Brandie Halls

I just learned that The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that more food imported from China may be contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in the manufacturing of plastics and can cause severe kidney problems in large doses.  Melamine has also been found in Hong Kong in baby cereal and vegetable formula made by Heinz.  It has also been found in wasabi crackers which are manufactured by the Chinese company, Silang House.  How could all of this happen?

A Chinese company named Guanshengyuan that makes candy, has stopped selling its popular brand White Rabbit, which is sold nationally in China, after tests confirmed the presence of melamine.  Earlier their powdered milk was found to contain melamine which sickened over 53,000 people and was responsible for the deaths of at least four infant children.  Guanshengyuan has stopped exporting their goods to the nearly 50 companies overseas that buy them.

It makes you wonder what else from China will harm us.  Remember all of those toys from China that had to be recalled because of lead paint?  I don’t know if someone is doing all of this to hurt China or to hurt the world.  Who knows, this could be some type of terrorist attack too.  It’s becoming a rather scary world, ya know.

Did you hear about the three white tiger cubs that were rejected by their mother?  Well Isabella, a golden retriever took them in.  She nursed the ‘puppies’ and loved them just as much as if they barked instead of meowed.  People think animals don’t have feelings but I disagree.  Some animals have more feelings it seems than some people I know.  If it hadn’t been for this dog, those tiger cubs would have died.  Now the small safari park in Kansas will have the three cubs thanks to this amazing dog.

I am really enjoying college.  Christian and I are still seeing each other and not in a hurry for anything except to have a little fun together from time to time but he understands that school comes first and so does my family.  Mom is doing better every day it seems but she still has bad days.

I guess college has really opened my eyes.  There are students here from as young as 15 years old to one lady here that is 63 and working on getting her high school diploma.  Isn’t that wonderful?  She’s an amazing woman too.  She has 6 children and 17 grandchildren.  She said she always regretted not getting her high school diploma and wants to set a good example for her grandchildren.  I was blown away by that.

I know that I have to study hard and make something of myself because I’m the only one that I can count on to take care of me and that’s as it should be.  I don’t know what the future holds for Christian and I but no matter what, I will graduate and have my own career.  Sure I want all the usual things most women want like a husband and a family of my own but I’m in no hurry.

I am in a hurry to spread my wings and become the woman I know I can be who is self sufficient, on her way to the top and not willing to let anyone or anything stand in my way if at all possible.  My mother needs me to be strong and help her and my brother and sister.  That’s not a problem because she’s been there for me and I fully intend to return the favor.  After all, that’s what family does, take care of each other.

The ‘Invitational Games for the Deaf, Taipei 2008′ started yesterday in Taipei, Taiwan.   I think it’s wonderful to have events like these for people with handicaps but being deaf isn’t a reason not to compete in the Olympics, is it?  I don’t know and would be interested in knowing if any of you know.

After table tennis and soccer, events from martial arts including karate, judo, and Tae Kwon Do were featured mainly in the 2^nd match day.  Tae Kwon Do applied a single elimination rule, but events from Karate and Judo applied round robin rules in their competitions.

The medal count so far is as follows:

Order	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze
	Chinese Taipei	4	2	3
	Japan	4	1	4
	Argentina	2	0	2
4	South Korea	1	4	3
5	Turkey	1	3	1
6	Russia	1	1	2
7	Hong Kong	0	1	1
8	United States	0	0	1

I’m sure a lot of you have seen the movie ‘The Horse Whisperer’.  Well the book is even better and I absolutely loved the movie.  The book covers more which is always the case when they turn something into a movie.

Well the man that wrote the book is named Nicholas Evans.  It seems he was hospitalized because of eating poisonous mushrooms while on holiday in Scottland.  His wife, her sister and his wives sisters husband all got sick after they picked some mushrooms in the woods and ate them.  They were all hospitalized but are all expected to make a full recovery.

The mushrooms were tested and the tests established that the mushrooms included the highly toxic variety Cortinarius speciosissimus, which attacks the kidneys.  I’m really glad they are all doing better but one thing is for sure, I won’t be picking any mushrooms and eating them.  That was a good lesson for anyone that read about it and didn’t already know about how poisonous mushrooms can be.