Liquid Medical Marijuana Helps Jayden David, Age 6, Live Normal Life With Agressive Form Of Epilepsy

BEFORE READING 

SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

Diagnosed -                          a. severe

Epilepsy -                             b. illegal drug

Seizure -                              c. state officially 

Marijuana -                           d. find out 

Worse -                                e. very difficult to deal

Prescribed -                           f. control 

Intractable -                          g. suddenly become unconscious

 Diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, Jayden David has been prescribed 12 different kinds of medication, amounting to 22 pills each day. Now Jayden’s father says a “miraculous” turnaround has taken place since his son started taking a different remedy — liquid medical marijuana.

According to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, Dravet syndrome, also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, is a devastating type of intractable epilepsy that begins in childhood. Around one in 30,000 infants is born with this rare genetic disorder. Jayden’s condition got so bad that a couple of seizures each day led to a total of at least 40 emergency trips to the hospital. The weight of his son’s worsening condition was bearing down on Jason as he watched Jayden go through life unable to walk or sleep.


“At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,” Jason toldKCRA.

“I went to my doctor and said, ‘I don't think Jayden is going to last, he can't sleep, can't eat, he hasn't used the restroom, he can't do anything.’”

A resident of California, Jason decided to expend one more medical resource available in only a few states: medical marijuana — specifically, a liquid form known as cannabidiol (CBD). While CBD provides all of the essential medical purposes of marijuana, it produces less of a high, the Daily Mail reported.
After a few drops of CBD a day for the past two years, Jason is in awe of the turnaround his son’s health has made. Not only is Jayden seizure-free, but he also enjoys walking, running, and playing just like a normal kid.


"[The] first day I gave him medical marijuana, thank God. [It was] the first day he went seizure free in his life," Jason explained to KCRA.


Look for Jayden and Jason’s story on the CNN special focusing on the benefits of medical marijuana, featuring Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who recently changed his stance on medical marijuana.

source: http://www.medicaldaily.com/liquid-medical-marijuana-helps-jayden-david-age-6-live-normal-life-agressive-form-epilepsy-250573

France Continues to Deport Roma

France’s policy of deporting Roma people to Romania is continuing. The French immigration minister Eric Besson has told reporters all Roma going back to “their country of origin” are doing so on a “purely voluntary basis”. This involves accepting a cash payment of $380 from the French government. Around 125 Roma flew back to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday, a day after 79 left. Mr Besson said any Roma who did not “volunteer” to leave France would be forced to leave, without the $380. Besson rejected any criticism, saying: "France is the country in Europe which most respects the rights of foreigners… We have become the second country in the world after the United States in granting asylum."


The Roma are traditionally a travelling people. There are about 15,000 living in France. Many Roma communities have faced discrimination in other European countries. The Roma are EU citizens and therefore under EU law, have the right to live in any European Union country. However, France has the right to expel the Roma if they have no work permit or proof they can support themselves financially. Many of the returned Roma have vowed to go back to France. Ionut Balasz, 26, said: "Of course I'm thinking about returning to France. Life is better there than in Romania." The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Basconschi said: "What has happened in Paris shows that we must have an integration plan across Europe for Roma citizens."

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	France is ordering many Italians to leave the country.	T / F
b.	A French minister said all people leaving are choosing to leave.	T / F
c.	The minister said only people who volunteered to leave would leave.	T / F
d.	France is number two in the list of countries receiving asylum seekers.	T / F
e.	There are between 10,000-20,000 Roma living in France.	T / F
f.	The Roma have the right to live in France if they have enough income.	T / F
g.	One Roma in the article said he’d never go back to France.	T / F
h.	A Romanian minister said it was better for Roma to stay in Romania.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	deporting	a.	eject
2	origin	b.	sign up
3.	purely	c.	promised
4.	volunteer	d.	birth
5.	granting	e.	prejudice
6.	discrimination	f.	throwing out
7.	expel	g.	assimilation
8.	proof	h.	giving
9.	vowed	i.	totally
10.	integration	j.	evidence

Asian Youth Forgetting How to Write

A new study commissioned by the China Daily Youth newspaper has found many young Chinese people are forgetting how to write traditional Chinese. Chinese schoolchildren grow up memorizing well over 3,000 different characters. However, the study shows they rarely need to write them by hand and are forgetting their shape. Instead, young people are using their phones and computers to write. On these, they type in a system called ‘pinyin,’ which is the sounds of the Chinese characters written on an English keyboard. A list then appears showing the corresponding character in Mandarin. The report said 83% of the 2,072 respondents have problems writing characters, while 43% said they only write when they need to sign something.

The problem is so big that there is a name for it: ‘tibiwangzi,’ which means “take pen, forget character”. Chinese characters are the oldest writing system in the world in current use. They date back over 3,000 years. University student Li Hanwei, 21, said: "I can remember the shape, but I can’t remember the strokes that you need to write it…It’s a bit of a problem." The phenomenon is known as “character amnesia” and is also common in Japan, where Chinese characters are one of four different alphabets used in writing. Ayumi Kawamoto, 23, explained why she often forgot how to recall and write characters she learnt at school: "We rely too much on the conversion function on our phones and PCs."

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	A study found kids from Sri Lanka to China have poor writing ability.	T / F
b.	Chinese children learn over 3,000 written characters at school.	T / F
c.	Chinese people use English letters on keyboards to write Chinese.	T / F
d.	Over half of Chinese people only write when a signature is needed.	T / F
e.	Sanskrit is the world’s oldest writing system being used today.	T / F
f.	A student said she had to stroke the page to remember how to write.	T / F
g.	people in Japan have a similar forgetfulness with Chinese characters.	T / F
h.	A Japanese woman suggested people use phones too much.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	commissioned	a.	alternatively
2	memorizing	b.	occurrence
3.	instead	c.	pops up
4.	corresponding	d.	depend
5.	appears	e.	rote learning
6.	current	f.	forgetfulness
7.	phenomenon	g.	transformation
8.	amnesia	h.	ordered
9.	rely	i.	matching
10.	conversion	j.	present

Malawi to Punish Breaking Wind in Public

The government of Malawi is planning to introduce a new law to try and stop people breaking wind in public. The proposed legislation would punish repeat offenders who choose to release their foul-smelling bodily gases in public places. The Local Courts Bill will soon be presented to parliament for approval. It intends to prosecute those “who foul the air” in an effort to “mould responsible and disciplined citizens”. The bill states: “Any person who voluntarily [impairs] the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the health of persons in general, dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

The bill has created a lot of anger among Malawians, who feel the country has more serious problems than trying to criminalize a natural bodily function. They also say it is causing embarrassment to the country internationally, with foreign media reporting on “Malawi’s farting law”. People are also worried about how fairly the law will be administered on the streets. Taxi driver Chikosi Nyondo said: “How on Earth will the police know who passed gas? I’m sure there’ll be people arrested for false farting.” The Afrik-News website quoted another angry Malawian who said: “Everyone does that, even if it’s in public or it has an accompanying sound, making it criminal is a joke of democracy.”

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	It is now illegal in Malawi to break wind in public.	T / F
b.	Malawi’s parliament passed the bill by a huge majority.	T / F
c.	The new law intends to get people to be better citizens.	T / F
d.	The bill says breaking wind is just a misdemeanor.	T / F
e.	Most Malawians think the new law is a great idea.	T / F
f.	Malawians believe the law makes their country look bad.	T / F
g.	A taxi driver said it’s easy for police to decide who broke wind.	T / F
h.	Another Malawian said the law was a joke and not fit for a democracy.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	breaking wind	a.	shape
2	proposed	b.	applied
3.	foul	c.	suggested
4.	mould	d.	wrongdoing
5.	misdemeanor	e.	shame
6.	natural	f.	farting
7.	causing	g.	mentioned
8.	embarrassment	h.	disgusting
9.	administered	i.	normal
10.	quoted	j.	creating

Google boss tells N. Korea to use Internet

The chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, has asked North Korea to open up its Internet to join the rest of the world. North Korea is one of the most closed and secretive countries in the world. Only a few of its citizens have Internet access, but that is strictly controlled by the government. Almost no one can access the World Wide Web. Mr Schmidt said it was very important for the country to end its isolation so North Koreans can become richer. He said: "As the world is becoming increasingly connected, their decision to be [almost totally] isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth, and so forth….It will make it hard for them to catch up economically."

The U.S. government was not happy about Mr Schmidt's trip. Officials criticised it and said it was "unhelpful". The White House is doing its best to get the North Koreans to end its nuclear weapons programme. One expert believes Mr Schmidt's visit gave North Korea the feeling it was an important world country. Greg Scarlatoiu of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea told the Voice Of America website: "Visits from senior officials and extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs are going to help to raise the profile of the North Korea regime. Probably, from the North Korean viewpoint, they may think this is also an opportunity to make some money for the regime."

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a. Eric Schmidt is not the chairman of the company Google. T
b. Not many people in North Korea have access to the Internet.
c. Schmidt wants N. Korea to end its isolation so N.Koreans can be richer.
d. Schmidt said N. Korea could be a strong economy without the Internet.

e. The U.S. government sent Schmidt to N. Korea to give advice.
f. An expert said N. Korea feels more important after Schmidt's trip.
g. The article quotes a reporter from the Voice of Korea news agency.
h. N. Korea's leaders think they have the chance to make some money.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	asked	a.	firmly
2	secretive	b.	specialist
3.	strictly	c.	visit
4.	isolation	d.	tight-lipped
5.	growth	e.	government
6.	trip	f.	requested
7.	end	g.	progress
8.	expert	h.	business executives
9.	entrepreneurs	i.	lack of contact
10.	regime	j.	finish

Thoughts

Great day!!! Every strike brings me closer to the next home run!!!

Manning given 35 years for leaks

Bradley Manning showed little emotion when his sentence was read out, as some of his supporters in the room burst into tears. The former intelligence analyst was convicted last month of 20 countsincluding espionage, computer fraud and theft, after leaking more than 700,000 classified government documents, military battle plans and diplomatic cables to the Wikileaks website.

Bradley Manning's lawyer David Coombs said his client was awhistleblower who was exposing truths about US foreign policy, and called on President Obama to pardon him. He said Bradley Manning could be eligible for parole in as little as seven years.

The sentence will be a disappointment for military prosecutorsacting on behalf of the US government, who argued the leaks threatened national security and pushed for a minimum sentence of 60 years to act as a deterrent to others.

VOCABULARY REVIEW:
1. burst into tears ____________________

2. counts ___________________________

3. whistleblower  _____________________

4. pardon ___________________________

5. eligible for parole __________________

6. prosecutors _______________________

7. deterrent _________________________

SUMMARY:
A military court in the US has sentenced Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst who leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks, to 35 years in prison. The judge at the court martial in Fort Meade also ruled he should be dishonourably discharged from the US army.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/08/130823_witn_manning.shtml

A delicate job for hard men

An unusual sight in a tough environment. Inmates in a Brazilian prison have been learning how to knit.
The scheme, which sees prisoners working on intricate woollen designs, is a collaboration between prison authorities and a fashion designer. Prisoners are paid 75 percent of the local minimum wage and also earn days off their sentence.

Vocabulary: 

1. tough - strong and difficulty

2. inmates - people in prison

3. to knit - to make woollen clothes by creating knots with needles 

4. intricate - complex

5. minimum wage - the least amount of money to be legally paid for work done

Exercise
Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.
Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

tough / inmates / to knit / intricate / minimum wage

1. Each doll takes at least a month to make because of the __________detail and design, and thousands of brush strokes are used to create and layer the colour of each doll to make them as life-like as possible.

2. The 136-year-old jail was one of seven prisons shut by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to cut costs. The last __________were transferred to other prisons at the end of February.

3. Bangladesh's __________ for garment workers is currently $38 (£25) a month, the lowest in the world.

4. The parrot had plucked out most of its feathers was said to resemble an oven-ready chicken. A vet said it should be put down but Rebecca Blagg, the charity's coordinator, __________ jumpers to keep it warm.

5. The cave environment is a __________ place in which to make a living, limited in food and essential nutrients, forcing microorganisms to fight over limited resources.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/05/130522_vwitn_knitting.shtml

22 August 2013

Today's thought: 
A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain.
We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take short cuts or play
by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.

Wikileaks soldier reveals why he shared secrets

PRE-READING VOCABULARY...

1. first-hand account

2. compelled
3. leak
4. bloodlust
5. cables
6. backdoor
7. unbecoming
8. plea
9. life sentence
10. push ahead with
11. court martial

Bradley Manning...

We now have a first-hand account of what compelled Bradley Manning to carry out the biggest leak of government secrets in American history.

He told the military court he'd been appalled by the "bloodlust" of a helicopter mission in Iraq - video of which he passed on to Wikileaks. He said that while serving in Iraq, he'd become depressed at what he called America's "obsession" with capturing and killing human targets. And that the American people should know the "true costs of war".

As for the leaked State Department cables, Private Manning said they "documented backdoor deals and criminality" unbecoming of a superpower, and insisted his conscience was clear.

The military judge accepted the defendant's plea of guilty to 10 of the 22 counts. But Bradley Manning denies the most serious charge of aiding America's enemies - a charge which potentially carries a life sentence. Prosecutors have indicated that they plan to push ahead with a full court martial in the summer.

SUMMARY 

The US soldier accused of giving large numbers of secret documents to Wikileaks has admitted he is guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him. But he denied a more serious charge of aiding the enemy.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/

Mothers face workplace discrimination (10th August, 2013)

Before Reading... 

WOMEN'S TALENTS: Rank me!!!Put the ones women do better:

• manage companies   • drive   • cook   • give good advice

• be creative   • debate   • give advice   • be fair

SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	conducted	a.	acknowledge
2	suspected	b.	opinions
3.	grievances	c.	differ from
4.	points of view	d.	carried out
5.	colleagues	e.	all over
6.	contrast	f.	thought
7.	recognise	g.	dodging
8.	committed	h.	complaints
9.	throughout	i.	coworkers
10.	avoiding	j.	dedicated

The Pros and Cons 

More than one in four British mothers who have returned to work feel discriminated against. This is according to a survey conducted by the legal firm Slater and Gordon (S&G). Researchers questioned 1,975 women about their experiences in the workplace before and after giving birth. Most of the women had never filed any kind of complaint as they suspected it would be a waste of time and be even more detrimental to their career prospects. Grievances aired in the survey included mothers being overlooked for promotion, and more junior employees progressing faster up the career ladder. Another common gripe was their points of view being considered less worthy than those of colleagues without children.


The findings contrast with the opinions of managers and employers. A director at Britain's Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said: "We don't recognise the picture painted here. Our experience is that…businesses are better than ever at managing maternity leave and reintegrating mothers on their return." The UK's employment minister Jo Swinson said: "The government is committed to making sure that more businesses make the best use of women's talents throughout the organisation, from boardroom to the shop floor." S&G lawyer Kiran Daurka said: "It is shocking that so few women speak out when they suffer discrimination." She accused employers of avoiding the issues and of "burying their heads in the sand". 

Exercises... 

TRUE / FALSE

a.	Half of British mothers face discrimination at work.	T / F
b.	A legal firm interviewed 19,750 working mothers.	T / F
c.	Most of those interviewed had never complained about discrimination.	T / F
d.	Mothers complained about their opinions being less valuable.	T / F
e.	Employers and business leaders agreed with the survey's findings.	T / F
f.	A business leader said maternity leave is better than ever before.	T / F
g.	A lawyer isn't surprised women do not speak out about discrimination.	T / F
h.	The lawyer said employers bury their heads in the sand.	T / F

Choose the BEST answers

1)	More than one in four British mothers who have returned to work ______
	a.  feel discriminated again b.  feel discriminated against c.  feel discriminated aghast d.  feel discriminated a gangster
2)	Most of the women had never filed any ______
	a.  kind of compliant b.  kind of complainant c.  kind of complaint d.  kind of complaints
3)	Grievances aired in the survey included mothers being ______
	a.  overbooked for promotion b.  overly looked for promotion c.  over looking for promotion d.  overlooked for promotion
4)	more junior employees progressing faster up ______
	a.  the career ladder b.  the career larder c.  the career bladder d.  the career ladders
5)	their points of view being considered less worthy than ______
	a.  those of colleague b.  those of colleges c.  those of colleagues d.  those of colleague
6)	The findings contrast with the opinions of ______
	a.  managers and employer b.  managers and employees c.  managers and employers d.  managers and employs
7)	businesses are better than ever at managing maternity leave and ______
	a.  reintegrating mothers b.  reintegration mothers c.  reintegrated mothers d.  reintegrates mothers
8)	committed to making sure that more businesses make the best use ______
	a.  of women's talons b.  of women's talents c.  of women's talent d.  of women's talented
9)	It is shocking that so few women speak out when they ______
	a.  suffers discrimination b.  suffered discrimination c.  suffering discrimination d.  suffer discrimination
10)	avoiding the issues and of "burying their ______"
	a.  heads in the sand b.  heads in the sandy c.  head in the sand d.  heads on the sand

source: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1308/130810-workplace_discrimination.html