In the Bible, shepherds and wise men paid homage to the newborn baby Jesus. In Venezuela, it seems Hugo Chavez turned up in the manger, too. A Nativity scene in Caracas showing the socialist president standing before the traditional crib-in-a-manger has stirred up a pre-Christmas controversy in the politically polarized country.
"It has nothing to do with the real Nativity, with religion. I don't like it," said passerby Arnaldo Amundaray, tutting as he took a close look at the model.
For Chavez supporters and the Nativity's creators, it is a legitimate and innocent tribute to their man.
"The intention is to show off all the revolution's achievements because the media silence the good things President Chavez has done," said Maria Alejandra Mijares, a Women's Ministry employee who helped make the Nativity.
The lovingly constructed model, which stands in a concourse of residential and business towers in central Caracas, has the traditional Christian scene at its heart. But it also politicizes the Nativity by paying tribute to some of Chavez's most popular policies during his 13-year rule.
To symbolize his infrastructure achievements there is a miniature cable car reaching up to a replica shantytown. The flagship social projects of the Chavez government, including his Barrio Adentro (Inside the Slum) clinics, also are painstakingly represented.
In the middle -- in front of and below Jesus's crib -- stands Chavez next to a model of his hero, South America's 18th century independence fighter Simon Bolivar.
Elsewhere, there is a photo of Chavez hugging a child.
"Like Christianity, the revolution is all about love," said another Women's Ministry worker, Yasmina Ereu. "Some people are fascinated. Others don't like it. But this is a democratic country. Everyone is welcome to their opinion."
Chavez, 57, has long had a syncretic philosophy of life, hailing both Marx and Jesus -- sometimes in the same speeches -- while also constantly appealing to the spirit of Bolivar.
He inspires visceral hatred in foes, who see him as a crazy, dictatorial upstart who has set their nation back years with his radical policies and authoritarian style.
Supporters, especially in Venezuela's poorest areas, often display a near-religious love and fanaticism. Both sides have the presidential election next October firmly in their sights.
Just around the corner from the Nativity, at a shop in the old Hilton Hotel that was nationalized by Chavez a few years ago, there is a brisk pre-Christmas sale in dolls, T-shirts, mugs and other paraphernalia adorned with his image.
"Eighty percent of Venezuelans are with him. This process is not going to stop," said seller Carlos Bonilla, parting with a Chavez coffee mug for 40 bolivars ($9.30).
Asked if sales will still be strong after Chavez's re-election bid next year, he and a couple of friends laugh confidently and press a button on a Chinese-made doll to let a plastic 'Comandante' give the answer for himself:
"There's no doubt who are the majority in Venezuela!"
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
All we want for Christmas : some sleep!
By Neil Patel
Bensalem High School
It's senior year. You would think I would have a lot of things to look forward to.
Let's see, there's senior prom, the senior trip to Disney and going off to college next year.
Yet none of those things really matter to me. In fact, Christmas break even pales in comparison to what I really look forward to: getting a good night's sleep.
You probably think sleep is just sleep, but as a teenager, you really appreciate those few hours you get at night.
It's tough for us. First, we have to wake up early to get to school. Then, we spend hours working hard and studying diligently (trying to stay awake in school takes just as much effort). Afterwards, there are extracurriculars, which really take their toll.
When you think its all over and you can put your rough day behind you, you come home to your mother's absurd chores and those impossible calculus problems.
After all this, all you want is to get some sleep but, sadly, you end up with less-than-adequate hourss of it. And this is only Monday! You have to get through four more days like this before you're home free on the weekends.
However, it is also difficult to catch up on sleep during the weekend. That's our only free time during the school year! Rather than sleep away our day, we're prone to stay up late but have a good time doing so.
Man, do we pay a price for this! Walking around the halls of a high school, you would swear all the kids were like zombies. Homeroom, as well as math class, is a time where people catch up on sleep. The tests that are given on a Monday mourning are a guaranteed disaster. And participation in class is as prevalent as fans at a Flordia (now, Miami) Marlins game (which, if you do not know, is pretty much non-existent).
So now with all of this on the table, is there really any remedy to the amount of sleep teenagers get? A quick fix by many is the ever-so-popular nap. After a long day of school, many people just nap their day away.
I've been guilty of this, yet it comes at a cost. The few hours of sleep in the afternoon replaces the amount of sleep you get at night. In the end, you are getting less sleep.
There is always just simply putting down the phone, closing the laptop and turning off the television. Just doing this and going to bed earlier would do wonders, but it may be asking too much for a teenager to give up these things for the chance to crawl into bed earlier.
So it seems as if there really isn't much that can be done for teens. No matter how bad they're going to feel in the morning and how much they'll regret it, there's little that can be done to alter their sleeping habits.
Because of this, I'm eyeing this weekend to catch up on the sleep I lost watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family.
Bensalem High School
It's senior year. You would think I would have a lot of things to look forward to.
Let's see, there's senior prom, the senior trip to Disney and going off to college next year.
Yet none of those things really matter to me. In fact, Christmas break even pales in comparison to what I really look forward to: getting a good night's sleep.
You probably think sleep is just sleep, but as a teenager, you really appreciate those few hours you get at night.
It's tough for us. First, we have to wake up early to get to school. Then, we spend hours working hard and studying diligently (trying to stay awake in school takes just as much effort). Afterwards, there are extracurriculars, which really take their toll.
When you think its all over and you can put your rough day behind you, you come home to your mother's absurd chores and those impossible calculus problems.
After all this, all you want is to get some sleep but, sadly, you end up with less-than-adequate hourss of it. And this is only Monday! You have to get through four more days like this before you're home free on the weekends.
However, it is also difficult to catch up on sleep during the weekend. That's our only free time during the school year! Rather than sleep away our day, we're prone to stay up late but have a good time doing so.
Man, do we pay a price for this! Walking around the halls of a high school, you would swear all the kids were like zombies. Homeroom, as well as math class, is a time where people catch up on sleep. The tests that are given on a Monday mourning are a guaranteed disaster. And participation in class is as prevalent as fans at a Flordia (now, Miami) Marlins game (which, if you do not know, is pretty much non-existent).
So now with all of this on the table, is there really any remedy to the amount of sleep teenagers get? A quick fix by many is the ever-so-popular nap. After a long day of school, many people just nap their day away.
I've been guilty of this, yet it comes at a cost. The few hours of sleep in the afternoon replaces the amount of sleep you get at night. In the end, you are getting less sleep.
There is always just simply putting down the phone, closing the laptop and turning off the television. Just doing this and going to bed earlier would do wonders, but it may be asking too much for a teenager to give up these things for the chance to crawl into bed earlier.
So it seems as if there really isn't much that can be done for teens. No matter how bad they're going to feel in the morning and how much they'll regret it, there's little that can be done to alter their sleeping habits.
Because of this, I'm eyeing this weekend to catch up on the sleep I lost watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family.
F. Y. I.
Lore of Old
According to an old wives' tale, bread baked on Christmas Eve is mold-resistant.
Did You Know?
Kwanzaa celebrations include the daily lighting of a kinara, which holds seven candles, each representing one of the seven principles of the holiday.
Quotable
by Maya Angelou, poet, author and activist
"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."
Presidents' Files
Hanukkah first made an appearance at the White House in 1951, when Harry Truman accepted a menorah as a gift from Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.
Back Then
Christmas was illegal in England from 1647 through 1660, as Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, believed it was immoral to hold celebrations on one of the holiest days of the year.
Point of Origin
The character of Santa Claus is said to be inspired by Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek bishop who went around secretly giving the poor children of his village gifts.
According to an old wives' tale, bread baked on Christmas Eve is mold-resistant.
Did You Know?
Kwanzaa celebrations include the daily lighting of a kinara, which holds seven candles, each representing one of the seven principles of the holiday.
Quotable
by Maya Angelou, poet, author and activist
"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."
Presidents' Files
Hanukkah first made an appearance at the White House in 1951, when Harry Truman accepted a menorah as a gift from Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.
Back Then
Christmas was illegal in England from 1647 through 1660, as Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, believed it was immoral to hold celebrations on one of the holiest days of the year.
Point of Origin
The character of Santa Claus is said to be inspired by Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Greek bishop who went around secretly giving the poor children of his village gifts.
F. Y. I.
Presidents' Files
The first president to greet people with a handshake was Thomas Jefferson. Before that, presidents bowed.
Table Tidbits
Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower inverted into itself.
Still on the Books
In Klamath River, Ore., it is illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snake's head off with your cane.
Quotable
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali philosopher and poet (1861-1941)
"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."
Did You Know?
Canaries can regenerate their brain cells.
Bit Part
Ben Affleck appeared as an extra --- a basketball player --- in the 1992 film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
The first president to greet people with a handshake was Thomas Jefferson. Before that, presidents bowed.
Table Tidbits
Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower inverted into itself.
Still on the Books
In Klamath River, Ore., it is illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snake's head off with your cane.
Quotable
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali philosopher and poet (1861-1941)
"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."
Did You Know?
Canaries can regenerate their brain cells.
Bit Part
Ben Affleck appeared as an extra --- a basketball player --- in the 1992 film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
F. Y. I.
Still on the Books
In Iowa, a man with a mustache may never kiss a woman in public.
Of Note
No two shark rays will have the same pattern of leopard-like spots on their backs.
Table Tidbits
Eggplants are actually fruits and classified botanically as berries.
Quotable
by Benjamin Franklin
"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."
Famous Firsts
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
In Iowa, a man with a mustache may never kiss a woman in public.
Of Note
No two shark rays will have the same pattern of leopard-like spots on their backs.
Table Tidbits
Eggplants are actually fruits and classified botanically as berries.
Quotable
by Benjamin Franklin
"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."
Famous Firsts
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
Friday, December 2, 2011
I Survived No Makeup November
By Elizabeth Yardley
Pennridge High School
Nov. 1, Pennridge High School. Boys were roaming around the hallways proudly proclaiming their pledge to not shave for a month for "No Shave November".
Since I am a girl, I decided to go along with what fellow reality panelist Lauren McClusick wrote about earlier in the month and not wear makeup as a participant of "No Makeup November". Although this seemed like a disatrous and highly risky idea at first, I pushed forward as one of the few teenage girls who would ever not wear makeup to school.
There were times when I wavered and felt very self-conscious and exposed, but I stayed strong! Through this experience, I realized that makeup does not make you beautiful. Being confident and comfortable with yourself does, and you don't have to hide your flaws ---- because a lot of girls do wear makeup, you don't have to be one of them.
Now that November is over, other girls who participated in the month without the eyeliner, mascara, blush, foundation, eye shadow, bronzer and other cosmetics might run back screaming to their bag of treasures and kiss it like it is the formula to solve all of the world's problems.
I, however, will continue to not wear makeup, which may be shocking to some teenagers. But that month has been very eye-opening to me about what realbeauty is, and I no longer believe I need makeup to be pretty. I look forward to other girls realizing this, and then they will not feel obligated to cake on products every day to impress the people around them.
I hope my non-makeup-wearing will continue for a long time and that girls will know being happy with yourself is the best way to look good on a Friday night.
Pennridge High School
Nov. 1, Pennridge High School. Boys were roaming around the hallways proudly proclaiming their pledge to not shave for a month for "No Shave November".
Since I am a girl, I decided to go along with what fellow reality panelist Lauren McClusick wrote about earlier in the month and not wear makeup as a participant of "No Makeup November". Although this seemed like a disatrous and highly risky idea at first, I pushed forward as one of the few teenage girls who would ever not wear makeup to school.
There were times when I wavered and felt very self-conscious and exposed, but I stayed strong! Through this experience, I realized that makeup does not make you beautiful. Being confident and comfortable with yourself does, and you don't have to hide your flaws ---- because a lot of girls do wear makeup, you don't have to be one of them.
Now that November is over, other girls who participated in the month without the eyeliner, mascara, blush, foundation, eye shadow, bronzer and other cosmetics might run back screaming to their bag of treasures and kiss it like it is the formula to solve all of the world's problems.
I, however, will continue to not wear makeup, which may be shocking to some teenagers. But that month has been very eye-opening to me about what realbeauty is, and I no longer believe I need makeup to be pretty. I look forward to other girls realizing this, and then they will not feel obligated to cake on products every day to impress the people around them.
I hope my non-makeup-wearing will continue for a long time and that girls will know being happy with yourself is the best way to look good on a Friday night.
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