Tuskan Times Volume 6 Issue 1 by ISF-Florence

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

What’s in this issue TRUMP WATCH SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 3 HIS HOLINESS IN FLORENCE, 6 CLUELESS POLITICS: GERMAN FEDERAL ELECTION, 8 NEW HUMANS OF ISF, 9 THE CATALAN STRUGGLE, 10 THE ANSWER IS BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND, 14 SCHOOL OF STYLE: IS RED THE NEW BLACK?, 15 MAY IN FLORENCE, 16 FILM REVIEW: KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, 18 AN INTERGALACTIC LIFE AND DEATH, 19 BIKES FOR ALL!, 20

STAFF Editor-in-Chief

Nicholas Accattatis

Co-Editors

Isabella Lovalvo Joseph Donat Bolton

Layout Editors

Francesca Fanfani Joseph Donat Bolton

Artists

Eva Vaynshteyn Grace Ihle

Advisor

John Pitonzo

Cover by Eva Vaynshteyn Back cover by Grace Ihle

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TRUMP WATCH SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER By Isabella Lovalvo

Trump’s rollercoaster presidency continues with several new developments.

Trump Administration Announces End to DACA period but considering no new applications from individuals not previously protected under the Program

program. The failure of Congress to find a soluIn early September, Jeff Sessions, on behalf tion would mean an estimated 300,000 losing of the Trump Administration, announced the their status starting in March of 2018. decision to rescind DACA, placing the future of an estimated 800,000 people in uncertainty. Trump, who in his 2016 presidential campaign Sessions, a long-time opponent of the program, promised to repeal DACA on “day one” of his first implemented by the Obama Administration presidency, stated that the issue will be solved in June of 2012 and granting certain individuals with “heart and compassion,” but that the who illegally entered the country as minors pro- solution will provide “enduring benefits for the tection from deportation for a renewable period American citizens”, maintaining his “America of time as well as eligibility for work permits, First” rhetoric. The announcement has sparked attempted to justify the decision by stating that criticism and outrage from many, including Senathe program “denied jobs to hundreds of thou- tor Bernie Sanders, who called Trump’s decision sands of Americans” and “contributed to a surge “the ugliest and most cruel ever made by a presof minors at the southern border with humani- ident in modern history.” tarian consequences.” The Administration has, however, given Congress House Passes Trumpcare Bill with Complications six months to find a viable solution, in the meantime receiving and renewing applications from On the 4th of May, the House of Representatives those whose protections would expire within the voted to pass the American Healthcare Act, in a

Page 4 - The Tuskan Times, October 2017 narrow vote of 217-213. The move has garnered criticism from many, as at the time of the vote, the final version of the bill had not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Two previous versions had already been scored, but the final version contains a three page amendment that will add eight billion dollars to the bill. Rep. Fred Upton, who introduced the amendment, states that the new amendment “was narrow changes to the bill,” and that the final version will still be “perfectly in compliance with Senate budget rules.” Additionally, another amendment, the MacArthur amendment, which gained the AHA the support of all but one member of the Freedom Caucus after its addition, has not yet been scored. Though these amendments are short in length, they could carry enormous significance for the future of Trumpcare. If the CBO score, not yet released, is shown to be too high, the House may have to rework the bill and even hold a revote. With its narrow passing the first time around, a second vote could make the future of Trumpcare uncertain.

Trump Issues New Travel Restrictions With the expiration of Trump’s controversial order restricting entrance into the US by nationals from Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iran, and Somalia, the president revealed a new set of travel restrictions he hopes to set into place in October. The new “ban” covers eight countries, seeing the removal of Sudan and the addition of Chad, Venezuela, and North Korea, the last of which’s addition is thought to stem from the growing tensions between the two countries and their leaders.

In a tweet discussing the new order, Trump wrote, “Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” while the White House stated that the new order is a “critical step toward establishing an immigration system that protects Americans’ safety and security in an era of dangerous terrorism and transnational crime.” The decision has, however, been seen as controversial by many, and its legality is expected to be challenged in the US Supreme Court in the weeks to come.

Administration Officials Found to Have Conducted Government Work on Private Email Servers Reports have surfaced that at least six members of the Trump Administration, among them Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, used private email servers to discuss and carry out government-related business. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, as well as Jared Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed the allegations, with the latter stating that “fewer than 100 emails from January through August” had been sent from or received on Kushner’s account and claiming that they mostly consisted of “forwarded news articles or political commentary.”

In response to allegations against Ivanka Trump, the White House did not deny her use of a private email server but instead claimed she was not at the time an administration official. The New York Times later reported that this was incorrect and that Trump maintained her usage of a non-governmental account Travel restrictions will vary between countries, as as a formal member of the administration. in some, such as North Korea, nationals will be completely blocked from entering the country, while in others, such as Iran, entrance will be In response to the announcement, Representgranted after “enhanced screening and vetting ative Elijah Cummings, top Democrat on the requirements” are met. A significant change House Committee on Oversight and Government from his previous ban, the order will not expire Reform, has written a letter to FBI Director after ninety days and will instead remain for an Christopher Wray, requesting “that the Federal indefinite amount of time. Bureau of Investigation conduct a security review to determine whether any classified or sensitive

The Tuskan Times, October 2017 - Page 5 information was transmitted or stored on private has never seen before,” prompting North Korea email accounts...by senior White House officials.” to threaten Guam. Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose private email scandal earned her much criticism from Trump and perhaps played a role in his victory in the 2016 Presidential Election, has called the Trump staffers’ actions “the height of hypocrisy.”

Trump and Kim Jong-Un Butt Heads Over North Korean Nuclear Program Tensions have been and continue rising between the two countries and their leaders over North Korea’s nuclear program. After reports by the Washington Post in late August that North Korea would “be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year,” President Trump responded by stating that future threats “would be met with fire and fury and frankly, power, the likes of which this world

Image courtesy Wikimedia

Tensions have continued throughout the following months, with Trump, in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September, threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea if it were necessary to defend the United States or its allies, also calling Kim Jong-Un “Rocket Man.” On 23 September, in a show of force, US bombers flew “further north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone than ever before this century,” according to reports by the Telegraph, prompting North Korean officials to respond by calling a preemptive attack on the United States’ mainland “inevitable.” On 7 October, Trump tweeted that twenty-five years of negotiations with North Korea “haven’t worked”, adding at the end that “only one thing will work.” The situation remains ongoing.

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HIS HOLINESS IN FLORENCE By Grace Ihle

fter a 20 year gap between visits, Florence was once again host to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, this month, who made a brief stop in the city to open this year’s edition of the Festival delle Religioni (Festival of Religions). Over 6,000 attendees made the event one of Florence’s biggest and most important for this entire year, and coming just days before the impromptu visit of British Prime Minister

Theresa May, marked the beginning of a week of global media attention for the city. As a recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, the Dalai Lama is a global symbol of peace and compassion. Following the event’s theme, “La Pace attraverso l’Educazione” (Peace Through Education), he opened the event together with the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella (Pd), who

The Tuskan Times, October 2017 - Page 7 awarded him with the Sigillo His point was essentially that della Pace from the city of Flor- this should be the case for all ence. countries. He pointed out that humans are the only species for which war exists. He stated that no other mammals fight and destroy with such intention (to the extreme of nuclear war), and that this is because of our high intelligence. However, the Dalai Lama didn’t blame our tendency of destruction on our intelligence, rather the fact that we organize ourselves based on our intelligence, and not on our hearts. Next, he talked about the importance of uniting and coming together as much as possible. He then stated that the European Union is an excellent example of nations uniting despite their differences, with the intention of retaining peace through cooperation, because the way he sees it, the whole comes first, and the individual comes second. After having listed mostly just resolutions for which we should strive, the Dalai Lama brought up a good point about real changes we can make to see peace reflected in the world around us. First, true change starts from within. Once we achieve peace as individuals, it seeps into our families, and furthermore, our communities. Tying back to the overarching topic His Holiness began by citing of education, he claimed that Article 11 of the Italian Consti- modern education systems are tution, which states that Italy inadequate to inspire peace cannot use war as a way to set- in young students. They focus tle international disputes, and only on material concepts, but that it supports organisations should instead focus on inner that strive to “ensure peace value. For his last point, he and justice among nations”. proposed that countries should

start working towards peace by denuclearizing themselves and reducing their offensive forces until eventually countries no longer are in need of militaries at all, just special forces; achieving peace will only come from dialogue, not force. There is a lot to consider in this message, but there are probably very few people that would disagree with what the Dalai Lama said, because very few people do want war and chaos. So the question is not so much, “Do I agree with what he said?” as it is “What would make this argument more complete?” Perhaps one of the weaker elements of his talk was his lack of suggestions on the immediate steps that you or I could take right now. He had plenty of eventual solutions for worldwide problems, but he did not give his listeners anywhere to start, nor highlight specific ways for educators to teach their students about inner value. Obviously, time and attention constraints are important to think about as well, because there is no way that the Dalai Lama would have been able to share his thoughts on everything. That being said, it may be the case that he just wants to give people a goal to work towards, leaving the method up to them so that they can come up with their own plan and cooperate. In any case, the event was an enlightening experience that will hopefully inspire people to think about peace and the means of achieving it.

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CLUELESS POLITICS: GERMAN FEDERAL ELECTION By Grace Ihle

Welcome to Clueless Politics, a Tuskan Times segment for people who are too confused to understand politics and its many, many layers. In this segment, I’ll answer the questions that many of us are too embarrassed to ask, and help the clueless to understand the world’s most pressing issues. I promise not to use confusing acronyms, worthless numbers, or fancy political vocabulary. If I can understand it, anyone can! These past couple years have been jam-packed with man elections and its results is understanding the tons of important elections all over the world. 2016 coalitions. A coalition is basically a team made up was the year of Brexit and the United States’ presof different parties that ,controls the federal govidential election. The French presidential election ernment together if they accumulate the majority dominated early 2017, and now, September has of the vote. The most popular team over the past brought us the election for the German Bundestag couple has been the “Grand Coalition”, comprised of the CDU and SPD, which are – in the words of (Parliament). dw.com -, “the two parties that most Germans conAccording to MyGermanCity.com, Germany is a sider safe options for a competent government.” “chancellor democracy,” meaning that instead of Another major coalition is the Jamaica coalition, directly electing the head of the government, the named for the combination of the parties’ reprepublic just votes for the people that then do so. sentative colors that resemble the colors of the The role of the chancellor is to be in charge of the Jamaican flag. This coalition is made up of the CDU, executive branch–the federal government. They the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green establish all the government’s policies, and they party. With the FDP and the Green party being choose who’s in the federal cabinet. The cabinet “centre-left” parties , this coalition is considered has to follow the guidelines that are set by the the least disturbing to right-wing ideals out of all the liberal coalitions. While there are more coalichancellor. tions out there, these two have always been most Running for her fourth term as chancellor, Angela prominent. That is, until the elections uncovered a Merkel continued to represent the Christian Dem- sour surprise for Germany in the form of a rising ocratic Union of Germany (CDU). While several far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). They other parties also ran against her, the biggest nearly acquired enough votes to join the parliacompetitor was the Social Democratic Party (SPD), ment last term, and this term finally broke through, represented by Martin Schulz. Merkel’s political winning seats in what was the best result for a farstanding is what’s called “centre-right” meaning right party since the Second World War. her values and her policies are more conservative and traditional, supporting lower taxes and trying to reduce unemployment. Schulz’s party, the SDP, is “centre-left”, meaning liberal, less traditional, and largely a representative of the working class. They want Germany to attract more skilled labor from immigrants, whereas the CDU wants to work with neighboring countries to try and reduce immigration, as well as deporting those who have failed to seek asylum (legal protection) from Germany. One big component to understanding the Ger-

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NEW HUMANS OF ISF By Vittoria Cecchini

Lucia Dalle Piaggie

they both offer the IB diploma, but in comparison to my old school, ISF is much bigger, more Where are you from? I’m half Italian, half British. My mom is British diverse and situated in a more metropolitan city, and dad Italian. I lived in Shanghai for seven which I think is really nice. years, studying at an International school, before moving here. Why did you move here? Because my dad’s job got moved back here in Italy. My father is from Lucca and we went back to his home town. What are the key differences between ISF and the school you attended before? At the school that I attended before, the campus was a lot bigger, and there were less people in my year. It’s so different. We had a house system like in Harry Potter, where we would have to go to take attendance each morning. We had a lot of Isabella de Mori activities we had to do after school. I like it here because everyone is really friendly and it’s more Where are you from? I’m from Los Angeles, California. Why did you move here? I moved here because my brother and my sister both actually went to ISF, so I wanted to have the experience they had. Also because I wanted to do the IB Diploma, and even if I know it’s going to be really hard, I am glad that I’m doing it. What are the key differences between ISF and the school that you attended previously? The work that we do is harder since in the US we don’t have the IB Diploma, and the responsibilities we have here are greater. I really love the environment of the school, the villa we are studying in seems unreal. The students are all relaxed. extremely nice and they all have been welcomNino Mandola ing. Where are you from? I’m originally from Texas, USA. Why did you move? It has always been a family dream to live in Florence. And I am so excited to be here! Everything is amazing. What are the key differences between ISF and the school that you attended previously? Before I was attending the international School of Turin. The two schools are very similar because

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THE CATALAN STRUGGLE

By Joseph Donat Bolton, cartoon by Eva Vaynshteyn

Image courtesy Wikimedia

he definition of what constitutes a nation is a very complicated and divisive topic. Some might say that all UN member-states are countries, and that all countries must be members of the UN. Few (save a few North Korean and Taiwanese) would disagree with the first point,

but many will find issue with the 2nd. What about the Vatican City State, people might ask. A nation entirely surrounded not just by Italy, but also by the capital city of Italy, Rome — a capital within a capital. The Vatican is not and has never been a full member of the UN, yet it

is widely considered to be a country. What about Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, and is now recognised by over half of the UN members, including 3 out of 5 P5 members, and 23 out of 28 EU member states (Most notably not including Spain).

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Okay, so perhaps this definition doesn’t work, but what are the deciding factors for what constitutes a sovereign state? The Montevideo Convention states that a state should possess the following: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government,

and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. This seems fairly reasonable, and (save few completely failed states) every country seems to follow it. (As always, there is a strange exception: in this case, it takes the form of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a sover-

eign entity with no territory of its own, but that’s a story for another time!) Catalonia has had a strenuous relationship with Spain since the Spanish Civil War and the takeover of Franco, who culturally and linguistically oppressed the Catalonian people, who until

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then had always had a separate language, Catalan, and their own distinct culture. After the fall of fascism in Spain, Catalonia was given large amounts of autonomy under the new constitution – autonomy that it kept until just a few weeks ago. The President of the lan Region, Carles Puigdemont (Pronounced Puij-de-

Cata-

mon) with his party, and the other pro-independence parties promised a referendum on independence no later than the 17th of September in the lead-up to the 2015 Regional Election. While this deadline was not quite respected, the referendum was held on the 1st of October, despite immense pressure from the Spanish government for it not to go ahead, who deployed the National Police to the region in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the vote from going ahead. Violence between pro-independence forces ensued, but the vote went ahead and over 90% of those who voted ended up voting in favour of leaving Spain, albeit allegations that the vote was not conducted properly ensued. The Catalan government declared independence soon after the vote, and the Spanish government dismissed Puigdemont together with the rest of his cabinet, and soon enough summoned

them to court on charges of sedition, rebellion, and embezzlement. The former President fled to Brussels, where he remains – after handing himself over to the Police so that they could serve the European Arrest Warrant issued by Spain, a Belgian judge ordered his release. Spain re-asserted its power in the region and for now Catalonia continues as a Spanish region just as before – minus its autonomy. During Catalonia’s brief period of independence not a single foreign nation recognised it as a sovereign state, despite a fake Twitter account posing as the Gambian Foreign Ministry saying that it was. An account followed by the Gambian President’s official account, while the real one was not. Despite this, as a representative of the Gambian Foreign Ministry said while speaking to a Tuskan Times representative, “it’s a lie, it’s a lie!”. Catalonia met all the above requirements for a state to exist: it had a population, it had its own territory, a government, and it was able to negotiate with other countries; yet no other country recognised its independence. But why? Most countries would prefer not to anger Spain, given that it is a major economic power, and given that it was also backed by the European Union, one of the world’s largest trading blocs, there was no benefit in it to recognise it. In cases such as that of Serbia and Russia, recognising it would also con-

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tradict their position on Kosovo. For Ukraine this situation is similar to that in Crimea – a territory occupied by Russian forces, that voted almost unanimously to leave Ukraine, but with accusations of the vote being conducted illegally.

independence from the rest of the island, as well as previously mentioned Ukraine, may choose to not recognise Kosovo and other breakaway states as they see similarities with their own situations. In the run-up to the Scottish referendum in 2014 there was much rumour that Spain would This leads us back to our first question veto a newly independent Scotland’s bid – what are the requirements for a coun- to enter the EU as they feared that it try to be a country, and why are some could lead to Catalonia doing the same. not recognised by others? I intentionally didn’t mention Taiwan’s status before We can thus see that in order for a now as it is a very complicated historical nation to be recognised it must not only and legal issue, but any nation recognis- meet requirements set forth before, but ing Taiwan can effectively forget having that recognising it must not put another good relations with China, and as such country at a disadvantage, be it economthe number of nations recognising Tai- ically or politically. For now, the number wan has gradually dwindled to be only of UN members will remain at 193, but 20. Nations such as Cyprus, where the who knows what the future might hold… northern half of the island has declared

Image courtesy Wikimedia

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THE ANSWER IS BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND By Zoë Genschel

… or in the recent case of Hurricane Irma, across the Atlantic ocean and straight onto Miami. Aside from being the strongest hurricane ever recorded, Irma sparked controversy when many began asking why America had been struck with the second Atlantic Category 4 hurricane within a single season. While Trump continues to largely ignore global warming, some scientists are instead pounding the alarm. Irma was only able to grow to its full potential due to an increase in the sea’s surface temperature, a phenomenon caused by global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that they expect global sea surface temperatures to rise by approximately 0.4 – 1.1°C by 2025. This is the main factor in creating storms of previously unknown strengths like Irma. Another concern is voiced by Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric sciences professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who published a paper discussing the relevance of global warming in connection to hurricanes. The paper states, “As the climate continues to warm, hurricanes may

intensify more rapidly just before striking land, making hurricane forecasting more difficult.” This is not a coughed up theory, as he analyzed the evolution of 6,000 simulated storms, comparing them under past conditions of the 20th century. The terrifying part is that using the collected data,

This is left to future “work. I think humans

have changed the odds quite a bit.”

-Prof. Kerry Emanuel, MIT

he made a prediction which states that by the end of the 21st century, if greenhouse gas emissions continue rising, a storm that increases its intensity by 111 km/hr in 24 hours could come every 5 to 10 years. In comparison, Irma’s maximum recorded speed was 295 km/h. The following statistics show on one hand the annual frequency of North Atlantic tropical storms and on the other hand global temperature increases. Can you spot the pattern?

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SCHOOL OF STYLE: IS RED THE NEW BLACK? By Beatrice Berni

rom Prada to Moschino, this year’s fashion week screamed “RED!” Yes, this word might sound intimidating for most, but try considering red your new energy drink and boost of confidence. It doesn’t, however, end here; this fall is the season to experiment with colors, patterns and most of all, fabrics! Throw away your basic white t-shirt and replace it with florals. Floral dresses, skirts, and shirts are the perfect go-to outfits for all the secretly romantic girls.

buying a new coat or taking out your favourite camo parka, that will definitely be trending this fall. Finally, let’s not forget about the good old jean jacket, a classic that we will be seeing a lot this fall. If you think that jeans jackets are boring, don’t worry, because puffer-jackets will keep you warm and make you look super cute at the same time.

I also found some shops online where you can go crazy with your shopping and never go out Remember the overalls we all used to wear as of style. Some of my favorites: FreePeople.com, kids, made out of that “strange material”? Well, UrbanOutfitters.com and Asos.com. that’s corduroy, and for all the vintage lovers out there, yes, it is back…and it’s LOUD! From jackets to skirts, from pastels to neons, corduroy will soon make an appearance on your instagram feed. If you are not a fan, don’t worry, there are To sum it up, always remember: 1) Red is the new black plenty of interesting fabrics that you can rock this 2) It’s all about the florals fall. Velvet is in fact the new matte. What’s more 3) One love, two digits: The 70’s cozy and cute than your favorite burgundy velvet 4) Velvet is the new matte dress? Velvet can be styled from day to night, and 5) Berets and hoop earrings will this fall it will make its appearance in the form of become your best accessories bandanas and hats. Since the temperatures will drop down this October, it is also time to consider

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MAYBy IN FLORENCE Joseph Donat Bolton

s the news crews amassed in the square, the sirens from the Police cars reverberated through the city, the snipers took aim, and the Military Police’s top anti-terrorism squad’s ground forces readied their machine guns, many locals were puzzled as to what was going on. Had there been a terrorist attack? Had there been a bomb threat? This was not Las Vegas, but was in fact Florence. In mid-September, Florence hosted British Prime Minister Theresa May for a flying visit so that she could deliver a key speech about the UK’s negotiating position for Brexit.

and designed only to keep critics of her inaction and unclarity quiet for a bit. The speech certainly attracted much attention from the British community in Italy, who mobilised to form a protest movement against Brexit, chanting and waving European flags in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Media crews from across the globe descended on Florence, many were British, such as the BBC and Sky News, but some came from as far as China and Many expected the speech to be the US. predominantly a filler, not providing much real information, In the speech May confirmed

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that there would be a transition period of around two years that would take effect after Article 50 had run its course in March 2019. This transition period would maintain the status quo in trade between the UK and the EU, and allow time for the British government to negotiate and implement a new deal between the two.

as a so called “divorce bill”. The Prime Minister said that Britain would contribute enough so that no other member-state had to pay extra into the EU’s coffers until 2020. This would amount to around €20Bn, but no exact figure was provided.

Republic of Ireland. The European Union has said that it expects Britain to solve this problem. May stated that the UK would not accept physical checkpoints on the disputed island, but failed to provide an alternate solution.

Overall the speech did not provide One area in which the speech fell much further clarity, and arguably short of the mark was finding a opened more questions than it Another key point was the amount solution to the issue of the border answered. of money that May offered Europe between Northern Ireland and the

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FILM REVIEW: KINGSMAN:ByTHE GOLDEN CIRCLE Clarissa Fraschetti

On the 21st of September 2017, Kingsman: The Golden The Kingsman franchise is a mixture between a good Circle, the sequel to the action and comedy movie King- spy-action movie and a Quentin Tarantino movie, which should create a perfect source of entertainment for any sman: The Secret Service, was released in Italy. fan of these genres. With the first chapter’s end scene in Plot A few years after the events of the first chapter, on the mind, we can consider the second chapter less absurd. night that Albert “Eggsy” Egerton, the main character Still, the cool and well built-up action scenes don’t take of Kingsman: The Secret Service, has a dinner with his basic physics principles in account. This doesn’t mean girlfriend’s parents, an unknown organization destroys that the result is bad, just that it is not for everyone. the Kingsman agency and their agents. Now, Eggsy and However, with a good music background, every action Merlin will have to stop the plans of The Golden Circle scene is made hilarious and catchy. and team up with the American secret agency, the The second chapter has all the characteristics of the Statesman. first one, such as psychopathic villains, good humor, and Main actors improbable action scenes that were again put together Atorn Egerton (Eggsy): An English young actor who has successfully. The majority of the main cast was changed already starred as the main character in Kingsman: The from Secret Service to Golden Circle, giving it a fresh Secret Service and Eddie the Eagle. He also has starred tone with the new American cast (made up of major in Testament of Youth. blockbuster actors) but somewhat creating a nostalgic Colin Firth (Harry Hart): Academy Award winner for tone over the many characters lost from the first installThe King’s Speech who has starred as a major characment. ter in blockbuster movies as Bridget Jones’ Diary, Love Actually, Mamma Mia!, Magic in the Moonlight, Nanny The cast always plays a crucial part in every good movie, McPhee, The Girl with the Pearl Earring and television and Golden Circle is no exception, as all characters (old series such as Pride and Prejudice. or new, major or minor) are blockbuster stars, such as Mark Strong (Merlin): Has already played a major charColin Firth, Julianne Moore, Pedro Pascal, Channing acter in Kingsman: The Secret Service and has starred Tatum, Halle Berry and many more. Cameos of other in blockbuster movies as Sherlock Holmes and The major actors such as Emily Watson, Jeff Bridges and Imitation Game. Bruce Greenwood also created a good atmosphere for Julianne Moore (Poppy): An Academy Award winner Hollywood fans. for Still Alice and Academy Award nominee for Far from Heaven, The Hours, At the End of a Story, and Boogie The humor was sometimes predictable but a few jokes Nights who has also starred in blockbuster movies such made the movie have the same humoristic action traits as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, Chloe, The as the first chapter, most notably, those including the English Teacher, Laws of Attraction and many others. famous singer Elton John as himself. These scenes Pedro Pascal (Wisckey): Known to Game of Thrones added a lot to the good base of the movie. In fact, Elton fans as Oberyn Martel, he is currently a major character John’s character created improbable, unexpected, and in Netflix Original Narcos. He also has starred in movies very comic scenes, side by side with some jokes and such as The Great Wall and The Adjustment Bureau. reference to his popular songs and uncommon dressing Minor parts played by famous actors: Channing Tatum style. Even though Golden Circle had some notable (Tequila), Jeff Bridges (Champ), Poppy Delevingne traits that build up a good movie, it still suffered from (Clara), Elton John (himself), Halle Berry (Ginger), Bruce some plot holes, as well a bit of a loss of originality that Greenwood and Emily Watson. played a major role in the first chapter.

Personal Comment

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AN INTERGALACTIC LIFE AND DEATH By Anaïs Delagneau

Titan, thanks to the Huygens lander — named after Christian Huygens, an astronomer who in 1654 discovered that the blob-like shape of Saturn was due to its rings — launched from Cassini on 14 January 2005 and gave scientists information for a total of three hours and forty-two minutes. Although this is a very short amount of The Spacecraft was named after Giovanni Cassini, time in space exploration terms, it gave impora 17th century astronomer who discovered Sat- tant information to researchers back on Earth. urn’s first four moons: Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, and Dione. Its creation was a joint project between The mission was originally supposed to end in NASA, the European Space Agency, and the 2008 but was extended because of its important Italian Space Agency, and cost an estimated $5 contributions to science. Cassini mapped the billion. The initial idea for Cassini’s creation came planet’s gravity and magnetic fields, estimated in 1982, when a group of scientists suggested the amount of material the rings contained, sending an atmospheric probe to Titan, one of and took pictures of Saturn up close. It discovSaturn’s many moons, because its chemistry is ered that the planet’s magnetic field is closely very similar to that present before life appeared aligned to its axis of rotation, which goes against on Earth. Its primary objectives were to look for everything we previously knew about magnetic more moons (in order to understand them) and fields and their generation. Even as it took its figure out the cause behind Saturn’s rings and suicidal plunge on the 15th of September, it sent information back to Earth before becoming their colors. nothing more than particles floating around the Cassini took flight on 15 September 1997, taking planet that it had studied for so many years. a total of seven years to reach Saturn. It orbited several planets in order to get a speed boost by Cassini’s death dive was intended to make sure taking advantage of the planets’ gravity, finally that the spacecraft would not contaminate a reaching Saturn on 30 June 2004. The mission potentially habitable moon, but for someone who is known for several discoveries such as finding craves a more poetic end, its final resting place is water on Saturn’s moon Enceladus in the form of the same one that we learned to love during the ice and tracking new moons for Saturn. Cassini extent of Cassini’s travels and discoveries. has discovered sixty-two new moons for Saturn as of 2012, as well as a giant methane lake on On 15 September 2017, the Cassini Spacecraft exploded into billions of dancing sparks, taking center stage of Saturn’s skies. This marked the end of Cassini’s twenty year mission and thirteen years of traveling along the rings of our solar system’s sixth planet.

Image: ESA/ NASA/JPL-Caltech

Page 20 - The Tuskan Times, October 2017

DESIGN YOUR BABY By Isabella Lovalvo

For the first time, a Chinese research team has employed “chemical surgery”, also known as base editing, to fix a harmful mutation in human embryos. Found in the beta thalassemia gene, this mutation usually results from a faulty base pairing, in which the base guanine is replaced

by adenine, and can give rise to a serious blood disorder. Invented by David Liu, base editing uses enzymes similar to those in well-known genetic editing tool Crispr-Cas9, but differs slightly in technique, changing individual bases as opposed to slicing through DNA helix strands.

The Tuskan Times, October 2017 - Page 21 those which contain one healthy allele and one The human genome contains two alleles, or cop- which carries the mutation. In some embryos, ies, of every gene. If a mutation is dominant, as is base editing could not fix the mutation in either the case with that found in the beta thalassemia allele. Researchers remain, however, optimistic about its future uses, calling the discovery “a highly significant advance” that could one day eradicate many heritable diseases and disorders. Much ethical controversy exists where genome editing, especially that of humans, is concerned. Though techniques such as those used in Crispr-Cas9 and base editing have the potential to eradicate diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disorder, they could also be used to modify future human beings in a plethora of ways. Many who question the ethicality of these so-called “designer babies” and fear the rise of a form of eugenics from the practice have called for a moratorium, while those on the other side of the argument believe that the benefits of human genome editing in preventing diseases will far outweigh possible detriments. gene, only one allele must carry it in order for it to manifest itself. The experiment found success to some extent, however, it was unable to completely eradicate the mutation from both copies, in many cases instead creating ‘mosaic embryos’:

As no genetically modified human embryo has yet been brought to term, the exact ramifications of human genome editing remain unknown for the moment, but the topic is expected to become hotly contested as scientists and researchers make further progress.

Page 22 - The Tuskan Times, October 2017

BIKES FOR ALL!

By Niccolò Platt

lorence has always been a tourist city, full of interesting attractions and exhibits. It hosts approximately 16 million people from around the globe each year, and consequently has to update and innovate its services, to satisfy the needs of its inhabitants. The newest innovative services introduced in Florence are the vehicle sharing companies, such as Car2Go and Enjoy. They have had a great amount of success, not only because they are extremely convenient, but also because they are very easy to use. This summer an additional company entered the Florentine vehicle sharing scene: the chinese bike sharing company Mobike. If you’ve ever been to the city center, it is impossible for you not to have seen one of the orange-wheeled bikes parked on the side of the street. There are hundreds of them parked around Florence, and they have been very successful so far, because they are easily accessible and can be found anywhere. The only thing you need to do to be able to cycle around town is download the app and enter your credit card. Then, you can effortlessly find a bicycle near you within a few taps on your phone’s screen, and after scanning the QR code on the bike, you can ride it wherever you want. At only 30 cents for half an hour, it is definitely the easiest, and cheapest way to get from one place to another, and there is no need to wait. Bike sharing is spreading across the many different countries in no time. London, for example, is already populated by five different companies, four of which were introduced in the past three months. As of today you can find Mobikes in more than 180 different locations,

including Manchester, London, Washington D.C., and Milano. Though there are several positive aspects to the service, there are a few downsides to consider that were noticed in some of the other cities. Reports of bikes being destroyed, thrown into canals, and poorly parked on the streets have been increasing.

The bikes are dockless, meaning that you can just lock them when you’re done using them and leave, instead of having to plug them into a station. This feature not only means that the vehicles are more accessible, but it also makes them mobile, and more vulnerable to wrongdoers. Therefore, people can damage or destroy the bikes just because it is possible for them to do. Another negative aspect, and perhaps the most important one, is that it could heavily damage bike rental businesses around the city. Mobikes cost less, and can be found and left anywhere, which is much more

convenient for cyclists. This endangers many of the bike rental shops around town, and could force them to close. Marika, owner of the bike rental shop “Florence by Bike”, has a different opinion on the issue. “ It is a very useful service, but I don’t think it will penalize my business. Mobike and bicycle rental shops have different objectives and functions: rentals are usually based on customers who rent for several days up to a week, while Mobikes are only used as a mode of transport from one place to another.” This may be true, but we’ll just have to wait and find out what will happen. Mobikes are very advantageous for tourists in Florence, because they enables them to move quickly from place to place in the city without having to wait in traffic or take a taxi, but they also affect the lifestyle of Florentine students very much. With the bus service in the city not being very reliable, because of the frequent strikes and late busses, being able to unlock a bike and get on your way in less than ten seconds is very beneficial. It saves time, exercises other-

The Tuskan Times, October 2017 - Page 23 wise sedentary kids, who are used to sitting at a desk all day, and lets them get a breath of fresh air. Sure, they might not be the most comfortable and relaxing mode of transportation, but they do their job, and work perfectly. “Mobikes are super, you can find them anywhere!” says Gabriele Lapi from Grade 10. It is known that students don’t usually bring incredible amounts of money with them when they step out of the house, that’s why having bikes available for 50 cents for half an hour, instead of having to spend 15 euros or more to go wherever you want in a taxi, is truly revolutionary. “They’re great! I love the idea of paying just 50 cents to get a bike.” says Alessandro Manfredi, also from Grade 10. In my personal experience with Mobikes, I noticed that they are not very enjoyable to drive, as they are heavy, hard to pedal, and do not have gears, but this doesn’t change the fact that they are very accessible and user friendly. As a student, I think that Mobike is exactly what I would be looking for in a bike sharing service, because it is a reliable and alternative way to get around town.