Editorial, By Lizi & Sinead

This is the first edition of ‘Who Let The Blogs Out?’ Our blog is all about issues in today’s news, which concern us.

The Government. We know that they think they mean well, but do they know some of the effects that they are having on us? It appears not.

One example is the shisha cafes. Since the smoking ban they cannot serve shisha inside their cafés. Most smokers, particularly if they are Muslim, say that this ancient custom is their social life, as many do not drink or go to pubs. The café owners have had their livelihood taken away from them, and this has affected them, and the community.

Another example is knife crime. The government say that they are cutting it down, but more and more regularly we hear of violent stabbings. Are they really doing anything? Think about the last time that you felt uneasy in the streets. Did you see anything there to console you, and make you feel safe again? Security cameras? A policeman?

We have a post on online shopping. What effect is this having on us? And can the internet really be trusted?

We also have some articles in our blog to get you thinking.
This week, our ‘a day in life of’ has an interesting slant to it, that will get you using your head.
Our article about the skinny, size 0 models, and what is the right size for you, may open your eyes, and make you take a good look at yourself.
Our blue tongue article may shock, and inform you. You may be outraged that hardly anything is being done about it, or if you are a farmer, or live near a farm, make you start to take precautions.

We also have our usual book/games/Movies review, and the sports column.

We hope that you post your comments on our blogs.

Yours sincerely,
Editor, Sinead 13
Deputy Editor, Lizi 13

Have Shisha Cafés gone to Ashes? By Saf

The famous Shisha cafes along Edgware road are now under threat of being closed down. Many other Shisha cafes have already closed down across the country. This is due to the ban that doesn’t allow smoking in enclosed public places.
With only a metre or two of pavement available on Edgware road, café owners have to battle it out with other owners for space. But two metres is hardly enough for all those people who want a puff. With a maximum amount of ten Shishas being used outside, dozens are left inside, unused.

"Come winter time, no-one will want to be outside in the cold," says fitness consultant and shisha smoker Paul Carter.

Ayad Albelbese, owner of the Ali Baba shisha café, says that local university students have called his café their “second home” during term time.
His café (which only sold Shishas and drinks) closed down the morning the ban kicked in.

"Ninety five percent of my business was relying on Shisha. Since the ban I have been without an income, I have a wife and a child to support, I have a mortgage...how will I pay my rent?" protests Ayad.
Many other owners are experiencing Ayad’s problems.

Besides the money issues, there are also cultural issues.
Muslims, who want to chill out with their non-Muslim friends, are now having difficulties finding a place where they can all “jam”. They used to go the Shisha cafes, but as winter approaches they are thinking twice about sitting in the cold.
18 year old student, Mohammed, states “People go to a casino to gamble, if you don’t want to gamble don’t go to a casino. It’s that same thing with a Shisha café. People who don’t want to breathe in the smoke, then why go to a Shisha café?”

Shisha cafes have increased over the last 10 years. But now the ban threatens the number to drop dramatically, and the livelihood of many people.
The Shisha attracts all sorts of people, from young students to Muslim women wearing the full veil. All these people will have a limited choice of where to go when they are bored.

On the other hand, some people think that the smoking ban is right, and that smoking in public places should be banned. No-one has fully investigated the effect of Shisha on our health, and so this has lead to big disagreements on the subject. Some people are saying that Shisha is not as bad as a cigarette; this is because of the amount of tobacco used. Mean while doctors and Muslim sheikhs are saying that it harms our health and some even say that it is more harmful than a cigarette.
What do you think?
Post your views on this blog.

??what is a healthy weight for you??

Most teenagers don’t know what the right weight to be actually is. We just base it on what we see in magazines and on TV. But is this the right image? Teenagers who are a healthy weight are starving themselves to be thin because if they compare themselves to stick thin models, they think they are fat. Many children got bullied in school when they were younger because they were overweight; this has made them self conscious about themselves and thinking that they are fat. An anonymous victim said “I never thought I was fat, but when I moved school the bullying started. They started by calling me names, and then they beat me up. I was depressed and suicidal”

All children should be active and eat a balanced diet so that they can have a healthier life later on. If you need to lose weight, it is much healthier to eat more fruit and vegetables and be more active.
Magazines are not helping teenagers with their weight problems if anything they’re making it worse with their size zero models who we’re supposed to idolize.

Another problem in this country is obese children. If a child is over weight, they will have problems in later life. Their life will be shortened significantly and they will have increased risk of heart problems. Every child should do at least one sport a week and eat a healthy balanced diet, and only eat fast food on special occasions. If we don’t change our ways, will we ever see a future?
Valeza Bakolli

Online Shopping

Online shopping is becoming a part of most people’s lives. People are now using the internet to buy what they want, and it is delivered straight to their house. A survey of 2,000 adult shoppers showed that the most popular items bought were books, music and videos. The next most popular were electrical goods and then clothing.


Buying virtual items for real money is a big business. In World of Warcraft, a high level account called ‘Zeuzo’ was sold for £5,000. Many people earn a lot of money like this. All they have to do is create an account, train it to a high level, and sell it. The higher level the account is, the higher the price. It usually takes around six hundred hours to reach the highest level for an average person. That’s a long time, so people buy high level accounts instead of doing it for themselves. Now, account selling is very big, and the average price for an account is around £200. But account selling is against the rules of the games. The World of Warcraft creator has banned up to a hundred thousand accounts in a month for illegal gold trading or cheating. The ‘Zeuzo’ account was banned five days after it was sold. “Account selling is a ludicrous business indeed. I have friends who make good money without moving one finger,” the BBC was told by one player, “You can earn two hundred euros without doing anything.” The University of Indiana estimates that real money trade is worth around $300-$400m.

But there are some bad points in online shopping as well. Loretta Revell ordered £150 worth of groceries from Tesco because her 18 months old daughter was ill. But when it arrived, most of the fresh food was just one day away from the sell-by date. Tesco gave her a voucher to apologise. She was forced to take her daughter to the supermarket to buy fresh food. She said, “You cannot mess around with people, especially when babies’ food is involved. You would expect fresh food to be at least three or four days before its sell-by date.” But when she said that, the customer services became abusive. Tesco spokeswoman, Julie McGuckian, said, “All of our workers that pick the food that you order are trained to look for the code date which is the furthest away in all the products, and clearly in this case that hasn't happened. It is very rare for a situation like this to arise.”

Online shopping can be dangerous. You should only buy something if you trust the person you are buying from. If you don’t trust them, don’t buy from them.

By Menhaj Ahmed 13

Jose’s receives the

As many of you have already heard the forty four year old Chelsea manager Jose Mouriniho, also known as the ‘special one’, has left the almighty blues. Some say it was by mutual agreement but others maintain quit. However, my personal opinion is that he was told by the club that he had a certain amount of time to turn it around after their third consecutive game without a win. Playing poorly in their game against Aston Villa, they left keeper Scott Carson with too little to do, and suffered a 2-0 defeat in consequence. Their game before this against Blackburn was tight with both teams working hard for the point they won, finally drawing 0-0. To cap this all off Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Norwegian side Rossenburg he decided to leave. I assume it was just too much for the great manager.

Rumours are spreading that Mouriniho phoned Frank Lampard and sent texts to the rest of his players saying that he was going to leave the club. The ex- manager led the club to some silverware which included two Premier League titles, two Fa Cup victories and a Carling Cup win.

So what are they going to do without him?

Since Jose left, his replacement is Avram Grant who managed the team in their first outing post Mouriniho against the champions, Manchester United. Unfortunately, the team was too distracted about what was going on off the pitch so they lost 2-0.

What I think is an outrage is that Managers can be in charge of a team one day and if they lose a couple of matches can be kicked out the next. All because a rich owner wants to make more and more money. These are people’s lives they are dealing with. Will Avram be able to turn around Chelsea and bring them out of the slums? Or will he fail?

By Ryan Bruce

Avram Grant

Knife Crime by Zaynab Khanom

When was the last time you herd of a knife incident?

There is a major issue with knifes within the society. Within these last few months there have been a number of stabbing incidents which have horrified everyone. Even in Camden there are gang members carrying knives which frightens the whole community. So much that they are scared to come out at night. We need to find a solution for this major issue, why should people be scared to come out at night. Take a look at these following incidents:


A four-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a man who then went to his local pub for a pint of lager. The boy's 14-year-old sister was also severely injured. A witness described how she collapsed bleeding in the street with stab wounds through her mouth and ribs. Sadly the boy died shortly before 1pm.

17-year-old Danielle Johnson died after being stabbed in broad daylight in Palmers Green, north London. Danielle, from Tottenham, was taken to the Royal Free hospital after the attack. She died on Friday


Many of the young people at school think it is cool to carry a knife, many teenagers threaten other teenagers at school saying they’ll get shanked in other words stabbed many students use the phrase “I will shank you”.

Think about all those children and babies who lose their loved ones because of these terrifying incidents.

Think about our future will it be safer or worse you decide?

Gaming and book reviews-BY Muntasir Syed and JJ

What’s going on in your gaming world!

Stranglehold- new

Games producer John Woo made a huge impact in the gaming industry with the popular Max Payne games. These introduce the focus bullet time mode in 2nd person shoot-em-ups. Stranglehold is the sequel to one of Woo’s earliest movies- ‘Hard Boiled’.

Halo 3- released Wednesday 26th October-Xbox 360

Halo 3 the sequel to Halo 2 and Halo1, which were two of the most popular Microsoft shooting games of the century. When an alien covenant threatens planet earth, the alien discovery Halo doesn’t make things easier for the humans. Join master chief for the fight to justice!

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass- released 17th October- DS

The sequel to wind waker is finally here on the Nintendo DS and it’s going to be BIG. The DS stylus is Link’s ultimate weapon!
Sail through Hyrule battling pirates and ghosts. This game is a certain must have for all Zelda fans. MY FAVOURITE.
Do you think it’s a must have? Post your answer to our blog

PS3 VS XBOX 360ELITE

E3, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo proved a very interesting event this year. Sony stepped up to introduce PlayStation 3 – a machine that spec-wise seemed to show who’s boss to their competitor's machine. Ps3 introducing: blu-ray disc, USB ports substitute for memory cards.

Some commentators suggested that Xbox 360 and PS3 cannot be in the same generation. Microsoft has a devious plan to release Halo 3 at the time of ps3. Bill Gates says, “It's perfect. The day Sony launches [the PS3] they walk right into Halo 3.” What generation was the Dreamcast? Were PS2 and Xbox literally in the game gen? While Sony's market leader has been looking tired for a couple of years now, Microsoft's continues to prove its superiority.

Even though Sony finally looks like they're coming up with an online strategy for PS3, Microsoft has already proven themselves in this area. It's a factor that might just give them some favour in the upcoming console wars.
Which do you think is a better machine? Please post your comments on our blog.

What’s buzzing in the cinema?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix –IMAX
A troubled year for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) as a new witch assumes control at Hogwarts, and the authorities ignore his and Dumbledore's warnings about evil Voldemort's return.

Transformers
State of the art CGI, brings the Transformers to life, as rival Autobots and Decepticons bring their battle to Earth. Will humanity survive?

Pirates of the Caribbean 3- At world’s End
Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp return! Navigating through treachery and wild waters, they must confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng and head beyond the ends of the earth.

What’s your favourite read?

UK book sales record smashed with fifth Harry Potter book. According to estimates ‘the order of the phoenix’ broke sales records selling over 1,777,000 copies on the first day. A funny thing is the books predecessor broke records as well. A true record breaker.
UK favourite:

Even though it is a very old book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen is definitely one of the UK’s favourite novels.

Most children in the UK like adventure books which are about something that happens to the main character which is not really their fault. Favourites:

· The Gatekeeper’s series is proving very popular among both boys and girls.


There are five children involved in a horror, sinister and mysterious nightmare of an adventure. And there’s even more books to come in this scintillating series!!
· Daughter of the Forest by Juliet MarillierEscape with this beautiful retelling of a Celtic myth that blends history and fantasy, legend, and love.

· Peace like a river by Leif Enger
When his older brother is an innocent fugitive, an asthma stricken 11-year old boy goes on an adventure of a lifetime, this book is unputdownable!

There has been a sudden outbreak of Blue Tongue Disease on a farm near Ipswich just this weekend. This has caused many problems for the farmers near Ipswich, as only two weeks ago they were given the all-clear for foot and mouth disease. Blue Tongue Disease is said to have been transported from Belgium.

The Blue Tongue disease cannot be spread between animals; it can only be spread through a mosquito or midge. Blue Tongue Disease will come as a huge blow to the economy, as there have to be larger protection zones which will lead to unused land, and therefore money loss. It also lasts far longer than foot and mouth so it causes a larger health hazard.

The farm in Ipswich have been told that they could suffer for over a year, for scientists have said that it could take this long to create a vaccination for blue tongue disease.

On the other hand, farmers in Northern Ireland are hopeful that the disease will not spread as far North as them, and that the farmer’s precautions for the foot and mouth out-break will help prevent the disease spreading.

As an extra precaution the farmers have been told by the department of agriculture to regularly inspect their animals for any signs of disease, and to frequently use insecticides, to try and kill the insects spreading the disease.

Symptoms:
In sheep you get a high temperature
A swollen head
Difficulty in breathing
Ulcers in the mouth
Nasal discharge



Although, there can be cases where their symptoms are not visible, and the disease will appear as if from nowhere.

The government have reported that because foot and mouth disease is far easier to spread and far more rampant; it is still the first priority for the government. They will continue to keep their policies on foot and mouth disease in place. As for Blue Tongue disease, there is yet to be laws put in place.

Sinead and Lizi, 13

A day in the life of an average person-Andrew Brooks

When was the last time you heard about an average person’s life?

These days, people always want to know about celebrities lives but why can’t we all just concentrate on our own. Average people rule the world not celebrities and Prime Ministers. We are the ones who allow them to run the country, we have the final say before they can go through with it, we can make or break celebrities in an instant .Yet we receive no respect from any of them.

We are the ones who work until we sweat and collapse just to keep the country running. When was the last time you saw Paris Hilton at a cash register actually doing some important work for a change? Instead, she sits inside a nail salon wondering what colour she should choose. These people only have to click their fingers and we come running!

I would say that a day in the life of an average person is probably the hardest life to live. We wake up early in the morning crawl to the kitchen , quickly shove something down our throats and throw on our uniforms, brush our teeth, wash ourselves then hastily jump onto the London transport and make our way to work whilst the “celebrities” just get out of bed whilst someone cooks for them, and prepares their bath. Then we come home and we have to do the cooking and the cleaning whilst they simply have to hire a maid, just to flush the toilet.

We don’t really need celebrities in our lives. They need us. The only free time we have is usually filled with celebrities who advertise themselves everywhere, desperately seeking attention and publicity. It is as if they are little toddlers who have to be tended to every single minute of each day. The only reason why we read about them is because we are so envious of them and would love to see there lives ruined.

The celebrities can sometimes become very similar to pests. There are times when you just want to relax but they are always in your face desperately seeking attention yet again. Then they make a mistake in their lives and it is as if they multiply expecting people to feel sorry for them. But the reality is nobody cares.

Celebrities act as if they made it on their own but they wouldn’t have been so successful without us. It is also appalling how some celebrities treat their fans. These people worship celebrities yet most of them are shunned and ignored. If you read a biography there is absolutely nothing about the fans in there, and they are also written by a ghost writer because the celebrities didn’t have the time, or more often than not, the ability. We are able to hold them together and yet we receive no respect.