Genetics - Thinking about cloning

Cloning technology should be used to create clones to staff our armies.

I personally don't agree with this. If you really think about it these people won't be mindless they will still be real breathing people they will still feel and be just as aware of what is going on like us. Although they will never know anything different they will still know that they have been created in place of others. It wouldn't be nice to be born only to fight and die. it would be just the same as us being used for that purpose. These people that would be labelled as clones wouldn't be treated as humans. They would live with the knowledge that they have no family and are purely made to fight for people who genuinely don't care for them.

We should create clones to extract organs from them for people who need them to survive.

This would be morally wrong to create someone only to use them for organs. These people would need to be raised to be adults almost because the organs would need to be the correct fit for the patient because of this these people would only live a short life and would be expected to die at a certain age. this would not only be a horrible life but just imagine how brutal it would be to be created and raised only to be told that you have to die to save someone who you don't know or care for. 

We should use cloning technology to create highly productive plants and animals this could end world hunger 

This to me is a good idea. If we replicate these plants and animals then it could be used to save many people who live in the poorer areas of the world it would make it easier for people to find food and because of production being so easy the prices could drop making life easier for most people who don't have a lot of money.

Cloning technology should be used to replicate a child that is dying of a terminal illness.

I can't even begin to explain how bad of an idea this is. The child who is created may not even have the same personality as the deceased child. there is nothing saying that clones are identical in personality and voice. This would also stop the grieving process for the parents and family. after suffering such a great loss they should focus on recovery not creating a replica of their deceased child.

We should clone endangered animals and bring back to life animals who have become extinct.

This one is debatable because in one case they're just harmless animals but at the same time, these animals could cause harm to our environment although I see the point in cloning the endangered species but bringing animals that have become extinct is probably not the best idea. These animals have become extinct for a reason and they should stay that way.

We should bring back to life famous and influential people from the past.

These people being "brought back" wouldn't even be the same person they would have completely different lifestyles and personalities. Yes maybe if you brought back Einstein he would have a high intelligence but there is nothing saying he would still become a scientist. He could grow up in different circumstances. even if we did bring these people back they would have to start as a baby from square one. They wouldn't be automatic adults. 

Tomorrow, when the war began - Before reading - English

Tomorrow, when the war began - Before reading 

How do you think the story will be written?

Maybe in first person. It could also switch POV. It could be a story told by someone as a memory or real time. It could also be told by an unrelated person (author)

Why do you think the story is entitled as it is?

The story may show a happy teenager trip but it will also show the traumatic experiences they will encounter when a war begins.

Where do you think the story will take place?

Australia. The author is Australian.

What time period do you think the story is set in?

Modern or maybe 2000-2010

How is the cover composed?

There is a warm sunset tone with the silhouette of 3 people with a gun aimed towards an even fainter ferris wheel. There are words (the title). The word tomorrow is larger, when the war began is under that. The shot is taken from further away there is a single piece of barbed wire through the center, maybe it shot through a barbed wire fence.

How is the lighting used?

The lighting is warm, its a sunset. But to me it gives off danger vibes. Paired with the surrounding things it makes me think maybe there is something bad that is going to happen at night.

How is text used?

The text is a main focal point in the cover with the word Tomorrow drawing the most attention. The text is the part that actually confuses me the most because it uses two different types of tense, past and present.

What symbolism is used?

The barbed wire could mean that they are trapped. The ferris wheel could also be there to show their innocence or the fun they used to have together before the war.  

Turning copper coins into Gold

Aim: To turn a copper coin into gold

Equipment:
- Copper coin/copper strip
- Bunsen burner
- Tripod
- Heat mat
- Gauze mat
- Beaker
- Tongs
- Zinc metal
- Zinc nitrate solution

Method:
1. Wash copper coin thoroughly
2. Add fresh strips of zinc metal to the solution. Heat to boil over a bunsen burner.
3. Drop washed copper coin into the solution. Make sure it is touching some on the zinc metal or the reaction won't work.
4. Leave coin in the solution for 5-10 minutes (check back to observe changes)
5. Remove coin with tongs, and hold under running water to wash.
6. Use the tongs to hold the washed coin in the Bunsen flame. Observe the changes.

Result:
Sadly the experiment was ineffective the copper strip remained copper with no change.
Although my experiment was ineffective one group seen a small change.

SEXXY Paragraph - English

In this close up shot Sergent Borman is holding Geel Piet against the wall with a weapon. The close up shows Sergent Borman holding Geel Piet against a wall with a baton on his neck. This shot was needed to show the emotion between the two actors and to put a spotlight on Geel Piet's situation. The emotional impact this has on the audience is supposed to be big, they are supposed to feel sadness or fear for Geel Piet. This scene has a very similar feel to the scene where Geel Piet is almost caught with tobacco and is punished for technically doing nothing as the Sergent has no evidence.

How technology has changed

This slideshow is about how technology has changed and the effect that change has had on the way we live. It describes specific types of technology and the specific effect that it has had on us.

Change in technology slideshow

I love you (Story)

I love you.

I open the large glass door and enter the lobby of the dance studio. After 2 weeks of staying inside my house, it feels odd to be back. I can't hear the usual music coming from the dance studio, Min must not be here. I enter the large room -- with mirrors from floor to ceiling -- and turn on the bright lights. My footsteps echo through the empty room as I make my way towards the sound system --With only one person on my mind -- I start my playlist and begin to dance.
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The first time I saw him was through the glass door. I was mesmerised by him and the way his muscles contracted. It looked like he was floating. He was so graceful, every movement was thought out and executed to immaculate precision.
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After the first encounter in the dance studio, we went to the coffee shop to get to know each other. Even sitting there he became a masterpiece. He never noticed but whenever he looked away I couldn't help but stare at his ethereal beauty, and his smile, it was contagious.
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My first private lesson went better than expected. The feeling of his hands lingered on my body, the way he would teach me, standing so close behind me, guiding my body, it was a trance.
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My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. The low velvet tone sent shivers down my spine.
"Will you go on a date with me?"
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He was captivating. From the moment I opened the door, I couldn't take my eyes off him. The whole night I could feel myself getting more and more lost in his dark amber eyes.
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If I admired him so much then why did I pull away? He was so close, his alluring lips only centimetres away from mine.
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"You're still doing it wrong"
I turn to the glass door.
"Min..."
 It is easy to tell he hasn't been sleeping. His usually vibrant smile is nowhere to be seen.
"Let me show you"
He slowly makes his way towards the sound system. The routine song echoes through the large empty space. It's not long until I feel the familiar warmth of his toned body behind me. The melody plays as we move taking in the feeling of each other as if it was our last moments together. Time stops the moment our eyes met, our faces so close. Even after all this time, his eyes are still like a void that I am forever lost in.
His intoxicating scent pulls me in. His eyes glance down at my lips and he pulls me closer. I can feel his warm breath only inches away from my face. He closes the distance, his soft lips on my cheek send shivers through my nerves making my whole body tremble.
"If you want me to stop, tell me now" He whispers breathily.
I remain silent, not trusting my voice. He moves to the hollow of my temple, leaving an array of kisses down my face.
"or now" His fingertips leave a trail of tingles as they trace my cheekbone. "or now" His lips lingered only centimetres away from mine. "or--" My hands pull at his shirt, his words are lost as our lips connect.
My eyes close as I try to take in the feeling of our lips together. He responds almost immediately pulling me even closer. The kiss started out small but grew bigger, and more intense. My hands move to his neck and tangle in his silky stygian hair. My body has become more alive, every touch amplified. The scent of his cologne makes me dizzy. It feels as if electricity is running through my veins, and fireworks are going off in my stomach.
We pull away still holding each other, our foreheads resting together. We stare into each other's eyes, both of us breathless.
The silence is suffocating.
"I love you"
"I love you too"

Human rights & Slavery 13/04/18

Human Rights

During this term, we learnt about slavery and human rights. We have done a lot of work on Iqbal, we learnt about his story and how him escaping has helped save many other people involved in bonded labour.

Because we looked at a specific case I feel that it helped me understand more. Learning about a specific person makes you really see it in a differently. You become more emotionally involved in a way. Instead of looking at percentages and just seeing the numbers and graphs you see a single young boy who was taken from his family and forced to work for a man who treated him as if he wasn't even human. Because of this, it is easier to understand just how cruel it was. When reading about an individual case you don't just see a number, you see a face and a name and a family.

Iqbal Masih - Social Studies

                                         Iqbal Masih

Iqbal was a debt child slave, this basically meant he was a slave to pay off debt. His specific case though is different from most.

Iqbal was born in 1983 in Muridke, a city outside of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. When he was only 4 years old he was sold by his parents into slavery to pay off a debt of 600 rupees (7.44 NZ) his parents had borrowed this from a local man who owned a carpet weaving business.

Everyday the young boy would wake before dawn and along with other child slaves, would be tied or chained together and would make their way to the factory. Iqbal would work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week with only one 30 minute break. Each day of work would pay off 10 rupees on the debt, although the debt continued to increase. Iqbal at the time weighed 20kgs and stood under 4 feet tall. 

After learning that slavery was ruled illegal by the supreme court of Pakistan, at the age of 10 iqbal escaped. He was then caught by police and brought back to slavery. He then escaped a second time and joined the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) for escaped child slaves.

He completed a four year education in two years and helped over 3,000 Pakistani children that were in bonded labour to escape to freedom and made speeches about his experience around the world.

He expressed that he would like to become a lawyer to help free bonded labourers. He then began going to other countries including Sweden and the United States to share his story.

In 1994 he received the Reebok Human Rights Award in Boston. In his acceptance speech he said “I am one of those millions of children suffering in Pakistan through bonded labour and child labour, but I am lucky that due to the efforts of Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) I go out in freedom, I am standing in front of you here today. After my freedom, I join BLLF school and I am studying in that school now. For us slave children Ehsun Ullah Khan and BLLF have done the same work that Abraham Lincoln did for the slaves of america. Today, you are free and I am free too.”

Iqbal was fatally shot by Ashraf Hero, a heroin addict, while visiting relatives in Muridke, Pakistan on 16th April 1995. He was 12 years old at the time. BLLF believes it was the “Carpet Mafia” because Iqbal had received death threats from people connected to the carpet industry, although his mother disagrees. His funeral was attended by approximately 800 mourners.

Following his death, Pakistani economic elites responded to declining carpet sales by denying the use of bonded child labour in their factories and employing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to brutally harass and arrest activists working for the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF). The Pakistani press conducted a smear campaign against the BLLF, arguing that child labourers receive high wages and favourable working conditions.

Iqbal's cause inspired the creation of organizations such as free the children, a Canada-based charity and youth movement, and the Iqbal Masih Shaheed Child Foundation, which has started over 20 schools in Pakistan.

In 1994 Iqbal visited Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, Massachusetts and spoke to 7th graders about his life. When the students learned of his death, they decided to raise money and build a school in his honor in Kasur, Pakistan.

Iqbal’s story was depicted in a book entitled Iqbal by Francesco D’Adamo, ā fictional story based on true events, from the point of view of a girl named Fatima.

In 1994 he received the Reebok Youth In Action Award.

In 1996 the Movimiento Cultural Cristiano (MCC- Christian Cultural Movement) and Camino Juvenil Solidario (CJS- Youth Solidarity Path) promoted the 16 of April as International Day against Child Slavery in Spain and South America.

In 1998 the newly formed Istituto Comprensivo Iqbal Masih, a comprehensive education institute comprising several schools in Trieste, Italy was named after him.

In 2000 he received a posthumous World’s Children’s Prize For The Rights of the Child and the Piazzale dei Traghetti Iqbal Masih was inaugurated in Genoa, Italy.

In 2009 the United States Congress established the annual Iqbal Masih Award for the elimination of child labour.

On 16th April 2012 the Council of Santiago, after a proposal of Movimiento Cultural Cristiano, inaugurates a square named after Iqbal in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to children’s rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi on grounds of prevention of child labour and female education. Satyarthi mentioned Masih in his Nobel Peace Prize award speech, dedicating it to him and other “Martyrs”.

In 2016 “X Iqbal Masih Rugby Tournament” in Catania, Spain.

On 17 April 2017 Salamanca University committed itself to celebrate every 16 April as a day against child slavery on behalf of Iqbal Masih.

The overlooked statistics - Social Studies

                         The overlooked statistics

600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex.

When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million.

50% of those victims are estimated to be children.

It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the internet.

2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)

There are 20.9 million victims of trafficking world wide as of 2012.

1.5 million victims in the United States.

Trafficking women and children for sexual exploitation is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.

Women and girls make up 96% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Demand fuels sex trafficking. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, France, Canada, Northern Ireland and Ireland have effectively addressed the demand for commercial sex and sex trafficking by decriminalizing prostituted persons, and criminalizing those who purchase sex.

An estimated 30,000 victims of sex trafficking die each year from abuse, disease, torture and neglect.

Eighty percent of those sold into sex slavery are under the age of 24 and some are as young as six years old.

Ludwig “Tarzan” Fainberg, a convicted trafficker, said, “You can buy a woman for $10,000 and make your money back in a week if she is pretty and young. Then everything else is profit".

Harriet Tubman - Social Studies

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born a slave and became the famous conductor on the underground railroad that lead hundreds of slaves to freedom.

Born Araminta Ross, Harriet was born a slave in Dorchester, Maryland (Although historians argue this, because being ā slave child her exact year and place of birth is not known for sure. This was the case with many slaves). At ā young age she was told by her master to watch the baby while it slept if it woke and cried she would be whipped because of this she was beaten and whipped often by her masters as a child. In her early life she suffered a head injury from a large metal object that a slave owner threw aiming to hit another slave but ended up hitting her. This caused her to have dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia (a condition that causes excessive sleepiness during the day and causes excessive sleeping) throughout her life. She was also a Christian, she said she had strange visions and vivid dreams that she said were messages from God.

She escaped to Philadelphia in 1849, but she returned to try save her family. She began to slowly move small groups of relatives out of the state also saving dozens of other slaves. During this time she was known to people as “Moses” and she “never lost a passenger”.

After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed she helped to move freed slaves north to British North America, she then helped them find work.

At the beginning of the Civil War she worked for the Union Army, she began as ā cook and nurse but became an armed scout and spy. She was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in war, she guided the raid at Combahee Ferry, this raid liberated more than 700 slaves.

She retired after the war to her home she bought in 1859 in Auburn, New York where she cared for her parents.

She was an active participant in the women’s suffrage movement until she became sick and was admitted to an elderly home for African Americans that she help to establish years earlier.

After her death in 1913 she became an icon of American courage and freedom.

Hamburger recipe - Home Ecomonics

Home Economics 

hamburger ingredients 

- 100g lean beef or lamb mince 

- 1 small onion, finely chopped 

- 1 egg 

- 1 cup soft white breadcrumbs 

- salt and pepper to taste 

- 2 tsp oil

serves 4 

method

1. Mix the mince, onion, egg, breadcrumbs and seasonings together.

2. Using wet hands shape into 4 flat patties of equal size.

3. Heat oil in frying pan, add patties and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

4. Serve between buns or bread with desired fillings.

Health and safety procedures used-

1. The different food groups were kept on separate boards to avoid cross contamination 

2. We wash our hands before we touch any food, so that we don't get bacteria on the food and spread germs through the food.

3. If we have hair of a decent length we tie it up to prevent it going into the food.