Posted by Jesse - May 1, 2009 | 1:53 pm
Swine flu virus spread latest update May 1, 2009: 331 people in 11 countries infected, 10 deaths
The swine flu virus alert level is still pegged at phase 5 on a 6-point scale. Though the World Health Organization (WHO) says that a pandemic is imminent (phase 6), the flu virus that has spread globally has not reached the highest health crisis alert level. The WHO also has not scheduled any meetings of its emergency committee as of yet.
The WHO’s latest update on the virus infection is relayed through the statement: “The new flu strain, which it calls Influenza A (H1N1), had been confirmed to have infected 331 people in 11 countries, including 10 deaths.”
The latest human-to-human infection occurred in Spain when one person was in contact with a traveler from Mexico. The WHO has declared, however, that there is no proof of ‘sustained, community-based human-to-human transmission in Europe.’
Categories: Health, World
Posted by Jesse - April 28, 2009 | 6:33 am
History of CFISD
The Birth of a District The earliest inhabitants of the area now occupied by Cypress-Fairbanks ISD probably never dreamed that the picturesque landscape marked by winding creeks and fertile fields would one day give way to a maze of concrete highways meandering through master-planned subdivisions. Even as recently as 1956, Cypress-Fairbanks was still referred to as “Harris County’s Little A&M,” a term coined by a Houston Chronicle reporter describing the community’s deep-seeded agricultural emphasis (Houston Chronicle Rotogravure Magazine, December 30, 1956). As it turned out, the history of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD has been marked by transition from rural to suburban; this phenomenon has largely occurred during the latter half of the 20th century. It is still not uncommon to hear Cypress-Fairbanks old-timers utter in disbelief, “Who would have thought that this rice paddy would ever become a four-lane highway?” However, in the words of former Superintendent Allen Labay (1977-1986), “We have had to adjust to and grow with the changes and really try to stay ahead.” His prophetic words were, and still are, right on target, because through the course of the district’s history the community has always placed a high premium on education.
The First Inhabitants of Cypress-Fairbanks
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 27, 2009 | 1:35 pm
Un temblor de tierra de magnitud 6 en la escala Richter ha sacudido la capital mexicana y ha provocado el pánico entre la población, en medio de la alerta sanitaria por el brote de gripe porcina, que se cree ha podido causar 149 muertos.Según el Instituto Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS, en inglés) el epicentro del terremoto se ha producido al sur-sureste de Txitla,
Según el Instituto Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS, en inglés) el epicentro del terremoto se ha producido al sur-sureste de Txitla, el el estado de Guerrero, a 240 kilómetros de la capital, Ciudad de México.
El temblor tuvo su origen a 11,4 kilómetros de profundidad y comenzó a las 11.46 horas (18.46, hora peninsular española).
Para medida la potencia de un seísmo, el Instituto Geológico de Estados Unidos utiliza la “magnitud del momento”, que está directamente relacionada con la magnitud del terremoto (superficie y cantidad de deslizamiento sobre la falla).
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 27, 2009 | 12:53 pm
Cruise lines: No plans to cancel calls in Mexico due to swine flu – Several major cruise lines with ships calling in Mexico this week say they have no plans to cancel or alter itineraries despite global worries about a potentially deadly outbreak of swine flu in the country.
Industry giant Carnival says in a statement today it is monitoring the spread of the illness in Mexico but is going ahead with voyages scheduled to call in the country over the next few days.
Two Carnival ships, the Carnival Paradise and Elation, called at Mexico’s Catalina Island today, the line tells USA TODAY, and both ships still are scheduled to call in Ensenada, Mexico on Tuesday. Two other Carnival ships, the Carnival Inspiration and Holiday, also are scheduled to visit Mexico on Tuesday with port calls in Cozumel.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 27, 2009 | 9:12 am
Italian Leader in World War 2
The fascist dictator Benito Mussolini a.k.a Il Duce (ill-doo-chay). He was closely allied with Hitler.
- It is pronounced (il duce) with the e making a eh sound and the c making a ch sound.
Answer
Benito Mussolini was handed power by King Vittorio Emanuele III in October 1922 to avoid civil war. He became the Prime Minister of Italy at that time. Following numerous defeats in World War ii, he was stripped of power in July 1943. General Pietro Badoglio took over power in July of 1943, and surrendered to the Allied forces in August.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 22, 2009 | 8:47 pm
A T-600 Terminator poses in this fantastic buddy shot, alongside T4 director McG and Professor/HAL exoskeleton creator Yoshiyuki Sankai. No remains were found.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 22, 2009 | 8:33 pm
Yang Peiyi, the 7 year old Chinese girl with the perfect voice, was chosen to perform the Chinese National Anthem “Hymn to the Motherland” at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but because of Peiyi’s unattractive buck teeth, another (prettier) girl, 9 year old Lin Miaoke, went on stage instead and lip-synced to Peiyi’s voice.
Yang Peiyi Gets Support of Olympic Organizers
A member of China’s political party became concerned about the switching of Yang Peiyi with the other performer and made the decision to come forward after watching a rehearsal.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - April 21, 2009 | 11:58 pm
Hashima Island is a small, 15-acre outcropping of rock off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. Although tiny in size, the island was important in magnitude: It was a major coal mining center for Japan for almost a full century. The island sits atop a coal deposit that descends well into the ocean floor beneath. Once it was tapped, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation purchased Hashima from the local families who owned it in 1890. That’s when the heyday of Hashima Island began.
Since it’s located about 18 miles from Nagasaki, it made more sense for Mitsubishi to build housing on the island, rather than ferry its employees to and from the island every day. Squat concrete apartment blocks were constructed one at a time. Space was at a premium, so the buildings went up instead of out, and families were jammed together in cramped lodging, sharing bathrooms and kitchens.
Amenities like a movie theater, doctor’s office, arcades, restaurants and bars were added later, and the city became a thriving, microcosmic community. The entire complex was linked via underground tunnels. At its peak in 1959, Hashima Island was the most densely populated city on Earth, with 5,259 inhabitants on the small, rocky outcropping [source: Burke-Gaffney]. That’s 835 people for every 2.5 acres.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - March 13, 2009 | 3:07 pm
Drugs are big money.
Case-in-point: the fat wallet of “El Chapo.” Wait, who?
Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera made the Forbes Billionaires List this week.
Categories: World
Posted by Jesse - March 9, 2009 | 3:46 pm
Oxana Malaya was a Ukrainian who was found in 1991 when she was 8 years old behaving oddly like a dog rather than a human being. Not only does she barks and behave like a dog, but Oxana Malaya thinks like a dog because she was abandoned by her parents that she lived in a kennel where she lived with these animals for some time.
A relatively famous case is that Amala and Kamala of India circa 1920, who were reportedly truly raised by wolves. They were “rescued” and “adopted” by one Rev. Joseph Amrito Lal Singh, rector of a local orphanage. Being past critical ages for socialization and language learning, the girls experienced great difficulty in human society.
There have been many cases in more recent years including Ivan Mishukov, found living with a pack of street dogs in Russia, or Oxana Malaya (pictured above, image from Channel 4, UK), who spent a few years living with dogs after her deadbeat parents abandoned her.
Categories: World