Some people see SOPA as a possible boost to the American economy due to the fact that people wont be able to illegally download content off the web. “SOPA could bring back a few major US industries such as the music industry and entertainment industries by cracking down on websites that promote illegal downloading”, said economy teacher Mr. Weisberger. While a surplus will be given to a few entertainment giants, a huge part of an already established online economy would be threatened by the possibility of site blocks. Not to mention that tools were already in place to individually stop online piracy without shutting down the whole system. “It’s like bombing an entire city to kill one guy; there could only be one guy on the entirety of YouTube breaking the rules to shut down the entire site!” said senior Andrew Carmody. In this day and age, almost anything on the web came from someone else and thus is copyrighted. Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia and many more websites would be shut down if this bill were passed.

The fear behind SOPA is the fact that the US government will be given the power to censor sites for vaguely described “crimes”. “Its like giving the government the power to censor everything we see and hear and then trusting them not to abuse their new found power. Sort of like how we gave them the power to indefinitely detain American citizens without being proven guilty in a court case this past winter…” said senior, Jackson Shimminoff. But people should not fear their governments, because we were the ones who chose who goes into office, right?

On January 18, 2012 the internet fought back against SOPA in organized protests on Facebook, Wikipedia, Firefox, Google and many other sites. In a matter of two days the house flipped and the opposition for the bill tripled out the pro-candidates for SOPA. With the dramatic cut of supporters in the house the bill died on the floor as of January 20, 2012. Although house judiciary committee chairman Smith has already begun drafts for a new bill: Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN) bill.

“It was so sick!” said senior Luke Shimmon. “Me, Jackson and Nick heard the album a few days before he released it. It was honestly incredible, you would not guess that it was a 17 year old kid.” When the album was finally released to the public, fans were in awe at the sound quality and how catchy the songs were. “Brah, he straight made it in a month and half. And it’s really good too,” says senior Andrew Carmody.

Some controversy at Le Jardin sparked up due to some of the mature content on the album. “It’s not a rap album if there is no swearing and drug references I suppose…” says teacher Mr. Webb. When Spencer was selling his mixtapes in school, Vice Principal Mrs. Doe took the tapes due to a complaint by an unknown parent.

The album is now available for download on the internet free of charge. “I’m not going to turn mainstream, I’m going to keep my music free, and keep making songs as much as I can. I truly have a passion for song writing and rapping and I’m going to keep it like that,” said Phillipson. Who knows what is to come from our Marsden. Fans and friends alike will keep their ears open, and hopefully his next album will be “off the earth” as well.

The event was captured in a recording of the 911 call in which she asked for help, and also asked for permission to shoot if necessary. The following dialogue took place as shown.  “There’s a guy at my door and I’m here by myself with my infant baby. Can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?” McKinley asks in a voice that is both steady, but tinged with emotion. Grady County dispatcher Diane Graham asks McKinley whether her doors are locked. Her steely answer: “Yes. I’ve got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in my door?” “I can’t tell you that you can do that,” Graham answers, “but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.” Soon after Justin Shane Martin, 24, of Blanchard, died clutching a 12 inch hunting knife  in his gloved left hand. His alleged accomplice, Dustin Louis Stewart, 29, also of Blanchard, later turned himself in. Stewart later confessed to police that he and Martin “devised a plan to burglarize the residence” because Martin knew that “a resident of the home had recently died of cancer” and he “suspected narcotics may be located inside the residence.” Stewart also told police that he and Martin took the drug hydrocodone about 30 minutes before the planned break-in, according to the court records.

Senior Marlena Mlynarska said, “I think the shooting is justified because it was a matter of self defense and the protection of her child. She should not be prosecuted for defending herself in her own home.” She states this knowing that if she had a child that she needed to protect or if she was in the same position as McKinley she would have done the same thing. Where as senior Jackson Shimonoff clearly states, “I don’t think it’s ever right to kill someone, well at least me I couldn’t do that.” He thinks if anything he would have aimed somewhere that wouldn’t kill him but could you really aim in a state of panic?

Being 18 and a young mother who recently lost her husband, her actions were justified. She and her newborn were put in serious danger so she did what she felt was right for the two of them. She took the responsibility of calling dispatch and asking them if she has permission to shot the intruders, and with dispatch telling her she couldn’t give her permission she did what any mother would do and saved her childs life.

The nightmare began at 9:45p.m when the 490 foot cruise liner was four miles off course navigating through shallow waters of 100 feet. It suddenly hit a rock, tearing a 160 foot gash at the bottom of the ship and then allowing gallons of rushing water to enter the vessel. Around 9:50p.m. the ship’s crew members made an announcement warning passengers of the incident. However the Coast Guard and other rescue teams were not notified of the incident until 10:45p.m., approximately one hour later. Senior, Jordan Bluehdorn, said, “I was horrified of the incident and how it was handled. The captain was a coward for abandoning ship and leaving the passengers.”

Many passengers from the cruise line reported that the whole scenario was similar to the Titanic. Thankfully, out of the thousands of passengers only a handful of men and woman have not been accounted for. The passengers also have said that they were never properly trained on what to do in the situation that occurred. Senior, Sammy Gabrelcik, said, “When I’ve been on a Cruise Line before the first thing the crew members do is show you what to do, in case of a fatal incident. It shocks me how that never happened and how there was utter chaos.”

The ship captain has been charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship by authorities in Italy. For a Captain of a 490 foot cruise liner to be off course so far is baffling. He made unapproved decisions therefore causing  a giant rock to gash the side of the ship. Senior, Logan Fornes, exclaimed, “I’m glad he’s getting charged with manslaughter. It’s what he deserves for putting all those innocent people at risk.”

Rescue teams continue to search for lost passengers. The rescue search was stopped for a few days due to harsh weather. The Coast Guard was scared that the extreme weather would alter the ships position, thus moving it towards deeper water. Another serious matter is that the Coast Guard is continuing to solve the problem of getting rid of the thousands of gallons of gas underneath the water. There have been many lives that were taken from this incident, and hopefully nothing like this will happen again.

Senior Christian Riggs said, “That’s pretty cool

man; I didn’t think whales would be so close to shore.”  Edward Lyman, a marine mammal response manager for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary said that the two whales were most likely a mother and her offspring.  Out of a population of 12,000 mammals living in waters between Hawaii and Alaska,  an estimated 10,000 humpbacks make an annual winter migration to Hawaii to mate and give birth.

Safety measures led Lyman to survey navigation charts and found that the whales should have no difficulty maneuvering around the Honolulu Harbors deep depths of 45 to 50 feet.  The main danger found with whales in the harbor is boat traffic.  These whales are protected under the endangered Species Act which requires vessels to stay at least 100 yards away from the whales at all times.  Senior Rachel Larsen said, “As long as the boats are aware of the whales within the harbor everything should be fine.”

It has been at least 15 years since a whale and a calf came into the harbor making this quite a rare event.  Senior Andrew Carmody said “I’ve never heard of whales coming that close to shore.  That’s pretty shocking.”  Chris Kojima, chief mate aboard the Young Bros vessel photographed the two whales as they swam along the ship.  This very special event rarely occurs and probably won’t happen again for quite some time.  Kojima said, “They’re lost and one appears to have a pretty good cut on its back.”  The cut was caused by unknown causes but the other whales seemed to be just fine.

White began swimming competitively at the age of 11 when his mom decided he needed to do something productive with his time, so she signed him up for the Kailua Swim Team.  “ I really didn’t want to swim at first; my mom had to force me to go to every practice.  I stuck with it for a few months, and my coaches all agreed I had a lot of potential,” said senior White.  He sure did; Ian has been breaking records throughout his high school swimming career. White’s freshmen year he broke two Hawaii swimming records and made it all the way to sectionals in Washington, which was his first taste of national competition. White measured up fairly well against the national competition on the mainland and, in fact, even won some events.  “Hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to any sport will pay off in the end, I promise,” said senior White.

White is currently being heavily recruited, in large part, due to the many accolades he has received throughout his swimming career.  Schools such as Linfield, Bakersfield, La Verne, and the University of Hawaii are all showing special interest in him. “Personally I want Ian to swim at Linfield, I think it would be a good fit for him,” said Brandi Halemano, who is a freshman on Linfield’s Women’s Swim Team.

“I had heard Ian was a gifted swimmer, but I never knew he was nearly as accomplished as he is,” said senior Matt Kuriyama.  Many of White’s Le Jardin classmates don’t know much about his swimming career because he is humble and soft spoken.  White is in the midst of demonstrating exactly where hard work, determination, dedication and athletic ability can take a talented high school athlete.

Everywhere you look, women are being degraded and told to act and look a certain way. In music videos, women are portrayed as sex slaves for the leading male. Models do not just show off new fashion types, but stick thin bodies as well, looking as unhealthy as ever. On television, it is difficult to find a strong independent woman who is comfortable in her own skin without looking sickly. The pressure for young girls to look a certain way
starts at such a young age, and shows similar to “Toddlers in Tiaras” sure don’t help the cause. Kids just entering adolescence are caking on makeup and
end up looking like they are in college.  “I think its pre teens that girls start to feel pressured, because nowadays that’s when girl are exposed to magazines, fashion, gossip, texting, friends, etc. Those things can make them feel insecure and pressure them to act certain ways in my opinion,” says Bryant Larsen. “I feel like girls are pressured to look older than they really are. The reason why is because being pretty is what guys want,” says Nicole Davis. Society today tells us what is considered beautiful, and girls take to it too easily. “Movies and television shows make me want to
look a certain way,” says Davis.

Looking a certain way is not just a girl problem, but because of the way the media messes with a girl’s already confusing mind, it has more of an effect on them. “Girls are pressured more than guys are today,” says Larsen. Girls are pressured to be pretty, but how do guys feel in society
today? “I was never really pressured to feel a certain way as a teen because I mostly didn’t care enough what other people thought of me. But if I had to say anything, I’d say they’re pressured to act tough to impress their friends,” says Larsen.  It is not only girls, but both genders feel as though sometimes they need to change themselves to be accepted.

Confidence is key in society nowadays. If you can be confident and proud of yourself, you will not struggle with self identity. Some people struggle with the pressure of society, while others feel it is nothing to worry about. “If you don’t dress a certain way or do certain things, you are
considered weird. But I wouldn’t want to dress like anyone else. I’ve never felt pressured, I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin,” says an anonymous
student. Many can agree that it is difficult to be confident while people are telling you to look a certain way, but knowing how special you are and what
makes you unique is the key to happiness.  Being comfortable in your own skin will help you not only physically, but socially and mentally. The good and the bad sides of media are always going to influence society, but it is important to be happy for yourself. The only person who can make you feel bad about yourself is you, so do not listen to what the media tells you is beautiful; be what you think is
beautiful.

So far the Bulldogs have played six league games and are having an up and down season. They have won three and lost three.  The Bulldogs have been on a small break and are working hard to get some more wins. “Sorry to disappoint the fans.  We are prepared to win the rest of our games,” said senior Frankie Montalvo.

On Friday, Jan 6 the Bulldogs had a nail biting game against Punahou that had the crowd on their feet. The game went back and forth all 32 minutes before the Bulldogs went on a streak in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Freshman Alec Macleod hit the biggest layup of his entire life sending the game into overtime. The Bulldogs then outmatched Punahou winning the game 55-52. McWhinnie had 21 points coming up huge for the bulldogs. “I thought that we shouldn’t have gone into overtime but I am glad that we won,” said McWhinnie.

The bulldogs have six games remaining in their season, five of which are at home. Our home support has been lacking with a small crowd of LJA students watching games. Luke Shimmon has been a dedicated fan and attends every home game.  He wants to encourage more support for the team.  “Everyone come out to the games and support the team,” said Shimmon.  Let’s show some school spirit and support our bulldogs!

“I think the team, although young, has a great chemistry, and we are definitely going to work better and better as the season progresses.” Miller said. Team Chemistry in basketball is a huge factor, and with a group of girls as close as this team, it shouldn’t take long for them to find it.

The Lady Bulldogs opened the season with a win at home against University High. This was a huge confidence booster for the young team. Going back to last year, they had lost 16 straight games, so being 1-0 was a great way to start the year.

“I knew going into this game we had to put on a good performance, and we did that and much more. I was really proud of the whole team.” said guard Stephanie Ramos.

After the big win, the Lady bulldogs had an up and down stretch in which they lost four out of five, and then won 3 straight, before losing to Kamehameha. Last night they were the victors over the Iolani Red Raiders, winning 48-34. The team has four more games left in the regular season, before beginning postseason play.

“Winning at least two of these games would leave us with a winning record, which would give us a better seed in the playoffs so that would be huge for us. Also finishing with a winning record after last year’s team would really show how hard we have worked this year,” said sophomore point guard Olivia McCabe.

Le Jardin’s last game of the year is at home against Maryknoll on Jan. 27, at 6 pm. They would greatly appreciate all student/parent fan support.

On Wednesday, Nov 10, there were ceremonies held all over the 50states recognizing the soldiers that have given their lives for their country. Some people feel the expense of the military is a waste of our tax revenue. Chris Shimanoff, a sibling of a student at Le Jardin said, “What is the military doing? Killing? Killing who? I’ll tell you who, poor innocent humans in the middle of this tragic war. We don’t need war!” His view shows one side of how people feel about what the actions of the military. However, there are always two sides of the story. Most Americans say that without the military the U.S. would not be a free nation. Thousands of men and women have sacrificed their lives, and in doing so letting the people be in a free nation. A retired United States Marine Corp Officer Francisco Montalvo said, “Once a Marine, always a Marine and I appreciated all that these brave men and women have done for our world. I salute them, HO-RAH!”

People question the military and their ethics all the time, and are allowed, thanks to the freedom of speech. Christian Riggs a senior at Le Jardin Academy said, “I appreciate what the military does for us, but I feel that there is no reason for us to go and LOOK for war!”

With the argument never ending people will always have their own opinions and ideas about the military. Respect is needed for the thoughts of individuals because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. With 235 years of protection to the United States, we are all blessed to have the service of men and women. Hope is needed to continue for another 235 years for protection and that the United States will continue to be a safe place to live.