The 13-year-old tree ambassador

In the middle of world chaos between the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the recent violence in Libya I bring good news. For this week I found an amazing story about a little boy.    When I came across the story of a 13-year old boy traveling to speak in front of the United Nations about the importance of planting trees, I thought this has to be shared with us.

The 13-year-old tree ambassador

By Whitney Hurst, CNN

February 23, 2011 -- Updated 1053 GMT (1853 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

·         13-year-old Felix Finkbeiner is already the head of his own organization

·         Plant for the Planet is dedicated to planting trees around the world

·         Finkbeiner says there are 100,000 children participating in 91 countries

·         He says 3.5 million trees have been planted so far

New York (CNN) -- It's not every day that a 13-year-old boy gets a chance to address the United Nations General Assembly. But Felix Finkbeiner is no ordinary teenager.

Finkbeiner is already the head of his own organization, Plant for the Planet, dedicated to planting millions of trees all around the world.

At the U.N. earlier this month, Finkbeiner had one item on his agenda: taking adults to task for their lack of action on planting trees.

In the normally staid U.N., Finkbeiner had a field day telling off a group of adults. His message to the diplomats was simple: "stop talking and start planting."

Finkbeiner warned the countries that disappearing trees would create a climate crisis for children's future.

"We children understand that the adults know everything about these crises, but we children don't understand why there's so little action," he said.

Plant for the Planet was founded in, of all places, a fourth grade classroom in his native Germany.

A presentation Finkbeiner gave in class about Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who planted 30 million trees in Kenya, inspired the movement.

But Finkbeiner believes this tree crusade can only be successful if it is led by children.

"We children are the majority in the world but we can only make a difference if we work together. So we have to work together because if we do this, we can have a big impact," he says.

We children don't understand why there's so little action.

--Felix Finkbeiner

This tree-planting campaign has already had an impact worldwide. Finkbeiner says there are 100,000 children participating in 91 countries with 3.5 million trees planted.

Maathai, who also addressed the U.N. on the same occasion, was impressed with Finkbeiner's success.

"It is an indication of the kind of inspiration and hope we should all have because when they start this young with the conviction and the commitment, then you know definitely there's hope."

After her speech, Maathai and Finkbeiner shared some tree talk and a hug in the hall.

Later on further uptown, Finkbeiner addressed an entire audience of teens at a New York City middle school. His speech was a battle cry to his peers. "It's not about saving the polar bear. It's about saving our future."

Finkbeiner offered the students, who rarely see trees in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, some suggestions on planting trees.

He encouraged the students to organize tree-planting parties in their community. Twitter and Facebook could be used to spread the word on tree events, Finkbeiner told the curious group of youngsters.

Jonathan Mejia, a student who attended the presentation, left feeling inspired to "go out with a couple of my friends to a park and plant a lot of trees in a common area that everyone goes, like maybe Central Park."

This is exactly the kind of momentum Finkbeiner hopes to inspire in children around the world.

"We cannot trust that the adults alone will save our future," the young tree ambassador says. "We have to take our future in our own hands."
source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/02/23/teenage.tree.ambassador/index.html

This post was very difficult for me because I don’t have the confidence to speak English in public. But I did to practice and improve my pronunciation. 

Also I bring a video about the world water day. This was held this Tuesday.  

3erd Post by Me!

Obama praises Brazil democracy in Rio speech

Mr Obama was treated to a capoeira display during his visit to the City of God

US President Barack Obama has praised Brazil as a model of democracy, during a visit to the country.

Mr Obama - on a five-day Latin American tour - said Brazil's flourishing economy and growing democracy were a model for countries in the Middle East.

Earlier, the US president visited the City of God, one of Rio de Janeiro's shantytowns, where he met local people.

The visit to Rio follow talks in Brasilia with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff that focused on trade.

Mr Obama, whose visit is being partly overshadowed by events in Libya, is to travel on to Chile and El Salvador.

In his speech, Mr Obama referred to Libya, saying "a new generation" was demanding the right to determine its own future.

"From the beginning, we have made clear that the change they seek must be driven by their own people. But as two nations who have struggled over many generations to perfect our own democracies, the United States and Brazil know that the future of the Arab World will be determined by its people."

Mr Obama arrived in Rio de Janeiro after a day of talks in the capital, Brasilia, with Ms Rousseff and business leaders.

In a joint news conference, he and Ms Rousseff emphasised Brazil's growing economic power and the opportunities to work more closely together.

However, there was no direct US endorsement of Brazil's bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a move that left Ms Rousseff clearly frustrated at the lack of stronger support.

Ahead of Mr Obama's arrival in Rio, authorities stepped up security and closed a number of streets in preparation.

Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, visited the City of God (Cidade de Deus) favela, one of several hundred shantytowns that dot Rio's hills.

The shantytown is one of several "pacified" under a programme to reduce violence in the city, which is set to be in the international limelight with the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.

The programme involves the deployment of a permanent police presence, known as the Police Pacification Units (UPP), that aim to drive out the drug traffickers who control the slums.

People here told the BBC that they hoped President Obama would see that their favela was a far cry from the crime-ridden slum made famous by the movie City of God.

"We are not animals here but lovely people who welcome everybody," said nurse Tamara Rubia.

During his tour, Mr Obama watched a performance by children of capoeira, which brings together martial arts, dance and music. He also had a quick kickabout with local youngsters playing football.

Analysis:

Title: Obama alabo la democracia brasileña en su discurso en Rio

Subtitle: El presidente norteamericano Barack Obama elogio a Brasil como un modelo de democracia, durante su visita al país. (Controlling idea)

MI: Mr Obama - on a five-day Latin American tour - said Brazil's flourishing economy and growing democracy were a model for countries in the Middle East.

SI: "From the beginning, we have made clear that the change they seek must be driven by their own people. But as two nations who have struggled over many generations to perfect our own democracies, the United States and Brazil know that the future of the Arab World will be determined by its people."

SsI: In a joint news conference, he and Ms Rousseff emphasised Brazil's growing economic power and the opportunities to work more closely together.

I used adaptation translation techniques on the title and also on subtitle.

New words learned it: overshadowed (eclipsado), traffickers (traficantes -Obviamente pero no la conocía-), struggled (luchado), praises (alabado, exaltado), shantytowns (barriada), slums (Barrio pobre).

Pronunciation:

Post it by Luis Garzon!

Gaza militants fire dozens of mortars into Israel

In this post I want to pratice my pronunciation so I am going to read this little article. I hope you enjoy it.

Gaza militants fire dozens of mortars into Israel

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired dozens of missiles into southern Israel in what appears to be their heaviest such barrage in two years.

About 50 mortars were fired - two Israelis were hurt, Israel says.

Israeli tanks later shelled targets in the coastal strip, wounding at least five people, Palestinian officials say.

The Islamist group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said it fired some of the mortars. Three days ago an Israeli air strike killed two of its members.

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza says this seems to be an escalation - both in terms of the number of rockets fired from Gaza and the fact that Hamas said it was responsible.

Hamas's military wing said it launched dozens of rockets, our correspondent reports.

Hamas and Israel have largely halted hostilities since the end of the Gaza war in January 2009, but skirmishes often break out around the border area.

Although members of Hamas's military wing rarely carry out attacks, the Israeli military says it holds the group responsible for all militant activity in the Gaza Strip.

Please Help Japan's Animals

Please Help Japan's Animals

In this video we can see how the animals are sometimes more humane than ourselves. It looks like the dog during all these days after the tragedy continued alongside the other dog despite the lack of food, water and cold. It is a lie to say that we are superior to the rest of the animals. If we the humans have these characteristics: loyal, nice, unselfish, the world would be another one and we would not be in a constant war against each other. 

We can also appreciate the difference between of the Japanese community and  the rest of the world. They have teams dedicated to the rescue of animals that were forgotten by their owners at the time of the tragedy. This practice is not widespread by the rest of the world. These initiatives also need support.Also it would be great to also make donations to rescue these noble animals.

We can all help to Japan 

- Japan Cat Network http://www.japancatnet.com
- HEART-Tokushima http://www.heart-tokushima.com/ENGLISH
- Animal Friends Niigata http://www.afniigata.org/english/access
- Animal Refuge Kansai http://arkbark.net

When I found this video I loved the way that Japanese people during the tragedy are looking for ways to explain to children what happened in Fukushima plant. Using his characteristic humor shows once again one of the qualities of Japanese culture.

The fact to write my ideas in English is very difficult to me. Therefore, I decided to dedicate one of my posts to practice a little more my writing

Libya: Coalition launches attacks from air and sea

In this ocasion I´m going to talk you about what is happening in the Middle-East, specifically in Libya. Please read the next article from BBC that explains the current situation.

The UK, the US and France have begun attacking Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone gets under way.

More than 110 missiles have been fired by the UK and US, officials at the Pentagon say.

Earlier, forces loyal to Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi despite declaring a ceasefire a day earlier.

Western planes bombed targets in the capital, Tripoli, said the AFP news agency, quoting witnesses and state TV.

A French plane fired the first shots at 1645 GMT, destroying Libyan military vehicles, according to a military spokesman.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that British planes are in action over Libya.

US President Barack Obama, speaking during a visit to Brazil, said the US was taking "limited military action" as part of a "broad coalition".

"We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy," he said.

He repeated that no US ground troops would take part.

Shortly after the bombing started, a Libyan official went on TV to denounce the "barbarian aggression".

'Necessary'

A British submarine has fired a number of missiles at Libyan air defence targets, the Ministry of Defence said.

Mr Cameron said that launching military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right".

Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.

Sources in Tripoli told BBC Arabic that the attacks on the city had so far targeted the eastern areas of Sawani, Airport Road, and Ghasheer. These are all areas believed to host military bases.

The air strikes on Misrata targeted a military airbase, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting two residents who denied the state TV reports that fuel stores were hit.

The cruise missiles were fired from one British submarine and a number of American destroyers and subs, said a Pentagon official.

The missiles hit more than 20 air defence sites along the Mediterranean coast, said Navy Vice Adm William E Gortney.

The action came hours after Western and Arab leaders met in Paris to agree how to enforce the UN resolution, which allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.

French planes also flew reconnaissance missions over "all Libyan territory", military sources in Paris said earlier.

In addition, Canada is sending warplanes to the region, while Italy has offered the use of its military bases. A naval blockade against Libya is also being put in place.

The international community was intervening to stop the "murderous madness" of Col Gaddafi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

"In Libya, the civilian population, which is demanding nothing more than the right to choose their own destiny, is in mortal danger," he warned. "It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal."

Shortly after the airstrikes began, Libyan state TV said a French plane had been shot down near Tripoli. However, French military officials said all their planes had returned safely.

Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12796972 

This article looks perfect to practice for my next exam because it has a title  which I could use as controlling idea to find the main idea.

1.- Write the Main Idea of the text and point out how controlling idea is repeated inside the context of the MI

                The MI of this text goes from Line #4 to L#5: "Western planes bombed targets in the capital, Tripoli, said the AFP news agency, quoting witnesses and state TV". The controlling idea is repeated inside the context by lexical cohesion,

2.- Is there any linguistic deviation? Write each word (or words) introduced by the author to complete the meaning of the main idea.

Yes there is: Western planes bombed targets in the capital, Tripoli.

3.- Write, in your own words, how does the author develop the controlling idea to produce the main idea?

Some planes sended by western countries already have bombed a few sites in Tripoli as a measure decided by the Security Council of the UN.