Threads 1.6

Threads 1.6 08/22/08

Threads Contents Editorial -A note from my desk Page One -The Anatomy of a Gold Medal

Page Two -Opinion: Cast your bronze aside

-Three Quick, Cheap Meals Page Three -The Shadow In the land of the rising sun -Russian Hate Machine Page Four -Biting Mad / In The News

A NOTE FROM MY DESK:

T

hreads is taking on a new format, and therefore will require me to do more work. This is my attempt to discipline myself so I can get used to the rigourous task of starting my own publication, which will happen at some point – I hope. Tentative plans for this include more content, pictures – eventually, actual stories and whatever else I feel like throwing in here. I have thrown around the idea of making Threads a bi-weekly type newsletter instead of a weekly newsletter because my time is getting scarce. This may allow me to focus more on quality, instead of throwing all the things I’ve gathered together at the last moment. I have a lot of plans for this, I just hope that everything works out like I have planned. It will be a little bit before I can get used to Microsoft Word and One Note, so bear with me!

1.6

“I’ve

been waiting for this moment all my life”

ANATOMY OF A GOLD MEDAL As of today, 225 gold, silver and bronze medals have been awarded to athletes from around the globe, to sports that also have origins from all around the world. Winners of these various sports are awarded a medallion of various precious metals depending on the athletes’ placement. As each athlete stands on the medal ceremony platform to accept their prize, the audience gets to view these glimmering discs of what seems to be pure gold, silver and bronze being placed around the athletes necks. What may not be known is that the gold medals at least are not as pure as some may think. The last pure gold medal given out at the Olympic Games was in 1912, since then due to the scarcity of gold the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put down strict guidelines on the contents and construction of a gold medallion.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

United States

30

35

34

99

China

46

15

22

83

Russia

16

16

20

52

Britain

17

12

11

40

Australia

11

14

14

39

France

5

13

14

32

Germany

11

8

12

31

South Korea

10

10

6

26

Japan

9

6

9

24

Italy

7

7

8

22

The current medal count for the top ten countries

The medals for the Olympics are created to specifications of the IOC by the host country. Everything from weight, size, dimensions and purity must strictly be followed; the host country is however given some say in the designs on the medals. The gold and silver medals must contain 92.5 percent silver, the gold medal is then coated with six grams of gold. All three of the medals must be at least three millimeters thick with a 60 millimeter diameter. The bronze medal is comprised up of copper, zinc, tin and very little silver. Chinese officials did make an announcement that none of the medals contained lead. The front of an Olympic medal has featured since 1928 a Greek goddess, the Olympic Rings (that represent the five main continents - designed in 1914 by Pierre de Coubertin), the coliseum, a Greek vase, a horse drawn chariot, the year, the Olympiad number (i.e. "XXIX") and the host city. The host city gets to design the back of the medal. How these are presented vary from city to city. These images can be depicted in several ways. Over 6000 medals need to be made for the Olympics, this year the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation made the medals, finishing them all in March. The raw materials came from mines in Chile and Australia. They will use up to one ton of these precious medals. But that is just for the Official Olympic Medals; China also had to make over 40,000 commemorative medals for the officials, coaches and umpires.

Threads 1.6 08/22/08

Opinion

CAST YOUR BRONZE ASIDE In the Olympics, a bad attitude will cost you. By: Chad Heller

Although Abrahamian's actions are questionable, it doesn't deviate from the fact that he did earn that medal, fairly and legally (even if he doesn't see it that way.) What he does with that medal fifty seconds or fifty years after he receives it should not be the concern of the IOC. I am not arguing that his disrespect at the ceremony should be over looked, the IOC could have come up with a more appropriate punishment for this - excluding stripping him of his medal and throwing him out of the Olympics.

Everyone has heard of athletes being stripped of their Olympic medals due to a variety of different reasons, most often because an athlete had cheated in their sport in one Hopefully the IOC does not adopt too many practices of way or another, whether it be the Chinese government or before from taking performance long they will be creating rule lists enhancing drugs or a technicality of what athletes can and cannot What [Ara Abrahamian] does with that was not noticed during the do with their medals after they games themselves, but brought that medal fifty seconds or fifty have won them. The committee out at a later time upon further should retract their decision and years after he receives it should not review, those are understandable, give Abrahamian his medal back, but what about athletes being be the concern of the [International whether the wrestler wants it stripped of their medals because back or not. Olympic Committee] of their bad attitude? Swedish Greco-Roman bronze medalist Ara Abrahamian had his medal taken away from him by the IOC after he threw it down in the middle of the wrestling mat during the medal ceremony because he did not agree with the ruling. The International Olympic Committee did not stop there, they also kicked Abrahamian out of the Olympics because of what they considered to be his political demonstration. This type of action against Abrahamian is something to be expected from a government like China's, where what a person can and cannot do is dependent on the country’s image and reputation to the world, but this should not be tolerated from a committee that is supposed to embrace a person’s individuality.

THREE CHEAP, QUICK MEALS 1) ASIAN BEEF & NOODLES - 1 1/4 lb. ground beef - 2 pkgs. oriental flavor ramen noodles - 1/4 tsp. ground ginger - 2 cups frozen California blend mix veggies - 2 Tbsp. green onions (thinly sliced)

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over med. heat 10-12 mins. til done, breaking up into 3/4" pieces. Remove with slotted spoon, pour off drippings. Season beef with 1 seasoning packet from noodles, set aside. In same skillet, mix 2 C. water, veggies, noodles (broken

Just like the old days, medals should only be stripped from athletes if they won it under false pretenses, such as through cheating or drug use. If the IOC feels they can continue making these type of behavioral decisions, I'll just have to give up on my Gold Medal Olympic Dream; snatching the silver and bronze medals and juggling them while on the podium, dropping the inferior medals in the dirt then streaking away butt naked from the podium back to the Olympic village swinging the gold medal over my head like a propeller, before dropping it in a jar full of urine so it can sit on my bookshelf as a piece of modern art. Once that medal is mine, I should be able to treat it how I want to treat it, because that is the essence of individuality and free expression.

up), ginger & remaining seasoning packet. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover & simmer 3 mins. or till noodles are tender, stirring often. Return beef to skillet.

paste to ground meat and mix, sometimes I add a splash of water to thin it out. Add macaroni to ground meat and combine, adjust salt and pepper to taste.

2) SUPER FAST GOULOSH

3) CHEAP STROGANOFF

- 1/2 lb. ground beef (or turkey) - 1 box elbow macaroni - 1 1/2 - 2 cans tomato paste - garlic and onion powders - optional - salt and pepper

- 1 pound ground beef - 1 onion - salt, pepper and garlic powder - 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Boil macaroni according to package and drain. Meanwhile, brown ground beef seasoning with salt, pepper, and a shake or two of garlic and onion powders. Add tomato

Saute beef and onions, then drain off the grease. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup. Add seasoning to taste. Cook 1 bag of egg noodles and add that. Mix together.

~ Enjoy ~

Threads 1.6 08/22/08

The Shadow in the Land of the Rising Sun

Russian Hate Machine

The Japanese are known throughout the world for their affluence in technology, not to mention their anime, game shows and horror films, what may not be known is the suicide epidemic going on in this island country. Now more than ever Japanese citizens are committing suicide, sometimes alone, but more and more now in large groups.

After a video on the internet of two young men being decapitated in front of a Nazi flag while heavy metal music blared, surfaced it became apparent to the world the seriousness of the Neo-Nazi groups that have becoming quite organized in Russia. They call themselves the National Socialists of Russia, and they frequently carry out assassinations and other grisly crimes through out the country.

Online forums set up specifically for Japanese citizens who feel they can not face life any more are popping up all over the internet. These sites help Japanese people to find other people to meet and commit suicide with. Due to the struggling economy in Japan, the suicide rate exceeds 30,000 people each year, forty percent of these people are in their twenties. This figure gives Japan the unfortunate title of being the country with the highest suicide rate. Much of the blame for such a high rate is the internet and its abundance of websites encouraging people and helping them form suicide pacts. The sites are set up similar to what a dating service would look like, except the person isn't searching for a significant other, instead they are seeking a person who will go with them to kill themselves.

Most often the targets of the crimes are foreigners, like the young men in the horrific video, who the group claims is destroying the purity of the white race. Attacks include vicious beatings in the streets and on public transportation, bombings and shootings.

Suicide is so prevalent in Japan that one the top selling books is actually The Complete Manual of Suicide which shows people different methods of how to kill themselves, also providing ratings for each method as far as effectiveness, pain, quickness etc. Suicide has always been a part of Japanese culture, Americans witnessed this in World War Two as Japanese pilots, known as kamikaze's crashed their planes into American air craft carriers, and Japanese soldiers who, in refusing to surrender would commit hari-kari by slashing their stomachs with a knife. Suicide has a element of virtue attached to it in Japanese culture, but currently to the people in Japan who must deal with these constant suicides, it is becoming more of an inconvenience and an annoyance. "There's nothing bad about suicide," said Wataru Tsurumi, the author of The Complete Manual of Suicide, "We have no religion or laws here in Japan telling us otherwise. As for group suicides - before the internet people would write letters, or make phone calls... it's always been part of our culture." One method of suicide, in which a person or persons kill themselves by jumping in front of a speeding bullet train, has become so prevalent, Japanese officials have resorted to fining the victims families large sums of money for clean up and the costs to fix derailments if it occurs.

Russia has the largest concentration of Neo-Nazi's in the world. Fueled by irritation of the increased levels of immigration into the country, many of the groups hold meetings in the woods or abandoned buildings sharing their message of ethnocentricity and white supremacy and encouraging those who've gathered to go out and harass, beat up and if possible, kill any and all foreigners. Russian Neo-Nazi's closely follow Hitler's version of Nazism and treat Mein Kampf almost as if it were their bible. Although their numbers are strong, the Neo-Nazis in Russia have not become a political force yet, however their "Russia is for the Russians" sentiment permeates throughout Russia today.

Threads 1.6 08/22/08

In the News:

Biting Mad! The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer has caught on like wildfire at Wal-Mart, store 5411. It seems that all the cashiers and numerous of the associates in the late teen early twenties crowd can be seen with their noses buried in this book, thankfully the effects of this series are minimal, to date there have not been any vampire sightings, err, uh, wait:

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• The Rockstar and the Queen of the Metroplex (i.e. Andy Bigelow and Shanda Hudson)

Bigfoot was indeed a hoax College professors want to reduce drinking age to 18 Families attempt to identify bodies in Spain plane crash There were two successful face transplants Chinese gymnasts found to be underage John McCain cannot remember how many homes he owns FDA allows some vegetables to be irradiated Hurricane Fay refuses to leave Florida An abandoned baby whale was euthanized in Australia – mothers dead body later found

This issue was done under the influence of the following: Suggestions? Critiques? Submissions? Send them to: AND:

[email protected] Thank you.

(TOKIO HOTEL)