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Breast Cancer
May 24, 2010 by joel.cerda
(breastcancer.org) Breast cancer symptoms vary widely — from lumps to swelling to skin changes — and many breast cancers have no obvious symptoms at all. Symptoms that are similar to those of breast 
cancer may be the result of non-cancerous conditions like infection or a cyst.
Breast self-exam should be part of your monthly health care routine, and you should visit your doctor if you experience breast changes. If you’re over 40 or at a high risk for the disease, you should also have an annual mammogram and physical exam by a doctor. The earlier breast cancer is found and diagnosed, the better your chances of beating it.
The actual process of diagnosis can take weeks and involve many different kinds of tests. Waiting for results can feel like a lifetime. The uncertainty stinks. But once you understand your own unique “big picture,” you can make better decisions. You and your doctors can formulate a treatment plan tailored just for you.
In the following pages of the Symptoms and Diagnosis section, you can learn about:
Understanding Breast Cancer
How breast cancer happens, how it progresses, the stages, and a look at risk factors.
Screening and Testing
The tests used for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring, including mammograms, ultrasound, MRI, CAT scans, PET scans, and more.
Types of Breast Cancer
The different types of breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), inflammatory breast cancer, male breast cancer, recurrent breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer, and more.
Your Diagnosis
The characteristics of the cancer that might affect your treatment plan, including size, stage, lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and more.
Your Pathology Report
A detailed, step-by-step explanation of what your pathology report says and how this might affect your treatment options.
To read the complete article click here
Source: www.breastcancer.org
The National Immigration Forum
May 5, 2010 by joel.cerda
Established in 1982, the National Immigration Forum is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation. The 
Forum uses its communications, advocacy and policy expertise to create a vision, consensus and strategy that leads to a better, more welcoming America – one that treats all newcomers fairly.
Ultimately, our vision is to create US immigration policy that honors our nation’s ideals, protects human dignity, reflects our country’s economic demands, celebrates family unity and provides opportunities for progress.
For over two decades, the Forum has occupied a unique role, knitting together alliances across diverse faith, labor, immigrant, non-immigrant and business constituencies in communities across the country.
These alliances come together under the Forum’s leadership to develop, execute and evaluate legislative and administrative advocacy strategies.
Recently, the Board of Directors completed a strategic positioning process to ensure the Forum is strong in the years to come. Under the leadership of Ali Noorani, the Forum’s new Executive Director and only the third director in the organization’s 27 year history, the Forum’s Strategic Goals are to:
1. Develop relationships and an understanding of disparate views and, taking those views into account, craft a cohesive strategy across a range of issues;
2. Provide trusted information, analysis and advocacy strategy to key audiences shaping immigration policy and regulation across a range of immigration issues;
3. Engage a wider set of pro-immigration voices across constituencies, regions and ethnicities;
4. Implement targeted campaigns, based on the guidance of our Immigration Policy Council, to advance the overall strategy of the pro-immigration alliance; and,
5. Develop the institutional capacities and structures of the Forum needed to achieve its mission.
The Forum is prepared to build broad and cohesive coalitions, execute a highly disciplined legislative strategy, and witness and celebrate the passage of immigration legislation that positively impacts the lives of millions of Americans and New Americans.
To read more information about the forum click here
Source: www.immigrationforum.org
UN-REDD Programme
April 27, 2010 by joel.cerda
(un-redd.org) - Deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, fires etc., account for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more th
an the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector. It is now clear that in order to constrain the impacts of climate change within limits that society will reasonably be able to tolerate, the global average temperatures must be stabilized within two degrees Celsius. This will be practically impossible to achieve without reducing emissions from the forest sector, in addition to other mitigation actions.
REDD - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries – is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.
It is predicted that financial flows for greenhouse gas emission reductions from REDD could reach up to US$30 billion a year. This significant North-South flow of funds could reward a meaningful reduction of carbon emissions and could also support new, pro-poor development, help conserve biodiversity and secure vital ecosystem services.
Further, maintaining forest ecosystems can contribute to increased resilience to climate change. To achieve these multiple benefits, REDD will require the full engagement and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and other forest-dependent communities.
To “seal the deal” on climate change, REDD activities in developing countries must complement, not be a substitute for, deep cuts in developed countries’ emissions. The decision to include REDD in a post-Kyoto regime must not jeopardize the commitment of Annex I countries to reduce their own emissions. Both will be critical to successfully address climate change.
To view the information from the original source click here
Source: www.un-redd.org
US plans to give high-speed broadband to every American
April 20, 2010 by joel.cerda
(BBCnews) US regulators have unveiled the nation’s first plan to give every American super-fast broadband by 2020.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will now submit the plan to
Congress, said broadband was the “greatest infrastructure challenge”. It estimates that one-third of Americans, about 100 million people, are without broadband at home.
The FCC’s goal is to provide speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), compared to an average 4Mbps now. “Broadband for every American is not too ambitious a plan and it is absolutely necessary,” former FCC chairman Reed Hundt told BBC News. “The consequences of not succeeding are heartbreaking. Every nation needs a common medium to gather around and to have the internet as a common medium where a third are left out is unacceptable.”
WHAT GOVERNMENT WILL DO
- Connect 100 million homes to super-fast broadband with speeds up to 100 megabits per second.
- Allocate spectrum to allow network updates for wireless broadband
- Increase adoption rates to 90% and make sure every child is digitally literate before they leave school
- Encourage greater competition among providers to make prices cheaper and deals easier to understand
- Use digital switch-over fund to bring cheap broadband to rural areas
- Provide one gigabit broadband to schools, hospitals and military installations
The executive summary revealed that access to high-speed internet services had grown dramatically from eight million Americans 20 years ago to nearly 200 million today. Estimates to implement the plan have been put at $350bn (£233bn). How that bill will be split between private investment and tax dollars is not known.
For years the technology industry has pushed for the US government to create a national broadband plan. Ahead of today’s meeting with Congress, a number of hi-tech companies wrote to Mr Genachowski to praise the plan. “Broadband is critical to America’s long-term economic and social well-being. As society increasingly moves online, the costs of digital exclusion grow as well,” said the signatories of the letter, which included Cisco, Sony, Salesforce, Microsoft, Facebook and Intel.
One possible battleground is expected to be over the sale of spectrum that is mostly in the hands of television broadcasters. Mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon have said they will need more spectrum in future to provide superfast reliable internet connections to every customer.
To read the complete article click here
Source: www.bbc.com
Author: Maggie Shiels
$2 million in scholarships available to Latino students
February 9, 2010 by joel.cerda
The Orange County Register reported that more than $2 million in college scholarships will be awarded this 
year to Latino students through the Washington, D.C.-based Hispanic College Fund, program officials have announced.
The scholarships range from $500 to $10,000 and are based on merit and financial need.
Last year, five Orange County students won a Hispanic College Fund scholarship, out of 592 recipients total.
More than 500 students nationally are expected to receive a scholarship this year.
“Hispanics are the fastest-growing population in America, and we owe it to them – and our country – to make sure that young Latinos pursue higher education and productive careers that will strengthen our economy,” the scholarship fund said in a statement.
To qualify, undergraduate and graduate students must maintain a 3.0 out of 4.0 GPA; be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States or Puerto Rico; be enrolled full-time at an accredited university for the 2010-2011 school year; and demonstrate financial needs.
Santa Ana native Uriel Guadarrama, who received a $4,000 scholarship, attends USC, where he’s majoring in international business and Chinese.
“The HCF scholarship has been a blessing to myself and to my family,” Guadarrama said in a statement. “The financial support that I have received has made it easier for me to focus on my academic and career goals.”
The scholarships are supported by a number of private donors, including Denny’s, Ford Motor Company Fund, Google, Kaiser Permanente, the Manuel Candamo Memorial Scholarship, Verizon, PepsiCo, and J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
To apply, go to http://scholarships.hispanicfund.org.
Source: www.ocregister.com
