Insites
Edition Three BMR
Welcome to edition three. These stories are written by our individual journalists on stories and events from home and abroad.
Hurricane Harvey Coverage
‘Harvey’ continues to devastate
By Luke Maxwell.
Over the past week, Hurricane Harvey has devastated coastal Texas with 132cm of rain. 14 trillion gallons of water have fallen since the 28th of August and there is an expected 5 trillion liters more to come. This amount of rain is a USA record for most amount of rain brought by a Hurricane. A third of the largely populated Harris county is underwater leaving 4.6 million people stranded. This area is around the size of 15 Manhattans. The 209kph winds and continued rainfall have taken the lives of at least 60 people and more than 8,500 people have been rescued by the 14,000 men and woman on the national guard and another 14,000 are said to be coming to aid them. At this point, around 50,000 homes are underwater with more at risk. In fact, on Saturday night, there were over 56,000 emergency calls.
Meteorologists, however predict much drier days in the week to come which is amazing news for the 32,000-people stranded in shelters. This natural relief could not come sooner with the cost of all the repair climbing to around 400 billion US dollars. This means that Harvey could become the most expensive storm ever. President Trump has declared this disaster a federal state of emergency after visiting on Tuesday to see for himself the mass damage brought by Harvey. A local chemical factory also exploded on Saturday with a said 12 meters of smoke and flames. Despite the dangerous flames and the smoke, officials said the local community was not in danger.
Is climate change helping the Hurricane Harvey rampage? It might just be according to scientists around the world. Climate change is the cause of greenhouse gases warming the earth. As the earth warms, so does the earth’s oceans. Harvey fed on this ocean heat which was abnormally hot and was able to progress into a category 4 hurricane in less than 48 hours.
This natural disaster has already killed around 60 people with the help of the rising climate. So what should we do? Without fossil fuels, the economy is most likely to collapse, but if we continue to burn fossil fuels, the climate will continue to rise and natural disaster will continue to worsen over time. This debated question continues to be a problem for governments around the world.
By Campbell Ayres
Hurricane Harvey Victims Need Your Help
Recently hurricane Harvey has struck Houston Texas. The hurricane has caused catastrophic damage and is estimated to have caused nearly $40 billion dollars of damage so far. Hurricane Harvey is no ordinary hurricane. Hurricane Harvey has broken the US record for rainfall from a single storm. This has led to extreme flooding in the areas affected by the hurricane, which is where the majority of damage costs come from. More than three feet of rain in some places, totals surpassed 50 inches, setting a record for the continental United States. And, in Harris County, which includes Houston, up to 30 percent of the land had flooded, according to Jeffrey Lindner, a meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District.
Many have been short on supplies. This has led to many grouping up in support facilities that are offering free supplies or stealing from abandoned supply shops such as grocery stores. So far, a total of 38 locals have died from hurricane Harvey.
Some don’t even have a shelter, many as a result of the hurricane have become homeless, some don’t even have insurance leaving them in a troubling spot financial. Some of the people affected have moved to a homeless shelter and are mad at reporters for getting in their face when they are struggling to keep in together.
Hurricane Harvey has caused a lot of damage and a lot of people need support to overcome the damages and trauma it has caused. Please go to the following website to donate support to the survivors of hurricane Harvey who need help from as many people as they can to get back on their feet.
The following website link below, will help explain how you can help and where you can donate to directly help victims of the hurricane.
Big Ben goes quiet
By Max Manak
At noon, Monday the 21st of August, London’s icon Big Ben rings its last chime until 2021, due to repairs. The giant bell has been ringing for every hour for 1859, making it an iconic sound of London.
“The sounds of London won’t be the same without its chiming heartbeat,” Stephen Kelly, the prime minister’s business ambassador.
Hundreds of citizens packed the nearby streets of Parliament Square to listen to the last chimes for at least 4 years.
Media organizations from England played the last sounds so all of London were able to hear, which gave London a feeling of pride.
Although the citizens and tourists of London will miss the iconic noises, it will give much needed maintenance to the Victorian clock tower.
The bell won’t remain completely silent for the next four years, rather it will ring on special occasions like New Year’s Eve.
In Ottawa, Canada, Little Ben will ring a memorial chime every 21st in memory of its more iconic big brother.
Due to the London’s heartbeat going under surgery, the city will not feel the same. Even when I visited London last year, I did feel a sense of unity and pride and right now I wonder how Londoners feel.
The Newington Challenge
By Samuel Gresham
Newington college offers two outdoor education programs, designed to enrich the lives of students by allowing them to enjoy the outdoors. This week, I will be focusing on Newington’s less popular program, Newington Challenge, finding participants’ opinions on the program and its shortfalls, under the new leadership of Mr Matt Holdgate.
Many students commented on their enjoyment of the Newington Challenge program, making the comment that they believed that it was superior to the school’s alternative program, Cadets. The Cadets program, which is run by the Australian Army as a historical form of early military involvement and recruitment, has had a long-standing conflict between the Newington Challenge program, offering different levels and types of outdoor involvement. One student, Calum Boland, stated: “Yes [I enjoy it], because it is better than Cadets”, reaffirming the strong differences between the programs.
Many students also commented on improvements that could be made to the Newington-run program. “Better activities. More outside school activities”, said Newington Challenge participant Oliver Cleary, when asked what could be improved about the program. Many participants who were surveyed shared the same opinion, commenting on the desire for a more diverse, wider variety of activities that could be offered.
In whole, the students showed a keen interest in the program, speaking of its quality and superiority to Cadets. Additionally, the students showed a keen interest in continuing the program in leadership in years 11 and 12, showing the high quality and enjoyable aspects of the program. Although, the program clearly is not perfect. Many, if not all, students commented that they would favour a program which had “More activities, less sitting around”, an important aspect to improve on as the program progresses under the new leadership of Mr Matt Holdgate this year. In conclusion, Newington Challenge is highly favoured among participants, but has areas to improve upon.
The Marriage Equality Debate
By Jack Croll
A Pastor who appears in a highly criticised television advert campaigning against same-sex marriage has been torn apart on social media over another ad placed in her local newspaper.
Heidi McIvor is the mother in the Coalition for Marriage ad who says: “Kids in Year 7 are being asked to role play being in a same-sex relationship.”
She and her husband Julian, also a pastor at City Builders Church in Sale, have been accused of placing an advert in Victoria’s Gippsland Times supporting the “No” campaign ahead of the same-sex marriage postal vote.
They did not place the ad, although their church has previously campaigned to keep marriage as just between a man and a woman and Mr McIvor is advertising manager at the local paper.
The ad, entitled “What is Marriage?” reads: “When the wife’s egg is fertilised by the husband’s sperm in the marital act of love, a flash of light occurs and a baby is conceived. Nine months later, ‘their’ baby is born. It is not ‘hers’ and it is not ‘his’. They have created new life together.
“This is not physically possible for two people of the same sex. A baby produced has to be manufactured. One partner is excluded from the process, while the other has to find a donor, employ medical technicians and specialist doctors at great cost, and has only a half-share in any baby produced. The baby is not produced from their union. This is NOT marriage!!”
The ad was in fact placed by retired farmer Pat O’Brien, father of Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien, The Australian reported.
There has been huge backlash in the local community against the “disgusting” ad, with many wrongly blaming the McIvor’s for placing it.
“Let’s burn there (sic) church,” said one Facebook user of the couple.
In my opinion, I think that this ad campaign is disgusting and that no one should either vote no, or encourage others to vote no. With the Same-Sex marriage postal vote coming in 60 days from when this story is published I’m certain there will unfortunately be more ‘vote no’ campaigns but in the end I am pretty sure that the result of a postal vote will be yes to same sex marriage.
NAPLAN and the HSC
By Harry Garofani
The State Government’s rules and regulations around the NAPLAN results of students in Year 9 and their relative results have been changed, the new changes can affect the student’s ability to participate in the HSC. NSW Education minister stated that setting a compulsory benchmark was based off a model used in WA. The change has caused immense criticism from both parents and students alike, Newington College student Lucas Ciesielski says the changes “have put more unnecessary pressure on students, like we don’t have enough already.” The backlash has been combatted by David de Carvalho, CEO of the NSW Education Standards Authority, saying, “Literacy and Numeracy are the absolute foundation for success in life and learning.”
The changes to the NAPLAN requirements have caused much controversy with students. The NSW Education Standards Authority has directly contradicted the fundamental goal of NAPLAN. The National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy was introduced in 2008 by the Ministerial Council on Education, as a means for the government to witness the success or the downfall of schools, not the individual students, which is exactly what the assessments are doing post these changes.
The Department of Education decided to put the changes in place because they saw that students were lacking in the fundamentals of their education – literacy and numeracy. The new NAPLAN rules set place benchmarks on students success in the tests, meaning that a pass is a Band 8 of a total of 10 bands. If a student fails to reach this benchmark between Year 9 and Year 12, they will still be able to sit the HSC examinations, but will not receive their certificate. Between Year 9 and Year 12 there is multiple opportunities to resit the NAPLAN examination online, and a student only needs to pass the test once in order to qualify for the Higher School Certificate.
A current UTS professor and ex-board of studies employee, Don Carter says that “We are in danger of making NSW classrooms becoming testing factories,” highlighting the issue of whether schooling is teaching kids how to live and necessary life knowledge, or whether we are simply teaching our kids how to pass a test.
North Korea
By Alex McEvoy
On Tuesday, the 29th North Korea launched a missile over Hokkaido, Japan where it broke up into three pieces and fell into the Pacific Ocean, 1180 km off the coast of Japan. World leaders have been swift in their condemnation of this event. With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling it “an unprecedented, grave and serious threat.” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling it “a reckless, dangerous and provocative act” and US President Donald Trump stating that “all options are on the table” in a threat to North Korea.
Many in the world are left wondering why Kim Jong- Un would take such provocative actions, but some, including the Assoc, Prof, Narang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who said that “if he (Kim Jong-Un) can hold the US homeland at risk, the calculation changes… the US has to think twice.” This is one reason to explain why North Korea has been so cavalier in its actions as of late.
Another example of this is when North Korea detonated a bomb which they claim is a hydrogen bomb. Even in the wake of President Trump’s warning of overwhelming force and Malcolm Turnbull calling on China to deal with their uncooperative neighbour. In a recent tweet, Trump stated that The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea, which includes China, India, Russia, Thailand and the Philippines. China responded to this threat, saying that it was unacceptable, but Trump has said nothing more on the matter, other than saying that any threat to America or its territories by North Korea would warrant a massive military response.
The Infamous Tay-K
By Gus Gillies
At the young age of 17, rapper Taymore “Tay-K” Mclyntyre has the recent legal history of a hardened criminal and but not by his large amount of fans.
On August 30th, it was revealed that the rapper, who was recently charged with capital murder for his role in a 2016 home invasion, will be tried as an adult even though he was only 16 when the incident took place.
“The judge ruled that his case should be moved to the adult court based on his age, and the fact that the juvenile court will lack jurisdiction soon,” reads a statement from one of Tay-K’s lawyer, M. Trent Loftin. “The judge was very clear to tell Mr. McIntyre on the record that this decision has no bearing whatsoever of his guilt/innocence in this case… Mr. McIntyre remains upbeat after this hearing.”
Tay-K, who became an internet phenomenon after dropping a music video (“The Race”) about being on the run from the police while he was literally a fugitive of the law, could face dire consequences if found guilty.
The invasion in question took place in Mansfield, Texas, and was set up by two women. It ended up with the tragic death and murder of a 21-year-old man. Tay-K was arrested after the incident and eventually released to house arrest.
He is also a suspect in another murder case for an attack that took place after a 2015 Daytona Boyz concert.
While on house arrest, Tay-K fled just before he was about to be trialled as an adult or minor. That’s when he recorded and filmed the video for his song, “The Race,” which has been remixed by Lil Yachty, another famous rapper. It has also been a hit with all his fans and made a name for himself.
He dropped the song after he was arrested for murder this past July, and it recently reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
South Asia Flooding
By Oliver Cleary
In recent not highly published news, south Asia over the past months or two has experienced severe flooding and an estimated 40 000 million people in south Asia had been severely affected. Entire villages across Bangladesh, Nepal and India have been completely submerged and have lead the residents to have to relocate. Some of the worst hit areas in the south Asia region is Bihar and Assam, not only this bit in Bangladesh there have been more that 8 million people affected, including a total of approximately 3 million children. It has been considered that there have been hundreds of fatalities in Nepal alone, up to 160 have been confirmed dead and there are still 25 missing. Overall during the serious flooding there have been an estimated 1,300 fatalities and over 1.8 million children completely out of school from damages or from the relocation of the family.
Because of the recent flooding the livelihood of the farming culture has been totally destroyed, this had led to families experiencing a lack of food and a lack of water, increasing the fatalities at a serious rate. People are estimating it will take approximately 6 months before the people in these countries can properly start to re-build their lives back to the previous standard they were in before the mass flooding. According to google, this crisis has been put on SOS and needs to be more announced to the public in order to help. This crisis has not received a lot of media attention due to it occurring at the same time as the extreme weather in America, American news has taken over most news publishing sites and this means the south Asia flooding isn’t receiving enough media attention it needs.
Not only is there a lack of food and water, but because of the wet and humid climate there is a record breaking number of mosquitos. These insects are spreading viruses and disease through the community, increasing the fatalities. Overall it is going to take a long time before these people and communities can fully recover.
North Korea and what it means for us
By Lachlan Rennie
We have all heard of the threat of a nuclear war with North Korea. We all understand that this would have a devastating impact on the Korean Peninsula (and possibly the West Coast of America). But what does this potential war mean for us in Australia?
Australia is one of the closest countries to North Korea that is a major military ally to America. Logically speaking, this would make us a high value target to remove if a war does break out. Fortunately for us, all of the North Korean hatred that is driving the escalating tensions is directed towards the United States. Their entire society is brought up hating the United States, but not any other Western countries.
If a war did break out, conscription is the last thing Australian citizens need to worry about. Conscription ended in Australia in December 1972. Even if Conscription was brought back, the war will have hardly anything to do with Infantry. All of the countries involved would not be looking for a costly, prolonged, war. Instead, war would be fought using technology. Drones, ICBM’s (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) and Driverless Tanks are the new form of warfare. The days of trench-warfare are over and we are beginning to see the end of the era of putting humans behind the trigger.
In reality, war is highly unlikely. After events such as the Chernobyl Reactor Meltdown and the Hiroshima bombings, the world has become alerted to the fact of just how devastating Nuclear weapons are. If a Nuclear Bombardment did occur on North Korea it would have devastating environmental impacts for the surrounding countries. This is why China and South Korea simply cannot afford a Nuclear war. Not only are they two of the closest targets to North Korea, they would also be affected by any residual Nuclear fallout from the bombs dropping.
Instead, countries are trying to calm North Korea down by giving them trade sanctions. America is putting pressure on China to bring tougher sanctions on North Korea. China has even gone so far as to threaten to cut off North Koreas access to oil. This would have devastating effects on the civilian population of North Korea. North Korea has an extremely cold winter and the civilian population needs oil to keep their homes heated and cook their food, the military also needs it to operate their vehicles. Kim Jong Un needs oil to keep his country alive and well. If there is no oil his people will begin to turn on him and the military would be inclined to follow the civilians as well.
It is most likely their will not be a war, but if there is it will be short and brutal. All countries involved will not want a prolonged war and will be aiming to finish it quickly. For us in Australia, we will most likely aid in the form of Navy and Air Force and there is very little chance of us being hit with a nuclear bomb. That is if war breaks out at all.