Vieques Having "No Health Hazards" is Being Reevaluted

“We have identified gaps in environmental data that could be important in determining health effects,” director Howard Frumkin of The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said in a statement posted Friday on the agency’s Web site. “The gaps we found indicate that we cannot state categorically that no health hazards exist in Vieques. We have found reason to pose further questions.”

For those of you who do not know the history of Vieques, I'll give you a crash run of the importance of this re-analysis.

Scientists Find Amazing Qualities in Deer Antlers

Read on what John Currey from York University has to say about the unheard qualities of deer antlers.

Corporate Foul Play

“Obviously people want their companies to perform well, both from a revenue and profitability standpoint as well as increasing stock prices,” Mishina said. “But this implies we are in some ways missing the idea of what performance should be. Would it be better to think about maybe five-year growth or 10-year growth? Should performance be based on profitability and stock prices or should it be some sort of long-term viability measure that includes creating jobs, stimulating the economy and other factors?”

A quote by Yuri Mishina, MSU assistant professor of management, who suggests that the more successful a corporation becomes, the more likely it is to engage in illegal activity.

Sade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sade's new album, Soldier of Love to release February 8th 2010. When I saw this, I slammed my mouse on the desk...I was hyped!! (I try not to break my belongings but I got excited). I've been waiting for this for awhile. For the most part, I've given up on new music but, Sade just gave me a new found hope. Since I know the odds of me having your hand in marriage are slim to none, I'll take a new album Sade.

The comic book misconception

Before the box office explosion, I grew up reading comics like many young adults of this era. Marvel, DC, Image, and dark horse were just a few in my daily rotation. As a kid I pretty much convinced myself I was Wolverine. The release of new comics each week meant the world to me. Whenever I had a chance, I spent time at the local comic store whisking through comic books like a speed reader. It got to the point that the clerk knew me by name. If I didn’t have a comic in my hand then I had a trading card. Trading cards were also a big deal at the time. Although you couldn't flip through cards like comic books, the cool thing was that they were hand held which became a passage to trading amongst “comic heads”. Also you could get to know a little more about your favorite hero or villain by just a flip to the back of the card. We all had good memories surrounding comics and bad ones (I should have never traded that Fleer Ultra special card!!!). Not all parents understood the coolness of it all it but, they saw the importance they held to us. So, why not encourage comics to your kids? Everything a book offers is there and more. This is the core of the criticism that revolves around comic books and there readers. Basically the “experts” say that they lack an educational approach to learning and are not as effective as literature books. So they say…till now.

Read what professor Carol L. Tilley has to say in this report (click on title to read more):

"For improving early literacy, reading comics is no child's play"

Yet another innovation with iPhone programming

At the graduate school of media design at Keio University in Tokyo, a project called "Walky" is in development. Using the iPhone and natural gestures with the human hand, students were able to eliminate complicated commands associated with a joystick for the movement of a bipedal walking robot.

For a further understanding check out the video:

Cloud seeding...make it rain

The process of cloud seeding is basically inducing precipitation (rain or snow) by dropping or forcing up silver iodide and dry ice into some clouds that contain freezing water. Cloud seeding has been around since 1946 and they are continuing to use it throughout the world. Last notable usage of cloud seeding was at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. If this process has been going on since the 40's it's crazy to think what they can do with our weather today.

To read more on cloud seeding check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

POLICE BRUTALITY

Although I couldn’t necessarily read the article at its entirety, the subject matter is brutality on African Americans and Puerto Ricans in 1963. As a collaborative effort to bring awareness on police brutality, both African Americans and Puerto Ricans held a demonstration in Harlem. The demonstration was held in front of the 100th street precinct after two Puerto Rican youths were murdered by NYPD. The police claimed a gun was drawn but no gun was ever found anywhere in possession or on the scene. You would think things would change as years go by. Come present day, and nothing has changed just new ways to cover there lies. There’s this old saying that goes along the lines as, "you have to think like a criminal to catch a criminal."

1994: Nas vs Common Sense

vs

Pictures For Progression

SERGIO'S PHOTO JOURNAL ENTRY #1
Saturday September 1 2009:
Brooklyn Children's Carnival Parade






More pictures after the jump

For larger sizes of pictures visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergedegracia/sets/72157622515761513/

ALCOHOL ADS INCREASE IN AREAS WITH MORE HISPANIC CHILDREN

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Children are exposed to nearly seven times more alcohol advertising if they attend a school where at least one-fifth of the students are Hispanic, a new University of Florida and University of Texas study shows.
In a study of 63 elementary schools in Chicago, researchers found there were 29 alcohol ads on average in the two-block radius surrounding schools with larger Hispanic populations compared with an average of four ads around schools where less than one-fifth of students were Hispanic. In all, the researchers counted 771 alcohol ads around the 27 schools with more Hispanic students and only 160 ads around the 36 schools with fewer Hispanic students, the researchers recently reported online in the journal Ethnicity & Health.