When does figure skating air, how fast do bobsleighs really go, what exactly is curling? The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, boasts competitions in 15 different sports disciplines over 16 days of competition. More than 2,500 athletes from 85 countries will compete for 84 prized gold medals. The following is a viewing guide compiled by Silver Chips Online to help sort out details of the competitions, providing descriptions of each discipline along with viewing window times and American athletes to look out for.
After a seven-month break, "24" returned for its fifth season with a four-hour premiere that provided everything we've come to expect from the series: explosive action, heart-stopping suspense and a shocking body count.
After the disappointment that was Tuesday's "snow," we've decided to spare everyone the emotional trauma of two letdowns in a single week.
A fire in the girls' bathroom in the 350s hallway triggered a fire alarm and prompted a school-wide evacuation at approximately 1:55 p.m. today, Dec. 7.
Upstaging last year's 110 percent accuracy, this year's batch of multi-talented journameteorologists are kicking off the snoWatch season with an unheard of 9.99 percent more precision – free! It's a Christmas – excuse us – "holiday" special.
Beginning on Monday, June 20, Blair staff members and other workers labored almost around-the-clock to prepare the building for President Bush's visit to the school on June 23.
When the presidential motorcade, the long line of buses carrying audience members, and most of the protesters left the vicinity of Blair, a few high-profile Maryland Democrats set up their own press conference to voice their opposition to President George W. Bush's Social Security plan.
President George W. Bush came to Blair to host an event to promote his plan to add personal investment accounts to the Social Security system, on Thursday, June 23. His appearance in Silver Spring drew about 400 protesters to the Four Corners area.
President George W. Bush will be speaking at Blair tomorrow, June 23, at 9 a.m., in the auditorium. He will be hosting an event to discuss his plans for Social Security.
Senior Andrew Helgeson died unexpectedly at his home Wednesday morning, May 25. He was to receive the Terry Hicks award, a highly prestigious scholarship, on Wednesday night.
The Maryland Democratic Party held a rally at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda to kick off the 2006 election campaign season on Tuesday, May 17. Several hundred supporters, including several members of Blair's Young Democrats, attended the event.
"YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!" "You have your head screwed on backwards!" "You are an enemy of the United States." These are just three excerpts from the onslaught of rather malicious emails I began receiving in my inbox almost immediately after my story "Americans in the crosshairs" was published on Silver Chips Online (SCO) in Sept. 2004.
Silver Chips Online won the 2005 National Student Press Association (NSPA) Online Pacemaker Award at the NSPA National Spring High School Journalism Convention in Seattle on April 9.
With all the trite American-made sitcoms currently broadcast over the airways (think "According to Jim" and "Yes, Dear"), the major networks are being forced to look overseas for some new ideas and creative inspiration. In 2003, NBC tried out an Americanized version of the BBC hit "Coupling"; it failed miserably and was canceled after just a few episodes. This year, NBC tried it again with yet another British comedy, "The Office." The resulting clone isn't the disaster that "Coupling" was, but the show does fail to strike any real comedic chord.
A team of Blair students placed second in the Maryland championship of the regional Science Bowl on Feb. 26 at the Department of Energy headquarters in Germantown.
Over the past several weeks, a comprehensive investigation inside the blogosphere uncovered the truth about "Jeff Gannon" – a "reporter" for the blatantly partisan group GOPUSA and the amateurish Talon News Service who the White House allowed into press briefings for nearly two years. Liberal critics on the Internet discovered that "Jeff Gannon" is actually a pseudonym for the man's real name, James Guckert, and that he has an X-rated past and no journalistic background.
On Feb. 14, the same day that a federal appeals court ruled that reporters at The New York Times and Time magazine may face jail time if they refuse to testify before a grand jury about their confidential conversations with government sources, free-speech advocates across the pond in England earned a huge victory.
This week, the Bush administration will spend an estimated $40 million in private funds on festivities surrounding the president's second inauguration. These celebrations include, but are certainly not limited to, nine official balls, many unofficial affairs, a youth rock concert, a parade and a fireworks display. In light of recent world events, Bush should scale back the resplendently lavish plans to commemorate his reelection.
Following a half-year long hiatus, "Alias" returns for a fourth season with a gut-wrenching premiere episode reminiscent of its first two electrifying years on the air. The Emmy Award-winning spy thriller succeeds in reinventing itself yet again while showcasing dramatic television at its best.
On Dec. 14, 2004, President Bush, in a shameless PR stunt, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, to three men who played a pivotal role in the decision to go to war against Iraq and in its reconstruction. Bush's decision to confer this distinction to former CIA Director George Tenet; former Iraqi reconstruction chief L. Paul Bremer and recently-retired General Tommy Franks is a disgrace not just to the nation, but also to the previous honorees.
An enormous earthquake centered off the western end of the Indonesian archipelago unleashed a series of tsunamis in south Asia on Sunday Dec. 26, leveling villages, leaving millions homeless and killing at least 147,000 people in over 12 countries in the region. The disaster sparked an international effort to aid stricken areas.
The American Film Institute (AFI) recently announced that it will count down the greatest movie quotes of the last century in its eighth annual celebration of 100 years of American cinema.
Indiana Pacers players involved in the brawl at the end of a Nov. 19 game against the Detroit Pistons will likely be charged for fighting with spectators, according to the Associated Press.
Following months of political wrangling, the D.C. Council yesterday gave preliminary approval to a public financing plan for building a baseball stadium in Southeast along the Anacostia River that would serve as the Washington Nationals' permanent home.
In the final minute of Friday night's NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in Detroit, players and fans exchanged blows in a brawl that left several people injured. Nine players have since been suspended.
For our reader's convenience and entertainment, Silver Chips Online has compiled several maps of the American political landscape.
As millions of tense Americans were glued to their TV sets on election night watching drawn-out voting returns, Comedy Central was all laughs as "The Daily Show" took to the airwaves with its live special, "Election Night 2004: Prelude to a Recount." Jon Stewart and his talented band of "correspondents" brought some much-needed sanity and humor to the evening with their brilliant political and media satire.
Following a creatively lacking but better-than-expected fifth season, "The West Wing" looks to rebound and return to its Emmy-winning glory days of its first four years. Unfortunately, the show opens its sixth season with an episode that foreshadows more uninspired television.
The Army has begun investigating members of a reserve unit in Iraq who, last week, refused to deliver a fuel shipment under conditions they deemed unsafe.
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" couldn't be more popular. Comedy Central's irreverent masterpiece is the new "it" gig on the talk-show scene, and the program consistently offers the best political humor on television. In "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction," Stewart and his band of talented scribes try their hands at printed satire. The result is a laugh-out-loud textbook spoof that explores reasons why concepts like "One man, one vote," "Government by the people" and "Every vote counts" have become such popular urban legends.
The campaign manager of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD-District 8), Chuck Westover, addressed the Blair Young Democrats club after school today, Oct. 6, 2004. He spoke about Van Hollen, Van Hollen's Republican opponent and youth political activism.
On Sept. 13, despite numerous pleas from law enforcement groups and concerned Americans, the U.S. Congress and President Bush allowed the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons (SAWs) to expire. The law, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, forbid the manufacture, sale and importation of 19 military-style, semiautomatic weapons and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Assault weapons were responsible for the deaths of 41 police officers between 1998 and 2001, and the TEC-9, a firearm outlawed by the ban, was used in the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School that left 12 students and a teacher dead. Our national leaders owe to it to their constituents and the families of gun victims to renew and strengthen the assault weapons ban.
First it was the winter of 2002. Then the 2003 All-Star break. Then Labor Day 2003. Then this year's All-Star break in July. But now it seems as if the decade-old debate over where to relocate the financially floundering Montreal Expos will finally come to fruition. This time, the chronic deadline-postponing executives of Major League Baseball promise a decision by the World Series in October. The front runners for the Expos' future home are Washington, D.C.—the country's largest market without an MLB team—and Northern Virginia. The other potential cities for relocation are Norfolk, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, Las Vegas and Monterrey, Mexico; but a ballclub in downtown D.C. is the obvious choice.
This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post articles "Gunning for the District,” "D.C. Gun Bill May Be Linked to Budget” and "House GOP Proposes to Repeal D.C. Gun Bans.”
Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction” during CBS' national telecast of the Super Bowl halftime show sparked a colossal and seemingly unrelenting conservative and fundamentalist backlash. The Federal Communications Commission, under the supervision of Chairman Michael Powell, was quick to respond. It quickly reprimanded CBS, its affiliates, parent company Viacom, MTV and seemingly every other organization that was somehow involved in the breast-baring incident, and it is still considering imposing fines of $27,500 upon CBS' more than 200 local stations. The FCC has the authority to enforce decency standards over content broadcast over public airwaves; it has now begun to lobby Congress for the ability to regulate content on cable and satellite television. This power could prove perilous to creativity and to the First Amendment, and it should not be granted.
The bungling men and women of the Washoe County Sheriff's Department are back on the beat in the "Biggest Little City in the World.” "Reno 911!," Comedy Central's perverse, largely ad-libbed "Cops" knock-off returns for its sophomore season with a side-splitting episode that proves this show is too funny for words.
Caroline Lesho, an experienced teacher in her first year at Blair, is an accomplished mountain climber, martial arts enthusiast, and globe-trekker extraordinaire.
The Blair auditorium on June 23, revamped for the president's visit.
President Bush, center, speaks at Blair during "A Conversation on Strengthening Social Security." Also participating in the discussion are, from left, Ben Ferguson, Brian Smart, Ben Stein and Wendy Merrill.
Blair alumnus Ben Stein, who graduated in 1962, speaks at "A Conversation on Strengthening Social Security," as President Bush listens, on June 23 in the auditorium. Click on the photo to view a gallery of the day's events.
County Executive Doug Duncan speaks at a press conference organized by local Democratic leaders held in the Blair parking lot after Bush's speech on June 23.
People attending the Bush event pass though a Secret Service security checkpoint outside Blair.
After the event at Blair, members of the audience wait in the parking lot to be bussed away.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks at a press conference sponsored by groups that oppose President Bush's plan to add private accounts to Social Security.
State Sen. Ida Ruben (D-Montgomery) speaks at the press conference in the Blair parking lot.
A lone protester marches outside Blair after Bush's Social Security event.
President George W. Bush speaks in the Blair auditorium on June 23 during an event to promote his Social Security plan. Click on the photo to view a gallery of the day's events.
Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan speaks at the Democratic rally.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean speaks at a rally in Bethesda. Looking on, from left, are County Executive Doug Duncan (D), Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), DNC Vice-Chair Susan Turnbull, Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), state Del. Susan Lee (D), MD Senate President Mike Miller (D-Calvert), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman and state Sen. Ida Ruben (D).
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean speaks at a rally in Bethesda. Looking on, from left, are County Executive Doug Duncan (D), Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), MD Senate President Mike Miller (D-Calvert), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume and Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean speaks at a rally in Bethesda. Looking on, from left, are County Executive Doug Duncan (D), Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), DNC Vice-Chair Susan Turnbull, Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), state Del. Susan Lee (D), MD Senate President Mike Miller (D-Calvert), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman and state Sen. Ida Ruben (D). Several Blair students attended the event.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 15.
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C.
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C.