Week #18 Articles {March 15, '21}

Articles Written By Ananya Nayar and Misaki Tomiyama, Website edited by Misaki Tomiyama

Articles for this week-

World News-

• Meghan Markle in the Royal Family

• London Protests

• Brazil’s Hospitals Close to Collapsing

• US Senate Covid Relief Bill Passed

• 4th of July as Independence from the Virus

• George Floyd Case in Court

• Andrew Cuomo Harassment Claims

India News-

• Dandi March to be flagged off by the PM

• Nagpur Returns to Lockdown

• Updates on India’s Huge Vaccine Drive

Other Articles-

• This Week in History

• This Day Signifies

• Book and Movie Reviews

• This Week’s topic (1)- Gender Norms in Pop Culture and People who have Changed them

• This Week’s Topic (2)- What's the Murphy’s law?

Meghan Markle with the Royal Family, from Oprah Winfrey’s Interview

Article by Ananya Nayar

A few years ago, Meghan Markle, a mixed-race African American married into the Royal Family. She and her husband, former Prince Harry are now expecting their second child.

Earlier last week, the couple was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, a talk show host. During this interview, they disclosed information and their story with the Royal Family to the public, and this interview sparked outrage online.

In the much-anticipated interview topics of racism were brought up, for starters, the couple mentioned that they did not get any security from the family after the birth of Archie- their son. After Prince Charles’ cut Harry off financially, they had to make quick deals with Netflix and Spotify to get adequate security. Meghan Markle also revealed that when she came to Buckingham Palace, she was required to hand in her keys, passport and driver's licence, and hasn’t seen them since. The most prominent accusation that initiated media outrage was when Meghan imparted that certain members within the Royal Family were ‘concerned over how dark Archie’s skin colour would be.’ However, she didn’t release who exactly was worried. Harry also expressed that it hurt him that his family never spoke up about the colonial undertones in the press and media. For the past few years, since the couple announced their engagement the media talked endlessly about Meghan’s race- and made disguised comments that were indeed quite racist.

Another statement that shocked everyone was when Meghan announced that at one point, she felt that she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore.’ She continued and said that "I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said I had never felt that way before and needed to go somewhere, and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution."

She said she went to "one of the most senior people" within the institution and then to the palace human resources department. "Nothing was ever done," she added.

London Protests

Article by Ananya Nayar

Shock erupted across the UK after the police got charged with 33-year-old Sarah Evergard’s death and kidnapping. The young woman was walking home from a friend’s house and disappeared, a week later, her body was discovered.

This prompted protests against the UK’s violence against women. Hundreds gathered at Sarah Evergard’s memorial, and many clashed with the police this weekend (despite the covid restrictions) and made their dissent known over the nation. Footage from the protests show police handcuffing and arresting several women after fighting to put them in handcuffs.

Harry then talked about his family and began to cut him off, and his father (Prince Charles) and the Queen, started to reschedule meetings and cancel suppers, along with ignoring his calls.

Next, they proceeded to say that despite all the pressure, the couple still has good relations with the Queen, and Meghan complimented her several times.

To sum up the interview, Meghan announced that the expected baby is a girl!

Brazil’s Hospitals Close to Collapsing

Article By Misaki Tomiyama

The number of daily confirmed cases in Brazil is the highest in the world currently, and also has the second-highest number of deaths due to the coronavirus, after the U.S.

According to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil’s leading public health institution, hospitals in Brazil are close to collapsing because of the increasing covid cases. Across the country, hospitals are reaching their limitations, with more than 80% of most ICU’s beds in use. A second wave has hit Brazil, leading to more than 70,000 confirmed cases and 2000 deaths as a daily average. On March 10, they even recorded 2,286 Covid deaths.

Experts say that the reason behind the sudden increase of deaths and cases is the variant of the virus, P.1. New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) says that the P.1 Virus “contains 17 unique amino acid changes, three deletions, four synonymous mutations and one 4nt insertion”. This makes it a lot more contagious than the original virus and is capable of eluding immunities of bodies previously infected by the virus which has developed antibodies. The chance of reinfection is between 25％-60%. This variant has even travelled to other countries like the UK.

Despite all of these dangers, president Jair Bolsonaro is ignoring WHO warnings of the risk of the new variant, affecting many Brazilian regions, and beyond. He has even told his citizens to “stop whining” about the pandemic.

The risks of this new variant are so high, that many experts are feeling it is a priority to control the cases in Brazil and stop the new variant from travelling, as it might lead to the spread of the new variant across the globe, which will surge the coronavirus cases in many countries.

US Senate Covid Relief Bill Passed

Article by Ananya Nayar

Previously last week, the US Senate passed a $1.9 trillion Covid Relief Bill. This is the third stimulus bill, and it is said that it’s now assured to families and people who did not receive money last time. What’s new is that it includes a wider range of measures, including jobless benefits, vaccine-distribution funds, healthcare subsidies and restaurant aid. For adults, the bill would sum up to $1,600 per person, and for children, the tax credit would reach about $3,600 for children under the age of six and $3,000 for children over. Along with this, there is now $20 billion invested in vaccine manufacturing and distribution, plus $50 billion into testing and contact tracing. $350 billion in relief, and more than $120 billion to full schools that educate children from Kindergarten to 12th Grade. In addition to this, $30 billion in restaurant aid.

Joe Biden communicated that “this legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation- the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going- a fighting chance.”

4th of July as Independence from the Virus

Article By Misaki Tomiyama

President Joe Biden used his first prime time address to solace the nation and provide hope setting this new goal to “mark our independence from the virus.” He mentioned that if Americans follow protocols like wearing masks and getting vaccinates, 4th of July, Independence Day can be celebrated just like every other year.

”We not only mark our independence as a nation but begin to mark our independence from this virus,” he said.

According to Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, the goal is to make Americans get motivated to follow covid rules.

In addition to Biden’s statement, he also mentioned that he will be ordering the states to make vaccinations available to all adults by May 1.

President Biden was addressing the Audience exactly a year after WHO declared the coronavirus as a pandemic, March 11. He also mentioned that there has been half a million Americans have died, but infection rates have been on the downward trend.

President Biden has also previously set a goal of having 100 million vaccinations by his 100th day in office.

He also sighed a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill (as mentioned in the article above), which includes a $1400 payment to most Americans, additional jobless assistance and money for covid tests and vaccines.

George Floyd Case in Court

Article By Ananya Nayar

The death of George Floyd, a black man, who was killed by police last year on the 25th of May, triggered nationwide rage and ignited the Black Lives Matter movement, which became a voice for people who had witnessed or experienced racism against the black community that has been bottled for centuries. The movement empowered black citizens and raised awareness of systemic racism in not only America but around the world.

Last year, George Floyd was killed in Minnesota by a white police officer because he used a counterfeit bill. When he was arrested, Floyd had been unable to breathe properly, and as the officer knelt on his knee he complained about not being able to breathe for several minutes. He also said that he was scared he was going to die, and several minutes later, he lost his pulse. Autopsies discovered that the death was a homicide, and there was plenty of witness evidence to support this claim.

On Monday last week, the George Floyd case began in court and the jury selection started Derek Chauvin (the white officer’s) trial.

The hearing started with the defence filing appeals after a higher court ruled that Peter Cahill (the judge) should reconsider his original selection to dismiss the third-degree murder charge against the former officer.

During the trial, the prosecution team noted that Chauvin’s defence attorney challenged two Hispanic jurors. The trial is expected to last for several more weeks, so we will continue the topic in next week’s issue.

Andrew Cuomo Harassment Claims

Article By Misaki Tomiyama

Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has been accused in the past of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviours in the past, but there are growing calls for the governor to resign, after a seventh woman, a former New York reporter, accused Cuomo of harassment on Friday.

These women who have some former state employees have accused Andrew Cuomo of unwanted kissing and touching. Cuomo has denied all of these accusations. "I did not do what has been alleged," he has said.

Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader and Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator have mentioned that “Governor Cuomo should resign.”

Dandi March to be flagged off by the PM

Article By Ananya Nayar

The 12th of March is certainly a noteworthy and celebrated day in Indian History because it is the day that the Dandi March, or Salt Satyagraha began. The Dandi March was a civil disobedience movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 which was against the British Raj Rule when the British Colonised India. This march was specifically for how the British taxed salt highly, salt being a natural item and very much required in all households, however, it was energy from the racism and violation the Indian citizens felt that fueled the march. This march eventually led to India gaining Independence from the British. Every year there is a padayatra, where 81 marchers (what the Dandi march first consisted of) walk from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, which is the same distance as the Dandi march. Prime Minister Narender Modi will flag off the event, and it’ll mark the beginning of the government’s initiative to declare 75 years of the country’s independence.

Nagpur Returns to Lockdown

Article By Ananya Nayar

Nagpur, the city in Maharashtra, India, becomes the first city in the country to return to lockdown.

After being infested by a swarm of new Covid cases, the government decided to impose a lockdown again from March 15th to 21st to get things under control.

Exempting essential services such as grocery deliveries and certain shops, other shops, party venues and more will be closed for now. There’s also a curfew for deliveries and such- restaurants cannot be open after 9 pm, and food deliveries won’t be allowed to be supplied after 10 pm.

Updates on India’s Huge Vaccine Drive

Article By Ananya Nayar

In the past few weeks, all people over the age of 70 years received their first dose of the Covid Vaccine- that’s 20 million people.

India is currently carrying out the World’s Biggest Inoculation Drive and has counted 11million cases and almost 160,000 deaths due to the virus from the beginning of the pandemic till today.

Now, from the 1st of March, persons over the age of 60 and citizens aged 45-59 with respiratory problems or low immunity will receive their first shot of the vaccine.

By the end of July, there is a set, obtainable goal of inoculating 250 million people- which 500 million doses.

This Week in History

Article By Ananya Nayar

On the 8th of March 1917, the February Revolution in Russia began. It’s known as the February Revolution and not the March Revolution because at that time Russia used the Julian Calendar. This revolution began with riots and strikes over the limitation of food in a city in Russia, Petrograd. Just a week later, the abdication of Nicholas the Second ended centuries of czarist rule in Russia and the country moved closed to communism.

In Japan, on the 11th of March 2011, exactly a year ago, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster occurred. The largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, followed by a huge tsunami decimated many parts of Japan and the Tohoku region was destroyed after the natural disasters. The disaster is recorded as the second-worst Nuclear Disaster and forced 100,000 families to relocate. Three nuclei reactors were shut down, however, the backup power and cooling systems failed- causing the residual heat in all three reactors to meltdown to an extent. The nuclear disaster unfolded over several days, and people in a 20 km radius were forced to evacuate on March 12th-14th. On March 15th, another explosion occurred, with an increased radiation explosion and all emergency services were called to combat the situation.

Did you know? 15th March is National Nap Day!

Article By Misaki Tomiyama

Most of us don’t get enough rest, and the right amount of sleep. We usually feel tired in the middle of the day, because we don’t have much energy. What should you do? Take a nap of course!

National Nap day is an unofficial day that spreads the benefits of sleeping during the day. Research shows that napping for around 20 minutes, boosts memory and creativity. Also called a power nap, they provide recovery benefits without leaving you tired and lazy afterwards. The entire point of this day is to get a few extra minutes to rest, but remember, resting too much is not good for you either, as it will most likely disrupt your sleep schedule and make you drowsy after.

Book and Movie Reviews

By Ananya Nayar

Book of the Week: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Age Rating- 14+

Rating out of 5 Stars- 4.5/5

George M. Johnson is an LGTBTQIA+ Activist and Journalist, this book is a collection of essays and poems that he wrote, and he navigates his adolescence in this. This biography touches upon important topics like racism, homophobia and the trauma behind the scenes. I loved this book because it educated me on so much, and discusses how American school’s whitewash US History, educate heteronormativity and undermine coloured people. The concept of this book is so unique and I would recommend it to any teenager since it contains some more mature topics. This book was designed with the best intent- to encourage queer black boys, or coloured people or queer people in general to find themselves. This book also includes what I think are very valid topics, such as consent, toxic masculinity, family and friends, marginalisation, gender identity and defying societal gender norms. The best thing about this book was that it was incredibly honest and very inspiring.

Movie of the Week: Rocketman

The film Rocketman revolves around Elton John and his life- focusing on his childhood, how he built his career, him finding his sexuality and the ups and downs in his love life and career. This wonderfully produced film he music surrealism is bound to appeal to people of pretty much all ages. The actor who played Elton John played him perfectly, Taron Egerton embodied Elton’s character, the whimsicality, the mannerisms and costume. At the beginning of the film, I had only heard the 70s singer’s music, but the film gave an honest insight into his life- depicting his struggles with substance, attempts to find love that he never received in his rejected childhood, and brawls with his career. The film has so much energy, there are so many dance numbers and Qu of light in the dark parts of his life and this vigour and colour are praised with the shots and visuals. The producers connected the fantasy’s with what went on in real life, and I would watch it again. However, it discusses real and triggering topics, so I would recommend it to children 15+.

This Week’s Topic: Gender Norms in Pop Culture and People who have Changed them

Gender norms in Pop Culture By Amalia Dasgupta

For as long as we can remember, gender has affected almost all of everyday life. From childhood, children are taught the difference between boys and girls. These ideas stay with them as they grow, and show up in popular culture from around the world. However, more recently both men and women have begun to challenge gender stereotypes, proving that nothing is for one gender alone.

Some people in the public eye, such as David Bowie and Elton John have been working against gender roles for decades, but only recently has it become a more widespread idea. Male makeup artists and women wearing suits have been becoming more normalised, and these people are a few of the many reasons why.

1. Jaden Smith

Twenty-two-year-old Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, an American actor and singer contests stereotypes with his clothing, and is often seen wearing clothes that are traditionally women’s wear, and has been for a while.

2. Cara Delevigne

English model and actress Cara Delevigne often sports suits and other typically “masculine” clothing.

3. The 100 boys who wore skirts to their school in Quebec to protest homophobia and sexism

In October 2020, one hundred boys wore skirts to school to call out double standards in the school system.

4. Miley Cyrus

Singer/songwriter Miley Cyrus, who got her start on the Disney channel and identifies as gender fluid and pansexual talks openly about her disdain for gender labels. She also started the Happy Hippie Foundation which supports LGBTG+ youth.

5. The make-up artist community

From stars like James Charles, with over 20 million subscribers on youtube, to those who only have a few hundred, male and trans-make-up artists have shown that anyone can be amazing at make-up.

What's the Murphy’s law?

Article By Misaki Tomiyama

Have you ever noticed how when you’re standing in a queue in a supermarket, and the only queue that’s not moving is yours? You probably get really annoyed and switch to the queue which is moving the fastest. But then you become more annoyed by the fact that the queue you just moved into, also stopped moving. Then you realise that the queue you were in before started moving quicker. Or, when you tell your teacher you can’t participate in class because you have bad wifi even though you don’t, and the next day, you will actually have bad wifi, and not be able to attend the lesson. Well, if you’ve experienced these dismal events, welcome to the world of Murphy’s law.

Murphy’s law is the rule or idea that “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” This law originated in Edwards Air Force Base in southern California and is credited to Edward Murphy, an engineer who worked at the Air Force Base. He found a technical error made by his junior engineer, and he said “If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will.” This was the origin of the idea that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

We all may think that Murphy’s law is all based on bad luck, but that is not the case. Let’s take a look at the first examples, where we switch queues to only find out that the one we left will start to move faster than the one we are in now. The scientific reason behind this is that you spend more time looking at other queues go faster than actually looking at ourselves going past theirs.

Just as pessimistic as this law may sound, Murphy’s law has a humorous and interesting meaning. Because of Murphy’s law, we can avoid accidents and mistakes. By adhering to Murphy’s law, we can be equipped to encounter some of the commonly made mistakes.

Murphy's laws’ ironic ideas of wisdom can give us good. It gives us the opportunity to be aware of the surroundings and ourselves and anticipate the worst, and when it happens, laugh at its impossibility.