Chineses Internet Boot Camp

Internet "boot camps" have been set up throughout Asia. The hope being, to get teens off the internet and into "real" life. The number of teenagers in Asia who are addicted to the internet has been increasing every year. Some play online games, such as "World of Warcraft" and some play others. There are actually whole apartment buildings which are "gamer" buildings. Teenagers, and others live here, and rarely leave. Until recently, physical abuse was accepted at these camps. This was until a boy was beaten to death by his superior. Teenagers are forced to replace time in front of a monitor with hard physical work. Many camps even have a  military feel to them. The ministry released a written guide to the hours spent on computers. In most camps, physical punishment is accepted. This method has had an outstanding percentage drop in internet usage. The Chinese Government has already blocked the usage of electric shock therapy. Deng Senshan was killed after only hours at the camp. This was after being severely beaten by a sergeant.

Chinese teenagers have taken internet usage to another level. Internet is a great tool when used in doses. People have taken this too far. I think that in the Asian culture they must encourage the youth in particular to be active, watch, play sports. Do anything, just not on the computer all day. These people need some serious help, and are getting it the hard way. The World Wide Web is a revolutionary tool which changed the world. Apparently, it can also change the world for the best.

Iceberg Spotted Off Of... Australia?

It is said that 90% of icebergs are located under water. These icebergs float around on either poles of the world. These icebergs can be extremely large. A "small" iceberg was spotted off of the southern coast of Australia. It is very rare for an iceberg to be spotted this far north. The iceberg is 50 meters high, and 500 meters long, above water. Scientists believe that this iceberg broke off of the Antartica's Ross Ice Shelf, in between 2000, and 2002. It was spotted off the Northern coast of Macquarie Island about 1500 km north southeast of Tasmania. Several icebergs have been moving north into warmer water in the past couple years, but none this large, and that have lasted this long. Scientists believe that the iceberg will break up and melt as it moves north. However, it could cause danger for oncoming ships. In 2000, several large icebergs broke off of Antartica's Ross Ice Shelf and the Ronne Ice Shelf. The first one was 37 km wide, and 300 km long. Icebergs are formed when ice shelfs develop. Snow falls on the ice, forms more layers of ice. Pieces of ice around the side sometimes break off.

People often think that icebergs are far away, to the north and south, and they are. But, they have the ability to travel towards the center of the Earth if they get caught in a flow of water. It is unreal that one has almost made its way up to Australia. Some people may think that this is caused by Global Warming, but I think that this is a normal occurrence.

Pilots Fly 240Km Past Destination

Two North-West Airline pilots overflew their destination (Minneapolis) during a routine flight. They flew 30 minutes past Minneapolis before the pilots noticed their mistake. After safely landing, no passengers actually noticed that they had overflown their destination. The crew told the Federal Aviation Administration that they had been having a heated argument over airline policy when they had finally realized. Federal officials are inquiring whether fatigue was involved. The pilots only realized when a stewardess spoke to them through the intercom to the cockpit. It was flight 188, Airbus A320. The flight was from San Diego to Minneapolis. There were 144 passengers and 5 crew. The pilots dropped off the radio at 7pm, and received again at 8pm. The FAA was notified and readied 4 of its planes.

         People should start concentrating on what they are doing rather then try and accomplish multiple tasks at once. Not on an airplane, but people have tons of things which may disrupt us such as cell phones, ipods, computers and tv. People must push through this and complete the task at hand

The Oasis of The Sea

The Oasis of the Sea is the world's largest cruise ship ever. It rises twenty stories high, and just passed  underneath the Great Belt Fixed Link with a slim margin as it left the Baltic Sea. Bridge Opperators say that even after lowering its smokestacks and telescopes, the boat only cleared under the bridge by half a meter. Hundreds of people sat on the beaches watching the largest ship ever built pass by them. Company Officials are banking on its novelty to guarantee success. Five times larger then the Titanic, the ship cost 1.5 billion dollars to build. It has seven neighbourhoods, an ice rink, a golf course, and a 750 seat outdoor amphitheater. It has 2 700 cabins and can hold 6 300 people, and 2 100 crew. Including loft cabins, with floor to ceiling windows, and 487 meters squared of space. The ship has 4 swimming pools, basketball courts and volleyball courts, with even an amusement park for children. It is nearly 40% larger then the companies next largest ship. It has over 12 000 plants on board.

I think that it is unbelievable that we as humans are capable of creating such a massive thing. The fact that it has a golf course on it is ridiculous as well. I think that this ship will bring in huge money.

Pirates Attack British Yacht

A British man and his wife have been kidnapped after their yacht was high jacked by Somali pirates while they were sleeping. The  pirates crept aboard at night with guns while the couple was sleeping and demanded money. Locals say that they saw two speed boats with pirates on them accompanied by 2 white people (the couple). The pirates took everything of value on the boat, and kept asking for money. They were then met at the harbour by 30 other pirates in 6 luxury yachts. Family and friend of the couple have pleaded for their release saying that they have the wrong people. The couple had taken early retirement, and had gone on several six month spells on the sea. They had previously sailed to: the Greek Islands, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Oman, Yemen, India, the Maldives, and the Seychelles. The couple was on an eight to twelve day sail down to Tanzania. The high jacking of vessels has become a large industry in Somalia.

I think it is ridiculous that no one has fought against this yet. Someone should say that this is enough and go into Somalia and stop the pirating of ships. In other occurrences even the United States Government has bargained with the pirates for a vessel back.