Healthcare Workers Fired for Sexual Mistreatment of Elderly

This article actually caught my eye because it occurred in upstate New York, which is exactly where I'm from, so I thought I'd read it. Four nursing home workers were fired for sexual humiliating two elderly patients at a nursing home. Two nursing assistants put a male patient who was legally blind and suffering from dementia in bed with a female patient with mild retardation and schizophrenia in a bed together, and tried to tell the man it was his wife, even though his wife was in the room. They then said provocative phrases to try to get the two to touch each other, then took cell phone pictures of the whole ordeal. The two assistants were fired, along with two employees who witnessed the act but said nothing to their supervisor. Both nursing assistants were fined $4000, and the witnesses fined $500. No one was criminally charged.

This absolutely disgusts me. I think it's horrible that the people who are hired aren't trustworthy, even after being interviewed. First of all, I think it was stupid of the nursing assistants. Did they think they wouldn't get caught? And what pleasure did they get out of the whole ordeal anyways? I can't imagine seeing that would entertain me one bit. And the nursing assistants obviously didn't realize that jobs aren't necessarily easy to come by these days. They were put out of "good standing," which stops them from being able to work at nursing homes. These nursing assistants had probably trained for positions at nursing homes, and now they won't be able to get any. Woops! But bottom line is, behavior like this is NOT okay.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110330/us_nm/us_abuse_elderly

Low Levels of Radiation Found in U.S. Milk

This article starts off announcing that low levels of radiation were found in milk in the state of Washington. The FDA says that findings such as this are to be expected in the next few days due to the nuclear crises in Japan. Levels of radiation are supposed to drop quickly, though. For example, Iodine has a half life of only eight days. Levels of radiation are still 5,000x lower than what people would need to get "concerned" over, according to the FDA. The EPA says it will be increasing the monitoring of milk. Sales of spinach and milk from some areas of Japan are blocked, but this should not be hurting the U.S. too much. The amount of radiation some Americans are experiencing is virtually nothing.

Reading the title of this article made me worried. I was thinking about how much milk I drink, and how I could be hurting myself by simply drinking milk, but the article ended up being reassuring. I was glad it explained how minuscule the amount of radiation actually is. I liked that they shared how the sale (or lack thereof) of products from Japan would not affect America too greatly, as they supply less than 4% of imports, and it's mostly processed foods, fruits and vegetables. This article made me think that America looked selfish, however. It made no mention of how people in Japan are doing or dealing with this crisis, which made me sad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42348512/ns/health-health_care/

The Three Colors You Should Be Eating

This was an article on Yahoo! about healthy living. The article describes how loading up on different kinds of super foods is easy because nature "colors" its different super foods. Each color represents different phytochemicals. The three colors suggested to pay attention to the most are dark green, red and orange. It suggests eating 5.5-6 cups of red/orange vegetables a week. Examples of red and orange foods include red bell peppers, strawberries and carrots. It then says one should be eating 1.5-2 cups of dark green vegetables daily. Examples of "dark greens" include spinach and broccoli.

I think reading articles like this is very important for maintaining a healthy, functioning body. Most people are aware of calories, and that eating too many calories is bad, and not eating enough calories will make you lose weight. However, not all people know about things like nutrients in foods. It was interesting to me that different colors represent different nutrients and chemicals. I knew it was important to eat vegetables, but I didn't know that carrots were orange because they were a different kind of nutritious than red bell peppers. This article was interesting and informative.

Getting Your Skin Ready For Spring

This article is helping people watch out for their skin now that the sun is finally coming out. The first tip they give is to toss out old sunscreens--SPF loses its efficacy after a year or so. The next tip is guided by this rule: "You won't use what you can't see." They suggest using a shallower drawer for skin care products, so that you use what you have, and things don't get old. The next tip says that heavy creams used during winter won't suffice for spring. Our skin responds to different products during different seasons, so it's recommended to use oil-free products. The next thing suggested is to use a lighter moisturizer with SPF--one with a more mousse-like consistency. It then advises to use "green" products, that are free of preservatives and other unnecessary chemicals. The next tip is more fashion based, which suggests using a neon lipstick. The penultimate tip is to use a product that reduces skin unevenness, and the last tip is to try to use the more pricey, scientific products.

I think reading articles like this is very important. Many girls my age aren't concerned with how they'll be affected later in life by skin damage, so they go outside all the time without SPF or worse, go tanning in tanning beds. I can't say I'm perfect--I'm not a religious sunscreen user, but I try my best. Skin cancer runs in my family so it's very important for me to figure out how to take the best care of my skin, especially when spring and summer are (hopefully) just around the corner. I plan on using an oil-free sunscreen daily that has SPF 55.

10 Amazing Tropical Escapes

This article is simply about ten amazing tropical escapes. The first place is Bonaire, which is in the Caribbean, and is famous for diving, snorkeling, kayaking, bird-watching, hiking and horseback riding. Next is Arunachal Pradesh in India, which is famous for its rich wildlife and culture. Next is Singapore, which offers cosmopolitan opportunities, as well as tropical vacation-type opportunities. Next is Hawaii's Big Island. Hawaii has an active volcano, along with black sand beaches and coffee plantations. Following this is Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. This national park has abundant wildlife, and you're even allowed to stay right in the park, with air-conditioning. Next is the Wet Tropics of Queensland in Australia, followed by the U.S. Virgin Islands, which is very peaceful. Following the Virgin Islands is Vanuatu, which is only three hours from Sydney, Australia. Vanuatu was named the happiest nation of them all, with abundant sunshine and wildlife. The last two destinations are Panama and Dominica.

This article simply interests me because I love traveling. Although it's hard for me to do now, I plan to travel as much as possible when I'm an adult. I don't plan to buy many "things." For example, I don't really need a fancy car. I'd rather get a car that works well that's cheap than one that's extremely pleasing to the eye and expensive. Hopefully I'll be able to travel more with the money I'll save from things like that. I also like reading articles like this because it helps open my eyes to what the world's really like. I know it's common the simply think about places within an hour of Alexandria, but reading about places like these really opens my eyes to help me realize just how interesting our planet is.

New milestone: 1 in 6 US residents Hispanic

This article is about the growing number of Hispanics in America. There are 50 million, or one in six, Hispanics in America. Apparently, they account for approximately half of the US population growth in the last ten years. More than 9 million Americans checked more than one race on the census survey, which is up 32% from 2000. The Census Bureau reported that the US is predominantly whites, followed by Hispanics, followed by blacks, followed by Asians. The Census Bureau doesn't ask about citizenship: it simply counts everyone living here. The number of Asians in America is increasing at a faster rate than African Americans, for the first time in many, many years. The percent of non-Hispanic white men decreased 5%. In ten states, children who are minorities reached or passed 50%.

This article is very interesting to me. I was aware the Hispanic population was growing, but I didn't know it was growing so fast. I think it's wonderful that America's so diverse--I like that we continue to fit the "melting pot" description that we so along ago acquired. However, I'm also aware that many of those people are not legal citizens. I am able to see their point of view. I know that sometimes, life in Mexico can be VERY hard, and getting to America is a struggle as well. However, I also know it's necessary to look at it from the American point of view. Americans who pay taxes are forced to support these illegal immigrants, when the immigrants pay no taxes. I am completely fine with immigrants--I just think it's important that they learn English and become legal citizens.

Idol Paul McDonald & His Amazing Technicolor Dreamsuit

This article is about American Idol contestant Paul McDonald, who spent $4,500 dollars on a custom made "Nudie suit." Paul did make it into the final 13. His look was inspired by people of the 60s and 70s like Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Gene Autry, Porter Wagoner, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, John Lennon, Glenn Campbell, Elton John and George Jones. Apparently, Paul isn't the only modern musician to be wearing these crazy outfits. Mike Mills is also wearing these Nudie suits. All idol contestants are warned that they need to stand out. Paul is definitely standing out.

So yeah, it's cool that Paul's standing out and all, but I think it's ridiculous that he had to spend $4,500 to do it. I think he should stand out because of his talent, not his wardrobe. American Idol is a SINGING competition, not a fashion show. It also makes me mad because I always feel like money like that could go to a way better cause. Every American in this country, on average, is more than $50,000 in debt, yet we spend money on things like $4,500 on suits? I think this is preposterous. Paul was saying that he was happy to be getting a lot of publicity, because apparently publicity=votes, but I will not be voting for Paul.