Marine Biology club membersjoined hands with 145 community members at Shell Point Beach, forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in Florida coastal waters. Marine Biology Clun members also wrote letters to local legislators emphasizing legislation to protect Florida beaches.

Picasso risked his career as a painter when he took a stand in history during the Spanish Civil War and painted Guernica to express the horror and destruction of war in protest over the bombing of the Spanish town Guernica.  Guernica stood for all that threatened the hope and freedom for the Spanish people and later stood as a political sign to the world when a “democratic system” was restored to Spain.  Guernica stands for encouraging reconciliation, hope, and peace throughout the world by reminding us of the brutality of war.  It continues to touch people’s emotions, influence events, and inspire ideas as when first exhibited in 1937.

“Picasso was a very famous artist at the time and when people asked him to take a stand, he was threatening his career by making a political statement like this.  So he was a very brave man to stand up for his ideals, his mores, his values and make this painting to take a stand when he knew this could be a big threat to his career,” said Dr. Anderson.

There are over 200 peace murals created by children from a wide variety of countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, France, and India, as well as a combined mural from Palestine and Israel.  The initial Guernica Peace Project began in Tallahassee, and on January 23^rd, a new mural was created by children from Hartsfield Elementary School and young foreign exchange students, marking the 15^th Anniversary of the project. 

“I don’t think world peace can be achieved by only making peace paintings because the world is so complicated.  However, once children participate in this Kids’ Guernica project, they can be more aware of the destruction of war and the need for peace and think [about] the related issues more seriously.  This project also motivates participants to engage themselves in other peace activities.  I know a group of girls who participated in this project at the 6th grade and they are now university students of international studies and organizing several workshops to grow peace consciousness among people,” said Takuya Kenada, Dr. Anderson’s co-founder and contact in Japan, “Art is sometimes more influential than politicians’ speech.”  

Written by: Dana Edwards

The temperature dropped to 14 degrees the morning of January 11th- beating the 1982 record by a degree. While this is nowhere close to the all-time low temperature record (two below zero in 1899), Florida is not faring well.

Farmers are concerned that the cold temperatures will destroy valuable produce. Between blankets and special sprays, local and state growers are fighting off the cold the best that they can.  ABC News reports that Central Florida citrus growers have tallied damages already to orange and other citrus groves, but it is still too early to predict how much will be lost. “After such a sustained period of cold, the damage has already been done,” Florida Citrus Mutual spokesman Andrew Meadows said in an email to Reuters. The Florida citrus industry rakes in over 9 billion dollars and is a huge part of the nation’s agricultural market.

But how long will the freeze last? The 10-day forecast provided by the Weather Channel predicts that the temperatures will rise into the 60s and dip into the 40s.

Written by: Kellie Brannon

“It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able,” the Boston Globe reported. 

After a week, the damage is becoming more apparent.  Rescue teams all over the world have arrived, medical aid is being given, and bodies are being identified.  Overall, $200 million have been donated to the country. 

United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has met with Haitian President Rene Preval, and has assured close coordination with the country, and discussed the needs and priorities of the Haitian peoples as well as how to meet them.     

The United States has pledged $100 million for relief efforts.  The USS Comfort, a converted battleship used as a mobile hospital, is proving its effectiveness to the Haitian relief efforts. 

“This is the right way to use this ship,” said Cmdr. Tim Donahue, a urological surgeon from Bethesda and director of surgery for the mission to Haiti. “It doesn’t make sense for us to go down there with only four operating rooms when we have twelve that we can use. If we’re down there, we need to maximize the capability of the ship. And we are.”

Written by: Dana Edwards

Since the book was released both Democrats and Republicans have hounded Reid. Some saying he needs to resign from his seat, while others think the comment wasn’t as outrageous as the comment made by former GOP Senator Trent Lott in 2002. Yahoo! News’ reported Lott’s comment as: “The nation would have been better off if Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948 when he ran on a pro-segregation platform as a Dixiecrat,” cost him his seat. There are some people comparing Sen. Reid to former Sen. Lott, just because of the comment.

As of Monday January 11^th, Sen. Reid has apologized to President Obama in private conversations. President Obama put the outrage aside, saying it was just a political distraction from the real issues at hand. He later said in an interview with TV One, “The fact that we spend days on this instead of talking about the unemployment rate or talking about how we deal with critical issues like energy and health care is an indication of why I think people don’t understand what’s happening in Washington.”

Sen. Reid is said to have scheduled a political meeting with many African-American leaders in Las Vegas on Thursday, January 14^th. It was later said that Reid wants to apologize for offending any and all African-Americans. Sen. Reid is currently at a stand still with his re-election for another term. Whether or not he is re-elected is up to the people of Nevada. It is not known if he will resign, but there are some major political leaders who either want him to resign, or are pushing for him to resign.

Written by: Arias Ware

In essence to this, scientists and doctors have developed a drink called Souvenaid that is referred to as a “medical food,” because it is consumed with the guidance of a physician to manage one’s special condition. This drink is composed of uridine, choline and omega-3 fatty acid DHA.

“These three components work together to help restore synapses,” says Dr. Richard Wurtman, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author to this particular study. These key ingredients interact to help rebuild nerve connections in the brain. Souvenaid has been carefully studied in the labs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s disease (the ICAD). It was presented as a medical formula that would improve memory when consumed daily by patients who are experiencing memory loss. The clinic team says results were seen after twelve weeks of daily usage.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology clinical team took ten years to study and research the ingredients they carefully mixed together to create Souvenaid. This concoction has helped people with Alzheimer’s disease and people with dementia. The medical creation has helped many elderly people and others with memory loss complications.

Written by: Lauren Chambless

It has been estimated that about 77,250 Floridians have lost health-insurance since the release of statistics this past March.  One-fifth of Florida’s population does not have health coverage, and has the third highest uninsured rate in the nation with about 50 million people not covered.

Crist claims he does not agree with what is happening in Washington this past weekend.  “We found a better way in Florida, by wanting to include the private sector to participate more,” said Crist.

With the Cover Florida health care plan, insurance companies will offer stripped-down health plans with stripped down prices (Miami Herald).  The more coverage received, the more a person pays.  This allows Floridians to have more choice and less government involvement.

According to Crist, heath insurance in Florida is so high because the state government “requires insurers to guarantee expensive procedures and lengthy hospital stays,” and so by lifting some of these mandates, six insurance companies will offer less expensive plans.

Crist’s complete plan is outlined in: coverfloridaheathcare.com.

Written by Dana Edwards

Tests indicate that the swine flu vaccine administered to children, ages 6 months to 3 years, in Atlanta has lost strength.  Many of the shots have been recalled, as of December 15^th. 

About 800,000 syringes pre-filled with the vaccine created by Sanofi Pasteur (Sanofi-Aventis Company) have already been used throughout the country within the last month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  CDC flu expert, Dr. Anne Schuchat, said that parents have nothing to worry about if a child received one or more of the recalled shots.  She says that this vaccine is safe and effective; it’s just a matter of the vaccine’s strength. 

Why the vaccine’s strength weakened 12% below the government standard in a test last week is unclear.  Tests conducted before the shipping showed results indicating that the vaccines were strong enough.  Some experts have theorized that the problem is related to the pre-filled syringes.  “For some reason, the antigen – the key vaccine ingredient – may be sticking to the walls of those syringes,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, FDA’s deputy commissioner for science and public health.  Another swine flu vaccination manufacturer, Novartis, has also needed to recall their swine flu vaccine that was also pre-filled in syringes under the same circumstances. 

“Health officials don’t think children need to get vaccinated again, even if they got two doses from the recalled lots,” said Schuchat in an article from the Associated Press.  Children in the affected age brackets are given two doses of the swine flu vaccine which are spaced a month apart. 

Since October, the swine flu vaccine has been distributed in 95 million doses across the United States.

Written by Dana Edwards

Between the years 1930 and 1970, British children were told their parents were dead and they would find a better life awaiting them in Australia before being shipped off to the distance land.  Many parents were under the belief that their children had been adopted somewhere in Britain.  Upon arrival in Australia, brothers and sisters were separated, and were sent to labor camps where most were abused psychologically, physically, and sexually.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a national apology to the “Forgotten Australians,” and will recognize the sufferings of the 500,000 people who were held in these camps, orphanages, and children’s homes, as well as the 7,000 migrants still living in Australia. 

However, many of the migrants along with the Child Migrants Trust are angered that the Australian government apologized before the British government, claiming the British have much to answer for.  In addition, the Trust is unhappy the Australian government combined the apology with another for abused Australian-born children during these times.

The British Department of Health issued a statement saying “[t]he child migrant scheme was wrong,” and has taken this stance since 1998.  A BBC News report stated that the British government is “considering the implications of the Australian apology.”

Written by Dana Edwards

The President’s plan aims to provide “quality, affordable choices for all Americans” that do not have health insurance by accomplishing the following goals:

• Creating a new insurance marketplace that allows people without insurance to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices
• Providing new tax credits to help people buy insurance and to help small businesses provide coverage for employees
• Offering a public health insurance option
• Offering new, low-cost coverage to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions from financial ruin

What about Americans that do have health insurance?  Well, his plan also includes several goals to “provide stability and security” by:

• Ending discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes
• Preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage
• Eliminating extra charges for preventive care (flu shots, diabetes tests, mammograms, etc.)
• Protecting Medicare for senior citizens and eliminating the gap in coverage for prescription drugs

Although Obama’s plan is intended to benefit all Americans, questions and concerns still arise.  One of the most controversial concerns with reform is the competition between the government’s public plan and private health insurers.  Some people are worried that lower-priced public insurance will drive private health insurance companies out of business, leaving the health care system to be solely run by the government.  Currently, the House of Representatives and the Senate are creating two separate bills for health care reform.  Later, they will come together and draft a bill to send to President Obama.  There is a long way to go before any decisions are made regarding health care reform.

Written by Carissa Redmon