Thursday, October 20, 2011

Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed - Bloomberg

Malaysia Losses From Racial Law Exposed - Bloomberg: "Lim Guan Eng turned Malaysia’s second-smallest state into the nation’s biggest economic success after he bumped into two National Instruments Corp. (NATI) executives at the local airport in 2008.
Elected in March that year as Penang’s first chief minister from an opposition party in 36 years, Lim was struggling with the prospect of federal funding cuts. He convinced the managers to set up a research and production center in the state, and within two years the former British trading post was Malaysia’s top destination for foreign manufacturing investment."

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BBC News - Michael Petit: Why child abuse is so acute in the US

BBC News - Michael Petit: Why child abuse is so acute in the US: "Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?"

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Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say - NYTimes.com

Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say - NYTimes.com: "A few years ago the World Health Organization estimated that malaria killed one million people a year, and in 2008 it said that mosquito nets, DDT and newer artemisinin-based drugs paid for by donor nations were making a dent. But the estimates are controversial and change when new statistical methods are applied. Also, malaria can bounce back frighteningly fast as soon as control measures are relaxed or even in hotter, wetter weather.

It is far harder to make a vaccine against parasites like malaria than to make one against a virus."

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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money | ThinkProgress

Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money | ThinkProgress: "But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:
Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.
Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. [...]"

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Friday, October 7, 2011

Montclair's Peace Corps volunteers look back at their service : page all - NorthJersey.com

Montclair's Peace Corps volunteers look back at their service : page all - NorthJersey.com: "Weaver was shocked to be asked to join a special group of Peace Corps volunteers who were to train athletes in newly independent African countries with the goal of participating in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

He was going to Senegal, where athletes had competed internationally before, but not under their own flag; they ran for the French flag. Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960."

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