Pirates

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008 two French citizens and two tourists were taken hostage by a group of pirates. The victims were attacked in a sailboat off the coast of Somalia. This attack took place in the Gulf of Aden which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. It was the ninth hijacking since July 20, 2008 and more than Two hundred sixty boats were hijacked in 2007.

The Gulf of Aden is one of the busiest waterways in the world. Because of all the hijacking taking place, it is constantly being patrolled by Canadian, American, and French war ships looking for pirates. Over the past couple years the pirate’s numbers are getting bigger and they are managing to get more firepower. For example, a party of pirates attacked a ship filled with weapons and tanks.  Therefore, they are able to capture bigger ships, and bigger cargo. After being hijacked, the pirates strip them of all their value and leave them taking the boats owners hostage. Bigger ships mean bigger crews; the bigger the crew the bigger the ransom is to get the crew back to safety.

The Canadians play a big role in helping to defend the Gulf of Aden against pirates. While a group of pirates were attacking a ship a Canadian helicopter spotted the attack and managed to scare off the pirates. If Canadian warships spot attacking pirates they can shoot at them only until the pirates have taken a hostage. They stop firing because they don’t want to endanger the hostage(s) or the rescue team. Last August a Canadian ship was deployed called the HMCS Ville de Quebec to the area. The ship was deployed to protect ships carrying food for a relief program off the coast of Somalia. The Canadian ship will go back to its original duties after its month long mission.

Not all pirates are successful like in this report a couple in a sailboat on august twenty-fifth 2008 was heading to the Red Sea from Thailand. A group of pirates saw them after sailing into the “danger zone” which is an invisible line that is considered to be where it is most dangerous. It was early in the morning so visibility wasn’t very clear when they saw a large ship. When the sun came up they saw three smaller boats by the large ship. After the pirates saw them, they took action and retreated in the wind so the boats couldn’t catch them. After losing their pursuers they resumed back on course. The next morning they saw a ship and thought it was a fishing boat. After getting closer the boat started to move and they thought that the “fishing” boat was going back home when it turned into them.

They got away from them and kept on going until they reached the Maldive Islands. After they reached the Maldives, they replenished their food supply and kept on going until they reached their destination. In the past year pirate attacks have increased dramatically and are hoped to be stopped.

Sully Smith

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how many planets there are in those billions of stars that are there every night? Well a couple of astronomers found three new planets. The new planets are just a little bit smaller than Pluto. When the astronomers discovered these planets they were amazed. They named them Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar.

The name Eris came from an Olympian Goddess, Discordai. Eris is the goddess of strife and discord. It is a whitish planet, and was announced as the tenth planet of our solar system. The planet was discovered at the Palomar Observatory, outside San Diego, California. It was identified on October 31, 2003. The diameter of the planet is about 3,000 kilometers which is just a little bit bigger than Pluto. Eris’s orbit takes 560 years to make a full rotation around the Sun. It is about 100 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Eris’s temperature is about -459 degrees F. Eris’s surface is made up of various kinds of ice and rocks. Eris only has one moon and it’s named Dysnomia.

The planet Quaoar is named after a creator god for the Tongva People. The Tongva people or Gabrielinos were a native American tribe that once owned Los Angles and the northern parts of Orange County; they were peaceful people so they didn’t fight wars very often. Quaoar was identified on June 4, 2002 at Caltech in Mount Palomar in southern California. Quaoar is a bluish planet that dwells in the Kuiper belt right outside of Neptune’s orbit. Quaoar is made up of rocks and various kinds of ice. Quaoar contains more mass then all the asteroids between Jupiter and Mars put together. Quaoar’s orbit is right outside of Pluto’s orbit. Pluto’s orbit takes 284 years to make a full rotation around the Sun, while Quaoar’s orbit takes 285 years to make a full rotation around the Sun. The distance between New York and Chicago is about 650 miles which is Quaoar’s length in diameter. Quaoar is about 4 billion miles from the Sun.

The planet Sedna is named after the goddess of the sea for the Inuit People and a goddess of the underworld for the Eskimos. The Inuit were a tribe of Indians that lived close to the North Pole. The Inuit were a peaceful tribe too. They were very good at drawing and sculpting. Sedna, a reddish planet, is the farthest planet found. Sedna was discovered on November 14, 2003.

Sedna’s diameter is about 1000 miles. Sedna is the largest planetary body found so far. It is thought to be made up of various kinds of ice and rocks. The orbit of Sedna takes about 10,500 years to make a full rotation around the Sun. Since Sedna is so far away they predict that the sun looks like a needle point. Sedna is the farthest planet to be found so far.

There are many galaxies that have many planets that are ready to be found and every one of them is different. There are other planets that have been found like Orcus and Ixion. Astronomers are still finding planets. Well, it just goes to show, that there is a lot more planets and other things to discover, and who knows we might find a different kind of lifeform.

Kyle Spargur 

Thegreenduck.com

Final Days for a First Lady

Laura Bush has achieved some amazing accomplishments in her life. She has set up many organizations, such as education for kids, health care, and human rights. She has raised a family and she is the first lady of the United States. She has inspired a lot of people. She will probably always inspire people, even if she’s not the first lady of the United States.

Mrs. Bush is passionate about education. She wants every parent to be part of their child’s education and participate in their kids’ activities. George and Laura Bush both believe local people should make decisions for school, local principals, local teachers and parents; they even want people who don’t have kids in school to participate.

 Laura Bush thinks that great teachers are priceless. Great teachers are people who make learning fun for the kids. When learning is fun for kids they learn better. Laura Bush also believes teachers should get paid more. Some people think teaching is not hard, but Laura thinks teaching is very hard. Teachers have to adjust for each child because not each child is alike. It’s hard to keep things fun and entertaining for the students, and dealing with the parents and their expectations for their child. Laura Bush has some great ideas for education.

George and Laura Bush have some strong ideas about parents voting. They believe all parents should vote. Our democracy depends on the people to participate. Parents are great examples for kids to be interested in politics. They both believe that when you go to the polls you should take your child or children with you.

Laura Bush went to Afghanistan in March in 2005. When she was there she visited the Women’s Teacher Training Institute in Kabul. The Women’s Teacher Training Institute is training women to lead classrooms that girls were forbidden to enter. She also talked to President Hamid Karzai and discussed  equal rights for men and women.

Mrs. Bush is the Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade. She is an international spokesman so people can get educated, especially women and girls. Laura Bush is listening to the concerns of young people, parents, and the community leaders. She’s trying to help every child to have a caring adult role model. She doesn’t care whether the adult is a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, or friend.

As some of you might know Mrs. Bush’s mother had breast cancer. Laura Bush supports education and heart disease campaigns. She is a partner with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes, also known as the Heart Truth.  Mrs. Bush educates women about their risks and their healthy choices, exercise, and preventive screenings.

Laura Bush organized a National Book Festival. It was launched in September, 2001. The National Book Festival in 2007 drew over 120,000 book lovers from across the nation. Laura Bush also organized the Preserve America Organization. Preserve America is an Administrative movement that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our cultural and natural heritage. She tried and wants to get Americans to get involved in making main streets, parks, and community heritage treasures better.

Laura Bush only has a couple months left of being a first lady, but we will always remember the great things she did for the world. She has inspired many people around the world to follow their hearts, and to keep your mind on what you want to do with your life.

Jena Sinton

www.starplus.com