Montebello E-News

 November 6, 2008  

 There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice.
 Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835 – 1910,
better known by the pen name "Mark Twain", was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer.  Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the "Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is also known for his quotations. During his lifetime, Twain became a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists and European royalty.

[Cowardice derives from fear.  And from what does fear derive?  The certainty of strong, unwavering punishment?]

1.  The Two Faces of Eve

2.  Are We Going to Lose This One?, Part 1

3. Announcements

4. Fun Facts about the Human Body

5. The Flashback Quarterback:  Good News or Bad News?

6. Be Aware and Share:  Nosebleeds

 7. About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”

The Two Faces of Eve

This is a tale of two cities.  Actually, one city with two personalities.  I quote two news briefs from the Montebello Chamber of Commerce Spotlight on Montebello, July – August, 2008:

Southern California Edison (SCE) and the San Gabriel Valley EnergyWise Partnership (SGVEWP) awarded the City of Montebello with a check for $24,989.58 for its work to conserve energy.

Marissa Castro-Salvati, Local Public Affairs Region Manager for SCE, and Michelle Prewitt of Intergy Corp. Presented the check at the June 11 city council meeting.  The Partnership thanked the City for their efforts in exercising energy efficiency within the city buildings.  Castro-Salvati highlighted the progress Montebello has made in achieving a more sustainable city. …

-----

After a three year absence, fireworks filled the skies of Montebello once again.  Hundreds of families turned out with picnic baskets, lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the Fourth of July at Grant Rea Park in Montebello.  The event featured batting cages, a moon bouncer, live entertainment and the fireworks show.  Montebello City Council members Kathy Salazar and Robert Urteaga were on hand to welcome the partygoers to the park. …

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2008 by a local nonprofit organization.

1. What do the two events have in common?

(a) Nothing.

(b) The City of Montebello is involved.

2. Why “The Two Faces of Eve”?

(a) One step forward for the environment through energy saving, one step back through smoke pollution.

(b) Montebello’s most famous citizen is named Eve.

Libertarian ideologues and moneygrubbers stand aside. Make room for the people.
Statement of August 19, 2008, by Don McCanne, retired physician and an advocate on behalf of Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of fourteen thousand American physicians advocating for single-payer national health insurance.

One of the announcements in this issue mentions the deficiencies of our democracy.  Apart from those, there are indications that our democracy is becoming less democratic.  As you read the following, ask yourself whether it would matter how democratic our country was.  In other words, is democracy an end in itself or just a means to an end?  If the latter, then,  if we found a better means, would we replace democracy with something better to achieve the end?

Maryland Troopers Put Peace Activists on Terror Lists 

I can't quite believe that I'm linking to the Washington Times, but they have good coverage of how Maryland troopers spied on activist groups and put people on lists marked with "crimes" such as "terrorism - anti govern(ment)" and "terrorism - anti-war protestors". These are people who attend meetings of small nonprofit organizations concerned with U.S. foreign policy. The focus in the article is on the state troopers, but don't we have to ask why these categories are even listed as "crimes" in the first place? There are over a million people on these lists now (no doubt you know and work with several people on them) and the utter political purpose of the lists has reached a level of absurd obviousness. http://news.gilbert.org/clickthru/redir/6778/10524/rms  

Amnesty Int'l Focuses on Americans' Voting Rights  

You know your democracy is in trouble when Amnesty International starts focusing on voting rights in your country. What country am I talking about? The United States of America. Despite the best efforts of hundreds of civil society organizations, thousands and thousands of people across the U.S. (especially in so-called swing states) are being removed from the voting rolls. The mechanisms for counting votes are less and less transparent. The ballot box is one of the republic's insurance policies against violent change. (Nonviolent non-cooperation, an arguably still more powerful alternative, is increasingly suppressed by violence or the threat thereof in this country.) This makes me wonder if our policy is about to lapse. http://news.gilbert.org/clickthru/redir/6773/10524/rms

FOR EVERYONE.  Would this help all of us?  While not recommending this product at this time, I am very interested in the veracity of the claims.  Use this interactive computer program just 7 minutes a day, and in just 2 weeks you’ll double your reading speed.  … Kids do homework faster and parents can spend more time with the family.  Go to www.eyeq.tv.  I would be interested in your opinion, which might be posted to benefit others:  project_teacher@mymontebello.com.

FOR EVERYONE.  If you are called from an unfamiliar telephone number.  Recently, I missed a call on my cell phone.  Not recognizing the caller’s phone number, I did not return the call.  Going to Google, I typed in the telephone number and learned that there was a Web site which catalogued calls from unfamiliar numbers.  This might be helpful if you receive calls from unfamiliar numbers:  http://whocalled.us/.

FOR EVERYONE.  “The Case for Not Voting”.   Interesting essay about the deficiencies of our democracy.  …The best one can say is that the exercise of democracy rarely leads to catastrophe, or, as James Fenimore Cooper said: “The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.” …  "When offered a choice between two politically intolerable alternatives, it is important to choose neither." To cast a vote is to assent to the flaws of the political system and to the candidates it produces. … So vote, or don't, but either way, don't agonize over it, don't raise an eyebrow at your friends and neighbors if they stay home, and don't worry if the other side wins. Democracy will march on, endlessly entertaining, endlessly frustrating, endlessly compromised, and endlessly mediocre. American greatness has persisted not in spite, but because of this: It is not that our politics make us great; it is that they allow us to do so [be great] on our own.   http://www.culture11.com/article/33277?page_art=1

FOR EVERYONE.  City happenings.  The Web site for the City of Montebello looks better.  Congratulations to our city for the improvement.  Upcoming city events, like meetings, are listed on the home page, http://www.cityofmontebello.com/.

The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.

Human jaw muscles can generate a force of 200 pounds or 90.8 kilograms on the molars.

The Skylab astronauts grew 1.5 - 2.25 inches, that is, from 3.8 - 5.7 centimeters, due to spinal lengthening and straightening as a result of zero gravity.  [Do you see a commercial application for weightlessness?]

The heaviest human brain ever recorded weighed five pounds, one point one ounces, or two point three kilograms.  [Hmm.  We should not go on a brain diet to lose weight.]

Children targets of $1.6 billion in food ads
FTC advises that popular characters be tied to healthful products  
Associated Press, July 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - Marketing food and drinks to children these days occurs with more than just a few television ads. It involves promotional displays at grocery stores and packaging that directs them to Web sites where they can play games, win prizes or send e-cards to a friend.

In all, the nation’s largest food and beverage companies spent about $1.6 billion in 2006 marketing their products to children, according to a Federal Trade Commission report released Tuesday.

About $200 million of that went to cross-promotional campaigns designed to provide children and teens with repeated product exposure across several venues. For example, some 80 films, television shows and video games were used to also promote food and beverages to children and teens, the FTC found.

The commission’s report stems from lawmakers’ concern about growing obesity rates in children. It gives researchers new insight into how much companies are spending to attract youth to their products, and what venues the companies are using for their marketing. To come up with its estimate, the FTC used confidential financial data that it required the companies to provide.

Overall, the spending was much less than some previous estimates had indicated. Still, it represents a large pot of money that is being used to entice children to foods that are often unhealthy choices, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who sought the study.

“This study confirms what I have been saying for years,” Harkin said. “Industry needs to step up to the plate and use their innovation and creativity to market healthy foods to our kids. That $1.6 billion could be used to attract our kids to healthy snacks, tasty cereals, fruits and vegetables.”

$492 million for soda ads alone

The commission studied spending directed at children ages 2-17. Spending on soda marketing came to $492 million, with the vast majority of that spending directed toward adolescents. Fast food restaurants reported spending close to $294 million, which was divided about evenly between children and adolescents. For cereals, companies spent about $237 million, with the vast majority of that targeted to children under age 12.

The 44 companies reviewed spread their marketing across all segments of the media, the commission found. Popular movies were often incorporated into the campaigns. For example, “Superman Returns” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” were prominently linked to many food products last year. Companies created limited-edition snacks, cereals, waffles and candy based on the movies. They offered prizes on the Internet to buyers of those products that ranged from video games to trips to Disney World to a $1 million reward for the capture of villain Lex Luthor.

“The Internet — though far less costly than television — has become a major marketing tool of food companies that target children and adolescents, with more than two-thirds of the 44 companies reporting online, youth-directed activities,” the FTC report said. ...  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25914206

Tips on Nosebleeds, by Janet Staples-Edwards, M.D.,
as excerpted from Spotlight on Montebello, July – August, 2008

I frequently see patients in my office with nosebleeds and often people are extremely worried that something terrible is wrong.  But, most often, nosebleeds are nothing to worry about and can be stopped at home. ...

Here are some tips for stopping nosebleeds:

1. Don’t panic.  Keep calm. ...

2. Keep your head elevated and lean forward so the blood won’t drain down the back of your throat.

3. With your thumb and forefinger squeeze the soft part of the nose with steady, gentle, constant pressure for 10 minutes.  It takes that long for the blood to clot and form a soft scab.

4. Don’t blow your nose or stick anything up there like Kleenex or your finger.  ...

If after several attempts there is no improvement and there is active gushing bleeding from the nose, you will have to go to the ER, where it will be packed with a gauze or the bleeding vessel will be cauterized (burned). ...

... I would also worry about bleeding from both nostrils at the same time.  This may mean the bleeding is coming from higher up in the nose.

Your mother taught you not to pick your nose for a reason:  it causes nosebleeds.

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter, and for submitting stories to “Montebello Memories” at the Web site.