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2006-05-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

A great decision

The middle-east has suffered a lot of changes during their history. This region is known as one of the most problematic regions in the world. There is now a civil war going on, the situation between Palestinians and Israelis is getting worse and they have terrorist groups that slow down the negotiations for ceasing the fire. One of the most powerful terrorist groups is called Hamas. This terrorist group has started negotiations with the Israeli government and has ceased fire as a prove of their loyalty to the discussions.
One effect this decision has is that people have now faith in the process, they truly believe that this conflict is going to have an end and that they will have a country of their own once and for all. Palestinians who live in shelters and scared seem to have a chance to start all over again. Therefore the rest of the countries that surround this area can stop carrying about this problem and also the rest of the world.
Also, if this group accomplishes the pact no more people is going to be unnecessarily killed in the continuous terrorist acts that were committed day after day. It is true that the discussions are not done yet, but this is a big step, it is like if in Colombia the guerrillas say that they will cease fire for a real open negotiation.
“The latest report showed that the general secretary of the United Nations, kofi Annan, asked Hamas to become a political group”. This information is huge because if Hamas establishes as a political group they will have to accept the Palestinian rights as their policy and accept also the solution of the two-state agreement.
If the conflict is solved and the two states separate themselves, the Middle East may now have a chance entering in commercial way to the other countries in the world. If they show that they have changed, people from other part of the world can travel to Israel or vice versa, their image to the rest of the world will change as the time goes by. Even though if all this happens, the reputations is something you can not just change from one day to another, it takes time to clean your name so this two states have a long way to go and stay out of more conflicts.
· http://www.un.org/spanish/News/daily/pdf/2006/09022006.pdf

How to exercise

When people talk about sports, they first think it is all about good health and good looking. What they don’t realize is that if you exercise the wrong way, your body might suffer great impact and it will cause a lot of pain.
The first real cause of this pain is when the person first arrives to the court and starts playing without stretching the right way. If you don’t stretch before a game your muscles are cold and the possibility of having a strain is huge. Not only stretching but warming up is very important before exercise. If you stretch before warming up, the muscles you can cause a strain to yourself without playing.
When you are stretching it is important to move all your articulations in every possible direction they might move. It is better if you avoid the rotations. In the moment of the game you body has to be completely warmed up so you won’t suffer any strains and sprains.
Another important tip is when people try to start jogging every day because they are overweight and they are not used to the idea. Jogging has a technique so your feet don’t suffer the same impact as if you start jogging the same way you walk. This is one of the most common mistakes people have. They jog putting the ankle first and then the rest of the foot, when the right way to do it is to put the front part of the foot first and then the rest. That way it won’t suffer the same impact and you won’t have the excessive pain when jogging or the deformations in the body.
People who love sports sometimes don’t realize that the excessive abuse of the body can also cause pain in the articulations mostly in the knees and toes, which are the pillars of the body. That pain is called fatigue and it happens when the muscles are used for long periods of time without stoping.
When the activity is over, cooling down is essential to avoid fatigue and other uncomfortable sensations. 90% of people that are not used to the idea of exercising never cool down after the game is over and that is crucial when a player is trying to become more effective.
All these facts contribute to a better development for sportsmen in general. It doesn’t matter which sport you play all this is essential to avoid strains and sprains. So keep this in mind before working out.

ULTIMATE

I remember the firs time I went to a practice in which the players taught me how to play. People were all very kind and gentle and later I realized why these guys acted that way and it is because of the most important rule in this sport it’s called “the spirit of the game” and it consists on encouraging the self-respect an the respect for others. This game has no referee so that’s when the spirit comes out. You have to be sincere and accept the calls or fouls if you really know you committed one.
Well, I went to the practice because my best friend’s brother was always telling us that we should try it and see how much we could enjoy it, so one day, two years ago I took the decision and went to see the practice. I can say that I fell in love with this great sport at the very beginning. Everybody was running very fast, throwing the disc from long distances it was awesome but the best part came when I saw a lay out (that’s when a player runs after the disc and lays out if he or she can’t reach it running.)

Since that day, me and some friends of mine, decided to practice this game and form a team, which now days has for a name “Arena Roja Ultimate Club”, we became the first team to be formed legally as a club, with a president, a secretary and all the charges related to management. Arena has traveled all around the country participating on national and international tournaments; we are also the team that represents the Universidad Del Norte on college tournaments.
Although, my team is relatively new, we have excellent players and a solid base. I remember well my first national competition, it was a beach ultimate tournament, we went to Santa Marta were the event took place. I was so scared that my legs gave me some problems when a tried to move, but after the pull came out (pull is like the initial kick in a football game) all my nerves immediately disappeared, my team was playing awesome and we felt that our national position was not as bad as we thought. We won all the games in the firs 2 days, and only loss against the teams that eventually won first, second and third place. So, it was great! Even though we weren’t champions I felt like if I was, on my first tournament we gave a spectacular show and something that even more important, a national recognition by all the teams that participated. We were called “rookies of the year” by all the players in Barranquilla. It was all because my team had a great spirit during the tournament.

Correction

2006-05-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

There were several differences between Washington and Lincoln, Washington came from a wealthy aristocratic background and He had several years of schooling, On the other hand, Lincoln came from a poor background and had very little schooling. Another difference between them is their military roles. Washington was a general, He was a military leader and later he Became president of the United States. Lincoln never served in the army. He was a lawyer who early on became a politician, When he became president he took on the role of commander in chief, as all U.S. presidents do. Despite his lack of military background or training, Lincoln made several strategic decisions that enabled the U.S. military leaders to win the Civil War. Finally, Washington served for two terms and therefore had eight years to accomplish his policies. Lincoln, on the other hand, was assasinated while he was in his office and was not able to finish some of the things that he wanted for the country.

There were also several differences between Washington and Lincoln. Washington came from a wealthy aristocratic background. He had several years of schooling. Lincoln came from a poor background and had very little schooling. Another difference between the two involved their military roles. Washington was a general. He was a military leader. Became president. Lincoln never served in the military. He was a lawyer who early on became a politician. When he became president, he took on the role of commander in chief, as all U.S. presidents do. Despite his lack of military background or training. Lincoln made several strategic decisions that enabled the U.S. military leaders to win the Civil War. Finally, Washington served for two terms and therefore had eight years to accomplish his policies. Lincoln, on the other hand, was assasinated. While in office and was not able to finish some of the things that he wanted for the country.

Jack Friedhamm was born in New York on October 25, 1965. He began school at the age of six and continued until he was 18 years old. Then, he went to New York University to learn Medicine. He chose Medicine because he liked biology when he was at school. While he was at the University he met his wife Cindy. Cindy was a beautiful woman with a long black hair. They went along for years before they decided to get married. Jack began to work as a doctor as soon as he graduated from Medical School. They had two children named Jackie and Peter and had lived in Queens since the past two years. Jack has a great interest in painting and likes to paint portraits of his son.

Jack Friedhamm was born to New York in October 25, 1965. He began school at the age of six and continued until he was 18 years. He then went to New York University to learn Medicine. He decided on Medicine because he liked biology when he was at school. While he was to University he met his wife Cindy. Cindy was a beautiful woman with hair long black. They went along for yeers before they decided getting married. Jack began to work like a doctor as soon as he graduated to Medical School. They had two children named Jackie and Peter, and have lived in Queens since the past two years. Jack is very interested painting and likes to paint portraits of his sun

Reflection

2006-04-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

In which areas of language use have you improved, in your opinion?
I think maybe my grammar and reading areas.
Which areas of langauge use are still a problem?
spelling its giving me some problems, sometimes I dont know how to spell some words that aren´t common.
Which areas of language use do you want to spend the most time on during the rest of the semester?
I dont know if its an area, but I want to speak more fluid.
What type of classwork is most useful, in your opinion?
Essays!
What can you personally do to increase your rate of progress?
Study harder and try to speak in english most of the time.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions about this class?
no, I really enjoy this class.

Gaza strip

2006-04-06T15:45:00.001-07:00

I really think this movie shows how Palestinians are been treated and how the have to suffer from all the painfully acts submitted by Israelis. This documentary shows only one side of the story, which is the Palestinian side, and puts Israel as a criminal state. It shows all the attacks that Palestinians suffer and mostly how children react against it, Palestinian kids live to throw stones against Israeli troops and most of the time they get shot by one or more soldiers.
It's very cold to see how most of this people live in refugees with nothing to protect them, no walls or anything and that is how some of them say that death can be better than to live in a society where they can't express their thoughts or feelings.
also, a very impressive fact was how kids and grownups deal with death and gunshots every day of their lives as if it were normal. If somebody of their family dies it's like if they already knew that it was gone happen sooner or later.
I think the media doesn't not provides an accurate picture, as I said it before, because it only shows the Palestinian side and leaves Israelis as the worse part of the conflict. Maybe it is like that, but maybe it is not and for students like us that are only starting to know how this conflict is being treated gives us a really bad picture of Israelis.

Peace Initatives

2006-02-16T15:14:00.000-08:00

http://http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/09/israel.palestinians/index.html

I read about how the conflict it's being treated by the leaders and the ones that are attempting to be one of them. Hamas is saying that if he becomes a leader he would be capable of negociating with Israel and try give an end to this war.
meanwhile, the rest of the word is worried because some of the countries allegate that if Hamas becomes a leader, Pakistan would be cataloge as an terrorist nation.

My favorite carnival memory

2006-02-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

actually, I`m not the greatest fan when it comes to carnivals, the idea of strange people you don't know throwing water at your face is not very pleasant if you are`NT drunk or something. Most of my friends, inculpable my girlfriend, love carnivals more than anything in the world so I have to attend to every single parade. The only parade I really enjoy is the garabato, only because it takes place near my home and you can run into most of you friends and relatives. In the year of 2002, all my friends were at my house and we were having a great party before the garabato, everybody was having a lot of fun drinking and dancing (in a moderate way). When the time came, we started to walk towards the parade. After we got there, I was so involved with the moment that I didn`t cared if somebody was throwing water or "maizena" at me. when the garabato ended we all went to ma house and kept dancing until the morning came. so thats my best carinval memory.