NEWS: Germanwings crash: co-pilot 'treated for depression'

On the 27th of March there was a terrible plane crash in the Alpes. This piece of news talks about the cause of the accident.

Police have recently found evidence that Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Lufthansa crashed plane (A320), suffered from severe depression back in 2009 and that he probably caused the plane crash deliberately, killing 150 people.

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Andreas Lubitz started the pilot training in 2008 but gave it up for several months in 2009 after he continued with it. Althought he passed all the tests and was considered completely re-established from his depression, police have find clues of mental illness in Lubitz's flat and, for that reason, they've taken away the co-pilot's belongings to examine them. They have found an important clue. Althought thay won't say what it is they have assured that it is not a suicide note.

The plane's Black box has revealed crucial information about the tragedy. The pilot left the cockpit to go to the toilet. When he came back, the door was barred and Lubitz didn't open it. The pilot tried to break the door with an axe without results. In the recording, Lubitz seems to want to crash the plane.

For this reason, most airlines have announced a rule that establishes that there can never be just one crew member or person in the cockpit.

Alexander Lubitz

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His parents are really hurt about this tragedy. They have a huge trauma, not only because their son has died, but also because he is responsible of the plane crash and the death of so many people.

Personally, I don't understand how someone could do such a terrible thing. He must have had a very serious illness to do that so cinically.

VOCABULARY

cockpit: the compartment in a small aircraft in which the pilot, crew, and sometimes the passengers sit

black box: an electronic device, such as a flight recorder, that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package.

axe: a hand tool with one side of its head forged and sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees, splitting timber, etc

YOUR SAY: Horoscopes

We all know what horoscopes are. There are twelve signs and you are assigned one according to the date of your birth. The signs are all represented in star constellations that change with the seasons of the year. Each sign has a personality that can be extended to anyone with that sign. Also, the stars are supposed to tell the future of each sign and that's how horoscopes become so popular in magazines and newspapers. Whether it is monthly, weekly or daily, horoscopes tell people what will happen to them in the future. They are usually divided in different topics and the most common ones are love, friendship, family and work. They are also used to measure the compatibility between signs comparing their personality traits. But, do you think that horoscopes really apply to people?

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There are a lot of people who think they do. They truly believe that the future that is being told for their signs is actually real. Althought sometimes it does seem like what is being told to you kind of relates to your present situation, horoscopes are just made by a bunch of people who have to invent something different for each sign every month/week/day and are probably typing whatever comes to their minds. It's not the stars plan if you're going to "find that special someone in an uncommon situation" or "you should work a little bit more or you might get fired at your job". The thing is that we make our own destiny. If we live up to horoscopes and have so much confidence in what they say, we will stop making decisions for ourselves. Of course, I'm not saying that everyone does that. In fact, I don't think that there's much people out there that believe so much in this things.

Whenever someone doesn't like their horoscope

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More over, there's the signs personality traits. I am a Sagittarius (my birthday is on 7th December) and, for example, I'm supposed to be adventurous, honest (a little too much and can come up as rude), too independent and moody, creative, generous, careless... The list goes on, but I think you can understand what I'm talking about. I do consider myself honest, but I don't think that I'm tactless. Careless? Well that doesn't sound like me, but I guess if my horoscope says so... Independent? Okay maybe a little bit. I don't disagree with everything there is on the list, but that's the problem: we are more than a list of virtues and flaws. And those qualities that we own can't define us. It is what we do with our qualities, time and experiences what really tells the world who we are and builds up our destiny. Not the stars, not our birth date, but ourselves.

As a conclusion, I think that horoscopes are funny and entertaining but not real at all. If everyone could be classified by their birth dates and personality traits this could be the next Divergent movie. We all skip the pages of our magazines to read our horoscope (you know you do that, everyone does) because we are curious, but I don't think that many people take it seriously.

YOUR SAY: Into the blue

Now that summer is approaching  I'm sure that everyone has been preparing their swimsuits and towels to head straight up to the beach as soon as this schoolyear ends. The thing is that we don't really know what lies under the sea. Many biologists say, actually, that the surface of the moon is more well-known than the depths of the oceans. Strange, right? How could we not know everything about our planet? Specially about the water environments that cover about 71 % of the Earth's surface.

Yeti crab

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In the last decade more than a thousand new animal species have been discovered in the deep seas, and there are yet a lot more to be found. The Census of Marine Life and the World Register of Marine Species has registered the existence of really strange creatures that can survive in places where sunlight can't reach. There are about 228,000 species known to scientist, but they estimate that the real number is over 2 million species. Everyday, new strange creatures are entering the list. Who knows what may lie in the depths of our oceans?

There are even some scientists that believe that many of these species could be specimens of early evolution. That could easily be true, knowing the fact that some of these creatures are enormous and would have hardly had any predators down there.

Young icefish

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Polychaete Carpet Worm

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The deep blue sea is a world unknown to us, and its landscapes and inhabitants remain a mistery hard to resolve. It strikes me that having the ability to create a lot of advanced technology, there isn't more application of it in the discovering of new creatures in places humans can't reach. It's also a bit scary for me. Whenever I'm bathing at the beach I always wonder if there are any fishes or animals and it makes me really nervous. Knowing that there might be "sea monsters" that no one knows about swimming somewhere under my feet makes it even worse. I'm not saying that we should avoid the beach so we won't meet any of these creatures, I'm just really surprised and curious of it. Personally, I don't like marine species a lot  and I guess that's why it frightens me a little bit, but I do think that there should be more grants for biologists so we can widen our knowleadge of the Earth.

So now... Well, you know, you can go pack your things and go to have a nice, relaxing and quiet bath in the nearest beach! I wish you have a really good time!

YOUR SAY: Building a better world

We all know that our planet is going out of resources at a faster speed every year. One of the industries that has caused a lot of damage to our planet is the construction sector. It has sped up the process of deforestation and also pollution. Nowadays, there is an alternative that is changing and renovating this sector. It is known as ecoarchitecture. But what is ecoarchitecture?

Ecoarchitecture consists of building sustainable buildings that blend into the environment without causing any damage to it. It can be summarized with seven points:

• All the energy that is used in the house must come from renewable energies.
• Have a water supply that can "recycle" water by a cleansing process.
• There has to be a control of noises and toxic emissions.
• Waste management must be harmless for the planet.
• The materials used to build the construction must be appropiate and natural.
• The building must blend into the environment, adapting to it instead of making the land adjustable to our wants.
• It must have a good quality-price relation.

Park Royal, Singapore

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I believe that ecoarchitecture is something that should be encouraged by all governments. It's an efficient and nice way to take care of our planet and think of future generations. Althought this kind of buildings are more expensive at first, in time they come up as a solution to save money as well due to the energy and supply systems that they use. They can be a compensation somehow for all the damage that the construction sector has caused to the environment and a way to avoid that damage  to go on. Ecoarchitecure is also a good thing to reduce pollution. Specially in big cities, where everything is really crowded, these green buildings with vegetation and gardens in them would suppose a reduction of the levels of CO2 because of the increase of oxygen in the atmosphere.

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As a conclusion, I think that this is the future of architecture and the construction sector. We have to take care of our planet and what could be a better way to do it that to start from our homes? Incentivazing this constructions we can take a step forward for a more sustainable world. I know, it is only one step, but in that way we will have already started the path.

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YOUR SAY: Summer jobs

Summer is coming and many teenagers are trying to find a job for the season. At the age of sixteen you can start working. Summer jobs are great for people at this age because you can earn your own money and thus buy any whim that you have. You can also save it in the bank or at home in a not so little money box. It can be a help for your parents, specially with the economic crisis, if you can pay for your clothes, phones...

A job gives you more than just money, though. It's a source of experience and helps you to develop more responsability. It also introduces you into the adult world without being too harsh (this also depends on the job).

But the bad thing about trying to find a job as a teenager is that in many places employees are asked for experience which, at this young age, we don't have (at least legally). That is a downer, as well as the fact that not everyone has a driving license or a motorbike (sadly, that's my case, and I can't just say that I have a bike to go to work...). Also, some employers make the most of teenagers' situation with low wages and a lot of working hours.

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The most typical summer jobs for a teenager is waiter, working at a camping, a shop, a supermarket... There are also many people who work as babysitters, teachers for children, taking care of or walking dogs... There are many things you can do! 

Personally, I like to work in the summer and earn money. I may have too many whims and that's a way to get what I want with my own effort. I'll work as a waitress this summer, I wonder how that will be!

YOUR SAY: Life in outer space

Since the ancient times, humanity has been wondering about one question: are we on our own? We've always looked up at the stars for the answer and, thanks to science, we now know that, if there is indeed other forms of life, they must be in outer space.

Stars are millions of kilometers away, but yet scientists keep searching for similarities between the Milky Way and other galaxies. There is a possibility of the existence of other stars like the sun that could have a system of planets orbiting around them. That leads to think that there could be another planet with similar conditions to the Earth where different forms of life could have developed.

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We've made them go by the name of aliens, and we usually think of them as little green human-like creatures with a big head and weird eyes. Cinema has portrayed them many times, and the contact with them always seems to end up with devastation on Earth and war against an alien force that is usually completely lethal and more advanced than us, humans.

There are also a lot of people who believe they have seen UFO's, alien's spaceships.

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In my opinion, I think that aliens exist. By aliens I mean different forms of life from ours and the ones that inhabit in our planet. I think that in all the infinity of the universe it would be very difficult to be the only creatures alive. Will we ever meet them? Probably not. At least not yet. Meanwhile, we should take care of the Earth, instead of worrying about other planets.

YOUR SAY: Could we cut off the roots of the problem?

Today, around 9am, a student of the Joan Fuster High School, in Barcelona, has killed a teacher and hurt four people with a crossbow and a dagger. He is retained in the high school at the moment.

This is a very shocking news. I feel sorry for all the teachers and students that were there, but I can't stop wondering about the possibility of this kind of events happening in my own high school or another center.

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This has questioned the security in education centers and the education itself. Should there be metal detectors or guards registering people's belongings? in my opinion, it could be a part of the solution. There also could be a stronger dedication to social and moral values, through the subjects given.

From my point of view, the fact that this student can't be punished by the law is very worrying. it is frustrating and unbeliebable that they can't accuse him of murder nor put him in an under-18 centre. There should be exceptions in this kind of cases, where the child intentionally did such a terrible thing.

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As I see it, this child must have some mental issue. It could have been caused by the social background he was raised in or something else. We can't control children at this age, but through education, with an individual control of how the children and the staff progress (through interviews with psychologists), we could detect serious mental issues and maybe even prevent events like this one happening again.

In conclusion, it seems to me that, after this, there should be new measures to prevent and punish these acts.