Week #48 {17 January '22}
- The Bulletin Buzz
- Jan 17, 2022
- 9 min read
Articles by Ananya Nayar & Misaki Tomiyama
Good morning readers, and we wish you a Happy New Year! We apologise for taking a few weeks off, but we are back better than ever. We hope you have a great week :)
Articles:
Kid's Articles:
Other Articles:
Novak Djokovic- Polarizing Player?
Article by Ananya Nayar
No. 1 tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic has recently been facing a lot of criticism from the media over his ‘polarizing’ stance towards vaccinations.
Earlier last year, Djokovic refused to disclose the status of his covid vaccination- and later he said that he was ‘excused’ from being vaccinated due to unrevealed medical conditions.
Turns out, the influential tennis player is simply an anti-vaxxer and remains unvaccinated, he is also quite vocal about his opinions which is turning out to be quite controversial. His wife shared a video on Instagram that blamed the Coronavirus on 5G networks.
The Australian Open is currently being held, and Djokovic got an exemption from the vaccine and was permitted into Australia based on an antibodies report after testing positive for Covid last December. However, many were outraged that unvaxxed celebrities were being permitted into the country while the citizens couldn’t travel to even visit their families.
Considering this, the Aussie government detained Djokovic in Melbourne where his visa was cancelled (which can have him banned from Australia for three years) and it was proved that there was no actual declared medical exemption. The Australian Deputy Prime Minister said, "you can't just wander around the world thinking that because you're really rich you're really above the laws of other nations."
This Monday, Djokovic was scheduled to play in Melbourne as part of the Australian Open, but since his visa got banned for the second time it’s unsure whether it’ll proceed.
Being such an influential person, it’s dangerous to have extreme negative opinions over something that is scientifically verified, such as Covid vaccines. It ultimately leads to further polarization in society, fake news and even cost lives as the number of anti-vaxxers increase.
This topic proves that it’s not just about sport, it’s about bias and bigotry, corruption and public safety.
How are the Covid-19 Variants Named?
By Misaki Tomiyama
On November 26, the WHO named the new variant of the Covid-19 confirmed in multiple countries as “Omicron”. The variant before that, discovered initially in India, was “Delta,” in Brazil was “Gamma,” and in Britain was “Alpha”. The names may initially sound slightly confusing and peculiar, but the WHO has an interesting naming system for the variants discovered.
There's a system called the “Pango Nomenclature system” which is used by public health agencies to track down the spread of Covid-19, and names the variants. You have probably seen something like B.1.1.529 and B.1.1.7 on the news when they announced the Covid-19 variants. Well, these names made with the combination of numbers and alphabets, are the Pango Lineage names, which are scientifically used. However, with concerns of the difficulty in distinguishing the names, the WHO decided that the variants that need to be monitored worldwide are named after the Greek Alphabet.
Each variant is being given a name from the Greek alphabet. There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet, and Omicron is the 15th. At first, the WHO decided to use the name of the country in which the variant was first identified to name the variant. However, with concerns of discrimination against the country they switched it to Greek alphabets. Moreover, a country is more likely to report new variants if they are given Greek Alphabets instead of the country’s name.
Van Kerkhove, from the WHO, announced that another naming system will be employed after the 24 letters will be exhausted.
Inflation and the Current Surge
Article by Ananya Nayar
The past two years have been uncompromising on the economy and has caused businesses to go bankrupt, inflation and more.
In the past decade, price gains didn’t fluctuate as much, but in the past year, the costs of goods and services in the United States have drastically increased almost 7%, the largest 12 month gain since 1982. The pandemic has played a major part in this inflation surge as supply chains have been affected due to COVID and items have been scarce, unlike the market demand and consumer prices.
Gas prices, for example, are at their highest price since the 1970s-80s, mostly due to supply recession.
Inflation is an economic term describing the general rate increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money- there may be an increase in costs for services and goods or the cost of living in a country. It occurs when prices increase but the purchasing power of the currency decreases.
The pandemic is a primary cause of this sudden surge. In the past year and a half, supply lines were on hold as demand dropped in 2020 and slightly further in 2021. Government restrictions on consumerism also threatened the economy but suddenly going into 2022, the economy has reopened almost fully and industries are back at work. However, the resources for factories and industries like workers and inputs were scarce and caused producers to mark up prices as the supplies were low, contrasting to the rapidly rising consumer demand. The labour force decreased as businesses were closing down and it was beginning to look unsafe. Many workers retired, found the pandemic too threatening etc and removed themselves, which cost companies extra to overstaff and prepare for worker absences. The pandemic also disrupted the supply of imported goods, which raised the prices.
As people began travelling and the overall demand increased, inflation was caused in the short term as the system was barely recovering and not adjusted.
It’s unsure whether the inflation will be prolonged or whether it’ll increase in the U.S. but if it does it’ll take a toll on other country’s exchange rates and trade as well.
Underwater Volcanic Eruption in Tonga
By Misaki Tomiyama
An underwater volcano located in the South Pacific erupted violently on Saturday and sent tsunami waves to different countries including Hawaii, Japan and Tonga. The volcano, called the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, sent ash and gas steam 20 kilometres into the air and caused shock waves as a result of the eruption.
In Tonga, a meter high tsunami wave hit the coastal areas, and the sky darkened as a result of the ash from the volcano. According to an Australian citizen in Tonga, “the island of Tonga is flat. This leaves their people with nowhere of realistic safety to evacuate.”
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning in the Amami and Tokari islands, and Iwate. People are staying in evacuation centres in Iwate.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology announced that they recorded a tsunami wave of 1.2 meters in the region of Nuku'alofa. In Fiji, a nearby island, a public advisory was issued to "move to safety in anticipation of the strong currents and dangerous waves”.
Kids Corner: Exercise For The Mind
Article by Ananya Nayar
Physical exercise is important because our bodies need challenge and movement in order for them to be healthy, but our brains are involved in every action we take as well and need the same challenge and exercise.
Research shows that the daily exercise of the mind helps improve memory, focus and mental sharpness- and is essential as you grow older. It can also decrease stress, hinder the ageing process, help manage emotions and lead you to become happier every day. We’ve been exercising our minds since we were toddlers, mostly to build up our fine motor skills, which are essential in day to day activity.
The best exercises you can do for your mind are…
Jigsaw Puzzles
Since a young age, we’ve been piecing the little bits to create a bigger picture. Jigsaw puzzles help in challenging your visuospatial processes- that means they help your visual perception of objects and the world. We use our visuospatial skills in buttoning shirts, making our beds or assembling a toy or piece of furniture.
Cards
All card games are known to help your mental sharpness, sequencing and memory skills. Whether it’s ‘go fish’ or ‘poker,’ all are stimulating.
Playing music
Learning an instrument is great for your auditory skills as it trains your ear, and it improves your hand-eye coordination. On top of this, it’s a great form of unwinding and is quite fun!
Drawing from memory
This is a great activity for visual memory. It also improves skills like our problem-solving skills and creativity or imagination.
Newspaper Games
My favourite part of the newspaper was always the second last page with sudoku, crossword and cryptograms. They are extremely effective actually and boost logical thinking, problem-solving skills, improve vocabulary and general knowledge.
Kids article: The ‘True’ Millipede
By Misaki Tomiyama
When you think of a millipede, you will probably imagine it having more than 1000 legs as the name suggests. All this time though, it has been a misnomer, and most of the millipede species have fewer than 100 legs, and the millipede with the most number of legs was the Illacme plenipes, with 750 legs. However, recently, a team of scientists discovered the ‘true’ millipede, with 1300 legs!
Scientifically named Eumilipes Persephone, this new millipede species was discovered in Western Australia. The team published their findings on December 21, 2021, and announced that they believe this millipede has evolved and has become longer than the other millipedes to help itself propel underground.
Scientists believe this species of millipede has a lifespan of around 5 to 10 years. This is around 2 times more than the lifespan of other millipedes.
Why Do We… Need Dopamine?
Article by Ananya Nayar
Dopamine is a chemical- specifically a neuromodulatory molecule- in the brain that regulates memory, mood, motivation, attention and learning.
It’s released when we do something enjoyable or ‘rewarding’ like eating nice food, spending time with a friend or doing anything ‘fun.’ Interestingly enough, it also gets triggered and further released by drugs that are often abused- like cocaine. When discharged naturally, it makes us feel euphoric, concentrated or motivated.
It’s extremely important in natural human abilities and feelings- happiness, the ability to think, learn and plan and build hobbies etc are necessary for survival.
A lack of dopamine is linked to mental illnesses like depression, psychosis and schizophrenia. When lacking dopamine, you’ll feel depressed, stiff or lacking physical balance or tired.
Who was George Washington?
By Misaki Tomiyama
George Washingon was born on February 22, 1732, as a son of a wealthy plantation owner. During this time, America was a colony of the British. When he turned 42 years old, George Washington became a congressman and went against the British as they imposed high taxes on American citizens. The following year, he was elected to be the General Commander of the American Army, and the war for independence from Britain Started.
The forces were weak at this point in time, but Washington and his army fought bravely on the battlefield. He announced the declaration of Independence and encouraged the soldiers as they went to fight. Along with cooperation with France, Spain and the Netherlands, the U.S. defeated the British army and gained independence on July 4, 1776.
After gaining independence, he became the chair of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where they decided how to govern America. Two years later, George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States. During the 8 years of his term, he laid the foundations for the United States. He is also known as the Founding Father of the United States.
Fun Fact- After serving two terms as president, he was requested to take up another term. However, since he believed that it wasn’t a good idea for a person to hold power for a long time, he denied their request. Since then, it has become a custom in the United States for a president to only serve twice.
Book & Movie Reviews
By Ananya Nayar
Movie of the Week: The Witches (2020 version)
Rating: ⅘
Age Recommendation: 7+
The Witches, following Roald Dahl's famous fantasy book more or less follows the beloved, original storyline, with a modern interpretation. As with most, I prefer the plot to stick with the narrative, and it did but it was missing the classic bits that were present in the 1990s version.
We see Bruno, a young orphan living with his grandmother, and his encounter with a witch. His grandmother, having rough experiences with witches, concludes they’ve been ‘cursed’ and they flee to a hotel. However, staying in the same hotel is a crowd of disguised witches, intent on finding a solution to get rid of all children.
It’s a perfect family night movie, with imaginative and well-made scenes with good camera, set and costume work. This film starred Anne Hathaway, who's also starred in movies like ‘The Princess Diaries’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ in which she played the characters really well. Generally, I thought the portrayal of the Grand High Witch’s role was overly dramatic here but considering it is a children’s movie and needs to be attention-grabbing it was great.
Book of the Week: Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Rating: ⅘
Age Recommendation: 14+
This quirky fiction book started off to a slow start and didn’t seem interesting at all initially. However, the plot took me by surprise and gave interesting twists to it.
The title ‘Radio Silence’ is simply a metaphor for the voice you have and what you can do with it- no, there isn’t an empowering political movement or such involved, but it just talks about honest friendship during this story which is really inspiring.
It was refreshing to read a novel where the boy and girl can be friends, not lovers, and I liked the LGBT representation here as well.
Most of all, I loved how different and unique each character was but how they all hold strong bonds. It features Francis- a hardworking and high-achieving girl, Aled- a mysterious, shy boy who has a secret podcast and many more fascinating people.
There is an incredible portrayal of online pressure, fandom, school pressure, love, friendship throughout and I like how it teaches readers that it’s also okay to be unapologetically you.
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