Bullfighting; news

This piece of news talks about the bullfighting. Catalonia has been taken over by a band of misanthropic animal rights activist and wants to do away with the sacrifice of bulls’ altogether.

Esperanza Aguirre wants to declare bullfighting a cultural treasure along with El Prado or la paella.

In my point of view la tauromaquia is unfair for bulls that are with fewer possibilities for defending themselves; that is to say, these animals are attacked unfairly by bullfighters.

Imagine if we alter the rules and this bullfighting becomes in a fight hand by hand between man and the bull eliminating the “human helpers”. If the bull wins, people would realise the bull on the range forever.

What do you think about this propose? Would there be more dead bullfighters? I am a little afraid about that. But as you know it is only a propose, as I said; nobody would accept this as to apply it.

Finally I would to say that it is incredible that the bull is the symbol of Spain country and theses citizens try to kill them for they appreciate tradition.


extract from: Catalonia Today

Pregnancy exercise 'slims babies'; news

It is said by some specialists, from New Zealand and United States, that doing some exercise during pregnancy can ameliorate the future health of children by controlling their weight in the mum’s womb.

Overweight women are more probable to have babies that could be at higher risk of health problems in life. For this reason, UK guidelines recommend do light exercises for pregnant women.


The future metabolism of children can be influenced by its environment in the womb and some babies that are relatively heavy for their length can be more probably to be obese in the future.

These specialists recommend to pregnant women to use exercise bikes for five 40 minutes session every week until at least the 36th week of pregnancy.

This great study that specialists are made can be very useful for the future of our children. That is say, if midwifes that help with some exercises to pregnant women, imposes that they should do some exercises with static bikes, in the future may not be so many obese people.

Also this news breaks with the topic that pregnant women should eat enough because the children grow up healthy.



extract from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Forum's intervention

FORUM 1
Certainly, the fact that this book is based on a romantic story tends to say that it's a book only for girls. Actually, love and romance issues have always related to girls and it is, in my opinion, because boys have always wanted to seem more “brave” in front of these issues to not appear weakness to the other guys. Therefore, it doesn’t mean that all boys aren’t romantic or all girls that are romantic: there are always cases of all kinds. So, in my opinion, this book is enjoyable for both of them. Ariadna Julià.

FORUM 2
I agree with Mònica: marriages were also for social and cultural issues. Every poor or "normal" family had the desire that his or their daughters marry with people better placed economically and socially to become or to increase their level of welfare and economic development. Nowadays, this fact is not so usual but some people that have a good economic position is "deceived" in some way by other people who want to benefit from "falling in love with" rich people or achieve some fame. So we can say that marriage in some cases represents a benefit for one of the couple. Ariadna Julià.

FORUM 3
It can be possible? I don't want to say that but, boys always think with the same! And if we pay attention some boys commented twice when he saw this topic (as Roger ¬¬'). Well, so I prefer analyze boys intervention, that is, what kind of things boys judge a girl. Firstly, Robin said a good point: honour is an important point (I must say that happiness also in my point of view, Robin) and this quality the Bennet sisters, Jane and Elizabeth, show us that they have this honour. And now, if we observe the other boys' said and also, Monica intervention, we can see what they judge in a girl. Its true that beautiful is the first thing that you see in a person when you meet at first but in the film we can judge Bennet sisters for their behavior not only for they beauty. So, I would like to finish my intervention that it can be a "lesson" for people (specially for boys): "A person is only beautiful, when their own beauty, is reflecting on to others."

Letter; Department of Environment

Rentador Street, num. 15
Figueres (Girona, Spain)
11th of January, 2010

Department of Environment
Great Avenue, num. 5
Barcelona, Spain



Dear Sir/Madame

My name is Ariadna Julià and I am writing this letter to you to talk about the climate change so it is a worrying and problematic aspect in these current days.

Nowadays, a lot of environmental experts warn us that, since many years ago, environment is polluting and now, more than ever. Furthermore, the population is increasing, and it is directly related to the increase of pollution, too.

As you know, this pollution comes from chemical products like the famous gas, CO2, and it causes ecological disaster like acid rain. Consequently, some endangered species suffer; for these reasons we must try to do something about this big problem.

Everybody knows that if we do nothing to sort it out, our appreciated planet will disappear in a fewer years. It is necessary to try to do some campaigns to promote and make the society conscious of the problem.

My purpose is, with the media, try to send an ecological message and also, all world countries should make an arrangement to solve it.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.



Yours faithfully,

Ariadna Julià.

Podcast; description of a person

Some anecdotes

A friend in the rain

Last week I was walking home after playing basketball when it started raining very heavily. 'Oh no, I will get soaked before I reach home', I thought. I wish I had rembember to bring my raincoat.' But unfortunately I had left it at home.

How stupid of me! I always forget to bring it with me. Luckily just then a friend of mine passed in her car and offered me a lift. 'Are you hoing home? she asked, 'or do you want to go for a drink?' 'I think I'd rather you took me home', I said. 'If I don't change my clothes, I know I will fall ill, and then I won't be able to play basketball next week. And I have been practising hard for the las month.' I will wait for you to change if you like', she told me. 'I think it's time you relaxed for a change. You have been worring too much about things lately. And people who worry too much fail ill more easily. It's got nothing to do with the rain!'

How a hobby can make you angry!

Recently I decided to take up photography as a hobby. I like taking snaps, but I am not very skilled. My snaps are either a complete failure for technical reasons, or are just not very imaginative.

First I decided that to be successful, I would have to buy new equipament. Just then I had an unexpect piece of good luck. A friend who works in a camera shop said she could sell me a valuable camera. A customer had left it at the shop to be repaired, but there had been a misunderstanding, and it was actually for sale. I thought this was a credible explanation and so I asked her some more questions. She said she had had a agreement with the customer and he had thrown the camera at her because she disliked his photos!

Leaving a job

My oncle recently left his job in an advertising agency after a disagreement with his boss. He accepted his resignation but warned him that because of the economical situation, he might have to get used to the idea of being unemployed for a while. He thought that he was trying to make a point, but after he had made over fifty aplications to other companies, he realized that he was right.

Althought he is a qualify designer, he didn't receive any offers of a job. After that he tried working from home, but it was not very profitable. Then he became an employee in a fast-food restaurant, even thought his earning were extremely low. He wish he had accepted early retirement from his old job. That is what he disagreed with his boss about!

Grease; analysis

John Travolta plays Danny, the arrogant leader of a gang of teenagers in the 50s. Everyone knows him as a tough and ruthless with the girls. When he returns from his summer vacation and meets with his friends in high school, everything is the same. But things change when Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) recognizes him as his summer love. Danny makes him crazy, but he still love her. Sandy will be integrated into a gang of warrior girls, to face with the arrogance of Danny.

This film is one of the mythic musical films. John Travolta appears in full authority, and it is a waste of energy and magnetism. Newcomer Olivia Newton-John, a star of the track by then, makes an attractive role as Travolta's naive love. The songs are excellent and that sogns do not lose their rhythm and their freshness over the years. The choreography is magnificent. A tribute to the golden era of true rock and roll. Anybody should miss this great film.

2nd Oral presentation; my reserch project

Self-evaluation
In general, I can be satisfied with the oral presentation that I did about my research project but there was some aspects that I can improve.

Regarding the other oral presentation, I must say that this last presentation was more easily to talk about because about the topic. I hadn't got so nervs, I think that I was more confidence.

During the presentation I was looking to the classmates but perhaps I also read much more the paper: its a point that I can improve. In my point of view, I introduced the topic quite well and my oral presentation was correct and well tied content.

Personally I liked to talk about this topic because I was quite fluent and confidence with people. Finally, I didn't show any example and it could be good to demonstrate to the audience my hard work.

Spanish women do three times as much housework

According to a recent study undertaken by the Saving Banks Foundation (FUNCAS), Spanish and Italian men do less housework than other European people, specially countries like Sweden, Norway and UK where the household share out between the sexes.

The report called 'Spanish family life: Analysis and Reflections from a Sociological and Economic Perspective', indicates that, on average, Spanish women spend more than four and half hours each day cooking and cleaning, more than three times as much as their menfolk.

This article, as you could see, talks about the housework. Nowadays, this topic is so important; a few years ago, it was only the women who did the housework and the men who went to work outside. In these moments, as women as men work outside and for this reason, they must share out their hosuework.

Personally, I think that is unbelievable that in Spain, a developed country, the women do more than three times as much as their men folk. Also, Spain is not the only developed country where the women do more housework, there are more countries that this happen; times has changed and every sex have to contribute with the housework.

extract from: http://edition.cnn.com

Shopping ways

Supermarkets

Nowadays, a great variety of different food is available from large supermarkets. There are rarely any shortaje of fresh food, and there is far less likelihood of our having to realy on frozen products.

Does this mean that supermarkets have become the most successful shops of all time? Certainly they seem to have made some kinds of food less expensive and most people enjoy shopping in them.

There has been a reduction in the number of complains made against supermarkets in recent years. The assistans are no longer impolite, but smile and try to be helpful. Above all, supermarkets have shown a willingness to listen to their customers, and to adapt to customer's needs.

Street markets

Most people enjoy looking for bargains in the street markets. It can be very enjoyable walking around the stalls, among the crowds of a shoppers, and trying to spend as little as possible. Of course it depends on the market.

In fruit and vegetable markets, there is usually a wide variety of fresh produce, but it may not be cheap. There may be goods at reduced prices at the end of the day. Clothes markets can be a problem, as it is difficult to try on new clothes in the open aire!

My favourites are antique markets, where although there is not much likelihood of finding valuable objects which are also cheap, you can enjoy yourself looking at all the things for sale. Whatever kind of market you look round, and whether you buy things or not, you usually end up felling completely worn out. Still, it is an interesting way of shopping.

Some exercise

One of the best ways of doing exercise, without it produces a big effort, is practicing a team sport.

We know that if we play sport we feel better. It is the best way of expelling the tensions accumulated during the day. In spite of knowing well that is a good way to move the skeleton, a lot of people have a lot of difficulties to go to the gym.

The truth is that going to the room of gym's machine to do exercise is a solitary activity and it is not attractive. One of the best ways of doing exercise, without it produces an effort, is practicing a team sport. The basketball can be the solution.

Every time there are more children, women and men that play basketball and they join into leagues. The advantages of the basketball are great, for example:

- You gain resistance. The lungs get used to doing exercise and during your quotdidian live you realize that you become less tired.

- You will learn to work in a team and to cooperate with your team members; you will do new friendship.

Your team members wait for you; now, you don't practice a sport solitarily. Your weekly appointment with the sport turns into an appointment with your friend. Playing basketball can be the formula to meet with people regularly.

Past, present and future transport

A hundred years ago, most people travelled on foot, by train, or on horseback. Railways had made it possible to travel rapidly over long distances.

Bicycles were also becoming popular, after the invention of the air-filled tyre, which made cycling a lot more confortable buses, trams and underground railyways had already been invented, and cities all over the world already had traffic jams. There were very few private cars, and city streets were still full of horses.

What a difference a hundred years have made! Presently we have got used to the problem of private cars, and some cities are so noisy and polluted that in many places vehicles have been banned from the city centre.

How will we be travellin in a hundred year's time? Perhaps by then there will be only personal helicopters. There may be no need to commute to work or school in the future, since everyone will have a computer at home. There might even be more people walking and horse-riding, for pleasure and exercise.

Human rights; Freedom of expression

Human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms which all humans, whatever people nationality, place of resident, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, etc, are entitled.

These human rights are civil and political rights, the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, equality before the law, economic, social and cultural rights, the right to participate in culture, the right to be treated with respect and dignity, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education in some countries.

Human rights have been evolving during the human history. The first example of a table of laws that contain individual rights is the tablet of Hammurabi. The tablet was created by the Sumerian king Hammurabi about 4000 years ago that it included 282 laws that was a precedent for a legal system. This kind of legal document protects the people from some types of persecution and punishment. The problems with Hammurabi's code were related with nature, it didn’t protection on more abstract ideas such as race, religion, beliefs, and individual freedoms.

Centuries later, on December 10 in 1948 the General Assembly of United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a text which appears all fundamental rights and freedoms that humans of around the world deserve to have.

States assume obligations under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill human rights.
The obligation to respect means that States couldn't interfere and change in human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. And the obligation to fulfill means that States must take actions to facilitate the pleasure of basic human rights

Nowadays there are 30 human rights. I especially like human right 19: Freedom of expression. Here there is how it appears in the table of Human rights

Human Right # 19
Freedom of Expression
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers

Freedom of expression is very important right because it is basic in permission to work and public participation in decision-making. Citizens cannot exercise their right to vote or take part in public decision-making if they do not have free access to information and ideas and to express points of view freerly.

Breaking freedom of expression often go togheter with other violations, in particular the right to freedom of association. In recent years progress have been make in terms of securing respect for the right to freddom of expessions. For example, in Spain during Franco's time nodbody can express themselves like they want: now, more and less, everybody can do everyting they want, always respecting other people because democray has been instaured. There are some countries that this right has no been instaured because of estabilshed politcal goverment, like a dictatorial goverment.

Podcast: Joke

"It's time for E-books. Paper books are history". Do you agree?

There are a lot of reasons why electronic books won't be healthy for people and also there are some inconvencients about that.

Firstly, these books are certainly practical books because they are not heavy neither uncomfortable to take everywhere if you want. But, do you imagine reading always in an electronic screen? It will produce a very important damage in our vision and later on people will have to use glasses perhaps.

An important aspect also, is that it is a pity to lose this paper books costume; libraries will decrease with the electronic era and these buildings are really cultural places. If we use these E-books we only llok for books that we know; if we go to the library we can find a lot of different types of books and finds a different stile that we maybe like. Althought paper books dame the enviroment, it is also important that people can be healty.

In conclusion, traditional books should not disappear to mantain the libraries, constumes and health. Perhaps, in twenty years people won't remember about paper books, but, by the time, we must preserve these great cultural elements.