Chile tourists 'held hostage' by protesters

World news
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/chile-tourists-hostage-protesters

Jan 18th 2011 by The Guardian | UK

Due to the protest against the fuel subsidies, tourists do not see another way but to escape to the airport, on foot with all their luggage, in an attempt to get home. Strikers are not only blocking roads as a protest, but set tires on fire as well. If you look at the picture you can see that those fires are really big. Some of the tourists say that they feel like hostages, and the protesters do indeed try to keep them like that.

It is a complete mess in southern Chile. The tourists can leave if they want, but in such a bad conditions that many of them are afraid to leave. The hotels are all full and their best option is to walk all the way to the Argentina border, but this is not without danger. They may end up in the middle of nowhere. When I read this kind of stories I am so glad that I am sitting on my couch with my family, nice and warm. I would not want to go there for a thousand euros.

Pamuk, Desai pull out of Sri Lanka literary festival

Literature
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12249305

Jan 21th 2011 by BBC News | UK

Orhan Pamuk and Kiran Desai have both won a prize for their novel, although they have pulled out of Sri Lanka’s main literary festival. The Turkish couple had to leave the festival due to another appointment in another country. This has made that they are not welcome to come back anymore. According to the tourist visa, they cannot enter the country within the next two months. The couple has announced that they are very disappointed about this and they are regretting the decision of the organisers of the festival.

The Jaipur Literature Festival in India is its most important one for literature, but is also  known for its free speech. It is hard in India to be a journalist or author. In the past year there has been many writers who have become victims by the current government. It is too bad that the prize winners are not allowed to come back, but the organizers do have tried to resolve the problems with the visa. I think it is a good thing that they have tried, but it is hard and often impossible in India to dissolve such problems.

Two forms of world's 'newest' cat, the Sunda leopard

Earth news, nature
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9369000/9369238.stm
Jan 22^th 2011 by The Guardian | UK

Scientist still do not know much about the evolution of the leopards, but they have found out that there is a new species of clouded leopards. There are two species that are very similar to each other, but new research has proved that there are differences between the leopard living in Asia and the one living on Borneo and Sumatra. It was until 2006 that was assumed that all leopards belonged to a single species. Although this seems to be something new, it is only a new discovery because the two species are thought to have diverged over one million years ago.

I did not understand what they meant in the article by saying ‘clouded leopards are the most elusive of all the big cats’. Why are they elusive when they have footage of the cat. Though I think that they mean to say that we still know so little about this species. We know a lot more about for example lions and tigers. I like this news and I like this kinds of discoveries. Further research has started now, by counting the number of leopards. They also have studied some skulls and fur coats and they have collected their DNA to study their genetic system.

Jo Yeates’ parents beg public to help catch her killer in case he strikes again

Home News Top Stories

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/01/18/jo-yeates-parents-beg-public-to-help-catch-her-killer-in-case-he-strikes-again-115875-22856928/

Jan 18^th 2011 by The Daily Mirror  | UK

Theresa and David Yeates are the unhappy parents of Jo. Jo was 25 years old when she disappeared and was murdered. She was found strangled near her flat in Bristol. Of course this is horrible and it is even more harsh that the murder is still out there. The desperate parents begged the public to help catch the killer, in case he murders again and to find peace in her death. Not only the parents, also the detectives increasingly believe there is someone who is deliberately keeping information behind. The call to the public was an extra attend to provoke a reaction and hopefully a few tips.

It is strange that a girl like Jo is murdered, but we do not know what has happened and we do not know with who she hang out. I hope the case will be solved, and that the action of her parents will have a positive result. Perhaps there is someone who knows more, we can probably say that for sure. There have to be people who know more about her death. We only do not know why she was murdered. It is very sad for her parents that they have lost their daughter.

How to be happy: a psychotherapist’s view

Psychology
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/18/how-to-be-happy-psychotherapist
Jan 18th 2011 by The Guardian | UK
The thesis of this article is: early relationships alter our brains before we learn to speak. The question is: how does that affect our happiness? Philippa Perry is looking for an answer.

First of all, there is a simple set of instructions that guarantees happiness. It is a fact that a set of unique relationships and experiences form us to the shape we are in now. Next to that we all have a unique combination of genes, but there are several underlying principles that can help us as well. If you want to know them, you can read the article.


When we are born, our parents or caregivers have a very important role in the forming of our brains. They have to teach us how to act and react in relation with other people to make us successful in life. This process of growing up is a very important process, as our brains are still developing. For example, if some of the moods we can have are punished or ignored, the trouble can arise later on in life.
You can compare it with playing the piano, when someone learns this at a young age, all the connections in the brain can still be made easily. When someone wants to learn to play the piano at an older age, this takes more effort. It is the same with pathways in the brain that are necessary for a person to learn to control their selves. The main lesson of this article is that the brain develops so slowly that most of the patterns for how you feel are formed before you can reason with yourself and others. The first two years are the most critical for this. But it is not too late if you had an unhappy childhood, the brains are flexible and later on in life you can change the chemistry in your head to make the connections. If you want to know how you do that, you can read it in the article.

I have already heard before, from my mother, that this process of growing up is very important. I have known somebody who was adopted and was completely disturbed in all of his relationships. It is sad but true that someone can have the bad luck and can suffer a life long from the mistakes that were made when they were little kids.

Colin Firth on being Prince Albert in The King’s Speech

Entertainment, movieshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12093065
Jan 6th 2011 by BBC News | UK

Colin Firth plays a royal stuttering king, King George VI, in The King’s Speech. The story starts in 1925 when Prince Albert, known as Bertie, and the future King George VI, has to prepare a speech at Wembley Stadium. Since his childhood he is afflicted by a stammer and the speech that he has to give, will be broadcasted live across the Empire. Bertie is very nervous because he cannot talk comfortable and freely in front of a public. In the movie he is helped to get rid of his stutter.

Nice to know: Colin Firth has listened to some of the old records of the King to get a hang of stuttering.

I have not seen this movie yet, but I am going to watch it soon. It seems to be a movie with nice pictures of the castle and I hope that the movie can tell a good story about the royal family in that time. It is also interesting to see how someone tries to overcome a stuttering problem. We often find it humiliating to see someone stutter, but they cannot help their selves. We also have to keep in mind that the radio was a mass medium, which was very popular back in the time. The television was not yet invented. The speech that Bertie gives will turn into a complete disaster.

Boeing delays 787 Dreamliner delivery date again

Business
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12217975
Jan 18th 2011 by BBC News | UK

Boeing 787 has postponed the delivery date for the first of its new 787 Dreamliners again. This time the date is set on the third quarter of 2011. The plane has been plagued by problems since 2008. This time the delay is due to an on-board fire which forced the company to halt the test flight of past November. Boeing originally wanted to deliver their first plane in May 2008, so they are already three years overdue. Especially in 2010 the company has bad full-year results due to the Dreamliner-project. Besides that, also the company’s image and reputation have been damaged.

When you keep in mind that Boeing wanted to deliver their first Dreamliner plane in May 2008, you can understand how big the delay is. I am wondering what the total costs are because of this delay. The full-year results end up to be pretty bad. The question raises: was this investment in the Dreamliner worth all this trouble? But we could never foresee it. I hope the company survives all the setbacks, because there is already a list of ordered Dreamliners. 

A new casebook for Sherlock Holmes

Literature
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/18/sherlock-holmes-anthony-horowitz
Jan 18th 2011 by The Guardian | UK

When there is going to appear a new novel of the all known Sherlock Holmes, a lot of questions are raised. The Conan Doyle estate has chosen a pack of writers to write a new Holmes novel. So Holmes is not dead. The new novel will be released this September (2011). But what mysteries should he tackle? What new cases do we need Sherlock Holmes to solve? The story is supposed to become ‘a first-rate mystery for a modern audience while remaining absolutely true to the spirit of the original.’

What new cases do we need Sherlock Holmes to solve? Photograph: Alamy

A new novel in the Sherlock Holmes series: I am not so sure whether that will be a success. do not think that a newly written modern novel can ever be as good as the original stories. The style of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author and creator of Holmes, cannot be imitated or copied with the same result. I even think it is arrogant to think that you can Holmes let live on. His creator is dead and Holmes only lives in his stories.

Nicole Kidman announces baby born through surrogate

Celebritieshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12213615

Jan 18th 2011 by BBC News |UK

Nicole Kidman, and her husband Keith Urban, have announced that they have become parents to a new baby daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban. The baby is born with a surrogate mother, but it is their biological daughter. The new baby is a sister for Sunday Rose, born in 2008. Kidman also has two adopted children with her ex-husband, Tom Cruise.

I noticed that the facts were not very correctly overgebracht(message). I thought it was weird to write in the article on which date and where the middle daughter was born but to mention only in which year the oldest daughter was born, not where. The second born is mentioned with her fully last name, which is not unusual to do with a newborn, the eldest daughter is mentioned with only her forename.

A challenge to Cowen

Irish politicshttp://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/01/irish_politics

Jan 18th 2011, by The Economist online | DUBLIN

The general elections of Ireland will soon take place; most expect them to be in March. Fianna Fáil governs Ireland in coalition with the Green Party. They will decide tonight, January 17th, whether Brian Cowen should be send away or kept as a party leader of Fianna Fáil. It looks bad for him but he has some chances to stay prime minister and lead the party into the election. Ireland still remains in bad weather as far as their economic is concerned and the problems seem to get only worse instead of better. There is a money gap of €85 billion for the bail-out agreement.

As I said it is unknown whether Mr Cowen may stay as a prime minister, though he has a good chance to pull through tonight. A recently published book revealed that previously there had been contacts between the prime minister and Sean FitzPatrick, then chairman of Anglo Irish Bank in 2008. ‘This was some months before the government introduced a blanket guarantee for the liabilities of the Irish Bank.’ Of course this sort of information gets the attention of many. It seems to have all the signs of a dirty case and perhaps Mr. Cowen is  not completely innocent.