Here is an excerpt 

INTRODUCTION

The Internet is no longer a novelty. It is an established presence in many, many people’s lives. Having grown from a computer-based ‘fad’ to an integral part of mobile phone technology, the Internet has become a must-have item for not only business people and students, but just plain folks.

Unfortunately, the Internet, available to virtually anyone, is also home to a whole new type of predator. No one is exempt from problems that 

could arise from this type of predator. Identity theft, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, all terms relatively new to users of the World Wide Web, have 

become items of global concern. Because of these concerns, yet another term has been coined, cyber security.  People need to learn how to keep 

themselves and their children safe online.

Could this really be happening?

Callifornia legislature has quietly passed a law to vaccinate our children with out parental consent?  What's next?  This is a Slippery Slope if I ever saw one and we need to FIGHT for parents rights and our childrens health. It should be the choice of the Parent when, or if to vaccinate.  The Government has no constitutional right to take this right away from law abiding, healthy family situations.

(NaturalNews) Growing and widespread public awareness about the dangers associated with vaccines has naturally resulted in the steady decline of this once-lucrative sector of conventional "medicine." And in a desperate effort to preserve the financial viability of vaccines, Big Pharma has switched gears and is now attempting to legislate the secret vaccination of young children without parental consent — and we must band together now to stop this horrendous affront to health freedom from becoming law.

According to The Healthy Home Economist (HHE), California's Assembly Bill 499 has already quietly passed both the California House and Senate, and today sits on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown where it awaits his signature. The bill, which is only a single page in length, contains specific language that will allow children as young as 12 to opt for sexually-transmitted disease (STD) vaccines like HPV (Gardasil, Cervarix), Hepatitis B, and any future vaccines developed to treat STDs, without having to attain parental consent.

You can view a full copy of the bill, as it was passed, here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/p…

Apparently devoid of all conscience, soul, and any trace of respect for human life and dignity, the drug industry is now resorting to new lows to force its deadly vaccines on the unsuspecting public. If Big Pharma cannot convince people to take the deadly shots of their own free will, then the poisons must be secretly injected into the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, the children, without their parents knowing about it.

Drug giant Merck & Co. attempted a similar approach back in 2007 when it influenced political lackey Gov. Rick Perry to sign an egregious executive order mandating that all young girls in the Lone Star State receive the HPV vaccine Gardasil upon being enrolled in school. Since that effort ultimately failed, a new and more devious tactic was inevitably the next course of action (http://www.naturalnews.com/033571_R…).

Also, be sure to watch the important YouTube video linked at HHE, which explains a little bit more about the situation and the bill:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist….

HHE is urging everyone to immediately begin flooding Gov. Brown's office with calls and faxes of opposition to the unconstitutional and illegal passage of Assembly Bill 499:

Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160

Stay informed by signing up for our Kid Safe Newsletter in the top right sidebar.

Because you’re a parent and an influencer, I wanted to share some important info on a serious danger to small children when swallowed – coin lithium button batteries.

Electronic devices are a part of daily life. And they’re getting smaller, slimmer and sleeker. But inside the battery compartment of mini remote controls, small calculators, watches, key fobs, flameless candles, singing greeting cards and other electronics, is a very powerful coin-sized button battery. When swallowed, these batteries can get stuck in the throat and cause severe burns in as few as two hours.

Small children often have easy access to these devices, parents often don’t know about the risk and little ones can’t always communicate with adults.

The Battery Controlled is a partnership to raise awareness about the severity of the issue and share information with parents, caregivers and the medical community. Launched by Energizer andSafe Kids USA, this effort is committed to helping parents prevent children from swallowing coin-sized button batteries. There are three main points we hope you’ll share with your readers:

1. Keep out of reach. Devices with coin lithium “button” batteries have no place in unsupervised hands or toy boxes.

2. Get help fast. Life-threatening damage can happen in as few as 2 hours.

3. Tell others.

·         Start by taking “The Pledge” today.

·         Tweet @BatteryControl:

o   Sample Tweet 1 – PSA: Energizer raising awareness about button batteries. Serious injuries for small kids. Learn morewww.thebatterycontrolled.com

o   Sample Tweet 2 – Plz be careful. Small kids swallowing button batteries. Injuries & deaths reported. www.thebatterycontrolled.com#batterycontrol

·         Share the facts or this compelling video with your friends on Facebook.

Here are links to two recent news stories on the issue:

·         Washington Post

·         Time Magazine

You can also share these images from The Battery Controlled website (links to download pics will be live for next two days):

·         Actual X-ray

·         Toddler with Devices

·         Toddler Handling Mini Remote

·         Car Key and Remote

·         Calculator

Does your child text? Does he or she drive? Chances are they’re doing both at the same time. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, 40 percent of drivers reported they're on theircellphones while driving at least a few times per week, and 19 percent talk daily. As a result, 22 percent of car accidents in 2009 were caused by cellphone usage.

Since adults can’t seem to stop themselves from deadly in-car multitasking, it’s probably not realistic to expect your teen to refrain from using his or her phone while driving.

Fortunately there are solutions that automatically kick in when the car starts rolling. These solutions come in two basic types:

Cellphone applications 
Apps such as T-Mobile's DriveSmart Plus and Key2SafeDriving sense when you’re driving, usually by GPS measuring your speed, and disable most or all of your phone's functionality once a pre-determined speed is reached.

All offer some sort of emergency override and passenger-usage exceptions, and some include Web-based cell-phone-use monitoring. You can opt into receiving messages whenever the app is overridden for cell phone use while driving.

Once the module is triggered by car usage, a signal disables your phone. Another set of solutions uses a Bluetooth module to enable all-voice and text-to-speech capabilities.

Combination hardware/apps 
These solutions work like the stand-alone apps, except instead of relying on GPS to sense car usage, a small module gets attached to a part of your car such as the emergency brake or the OBD (on-board diagnostics) module.

"Children can be distracted by the excitement of returning to school and reuniting with their classmates," said PennDOT 

Secretary Barry J. Schoch. "Parents and students need to talk about being safe while traveling to and from school."

Schoch suggests these safety tips:

* Get to the bus stop five minutes early to avoid having to run to catch the bus.

* Be sure to look left-right-left when crossing the street.

* When waiting for the school bus, stay at least five wide steps from the curb or roadway to avoid traffic.

* While on the bus, talk quietly so the driver is not distracted.

* Remain seated at all times.

Here are more tips from another school in more detail and some repetitiveness.

 

Parents play an important role in reinforcing school bus safety, by knowing the rules and talking to their children about them.

Students riding a school bus should always:

• Arrive at the bus stop five minutes early.

• Stand at least 5 giant steps (10 feet) away from the edge of the road. * Wait until the bus stops, the door opens, and the driver says it's okay before stepping onto the bus.

• Be careful that clothing and drawstrings and book bags with straps or dangling objects do not get caught in the handrail or door when exiting the bus.

• Check both ways for cars before stepping off the bus.

Crossing students should:

• Walk in front of the bus; never walk behind the bus.

• Walk on the sidewalk or along the side of the road to a point at least 10 giant steps ahead of the bus.

• Be sure the bus driver can see them, and they can see the bus driver.

• Wait for the driver's signal to cross.

Things KIDS should know about school bus safety:

• The bus driver and others cannot see you if you are standing closer than 10 feet to the bus. Stay out of the danger zone!

• If something falls under or near the bus, tell the driver. NEVER try to pick it up yourself!

• While waiting for the bus, stay in a safe place away from the street.

• If you are late, never run after the bus (you could accidentally fall under the bus).

• Be alert to traffic. When you get on or off the bus, look left, right, left before you enter or cross the street.

• When the driver says it is safe to cross the street, remember to CROSS IN FRONT of the bus.

• Stay in your seat and sit quietly so that the driver is not distracted.

Things PARENTS should know about school bus safety:

• School buses are the safest form of highway transportation.

• The most dangerous part of the school bus ride is getting on and off the bus.

• Pedestrian fatalities (while loading and unloading school buses) account for approximately three times as many school bus-related fatalities, when compared to school bus occupant fatalities.

• The "Danger Zone" is the area on all sides of the bus where children are in the most danger of not being seen by the driver (ten feet in front of the bus where the driver may be too high to see a child, ten feet on either side of the bus where a child may be in the driver's blind spot, and the area behind the bus).

• Half of the pedestrian fatalities in school bus-related crashes are children between 5 and 7 years old.

Young children are most likely to be struck because they:

• Hurry to get on and off the bus.

• Act before they think and have little experience with traffic.

• Assume motorists will see them and will wait for them to cross the street.

• Don't always stay within the bus driver's sight.

Additional safety rules:

• Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

• Be courteous and respectful to personal property and others while at your bus stop.

• Be courteous and respectful to others while riding the bus.

• No chewing gum or eating candy.

• No animals on the bus.

• No glass objects on the bus.

• No weapons or other potentially hazardous materials on the bus.

• No balloons, skateboards or large unsecured items on the bus.

• Kindergartners should wear their I.D. tags all year long.

• Label clothing, book bags, lunch pails, etc. with name, phone number and school.

• Put all trash in garbage cans.\

These are all distractions to the driver and can lead to potentially dangerous situations.

These are also great reminders when riding in your own vehicle or in car pools.  Kids need to be aware that distracting the driver can be dangerous.  Make sure you lead by example and focus your attention on driving yourself by not texting, answering calls, eating, etc.  Make sure you pull over to do these things so that you are fully committed to the act of driving and your children learn just by seeing your actions. 

This is a topic that should be discussed at home about why cheating is harmful to the person who gives and receives the answers and what the long term effects could be. 

Fight High-Tech Cheating (Before It Starts)

 

A friend of mine was helping her daughter with her homework when they got to some challenging word problems that neither of them could solve. My friend's Facebook page was open, so she posted the questions to her friends — and immediately received the answers. Problem solved? Hardly. When the results came through, it occurred to my friend: Am I cheating?

The ease and immediacy of digital devices — cell phones, smart phones, Internet access, and social networks — allow us to get answers quickly and efficiently without having to do a lot of work. And if it's a gray area for parents, it's really shady for kids.

A 2009 Common Sense Media poll revealed that lots of kids are doing exactly what my friend did. Plus, they're texting each other answers during tests, using notes and information stored on their cell phones during tests, and downloading papers from the Internet to turn in as their own work. And, while my friend felt conflicted, many students don't consider their actions to be cheating at all.

How do you make the shades of gray more black and white?

How to Talk to Kids About Cheating

 

1. Is it a shortcut or a cheat? A kid who knowingly tries to pass off someone else's work as his own is cheating. If he takes a shortcut — say, doing research on Wikipedia rather than at the library — that's an error in judgment about the trustworthiness of Wikipedia's material. In this case, kids should understand that Wikipedia isn't the same as an original source.

2. Is it a "cheat" or a gimme? The term "cheat" has become a part of the culture. Game developers plant "cheats" in their games to reward kids who are savvy enough to find out the cheat codes. But "cheat" in this case isn't really accurate. Games are intentionally designed with these built-in rewards to add an extra challenge. Kids should understand the distinction — game cheats are a ploy, but there's no secret code that unlocks your homework.

3. Is it collaborating or cheating? Texting the answers to someone taking a test is cheating, and your child's school surely has a policy against it. But other forms of communication — like collaborating via IM on Facebook with friends – might actually be OK because they help kids work out problems together. As long as the teacher approves and your kids understand the ground rules around not stealing others' answers or giving away their own, a little IMing during homework time — for help, not full-scale answer delivery — is probably OK.

4. What technology is OK to use for school? Don't let the technology — or the anonymity — of some of these methods get in the way of talking about cheating. Cheating means taking credit for something you didn't do or giving your own answers away. Where and how it's done doesn't matter. Follow your school's policy on the use of digital devices.

5. How did you feel when you did it? That sinking feeling my friend had when her Facebook friends solved the word problems? That was her conscience. Kids have a sense of right and wrong, but they need a lot of reminders to do the right thing. One ally you have is kids' desire to make their own choices. In this case, the choice is literally in their hands. They can create an honest, open Internet and mobile world, or they can create one in which they'll always have to be suspicious of what they find and who they know.

How do you feel about kids looking to Facebook and other friends to find the answers to a problem, is that cheating or is it using technology to their benefit.  As computers become more and more of our life, is it proper to allow kids to learn how to research a difficult problem on the internet and seek advice from their peers?  An in person study group shares answers and ideas and concepts, is Facebook any different than that?  

August 18 Webinar:

Protecting Your Child's Health Through

Safe and Effective Vaccines

Do you know how vaccines are developed and approved? Or how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures that vaccines are safe and effective in preventing disease?

Learn about the vital role that FDA plays in protecting the health of our nation’s children through regulation of vaccines in this 30-minute webinar. An FDA expert will discuss the importance of vaccines to a child’s health, the development process for vaccines, how FDA makes sure vaccines that are granted licensure (approval) are safe and effective, and how the agency oversees their continued safety and effectiveness.

An opportunity to ask questions will follow the presentation.

When:  Thursday, Aug. 18, 2:00 p.m. ET

Length: 30 minutes

Where:  To join the webinar, see the instructions here. Webinar slides will be posted here also.

Host: Office of Vaccines Research and Review within FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

Featured speaker: Norman Baylor, Ph.D., director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review within FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

This webinar is part of a series of online sessions hosted by different FDA centers and offices. The series is part of FDA Basics, a Web-based resource aimed at helping the public better understand what the agency does.
 

This article appears on FDA's Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Aug. 15, 2011

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  My 13 year old girl, Ashley Flores, is missing . She has been missing for now two weeks . Maybe if everyone passes this on, someone will see this child . That is how the girl from Stevens Point was found by circulation of her picture on tv . The internet circulates even overseas, South America , and Canada etc . Please pass this to everyone in your address book . With GOD on her side she will be found . 'I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE . It is still not too late . Please help us . If anyone knows anything, please contact me at: HelpfindAshleyFlores@yahoo.com I am including a picture of her . All prayers are appreciated! ! '

Here is a link to a site that has a list of hoax emails about missing children, it's called the Hoax Slayer – If you get an email claiming that there is a child missing you can check this site to see if it is a possible scam. Some of these scams ask for money to go to charities to help missing children.

There is actually a case filed against a fake company claiming to help find missing children with canisters set all over town requesting donations.  The monies never went anywhere but into the pockets of those that created the scam. If you really do want to help and get involved here is the link to the National Center for Missing Children.  

When making donations to a fund or organization, you should always donate directly to the group that you want to help.  You will get a receipt from a reputable company that you can claim on your taxes. Missing and Exploited children is a real danger.  

There are many ways that you can help protect your children from abduction and to help law enforcement find the child right away.  Fighting these hoaxes is an ongoing problem that takes time away from the real work of real missing children.  You should not "pass on" any emails unless you have checked them for credibility first.

Aug 9 (Reuters Life!) – Tests of more than 700 preschoolers' packed lunches found that fewer than 2 percent of the meats, vegetables and dairy products were cool enough to be safe, according to a U.S. study.

One in six U.S. residents gets food poisoning every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but it is unclear how many cases are caused by lukewarm sack lunches.

The study by Fawaz Almansour, a doctoral student at the University of Texas in Austin, was the first to check how the food that children take to school is doing in terms of health about ninety minutes before they eat it.

"It was a shock when we discovered that more than 90 percent of the perishable items in these packed lunches were kept at unsafe temperatures," Almansour said.

According to his study, published in Pediatrics, some 705 lunches packed by parents for children in full-time daycare centers were checked for the temperature of perishable food items and the number of ice packs included.

The CDC says that perishable foods kept between 4 to 60 degrees Celsius (40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than two hours are no longer safe to eat.

Some 39 percent of the lunches had no ice packs, while 45 percent had at least one. Some 12 percent were kept in refrigerators.

Still, 88.2 percent of lunches were at ambient temperatures.

"Even with multiple ice packs, the majority of lunch items were at unsafe temperatures," Almansour and colleagues wrote.

Almansour said the study had been an "eye-opener."

"It shows there is a problem," he added, recommending that lunches be packed with lots of ice packs and refrigerated once the children arrive at school.

(Reporting by Frederick Joelving at Reuters Health, editing by Elaine Lies)