Sgt. Davison Will Be Missed

By Jim Leljedal
BSO/ PIO
Sept 3, 2009

A 29-year law enforcement veteran died Tuesday, September 1st, following a battle with cancer.

Wesley Davison, 55, started his law enforcement career with the Dania Police Department on May 1, 1980 and graduated from the 83rd Police Academy.

Wes joined the BSO family on October 1, 1988 when Dania Beach merged with BSO. Wes remained in Dania Beach and continued to serve the city as a patrol deputy, detective and field training officer (FTO) until his promotion to sergeant in 1997. Once promoted to sergeant Wes transferred to BSO’s Unincorporated Fort Lauderdale Central Broward district. Wes served as a patrol sergeant for 10 years, from October 30, 1997 until March 1, 2007.

In March of 2007 Sergeant Davison was tasked with supervising the Detective Division within the Central Broward District. While battling the disease that finally claimed his life, Wes continued to serve with pride and dedication.

Sgt. Davison joined his fellow employees on June 5, 2009 at BSO’s Relay for Life at Markham Park, benefiting the American Cancer Society.

Final arrangements are as follows:

Visitation: Friday, September 4th, 2 pm – 6 pm
T.M. Ralph Funeral Home
7001 NW 4 Street in Plantation

Memorial Service: Friday, September 4th, 6 pm

Source: BSO

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Brain Damage from Cell Phone

By Dr. Mercola
Sept. 3, 2009

A collaborative team of international EMF activists has released a report detailing eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study.

The exposé discusses research on cell phones and brain tumors, concluding that:

• There is a risk of brain tumors from cell phone use
• Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors
• Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors

The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ‘systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit the same microwave radiation as cell phones,) as ‘unexposed’; exclusion of many types of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died, or were too ill to be interviewed as a consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable.

Ronald B. Herberman, MD, Director Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute has stated,

“Based on substantial evidence, especially from industry-independent studies that long term exposure to radiofrequency radiation may lead to increased risk for brain tumors, I issued a precautionary advisory last year to faculty and staff of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Since then, my particular concern about exposure of children to radiofrequency has been supported by a report from Dr. Lennart Hardell. Some of my scientific colleagues have expressed skepticism about the reported biological effects, especially DNA0A damage by radiofequency radiation, because of the absence of a demonstrated underlying molecular mechanism.

However, based on the precautionary principle, I believe it is more prudent to take seriously the reports by multiple investigators that radiofrequency can damage DNA and increase the risk for brain tumors, and for industry-independent agencies to provide needed funding for detailed research to ascertain the molecular basis for such effects.”

Lloyd Morgan, lead author and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society says,

“Exposure to cell phone radiation is the largest human health experiment ever undertaken, without informed consent, and has some 4 billion participants enrolled.

Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cell phones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.

The public must be informed.”

Sources: Business Wire Radiation Research Mercola.com
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Upset over ‘leftist propaganda’ video

By Lisa Schencker
Sept. 3, 2009

A school principal has apologized for showing a video at an assembly that a politically conservative group leader is calling “radical, leftist propaganda.”

Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called “I pledge” on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and part of a speech in which he says, “Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.” The video then features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world — and that’s where some say the problem lies.

Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as “to never give anyone the finger when I’m driving again,” “to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid” and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

“Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate,” said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. “I don’t believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware. ”

Chris Williams, Davis School District spokesman, said school principal Ofelia Wade and school PTA leaders decided to show the video as part of an assembly about the school’s theme for the year, service. He said the PTA board chose the video and Wade did not see it before it was shown in the assembly.

“It got to a point where she turned to her assistant and said, ‘Oops, I wish I would have seen this before. I don’t think I would have shown it,’ ” Williams said. He said Wade could see how some adults might find the video political.

“She acknowledges she was wrong and apologizes for it and says she’s sorry,” Williams said. Attempts to reach school PTA leaders Tuesday

evening were unsuccessful.

Williams said Wade plans to send a letter home to parents Wednesday about the issue.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said the video was blatantly political. She said other offensive pledges included, “I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama,” “I pledge allegiance to the funk, to the united funk of funkadelica,” and pledges to not use plastic grocery bags and not flush the toilet after urinating.

“It’s very inappropriate to show a radical, leftist propaganda piece that political to children,” Ruzicka said. “If parents want their children to learn about those things and do them in the home, wonderful, fine, but it’s not the place of the school to show a one-sided propaganda piece to children without parents knowing about it.”

Cieslewicz said such values should be decided in the home, not at school.

“They shouldn’t be troubling our youth with the woes of the world and making them feel like we’re in slavery or they have to worry about how many times they flush the toilet or if they have a plastic water bottle,” Cieslewicz said, referring to pledges in the video to “end slavery.”

Ruzicka said she contacted local media about the video after receiving complaints from several parents. Ruzicka said she worried the video’s messages would confuse children whose parents might choose to use plastic bags when shopping or who want their children to flush the toilet after every use. Also she said she didn’t like a pledge “to be of service to Barack Obama” as he is here to serve Americans, not the other way around.

Ruzicka said she’d like to see the school district send a link to the video to all parents before an upcoming back-to-school night so they can voice their opinions and discuss it with their children. Williams said it’s unlikely the district will send out a link, but parents are welcome to access the video on YouTube.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

National Zoo – Giant Panda

By FNZ
Sept. 3, 2009

Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains.

Habitat

Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.

Physical description

The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into their shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear.

Size

About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females rarely reach 220 pounds.

Status

The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.

Life span

Scientists aren’t sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure it’s shorter than lifespans in zoos. Chinese scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35. The National Zoo’s Hsing-Hsing died at age 28 in 1999.

 

Diet

A wild giant panda’s diet is almost exclusively (99 percent) bamboo. The balance consists of other grasses and occasional small rodents or musk deer fawns. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, a special high-fiber biscuit, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes.

 

Social structure

Adult giant pandas are generally solitary, but they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Offspring stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years.

The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.

Feeding adaptations

Millions of Zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats while sitting upright, in a pose that resembles how humans sit on the floor. This posture leaves the front paws free to grasp bamboo stems with the help of a “pseudo thumb,” formed by an elongated and enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad of skin. The panda also uses its powerful jaws and strong teeth to crush the tough, fibrous bamboo into bits.

A giant panda’s digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and so much of what is eaten is passed as waste. To make up for the inefficient digestion, a panda needs to consume a comparatively large amount of food—from 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day—to get all its nutrients. To obtain this much food means that a panda must spend 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating. The rest of its time is spent mostly sleeping and resting.

 

Water

Wild giant pandas get much of the water they need from bamboo, a grass whose contents are about half water. (New bamboo shoots are about 90 percent water.) But giant pandas need more water than what bamboo alone can provide. So almost every day wild pandas also drink fresh water from rivers and streams that are fed by melting snowfall in high mountain peaks. The temperate forests of central China where giant pandas live receive about 30 to 40 inches of rain and snow a year. Charleston, West Virginia—a city with a similar temperate climate—receives about the same amount of rain and snow: an average of 42.5 inches a year.

 

Reproduction

Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. They may be reproductive until about age 20. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time she is able to conceive. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other.

 

Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. This means a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. The giant pandas’ naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality.

Development

 

At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother’s part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about thesize of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother’s size.

Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years. more about panda cub develoment

 

Lifestyle

A wild panda spends much of its day resting, feeding, and seeking food. Unlike other bears from temperate climates, giant pandas do not hibernate. Until recently, scientists thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season. Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season. Much remains to be learned about the secret lives of these elusive animals, and every new discovery helps scientists in their battle to save this species.

Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus and species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

 

Source: National Zoo

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Choosing Right After School Program

By AFT
Sept. 2, 2009

What happens after school is equally as important as what takes place during the school day. It’s important that you and your child choose the right after school activities.  Obviously as the parent, you’ll be the one making the decisions.  However if you can include your child in the process, you’ll have better buy-in.

If your child has sports practice, dance lessons or choir practice, there will be other adults present.  That’s a good thing.  Dropping your child off at the mall isn’t such a good idea.  If children have nothing to do, the potential for trouble is much higher.

Walking around the mall isn’t really considered, “something to do.”  If you want to go to the mall with your child, that’s great. What I’m referring to is your child taking the bus or getting dropped off, without an adult there to accompany her.

One third of shoplifters apprehended are teens age 13-17. Not suggesting that all teens are out to shoplift, just merely that the opportunity is greater when kids are wandering the mall un-chaperoned, with nothing to do.

Another not so hot idea is dropping your child off at a movie theater.  Unless you’ve seen the movie he wants to see, you haven’t approved the content.  Besides there are much better things your child could do with his time that sit and watch a movie.

If they want to go to a friend’s house after school, make sure an adult will be present.  By “making sure” I don’t mean asking your child if the friend’s parent will be home.  Get a home phone number (not a cell phone number) and talk to the mother.  You’d be surprised at the number of times the other parent didn’t even know the children were planning to be together.

Many schools now have after school care which basically means your child can stay at school until you can pick her up.  This gives them a chance to get homework done and play in the gym, in the presence of an adult.

Children grow up way too fast.  Make sure they are using their time wisely.  Remember, they are our future generation!

Source: Apples 4 The Teacher

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Family Reacts You Going Back to Work

By ARW
Sept. 2, 2009

Although the extra money will come in handy for you all, your family’s reaction to you returning to work can take many forms. In order to make the transition from ‘stay at home’ mum to ‘working’ mum as smooth as possible, you ought to be prepared for the various reactions from your family members.

The most important thing to remember is that is you are ready to go back to work and you, with the help of your husband or partner, can arrange necessary child care then you are entitled to. Every woman and every family situation is different, but you must do what feels right for you.

Resentment

It is common for husbands or children to feel resentful over their wife or mothers return to work. For the husband, this can be because they now have to take on some tasks (taking children to childminders or cooking dinner) that their wife did when they were at home. Some men also like the ‘traditional’ aspect of them earning the money and their wife looking after the children at home.

For children, they can feel as though they have less quality time with their mother, especially young teenage children who enjoyed their time together after school. A good way to deal with this is to maintain a regular routine of having a family dinner together at the table. This not only gives you a chance to ask your partner and children about their day, but also builds confidence and social skills.

Proud

If your husband or partner is proud of you for going back to work, this can also create some problems. Although it sounds desirable, some women feel annoyed that they were not proud of them for bringing up the children, or patronised. You need to discuss this as soon as possible because in all likelihood your family was just as proud as when you were at home.

Disapproval

If you have decided that you want to return to work but your family is less keen, you will need to deal with the issue carefully. Do not allow your family to change your mind, unless you are not certain yourself. This is the type of issue that can be difficult at first, whilst people are settling into new routines, but tend to be sorted out in time. If you just do not go back to work to ‘keep the piece’ you will just feel resentful and the same issue will come up in another guise.

If the family member that is disapproving of you returning to work is your mother or mother in law, you and your partner will need to present a united front that supports your choice. Unless you rely on them for your childcare (in which case, it is better to find another source of childcare), there is no reason why they should pass judgement on your behaviour. You do not need to justify your choices.

If it is your own mother, you could take her for a coffee and a chat to explain how her comments are making you feel. You could also do this for your mother in law, although it may be more appropriate for your partner to do so, depending on your relationship with her.

Source: A Return to Work

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

US Brings Home Little League World Series

By Laura Leigh Davidson
Sept. 2, 2009

A team from California came from behind to win the 2009 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. Chula Vista’s Little Leaguers beat the Chinese Taipei team from Taoyuan, Taiwan, by a score of 6-3. (Taiwan is an island nation off the coast of China.)

This is the fifth year in a row that a team from the United States has taken home the championship banner for Little League baseball.

The game was hard-fought. The two squads were deadlocked at 0 until Wen Hua Sung and Chin Ou hit back-to-back homers in the third inning to give Chinese Taipei a 3-0 lead.

Then relief pitcher Kiko Garcia took the mound for Chula Vista. After that, no more Chinese Taipei batters crossed home plate. Kiko didn’t give up a single run for the rest of the game.

Chula Vista broke its scoreless streak with one run in the third inning. The team brought three more runs home in the fourth to move ahead, 4-3. Two more runs in the fifth inning put the score at 6-3. Kiko pushed through some last-inning jitters and struck out Yu Chieh Kao to end the game.

“We knew we could come back,” 13-year-old Kiko told ESPN. “We always do.”

Celebrating the Big Win

The west-coasters threw their gloves into the air and piled on the winning pitcher in celebration. Then the Little League champs took a victory lap around the stadium. After that, they collected handfuls of dirt from the pitcher’s mound to help commemorate their special win.

“It’s just an amazing feeling,” 12-year-old third baseman Seth Godfrey said. “We went for it, and we did [it].”

Reporters were eager to know what the team wanted to do after the game. Shortstop Andy Rios said they were ready for a victory celebration at the team’s favorite restaurant back in Chula Vista. Seth agreed, and said he was hungry for some postgame fries.

Williamsport, Little League Capital of the World

This year’s World Series action drew more than 200,000 fans to Williamsport. The central Pennsylvania town is the only home the Little League World Series has ever known. The 10-day tournament featured some of the best 11- to 13-year-old baseball players from around the globe. In all, 16 teams competed for the championship: 8 U.S. squads and 8 from around the world.

Williamsport resident Carl Stotz founded Little League Baseball in 1939. The league’s original three teams played their first season in an empty lot. Today, approximately 2.7 million young boys and girls play little league baseball worldwide.

Source: Scholastic News Online

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@goldcoastchronicle.com

Obama Going After Our Kids at School

By Joshua Rhett Miller
FOXNews.com
August 2, 2009

A suggested lesson plan that calls on school kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama is troubling some education experts, who say it establishes the president as a “superintendent in chief” and may indoctrinate children to support him politically.

Obama will deliver a national address directly to students on Tuesday, which will be the first day of classes for many children across the country. The address, to be broadcast live on the White House’s Web site, was announced in a letter to school principals last week by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Obama intends to “challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning,” Duncan wrote. Obama will also call for a “shared responsibility” among students, parents and educators to maximize learning potential.

But in advance of the address, the Department of Education has offered educators “classroom activities” to coincide with Obama’s message.

Students in grades pre-K-6, for example, are encouraged to “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”

Teachers are also given guidance to tell students to “build background knowledge about the president of the United States by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama.”

During the speech, “teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful.”

For grades 7-12, the Department of Education suggests teachers prepare by excerpting quotes from Obama’s speeches on education for their students to contemplate — and ask as questions such as “Why does President Obama want to speak with us today? How will he inspire us? How will he challenge us?”

Activities suggested for after the speech include asking students “what resonated with you from President Obama’s speech? What lines/phrase do you remember?”

Obama announced his intention to deliver the address to students during an interview with Damon Weaver, a middle school student from Florida who gained a following of his own last year on the campaign trail for his interviews of high-profile figures.

The Department of Education is using the president’s address to kick off a video contest titled, “I Am What I Learn,” in which students are invited to submit videos of up to two minutes on the importance of education in achieving their dreams.

Obama’s critics say the lesson plans and the president’s calls for a “supportive community” are troubling on many levels.

“In general, I don’t think there’s a problem if the president uses the bully pulpit to tell kids to work hard, study hard and things like that. But there are some troubling hints in this, both educationally and politically,” said Neal McCluskey, associate director of Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom.

Among the concerns, McCluskey said, is the notion that students who do not support Obama or his educational policies will begin the school year “behind the eight ball,” or somehow academically trailing their peers.

“It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that’s very problematic,” McCluskey said. “It’s very concerning that you would do that.”

Parents of public school students would also have to pay for that “indoctrination,” regardless of their political background, he said.

“That’s the fundamental problem. They could easily be funding the indoctrination of their children.”

Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said the suggested lesson plans cross the line between instruction and advocacy.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for teachers to ask students to help promote the president’s preferred school reforms and policies,” Hess said. “It very much starts to set up the president as a superintendent in chief.”

Amid the debate on the federal government’s level of involvement on issues like health care and others, Hess said, “There’s a lot of people” on both sides of the political spectrum who will rightfully be concerned with the president’s call to action.

“It shows exactly what the problem is,” he said. “This is going to open the door to all kinds of concerns.”

Messages to the White House seeking comment were not immediately returned early Wednesday.

After reading the Department of Education lesson plans for the speech, McCluskey said he noticed several passages that should set off “alarm bells,” including language that attempts to “glorify President Obama” in the minds of young students.

“It could be a blatantly political move,” he said. “Nobody knows for sure, but it gives that impression.”

McCluskey also noted that the lesson plans for young students contain suggestions to write letters to themselves on how they can help the president, but that suggestion is not in the lesson plan for middle and high schoolers — perhaps due to the likelihood of increased political ties at that age.

“You don’t want to see this coming from the president,” McCluskey said. “You don’t want to see this coming from the federal government.”

EDitor’s Note: FOXNews.com’s David Paulsen contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

ERIC L FIELDS | Sexual Predator | Miami, FL

ERIC L FIELDS

DOB:

01/30/1968

Reported Address:

1074 NW 54th Street Miami,Florida

Additional Information:

Predator Flyer

Marcsene St Curin | Sexual Predator | Miami Beach, FL

Marcsene St Curin

DOB:

10/07/1969

Reported Address:

170 NE 175th St Miami Beach,Florida

Additional Information:

Predator Flyer

« Previous Page — Next Page »