tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62070610424827184672011-11-27T16:45:34.154-08:00<center><img src="http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:hXc0Eks5IoLZ3M:http://www.hcbe.net/schools/HMS/teachers/champions/images/904C7C78CCB14BEA9A64F517686B6B08.gif"></center>Christinenoreply@blogger.comBlogger961100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-70733485192155540582011-04-25T15:26:00.000-07:002011-04-25T15:27:06.615-07:00<span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-size: 85%;">*ARTICLE UPDATES ARE ON A TEMPORARY HOLD DUE TO LACK OF STAFF.<br />ENJOY THE AVAILABLE ARTICLES IN THE MEANTIME!*</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-size: 85%;">-HHZ Commentator <span class="messageBody">♥</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7073348519215554058?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-78176744040034663792010-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:002010-04-02T14:48:21.160-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1977090,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Can Toads Predict Earthquakes?</span></a><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1977090,00.html"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 110px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2010/1004/toads_0401.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Scientists can't predict earthquakes. But toads might be able to. <p> In the spring of 2009, Rachel Grant, a doctoral candidate in life sciences at London's Open University, was studying a population of toads in a large dry lake in central Italy. Common toads reproduce once a year, sometimes traveling great distances to gather at their breeding grounds, and Grant was looking at whether her subjects were using the cycles of the moon to coordinate their romantic encounters. <span class="see"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1704134,00.html" target="_blank"></a></span></p> <p> In the previous three years, she had watched the toads increase in number with the waxing of the moon. But last year was different. The moon grew from crescent to gibbous, and suddenly the toads were gone. "It went from there being 90 to 100 toads down to six, and then to one, and then zero," says Grant. A few mating pairs hung around, but after two days, they too left. "It was so dramatic, I was trying to think of reasons why they might have gone," she says. "I was at a loss. Did somebody come and disturb them? Did somebody run through with a tractor? But that didn't seem right. Toads get run over by cars all the time, and that doesn't make them run away." </p> <p> Five days after the toads disappeared, she had a possible answer: an earthquake struck in the middle of the night. The 6.3-magnitude quake was the deadliest to hit Italy in nearly 30 years, killing roughly 300 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1977090,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7817674404003466379?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-67518293105018871692010-03-20T17:54:00.000-07:002010-03-20T17:58:42.386-07:00<a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/geoengineering-carbon-sequestration-phytoplankton.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Ocean Geoengineering Scheme May Prove Lethal</span></a><p> THE GIST: </p><ul><li>One type of phytoplankton that feeds on iron could sequester carbon, but may also produce a potent neurotoxin.</li><li>The neurotoxin can and has killed or weakened fish, birds and people.</li><li>Other geoengineering schemes may have similar, unintended consequences.</li></ul> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/geoengineering-carbon-sequestration-phytoplankton.html"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 129px;" src="http://news.discovery.com/earth/2010/03/15/phytoplankton-278x225.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Although <a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/phytoplankton-iron-ocean-acidity.html">phytoplankton</a> may prove an unlikely ally in the effort to reduce the impact of climate change, enlisting these microorganisms to sequester carbon could have deadly consequences.</p> <p>One proposed method to combat <a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans-noise-climate-change.html">climate change</a> is to dump iron in regions of the ocean where the growth of marine phytoplankton -- tiny organisms that grow via CO2-absorbing photosynthesis -- is limited by the amount of iron available.</p> <p>Adding iron is intended to cause a bloom of phytoplankton growth, <a href="http://news.discovery.com/tech/sequestering-carbon-the-answer-could-be-at-our-feet.html">sucking up CO2</a> in the process.<br /></p><p><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="http://news.discovery.com/videos/earth-top-5-superorganisms.html"><strong></strong></a>But new findings, published today in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>, show that one type of phytoplankton that thrives under such circumstances makes domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin. This neurotoxin can move up the food chain as other animals eat the phytoplankton, harming sea life. The toxin can kill or weaken birds, fish, sea mammals or even humans who eat seafood that contains the toxin.</p><p><a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/geoengineering-carbon-sequestration-phytoplankton.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6751829310501887169?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-75713244853602173112010-02-16T21:06:00.000-08:002010-02-16T21:08:08.431-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100215/ts_afp/malaysiawildlifeanimalleopard"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >New leopard species caught on film</span></a><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100215/ts_afp/malaysiawildlifeanimalleopard"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 106px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100215/capt.photo_1266209983395-1-0.jpg?x=213&amp;y=147&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=282&amp;q=85&amp;sig=OmhuoebuO2X1WtDG4rGBjg--" alt="" border="0" /></a>KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – The Sundaland clouded leopard, a newly identified and little understood species of big cat in Borneo, has been filmed for the first time.</p> <p> The leopard, a healthy-looking animal a metre long (3 feet) and weighing about 40 kilos (90 pounds) was caught on video at night at the Dermakot Forest Reserve in Malaysian Borneo's Sabah state.</p> <p> "What surprised us was that while <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266239359_0">clouded leopards</span> are very elusive cats, this one was not scared at all," said Azlan Mohamed, a field scientist with University Sabah Malaysia.</p> <p> "Despite our powerful spot lights and the roar of our vehicle's engine, it walked around our vehicle calmly," he told AFP.</p> <p> "It is rare to see the big cat in the wild. These cats are usually shy of humans, it was by chance we caught it on video."</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100215/ts_afp/malaysiawildlifeanimalleopard"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7571324485360217311?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-59886274421088585452010-02-04T23:09:00.001-08:002010-02-04T23:09:46.304-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8498142.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur had flamboyant, multi-colored feathers</span></a><br /><br /></span><p class="first"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8498142.stm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 110px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47242000/jpg/_47242859_flamboyantdinocopy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A study of a 150 million year old dinosaur fossil has revealed it had multi-coloured feathers.</p><p>The research, published in the journal Science, compared the structures which determine colour in living bird feathers with those in the fossil. </p><p>"This would be a very striking animal if it was alive today," said Yale University's Professor Richard Prum, co-author of the report. </p><p>It is believed the colours would have helped the dinosaur attract a mate. </p><!-- E SF --><p><i>Anchiornis huxleyi </i>is a four-winged dinosaur which lived in the late Jurassic Period in China. Researchers chose this particular fossil to work on because the feathers were so well preserved.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8498142.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5988627442108858545?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-56654300744581483532010-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:002010-02-04T23:10:27.700-08:00<a href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/ancient-snake-ate-croc-100203.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >45-foot Ancient Snakes Devoured Crocs</span></a><p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/ancient-snake-ate-croc-100203.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 105px;" src="http://i.livescience.com/images/090204-giant-snake-02.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The largest snake the world has ever known likely had a diet that included crocodile, or at least an ancient relative of the reptile. </p> <p>Scientists have discovered a 60-million-year-old ancient crocodile fossil, which has been named a new species, in northern Columbia, South America. The site, one of the world's largest open-pit coal mines, also yielded skeletons of the giant, <a href="http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&amp;c=news&amp;l=on&amp;pic=090204-giant-snake-02.jpg&amp;cap=The+extinct+giant+snake%2C+called+Titanoboa+%28shown+in+an+artist%27s+reconstruction%29%2C+would+have+sent+even+Hollywood%27s+anacondas+slithering+away.+Credit%3A+Jason+Bourque.&amp;title=">boa constrictor-like Titanoboa</a>, which measured up to 45 feet long (14 m). </p> <p> Crocodyliforms are extinct reptiles that are distant relatives of modern crocodiles and alligators. </p> <p> "We're starting to flesh out the fauna that we have from there," said study author Alex Hastings, a graduate student at the Florida Museum of Natural History.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/ancient-snake-ate-croc-100203.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5665430074458148353?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-12701732222641979302010-02-03T18:06:00.000-08:002010-02-03T18:22:00.277-08:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_mangled_history"><span style="font-weight: bold;">US encyclopedia apologizes for old Irish Civil War goof</span></a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_mangled_history"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 127px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:a8tJEaCymQQabM:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Encyclopaedia_Britannica_15_with_2002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">DUBLIN – Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. apologized Wednesday for mangling the history of the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265242896_0">Irish Civil War</span> in past editions, but stressed that <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265242896_1">Ireland</span>'s 4,000 schools have access to the corrected version.</span> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265242896_2">Irish radio stations</span> received irate calls this week complaining that the Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia describes Ireland's civil war as a 1919-21 fight between the Catholic south and Protestant north. The war actually happened in 1922-23, took place entirely within the south, and was fought between the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1265242896_3">Irish army</span> and Irish rebels.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The Chicago-based publisher launched an investigation Tuesday after hearing of the complaints. It determined the errors exist only on older versions of its concise edition, and survive today chiefly on handheld electronic devices.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Earlier, the managing director of the encyclopedia's London office, Ian Grant, said the company's "editors have been up all night looking at this. It's important to get this thing right."</span></p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100204/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_mangled_history"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></span></a></p><p><img src="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-048.gif" alt="Tuzki Bunny Emoticon" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Emotional Bunny Says: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;">...And just how many editor's do I employ? What's that? Enough to wrap around the world? Twice?...."</span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credit: </span></span><cite style="font-style: italic;">commons.wikimedia.org)</cite></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1270173222264197930?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-31653110209414676172010-01-24T15:25:00.001-08:002010-01-24T15:26:34.849-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1956175,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Haiti's Signal FM: The Little Radio Station that Could</span></a><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1956175,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 123px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2010/1001/haiti_radio_0122.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In Haiti's devastation and upheaval since the Jan. 12 earthquake there has been one constant: the sound of <a href="http://www.signalfmhaiti.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=35&amp;Itemid=28" target="_blank">Signal FM</a>, the only radio station in the country that remained on the air after the quake hit, broadcasting through the following tumultuous days. "I cannot tell you how this happened, but our antennae did not fall down," the station manager Mario Viau told TIME by phone on Friday. "We stayed here and just kept going." With telephone and electricity lines down, and fuel scarce, Signal FM has been a lifeline for Haitians — one of the few sure ways people have had to relay details of where needs are most urgent, and to broadcast information about the missing. <div id="TixyyLink" color="transparent" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;"><br />An hour after the earthquake jolted the station building in Pétionville near the capital Port-au-Prince, Viau and two reporters — the only three employees left inside — began what Viau calls a "panel discussion" which has barely ceased since. The city has shown its appreciation. Even as hundreds of Haitians arrived at the station with news of problems on specific streets or neighborhoods, many others have brought in plates of food for those working to keep the station running. <div id="TixyyLink" color="transparent" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1956175,00.html"><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1956175,00.html">Read more....<br /></a><br /></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3165311020941467617?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-6591455544164521372010-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:002010-01-15T14:19:34.283-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100115/ts_nm/us_quake_haiti_texting;_ylt=AkO84BVBRnLfjVoNqcDgdU2WwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTNiN3FpZjZuBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwMTE1L3VzX3F1YWtlX2hhaXRpX3RleHRpbmcEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDdXN0ZXh0aW5ncmFp"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >U.S. texting raises $10 million and counting for Haiti</span></a><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100115/ts_nm/us_quake_haiti_texting;_ylt=AkO84BVBRnLfjVoNqcDgdU2WwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTNiN3FpZjZuBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwMTE1L3VzX3F1YWtlX2hhaXRpX3RleHRpbmcEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDdXN0ZXh0aW5ncmFp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 111px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100115/videolthumb.c3f31e8cf31a148e49c6434e04a0aa81.jpg?x=213&amp;y=160&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=399&amp;hc=300&amp;q=85&amp;sig=B7wFOOafyK.wemTu4_HaWQ--" alt="" border="0" /></a>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Cellphone users in the United States have contributed more than $10 million to Haitian earthquake relief through <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1263589323_0">text messages</span> in what is being hailed as an unprecedented mobile response to a <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1263589323_1">natural disaster</span>.</p> <p> Jim Manis, CEO of the foundation helping to manage cellphone donations, said it was receiving up to 10,000 text messages per second, he said. The foundation said more than $10 million has been donated.</p><p> Cellphone users can donate $5 to Haiti-born hip-hop musician <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1263589323_4">Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Earthquake</span> Fund by texting the word "Yele" to 501501, or they can donate $10 to other nonprofit organizations, such as the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1263589323_5">American Red Cross</span>, by texting the word "Haiti" to a specified number, like 90999.</p> <p> The donation is charged to a user's cellphone bill.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100115/ts_nm/us_quake_haiti_texting;_ylt=AkO84BVBRnLfjVoNqcDgdU2WwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTNiN3FpZjZuBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTAwMTE1L3VzX3F1YWtlX2hhaXRpX3RleHRpbmcEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDdXN0ZXh0aW5ncmFp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gifninja.com/Workspace/a43108ec-8cef-493c-b25e-de892c2c20cf/output.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 54px; height: 137px;" src="http://www.gifninja.com/Workspace/a43108ec-8cef-493c-b25e-de892c2c20cf/output.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A note from the Homeschool Hangout Zone Commentator:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Teen readers with cell phones (like me) who can text (unfortunately, not like me) - <span style="font-size:130%;">DONATE NOW!</span> Don't text your usual $10 worth of texts this week - send it to Haiti instead! The American Red Cross text code is 90999. Give!</span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-659145554416452137?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-46760629058945520522010-01-15T14:02:00.000-08:002010-01-15T14:06:06.173-08:00<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8462221.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >US sending 10,000 troops to earthquake-hit Haiti</span></a><p class="first"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8462221.stm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 122px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20100115/i/r4169055884.jpg?x=400&amp;y=271&amp;q=85&amp;sig=5xV0ArfRfl92p90sUUZT9g--" alt="" border="0" /></a>Up to 10,000 US troops will be on the ground or off the coast of Haiti by Monday to help deal with the earthquake aid effort, US defence officials say.</p><p>Tuesday's earthquake has left as many as 50,000-100,000 people dead. </p><p>Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said more than 15,000 bodies had already been recovered and buried, French news agency AFP reported. </p><p>The UN has launched a flash appeal for $562m (£346m), saying three million people would need help for six months.<br /></p><p>US President Barack Obama described the scale of the devastation as extraordinary and the losses suffered as "heartbreaking".<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8462221.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a>'</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credit: news.yahoo.com)</span></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4676062905894552052?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-81051474688098779172010-01-05T10:09:00.000-08:002010-01-05T10:11:13.662-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100105/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_tallest_building">Dubai opens world's largest half-mile-high tower</a><br /><br /></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100105/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_tallest_building"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 255px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20100105/capt.photo_1262675896928-1-0.jpg?x=264&amp;y=345&amp;q=85&amp;sig=gNCReZr3myZOcO82X2Dnvg--" alt="" border="0" /></a>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai opened the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262656239_0">world's tallest skyscraper</span> Monday in a blaze of fireworks, then added a final flourish: It renamed the half-mile-high tower for the head of neighboring Abu Dhabi, whose billions bailed out Dubai amid last year's financial crisis.</p> <p>Long known as Burj Dubai — Arabic for "<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262656239_1">Dubai Tower</span>" — the building rises 2,717 feet (828 meters) from the desert. The $1.5 billion "<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262656239_2">vertical city</span>" of luxury apartments and offices and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani also plans to have the world's highest mosque (158th floor) and swimming pool (76th floor).</p> <p>Its backers wanted the skyscraper to be a monument to the boundless, can-do spirit of Dubai — one of a federation of seven small sheikdoms that make up the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262656239_3">United Arab Emirates</span> — but the timing could not be worse. Property prices in parts of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1262656239_4">Dubai</span> collapsed by nearly half in the past year, the result of easy credit and overbuilding during a real estate bubble that has since burst.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100105/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_dubai_tallest_building"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8105147468809877917?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-72260714942310432312009-12-21T23:49:00.000-08:002009-12-21T23:51:40.565-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://news.discovery.com/animals/female-reindeers-pull-santas-sleigh.html">Female Reindeer Pull Santa's Sleigh</a><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.discovery.com/animals/female-reindeers-pull-santas-sleigh.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 130px;" src="http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef01287670c040970c-500pi" alt="" border="0" /></a>Jeanna Bryner at <a href="http://www.livescience.com/" target="_blank" title="Live Science">Live Science</a> today points out some interesting facts about reindeer.<br /><p>Mixing fact with fiction, she argues that all of the reindeer mentioned in stories about Santa Claus had to have been female. Here's why:</p> <ul><li>Females keep their antlers throughout the winter, but males shed theirs in early December. Illustrations of Santa's sleigh pullers uniformly show reindeer with antlers.</li><li>The mating season depletes males of body fat, leaving them with just 5 percent on their scrawny frames around Christmas time. Females, on the other hand, retain 50 percent of their body fat. They'd be in shape to haul Santa. </li></ul><a href="http://news.discovery.com/animals/female-reindeers-pull-santas-sleigh.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7226071494231043231?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-68639382401789521852009-12-20T20:48:00.001-08:002009-12-20T20:49:49.003-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_volcano"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Major volcanic eruption feared in Philippines</span></a><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_volcano"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > "within days"</span></a><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_volcano"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 203px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091220/capt.861ee658d69f4a17bf4621d2fa2cb072.philippines_volcano_xbm124.jpg?x=213&amp;y=320&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=273&amp;hc=410&amp;q=85&amp;sig=wm0_zZRJ4eSR9UXUzGU5OQ--" alt="" border="0" /></a>LEGAZPI, Philippines – The Philippines' most active volcano could have a huge eruption within days, officials warned Sunday after detecting a drastic surge in earthquakes and eerie rumbling sounds in surrounding foothills. Tens of thousands of villagers have been evacuated as a precaution.</p> <p>Scientists raised the alert level for the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1261362916_0">Mayon volcano</span> after 453 <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1261362916_1">volcanic earthquakes</span> were detected in a five-hour span Sunday, compared to just over 200 Saturday, said Renato Solidum, chief of the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1261362916_2">Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology</span>.</p> <p>The five-step <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1261362916_3">warning system</span> was raised to level four, meaning a hazardous eruption "is possible within days." Level five is when a major eruption has begun.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091221/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_volcano"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6863938240178952185?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-21175340313267481442009-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:002009-12-09T20:28:37.696-08:00<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/07/white-house-security-breached-times/"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Report: White House Security Breached 91 Times</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Secret Service report reveals dozens of security breaches since 1980 surrounding U.S. presidents.<br /></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/07/white-house-security-breached-times/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 149px;" src="http://www.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Politics/salahi_monster_397x224.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Tareq and Michaele Salahi may be the most famous party crashers after sneaking into President Obama's first state dinner last month, but they're by no means the first to elude the Secret Service and breach White House security.</p> <p>A report compiled by the Secret Service reveals security surrounding the president has been breached at least 91 times since 1980, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/06/AR2009120602556.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported on Monday.</p> <p>A summary of the secret 2003 report, along with descriptions of more recent breaches by federal homeland security officials, details scores of breaches, including a family who was mistakenly allowed onto White House grounds in a minivan, a woman allowed in despite already having falsely claimed a "special relationship" with former president Bill Clinton and a celebrity hunter who joined Harrison Ford's entourage to get near Clinton.</p><p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/07/white-house-security-breached-times/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2117534031326748144?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-64523403542055629702009-12-09T14:34:00.000-08:002009-12-09T14:45:14.268-08:00<h1> </h1><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1945937,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Why Has Taiwan's Birthrate Dropped So Low?</span></a><p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1945937,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 135px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0912/taiwan_1207.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In a society where the cost of living is high, the notion that kids are an unwelcome burden — taboo in many cultures — has become an accepted idea.<br /></p><p>In a research poll administered by Kun Shan University in 2007, students interviewed 100 residents of Taiwan between the ages of 20 and 40 about their family plans. One-third didn't plan to have any children for fear of losing two precious things: money and freedom. </p><p> Balancing work and family life has proven to be a challenge for both men and women in Taiwan. According to the Swiss-based International Institute of Management Development, Taiwanese work some of the longest hours in the world, averaging nearly 44 hours a week, and Taiwan's women are very career-oriented. "Most women are afraid of losing their jobs" by taking time out to have a child, says Liu. He says Taiwan should follow the lead of European countries like Germany, where women are entitled to up to three years of maternity leave by law. Taiwan has been making progress in this area; in 2002, the government passed a law requiring companies to allow their employees two-year parental leaves without pay. This year, a policy came out that enables parents to take six months of parental leave while receiving 60% of their salary. But many say these changes only look good on paper, as most bosses discourage people from taking the time off.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1945937,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6452340354205562970?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-71932916404563961202009-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:002009-11-10T14:56:26.627-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1934459,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Hip Berlin: Europe's Capital of Cool</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1934459,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 129px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/europe/magazine/2009/1116/berlin_1116.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Time Magazine - </span>A chill wind is blowing through Mitte, the once drab district in central Berlin that is fast becoming hangout central for the world's creative types. Davide Grazioli, used to warmer climes, pulls his black woolly hat over his head and strides up Kastanien Allee — now dubbed Casting Alley because of all the wannabe film directors and actors who frequent its cafés.<br /><br />Germany has a lot of fine qualities, but being hip isn't usually thought to be one of them. Up-and-coming artists, especially ones from abroad, used to flock to London, Amsterdam or New York City rather than Hamburg, Munich or Cologne. As for Berlin, it hasn't been on the international cool list since Christopher Isherwood lived in the city in the early 1930s and chronicled the demise of its rambunctious culture under the Nazis. <div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />But two decades after the Wall that cut through Berlin's heart came tumbling down, the city is once again a happening place, drawing a host of international designers, writers, architects, musicians and visual artists like Grazioli, some just to visit, many to stay. The influx is transforming the city.<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1934459,00.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7193291640456396120?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-60434503877210923692009-11-08T13:54:00.000-08:002009-11-10T14:58:38.148-08:00<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/220181"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube University</span></span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/220181"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 121px;" src="http://www.christmastree.org/youtube.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Newsweek - </span>YouTube has built a global reputation as the place to go for video clips of singing cats, laughing babies, reckless drivers, and raucous wedding processionals. But there's more to the site than pointless entertainment; there is a growing collection of university lectures available, including one by a Harvard Business School professor talking about consumer psychology in the recession, and Cambridge University historian David Starkey discussing the history of the British monarchy. Earlier this year YouTube launched a new home for education, YouTube EDU, which started as a volunteer project by company employees seeking a better way to aggregate educational content uploaded by U.S. colleges and universities.<br /><br />One need not be a student to reap the benefits of higher education anymore. In addition to YouTube EDU, Web sites like iTunes U, TED, and Academic Earth allow millions of people to download lectures by some of the world's top experts—for free. Known as open educational resources—or OER—the movement is turning education into a form of mass entertainment.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/220181"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-037.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 50px; height: 50px;" src="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-037.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional Bunny Says: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Guess who's taking free online chemistry courses from MIT?"</span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6043450387721092369?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-80186231160300050912009-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:002009-11-10T14:59:43.521-08:00<a href="http://www.news-press.com/article/20091021/NEWS0104/910210421/1075"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Students create countries in social studies class</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.news-press.com/article/20091021/NEWS0104/910210421/1075"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 117px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:rKjP8i_1clU_-M:http://www1.pgcps.org/uploadedImages/Offices/Special_Education/Related_Services_and_Support_Programs/DLT/Hands%2520holding%2520globe.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>World geography classes typically don't stray from the 195 established countries that circle the globe.<p><span class="pp"></span>Some new nations, though, emerged Tuesday: Aquatopia, an underwater country off the coast of Florida; Timpatoint, an arctic nation northeast of Canada; and Marinya, an island nation near the Philippines.<span class="aa"></span></p><p><span class="pp"></span>Of course, the countries aren't real. Fifth-graders in Andrea Hollan's gifted class at Allen Park Elementary spent six weeks exploring forms of government, finances, culture, geography and climates of existing nations.<span class="aa"></span></p><p><span class="pp"></span>"We looked at what's real, and went from there," Hollan said.<span class="aa"></span></p><span class="pp"></span>Students then created their own countries, complete with a flag, currency, food and landscape. Students even developed the first steps of a new language, creating words for hello and goodbye.<br /><a href="http://www.news-press.com/article/20091021/NEWS0104/910210421/1075"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credits: </span><cite style="font-style: italic;">www1.pgcps.org)</cite></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8018623116030005091?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-39174582390786663972009-10-24T13:58:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:00:54.139-08:00<!-- end header --> <h1 class="newsTitle"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091023-tsunami-shelter-pacific-northwest-earthquake.html">First U.S. Tsunami Shelter Planned as Earthquake Looms</a></span></h1>When a major earthquake triggers a giant <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tsunami-profile.html">tsunami</a> in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, as experts predict, one coastal town will be ready. Residents of the small <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/states/state_oregon.html">Oregon</a> town of Cannon Beach are preparing to build the first tsunami-resistant shelter in the U.S. (Get <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090929-tsunami-warning-samoa-earthquake.html">tsunami facts.</a>)<br /><p> The Pacific Northwest is one of the most dangerous <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake-profile.html">earthquake</a> and tsunami zones in the world—capable of producing magnitude 9 earthquakes followed within minutes by deadly, 50-foot (15.2-meter) high waves. </p><p> The next big earthquake could happen tomorrow or in several hundreds of years—no one knows for sure.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091023-tsunami-shelter-pacific-northwest-earthquake.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3917458239078666397?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-90305010459257754232009-10-24T13:49:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:01:30.620-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1932079,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >How Hawaii's Budget Crunch Led to Furloughed Kids</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1932079,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 121px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0910/hawaii_schools_1022.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>At Noelani Elementary, the small school near Honolulu where President Obama learned to read and write, the next generation of Hawaii's leaders learned a new word this week: "furlough."<br /><br />The Noelani students joined nearly 170,000 other children across Hawaii whose teachers on Friday began an unprecedented state furlough program that will close classrooms 34 days over the next two years. The "furlough Fridays" are part of a controversial effort by Gov. Linda Lingle to deal with a projected budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. The cost-cutting measure has angered parents, lawmakers and children. Popular musician and Hawaii public school graduate Jack Johnson sang at a rally Friday morning at the state Capitol to protest the furloughs. During the rally, parents handed a petition bearing thousands of signatures protesting the furloughs to the governor, whose office is on the fifth floor of the state Capitol.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1932079,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-9030501045925775423?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-44561375033216693022009-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:02:16.730-08:00<h1><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_young_sailor">Teen sets off on round-the-world sail</a></span><br /></h1><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_young_sailor"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 157px; height: 176px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20091018/capt.photo_1255823185866-1-0.jpg?x=251&amp;y=345&amp;q=85&amp;sig=SiIPH7Y2qZyx26q_MOsiSg--" alt="" border="0" /></a>SYDNEY – A 16-year-old Australian steered her bright pink yacht out of Sydney Harbor on Sunday to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world. <p>Jessica Watson's plan to make a 23,600-mile (38,000-kilometer) journey through some of the world's most treacherous waters sparked a debate in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1255864663_0">Australia</span> about whether someone so young should be allowed to try such a potentially dangerous feat.</p> <p>Watson and her family insist she is an experienced and capable sailor who has studied navigation, electronics and maritime safety procedures. Although she will sail solo and unassisted, she will be in constant contact with her support team via radio, e-mail and a blog.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091018/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_young_sailor"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4456137503321669302?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-11917759749212121222009-10-15T19:14:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:02:46.273-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1930337,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >World's Richest People: Asia Poised to Pass U.S.</span><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1930337,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 121px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0910/chuanfu_1015.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As Asia's economic growth races ahead of that of the U.S., the investment portfolios of Asia's wealthiest people are picking up enough momentum to launch them past their North American counterparts. <!-- Begin Article Side Bar --> <!-- End Article Side Bar --><br /><br />A report released on Oct. 13 by Merrill Lynch and consulting firm Capgemini Financial Services projects that with the global recession easing, the total net worth of Asia-Pacific's wealthy — those with at least $1 million in investable assets — is set to grow at a faster pace than the holdings of rich people in other parts of the world. If this trend takes hold, the total value of assets held by Asia's rich could surpass the combined assets of North America's wealthy by 2013.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1930337,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1191775974921212122?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-19329690490088890842009-10-13T08:45:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:03:29.919-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929949,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Will New Laws Help Russia Take Down the Mafia?</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929949,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 110px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:EjABwTWOQEdnOM:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/gallery/media/mafia.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The raid looked like something out of a Hollywood action movie. On July 7, Russian special forces dropped down on ropes from a helicopter to storm a luxury yacht on the Pirogovsky reservoir outside Moscow, arresting three dozen mobsters, including the group's alleged ringleader, Tariel Oniani. But within days, nearly all of them, including Oniani, had to be set free because prosecutors couldn't charge them with anything. <!-- Begin Article Side Bar --><!-- End Article Side Bar --><br /><br />Russia's laws have long been weak and unspecific when it comes to combating organized crime, part of the reason why the underworld has thrived in the country in the post-communism years. But the government may finally be getting serious about cracking down on the Mafia.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929949,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1932969049008889084?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-37492520479686580252009-10-09T09:04:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:03:49.663-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-killing-crocs">What Is Killing South African Crocs?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Mass deaths of South Africa's Nile crocodiles puzzle biologists.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-killing-crocs"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 147px;" src="http://go635254.s3.amazonaws.com/ecoworldly/files/2008/12/crocodile.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Carcasses of adult crocodiles do not usually signal the return of winter in South Africa, but mass death seems to be becoming the harbinger of the season. Rangers at the Kruger National Park have found Nile crocodiles floating in the Oli­fants River or bloated and decaying along its banks. Investigators are rushing to figure out the cause and worry that the deaths might be signaling the presence of toxins or pathogens that could threaten not only the croc population but also the livelihoods of the people living near the river.<br /><br />...The first sign of croc trouble in the river came in the winter of 2008, when rangers collected 170 dead individuals, sometimes at a rate of 20 bodies a week. A survey at the end of this May showed nearly 400 crocs living in the park’s gorge, down from at least 1,000 in 2008. So far, as of Au­­gust 7, rangers and scientists have found 23 carcasses.<br /><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-killing-crocs"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3749252047968658025?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-70850286169780002692009-10-07T23:34:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:04:37.034-08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/index.html">Malawian boy uses wind to power hope, electrify village</a></span><br /><br /></span><p> </p><div id="cnnImgChngrNested"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/index.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 181px;" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/art.malawi.william.tr.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b>(CNN) </b> -- William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource that was freely available to him. <!--startclickprintexclude--> <div id="imageChanger1"> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox"><div id="cnnImgChngr" class="cnnImgChngr"> <div id="cnnImgChngrNested"> </div><div class="cnnWireBoxFooter"> <img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif" alt="" height="4" width="4" /> </div> </div></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',1,1); //CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html'); </script> <!--endclickprintexclude--><p> His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands. His family and others were surviving on one meal a day. The red soil in his Masitala hometown was parched, leaving his father, a farmer, without any income.</p><p> But amid all the shortages, one thing was still abundant.</p><p> Wind.</p><p> "I wanted to do something to help and change things," he said. "Then I said to myself, 'If they can make electricity out of wind, I can try, too.'"</p><p> Kamkwamba was kicked out of school when he couldn't pay $80 in school fees, and he spent his days at the library, where a book with photographs of windmills caught his eye.</p><p> "I thought, this thing exists in this book, it means someone else managed to build this machine," he said.</p><p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/05/malawi.wind.boy/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7085028616978000269?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-20609397211252060172009-10-07T23:21:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:05:15.523-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1928734,00.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Qatar Prince's Renovation Plan: Far From Regal Welcome</span></span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Qatar Prince wants to renovate an $88 million historic 17th century French building with air conditioning, elevators, and underground parking</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1928734,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 151px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/lambert_0924.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Voltaire once called it a home fit for a king. And for a few hundred years, it was. Since the Hotel Lambert was built in 1639 on Paris's Ile Saint-Louis by architect Louis Le Vau, who also designed the Chateau de Versailles, the mansion has played host to French nobility, exiled Polish princes and members of the Rothschild family. But for Qatari Prince Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani, who bought the property from the Rothschilds in 2007 for $88 million, the welcome has been far from regal.<br /><br />The Prince's plan to restore the mansion to its 17th century glory while also adding elevators, air-conditioning and an underground parking lot has run into opposition from historical preservationists, who say the $60 million renovations would be "disastrous." But critics are even angrier that the French Ministry of Culture approved the plan in the first place, the latest example of what preservationists say is the government's disregard for the protection of France's architectural treasures.<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1928734,00.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2060939721125206017?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-9576489606946980052009-10-06T15:19:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:05:40.104-08:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091006/sc_livescience/originofkomododragonrevealed">Komodo Dragon Originated in Australia</a><br /><br /></span></span></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091006/sc_livescience/originofkomododragonrevealed"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 151px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/net/20091006/capt.317766629a3c0e8b190ed345bee555e8.jpeg?x=213&amp;y=151&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=290&amp;q=85&amp;sig=MBAdqcRrHTyi0IrOwIhtLg--" alt="" border="0" /></a><cite class="vcard"><span class="fn org">livescience.com</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-10-06T08:46:25-0700" class="timedate">Tue Oct 6, 11:46 am ET</abbr><!-- end .byline --> <div class="yn-story-content"> <p> Dragons may come from the land Down Under. </p> <p> Scientists now find that the world's largest living lizard species, the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254863540_0">Komodo dragon</span>, most likely evolved in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254863540_1">Australia</span> and dispersed westward to its current home in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254863540_2">Indonesia</span>. </p> <p> In the past, researchers had suggested the <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/originofkomododragonrevealed/33642605/SIG=11qjmve9m/*http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/index.php?cat=dragons">Komodo dragon</a> (Varanus komodoensis) developed from a smaller ancestor isolated on the Indonesian islands, evolving its large size as a response to lack of competition from other predators or as a specialist hunter of pygmy elephants known as Stegodon.<br /></p> <p>However, over the past three years, an international team of scientists unearthed numerous fossils from eastern Australia dated from 300,000 years ago to roughly 4 million years ago that they now know belong to the Komodo dragon. </p> </div> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091006/sc_livescience/originofkomododragonrevealed"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-957648960694698005?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-40771943927069439212009-10-05T09:21:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:06:18.711-08:00<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/science/earth/03fire.html?_r=1&amp;ref=science"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >After a Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/science/earth/03fire.html?_r=1&amp;ref=science"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 142px;" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/10/03/us/fire600.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. — The Station fire, which in over a month has burned away nearly a quarter of this vast, mountainous backdrop to the Los Angeles skyline, is finally just about out, sending all but a handful of firefighters home. Now, the scientists swoop in.<br /><br />And Todd M. Hoefen, a geophysicist, scooped up white and black ash as part of research to analyze “the impact of it, what blows out of these fires and what are people breathing.”<p>Fire, typically touched off by lightning strikes, has always been part of the life cycle of the wilderness here and elsewhere, to a large degree crucial to regenerating it. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Most wildlife and landscape eventually come back.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >But </span>with the increasing frequency and size of fires — <span style="font-weight: bold;">7 of the state’s 10 largest wildfires have occurred in the last six years, and most were caused by people</span> — scientists are intensifying study of the environmental aftermath of the changing burn pattern.</p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/science/earth/03fire.html?_r=1&amp;ref=science"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4077194392706943921?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-79236481003203064122009-10-05T08:49:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:06:46.096-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091005/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_medicine;_ylt=AqE8vnN2eHiXaao.tMmpKX.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJvZ25zaW82BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDA1L2V1X25vYmVsX21lZGljaW5lBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbm9iZWw-"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091005/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_medicine;_ylt=AqE8vnN2eHiXaao.tMmpKX.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJvZ25zaW82BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDA1L2V1X25vYmVsX21lZGljaW5lBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbm9iZWw-"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 130px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091005/capt.548bf27eb44a4ee6859d18a04a6965ec.nobel_medicine_mdrc102.jpg?x=213&amp;y=152&amp;xc=2&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=408&amp;hc=291&amp;q=85&amp;sig=I7IFX4jFbbfl8bJnxNyfqQ--" alt="" border="0" /></a>STOCKHOLM – Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254755412_0">Nobel Prize in medicine</span> on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254755412_1">genetic operations</span> of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer. <p>It was the first time two women have been among the winners of the medicine prize.</p> <p>The trio solved the mystery of how chromosomes, the rod-like structures that carry DNA, protect themselves from degrading when cells divide.</p> <p>The Nobel citation said the laureates found the solution in the ends of the chromosomes — features called telomeres that are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoe laces that keep those laces from unraveling.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091005/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_medicine;_ylt=AqE8vnN2eHiXaao.tMmpKX.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJvZ25zaW82BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDA1L2V1X25vYmVsX21lZGljaW5lBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbm9iZWw-"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7923648100320306412?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-12359442706732712382009-10-02T22:17:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:07:06.738-08:00<a href="http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2009/FlipFlop/flipflop.asp"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Unemployment rate identical at 9.7%: "Good" under Obama, "Bad" under Reagan</span></span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2009/FlipFlop/flipflop.asp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 97px; height: 84px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Ot7HNfgxj56LRM:http://www.obit-mag.com/media/image/reagan.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >A study from the Business &amp; Media Institute: </span></b><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Identical Unemployment Numbers ‘Good’ News for Obama, But ‘All’ Bad under Reagan.</span></span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >U</span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >nemployment under President Barack Obama is at a 26-year-high. The last time the economy had 9.7 percent or higher unemployment was </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >under President Ronald Reagan. But despite similar </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >periods of rising unemployment, Obama and Reagan received almost </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">exactly </span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2009/FlipFlop/flipflop.asp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 150px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:p7bSAukoJBC5jM:http://woodburydems.com/blog/uploaded_images/obama_sc_04_01_2007-731285.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">opposite</span></span> treatment from the network news media. </span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Under Obama reporters have gone to great lengths to spin rising unemployment </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >by finding “positive trends” in the job losses, even focusing on as few as 25 jobs being “saved” by the economic stimulus package. But when Reagan was president journalists showed unemployed families living out of their cars under a bridge in Texas and quoted Democrats or union leaders’ attacks on the president’s “wicked” and “sadistic” fiscal policies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2009/FlipFlop/flipflop.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credits: </span></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><cite style="font-style: italic;">thewalrusblog.com, </cite><cite style="font-style: italic;">sodahead.com</cite></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span></span><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1235944270673271238?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-38283012525541015652009-09-30T19:30:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:07:56.643-08:00<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6245241/Chinas-60th-anniversary-of-Communism-public-barred-from-parade.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >China's 60th anniversary of Communism: public barred from parade</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />Ordinary Chinese citizens hoping to come onto the streets of Beijing to watch a triumphant military parade to celebrate 60 years of Communist rule have been ordered to "stay at home" and watch the event on television.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6245241/Chinas-60th-anniversary-of-Communism-public-barred-from-parade.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 174px;" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01491/MAO_1491908f.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Any thoughts that a spontaneous, flag-waving crowd might gather to cheer on the 180,000 marchers as they process through Beijing's Tiananmen Square have been scotched by security fears ahead of Thursday's anniversary.<p>"People who can go to watch the parade are invited guests with tickets," said Ji Lin, the vice-mayor of Beijing, "For other citizens the parade will be screened live and the citizens can watch it via TV." </p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/6245241/Chinas-60th-anniversary-of-Communism-public-barred-from-parade.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3828301252554101565?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-26232071669429302172009-09-30T18:33:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:08:47.289-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_re_af/af_guinea">Guinea's military leader bans demonstrations</a></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><cite class="vcard"><br /><br />By ALHASSAN SILLAH, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Alhassan Sillah, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-09-30T13:49:48-0700" class="timedate">Wed Sep 30, 4:49 pm ET</abbr></span><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_re_af/af_guinea"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 284px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090929/capt.cb02d68dbd764b04a9f75f3ec10b2cf4.guinea__gfx432.jpg?x=213&amp;y=402&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=217&amp;hc=410&amp;q=85&amp;sig=4mRyxY52u31uXhCnOTRgMg--" alt="" border="0" /></a>CONAKRY, Guinea – <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254343799_0">Guinea</span>'s military leader banned all gatherings and demonstrations Wednesday, as the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254343799_1">United Nations</span> pressed for an independent investigation into why troops opened fire on 50,000 pro-democracy protesters.</p> <p>U.N. <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254343799_2">High Commissioner</span> for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the soldiers' use of live ammunition against the unarmed people who gathered Monday in a stadium in <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254343799_3">Conakry</span>, the capital, to protest against Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara, the country's military leader.</p> <p>...Since winning independence half a century ago from France, Guinea has been pillaged by its ruling elite. Its 10 million people are among the world's poorest, even though its soil has diamonds, gold, iron and half the world's reserves of the raw material used to make aluminum.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_re_af/af_guinea"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2623207166942930217?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-6468316963187453332009-09-30T18:29:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:09:14.816-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_stressed_koalas"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Stress is killing Australia's koalas</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><cite class="vcard"><br /><br />By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-09-29T10:23:14-0700" class="timedate">Tue Sep 29, 1:23 pm ET</abbr></span><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_stressed_koalas"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 160px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090930/videolthumb.3472cdbb572e1259493720fc84748433.jpg?x=213&amp;y=160&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=399&amp;hc=300&amp;q=85&amp;sig=1oUBGdsJ0eE4BwF5TJK0Tg--" alt="" border="0" /></a>CUDLEE CREEK, Australia – The koala, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254352069_0">Australia</span>'s star symbol, is dying of stress.</p> <p>Koalas live in the rolling hills and flat plains where <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254352069_1">eucalyptus trees</span> grow, because they need the leaves for both food and water. But as people move in, koalas are finding themselves with fewer trees, researchers say. The stress is bringing out a latent disease that infects 50 to 90 percent of the animals.</p> <p>"Koalas are in diabolical trouble," says researcher Frank Carrick, who heads the Koala Study Program at the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254352069_2">University of Queensland</span>. "Numbers show that even in their stronghold, koala numbers are declining alarmingly."</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_stressed_koalas"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-646831696318745333?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-82511504211126807852009-09-30T18:26:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:09:33.855-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_indonesia_earthquake;_ylt=AtozAorueeXo3hWb8ae_vpas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1MXZwcWkxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDAxL2FzX2luZG9uZXNpYV9lYXJ0aHF1YWtlBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDaW5kb25lc2lhZWFy"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Strong Indonesia quake kills 200, traps thousands</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_indonesia_earthquake;_ylt=AtozAorueeXo3hWb8ae_vpas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1MXZwcWkxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDAxL2FzX2luZG9uZXNpYV9lYXJ0aHF1YWtlBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDaW5kb25lc2lhZWFy"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 126px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090930/i/r3438472523.jpg?x=213&amp;y=148&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=410&amp;hc=285&amp;q=85&amp;sig=xlQ2Q.Ik_njNEq6JrHAboA--" alt="" border="0" /></a>JAKARTA, Indonesia – A <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254359431_0">disaster management official</span> says at least 200 people have been killed by the powerful earthquake that struck western Indonesia. Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: rgb(220, 238, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254359431_1">National Disaster Management</span> Agency, says the deaths were counted in the coastal Sumatran city of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254359431_2">Padang</span>, following Wednesday's 7.6 magnitude quake. <p>A higher <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254359431_3">death toll</span> is expected once officials tally casualties in other areas of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254359431_4">West Sumatra province</span> where communications and roads have been severed.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_indonesia_earthquake;_ylt=AtozAorueeXo3hWb8ae_vpas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1MXZwcWkxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDAxL2FzX2luZG9uZXNpYV9lYXJ0aHF1YWtlBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDaW5kb25lc2lhZWFy"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8251150421112680785?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-53927905198614314362009-09-30T12:27:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:10:00.051-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090929/sc_livescience/warninghomegrowntobaccostilldeadly"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Warning: Homegrown Tobacco Still Deadl</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">y</span></span><br /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><abbr title="2009-09-29T15:31:20-0700" class="timedate">Tue Sep 29, 6:31 pm ET</abbr></span> <div class="yn-story-content"> <p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090929/sc_livescience/warninghomegrowntobaccostilldeadly"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 109px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Jwh_vfTV8wxebM:http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/tobacco/images/tobacco_template.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Across the backyards and <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254263576_0">victory gardens</span> of America this fall, many weekend gardeners for the first time are harvesting a touch of poison amongst the squash and potatoes. </p> <p> The poison, albeit all-natural and organic, is tobacco, an otherwise lovely plant with its elephantine <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254263576_1">green leaves</span> and broad, five-petal flowers of yellow, pink or white. </p> <p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090929/sc_livescience/warninghomegrowntobaccostilldeadly"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 146px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:m7SZORW9-lHsYM:http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/news/files/news/20080722_tobacco.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ever ingenious <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/warninghomegrowntobaccostilldeadly/33562497/SIG=11tu0vbg9/*http://www.livescience.com/health/081118-smoking-myths.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254263576_2">American smokers</span></a> have turned to growing their own tobacco as the average price for smokes has climbed to over $6 a pack, a price hike largely the result of the $1.01-per-pack tax that went into effect on April 1, conveniently around planting season. Seed sales reportedly were through the roof this year. </p> <p>...Part of the blame for the confusion goes to the anti-smoking movement. Its emphasis on tobacco additives has implied that natural tobacco is somehow healthier.<br /></p><p>...Children exposed to high levels of nicotine from wet leaves often require hospitalization.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090929/sc_livescience/warninghomegrowntobaccostilldeadly"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-012.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 48px; height: 48px;" src="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-012.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Emotional Bunny Says</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">: "....Don't do this to me."</span></span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credit: </span><cite style="font-style: italic;">oralcancerfoundation.org, </cite><cite style="font-style: italic;">cosmosmagazine.com)</cite></span></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5392790519861431436?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-552052741672003322009-09-29T18:46:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:10:26.689-08:00<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html">World's Biggest Cave Found in Vietnam</a><br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;">James Owen</span><br /><div class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:78%;">for <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic News</a><br /></span></div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> A massive cave recently uncovered in a remote Vietnamese jungle is the largest single cave passage yet found, a new survey shows. </p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 196px;" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam_big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>At 262-by-262 feet (80-by-80 meters) in most places, the Son Doong cave beats out the previous world-record holder, Deer Cave in the Malaysian section of the island of Borneo.<br /><br />...A local farmer, who had found the entrance to the Son Doong cave several years ago, led the joint British-Vietnamese expedition team to the cavern in April. The team found an underground river running through the first 1.6 miles (2.5 kilometers) of the limestone cavern, as well as giant stalagmites more than 230 feet (70 meters) high.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-55205274167200332?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-19691903728852051862009-09-29T18:36:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:10:49.603-08:00<a href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/09/29/the-washington-post-slaps-the-twitter-handcuffs-on-its-staff/"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Washington Post Slaps the Twitter Handcuffs on Its Journalists</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />by <span class="name"><a href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/author/jponiewozik/" title="Posts by James Poniewozik">James Poniewozik, </a>TIME.com<a href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/author/jponiewozik/" title="Posts by James Poniewozik"><br /></a></span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/09/29/the-washington-post-slaps-the-twitter-handcuffs-on-its-staff/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 140px;" src="http://ipsnews.net/pictures/women_journalists_fao.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>"Here's something everybody should understand about journalism. The reporters, columnists and news anchors you follow almost all have opinions about the subjects they cover. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is a good thing, because any person who immersed him or herself in a vital, contentious subject all day and formed no opinion about it whatsoever would be an idiot, and you do not want to get your news from idiots.</p> <p>Some journalists (like me) are paid to express opinions. Others are paid to report news without regard to their opinions--and many, though not all, do an excellent job of this. And many more are required to hide their opinions by their bosses, in the belief that it builds reader confidence to maintain the illusion that the news is produced by people without opinions.</p><p><a href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/09/29/the-washington-post-slaps-the-twitter-handcuffs-on-its-staff/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credit: </span><cite style="font-style: italic;">ipsnews.net)</cite></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1969190372885205186?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-30605099038999087342009-09-28T19:44:00.001-07:002009-11-10T15:11:02.567-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1926262_1955219,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About National Parks</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />... 3. Explosions in the Desert</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1926262_1955219,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 131px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/top10_national_parks/white_sands.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>White Sands National Monument spans more than 275 sq. mi. of New Mexico desert and contains the largest gypsum dune fields in the world. But because the park lies adjacent to the country's largest military installation — a 3,200-sq.-mi. missile range — the crystalline waves are often closed to the public while the Defense Department conducts top-secret (and presumably highly dangerous) tests.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1926262_1955219,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3060509903899908734?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-9193708323047589992009-09-28T17:14:00.000-07:002009-09-28T17:16:18.040-07:00<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8277835.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Turkey, Armenia to restore ties </span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country will sign a deal to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia on 10 October.</span></span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8277835.stm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 120px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46454000/jpg/_46454314_-82.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Mr Erdogan said the deal would still need parliamentary approval in Turkey and Armenia after being signed by their foreign ministers. </p><p>The two countries remain deeply divided over the fate Armenians suffered under Turkish Ottoman rule. </p><p>A roadmap for normalising relations between them was agreed in April. </p><!-- E SF --><p>Anticipation of a diplomatic breakthrough had been growing ahead of a planned visit by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian to Turkey on 14 October.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8277835.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-919370832304758999?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-7437203962561903742009-09-28T10:42:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:11:45.178-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090928/sc_livescience/850mostlyblindpalecreaturesdiscoveredunderground"><span style="font-weight: bold;">More New Creatures Discovered Underground In Australia</span></a><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090928/sc_livescience/850mostlyblindpalecreaturesdiscoveredunderground"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 117px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ZG8UvZyKslNfCM:http://3story.org/stories/gallery/1/fish.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Down under in <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_0">Australia</span>, down underground, scientists have found 850 previously unknown species living in subterranean water, caves and micro-caverns. <p> These insects, crustaceans, spiders and worms are likely only about one-fifth of the number of undiscovered species the researchers think exist underground amid the harsh conditions of the Australian outback. Two species of <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/850mostlyblindpalecreaturesdiscoveredunderground/33541350/SIG=1c6g3rahi/*http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&amp;c=news&amp;l=on&amp;pic=0909-new-species-blind-fish-02.jpg&amp;cap=A+new+species+of+blind+fish%2C+named+Cape+Range+Blind+Fish+%28Milyeringa+veritas%29+is+one+of+850+new+species+underground+in+the+Australian+Outback.+Credit%3A+Australian+Center+for+Evolutionary+Biology+%26+Biodiversity%2C+University+of+Adelaide.&amp;title="><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_1">blind fish</span></a> and two of blind eels were also uncovered. </p> <p> "What we've found is that you don't have to go searching in the depths of the ocean to discover new species of <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_2">invertebrate animals</span> - you just have to look in your own backyard," said researcher Andy Austin, an evolutionary biologist at the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_3">University of Adelaide</span> in Australia. [Scientists say only a <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/850mostlyblindpalecreaturesdiscoveredunderground/33541350/SIG=125utu55s/*http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/070803_gm_numberspecies.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_4">fraction of the species</span></a> of <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1254159665_5">plants and animals</span> on the planet have been discovered.]<br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090928/sc_livescience/850mostlyblindpalecreaturesdiscoveredunderground">Read more....</a></p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credit: </span><cite style="font-style: italic;">3story.org)</cite></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-743720396256190374?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-45262271323074723412009-09-26T22:31:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:12:19.103-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1926202,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >"No We Can't": Young German Voters Have Tuned Out </span></a><span class="date"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1926202,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 115px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/merkel_0925.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="date">TIME </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="date">(</span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="date">Saturday, Sep. 26, 2009) - </span>....Young, Internet-savvy Germans are feeling disenchanted with the major parties in the election, particularly in the wake of Barack Obama's startling run to the White House last year. Obama galvanized young voters with his use of the Internet and catchy slogans like "Yes We Can," but Merkel's CDU party and its main rival, the Social Democrats (SPD), have largely rejected new media in favor of safe, predictable and boring campaigning. Their candidates are void of charisma, their platforms are unimaginative and their slogans lack punch — "Our Country Can Do More," for instance, hardly excites. As a result, many young people feel as if they are being pushed away. "[The flash mobs] are an adequate response to parties that refuse to communicate," says Robin Meyer-Lucht, a Berlin-based media commentator and editor of the political website carta.info.<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1926202,00.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4526227132307472341?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-15785796326880068552009-09-25T20:15:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:12:50.059-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090926/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_g20_canada_advantages"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Canada's PM: "Every nation wants to be Canada"</span></a><br /><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> <span style="font-size:78%;">By David Ljunggren </span><span class="fn org" style="font-size:78%;">David Ljunggren</span><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span></cite><span style="font-size:78%;"> – <abbr title="2009-09-25T17:46:15-0700" class="recenttimedate">2 hrs 28 mins ago</abbr></span></div><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090926/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_g20_canada_advantages"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 100px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:wWE5-Gja8mtjKM:http://www.gsea.org/awardinfo/locate/PublishingImages/flag_canada.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253925978_0">Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper</span>, appearing to forget that his countrymen are generally known for their modesty, declared on Friday that his nation was the envy of the world.</p> <p> Harper, usually a fairly wooden performer, seized on a routine question at a news conference and used it to deliver an impassioned defense of his 33-million strong nation and how well it has coped with the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253925978_1">global economic crisis</span>.</p> <p> "<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253925978_2">Canada</span> remains in a very special place in the world. ... We are the one major <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253925978_3">developed country</span> that no one thinks has any responsibility for this crisis," he said to laughter.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090926/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_g20_canada_advantages">Read more....</a></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Image credits: </span><cite style="font-style: italic;">gsea.org)</cite></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1578579632688006855?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-15849521034811477772009-09-25T20:09:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:14:00.588-08:00<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090925-sharks-sanctuary-palau.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Shark Sanctuary The Size of France Created</span></a><br /><br /><p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090925-sharks-sanctuary-palau.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 113px;" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/images/thumbs/090925-sharks-sanctuary-palau_170.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >September 25, 2009</span> - The world's first <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/sharks-index.html">shark</a> sanctuary will protect the declining fish in waters off the tiny island republic of <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_palau.html">Palau</a>, the country's president said today. </p> Johnson Toriboing announced the creation of a shark haven without commercial fishing during an address before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.<br /><p> "I believe the physical well-being and beauty of sharks reflects the well-being of the ocean," Toriboing told reporters at a news conference. </p><p> "It is my honor and opportunity to tell the world to join me to protect these species, which are on the brink of extinction."<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090925-sharks-sanctuary-palau.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1584952103481147777?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-31402083169986193392009-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:14:29.509-08:00<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58O1VM20090925"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Taiwan to block visit by exiled Uighur leader</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />By <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&amp;n=Ralph.Jennings">Ralph Jennings</a></span> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58O1VM20090925"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 130px;" src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&amp;d=20090925&amp;t=2&amp;i=11723176&amp;w=192&amp;r=2009-09-25T115447Z_01_BTRE58O0X3E00_RTROPTP_0_EU" alt="" border="0" /></a>TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan will not allow exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer to visit the island as proposed in December, an official said on Friday, a move likely to please rival China but upset anti-China factions at home.</p><span id="midArticle_1"></span> <p>Kadeer, a former businesswoman who now leads exile group the World Uyghur Congress, wanted to come in December for a series of speeches at the invitation of an entertainer close to Taiwan's anti-China opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).</p><span id="midArticle_2"></span> <p>Questioned by legislators on Friday, Taiwan interior Minister Chiang Yih-hwa said the government had confirmed it would not allow the visit, citing safety concerns.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58O1VM20090925"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3140208316998619339?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-63628016809827551822009-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:14:59.703-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1926163,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >California's Universities Protest Budget Crunch</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />By <span class="name">Kevin O'Leary / Los Angeles</span> </span><span style="font-size:78%;">Friday, Sep. 25, 2009</span><br /><div class="byline"><span class="date"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1926163,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 122px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/u_cal_protest_0925.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Thousands of students, faculty and staff boycotted classes and staged rallies across the 10-campus University of California on Thursday to protest dramatic cuts to the system's budget and proposed additional hikes in undergraduate fees. At UC Berkeley, the flagship campus and home to famous student protests during the turbulent 1960s, an estimated 5,000 students, professors and university staff attended a noon rally at Sproul Plaza during the system-wide "Day of Action." At UCLA, about 700 people gathered at Bruin Plaza and at normally placid U.C. Irvine approximately 500 people attended the noon rally. One protester held a sign that read: "If I wanted to go to a private school, I would have been born into a rich family."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1926163,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6362801680982755182?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-59430537109834161602009-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:15:21.787-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_as/as_mekong_new_species"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Fanged frog, other new species found in Mekong</span></a><cite class="vcard"><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer <span class="fn org">Michael Casey, Ap Environmental Writer</span> </span></cite><span style="font-size:78%;"> – <abbr title="2009-09-25T05:50:42-0700" class="timedate">Fri Sep 25, 8:50 am ET</abbr></span><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_as/as_mekong_new_species"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 101px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090925/capt.e0c28d1d837c4c5d9e94921a8548f773.mekong_new_species_tok801.jpg?x=213&amp;y=142&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=410&amp;hc=273&amp;q=85&amp;sig=AdMPwisTLDhdokaPz6sjKA--" alt="" border="0" /></a>BANGKOK – A gecko with leopard-like spots on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds are among 163 new species discovered last year in the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253883065_0">Mekong River region</span> of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253883065_1">Southeast Asia</span>, an environmental group said Friday.</p> <p>WWF International said that scientists in 2008 discovered 100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, two mammals and one bird species in the region. That works out to be about three species a week and is in addition to the 1,000 new species catalogued there from 1997 to 2007, the group said.</p> <p>"After millennia in hiding these species are now finally in the spotlight, and there are clearly more waiting to be discovered," said Stuart Chapman, director of the WWF Greater Mekong Program.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_as/as_mekong_new_species"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5943053710983416160?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-40867164893118591752009-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:15:44.038-08:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1925797,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Why New York City Is Greener Than Vermont</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1925797,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 102px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/david_owen_0923.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>New Yorkers, take heart: your city is a den of dirt and grime and gluttony no more. According to David Owen, author of <i>Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability</i>, the Big Apple is actually the greenest city in America. Residents of New York City walk more, drive less and leave a significantly smaller carbon footprint than people living anywhere else in the U.S. — even Vermont. Owen talks to TIME about the wastefulness of rural life, the reason local produce isn't environmentally friendly and the one good thing to come out of the 2008-09 recession.<br /><br /><b>How is the city greener than the country?</b><br />When we move people closer to one another and their daily destinations, they become less dependent on automobiles, and energy consumption goes down. New York City residents are by far the biggest users of public transit in the U.S.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1925797,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4086716489311859175?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-41402809364120356822009-09-22T16:32:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:16:13.227-08:00<a href="http://www.livescience.com/environment/090922-fall-leaves.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Why Fall Colors Are Different in U.S. and Europe</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.livescience.com/environment/090922-fall-leaves.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 110px;" src="http://i.livescience.com/images/090922-fall-leaves-01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The riot of color that erupts in forests every autumn looks different depending on which side of the ocean you're on. <p> While the <a href="http://www.livescience.com/environment/061016_mm_fall_leaves.html">fall foliage</a> in North America and East Asia takes on a fiery red hue, perplexingly, autumn leaves in Europe are mostly yellow in color. </p> <p> A team of researchers has a new idea as to why the autumnal colors differ between the continents, one that involved taking a step back 35 million years in time. </p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/environment/090922-fall-leaves.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4140280936412035682?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-11591462529155491452009-09-21T09:57:00.000-07:002009-11-10T15:16:36.273-08:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_us/un_un_climate_talks;_ylt=Al5fTWxcaO_WxjrPH.cZAI2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1ZWQwZjNrBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTIxL3VuX3VuX2NsaW1hdGVfdGFsa3MEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDYXB1bmNsaW1hdGVj"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >AP: UN climate chief says China poised to lead</span></a><br /><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> <span style="font-size:85%;">By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">John Heilprin, Associated Press Writer</span> </span></cite><span style="font-size:85%;"> – <abbr title="2009-09-21T08:58:26-0700" class="recenttimedate">53 mins ago</abbr></span></div><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_us/un_un_climate_talks;_ylt=Al5fTWxcaO_WxjrPH.cZAI2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1ZWQwZjNrBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTIxL3VuX3VuX2NsaW1hdGVfdGFsa3MEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDYXB1bmNsaW1hdGVj"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 120px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090921/capt.d38145c4722e4d91b7dac3e1e40dfae5.britain_climate__lmd109.jpg?x=213&amp;y=146&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=280&amp;q=85&amp;sig=SlEbr1glbp7mc2X00fDzlA--" alt="" border="0" /></a>UNITED NATIONS – As the United States lags on climate legislation, <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_0">China</span> is poised to join the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_1">European Union</span> in claiming "front-runner" status among nations battling <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_2">climate change</span>, the U.N. climate chief said Monday.</p> <p><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_3">Yvo de Boer</span> said in an Associated Press interview that China is leaping ahead of the United States with domestic plans for more <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_4">energy efficiency</span>, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_5">renewable sources of power</span>, cuts in vehicle pollution and closures of dirty plants.</p> <p>The development marks a dramatic turnabout. The United States, under <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_6">former President George W. Bush</span>'s administration, long cited inaction by China and India as the reason for rejecting mandatory cuts in <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253548729_7">greenhouse gases</span>.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_us/un_un_climate_talks;_ylt=Al5fTWxcaO_WxjrPH.cZAI2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1ZWQwZjNrBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTIxL3VuX3VuX2NsaW1hdGVfdGFsa3MEY3BvcwM1BHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDYXB1bmNsaW1hdGVj"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1159146252915549145?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-25360851437214572702009-09-20T09:38:00.003-07:002009-09-20T09:38:35.151-07:00<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111511.htm"><span style="font-size:100%;">Impact Of Renewable Energy On Our Oceans Must Be Investigated, Scientists Say</span></a><span class="date"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111511.htm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 87px;" src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2009/09/090917111511.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="date">ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2009)</span> — Scientists from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth are calling for urgent research to understand the impact of renewable energy developments on marine life. The study, now published in the <em>Journal of Applied Ecology</em>, highlights potential environmental benefits and threats resulting from marine renewable energy, such as <span style="font-weight: bold;">off-shore wind farms</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">wave and tidal energy conversion devices.</span><br /><br />The research highlights the capacity for marine renewable energy devices to boost local biodiversity and benefit the wider marine environment. Man-made structures on the sea bed attract many marine organisms and sometimes become 'artifical reefs', for example, supporting a wide variety of fish. The study also points out that <span style="font-weight: bold;">such devices could have negative environmental impacts, resulting from habitat loss, collision risks, noise and electromagnetic fields.</span><br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111511.htm"> </a><br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111511.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2536085143721457270?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-37090609375742792592009-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:002009-09-19T15:53:20.951-07:00<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924366,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >China's 60th Birthday: The Road to Prosperity</span></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924366,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 90px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/magazine/2009/0928/china_0928.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Sixty years ago Mao Zedong stood before a sea of people atop Tiananmen Gate proclaiming, in his high-pitched Hunan dialect, the founding of the People's Republic of China and that the "Chinese people have stood up!" The moment was marked with pride and hope. The communists' victory had vanquished the Nationalist regime, withstood the vicious onslaught of the Japanese invasion and overturned the century of foreign encroachment on China's territory. Moreover, Mao and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power without significant external support — theirs was largely a homegrown revolution.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924366,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924366,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 96px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/china_timeline/chinatimeline_01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1924366,00.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 97px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/china_timeline/chinatimeline_02.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3709060937574279259?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-58089222096585606882009-09-17T16:00:00.000-07:002009-09-17T16:04:33.068-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090917/ap_on_re_eu/eu_environment_reporters_threatened">Journalists covering polluters threatened</a></span></h1><abbr title="2009-09-17T11:50:21-0700" class="timedate">Thu Sep 17, 2:50 pm ET</abbr><!-- end .byline --> <p>PARIS – Journalists face increasing threats when they report on companies and governments damaging the environment, a media rights group said Thursday, citing arrests, violence and disappearances of those who denounce deforestation, pollution and other damage.</p>"....In <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253213445_8">Uzbekistan</span>, the reporters group says Solidzhon Abdurakhmanov has been summarily sentenced to 10 years prison in 2008 on dubious <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253213445_9">drug trafficking charges</span> because he reported on the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253213445_10">Aral Sea</span> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253213445_11">ecological disaster</span>. In June of this year, two Chinese activists were charged with "divulging <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1253213445_12">state secrets</span> abroad" and "spreading rumors" <span style="font-weight: bold;">for publishing information about radioactive contamination at a uranium mine</span>..."<br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090917/ap_on_re_eu/eu_environment_reporters_threatened"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5808922209658560688?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-90176371725611272512009-09-15T20:01:00.000-07:002009-09-15T20:02:45.092-07:00<span style="font-family: times new roman;font-size:180%;" ><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8208575.stm">UN marking first humanitarian day </a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46227000/jpg/_46227198_wfp_ap226b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 138px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46227000/jpg/_46227198_wfp_ap226b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The United Nations is holding its first ever World Humanitarian Day to honour international aid workers. <p>The UN hopes the event will focus attention on aid workers and increase support for their role. </p><p>Aid staff are working in increasingly dangerous environments and are frequently targets of attacks, it says. </p><p>Last year 122 international aid workers were killed, a death toll that was higher than that for UN peacekeeping troops.<br /></p><p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8208575.stm">Read more....</a><br /></p><!-- E SF --><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-9017637172561127251?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-21253455770496044252009-09-15T19:56:00.001-07:002009-09-15T19:58:26.650-07:00<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8257038.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Undersea cable brings high-speed web to East Africa</span></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46385000/jpg/_46385191_ndemo1_466.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 141px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46385000/jpg/_46385191_ndemo1_466.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A new high-speed undersea cable connecting East Africa with the rest of the world is poised to go live, Kenya's top internet official has told the BBC.<p>The launch of the government-backed East African Marine System (Teams) comes as providers face a backlash over slow connection speeds and high prices. </p><p>Internet providers have increased speeds and lowered costs since the Seacom cable went live in August. </p><p>But users say services still remain too expensive for most ordinary Kenyans.<br /></p><p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8257038.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2125345577049604425?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-64232748928152344192009-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:002009-09-14T19:52:34.512-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/homing-pigeon-faster-internet-africa/story?id=8550501">Homing Pigeon Faster Than Internet? </a><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/nm_carrier_pigeon_090911_mn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 133px;" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/nm_carrier_pigeon_090911_mn.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This week, a South African call-center business, frustrated by persistently slow <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=8466876" target="external">Internet</a> speeds, decided to use a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8528547" target="external">carrier pigeon</a> named Winston to transfer 4 gigabytes of data between two of its offices, just 50 miles apart. <p> At the same time, a computer geek pushed a button on his computer to send data the old-fashioned way, through the Internet. </p><p> Winston the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8528547" target="external">pigeon</a> won. It wasn't even close. </p><p> "Winston arrived after two hours, six minutes, and 57 seconds," says Kevin Rolfe, head of the information technology department at Unlimited Group, a call-center business based in Durban.<br /></p><p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/homing-pigeon-faster-internet-africa/story?id=8550501"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6423274892815234419?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-50434862375726084792009-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:002009-09-14T19:49:32.352-07:00<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/09/sign-of-the-times-philadelphias-public-library-to-close.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sign of the Times: Philadelphia's Public Libraries to Close</span></a><br /></span><br /></span>BC's Lisa Chinn reports from Washington: <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/.a/6a00d8341c4df253ef0120a5c44e73970c-250wi"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 98px;" src="http://blogs.abcnews.com/.a/6a00d8341c4df253ef0120a5c44e73970c-250wi" alt="" border="0" /></a>The public library in Philadelphia may be closing its doors permanently. It would be the first closure of a public library in a major American city. The library is the sixth largest public library in the nation, and its precursor, the Library Company of Philadelphia, created by Benjamin Franklin, was the first public library in the United States.<br /></p><p>Come October 2nd, all 53 library buildings throughout the city will close. Books and DVDs will no longer be available for loan. Free internet access will cease. The community programs and meetings held in the libraries will have to find another venue, and the GED and English as a Second Language educational programs will end.</p><p><a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/09/sign-of-the-times-philadelphias-public-library-to-close.html">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5043486237572608479?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-2280502168155556602009-09-13T14:29:00.000-07:002009-09-13T14:31:49.694-07:00<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090910-killer-whales-ships.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Killer Whales Strain to "Talk" Over Ship Noise?</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />Christine Dell'Amore in Friday Harbor, Washington</span><br /><div class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:78%;">National Geographic News<br /></span></div> <div class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:78%;">September 10, 2009</span></div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/images/thumbs/090910-killer-whales-ships_170.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 113px;" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/images/thumbs/090910-killer-whales-ships_170.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Killer whales raise their voices to be heard over boat noise, and the effort may be wearing the whales out as they try to find food amid dwindling numbers of salmon, new research says. </p>The killer whales of Puget Sound make more calls and clicks while foraging than while traveling, suggesting that such mealtime conservations are key to coordinating hunts, the work reveals.<br /><br /><p> </p>Several types of vessels, from small whale-watching boats to large cruise ships, also traverse the coastal waters off <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/states/state_washington.html">Washington State</a> and neighboring <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/provinces/province_britishcolumbia.html">British Columbia</a>, Canada.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090910-killer-whales-ships.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read more....</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-228050216815555660?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-37072839403258759112009-09-12T22:36:00.000-07:002009-09-12T22:37:54.455-07:00<a href="http://www.physorg.com/news171612975.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Lost World Found in Papua New Guinea Volcano</span></a><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/lostworldfou.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 130px;" src="http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/lostworldfou.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">(PhysOrg.com) -- A BBC expedition exploring inside the crater of an extinct volcano in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has discovered a lost world of dozens of weird new species and rare animals, including new frogs, a giant rat, many new insects and spiders, giant caterpillars, and a new bat species.</span><br /></strong><p>Steve Greenwood, producer of "Lost Land of the Volcano" said the expedition to Mount Bosavi for the series follows on from expeditions to remote rainforests in Borneo for "Expedition Borneo" and Guyana for "Lost Land of the Jaguar". </p> <p>The Mount Bosavi crater is 2.5 miles wide and over 3,300 feet high, and is located in the remote and mountainous southern highlands of <a href="http://www.physorg.com/tags/papua+new+guinea/" rel="tag" class="textTag">Papua New Guinea</a>. The mountain and its pristine, extinct crater are so inaccessible that even the few people in the Kasua tribe who live in nearby villages rarely enter the area.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news171612975.html">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-3707283940325875911?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-22011436220100432962009-09-11T09:48:00.000-07:002009-09-11T09:51:30.722-07:00<h1><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/coast-guard-training-exercise-potomac-911-anniversary/story?id=8547612">9/11 Scare: 'Shots' Reported Fired by Coast Guard</a></span></h1><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Coast Guard Admits it Was Having Training Exercise -- Right Near Pentagon Memorial</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /><p> Washington, D.C., residents mourning the victims of the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/911-anniversary-obama-remembers-september-11-victims/story?id=8541529" target="external">Sept. 11 attacks</a> this morning heard an eerie echo just an hour later -- reports that a Coast Guard vessel <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8547299" target="external">had fired shots</a> at a boat in the Potomac River near the Pentagon.<br /></p><p> But after half-an-hour of anxiety, the Coast Guard and local police said the whole thing was a training exercise, and no shots were fired at all. </p><p>Before the Coast Guard announcement, departures from Washington's Reagan National Airport were halted from 10:08 a.m. to 10:29 a.m., delaying 17 departures, and FBI agents scrambled to the scene near the river. A law enforcement official, asking not to be identified, told the Associated Press the local FBI office had not been told ahead of time about the exercise. </p><p> Network news programs broke into regular morning shows to report the incident, and cable networks went to blanket coverage.<br /></p><p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/coast-guard-training-exercise-potomac-911-anniversary/story?id=8547612">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2201143622010043296?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-90736529081279475942009-09-09T15:33:00.000-07:002009-09-09T15:35:29.359-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_floods">Flash floods slam Istanbul, kill at least 20</a></span><cite class="vcard"><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><br /></cite><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090909/capt.95570b68bdad442da729773c31ea9bc2.turkey_floods_ank109.jpg?x=213&amp;y=149&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=286&amp;q=85&amp;sig=gbVTAUSdThdeImKz0oGpIA--"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 109px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090909/capt.95570b68bdad442da729773c31ea9bc2.turkey_floods_ank109.jpg?x=213&amp;y=149&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=286&amp;q=85&amp;sig=gbVTAUSdThdeImKz0oGpIA--" alt="" border="0" /></a><cite class="vcard">By IBRAHIM USTA, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Ibrahim Usta, Associated </span></cite><cite class="vcard"><span class="fn org">Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-09-09T11:52:45-0700" class="timedate">Wed Sep 9, 2:52 pm ET</abbr><!-- end .byline --> <p>ISTANBUL – The heaviest rainfall in at least eight decades sent <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252522376_0">flash floods</span> barreling across a major highway and into busy business districts in Turkey's largest city on Wednesday, trapping factory workers and truck drivers in their vehicles and drowning at least 20 people.</p> <p>Waters six feet (2 meters) high in some places flooded hundreds of homes and offices and cut off the TEM highway, which connects central Istanbul to the sprawling city's main airport and goes on to <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252522376_1">Greece</span> and Bulgaria.</p><p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_floods">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-9073652908127947594?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-23374877206629456242009-09-07T21:55:00.001-07:002009-09-07T22:00:49.416-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090908/ts_afp/australiaeconomybusinessconfidence"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australian business confidence near six-year high</span></a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090908/capt.photo_1252379952005-1-0.jpg?x=213&amp;y=151&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=290&amp;q=85&amp;sig=Mxo5jA2ZL8WPLS9fq_9U9w--"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 121px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090908/capt.photo_1252379952005-1-0.jpg?x=213&amp;y=151&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=290&amp;q=85&amp;sig=Mxo5jA2ZL8WPLS9fq_9U9w--" alt="" border="0" /></a>SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian business confidence has surged to its highest level in almost six years as expectations rise that an economic recovery is underway, a monthly survey showed Tuesday. <p> Confidence rose from +10 in July to +18 in August, the highest reading since <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252382784_0">October 2003</span>, the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1252382784_1">National Australia Bank</span> (NAB) study found. A positive reading indicates optimists outnumber pessimists among the 405 firms surveyed.</p> <p> "The further significant improvement in business confidence is quite remarkable," NAB chief economist Alan Oster said.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090908/ts_afp/australiaeconomybusinessconfidence">Read more....</a></p><p><img src="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-003.gif" alt="Tuzki Bunny Emoticon" border="0" /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional Bunny Says: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Does anyone else feel a sudden desire to go to university in economically golden Australia....?"</span></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2337487720662945624?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-14313008458616224662009-09-06T08:08:00.000-07:002009-09-06T08:10:22.493-07:00<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133625.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Early Warning Signals Of Change: </span>'Tipping Points' Identified Where Sudden Shifts To New Conditions Occur</span></a><span class="date"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133625.htm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 89px; height: 133px;" src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2009/09/090902133625.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="date">ScienceDaily (Sep. 5, 2009)</span> — What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and epileptic seizures have in common?According to a paper published this week in the journal <em>Nature</em>, all share generic early-warning signals that indicate a critical threshold of change dead ahead.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133625.htm">Read more....</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1431300845861622466?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-83654882989837171752009-09-04T11:52:00.000-07:002009-09-04T11:54:50.745-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919962,00.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Are They Dumping on Wildfires?</span></a></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/ca_wildfire_0901.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 113px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0909/ca_wildfire_0901.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's practically a rite of the season: as dependably as long sleeves come out of the closet and candy corn appears on store shelves, parts of the west go up in flames this time of year. Thousands of firefighters are battling a major blaze in southern California that has charred more than 130,000 acres, filling TV news reports with footage of hulking airplanes showering a bright red powder onto smoking forests below.<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919962,00.html"><br />Read more....</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8365488298983717175?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-71787353521438307082009-09-02T23:09:00.000-07:002009-09-02T23:14:51.366-07:00<a href="http://russiatoday.com/On_Air/Live_Cams/rt-wolves-live-.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Siberian Wolf Cam</span></a><br /><br />Here's a wolf cam that you can view live at 15:00 GMT, and runs for 5 hours or more. The previous day's coverage can also be viewed the next morning at 8:00 GMT. Wolves in Siberia!<br /><br />website with cam:<br /><a href="http://russiatoday.com/On_Air/Live_Cams/rt-wolves-live-.html">http://russiatoday.com/On_Air/Live_Cams/rt-wolves-live-.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7178735352143830708?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-60670901014900249392009-09-02T09:31:00.000-07:002009-09-02T09:33:06.366-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090902/wl_asia_afp/australiasciencecoralenvironmentwarming">Great Barrier Reef under serious threat</a><br /></span><br /><div class="byline"> <abbr title="2009-09-02T03:16:56-0700" class="timedate">Wed Sep 2, 6:16 am ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090902/capt.photo_1251880730093-1-0.jpg?x=213&amp;y=257&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=339&amp;hc=409&amp;q=85&amp;sig=qC_gZUV._B98KyiqNc8yyQ--"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 142px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090902/capt.photo_1251880730093-1-0.jpg?x=213&amp;y=257&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=339&amp;hc=409&amp;q=85&amp;sig=qC_gZUV._B98KyiqNc8yyQ--" alt="" border="0" /></a>SYDNEY (AFP) – <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251886903_0">Australia's Great Barrier Reef</span> is in serious jeopardy as <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251886903_1">global warming</span> and chemical runoff threaten to kill marine species and cause serious outbreaks of disease, a report warned Wednesday.</p> <p> The World Heritage-listed reef was already showing the impacts of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251886903_2">climate change</span>, with two episodes of mass coral bleaching in the past 10 years, the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251886903_3">Marine Park Authority's inaugural reef outlook</span> report said.</p> <p> "While populations of almost all marine species are intact and there are no records of extinctions, some ecologically important species, such as dugongs, marine turtles, seabirds, black teatfish and some sharks, have declined significantly," the authority wrote.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090902/wl_asia_afp/australiasciencecoralenvironmentwarming">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6067090101490024939?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-5811812006509135682009-09-02T09:30:00.001-07:002009-09-02T09:30:59.745-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_nkorea_journalists_freed;_ylt=Ami5GRbGXt2_qHmhdmk8raGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM5dWlnOWU5BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTAyL3VzX25rb3JlYV9qb3VybmFsaXN0c19mcmVlZARjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2ZyZWVkcmVwb3J0ZQ--">Freed reporters say they were dragged into NKorea</a></span></h1><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By LISA LEFF and HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Lisa Leff And Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-09-02T06:58:49-0700" class="recenttimedate">2 hrs 31 mins ago</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>SAN FRANCISCO – Two <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251900346_0">American television reporters</span> imprisoned in <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251900346_1">North Korea</span> for months say communist soldiers "violently dragged" them back when they returned to Chinese soil after briefly crossing into the reclusive country.</p> <p>In an article posted Tuesday on Current TV's Web site, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251900346_2">Laura Ling and Euna Lee</span> said they hesitantly followed their guide when he beckoned them across a frozen river into the North and were "firmly back" on the Chinese side when North <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251900346_3">Korean</span> <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251900346_4">border guards</span> grabbed them on March 17.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090902/ap_on_re_us/us_nkorea_journalists_freed;_ylt=Ami5GRbGXt2_qHmhdmk8raGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM5dWlnOWU5BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTAyL3VzX25rb3JlYV9qb3VybmFsaXN0c19mcmVlZARjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2ZyZWVkcmVwb3J0ZQ--">Read more....</a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-581181200650913568?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-44257696464959084172009-08-31T06:08:00.000-07:002009-08-31T06:12:52.356-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1919288,00.html">Japan Gets Ready for Big Elections — And Big Change</a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0908/ldp_support_0828.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 92px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0908/ldp_support_0828.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The 54-year reign of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to come to an end on Sunday in the country's first general election in four years. The main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has little experience leading on a national level, but there are strong indications that voters will overwhelmingly support the party and its ambitious platform of reforming Japan's broken system. <!-- Begin Article Side Bar --> <!-- End Article Side Bar --><br /><br />After half a century Japan, it seems, is finally clamoring for change. The LDP machine, which lifted Japan from its postwar doldrums, has been unable to deliver the needs of the public for years — some would argue decades. Now, faced with an uncertain future and an economy in crisis, Japan's electorate is expected to call for a shift in direction — and also to say that they have a choice in which party leads their country.<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1919288,00.html"><br />Read more</a>.....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4425769646495908417?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-47632534403674019142009-08-29T23:11:00.000-07:002009-08-29T23:14:45.204-07:00<span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plastics-patch-found-acro"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Plastics patch found across 1,700 miles of Pacific</span></a></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">By Steve Gorman </span><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/externalnews/2009-08-28T020514Z_01_BTRE57R05T200_RTROPTP_2_ENVIRONMENT-US-OCEAN-PLASTICS.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 82px; height: 132px;" src="http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/externalnews/2009-08-28T020514Z_01_BTRE57R05T200_RTROPTP_2_ENVIRONMENT-US-OCEAN-PLASTICS.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ocean scientists recently back from a voyage to the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" said on Thursday they had found plastic debris strewn across a 1,700-mile (2,700-km) long stretch of open sea.</p> <p>The research team from the three-week Seaplex expedition said more work remains to be done to determine the full extent of the trash vortex, how it affects marine life and how it might safely be removed from the ocean.</p><p><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plastics-patch-found-acro"><br /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plastics-patch-found-acro">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4763253440367401914?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-68326468680452577922009-08-28T19:49:00.000-07:002009-08-28T19:51:07.578-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090828/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_young_sailor">Dutch delay 13-year-old sailor's worldwide trip</a></span><br /></h1><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Mike Corder, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-28T09:37:21-0700" class="timedate">Fri Aug 28, 12:37 pm ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251477469_0">UTRECHT, Netherlands</span> — Dutch judges Friday called a 13-year-old girl's plan to sail solo around the world "undeniably daring and risky," but refused to scupper it completely, in a high profile clash between child care authorities and liberal Dutch parenting.</p> <p>A panel of three judges at <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251477469_1">Utrecht</span> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251477469_2">District court</span> ordered authorities to take <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251477469_3">temporary guardianship</span> of Laura Dekker, delaying her plan to set sail next week on her 26-foot (8-meter) yacht Guppy and become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090828/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_young_sailor">Read more</a>....</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"It's a populated day at sea today, sir......</span></span></span>"<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6832646868045257792?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-20084547792186203822009-08-27T21:25:00.000-07:002009-08-27T21:30:07.051-07:00<h1 style="font-family: times new roman;" id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_young_sailor">17-year-old British youth sails around the world</a></span></h1><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">No, this isn't the article I posted before (<a href="http://hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com/2009/08/teen-becomes-youngest-to-sail-solo.html">here</a>)! Mike Perham is just a few months younger than the one I posted about on here before, Zac Sunderland. Talk about 15 minutes of fame.</span></span><br /><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-27T10:22:31-0700" class="timedate">Thu Aug 27, 1:22 pm ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>LONDON – Freeze-dried food. Autopilot failures. Brutal storms. Accidental dunkings.</p> <p>A 17-year-old British sailor endured all those trials and more to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.</p> <p>Mike Perham grabbed the record Thursday after sailing 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) to cross the finish line off the coast of Cornwall, in southern England, after a mere nine months.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_young_sailor">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2008454779218620382?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-68143832037852009442009-08-27T21:07:00.000-07:002009-08-27T21:08:52.380-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_not_moon_rock">'Moon rock' in Dutch museum is just petrified wood</a></span><br /></h1><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Toby Sterling, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-27T08:35:37-0700" class="timedate">Thu Aug 27, 11:35 am ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>AMSTERDAM – It's not green cheese, but it might as well be.</p> <p>The Dutch national museum said Thursday that one of its prized possessions, a rock supposedly brought back from the moon by U.S. astronauts, is just a piece of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251387358_0">petrified wood</span>.</p> <p>Rijksmuseum spokeswoman Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, said the museum will keep it anyway as a curiosity.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_not_moon_rock">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6814383203785200944?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-28288798973281566322009-08-26T16:55:00.000-07:002009-08-26T16:57:14.210-07:00<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_ted_kennedy"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Mass. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy dies at age 77</span><br /></a><br /><div class="byline"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090826/capt.d7bccdbc0836455abdd6ced669247de7.ted_kennedy_obit_nytk109.jpg?x=213&amp;y=129&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=248&amp;q=85&amp;sig=WqsfvSphS8kL8TJnBT_UOg--"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 68px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090826/capt.d7bccdbc0836455abdd6ced669247de7.ted_kennedy_obit_nytk109.jpg?x=213&amp;y=129&amp;xc=1&amp;yc=1&amp;wc=409&amp;hc=248&amp;q=85&amp;sig=WqsfvSphS8kL8TJnBT_UOg--" alt="" border="0" /></a><cite class="vcard">By GL</cite><cite class="vcard">EN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Glen Johnson, Associated </span></cite><cite class="vcard"><span class="fn org">Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-25T23:40:10-0700" class="timedate">Wed Aug 26, 2:40 am ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>BOSTON – <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251273772_0">Sen. Edward M. Kennedy</span>, the liberal lion of the Senate and haunted bearer of the Camelot torch after two of his brothers fell to assassins' bullets, has died at his home in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251273772_1">Hyannis Port</span> after battling a <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251273772_2">brain tumor</span>. He was 77.</p> <p>For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a steadfast champion of the working class and the poor, a powerful voice on health care, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251273772_3">civil rights</span>, and war and peace. To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving son of America's most glamorous <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251273772_4">political family</span>, the eulogist of a clan shattered again and again by tragedy.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_ted_kennedy">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2828879897328156632?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-50954720146438740642009-08-25T15:53:00.000-07:002009-08-25T15:56:13.902-07:00<h1 style="font-family: times new roman;" id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090825/wl_nm/us_sudan_darfur_peacekeeping">Head of troubled Darfur peacekeeping force resigns</a></span></h1><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/CHRIST%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-10.jpg" alt="" /> <!-- end ypv-hdr --> <div id="ypv-current"> <div id="ypv-photo"> <div id="photo-cont"> <div class="photo"> <img style="width: 116px; height: 80px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090825/i/r3893430052.jpg?x=400&amp;y=276&amp;q=85&amp;sig=umKXoN4gJ02QqlGm8TRr.A--" alt="United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Joint ..." id="photoMain" /><cite class="vcard"><br /><br />By Louis Charbonneau <span class="fn org">Louis Charbonneau</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-25T14:45:00-0700" class="recenttimedate">1 hr 8 mins ago</abbr><!-- end .byline --> <p>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The head of the joint U.N.-<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251237002_0">African Union</span> peacekeeping mission in Sudan's conflict-torn <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251237002_1">Darfur</span> region, who some diplomats say has been ineffective, is stepping down, the U.N. said on Tuesday.</p> <p> The world body is working closely with the AU to find a replacement for <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251237002_2">Rodolphe Adada</span>, a former <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; background-color: rgb(220, 238, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251237002_3">foreign minister</span> of the Republic of Congo, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090825/wl_nm/us_sudan_darfur_peacekeeping">Read more</a>....<br /></p><p></p></div></div><!-- end photo-info --> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5095472014643874064?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-85191559551171201622009-08-24T07:28:00.000-07:002009-08-24T07:29:22.562-07:00<h1 style="font-family: times new roman;" id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090824/wl_asia_afp/australiajapanenvironmentanimaldolphin">Aussie town dumps Japan sister city over dolphins</a></span></h1><br /><div class="byline"> <abbr title="2009-08-24T00:49:46-0700" class="timedate">Mon Aug 24, 3:49 am ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>MELBOURNE (AFP) – An Australian town with deep historical ties to <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251101164_0">Japan</span> has severed its sister city relationship with a Japanese village to protest an annual dolphin slaughter, civic leaders said Monday.</p> <p> Councillors in the remote West <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251101164_1">Australian town of Broome</span> voted unanimously to end sister city ties with Taiji at a meeting on Saturday because they felt the dolphin cull was unacceptable, said Broome's mayor, <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1251101164_2">Graeme Campbell</span>.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090824/wl_asia_afp/australiajapanenvironmentanimaldolphin">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8519155955117120162?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-54455079612818277712009-08-21T19:16:00.000-07:002009-08-21T19:19:52.501-07:00<h1 class="newsTitle"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html">Plastic Breaks Down in Ocean, After All -- And Fast</a></span><br /></h1><div class="inlinedate">Carolyn Barry<br /></div> <div class="inlinedate">August 20, 2009</div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> Though <a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/oceans-underwater.html">ocean</a>-borne plastic trash has a reputation as an indestructible, immortal environmental villain, scientists announced yesterday that some plastics actually decompose rapidly in the ocean. And, the researchers say, that's not a good thing. </p> The team's new study is the first to show that degrading plastics are leaching potentially toxic chemicals such as <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Bisphenol_A">bisphenol A</a> into the seas, possibly threatening ocean animals, and us.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html">Read more</a>....<br /><br /><img src="http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/tuzki-bunnys/tuzki-bunny-emoticon-016.gif" alt="Tuzki Bunny Emoticon" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional Bunny says: <span style="font-style: italic;">"And the moral of the story? Recycle, kids! It's worse than we thought!"</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5445507961281827771?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-89054007936058272722009-08-20T20:10:00.000-07:002009-08-20T20:12:29.869-07:00<h1 style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/070531_hurr_myths.html">When a Hurricane Approaches, Should I Open the Windows or Tape Them?</a></span></h1>You shouldn’t do either, as it turns out. <p> Your house won’t explode from the difference in air pressure inside and outside if you don’t open your windows—that’s just a myth. Enough air leaks around window edges to stabilize the inside air pressure. All that opening your window will do is let in a hurricane’s ferocious winds, rain and debris to ruin all of your belongings.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/070531_hurr_myths.html">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8905400793605827272?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-83886284250566500042009-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:002009-08-20T20:07:45.741-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/u-s-military-copters-join-search-for-american-in-costa-rica/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: U.S.: Military copters join search for American in Costa Rica">U.S.: Military copters join search for American in Costa Rica</a></span><a href="http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/u-s-military-copters-join-search-for-american-in-costa-rica/"><br /></a><br />August 20th, 2009<br /><p>WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. military has sent two specially equipped helicopters and 15 military personnel to aid in the search for an American missing in Costa Rica, according to the military and the missing man’s congressman. </p> <p> David Gimelfarb, 28, of Chicago, Illinois, was last seen August 11, when he went hiking in a Costa Rican national park. His parents have been searching for him with the aid of the Costa Rican Red Cross and friends of the missing man.</p><a href="http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/u-s-military-copters-join-search-for-american-in-costa-rica/">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8388628425056650004?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-80554475033014620522009-08-20T00:11:00.000-07:002009-08-20T00:12:32.723-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="title"><span id="ctl00_ContentArea_lblTitle"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/52588">Hawaii Plans Quiet 50th Anniversary of Statehood; Some Want Independence for Island Chain</a></span><br /><br /></span></span><span class="date"><span id="ctl00_ContentArea_lblPostDateTime">Monday, August 17, 2009</span></span><br /> <span class="byline"> </span> By <span id="ctl00_ContentArea_rptAuthors_ctl01_lblAuthorName">Mark Niesse, Associated Press</span> <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Honolulu (AP) </span>- Hawaii turns 50 years old as the 50th state Friday, but there will be no grand parades, no dazzling fireworks, no lavish displays of native culture.<br /><br />Organizers of the observation are not even willing to call it a party. It is simply a "commemoration," one that is sensitive to a painful history of the Hawaiian monarchy's overthrow and unresolved claims of Native Hawaiians.<br /><a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/52588"><br />Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8055447503301462052?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-66152166623012408522009-08-17T10:26:00.000-07:002009-08-17T10:28:54.305-07:00<h1 class="entry-header"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/giant-rat-eating-plant-discovered.php">Giant Rat-Eating Plant Discovered in the Philippines</a></span></h1><em>Photos via <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8195000/8195029.stm">the BBC</a></em> <p>Something about <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/carnivorous-gadgets-eat-bugs-and-mice-for-charging-up-video.php">carnivorous plants</a> just strikes the imagination--what kid isn't awed/grossed out by Venus Flytraps when they first see them? To this day, as a (semi) grown man, I still admit to determining insect-eating plants to be "really cool." So what would the world think of a plant that eats rats? We're about to find out--scientists just discovered <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/global-warming-could-cause-evolution-explosion.php">a new species</a> of a plant that does exactly that in a remote area of the Philippines.<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/giant-rat-eating-plant-discovered.php">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6615216662301240852?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-47247232315495037692009-08-14T20:28:00.001-07:002009-08-14T20:29:26.603-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090814/ap_on_re_af/af_med_polio_nigeria">Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates</a></span></h1><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer <span class="fn org">Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-14T06:36:25-0700" class="timedate">Fri Aug 14, 9:36 am ET</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>LONDON – <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250257004_0">Polio</span>, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250257004_1">Nigeria</span>. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.</p> <p>In July, the <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250257004_2">World Health Organization</span> issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year — about twice those afflicted in 2008.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090814/ap_on_re_af/af_med_polio_nigeria">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4724723231549503769?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-82150262188211964122009-08-14T20:25:00.000-07:002009-08-14T20:27:32.154-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090815/ap_on_re_eu/missing_ship;_ylt=AuOvo9w5C_2.Vp9LknlMkqdvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJkbW5uc2s5BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODE1L21pc3Npbmdfc2hpcARjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbWlzc2luZ2Nhcmdv"><span style="font-size:85%;">Missing cargo ship found near Cape Verde</span></a></h1><span style="font-style: italic;">(Continuation of earlier article, when this ship disappeared.)</span><br /><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By LYNN BERRY, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Lynn Berry, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-14T20:04:51-0700" class="recenttimedate">20 mins ago</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>MOSCOW – A Russian-manned <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250305512_0">cargo ship</span> that vanished last month in the Atlantic was found Friday near <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250305512_1">Cape Verde</span> off the coast of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250305512_2">West Africa</span>, according to French and Russian officials. There was no immediate information about the condition of the crew or whether there was anyone else on board.</p> <p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090815/ap_on_re_eu/missing_ship;_ylt=AuOvo9w5C_2.Vp9LknlMkqdvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJkbW5uc2s5BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODE1L21pc3Npbmdfc2hpcARjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDbWlzc2luZ2Nhcmdv">Read more</a>....<br /></p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8215026218821196412?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-43322167530136147132009-08-13T18:18:00.000-07:002009-08-13T18:20:26.728-07:00<h1 class="newsTitle" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090803-dogs-first-domesticated.html">Where Did Dogs Become Our "Best Friends"?</a></span></h1>John Roach<br />National Geographic<br /> <div class="inlinedate">August 3, 2009</div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> DNA from scrappy dogs in <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/continents/continent_africa.html">African</a> villages is raising doubts about a theory that dogs first became "man's best friend" in <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/regions/region_easternasia.html">East Asia</a>. </p> Based on DNA evidence, scientists believe that <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/domestic-dog.html">domestic dogs</a> originated from Eurasian gray <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wolf.html">wolves</a> sometime between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090803-dogs-first-domesticated.html">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4332216753013614713?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-46958908715434611962009-08-13T17:43:00.000-07:002009-08-13T17:54:29.039-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090813/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_salmon_canada">Millions of salmon disappear from Canadian river</a></span></h1><cite class="vcard">By Rod Nickel <span class="fn org">Rod Nickel</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-13T11:05:39-0700" class="timedate">Thu Aug 13, 2:05 pm ET</abbr><!-- end .byline --> <p>WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Millions of sockeye salmon have disappeared mysteriously from a river on Canada's Pacific Coast that was once known as the world's most fertile spawning ground for sockeye.</p> <p> Up to 10.6 million bright-red <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250186740_0">sockeye salmon</span> were expected to return to spawn this summer on the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250186740_1">Fraser River</span>, which empties into the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250186740_2">Pacific ocean</span> near <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1250186740_3">Vancouver, British Columbia</span>. The latest estimates say fewer than 1 million have returned.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090813/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_salmon_canada">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4695890871543461196?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-72950002946400582912009-08-12T14:42:00.000-07:002009-08-12T14:44:49.747-07:00<h1><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/12/pirates.europe/index.html">Russian Navy leads hunt for missing cargo ship</a></span></h1><b>LONDON, England (CNN)</b> -- An international search operation was underway Wednesday for a cargo ship which vanished after being involved in what is feared to be an unprecedented incident of piracy in European waters.<br /><br />The Russian-crewed Arctic Sea, carrying a 6,500-ton cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria, was last heard of nearly two weeks ago when it passed through the English Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.<br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/12/pirates.europe/index.html"><br />Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7295000294640058291?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-80578277868696436992009-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:002009-08-10T13:21:29.838-07:00<!-- end header --> <h1 class="newsTitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Just in case you ever thought you heard voices....</span></span><br /></h1><h1 class="newsTitle"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090810-earth-hum-waves-coasts.html">Earth Hums, and It's "Loudest" in Europe, Americas</a></span></h1><span style="font-size:85%;">John Roach</span><div style="font-weight: bold;" class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:85%;">August 10, 2009</span></div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> Earth hums, and it's the west coasts of <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/continents/continent_europe.html">Europe</a> and parts of the Americas that are the main sources of the sound, a new study says. </p> Since 1998 researchers have known that Earth emits a low-frequency hum inaudible to humans. The sound waves register on instruments used to detect <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake-profile.html">earthquakes</a> even when no quakes are occurring.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090810-earth-hum-waves-coasts.html">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8057827786869643699?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-75590499384445545372009-08-09T09:49:00.000-07:002009-08-09T10:15:08.560-07:00<h2><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news157785128.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">Mathematicians provide new insight into tsunamis</span></a></h2><span style="font-size:85%;">April 1st, 2009 <span class="newsimg"></span></span> <!-- Main --> <!-- <div id="news-main"> --> <br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">A new mathematical formula that could be used to give advance warning of where a tsunami is likely to hit and how destructive it will be has been worked out by scientists at Newcastle University.</span><br /><br /></strong>The research, led by Newcastle University's Professor Robin Johnson, was prompted by the 2004 Boxing Day <a href="http://www.physorg.com/tags/tsunami/" rel="tag" class="textTag">tsunami</a> disaster which devastated coastal communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news157785128.html">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7559049938444554537?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-82059890454774925052009-08-08T10:34:00.000-07:002009-08-08T10:35:17.206-07:00<h2 class="BlackHead"><a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31612&amp;Cr=gaza&amp;Cr1="><span style="font-size:85%;">UN, aid agencies call for opening of Gaza crossings to allow rebuilding of schools</span></a></h2><span class="fullstory">28 July 2009 – </span><span class="fullstory">Just one month before the start of the academic year in Gaza, the education of thousands of school students is being jeopardized by the ongoing blockade of crossings into the area, a chorus of United Nations voices warned today in an urgent call for Israel to open the borders.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31612&amp;Cr=gaza&amp;Cr1=">Read more</a>....<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-8205989045477492505?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-66999649790656875372009-08-08T10:28:00.000-07:002009-08-08T10:30:43.931-07:00<h2 class="BlackHead"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31663&amp;Cr=literacy&amp;Cr1=">Rural India all-female newspaper among winners of UN literacy awards</a></span></h2><span class="fullstory">3 August 2009 – </span><span class="fullstory">A newspaper produced entirely by women in rural India is among the four winners of this year’s Literacy Prizes awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<a href="http://www.unesco.org/">UNESCO</a>) in recognition of innovative programmes designed to teach women, adolescents and other marginalized populations how to read and write.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31663&amp;Cr=literacy&amp;Cr1=">Read more</a>....<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6699964979065687537?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-22182269749141031762009-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:002009-08-07T15:28:47.528-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/photogalleries/drain-the-ocean-pictures/images/primary/090807-01-drain-the-oceans-grand-bahama-bank_big.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 229px;" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/photogalleries/drain-the-ocean-pictures/images/primary/090807-01-drain-the-oceans-grand-bahama-bank_big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/photogalleries/drain-the-ocean-pictures/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >PICTURES: "Drained" Oceans Reveal Epic Landscapes</span></a><br /><br /><b>August 7, 2009</b>--The seas off the <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_bahamas.html">Bahamas</a> can seem like a swimming pool, but strip away the ocean (illustration at top), and the edges of the islands' shallow Great Bahama Bank--where the light blue begins to turn dark in satellite images of the Caribbean--are revealed to be steep cliffs rising some 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) above a vast plain.<br /><br />By comparison, <a href="http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/national-parks/yosemite">Yosemite National Park</a>'s nearly 5,000-foot-tall (1,520-meter) <a href="http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/halfdome.htm">Half Dome</a> (bottom) is a molehill.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/photogalleries/drain-the-ocean-pictures/index.html">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-2218226974914103176?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-42176328803524943142009-08-07T12:57:00.000-07:002009-08-07T13:01:13.433-07:00<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090806-hurricane-season-2009-forecast.html">Hurricane Season 2009: Where Are All the Storms?</a></span><br /></div><br /><div class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:78%;">Willie Drye</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><br />for National Geographic News</span><br /></div> <div class="inlinedate"><span style="font-size:78%;">August 6, 2009</span></div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> Before the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off on June 1, forecasters were calling for 12 named storms, with about half developing into hurricanes. </p> Now, about two months into the season, zero storms have formed in the Atlantic.<br /><br />That's because El Niño conditions over the Pacific Ocean have so far kept a lid on the 2009 hurricane season, experts say.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090806-hurricane-season-2009-forecast.html">Read more</a>....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4217632880352494314?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-41572388811722967412009-08-05T09:26:00.000-07:002009-08-05T09:27:16.483-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_us_subs;_ylt=AqNQvK7FVx1MUoD0XQNKVYmGWo14;_ylu=X3oDMTJrMGM1MmowBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA1L2V1X3J1c3NpYV91c19zdWJzBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3J1c3NpYWNvbmZpcg--"><span style="font-size:78%;">Russia confirms submarine patrols near US</span></a></h1><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-05T07:21:34-0700" class="recenttimedate">2 hrs 4 mins ago</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>MOSCOW – A senior Russian military official said Wednesday that Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines spotted off the U.S. East Coast were on a legitimate training mission.</p> <p>U.S. defense officials said Tuesday that two Russian submarines had been patrolling in international waters for several days. While the activity was reminiscent of the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; background-color: rgb(220, 238, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249482115_0">Cold War</span>, the U.S. officials said the submarines had done nothing to provoke concern.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_us_subs;_ylt=AqNQvK7FVx1MUoD0XQNKVYmGWo14;_ylu=X3oDMTJrMGM1MmowBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA1L2V1X3J1c3NpYV91c19zdWJzBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3J1c3NpYWNvbmZpcg--">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-4157238881172296741?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-56868386101161952852009-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:002009-08-05T09:25:32.343-07:00<h1 id="yn-story-title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_us/us_nkorea_journalists_held;_ylt=AiqBjLA7X0Kha0k4DunjWRus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM4NDAzdnJqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA1L3VzX25rb3JlYV9qb3VybmFsaXN0c19oZWxkBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZXVuYWxlZWFuZGxh">Freed journalists home in US after NKorea pardon</a></span></h1><br /><div class="byline"> <cite class="vcard"> By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer <span class="fn org">Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer</span> </cite> – <abbr title="2009-08-05T09:05:14-0700" class="recenttimedate">18 mins ago</abbr></div><!-- end .byline --> <p>BURBANK, Calif. – Two American journalists jubilantly reunited with family and friends early Wednesday upon returning to the United States with <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249488333_0">former President Bill Clinton</span>, whose diplomatic trip to <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249488333_1">North Korea</span> secured their release nearly five months after their arrests.</p> <p>The jet carrying <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249488333_2">Euna Lee and Laura Ling</span>, reporters for Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV, and Clinton arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249488333_3">communist leader</span> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1249488333_4">Kim Jong Il</span> on Tuesday to secure the women's release.</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_re_us/us_nkorea_journalists_held;_ylt=AiqBjLA7X0Kha0k4DunjWRus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM4NDAzdnJqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA1L3VzX25rb3JlYV9qb3VybmFsaXN0c19oZWxkBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZXVuYWxlZWFuZGxh">Read more</a>....<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-5686838610116195285?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-61171542505655068822009-08-03T09:52:00.000-07:002009-08-03T09:54:37.806-07:00<h1><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/16/teen.sails.around.world/index.html">Teen becomes youngest to sail solo around world </a></span></h1><br /><div id="cnnSCByLine">By Scott Thompson<br />CNN</div><!--startclickprintexclude--> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet('LargeFont'); return false;"> <img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/story_tools/txt_minus_dn_.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont" border="0" width="13" height="13" /><br /><b>(CNN)</b> -- A Southern California teenager has serious bragging rights: After docking back in his home state late Thursday morning, Zac Sunderland, 17, can claim to be the youngest person to sail around the world alone.<p> Sunderland was greeted with thunderous applause and congratulations as he arrived at Marina del Rey in his 36-foot sailboat.</p><p> "It's kind of crazy to have it done now because, I mean, for the past year I've been just fighting for the next ocean, fighting to get back. And now I'm back so it's amazing," he said.</p><p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/16/teen.sails.around.world/index.html">Read more</a>....<br /></p></div> <!--endclickprintexclude--><!--startclickprintexclude--> <!--endclickprintexclude--><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6117154250565506882?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-69496725059430237132009-08-01T22:14:00.000-07:002009-08-01T22:19:24.018-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://blip.tv/file/2424946">Gaza Aid Work</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">See related video on sidebar (scroll down)----></span><br /><a href="http://blip.tv/file/2424946"><br /></a><a href="http://blip.tv/file/2424946">See Video</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-6949672505943023713?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-14346298064589993062009-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:002009-08-01T11:36:01.258-07:00<h1 class="post-title"><a href="http://china.blogs.time.com/2009/07/31/leading-chinese-rights-lawyer-detained/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Leading Chinese Rights Lawyer Detained</span></a></h1><span style="font-size:78%;">Posted by <span class="name"><a href="http://china.blogs.time.com/author/austinramzy/" title="Posts by Austin Ramzy">Austin Ramzy</a></span> <span class="date">Friday, July 31, 2009 at 12:13 am<br /><br /></span></span>Beijing authorities have detained the head a legal research and advocacy group, the latest blow in a continued drive against China's activist lawyers. Police took Xu Zhiyong, a human right lawyer who runs the recently shuttered Open Constitution Initiative (or Gongmeng in Chinese), from his Beijing apartment early Wednesday morning, according to <a href="http://www.gongmeng.cn/sub_r.php?zyj_id=2567">a posting on the group's website</a>. Another Gongmeng employee, Zhuang Lu, was also detained.<br /><br /><a href="http://china.blogs.time.com/2009/07/31/leading-chinese-rights-lawyer-detained/">Read more....</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-1434629806458999306?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207061042482718467.post-76391913129458586562009-07-31T17:38:00.000-07:002009-07-31T17:45:00.913-07:00<h1 style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);" class="newsTitle"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090721-apollo-11-moonlanding-facts.html">5 Little-Known Facts About the Moon Landing</a></span></h1><br /><div class="inlinedate">Anne Minard<br />for <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic News</a><br /></div> <div class="inlinedate">July 21, 2009</div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> Millions may have experienced the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV—and now, 40 years later, online. But a few facts aren't exactly common knowledge, including ...</p><p class="intro"><b>1. Aldrin Took Secret Communion</b></p> <p class="intro"><b>2. Mementos Left on Moon</b></p> <p class="intro"><b>3. U.S. President Had Speech Ready in Case of Disaster</b></p> <p class="intro"><b>4. Between Homecoming and Oblivion Stood ... a Pen?</b></p> <p class="intro"><b>5. American Flag Bit the Dust</b></p><p class="intro"><b><br /></b></p><p class="intro"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090721-apollo-11-moonlanding-facts.html">Read more....</a><b><br /></b></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6207061042482718467-7639191312945858656?l=hhz-socialstudies.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Christinenoreply@blogger.com0