Topic Reading-Vol.537-9/30/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

What could have prevented Navy Yard carnage?

There was another shooting rampage in the capital of the U.S., where people are legally allowed to purchase and own almost any type of firearms such as pistols, rifles, shotguns and even military grade assault rifles, not to mention cartons of ammunition that can be used for any purpose.

Accordingly, the police have to be armed to match or overpower such privately held weapons, and security measures for buildings and facilities need be tightened to prevent anyone from bringing in weapons. Sounds like an endless battle, doesn’t it? And it’s very costly, too.

However, no matter how tight the security measures are, once an ill-minded such guns(s) owner has decided to kill or harm others with his or her weapon, it seems extremely challenging to prevent a shooting incident from occurring.

Enjoy reading and learning the challenges to balance between privacy and security in a country where people can posses and use firearms.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/16/opinion/trevithick-predicting-shootings/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Topic Reading-Vol.536-9/29/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Costa Concordia: How ill-fated cruise liner will be raised from Italian seabed.

How to raise a wrecked over-100,000-ton luxury cruise ship in a beautiful conserved sea?

The salvage project of The Concordia, which capsized and sank with 4,000 passengers on board in January 2012, is estimated to be the most expensive maritime wreck recovery in history, costing $800 million to raise the mega ship in the sea only to be towed away and scrapped.

Enjoy reading the article and seeing the graphic explanation of this historic recovery project.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/22/world/europe/costa-concordia-salvage-interactive/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Topic Reading-Vol.535-9/28/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

A new Utah polygamous family on reality TV

Although polygamy, a state having more than one mate at one time according to Webster, isn’t popularly practiced, publically accepted or legally allowed among Christians and Buddhists and in most countries in the world except some countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East, it is estimated that there are over 35,000 fundamentalists who believe or practice polygamy in the Western US, mostly in Utah.

This 43-year-old man in Utah is one of those independent polygamists with five wives and two dozen children aged between two and 20. The family looks pretty happy in the photos, who all live in a huge multiplex overseeing the Rockies sharing household duties and eating meals all together. However, “the parents” seem to be under some mental pressure because polygamy is not a legally allowed status in Utah and also their independent status is not welcomed by the fundamentalist community.

Enjoy reading and learning about an American plural family.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/utah-polygamous-family-reality-tv-051209496.html

Topic Reading-Vol.534-9/27/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Panda cubs make debut during National holiday

Most people want to see a live panda. Then, how grateful you could be if you had chance to see a display of 14 newly born panda cubs in a close distance! Isn’t that a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

When China is celebrating its National Day holidays in October, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which keeps 128 live pandas in its facility, displays newly born panda cubs to the visitors. Would you be interested in traveling there? Sorry for a short notice.

Enjoy reading and learning about this amusing panda event.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-09/24/content_16988562.htm

Topic Reading-Vol.533-9/26/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

World's happiest nations are...

Very curious to know where people feel happier than others, isn’t it?

Surprisingly, the counties ranked at the top of the list aren’t necessarily economically, geographically or populously substantial ones. They are Scandinavian countries such Norway, Finland, Sweden and their neighbor Denmark, and other island or mountainous ones like Iceland or Switzerland.

So what makes people feel happier than others?

Enjoy reading and learning what could be contributing factors to happiness.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/09/business/earth-institute-world-happiness-rankings/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Topic Reading-Vol.532-9/25/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Healthy Italian diet suffers as economic crisis bites.

Back to the traditions. Bake bread and pizzas yourself rather than buying at a bakery or pizzeria, like their parents and their parents used to do to save money or just to live on.

Many of modern Italian families have been facing the effects of the financial crisis that has cut pays and job opportunities of many while witnessing soaring prices of daily necessities including vegetables, meat and even their beloved wheat. For ordinary Italian families, dining out is no longer an option with their limited budget, cooking meat or fish seems too luxurious for daily meals and even buying baked bread now sounds like a extraordinary treatment.

Enjoy reading and learning how people are trying to manage a difficult time in Italy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24084705

Topic Reading-Vol.531-9/24/2013

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

After 40 years in North Korea, escapee returns to Seoul.

What would you feel about your life if you had been in captive for 40 years in a neighboring but hostile country where food, energy and medical services are rarely provided enough to anyone but a handful of government and military officials?

Seoul claims that 3,500 of their citizens have been abducted by North Korea since the armistice of the Korean War, which still has not officially ended because no peace treaty has ever been signed between the two. Tokyo also claims 17 such cases.

Enjoy reading and learning about a story of a man who have recently escaped from 40 years of captivity.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/13/world/asia/north-korea-escape/index.html?hpt=hp_c3