Pantanal: a Brazilian ecological sanctuary.
The world’s largest flood plain measures 230,000 sq. km. An area slightly smaller than Great Britain or seven times bigger than Holland
The rest of the morass land extends into Bolivia and Paraguay Brazil
There are more than 15,000 animal species to be observed. Partially covered by water for half a year, the region teems with relatively docile South American alligators, 20 foot sucuris (a snake related to the anaconda), capivaras (the world’s largest rodent, who weights around 30 kg ), pumas, wild boars and rural deers, besides more than 600 species of exotic birds.
The Pantanal has one of the richest and most interesting ecosystems. The region’s delicate ecology is protected by its remote position in the heart of South America . But, like the Amazon rainforest, its preservation is endangered. Ranchers, funds and government agencies fight to save the untouched fauna and flora of that unique natural paradise.
(www.estado.com.br)
I) Pump It Up! (NEWS – STYLE)
Sports meets high-technology in the form of Reebok’s latest sneaker, the Pumper 2.0, a remake of a sport shoe successfully introduced by this company 15 years ago.
This newer version, unlike the 1989 model which inflated with the touch of a button, pumps itself up automatically after it is put on and the wearer walks a few steps.
Costing $100, it is designed for serious runners, but Reebok hopes to create versions for sports, such as basketball, as well as for non-athletic consumers.
II) A Pocket In Your Sock
Sports enthusiasts will be delighted with the latest, innovative product out on the market – Fit-key gym socks designed with a small, zippable poket. Created by the Italian company, Er.Rovera, these socks come in white and grey and in sizes small come to extra-large. The pocket is inconspicuously positioned on the side of the sock and is just large enough to hold an locker key. For more information, visit www.rovera.com.
III) Kangaroos Are Making a Comeback!
Popular 1980s sneakers bearing marsupial mascots are back in voguel.
Better known as “Roos”, these gym shoes, which are characterized by a small zippered pocket for holding a key, were the rave on American playgrounds some twenty years ago.
Now available in bright colors, they are being seen on U.S.
(Speak Up)
COUNTERFEIT GOODS.
Although counterfeit goods are costing companies around the world billions and billions of dollars in lost sales, most people are only too happy to take advantage of the low-price, “imitation” goods on sale. Although they would never buy a fake watch or a fake Gucci handbag at home, people change their approach when they travel abroad. They go to street markets and anywhere else where they can seek out the counterfeit “designer label” clothes and “Rolex” watches which they know they can buy for a fraction of the price they would have to pay back home.
In fact, bringing home a selection of fake goods it part of the fun of traveling – “Do you like my ‘Rolex’? I got it for fifty dollars!” And the wearing of a “Lacoste” shirt, even if it is a hideous colour and the crocodile is coming unstuck, is a sign that this person has probably traveled for (although there are few countries now where they are not available!).
Many major international manufacturing companies are very concerned because the counterfeit industry now makes up eight to nine per cent of all international trade. No wonder companies and most governments in the world are making serious efforts to stop it. But there are certainly quite a lot of people who hope that that won’t happen to soon, so that they can have a bit more fun buying their “exclusive” perfume, their “designer” clothes and their “Rolex” watches first.
(Summertime, Mary Underwood – Book 4)
NEW RULES FOR EMPLOYEES
PART I
Sick Days:
☺ We will no longer accept a doctor statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go the doctor, you are able to come to work.
Surgery:
☺Operations are now banned. As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.
Personal Days:
☺Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.
Vacation Days:
☺ All employees will take their vacation at the same time every year. The vacation days are as follows: Jan. 1, July 4 & Dec 25.
Bereavement Leave:
☺ This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or coworkers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early, provided your share of the work is done.
Out For Your Own Death:
☺ This will be accepted as an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks notice as it is your duty to train your own replacement.
PART II
Restroom use:
☺Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alphabetical order. For instance, all employees whose names begin with ‘A’ will go from 8:00 to 8:20, employees whose names begin with ‘B’ will go from 8:20 to 8:40 and so on. If you’re unable to go at your allotted time, it will be necessary to wait until the next day when your turn comes again. In extreme emergencies employees may swap their time with a coworker. Both employees’ supervisors in writing must approve this exchange. In addition, there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract and the stall door will open.
Lunch Break:
☺ Skinny people get on hour for lunch as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy; normal size people get 30 minutes for lunch to get balance meal to maintain the average figure. Very healthy people gets 5 minutes for lunch because that’s all the time needed to drink a Slim Fast & take a diet pill.
Dress Code:
☺ it is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing $350 Prada shoes & carrying a $600 Gucci bag we will assume you are doing well financial and therefore you do not need a raise.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternations or input should be directed elsewhere.
Have a nice week!
The management.
AVEDA – THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PURE FLOWER AND PLANT ESSENCES
For more than a decade, Aveda has collaborated with the Yowanawa tribe in the Brazilian Amazon, helping them to protect their cultural wisdom. We have worked together to responsibly grow and market the red seed-pigment from the urukum palm. For centuries, this lush pigment has been used in daily life used to create Aveda’s Uruku makeup for eyes, lips and cheeks. A ritual of pure beauty for us – and a ritual of empowerment for the Yawanawa. Working with Aveda has halped them live on the land of their ancestors, keep their families intact and preserve their ancient language in a book.
When you use Uruku makeup, you lend precious support to a vanishing culture – and share in the creative ritual passed down through generations of Yawanawa people. Find Aveda at 866.814.0503 toll-free or www.aveda.com.
(The Environmental Magazine)
KARIN DAUCH
Beautiful nature, rich landscape, and amazing generosity.
The biggest country in South America bears all the characteristics of na economically strong nation.
Unfortanetely, historical reasons limited Brazil
A few wealthy people share the same unequal divided grounds with millions os miserable families. Life quality is generally way under the line of justice. In spite of the fact of being the financial centre of Latin America, São Paulo
In order to change that scenery, government authorities work on the creation of projects and outline solutions through new social programs. The necessary steps are being taken very slowly, though. People need improvement now, while they have the strength to fight for a better life.
Thanks to the goodwill and effort of same people, positive prospectives and concrete results have already been achieved. One perfect sample of a successful program lies by the bends of a polluted streamlet. Favela Monte Azul can be called a model shanty-town. Same 3,800 people live in the 400 huts and slum tenement-houses piled up on a sleep hill. Monte Azul, sited on a valley of 23,300 m² , is located in the sourthern suburbs of São Paulo
Different from most shanty-towns, where crime rules and diseases spread all around. Monte Azul offers to its inhabitants Day-nurseries, schools, workshops, clinics, a bakery and even a cultural Center with a library, art and theatre workshops. That accomplishment is not a gift from the gods. Seventeen years of Hard work and devotion were necessary to make possible to that community to get an educational assistance and entertainment activities. The Associação Comunitária Monte Azul, established in 1979, is the kernel of a social work that involves 120 volunteers.
MARRIAGE ADVERTISING IN INDIA
1
♣ every Sunday morning millions of Indians settle down with a cup of tea and speacial weekend issues of their newspaper, Just as Americans do. But here, with the marriage season approaching, many of them turn quickly to a Sunday feature that is particulary Indian – the colums and colums of marriage advertisements in which Young people look for husbands and wives.
2
♣ “Beautiful Brahman girl wanted for bank officer from well-connected family”, one says. “Vegetarian man (doctor, engineer preferred) for church-educated girl with light complexion”, says another. “Solid 25-year-old, salary four figures, wants tall, charming, educated Punjabi, says a third.
3
♣ this is a relatively modern change in age-old custom of the arranged marriage. The thousands of advertisements published each week increasingly refflect social changes that are coming to this traditional society. For example, although women are still usually described in terms of appearance, or skills in “the wifely arts”, information about their earning Power is entering more and more of the advertisements. This reflects the arrival in India
4
♣ divorce, which used to be almost unheard of in India, is sometimes now mentioned in the advertisements as in the case of a woman whose advertisement in a New Delhi newspaper explained that she had been “the innocent party” when her marriage broke up.
5
♣ because the custom of the dowry (marriage payment) is now illegal, some advertisements say “no dowry”, or “simple marriage”, which means the same thing. However, the fathers of many bridegrooms still require it.
6
♣ as a sign of the slight loosening of the rigid caste (social class) system, a number of advertisements promise “caste not important “, or “girls abilities Will be main consideration”. The majority of them, however, still require not only caste, such as Brahman of Kshatriya, but also a certain home region or ethnic origin.
7
♣ in a land where light skin is often regarded as socially preferable, many also require that a woman have a “wheat-color” complexion or that a man be “tall, fair and handsame”.
8
♣ advertisements are placed and eagerly read by a wide range of people in the upper classes, mostly in cities. Many of them receive dozens of answers. “There’s nothing embarrassing about it”, explained a Calcutta
9
♣ because of high unemployment and a generally poor standard of living here, one of the best attractions a marriage advertisement can offer is a permit to live abroad, especially in Canada or the United States
10
♣ one recent Sunday in Madras, for example, o Punjabi engineer living in San Francisco
(Expanding Reading
Linda Markstein and Louise Hirosawa)
FAMILY FORTUNES
Scientists and psychologists agree that although many factors contribute to forming your personality, for example, your sex, class, culture, or lifestyle, one of the most important is your position in the family. So how have you been affected?
Are you a first child, a middle child, the youngest, or na only child?
First-born children, if you are a first-born child, you are probably self-confident and a good leader – you came first, after all. You may also be ambitious, and good at communicating, because you learned to speak from your parents, not from brothers and sisters. On the other hand, you are the oldest and so you have to be the most responsible, and this can make you the kind of person Who worries a lot.
Middle children are usually independent and competitive. You had to fight with your brothers and sisters to get what you wanted. You are also co-operative as you always had someone to play with. On the other hand, you may be jealous and insecure or moody if you felt that your parents preferred your older brother.
Youngest children are often very charming. You learned very quickly that you could get exactly what you want by being charming – and this can make you manipulative. You are usually affectionate and relaxed because when you arrived your parents were more relaxed themselves. But you are often not very independent, as you always had so many people yo help you. This makes it hard for you to take decisions. And you may be lazy, because your parents probably pushed you less and were less strict with you than with your older brothers and sisters.
Only children are often quite selfish. You had the wonderful luxury of not having to share your parents’ attention with anybody else. In fact, you received so much attention as a child that you find it difficult to be interested in other people. On the other hand, you are usually organized and responsible, and often imaginative. But you may find it difficult to communicate with others, and are very sensitive to criticism.
(English File – Clive Oxendin, Christina Latham-Koenig)
Backpacking through Europe has become something of a rite of passage among American youth. Armed with a backpack, a youth-hostel membership and a Euro-rail pass, millions set off to experience life outside the U.S. Europe .
What many don’t realize, however, is that traveling abroad is not as safe as it was Just 10 years ago. This is of special concern for single travelers or women going to countries with non-Westerns customs. Fortunately, for 18-to-35 year olds, there is an alternative.
Contiki Holidays, a company specializing in vacation packages designed exclusively for this age group, offers trips that have many benefits over backpacking does not provide. Since Contiki’s clients come from all over the world, lifelong friendship with people from other cultures can be easily formed.
Many people worry that an organized tour may restrict their travel options or label them a “tourist”. On the contrary, Contiki itineraries include the cities’ highlights and hot spots while still leaving clients enough free time to explore on their own. No time is wasted looking for accommodations, asking far directions, or getting help on currency conversions because a professional team is on hand to provide answers. Additionally, in case of emergency, it is nice to know that someone is there who can help. The highly trained and knowledgeable staff ensure that Contiki vacations are fun and worry-free.
Experiencing something new, such as taking a gondola ride or going out at night to a bar or restaurant, can become dreary if there is no one to talk about it. This is never the case on a Contiki vacation because travelers can choose between being part of a group and spending time away from it. During the day, the tour manager sets the itinerary and provides information to those who prefer to break off and find their own entertainment. One day may be spent with the group taking a walking tour of Renaissance Florence with a local guide, while another may be spent just soaking up the sun in Corfu .
The most memorable aspect of a Contiki vacation will not be the hike through the French countryside, the sighting of the Alps, or the boat trip down the Rhine . These may be captured in photographs. It’s friendships made with people from all over the world that last a lifetime. That is one experience you cannot get when traveling alone.
(Discover Aventura)
YOUR CAT WILL THRILL TO THE GREAT INDOORS
THERE IS TRULY NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR YOUR CAT…
WHERE HE CAN PLAY a safe game of cat and “mouse”, play hide-and-sock without getting lost, perch on a sunny window seat and make fun of the neighbor’s dog, snooze, stretch, have a little snack – all from the comfort of home. The fact is cats enjoy much safer, longer, healthier lives as indoor pets. They make better neighbors and great companions. And they don’t roam around, dodging cars or adding to the already tragic problems of cat overpopulation. So if you want to do what’s best for your feline friend, don’t put him outdoors to have fun. Instead, put more fun indoors for your cat. If you want to know more, just write to us or visit http://www.safecat.org/.
KEEP YOUR CAT SAFE
(Environmental Magazine)
Authorities stressed that the plague is not a threat to the public. The disease occurs in 10 to 20 people each year in the United States
City Health Commissioner Thomas Freidan said Wednesday that a 53-year-old man had tested positive for the plague in preliminary tests and was hospitalized in critical condition.
A preliminary test on his 47-year-old wife was expected to be complete Thursday. She was hospitalized in stable condition.
Their symptoms included fever and swollen lymph nodes, Beth Israel hospital spokesman Mike Quane said. They are taking antibiotics, which can usually treat the disease effectively.
Officials said the disease has not been seen in New York City
Bubonic plague is normally transmitted from fleas that feed on infected rodents, and Frieden said rodents and fleas on the couple's New Mexico
Plague is one of a handful of agents that federal health officials fear could be used in a bioterrorist attack, but health officials stressed that the cases were natural.
Bubonic plague is active in about 15 states and occurs in 1,000 to 3,000 people worldwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one in seven U.S.
Plague outbreaks have killed about 200 million people in the past 1,500 years. The most infamous, Europe's Black Death, started in 1347, killing 25 million people in Europe and 13 million in the Middle East and China
THE STREETS OF BRAZIL
TRAFFIC BUSINESS
it’s 7:38 a.m. in sao paulo , brazil
this is when josé silva ramos – one of the city’s nearly two million “jobless” workers – goes into action. stepping off the avenue’s cement median strip, he begins draping plastic sacks on the side-view mirrors of stopped vehicles. each sack contains ten pieces of candy, a ballpoint pen, and a photocopied slip of paper that reads: “unemployed chauffer. 45 years old, 8 years of experience, i need your help. my family depends on my work. i accept meal tickets and transportation vouchers. 1.00 real. thank you.”
economic doldrums
with nearly 20 million people, greater sao paulo sao paulo proper and 38 neighboring cities and districts – an 8,000 km² conglomeration of avenues and side streets, skyscrapers, middle-class neighborhoods, and shantytowns that answer for 20% of brazil sao paulo
in recent decades, however, sao paulo sao paulo
(speak up)
PARENTS FIT SECRET CAMERAS TO SPY ON THEIR CHILDREN
AMERICAN PARENTS ARE BUGGING THEIR CHILDREN’S TELEPHONES, INSTALLING SECRET CAMERAS IN CLOCK RADIOS AND SENDING OF HAIR RETRIEVED FROM PILLOWS FOR ANALYSIS AT DRUG LABORATORIES.
They are resorting to Cold War espionage techniques and science to fight drug and alcohol abuse, which many turned into a way of life during their hippy days a generation ago.
Baby Boomers are hiring companies to bring sniffer dogs into their homes to track down traces of dope. Radio shops sell home surveillance equipment. Telephone bugs cost £45 if you want proof, home the hair in your daughter’s comb, for example, that she is taking drugs. Aerosol sprays and special chemical-soaked cotton wipes, as simple as home pregnancy kits, are available to see if there is cannabis or other narcotic residues on car seats or other surfaces.
Parental spies run the risk, if caught, of destroying the remnants of trust in their relationship with their children. But the trend is growing. Most American teenagers have telephones and televisions in their rooms, and many have computers and Internet access. Parents feel that they should be able to get to their children, ever surreptitiously, because the rest of the world does.
(The Daily Telegraph)
WEARABLE VITAMIN C?
Leave it to the Japanese to come up with the latest invention – the “Vitamin-wear V-up”, a technology enabling one to absorb Vitamin C just by wearing a certain fabric. Pro-vitamin, a replacement for ordinary Vitamin C, is embedded in a fiber and, when absorbed by the skin, changes into Vitamin C.
The effect remains for at least 30 washings. Vitamin C then protects the skin from sun damage and wrinkles.
(Speak Up)
GIRLS ARE TURNING TO VIOLENT CRIME.
Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Girls commit more than one in four of all juvenile crimes and are becoming increasingly involved in violence, according to a Government study published yesterday.
In 1957, girls accounted for only one crime in 11. this striking change was highlighted in a report into anti-social behaviour in adolescents. It shows that the criminal activities of so-called girl gangs are part of worsening trend.
Over the post 10 years, the number of arrests of girls for violence has more than doubled and juvenile crime is increasing at a faster rate among girls than boys. This is said to be almost entirely the result of the post-war period – particularly family breakdown – that is evident across the western world.
In the past, girls were effectively supervised and were less likely to be exposed to anti-social influences. Anne Hagell, one of the authors of the report, said: “Parents are less likely to supervise daughters as they once did. Young girls are spending increasing amounts of time at school. Also, where once a 13-years-old would sit in her own bedroom listening to records with a friend, now there is a trend towards girls doing te same as boys have always done, which is going around on the streets in groups of five or more.”
Boys are more likely to be involved in burglary and drug offences but the ratio falls for criminal damage, robbery, violence and theft.
The report says that poor parental supervision is a major factor in delinquency and the increase both in juvenile crime and the involvement of girls has coincided with high divorce rates and family breakdown. There is also a vicious circle at play, with anti-social girls more likely to become teenage mothers and to be less in a position to give their own generation sliding into criminality.
(The Daily Telegraph)
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