Week #36 {September 6 '21}
- The Bulletin Buzz
- Sep 6, 2021
- 9 min read
Articles by Ananya Nayar and Misaki Tomiyama
Articles of the Week:
Kids' Articles
Other Articles
The Texas Abortion Ban
By Misaki Tomiyama
T.W- Mentions of rape and abortions
A new law went into effect in Texas last week, banning abortion, after six weeks of pregnancy. The new law allows people to sue people who provide abortion, and people who help a woman in an abortion- which can be in the form of helping financially, or even giving the woman a ride to the abortion clinic.
Many claim this is a strict law, as it does not make any exceptions for cases involving rape. Many other states have tried to put this law in place, but have failed due to opposition by abortion-rights groups.
This law is not encouraged by a lot of doctors as they claim this new law will bring about a lot of uncertainty among patients and providers of abortion. Many women also oppose this law, and many rights groups have requested the Supreme Court to block this new legislation.
Many providers and abortion rights groups say that this new law will impact around 85% of the abortions taking place in Texas. This is because a lot of women do not know their pregnancy within the 6 weeks of their pregnancy.
Child Exploitation on the Internet
Article by Ananya Nayar
All over the internet, we see family or child youtube channels that post almost daily, kid influencers on social media and child models and actors. Today we’ll talk about child exploitation or using children for popularity on the internet and why that’s often disgusting and harmful.
Firstly, child exploitation refers to using children for advantages like profit, fame and so much more. In turn, you’ll use children to do tasks to gain this popularity- such as prostitution, trafficking, exploitation, grooming.
When you are under the age of 18 (in most countries) you are legally not allowed to give consent to something because you’re so young. However, your parents may choose to put images of you on the internet and create accounts under children’s names whether or not they want to be put on the internet. Many children’s accounts (managed by their parents) tend to gain the followings of millions and millions of people- which brings us to, who’s following these 6-year-olds? We’re not new to the fact that there are millions of paedophiles online, many of which could be following these children.
Since the children start to gain followings online, they are put to work and usually deprived of their childhood. They’ll start having cameras in their faces with every move, and every action is documented to be put online, whether it’s something like going to the loo as well (yes, it’s true.) This recruitment becomes controlled by the management and soon enough the children will be doing things (that may or may not also be inappropriate) because they are told to so that it goes online. Putting children online for fame is harmful because it promotes child exploitation, p*rnography and so much more. Remember, the children may not want to be put on the internet. They may grow insecure, which is the case in many, they also become deprived of their childhood, intimidated, alone and fearful.
As we’ve seen with many child actors and actresses like Lindsay Lohan, the Olsen Twins and Amanda Bynes, they were recruited to act in films at an incredibly young age- the Olsen twins as soon as they were a few months old. Right now (when they’re adults,) many of them have suffered from drug abuse and addiction, sexual abuse and a lot more.
By putting children’s names, physical appearance, school, family, last names, city, and friends on the internet they are incredibly vulnerable to abuse from not only their family but from outsiders because a lot of private information is now online for everybody to see and is a massive breach of privacy and their safety.
Do you Know The Sports of The Paralympics?
By Misaki Tomiyama
The Paralympics, which started on 24th August, ended yesterday, on 5th September. You have probably realised that the Paralympic sports differ from that of the Olympics, and in this article, we will revisit all the sports of the Paralympic games!
Visit Last week’s article if you want to know more about the Paralympic games!
Archery
Athletics
Badminton
Boccia
Canoe Sprint
Cycling Road
Cycling Track
Equestrian
Football 5-a side
Goalball
Judo
Powerlifting
Rowing
Shooting
Sitting Volleyball
Swimming
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Triathlon
Wheelchair Basketball
Wheelchair Fencing
Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair Tennis
Euthanasia Debate Perspective 1: Against Euthanasia
By Ananya Nayar
Disclaimer: This is a two-part piece, the second perspective will be published in next week’s articles
Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person's life to relieve suffering. The word 'euthanasia' is derived from the Greek word Euthanatos meaning 'easy death'. There are 4 main types of euthanasia, i.e., active, passive, indirect, and physician-assisted suicide.
Doctor-assisted suicide talks about how patients can choose whether or not they die if they are suffering from a long term disease, incurable infection or they’re extremely old. Animals are also often put down for the same reasons.
Many argue that Euthanasia should be illegal due to the following reasons, the right to life talks about the right to live and euthanasia determines the extinction of that life. The State also must protect life and not harm patients. It could also lower society’s respect for life and it may not be in the best person's interest. For example, the elderly or those vulnerable may be pressured by their selfish families. It could give doctors too much power and question their duty to aid and help sick people. Doctors must be aware and be safe when adopting/practising.
Next, many argue that Euthanasia questions ethical, moral, cultural, religious and philosophical aspects and values. In Hinduism, for example, committing euthanasia/death/suicide violates Ahisma, meaning non-violence and is as sinful as murder which is why passive euthanasia especially is looked down upon most.
Euthanasia was first used medically in the 17th century to refer to an easy and painless death. However, the administration did not approve of the idea that poison is used by physicians to hasten death. History has also proven that the concept can be easily exploited and could become an excuse for murdering somebody since there is no way to properly regulate procedures.
The ‘Slippery Slope’ says that voluntary euthanasia may become involuntary very fast. This argument says that if we proceed with something we deem as harmless, it could be harmful and we wouldn’t realise it. This can be seen with animals as doctors first began putting animals down because they were old or sick, but if those up for adoption don’t get adopted or if they’re ‘runts’ they will be put down. If it happened to animals, there’s a large possibility the future could look like that for humans. We don’t want to discriminate and favour lives, either as many societies already regard certain groups of people (e.g. those with disabilities.)
How Do The Covid Vaccines Work?
By Misaki Tomiyama
Many of your family members, friends, or even you yourself may have received the Covid vaccine. There are many types of covid vaccines, and many of the governments have been urging us to get vaccinated. However, have you ever wondered how the vaccines even work, and why they are so important? Well, in this article, we will explore the science behind vaccines.
Most of the Covid vaccine is an mRNA vaccine. The word “mRNA” is a full form of “messenger ribonucleic acid”. This type of vaccine uses the cellular machinery already present in our body to trigger an immune response and protects our body from viruses.
In simpler terms, this vaccine teaches our body how to recognise the virus and fight it, so our body doesn’t get sick. The vaccines contain killed or weakened versions of the virus that causes covid-19, such as protein or nucleic acid. When a person gets the vaccine, the body recognises the injected virus (a weakened/killed version inside the vaccine).
The body then responds by creating antibodies, and creating memory cells to fight the virus, and prevents future infection from the virus.
The Science Behind Temples
Article by Ananya Nayar
Who would’ve thought that temples are planned out and constructed with so much science behind them?
Temples are places of worship for many religions. Hindus go to temples called Mandirs, Sikhs go to Gurdwaras, and Buddhists go to monasteries.
The typical temple will have a large dome, maybe a few smaller ones, sanctums, spires and sanctuaries. The walls will have intricately carved geometric shapes embedded in the walls, or stones placed in a pattern, or paintings and gold stretched across the walls and dome.
There are hundreds of types and forms of temples with different designs, architectural structures but what’s common is that they are all places of worship. These beautiful sanctuaries are all built-in places where it likes good, positive energy naturally available from the magnetic and electric wave conveyances of the north and south poles. The temple's energy must appeal to your five senses as well, which will help absorb pure vibrations.
At least in Mandirs, monuments are all spaced at a particular distance following the Talamanca proportion system derived from ancient scriptures called the Shilpa Shastra. It uses chakras as guidance. In Hinduism, bells are usually hung at the front of doors and temple domes. This is to inform the arrival and please the left and right side of your brain and senses and chakras with the unique 7 sounds. These sounds welcome divinity and dispel all evil.
Since there is a frequency vibrating, the energy shouldn’t be wasted, so the conical shape of the dome is structured to preserve the energy. They are also easy to build with minimum labour and material, they are beautiful and occupy space whilst letting the interior have high ceilings. Furthermore, domes have a huge significance in shrines of different cultures. In Islam, the dome represents the vault of heaven. In the Roman world, the square-based over the dome represented the earth and the other circle represented heaven, perfection and eternity.
This Week in History
By Ananya Nayar
On the 31st of August 1997, British Princess Diana died in a car crash in France. Her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed and the car driver, Henri Paul also died that night.
Princess Diana was one of the most popular figures in the world and known as the ‘people’s princess because she was so loved. Piles of flowers outside Kensington palace reached 30ft from the palace’s gate.
As the three were exiting the Ritz Paris hotel in their car around midnight, a pack of motorbikes or cars began tailing them, and minutes later the driver lost control and crashed into a pillar.
Her death sparked worldwide attention and many conspiracies were born.
On the 1st of September 1984, the Titanic shipwreck was found 73 years after sinking in the North Atlantic Ocean. This told us a lot about the 1912 sink that journeyed from Southampton and was supposed to make it to New York. The Titanic was a huge ship that was sailing fast in icy water, the ship crashed into an iceberg which consequently flooded floors and sank the ship with over a thousand people dying on board.
On the 2nd of September 1945, Japan surrendered to the allies, which effectively ended World War 2. The navy and airforce were destroyed, and after the severe bombing in Hiroshima, they were forced to retire. Simply hours after this, Vietnam declared its independence from France by saying “All men are born equal: the Creator has given us inviolable rights, life, liberty, and happiness!” and was cheered by an enormous crowd gathered in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square.
In 1919, on the 3rd of September, American President Woodrow Wilson toured the U.S. to promote their participation in the League of Nations which many were opposed to. The League of Nations was an international body that he hoped would help resolve international conflicts and reduce the like chances of another war like World War 1.
The Roman empire fell in the 1st century. The 4th of September 476 A.D. was a grim day as the ruling and powerful empire lost lots of what they had built
Romulus Augustus, the last Western Roman emperor was deposed by a German ruler who pronounced himself King of Italy- Odoacer. Although Roman rule did continue in the East, the original Roman empire which was based in Italy was gone.
The first-ever war tank was produced by Britain on the 6th of September 1915. ‘Little Willie’ moved over only 2 miles/hour and weighed 14 tonnes. Adjustments have brought us the modern-day tank which is military equipment worldwide.
Book & Movie (Series) Reviews
Reviewed by Ananya Nayar
Series of the Week: Gilmore Girls
Available on Netflix and Prime Video
A series I’ve been loving recently is Gilmore Girls, the several-seasons series follows the lives of teenage Rory and her mother Lorelai, who’s in her thirties. They lead simple lives but have interesting school, love and work-life plots which makes it gripping. The comedy-drama series is simple and funny and very relaxing too. I could watch it for hours on end and never get bored. I like the characters too because they’re realistic and relatable so you can feel connected with them. It’s heartwarming and a whole new experience. It’s safe to say I loved this show!
What I didn’t like so much though, is that Rory’s character in the initial seasons was hardworking, honest and a really good role model. Many argue that she is perfect. So, the writers had to give her some flaws over the seasons which I, and many, didn’t like because Rory was so well-developed and great initially.
Age Recommendation- 12+
Rating out of Five Stars- 5/5
Book of the Week: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I had to read this book for school, and I expected it to be much worse. However, the writing was really good and I liked the storyline- although the ending was rather abrupt. It’s very insightful and tells you a lot about culture, boundaries etc. The story follows Kambili, and the narration of her life and always trying to live in a schedule and living up to her abusive father’s expectations to please him. It was certainly an interesting book, but it was a bit mature and included a few graphic scenes which could be triggering. It’s based in Nigeria, where there is a military coup so it involves lots of different aspects of first love, abuse, death, war, poverty, school pressure, health, wealth, public image and so much more.
Age Recommendation: 14-15+
Rating out of Five Stars- 4.5/5
Comments