Thursday, July 28, 2011

BBC News - In Steinbeck's footsteps: America's middle-class underclass

BBC News - In Steinbeck's footsteps: America's middle-class underclass: "In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck describes the harrowing journey of the Joad family - migrant workers forced to leave their home during the Great Depression - a story still relevant to those facing the realities of America's current economic crisis.

'To the red country, and part of the gray country of Oklahoma the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth…' That is how Steinbeck begins The Grapes of Wrath.

This year the last rains came in May to western Oklahoma. They lasted long enough to produce the last alfalfa crop but the winter wheat was already lost."

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

BBC News - Somalia famine: WFP begins aid airlift to Mogadishu

BBC News - Somalia famine: WFP begins aid airlift to Mogadishu: "Millions in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa face dire food shortages in the worst regional drought for decades.

The Islamist al-Shabab militia, which controls much of Somalia, has banned the WFP from its areas.

The delivery was to have begun on Tuesday but was delayed from leaving Kenya by bureaucratic hurdles."

Friday, July 22, 2011

IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: The downside of "free" health care | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Governance | Health & Nutrition

IRIN Africa | COTE D'IVOIRE: The downside of "free" health care | Cote d'Ivoire | Conflict | Governance | Health & Nutrition: "'The problem with free health care is it was not prepared - we've all just fallen into this new system,' said pharmacist Binaté Nouho. 'At the beginning [when the policy was just announced and donors had given supplies] we had medicines, but they've all run out. We can do the consultations free but we don't have money to buy medicines... The system is jammed.'"

BBC News - Pentagon to certify the end of US military gay ban

BBC News - Pentagon to certify the end of US military gay ban

BBC News - Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade bans demonstrations

BBC News - Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade bans demonstrations: "Senegal has banned political demonstrations in central Dakar ahead of protests planned to oppose President Abdoulaye Wade's re-election bid.

His plans to seek a third term in office have sparked widespread criticism."

Beckhams a 'bad example' for families | Life and style | The Observer

Beckhams a 'bad example' for families | Life and style | The Observer: "Lucas said: 'We need to have a far greater public debate about population, whether it focuses on improving family planning or reducing global inequality – and looking again at how we address the strain on our natural resources. The absence of an open and honest discussion about this issue means most people don't give much thought to the scale of global population growth in recent years. In 1930, just one or two generations ago, the world's population stood at around two billion. Today it is around seven billion, and by 2050 it is projected to rise by a third to 9 billion."

Thursday, July 21, 2011

BBC News - Texas death row killer forgiven by shooting victim

BBC News - Texas death row killer forgiven by shooting victim: "'What Mark Stroman did was a hate crime, and hate crimes come from ignorance,' said Rais Bhuiyan, 37, the only man to survive the shooting.

'His execution will not eradicate hate crimes from this world, we will just simply lose another human life.'"

BBC News - Can America's genius for invention endure?

BBC News - Can America's genius for invention endure?: "America's dominance of innovation and technology is being challenged by other countries.

Figures from Battelle show that China's spending on research and development is second only to the US because its unprecedented investment in education has created a highly skilled workforce.

The company warns that America's under-investment in Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) will spark an innovation crisis for the nation in the years to come."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle: "The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century."

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle

BBC News - UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle: "The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century."

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory : Shots - Health Blog : NPR

Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory : Shots - Health Blog : NPR: "The Institute of Medicine report is out earlier than expected, after an embargo was broken. Among other things, it recommends that the federal government consider putting 'the full range of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods' on the list of services for women that would be covered by insurers without a copay."

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

U.N. Women’s Agency Publishes Sobering Report on Lack of Gender Equality - NYTimes.com

U.N. Women’s Agency Publishes Sobering Report on Lack of Gender Equality - NYTimes.com: "Gender equality is increasingly enshrined in laws, but many millions of women still have no access to justice, said Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile who was appointed as executive director of U.N. Women, the global body’s first agency for gender equality and female empowerment, which published the report.

“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” she said. “And even where the laws exist, the implementation and enforcement of those laws can be poor — even in the most progressive countries.”"

Monday, July 18, 2011

Peter: Citizenship is not amnesty, I realized, but a reward for their incredible work ethic and perseverance

Peter: Citizenship is not amnesty, I realized, but a reward for their incredible work ethic and perseverance: "I have been a conservative Republican my entire life. In 1964, I drove 27 miles from UCLA to my home to vote in my first election for Barry Goldwater. I am a former prosecutor, and the 33 years I worked for a private law firm were mostly spent representing large corporations. Yet, contrary to many conservatives, I have come to strongly support the Dream Act as a new and innovative path to becoming a US citizen. I decided to blog because Jose's story reflected the lives of many young people who society needs as citizens."

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

BBC News - Is India's population policy sexist?

BBC News - Is India's population policy sexist?: "The good news is that India's birth rate has dropped by more than half in 35 years - from 5.7 children per woman in the mid-1960s to 2.7 in 2010. Nearly a third of India's people have lowered their fertility to replacement levels.

The bad news is that India is still set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2030. A Planning Commission report points to a 'chilling' fact: the wide geographical disparity in the projected population growth. The four northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh will alone account for 44% of the expected addition of 370 million people to India's population between 2001-26, the report says."

Monday, July 11, 2011

How Should you Cover Africa? Better Question: How Should we Consume Media?

How Should you Cover Africa? Better Question: How Should we Consume Media?: "This is a picture of the “world” news navigation menu at foxnews.com. Africa, the second largest continent and home to 1 billion people, is nowhere to be found. I realize Fox is not a credible news source, but that doesn’t explain this omission. There isn’t an Africa link because Fox News knows that their audience wouldn’t click on it. Likewise, CNN rarely features stories from sub-Saharan Africa on their front page, unless the stories involve violence (preferably sexual violence) or cultural oddities like the one featured in the photo at the start of this post: Insect trappers profit from Uganda’s taste for grasshoppers."

Saturday, July 9, 2011

BBC News - Texas execution 'violated international law', UN says

BBC News - Texas execution 'violated international law', UN says: "The US breached international law when the state of Texas executed a Mexican citizen convicted of raping and killing an American girl, the UN's senior human rights official has said.

Navi Pillay cited 'particular legal concerns' whether Humberto Leal Garcia, 38, had access to consular officials and a fair trial.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said she was 'disappointed' that Texas carried out the lethal injection."

BBC News - Horn of Africa drought: Survival of the fittest

BBC News - Horn of Africa drought: Survival of the fittest: "'It's ironic. There is relative peace in Somalia where I live. But we are still fleeing.

'It's because of the drought. We have lost everything now other than these two camels. There is no need to hang on.''

There are actually three camps at Dadaab, which are already overcrowded with more than 370,000 refugees - way more than the 90,000 capacity they were built for.

Aid organisations say they are over-stretched. It can take between seven and 12 days to get the first food rations to the camps"

BBC News - South Sudan becomes an independent nation

BBC News - South Sudan becomes an independent nation: "South Sudan became the 193rd country recognised by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa."

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Google Exec Marissa Mayer Explains Why There Aren't More Girl Geeks

Google Exec Marissa Mayer Explains Why There Aren't More Girl Geeks: "
“The number one most important thing we can do to increase the number of women in tech is to show a multiplicity of different role models,” Mayer said. “The stereotype of that very complete and rigid picture of what being a computer scientist means really hurts people's understanding and ability to identify with the role and say, ‘Yes, this is something I can be in and want to be in.’”"

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

BBC News - UNHCR in Somalia 'human tragedy' warning

BBC News - UNHCR in Somalia 'human tragedy' warning: "The levels of malnutrition among children fleeing Somalia's drought could lead to a 'human tragedy of unimaginable proportions', the UN refugee head Antonio Guterres has said.

Young children are dying on their way to or within a day of arrival at camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, the UNHCR says.

It estimates that a quarter of Somalis are either displaced within the country or living outside as refugees."

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy Dependence Day, America! Love, China – Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs

Happy Dependence Day, America! Love, China – Business 360 - CNN.com Blogs:
"The U.S. China-Business Council’s website highlights America’s burgeoning trade imbalance over the last decade. In 2001, the U.S. ran up a deficit with China of $83 billion. By 2010 however, that number had more than tripled to $273 billion – the largest trade imbalance the U.S. has ever had with a single country.

So as the U.S. suffers from a trade deficit, how does China enjoy its trade excess?

Well, a good deal of that money is found in its domestic infrastructure projects. As an old China hand, I can tell you that around the country China is building out everything from its national road network and subway systems, to its airports, trains and bridges."
 
Think local. Act global. Learn more about the Peace Corps