"Plastic Bags"

I. Why are plastic bags so common?

Because they are so cheap to produce and they were made to substitute the paper bags because with the paper bags there was a lot of deforestation.

II. In what other ways is plastic used?

Plastic is used in many other ways that and we don´t even notice it because it´s part of our daily life like in your bottle of water the plate at your table there are many uses for it.

III. What are the benefits of plastic bags?

They are very practical for the daily use they also are very cheap to make and easy to produce also they are aerodynamic which makes them easy to carry. Also the initial purpose of this bags was to stop deforestation, because of the making of paper bags.

IV. What are the dangers of plastic bags?

They don´t biodegradate and only 1% of the world bags is recycled every year.
They also end up in small pieces that are more difficult to get. Also they end up in the waters especially in the ocean it´s were it affects the most because the animals that leave there can get killed very easily or trapped in a plastic bag. “100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year because of this problem.”

V. What has been done so far?

There are a lot of campaigns that proposed to use paper bags instead of plastic since 2002. But nothing has been done.
There are also some factories that are dedicated to recycle but it very difficult for them to get along with these because these plastic bags come with a lot of things with them.

VI. Has it been successful? Why or why not?

Well there are a lot of projects going on but the most successful of all was the one made in Taiwan. This campaign was about forcing the people to bring their own bags to stores but this didn´t work quite well so a designer decided to do a fashion bomb; with the campaign "I am not a plastic bag" by Anya Hindmarch's.
There is also another project that had moved people in a certain way, but not as much as the Anaya’s campaign. It is about charging for every bag you take home.


a. What are some of the potential benefits of charging fees for and/or banning plastic bags?

To reduce the number of plastic bags each people carry home, because they have to pay for each bag. Also this will make people be conscious and take their own “ecological” bags to the supermarket.

b. What are some of the potential drawbacks of such programs?

The economy will begin to decline that´s why no state had definitely done it.

c. Which benefits and drawbacks seem the most compelling? Why?

The benefits are very clear this will reduce the number of plastic bags “wasted”, but in consequence this will affect in a big way the economy of these countries. It will also make us go back to the same problem as before “not using paper bags”.

d. Would you support a local law charging fees for (or banning) plastic bags? Why or why not?

Of course I will support them, because I really care about the environment and it´s conservation. Also I think it is important to learn “not to waste”.

German kid killed 16 people
Who: Tim Kretschmer
When: 11/03/09
Where: Winnenden, Germany.
Why : He was a member of the shooting club, he also had a big fascination for guns and knew a lot about them.
What: A student from the school started shooting students and 3 policemen that tried to stop him he also shoot a person that was walking by.

Columbine High School massacre.
Who: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
When: 20/04/99
Where: Columbine high school
Why: They built up resentment against the people that lived next to them, then started to have special interest in how to use and make dangerous artefacts.
What: These 2 students killed 12 of their classmates, and injured 23 other people before committing suicide.

Korean senior kills
Who: Seung-Hui Cho
When: 16 /04/07
Where: Virginia
Why: He had anxiety disorders. Then he was declared a mentally ill person for stalking two girls.
What: He killed 32 people and injured many more. Then he committed suicide.

Girl Shoots
Who: Elizabeth Bush
When: 07/03/01
Where: Bishop Neumann, High School in Pennsylvania
Why: she was kind of jealous about her, because she was the head cheerleader, besides they were having a big discussion.
What: She shoot Kimberly Marchese the head cheerleader while they were discussing.

Shooting in “El Cajon”
Who: Jason Hoffman
When: 22/03/01
Where: Granite Hills High School, El Cajon, California
Why: Before this happened he was diagnosed as clinically depressed and that he needed treatment. He declared that he had opened fire in order for a police officer has a reason to kill him.
What: He injured 2 teachers: Priscilla Murphy & Fran Zumwalt, he also injured some classmates: Billy Ditzler, Toby Halstead, Shaunda Hughes, Carina Scribellito, Jennifer Strom, & Andy Yafuso .He suicided after that in 0ctober 29.

Zimbabwe

Based on the article below answer the following questions.
1. Who is Robert Mugabe? The president of Zimbabwe
· How long has he been in power? 28 years
· How popular is he? Very, actually his followers came to celebrate his birthday, and they have been collecting enough money to make a good celebration
2. Who is Morgan Tsvangirai? Prime Minister. And last rival of Robert
· which is/ has been his political role? Competing against Robert for Zimbabwe’s presidency, and now he is the prime minister of it.
3. What happened during last year's elections? He was reelected for president and won the elections
· Which was the outcome? He beated Morgan
4. Which is the economic situation in Zimbabwe? They are a country with a big economic crisis How do the people feel about this?
5. What do you think about the celebrations and the lavish party? That he should use all that money to help his country instead of using it for a big party.
Based only on the article below, define a conflict.
a) Give the conflict a name and explain why you think it is a conflict. Despotism
b) Who is involved and why? Robert Mugabe, because he is Zimbabwe’s president, he should do something to save it, from cholera and hunger.
c) Explain in detail why the conflict has happened. Because it´s actual president doesn´t care about the people
d) Give a timeline of events (at least 5) related to the conflict.
e) How do you think this conflict can be solved and why? Maybe but not totally, because it is increasing and at this point there’s not much left to do about it and it is a very difficult goal.

Ukraine

Conflict:

Russia says that Ukraine steals their gas supplies.

Headlines:

"Ukrainian PM rejects Russia's gas supply disruption allegation"
http://www.topix.com/world/ukraine/2009/02/ukrainian-pm-rejects-russias-gas-supply-disruption-allegation

Summarize:

Conflict:

Geography:

Russia & Ukraine

Timeline:

Roots:

Answer:
Who is involved in the conflict?

Russia & Ukraine

Where is it happening?

Ukraine

When did it happen and how long has it been going on?

Since last month(January) until now.

Fidel Castro News

Who: Fidel Castro
Where: Cuba
When: January 23
Why:
What:

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2009/01/24/index.php?section=mundo&article=023n1mun

Politicians

1.Silvio Berlusconi – Italy
2. Michelle Bachelet - Chile
3. Hillary Clinton - U.S
4. Hu Jintao - China
5. Álvaro Uribe - Colombia
6. Ehud Olmert - Israel
7. Gordon Brown – United kingdom
8. Ban Ki Moon – United Nations
9. Nicolas Sarkozy - France
10. George Bush – U.S
11. Vladimir Putin - Russia
12. Fidel Castro - Cuba
13. Mahmoud Abbas - Palestine
14. Taro Aso - Japan
15. José Luis Zapatero - Spain
16. Kim Jong Il – North Corea
17. Barack Obama – U.S
18. Dalai Lama - Tibet
19. Pratibha Patil - India
20. Thein Sein - Birmania
21. Robert Mugabe - Zimbabwe
22. Hamid Karzai - Afganistan
23. Raul Castro - Cuba
24. Mohamed Hosni Murbarak -Egypt
25. Dmitry Medvedev- Russia
26. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner- Argentina
27. Abhijit Vejjajiva- Thailand
28. Ignacio Lula da Silva - Brazil
29. Angela Merkel - Germany
30. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – Iran
31. Asif Ali Zardari - Pakistan

The War between Israel and Gaza

Where is Israel? Locate it on a map.
Israel is located in the esastern edge of the mediterranean sea. It borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest.

Why was Israel created?
It was created in 1948 after 50 years of efforts to stablish a home for jewis people.

Where are the Palestinian territories? Locate on a map.
It is conformed by Israel, The West Bank, The Gaza strip and Jordan.

What is happening in Israel and Gaza?
They are in war, because israel attacked Hamas in Gaza´s territories because they can´t accept they won the elections among other things.

d and how many Israelis?
900 Palestinian and 13 Israelis.

What is Hamas?
Is a Palestinian organization which has the majority of the legislative council of the Palestinian council. It is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.

What was the U.S. response to the attacks?

Blame the Hamas for everything that happened during this time.

What happened when Israel was declared a state in 1948?

It began a war because Israel decided to become independent from other countries and achieved it so the other Arabic states that surrounded it refused to accept it. Since that day there had existed many wars in consecuence of that first one.

What did Israel agree to in the Oslo accords?

They are called the Declaration of Principles (DOP) it is between Israel and Palestine. This lets the Palestine government to establish; this has the purpose to stop conflict between them.

How did Hamas come to power in Gaza?

They gained control of the Palestinian Legislative Council from an election in 2006 and by 2007 they had control of everything.

"The new meaning of and old battle"

°Which "old battle" does the article's headline refer?

The battle between Gaza and Israel for power.

° What sem to be the hopes underlying Israel's assault on Gaza?

That they will have an agreement of peace at least for a little.

° How would a clear Israeli victory affect the region?

They would make them like israelis and that will change years of history from that cultures.

° How would a clear Israeli victory affect the United States?

They will not have control of gaza anymore

° Why does Iran have much at stake in the outcome of the current crisis?

The hamas won´t help them spread the Arab culture

° How likely is it that the Israeli assault will be successful?

people belive they won´t win this battle.

° What are some of the divisions in the Middle East that this conflict has highlighted?

It is in two parts one part is palestine, Lebanon and iran. The second part is conformed by Israel that is supproted by the U.S,Egyprt and Jordan.

° What happened in Lebanon in 1982? How are the Gaza attacks similar?

Israel invaded it to eliminate the Yasir Afat´s forces.He negociated and recognized israel.

° In what ways might the attacks on Gaza backfire?

They say this is like in 1982 and that they will fall again.

° Why does Mr. Abbas say he will walk away from the peace talks begun by President Bush in 2007?

Because they only say promises but never complete them.So he doesn´t trust them anymore.

° What lessons has Israel learned from Lebanon?

To lower expectations.

° In what way is the timing of this renewed battle beneficial?

It came before Obama on the 20th of January.

° How will the Obama administration be able to capitalize on the situation in Gaza?

the sentimental reactions of the people will help him a lot to control the situation,and that it started even before obama´s ignauration.