Tuesday, December 4, 2012

When the Buying Stops the Killing Can Too



Shark are been fished all over the world and this in now a big issue. As they are been fished, the fishermen capture them, rip their fins off and throw them back in the ocean to die. Most the time the shark is still alive and not only do they kill them but they torture them by putting them back in the water to bleed to death or to be eaten by other sharks. This all happens for one little bowl, one bowl that contains the life of a beautiful animal that does nothing but help keep our ocean in balance, this bowl is a bowl of shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in many asian countries.  Killing sharks for their fins needs to be stopped because sharks are an important part of the ocean ecosystem, shark’s slow reproduction rate makes it harder for them to reproduce even without being killed off, and shark fins don’t contain any nutritional value.

Sharks are an important part of the ocean ecosystem and killing them off would affect all ocean life forever.Sharks have been swimming in our oceans for thousands of years and it would be very sad to see them become extinct. “Sharks have shaped evolution in the ocean, the fact that fish are camouflage, their speed,  their behavior has all been influenced by the shark so you remove the shark and you can cause some serious problems with diversity in the oceans.”(Shark Finning Videos)This problem will make the seas that we swim in and the oceans that we dive in  overcrowded  with fish and a bunch of other things, things that may be life threatening to us.“ There's nothing extra in nature we can't just take something out and think that everything is going to be okay, its not all about the sharks it's about the delicate balance of the ocean ... We are destroying our oceans, and if our oceans die, we die, we don't live on this planet with a dead ocean. … We need sharks on this planet.“ (Sea Shepherds) If we continue to think that it will all be okay  ‘ its just a shark’ we will have a dead sea. A dead sea can cause many bad things like not being able to go swimming in the ocean or not to be able to scuba dive. These things are not only fun but they are important tools that we can use to learn about our oceans. Our Ocean covers more 70% of our planet, and if that 70% dies the human race will be in trouble.

When a fisherman kills a shark, it may be killing a  shark that has never had a chance to reproduce. Sharks have  a very slow reproductive rate and for the amount that humans kill, in just a few decades there will be no more sharks. People once said that it was just one shark that the ocean has plenty, that they won't go extinct and if they do it will be in a few hundred years, but now it may  in just a few years. “Sharks are extremely vulnerable to overfishing because they have very late onset of reproduction, sometimes 25 years for some if they  are larger sharks .”
(Shark Finning Videos)Sharks are a lot like humans in that respect, they have a few amount of pupps for the amount of sharks we kill. Sharks don't have that ability that fish do., they can't lay millions of eggs and have a high chance of success. “(Shark Finning Videos)They have few young, so if you're killing a shark you may be killing a shark that has never had a chance to reproduce or you may be killing a shark that can only have maybe 20 -25 pupps  in its entire lifetime”This means that just one fisherman can wipe out an entire population in an local society. This is something that everyone should be worried about.  

Some people might say that shark fin soup helps your health, but in fact shark fin soup is tasteless and does not contain anything that may help your health. “shark fins are tasteless”
(Shark Finning Videos). So many sharks are being killed and for something that isn't even worth buying as it is tasteless and expensive. Shark fins “contain high levels of  Methyl_ Mercury” (Shark Finning Videos)Millions of people want to eat shark fin soup for the nutrients that they think it has, the ‘power’ it gives you. They are not only killing sharks and wasting their money on something that actually contains high levels of Methyl_ Mercury.

Over the past few years there have been people that try their best to save the sharks from this terrible thing called shark fin soup. The Sea Shepherd crew are a group of very brave people who sail out every year on a trip to stop all the fishing that is hurting our oceans.  The president and founder of the Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson has started a new journey to help save the sharks.“Sea Shepherd conservation society has fought tirelessly for whales, dolphins, tuna and seals. Now they are taking on the most dangerous and hardest battle they've ever fought, for an animal few believe is worth fighting for, an animal essential warth various survivals, the Sharks.”
(Sea Shepherds) Remember when the buying stops the killing can too.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Fight for a Birth Certificate




According to UNICEF the children with no credited documentation are in danger of being refused from the benefits of what being a citizen brings. “The child who is not registered at birth is in danger of being shut out of society” ( Birth Registration).  These undocumented children are denied rights to an official identity, a recognized name and a nationality. Recent statistics claim that an estimated 50 million babies are born without registration each year (Birth Registration). This problem closes the door to many of the opportunities that a registered child would benefit including the enjoyment of an education and health care, participation and protection. It is important that people around the globe fight for the rights of all who are born to enjoy the benefits of being a registered member of society.  Francia Simon is a young girl from the Dominican Republic who fights for the kids who have no name and no nationality. She now helps hundreds of kids without a birth certificate from the Dominican Republic and from Haiti . Almost being denied a proper education because she was unable to prove her nationality,  Francia Simon fights for the rights of all children who also struggle to prove their nationalities.

Having no name and  no nationality means no rights for people in the Dominican Republic.  By helping kids get birth certificates, Francia is giving them the rights they deserve. Francia campaigns for the right of kids so that they can access national education systems, so that they can grow up and have good jobs. “Francia... campaigns for the right of children to registration, name and nationality” (ICPPA). This means that Francia wants to fight for kids and that she wants to give the kids the rights that they need. Francia not only helps children get rights but also to access education and healthcare. “It is only after official registration that children can gain access to essential rights such as healthcare and education” (ICPPA). Francia had no rights to education or health care, this means that she could not go to school and if she got really sick, she couldn’t go to the hospital. When she finally obtained those rights, she wanted to help other people in the same situation as her. It is  by these methods, Francia has been able to help 136 kids without a name and nationality, and will be able to continue helping kids from both Dominican Republic and Haiti(Portret Francia).

Because she was almost denied a proper education, Francia will not allow other children to be given the same mistreatment, so she continues her fight for their rights.When unable to show proper documentation regarding her nationality or citizenship Francia finds herself having problems gaining access to schools.“Francia found herself faced with possible exclusion from education. In response, she carried out extensive research and showed great perseverance in pursuing her own registration.”(ICPPA) With her education in jeopardy Francia did not just give up but fights for her right to the same education that all citizens enjoy. Francia uses the knowledge she gained in school to help other kids get the knowledge that they need. “gained lasting access to secondary education. Since then, Francia has been using the knowledge and strength she acquired during the complicated registration process to help other children without birth certificates”(ICPPA) After having won her battle to be provided an education, Francia realized that she can make a difference for others and fights for the rights to a proper education for all kids who struggle proving their nationality and or citizenship.  Francia enjoys helping kids and wants to continue helping kids that were in the same situation as her.  

Francia continues to help kids who have trouble to show their nationality. Having the experience of having trouble  to demonstrate her nationality and knowing all the things that are withheld from children without a birth certificate. By helping these children get a birth certificate she not only gives them a name, but she gives them all the rights that a kid should have such as education, health care and hope.  It is because of this that Francia has won the International Children's Peace Prize, 2010. Francia is an inspiration for kids with and without birth certificates, she inspires them to help other kids and that it is always good to fight for your rights. All kids should have rights, which include a name and a nationality. Francia is determine to help other kids and to give them the rights they deserve.   

Sources:
http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/prize-2010/
http://www.kidsrights.org/InternationalChildrensPeacePrize/Winners.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5nEIzfP00Q&feature=youtu.be

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Monkey Me



I am from a small apartment in the middle of nowhere,
Full of people, eating,
talking, more food!
From Barbies and Doras
From football in the old park by the small school.

I am from a chocolate bar
From a plastic pool and stuffed animals,
From the zoo and the mountains,
skates and falling down,
I’m butter hands and Powerpuff girls,
From pasta and pizza,

I am well cooked beef, tacos, spicy sauce.
From Teo a family pet to Teo my best friend
Without him life would be painful but without chocolate even more Harsh.

I’m from monkeys and meat lovers,
From  TV, sleepovers and friends.
Photographer dreams and underwater fun.
A life  of adventure  to come.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

OO

OO wow, thats what I can say. Just the last trimestre I did the same thin we did today and I got a way different learning profile PP. It is different in the letter but not so different in the way I learn. I still learn the same way.

I learn best when I move and I am not just siting and listening. For example little plys that we have done, Are also the things that I learnd best with.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The 1066 King





If there was a vote in the 1066 to who should be king of England I would vote for Harold Godwindson. There are many reasons why, First of all I think it is goo to maintain the english blood. I think it is important to maintain the english blood so if Harold had kids then they would be the king or queen and they would ceep on going. I also think he should have been king because King edward chose him to be the king after he died. I also think that it was not fair to have the fight after they already named Godwindson king. 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Values & Choices




There I was standing like a lost 3 year old, not knowing what to do. Being a witnes to a bully situation is not so easy. I always say that I would tell the bully to stop but when I saw the the bully pushing the smaller kid into a locker i didn't know what to do so I just stud there like nothing was happening. I felt fo guilty because I could have done something as the oldest one there, but I didn't and that made me feel like a terrible person. After that day I said I would never let someone be treated badly.
Later that year I saw the same bully pushing the same little kid around making him carry the bullies school things. As I was working up the nerve to go tell the bully to stop the bully and I see another kid older than me and hit the bully. The bully just walked away and left the kid alone. At that moment I was looking at a bully geting bullied because he was bullying anther kid. I had guessed that that was the older brother of the kid but when I asked the kid he said that he was surprised as well because he had never seen the tall strong kid before. At that moment I thought that I should always help people a non vileness way, and to do it when I get a chance, not to wait and let some one els do it with vileness.

Bullying isn't a knew thing I has been going on for years and years. Bullying has even been shown in great myths. A big myth that shows Bully is the minotaur. In the myth a very powerful king orders the best bulder in the world and makes him build the bigest maze in the world for an ugly minotaur. After the architect was finished the king locked him and his son in the maze with the minotaur. I think that this shows bullying because the king built the maze in intentions to trap innocent people and let the minotaur kill them. Another example in that he trapped the architect in so that he would get killed to.  
A big example of bullying is the Holocaust. In the Holocaust there is not only bullying but there is exclusion and ostracism. The Jews were excluded from their home and countries and no one did any thing and that is why the Holocaust happend.










Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Schindler’s List




Schindler’s List

To me a hero dosent have to save someone or something to really be a hero. Just trying to help someone or something is heroic. To risk your life to save or help another one is heroic. " To say yes is to follow the mass to do what is commonly expected. To say no is to deny the crowd, to set apart, to reaffirm yourself."  I really like this quote because it shows that you dont have to save some one to be a hero.
I feel that heroes do not necessarily possess certain qualities but are defined by their actions. You can be a selfish person and see a car crush and still call 911 or get some one out of the car. You could also be a mean person and save someone from a fire. You always put yourself first and see someone that needs help and still help them. This means that a hero dosent need to have certain qualities.
There were not so many heros during the holocaust but there was some people that did save many people.   
Schindler helped the Jews by giving them a job in his big company. He was a hero because he told the nazi that he needs them to build something so they did not take them to concentration camps. I am very happy that there where people that did try to help the poor jews.   
  

Monday, February 27, 2012

Victory

In the Holocaust their were many survivors and most of them have memories. Sonia Weitz wrote her memories in poems. She wrote poems about every thing, when she went to concentration camps, when they took her mom, when she got saved and so many more but my favorite one is "Victory". Victory is about when her sister,dad,brother in law and her got taken to a concentration camp and separated in to boys and girls, but one day she snuck in to see her dad while a young boy was playing the harmonica and her dad said to her " little one, let us dance we may not have another chance."
This poem dosent really reflect in my life but what I like most is that it makes you feel the feeling that she went through, the sadness and happiness she felt. I can't even imagen going through what she went through, losing her mom and dad to the Holocaust then geting Typhus all by her self, I dont know what I would have done.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

1918-1933


There were many conditions that allowed the Nazi Party to take control in Germany. After losing World War I Germany had to pay reparations which were imposed upon them by the Treaty of Versailles, to all the countries that fought against them. This meant that had to pay for all the damages that they had done during the great war. This was very difficult for Germany and took most their money. Secondly, hyperinflation and the economy was in a crisis in germany not only due to the money they had to pay for war damages but also because the world was in the middle of an economic crisis called the depression. Money became worthless which even put a greater strain on Germany. So not only was the Germany's government in trouble but so were the people because they had no jobs. The German citizens could not have any jobs because they could not aford to pay them. One day Adolf Hitler came with a solution to fix every thing. After a few years Hitler became in charge. Hitler waited for the right time and that is how Hitler got control.