence on Russia. The protests were also fueled by the long lasting corruption within the government, its power which it constantly abuses and constantly violating the human rights in Ukraine. The Euromaiden has a list of unmet demands to bring back the Ukraine - Eu integration. These rally's are currently known as the biggest bro European union event of all time. The president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych went as far a passing a law which strictly limits basic freedom which includes limiting the news, peaceful protest, the internet and even verbal speech.6 protesters have been confirmed dead but 5 reported deaths are still being researched as of 1,February, 2014. Many people even saying that the protests are in fact a revolution. The horrendous amount of hurt journalists is staggering. One protests was able to injure 40 journalists on 1, December, 2013. A campaigner named Vasil stated "Until we see complete change which is not Yanukovych,people will stand here."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-134771-Bloody-clashes-erupt-in-Ukraine-after-defiant-protest

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/21/ukraines-protests-are-back-heres-why/

http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-leader-slams-opposition-taking-sick-leave-210632716.html

Nine Mumbai Train Passengers Die Horribly

Jan 8^th 2014

Nine Mumbai Train Passengers Die Horribly

Three train carriages were engulfed in flames, killing 9 sleeping passengers on departure from Mumbai on the Banda-Dehradum Express.

On Wednesday, January 8th, 2014, a train leaving from Mumbai was engulfed in flames, racing through three carriages leaving terrified passengers gasping for air and scrambling for their lives

Speculation has been rife about the source of the fire. Many witnesses speculated about a cigarette being dropped in the toilet, which seems unlikely. Official enquires are continuing and a full report is hoped for soon.  The railway system has a bad safety record with another train crash only a few weeks ago killing 23 people.

“All the windows and doors were closed and the carriage compartments were filled with smoke.” said one of the surviving passengers.

 An official said the carriages were so badly damaged that he was not surprised by the death toll.

4 passengers were burned to death and the other 5 died from suffocation.

Article by Brodie Feeney

Yesterday News blog post #1

Gabriela Tiholova
Mr. Calic
Humanities 8A
Wednesday, February 12, 2014

West Virginia has no tap water due to a chemical spill

People in West Virginia were told not to drink, cook, or wash clothes using tap water due to a chemical spill.

On Friday, January 10, 2014 more than 300 000 residents in West Virginia were told not to use tap water except flushing toilets and fighting fire. 

The reason for this was because a 4 - Methylcyclohexane Methanol (Crude MCHM), used in coal processing, leaked from a  40, 000 gallon tank into the nearby Elk River. "We don't know that water's not safe, but I can't say it is safe," said Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water Co. After trying to solve the problem Governor Earl Tomblin announced that "We are finally at the point where the 'do not use' order has been lifted".

In addition to that Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties. The spill also forced the closure of schools and businesses in the state capital. A company spokeswoman said that the chemical could be harmful and could cause skin and eye irritation. Some emergency workers distributed water to centers around the affected area but it wasn't enough. "It's just ridiculous. There's nowhere to buy water and everywhere seems to be sold out. This isn't going to last two days," said Jaime Cook Charleston. Some people even considered moving out of the town for the weekend. Around 7, 500 gallons leaked from the tank but it wasn't clear exactly how much entered the water supply. There was no impact to aquatic life, wildlife or pets and no fish kills were reported. 14 people were affected by the chemical spill and were admitted to the hospital, and none were in serious condition. 

On Monday about 6, 000 to 10, 000 customers were cleared to use the water again. For the future one idea is to require tanks to be a certain distance from the river. 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/west-virginia-water-ban-lifted-chemical-spill

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/10/us-usa-westvirginia-spill-idUSBREA0902T20140110

Intelligence to Crow About

Saga Bjornor

8A

2/12/2014

Intelligence to Crow About

For years crows have been seen as “bird-brains”, but they are not as dumb as they seem… studies have proven that they are highly intelligent. Could their intelligence reveal an alternate evolutionary path to intelligence?

November 28^th, 2013 it has been reported that neurobiologists Lena Veit and Professor Andreas Nieder from Tubingen University have discovered Corvid’s (Jays, Magpies, Crows, and Ravens)   true intelligence.  They have made a series of tests and observations on trained crows to demonstrate their abilities. Crows are known for their astonishing memory, remembering for years those people who have really annoyed them. Jays also recall numerous hiding places and change their hiding places to protect their stashes from theft. Corvids even adjust their behavior according to the behaviors of other birds in their own species. Birds like Corvids are also able to make and use tool just like primates. These results were very surprising and impressive because a bird’s forebrain is much smaller than a mammal’s so in the past researchers did not take bird intelligence as seriously as they should have. Their intelligence stretch so far that behavioral biologists have even called them “feathered primates”! 

 To demonstrate a crow’s intelligence Veit and Nieder used two trained crows to perform a memory test on a computer. The birds would be shown a picture that it would have to memorize, then the crow would be shown two new pictures, one would be the same as the first one and the other one different. The bird would get a cue that would vary the answer. If the cue that the bird heard a high-pitched sound or saw a blue circle it was the cue that the crow had to choose the picture that was the same as the original one. If the crow heard a burst of white sound or saw a red circle it was a cue that the crow had to choose the picture that was different for the original. The crows did this pretty easily; they could perform at least as well as other primates and even people! In primates the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has a big role in the cerebral activities as it organizes sensory input and prioritizes what to do about it. Though a bird’s cerebrum is proportionally smaller than mammal’s it seemed that they were less intelligent, though now it is proven that they do not need a large cerebrum to be intelligent! This is because they use a different part of the brain to decide how to react and sort things. The nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL) is the birds “decision center”. Thought mammals and birds have different brain anatomy the bird’s NCL and the mammalian PFC develop from the same general region; researchers say PFC and NCL “evolved from the same structure in a common ancestor”.  Yet the mammalian PFC and the bird NCL are very different when it comes to their connections thought the brain and the overall architecture of the bird and mammalian brain are very different. Yet researchers have come to the conclusion that “ the avian NCL is considered to be a functional analogue of the mammalian PFC, a structure with similar function but different evolutionary origin” which basically mean that the PFC and NCL serve a similar purpose and are built similarly yet they evolved differently.  

This is a very important discover since this means that there is another way to evolve to gain intelligence and that the pathway of evolved intelligence in primates and in birds are different. Veit says “Many functions are realized differently in birds because a long evolutionary history separates us form these direct descendants of the dinosaurs. This means that bird brains can show us an alternative solution out of how intelligent behavior is produced with a different anatomy.”

                Veit and Nieder were also able to pinpoint which neurons were activated in the crow’s brain when having to make a choice in the memory test. Certain neurons turned on moments before the bird followed a “matching-cure” and a set of other neurons where turned on moments before the bird followed a “non-matching-cue”. They could see that when an error occurred it was because the bird turned on the worn set of neurons. Yet even though the crows made some mistakes they were still able to correctly answer more that 90% correctly at all times!

Recourses:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131128103835.htm

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2013/12/09/smart-crows

Anti-Government Protest in Bosnia Leads to Chaos

Olivia Malvebo

8A

February 12, 2014

 

Anti-Government Protest in Bosnia Leads to Chaos

          Demonstrators venting their anger at politicians whom they view as self-serving and corrupt leads to Bosnia's most widespread anti-government protest in almost two decades, and protestors are calling for the resignation of the government. Thousands of Bosnian protesters including mostly young people and recently laid-off workers have been demonstrating for over six days. They started anti-government protests in over 30 cities in Bosnia in late January to early February 2014. 

          The Bosniaks - Serbs, Croats, and Muslims - brought an end to the 1992-95 civil war by constructing a state that gave each a share of power and none dominance. But the Bosnians have added layers of complexity to the original design that have hindered economic development. Therefore, the overall unemployment is estimated at 27-40 percent, and as many as 70 percent of young people are without work. British Foreign Minister William Hague said "The economic unrest is a wake-up call for the European Union". They say that overpaid politicians have left the country with more than 40 percent unemployment and unrestrained corruption. Protestors say, "This is not a way of living. We want our dignity back". They also said that "the biggest fear of our politicians is a united people". The protests started in the former industrial heartland town of Tuzla after four state-owned companies were privatized and sold off leaving workers unpaid and without jobs. People were unhappy and decided to make themselves heard. 

          The demonstrations lasted for over six days and caused major damage. There were mass protests in more than 30 cities and the heads of four regional cantons have already resigned. Furthermore, in Tuzla locals were cleaning up after government buildings were destroyed in riots, and in Sarajevo, demonstrators gathered outside the presidency building, which was later set on fire. About 1,000 protestors fanned out across downtown Sarajevo, chanting slogans against "criminals" in government and urging those in authority to "resign today". Social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, recently harnessed long-simmering frustration and anger at state corruption. On the positive side, however, several older demonstrators said they were marching on behalf of their children or grandchildren; 44-ear-old Belma Ridzal said, "I just want to support the young people of our country. It's very simple; it's their time". 

         
       
          

The historic day for Serbia

January 21, 2014 is a day that will be written in Serbian history because on that day Serbia opened accession negotiations to the European Union. Positive reactions from Serbian representatives.

The delegation of Serbia at the First Intergovernmental Conference, that took place in Brussels, was led by Prime Minister Ivica Dacic. The conference was also attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos and the EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule. The formal start of Serbia’s accession negotiations is the most significant event for Serbia since the World War II. Serbia will have to work a lot before entering the EU and will have to adopt and implement EU acquis.

Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said: “The opening of negotiations is a historic step for Serbia and a major achievement for the coalition government. We see this as a resounding endorsement of the steps we are taking to transform Serbia and look forward to negotiations moving forward as quickly as possible so that the Serbian people can enjoy all the benefits of EU membership.”

Serbian goal is to become a full EU member in 2020 and Serbian citizens will decide about the EU membership on referendum. 

Super Bowl 2014 (February News)

Leonardo Manzo
Mr. Calic
Humanities 8A
February 12, 2014
                                           Getting Big on the Field, Seattle defeats Denver 43-8

The Seattle Seahawks came into the MetLife Stadium with heavy artillery, beating the Denver Broncos 43-8 on a memorable day in Super Bowl history. At 6:30 PM Eastern Time, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the two teams faced off in Super Bowl XLVIII. It was planned to be an evenly matched game, but it was anything but.

Within 12 seconds, the game already had its first scorer. Seattle scored two points off a safety after a bad play had been set up by Peyton Manning's team. After that, the Seahawks scored another three points off a field goal. Thus, making it a quick 5-0 lead for Seattle. From that point on, there was no competition. The game may have gone so smoothly for Seattle due to the fact that they had the best defense in the NFL. In contrast, Denver had the number one offense. "The only way we could say we were the best defense was by taking down the best offense," said Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner. And took them down they did! Four turnovers in one game is a lot in football, and the Denver team knew that. "I am not a robot. Maybe at one time I was as a younger player. I might have been," declared the Denver quarterback, Peyton Manning, after the game.

By halftime, the score was 22-0 for Seattle. This was the third-largest halftime lead in Super Bowl history. To open the second half, the Seahawks scored a touchdown on an 87-yard kickoff return. This put the score at 29-0, and that just about ended the game. Denver eventually managed to score off a five-yard touchdown pass, but there was nothing they could do to stop the Seattle rampage. And so, yet another amazing Super Bowl has come to an end, all one can do now is wait for next year, for new surprises.

Article Sources:
http://www.timeforkids.com/news/super-bowl-shutdown/143406

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-super-bowl-xlviii-live-game-updates-20140201,0,4346947.story#axzz2t5qIN2TG