5) IAS Times Issue 10

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A m e r i c a n S c h o o L • w w w . i a s . e d u . p l • s e c r e t a r y @ i a s . e d u . p lu l . d e m b e g o 1 8 • 0 2 - 7 9 6 w a r s a w , p o l a n d • + 4 8 2 2 6 4 9 1 4 4 0

IAS TIMESOfficial Newspaper of the International American School

For the last few months, one topic has been on the mouth of the whole world: the Chilean miners. On the 5th of August, 33 miners were trapped after a mine explosion in Chile’s Atacama desert. The 33 miners were trapped 2,300 feet under the ground and it was estimated they would have to stay there for three to four months.

The miners were locked in a space the size of a small U.S. apartment, without basic human needs like a bathroom. They couldn’t see sunlight and the temperature stayed around -30ºC. To stay hydrated, the miners needed to drink about 5 liters of water per day, which they drained from water-cooled equipment. The miners were connected to the outside world by an 8cm tube by which food, water, clothing, video equipment, first aid kits, rubbing alcohol, medicine and other necessities were passed. The objects took about 20 minutes to go down the small tube. Doctors kept watch over the trapped men, giving them advice about how to keep their living space clean. They divided the space into sections for sleeping and washing. To stay in good shape, the men divided into two groups. Half of them rested while the others performed tasks, exercised or entertained themselves. To rescue the miners, the Chilean government showed great ingenuity. A special 60cm cage resembling a small missile was sent down into a carefully drilled shaft. The miners were on a diet to stay properly

nourished and slim enough to fit into the cage. Finally, after 69 days the miners were rescued. Most of them were fine, although some had eye and dental problems. After the rescue action was finished and all the 33 miners were safe, people started treating them as world wide celebrities. They flew to Europe and the United States to appear on television shows like the “Late Show with David Letterman.” The case of the Chilean miners was a perfect example of the dangers of mining. Mine explosions and collapses are a very serious problem and happen relatively frequently. In May of 2010, a mine exploded in Siberia. In September of 2009, a mine collapsed in China, and 2006 a gas explosion occurred in a Polish mine. These are just a few of examples of exposed mine cases, but more often they are simply ignored. As well, very rarely are the miners as lucky as those in Chile. Just on November 19th in New Zealand after another coal mine explosion, police estimated that around 36 people remain trapped if not dead by now. Along with celebrating the Chilean miners victory, people should realize that working in a mine is a low paid, high risk job. More steps should be taken to ensure security in the mine tunnels and avoid such accidents.

MINE TRAP

Daniela Domachowksa

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A m e r i c a n S c h o o L • w w w . i a s . e d u . p l • s e c r e t a r y @ i a s . e d u . p lu l . d e m b e g o 1 8 • 0 2 - 7 9 6 w a r s a w , p o l a n d • + 4 8 2 2 6 4 9 1 4 4 0

Polish News

Polish politics has always faced controversy and the last few months were no exception. Leading off, a new political party walked onto the scene. The Movement for Support of Palikot, created by outspoken and ex-Civic Platform politician Janusz Palikot, recently registered as a party. While Palikot promises big changes for Poland, for now his party places the lowest ranking with only 2% of electorate on its side.

“I have never been so worried. It’s my most important decision since the one to join Platform,” says Palikot. Many politicians and publicists regard Mr. Palikot as a controversial showman who is not able to make his ideas come to life. Palikot demands a full separation of Church from the State. His postulates also ask for the dissolving of the Senate, government refunds for in-vitro fertilization, the right to abortion, free internet, sex-ed in schools, and the end of religion lessons in public schools.

While his ideas are concrete and in keeping with liberal policies outside of Poland, no one knows if Palikot will be able to collect enough support to even get his people into the Sejm. This event moved onto a second plane, when Poland was shocked with a tragic event in Łódź this October. An armed madman broke into the Law and Justice office, killing Marek Rosiak, an assistant of an EU parliament member, J. Wojciechowski, and wounding two other people. The man was a 62 year old ex-taxi driver who claimed he hates Law and Justice, but on his hit list were also Left Democratic Union and Platform politicians.

Jarosław Kaczyński said that “this event is an effect of a campaign of hatred’’ and of course blamed his political opponents. President Komorowski appealed to oppose the hatred in political life. Most politicians support the appeal, however it is not known if only the mourning period holds them from returning to the old divisive

language. It could come to a situation like after the Pope’s death in 2005, when soccer hooligans declared an unlimited armistice, but soon started to fight each other again just when the emotions faded. This takes us back to Palikot’s original topic: the Church’s involvement in politics. Recently, the government discussed an important project of refunding in-vitro fertilization. However, Polish bishops made an ultimatum: everyone who votes for it will be expelled from the Catholic community. Meanwhile, the Church casts a favorable eye on Law and Justice, which wants to forbid in-vitro and jail people who use it.

“The Catholic Church cannot demand the prohibition of in-vitro. It is an attempt of breaching the rules of a secular state,” says Marek Balicki, an SLD politician and author of the most liberal project of the in-vitro law. No religious leaders other than the Catholic bishops have demanded such policies from the government. In EU countries like France and England, these demands would meet with furious opposition and cries that the country is returning to its medieval roots. Yet in Poland, seeing how the government can’t simply stand up the Church, one should ask: “Quo vadis, Poland?’’

Palikot, Aggression and the Church

Michał Kolwas

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A m e r i c a n S c h o o L • w w w . i a s . e d u . p l • s e c r e t a r y @ i a s . e d u . p lu l . d e m b e g o 1 8 • 0 2 - 7 9 6 w a r s a w , p o l a n d • + 4 8 2 2 6 4 9 1 4 4 0

Several times throughout September and October, France was on strike. Millions of people, including workers and students, went to the streets of cities like Paris, Marseilles, Lyon, Toulouse, and Bordeaux to express their opinion about the government’s pension reforms.

Estimates showed a 100 million pounds cost per day during the strikes. Basic services were on hold throughout the country. Post offices stopped working, rubbish collectors did not collect trash, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports shut down and cut 30% and 50% of its flights. Mass transport, including buses and trains, stopped functioning. 12 striking refineries caused 3,000 gas stations to be empty. Even Lady Gaga had to cancel two of her Paris concerts! The national police assumed control by using water canons, batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas and protesters denounced them as “Sarko’s Stormtroopers”. The strikes even lead to violence in some places.

Why are the French so upset about the pension changes? The reform’s main change is to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 and the full state pension age of 65 to 67 with a requirement of 41.5 years of working for both cases. This means that if someone worked for 41.5 years and reached the age of 62, he can retire but will not get his full pension until he reaches 67. This means people will have to work a little longer to receive their benefits. But the protesters should realize that the reform is for their own good. The government is trying to provide itself some tax relief. Interestingly enough, most of the French people believe that the reform is necessary but also think that it is unfair.....can the French have it both ways?

Both sides make fair points. A French student who would like to finish his masters degree will be in school until the age of 23-25. If the student does not get a good job, which is likely in this economy, until say 27, then he may have to work until 68. On the other hand, it is a known fact that the ratio of dependents to sustainers is decreasing in developed countries and people have to work longer to maintain the system. In 1950, there was a ratio of 1 dependent for 7 sustainers, while in 2010 it is 1:4. Similar pension reforms are taking place throughout Europe. For example, in Slovenia the retirement age for females will rise from 57 to 65 and for males from 58 to 65. In the UK, it will increase from 65 to 67.

The reform has finally been accepted in France but fights on the streets and in the political arena have not stopped. The government says that they will stick to the reform and will finish it while the opposing socialist party will make it a campaign issue in the 2012 elections. Playing to their base voters, they wish to erase the reform and reduce the retirement age back to 60.

While the French debate how to maintain their unique quality of life, they have to realize that they can’t have their cake and eat it too. Or since this is France, they can’t have their soufflé and eat it too!

International NewsFrance Protests

Ben Kiss

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Business PromotionAs I mentioned before, Facebook’s popularity makes it an excellent place for commercial inventiveness. The simple interface, created by Mark Zuckerberg and his co-workers, has become a useful tool for business promotion. The era of creating posters and stamping them to walls on the streets is in decline, as now people spend most of their time online. Therefore creating internet ads and banners is a more effective way of reaching them.

But as Facebook’s dominance increases, we should be aware of its transformation into a commercial tool. The idea is to connect with friends, not companies. So let’s be aware of the dangers as the social network grows.

Organizing Mass Events!Event invitations are one of the biggest attractions on Facebook. This is not just a great way to keep your close friends informed of social events, but also to invite people from miles away to join in the fun. For instance, “Dresik Dzien!” translated into English would be “Tracksuit Day!” Recently, people all over Warsaw were invited to to wear outfits commonly w o r n b y o u r colorful Polish “hooligans”. Too bad we don’t have pictures of some of the IAS students who so naturally fit in! (right)

Top Teen NewsFacebook’s POP!

Like/Dislike

Just as people are divided by gender, country, religion, and language, so are they divided by their acceptance or avoidance of the social network Facebook. But one thing all users of Facebook have in common is just how exposed all their personal preferences are to the whole of society. The little advertisements and banners we see stuck in the corners of the screen are evidence to how much we are being surfed as we surf.

While Facebook is well known as a social network, it’s becoming more commonly used as a source for commerce. With 500 million active user (that’s about one user for every 14 in the world!) it’s easy to see why. Of course, lots of people try to stay away from the online “facetrap”. Yet, the growing levels of addiction are absolutely absurd. Perhaps the biggest attraction for users is the ability to know what any random person is doing in any corner of the world.

For instance, Barney Stinson living in New York could even keep track of Harry Potter in Hogwarts! [Harry Potter is ... . transforming into a cat! :D!]Add in the options “Comment” and “Like” a n d y o u h a v e a r e c i p e f o r m a s s procrastination!

Yet I’d like to concentrate on two positive uses of Facebook.

Well, now that you’ve learned a little something about Facebook (if you didn’t know by now!) ..... C’mon! ‘Like’ my article!

Woo Jae Dong

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Our Virtual World

The long awaited and loudly announced movie The Social Network came out a while ago with stars like Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), Andrew Garfield (Parnassus) and Justin Timberlake. The movie was sure to be a hit given all the popularity of Facebook and the timeless theme of rags (well, kind of) to riches.

The story begins in 2003 when Mark Zuckerberg, a student of Harvard University, created a website called “Facemash” to compare and rate the looks of the female undergraduates of Harvard. Although the website ran for less than two hours during the middle of the night, it got 22,000 hits, thereby crashing Harvard’s server.

Zuckerberg was punished with academic probation for half a year. It was then that he began to work as a programmer for the Winklevoss twins on their website “Harvard Connection”. Zuckerberg expanded the original idea of the website and together with his friend, Eduardo Saverins, launched “TheFacebook”. He had no idea however about the size of troubles he was packing himself into.

The Social Network is a movie based on a true story; however, it is not entirely true. It is an interpretation of the seminal events and it doesn’t reveal all of the facts nor show what the people actually did to each other. The mentioned people are all represented positively in the movie and so the audience has to decide about who is telling the truth.

The movie stirs many emotions and shows how a simple idea of a college student changes him into the youngest billionaire in the world, and how the money turns friends away from each other.

Comments about The Social Network vary from negative to fantastic, but generally it is an enjoyable film and a better way to spend two hours than say.......sitting on Facebook!

The Social Network – Movie Review

Alex Rutczyński

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Writer’s Corner

Three days. Three days of an endless journey that seemed to carry on forever through the thickness of the Carsak forest. The massive canopy above would only allow single flickers of light to pass through. The tired villagers of Darth’k where already out of the Anduir valley, and traveling deeper into the wild lands of Nogal. Birds shrieked, children cried, and the villagers carried on with their journey towards freedom. Zechs wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He was used to heavy works but the march through the dark forest was slowly tiring him. For the last three days he was thinking about what was going on in his life. All the drastic changes that could be easily proved by the red ribbon around his right arm. He wasn’t the only one with a ribbon on his arm. Practically every young man from his village carried one. It was a sign that he joined the rebels. It was a burden he had to carry, along with the heavy bag draped around his shoulders. His uncle was somewhere at the back together with the older generation, while he was directly at the front. The villagers moved in four groups of a hundred people in different distances from each other, each group having a group of armed rebels to protect and lead them. Zechs searched for Aria but failed to find her. The one to lead this group was Captain Angus Larmain, a man of a giant posture who carried a giant chain bolter slung across his back. He had long hair pulled back in a pony tail that revealed a thick scar running down his spine. From what Zechs heard, he was a legend among the rebels. Whenever Zechs saw the scar on Angus’s back, he involuntarily touched the thin line of scar tissue on his forehead that he acquired not so long ago. Thinking about the various battles Angus must have fought, Zechs did not notice the fallen branch beneath him and he fell down to the ground with a heavy thump.

“Ohhhh!” he groaned when the tree next to him exploded.

Pieces of wood and splinters flew threw the air as several white flashes of light flew towards the villagers. Chaos spread through the people as several dark figures emerged through the trees. Massive figures in dark armour with long horns were firing at the screaming villagers from their large, diabolical weapons. The rebels reacted instantly by returning fire towards the advancing enemy. Angus was firing his massive bolter towards the oncoming threat, an ammo belt unwrapping around his leg. Zechs’s friend Milo ran up to him but flew backwards when a plasma beam caught him in the chest. Zechs wanted to scream but something grabbed him by the neck and threw him against a tree. Stars erupted behind his eyes as he hit the hard, coarse surface. People were screaming and running around in panic. The dark figure loomed over him reaching out with it’s giant gauntlet. Zechs ran his hands through the leaves, searching for something that could help him until he found the cool touch of a bolter. He could not see the dark soldier clearly, his vision blurred from the impact with the tree, but he could feel the powerful grip around his neck. Time seamed to slow down for Zechs. He felt a kind warmth inside him, that quickly turned to a burning sensation in his right hand. With a silent gasp, he released the bolter but the burning sensation did not go away. The cold metal fingers slowly fastened their grip around his neck and Zechs pressed his burning hand to the black face in front of him. A flash of blinding light and the burning went away. And so did life. But not his. Zechs could not die. Not yet.

The Chronicles of Chronus

Sebastian Kettley

A Journey Towards Freedom

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Artist’s Corner

Mr. Uden with his green tea with cardamon seed.

Mr. Krasner caught before running away to Cracow to write his book.

Pan Cichy answering a question about IB which Janny asked AGAIN!

Mr. Brown: “Now for our next topic, the allied invasion”.

IAS Teacher “Avatars”: Illustrations by Sebastian Kettley

The serious side of Pan Zbyszek

Mr. Johnson represents a TOK concept by the magic of music.