Kids Too Wired?
(Cont
from cover)
Are there really health risks from using these
electronics? Last month in England,
an eight year old girl was diagnosed with repetitive strain injury from sending
too many text messages on her cell phone.
In Louisiana,
an iPod user sued the Apple Computer company. They
claimed that the music player caused hearing loss. In a Boston University
study, 40 percent of 6th graders who regularly use computers
complained of muscular-skeletal disorders.
Another study in Australia found that 60 percent of
computer users ages 10 to 17 years had identical
complaints.
In England,
an eight year old named Isabelle Taylor guessed that she sent 30 text messages
a day to her friends before she noticed pain in her wrists, arms, and fingers.
“She got the phone when she was 6, and she's
constantly on it," Isabelle’s mother, Jane Taylor said. "I tried to
take it off her, but she started sneaking it to school." Isabelle is limited
to 30 minutes before and after school, but she does not plan to stop text
messaging.
Some electronic companies are taking notice of
these health risks. In reaction to the complaints by users and the suit in Louisiana, In March,
Apple started offering free software that limits the volume of its newest iPods. Also, the Xbox game system includes a “Healthy
Gaming Guide”.
"As more and more kids increasingly see their role models (parents,
older siblings) using these products, they naturally will want to try them
themselves," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said.
Cornell’s Hedge said,” If you're looking at a kid playing Nintendo six
hours a day, they might not have a problem today or tomorrow or even in a
year's time, but five or six years or more when they enter the work force,
they'll probably be more prone to getting injured more easily."
Source: http://www.macnewsworld.com/
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Israel-Hezbollah War
(Cont from cover)
On July 27, the heads of the US and European countries met in Rome to discuss a
cease-fire. While all agreed that one was needed, the US disagreed
with most of the European officials on how to organize it.
The US advocated a calculated
cease-fire that it believed would be sure to last. Many European countries
wanted an immediate cease-fire that would stop the constant bloodshed.
A few days earlier, Saudi Arabia had called for a military
intervention in Lebanon.
Many countries agreed with this idea. The only problem was that no one wanted
to send troops in.
The UN peacekeeping branch in Lebanon, called
UNIFIL, is working at managing the situation. Without help, though, they can’t
do much.
After the failed cease-fire talks, Israel’s PM
Ehud Olmert(at left) announced that the country would “widen its
offensive to help reach its goal to disarm and disband Hezbollah”.
On July 30th, though,
the country ended up killing 57 in a raid on the Lebanese town of Qana.
The terrorist group responded by firing 150 rockets at Israel. Israel then
agreed to discontinue air strikes for two days.
After that attack, Secretary of
State Condleezza Rice promised to work on getting a
cease-fire when she returns to Washington.
August 2 - Update:
Ms. Rice returned without a cease fire agreement. Israel promises to continue
striking more deeply into areas they think Hezbollah has control over.. UN peacemakers are
not yet in control of the situation.
Sources:
www.nytimes.com, www.cnn.com ;http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page;
www.washingtonpost.com
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