Teen Saves Referee's Life with Defibrillator

Have you ever wondered if you will ever use what you learn in school? For one teenage girl that question was answered suddenly last Thursday night.

Lindsey Paradise is a 16 year-old sophomore at Fridley High School in Fridley, Minnesota. On Thursday night she was in the stands watching the Fridley boys’ basketball team when one of the referees collapsed on the court.

Lindsey had just learned CPR in a school class taught by the police emergency rescue team, and she recognized immediately that the referee, Dale Wakasugi, was in critical danger.

According to her sister who was also at the game, “Lindsey flew from the stands and slid on her knees right up to him.” Lindsey applied four rounds of CPR but the procedure was not working. Mr. Wakasugi was still in trouble.

Lindsey grabbed an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). An AED is a device that has a microprocessor in it that analyzes a person’s heart beat to determine if there is a problem. When a problem is detected, the AED is used to send an electric shock into the person to regulate the heart beat.

Lindsey put the defibrillator pad on Mr. Wakasugi’s chest. The shock from the AED brought him around and he regained a pulse.

Lindsey had saved Mr. Wakasugi’s life. Mr. Wakasugi was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery to repair a blocked artery. He was sent home on Sunday night.

He said, “If this girl didn’t have the wherewithal to stay calm and know how to run that defibrillator, I wouldn’t be here. CPR wouldn’t have done it. I’m just grateful.”

Lindsey’s lessons from school saved a person’s life.

Source: KSTP.com

BLOG QUESTION
Ten states have passed laws that require the placement of AED’s in public places like schools. Do you think the federal government should step in and pass a law requiring AED’s in public places all over the country?

Santa Goes Skinny to Fight Obesity

Have you ever seen a skinny Santa? Probably not but if Bill Winton has his way, Santas all over the world could go on a diet.

Bill Winton is an 80 year-old from Edinburgh, England, who weighs 12 stone. The stone is a unit of weight and mass. It is part of the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the British Isles. One stone is 14 pounds so Mr. Winton weighs 168 pounds.

Mr. Winton has to wear extra padding to look the part of the roly-poly Santa but this year he has decided to remove the extra padding.

Mr. Winton is worried that Santa Claus is a role model for young children. He is worried that children are getting the wrong message about weight when they see an overweight role model.

So, Mr. Winton has tried a new strategy. He is proud that he has a healthy diet and does not drink sugary soft drinks and other fattening foods and beverages.

The kids that sit on Mr. Winton’s lap to tell them what they want for Christmas have noticed a difference. Mr. Winton said, “The parents and kids have been asking why I’m so thin and I say ‘Santa’s been on a diet’ and everyone is in agreement that it is a good idea.”

Mr. Winton hopes that Santas all over England follow his lead and go “healthy.” He’s noticed that the children sitting on his knee have gotten heavier over the years and he’s hoping Santa can make a difference.

Source: www.telegraph.co

BLOG QUESTION
Do you think the image of a roly-poly, happy Santa Claus is part of the obesity problem?

Are You Addicted to Your Computer?

Are you addicted to your computer? Could you go without instant messaging, YouTube, email, and Internet surfing for five weeks?

Caitlin Magnusson is a student at Carleton College. She and a couple of her friends went on a “computer-fast” while some of her other friends videotaped their experience for a documentary film.

Caitlin told a USA Today reporter that she went through a series of emotions during the fast. She started off by sealing her laptop in flowery wrapping paper, covered it with duct tape and caged it in a box.

She knew she could not get to it but every morning by habit she got up and turned to her desk to boot up. Her muscle memory had not forgotten the morning routine.

How was she going to do her work? She started using a typewriter for her school papers. She used the telephone instead of email and started reading newspapers instead of surfing the Internet.

In the beginning she was quite proud of herself. She was going to get through it. But missing YouTube videos and her instant messaging put her over the top and soon she became frustrated and even depressed. She even missed a couple of parties that were introduced on Facebook.

The other students in the documentary had different experiences. One boy actually found himself outside more often. He took long walks and had conversations with his friends.

What did Caitlin learn from the experience? She learned the obvious—there’s no turning back from computers. In her words, “You can resist it. You can hold off for a little bit. But in the end, it will keep moving forward with or without you."

Source: USA Today

BLOG QUESTIONWhat would you miss the most if you gave up your computer for five weeks?

Poll: 4 in 10 Teens Cheat to Succeed in School

Do you have to lie, cheat or steal just to succeed in school? That question and others were part of a new poll on teen cheating conducted by an organization called Junior Achievement and Deloitte, a global financial-services company. THE ANSWER: Nearly four out of ten teenagers said YES.

Why do students cheat? Respondents to the study said that they cheated because either they want to do well in school or their parents are pressuring them to excel.

One student said, “My parents would be very upset to know I cheated but would be more upset to see me get a C.”

What should be done about teen cheating? Some experts are worried that if students cheat in school they will be more willing to break the rules later in the business world. These experts are calling on schools to teach more ethics or character education.

Michael E. Josephson is the president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics. He was surprised that only 40 percent of the teens said they cheated. He asked the same question of 36,000 teens and found that 60 percent admitted cheating on a test and 33 percent said they copied documents from the Internet without giving the source credit.

Mr. Josephson thinks that adults have to pay more attention to the problem. Mr. Josephson said that teens should be punished instead of parents dismissing the problem as “kids will be kids.”

Source: Associated Press

BLOG QUESTION
Do you think stress to get good grades causes students in Scarsdale to cheat?

Report on Baseball Steroid Use Names Names

Former Senator George Mitchell’s report on illegal performance-enhancing drug use in baseball became public today after a 20-month investigation. For New Yorkers the big news was that Roger Clemens, Andy Petite, Jason Giambi and former Yankee Gary Sheffield were among the names Senator Mitchell included in the report.

It was a bad day for baseball. Senator Mitchell’s report said that baseball ignored a severe drug problem that was part of every team. At least one member of every team was listed in the report.

The report included the names of former Most Valuable Players and several players named to the all-star teams. Barry Bonds, Ken Caminiti (former MVP), Mo Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Juan Gonzalez and Matt Williams were named in the report.

Other current players named were Troy Glaus, Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagne, Paul Lo Duca and Jose Guillen.

Senator Mitchell interviewed 550 people as part of his investigation. He talked with managers, coaches, team physicians, trainers and even security agents. He also met with Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, and other members of his staff.

Senator Mitchell invited every player named in the report to meet with him but the only active players to accept were Jason Giambi and Frank Thomas, both of whom agreed after receiving pressure from the commissioner’s office.

Commissioner Selig said that he would meet with every player named and that disciplinary action against players would be determined on a case by case basis.

Senator Mitchell spread around the blame. He blamed the players’ union for dragging its feet on a drug testing policy and he blamed the commissioner for not pushing the testing issue harder for fear that the sport would lose money.

Source: USA Today

BLOG QUESTION
Should baseball punish the players who are guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs? Should the players who used steroids be banned from the Hall of Fame?

WOW!!! W00t Wins Word of Year

W00t! w00t! What a word! The Merriam Webster Word of the Year is w00t and if you are not into video games, you probably have no idea what the word means.

W00t is a combination of letters and numbers used by game players to show extreme happiness. In other words, w00t is WOW for gamers.

Gamers put in numbers and symbols in the place of letters. For example, the number 3 is used instead of e. The language is called “l33t speak” or “leet” which stands for elite. But w00t did not start out as a part of “l33t speak.”

W00t was first used in the popular movie “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts. The star actress used it three times to express her excitement at a polo match.

W00t was one of twenty words from an online list considered by the dictionary company for its annual honor. One of the runner-ups was “blamestorm” a new word that describes a meeting in which everyone talks about the mistakes that are made.

So, is w00t a real word or not? John Morse, the president of Merriam-Webster thinks that his company made a great choice. He said, “It shows a really interesting thing that’s going on in language. It’s a term that’s arrived only because we’re now communicating electronically with each other.”

English professor Allan Metcalf disagrees. He said, “It’s amusing but it’s limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last.”

Who knows? Maybe in a couple of years we will be w00ting it up.

Source: Associated Press

BLOG QUESTION
Why do you think Merriam-Webster selects the Word of the Year?

Clinton Leads Obama; Huckabee Ties Guiliani

The presidential election is eleven months away but the primary elections start right after winter break. Primaries are elections at which members of a party vote for the candidate they would like to represent them in the presidential election. The first primary for Democrats and Republicans will be held in Iowa on January 3.

So, with the primaries right around the corner, who is running and how are they doing? A new CNN poll completed December 6 to 9 has the latest numbers.

The big shake-up for the Republicans is that Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is now in a virtual tie with Rudy Giuliani, the former governor of New York. Both men received 24 percent support in the CNN poll. Other Republicans receiving support were former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with 16 percent, Senator John McCain at 12 percent, former Senator Fred Thompson with 10 percent, Representative Ron Paul at 6 percent, Representative Duncan Hunter at 2 percent and finally, Representative Tom Tancredo at 1 percent.

Mr. Huckabee’s jump to the top spot started in October. He has gone from 5 percent to 24 percent in a couple of months and is now the favorite in Iowa.

On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton continues to lead with 40 percent of the Democratic voters, but Senator Barack Obama is closing on Mrs. Clinton. He is now at 30 percent, up 5 percent in the past month. Senator John Edwards remains in third place with 14 percent. All other Democratic candidates are at 1 percent.

According to a CNN political analysis, the big news from this poll is that if you are in first place right now, watch out because others are gaining on you. For now Guiliani and Clinton are still the favorites but Huckabee and Obama are making it close.

Source: CNN

BLOG QUESTION
Who will represent the Republicans and the Democrats in the election of 2008?

Google Offers $30 Million Prize for Moon Race

On May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy challenged the United States to become the first country to land a man on the moon.

In his address to the country that day he said, “First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

Eight years later on July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. His words that day are among the most famous statements in U.S. history: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Last Friday, Google joined the race to the moon by offering a $30 million prize to any company that could fly a craft to the moon, operate a robotic rover and transmit data to Earth.

Gregg Maryniak is the executive director of the Google XPrize Foundation. He said, “Now there’s a new moon race.” He called this challenge “a race to bring Earth’s offshore island, the moon, into Earth’s sphere of economic activity.”.

Three hundred and seventy-five companies from 40 countries have inquired about the prize, but only one company has completed the registration process. Odyssey Moon is a small company, located on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. The company’s goal is to “lower the price of getting to the moon.”

Another company, Astrobotic Technology, has also announced its plan to compete for the prize. Red Whittaker, a robotics expert from Carnegie Mellon University, has already said that he plans to land a robotic craft on the moon by 2009 near the site that Neil Armstrong landed 40 years before.

As one Google executive said, “Get ready for some fun and amazing decades of private exploration ahead.”

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG QUESTION
How will the Google challenge change space exploration?

Monopoly Helped WWII POW's to Escape

We all know the game Monopoly. It is one of the most popular board games of all time. But, did you know that Monopoly helped thousands of World War II prisoners of war (POW’S) to escape the German prison camps?

Here’s how it happened. The British were trying to figure out how to smuggle maps to the POW’s. They came up with the idea of using silk to create maps because the silk would not dissolve in water and was quiet when it was unfolded. They turned to John Waddington Ltd., a British company that had perfected printing on silk. The company also happened to distribute Monopoly games.

The British also had to come up with a way to smuggle the maps into the prison camps. Monopoly boxes were chosen because the Germans allowed the Red Cross to distribute the popular game. The Germans hoped that the prisoners would spend their hours trying to buy property and build houses and hotels instead of trying to figure out ways to escape.

The strategy was so successful that the company decided to stretch the plan. In a secretive process the company started to create special Monopoly games with real money, silk maps and playing pieces like files and magnetic compasses that the prisoners could use during an escape.

These special games were marked with a red dot on Free Parking. Soldiers were told of the special marking so that if they were captured, they would know what to look for.

It is impossible to know how many prisoners actually escaped because of Monopoly. About 35,000 prisoners escaped the German camps by the end of the war.

The secret of the special Monopoly game was kept from the public for a long time. All of the games were destroyed and everyone involved was told to keep quiet.

Today, Monopoly is played in more than 80 countries. It is still one of the favorite board games on the market, but there was a time when it was much more than a game – when a Get Out of Jail Free card really meant something.

Source: CNN

BLOG QUESTION
Why do think this story is now being told after more than 60 years?

Good Grades Get You a Happy Meal

Get good grades and eat a Happy Meal at McDonald’s. That’s the plan according to a new deal reached by McDonald’s restaurants in Seminole County, Florida and the Seminole County School Board for the 2007-08 school year.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade are eligible for this new food incentive program. If they get all A’s and B’s in their academic subjects or if they have two or fewer absences from school, they get a free Happy Meal.

The report cards actually go home in a jacket that bears a cartoon of Ronald McDonald and Happy Meal food images. Teachers put the report cards in the jackets and students take them home for the parents to sign. Students can take them to the local McDonald’s for their reward.

The food incentive program has raised a lot of questions for parents, teachers and the administration of the school district. Did the school district make a good deal? Will Happy Meals encourage students to do well in school and attend regularly? Has the school district undermined parental concerns about healthy eating? Should the school district allow a company like McDonald’s to advertise its product in a classroom environment?

Susan Linn is the director of an organization called the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She told a New York Times reporter, “It’s a terribly troubling trend because it really, clearly links doing well in school with getting a Happy Meal.” Ms. Linn urged McDonald’s to stop the program immediately.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s said that the company does not sponsor any programs that reward schoolwork with food at the national level. She said that the program is a “very local decision.”

Source: New York Times

BLOG QUESTION
Do you think schools should use food to reward students for good grades and good attendance? Should companies be allowed to advertise their products in schools?

Obesity is Rampant Among HS Footballers

If obesity is a severe problem for adolescents, then obesity among high school football players is reaching epidemic proportions. Two recent studies published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and The Journal of Pediatrics found that weight problems among high school football players—especially linemen was far greater than other male adolescents.

One of the studies analyzed the weight of 3600 high school linemen in Iowa. Forty-five percent were overweight and 9 percent were classified with severe adult obesity. Only 18 percent of the male high school students in Iowa were overweight.

In Michigan, the results were the same. Of the 650 football players in youth football ages 9 to 14, 45 percent were overweight to obese. Again, linemen were the biggest problem.

Why are high school football players getting so large? Some researchers point to the role models that high school students see on television. According to a 2003 study, 56 percent of the players in the National Football League were considered obese. NFL linemen have a 52 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than the average person.

What can be done to change this trend? Some doctors are recommending weight limits for high school football. They point out that high school wrestling has a limit of 285 and suggest that football should impose a similar limit.

Bob Colgate is the assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. He said that his organization was considering the issue of obesity but thought that further study was needed before imposing a weight restriction.

Source: New York Times

BLOG QUESTION
Do you think high schools should impose a weight restriction on football players?

Are You Smarter than a 5 Year-Old Chimp?

Are you smarter than a 5-year-old chimpanzee? Before you answer, you will probably want to read more about what Japanese researchers found when chimpanzees were pitted against human adults in a short-term memory test.

Researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa specializes in the mental abilities of chimps but even he was surprised when a 5-year chimp outscored human adults in a simple, short-memory test.

The chimp’s name is Ayumu. He was selected for the research because he had done well in a preliminary test against humans.

Here was the test: Five numbers were flashed on a computer screen for seven-tenths of a second. Then they were replaced by white squares. The chimp and the humans were asked to touch the squares in the correct sequence. Both the chimp and the humans were able to complete the task about 80 percent of the time.

But, when the time was reduced from seven-tenths of a second to four-tenths or two-tenths, the chimp was champ. The humans dropped off to 40 percent but Ayumu maintained an 80 percent correct rate.

Why was the chimp able to beat the humans? Mr. Matsuzawa thinks that the chimp’s age gave him an advantage. He believes that a human’s mind gives up short term memory to make room for learning language abilities. If Ayumu had been pitted against 5-year old children, Mr. Matsuzawa believes the children would have come out on top.

Source: Associated Press

BLOG QUESTION
Why are researchers like Mr. Matsuzawa interested in learning about the mental abilities of apes?

What Should We Call the Tree?

With the holiday season in full swing, communities all over the country are celebrating by decorating giant trees. But, should these trees be called “Christmas trees?” In Madison, Wisconsin that question has started a Constitutional debate.

Representative Marlin Schneider wants to rename the holiday tree. He wants the tree to be called the “Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.”

At a public hearing last week, he said, “I am here today to voice the ire and frustration of the majority of people of the state of Wisconsin who want their Christmas tree back in the state Capitol, not a politically correct holiday tree.”

Mr. Schneider added, “If it looks like a Christmas tree, and smells like a Christmas tree, and it’s decorated like a Christmas tree, and it has presents under it like a Christmas tree, then it’s a Christmas tree.”

But, changing the name of the tree could cause some problems. Annie Laurie Gaylor represents the Freedom from Religion Foundation. She said that calling it a “Christmas” tree could offend people who were nonreligious and would also signal the government’s endorsement of Christianity.

The First Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the establishment of religion. It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”

Ms. Gaylor says that Wisconsin cannot have a “Christmas anything.” But, other representatives were not buying the argument.

The issue will be decided first by the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on State Affairs and then the full Wisconsin Assembly. The chairman of the committee hopes that the decision will be made before Christmas.

Source: Associated Press

BLOG QUESTION
If you were a member of the Wisconsin Committee on State Affairs, how would you vote on this issue? Should the tree be called the holiday tree or the Wisconsin State Christmas Tree?

British Teacher in Jail Over Teddy Bear Name

Gillian Gibbons is a British schoolteacher who works at Unity High School in Sudan. Last week she was arrested by the Sudanese government for insulting Islam by allowing her class to name a teddy bear “Muhammad.”

Ms. Gibbons asked her class to pick a name for the stuffed animal. A boy in her class named Mohammed suggested naming the bear after him. The class voted in favor of the boy’s suggestion.

On November 28, Ms. Gibbons was charged with “insulting religion,” a crime that carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment, a fine, or 40 lashes. The next day she was found guilty and was sentenced to 15 days in prison. On November 30, protesters demanded her execution.

The protesters marched in the streets shouting chants “No tolerance-execution” and “Kill her, kill her by firing squad.”

The British government is trying to get Ms. Gibbons released from prison. Two British Muslim members of the House of Lords are working with Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

On Sunday, the lawmakers were scheduled to travel to Sudan but at the last minute, they delayed the trip. Some observers see the delay as a promising sign.

For now, Ms. Gibbons’ release is “touch and go.” Some Sudanese radicals want her to complete her 15-day sentence. Protesters are still calling for her execution. Moderates in Sudan are ready to turn her over to the British Embassy but they are nervous that the hardliners will stir up more trouble.

Ms. Gibbons is in a secret location for protection and still has nine days left in her sentence.

Source: CNN, wikipedia

BLOG QUESTION
What do you think will happen next in Sudan? Will Ms. Gibbons be released?