If printing, please conserve by doing so on the front and back of each sheet.  Reduce font size if necessary.

Montebello E-News

 September 30, 2010

Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science.  Truth is what stands the test of experience.  Albert Einstein

Is not something missing here? Axioms of science are based on obtaining the same or similar results through experimentation. Ethical axioms must include desired values, that is, we wish to replicate only those actions which lead to desired values.

1. Announcements
 2.   Can Greek Mythology Save Us?
3. About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”

This is a very good thing. Anybody may see what the Montebello Rotary Club is doing by going to http://www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/home/homeD.asp?cid=6911, according to club president Robert Monzon. Doing so would keep us informed of community activities of Rotary.

Flea market every second Saturday of the month. The Montebello Adult Transition Program is sponsoring a swap meet once a month. Please join us for some great deals every second Saturday of each month. We can be found in the parking lot by the girls gym on the northeast corner of Wilcox and Madison in Montebello, just south of the DMV. Vendors are selling new and used clothes, baby stuff, cleaning supplies, furniture, hand-made jewelry and other hand crafted items. We even have a fresh vegie cart. Jesse the DJ is there every month to share and sell his great music mixes for parties of all kinds. It's worth it just to come to hear Jesse's music. Come support MHS's Adult Transition Program fundraiser by becoming a vendor or customer. For vendor information call (323) 356-0439. Reserve your space now.

E tempo da giocare. (It's time to play.) On October 14, 2010, the Montebello Historical Society will present it 2010 "Evening in Italy" & 90th Anniversary of the City of Montebello at 6:00 PM at the Montebello Senior Center. A full spaghetti dinner with dessert will be provided. Tickets are available for a $25.00 donation. There will be a raffle and door prizes. For further information, please contact Gary Brougher at (323) 721-8779. The Montebello Historical Society sincerely thanks you for your continued support.

Hollywood comes to Montebello again. You are cordially invited every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday during the month of October to the Heavenly Plaza annual "Halloween Make-Up and Haunted House" classes. Famous movie monsters , gory and bloody sessions are Saturday mornings at 11:00 am , future monsters will learn how to create vampire bites, put on fangs, pirate scars, bullet holes, burns and werewolves plus our exciting haunted house create your own monster props. Every Thursday night at 6:00 pm teens will love the Gothic and beauty make-up tips plus exotic eyes and free eyelashes for ladies who arrive at 5:45. Moms, Tuesday nights at 6:00 learn how to turn your little girl into the princess of her dreams, plus Avatar, clowns, skeletons, Spiderman and this year our newest class, "Dia de Los Muertos" faces and props. ... Free make- up classes classes are open to ages 12 and up. Seating is limited. ... Call 323-728-2728 for complete class schedule and reservations.

Where to turn to sustain our local economy? From Euronews, July 29, 2010, translated from the German. ... [The American company] First Solar manufactures thin-film solar cells and has become one of the largest employers in the region. Thus, there came an end to an exodus of young people who could not find work [in Frankfurst, Germany]. One of the employees of First Solar is Matthias Boehm. "I probably would have been forced to move away," he said. "But with First Solar I can stay here, with friends and family. I like that. You can see how the economy grows along with the company." ... Going to Europe was logical for First Solar, because the German market for renewable energy was more progressive than that of the US. ...

Something for our service clubs to ponder.    ... In looking at what volunteering offers, Professor Kahne distinguishes among three types of citizens: "personally responsible" — that is they help people they know and donate blood; participatory citizens, who are active in community projects; and justice-oriented citizens, who examine causes and possible solutions for society’s ills. "We believe that all three dimensions of citizenship are important, but found that most programs do not address all three and generally pay least attention to the last," Professor Kahne said. In fact, if teenagers — and adults for that matter — are thrust in a volunteer situation they don’t understand or feel that they are simply being assigned made-up work, it can actually have a detrimental effect. ...  A 2008 survey of admissions officers from the top 50 colleges and universities by the organization DoSomething.org, found that admissions officers consistently put a higher value on continuous volunteering over several years at a local place than a short-term stint overseas. ...    From The New York Times, July 30, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/your-money/31shortcuts.html

Tell your friends, grandparents, and neighbors about this. On August 12, 2010, I received a call from the National Telemarketing Victim Call Center. The speaker gave advice and did not ask for a donation. This nonprofit organization is supported by the AARP Foundation and others. Anyone may avail herself / himself of the organization's service. From the center's Web site at www.ntvcc.org: The NTVCC has partnered with local, state and federal law enforcement and obtained names and telephone numbers of victims and / or potential victims ("leads") pursuant to search warrant raids [on telemarketers]. We operate a Call Center or "Reverse Boiler Room" where volunteers gather to contact fraud victims and other people at risk. The Fraud Fighter volunteers warn of high pressure telephone "pitches" promising low risk/high profit investment or prize opportunities in hopes of preventing further victimization. They talk about current scams, offer tips on avoiding fraud, and provide referrals to local agencies. According to Congress, Americans lose nearly $40 billion each year to fraudulent marketing. Every day, con artists contact people by telephone, mail and over the internet with new scams. The criminals pretend to offer jobs, credit cards, lottery tickets or can't miss investments. They might ask you to make a donation, or pay taxes to claim a big prize. If you ever do business with a dishonest telemarketer, your name and phone number may get added to lists of interested buyers. Criminals buy these lists from each other and often target these consumers with all kinds of fraudulent offers. Fraud and scams take a heavy toll on consumers, especially older consumers. Victims lose their financial security and their peace of mind. Most older adults who suffer a large loss from fraud never recover the money. ...

Have you heard the story about casting the first stone, in the Book of John, chapter 8? The massacre of dozens of South and Central American migrants in Mexico as they sought to reach the U.S. has shocked the Mexican public and sparked debate over the lack of protection for foreign migrants when Mexican politicians frequently complain of the treatment its citizens receive in the U.S. as illegals. Mexican authorities say they have increased their efforts to penalize military or police officials who carry out or aid abuses against migrants, but human-rights advocates argue migrant abuse is entrenched all the way from the local to the federal level. As abstracted in UN Wire, August 27, 2010, from a report in The Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2010.

Music and a child's brain. Children who take part in musical training have an advantage in learning that spills over to skills that include language, speech, memory, attention, and even vocal emotion. Research on the effects of music training on the nervous system has strong implications for education, says Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences and Neurobiology at Northwestern University and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory. ...   July 23, 2010. http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/music-lessons-give-kids-brains-a-workout/

Yes, dramatic.   ... Taiwan's 1995 introduction of a single payer system of universal National Health Insurance provides us with a natural experiment on the impact of single payer reform on health outcomes. The results are dramatic. The rate in reductions of deaths due to disorders that are amenable to health care were nine times the reductions in deaths from non-amenable causes. Nine times! [In other words, when treatable ailments are treated, there is a large reduction in deaths.] The United States should be especially interested in these results since, in a study of nineteen industrialized nations, we have the worst rate of amenable mortality (link above). We have over 100,000 excess deaths per year due to disorders amenable to health care. ...   From an e-newsletter by Don McCanne, M.D., August 4, 2010.

Could anyone have written a better comedy? The top executives at the nation's five largest for-profit health insurance companies pulled in nearly $200 million in compensation last year — while their businesses prepared to hit ratepayers with double-digit premium increases, according to a new analysis conducted by healthcare activists. ...   Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2010, http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-insurance-salaries-20100811,0,7386070.story .

Are we really so different? We might shake our heads at the lack of higher standards in China, but how much better are we? Have you read Cadillac Desert​? Severe flooding has swelled the mighty Yangtze River, taxing the ability of the much-heralded Three Gorges Dam to hold back its rushing waters -- and threatening a major disaster in the event of the dam's failure. Critics say that the dam, whose construction cost as much as $75 billion, was always a sign of arrogance. Just one year after the dam reached full operation, officials have dialed back their projections of the durability of the dam, while scientists have expressed concerns that the rising reservoir levels could contribute to landslides and even earthquakes.   Abstracted in UN Wire, August 16, 2010, from an article in the Los Angeles Times, August 16, 2010.

Will there always be abusers? Everywhere? Japanese pride over the amount of centenarian residents has become a source of national stress after the discovery of the mummified remains of a man supposed to be 111 years old. Sogen Kato's daughter lied about his health to continue receiving his pension. Japanese authorities have sent teams out to check on elderly residents only to discover almost 300 centenarians missing. Japan has long prided itself on the health and longevity of its population, but now faces an economic, social and identity crisis as the Japanese population ages.  Abstracted in UN Wire, August 16, 2010, from an article in The New York Times, August 14, 2010.

If there were no profiteering, where would we be? In paradise?  A federal judge in California ordered Wells Fargo & Co. to change what he called "unfair and deceptive business practices" that led customers into paying multiple overdraft fees, and to pay $203 million back to customers. In a decision handed down late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup accused Wells Fargo of "profiteering" by changing its policies to process checks, debit card transactions and bill payments from the highest dollar amount to the lowest, rather than in the order the transactions took place. That helped drain customer bank accounts faster and drive up overdraft fees, a policy Alsup referred to as "gouging and profiteering." Wells Fargo adopted the policies beginning in 2001, and they became widespread across the banking industry. It is unclear how the ruling would apply to the rest of the industry. ...   August 11, 2010, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judge-orders-Wells-Fargo-to-apf-3665036279.html?x=0

Necessity as the mother of culture change. When will necessity force culture changes in the US? Our necessity might not be with regard to food, but, rather, with regard to fuel or water. China has turned to an unlikely tool in hopes to prevent famine, alleviate poverty and make the most of its dwindling arable land resources: the potato. Facing a population boom that will require it to produce 100 million additional tons of food every year by 2030, China has ramped up research and training in the cultivation of the potato -- a food resource that produces more calories per acre and requires less water to grow than rice. As abstracted in UN Wire, June 2, 2010, from a report in The Washington Post, May 31, 2010.

When global warming is a good thing? Note the words which I have marked in red. How optimistic should we be? Artificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the world's leading scientists report today. But a major academic assessment of future global food supplies, led by John Beddington, the UK government chief scientist, suggests that even with new technologies such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry owing to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing food consumption. In a set of 21 papers published by the Royal Society, the scientists from many disciplines and countries say that little more land is available for food production, but add that the challenge of increasing global food supplies by as much as 70% in the next 40 years is not insurmountable. Although more than one in seven people do not have enough protein and energy in their diet today, many [but not all] of the papers are optimistic. A team of scientists at Rothamsted, the UK's largest agricultural research centre, suggests that extra carbon dioxide in the air from global warming, along with better fertilisers and chemicals to protect arable crops, could hugely increase yields and reduce water consumption. "Plant breeders will probably be able to increase yields considerably in the CO2 enriched environments of the future …   August 16, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/16/artificial-meat-food-royal-society.

Our health-care debate: Canadians come here and we go to... SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 7 (Reuters) - Costa Rica is cracking down on an unauthorized stem cell clinic that has attracted hundreds of foreigners seeking relief from degenerative diseases and serious injuries. Better known for its idyllic tropical beaches and lush cloud forests, Costa Rica's many hospitals and clinics have made medical tourism one of the fastest growing segments of its tourism sector, the motor of its economy. They lure tens of thousands of foreigners seeking surgery, dental work, cancer treatment, cosmetic surgery, and dozens of other procedures at a fraction of their cost in the United States. ...   http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04131333.htm

Another heavy price for belonging to the "global" village. Patients who traveled from the U.K. to India and Pakistan in search of elective treatments such as cosmetic surgery have apparently returned with a so-called "superbug" that is resistant to most forms of antibiotics. The bacteria produces an enzyme called NDM-1 that makes it resistant to the most powerful antibiotics, known as carbapenems. Scientists fear that the bacteria will likely go global.  As abstracted in UN Wire, August 11, 2010, from a report by BBC, August 11, 2010.

While we spend billions to clean up an oil spill.  An estimated 7,300 megawatts (MW) of new solar photovoltaic (PV) power capacity was installed in 2009—20 percent more than was added in 2008. With this record addition, global installed PV capacity surpassed 21,000 megawatts, producing enough power to satisfy the annual electricity use of about 5.5 million households. In addition, 127 MW of solar thermal electric power plants came online in 2009, bringing the total operating capacity of such plants to 613 MW. Solar energy harnessed by PV and thermal electric plants now meets about 1 percent of electricity demand in Germany and more than 2 percent of demand in Spain.  From e-newsletter of Worldwatch Institute, June 3, 2010.

If trees could shout. It takes 17 trees to make a ton of paper. That means nearly 100 million trees get used for junk mail every year in the U.S. Let's keep the trees in the forest, and get the junk mail out of your life.  From http://www.stopjunkmail.org/resident.htm

There is not enough room for the two of them. (We need another planet to populate.)  [Colorado] Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are "converting Denver into a United Nations community." "This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed," Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week in Centennial. Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor's efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes "that's exactly the attitude they want you to have." "This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms," Maes said. ...   August 4, 2010, http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15673894

Even if there were no global warming, we have crises. What are we going to do about them?  The World Bank is calling on countries to avoid instituting export policies that could trigger another steep rise in global food prices after a Russian announcement of a ban on grain exports last week led to a spike in costs. Officials say they will activate an $800 million food fund when the World Bank reconvenes in September, as recent flooding across Asia is likely to increase food stress in the region.  Abstracted in UN Wire, August 10, 2010, from a report by AlertNet.org/Reuters, August 9, 2010.

Still much work to do to be green.  The following is a message which I composed on behalf of my father and e-mailed to an online pharmacy, August 10, 2010. My wife and I were Medco clients through General Motors. When we switched from Blue Shield to CareMore, our drug plan changed. You sent a mailing today about no-cost generic drugs. Two questions and one request: (1) can Medco be used with the CareMore health plan? (2) if so, are your co-pays lower than what CareMore offers for the ten most frequently used drugs in its drug formulary? (3) please remove us from your mailing list until such time that you use recycled, biodegradable paper and print with soy ink. Please reply only by e-mail. Thank you.

Judicial wisdom or overkill? A federal judge has revoked the government's approval of genetically altered sugar beets until regulators complete a more thorough review of how the scientifically engineered crops affect other food. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White Friday means sugar beet growers won't be able to use the modified seeds after harvesting the biotechnology beets already planted on more than 1 million acres spanning 10 states from Michigan to Oregon. All the seed comes from Oregon's Willamette Valley. Additional planting won't be allowed until the U.S. Department of Agriculture submits an environmental impact statement. That sort of extensive examination can take two or three years. White declined a request to issue an injunction that would have imposed a permanent ban on the biotech beets, which Monsanto Co. developed to resist its popular weed killer, Roundup. Farmers have embraced the technology as a way to lower their costs on labor, fuel and equipment. ...   August 14, 2010, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judges-ruling-uproots-use-of-apf-3064119096.html?x=0.

Looking at the world through different lenses. With many countries still reeling in the wake of the global financial crisis and the deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals approaching, Oxfam is advocating a "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions in order to protect the world's poor. Oxfam has expressed concern that much of the press about the global financial crisis has been devoted to the fate of countries -- including Greece, the U.S. and the U.K. -- rather than the poor, whose ranks have increased dramatically across the developed and especially the developing world as a result of the banking crisis.  As abstracted in UN Wire, August 19, 2010, from an article in The Guardian, August 18, 2010.

Greek mythology? Have you heard the story of Sisyphus? In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity. ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus

Does it ever seem that we were stuck in a rut? That we were playing a never-ending cat-and-mouse game? Take a look at the following excerpt of a message from Common Cause, August 24, 2010, and ask, gWhat can Sisyphus teach us?h Maybe that we should stop playing the game by somebody else's rules?

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.