historical Africa

Africa is the world's oldest populated continent. Before colonialism, Africa was made up of more than 10,000 different states with their own individual languages and cultures. All of Africa was later colonized except for Ethiopia and Liberia. Africa now has 54 countries and one "self-governing territory," western Sahara. Now some people worry that China poses a new colonial threat. Do you agree?

Rhino Hunting in Namibia

Recently, controversy has been stirred because Corey Knowlton got a permit which allowed him to hunt and kill a black rhinoceros. So obviously, if you kill one of the most endangered species in the world, you're going to get some hate. And supposedly the $350,000 that was spent on the permit (not including the $100,000 donation) is to be spent PROTECTING the black rhino species. This is just a little crazy in my opinion, why purposely kill the very thing that you're trying to protect? And, about the death threats this guy got. I really don't think it should have been taken that far, they do need to take action, just not that kind. But I really don't think this permit should have ever been sold in the first place, especially when it is one on the most endangered species on the planet with 5,055 black rhinos left. I also think international society should have stopped him, so I wouldn't have to write about this in the first place.    

black rhinos

I read a story about black rhino its highly endangered but a man is paying 350,000 dollar just for a simple rhino horn. I think is stupid because they are highly endangered but that man payed  350,000 for a permit that last for like a month. people are using fancy equipment like military helicopters,night vision cameras,and gun with silencers. experts are saying that rhino horns a wanted more than all the drugs, a kilogram about $20,000 that's a lot of money for just that much and the rhino horn are like 20 pounds that' a lot of money for 20 pounds. so ask yourself would you kill a rhino for $350,000?

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born July 18, 1918 in Umtata, Cape of Good Hope. Died in December 5, 2013.nelson was the first president of South Africa he was president from 1994-1999. His negotiations in the early 1990s with the South African president won him the Nobel peace prize in 1993. Nelson went to primary school in qunu. His teacher Miss. Mdigane gave him the name nelson because all children at that school had to have christened names. Do you think nelson is his real name?

The Lion boy

This is an amazing story of how a 13 year old boy developed a blinking light contraption to scare the loins that were eating his family's livestock away. The lions are always causing trouble in Kenya, but his contraption scares them away. It flashes during the night and the lions are scared of the moving lights. He figured out how to make a solar powered flashing light out of a car battery and some circuits and other things. Then because of this his invention is being used around Kenya and he was invited in to one of the best schools in Kenya. What do you think about him and his invention?

African water lily

The plant, of which only a handful of specimens still exist in the wild, was stolen from a lily pond at the famed in London, police said. The thief is thought to have dug or pulled it from the damp, temperature-controlled mud it needs to survive there are only two places in the world that house the water lily. The London police are looking for the thieves and plant company's are trying to find ways to make more.

Those Poor Rhinos

     In Africa the white rhinos are being killed. There were one-thousand-and-four animals poached and used for there ivory tusks. The number has increased majorly from last year. In two-thousand-and-seven, thirteen of these majestic animals were killed now about three a day. If we kill any more rhinos than they surly will go extinct. The poaching was increased fifty percent in the previous twelve months. In the previous year there was more poaching than in any other year. Campaigners say that the growing demand of  rhinos horns for markets in China and Vietnam are fueling the killings. At the end of the nineteenthth century there were only one-hundered rhinos alive. Today there about step-by-step rhinos still alive according to experts. If the killings continue the white rhinos will be extinct in the near future. Do you think this killing should continue?

If you want to learn more about this tragedy go to www.bbc.co.uk

Mountain Gorillas!!

Mountain gorillas are one of the coolest endangered species in the world! There are only 700 mountain gorillas left in the world. Mountain gorillas can weigh up to 300 to 400 pounds and they are vegetarians. These type of gorillas usually last up to 53 years in captivity. In the last few years of their lives, they let them live freely, and not take them into custody. I think it's good that they let these gorillas live their life to the fullest. What do you think?

The African Elephants

Africa is home to many animals including the endangered African Elephants . The African elephant is the largest land mammal on Earth. Sadly these animals are killed illegally for the tusks. Since there tusks are made of ivory they are very valuable. For being such large animals elephants mainly eat roots, grasses, fruits and bark but they consume about 300 pounds of food each day. African Elephants are not domesticated and range around Saharan and the rain forest in central and west Africa. These animals are amazing creatures and should not be harmed.

The Lion? Extinct? What?!

The king of the wild going extinct? Yea, it's a pretty big problem. There were once many protected areas where lions roamed about, but today, there are only 400 left in West Africa and only about 250 of those lions can breed. The lions are very unique and are very important to the people of West Africa. Hunters and plantations are contributing to the extinction of lions, and they need to be stopped. Unfortunately, there is little the people and government can do since they don't have the money. What do you think they should do?

The Killing of the Livestock

I feel really bad for Richard Turere  and his people because all their livestock is getting killed off by the lions. They believed that they came down from heaven along with their animals. So since the lion attacks became more frequent, Richard discovered that the lions were afraid of a moving light source. He found this out because he thought that the fire would scare them away(And he was right) Then, Richard tried to find out if he could build something... some sort of light source that moved and flashed, all on his own. He managed to build one, out of his mother's radio (solar panels) I don't think I would EVER be able to build my own solar powered flashing light when I'm living in the wilderness! Would you be able to?

The Middle East

The Middle East is a very interesting area in the earth that is very arid, which is why they use a lot of water there. They also have a lot of oil, oil is very popular in the Middle East. I am from the Middle East, Palestine to be specific, but I'v never been there before, but I'v been to Jordan, and I'm telling you, it's very dry there. Have you ever been to the Middle East?

King of the wild going extinct?

In west Africa surprisingly the beloved king of the wild is going extinct. Although lions are the king of the wild they are disappearing fast in west Africa. There are less than 250 mature lions in west Africa today. About nine years ago there were about 21 nonprofitable protected areas with lions roaming around and today there are only four. That's a big drop to go from 21 to four. It's about 17 areas that the lions have died out of. The greatly ignored lions are now living in in only 1.1% of the land that they used to live. What do you think we should do about the lions going extinct?

President of Ethiopia Haile Selassie

       Haile Selassie was a great person to all Ethiopians. He was born July 1892 in, Ejersa Goro, Ethiopia. He was a respected crowed emperor in 1930 but he was exiled during world war II after leading the resistance to the Italian invasion.  Haile Selassie was the 225th and the last emperor serving Ethiopia  from 1930 until he was overthrow by the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1974. There was a quot that Haile Selassie said it went something like "throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted the indifference of those who should have known better the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph". To be honest I have no idea what that quot means but that quot had helped Ethiopians in there hard times. He ruled Ethiopia for four decades. 1936 Was the year that he was forced into exile after the  Italians invaded Ethiopia. It was told that he became the face of the resistance as he went before the League of Nations in Geneva for assistance and eventually secured the help of the British in reclaiming his country and reinstituting his power as emperor in 1941. It was sad to say that Haile Selassie died to the effects of a prostate operation he underwent two month before his death. He died August 27 1975 in, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the age of 83. I believe that Haile Selassie lived his life to his intent and I wish to do something great like him. If you had a chance to do something great like him would you?





















http://www.biography.com/people/haile-selassie-i-9325096

One Can Change Lives

A boy, who lives in Kenya, Africa, herding his father's cows, changed his village forever. Today, Richard Turere, 13 years old earned a scholarship to Brook house International School. He earned it by inventing a system that makes everyone happy. Lions started eating Richard's father's cows and instead of killing the lions, Richard came up with an invention that saves the cows and the lions. At first, Richard tried using fire to scare off the lions. This only made it easier for them though. Next, he set up a scare crow but that only worked the first night. The lions are "very clever" he says, and knew the scare crow was not a real person. Lastly, Richard walked around with a flashlight in his hand and it seemed to work. Knowing he couldn't walk around every night, Richard decided to set up blinking lights to scare the lions. Without any experience except taking apart his mother's radio, he set out to complete his task. Using simple wires and bulbs, Richard rigged up a series of flashing lights. Many people in his village used this idea. Instead of killing the lions, they were able to make peace. I think that Richard is a genius! It's amazing that someone as young as 13 can make such a big difference in his village.  It shows us that no matter how young we are, we can do so much!  What are some things you can do to help your town?

 

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Diseases in Africa

  Africa has some of the worst kind of diseases some of them are syphilis cause rash and boils which causes the most deaths in Africa.  Another one is Meningitis reduces peoples life even if they survive it. It mostly happens in the dry season in northern Africa which is December and June.  another diseases is tetanus which causes muscle spasms which is among the top ten dangerous disease. Anothjer one is malaira whicth is given to a human by a musqitoe bite.  These are some of Africa's danergious Diseases. what do u think about them?

Adoption ending in Ethiopia?

             Adoptions are very important in Africa because the country is so poor and dangerous. If the adoptions ended, kids' safety in Ethiopia will be worse than it really already was. Most parents have their kids do chores and things outside where wild animals roam and the parents knowingly know they are risking their childrens' lives.  Typically, about 9,000 kids are adopted yearly but the number has dropped to 1,000. Imagine how many sweet, young , adorable kids have no home or family and will never have one. Their whole life will be with no one to see and know one to love. This new law in Ethiopia might change Ethiopia in so many different ways. What can we do to help?

Mountain Gorillas

Mountain Gorillas are a really cool endangered species! The only bad part is that there is only 700 of them left in the whole world. It makes me really sad to think that in a few years they will be thought of how dinosaurs are thought of. Extinct, dead, never to return, etc. Thankfully, these animals are not taken into custody, and are let to live freely in their last years of life. I think it is good for them to be free, what do you think?

A Visit To Tatooine

When I tried to think of something that was cool in Africa I began to realize that I didn't know anything that was cool in Africa. When I looked at Mr. Hopper’s title, A New Hope I thought of there was anything cool about Africa and Star Wars. After a solid 5 minutes of researching  found out that Tatooine in the movie was filmed in Africa and word has it that soon it will soon be swallowed by the Sahara desert. Do you think Tatooine will be swallowed by the Sahara desert?

Link to this story

Mountain gorillas

                                  Mountain gorillas

Mountain gorillas have been hunted by poachers and this is the reason why they are an endangered species. The worlds remaining mountain gorillas live in these four parks Bwindi impenetrable national park Mgahina gorilla national park and virunga national park. Gorillas are actually my favorite animal so it would really sad if mountain gorillas became extinct. Another reason why they are endangered is that when more people move into their habitat and more tourists come the mountain gorillas are exposed to human ailments.  

               

Cupid of Love...Not

      Not only are lions suffering in Africa but humans are too. This month it has been made official that the president of Africa, Goodluck Jonathan has signed a legislation that bans any gay relationships. If one was to get caught being active or participating in any gay groups or relationship they'll get get automatically sentenced to 10-14 years in prison mattering what they did. Since the law was passed out, dozens of gay men have been arrested and caught for being gay.  Not only have they been sent to jail and striped of their freedom to express they've also been tortured into spilling out names. This hunt to get all gay men caught has gone so crazy its become like the witch hunt back in the old days. The only good thing that some people find out of this law is that it stops some of the spreading for HIVs.  Do you think this new law is right?

13 Year Old Einstein?!

                    At ony age 13, our age, a young boy by the name of Richard Turere invented something very life changing for him and his family. Turere was raised to see lions as the enemy becuse they were eating all of the families lifestock, but most importantly, their cows. So at the age of 11, trying to figure out a solution to keep his cows safe, he studied them a bit. discovering they werent fond of lights, and movement.

                   So taking a motorcycle indicator, LED bulbs and an old car battery that was powered by a solar panel, Richard set up a system of lights that faced outward into the darkness of the park. the lights (A.K.A, The Lion Lights) flicker on and off throughout the night.

                 Ever since tht brillant idea known as the Lion Lights, two years ago, lion attacks have seemed to back off of his familiescattle. 75 farms are now using a simmilar system.

Turere has been given a scholarship from Brookhous International School for outsmarting the lions. He now is hoping to succeed in airplane engineering.

                        What would you do if you had a similair situation as Richard?

Mountain Gorillas

The mountain gorillas are special animals, who are about to be extinct. Currently there are around 700  of the mountain gorillas left on earth, and that's not a lot. These gorillas live by Rwanda, Uganda on volcanic slopes. Mountain gorillas are different than other gorillas because they have longer hair and shorter arms. They're usually found on the ground, although mountain gorillas can climb. It's amazing how mountain gorillas can do some of the human sign language. Do you think its sad how they're all going to be gone soon? 

The Terrors of Joseph Kony

Joseph Kony is a man with no remorse for what he does. What he does is he kidnaps children and makes them his personal sex slaves and his own child soldiers. Joseph Kony has been doing this for over twenty years while working for LRA but he is only now getting recognized for what he is doing. It feels terrible knowing that a monster like him can still be out there taking kids are age and making them kill their parents. Could you imagine having to kill your own parents and then go and have to kill other people?

Slavery still stands?!

In Ghana, a country in Africa, people are in poverty with just $1.25 to spend everyday, so some people exploit this and take boys of the street as young as 10 and force them to work on a farm. They weren't given food and were little to no time to sleep. If they were sick, they wouldn't be given any care, if they didn't do what they were told, they would be beaten, and if someone they tried to escape, the farm owner would kill  them. Women are also taken of the streets and used for prostitution. If you want to learn more, watch this video on cnn.com.

Banned Same-Sex Marriage?

Nigerian President Goodluck Johnathan has sign into law a ban on same-sex marriage in Africa's most populous nation. Samantha Power quotes this as a, "big setback for human rights for all Nigerians". According to the News Agency of Nigeria (The NAN), the passed introduces a 14-year sentence to prison for people who are convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage or civil union. For the bill to become law, it would need the signature of that country's president, who has only 30 days to make a decision. It's common though in Africa to have a ban on this.
I find this issue highly restricting and unnecessary. I believe that people should have the rights to marry the same sex. What is the reason of restraining others of in same-sex marriage? I do not believe there is a humane reason on why these people are being banned from even attending a same-sex marriage.

What is YOUR opinion on marriage of the same sex? Do you believe it's wrong or right? Why?

The Lion Light

Richard Turere is a 13 year old boy that got a scholarship to one of the top schools in Kenya. How he did it you ask? simply by invention a useful machine for his family. the invention was called the
lion light, because its a light that scares lions away from his dad's animals. soon after Richard became famous and his invention became used everywhere.

Mountain gorillas

The mountain gorillas are amazing animals that are endangered! Now the mountain gorillas are a bit different from a regular gorilla, the mountain gorilla have shorter arms and longer hair and are taller then the gorilla. There are only 820 Mountain gorillas left and are scattered in many parts of the world. The mountain gorilla are very kind but will do anything to protect their young. They are also said to be color blind and they also have 97% of human DNA! Now if you got the chance would you try and help the mountain gorilla?

My Rant Against All Those Who Pulled The "Poor Rhino Card"

Before I begin, note to Mr. Hopper: please do not grade this

OK people so I know to all of you this probably sounds like some crackpot's legal poaching scam but this actually benefits the Rhinos and I don't care what the heck you heard from that misinformed, anti-poaching, environmentalist extremist site and honestly some times these groups do the stupidest things ***cough, cough PETA releasing all the minks on a fur farm that would have faced an ethical death (as oxi-moronic as that sounds) only to watch them be run over on an interstate cough, cough***. But anyway so I know you heard that OMG there are only 5000 left and they are auctioning off permits to kill them but, actually way to go Dallas Safari Club. Okay before you say that I have turned from the Environmental near-extremist I normally am into a pugnacious hunter, think twice. Those rhinos that are going to be killed (and thank god that they are) are pretty much the most valuable paperweights in the world and nothing else. The ones that are to be killed are old adults that have gone through the rhinoceros form of menopause (whatever the name for that is ) and are now infertile (beginning to see what I mean by paper weights here) and therefore are big gray competition for the young 'uns who actually could breed, in other words they are absolutely, positively, definitely, without exceptions, no strings attached at all no use to their species. These big bulls often take territory that could raise the prime of the next generation of rhinos. It has been proven that weeding out the older useless ones can help the species, in fact with the exception of the twenty some species of sturgeon on the planet (Studies on Green, White and Lake sturgeon have proven that environmental managers should "remove" some young). This is true for pretty much everything, It doesn't create more it dies out- a simple rule (and no this is not excuse to go demanding that we kill everyone over 60). For all you bioethicists out there this is reasonable for goodness sake people!!!!!!!!!!! But hopefully you will never pull the "Poor Rhino Card" again. If there is a molecule in you that thinks you will, please read again. (and by please I mean you must!)

Mountain Gorilla Attack!

A lady in Africa went to go explore the Moutain Gorillas. In the video it showed the lady watching the gorilla families. One of the males got angry and started pounding on his chest. He kicked the woman lightly. Then attacked her, tumbling on her, then running off. She just smiled and did'nt look frightned at all! She could of gotten seriously injured! If I were her, I would'nt go near the gorrilas! What would you do?

Chewy!?

Chewy!?

Chewy, as in Chewbacca of course!  Did you realize that part of Star Wars was filmed in Africa?  Even today you can go to a desert in Tunisia and see Tatooine where they found Han Solo and Chewy in Star Wars. They found the perfect location to film the movie and built the set. And due to a request from the government they left the set there . today people still visit the set in Africa.Would you like to visit the set and would you like a wookiee cookie?

13 Year old from Kenya

Can you imagine a 13 year old boy from Kenya getting a scholarship to one of the best schools in Kenya by making a invention for his family? Richard Turere, a boy who loved to fix things and make inventions made a Lion Light that scares away Lions at night when they try to eat his father's animals. He soon became famous and his idea became used all over Kenya. Soon, he got scholarship to Brookhouse international School. Would you like to get scholarship to one of the best schools?

The Journey Of Nelson Mandela

During his fight, Mandela fled to Tanzania, which housed the headquarters of the ANC. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for defying the racist apartheid government, that led South Africa for decades. He emerged from prison in 1990 and became South Africa's first black president four years later, all the while promoting forgiveness. The end of an exceptional journey for the prisoner, who turned to pres,ident,and who transformed the nation. Mandela was laid to rest in his childhood village of Qunu. Nelson Mandela was our leader and our hero!  With military troop and traditional rituals, South Africa buried Nelson Mandela.

Interesting Facts about Africa

Here are some facts about Africa. Well over a thousand languages are spoken in Africa. Did you know that the largest river in the world is in Africa, the Nile? Also did you know that the desert in the world is also located in Africa, the Sahara. The fourth largest island, Madagascar is also located in Africa. Did you know that africa is the second largest continent, I bet most of you did. Africa crosses the equator and is the only continent to extend from the northern temperate zone to the southern temperate zone. Did you think these facts were as interesting as I did?

The Near Future: African Lions Extinct

​The African lion population has recently suffered a tremendous loss, and is on the verge of being extinct. A recent report says there are 400 or less of these lions left in the West African region. With only a little more than half of them at a breeding age, the entire population could disappear. These lions are also living on land that is only about one percent of the size of their old range. With such a small area of land to live on, food sources vanishing, and the threat of humans, the only way they can continue to live is with our help. What do you say, do you agree we need to do something?

Mountain Gorillas!

Mountain Gorillas are a really cool endangered species! The only bad part is that there is only 700 of them left in the whole world. It makes me really sad to think that in a few years they will be thought of how dinosaurs are thought of. Extinct, dead, never to return, etc. Thankfully, these animals are not taken into custody, and are let to live freely in their last years of life. I think it is good for them to be free, what do you think?

Mountain Gorillas!!!!

                                 Their are so many amazing exciting animals out there that face extinction and one of those amazing creatures are mountain gorillas. They are one of the largest animals and you may not believe it but they share 98% of their DNA with humans! The male gorillas have gray hair on their backs and can weigh more than 600lbs, females only weigh about 230lbs. Gorillas eat no meat except if you include bugs and insects, and are actrally very friendly. They like to stay in groups, usaully only nine gorillas in each. Also scientists believe that they are colorblind but who knows if there right. These outstanding creatures like many faced extinction because of people destroying nature. Whould you try to save these animals if you had the chance?

Killing Rhinos to Save Rhinos - Flaw in logic

     Auctioning out permits to kill endangered rhinos in Namibia, in order to save those endangered rhinos is illogical. Five permits have been auctioned to hunt the endangered black rhinos in Namibia, in order to bring in money to the DSC to save the black rhinos species. Now this does have a sense of logic to do this, it sacrifices some to save more. But this is not the case, it is more logical to not issue any permits at all, thus rendering the action of selling the permits illogical. There are roughly 1000 black rhinos left in Namibia, and five permits have been auctioned to kill them. Let’s say the hunter hunts once a week and only manages to shoot two Rhinos per hunt. In two years all the Rhinos in Namibia would be gone. If the hunter hunts once a month, the rhinos would be gone in roughly 8 years. There are 5000 rhinos in the world as you can see.

 Is it logical to kill of 1/5 of the population?

African Rhino permit sold

A African black rhino hunting permit was sold at a auction at a Dallas convention center. The killing of Black Rhinos is normally illegal because this is a endangered species but this is one of five allowed hunts in Namibia this year. The Black Rhino hunting permit was sold for $ 350,000 to help the Namibia trust fund for Black Rhinos but will it really help this spiecies survive or will it just help depleat the population?

Check out this video.

The Great Sphinx

The Sphinx is one of the most famous landmarks in the whole world. It is located in Giza, Egypt, which is a country that is found in Africa. The Sphinx is a massive sculpture that is supposed to have the head of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. There are plenty of other smaller Sphinxes in Egypt but the great Sphinx is the most famous one. The length of the Sphinx's body is 72.55 Meters wide and it is 20.22 Meters tall. So many years ago the Great sphinx used to be complete and have all of it's facial parts and body parts but now it does not. It is currently missing it's nose, it's ritual beard, and it's lower left ear. Not only that but the Sphinx eye's are pecked out. The Sphinx's neck is also slowly falling apart from the hot and sandy wind. Limestone keeps falling off as well. The Great Sphinx is slowly falling apart, but yet it's still a famous landmark that will stay in Egypt for a very long time.
What would you do if you could help the Great Sphinx from not falling apart???

If you would like to know more visit the video


 

Wolfs of Africa

Ethiopian Wolves are one of the most or the most  endangered canines on earth, as their name suggests they are recursively live in Ethiopia. They were once mistaken as foxes instead of wolfs because of their social behaviors. Later was found as a species of wolves, thus becoming the only species of wolf in Africa. It’s Upper coat is a gold and red mix and its lower is a white, it has large ears to regulate its temperature. They live in packs with 3-13 wolfs per pack, hunting in and defending their territory. Preferring small rodents, this animal with its pack can take down a small gazelle. The females are usually bigger than males but lower in rank most of the time, they mate in August though November bearing 3 to 7 pups in a litter.   

National park in South Africa

Footage has emerged of an elephant overturning a car at Kruger national park in South Africa last month. The video which was recorded on December 30 shows the car slowly approaching the elephant . After a few moments the male elephant turns towards the car and flips it over. The female tourist in the car was seriously injured when one of the elephants tusks ripped open her thigh while
 A male tourist suffered minor injuries . The couple was airlifted from the scene and stabilized then flown to nearby hospital . The elephant was later put down and was discovered to have been in musth
 A condition that usually affects male elephant once a year when testosterone levels aggression and sexual activity increase . The abnormal behavior was also likely a result of an injury the elephant had
Suffered before the incident . Tourists are requested to always keep a safe distance at any animal sighting as they can be dangerous at times the park said in a statement.

endangered auction

An auction to hunt endangered black rhinos sold for 350,000 in Africa.  The Dallas safari club sponsored the event last Saturday,  they declined to name the buyer of the permit.The executive director of the Dallas safari club, Ben Carter, has defended the auction saying that all the money will go to protecting them and the rhino they are hunting is an old male that is not breeding anymore.  The auction has created lots of protesting.  There is only about 5,000 black rhinos in the world therefor it is not a good thing to hunt them no matter what!

Dunes...What?

In Africa you must go to the Sussusvlei Dunes. They are massive with a red tint. Sussusvlei stands for "the gathering place of water" But I recommend bring your own water if you don't want to die from thirst. The dunes have developed over millions of years from flowing water. Climbing the dunes yields breathtaking views. There is a ghostly expanse of dried white clay with skeletons of ancient camel thorn trees. I would love to visit the sand dunes, would you?