“Nepal Plane Crash Kills All 22 On Board”

“Nepal Plane Crash Kills All 22 On Board”

By: Claire Cozens

PostMedia News, The Vancouver Sun

December 16, 2010

            A small plane of 22 passengers crashes in eastern Nepal killing all 19 passengers and three crew members. According to Bimlesh Lal Karna, the head of the rescue operation, all the bodies have been recovered and mostly all have been identified. This wasn’t due to any mechanical failure, apparently the plane was flying lower than usual and one of the wings clipped a mountain top causing the plane to crash. Out of all these 22 people only one of them was an American citizen and the rest of them were thought to be all from Nepal but seem to be from Bhutan who were just traveling to visit a Buddhist site around that area. This news article is different from the usual plane crashes because it was just the fact that the plane flew lower than usual that the plane crashed. The crashing of an airplane this way will make people think twice before making a decision as to what airline they travel with which might not be good for Tara Air. Tara Air might see a downfall in their flight but the fact that it was such a small plane with that little amount of passengers going through a place with mountains so close to your plane contributes to the plane crash one way or another. 

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Nepal+plane+crash+kills+board/3986199/story.html



“Canadian Resident Faces Death Penalty in Iran”

“Canadian Resident Faces Death Penalty in Iran”

By: Helena Zhu

Epoch Times Staff

December 16, 2010

            An Iranian-born Canadian resident has been sentenced to death in Tehran, Iran due to some “Internet offences.” According to this article, the man was accused of “insulting the sanctity of Islam” and also disrespecting national security by creating adult content websites as we is a web developer and programmer. This man’s supporters say the website which they are talking about used one of his programs with his name on it without this man’s consent. These people also claim that the judge who trialed his case told Saeed Malekpour’s lawyer that it had been Iranian Revolutionary Guards who made the decision to convict him other than the judge himself. If the evidence wasn’t enough, as explained in this article, convicting him was not a wise decision or a fair one. The fact that this man was tortured both physically and psychologically until he confessed to something he is sure he did not do is inhuman and cruel.  Also, this man was on a trip with his wife visiting his father who was sick in 2008 and has been hold in Tehran’s prison ever since. Everyone should have the right to visit another country for family purposes and if they are being convicted of something it’s better if they do it when he’s back home by a minister of foreign affairs.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/47599/



“Cancun Climate Change Summit Offers More Hope Than Expected”

“Cancun Climate Change Summit Offers More Hope Than Expected”

By: Kremena Krumova

Epoch Times Staff

December 12, 2010

            Representatives of the 194 member states at the Cancun climate change summit reached a decision that they’d help poor countries build a sustainable future and convincing them that being eco friendly is a good thing that we should all do. However, places like Canada and larger countries want to stop this because having this means they would have to cut back on their emissions and financially help undeveloped countries to be more conscious of their footprint. Those people that are experts on the situation say this is extremely necessary in order for the world to be able to properly deal with global warming. This is a very good initiative to take because the fact that many countries don’t do much about global warming doesn’t mean it is not our problem. For underdeveloped countries to not do much about it is in a way more understandable because they might not have what’s necessary to help global warming and also because they might not be as informed about it as the bigger countries are. The fact that many big countries don’t want to get involved in this situation is in a way selfish and not a good attitude to take towards the problem since most of the carbon footprint is most likely to come from big, developed countries than from small, undeveloped ones.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/47389/



“Latin American and Caribbean Countries Have Bright Economic Outlook”

“Latin American and Caribbean Countries Have Bright Economic Outlook”

By: Marco’t Hoen

Epoch Times Staff

December 14, 2010 

            According to a report done by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations (ECLAC), Latin American and the Caribbean countries’ economies will recover with the GDP per person increasing 4.8%. Those countries in the Caribbean that are non English or Dutch speaking, are the one who have recovered the most. The only country whose economy has dropped is Haiti and this is due to the plague that just invaded the country. Not only is the economy growing but also the opportunity for jobs and the quality of the jobs are highly increasing.  This increase in the economy of these countries is crucial to the lifestyle of all the families that live in them. We often don’t realize that many of these people have low resources and the increase in jobs will make life easier for families and for the generations to come. This article makes us realize how lucky we are to have everything we do and makes us think about those who are less fortunate. The increase in all of this will help not only the small countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, but it’ll also increase our global economy which is something that will benefit us all.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/47534/



"Teach Your Children To Sometimes go without"

“Teach Your Children to Sometimes go without”

By: Kathy Lynn, Special to North Shore News

December 8, 2010

                Now that Christmas is getting closer, parents are reminded that kids do not need to get everything on their wish list and that maybe one or two items in the list will make it under the tree. The woman who wrote this article believes that a wish list creates a problem because these days, is it not a wish list anymore but more like an “expectation” list. Parents are reminded through this article that kids do not need the latest, newest thing out and that teaching them to go without will help them in the long run. One way she suggests that one way for the kids to not expect everything they put on their list is to make them set priorities and pick only a few things from the list of things they’d like to get for Christmas. The message sent through this article is one that many of us don’t even pay attention to anymore. We don’t really need everything we ask for during Christmas and teaching kids to not ask for as much and only for those things that are truly necessary will help the future of everyone and make the world a better place.  Setting priorities and letting go of things that are not necessary is what every Christmas everywhere should be about which is why this article is great.

http://www.nsnews.com/life/Teach+children+sometimes+without/3945147/story.html



"Volunteerism Study Offers Groups Tips on Keeping Recruits"

Volunteerism Study Offers Groups Tips on Keeping Recruits

By: Tobi Cohen, Postmedia News

December 9, 2010

            According to studies made by Volunteer Canada, many pf the people that do volunteer work have had at least one “negative experience” in the work place. These studies were done with four groups of people: baby-boomers, youth, families and employment-supported volunteers. It has been shown in these studies that what volunteers are looking for and what the work site offers often differ making the people want to volunteer less or not at all. More than 550 volunteers were interviewed as well as over a thousand Canadian households and more than 200 non-profit volunteer organizations. Some people have complained that they are being discriminated against because of their age and others say that many organizations don’t give enough responsibilities and make the volunteers feel like their work doesn’t make a difference at all. Volunteer organizations need to pay attention to these concerns and make it easier and more enjoyable for someone to want to do volunteer work. Volunteers are what keep these organizations running so they need to make volunteerism more inviting. If things don’t change soon as suggested by Volunteer Canada, the number of volunteers will decrease largely and many of these organizations will have to close down due to a lack of volunteers to keep them going. Some ways to get people involved again are giving them more responsibilities so they feel like their time pays off and giving people bigger tasks that motivate them more. If these organizations improve these minor things, the number of volunteers across Canada will largely increase.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Volunteerism+study+offers+groups+tips+keeping+recruits/3946674/story.html



"Two Men Seriously Injured in Baseball Bat Attack"

Two Men Seriously Injured in Baseball Bat Attack

By: James Weldon

North Shore News

December 5, 2010

            This news article from the North Shore News talks about two men who are in the hospital due to serious injuries from being attacked with baseball bats in Lower Lonsdale on December 3, 2010 at 5 in the morning.  The whole attack started based on an argument that got out of hand and one of the two victims ended with a fractured skull. The two men that attacked the 20 and 21 year old men left the scene before the RCMP could get there. Once again, it is assumed that alcohol was the main factor that caused this attack in Lower Lonsdale. Apparently, the attack was in a Squamish neighborhood where the people do not like to get involved in these things and are “hesitant to come forward as witnesses” making it harder for the police to find the people who were responsible for this. If we see these things happening in our neighborhood, we should take the initiative and tell the police as soon as possible. It is up to us to protect our community and keeping it quiet might keep us out of trouble in a way but at the same time gives these people the freedom to do this anytime because they know we won’t tell the authorities. The fact that his has been increasing at a fast rate is something that puts all our lives in risk and we should all do whatever is possible to make life safer for us and for those around us. Mostly always these problems involve alcohol in one way or another and its not that young people need to stop using alcohol but they need to be more responsible if they are planning on drinking.

http://www.nsnews.com/news/seriously+injured+baseball+attack/3930125/story.html

"Teens Arrested in North Vancouver Driver Assault"

Teens arrested in North Vancouver driver assault

By: James Weldon

North Shore News

November 29, 2010

On November 27, at around 1a.m. two teenagers, both 17 were on a Coast Mountain bus around 15^th Street and Grand Boulevard, when they got into a fight with the bus driver. The fight seemed to have gotten out of control, putting the bus driver in the hospital. The reason for this attack is still unknown, but it is suspected that both teenagers were under the influence of alcohol. Both attackers were taken “into custody" shortly after this incident, and the bus driver was sent immediately to Lions Gate Hospital with serious head injuries. The suspects, a boy from North Vancouver and a girl from Coquitlam, were released to their parents a few hours after the arrest. It is expected that the bus driver will recover quite soon and although the injuries were serious they don't seem to have caused major damages to the victim. This news article shows us the many risks that come with being a bus driver. We mostly always think of bust drivers as people whose jobs are quite easy, but never think of how exposed they are to danger. These people spend their nights driving us around, but many times these busses have little or no people traveling in them, which is when things can get dangerous for a bus driver. Bus drivers often deal with people who have been drinking and are not thinking straight. These kinds of situation make a bus driver’s job more complicated than just driving around. Seeing things like this is what we need in order to truly appreciate how much bus drivers do for us and how much they expose their lives to just drive us around. Hopefully, this will be something that supervisors for these people will take into consideration and try to make it safer for bus drivers to go to work.

http://www.nsnews.com/news/Teens+arrested+North+Vancouver+driver+assault/3902228/story.html



"UN Extends Afghanistan Mission"

"UN Extends Afghanistan Mission"
By Marco T' Hoen
Epoch Times Staff
Oct 14, 2010

                The UN has three objectives that made them extend the Afghanistan mission for another year which was a unanimous decision between the members. Their three objectives are first of all to “reduce the capability and will of the insurgency,” second is to aid the “growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan national security forces (ANSF)” and third to improve the development of the government and the economic situation in the country.  With this decision of extending the mission in Afghanistan came a necessary increase to the number of troops in the mission. It is good that they want to help improve government in Afghanistan but the fact that so many children and women are dying and kids are being used for combat is not a good way to show the people that these troops are there to help them out. Also there has been an increased connection between “terrorism and illicit drugs” which is not good for the troops that are being sent to Afghanistan according to the Security Council. With the increase in “terrorism and illicit drugs,” the soldiers need faster training and they need to be self-sufficient inn a really short period of time. Although their need for bigger troops and more soldiers is understandable, training these soldiers too fast might not be a good idea. The might be physically ready but not feel secure or comfortable enough to go to Afghanistan and face the situation after such short training periods.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/44211/

"Cholera Epidemic Spreads Beyond Haiti's Borders"

"Cholera Epidemic Spreads Beyond Haiti's Borders" 

Date: November 18, 2010

The Epoch Times

By: Marco't Hoen

Dominican Republic citizens have been infected with Cholera due to visits they made to Haiti where the cholera epidemic has killed many people already. Protestors against the U.N. are blocking roads which slow down the process of those who are sick getting medical attention, and that is why many people have died up to date. People traveling from Dominican Republic to Haiti should be aware of the health conditions in this country as these can affect them no matter how short their stay may be.  Haiti is a country where people don’t have much resources and where illnesses spread quite fast. It is good that the Dominican Republic government has requested that employers from both the construction and tourism industry do not hire employees from Haiti to avoid the spread of cholera in the country. According to the Epoch Times, “over 1,100 people have died in Haiti as a result of cholera and 18,000 people are currently hospitalized.”  These statistics are scary for a country as small as Haiti. Citizens from the Dominican Republic “blame U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal” as they truly believe these people brought cholera to their country. It is unfair to blame it on someone else because even though they may be sick with cholera, but locals are still traveling to Haiti knowing the conditions and knowing that they will most likely get sick during the trip.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/46112/