Merry, Merry Christmas to you too, Paula, Paralegal Class & Fremont College!

DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!
MAKE TAMALES! OR BUY SOME! ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS!


Everyone:

Good luck on the final exam! Have fun shopping and enjoying family and friends this season! Laugh, smile, sing, dance and just have a great time-that's the best gift we can give to each other, friends and family!

Yolie!!

Happy Holidays to paralegal friends!

My wish to all my friends in Dr. Swamy's class:








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYHN75dNdhA&feature=related








Happy Holidays!





Paula K.

Yolanda Del Campo

Map ?


Movie

Amy Adams & Kevin Bacon-"The Woodsman"

http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/blthewoodsmanpicsa.htm



Ποια είναι η ταχύτητα του φωτός?


http://www.translationbooth.com/tb/aojb/Tpl/freeTranslation/index.html


What is the speed of light?



Burkin Faso Answer-State of Colorado

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html

http://search.live.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=IE7RE&q=Burkina+Faso+(formerly+Upper+Volta+is+equivalent+to+what+state+in+the+U.S.+in+size%3f


ART


1912 Painting-http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/balla/dogleash.jpg.html


Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash1912 Oil on canvas35 3/8 x 43 1/4 (89.9 x 109.9)Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York


Physcial Ed

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

An NFL quarterback completes 15 of 35 passes for 250 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. What is his QB rating?

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/giantscolumn.htm

95.61

CLASSICAL MUSIC
D A Bm F#m G D G A?

Canon D

Pachelbel Rant http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30111

HOME ECONOMICS

A long time ago, legend has it that someone paid an excessive amount for a cookie recipe. How much did they pay?)

Bonus – Did it really happen?

Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie Recipe Hoax

http://www.bertc.com/neiman.htm

Answer as many of the following questions as you can in an hour. Use whatever resources you have at your disposal to get the answers. Make sure to identify your sources.

ECONOMICS

Identify the address of the green-outlined house.

What’s the estimated value of this house? (Please indicate your source)

ENTERTAINMENT

Identify the lead actress in the #1 movie in America: (Amy Adams)

Connect the answer to 2) to Kevin Bacon in as few moves as possible.

GEOGRAPHY

Burkina Faso’s geographic area is approximately comparable to the size of which US state?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Ποια είναι η ταχύτητα του φωτός?

ART

Name the artist & title of the following piece: (Hint: What does the painting look like?)

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

An NFL quarterback completes 15 of 35 passes for 250 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. What is his QB rating?

CLASSICAL MUSIC

D A Bm F#m G D G A?

HOME ECONOMICS

A long time ago, legend has it that someone paid an excessive amount for a cookie recipe. How much did they pay?

Bonus – Did it really happen?

Yolanda Del Campo-Camel Spiders real or myth?

Camel spiders have become famous due to our military personnel's presence in Iraq. Are they really as lethal and unusual as told by soldiers returning from their deployment? According to the information obtained from the following websites-camel spiders have a vicious bite that becomes infected and causes an array of problems for anyone who gets in their way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spider

Solifugae are mostly nocturnal, and seek shade during the day. It was this behaviour which led coalition soldiers in the 2003 invasion of Iraq to think these arachnids were attacking them. In reality, they were merely moving toward the newly available shade provided by the soldiers' presence. The absence of shade sends them away.

http://www.camelspiders.net/index.htm

According to the soldiers relatives; the bite must have happened while he was sleeping. He wasn't even aware that he had been bitten. He woke up to a large lump on his arm. In the Middle East, it is widely rumored among American and coalition military forces stationed there that Solifugae will feed on living human flesh. The story goes that the creature will inject some anaesthetizing venom into the exposed skin of its sleeping victim, then feed voraciously, leaving the victim to awaken with a gaping wound. Other stories include tales of them leaping into the air, disemboweling camels, eerie hissing and screaming, and running alongside moving humvees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spider

The order Solifugae is a group of arachnids, containing more than 1,000 described species in about 140 genera. The name derives from Latin, and means those that flee from the sun. The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea and Mycetophorae. Their common names include camel spider, wind scorpion, and sun spider.

Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)

http://www.damnfunnypictures.com/html/The-Camel-Spider.html

Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpAa1QMtl9Y

Camel spider at war with a mouse!

Yolanda Correa's Entire Presentation

Yolanda's Research Process Presentation: Christmas in Costa Rica

Reseach Method I used:

Yahoo! Web Search: “Costa Rica Traditions and Customs”
http://www.costaricaholiday.co.uk/Christmas.htm
http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/costa-rica-news/its-christmas-in-costa-rica/387
http://www.travour.com/travel-to-costa-rica/costa-rica-culture.html
http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/traditions/costa_rica.htm

Costa Ricans have their own special way of celebrating Christmas or “Navidad”. Most of the traditions are based on popular religious beliefs, and many are similar to those of other Latin American countries. Of course, Costa Ricans always like to do things their way….the “Tico” way. "Ticos" are what Costa Ricans call themselves, and what fellow Latin Americans call them. This affectionate nickname is rooted in the Ticos' tendency to add the diminutive "tico" to most words, as they often refer to people and things in terms of their smallness. For example, "chiquito" which means small, becomes "chiquitico", or very small.

December is probably the most festive month of the year, as the Ticos look forward to vacation from work or school, eating traditional foods, meeting up with friends and family and, of course, “mucha fiesta!”, which means lots of partying! Ticos celebrate the season with a week of fireworks, bullfights and funfairs in San José. Costa Ricans also enjoy getting together with their families to prepare for the birth of Baby Jesus and the New Year to come. Along with intense religious celebration in this predominantly Catholic country, there is another reason for an exciting atmosphere – money! Every working Tico is required by law to receive an “aguinaldo” (a Christmas bonus) from their employer. This law was established by the government, to equal to one month’s salary.

During the month of December, in Costa Rica you could really feel the Christmas spirit. The streets are full of small seasonal street vendors and people are cheerfully spending their “aguinaldo” on items such as things for the manger scenes called “Pasitos” or decorations such as lights and ornaments or handmade toys for children. December is also special in Costa Rica because the season changes from rainy to dry, and the days are cool and sunny. You can hear the Ticos say that it feels like Christmas when the cool wind comes. The nights are clear and starry, and the air is crisp compared to the other months of the rainy season.

Ticos celebrate Christmas by decorating a tree, with a gold star on top and bright lights and ornaments, much like the U.S. Almost every house in Costa Rica has a Christmas tree and presents are placed underneath for adults to give to each other near midnight on “Noche Buena”, Christmas Eve. The gifts for children come on Christmas day. Instead of Santa coming to bring presents, Baby Jesus is credited with the wonderful gifts. In Costa Rica, you would traditionally ask the children, “Que te trajo el niño Jesus?”, meaning, “What did Baby Jesus bring you?”

Another very important tradition is “el portal”, the portrayal of the manger scene with Mary, Joseph, animals, the three Magic Kings, and all the shepherds and their sheep. Construction of each family’s portal is a well-planned event, usually consists of a grand evening when inviting friends and family over to show off the decorations. Portals are filled with crafted wood, decorative papers of different colors, plant mosses, ramps to create different levels, multi-colored sawdust, glitter, and lots of lighting. On December 24th at midnight, not before, Baby Jesus is born and is placed in the portal where he stays until the three Magic Kings come to see him on January 6th.

Ticos have a late night Christmas Eve dinner with a pork leg and tamales. Costa Rican tamales are made from corn flour and can contain mashed potato, chorizo, rice, shredded pork or chicken, and other vegetables wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. There is a large consumption of apples and grapes during the holiday times. “Rompope” or Eggnog, heavy with rum, is drunk, while people visit friends and family to give presents before midnight. Then, the midnight mass or “Misa del Gallo” is attended. It’s a long service, but regardless of how tired they may be - Ticos manage to make it all the way through the two hour mass! With the Tico traditions of food, fun and family, Christmas is definitely the happiest time of the year!

Yolanda Correa's Presentation

Since the holidays are around the corner, I decided to do my research process presentation on Christmas in Costa Rica!

Yahoo! Web Search: “Costa Rica Traditions and Customs”

http://www.costaricaholiday.co.uk/Christmas.htm
http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/costa-rica-news/its-christmas-in-costa-rica/387
http://www.travour.com/travel-to-costa-rica/costa-rica-culture.html
http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/traditions/costa_rica.htm

Kameil Moore-Fluoride

This was an informal research process for me it consisted of me formulating an idea of what topic would be covered, to then begin my web search for more detailed information. Initially I had a hard time picking a topic but the topic that I chose has been milling around in my mind for some time. The controversy behind fluoride is a very serious issue that many are unaware of. Many Doctors and Dentists alike have fought to have the amount of fluoride changed and or completely removed from municipal drinking water as well as removed from toothpaste. If you have even been able to look at the photos Mr. Garcetti was able to take while in Africa you can definitely see the dramatic impacts of it usage. Recently in many areas there has been an increase in fluoride distributed throughout the water districts. The water districts send out mailers and list the information on their websites regarding what they are doing, yet people are unaware of its detrimental effects. If interested there are websites devoted to getting the truth regarding fluoride distributed to the masses, so that consumers can make more informed decisions about the products and services that they purchase. Originally it was said that a scientist had an overabundance of what was then considered poison, who needed to make money and he began a campaign along with other doctors to inform the masses of its great benefits. What they left out of the research was that it had little or no positive effects on enamel unless mixed with another compound and placed directly on the teeth and removed without swallowing. Ingesting the poison has negeative effects on the body with little or no positive effects on enamel, hence it being placed in tap water and for what.

the resources that I used for this research are www.fluorideaction.org/statement.press.release.html

www.nap.edu/catalog/11571.html

www.ada.org

Shirley- Chimps have better memory than adult humans

The website, has published that recent studies in Tokyo show that chimpanzee's are far smarter and quicker in the brain than the average adult. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071204/ts_afp/sciencejapananimalchimpanzeememory;_ylt=Av35y3F2FQyahJWc5wG2zLJ34T0D

Dessa Jones

Adoption in America

1. www.adoptionhouse.org/domestic-adoption.html

Domestic Adoption Solutions(Adoption House, Inc., is a fully licensed non-profit domestic adoption agency.)

If you’re considering an adoption of a United States-born child, then Adoption House can help. We specialize in domestic adoption for U.S. citizens and will do our best to match loving families with special children they can call their own.

2. www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-02-20-gay-adoption_x.htm

Drives to ban gay adoption

Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage.

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption_in_the_United_States

Adoption in the United States is the legal act of adoption,

The number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 132,000 to 118,000 during the period 2000 to 2004.

The Bottom Line:

Foster and orphan children need loving homes

Luis Franco (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT)

I chose to do my to reasearch on the topic of CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

What is capital punishment? Capital punishment is the death penalty. It is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses.

Capital punishment is a very contentious issue in some cultures. Supporters of capital punishment argue that it deters crime, prevents recidivism, and is an appropriate form of punishment for the crime of murder. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it does not deter criminals more than life imprisonment, violates human rights, leads to executions of some who are wrongfully convicted, and discriminates against minorities and the poor.

Some countries have been working towards abolishing capital punishment and some have already. Over 90 countries have abolished capital punishment for all offences, 11 for all offences except under special circumstances, and 32 others have not used it for at least 10 years.

To my surprise however, China has performed over more than one-thousand executions in the last year, but sources suggest that it is really over 7,500 to 8,000 executions some who were executed by firing squads, but has now decided that every execution will be done by lethal injection.

The number of executions in the United States in 2006 dropped to its lowest number in over ten years, this is due to legal challenges resulting in many states reviewing their capital punishment policies and procedures.

Support for the death penalty varies widely. The government's stance often has wide public support and receives little attention by politicians or the media. In some abolitionist countries, the majority of the public supports or has supported the death penalty.

Capital punishment is often the subject of controversy. Opponents of the death penalty argue that it has led to irreversible miscarriages of justice, that life imprisonment is an effective substitute, and that it violates the criminal's right to life. Supporters believe that the penalty is justified for murderers by the principle of retribution, that life imprisonment is not an equally effective deterrent, and that the death penalty affirms the right to life by punishing those who violate it in the most strict form. While some arguments are about moral judgments, others are disagreements about empirical trends, such as whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment.

A link I followed was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment , here I found a wide variety of information concerning capital punishment.

I also looked at http://www.frontiernet.net/~kenc/cappun.htm which pointed out many reasons why capital punishment is unethical.

Another link I looked at was http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/human_rights/capital_punishment.html . Here I found some recent stuff on the U.S. government regarding capital punishment.

Kameil Moore

I am doing my research on the fluoride controversy

Fluoride is a chemical that has been added to municipal drinking water, as well as toothpaste and dental treatments, but is it dangerous and or neccessary.

Fluoride in Southern California Tap Water
Fluoride in Southern California Tap Water
Executive Summary
Children are overexposed
Methodology
References
News Release
Related EWG Content
Chlorine Pollutants at High Levels in DC Tap WaterJuly 19, 2007
Harvard Fluoride Findings Misrepresented?June 27, 2005
More related content »
Related News Coverage
Tap water: Now with FluorideDaily Breeze August 21, 2007
Group: Fluoride in Metropolitan Water District Puts Kids at RiskABC Ch. 7 (LA) August 21, 2007
Flouride plan could expose tens of thousands of children to unsafe dosesLos Angeles Daily News August 21, 2007
End Fluoridation, say 500 Physicians, Dentists, Scientists and EnvironmentalistsFoodConsumer.org August 9, 2007
More related content »
Categories
Children's HealthDrinking WaterFluoride
Fluoride in Southern California Tap Water Will Put 64,000 Kids at Risk
In the four years since the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) decided to add fluoride to the tap water of millions of Californians, the American Dental Association (ADA), scientists at Harvard University, and the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences have all raised serious concerns about the safety of fluoridated water for infants and young children. This steady stream of science represents a growing consensus within the mainstream public health and dental community that the health risks of fluoride in tap water may substantially outweigh the modest dental benefits of tap water fluoridation.
MWD should put its fluoridation plans on hold until all of the latest science has been evaluated and until the serious outstanding toxicity concerns with fluoride have been resolved.
One specific issue raised by both the NRC and the ADA is that infants and children under two years old may be overexposed to fluoride because they consume more water than adults relative to their size. A new analysis by Environmental Working Group (EWG) confirms these concerns.
EWG analyses show that if the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California proceeds with plans to add 0.8 parts per million fluoride to its water beginning in October, more than 64,000 children will be exposed to fluoride at doses above what government agencies consider safe (0.1 milligrams of fluoride per kilogram of body weight per day, or 0.1 mg/kg/d). This maximum safe dose is consistent with the recommended fluoride exposure limits published by the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS's) Institute of Medicine and endorsed by the American Dental Association, and is also consistent with the maximum dose currently considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (0.11 mg/kg/d). Last year the NAS's National Research Council found that this EPA maximum "safe" dose is too high to protect children, and "should be lowered." In light of the NRC recommendations, EWG's analysis likely underestimates the number of children in Southern California who would be exposed to fluoride at levels of concern.
MWD's plan to add fluoride to the water it supplies to 18 million customers in most of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and parts of San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties will put 14.5 percent of children under 1 year old, and 12.5 percent of children 1 to 2 years old, over the federal government's acceptable daily intake for fluoride (0.1 milligrams of fluoride per kilogram of body weight per day). In Los Angeles County alone, more than 40,000 children age 2 and under will exceed the safe dose.
MWD's fluoride plan will expose 64,000 children in 3 counties to unsafe doses

Children under age 1 at risk
Children age 1-2 at risk
Total children age 2 and under at risk
Los Angeles County
21,516
18,549
40,065
Orange County
6,449
5,560
12,009
San Diego County
6,405
5,522
11,927
Total
34,370
29,631
64,001
Note: Additional children in 3 other counties that are served in part by MWD will also be overexposed (San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura)
SOURCE: Environmental Working Group, based on Centers for Disease Control data and U.S. Census estimates for July 2006
EWG’s computer-assisted analysis used dietary and water consumption information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and tap water fluoride data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to model total fluoride exposures from tap water, food and toothpaste for children age 2 and under nationwide, who were selected as the focus of this exposure analysis because they are sensitive to fluoride's potential impacts on growth and development, and they receive a higher dose of fluoride, pound per pound, than any other segment of the population.
The exposure models were then compared to the government's published maximum safe exposure (0.1 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day)1. Finally, the models were adjusted to reflect the amount of fluoride MWD plans to add (about 0.8 parts per million, compared to typical levels nationwide of 1 part per million) and the number of children age 2 and under in the six Southern California counties, according to U.S. Census estimates of July 2006.
The result is a conservative estimate of the number of children who will exceed the safe dose, because MWD also serves parts of Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Also, some of the 26 local water agencies served by MWD already add fluoride to water after they receive it from the district. Customers of those utilities may be exposed to even higher levels of fluoride after the MWD fluoridation.
1 The NAS's Institute of Medicine and the American Dental Association recommend or endorse a maximum safe daily fluoride dose of 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (0.1 mg/kg/d). EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Limit for fluoride in drinking water is 4 parts per million. For the average person in the population (an adult weighing 70 kilograms, or 154 pounds, with EPA's standard assumption of 2 liters of water consumed daily), this is equivalent to a fluoride dose of 0.11 mg/kg/d, and this level of exposure has been historically considered EPA's maximum safe dose for fluoride in water. For infants, EPA has established a reference dose (safe daily dose) of 0.06 mg/kg/day, but this value has never been used for regulation or standard setting.
New Science on Fluoride’s Risks
The value of fluoride-containing toothpaste to dental health is clear; fluoride is a potent chemical that on contact kills microbes on the teeth, reducing the incidence of cavities. But a substantial and growing body of peer-reviewed science strongly suggests that ingesting fluoride in tap water does not provide the same dental benefits, and may present serious health risks.
In fact, children who drink fluoridated water are at increased risk of developing fluorosis, a defect of the permanent teeth resulting in dark staining and, in severe cases, substantial corrosion of the enamel. The CDC says that about 30 percent of children who drink fluoridated water have some degree of fluorosis.
In November 2006, the American Dental Association acknowledged for the first time the health risks of fluoride, and issued an “Interim Guidance on Fluoride Intake for Infants and Young Children.” It said that in areas where fluoride is added to tap water, if a child is being fed liquid concentrate or powdered infant formula mixed with water, parents should consider using fluoride-free bottled water.
But far more serious health risks have been identified since 2003, when MWD made its decision to fluoridate. Since then concern about fluoridation has emerged as a mainstream public health debate.
A March 2006 report from the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council (NAS/NRC) identified fluoride as a potent hormone disruptor that may affect normal thyroid function. Fluoride's potential to impair thyroid function is most clearly illustrated by the fact that until the 1970s, European doctors used fluoride as a thyroid-suppressing medication for patients with hyperthyroidism. Today, many people living in communities with fluoridated tap water are ingesting doses of fluoride that fall within the range of doses once used by doctors to reduce thyroid activity in hyperthyroid patients (NRC 2006).
The NAS/NRC report also cited concerns about the potential of fluoride to lower IQ, noting that the "consistency of study results appears significant enough to warrant additional research on the effects of fluoride on intelligence." That finding was echoed by a December 2006 study published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal The Lancet that identified fluoride as an “emerging” neurotoxin (Grandjean & Landrigan 2006).
A 2006 peer-reviewed study by four Harvard scientists and doctors strongly supports concerns that fluoridated water is linked to osteosarcoma, an often fatal form of bone cancer, in boys. The Harvard study found a five-fold increase in bone cancer among teenage boys who drank fluoridated water from ages 6 through 8, compared to those drinking non-fluoridated water (Bassin et al 2006).
Fluoride and Bone Cancer
Osteosarcoma, while rare, is the third most common form of cancer in children. Osteosarcoma accounts for about 3 percent of all childhood cancers. The five-year mortality rate is around 50 percent, and nearly all survivors have limbs amputated, usually legs.
The overall weight of the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that exposure to fluoride in tap water during the mid-childhood growth spurt between ages 5 and 10 increases the incidence of osteosarcoma in boys ages 10 through 19. Fifty percent of ingested fluoride is deposited in bones, and fluoride stimulates bone growth in the growing ends of the bones where the osteosarcoma occurs. Fluoride is also a confirmed mutagenic agent in humans, which suggests that fluoride can cause genetic damage in bone cells where it is actively deposited, in this case precisely where the osteosarcoma arises.
Animal studies add further credence to the potential link between fluoride and bone cancer in males. Only two animal cancer bioassays have been conducted with fluoride; both show rare bone tumors, many of which were malignant, in male but not female test animals.
In the Harvard study, elevated bone cancer risks in boys were identified at fluoride levels that are commonly found in American water supplies, and equivalent to the level that would be added to southern California water by the MWD (0.8 ppm). For drinking water systems with fluoride levels far below EPA's limit in drinking water (4 ppm), and 30 to 99 percent of the amount recommended by the CDC (0.7 to 1.2 ppm), the study reports elevated risks for exposure from ages five through ten, with a five-fold risk of osteosarcoma for those exposed at age seven. At 100 percent or more of the recommended level (and still far below legal maximum levels), the risk for exposure at seven years old rises to 7.2-fold.
Recommendations
In August 2007, over 600 medical, dental, scientific, academic, public health and environmental professionals signed a petition to Congress urging a moratorium on fluoridation until hearings and additional research are conducted. Signers include Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine, who said, "Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It's really obsolete." (FAN 2007.)
Public water supplies should be safe for all consumers, young and old alike. It is deeply troubling that children in Southern California, including bottle-fed infants, will be drinking fluoridated water in spite of the many serious health concerns identified by recent science. We believe the evidence is clear that fluoride exposure should be limited to toothpaste, where it provides the greatest dental benefit and presents the lowest overall health risk.
We call on MWD to reconsider its 2003 decision to add fluoride to its water supplies. If this unnecessary and irresponsible action goes forward, we urge the district to take aggressive and comprehensive steps to inform its 18 million customers of the risks. This information should be provided to every residential water customer in the district, as well as to the news media, health centers, pediatricians, hospitals, obstetricians' offices, dental clinics and water departments.
References
ADA (American Dental Association). 2006. Interim Guidance on Fluoride Intake for Infants and Young Children. Nov. 8, 2006. http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/positions/statements/fluoride_infants....
Bassin EB, Wypij D, Davis RB, Mittleman MA. 2006. Age-specific Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water and Osteosarcoma (United States). Cancer Causes and Control, April 2006.
FAN (Fluoride Action Network). 2007. “End Fluoridation,” Say 600 Physicians, Dentists, Scientists, and Environmentalists. Fluoride Action Network press release, Aug. 9, 2007. http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.press.release.html
Grandjean P, Landrigan P 2006. Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals. The Lancet, Nov. 8, 2006.
NRC (National Research Council). 2006. Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. [Available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571.html]
Related News:
Tap water: Now with FluorideDaily Breeze August 21, 2007
Group: Fluoride in Metropolitan Water District Puts Kids at RiskABC Ch. 7 (LA) August 21, 2007
Flouride plan could expose tens of thousands of children to unsafe dosesLos Angeles Daily News August 21, 2007
End Fluoridation, say 500 Physicians, Dentists, Scientists and EnvironmentalistsFoodConsumer.org August 9, 2007

ART (REPRODUCTIVE CLONING)

I did my research on cloning. This topic interests me because it's controversial.

-The following site: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml defines cloning as:

-Reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal.

-The success of Dolly's cloning proved cloning to be accurate in transfering genetics to develop an entirely new organism.


-Some scientists believe that errors or incompleteness in the reprogramming process cause the high rates of death, deformity, and disability observed among animal clones.

-Reproductive cloning is expensive and highly inefficient. More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring.

-In addition to low success rates, cloned animals tend to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders.

-The cost of cloning may be around $100,000 a treatment.

Physicians from the American Medical Association and scientists with the American Association for the Advancement of Science have issued formal public statements advising against human reproductive cloning. Currently, the U.S. Congress is considering the passage of legislation that could ban human cloning.

Wikipedia gave a more simple definition:
Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of something.

Do you approve of human cell cloning for research?

“For research, yes, because I think you can do it in an ethical way that helps all mankind without being too immoral.”
— Jon Lomshek, consulting, Kansas City, Kan.
“Sure. I just think it can lead toward advancements in disease treatment.”
— John Hay, dentist, Lawrence
“No. I just don’t think it’s right. It’s immoral.”
— Larry Williams, construction worker, Topeka
“No. People shouldn’t have the right to do that.”
— Amelie Gras, student, Lawrence

http://www2.ljworld.com/onthestreet/2001/jan/24/onthestreet/

By using yahoo search, I came across similar websites. The yahoo search panel gave me more options as to specific kinds of reproductive topics.

http://www.yahoo.com/

Research methods:
Broad or general terms will return thousands of possible sites. Try to use terms that are more specific to your topic.

Boolean Operators are words that allow you to combine search terms.
For example:

AND

AND tells the search engine to find both terms on the same site. For instance, entering "reproductive AND cloning" would instruct the search engine to find web pages that contain both words, "reproductive" and "cloning."

OR

OR instructs the search engine to find one term or the other. Entering "reproductive OR cloning" would cause the search engine to look for web pages that contain either the word "reproductive" or the word "cloning," but not necessarily both words. This option could return a thousand sites because it isn't specific.

*If you want your search engine to search for an exact phrase, put quotation marks around the phrase.

To have easy access to websites previously viewed, you should bookmark it.

Advance search:

http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn

Superbugs by Nancy Barragan

What are Superbugs?

Up until a few months ago I had not heard of superbugs, I would have thought they were some kind of new or recently discovered insects that had special abilities.


I started my research by searching superbugs in google. The definition in Wikipedia is:


"Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. It is a specific type of drug resistance. Antibiotic resistance evolves naturally via natural selection through random mutation, but it could also be engineered by applying an evolutionary stress on a population. Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a horizontal fashion (between individuals) by plasmid exchange. If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multi resistant or, informally, a superbug."


Now a found another definition by doing an MSN search that was easier for me to understand.
From http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=38448

"Superbug: An informal term for a bacterium that has become resistant to antibiotics usually used to treat it, as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or any multi resistant bacterium. "

How do superbugs affect us?

From my previous search in MSN I found a link for Center for Disease Control.
http://www.cdcfoundation.org/healththreats/AntibioticResistance.aspx

One of the most common types of Superbugs is the MRSA.

It causes an infection that is resistant to several common antibiotics. There are two types of infection. Hospital-associated MRSA happens to people in healthcare settings and Community-associated MRSA happens to people who have close skin-to-skin contact with others, such as athletes involved in football and wrestling.

For a list of risk factors go to:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735/DSECTION=4

What can we do to prevent this from happening to us?

Many people carry MRSA on their skin, and most will never get sick from it.

• Wash your hands
• Keep personal items personal
• Keep wounds covered
• Shower after athletic games or practices
• Sit out athletic games or practices if you have a concerning infection
• Sanitize linens
• Get tested. If you have a skin infection that requires treatment, ask your doctor if you should be tested for MRSA
• Use antibiotics appropriately

For more detailed information on prevention go to:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735/DSECTION=8

What can stop these Superbugs?

Just as a finishing up my report I did one last search in Google News and seen this article.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/03/content_7194524.htm

The reason I chose this topic was because last year it hit close to home. A close freind of mine had a scary situation with her 5 year old son. He fell at school and skinned his knee, later when when he got home he did not tell his parents. The little cut was left untreated. A few days later his mom noticed he was walking funny and asked to see what was the matter with his leg. She seen that the wond was infected, she called his doctor and was asked to take him in for a checkup. A few hours later he was in the hospital. He stayed in the hospital for several days fighting MRSA.

Paula Kadowaki - Computer Literacy Class

The subject of my blog is "What is spam?"



All of you are aware of "spam," no, not the SPAM, the "meat-related" product from Minnesota and the very popular "food substance" in Hawaii, but the thousands of copies of unwanted messages that are sent to our email accounts on a daily basis.



Step 1: Go to youtube.com:



http://youtube.com/watch?v=ITeuaqcpckc



Step 2: By going to google.com and clicking on the Wikipedia definition of "spam" the following comments pop up:

www.google.com


"E-mail spam, also known as bulk e-mail or junk e-mail is a subset of spam that involves sending nearly identical messages to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. UCE refers specifically to unsolicited commercial e-mail."



I'd like to also start my blog with a pertinent Japanese "haiku" regarding spam. What might you ask is a "haiku?"



Step 3: By going to youtube.com, you can pick any number of videos that explain what a "haiku" is:



http://youtube.com/watch?v=BsZlEODaL6I



Now that you know what a "haiku" means, here is a spam example:



"Pink tender morsel,

Glistening with salty gel,

What the hell is it?"



All joking aside, the real spam is the annoying unsolicited bulk mail from some organizations or person we don't know. Spam is the online version of junk mail. Offline, junk mailers have to pay postage. Unfortunately, online, the cost of sending out a ginormous amount of junk mail is virtually zilch.



So, you may wonder, "Well, then how did the name 'spam' become associated with junk mail?" Good question and here is what we believe is the answer.



Step 4: Again, go to youtube.com and search "Spam, Monty Python."



http://youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7YedEopp4



Spam is called "spam" from the Monty Python skit in which a group of Vikings sing the word "spam" repeatedly in a march tempo, "drowning" out any other talk. Spam, as you know, can "drown out" all other email. Sometimes because some people get so much spam, they stop using email entirely. So, that's where the term "spam" is supposed to have originated.



Why is spam so bad? Spam is not just a nuisance (and horrible tasting), but the real spam costs us money. Email recipients like us pay much more than the sender does to deliver a message. Sending email is cheap. A "spammer" can send thousands of messages an hour from a PC. After that, it costs you time to download, read (at least the subject line), and then DISPOSE of the mail, very annoying and very time-consuming. If spam volumes continue to grow at its alarming pace, pretty soon email will prove to be useless because the real email will be buried under all the junk. Another problem is that spam filters, which are supposed to discard only spam, can throw away good messages by mistake. Not only do spam recipients (us) have to bear a cost, but all of this volume of email also strains the resources of the email servers and the entire internet.



What can we do about it?


There are spam filters to help weed out most of the spam received.



Step 5: go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=55z5oV6WC7g



And that's how you get rid of spam. Once rid of computer spam, sit back and enjoy the REAL SPAM:



http://youtube.com/watch?v=yRcJge_ycY8



Happy Holiday Eatings!

Yolanda Correa's Presentation

Hi! I am considering to do my presentation on some kind of digital download. I will try to have it pick up from the last assignment, which I thought was a bit general, but helpful for this....
yc

Don's Presentation-Looking for a Street Fighter II arcade machine

SUMMARY

The subject that I chose for my assignment is something somewhat childish. It has to do with finding a video game, particularly a specific video game. This game is the arcade cabinet version of Street Fighter II.

According to the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_Ii, Street Fighter II was a video fighting game that came out in the early 1990’s and was quite popular in the arcades. In fact the game was such a money maker that an average Street Fighter II machine would earn $300 in quarters per day. The premise of the game is that two players choose among eight fighters. Once they choose their fighters, each player goes head to head. The winner of the match remains on the machine while it is game over for the loser. If the matches get competitive and a player keeps winning and others are constantly challenging him or her, that one player could stay on the machine for one hour or more in which he or she uses the same quarter.

RESEARCH METHODS

To find a Street Fighter II arcade machine I googled the word “Street Fighter II”. Once I did this it gave me a list of many links. One interesting link that stood out for me was http://shoryuken.com/ because it was a name of a move for one of the popular characters in the game. When I got there it provided me with a lot of information and options. There were many discussion groups on how to play the game, lists of locations where tournaments are held, technical information on how to fix machines, and also a Trading Post where you can buy, sell, and trade various Street Fighter II items. When I went to the Trading Post there were many links where I could find a Street Fighter arcade machine. I clicked on a link that had a person selling a Street Fighter II machine: http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=144111. Once I got on there it seemed like it was already sold but since it lead me to ebay I just typed in "Street Fighter" under search.

It lead me to this:
(http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C12&from=R10&_trksid=m37&satitle=street+fighter+&sacat=20269%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=90505&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32%26fsoo%3D2)

When I got there, there were so many sales for Street Fighter II machines on ebay that it became a little overwhelming. Many of them are expensive but also some were available for a reasonable price. Another factor that plays into my purchasing a machine is the shipping rate. If I buy one from New York the shipping rate could cost as much as the machine. So if I wanted to save money, I’d have to choose a closer location. I think I have to do more research.

Travel to NYC

I will be attending a family reunion in New York City and need to find the best rates on airline and hotel.

The reunion will take place close to Central Park so I wanted to find a hotel close by. I went on the following website to narrow down my search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hotels+close+to+central+park&btnG=Search
http://deals.hotels.com/hotels-new-york/hotels-new-york/central-park-hotels-new-york/

I like the location and reviews on this hotel:

http://deals.hotels.com/hotels-new-york/hotels-new-york/the-helmsley-park-lane/

If booked separately:

Airline tickets:

http://www.jetblueairways.com/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi

Hotel:
http://deals.hotels.com/updateSearchState.do?dateSeparator=%2F&destination=NEW+YORK&destinationId=572B0850-4E3F-469B-87B2-C17ED3EA049B&hotelId=114218&viewTab=prices&isSeo=true&advancedSearch=true&typeOfPage=seoHotelLanding&attribute=&attributeId=A1186333-7726-179E-D992-11C5F7907F26&arrivalDate=19%2F06%2F2008&departureDate=23%2F06%2F2008&jsadultsPerRoom=2&jschildrenPerRoom=0&numberOfRooms=1&adultsPerRoom=2&childrenPerRoom=0

I found the following package:

http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qsfr=cmfd&itid=&itdx=&itty=&ecid=

Places to see while I'm there:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=places+to+see+in+new+york
http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/newyork/
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501980-new_york_city_vacations-i

ernieV.report/looking got a studio/1 bdrm apt. within norwalk ca.

to be worked on for presenattion tomorrow. the presentation that i am working on is a studio/1 bdrm. apartment within the norwalk vacinity. i have now started by looking under the heading of rentals/apts. located near the norwalk ca. area or within 5-7 miles. first sight came up is rent.com an ebaycompany. the name of the location is called hot-spot rentals, llc. located in long beach ca. these photos looked very good in clarity and the apartments have both studio's and 1 bdrm's. but the photos show some good clean 1 bdrm. apartment and a view of the building settings. it showed potential. as my first apt. look up on line i was happy with the location and the price range.

Here are the locations/cities that I am willing to re-locate to:

1. Norwalk, Ca




2. Cerritos, Ca.




3. Long Beach




4. Belmot-Shores

These are the general locations that I am familiar with and not too far from my schooling@ Fremont College that is located in Cerritos, Ca..

One of the weird request that i have is that the apt. is in a building wiith not more than8-12 units. The reason for this is that both my girlfriend and I are middle age and I've never had kids, so I dont want to give the appearance of a middle aged "GRUMP". For anyone out there that is curious if we are living in "SIN", no we are not we plan on getting married as soon as I finish my schooling here and also become a CLA, (certified lagal assistant).

One small additional point of information, both of us are disabled and do live on a fix income that I can and will sonn supplement after graduation and certified.

Enclosing lets just say that even though we are middle aged we like to act like we're young at heart and starting as if, "THE WHOLE WORLD IS OUR OYSTER AND WE CAN DO ANYTHING!"

http://www.rent.com/search/results/