Posts by Analise

I'd just about given up on YouthVoices topics when I stood up to grab the remote. The dizziness hit immediately and my body warmed quickly. My vision blurred till I could see nothing but black. As soon as it cleared, I sat back down in front of the ol' laptop and googled "vasovagal syncope".

"Vasovagal syncope is the most common cause of fainting. It occurs when your body reacts in an exaggerated way to such triggers as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. The trigger results in a sudden drop in your heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to your brain and causes you to briefly lose consciousness."

Wal-Mart's done it again. Along with denying legal wages and discriminating against workers of certain sexual orientations, the mega retailer can now add "improperly storing hazardous waste" to their list of wrongdoings. The State of California is calling for $27.6 million in fines and legal costs to account for Wal-Mart's alleged mishandling of toxic substances.

"Wal-Mart was accused of improperly dumping hazardous waste such as acid, aerosols, chemicals, fertilizer, motor oil, paint and pesticides. In one instance, according to an April 2 court filing, investigators in April 2002 observed "piles of multicolored unknown fertilizer type substances and torn sacks of ammonium sulfate" at a Wal-Mart store in Vacaville, California, after learning a child had been playing on a pile of "yellowish colored powder" near the store's garden department."

It seems that such a globally successful company should be able to function under government law, yet the punishment for this crime is a mere slap on the wrist for Wal-Mart.

External video: 

        Michelle Obama announced her promotion of the battle against childhood obesity, a program entitled "Let's Move". 
With 1 in every 3 children suffering from childhood obesity, America is home to the largest children in the world.
As a country, we spend $150 billion a year on diseases related to obesity and it is one of the most common disqualifiers for military service.
         Obama's campaign focuses on four pillars: improving the quality of school meals, making healthy food more accessible to families and informing parents about nutrition and exercise,
Obama also emphasizes the importance of home cooking, claiming that home-cooked meals are healthier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
       The First Lady has also called for $1 billion in federal money to improve school meals

When I first created my Facebook account, I swore I would only befriend people I knew personally. A year or so later, it's become all too easy to simply click "yes" to every friend request and move on. The latest lunchroom gossip has made me question this automatic response; word on the street is that the deans have created fake Facebook profiles dedicated to false names. One classmate recounted a brush with a suspected dean-created profile, in which a student claiming to be in the JM class of 2010 asked him where the parties were taking place that night. Now, Judge isn't the biggest school in the world; in fact, it's downright miniscule. It is extremely difficult  to spend 4 consecutive years with a class of 185-ish and manage to not notice someone. It's all part of the private school method. If these Facebook accounts have indeed been created by the deans in an effort to control their student population from inside, their attempts have so far been rather...weak. And if they weren't produced by the deans, it is still a bit troubling to imagine the poor lonely soul who decided to play the role of a high school student, don't you think?