Sunday News Post: 24/02/2016

Oil is now so cheap even pirates aren’t stealing it any more

Stealing the oil from a ship is no mean feat.

Oil tankers are enormous, and ships that carry expensive cargo are designed to be difficult to board. Stealing can mean hijacking the original tanker, disabling its tracking devices, taking it to a location where it can’t be spotted, and transferring thousands of heavy barrels to a different vessel that can then be sailed away. Stealing crude also means finding a buyer for it, or else getting involved in the messy and dangerous business of illegal refining.

Over the past six months, the price of oil has plunged due to a global oversupply. And for some pirates, it’s just not worth stealing it any more.

Opinions:

This is positive as it means less crime on the high seas, however it is also a worry as Oil is so cheap that Nigeria Niger Delta militants have changed business to abducting their government personnel and family members demanding a ransom to release them. This also is prevalent when making comments about other illegal practices, for example it is scary to think what would happen if the US drug war was ended. As if the criminals could no longer profit from drugs, they may turn to even more negative activities.

The Rise and proliferation of ‘Jessie J’ and ‘Adele’

Jessie J

Jessica Ellen Cornish was on the 27^th of march 1988 in London, she has been involved in performing arts since she was young- gaining a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s west end production of ‘Whistle Down the Wind’. As a result of this role she joined the ‘National Youth Music Theatre’. During her teenage years she studied at the BRIT school where she stayed for some time before signing to Gut records, allowing her to write for artists such as Miley Cyrus and Chris brown. She spent a while in the backgrounds of the Music industry till she rose to prominence with her debut single “Do it like a Dude”, which released in November 2010 to much success. She reached number 2 on the UK singles chart and won a MOBO Award in 2011 for best song.

Jessie is often recognised for an unconventional musical and performance style, she is known to mix soul vocals with contemporary R&B beats. In total she has gained a number of nominations for her music including; 2011 Critics’ Choice Brit award and the BBC’s Sound of 2011. She is a known philanthropist, having worked with a number of charitable organisations such as BCC Children in Need and Comic relief.

Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on the 5^th on May 1988, in Tottenham London. Her father left when Adele was two, leaving her mother to raise her. She graduated from the BRIT school in May 2006, she was a Classmate of Jessie J. Her first major success was with the release of her single “Hometown Glory”, which came out in 2007. It was released as a limited edition piece to begin with – as only 500 copies were made. However, despite this – the high amount of downloads for the song still allowed it to gain a place in the UK top 40. In 2010 it gained a Grammy Nomination for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’, but lost to Beyoncé’s Halo.

Her first album ‘19’ entered the British charts at number one. At the 51^st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele received the award for ‘Best New artist’ – in addition to the award for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for ‘Chasing pavements’. On the 19^th of October 2012 her son was born. A controversial topic for Adele is her weight, although she has stated that she is ‘Happy with her weight’. She is a recognisable philanthropist, she has worked with a broad spectrum of Charities such as giving a free concert for ‘Pride London’ a registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London.

In conclusion both singers have had a clear impact on the current British music industry, they share a similar upbringing and hold similar values. They are quite alike in that regard, although their music is different. They are both a good example of contemporary British music.

Sunday News Post: 14/02/2016

Einstein's gravitational waves 'seen' from black holes

They have observed the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth.

The international team says the first detection of these gravitational waves will usher in a new era for astronomy.

It is the culmination of decades of searching and could ultimately offer a window on the Big Bang.

The research, by the Ligo Collaboration, has been published today in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The collaboration operates a number of labs around the world that fire lasers through long tunnels, trying to sense ripples in the fabric of space-time.

Opinions:

The scientists say the waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago. For a brief fraction of a second, it was producing more power than the rest of the visible Universe combined. This marks a new frontier for astronomy and hopefully a renewed interest in space as a subject.