Winter Olympics in Sochi!

Hey,

Long time no see...

Today, Manmeet and I (Ritika) are going to share this post together about the Olympics in Sochi. We are going say postive and negative things about it.

2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi in Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014 and was the 22 Olympic Winter Games. There were competing in 98 medal disciplines in 15 sports.

Positive:

- Many people follow the Olympics!
- Sportsmen get their chance to show their talent and win for their country.
- All paralympians are united by their life storiesof overcoming, that embody the Paralympic values - courage, equality,determination and inspiration.
-More than 1500 torchbearers and 4000 volunteerswill participate in the Torch Relay. The Torch Realy motto "Overcoming. Winning. Inspiring." was chosen for a good reason.Paralympians, in spite of everything, find the strength to overcome all the difficulties!
- The way the Paralympic flame will be lit in different regions will also differ and surprise as every torch lighting ceremony is unique-from rays of sun, from hammer and anvil, from the Russian stove and even from the volcano spark!

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1. Russia 13 11 9 33
2. Norway 11 5 10 26
3. Canada 10 10 5 25

-One more positive thing is that it's encouraging more and more Norwegians to participate in the Olympics.


Negative:

There have been controversies and concerns affecting the 2014 Winter Olympics. There are disputes with Circassians, who demand the events be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises for the 19th-century deaths that the Circassians regard to be a genocide, environmental and economic issues, lack of political stability and governance and the safety and human rights of LGBT athletes and journalists, in light of Russia's "gay propaganda" laws, which have sparked Olympic-focussed protests.

-Forced evictions
The Russian government is resettling some 2,000 families to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure. But not all of those evicted received fair compensation for their properties and in some cases, homeowners were forced out with no compensation at all. Many resettled residents lost a portion of their livelihoods because they depended on agriculture or income from seasonal rentals in their seaside homes.

- Migrant worker abuses
The transformation of Sochi from a small resort town to international Olympic host has been made possible by more than 70,000 workers, including tens of thousands of migrant workers from outside of Russia. Many of these migrant workers face exploitation – with employers failing to pay their wages, confiscating workers’ passports, and forcing them to toil up to 12 hours a day with only one day off each month – all in violation of Russian law.

- Press and civil society crackdown
Russia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for independent journalists, who face threats, harassment, and lawsuits. As reported by CPJ, 56 Russian journalists have been murdered since 1992. Some journalists have been told that reporting on Olympics-related environmental concerns or evictions is taboo. In the past year Russian authorities have not only clamped down on the press by passing new laws on Internet content, they also targeted civil society with laws restricting public assemblies and nongovernmental organizations.

- Environmental destruction
Environmental experts warn that the construction of a new road and a high-speed railway has damaged Sochi’s Mzymta River and the fragile local ecosystem of the surrounding Sochi National Park. The dumping of illegal construction waste and the construction of power lines have resulted in landsides, causing homes to sink and partially collapse, threatening residents' health and safety. In one village, Olympic construction destroyed local drinking wells, leaving villagers with no reliable drinking water source for years.

- Anti-LGBT discrimination
On June 29, 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a discriminatory bill banning the promotion of information about “non-traditional” sexuality. This law clearly violates the Olympic Charter, which states that “any form of discrimination… on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement” (6th Fundamental Pinciple of Olympism) and that the IOC’s role is, among other duties, “to act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement” (article 2-6).


The lead-up to the Games were affected by numerous controversies and concerns; primarily concerning workers engaged in Olympic construction; allegations of the illegal dumping of construction waste threatening residents' health and safety; evictions and displacement of residents to make way for Olympic venues; economic issues; and harassment of environmental and human rights activists and journalists who criticise Olympic preparations or the government's anti-LGBT policies;and disagrees with Circassian nationalists, who demanded that the events be cancelled or moved unless Russia apologises for the 19th-century deaths, which Circassians regard to be a genocide.

Immediatelly after the games during paraolympics Moscow court sentenced eight protestors to prison based on protests in anti-Putin rally in May 2012. On Monday when the games were over, as the judge announced the sentences, over a thousand people rallied by the court building and in vicinity of the Kremlin to support of the Bolotnaya prisoners. Over 600 of them have been delayed and are now crowded at police districts across Moscow.


Well, this is the facts! We know that many of our readers are from Russia, so please don't mind...

(Couldn't upload any pictures due to som technical problems).

-Ritika Jaswal and Manmeet Kaur

Laugh, Smile, Live and be ONE OF A KIND!

Hi,

Today's post is about, as the suggests about happiness.
Have you ever considered about what happiness actually is? or what gives you happiness?
Well, everybody has their definitions. Like wikipedia...

Happiness is a fuzzy concept and can mean many different things to many people. Part of the challenge of a science of happiness is to identify different concepts of happiness, and where applicable, split them into their components. Related concepts are well-being, quality of life and flourishing. Some commentators focus on the difference between the hedonistic tradition of seeking pleasant and avoiding unpleasant experiences, and the eudaimonic tradition of living life in a full and deeply satisfying way.[2]

The 2012 World Happiness Report[3] stated that in subjective well-being measures, the primary distinction is between cognitive life evaluations and emotional reports. (Emotional reports can be distinguished as of positive or negative affect. Many but not all commentators regard positive and negative affect as carrying different information, and needing to be separately measured and analyzed). Happiness is used in both life evaluation, as in “How happy are you with your life as a whole?”, and in emotional reports, as in “How happy are you now?,” and people seem able to use happiness as appropriate in these verbal contexts.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness#Definition

Don't you think that some definitions are without emotions?


Well, this week I learnt to be happy :) It's been a long time since I was really, really very happy. I don't know why, but I suddenly accepted that nothing is Perfect not even a "perfectly" made circle. I'm no longer scared to laugh out loud in the classroom, to be funny, to go.because I'm who I am. I have always been that kind of a girl who doesn't care about what others say. But, in the last few weeks I have forgotten myself. I felt like that because I have almost forgotten how to smile or laugh freely. I have found myself after a very long time so I'm very happy so therefore I want to Write about how to be yourself! How to be one of a kind :) First to be happy you have to be confident about that you are one of a kind!



There's no person who is exactly identical to you. You can have a look alike. You won't see any other you go walking around. We all have out own features who will set us apart from the next person. Are your eyes blue? Brown? Hazel? Green? Maybe both? What about your hair? Is it straight? Curly? wavy? Remember it's not all about looks. Perhaps, you are very patient? or you can crack a joke like no one else. Maybe, you are a good listener, And you always have the right Words to Cheer somebody up.
The gift of uniqueness! That was given to us from birth. Sometimes, we forget that the very thing that makes us unique is right in front of Our face. Literally!

Remind yourself that you are unique
Every morning when you Wake up I want to look in the Mirror...even the imperfections you think you have...I want you to remind yourself that People near you like Family and friends think that you're beautiful as you are! And doesn't see that as an imperfection but perfection. So, whenever you think that you are alone or you don't feel that you belong...It's nothing wrong With that, because it's so many just like you who are just trying to figure it out too. Remember it's all about part of the Journey.

Having a good self-esteem is like having good muscle. You have to work out on a daily basis to maintain it, right? Well, the same goes With the self-confidence. You have to remind yourself that you are beautiful! Keep exercising that in your head. It may not happen overnight, but you are going to feel your confidence grow stronger and stronger each passing day. Just like the physical exercise does good to the body. Mental exercising will strengthen your mind. And we all know a strong mind can do just about anything.

Find your talent! Everyone has a talent! You don't have to be a gold medalist to know that you're talented. Talent means to have the ability that allows you to do something well. And that can be anything!

If you want to be perfect be a robot! If you want to be one of a kind just be you! because no one else can do it better!
- Michelle Phan



Well, being one of a kind is really an awesome feeling. It's like cycling very fast, feeling the air, swimming like a mermaid or dancing like no one is watching.
When I'm myself the small little things don't affect me...I don't know why but it is like that.


Maybe what I wrote makes one feel that when you are yourself you are perfect! It's not like that at all! It's just that you have found yourself and accepted your flaws and imperfections. Sometimes you have to pay a price to be yourself. People will maybe criticize you or point out your flaws, believe me it will happen, but it's just because they think that they are perfect, but nobody is perfect or because they are jealous to see you being yourself so fearlessly. I just want to say that no matter what people say a part of being one of a kind is to learn to answer people who will point out your flaws. If you like someone's quality then try to learn it, but don't be someone else just because you like that one quality!

Be yourself...be one of a kind!
-Ritika Jaswal