Hello bloggers. Today in social studies we are learning about slavery.

Hello bloggers, today in health we are learning about drugs.

Cocaine 

Cocaine is one of the most dangerous drugs known to man. If a person begins taking the drug, it would be almost impossible to become free of its grip both physically and mentally.

Consequences:

• Happiness and confidence. Taha hinengaro ST P Personal
• Relationship problems. Taha Whanau ST/LT N Interpersonal
• You get addicted. Taha wairua LT N Personal
• Respiratory failure, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) or heart attack.
• You may lose money and be in debt because drugs are expensive. Taha hinengaro LT N Personal
• If you get caught having or selling drugs, you may go to prison depending on how much drugs you have. Taha hinengaro LT N Societal

LSD

LSD is one of the most potent, mood-changing drugs. LSD feeds off your imagination so every person’s experience is different and unique.

Consequences:

• If you get caught having or selling drugs, you may go to prison depending on how much drugs you have. Taha hinengaro LT N Societal
• You may lose money and be in debt because drugs are expensive. Taha hinengaro LT N Personal
• You can become tolerant of its effects, this means you need to take more of it to get the same effect as before. Taha wairua LT N Personal
• You might get harmed while you’re on the drugs if you’re in a bad mood. ST N Personal
• If you have mental health problems or a history of mental health problems in your family, taking LSD could make them worse. ST N Personal

Hello bloggers.

The truth about blood diamonds

Blood diamond or conflict diamond is a thing. It’s called a blood diamond because the diamond worker who mined it dies because of various reasons. They don’t get paid well and are forced to mine the diamonds. If the miners try to escape or keep a diamond, they might get either amputated, tortured, or death as an example. Also the warlords who control the mines use that money and spark conflict. They might try to overthrow the government and by doing that they might buy militias, bribe politicians, etc.

Conflict diamonds have funded wars in countries in Angola, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme 

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is a scheme that attempts to halt and block the trade of blood diamonds. The scheme was launched in 2003 and was named after Kimberley, South Africa, a diamond-trading centre. It has 59 participants, with the European Union and its 27 members counting as a single participant, and together represent all of the major diamond-exporting and diamond-importing countries of the world. If a country didn’t comply with the terms, a country can be denied admission, or a participating country can be removed from the list. The Republic of the Congo was expelled from the Kimberley Process in 2004. The reason was that their diamond exports exceeded their domestic production of diamonds, which strongly imply that the exported diamonds were smuggled from rebel areas in neighbouring countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2007, the Republic of Congo readmitted after its government effectively regulated the diamond industry.

Under the terms of the Kimberley Process, all of the participants must:
Set up an import/export control system for blood diamonds.
Commit to transparent practices and to the exchange of statistical data.
Only trade with other countries who comply with the agreement.
Certify shipments as conflict-free and to provide a certificate as proof.

The participants actively prevent 99.8% of blood diamond trade however there are limitations. One of the limitations is that it has a narrow definition of blood diamond. Kimberley Process’ definition is ‘rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments’. The Kimberley Process does not have the authority to address the broader range of risk to human rights posed by the trade of diamonds and It has refused to broaden the definition.

In conclusion, loopholes in the Kimberley Process and the failure to effectively adapt to address a broader range of human rights concerns means that diamonds associated with abuses taint the global diamond market.

Sources: 

• Globalwitness – Kimberley Process 
• KimberleyProcess.com
• Britannica.com -Kimberley Process

Antwerp Diamond District

Antwerp’s diamond district or the Diamond Quarter is the biggest diamond market. Antwerp is known as the diamond capital of the world and has focused on diamond trade since the 15th century. Lodewyk van Bercken was a Flemish jeweller and diamond cutter, he is renowned in the industry for inventing the scaif in 1456. It revolutionised the diamond industry because it can make a diamond sparkling and multifaceted, and with it attracted European aristocracy. In 1477, Maximilian I presented his wife-to-be Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring, establishing the tradition of diamond engagement rings, this sparked a trend of European aristocracy. In 1947, De Beers’ had launched its now classic slogan “A Diamond is Forever,” the durability and price of a diamond conveyed the meaning that marriage is forever and priceless. The slogan changed people’s views about diamonds being reserved only for the rich and created a demand for diamonds by convincing people that no marriage is complete without a diamond ring.

Sources: 

• Wikipedia – Lodewyk van Bercken
• Wikipedia – Antwerp diamond district 
• Wikipedia – Scaif
• Britannica.com – Antwerp
• Beldiamond
• Americangemsociety.com 
• Aaaa.org

Perspectives 

In this essay I will discuss the perspectives about the miners and the legitimate government having the blood diamonds problem. 

The miners who worked in the mines were treated horribly. The RUF (Revolutionary United Front) would kidnap children and force them to be their slaves. The children would forcefully their army as soldiers (child soldiers) and the women would get raped. Men, women, and children are used as slaves to collect diamonds, and they have to use their bare hands to dig for diamonds instead of using tools. They would only get $2 per month or wouldn’t even get paid at all. If they have to go to the toilet they have to do it where they are mining, and if the miners try to escape or keep a diamond, they might get either amputated, tortured, or death as an example for the other miners. This is the violation of article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which indicates a person has the freedom from torture, article 4 which indicates a person has the freedom from slavery, and more. The miners have to give the diamonds that they mined to the warlord (boss) and would be traded for arms (weapons, ammo, artillery, vehicles, etc). 

The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group  that fought against the legitimate government in Sierra Leone that started in 1991 and ended in 2002. Initially, the RUF was popular with many Sierra Leoneans, many of them not liking the official government and the RUF’s promised free education and healthcare. The RUF’s slogan was “No More Slaves, No More Masters. Power and Wealth to the People.” 

The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) was a political party that was originally founded to free the nation from Portuguese rule. At first they had a Maoist ideology, but it later adopted an anti-left stance and began cooperating with the Portuguese against the Soviet-supported Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). When Angola had their independence the MPLA announced the independent People’s Republic of Angola in November 1975 and they began an offensive against the FNLA (National Liberation Front of Angola) and UNITA. Although the FNLA dropped out of the struggle for Angola, UNITA continued to battle against the MPLA. The MPLA negotiated with UNITA by having a multiparty system. They negotiated in Lisbon in May 1991 and UNITA agreed for a cease-fire, and had an election. In 1992, Jonas Savimbi and José Eduardo dos Santos ran for president and dos Santos won the election. Despite the international observers who said the elections were fair, Savimbi and UNITA claimed it was rigged and returned to armed conflict. Another ceasefire agreement, the Lusaka Accord, was signed in 1994, but Savimbi fought on, using the money he got from the diamond mines (blood diamonds). 

Sources: 

• Brilliantearth 
• Wikipedia – blood diamonds 
• Britannica – UNITA
• Wikipedia – UNITA
• UN.org – Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

Word Table

Hello bloggers, today in health we are learning about death, dying & the afterlife.

• What is my culture? My culture is Filipino
• What happens in your culture when someone passes away? When a person passes away, we would bury them in a cemetery but if we don’t have the money, we would also cremate them.
• What are some important processes/things that occur when a person passes away? After we bury the person, we would return to the house and eat to cope and bond with others. We would also pray for his spirit to find the way into heaven. 
• What is something you think is interesting or important to teach others about your culture regarding death, dying and the afterlife? We wear black formal clothes but formal clothes are fine if you have no money to buy black clothes. I had a convoy to go to the cemetery on the highway but this is not an average experience.
• What are 5 strategies that a person could implement that may help them get through the loss? How will this enhance their hauora?

There are a number of strategies that a person can implement to help them get through coping with the loss of someone important to them. Although I’m not an expert in this topic here are five strategies that I suggest:

1. Talk to a caring friend.
2. Accept your emotions and don’t hold back.
3. Taking care of yourself physically so that you won’t let go of yourself.
4. Lighten your load by asking friends or family members to help you with some chores or work.
5. Move on, look what’s ahead of you, not behind you.

This will enhance their hauora by accepting that loss and move on. You can reminisce about the past but you can’t stay in the past, you have to look into the future, cherish the memories of that person, and bond with the people you have now. 

Hello bloggers, in P.E we are playing a sport called Handball. In this blog I’m gonna tell you about

Country of Creation: Denmark, 1896

Equipment: Ball, net, (Optional) Bibs

Players on the court per team: 7 people in each team.

The top 4 countries in the world:

• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden
• Germany

Size of the court: 40 by 20 metres

The goal zone: Goal crease

Court Layout: The goals are surrounded by a near-semicircular area, called the zone or the crease, defined by a line six metres from the goal. A dashed near-semicircular line nine metres from the goal marks the free-throw line. Each line on the court is part of the area it encompasses. This implies that the middle line belongs to both halves at the same time.

Type of ball: Ace ball

Duration of a standard game:  two 30-minute halves with a 10- or 15-minute half-time intermission

Things you are not allowed to do in the court:

• You cannot go into the goal crease unless you’re a goalkeeper.

Hello bloggers, today in PE we are playing a sport called Korfball.

Da rules:

• No bouncing the ball.
• No running with the ball.
• Do not touch the goal posts.
• No kicking the ball.
• Start the game halfway.
• A player may not attempt to score when defended. 
• Players score by throwing the ball through the opposing team’s basket. 
• Attackers cannot set foot on their defending zone or vice versa.

Facts about Korfball

Country of origins: Netherlands
Equipment: Net, ball, court
Players on the court per team: 8 people per team.
Court layout: The size of the indoor court is 20 m × 40 m. The court is divided into halves called zones. In each zone is a 3.5 m tall post with a basket at the top.

Other sports are part of korfball: Basketball and netball

Aim: To extract DNA from Bananas.

Equipment:

• Bananas
• Ziploc Bag
• Dish soap / detergent
• Salt
• Water
• Filter
• Ethanol
• Popsicle stick

Method:

That Youtube video

• Smash the bananas in the Ziploc bag.
• In a separate cup, put 2 teaspoons of dish soap and put half a teaspoon of salt and add a half a cup of water. Then stir it.
• Put the dish soap into the Ziploc bag and mix it.
• Add the banana mixture to a filter cup to separate the chunks.
• Pour an equal amount of alcohol in the mixture.
• Use a Popsicle stick or something similar to extract the DNA.

Results:

The result is that this bloke here has successfully extracted the DNA from the banana. He is being too jolly from extracting DNA.

Discussion:

The DNA appears to be slimy, white, mush banana in my opinion but only because we might’ve screwed up. If we used a different fruit or vegetable, then I think the DNA would still look the same because I think that all DNA looks the same.

What is the role of the detergent in the experiment? We need the detergent so that it dissolves the fatty molecules that hold cell membranes together, which releases the DNA into the solution.