Argentina renationalizes YPF, an other fall for Spanish markets.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina's President or better known as "New Evita", introduced last week into Argentina's Congress her intention of expropriating 51% of YPF's shares, mainly owned by Spanish's petrochemical Repsol.

http://www.newstatesman.com/energy/2012/04/argentina-renationalises-state-oil-company

Although Repsol is trying to convince and calm the markets, stating that this decision does not deplete by any means the expansion plans that the company is already implementing, it has already had a harmful impact on the stock market.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e1584ae-8acd-11e1-b855-00144feab49a.html#axzz1syylcqVl

So what will the world's next step be? It seems as if the EU are studying a possible way to redirect The Pink House's decision.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/22/argentina-president-ypf-nationalisation

Take a look at this video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17810733

Taking from the rich is always popular politics, but is it always the right thing to do? Well, it seems as if Argentinians support the measure, but, is it actually legal, or at least morally correct?

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS!

Hunting in Botswana

Last Friday the king Juan Carlos I flew back to Spain from Botswana for surgery. Although the surgery went perfectly well, the important thing is that he had been in Africa with the intention of hunting elephants. This cruel sport is unfortunately still practised around Africa and Asia, but the question is, with the immense crisis Spain has, is it really necessary for him to waste all this crucial money?

Moreover, he knew it was something he shouldn’t be doing at this time of year because he kept it a secret. He would have liked to have kept it that way, but to do so, he should have tried harder not to fall down a step. However, his injury has not been enough to put a stop to what his citizens say about this event.

Do you think it’s politically correct to practise this sport while he sees how many people suffer and how some end up living in the streets? Do you think he has done wrong?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17730857

Jessica Vega Charged After Allegedly Claiming She Had Cancer To Get Dream Wedding

According to the CBS New york, “The state attorney general’s office announced Tuesday that Jessica Vega, 25, has been indicted on charges of fraud and grand larceny for getting her “dream wedding” by falsely claiming she was dying of leukemia.”

Jessica Vega, formerly of Montgomery, N.Y., was arrested in Virginia on April 3, extradited to New York and arraigned Friday in Orange County Court in Goshen. She pleaded not guilty.

Vega, then living in Montgomery, claimed she had just a few months to live and wanted a “dream wedding” to Michael O’Connell, father of her year-old daughter.
“Her cause spread quickly around the mid-Hudson region, helped by a story in the Times Herald Record. The newspaper said Vega showed a reporter what she said was a doctor’s letter confirming the diagnosis” Added the CBS New York.
It seems to me that Jessica Vega needed some money to pay her “dream wedding”, as she said she was dying of Cancer, but... is it true? Some strangers actually donated the wedding dress, the 2 rings and the honey moon. If convicted of fraud or grand larcen, Vega could be sentenced 16 months to four years in prison.

• What do you think? Is this fair enough for those couples who don’t have money?

• What would you do if you were one of those who donated money for her wedding?

• Should she be sentenced?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/04/10/jessica-vega-charged-after-allegedly-claiming-she-had-cancer-to-get-dream-wedding/



Alejandra Séculi

Is this some kind of joke?

As many of you might have heard, Jaume Matas ex-regional chief of Balearics has been found guilty of corruption.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/03/20/inenglish/1332254091_797176.html

However, this is not the only case of corruption within the last 2 years. There have been others, such as Millet, Camps or Núñez. Surprisingly, though, Matas is the only one to have gone to jail.

Is justice equal for everyone, as many politicians try to tell us? Can you really establish the amount of money stolen and if so, is it ever really given back? Is Matas a mere scapegoat, and if so, will all the other public figures involved be found guilty (such as Urdangarín)? Is our society some kind of joke?

So, what do you think?

92-year-old Banned from Marrying 17-year-old Bride

Love has no boundries... or so they say. It seems the Egyptian Ministry of Justice has established the limit according to the legal age gap between man and woman in marrriage, in order to protect youngsters. But shouldn't free will be taken into account? Well, in this case it's the parents who accepted, so, ultimately, it would appear the decision doesn't lie on her shoulders. The strong offer of riches and luxury does seem tempting, and who knows what difficult situation she could be in, but is it an excuse? Can we even judge? Should anyone judge?

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=26455

-Pablo Albanell

Kony 2012

So, you have all proabally heared about or seen the video Kony 2012.

For those of you who haven't, this video was made viral at the beggining of March, and rapidly became one of the most viewed videos of youtube, with more than 73 million viewers worldwide.

Joseph Kony is one of the world's largest criminals. Head of the LRA (a millitant group in Uganda that bases it's actions on the ten commandments) for 26 years, he has been arresting children in Uganda and forcing them to become sex slaves, kill their own parents and many other horrific things. What seemed to be the unknown Kony, has now become one of the most notorious men on earth, thanks to this video.

Many people have either awknowledged the video, or rejected it. Despite a generally positive approach to the it and the cause (arresting Kony), many people agree that this has just made him more famous. Others believe that this whole organization is just trying to make money. Others complain about the fact that Invisible Children (the founder of the mission) only dedicates 30% of their income to ugandanian children.

What do you think about this video and what impact has it made on you? Can Joseph Kony really be caught in 2012? Does the video contain different messages? Is this just a set up to promote Invisible Children? Do you really think a difference can be made?

Term 3 - take care!

For term 3, can you please ensure

that your spelling and grammar are

as good as possible - the blog has

been so successful that it is likely to

feature in Family Day this year. 

Term 2 'closed'

Well done on some excellent posts.

All posts after 3 March count towards
Term 3.

How will global warming affect my world?

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is our habitat:

And we are destroying it! We’re not concerned about the damage we are causing, and it isn’t because we aren’t informed, it is because the diffusion of responsibility. Everybody thinks it doesn’t matter if they do it, because someone else will do it, but they need to understand that everyone counts!. We have to take action, global warming is no longer a rumour, it is pure fact.

So are you concerned about the changes our world is suffering? What do you do to contribute for the reduction of wasting energy so less Green house gases are emitted to the atmosphere? (for example put a sweater instead of having the heater at full level). Do you think that the goverments of the great countries are doing enough in the reunions they have? (Kyoto)

This is the consequences it is having on the climate:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/6528979.stm

Comment below for your opinión!

Shangai, Before and after!!

It’s only take Shanghai 22 years to radically change it’s landscape to a one that benefits them more economically and that catches the eye of tourists and multinational companies. There is a very important relation between the expansion of Shangai and their usage of fossil fuels, and also in the increase in the population. Thanks to globalisation, Shanghai has become one of the most polluting cities in the world!

If it took twenty years for Shangai to develop till this point and to change so drastically in that amount of time how do you think that Shangai will look in 20 years from now? Do you think Shangai going to continue to develop? Are the Europeans staying behind? Do you think this is due to globalitzation?