After attending TEDxYouth@Waterloo my class has decided to do a "salon" at our school. I'm really excited about planning this event as it sounds like a great opportunity and an awesome function! So far we have Holly Painter, Maddie Cranston, Richard Mclean and H.E.L.P. (Homelessness Everywhere Lacking Publicity) presenting which is amazing since they were at the actual event. We will also be selecting some talented students from our own school to perform. We are accepting any talent that relates to the theme of chasing home and as a member of the selection committee I am really psyched to see what kind of talent this school has. This particular event will be non-profit meaning we won't keep or use any of the money for ourselves. We are giving some of the money to cancer research as we are doing Relay for Life only a few days after and it is definitely a worthy cause, and some money to H.E.L.P. to aid them and their foundation. I'm so excited to see what comes of this amazing event and I really hope we get a good turn out because I know it's going to be fabulous!
This article posted on Bored Panda was a real eye opener for me. It really made me realize how unfair it is for all these children and how good I have it here in Canada. Many of these children are impoverished and live in unsafe environments. What surprised me was the girl from Nepal who had been working in a granite quarry since she was only three years old. I am very lucky to be living in a generally safe country with reasonable laws and rules. The constitution aims for peace, order and good government within Canada and I have total sympathy for the children in other parts of the world with no such assurances. Some of the places mentioned have governments that are completely corrupt with greed. They have all the power, leaving the citizens with none. Here in Canada we get to choose who runs our country with a democracy. The people who are sleeping on the floor and on old car tires need a good government to get the countries back up on their feet and the citizens into a safer place. It made me realize that not everyone is as lucky as me and that everyone needs to aim for equality worldwide.
I thought I would continue with the theme of terrorism and bombings by talking about this bombing in Baghdad compared to the Boston marathon bombs. A bomb went off in a popular coffee shop in western Baghdad, killing 27 people and wounding at least 51 others. It was reported that the bomb was in a plastic bag and then placed in the cafe in the Iraqi capital's al-Amriya neighborhood. It detonated at approximately 10 pm. The explosion ripped through the 3 story building which also had an ice cream parlor and medical offices. Four children were among the dead and the rest were mostly young men. The violent attack follows a pattern of others that precede the country's provincial elections that were set for Saturday. This heart wrenching event brought to mind the recent Boston marathon which got me thinking about how much media coverage it received. I also thought about how if I hadn't looked up "international news" and then checked CNN'S "in brief" section I could have gone my whole life without knowing it had happened. I don't know if Boston got more coverage because they're closer to home or because people just expect this kind of thing from Baghdad. I'm not saying that one event is worse than the other because whichever way you look at it, innocent people died. It just irks me to know that the media is prioritizing. It's almost annoying to know that while the Boston marathon is being commemorated worldwide this story along with the many others in places like Baghdad are being recognized by the few who read in brief sections online and sometimes not being recognized at all. I don't believe every story needs media coverage to make people see what's going on but it just seems unfair that terrorism in America is portrayed as much more important than terrorism in places like Baghdad.
In my opinion this casino idea is completely unnecessary. Many people in the region are already strongly opposed to the casino as it comes with the possibility of decreased home values. A casino has the potential to create gambling problems and even more debt for people who become addicted easily. It was also stated in many comments that loan sharking, drugs and gambling addictions would only "degrade the area". A survey was sent out to see if citizens were in favor of a casino and the results so far are that the majority do not want to see a casino built in their city. A casino would be in conflict with the type of community people want to see in the Waterloo Region and it would bring up so many social and economical problems. It really isn't worth it. It has been stated also that the casino will bring 4 million dollars in per year but I really don't believe that a casino is going to bring that kind of money into this community. It's also a question of do the ends justify the means? Personally, I don't believe they do. The Waterloo Region will just have to wait and see the end result of this ongoing debate.
News Article Used: http://metronews.ca/news/kitchener/610470/waterloo-kitchener-seek-casino-input/ At approximately 2:50pm on Monday afternoon a bomb went off at the Boston marathon and then another one went off at 4:15pm. Three people have been pronounced dead and over one hundred were injured. Many questions remain unanswered but one thing that is on many people's minds is, "Is this an act of terrorism?". An act of terrorism needs a message and so far no motives or purposes have surfaced. A second trait is violence which this bombing definitely was. Many witnesses described seeing blood all over the sidewalks and limbs flying overhead as the bomb went off. We can not yet determine whether this was a legitimate terrorist act unless we can get more evidence.
We don’t know if this person is trying to send a political message or if he/she just really doesn’t like marathons. We can’t say this is an act of terrorism for lack of information. The FBI doesn’t even have any suspects yet and I feel as though whenever anything bad like this happens they immediately blame it on terrorism. Just labelling something as an act of terrorism makes people fear it even more which only helps the criminal’s cause. Although I disagree with the fact that people are throwing the word terrorism around when we really can’t be sure I do think that it’s safer to assume this will happen again so that we can heighten security for upcoming events and keep searching for the person(s) who felt the need to bomb the Boston marathon. Website I used for information: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/16/explosion-reported-near-finish-line-boston-marathon-spokesman-says/ I honestly can't believe I'm getting a chance to see a Ted showcase specifically made for people in my age group. The topic is going to be "chasingHOME" which sounds really interesting, although I have no idea how each speaker will incorporate this in with their individual topics. There are so many speakers that I can't wait to see but one that really stands out is definitely nine year old Maddie Cranston. Seeing someone that age stand up in front of tons of people and speak about what she is most passionate about is going to be inspiring and probably will make me feel bad because she has done so much at such a young age. I'm sure Maddie is going to be a fresh young voice speaking among great presenters much older than her and with much more experience. The second group of people I look forward to seeing is Unaccompanied Minors. After watching Pitch Perfect I have a new found appreciation for a cappella groups and singing in general and mainly I hope to see them perform but also speak about their university experiences. I think it's amazing how their common interest in singing has brought them together. Lastly, I'm looking forward to hearing De Riggs because the bio on the Ted website says he's a comedian and motivational speaker. I love hearing motivational pieces because they are a great pick me up and often make feel a lot more positive about the future. If you throw comedy in with the mix, it will surely make for one really great presentation. Overall, I am extremely excited for the TedxYouth@Waterloo showcase.
Hi! I'm Ariana and this is my blog for the Future Forums Project at my school. My favourite subject is English because I've always been good at it. I'm going to mostly be writing about English projects and stories since this is a school blog. A few things about me are, I love watching movies and TV shows. My favourite one right now has to be The Walking Dead. I have a large family and also a dog and parrot but I wish I didn't have the parrot because he's so loud. There isn't really much more I can talk about because I mostly sit at home and do nothing apart from when I have to work. I definitely don't play or follow any sports as I am way too lazy. I also spent a year in England when I was in grade 4 because the majority of my family lives there. It was an exciting experience and I really hope that one day I can go back. I LOVE coffee and tea because they are the two greatest hot drinks of all time. I'm super excited to get this blog started!
-Ariana |
ArianaGrade 10 student :) Archives
May 2013
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