Eye Wink Technology

• Who has developed the Eye Wink technology?
• How does Eye Wink work?
• Who could benefit from it?
• How do they expect to improve the device?

Why did it happen?
Why in Paris?
What will be the consequences?



BBC: Paris Attacks
BBC A New Terrorism
NY Times: How Isis expanded its threats
CNN  Paris attacks (+video)

RAINMAKING

Watch the video and answer the questions

1. When did the rainmaking technique originate?
2. Why is China mentioned in the video?
3. Why is the technique called cloud seeding? How does it work?
4. How many countries are using this technique? Is it being used in Europe?

When Home is the Mouth of a Shark

Since the Syrian civil war broke up four years ago, more than 11 million people have been displaced.
 The majority of refugees are now in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, but hundreds of thousands are attempting a dangerous trip across the Mediterranean into Greece, hoping to find a better future in Europe.
 How is Europe responding?

This is Amira, a 16-year old Syrian refugee. She is one of 30 million other children around the world who had to leave their home behind.
 Read about her here:
Diary of a Teenage Girl Refugee

 Can you imagine yourself in her situation? What do you think she misses most from the life she left behind?

 



 Benedict Cumberbatch, famous for his Sherlock Holmes role, appeals for help in a Save the Children campaign





Answer the questions after watching the video:

• How many people around the world are currently fleeing their country?
• How many of those are Syrian?
• Why are Syrian people leaving their country?

Cumberbatch reads a fragment from a poem, Home, by a Somali British writer. 
Here are some lines from the same poem.


no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well
your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won’t let you stay.
(…)
you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied
(…)
I want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
I don't know what I’ve become
but I know that anywhere
is safer than here

Spanish Elections in the Headlines

 

 

 Spain's indignados could rule Barcelona and Madrid after local election success (The Guardian)

 

Spain's ruling PP gets worst local election result in 20 years (Reuters)

 

Spanish Voters Turn to Political Upstarts in Regional Elections(The Wall Street Journal)

 

Protest parties make gains in major cities as voters voice anger over corruption and high unemployment (The Telegraph)

 

 Spanish elections: Spain enters new era

As expected, in the wake of the economic crisis and high-profile corruption scandals 1________ have tarnished the reputation of the traditional political parties in Spain, the country has now entered a new political era.

Anti-austerity parties, linked 2_____________ the Podemos movement on the far left, which is barely one year old, have the prestige of holding power in Barcelona, and could form a coalition to rule in the Spanish capital.

Across the country the ruling Popular Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has 2____________ punished.

The PP will hold onto the fact that they still have the highest share of the vote of any single party. 3______________, they have lost absolute majorities in regional parliaments across the country, including in traditional heartlands like Valencia, 4_____________ the party has been badly damaged 5______________ corruption.

Barcelona in itself is an incredible story. The new mayor will be Ada Colau, a woman 6______________who made her name by campaigning for people who 7____________ pay their mortgages, and who faced eviction by the banks after Spain's construction bubble burst.

In the capital Madrid, the PP won the municipal election but could still lose control of the city council.

The ruling party took 21 seats but Ahora Madrid, backed by the leftist anti-corruption party Podemos, took 20. Ahora Madrid could now form a coalition 8___________ the Socialists who came third.

Analysts say that similar deals could take place in a number of councils 9______________ as Valencia, further eroding the local power of the PP.

The ruling party may also need to make pacts of its own with the pro-business Cuidadanos party in places such as Murcia and La Rioja.

Spain is unfamiliar with governing coalitions 10_______________ the PP and the Socialists have dominated for decades.

Anti-eviction activist Ada Colau, who is supported 11_______Podemos, has also won the most votes in the mayoral race for Barcelona, Spain's second 12______ city.

"I want to be a mayor 13______ the service of the people, so there will never again be first-class citizens and second-class citizens in this town," she said, as quoted by El Pais newspaper.

Last year was the first time there has been full-year economic growth in Spain 14_______ 2008, when a property bubble burst, putting millions of people 15_____ of work and pushing the country to the brink of a bail-out.

The government's labour reforms have reduced the cost of hiring and firing. However, unemployment remains 16________, with nearly one 17_________ four workers without a job.

Turnout was marginally higher 18_________ in the last election, in 2007.

Find words in the text which mean the same as the following:

1. loan for the purchase of property
2. supported
3. exploded
4. governing, in power
5. harmed
6. hardly

What is in the News?

What interesting news have you read today?
Leave a comment. Don't forget to mention the page where you've read it.

Baltimore Riots

Riots broke out in Baltimore last week following the death of 25-year-old Freddy Gray while in police custody.What started as a peaceful protest days ago turned into violence, with stores being looted, rocks being thrown at police and cars set on fire.

Is so much violence justified?

In his article in the NY Times When Baltimore Burned, Nicholas Kristoff writes about it. Read the article and do the activities. Go to article 

Emma Watson Speaks Out

When asked about what person in the world she most admired, a student in 4th year  mentioned Emma Watson for her fight for women's rights.

In 2014 Emma Watson, best known for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter film series and UN Goodwill Ambassador, spoke at the United Nations about gender inequality, feminism and the  HeForShe  campaign.





Click here for a full Speech Transcript

 Emma Watson says "No country in the world can yet say that they achieved gender equality."

Is feminism still relevant?

What do you think?

Some facts and figures