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4Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010 Editorial Tea Party: Grass roots or Astro-Turf? A new political party is gaining power in the United States. Where did they come from and what do they want? On November 2nd, millions of Americans all across the country will cast their ballots in the Congressional midterm elections. Democrats, who now control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, are expected to suffer massive losses in both chambers as a result of voter frustration over shaky economic growth and high unemployment. Polls indicate that Republican or conservative voters are much more excited and motivated about this year’s elections than Democrats or liberals. For example, a recent NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll showed that the Republicans have a 46% to 43% lead over the Democrats on a generic Congressional ballot. A Republican lead on the generic ballot is generally viewed as a sign that the GOP will make significant gains in the midterm elections. The enthusiasm among c o n s e r v a t i v e s to get out and vote this November has been widely attributed to the Tea Party movement, a newlyformed coalition consisting of many allegedly ‘grass-roots’ conservative political organizations. The Tea Party has been heavily promoted by Fox News personalities such as Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, who encourage their viewers to attend the rallies of this political movement. Spearheading the Tea Party movement is a group called FreedomWorks, a non-profit led by Dick Armey, a former Republican House Majority Leader. Armey frequently claims that FreedomWorks and other similar organizations such as Americans for Prosperity and Tea Party Express are funded primarily by small individual contributions f r o m dedicated m i d d l e - c l a s s c o n s e r v a t i v e Americans. But is the Tea Party really the grass-roots movement its leaders portray it to be? Both FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity were founded by a man named David H. Koch, a conservative corporate leader and the richest man in New York City. Koch is the executive vice-president of K o c h Industries, a conglomerate of energy, manufacturing, and investment companies that is the second largest privately-held company in America. Koch, along with his brother Charles, who serves as the CEO of Koch I n d u s t r i e s , have been f u n d i n g conservative t h i n k - t a n k s and activist organizations for decades. These two brothers pay for the buses that transport c o n s e r v a t i v e activists to the Tea Party protests, the flyers and pamphlets filled with right-wing propaganda that are distributed to protesters, and even the food that is served at the rallies. The Koch brothers have brought out the worst of America in these Tea Party protests, appealing to hate, fear, and the ignorance of average Americans about complex political issues. The Kochs have a legitimate incentive to stir up emotions within conservative Americans in an effort to restore Republican control of Congress. They hope to facilitate the passage of legislation that will benefit America’s millionaires and billionaires, such as massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that would cost the federal government a staggering $700 billion over 10 years. The enactment of such disastrous policies would come at the cost of massive federal budget deficits, the continued deterioration of the middle class, and an economy that continues to experience weak growth and lackluster job creation. It doesn’t take an elite political analyst to understand that the Tea Party movement is not a grassroots organization, but an ‘AstroTurf’ illusion set up by American corporate leaders to restore Republicans to power and strengthen their grip on America’s economic and political systems. BAITLINE Adviser Cheri Mitchell-Santiago Principal Adrianne Leal Editor-in-Chief Emma Singer 2010-2011 Staff Staff Writers Giovanni Arce Nicholas Arcia Erica Bacourt Mitsu Bueno Michelle Carrera Rhea Cassimire Michelle Davis Guillermo Escobar Giovanna Gonzalez Matthias Kammerer Celine Khouri Andrew Lanser Elliot Levey Jackelyn Limardo Jeremy Mathurin Elizabeth Otero Michelle Ponton Gabriela Reyes Brittany Roth Dorothy Sanchez Phalecia Sears Daiana Torres Baitline strives to provide quality student-led publications to the student body providing the school community with an open forum of public expression. In the publications class, students will make all editorial decisions including, but not limited to: generating story ideas, writing copy, editing copy, laying out copy, taking photographs, and handling all aspects of running the business end of a school publication. Because of this, any comments or concerns should be addressed to the editorial staff. It should be understood that the newspaper is not a professional publication; therefore, students will make mistakes during the learning process. As a staff, we will make every effort to learn from these mistakes and continually improve the publication. While our primary goal is to inform and entertain the school community, we also strive to maintain high journalistic standards. All opinions expressed in the publications are the students’ or the individual sources, and not the staff’s as a whole, the advisor, or school officials. Letters to the editor are appreciated and can be delivered to room 305 or e-mailed to cmitchell@dadeschools.net. All letters submitted may be condensed or edited for grammar and spelling. Libelous material will not be printed. Information about submitting ads can be obtained by e-mailing cmitchell@dadeschools.net. Past issues can be viewed at http://crhs.dadeschools.net.
Technology Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010 5 Jellyfish smoothies Using jellyfish to solve the energy crisis GIOVANNI ARCE Staff Writer It’s energy efficient and cost effective; it’s the new Jelly Shake! Yes, mankind has finally gained an appetite for freshly blended jellyfishes at the small cost of the life of a jellyfish! Smoothie King is preparing to bar its doors and receive a couple of class action lawsuits from P.E.T.A and other jellyfish rights activist marching down the front gates of the Smoothie King kingdom. The truth is that through scientific research scientists have figured out a way to grind the innocent Aequorea Victoria and utilize the green fluorescent protein (GFP) that it contains to create miniature fuel cells. These miniature fuel cells are designed for the purpose of nanotechnology. The Eco-friendly scientist that has developed this ingenious method -Zackary Chiragwandi - discussed generating power at a nano-level by administrating a droplet of jellyfish-type GFP onto aluminum electrodes and exposing it to ultraviolet light. Nano technology is still in its early years of life and has yet to meet its full capacity. This leads to the fact that nanotechnology does not sound massive in size but it can lead to groundbreaking advances in the efficiency of solar energy. This new form of solar cells is more secure than already existing forms of solar cells. “Gratzel cells” The creator of the Gratzel cell was a swiss scientist named Micheal Gratzel who made this solar cell with commonly found titanium elements. These solar cells are acclaimed to mimic a plant’s ability to perform photosynthesis. At first, these solar cells seemed very effective due to its low cost in creation and that it can be available in multiple countries with a variety of economic states. These cells however are only effective with their main ingredient, which is light. These new solar cells are said to be completely self sufficient, creating their own source of light. With the self-efficient characteristics of these biophotovoltaic nano devices, this can lead the way for new diagnostic, medical or even communication devices that can reside in a living organism without the need of an external power source. Other than grinding jellyfish, another organism that can possibly save the jellyfish is sea algae. Scientist Paolo Bombelli explains how it could be possible for people to hack into the power released by photosynthesis using specially designed transparent electrodes. At this moment scientists managed only to generate enough energy to run a digital clock. Which does not sound like much but give this a couple of years and a lot more resources, photovoltaic solar cells can become the most cost effective and energy efficient solar cells ever created. The P.E.T.A organization has not called any course of action against the grinding of these defenseless jellyfishes, which shows that even animal lovers love the fact that jellyfishes could possibly solve some of our energy problems. Almost like a miracle of life Scientists have just recently discovered a way to grow their own green fluorescent protein using bacteria, which takes jellyfishes out of grind time, and back into the safe haven of the deep blue sea. Be on the lookout for these new products New 4G phones and tablets hit the market ANDREW LANSER Staff Writer Blackberry 4G- With the majority of major cell phone manufacturers coming out with 4G devices, it is no surprise that Blackberry is trying to get ahead of the game and stay on top of the market. Rumored to be called the Blackberry “Triton”, many loyal Blackberry users are hoping for faster web browsing, dual cameras, and an HD video camera. White iPhone 4- The release of the iPhone 4 sparked a fire in many apple users who were tired of the look of the past iPhone’s, whose appearance had not changed in a while. Following the path of the iPhone 3G, Apple is planning the release of a white iPhone 4 with all of the same features. Apple founder Steve Jobs has recently been hinting the release and shipment of the device, for those who decide to preorder, before Christmas. Just in time for the parents of anxious teenagers to buy one in time for the holidays. Dell Streak- The iPad caught the attention of countless numbers of techies who were anxious for an innovative tablet, and with all the media attention and users pleased with the idea of a tablet that can do more than just read books to you, it is safe to say that laptop and cell phone makers are quickly releasing future plans for their own tablets. Contrary to the structure of other tablets on the market, the Dell Streak features only a 5 inch screen. The Dell Streak has now created a category of its own, the “Mini Tablet.” Blackberry Playbook- the interesting name of this device quickly catches the attention of many sports fanatics alike and possibly increasing their sales. Many blackberry lovers are excited for the new blackberry technology it features, individual to this device. Another appealing feature is the size of it. Although larger than the Dell Streak, it is much easier and smaller than the iPad. Chatroulette craze: why has it been successful? The new internet sensation has caused major controversy among teens and adults alike MICHELLE CARRERA Staff Writer Chatroulette originated from a 17 year-old Russian teenager’s bedroom simply as an experiment. Now it’s one of the newest and most distinct anonymous video chat services around that has started a new craze among high school students and internet users in general. The concept revolves around pairing users with random chat partners from all over the globe via webcam and allowing people to meet others they would have normally never encountered. After its launch in November 2009, Chatroulette had little more than 500 visitors a day, a number that grew exponentially to reach the current estimated 1.7 million users. One of the benefits of Chatroulette is that creating an account is not necessary and there is no login information to remember. A user can simply connect their webcam, press “Play” and connect instantly to a stranger. The U.S. has the highest number of participants with 47%, followed by France with 15% and other countries such as Canada and Turkey that make up less than 10% of users, according to CNBC. Members are predominantly male, occupying 89% of users, while PHOTO CREDIT: MICHELLE CARRERA Michael Klugerman, Ag, 12, and Daniel Annone VPA, 12 enjoy playing Chatroulette only 11% were female. Chatters can end a conversation by simply clicking ‘Next,’ and proceed through a series of chat partners. But user beware, Chatroulette has been seen as both an example of how Generation Y is progressing into a new “digital world” and as a tasteless site overflowing with explicit content. Undoubtedly many of the benefits of Chatroulette are overshadowed horror stories of those who use the site for unintended purposes. The site is infamous for the uncensored nudity that will frequently be either shown or requested by the anonymous chat partner, a complaint that plagues the unsophisticated technology the website uses. According to web research firm RJMetrics, 1 in 8 “spins,” or video sessions, yields content R-rated or worse. “I’ve seen on TV that people flash and it’s really disgusting,” said VPA freshman Gabriela Millan. Other students also express anxiety about connecting onto the website, among them IB sophomore Carolina Otero, “You don’t know who’s out there [or] if they could be videotaping you. It could be a one time thing but it’s not.” Chatroulette has also spawned internet viral sensations of users engaged in humorous activities. A simple Google search will conjure hundreds of screen caps that range from a man in a leopard suit, a Lady Gaga parody and a mock conversation between Obama and Batman among other less benign images. With the main demographic of the website being young adults below the age of 30, companies have also started to use the emerging website as a platform for business. Travelocity and Dr. Pepper are some of the first to market their products and service with this method and recently independent film distributor Lionsgate also launched a viral campaign to promote the new horror film The Last Exorcism. The video campaign starts with what seems like an average female chat partner, however her eyes then proceed to roll back and her face transforms into a demon’s, after a few seconds the screen goes black leaving only the movie website visible. Chatroulette reflects both the progressive and adverse aspects of the modern social network.
Page 1 and 2: Coral Reef Sr. High School 1BAITLIN
Page 3: News Cuda Cudos National Merit Scho
Page 7 and 8: Opinions Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2
Page 9 and 10: PHOTO CREDIT: DOROTHY SANCHEZ Fashi
Page 11 and 12: A & E Coral Reef Sr. High Fall 2010
Page 13 and 14: Spotlight Martial Arts Master VPA s
Page 15 and 16: Sports How to show school spirit @

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