Music Copyright Case

Article: An interesting court case is just wrapping up in LA. Robin Thicke and William Pharrell, from the hit 2013 song "Blurred Lines," are being sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye, for copying his song. Robin Thicke admits that Marvin Gaye's 70s song, "Got to Give it Up" was an inspiration when making the song "Blurred Lines." But Thicke claims he didn't steal the song or plagiarize it. If he did, he would have to pay Marvin Gaye's estate a lot of money for a type of stealing. Kids: How would this be stealing? The trial has focused on what is the difference between being creatively inspired by another work of art and actually stealing that work of art.

Listen to the two songs and then decide: did Thicke and Pharrell steal Gaye's song or simply become inspired by it? What would you decide if you were the jury? And also consider: if "Blurred Lines" hadn't been the huge hit that it was, would Gaye's estate even care? Listen: Gaye's song and Thicke's song (PG video shown here; not the headlines making nude one).

Eat More Bamba, Study Shows

Article: Do you have any allergies? Any food allergies or intolerances, in particular? Do you know anyone with a peanut allergy? A new study says that many, if not most, peanut allergies can be prevented by feeding young children food peanuts starting at an early age, before they turn 1 through age 5. For years, parents and pediatricians have done the opposite--avoided giving kids peanuts thinking that that can cause peanut allergies, until after age 3. But this study proves the opposite. Ask you parents: when did you first have peanuts? Since 1997, the number of kids allergic to peanuts have quadrupled! No one knows why. The study was so conclusive, doctors are going to rewrite guidelines, encouraging early introduction to peanuts. And because peanuts can cause kids to choke, guess which is the best way to introduce peanuts? Bamba!

Bonus question: Why are peanut allergies such a big deal? Because they can be fatal after very few exposures.

   

      

Mayor of Jerusalem Saves the Day

Article: The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, is a former IDF paratrooper and therefore a trained combat fighter. He was on his way to work with his bodyguard yesterday when he saw a commotion. He saw someone hurting someone else (parents: feel free to edit this however you want based on your kids' ages. It was an Arab stabbing a Jewish man on a street in Jerusalem). The man being hurt was holding up his tefilin bag to prevent the bad guy from hurting him and was yelling at everyone to run away to safety. The mayor and his bodyguard jumped out of their car, ran to the scene and tackled the bad guy, taking him to jail. Imagine that happening in your city!

Yemen's Remaining Jews in Trouble

Article: In the last few weeks, Yemen, a Muslim country south of Saudi Arabia (Kids: find on map), has been taken over by terrorists. The US recently evacuated all embassy staff. Jews have lived in Yemen for thousands of years, some believe since biblical times. Jews have lived in Yemen even before the Muslims came. While thousands of Jews used to live in Yemen, all that remains of Jewish life now are cemeteries, thousand-year old stone homes in hillside villages, and a few families. Those Jews still there--a little more than 50, most of whom are children--are regularly harassed with expressions like, "Dirty Jew," when they go to the market. They stay in their homes as much as they can. In 2007, militants told Jews in Saada they had 10 days to leave or else. Nevertheless, the Jews remain proud. The boys all wear earlocks/peius, to show they are Jews. The remaining Jews are looking to go to Israel or the US. All are looking to leave. Within a few years, there will likely be no Jews left in this country that once had thousands.

See article for pictures. Kids: look at how the Jewish children are dressed. Do they dress like you? Why not? How does our clothing reflect our society? 

  

Request for Animal Current Event

My son has asked for an animal current event. So here goes:

Article: On Halloween 2014, a baby hippo was born in the LA Zoo. This is the first baby hippo to be born at the zoo in 26 years. Most baby hippos are born in water and spend the first two weeks in the water. The mother here started out giving birth in the water but ultimately gave birth on land. See this video of the new baby hippo and then see this video taken this week of how the baby hippo is doing 3 months later. Do you see any differences? 

If you live in LA, you can go visit the new baby, mother and father hippo at the zoo!

Happy President's Day

From the Copenhagen shootings to the French Jewish tombstone destruction to the Libyan beheadings, it is hard to find something positive to report today. So instead, let's talk about President's Day, have the kids share what they've learned at school, and share this short video with fun facts about our presidents.

Happy President's Day

New Exhibit at Bible Lands Museum in Israel

Article: Visiting Israel in the next year? You may want to visit a new exhibit at Jerusalem’s Bible Lands Museum about the Jewish exile to ancient Babylonia 2,500 years ago. “By the Rivers of Babylon” shows a collection of about 100 ancient clay tablets from 6th century Mesopotamia that speaks of the lives of exiled Judeans living in the Babylonian Empire. From these, we learn all about Jewish life in that time. The Al-Yahudu tablets are part of a private collection that has never before been public. No one knows when they turned up or where they originated. They suddenly appeared in the antiquities market and were sold to a private collector, David Sofer, who has now loaned them to the Bible Lands Museum. After two years of work, the exhibit opened this past Sunday. The exhibit talks about Jewish names in that time, about the exile, and shows a model Mesopotamian village to recreate how Jews lived. The tablets even mention a Jewish town Al-Yahudu, which means “Jerusalem” and was likely a village of transplants from Judea. While some of the Jews were forced to do hard labor, others thrived, owned property, plantations and slaves, and became part of the Babylonian world. Jews lived in dozens of cities and went on with their lives. They weren't slaves like in Egypt.

Click here to see the promotional video.