Q09159

Should all New Zealanders be organ donors?

In this modern world we can cure a lot of infections and dieses, however we can not heal all wounds which means we need to replace the tissue and organs that the dieses and accidents damage so we rely on people’s generosity before or after their death to donate these. Although we have good numbers of donors we still do not have enough, we also have major flaws in our current system which ignores the donor’s decision and only listen to the family, and we will also look at why the objections of people,s way of life present are invalid.

In New Zealand we currently have 10 donors per million of the population. This may seem good to Japan’s 0.4, however Spain’s 34 and Portugal’s 31 are far better and put us to shame.We just do not have enough donors. In New Zealand we have 400 people awaiting organs. A few of these will get lucky but a lot will die. In my opinion why not sign up for donation? You could save or raise the quality of life for up to ten people.

Our current donor system is seriously flawed. Even if it says the word “donor” on someone’s drivers licence it is not even looked at. The family of the deceased is asked instead and it comes down to there decision. To add to that it is not majority rules, if its fifteen saying yes and just one saying no the procedure can not go ahead. This is not right it should be the deceased decision is final, no matter with the family says. However until this happens make sure your family knows what you want to do and hopefully they will understand.

Some people have excuses not to become a donor, such as I forgot or I didn’t know. There are also others which are more justifiable like I think it is an unsafe procedure, however this is wrong with lowest percentage of success being 80% for lung transplants and the highest being liver transplants with an 95% chance of success. Another excuse is that it is against some people’s religion to be bury without there body full intact, but if gods were truly divine being wouldn’t they believe in using perfectly good organs and tissue to give life or raise the quality of life for other people. Also the now useless organs could be given back to the family of which the good organ came from to be buried with the body. Why not let something good come out of such a bad situation.

For these reasons all New Zealanders should sign up for organ donation, we may already have good statistics but we can make these better if the government changed the law to take the flaws out of our current law and now we know the reasons some people don’t are invalid. Now lets all go give life because one day someone we know may need an organ or tissue donation.

Q06128

Dairy farming today is one of New Zealand’s biggest industry’s and is a big money earner in our country. However this industry brings consequences both economically and environmentally. Along with milk and other dairy products, diary farming also brings with it cattle waste and gas, high prices in dairy products and is overtaking our sheep farming industry. It is because of these three reasons that dairy farming is bad for New Zealand and should be reduced.

New Zealand’s environment is one of this country’s best assets and to see its rivers and air be polluted by intense dairy farming can damage this country’s reputation. This country’s landscape is breathtaking and there are many activities that can be done all around our environmental areas. If one day someone decided to go for a swim in a creek or river, the last thing they would want is to come out covered in cow waste due to intense dairy farming nearby. A few examples of dairy farming polluting New Zealand are cow waste getting into our streams/rivers and cow methane emissions polluting the air and ozone layer. Dairy farming is one of this country’s main polluters and if careless farmers continue to work the way they do now, most of our rivers and streams will become condemned and unhealthy.

New Zealand’s industry as stated earlier is one of this country’s biggest money makers and has exported New Zealand dairy products to a lot of the world’s major countries, but knowing we kiwis pay more for our dairy products than overseas buyers is quite a problem. If one day a casual kiwi bloke decides to go to the dairy/supermarket to get some milk and cheese for their family and discovers that diary products are far out of reach for spare pocket change can be frustrating. A few examples of dairy products being ridiculously high for New Zealanders are milk reaching the $4.00 and in some places the $5.00 mark. Cheese is also ridiculously over priced being at $10.00 a kilo but in a lot of places $14.99 for a kilo. The prices of this country’s dairy products is ripping New Zealanders off and emptying our pockets. The prices of our dairy products should be reduced and be made more affordable for New Zealanders.

One of New Zealand’s biggest industry’s which is also a heritage is the sheep farming industry. Sheep farming is a very popular career and to see it get overtaken by the growing dairy industry might end up destroying one of this countries greatest assets. If one day someone decides to go for a drive in the country to explore the landscape but where there was sheep farms there instead is diary farms everywhere with no trees or bushes just flat grass and the stench of cow waste .This would most likely make the driver think that New Zealand would be better off with reducing the number of diary farms and keeping the majority of New Zealands farms being sheep ones .Sheep faming and diary farming both have examples of effects on New Zealand. With sheep farming you get less pay but you have a far less impact on the environment. With dairy farming you get more pay but you have a far greater impact on the environment. Sheep farming is being destroyed by the dairy industry and we may later lose it unless we act now and halt the growth of dairy farming throughout New Zealand.

Dairy farming today is growing excessively and due to the money made by the industry it will be difficult to reduce, but many people will be against it due to its heavy negative environmental and economical impacts like polluting our rivers and ozone layer, high pricing of dairy products and the endangering of the sheep farming industry. Dairy farming is rapidly damaging our country and unless we do something now we may loss more than what we earned through dairy farming in New Zealand.

Y07046

Is It Okay To Get Plastic Surgery To Change Your Appearance?

When you hear of plastic surgery, what do you think of? A Hollywood star trying to delay the effects of aging? People who want to change the size of their stomachs, breasts, or other body parts because they see it done so easily on TV? These are common images of plastic surgery, but what about the 4-year-old boy who has his chin rebuilt after a dog bit him? Or the young woman who has the birthmark on her forehead lightened with a laser?

Is it okay to have plastic surgery to change your appearance? No it is not okay because you’re just wasting your time and money on just getting plastic surgery, only to change your appearance.

Is it okay to get plastic surgery to change your appearance? Yes it is okay because it sometimes can get you far in life, like modelling. If you get one or two surgeries then that can be good only if it

 is on your nose or something small.

Plastic surgery is a special type of surgery that can involve both a person's appearance and ability to function. Plastic surgeons strive to improve patients' appearance and self-image through both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. These are some of the plastic surgeries you can get.

Reconstructive - procedures correct defects on the face or body. These include physical birth defects like cleft lips and palates and ear deformities, traumatic injuries like those from dog bites or burns, or the aftermath of disease treatments like rebuilding a woman's breast after surgery for breast cancer.

I think that it is alright to have plastic surgery to change your appearance because it can get you far in life, and on the other side I think that it is brainless and a huge amount of money loss because you pay thousands and thousands of dollars just to change your appearance.

Y09161

Follow your heart

Imagine you were born without a kidney or with a heart that did not function right. You would want somebody to give up their organs for you when they die. Everyone should be an organ donor. You could change a family’s life by donating your organ when you die. Also, if you died in a tragic accident and you’re not a donor, all of your organs will decompose and go to waste. Thirdly, more people would be organ donors if there were more ways to sign up.

A families life could be changed by giving one of your  organs  like a kidney, you have two anyway so if someone was born with a malfunctioning kidney you could donate one of yours and save somebody’s life which would be a momentous occasion. “It’s very hard to put into words how grateful I am to my donor family. I know that I have received a very precious gift and will never take that for granted”. As quoted by sue on the NZ donor website. I think that this quote is relevant to this point because she is saying that she is so grateful to her donor family for saving her life.

Secondly if you did happen to be in a tragic accident and you weren’t an organ donor that means that all your perfectly good organs would go to waste like your kidneys heart liver ears eyes nose skin and even your face. It sounds a bit harsh just saying the organs will go to waste and decompose, but it is a fact that if you are not a donor it’s just a waste.

Thirdly more people would be organ donors if their was more ways to sign up to be one because the only way you can at the moment is at the hospital or doctor and when you sit your drivers license test. Maybe if you got a flyer in the mail or a web site on the internet where you could sign up would be an organ donor. The range in the past 10 years has been 25-43 deceased organ donors in NZ.

In conclusion I think that everyone should be an organ donor because there is no point wasting your perfectly good organs if you are in an accident or just want to save somebody’s life.

Y 09161

                         

Y10202

Smokers Are Jokers

Past generations used to think smoking was great and all the ‘cool’ people did it, but since then we have found it is not cool as it can take your life. There are several problems with smoking like the costs, health risks and the addiction. Smoking is a big factor in New Zealand so why would anyone carry on smoking?

Years ago thought it was cool to smoke until they found out about the health risks. From smoking you can get different types of cancers, for instance lung, mouth, lip and heart cancer. From being around smokers, there’s a thing called ‘second hand smoke’, which is simply inhaling it, so it has its health affects on everyone. I think it is a good idea about the smoke-free zones as it minimises places with smoke and then people are prevented from smoking until they find a place where they can, and it doesn’t lead to second hand smoke for other people. There is not one cigarette company now that does not try to get people to quit, they put all these horrible pictures of cancer or cracked lips from smokers which are truly ugly and sometimes it actually persuades people to quit. But still people say to me it is impossible to quit, so why do people carry on smoking?

I class smoking as a drug as it is very addictive and people get hooked easily. There are no benefits to smoking except it gives you something to do. It is not a good example to set for younger generations because look at what example they set on us, and now the present smokers can not quit. From teenagers to elders, people all round New Zealand smoke and personally I think we can change that. There are things like patches that you can easily attach to your arm, and they help you stop the craving of smoking or things as simple as gum which gives you excellent reasons to quit. So why don’t people quit?

The costs of smoking is not to flash either, a negative is there is packets from around fifth teen to forty dollars, and some people chew through a few packs a week so the money starts to add up. People who smoke eventually end up having to pay for healthcare as well if they want to live, which can be very expensive. Imagine what the family misses out on, if people saved there money each week for a year I am sure they could almost take there family on a holiday. So it can affect everyone in all types of ways, so it is pretty selfish to continue this habit considering the cost affects on your family.

Smoking should be banned in New Zealand, and I am glad I know I will never get into it. Anyone smart would know it is bad for you, and there are so many reasons why people should quit, whether its costs, health risks or the facts that it is a drug. It has its affects on everyone and harms people around you and basically there are no positives. It is pointless and everything adds up, so why not quit?

Y 10202

y07043

Y 07043

Driving children around can be a hassle. Especially if they are very social or play sport. With having a child being able to drive it relieves the stress of “what time do I have to pick them up?” Or “where are they?” So, the driving age should not be put up. As of August 1^st 2011 the law is going to change to 16 years old. In order to help parents cope it should stay at the current age of 15 years old. As well as this, it will teach young adults how to become independent. Driving also helps them to be more responsible.

In order to help parents cope, the driving age should stay the same. A personal example of this is when I was waiting for my mum and she forgot to pick me up. When parents are driving children around, remembering where they are or what time to pick them up puts a lot of pressure on parents, so it should stay at the current age which is 15 years old for a learners licence.

Teaching young adult’s independence can be hard but letting them drive is an easy solution. When people drive by themselves they have to make decisions that involve no one but themselves. An independent 16 year old would be, letting them driving to sports practices and parking in a good spot by themselves.

Teaching young adults how to be responsible can be a hard task. But letting them drive is a huge responsibility and that’s why it should stay at 15 years old. If you are driving on the road by yourself you have to be responsible because if you’re not someone could be injured or even killed. With driving comes a lot of costs like, warrant of fitness (WOF), petrol and registration. To pay for all that you have money and to get money you have to work. Most 15/16 year olds can’t get a job because they’re not old enough, or big enough. Also if you are involved in a crash that is another huge cost that needs to be payed for.

In summary, the driving age should not go up because it helps parents cope with all the stresses, it also helps young adults become independent, and it also helps young adults become a lot more responsible behind the wheel and hopefully everywhere else.

By Abraham Cole

y09204

Y09204

BATTLE OF THE CENTERS

Picking backs for the Rugby World Cup will be difficult this year as a wide range of players have preformed consistently well in the Super 15 season. A lot of new names have popped up time and time again and we are constantly hearing of these youngster playing out of their skins. These players are proving they are just as good as the senior players .Ive chosen to write about two very well known names that have appeared a lot this season. Robbie  Fruean and Richard Kahui have both proven why they should be picked for the All Blacks this year.

These players have very similar all round stats but different attributes. For example Robbie Freuan is a very explosive ball runner and is very good at running angles off  Sunny Bill Williams. He is good at finding gaps but Richard is a show stopper with his on-the-spot tackles he has the ability to lift his teams intensity which has the effect to determined the outcome of the game.

One thing Robbie Freuan lacks in his test match experience is that he has not proven he can perform his best at top level rugby. He has been criticised that he is not constant. I fell sympathetic for him as he has not had a chance to prove these sports show hosts wrong but still they look past this. His name is been highlighted as a stand out in the Super Rugby season with his blistering speed. In my words “he rips up the opposition back line”. But personally I rate Robbie as one of the stand out players in the crusaders outfit.

 Richard Kahui has played a reasonable amount of test rugby but has not proved that he is consistently at top grade football. He has been put out time and time again by injury and this has a big effect on his All Black future and he could be in doubt for the Rugby World Cup this year but when he does get an oppunitiy he is known to take it.

Everybody knows that Robbie’s strength is ball running. He is very good at running of Sonny’s of loads. For example in the weekend Sonny took the ball to the line and put Robbie in the gap for a try. This proves he has the ability to do it in the Black Jersey. He was also criticised that he is not that good of a tackler. Once again he proved this statement wrong in the weekend when he made some amazing one on one tackles and created some big opportunities for his team that lead to some outstanding trys.

 These two players have different playing styles and have opposite strengths.They  both have weaknessess and the ability to make that tackle or that line brake. 

Y09149

DON'T JUDGE A BOY BY HIS CAR

Boy racers, hoons, reckless drivers and bogans. These words describe an image of a young male driver. All words are negative and don’t accurately portray the majority of young male drivers-just a few who give the rest of us a bad name. There are many reasons why so called “boy racers” behave the way they do. There is nothing else for teens to do on weekends, and it is a hobby for those motor enthusiasts.

Boy racers have been given a bad name because a handful of people are drinking and loosing control of cars and are causing injury and death. These people have given all boy racers a bad name. All they want to do is show off their cars and enjoy their weekends.

The ones that give “boy racers” a bad name are the ones that heavily accelerate, lose traction, race and speed in town.  They put themselves and others in danger just because they want to show off.

Since the teens are bored and have nothing better to do in their spare time they go out and they drink. They break the law and put themselves in danger just because they have nothing better to keep them entertained.

But for those for which it is a hobby  or who are car enthusiasts, they boy race because they have no where else to do boy racer acts or thrash their car. This makes them break the law to do what they love. If their passion is to go fast and have a fast car they will race and have fun  when they have the chance but is safe when they do it.

If people want boy racers to stop, that will never happen because it’s a hobby for some and for others it is to keep them entertained and it will be always happening. In my view there should be an area out of town out of people’s way where boy racers can race, thrash their cars and have fun. This area should be controlled so it doesn’t get out of hand.

Y 09149

Y09160

Y 09160

Sheep & beef. Which is better?

Imagine this: walking down the hill, dogs barking, sheep running, sun boiling hot and then you smell…. Cow effluent. Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is a more relaxed lifestyle and does not produce offensive effluent. Also sheep and beef pay out is rising faster than dairy farmers.

Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is more relaxing and you have more time to fix your farm like fences and water supplies.. I strongly believe that sheep and beef are better because you are not in a rush all the time

Sheep and beef is less stressed because if the power turns off in your dairy shed you can not milk. Sheep and beef is a better lifestyle than dairy because it is more relaxing and you have more time to fix your farm like fences and water supplies. Also with milking you only really milk every other season except winter but then you still have to do winter feeding. Dairy is more stressful because you have to worry about all of your effluent consents and permits also your big electricity and water bill. You have to keep your cows in good shape because if they get mastitis or something like that and it gets milked you can face losing thousands and thousands of dollars. I strongly believe that milking as it says is a better lifestyle is not what it is cracked up to be because of the stress.

Another reason why sheep and beef is better is because sheep and beef has a faster rising pay out then dairy. Since about four years ago sheep and beef have lost more people because they have converted to dairy making more demand of meat. Meat prices are now at $120-130 a lamb in New Zealand compared with $90-100 approximately four years ago.

The smell of dairy is not the best either. The smell of dairy can affect towns or cities by the smell and can cause complaints and concerns. Also effluent can get into waterways and will kill fish or anything that may swim in the waters. It can also get into a towns supply if it does not get filted which may cause sickness or disease. I believe that dairy is one of the worst places to work because the smell and constant sickness you get.

In conclusion dairy is not better because it is more stressful, harder work and does not smell or get into waterways from the effluent. Since my farm has been converted to dairy I have not enjoyed being on the farm at all all because of the stress, smell and lifestyle.

Taylor Paterson

Q08213

Should GST Be Excluded on Healthy Foods?

Is the New Zealand Government making healthy eating extremely hard for New Zealand families and pricing healthy foods way too high to reach?  It is certainly obvious that healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables are priced way out of reach for most New Zealand families, and therefore New Zealand should exclude GST from healthy foods.  If the government introduces the removal of GST from healthy foods we would have less obesity which would mean that New Zealand would be a healthier nation. New Zealand would also save money on tax emissions and also the removal of healthy foods would mean that New Zealand children would have a brighter future.

In New Zealand it is obvious that we have an issue with obesity and is killing a huge number of New Zealand citizens.  It is estimated that obese people cost New Zealand around 500 million dollars each year.  This is a huge amount of money and which affordable healthy foods would help the people in New Zealand buy healthy foods.  It is completely clear that most people eat unhealthy simply just because it is more affordable for the average income family.  For example an average family would try and choose the cheapest option.  Let’s say that a two litre drink of fizz would cost around $1.50 and a two litre of milk costing around $4.00 or more.  It is obvious that most families would easily go for the fizz simply just because New Zealand families can afford it.  Prices have shown that in the last three years food has risen 20% and still rising.  It all comes up to if the Government is trying to persuade obese people to eat healthier.  So why doesn’t New Zealand make it affordable to buy healthy foods. 

It is clearly obvious that in New Zealand we spend too much on tax and the Government is also trying to save money that our country spends.  There is one thing that the Government does not understand is that excluding GST would help save money in the tax department.  This is because if New Zealand eats healthy which they should be encouraged to do, we would have healthier people, and healthy people do not usually go to hospitals.  This means that we would have far less hospital emissions because people would not be going to hospitals as frequently and would be saving a huge amount of tax payer’s money for just being healthy.  Another big spender in tax payer’s money would be ACC.  ACC is something else that drains New Zealand’s money so it would be helpful if the recovery process was reduced.  For example a broken leg.  If New Zealand ate healthily affordably, this injured person would be able to eat healthy.  If an injured person ate healthy the injury of a broken leg or any other injury would recover more at an accelerating rate because healthy foods do help the body recover from injury and sickness.  So just by having our nation nice and healthy could help money spent in New Zealand and spend the tax payer’s money on more valuable things. 

It is important for everyone in New Zealand that children get the most out of life such as education, their behaviour and the chance to have a bright future.  Enabling children the chance to eat healthy would guarantee that they would get the most out of everything.  It is proven that eating food that is good for you would help brain activity.  This is very important for a child because having an increased amount of brain activity would guarantee that they would get the most out of their education.  By making shore that children have a high performance in education would mean that children would be prepared for the future and would be able to get more out of life and get a well payed job or career.  Also it is proven that children that eat healthy are more likely to be well behaved.  This just proves that children are eating unhealthy simply because so many families can not afford healthy foods and that is why there are so many behaviour issues in New Zealand.  It we tackle the bad behaviour from when children are young it would stop children from distributing bad behaviour when they turn into adults and this would help stop the amount of crime in New Zealand.  This just means that children eating healthy means that helping eat healthy foods would provide a healthy future.

In conclusion there are not very many reasons why GST should be included on healthy foods except that it only would be helping out the Government.  So just by making it simple to eat healthy foods would for most families make all the difference between obesity, the burning feeling in our pockets of to much money being spent and the most important our children’s futures.  It just means that the Government needs to make a healthy option an affordable option.

M11201

                                          Space exploration

When the Nazi Germany started using rockets as weapons, they found out that using and riding rockets to go to the outer space and explore the galaxy is not a bad idea. This is when the space exploration begun.

The Russians wanted to be the best, when they found out about the idea they started their own exploration. On October 4, 1957 the soviets launched the very first artificial satellite named Sputnik 1. Four years later on April 12, 1961, a Russian Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin became the very first human to orbit the Earth using Vostok 1. But the Americans did not want to be left out. On January 31, 1958 the US launched its very first satellite named Explorer 1. In 1961 Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space.

President John F. Kennedy set a national goal in 1961 “Landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth within a decade”. This is when the competition got tougher. But the Americans took the victory when the “giant step for mankind” took place on July 20, 1969, this is when the history was made, an American named Neil Armstrong became the very first human to land, explore and step onto the moon.

After a hard year of research, by the early 1970’s orbiting communications and navigation satellites were in everyday use and the Mariner was mapping the surface of Mars and Voyager had sent back detailed images of Jupiter and Saturn, their rings and their moons.

Highlight of the 1970’s was the world’s first American and Russian space mission.

In the 1980’s satellite communications were able to carry television programs, and people were able to pick up the signals using their home dish antennas. Satellites are very useful, in 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear accident happened; we were able to see the top view photos of it using the satellites.

But there are some bad times. In January 1986 the shuttle Challenger exploded after launch, killing its crew of seven. The Challenger tragedy led to a reevaluation of America’s space program.

The Gulf War proved the value of satellites in modern war. Satellites were used to provide information on enemy troops movements and position, early warning of missile attacks, and accurate navigation. The modern satellites saved many lives in the Gulf War.

The International Space Station is now permanently crewed. With many partners contributing to its system design and construction, with former competitors now working together.

Today scientists are working to replace future space launch system for dependability, safety, and reliability.

Now NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) spends billions and billions of dollars just to find out if man can really live outside the planet Earth and if there really is life in other planets. Is this good for us?

In my opinion, it is good for us because by now Mother Earth is slowly dying due to pollution, over population and global warming, scientist and space explorators are eager to find out the answer to this question.

Do you believe that we can live outside planet Earth? I do, according to http://www.space.com/ scientist found a new planet that could harbor water. This planet is named Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581. The new planet is about fifty percent bigger than the Earth and about five times more massive.

"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid," Udry said.

If Earth is going to die, humans have a chance to survive by living outside planet Earth.

11201 M

M09051

                                      Gambling

It is clear to me that gambling is a big problem in New Zealand. It is not only affecting the people that gamble but their friends and family to. Gambling is to be said to be one of the biggest addictions in New Zealand straight after drugs and alcohol. The difference lies in the fact that gambling addiction is usually harder to detect in people. Gambling addictions can even lead to death due to the financial losses you are going to suffer. It can leave you alone and over your head in dept.

The most obvious consequence of a gambling addiction is the financial losses you suffer as you put everything on the line. Unless a gambling addict repeatedly hits money slot machine jackpots or power ball lotteries, it is mathematically impossible to make money in the long run. The more you gamble the less chance you have to win. The odds are simply too stacked against you. Many gambling addicts find themselves digging deeper and deeper into debt, which only fuels their desire to gamble more, The worst ultimately, a gambling addiction can lead to death not like alcohol or drugs but due to financial losses, no longer able to pay rent or mortgage and is forced on to the street. I can understand that money is hard to keep when you gamble/ do drugs/alcohol in my nanas case smoking that she ended up having to sell her apartment and shift in with us due to financial problems with smoking.

It is clear to me that a gambling addiction has a big impact on not only the gambler but on his friends and family to. As a friend or family member try to help him/her they will usually verbally or even sometimes physically attack them. a gambling addict can even go out of his/her way to push those people away from them. Soon gambling will overtake family and friends in order of importance to an addict. The addiction will soon be so bad that he/she  will start steeling from family, friends through any way possible they can get money e.g. Cash, jewelry, credit cards.

Gambling is so addictive because people tend to start gambling away money that they don’t have thinking that they are going to get the big win but never comes causing them to be over their head in a big debt and trouble. Also a lot of people gamble because it is harder to detect than e.g. smoking, alcohol, drugs. I think that gambling money away that you don’t have is bad because deep down you no that your not going to win but believe you can just ruins your life when you could be saving your money and put it to a good cause in the future.   

As you can see gambling is not the right choice to take as it destroys the friendship between family and friends, leaves you is debt over your head and makes your life a living hell. According to the information I found from http://www.ask.com/ is a fact. I personally have learnt that gambling is just a waste of money will 99% destroys your life.

                    09151 Jared deal

M07023

War Crimes by Nicholas Corbin 2/6/2011

War crimes have been around for 100’s of years but I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s, this was during World War II. This was when Germany blamed the Jews for everything bad that had happens to Germany in the last world war I, and the history of the world war II.

Hitler came to power by saying to the German people that it was the Jews and communists that is why they were defeated in World War I. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Thousands of Jews were arrested and taken to concentration camps where they worked as slave labourers or were shot and buried in mass graves. This went on for 3 years until the Nazi party held the Wannse Conference in January 1942. This is where they decided on the final solution, the extermination of all Jews. Giant deaths camps that where mainly based in Poland were built to carry out the task of extermination of all Jews. Some of these giant death camps where Auschwitz, Treblinka and Belzec. The Jews where sill treated the same as the concentration camps but in the death camps there were gas chambers that were often disguised as showers. Jews were herded into the showers (a.k.a gas chambers) and killed. Then their bodies were taken away to be burned in big furnaces. The scale of the murder of approximately 8.5 million Jews living in Germany controlled Europe around six million were killed. Because six million Jews were killed this is why I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s.

When the Allies founded the first death camps and concentration camps they were shocked that the Nazi’s could be so crill. The Allies decided that the Nazi’s who committed this war crime would have to be punished. The bad thing about Germany was that after the war Germany made a law that if a x-German soldier said they were forced to do something bad like killing millions of Jews the charges got dropped and then they could go home but with a lot of the Germans said they were forced to do it so a lot of it was blamed on Hitler. With this law lots of Germans were getting away with war crimes. I fined this law to be stupid because if a German soldier signed up to joined army they had a choice to do that. If they were told to kill Jews they did it because in Hitler’s speech he blamed the Jews and the communits for losing World War I. So the German people believed this too so they didn’t kill Jews because they were told too. They kill Jews because they disliked them.

This war crime was the worst one, because of the gas chambers because how would you feel if you where taking from your house to be shot, beaten or have to walk 100s of miles to a concentration camp or a death camp where you would be a slave or gassed to death. Can you imagine actually walking 100s of miles to a death camp or concentration camp where you would eventually die? Just emagen that been herded in to a room told to take off there clothes because they where going to have a shower so you  walk in to a dark gloomy room the door is locked behind you and there is about a 100 people in there with you and then a hole opens up and a German is poring something in to the shower then you start to coughed and coughed like your coughing up your lungs now your coughing up blood and then there’s nothing just internal darkens. That wouldn’t be a nice way to die I think. This is anther reason I think this was the worst war crime. I gather this information from www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nuremberg.htm

Because of this information I think the worst war crime was committed by the Nazi’s because they gased and shot Jews and buried in mass graves this is why I think the Nazi’s committed the worst war crime.

M07085

Effects of Marijuana on Teens

By Brendon Mclean

Marijuana is one of the most widely used illegal drugs and a lot of young people do it. I personally don’t think there are any benefits from it and it does cost quite a lot to get a hold of. A lot of people try it because they get peer pressured into it and then get addicted to it. Marijuana can be taken many ways for example smoking it or eating it.

I think Marijuana is a bad thing because it has a lot of effects and dangers, one of the main effects is your mood it can range from stimulated or happy to drowsy or depressed. It can also give you red eyes, make you sleepy and make give you the munchies. Marijuana makes some people paranoid or hallucinate. Smoking it is just as tough on the lungs as smoking cigarettes. Online website http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teendruguse.html shows you the information on these effects and outlines that Marijuana is not good for you.

Marijuana is one of the cheaper drugs but still quite costly drug it can cost hundreds of dollars which is very hard hitting in the pocket. The drug can also become highly addictive , teens who use Marijuana start to become dependent on it to feel go, deal with life, handle stress or maybe to even deal with school. Most people inhale it but there are many ways of consuming this drug for example baking it into brownies also known as space cakes. Research on http://www.teendrugabuse.us/marijuana.html shows there were 14.6 million teens using it in 2002 in the us, 4.8 million of those were using the drug regularly.

There are many reasons why teens start smoking Marijuana, many kids start because they see there friends using it and think it is cool or get peer pressured into it. At my school I know of a group of boys that does consume this drug on a regular bases. They may also see it on T.V for example the movie Pineapple Express is bout Marijuana or it could be on a song, like the song Ganga Farmer. A famous person that done it when he was alive Bob Marley, t quite often see Marijuana as his theme on posters and things like that, he also sung songs about it. Some people think Marijuana makes you smarter and some people think it can make you smarter.

These are some of the reasons why I think doing Marijuana is bad for you there are many more reasons out there but I just outlined the main obvious ones. Marijuana is illegal because of the effects it has on you. I know people that have used it and it does make them do silly things and that is why I think Marijuana is bad for you. If you ever get into the situation for getting peer pressured or anything into it don’t do it.

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Do you think the driving age should be raised? I do not think it should. There are three main reasons why it shouldn’t be raised. At fifteen years of age young people are responsible enough to drive , secondly , you do not want to wait one more year. Lastly, they have made the test a lot harder so you really do need to study and know how to drive.

At the age of fifteen we are boys turning to men, girls turning to young woman. We are maturing more and more everyday. We know we need to be mature and safe when were driving, so we are. Young people these days need to be places like town, sport, etc so how do we get there if we don’t have our licence. On http://www.aa.co.nz/ the people of New Zealand have posted and said what they think on the matter and 74% think its better having your licence at a younger age, and its not just young people saying that ,’Im 37 years of age and its great having your licence young people need there lcence they need to be places this is just wat I think’. My personal link to this is I have my licence and don’t know what I’d do without it.

My second point is why, why wait one more year it’s a waste of time its not going to stop the crashes or the deaths on our roads. This is a direct quote from http://www.nzdrivers.co.nz/ ‘My son was in a car crash and they had a highly modified vehical I think if we lowered the power of our cars it would help a lot thanks’.Instead of raising the drivers age why don’t we do something that’s really going to work and improve this. So why don’t we lower the cc that your allowed so fore the learner and restricted licence drivers let them drive up to 1800cc vehicle. I think this will really help because all guys think bout is going fast or having the fastest car, this should happen later for now you just want a car that gets u from a to b not some flash car that always breaks down. Guys being guys would try showing off trust me not a good idea ‘I was driving my nannas Holden commodore threw town saw a mate then sped up and just about lost control.                    

The last one is the tests the tests are a lot harder then they used to be. People used to get there licence by just going and taking the tests, no study just common sense. The research I've done on this topic from http://www.drivenewzealand.co/  shows not only are the new tests 23% harder it only has a 64% pass rate to the older test having a 81% pass rate which means our older drivers wouldn't get there licence these days. So in a way that makes the young drives not more experienced but better drivers.

This brings me to my conclusion it’s really a no-brainer, it should not be raised. And why is this. We are responsible. We don’t want to waste another year .and we have the harder test. Think about those three things; put your self in our shoes.

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What does attract youth to gangs?

What does attract youth to gangs? As I have researched there are many
different answers and reasons why youths get attracted to ‘gang life’.
When I was on www.youtube.com I come across a video talking and videoing
youths from gang central South Auckland New Zealand where there are a lot
of youths involved in gangs. Youth gangs are boys and girls aged from
12-18 where they make a crew/gang and end up in trouble doing small
crimes.

What does youth gangs seems so cool to youth? on the video I watched it
shows that these boys and girls like being in a youth gang or being in the
life style as one and it partly because of  the American gangster
lifestyles we see on TV, internet and movies with that comes the rap hip
hop attitude that these boys and girls try so hard to be like the reason
why I say this is because there talking to a boy about his life on the
streets an what he gets up to with the youth gangs and they bring up about
the American gangsters an he say “ we ant trying to be like them they
trying to be like us” I think its like a pride thing that is important to
them to keep there reputation up. Most youth gangs are made up of young
Maori and pacific and has been on the rise since 2006 and is getting worse
on www.ehow.com it tells me this.

Anther attraction is they feel like they are being protected mabby growing
up with no friends or there family doesn’t care about them they go and
find boys like them and join a youth gang to make them feel like there
being looked after you could call it www.msd.govt.nz. DRUGS, SEX AND
ACHOLE for youth these 3 things are very big factor in in our life’s
growing up and in youth gangs there is a lot of peer pressure around you
when your with people that have drugs or cajole I think that would be a
big part of why youths join gangs as teenagers even myself here about how
good it can be. Most youth gangs are found in South Auckland and there has
been near killing with the youth gangs at war www.startimes.co.nz

Racisms is defiantly a big reason why youth join gangs as I’ve read in
most of my research they say its mostly Maori an Pacifica youths that are
apart of these youth gangs an yes that is true but they are given this
like name tag as youths who are bad an they don’t think there worth it so
they join gangs. They could be a victim of racisms an’s why they join
because there someone there that will protect them when there only getting
into more trouble. Youth gangs are  getting worse as people are starting
to get seriously injured in fights as it is over just there ‘territory’ as
a boy said from the youth gang in Invercargill the ‘NSD’ (niggers down
south) www.stuff.co.nz . Most of these boys would have potential if it’s
in sport music or academically but they are given no chance as they are
labelled as bad people and don’t know how to get out of it as they are
just kids.

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Why the driving age should go up!

Do you think the driving age should go up??? Because I do!  Even though I’m fifteen and do have my driver’s license there are too many younger drivers out there who don’t realise the responsibilities of driving on New Zealand roads.  Because of this there are more fatal accidents caused by these younger drivers.  Since the driving age has been fifteen, crashes on New Zealand roads have increased by a large sixty percent.  In my opinion drivers in New Zealand don’t take driving on the road that seriously and it shows that they are immature.

I also think the driving age should go up because cars these days are getting to powerful and dangerous.  Younger drivers don’t actually realise how risky they are and the responsibility needed to drive them.  I’m pleased I’ve got my license now and not when I turn sixteen because it would be frustrating to wait that long.   Now that the driving age is going to be put up parents and guardians will have to take out there own time do drop there kids off at sport or special lessons.  Most of them would be happy to do this knowing there children are going to be safe getting to these places.  If there children were driving to these places at a young age they would be worrying if they drove safe and responsibly.

In my opinion as the years go by teenagers are getting smaller and less responsible than older teenagers.  Because of this, older drivers on the road are feeling unsafe knowing there are immature younger drivers and know that at least half of them don’t know the driving responsibilities and how risky it is driving on the open roads.  Big weekends like Queens Birthday and Easter the road tolls for young drivers deaths are outstanding.  The toll in the past two years has increased largely since 2007 when the driving age was fifteen.

In my opinion all the things I have mentioned above are things to keep children that are unsafe off the road and to keep the parents of their children safe knowing that they won’t be harmful on the road.  I hope that one day all teenagers and other road users know the driving responsibilities needed to keep safe and be aware of things on the road. 

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Imagine a world without sport. Obesidity rising? Kids looking up too Ronald MacDonald rather than a famous sport star?....  I’m here too talk about “why sports are beneficial to us in life” For most people, sports benefit our everyday lives; they make us happy when we’re low, smile when we’re angry or set memories over memories.  In closer details “Sports help us learn the aspects of life”. Playing sports in a young age can benefit our lives, it helps us strengthen bones and muscles and “Improve leadership qualities”. The obvious one, “sports help have a positive body, a good out look one life”, our Haoura is a self-well being. Its aspects are Social, spiritual, physical, mental and emotion. In the next 3 paragraph will be written on the headings I have chosen in the speech marks...

                                                                                                                            

Everyone knows a leader.  My favourite leader is the captain of the all blacks, Ritchie McCaw. He is the finest leader New Zealand has at the moment and will Lead New Zealand to win the Rugby world cup. Obviously sports have a lot to do with Leaders.  From teenage years at school they will look up to leaders such as the First Xv captain. From a young age playing rugby, Keanu Kahukura, he captained the Marist team U13 this is what brought him to where he is today, the head boy of Southland boy’s high school. Sports at young ages improve leadership qualities. It helps us in life that in years to come it will benefit us. June 2^nd

June 3^rd

If you see most sports stars now, they have a toned out body. Sports have the benefits of making your everyday lives better. Playing sports gives you a positive out-look on life. Before I played sports in Year 8, I was big and I was a couch potato and didn’t like any sports but later on I got put into rugby. From then-on-now I play for the 2^nd XV and I run the 100metres in 12 seconds at the weight of 91 kgs. I feel great. Sports have the ability to improve everybody’s well-being and a toned out body.

Now here’s one of the best beneficiaries I picked out. Sports have a lot to do on the future of your life, from a young age of playing sports to a age you are now. Sports are like an aspect of life. Winning and losing? Achieving and failing? Kids will learn from a young age that they can and can’t win everything in sports, this is what is linked up too life. They will know that they can’t achieve everything in life. If we lost a game in rugby, we’d have trainging and have group discussion on our faliures during the game . This helps us regather what we should do next time we verse then and train harder. Another aspect is ‘Team work’ . Team work will be a main part in the future as well. You can’t  build a house on your own without a lot of help. So in Rugby , kids will know that theres no such thing as one-man-team.  So sports ain’t just got to do with physical, it can also be what we can use in the future.