Saving Chile's southern wilderness

Kayla and Bryn's GAOC

South Americ

Top Headline:

-Paraguay marks overthrow of dictator

-Dengue fever worsens in Bolivia

-Saving Chile's Southern wilderness

News Sources:

-La Voz Nueva

-BBC News

-BBC News

Saving Chile's Southern Wilderness

      The now known area of The Karukinka Nature Reserve is a "cluster of inhospitable islands" between Argentina and Chile at the southern most tip of South America. A company named Trillum had bought and planned on chopping down all of the Lenga trees  in that area and use the 680,000 acre land for logging since the 1990's. Luckily an environmental group convinced them to stop the project. 

      The Goldman Sachs Group is a financial services firm that provides investment banking, securities, and investment managing services. The group bought all of the land from Trillum Company. They then decide to give it away to The Wildlife Conservation Society. Not only did they give it away but they also gifted the Wildlife Society with $12 million dollars to ensure that the land stays protected. People come from all over come to see this beautiful landscape and enjoy its luscious natural life. 

It is important to know about this because big companies everywhere are using our natural resources and taking them for themselves. We have to be aware of what is going on concerning our wilderness and being able to keep it all natural!

TODDLER MARRIED TO DOG IN INDIA TO 'WARD OFF TIGER'.

Members of an Indian tribe have married off a toddler to a female dog in eastern india in a bid to prevent his predicted deaths at the hands of a tiger.

At a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district conducted a ceremony with all of the traditional rituals for weddings. This included the dowry for the bride or... the village bitch. The parents of the groom were advised to arrange a marriage when they discovered a tooth growing on the boy's top gum. This was considered a bad omen. Some elders in the community believed that more growth of the tooth would lead to the boy being killed by a tiger. According to the tribal traditions the tiger attack could be preventable by marring a dog.

The dog sported two silver rings and one silver chain reported the UNI agency. One-and-a-half year old Sangula married the dog, but the superstition potent force in the tribal and remote areas of India.

Europe 2/26/09

Sweden's Crown Princess to Marry

This week in Sweden princess ,Victoria, will get married to her former personal trainer, Mr. Westling. They have been in a relationship since 2002. When they get married in the middle of next year the will be assume the title of Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland. Victoria is the first in line to take her fathers throne. 

This is important because anybody can become a prince of princess because he was just a regular old gym owner and now he is becoming a prince. When she becomes princess she doesn't really have power but she has some sort of power.  

Zimbabwe Teachers to end strike: South Africa

BBC reported that, in Zimbabwe, the teachers strike has stopped. The government has agreed to reevaluate their salaries and try to get more money for the schools. The teachers have been asking to get their salary in foreign currency because their “dollar” (I don’t know the name of their currency in Zimbabwe) has been losing value. The new education minister, David Coltart has said that he asked for more than 450 million dollars in overseas aid for education.

"My single-minded goal is to get the schools reopened and teachers back at work," Mr. Coltart told the London-based Short Wave Africa independent radio station.

The president of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, Tendai Chikoore, says the union was demanding that salaries must match other teachers in the region.

I think this is important because it shows teachers are now able to live better and as a result teach better in Zimbabwe. Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7909141.stm
By Mariah and Ana K.

Violence in Chihuahua

Partner: Emma 

 

 There has been a lot of violence and disturbance in Chihuahua Mexico. the government has been trying to figure ways to make peace in the streets. the police doesn't seem to be working out and there has been many killings so far. this reminds of the ruckus that happened a few years back here in seattle. the Marty Graw celebration or fat tuesday. there was a lot of violence and vandalism. i don't really know the cause of the fighting in Chihuahua, but at least shows us how grateful we are to have S.W.A.T teams or the F.B.I come out and calm things down. i know this was short but we had a translation article and it was hard to understand.

North Africa by Ariana and Claire (Rare cheetah caught on camera trap in Sahara)

Rare cheetah caught on camera trap in Sahara from telegraph.co.uk

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4786794/Rare-cheetah-caught-on-camera-trap-in-Sahara.html

 

By Ariana and Claire M.

 

Pictures of a rare North African/Saharan cheetah were captured using a camera trap in Algeria this week. There are less than 250of these cheetahs and people are saying that this is an incredibly rare and exclusive experience. These are the first photos of the North African cheetah and provide critical information to scientists. Four cats are being studied in this survey. So far scientists have gotten pictures of each of the four cheetahs. Each cat has a different pattern on his or her coats that now are being studied very closely.

Researchers are very excited that they have this new information on the cheetahs that are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Researcher Sarah Durant of the Zoological Society of London, who co-led the project, says, "Virtually nothing is known about cheetahs across the region, until now." 

Owner of horses abandoned on B.C. Mountain charged

FROM: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2009/02/24/8517281.html

BY: Emily Syrjala

Frank McKay of Edmonton; the owner of two horses who were rescued from the snow off a B.C. mountainside was charged with animal cruelty, three times!  Mr. McKay was accused of leaving the horses right before Christmas near a town called McBride, B.C.  Two snowmobilers found the horses that were trapped in seven-foot high snow.

They brought food and blankets for the starving and cold horses (names: Belle and Sundance). Meanwhile the volunteers started to dig a one-kilometer path for the horses to be rescued; it took a week to open and were finally rescued on Dec. 23.

The SPCA’s chief animal protection officer, Shawn Eccles said “the animals suffered from malnutrition and various health issues after being exposed to freezing temperatures.”  For happy endings sake Belle and Sundance were placed in permanent homes in Prince George and Kamloops, B.C.

I think this I an important topic to be aware of because this way you know the horrible things that people do to animals, and how it can take one man to hurt a animal but a whole community to save it.

Mumbai attacks: Pakistan Army may be involved, says police

GAOC #3
By: Uriah Powell & Shalini Singh
Source: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14862282

On Wednesday the 25th the Mumbai Police said that there had been two Pakistanis with a military background that had been apart of a Mumbai terror attack last year. The Joint Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria reported that they are investigating whether the two men are serving in the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or the Army-e-Taiba. This is also known as the Pakistan Army. The Commissioner stated “the police have also established the role of the marine wing of the LeT in the attacks and the help provided by two Indian LeT activists, Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Mohammed.” The Mumbai Police have created a case against the terrorists covering all 26/11 attacks. They have also identified 47 people to charge, as well as 35 who were trained for terror activities in Pakistan.

Worst Drought in Half Century Shrivels the Wheat Belt of China

Boats left on the Lu Hin reservoir, which once was a riverbed

 By- Ana Rae Partner- Clara 

Source- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/world/asia/25drought.html?ref=world

Currently a drought in northern Asia is affecting 4.7 million people. In certain regions of China the land hasn’t seen rain since October. But this drought has highlighted the urgency of water problems. Areas that grow three fifths of China’s crops are only getting one fifth as much rain as the rest of the country. The drought has been the worst Northern China’s seen in half of century. Zheng Songxian, a fifty-year-old man that lives in Qiaobei expected to have one foot of wheat by this time in February but currently has two inches. This year he was offered a third of an acre of land but declined. The land he was offered normally stands under twenty feet of water but because of the drought has become just another field of winter wheat. Mr. Songxian predicts he will lose one third of his harvest this year.

Aquifers have been so depleted in some farms and fields that wells need to drill half a mile before hitting water. The government is already struggling with the economic crisis and this drought makes everything worse. A water shortage could raise costs and cut income for farmers even as wheat prices increase. The government is also concerned with jobless migrant and water shortages and failed crops aren’t making the situation better. The county level chief of local drought relief efforts, Gong Xinzhen is bringing pumps to take water from streams and wells. He is also handing out millions of plastic bags for people to bring home water from taps. Along with that he is hiring seven trucks to haul water from regions where water has run out.

This is important because we need to be aware of things happening in other countries so we can educate others. It is also important because there might be certain things you can do to help out, that you might not have known before. 

Officer says police kill 58 suspects

By Ani Schroeter- Partner Sydney Hiatt
Source: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=875516&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_world&cate_rss=WORLD_eng

A Kenyan policeman stated on video that he witnessed fellow police officers execute 58 suspects instead of arresting them. After the video was released he was killed.

The Kenya National Commission demand that Country Police Chief, Mohammed Hussein Ali, should be required to resign and and there should be a full investigation of all the killings. Ali has been police chief for five years.

Another police officer, Police Constable Bernard Kiriinya also stated on the video that he witnessed 58 killings within a year, mostly ordered by Ali. Four months lafter the video was released Kiriinya was killed.

Hassan Omar Hassan, Vice Chairman of the Commission, believes that the police are behind all the killings. Hassan said Ali should resign to allow investigations because Kiriinya's testimony "alarmingly reveals that at its most extreme the Kenya police may be a highly corrupt criminal racket and that the police and organized crime may be one and the same."

So far no action has taken place to initiate an investigation, but Hassan says they plan to in the near future.

I chose this article because I think it's really interesting and important. Right now many innocent people are being killed by their own police because they are thought to be guilty. No one should feel like they can't trust their own goverment. Everyone should have the right of due process to prove their innocence and not fear that they will be killed just because they are suspected of a crime. That's why I agree that Ali should be forced to resign.

Rechtsextremismus occurs particularly with boys (sorry the title was in German and I could not get it to translate right…)

by Ellie and Perry
Stranger anxiety in the Swiss population are widespread. Extreme right (republican) behavior, however, occurs primarily in boys - and it is only rarely to permanent edge.

As the secondary title suggests, around half of the Swiss population has stranger anxiety. That is what a study by the national science foundation. Islamophobi was at thirty percent, Anti-Semitic attitudes about twenty percent, and sexist attitudes around forty present in Germany.

Surveys show that Republican extremist attitudes show up more in younger children, and ten percent of students have showed that they have come into contact with republican violence. Also study’s show that more extremist attitudes are gained under family influence, and social system.

In the Swiss government, it seems that populist republicans are on a pioneering role, even thought they have released some not so amazing movements, and they only got about eight percent of votes. Now there are smaller political parties being added with new topics. Republicans now have media coverage of things around republicans so that makes violence hard to trace.

http://www.20min.ch/news/schweiz/story/Rechtsextremismus-tritt-vor-allem-bei-Jungen-auf-23610787

Rebecca- Johannesburg Market Keeps Traditions Alive

Oral Presentation: Michaela

Blog: Rebecca

2/25/09

GAOC #3: South Africa

Article: Johannesburg Market Keeps Traditions Alive; Herbs Used to Ward off Evil

Website: (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29267879/)

 

            The Mai Mai market is a hidden world where traditional African healers carry on their trade and are dedicated to traditional African medicine, also known as “Muti.” The market was a former stable yard built in the 1940’s and is now home to over 100 traditional healers and traders. The stalls are packed with animal skins and strong herbs used to ward off evil and bring good health. People who are ill or unlucky come to consult with “inyangas” or “sangomas” who are herbalists that communicate with ancestral spirits and read the person’s future by throwing bones. Sangomas normally detect two different kinds of bad luck. One is inflicted through witchcraft and the other is caused by unhappy ancestors. Skins and bones hang above the market stalls containing snake skins, crocodile skins, deer hides, and misshapen skulls of cows. There are also sometimes leopard pelts, furs from baboons and buffalo skulls. On front counters are shelves holding bottles with powders and dried organisms. According to the herbalists in Mai Mai, these medicines are capable of helping a patient get rid of bad luck, nightmares or making a person popular. Following years of neglect, the Mai Mai bazaar has begun to generate. People are trying to restore the market to its pristine beauty and promote it as a prime tourist destination.

            This is important to learn about because it is interesting to see and be aware of all of the different rituals and beliefs around the world. This particular Mai Mai market is interesting to learn about because it is devoted to the traditional ways and is an escape from the more modern city. It is important because it shows that even as the world develops and continues to lose old cultures and traditions, there are still people who preserve traditional methods. It is also interesting to learn about the different cultures and traditions to learn about what is going on in the world today, and overall gives me a new and more enhanced view of the world around me.

Annabella's GAOC: Arms Dealer Jailed for 30 Years"

“Arms dealer jailed for 30 years”

Subtitle: “A Syrian-born arms dealer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiring to sell millions of dollars of weapons to Colombian rebels.”

GAOC # 3

Annabella Sherman

Region: Central America, Mexico and West Indies

Partner: Dayton Gentry

Core: Y

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7909411.stm  

            When “Monzer al-Kassar” was spoken, people recognized the name to belong to a man living a lavish life in Spain. Monzer al-Kassar is a sixty-three year old man who was known as the “prince of Marbella” due to his extravagant lifestyle. No one knew that Monzer al-Kassar was a very dangerous man who was planning to sell weapons illegally.

            Monzer al-Kassar was born in Syria and was living in Spain at sixty-three. He was said to be a “sophisticated person that was motivated by money” by judge Jed Rakoff.

            A New York court found al-Kassar guilty of planning to sell arms, including dangerous missiles and grenade launchers. He and his associate Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy were caught operating when undercover officers filmed the operation while pretending to be Farc contacts. They were going to sell large quantities of horrible weapons to a terrorist organization that would then use those weapons (along with other things) to kill Americans. (However, al-Kassar said that he was not against Americans or America).

            It has been decided that Monzer al-Kassar will go to jail for thirty years, while his associate Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy will be in jail for twenty-five years.

            Before this incident, the US Embassy in Madrid reported that al-Kassar had been selling weapons to many clients in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Iran and Iraq since the 1970s. He was discovered to be selling them to the Palestinian Liberation Front as well. In addition, in 1995 he was found guilty of supplying weapons that were used in the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijack in 1985. This attack happened off the coast of Egypt, and an American named Leon Klinghoffer died from it.       

            Judge Rakoff reported al-Kassar to be “a man of many faces.” He also said, "it's a tragedy that a person as intelligent has spent so much of his life in activities that were certainly not calculated to advance the human race."

         This article really made me think about who people really are versus who we think they are. From the outside, Monzer seemed to be an ordinary rich man living in Spain, when really he was planning to sell a ton of weapons. It made me scared to think about how innocent he seemed, and to think about how many people probably trusted him. This article made me scared to trust anybody! You never know who they really are.

         This article is important because it teaches us that not everything is what it seems. People that seem to be normal may actually be very dangerous. When reading this article, you can also become more aware of the people around you, and take extra precautions to make sure you are safe. I hope that people are educated about the dangers of people by my doing my GAOC on this article! I know it really opened up my eyes! 

 

Worst Drought in Half Century Shrivels the Wheat Belt of China

By: Ana Rae

Partner: Clara

Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/world/asia/25drought.html?ref=world

Worst Drought in Half Century Shrivels the Wheat Belt of China 

Currently a drought in northern Asia is affecting 4.7 million people. In certain regions of China the land hasn’t seen rain since October. But this drought has highlighted the urgency of water problems. Areas that grow three fifths of China’s crops are only getting one fifth as much rain as the rest of the country. The drought has been the worst Northern China’s seen in half of century. Zheng Songxian, a fifty-year-old man that lives in Qiaobei expected to have one foot of wheat by this time in February but currently has two inches. This year he was offered a third of an acre of land but declined. The land he was offered normally stands under twenty feet of water but because of the drought has become just another field of winter wheat. Mr. Songxian predicts he will lose one third of his harvest this year.

Aquifers have been so depleted in some farms and fields that wells need to drill half a mile before hitting water. The government is already struggling with the economic crisis and this drought makes everything worse. A water shortage could raise costs and cut income for farmers even as wheat prices increase. The government is also concerned with jobless migrant and water shortages and failed crops aren’t making the situation better. The county level chief of local drought relief efforts, Gong Xinzhen is bringing pumps to take water from streams and wells. He is also handing out millions of plastic bags for people to bring home water from taps. Along with that he is hiring seven trucks to haul water from regions where water has run out.

This is important because we need to be aware of things happening in other countries so we can educate others. It is also important because there might be certain things you can do to help out, that you might not have known before. 

Cannon stresses to Clinton need for civilian presence in Afghanistan

In a meeting on Tuesday in Washington, between Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the topic of civilain presence in
Afghanistan was brought up and discussed. Cannon said that civilains in aid organizations had helped in Kandahar with police and border managment, and reconstruction work. Cannon also said he welcomed the US deploying more troops in the south, and that he expected them to work closely in Kandahar.

" 'I also reinforced the need for additional civilians in the field as key to Afghanistan achieving its goals of governance and self reliance," Cannon told reporters after the meeting. "In the light of Canada's experience in Kandahar, I also offered to share the lessons Canada has learned.' "

He said he told Clinton he increased civilian presence in Afghanistan. Most of Canada's soldiers are in the Kandahar province right now. Obama has said he wants to send 30,000 more soldiers to the are, although he has only approved 17,000 to go so far. During his visit in Ottawa, Obama said he didn't press Prime Minister Stephen Harper into keeping Canadian forces in Afghanistan longer.

"We did not go into anything beyond 2011, beyond the present mandate that the government of Canada has," Cannon said about meeting with Clinton. Cannon apparently also brought up the case of a Canadian named Omar Khadr, who was accused of the murder of a US soldier during a firefight in 2002 and is currently being kept in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He said the topic was raised while talking about Obama's directive to shut down the naval prison in 1 year.
"I wanted to get an idea from Secretary Clinton as to what the steps forward were to be, and secretary Clinton gave me a brief description of where this process was probably going to lead in the coming months," said Cannon. He also added that Canada has not said whether or not they will repatriate him.
"This individual is, allegedly, a murderer," he said. "I have indicated today the government of Canada fully respects the process that the American government has put forward, and we will await the outcome of that process before anything takes place."

Nurse Rape Report a Cover-up

Nurse Rape Report A Cover Up

By Alena Kantor

Partner: Corryn

GAOC: Australia

Website: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/26/2501659.htm

Health spokesman Mark McArdle says that the release of a Queensland Government report into the handling of the rape of a nurse in the Torres Strait is a "complete cover-up".  A report was published without fanfare on the Queensland Health website late on Monday. The report says that "The nurse was raped in February 2008 when a man broke into her Queensland home on Mabuiag Island just weeks after she arrived." A senior Queensland Health executive has been fired since the investigation found that senior officials in the area failed to address important health and safety issues for workers for a long time. The investigation also found that senior health officials did not respond correctly or sensitively by not removing the nurse from the island quickly after the attack. "This is a complete cover-up. Again the Government is simply passing the buck to a public servant to wear what they are responsible for" said Mr McArdle in a statement early this morning. A prominent Health Minister, Stephen Robertson, refused comment late yesterday stating that the Government was in caretake mode for the election campaign.

I think that this is a very important event to acknowledge because it shows how by doing a few things correctly (addressing important health and safety issues and doing your job correctly) can really change a course of events. If the senior executives had done what they were supposed to it may have helped prevent future rapes and help the nurse recover better. The fact that this was all covered up until now is also very disturbing. It took almost a year for the story to be revealed to the public and the Government hid important details of a disturbing case. I think that that is the most sad and disturbing part of the entire ordeal. There were a lot of people at fault in this investigation and if some people had done their job better I think the outcome could have been very different.

Fiber Lab

Guiding Q: Can you use fiber eevidence to identify its source? How might it be helpful in preparing for the mission?
Yes you can because if you know how a fabric reacts to things like burning, you can figure out what fabric it is and where it came from (if you know who has similar fabrics). This lab will be helpful because if we find some unknown fibers on the spaceship we will know how to find what fabric it is.

Migrants thrown into the sea

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2475331,00.html

By: vava. Partner: Eloise

Six migrants were drowned and eleven are missing and suspected to be dead as an outcome of human traffickers forcing them into the sea during a clandestine trip (secret trip) across the Gulf of Aden. (Human trafficking is when people are smuggled and sold for slaves; so basically human traffickers where smuggling Somalis and Ethiopians to be sold for slaves in Yemen.) There where 52 Somalis and Ethiopians on the boat that left on Thursday from Suweto. The boat was one of seven that reached Yemen. In a statement, the UN (United Nations) agency said, "When the smugglers noticed the presence of the Yemeni police onshore, they refused to get closer to the coast and forced passengers overboard in deep water."  Thirty-five people made it to shore and were aided at Society for Human Solidarity before being taken to UNHCR's (Commissioner for Human Rights) Mayfa's Reception centre. A statement made by the agency citing initial reports was, "This is the third fatal incident since the beginning of 2009. So far this year, a total of 168 boats and 9,449 people have reached the yemen coast. To date, tge death toll stands at 47 people, with 23 bodies buried and 24 missing at sea." The fact that so many people are arriving in Yemen, and the fact that the number of people has increased since last year when more than 50,000 crossed the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, means that UNHCR's resources and space is getting all used up. 

We should care about this because this means that not only is slavery still going on, but people are losing their lives. I had no idea, honestly, that slavery and human trafficking still happened. I knew that people where losing their lives in war, for example, which is something we hear about everyday. I never hear about places like Yemen in the news. The fact that people are being sold for slaves is absolutely horrific, and we need to become knowledgeable so we can do something about it and make others aware.

Anti-terrorist demonstrations in Cyprus

By: Claire K.
Partner: Dayan

On Sunday, Feb. 8th, a group of ex-citizens of Sri Lanka organized one of the largest demonstrations by the Sri Lankan Welfare Association (SLWA). The anti-LTTE demonstration was held in Cyprus, and is being covered by many local news sources. The LTTE is a terrorist organization currently holding hundreds of Tamil civilians against their will, and is controlling the non-liberated parts of Mullaittivu. They have also organized more suicide bombings than any other known terrorist group. It was a peaceful rally though, in Nicosia city that included visiting local parliament, and giving the United Nations office in Cyprus a written statement explaining the situation of the LTTE’s (The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) use of Wanni civilians as human shields. They also asked UN officials to take immediate action to save the people held by the LTTE.

Calgary Student Union Revokes Anti-Abortion Group’s Club Status

Calgary Student Union Revokes Anti-Abortion Group’s Club Status

By: Sydney H. Partner: Maddy H.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/11/cgy-abortion-calgary-university.html

GAOC weeek 2, Canada 2/11/09

The University of Calgary is a broad research university, ranked one of the Canada’s top seven research universities. It also, on its website, tells about a close nit community with plenty of things to do.
A student union at the University of Calgary has stripped a notorious anti-abortion group titled Pro-Life of its club status.
There was a short, hearing like discussion in front of the student’s union club committee on Tuesday afternoon, and Pro-Life lost its status as a sanctioned club. At the University of Calgary, clubs get funding and a place to meet, if they are sanctioned and abide by the administrators and higher ups wishes.
Apparently, Pro-Life went against these wishes. They first ran afoul of the university administrators in November. In short, it was for displaying posters of aborted fetuses. The posters also compared abortion to the Ku Klux Klan, the genocide in Rwanda, and the Holocaust. All of these are earth shaking things from the past, which could arise some if not definitely sparking tempers and past issues.
When the university administrators requested that the posters be turned inward as to not be seen during the display on campus, the group ignored the wish, along with a letter threatening legal action. Several of Pro-Life’s group members have since been charged with trespassing on campus. The legal letter was also communicated with all the stakeholders in this interaction as well as the group’s members, the University of Calgary itself, and the union where completely aware of the policy.
Even after the letter, the vice-president of Campus Pro-Life claimed the union is on shaky group- by the reason that the university and students union have omitted from telling them exactly what specific policy they are not following, so in the vice-president’s eyes, it is an invalid claim.
Contradicting this, the university had a lawyer look at the situation. The lawyer made it clear that the protesters were and are on the university’s private property and have refused to follow the instructions from the university. Because they won’t and wouldn’t co-operate, they had to give notice to the protesters that they will become illegal protesters.

Headless Body found in bushes of Kampala Uganda

In Kampala, Uganda, 7 suspected witch doctors were arrested. The body of a woman was found in bush with the head missing.  A special police unit is set up to deal with ritual murderers were in charge of the murder. In Tanzania, the neighboring country of Uganda, albinos have been targeted for ritual murders. Although, the body is believed not to be albino.

The police had to watch out for the suspected witch doctor. A lynch mob was suspected to kill him soon after. The headless body was found near the residence of the believed head witch doctor in the town of Bwaise. Ritual murders have been a problem in Uganda before. I think that this headline is important because I feel like killing people for good luck is unrighteous and that a persons life is too important.

Info found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk./2/hi/africa/7880763.stm

They warn that the destruction of forests is the cause of the avalanche

http://www.lagaceta.com.ar/nota/312989/Argentina/Advierten_destruccion_bosques_causa_avalancha.html

Ellie Neilson ~ Written Report GAOC ~ Partner: Ani Schroeter

On February 8th, there was an avalanche of mud and water that destroyed houses and cars in Tartagal, which is a city in northwestern Argentina. This avalanche caused at least two people to die, at least 12 people missing, and around 1,000 people had to be evacuated because a river overflowed right in the middle of the huge storm. Helicopters, planes, and other vehicles helped evacuate people from the scene. This avalanche of mud and water destroyed houses and vehicles, killed people, and devastated a railroad bridge.

Experts are led to believe that this is a direct result of the destruction of the native forests. The policy against the clearings is not strongly upheld, which is another consequence for the flood. The big number of clearings near Tartagal is one of the main causes of these floods. These clearings are to produce grains. Salta is one of the cities with a great number of deforestation in the country.

I chose this article because I think it’s important to know about how deforestation leads to devastation of cities. I think as people from the United States should watch over other countries and cities and when more floods or avalanches like this happen we can he

28 Killed in Sri Lanka Blast

28 Killed in Sri Lanka Blast

By Corryn Wetzel, 2/10/09

South and Southwest Asia

 

At a military checkpoint north of Visuamadu and in the Mullathivu district, twenty-eight people were killed due to a suicide bomber.  The check point was meant to screen many departing civilians getting out of the battle zone.

A woman entered an internally displaced rescue center blew herself up, along with many civilians. As a soldier approached her for screening she triggered a bomb fastened to her body. As many as twenty soldiers and eight civilians have been reported dead, but sixty-four have been reported as injured, many in critical condition.

The military released a videotape of many bodies on the ground, some of them children, along with an image of the suicide bomber’s detached head. The explosion took place at the peak of civilian departure. These people who were injured or killed were either solders or citizens trying to escape the violence and areas of war.

Sri Lanka accused the LTTE, otherwise known as The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant terrorist organization, of purposefully targeting retreating citizens as a reprisal for their refusal to take up arms against the military. This terrible attack is expected to have a profound impact on the citizens hoping to escape from the quickly diminishing land in the LTTE control.

East Asia- Dolphins Rescued off Philippines

GAOC - Week 2 - East Asia

Web Address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7880375.stm

Story from BBC NEWS

Dolphins rescued off Philippines

"Fishermen in the Philippines have rescued about 200 dolphins which became stranded in shallow waters near Manila" Melon-headed whales, a kind of dolphin, travel in pods of several hundreds. Around two hundred dolphins were found stranded in the Philippines, near the towns of Pilar and Abucay, not too long ago. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director, Malcolm Sarmiento, said that having so many dolphins beached at one time was "an unusual phenomenon" and went on to suggest that the dolphins had probably reacted to a disturbance at sea or heat wave. This kind of dolphin usually stays in a lot deeper of water, so they hardly come near that shallow of an area. A three of the dolphins died before they could be rescued. Two of which were said to have had damaged eardrums which causes dolphins to get disoriented and float up.
The reason why this article is important is because while the melon-headed whale may not be endangered or threatened, it is still important to know about them. It is also important to learn why so many got stranded, if it was just nature or part of our doing.

Summarized by Bryn

East Asia- Dolphins Rescued off Philippines

GAOC - Week 2 - East Asia

Web Address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7880375.stm

Story from BBC NEWS

Dolphins rescued off Philippines

"Fishermen in the Philippines have rescued about 200 dolphins which became stranded in shallow waters near Manila" Melon-headed whales, a kind of dolphin, travel in pods of several hundreds. Around two hundred dolphins were found stranded in the Philippines, near the towns of Pilar and Abucay, not too long ago. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director, Malcolm Sarmiento, said that having so many dolphins beached at one time was "an unusual phenomenon" and went on to suggest that the dolphins had probably reacted to a disturbance at sea or heat wave. This kind of dolphin usually stays in a lot deeper of water, so they hardly come near that shallow of an area. A three of the dolphins died before they could be rescued. Two of which were said to have had damaged eardrums which causes dolphins to get disoriented and float up.
The reason why this article is important is because while the melon-headed whale may not be endangered or threatened, it is still important to know about them. It is also important to learn why so many got stranded, if it was just nature or part of our doing.

Summarized by Bryn

Egyptian Archaeologists Discover 30 Mummies

A chamber of mummies was found on the western side of the Step Pyramid of the Saqqara. Finding an intact burial like this one in Saqqara is uncommon. One of the earliest large stone structures in the world, Saqqara was frequently robbed by thieves from the city of Memphis. The necropolis was thought to be built around 2650 BC. The mummies are all from different times. One of the mummies is as old as 640BC, but its coffin, made of limestone, is dated back to around 2400BC, during the fifth dynasty. Scientists are going to look in the coffins and expect to find amulets among the mummy wrapping. This is important because mummies give us a chance to explore our history and learn more about life a long time ago. The scientists have already found a full mummy of a man named Badi Enhery and we can learn more about him using his corpse and the inscriptions on the tomb. We can use these new discoveries to research about the fifth dynasty and other time periods they are from.
Region: North Africa
Blog: Michaela
Presentation: Anna Simone

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/4570960/Egyptian-archaeologists-discover-30-mummies.html

Salamanders are quietly Vanishing from Central American Cloud Forests

Shalini Singh
Central America/Mexico/West Indies
From: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/02/10/salamanders-are-quietly-vanishing-from-central-american-cloud-forests/

Salamanders have thrived in population for over 30 years in Mexico and Guatemala. Although recently the population has been decreasing significantly and possibly heading for extinction. Researchers and scientists have just recently noticed this major change in the salamander’s population. Back in the 1970’s research shows that 10 to 15 salamanders could be seen in 1 hour. Biologists have been worried that habitat destruction and climate change has been declining the amphibian species since the 1980’s. Currently some scientists believe that chytrid, a deathly fungus is the cause of the drop in population. Although biologist Davis Wake believes it all has to do with global warming. He has come to the conclusion that warming temperatures have caused the salamanders to move up high on the forest slopes to less hospitable habitats.
Salamander’s ancestors were the first land vertebrates; if they go extinct many other species are also at risk. This article shows just one of the many examples of how climate change is affecting us. Although some may think salamanders are small and not important in our ecosystem, David Wake has proved that climate change will affect everyone and everything. Climate change is a rapid process and greenhouse gas emissions may be the cause of the possible extinction of salamanders in Mexico and Guatemalan cloud forests.

Salamander losses in Mexico, Guatemala cause worry

By: Eloise and Mariah

Area: Central America/Mexico/West Indies

Article: Salamander losses in Mexico, Guatemala cause worry

Website: http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKTRE5187PD20090209?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

            Various species of salamanders have experienced dramatic population drops since the 1970s, “driven to the brink probably by a warming climate and other factors,” said U.S scientists on Monday. The downfall in salamander’s population is the latest piece of evidence of the many losses. Biologist David Wake and several colleagues tracked two-dozen salamander of varying species in Guatemala and southern Mexico; after they compared the population of now to the 1970s has gone down immensely. “Four species were apparently completely gone and a fifth virtually wiped out,” said Wake. The causes for so many drops in salamander population is most likely due to climate change, the warming temperatures forcing salamanders to higher and less “welcoming” elevations along with habitat destruction and a fungal disease these are only a few things destroying salamanders habitats. “We have documented what has long been feared—that tropical salamanders are being hit hard by something and are disappearing,” said Wake in a telephone interview. As we have heard many times scientists are worried that climate change will have a horrible impact on animal populations first hitting the polar bears in the Artic. Several experts see amphibians as the canary in the coalmine, warning of future disasters for today’s animal kingdom.

            I found this article important because we have all heard about the polar bears and the melting but if you loose one thing in the “circle of life” than it all comes crashing down around us. Like it said in the article, salamanders are like the canaries in the coalmines, they warn you of the future disasters that could dramatically affect the world. I feel that this is also important because they may be icky slimy things but they are really important to our environment if these crazy things have happened we need to change the way we do things and make things better while we can.

Ukraine President Criticizes PM Over Russian Loan

Kiev, Ukraine
From: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/10/business/EU-Ukraine-Financial-Crisis.php
By: Kendall
Region: E. Europe, N. and Central Asia

In Ukraine this week, the Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, made the decision to seek a five billion dollar rescue loan from Russia to help Ukraine amidst the international economic crisis. The request for financial aid rang out to Russia and several other countries when the talks for a loan from the International Monetary Fund were stalled. Ukraine is trying to avoid an all-out collapse while it is being pressured by high gas bills from Russia and billion dollar debts of the state gas company.

However the decision to call for the Russian loan is controversial, as President Victor Yushchenko disagrees, saying that the loan will make Ukraine too dependent on Russia. The President says that Ukraine might not be able to pay back the loan, putting its gas transit system in jeopardy of control by Russia. This gas transit system has already been the topic of feuds between Russia and Ukraine. Russia pipes gas to all the European countries through huge gas pipelines that happen to pass through Ukraine. Russia doesn’t like that Ukraine is given power over the gas that is transited through their country. If Ukraine was forced to hand over the gas system to Russia to pay back loans, it would take away their privileges of say in transit prices and its own gas prices. However, Prime Minister Tymoshenko said she would not let that happen.

I think this story is interesting and important because it shows to what extent the international economic crisis is affecting everyone all around the globe. Often times we hear all about the problems in the U.S. and forget that it’s affecting everyone in the world! Ukraine has to depend on Russia for five billion dollars, a country that it’s already having tensions with. This is why our whole international community has to work together to ease the economic crisis and bring down political tensions.

Vava & Robbie GAOC Australia
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/02/200929164036553127.html

Fires in Australia are burning through towns and have killed 171 people and have become the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. Thousands of Firefighters and Soldiers continued to fight 20 fires on Tuesday. This condition is even worse because of the winds that continue to blow the blaze in different directions. Some investigators believe that these fires were lit on purpose by arsonists or on accident, but nothing is proven so authorities are still investigating as the blaze continues to annihilate everything in its path.

This is something to care about because its important to learn that natural disasters can lead to destroyed lives and assumptions. Many people die or get injured from natural disasters and aren’t even known about and don’t even get the care they might have needed. I think we should all remember we could be in the same situation in minutes and to help those in need.

Somali president makes peace plea

Ana K. and Perry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7879754.stm

Somali president makes peace plea

Somalia's new President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has offered an olive branch to Islamist hardliners during a tour of the capital, Mogadishu.

The new president told crowds of people that he was wiling to discuss peace with groups apposed to UN-sponsored piece efforts, he also went to a police base and talked with traditional and civil society leaders. A quote from the new Somali president, "The new period the country is going through is for peace. We will say to everyone who is opposing us: 'We are ready to discuss with you about our problems, we are open to peace, we welcome peace and no-one's role will be ignored.'"
A BBC reporter thinks that this particular quote was amid at the hardline Islamism al-shabab militia. The group in question just recently gained a seat in their parliament so they now control much of the southern part of Somalia. They openly detest the newly elected president. So the president was given security on Monday by African union peacekeepers, troops and forces from the president’s army, and the Alliance fro the Re-liberation of Somalia. The president is forty-four, and used to be a schoolteacher. He was elected by mps in Djibouti in January. He is replacing the former president, Abdullahi Yusuf, who resigned in December after a power struggle. There has been no stable government in Somalia since 1991.

Northern Iraq suicide blast kills 4 American soldiers

Alena and Natalie

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/10/africa/10iraq.php

Eastern Europe and Central/Northern Asia 

Four US died this week from a car bomb planted where they were stationed (plus their Iraqi translator. 3 of the four died in the explosion, the last died later due to the deep wounds he got. It is the biggest collective death in nine months. It happened in Mosul, Capital of Iraq's Nineveh Province.

The car belonged to a suicide bomber whose car exploded near a moving HUMVEE (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), patrolling the city (see right). Mosul is one of the most violent places in Iraq. It is the only city where Al Qaeda leaders are hiding, in all other places; they hide in rural or mountainous areas. This bomb exploded near a police checkpoint so 2 Iraqi police officers and a civilian were also wounded.

Healthy food prices vary widely across Canada

Mass grave for Kenya fire victims

GAOC: Southern Africa

By Ruby Mercado and Emma Krause

This article can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7878487.stm

Several days after a supermarket fire in Nairobi killed 25 people, an overturned oil tanker also caught fire and exploded in the Kenyan town of Molo. It is estimated that over 130 people were killed in the tanker blaze and about 200 were injured, at least 148 of which are still undergoing treatment. The victims of the blast were buried in a mass grave located less than 100 meters away from the sit where the tanker caught flame. The victims were buried in a mass grave, something some families were opposed to, saying that the idea of burying their loved ones in a mass grave went against their beliefs.

Investigations about the cause of the fire are still underway, but it reports say that the probably caused by a lit cigarette or started deliberately. After the oil tanker was overturned many attempted to collect spilt fuel and were prevented from doing so, and so it's thought that perhaps one of them may have started the fire.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga reflected on the incident, saying that the true cause was prevalent poverty in Kenya, because it is "pushing our people into doing desperate things", while others criticised the authorities, saying both the Nairobi and the Molo fires were examples of the authorities failure to address public safety.

Fiji gets ultimatum from forum leaders

Australia and Pacific
Fiji gets ultimatum from forum leaders:

In a coup in 2006, Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the government of Fiji. Now in 2009, the leaders of the Pacific Island Forum have told him that if he does not name an election date for a new government by May 1st, there will be consequences. They will suspend Fiji from all forum meetings and events and stop it benefiting from funding, technical and other programmes run by the group. Voreqe Bainimaram is resisting the ultimatum because he says that certain constitutional reforms need to take place first, "even if it took 5 or 10 years."

This is important to know about, because it's a very important thing going on in Fiji. Although it's not very near to us, it has a big impact on everyone living there, and of course, if it impacts one person, it impacts all the people. It's also important because it explains a little bit of both sides of the stories, so that we can understand what's going on better and not jump to conclusions when we hear things about it.

-http://www.stuff.co.nz/4831709a6160.html
-(The dominion post)
-(stuff.co.nz)

Clara and Uriah

Galileo’s observations “affected by” degenerative eyes

Four escape after plan crashes in Amazon River in Brazil

Four people who were at the back of a plane that crashed in the Amazon River made it out while 24 other people died. Most of the passengers were apart of one family and they were on their way to a birthday party. Seven kids, nine women and eight men were killed, while one of the survivors is a nine year old. The reason the survivors were able to survive was because of how close they were to the back where emergency doors were so they easily climbed out. Apparently the plane went down 50 miles before its destination. 

 

Pope Move Ignites Holocaust Row

Pope Move Ignites Holocaust Row

By Ani Schroeter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7849226.stm

                Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre appointed Briton Richard Williams to the Catholic Church in the Vatican. Bishop Richard Williams just recently angered Jews by saying there were no such thing as Nazi gas chambers. Israel made a decision to “cast a shadow” between the Jews and the Catholic Church because of Bishop Richard Williams beliefs. “We have no intention of interfering in the internal workings of the Catholic Church, however, the eagerness to bring a Holocaust denier back into the Church will cast a shadow on relations between Jews and the Catholic Church,” Mordechai Lewy said to Reuters news agency. Bishop Richard spoke to Swedish television saying “I believe there were no gas chambers. I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers.” The Vatican hasn’t spoke up at all about those remarks. Although the pope has said that Bishop Richard Williams’s beliefs are his own and the Catholic Church shouldn’t be blamed for them.

                    As a Jewish person I was very drawn to this article. Not only do I strongly disagree with Bishop Richard William’s belief it has also changed the way I think about the Catholic Church. As I’ve grown up in the Jewish religion my whole life we are constantly reminded of the Holocaust and how it affected our people.  Many people died in gas chambers and to have someone so powerful come out and say they didn’t exist is like a slap in the face to all Jews. Not only is it not true it’s also extremely offensive. I hope to see more about this topic in the news and see how the Catholic Church and Israel solve this issue.

                                       

Suriname Court Dismisses Request to Ban Media from Murder Trial -- 1/26/09

SURINAME -- Military court in Suriname on Friday rejected a request from the former dictator Desi Bouterse to ban the media from coverage of his murder trial.

The ex-Army commander is still in the process of being tried for his December 1982 murder of fifteen of his political opponents in the (then) military headquarters of Fort Zeelandia. Amoung those killed were four journalists. His attourney Irwin Kanhai on Friday, July 25th, 2008 requested that all of the press present in the courtroom were thrown out. The military court had suspended his trial indefinitley because the defense questioned the impartiality of the head judge, Cynthia Valstein-Montnor. In the ruling on Friday, the court argued that the request was unfounded and the defense couldn't find sufficient evidence.
The star witness of the prosecution Onno Flohr (47), an ex-soldier claimed in his statement in court that Bouterse was present in the office at Fort Zeelandia when at least five victims were killed. According to him (as a member of the firing squad), before the captives were executed, they were arranged before Bouterse to hear their verdict. The order to shot was given by Paul Bhagwandas, the then 3rd highest officer in the National Army. He fired at least twleve of his twenty-two rounds. He and fifteen other low-ranking soldiers were ordered to kill two of the victims. After the victims had been killed, one of the accused had emptied his firearm in to the corpses. If he is convicted, Bouterse faces up to twenty years in prison.
Bouterse seized power in February 1980 in a military coup and then lead the government until 1987. As chairman of the countries' biggest political party, NDP, although he is still in opposition, he's still a "political powerhouse".

--Indigo

Cutters turn razors on babies to avoid FGM/C law-IRIN News

Cutters turn razors on babies to avoid FGM/C law

            The practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is an old tradition that is said to maintain cleanliness or make the determination of ones sex clearer and usually preformed once someone finally hits puberty. Although it is tradition it can be emotionally and physically painful. In 1996 Burkina Faso made it illegal to perform FGM/C and if you did you would be put in jail for up to ten years and fined almost 1,500 dollars. Since that law was passed the government has found that the performance of FGM/C in children under the age of five has increased 11%. In order to try an perform the circumcision in secret so to not be punished the circumcisions have started to be preformed at a younger age because it is usually easier to silence and take advantage of someone who is younger.

The practice of FGM/C can have long-term consequences such as extreme pain during childbirth, sex and urination. Three million girls are cut each year. FGM/C is something that everyone needs to be aware of. Many are un-wiling to give up the tradition so it has to be done in secretive and extremely painful ways. The person who is being circumcised usually has no voice or say and we have to give them that voice back. FGM/C is not usually talked about among communities but it still goes on. It is important to know about this issue of illegal genital mutilation and circumcision because children  are being silenced and hurt and we have to help.