** Influenza AH1N1 **

1. What is an epidemic?
*An epidemic occurs when new cases of a certain disease occur in a given human population, during a given period, substantially exceed what is "expected," based on recent experience.

2. What is a pandemic?
*It is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.

3. What is an infectious disease?
*It is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions.

4. What is a virus?
*It is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell. Viruses infect all types of cellular life.

5. What makes the H1N1 virus a "novel" or "new" virus?
* It has been recently discovered, and it is a new virus that is spreading from person-to-person, sparking a growing outbreak of illness in the United States. An increasing number of cases are being reported internationally as well.

6. How do viruses mutate?
*The only way they can reproduce is by infecting a cell.
*Cells change their surface receptors so viruses cannot attach; the viruses change their surface proteins so they can attach to the changed cell surface receptors.
*The viruses must always stay ahead of the evolution game.

7. What does it mean that this virus has "parts" from other known swine flus, human flus and American bird flus?
*Because it has similar synthoms and there have been epidemics/pandemics of flu viruses which humans have little immunity to in the past, it is believed that they might combined and cause a terrible disease.


8. How does that process happen?
*In the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.


9. How is the flu vaccine created?
*Right now, there are only experimenting with them and there are real vaccines.

10. Why are some viruses transmittable from human to human while others are not (avian flu)?
*Because in the case of birds, it would need few mutations to spread rapidly between mammals by respiratory droplets.

11. How does Tamiflu work?
*"The virus is still able to replicate inside a cell, but is unable to get out and infect other cells."

12. Scientists worry that H1N1 might become resistant to Tamiflu. How might that happen?
* They would have to reduce the doses.

1. What is the most predictable thing about influenza?
*The way that the viruses that cause it are created.

2. How many people have died in Mexico? (based on the article as well as on latest news)
*66 people confirmed until now.

3. Name 3 countries where swine flu has been confirmed in the last three days.
* India, Malaysia and Turkey

4. What are the symptoms of the swine flu?
*Fever (usually high)
*Headache
*Tiredness (can be extreme)
*Cough
*Sore throat
*Runny or stuffy nose
*Body aches
*Diarrhea and vomiting (more common among children than adults)

5. When was the outbreak of the Spanish flu?
* After the WWI in 1918.

6. What percentage of the world population died of influenza then?
*1 % of the global population, about 50 million people.

7. Why was there an emergency vaccination program in 1976?
*Because there was one death.

8. Name a few actions the Mexican government has done to curb the spread of swine flu.
*They closed schools for about 7 days, they closed restaurants and bars. The cinema was also closed. They also made comercials about the hygiene.

9. What were the consequences for Mexico and Mexicans due to the actions taken by the government?
*That the other countries avoid to travel to Mexico, so the tourism is going down.

10. What industries were particularly hard hit?
*Restaurants, Hotels, Bars, museums, etc. All the public places.

1. Mexico has shut down schools and other public spaces; do you think that was the correct thing to do? Why or why not?

* Yes, because then you prevent to transmit the virus between the people that are in contact with each other.


2. More people die from the regular flu then from swine flu, why do you think this became a big news story?

* Yes, because this was not expected.


3. Why did people stop visiting Mexico? Why have Mexicans been discriminated? Do you think the fear of the disease is justified?

*People stop visiting Mexico because they are afraid of swine flu, thats why mexicans are also being discriminated. Yes because I think that without fear, we wont protect and then we could get the flu.


4. What questions about individual and human rights does preventing the spread of flu raise?

*The repression of freedom because we can´t go out.

Plastic Bags

*Why are plastic bags so common?
-People use them to carry things when they buy them, they are also used for the trash because they save the bad smells.

*In what other ways is plastic used?
-Alight in trees, billow from fences like flags, clog storm drains and they are also used as bottles.

*What are the benefits of plastic bags?
-That they are so cheap to produce, sturdy, plentiful, easy to carry and store that they have captured at least 80% of the grocery and convenience store market. Plastic grocery bags are some of the most reused items around the house.

*What are the dangers of plastic bags?
-Their colorants contain some con
-Contamination in the ocean: they are killing the animals that live there.
-Turtles eat them.
-They descompose in about 100 years.

*What has been done so far?
- Recycling them and using them as other items such as bottles and stuff like that. Plastic bags are being downcycled, meaning that they're being put into another product that itself can never be recycled. There are different campaigns for saving the ocean, and cleaning it. But people are still throwing them and making pollution grow.

*Has it been successful? Why or why not?
-In some ways it has, but there are steel a lot of bags floating in the ocean, because people continue throwing them. But there is steel some confusion about it.

a. What are some of the potential benefits of charging fees for and/or banning plastic bags?
- We will helpo to clean the enviroment.
-With the money the win, they could help cleaning lakes and oceans.
-The people will now change and they will start helping cleaning and recycling.

b. What are some of the potential drawbacks of such programs?
-The costs will incriminate and the fabrics of plastic bags will break. People are beign afected bye the economic climate.

c. Which benefits and drawbacks seem the most compelling? Why?
- The most imortant benefit is that people will star carring about our enviroment and the contamination will stop.

d. Would you support a local law charging fees for (or banning) plastic bags? Why or why not?
-Yes i will because I am worred about the contamination that is affecting not only the enviroment, it is affecting all the people. And I could also hepl the economic crisis by re-using the bags.

1. Do you agree with this new law? Why or why not?
-Yes, because making baggs of other materials that can desapear in a little period of time, makes good things for the enviroment, and for the pollution too.

2. What has been done so far?
-They are only proposing what to do, and they are getting together to see what is going to happen.

3. What needs to be done to enforce such a law?
-That pople from fabrics, are interested in helping the Green Party, so that they can colaborate elaborating the new baggs.

4. What campaigns would you suggest?
-To make baggs from organic materials, and that everybody recycles them so that the enviroment would be clean. And to make comercials about how the situations with baggs is affecting the enviroment.

**Teenage Gunman Kills 15 at School in Germany**

*Who?
-A teenage gunman, 17 years old.

*Where?
-WINNENDEN, Germany.

*When?
-March 11th, 2009

*What?
-A teenage gunman killed 15 people, most of them female, on Wednesday in a rampage that began at a school near Stuttgart in southern Germany and ended in a nearby town, where he then killed himself after the police wounded him.

*Why?
-Tim Kretschmer was a 17 year old boy who graduated last year. As the news say, last year he broke off a round of psychological counseling for depression.
Then when they investigated what was the cause of the murder, they find out, that Tim used to play violent games and see violent videos. A phsycologist said that watching those videos where a path for violence. And then, they find out that he used a gun that was his father´s.
Other people say, that he was a normal kid, that could not hurt anyone, but apperances are not always true.

**5 cases**
-In 1927, in Maine, a school board official blew up a school, killing 44 people.

-In 2002, in Eastern Germany, a gunman killed 16 people befeore killing himself at a school in Ertfurt.

-In January 30, 2007 in Nickel Mines, a milk delivery-truck driver, lined up 10 girls in a one-room schoolhouse and opened fire, then he shoot them with a gun humself so that they die.

-In april 16, 2007 in Virginia Tech, shooting left 33 students dead, they where in a dorm and in the classroom building when they where killed.

-In December 12, 2007, six people shot after exiting a schoolbus in Las Vegas, there was a bully kids fight, and the guys where shot when they arrived from the fieldtrip.

News 3

**Russian Welcomes Letter From Obama**
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/washington/04russia.html?_r=2&hp

Who?
*Russia welcomes Obama

Where?
*Moscow, Russia

When?
*March 3, 2009

What?
*The Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said Tuesday that Russia was open to United States overtures on its proposed missile defense plan, but dismissed the notion of a deal in which the United States would shelve the plan in exchange for Russia’s help on Iran.

Why?
*To help Iran. they will have a meeting

News Analysis

1. Who is Robert Mugabe? How long has he been in power? How popular is he?
*Zimbabwe President, he has been in power for 28 years. Now he has a bad image because he has made very bad things to the country, but before he was like a hero.

2. Who is Morgan Tsvangirai? Which is/ has been his political role?
*He is Zimbabwe´s Prime minister, he has been a key in the opposite side of the president.

3. What happened during last year's elections? Which was the outcome?

*The main candidates were: Mugabe and Tsvangirai , and first Tsvangirai was way ahead from Mugabe, but at the end, Mugabe won.

4. Whis is the economic situation in Zimbabwe? How do the people feel about this?
*Now a day, their economic is collapsing. People are starting to act worried, and they stopped the economic activities and they have abandoned the early marketing.

5. What do you think about the celebrations and the lavish party?
*That they spend a lot of money in a party. They should use the money to do other things because of the crisis.

Based only on the article below, define a conflict.
a) Give the conflict a name and explain why you think it is a conflict.
*The economy is Collapsed, it is a conflict because people are loosing their jobs and the crisis is increasing.

b) Who is involved and why?
*Population in Zimbabwe, because they are loosing jobs, and their economy is gettting down.

c) Explain in detail why the conflict has happened.
*The problem is that the president has been in power for 28 years, making the country have problems.

d) Give a timeline of events (at least 5) related to the conflict.
*Jan 8th : Cholera cases reported.
*Feb 10: Cholera spreading from Zimbabwe to South America.
*Feb 21: President´s Birthday #85.
*February 28: Mungabe spent 250 000 in his clebration
*March 1: appealed to the international community to help Zimbabwe's crippled economy.

e) How do you think this conflict can be solved and why?
*To take out Mungabe from the goverment, because he has made a lot of bad things to the country.

Conflict

1. Country name
-Somalia

2. Conflict
-Ethiopia accuses neighbors of supporting an ethnic Somali rebel group that attacked a Chinese-run oil installation this week, killing 74 people.

3. Copy the headlines and the link to a news item reporting on that conflict.
-"Somali conflict crosses borders","Khartoum, Sudan and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia" http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0426/p06s02-woaf.html

4. Summarize the news item in your own words in 5 - 8 sentences. (identify the main ideas) *There is a Chinese oil installation in Ethiopia and it started to fade.
*Tuesday's early morning raid in Ethiopia's remote southeast Ogaden region near the border with Somalia, left 74 people dead, including nine Chinese oil workers.
*Ethiopian analysts say the unprecedented scale of the attack, claimed by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), suggested it could only have been carried out with support from Islamists in neighboring Somalia.

5. Describe the conflict.
- The conflict with the oil installation, people are dying because of the Somali´s attacks.

6. Based on your research
- geography and timeline, explain why the conflict happened. Which ones are the roots of the conflict?
-Ethiopia neighbors are the roots where this cinflict is happening. The conflict happened because people are not happy anymore about the conflicts that having the oil installation mean.

7. Answer:
a) Who is involved in the conflict? -Khartoum, Sudan and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

b) Where is it happening? -Ethiopia

c) When did it happen and how long has it been going on? April 26, 2007 till today.

Pakistan: A Nation Divided

Which is its location? What countries does it border with?
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India and Iran

What does the geography say about the country?
Status of Kashmir with India; border question with Afghanistan (Durand Line); water-sharing problems (Wular Barrage) over the Indus with upstream riparian India.
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

What is the dominant religion?
Islam

Which other exist?
Christianity, Shia, Hinduism, Muslims,Parsis, Shia, Sunni.

What are the different ethnic groups?
Indo-Aryan, Scynthian, Hun, Dravidian, Mongol, Punjabi.

Which ones are the main customs and traditions?

Every family has its tarditional values and respect them as much as their religion.

Men shake hands with each other. Once a relationship is developed, they may hug as well as shake hands. . Women generally hug and kiss. Pakistanis take their time during greetings and ask about the person's health, family, and business success.

This are some of the symbolical days: Pakistan Day, Independence Day, Defence of Pakistan Day, Pakistan Air Force Day.

**Meeting a Pakistan girl** (Pashtun, Buddhist)

How is this his life different from yours?

I can hang out with any type of friends, I also drink, not a lot, but I do. I live alone with my mom and her boyfriend. I also eat pork.

Which custom caught your attention?

That he can´t have sex, and he can´t hang out with friends that are not of their religion.

How does his religion affect his way of acting?

That he can´t do all the stuff he wants to, because some things are prohibited, and maybe he is shy.

**Interview**

How often do you go to a religuous service? Where?

I go every time I have a chance. I go were people need help.

What happens there?

If people are sick, or their are comunities who need food, or spiritual cures we make meditation activities. Our purpose of life is to end suffering. The Buddha taught that humans suffer because we continually strive after things that do not give lasting happiness.

Do you know anyone of a different religion?How do you get along?

Yes, we interact with other teenagers and other people from different religions, and although we have other traditions we get along very nice.

Do boys and girls hang out socially?Do you go to parties?

Yes we do, but we don´t go to parties, we have our own activities with boys and girls form our comunities. And when we are in the age we get maried, when we become woman.

How many people live in your house? How do you interact?

I live in a house with 20 people, we are together because of our meditations. We interact peacefully, because we have a lot of tranquility.

Who goes to school in your family?

Only the boys who are little, and they go to a special school, that toughts them about our religion and customs.

How do you dress?

We dress with long dresses and with happy colors such as red, yellow, green and when we grow up we start using black and brown.

Which ones are your daily chores?

I wake up at 5 o´clock, then i meditate for 2 hours, i finish and then I go to school, after that I have meal with my family and I work at the market selling some fruit, and at night we have dinner all together.

What does it mean to be belong to your ethnic group?

consists of many tribes and clans which were rarely politically united, until the rise of the Durrani Empire in 1747. Pashtuns played a vital role during the Great Game as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires.

Where are your relatives from?

Afghanistan

Do you hang out with people of other ethnicities? How do you get along?

No.

Do you have to marry someone of your same ethnicity?

Yes.

Describe a typical tradition.

Taaqati-Nasiri, states that in the 7th century BC a people called the Bani Israel settled in Ghor, southeast of Herat, Afghanistan, and then migrated south and east. These references to Bani Israel agree with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed (see Israel and Judah and Ten Lost Tribes), the tribe of Joseph, among other Hebrew tribes, settled in the region. This oral tradition is widespread among the Pashtuns.