Massive rise in Asian eye damage

Up to 90% of school leavers in major Asian cities are suffering from myopia - short-sightedness - a study suggests.

Researchers say the "extraordinary rise" in the problem is being caused by students working very hard in school and missing out on outdoor light.

I found this piece of news very interesting and like a view to the future of many countries here, in Europe. Currently, from 15 people who we are now in class, 10 are wearing glasses. In my case I think that the myopia was caused from reading with to less light and also genetically.

I also have to say that the "modern" way of teaching make this problem worse: there are many classes in which we are with the light off, blinds down and the PowerPoint on. And then we must write and take notes. I don't understand how the others don't care about this. I also try to get natural light (all the others don't like it) or ask to turn on the light. Or also being in front of the laptops and computers doing viral activities don't make it better.

At home, students also have to do homework, normally with artificial light or are relaxing (or doing more homework) in front of the computer.

It's definitly a modern problem.

The silent revolution of Iceland

2008, In Iceland, the village has a government resign completely, imprisoned the responsible for the financial crisis in jail, nationalized most of the banks and they decided not to pay the debt that they have created with Britain and the Netherlands.

They created a popular assembly and rewrite their constitution. And all this peacefully.

The Iceland revolution has taken place before the Arabian Revolution begun. Why we didn't know this? I'm wondering why it wasn't on TV even it was successful. Currently, the previsions for Iceland are about 1,5% in 2012., what's about three times more that similar countries in the euro zone.

In my opinion, the governments of EU were afraid of the power of the village. If "normal", working people (I'm not saying that politicians aren't normal, I'm referring to people with a basic salary) would have taken example, what might have happened in mmany europeen countries?

Newspaper Suspension

Here you can read the news about the suspension of a newspaper in Kuwait.

In March 2012, a criminal court suspended the newspaper of Kuwait for three months and sentenced the editor to a six-month suspended jail term and fined him US$ 3,500 for publishing articles that "raise sectarian strife." They clearly don't respect the right of free speech; freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."

Here in Spain the situation is different; every newspaper can say what they want, sometimes they are accused to be too offensive with someone and there are economical fines. What's more, newspaper can't be suspended.

I don't think that I or any group, which isn't from Kuwait, can change anything about this issue. It's a matter of the people there, they need to understand that the suspension are against their human rights and accept the challenge to fight again it. If they are too fewer people or the most of the population don't care because they are afraid it's impossible to make a change.

Germany dividing Europe?

The popular cartoonist Stathis Stavropoulos has caused problems with his latest drawing.

It is one of his typical pictures: a German soldier, a gas chamber and a caption about Greek jobs being burnt. Comic art that draws on a growing anti-German feeling, as Greeks hit out at a country seen as pushing the austerity drive and deepening the recession.

"Germany has already tried twice to make Europe German," he says. "This time it's through economic means. We have to resist that. We have no bad feelings towards the German people - only towards the government and European banks."

The rift between the two countries has grown steadily; there is increasing resentment among Germans that they are largely footing the bill for the ever-growing Greek bailouts. German media have written about Greeks as lazy and unproductive.

Well, obviously my point of view is like many Germans. Greece should be grateful about the help which Germany is offering to them. I also understand that for the Greeks it's difficult to support the effort of all the saving-money laws, but I don't understand why they attack the country which is helping them more than any other. It's more, the arguments aren't currently, the cartoonist only has token this part of the history to make more trouble with his cartoon.

I don't think that any country would give a lot (and I really mean a lot..) of money to an other without imposing rules which had to be fulfilled. Moreover, Greeks can't expect money or help from other countries without changing their system.

A Chinese constructor company builds a building of 15 floors in two days

It's seems like science-fiction but it's reallity: a Chinease company builds an hotel with 15 floors in less than two days. Here you can see the video it's incredible! It's a new world Record.

That's show us how diferent cultures have different ways to do things. I remember the construction of the house wich is in front of our appartment: they need more than two years to built it...

Sure, maybe they haven't fulfilled all the security rules or the Chinease construction rules are diferent from the European. But I think the hotel is a good and secure construction. I'm sure that they will change some details in the rooms or review all what they have built before the hotel will be open.

Burn out

I'm going to talk about the burnout syndrome. It's a very current topic in the German TV.

Burnout basically means physical or emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress.

It's recently happen to children which just starting out in sport are unlikely to be affected. The symptoms of burnout can be physical, mental and/or emotional. But also to people who are working more than just 40 hours a week can burn they out. For example, putting in more than an eight-hour-day five days a week makes you six times more likely to suffer ‘burnout syndrome’. Or also a worker with more than 16 years' service in the same place of work is five times more at risk of developing this form of the syndrome than another worker with a service record of less than four years.

Burnout can happen if excessively high expectations are placed on a child by parents or coaches and they are pushed too hard too quickly.

The symptoms can be confusing for parents but being aware of them is important because the severe cases can lead to clinical depression.

If the patient has a family, partner o children they can act as a protection because then the people are focused on other tasks.

I think that’s a very interesting topic because it’s a disease which will increase (and it’s already increasing) a lot in the next years. It’s because the stress and the high expectations who has everybody from the own life or other people.

It’s real. Who are you nowadays, without a job? If you don’t study and get good marks at school and University, you don’t will have a job, without job no money and with no money and no everything. So, in conclusion it all depends of how hard you study in University. I also have read than more and more students are suffering this syndrome.

Sometimes I also think that it could happen to me. All the weeks of exams, which you’re only working and have no social life? I don’t like them. However, I’m also conscious that this is necessary. If I work more now, I will life better in the future.

My tip is to be conscious that University will be important for your life, but to combine it with other activities, even you think that you don’t have enough time. There’s always half hour to go jogging, to go for a walk with the dog or phone a friend.

It’s the combination which makes you work right.

Rowing: Holiday over for Olympic rowers

For Great Britain's rowers, the holiday is over and the battle to make the 2012 team begins now.
Between this October and next August, they will have one Sunday off a month. Birthdays are missed, there is no chance for a quick weekend away, friends' weddings arranged around them.Miles and miles will be covered in the gym, on rowing machines known as "ergos" and out on the lake at GB rowing HQ in Caversham, and there are extremely tough training camps ongoing around Europe.





The olympic rowers has got three weeks holidays. I think that's a very short time, but it's also necessary. Fort they, sport is their job. In this case a job with only one free day at month.
I know that after three weeks without rowing the level has decrease a lot. It's cost more to make the same distance your are more tired in less time..

I'm sure they have a lot of pressure. This year the Olympics are in London and for they it would be great to win this time, beinig "at home". It's always more motivation if your make a regatta at your own city.

In the news they talk about ergo's... I know them well. It's a type of machine in the gym and it's like rowing. At the moment, when I go to the gym I make 15 minuts to warm up and later about intervals of 5 minuts, but with more force. Many people in the team don't like ergometre, but I think it's a good way to increase your strenght when it's raining or you can't be on the water.

I think that maybe this way to row ("mobile bank") it's less tireing than the meditarranea rowing. Their boats weight few quilos, a individually boat can be carry on with only one person. Our boats weight hunderts of quilos (I think about 400- 500 kg more or less). Obviously, we must make more force. Even so, I want to try the other way to rowing because it's more international and you can do it around the world.

Is the euro about to capsize?

These days nearly every day in the news, they are talking about Greece and the Euro.

Investors believe that Greece cannot possibly repay its debts. Greece is a small country. And if it stopped repaying its debts and/or left the euro, re-denominating its debts into devalued drachmas, the losses to its bond investors would be manageable. The real problem is that what is true of tiny Greece can equally be true of much bigger Spain and Italy.

I think I have a different point of view like my classmates. The reason is that I'm German. It's logical that we must help Greece, but Germany are spending a lot ofmoney. There are many other problems in Germany that could be result with this money.

From my point of view, Germany is forced to help because it's one of the strongest and richest countries in the EU. But that has a reason, they always work hard and invest in new technologies. Shall they pay for other countries who don't do the same? If every single of the governments in the other countries would to the best even when they aren't in crisis, the case of Greece, Italy and Spain probably would not have happened.

In my opinion it's sad to live in a country where are 21 % (or more, I don't know it exactly) of unemployees. And that a 46% of them is young people who had left the University. What kind of future has a country like that? Germany is searching young people from Spain to come to work!!! (there the tax is less than 7 %). At the moment to only way to get a good job and make a carree is leaving Spain.

However, I was talking about the €uro. I think that the governments probably should have made more laws and rules how to act in a case like this. On this way, they could have prevented the disaster that's happening now.

Spain: Earthquake rocks Lorca, Murcia, killing 10

On Wednesday evening's quake came about two hours after a 4.4-magnitude tremor.The magnitude-5.2 tremor toppled several buildings. For that reason, as night fell many people were still too afraid to return to their homes and they have spent the night outdoors in the southern Spanish town of Lorca after an earthquake which killed at least 10 people.

Lines of cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble and a hospital was evacuated as a precaution. Spanish TV captured dramatic images of a church bell tower crashing to the ground, landing just metres from a cameraman. Shocked residents and workers rushed out of buildings and gathered in squares, parks and open spaces. Old buildings were badly damaged and on the streets are many people with injuries

The quake is the most serious to hit Spain in about 50 years. Normally, Spain has hundreds of earthquakes every year but most of them are too small to be noticed.

I think that the people are too much fixed at the earthquake in Japan. The spanish goverment have know this problem since a lot of years. The reason for these eartquakes is that Murcia is close to the large faultline beneath the Mediterranean Sea where the European and African continents meet. There were a lot of eartquakes during the last 50 years and the most of the houses there were still break down or broken from others earquakes. I think if the politicans know that this is a dangerous area, they could give them money to renew the building and made them more save or install some warning sistems.

Japan

A powerful explosion has hit a nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan which was badly damaged in 11 of March devastating earthquake and tsunami.

A building housing a reactor was destroyed, but authorities said the reactor itself was intact, but officials later announced the cooling system of a second reactor at the plant had failed.

The news sparked fears of a the risk of a further explosion or leak of radioactive material.

An evacuation zone around the damaged nuclear plant has been extended to 20km (12.4 miles) from 10km, and a state of emergency declared.

A huge rescue and relief operation is under way in the region after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which are thought to have killed more than 1,000 people.

An estimated 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.

The government has urged residents to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected.

Air and steam, with some level of radioactivity, was earlier released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside.

The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages.

The scenes of devastation there are enormous - giant shipping containers, buildings, cars, trash and some fires are still burning close to the harbour. More than 90% of the houses in three coastal communities had been washed away by the tsunami.

In my opinion the biggest disaster is the nuclear explosion. It's a danger what will be there for a lot of time. The consequences of the tsunami or the earthquake can be repair, but the radioactive material will be there for a long, long time. What's also bad luck is that the central of Fukusima is one of the biggest central's in the world. They always say that only two or three reactors exploit, but one of them equally to ELEVEN of normal reactors!

Another fact what I find important is that nearly a third of the population in Japan are older than 65 years. Yesterday I saw a reportage from a woman tried to renew his house. She said that it will cost more than 10 years to return live how it was before the Tsunami. And it's logical that for old people it's more difficult return to begin from zero.

And at last, I think that the government aren't good. They didn't explain to the population in what danger they really are. The whole world is wondering why the Japanese are still so calm. Well, I think that the reason is that they don't know what is really happens. They probably only think that it was another earthquake and that a nuclear central exploited. I think If they would know what really means that for them, they wouldn't be so calm like now.

In conclusion, I think that this drama will affect Japan for a long time. They will lose a lot of Turism, also the population is poorer and there will not be good economy.

Merkel and Erdogan about integration

"First Turkish or German?"


Erdogan's visit to the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover is not without controversy. Chancellor Angela Merkel has responded to comments made by Turkish Prime Minister about what language should I learn first the children of migrants.

"The integration of migrants of Turkish origin in Germany is a very important point for us. Erdogan will try this issue to balance, but more important is learning German "

Erdogan does not see it, quite the opposite. The Prime Minister recommends to the families of Turkish immigrants who teach their children first and then German. In Europe asks you to remove or soften its visa policy.

Integration is a sensitive issue in Germany since last year the director of the Bundesbank, Thilo Sarrazin, declared that the large influx of Muslims is destroying the German identity.

I have seen this topic at the news and I find it very actual. I think that the president of Turkey is not right. It isn't logical to tell all the Turkish people (in GERMANY!!) that the first have to learn Arab, but he also says that the integration is important. That is contradictory!

How can children and people integrate if they didn't know German? If they didn't want to learn the language of this country why did they come?

I think that the president has missed an important chance for the country. If he had said that people must integrate and learn Germany, nearly secure that a lot of immigrants would do it. He is an important person for them and for that reason it's very important his opinion.

I think that the director of the Bundesbank is right with his affirmation that they are changed and destroyed the German identity and culture. I see it specially now when I'm in Germany: for example, when I was in Frankfurt, nearly every second shop was from Turks and always the main titles were on Turkish. And there were also a lot of them at the street, also young people who should be at school were there.

In my opinion the most of them only come to charge money of the country. In Germany the people who hasn't a job gets money, and it hasn't a limit. In other words: you can live well all your life without doing anything. Of course there are exceptions and families who the parents work and the children goes to school or University, but the most of them doesn't do this.

In conclusion I think that the people who come from other countries should learn the language and use the chance for a better life and education.

Why Facebook wants your phone number

Some days ago I read an articel called: Why Facebook wants your phone number.

I thought about two questions:

Why does Facebook want your phone number and address?

And, is it in my interest to put this personal information to the network?

Let's start with the first question.

Facebook, doesn't want to call you to chat, or stop by your house for tea. So what's its motive for asking for these personal details?

The social network says this info helps app developers create programs and games and little social widgets that make Facebook more fun and useful.

Potential examples: A travel app could send you text messages if your flight is going to be late; a shopping app wouldn't have to ask you where to send a gift you bought -- it would just send it to your default Facebook address.

But I think that the real reason is that Facebook wants to be, like Google, a personalized center of the interne.


That sounds practically, but I think it isn't good to show to much personal information about you in the internet. Only with a name and the birthaday you can buy in intenet nearly everything, and the bill goes to the real name (in these case, not the real buyer).

Pollution

Pollution is a worldwide problem which does not respect national boundaries and is likely to intensify as the spread of industrial development continues. BBC News looks at some of the places around the world which are hardest hit by pollution.



When I read this new I was surprised that Spain where too on this map of pollution. Later there explian that there was the major oil spill, in 2002, who was polluted more than 3,000 km of coastline. The spill is estimated to have killed 300,000 seabirds, making it one of Europe's worst wildlife disasters. The economic cost of the accident to fishing and tourism has been put at about 5bilion euros.

I think that pollution is a worldwide problem and this map show it's perfectly. In nearly every continent (except Australia) there are pollution problems.

In my opinion we, the humans, are very destructive. Yesterday I saw a reportage of the evolution. One thing that I remember very clearly was a sentence from a scientific:

- The Neanderthals lived a long time and they mostly ate meat. But in all the history they never die-out any species of animals. The "modern human" lived a "short time" and has made that every day die-out two species. The question is: are we genetically destructive?

I think that he has right with his question: maybe we are automatically destructive. I don't like that humans think that they are the most important existence on the world. There are a lot of interesting plants and animals. We should learn more about the nature that would help us a lot to understand or to make our life more practical.

I took this photo (on the left) yesterday. That also shows that pollution affects everywhere that it isn't only on the jungle and on the news in television. It affect all the people around the world and we shouldn't ignore it.

Paul the World Cup octopus dies

Paul the Octopus was a common octupus rom England, who lived in a tank at a Sea Life Center in Germany.Paul became internationally famous for correctly predicting the winner of each of Germany's seven matches at the 2010 Wordl Cup, as well as the final.

Now, Paul has died. He was two-and-half years old, and I think he was a real phenomeon. He enthused people across every continent.
The first time I saw him on the German TV, and only two days later I saw news in the Internet (in spanish and english). I was surprised that everyone knows about him. And at the school everybody know him too, and talk about what he predict for a match. After a few days, ther were a lot of groups in Facebook, he was on every TV programm or news... He really becomes famous very fast! In wikipedia are definitons about him in more than 40 languages!!!
There was a funny detaill too, that when Paul predicted the win from Germany vs. Argentina, there in a cook-show, cooks a recipe with an octopus! They were angry with Paul...


I think the people were so fascinated because he could preview nearly every match correctly. Paul begun his career before the FIFA, but nearly nobody knows. In 2008 he predict the UEFA Europe, and only fail two matches from the six who playes Germany.
But in 2010 he preview ALL matches from Germany good!


The question is: how could he make that?
At the beggining I thought that this was only conscidence, that he was very lucky to choose the recipient with the flag, but then I view that he was always alright. Can this only be luck? But if the answer is no, how managed he it?

An octopus is intelligent as a two-year-old child, he can plan and anticipate play, act and play. But even so, no two-year-old child can preview all the matches right: how did Paul do this?
Every newspaper around the world asked this same thing: The Washington Post Paul assumed a clairvoyant abilities, "Le Monde" spoke of virtually unbeatable predictions and The Japanese AFP Paul assumed a possible unreliability before the England game.


After the World Cup and during his long life (for a octopus the lifetime is about 1 year), he had changed a lot of things, and because him there desenvoloup a lot of funny historys:

- An municipality in Spain collected 30,000 euros to buy Paul. This should Paul be presented as an attraction of the local octopus festival. The same village appointed Paul on 13 July 2010 an honorary citizen of the city.

- Industry Minister Miguel Sebastián and Environment Minister Elena Espinosa suggested to bring him to Spain, "so that the Germans him not eat."

- In China media reports of Paul have created a culinary wave. The consumption of cephalopods, squid, such as octopus in Asia had grown rapidly. They also madea film, who comes in cinemas this year called: Kill octopus Paul.

-The community of Marina di Campo Elba has decided in October 2010, to name a street "Via Paul Polpo (octopus Paul Street).



And now, since the 3th November there are Paul II! We will see if he can predict like Paul... :)


..................................................Paul II.........................................

Which country has the best brains?

Over the past week, the Nobel prizes have been awarded in chemistry, medicine, peace, physics and literature.

The awards are an annual ritual celebrating human intellectual endeavour that began in 1901.Over the intervening 109 years, more than 500 prizes have been awarded.

But which nation can claim the most winners?
The top three are US (323 winners), UK (117 winners) and Germany, with 103 winners. Others are France and Sweden.

And here are my opinion about that:

I think that the Nobel prices are the most important price for anyone scientific, author or economist. It must be a great feeling to win it.

And it's also important for the countries because so they show the intelligence and good education of the country. That shows clearly which countries are the best in the different categories.

For example, in investigation (medicine, chemistry and physics) US and Germany are the best. What does this mean? That only there are good scientific's? Of course, no! But it reflects that there are good Universitys and the state worry about the people.

That's what I didn't like here in Spain. If you want to study, you have to have money, to pay the University, the flat, etc. It's very expensive, and I think because that there are many young people who don't go study, although pass well the "batxillerat". Of course, in Germany it's also very expansive, but there the state worry about this kind of young people.

There, if you want to study, but don't have enough money, you can request support and money. Logical, that you have to return it, but later, you can pay it when you have a job.

I think that's a very better system than the Spanish. If they don't invest in this young people, they don't study, don't get a good job, and don't want to win never a Nobel price. Well, this is maybe exaggerated, but I think that's works like that.

Why people here in Spain or other countries often after finished their career on University went to another county? Because there the state or some company invest more money in their! There, they have more chances, to leverage more their studies.

I think that the system need to change. I don't find good that people who want to study don't can do it, only because the state don't support them.

Stress, a risk factor we should monitor carefully

In the last English class I have read an article about stress. There, they tell us that stress can transform in illness. That's because the many situations during the day, or when you have to do a lot of things in a short time. They also say that when we change our behaviour we can preview a lot of problems with the health.

I think that they are right. During the day, and specially in the routine, I'm nearly ever stressed- I think it's not good for the health to submit too many stress, for example in the typical exams weeks at school. During these days I feel very stressed because I must study every day, went to rowing training, do the homework, think also that If I don't pass the exam I must be better at the next...

I agree with the author that stress can be dangerous for health. The first time I really notice that was last year, during the last weeks in 4rt ESO. There were the final exams, and we have a lot of things to do in very shortly time. Every night I study until midnight or more, and still so, I had the feeling don't have to study enough. So, I woke up at six or 7 o'clock in the morning to study more.

During these days I was very tired, nervous, and very very sensitive. For example, maybe it was 11 o'clock in the night and If I don't do correctly some exercise, don't understand something, or simply couldn't study more, I began to cry. And the same thing happened to other friends from me, we simply couldn't be more.

When, finally, these terrible weeks ending, I was very exhausted and I slept a lot of hours every day.

Because of this, I notice how dangerous can be stress. It's very logical that If you ever are submitted under stress, you are ending ill or with some disease.

So, I think we can preview the stress if we organize better and make breaks and relax us a few minutes between every task. For example, if I know that I have an exam in a week, to prevent stress, I begin to stuffy every day ten or twenty minutes or made summaries from the differents subjects.

Theoretical, every time when I know I have an exam, I propose myself to do that (to study every day), but nearly never I really do it. I think that's what the author of the article means; that we know how to avoid the stress, but don't do it.