Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel
Issue 3 April 2008
1â‚Ź
Le Bilingue
Le Bilingue Team New President & Life and Style Editor Noura Ayria, 1.IB New Century Issues Editor Patricia Schouker, 2°2 Pre-Production Editor Mary Ann Toman-Miller, 2°7 School News Editor Michael Valinsky, 3°2 Features Editor Annabelle Blackburn, 3°7 Front Cover photo Patricia Shouker 2°2 Advisor Mrs. Elliot Le Clainche Past president and advisor Emily de Koning, Ter.IB Révision M. Bennis
SCHOOL NEWS
INAUGURATION DAY of the Annenberg Center of Arts and Science CROWNED A SUCCESS Saturday December 15th was a special day at Bilingue. Students, parents, alumni, and school staff gathered together to celebrate the opening of the school’s new science building. Now, what made this day so special? A wide range of activities were offered ranging from hearing our teachers’ music to eating food from all over the world, to visiting the new building and much more. For starters, visitors were welcomed by various speeches given by important figures of the school. This was just the beginning of the event. After that, all the visitors were asked to make their way towards the new building. Being a guide, seeing all these hundreds of people arriving in ecstasy, ready to discover what this building had to offer was overwhelming. Mme Bosc made the suspense last while she proudly spoke of the Annenberg Center of Arts and Science. Then, along with The Final Countdown, we all counted the minutes, the seconds until the building would finally, after 2 almost 3 years of construction, be inaugurated. In my opinion, one of the most impressive facets of this celebration was the release of the balloons. Hundreds of multicolor balloons were simultaneously let loose after the inauguration speech. By then it was already noon. What was there to eat? The International Buffet contained food from all over the world. It was, in fact, incredible to see how many parents contributed and how much food there was. The menu varied from kebabs, to peanut chews, to French
cheese, to sushi thus depicting the school’s ethnic variety. Besides eating, you could also listen to Mme Gouiffès play the new piano, the one that the school has been waiting years for, listen to Mr. Briggs play the guitar, even listen to students sing and play instruments. In addition, when the music wasn’t playing, a tape on Mme. Gouiffès’ discovery was playing repeatedly, the one on “le chant diphonique.” To illustrate the school’s wonderful ability in arts, auctions took place, selling some of the students’ best work. Saturday December 15th was by far one the biggest events of the year. Hopefully there will be many more celebrations to come. Michael Valinsky 3e2
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4/2008
SCHOOL NEWS
The Wisdom of a Nobel Prize Laureate Georges Charpak, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, came to our school Saturday December 15th to see the Inauguration of the Science Building. My experiment was showing gas exchange in the plant cabomba and breathing in tenebria, or meal worms. Mme Zeboulon introduced him, and when he entered the entire room went quiet. I was completely focused on nothing else but him. Even his looks reminded me of a scientist: long white hair, tweed hat and coat, glasses, and a twinkle in his eye. His whole air was slightly Einstein-ish. His first question was: “Have you recorded what you found out, or do you not know how to read and write yet?” Madame Zeboulon answered: “they are in 6ème, Mon-
sieur!” “Ah, good, well then, could you explain, what you are doing?” I then went into detail about photosynthesis, respiration, BTB indicator and other parts of my experiment. He stayed for about 7 minutes, (a fairly long amount of time considering that he is an elderly man and that he could only stay for a short amount of time), and then continued onto other laboratories. He is definitely just as acute and intelligent as the day he won the Nobel Prize in 1992, for his invention and development of particle detectors. He significantly honored our school when he set foot (or cane) in the new science building and we hope that many more important people will come out of those doors. Lee Harris 6e1
Tecktonik, the newest style on the streets and dance floors, is actually not to be called that way. The word ‘Tecktonik’ is a trade mark for all of the symbols making up the Tecktonik style. Seven years ago, Alexandre Barouzdin and Cyril Blanc tried a new type of nightclub form. Indeed, Electro Dance all started in Belgium. The two men left nothing to chance, not even the name. They created the trade mark symbols: fluo colours, gloves, tight clothes, spiky hairstyle, and it worked. Night club events, videos, contests, all of these are controlled by Alexandre and Cyril, the ‘TCK’ creators. Today, Alexandre is the director of ‘Tecktonik’ company and Cyril is the director of the night club Metropolis, which is one of the main pillars of TCK. Now, if a nightclub or piece of clothing uses the word ‘Tecktonik’ without the agreement of Alexandre and Cyril, they could get serious problems. So, if you’re one of the numerous TCK dancers, just say that you’re an Electro Dance dancer. =] Annabelle Blackburn 3e7
Did you know…? 4/2008
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SCHOOL NEWS
A Charitable Concert This concert was perfect for classical musical lovers and a moving discovery for all the others.
remarkable seeing how young We attended the winter concert, which took place some of them are. Many of the performers have been playing on Monday January 21st. Profits from this concert went to the Niapele Project, an their instruments for a while now; Serge Giacomotto organization which aspires to help children in need in the has been playing the piano for about 5 years, Canrefugee camps of Ghana in Africa. Ms. P. Chester, an dice Ford the cello for 5 years and Chloe Lula for 7 EABJM alumna and a Tufts and Sciences-Po graduate, years, Lee Harris (bilingue reporter!) has been playwas representing The Niapele Project. The money will ing the violin for 6 years. Let’s just say that they help an orphanage promote the well-being of a public know what they are doing! school and will be used to contribute to the construction of The only minor criticism that we could make a facility for handicapped children, which will serve is that there was only one vocalist 45,000 refugees in that camp. and only one saxophonist, when The concert began pleaswe would have liked to have lisantly with a speech by Mme. tened to many more. The singer Bosc, which can be summaDania Kawar beautifully sang the rized by the sentence “Il faut song“When you’re gone” to us penser aux autres!”. The open- Il faut penser aux autres!” (originally by Avril Lavigne). Uning choral, lead by fortunately, her Mme. Lavietes, got microphone did not us right into the work throughout mood for classical the entire song, music. The song but she neverthewas called “Sing less managed to World Peace” and diffuse her voice moved us with its and talent all over lyrics and sound. the gymnasium. The 19 The final act of this performances concert was the ranged from relaxschool orchestra, ing to jazzy to which beautifully classical. All of the pianists played with their backs concluded the event. It ended it so well that even IB to the crowd, reminding us the position of profeshelpers were dancing and got all enthusiastic! It was sionals during concerts. They all played without their quite a sight... partition, like Ruiji Chua (6ieme), which made their This concert was perfect for classical music lovers performance all-the-more impressive, for many of and a moving discovery for all the others. In fact, their pieces were lengthy such as “Toccata in E MiMme Koncewitz and Mme Fauré kept a smile on their nor”, “La Fantaisie – Impromptu Opus n˚66” & “La faces throughout the entire performance, of both Pathétique, Sonate n˚8, Opus 13.” To add to these pride and amazement. Mme Bosc’s final words were professional performances, all the artists were ele“C’était fabuleux, j’ai passé une excellente soirée. On gantly dressed. Every single one of their pieces was pouvait lire la concentration sur leurs visages et impressive given that the mainstream of the particic’était un réel plaisir de les écouter. » pants ranged from CM1s -like Jade Burnouf-, to 7iemes such as Salomé Melchior- to 2ndes -like Sang Annabelle Blackburn 3e7 Hyeon Lee- only to name a few, whose talents are Michael Valinsky 3e2
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Le Bilingue
SCHOOL NEWS
Nous avons interviewé plusieurs professeurs et surveillants, afin de connaître leurs points de vues, leurs opinions et (si il y en a) leurs complaintes sur le nouveau bâtiment inauguré le 15 décembre dernier. Nous leur avons posé à tous deux questions. « Est-ce que le nouveau bâtiment change en quelque chose votre vie à l’école ? ». Ce qu’il faut savoir, c’est que grâce au nouveau bâtiment, les professeurs ont été relogés dans de nouvelles salles, plus spacieuses et plus lumineuses. Tous les professeurs que nous avons interrogés nous ont répondu la même chose. Ces nouvelles salles sont beaucoup plus confortables, car il y a beaucoup plus de place, et la vue est superbe. Il leur est plus aisé de travailler dans ces conditions « de luxe » que dans l’ancienne salle de professeurs sous la bibliothèque. En effet, les professeurs d’histoire et géographie sont très chanceux, comme leur salle donne sur l’avenue Emile Zola, elle est toujours baignée de lumière, ce qui la rend « légère ». Elle aussi, l’ administration a été très gâtée, car les nouveau bureaux au premier étage sont à couper le souffle. Premièrement, tous les bureaux sont au même niveau ce qui rend beaucoup plus facile les communications, et ils sont aussi très lumineux. Toute la façade donnant sur la rue est en verre, alors je vous laisse imaginer la vue que l’on a de là-bas.
BÂTIMENT DES ARTS ET DES SCIENCES « trésor » ne change pas la vie à l’école, mais la vie DE l’école, car on peut maintenant passer d’un bâtiment à l’autre sans difficultés. Autrefois, l’école n’était pas liée, c’était comme si les différents bâtiments étaient coupés les uns des autres, tandis que maintenant, l’école est plus fluide. Les surveillants nous ont répondu de façon complètement différente, car ils n’ont pas les mêmes préoccupations que les professeurs. Ils sont très heureux d’avoir enfin la nouvelle loge, car pendant les travaux, ils devaient « faire le guet » dans le froid et parfois sous la pluie, tandis que maintenant, ils sont bien au chaud. La seule chose dont ils ont à se plaindre, est que la loge n’est pas bien située, car il est difficile de voir qui est à la porte. Pour la seconde question («Y a-t-il quelque chose que vous regrettez dans le nouveau bâtiment ? »), tous les professeurs répondent la même chose. Comme les salles de professeurs sont par matière, ils ne voient plus leurs collègues d’autres départements. C’est leur seul regret, car c’était leur lieu de discussion et de rencontres. En gros, auprès de l’administration et du l’équipe scolaire, le nouveau bâtiment est un grand succès. Il valait le coup de patienter pendant les travaux. (Interviews avec Mme Fauré, Mme Drouet, Mme Mougeot, et d’autres…)
Mme Fauré, (directrice du collège), nous a fait partager son opinion selon laquelle ce
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Constance Mietkowski 3e2
NEW CENTURY ISSUES
The Great Starbucks Epidemic You would have to have been locked up studying not to have noticed the spread of Starbucks throughout Paris. Starbucks paper cups litter the streets within a two-mile radius of all 32 of the establishments in Paris. While the arrival of the first Starbucks was highly anticipated by almost everyone (including myself), it’s come to a point where we have to say no. Paris is known for its unique brand of (once) smoky, noisy cafés, so what happens when a large corporation spreads its coffee chain all over the city? The small corner cafés start to run out of business and ultimately close down. Imagine Lola or Café Théâtre turned into a generic Starbucks with its faux-ethnic feel and jazzy pop. Could you ever make a bet with your local Starbucks “barista” on what the outcome of the Rugby World cup will be? The answer is no. And the harsh reality of it is that Starbucks shops are taking over those small mom and pop cafés. One fine example would be if you stand in front of the Starbucks at St. Michel. Look down the street, towards the river, and you see the Green Demon, another sister Starbucks (this experiment can also be conducted at the Starbucks by Beaubourg where one can spy yet another down the block.) Not only is Starbucks taking over cafés but it’s turning the French into Americans (not that that’s a bad thing) while the French are supposed to be unique. Young teens trek to their closest Starbucks, grab a 6euro cup of bitter, over sweetened coffee and leave the store, paper cup in hand, oversized sunglasses shielding their eyes from the non-existent winter sun. Does this remind you of anyone? It sounds like American teens five-years ago and Britney Spears. Aren’t the French
supposed to distain the “vulgar” American lifestyle? What happened to the slow, leisurely morning “café”, French-style (not the industrial-sized dishwater-tasting coffee à la Starbucks)? Starbucks not only faces unsatisfied customers, but also outraged boycotters furious by Starbucks’ alleged violations of basic human rights. There are questions around Starbucks’ payment of bean growers and
its treatment of employees. Starbucks was also involved in a row with Ethiopia when it took the impoverished country to court over a “trademark battle”. Overall, Starbucks is like an epidemic sweeping the globe. Like the chickenpox, it’s best treated with a pre-emptive shot (not an espresso shot), but if not, don’t fall into the trap, avoid scratching; it can leave permanent scars. Noura Ayria 1eIB
The Facebook Syndrome Facebook is a social networking website founded on February 4th 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moscovitz, Matt Cohler and Chris Hughes. Like many websites, it all began with a simple idea. Facebook was originally destined for Harvard students only, as a sort of yearbook, and a way for alumni to keep in touch with each other. Soon enough, the Facebook phenomenon reached all Ivy Leagues, including Columbia,
Brown and Yale. Yet, the Facebook idea was too big to be kept within the Ivy Box, thus with time, high school students all over the world were then allowed to subscribe. Eventually, everyone was permitted to access the Facebook layer as long as you were registered in a school. There are thousands of social networking websites around the globe, but what makes Facebook stand out? What impels 150 000 people to sub-
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scribe every day? What effect does it have on its members? Facebook is known as a great way to keep in touch with your friends, share photos efficiently and personal information. Privacy is theoretically respected, since you must accept those who wish to skim through your profile. You can add as many applications and games as you like to your profile, to keep the page entertaining. (cont. p. 6)
Le Bilingue
NEW CENTURY ISSUES
The Facebook Syndrome (cont.) on its way? According to newspapers such as The Times and The New Yorker, Facebook is becoming too commercial; the prospect of having a simple profile with no spam is now far gone. People are constantly bombarded with requests for pointless groups, useless applications and are beginning to be fed Joining or creating groups as well as up. This is a major issue for memcauses are opportunities to share bers using Facebook for business your view regarding the matters measures, to communicate with coyou’re interested in with other Face- workers and entrepreneurs. book members. Fortunately for Facebook, the world It seems as if the sky is cloudless has become addicted to its drug. for Facebook for now, but is a storm According to polls, 85% of students
from colleges registered on the website have a personal profile on Facebook. That’s 3, 85 million people. Chris Hughes, a co-founder, claims that 60% log in daily, 85% at least once a week and 93% at least once a month. So what is next? Will Facebook continue to savor its success or will it choke on its over popularity? We all remain curious to see what the future holds for the social networking website we’ve become addicted to. Dafna Gottesman 3e3
Barred from Education: Baha'i students prevented from attending university in Iran Imagine your right to education being denied, and your dreams of a career being crushed just because you belong to a religious minority group. “This week, as universities begin the new academic year, hundreds of Iranian students will be absent from campuses because of blatant religious discrimination,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch in September 2007. Nearly 40% of college-age Bahá’ís admitted to Iranian universities in the fall of 2006 have been expelled and new applications have been all rejected. This is powerful evidence that students of this religious minority in Iran still face severe discrimination and limited access to higher education. Payame Noor University , which is the largest state university in terms of student numbers with some 467,000 students in 74 degree programs at 257 study centers and units throughout the country, has expelled 30 Bahá’í students this academic year. Members of the largest reli-
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gious minority in Iran, Bahá’ís of all ages have faced systematic religious persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. More than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed, hundreds have been imprisoned, and thousands have had property or businesses confiscated, been fired from jobs, and/or had pensions terminated. Last December, the United Nations General Assembly voted with a remarkable majority a Resolution on the human rights situation in Iran which is party to the international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which obligates it to make higher education equally accessible to all. Iran has also signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 18 of that Covenant guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. On September 25th 2007, upon his visit to the United States, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad skirted the question of the persecution of Iran’s Baha’is at a United Nations press conference.
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Petitions have been signed, conferences have been organized, videos have been posted on youtube, and multiple facebook groups have been created in the hope of raising awareness about this most pressing issue. Now, one can only hope that the world’s academic leaders will follow suit in protesting the blatantly unjust oppression that continues to confront the
young people of Iran’s Bahá’í community. “Everyone has the right to education.” — Universal Declaration of Human Rights Tatiana Kombo 1eIB
NEW CENTURIES ISSUES
Un Café, SVP « Le stress c’est l’agression », a dit Hans Selye en 1950, mais, un demi-siècle plus tard, cette réalité est devenue un aparté pour toute une civilisation qui, jetée comme un immense nuage noir, comme un épais brouillard, comme un drap opaque sur nos émotions qui compresse, concentre et congèle leur expression. N’oublions pas que toute agression provoque une réaction. Que dites vous de la drogue du « stress » ? Figurez-vous qu’il y a des gens qui ne supportent plus leur travail, leur famille voire même leur vie. Selon Freud, celui qui reçoit une humiliation et la garde sur le cœur sans réagir, tombe malade et fait une névrose. Notre style de vie est donc profondément masqué par l’usage de toutes sortes de drogues qui ont un effet concret sur l’esprit et sur le corps. Mais, pensez bien qu’il y a une cause à tout cela ! L’alcool et le tabac, tout le monde en convient, sont de véritables fléaux sociaux, mais le café ? Il a ce petit air d’innocence mais il jouit de beaucoup d’indulgence. La drogue du café est la caféine qui excite le système nerveux central et permet d’augmenter ses possibilités physiques et mentales en supprimant le sommeil et en donnant un sentiment d’excitation, de force et d’énergie. Ses effets immédiats, qui durent environ quatre heures, sont : un équilibre instable, des battements accélérés du cœur, une voix aiguë, une mauvaise mémoire, de la fatigue…etc. A boire du café, certains individus ressentent un sentiment inexplicable d’angoisse et d’anxiété. D’autres symptômes peuvent survenir plusieurs heures ou même plusieurs jours après la prise de caféine : troubles de sommeil, trouble de la mémoire, maux de tête, agitation, tout un inconfort général. La caféine produit un ralentissement de la circulation sanguine dans le cerveau. Il est utile de se rappeler que l’on retrouve de la caféine non seulement dans le café mais aussi dans le thé, les colas, le chocolat et plusieurs médicaments que l’on obtient sans prescription
(contre la grippe, les maux de tête, stimulants…). C’est ce ralentissement de la circulation sanguine à l’avant partie frontale du cerveau qui explique en partie l’effet de la caféine sur le caractère et la personnalité. L’irritabilité des buveurs de café: combien y a-t-il de violences domestiques et écolières dans la vie sociale ? Plusieurs études récentes ont établi que boire du café était l’indice d’un style de vie marquée par la multiplication, la force et la ténacité des dépendances : boire du café, c’est risquer fortement de fumer et, plus on boit du café, plus on fume. Boire du café, c’est aussi faire plus d’obésité, boire plus d’alcool, avoir une réputation professionnelle moins bonne et surtout consommer plus de sucre. Il est donc normal que l’on considère le café comme une drogue sociale dangereuse. Le café est dangereux pour la santé et les risques sont importants mais le buveur n’est pas conscient de ses effets. Beaucoup de gens souhaiteraient cesser leur consommation excessive de café. Le café est aussi une cause de maladie dans l’organisme telles que le cancer, la stérilité, les fausses couches. Les maux de têtes fréquents sont particulièrement intolérables suivis de nausées, de douleurs de dos et de troubles visuels. Les buveurs cherchent une stimulation artificielle dans le café afin de se sentir mieux, intérieurement, et altèrent une capacité de penser et de juger qui augmente la suggestibilité des individus et leur crédibilité faisant d’eux des proies faciles pour les charlatans. Le café est synonyme de libération complète du mental mais aussi de maladies internes qui sont incurables pour les années à venir. Pour ceux qui ne peuvent pas se séparer du café, consommez beaucoup d’eau très fraîche et faites de grandes respirations d’air propre, des marches rapides afin d’améliorer votre santé et votre hygiène de vie ! Ce « qu’a fait » un article quand même ! Patricia Schouker 2°2
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Le Bilingue
NEW CENTURY ISSUES
The Last Dictator of Europe million euros in media to show a stable Belarus and a How many of you know the man called Alexander Luperson who insults Lukashenko can be imprisoned for 5 kachenko? One or two. However if I say the last dictator years. He tramples on human rights and it is said that he of Europe, you ask yourself who is he talking about? organized death squads to get rid of political opponents. Well simply the non-famous “President” of the small republic of Belarus Alexander Lukachenko. However in 2006, he went too far. On March 19th 2006, Lukachenko “won” the presidential race by 84.2% A Belarusian ex-military officer and collective farm while his greatest opponent Milinkevich got only 2%. director, Alexander Lukashenko was elected on July 20 Following the election a large protest erupted as the 1994 as president of the new independent country. Ukrainian orange revolution. Despite the authorities However what should we think about this man who rethreats, 40,000 people rallied on the central square of stored soviet ideas for example and forced “ voluntary” Minsk in the cold nights with the red and white indend work day on the 22 of April, Lenin’s birthday? Nopendent Belarus flags and European flags. However vember 1996 when willing to stay in power, Luafter several days, on a Friday night, the riot police was kachenko organized a vote to change the constitution sent to arrest the protesters. Many of those were then and prolong his mandate sent to prison. Over the next few days, tens of thousands by 2 years. Since then he of demonstrators took to the streets; however they were has been governing withthen countered again by the riot police. The opposition out limitations. leader Alexander Kazulin was arrested and one protester The opposition press has was killed. Since then, nothing new has happened. been removed such as Narodnaya Volya and only 10% of the population has access to Internet. The government invested 60
“I already told this to the Westerners, 93.5% voted for the President Lukashenko. They said it is not a European number. We made it 86.” -Alexander Lukashenko Paul-Matthew Zamsky 1ereS1
BricBric-à-brac de fin d'année Pendant les vacances, vous avez sûrement reçus... les ... bulletins scolaires. Ces bombes à retardement venaient après les efforts considérables accomplis par certains élèves – je dis bien « certains» - pendant le premier trimestre de l'année scolaire. Ces relevés furent d'autant plus intéressants pour les bons éléments, puisqu’un grand nombre d’entre eux les ont obtenus par la poste le jour de Noël. Mais existe-t-il un lien entre les bonnes notes et les cadeaux ? Je conseille à mes amis forçats d’établir de solides contrats avec leurs parents. Pour un « B » ; tel valeur de cadeau, pour un « A » ; telle autre. En dessous… préparez-vous à ranger votre chambre, acheter une baguette, vider les poubelles. Toutes les tâches qu’on nous propose quelquefois lorsque nous sommes au creux de la vague… J’ai vu dans une série TV que des truqueurs pouvaient transformer un « D » en « B » ou un « E » en « A » et réviser les commentaires des enseignants. Mais l’investissement en matériel (scanner, filtre à particules, doppler, imagerie à résonance magnétique, filtre, bandages divers) n’est pas à la portée du cancre moyen. Cette période de cadeaux a eu des effets dramatiques pour certains enfants. Tel celui-ci dont la mère a reçu un livre
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sur les mille et une manières de faire les soupes et qui depuis, jour après jour, semaine après semaine, qu’il fasse beau, qu’il fasse froid, week-ends compris ; ne mange plus que-devinez quoi ? Mais il y a eu également le Talent Show qui annonçait Noël et un repos bien mérité pour les studieux qui avaient travaillé sans relâche pendant cette période. C’était l’occasion de laisser libre cours aux jeunes artistes pleins de talent qui hantent l’EABJM…. Malgré quelques dérapages (perte d’une partition de musique pendant le spectacle), ce fut une réussite. Le gymnase était plein à chaque séance. Quand à l’inauguration du nouveau bâtiment des sciences et des arts, quelques jours plus tôt, en présence du professeur Georges Charpak et de Madame Claudie Haigneré ; j’ai adoré. Surtout le moment où Monsieur Charpak, évoquant une visite dans une école près de Paris, nous donna une leçon de géographie amusante en disant : « située à Rosny sous…je ne sais pas quoi »…
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Amaury Bargioni 6°5
U.S. ELECTION COVERAGE ‘08
United States Presidential Election Coverage 2008 Super Tuesday Slams the States Starting in January 2008, the Democratic and Republican Parties embarked on the process of choosing their presidential candidates. By June, each of the 50 states will have held a primary (or caucus). Each state chooses delegates who pledge to vote for a certain candidate at the respective National Conventions held this summer. The Democrats also have “super delegates” – usually high office holders such as governors and senators – who are not selected by the voters but who have the right to be delegates under party rules. The purpose of the National Conventions is to allow the delegates of each party to assemble and nominate their candidates as President and Vice President. The 44th President of the United States will be elected on November 4, 2008 in the General Election. Actually, it’s the members of the Electoral College who are elected that day. It is possible for a candidate to win the most popular votes at the polls, yet lose the election, since the electors assigned to each state are the ones who actually elect the President. That is how Al Gore got more votes than Bush in 2000, but Bush won the election because he won the electoral vote. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a tight race for the Democratic nomination. The results are currently indecisive and nail-biting. To date, Obama has a tiny lead over Clinton in the delegate count (1,618 to 1,479). However, the battle is by no means over! Even though Obama enjoyed a clean sweep of 12 states in a row in February, Clinton is no quitter: since then she has shifted the momentum back towards her side with victories in Ohio and Texas. It looks as if we will have to wait for the Democratic Convention till a candidate is nominated by the Democratic Party. Why? To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate needs to collect the support of at least 2,025 delegates. But to get to this magic number, the Democratic candidate needs to attract enough super delegates as well. Unlike the delegates elected by the voters in the state primaries and caucuses, super delegates are free to vote for whomever they choose; and they don’t have to decide until the day of the Convention. So hypothetically, if either Clinton or Obama were to win all of the remaining states, neither of them would obtain the necessary number of delegates to win. They would still need to attract enough super delegates. The race continues, and will be historic no matter how it turns out since no woman or African-American has ever been nominated before to be President of the United States.
Caroline, endorsed Obama, saying that he inspires people the way her father used to. Obama has raised enormous amounts of money to fund his campaign from small donations over the internet. He also draws tens of thousands of people at his campaign events – almost like attending a rock concert! Hilary Clinton as a former First Lady was at first thought to be a shooin for the nomination because she has been an effective Senator from the State of New York, and her husband was a popular President who left office during a time of peace and great prosperity. Clinton obtained her law degree from Yale Law School and has made national healthcare one of her key issues. Although Clinton had previously led Obama in the polls by as much as 30%, some polls now show that Obama has moved ahead. On the Republican side, John McCain, an Arizona U.S. Senator, has already clinched the Republican Nomination; he is the presumptive nominee. He has surpassed the magic number of 1,191 delegates needed for the Republicans and can now focus on the big picture—the upcoming November election. A war hero who was held captive in North Vietnam for five years, McCain has been something of a maverick as a U.S. Senator. He has championed campaign finance reform and often joined with Democrats to reach consensus on key issues. This spirit of bipartisanship initially hurt McCain among Republican conservatives. Yet McCain’s outspokenness and integrity propelled him to victories in the key Republican primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina. His decisive win over former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in Florida along with decisive victories over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on Super Tuesday, when over twenty states held primaries at once, have cleared his way to the Republican nomination. McCain also has the distinction of being one of the oldest candidates to seek the Presidency – he would be 72 years old at the time of his inauguration.
As the old saying goes, “may you live in interesting times.” The U.S. Obama reminds many people of President John Presidential election of 2008 will be one of the most spellbinding in F. Kennedy, whose wife’s relatives happened to history. Whichever way it goes, history will be made and the world be from France. JFK had the power to move changed forever. people with his charisma, youth and vision. It Mary Ann Toman-Miller 2e7 was a poignant moment when JFK’s daughter,
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Le Bilingue
QUIZ
Horoscope Hétéroclite Note : La voyante Solange Harpham s’excuse pour une erreur concernant les Taureaux dans l’horoscope précédent. Milles excuses à ceux qui ont dû se travestir inutilement.
court. Mettez-vous au travail pour accomplir vos rêves et faites ce que vous désirez autant que possible.
Balance : Si vous avez suivi le dernier horoscope, vous devez non seulement être affamé à n’avoir mangé que des Bélier : Gare aux coups de fouchoses roses mais aussi avoir perdu dre ! Ce mois ci, vous tombebeaucoup de poids. Réjouissez-vous, le rez amoureux(se) de tout ce qui mois de février est le mois de l’obésité. bouge et qui est du sexe oppoEmployez les grands moyens pour gasé, inclus votre chien, un(e) gnez du poids : Nourrissez-vous uniquepigeon(ne), Sarcozy (si vous ment de pâtisseries, ne faites aucun êtes une fille ou Ségolène (si sport, restez vautré(e) sur votre canapé vous êtes un garçon) ainsi que devant la télévision en vous gavant de tous les gens que vous croiserez dans la rue. Si vous décidez tout ce qui vous passe sous la main (pop-corn, chips, plante de vous déclarer, ça peut devenir dangereux (vous pourriez verte, hamster), injectez-vous de la graisse ou mieux encore, tomber sur un tueur en série ou un pervers en folie) et de plus, tombez enceinte. (Ce dernier conseil est pour les filles. Les vos parents n’approuveront probablement pas votre nouvelle garçons peuvent toujours essayer si ça leur fait plaisir.) Ce relation avec le SDF qui vit dans le local à poubelle et sur mois ci, les sumos sont à la mode. lequel vous avez flashé. Réfléchissez avant d’agir. Scorpion : Un danger vous guette. Evitez les fous, vos enneTaureau : Vous êtes trop recroquevillé sur vous-même. Démis, votre famille, vos amis, les animaux pourvus de dents, foulez-vous ! Pour cela, un seul moyen : la violence. Tapez les transports en commun, tout objet lourd ou roulant, les assur vos amis, criez votre désespoir, cassez et piétinez les ob- censeurs, les professeurs sadiques, les escaliers, les fenêtres jets qui refusent de vous satisfaire (votre ordinateur par exem- ouvertes et tout objet coupant. Dernièrement, ne croyez surple. Qui met une heure à s’allumer, une heure pour s’éteindre, tout pas les horoscopes absurdes. efface vos fichiers sans que vous sachiez pourquoi et n’arrive jamais à télécharger quoi que ce soit correctement.) Donnez Sagittaire : Vous êtes crevé ce mois ci, fatigué(e) au point que des coups de poings et de pieds, poussez des hurlements jus- vos yeux se ferment tout seuls. Un conseil, rattrapez le somqu’à ce qu’on vous emmène à l’asile où vous prendrez quelmeil perdu où vous pouvez, pour être en pleine forme le mois ques semaines de repos. prochain. Endormez-vous dès qu’il y a un temps mort : en classe, dans le métro, debout en attendant le bus et juste après Gémeaux : Vous avez du mal à vous affirmer, à faire vos pro- avoir fait votre déclaration à l’élu(e) de votre cœur (certain(e) pres choix ou à faire un choix tout court ? Dites-vous bien que s peuvent trouver ça très séduisant). Bref, reposez-vous. Un quelle que soit la chose que vous choisissez, il ne faut pas que dernier conseil : trouvez quelqu’un aussi fatigué que vous et vous ayez de regrets en y repensant plus tard. En attendant, si proposez lui de vous accompagnez dans votre cure du somvous voulez soudain être balayeur ou caissière/caissier à Mo- meil. Dormir seul n’est jamais très amusant. noprix, il faudra tôt ou tard l’annoncer à vos parents n’est-ce pas ? Bonne chance ! Verseau : Si l’objet de vos désirs vous regarde plus de 98 fois, c’est qu’il/elle vous adore ou que vous avez un bouton sur le Cancer : Pas d’événement spécial pour les Cancers. Tout ce nez (vérifiez si l’élu de votre cœur est bien le/la seul(e) à vous que vous faites est merveilleux, continuez. dévisager et vous connaîtrez la réponse). Lion : Prenez l’initiative. S’il y a une personne que vous aimez (beaucoup), que vous observez toute la journée avec de yeux de poisson frît, à qui vous n’osez parler, que vous suivez toute la journée (et même la nuit où vous dormez devant la porte de son appartement) au risque de vous faire prendre pour un(e) stalker, c’est le moment de lui avouer votre folle passion pour lui/elle.
Poissons : Ne pêchez pas, restez pure et immaculé(e). Evitez toute tentation, qu’elle soit d’ordre de la gourmandise, de l’envie ou de la luxure. La bataille est déjà perdue pour la plupart d’entre vous mais il n’est jamais trop tard pour embrasser la carrière de saint(e).
Note : Cet horoscope est une œuvre de fiction. Toute ressemblance avec des personnages , situations ou lieux ayant vraiVierge : Ce mois ci est tout simple pour les vierges. Vous êtes ment existés serait totalement fortuite. rempli(e) de désir de liberté, désir de ciel bleu et désir tout Solange Harpham 2e1
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Un Cheval de Rêve Ci-dessous, je présente un livre pour tous ceux et celles qui aiment les chevaux et l’équitation. Titre : Un cheval de rêve Auteur : Évelyne Brisou-Pellen et Marc Lizano Éditeur : Nathan Année d’édition : Pleine Lune, c’est ma vie Résumé : Marie aime étudier, c’est une grande chance pour cette fille de paysans bretons du début du siècle de pouvoir aller à l’école. Même si elle est obligée pour s’y rendre de traverser la lande en pleine nuit. Marcher seule dans la campagne pendant la nuit, c’est inquiétant… Mais le plus dur à vivre, est la méchanceté d’Ambroise, qui s’amuse à la terroriser. Ah ! Si Marie avait un cheval, tout serait plus facile. Malheureusement, cela coûte trop cher pour elle et pour ses parents… Commentaires : Ce livre est intéressant, bien écrit, et très émouvant. À travers les yeux d’une jeune fille, le lecteur découvre une époque qui lui est presque inconnue. Une époque où les parents battait encore leurs enfants, une époque où il était difficile de vivre avec peu d’argent, une époque où l’école n’était réservée qu’aux garçons… Anastassia Lacroix 6e5
Atonement takes the lead as Global Award Winning Picture From best selling novel “Atonement” by Ian McEwan comes the movie with Keira Knightley(Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice) and James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia). This is the story of a young women named Cecilia( Keira Knightley) who falls in love with the housekeeper’s son, Robbie(James McAvoy), whom she has known all her life. However, their romance is quickly interrupted by Cecilia’s little sister, Briony. This little genius of only 13 years who writes and has an opinion on everything, is convinced that Robbie sexually assaulted their cousin and her sister. She reports him and he gets sent away to prison. A few years later , the second world war explodes. Robbie is given a choice, stay in jail or fight the war. He chooses to fight, and as years pass by, he tries desperately to find his way back to Cecilia while Briony now a young women haunted by her accusation, tries
to fix her mistake by all means. “Atonement” is a movie that will take your breath away. Accompanied by the frantic sound of the type writer, you are never able to take your eyes off the screen. The cast is good, it is as if you are personally involved with the characters of the picture. You feel their anxiety, their passion, the drama. This is created by the way the film was shot, the camera takes you back and forth in time showing you the different points of view. It tells you how what seems to be one thing is in fact another. You learn how misperception can have a major impact on people’s life as well as your own. This movie is accessible to everyone, it talks about life’s major themes: love, conflict and missed opportunities. If you are wise, don’t regret missing this one. Carlo Fiorio 2e5
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Sweeney Todd The film everyone’s talking about, where famous actors try their hand at singing. Can they sing or will they simply sound like a squashed cat? This romantic comedy has several twists in it. A barber falls in love and gets married then the judge of the town falls in love with her. Being of such high authority he ostracises the barber leaving his wife and baby behind. 15 years later the barber returns under a new name of Sweeney Todd. He hears his wife poisoned herself so sets out to get his revenge. At the same time the sailor, who he spent some of his life with, falls in love with his daughter Johanna. At the end one love story succeeds and the other fails. If you are at all squeamish then this film is not for you. The barber kills men to pay his rent as his landlady uses the meat for pies. The blood is simply a matter of oil paint and the blood splurts out in an unexpected way. I mean if I cut your neck will it splash out like a fountain?...may I try?... The songs are simple and sometimes only vary of three notes. The songs don’t vary very much either. The most common song (usually sung by depp ie 3 notes) “there was a barber and his wife and she was beautiful”. The real stunners are the song a 14 year old boy sings beautifully and the sailor who keeps singing “I feel you Johanna and one day I’ll steal you” which goes really high for a 19 year old. Although these songs sound good to begin with, you will end up despising them as much as “my heart will go on” and “relax”. I am not ashamed to say this film would have been an awful lot better had they of taken only unknown names or even
just forgotten Depp. The love tale between Johanna and Anthony (the sailor) seems a bit nonsensical. They never met in person yet he has the key to her house and will do anything for her. Also Johanna is only suppose to be sixteen yet she appears to be 21. Not much acting was required by the both of them but the results were good enough. No one really had to act much except Todd and Ms Lovett. The ending isn’t always predictable. Some of the people watching didn’t figure it out until the last three minutes whereas others managed to deduce the outcome halfway through. Also even though this is a musical the music did disrupt the film a little bit. Some of it could have been edited. Why must all good things come to an end? A film that actually seemed good and they had to go and spoil it with a soppy ending that makes you cry without actually shedding a tear. The lazy mans way. This is a dull chick flick hiding behind a blood n gory male film. Girls hide half the time from innocent blood whereas the men feel sick at the lovey-dovey moments. It is simply ridiculous to mix the two for it leaves the audience semi-fulfilled. There was no cherry on top of the cake. This was definitely not one of the best films but it has provided us with two more promising actors. I will also say that if you haven’t yet seen this film then what are you waiting for it is most definitely a must see film. Yvette Lavelle 2e7
Manga Mania As you all know, Le Salon du Livre was on recently in Paris, as it is every year. The crowds all have the same objective and you’re soon swept away with the flow into the mass of people roaming through the huge hall. People, deep in their book or brochure manage to miraculously avoid each other and meander around for hours, stepping over the legs and bags that are stranded on the sides of the stands. One of the newest additions to the Salon is Le Village du Manga. It’s composed of the most infamous manga and anime editors that we can find in France. You can be sure to find approximately any manga you’d like, and if you look around you’ll find a swarm of cosplayers. Cosplay, one of the upcoming subjects in the Manga Mania section, is more and more popular in the manga festivals and it is now quite a common thing to see a Gaara (Naruto), Zelda (Zelda) or Zorro (One Piece) walking around. When wandering through the ‘village’ one of the prominent sights is that of a large paper bag, decorated with various manga type arts. It was a good indicator as to who was part of the growing manga fan community and who hadn’t yet come up to date.
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Though, you do get the odd person or two ambling around muttering “I really don’t see how this became so popular so fast”, or “How does all of this work?”… The Salon is proof of the rapid ascendance of manga: two years ago, this Village du Manga didn’t exist, and there were barely a couple of stands in the whole Salon that sold mangas. Not only does it demonstrate this rapid increase, it also shows that books are not yet completely evicted from our everyday life. Even though we can now order any book or manga on the internet, walking through hundreds of stands selling books is irreplaceable. Here is yet another fact about manga: whereas a book is signed with a few words and the author’s name, a manga will be signed with an original drawing of the mangaka. If you haven’t yet explored this huge book shop, be sure to go and reveal your book worm nature next time the Salon is on. Annabelle Blackburn 3e7
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PS I love you “P.S. I Love You”is the story of a woman who always fought with her husband and then couldn’t get over his death. She was upset with life and hated her job. When her husband dies, letters start appearing out of nowhere guiding the girl and telling her what to do with her life. She goes on a rediscovery trip full of love and tears and many cringeable moments. It is a comic love story that provides a laugh from start to end. Naturally some moments are meant to make you cry or just feel sorry for the actors yet if you watched the moments without laughing you are in strong need of a good straight comedy. We spent quite some time peeking through our hands for the sheer shame of the situation yet we laughed all the while.
enjoyed it so much because we’d just finished our compos and were laughing at anything and everything shown to us… The shoes were also very funny but we didn’t understand how when someone throws a shoe at your head you don’t even get the smallest of bruises. It is, I admit, a bit silly to go on about a woman who lost her husband, but perhaps it helps woman who have suffered through similar situations. It might show they are not the only one. In which case it would be mean for us to mock the film, but there was very little else we could do. It was very predictable to say the least.
Some scenes were very odd especially when you look back on it, it just seems very improbable in real life I mean who would sleep with their husband’s best friend and then talk about him afterwards. Holly (the widow) meets another man who was also very upset with love and they try to be together but naturally it doesn’t It is extremely strange how her friends forget the sad work. events that happen ever so fast like loosing a nail polish Lisa Kudrow is splendid. Whatever she says, when- that is no longer sold but nothing is perfect, especially ever she says it makes you laugh. All Holly’s friends in films I suppose. return to their normal life style shortly after the death yet holly thinks they should still be grieving her dead All in all this was a very funny and worthwhile film. husband. She gets separated from the world yet her If you don’t think so then it must just be the excitement friend’s stay with her to nurse her back to sanity and of holidays and no more exams for a while. normality. They even help her find her new boyfriend. Yvette Lavelle 2e7 This film is a must see on a dull day or maybe we just
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