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KARNEVAL CRAZY – Jan Engelke, 19, is SuperMario and Marco Möller, 19, is
Mickey Mouse. Both attend the Gymnasium der Benediktiner in Meschede.
The essence of German Karneval
By Katie Grosser in
MESCHEDE, Calle, Germany –
In the Western World, it is an acknowledged fact that
every year has four seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter.
In
some parts of Germany, however, there is one very special fifth season –
the season of Karneval.
The
German Karneval celebrations, especially in carnival “stronghold” cities
such as Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz, are legendary.
Although the season officially starts on November 11 at 11:11 a.m., it
quickly goes into a rest period over Advent and Christmas, with the main
festivities picking up the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which is
called “Weiberfastnacht.”
Although Carnival Clubs throughout the entire country start having their
sessions in January, Weiberfastnacht is the day on which the children
also start the festivities.
Read more
LITTLE GIRLS – From left are
Michelle Beste, 4, Mary Grosser, 3, Annie Grosser and Stella Düking,
both 6. They are all in Kindergarten Wallen.
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When Hurricane Katrina smashed ashore in
2005, Louisiana teen Samantha Perez started writing about the
storm that washed away much of her old life. Her journal,
chronicled in the pages of The Tattoo, is all online at
Hurricane Journal.
Read it for an eye-opening and intensely personal look into the
eye of the worst storm in recent history. |
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-- SPORTS --
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Books for India's poor
By Janani Ramachandran
in BANGALORE, India – As I write this, I look
around my room, and realize how incredibly fortunate I
am. Typing on my laptop, with my iPod and cell phone
next to me, surrounded by a shelves replete with books,
I understand how much I take everything I have for
granted.
Not even half a kilometer from me and my luxurious
lifestyle is a village full of the destitute, hungry,
perhaps illiterate people, all struggling to make ends
meet and get their two meals a day.
Read more
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A-Rod draws teens' wrath
Two teens in Connecticut and one
in New York weigh in on the steroid scandal that has swept
superstar slugger Alex Rodriguez into the maelstrom. Read their
opinion pieces:
By Clare Hern in WEST
HARTFORD, Connecticut, U.S.A.
– I am a Yankees fan – always have been, always will be. But I
am disgusted with one of the many superstars on the team, Alex
Rodriguez. He is a man kids idolize. You can't walk far down a
New York street without seeing a shirt bearing his number 13 on
the back. He’s on track to become baseball's next home run king.
He’s making millions of dollars each year, the highest paid
player in baseball. Couldn't get any better, right? Wrong. He’s
now just another cheater in baseball, using
performance-enhancing drugs to improve his game.
Read more
By Luke Pearson in
HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, New York, U.S.A. –
What are the dreams of an athlete? Is it to win a national
championship or to win gold in the Olympics? The dream of
winning by playing fairly and by the rules has been cheated and
corrupted by the use of steroids.
Read more
By Rocco DiTaranto in WEST
HARTFORD, Connecticut, U.S.A. –
There’s been lots of steroid users exposed in baseball recently
and lots of positive performance enhancing drug tests. Now that
New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez is trying to recover from his
steroid era, it’s time that baseball adopts a harsher punishment
for players who use steroids and performance enhancing drugs.
Read more
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-- NEWS --
Children labor through an Afghan
winter
By Edrees
Kakar in KABUL, Afghanistan – In the
foggy, frozen air, three children walked around a public park in
Kabul one recent winter evening, carrying boxes of Lay’s potato
chips.
The boys, 12-year-old Hamid,
his eight-year-old brother Shoaib and their friend, Nabi, 13,
were trying to sell the snacks to help their families survive.
After finishing school each
day, they come to Qargha Lake, a popular park, to sell their
goods.
“We are very poor people
and the income of my father is not enough as we have got lots of
problems, so that is why I come here every day to sell chips and
earn money to support my family and studies,” said Hamid.
On a cold January day, the
hills and mountains around Kabul were dressed with snow as the
boys offered their wares at Qargha Lake.
Read whole story
By Edrees Kakar/
Youth Journalism International
-- By Alex Patrikios
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