Thursday, January 29, 2015

A California High School Suspended 66 Kids Over Measles Fears | TIME

A California High School Suspended 66 Kids Over Measles Fears | TIME: "A two-week suspension for 66 high school students who have not been fully immunized for measles has been handed down by a California high school.

The move comes after one student was believed to have exposed 20 others to the highly contagious disease during a school field trip.

That student is being allowed to return to the Palm Desert High School according to the Los Angeles Times, and the suspended students can return to school earlier if they provide proof of immunization or are medically cleared by the Riverside County Public Health Department."



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Rohingya refugees say traffickers in Malaysia abuse and kill | Reuters

Rohingya refugees say traffickers in Malaysia abuse and kill | Reuters: "The murder of Abul Kassim casts rare light on what Rohingya activists say is widespread abuse by human traffickers in Malaysia, who are willing to use extreme methods to protect their lucrative but illegal business.

Abul Kassim regularly supplied police with information on the activities of traffickers, said Abdul Hamid, president of the Kuala Lumpur-based Rohingya Society in Malaysia.

Since 2012, more than 100,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims have fled violence and poverty in Myanmar. Most travel in traffickers' boats to Thailand, where they are held by traffickers in squalid jungle camps before a ransom is paid.

Relatively wealthy Malaysia to the south is the destination for most Rohingya who flee. For some, it is far from safe."



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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

California’s epidemic of vaccine denial, mapped - The Washington Post

California’s epidemic of vaccine denial, mapped - The Washington Post: "My colleague Jason Millman reported last week on the results of a study showing that vaccine skeptics tend to cluster together in like-minded, often wealthy communities. Since the study focused on just a handful of northern California counties, I'd like to extend that analysis by looking at vaccine refusal across the entire state of California -- as a result both of vaccine denial and religious objections.

The map below is a first crack at that. Using data from the California Department of Public Health, it divides the state into equal-area grids, and within each area it counts the number of public school kindergartners with what's known as a "personal belief exemption" (PBE) to state vaccine requirements. The hexagon markers are sized by the total number of kindergartners in the area, and colored according to the percent of them with PBEs."







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Vanderbilt rape trial: Defendants found guilty on all charges

Vanderbilt rape trial: Defendants found guilty on all charges: "District Attorney Glenn Funk said he hopes the case spurs change and sends a message that his office will prosecute cases of sexual violence.

"This case gives our entire community an opportunity to talk to each other and to our children, especially to our boys, about the way we treat women, both with our actions and with our words," he said. "No one deserves to be violated. Further, if you see someone who is being sexually assaulted, the right thing to do is to report it and try and get the person some help."

In trial, jurors watched videos and saw photos of the rape that detectives recovered from Vandenburg's, Batey's and Brandon E. Bank's phones. Banks and Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, both 20, also are accused in the case. They are awaiting trial."



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Monday, January 26, 2015

BBC News - The Sikh Captain America fights racial stereotypes

BBC News - The Sikh Captain America fights racial stereotypes: "Most office workers stick to wearing a shirt and trousers. So why has a Sikh man in his 40s been talking to strangers in New York while dressed as Captain America?

"I want to challenge people's perceptions, I want them to have a mind freak when they see me."

So says Vishavjit Singh, a mild-mannered software engineer by day and passionate cartoonist by night."



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BBC News - Where do the wealthiest 1% live?

BBC News - Where do the wealthiest 1% live?: "As the business and political elite met at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, there was much talk of rising inequality, and many references to the "wealthiest 1%". The phrase conjures up images of billionaires living on private islands - but is that who the 1% really are?"



Map showing where the wealthiest 1% live



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California considering plan to replace gas tax with charge per mile driven - San Jose Mercury News

California considering plan to replace gas tax with charge per mile driven - San Jose Mercury News: ""There are pros, there are cons. We have to pay for roads," said state Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. "This is a way that might be part of that. "

California has more than 100,000 electric cars on the road now. That's less than 1 percent of the 23 million cars in the state. But electric vehicles -- whose owners pay no gas tax -- represented 3 percent of new car sales last year. And federal mileage standards on gasoline cars continue to require better fuel efficiency.

As a result, the amount of gasoline sold in California peaked in 2003, at 15.9 billion gallons. It has fallen steadily since then, despite population growth, to 14.6 billion gallons in 2013, a drop of 8 percent. And as people have bought less gasoline, state gas tax revenues have fallen from $2.87 billion in 2003 to $2.62 billion in 2013.

Critics skeptical of government are wary of the new approach."



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Friday, January 23, 2015

Double standards of celebrity humanitarianism | WhyDev

Double standards of celebrity humanitarianism | WhyDev: "In her response to the public backlash that followed, Johansson insisted that she “never intended on being the face of any social or political movement, distinction, separation or stance.” This illustrated her failure to grasp the fact that poverty is not a natural occurrence, but a fundamentally political phenomenon. Moreover, it highlighted an unwillingness to seriously commit to social change and a decision to instead adopt a cynical soft approach. The lack of conviction of many such celebrity endeavours is beautifully illustrated by Johansson, who made clear that, when push came to shove, profit came before people."



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Ford Opens New Silicon Valley Research Center Led By Former Apple Engineer - Forbes

Ford Opens New Silicon Valley Research Center Led By Former Apple Engineer - Forbes: "At the 25,000-square-foot facility today, Ford CEO Mark Fields was there to made it clear the car maker was hunting for the latest and greatest technology out there.

“As we think about coming to Silicon Valley, we want to be viewed as part of the ecosystem here,” Fields said. “Silicon Valley is a marketplace of ideas and it’s important to be here and be a part of that. The research center is another proof point of that.”

Ford has had a research center in the area since 2012, but this represents a major uptick in the company’s presence. The old office used to house only eight employees, while this new one currently has 20 engineers—mostly in software—and with plans to increase that number to 125 this year. That’ll makes Ford’s research center one of the biggest among car makers, according to Ford."



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BBC News - The women who must make Delhi safer

BBC News - The women who must make Delhi safer: "It is a short walk from my office in the heart of Delhi to the nearest underground station - just 10 minutes. But it is a nervous 10 minutes.

Especially on dark wintry evenings, I set out with a sense of unease. I ask myself if I am being paranoid. However, few women are around at that time and Delhi has a poor reputation for safety.

I am not the only one asking this question, and in less than a fortnight several women running for office in India's capital will need to answer it.

Delhi has been without a government for roughly a year but, on 7 February, voters will choose members to fill the 70-member state assembly.

The three major parties - Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress - are fielding some high-profile women, and some fresh faces."



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Dozens dead, 7,000 arrested as political violence rocks Bangladesh - CNN.com

Dozens dead, 7,000 arrested as political violence rocks Bangladesh - CNN.com: "Thirty-one people have been killed and more than 7,000 arrested in weeks of political unrest in Bangladesh, as the country's opposition mounts mass protests demanding fresh parliamentary elections.

The dead were mainly killed by arson attacks on buses and cars, police said. The two most recent victims, who died of their injuries in hospital Thursday, were victims of bomb blasts.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with 19 allied parties, called for general strikes and a nationwide blockade on road, rail and river transport on January 5, the first anniversary of disputed elections."



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California Prisons Aim To Keep Sex Between Inmates Safe, If Illegal : NPR

California Prisons Aim To Keep Sex Between Inmates Safe, If Illegal : NPR: "San Francisco has been distributing condoms to inmates in county jails for decades, but a new California law requires condoms to be made available to all state prisoners. California is the second state after Vermont to do so, even though sex between prisoners is unlawful here."



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Thursday, January 22, 2015

This graphic shows just how brutal Boko Haram really is | GlobalPost

This graphic shows just how brutal Boko Haram really is | GlobalPost:



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Remarks by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a Special Event to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 21, 2015

Remarks by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a Special Event to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 21, 2015: "Now, what do the stories of Captain Mbaye and Father Bernard teach us about stopping mass atrocities? We often – and we especially here at the United Nations often – speak about the failure to prevent genocide in terms of structures and institutions; and of course, structures matter a great deal. But whether they work or not ultimately comes down to the efforts of individuals. And our greatest failures in preventing genocide have come not when individuals have tried to save lives and failed. No, our greatest failures have come when – whether out of fear or feelings of futility or political considerations – people have not tried in the first place.

The impact made by Captain Mbaye and Father Bernard demonstrates just how much can be achieved when people are willing to take risks to defend the lives of others. For while it is true that their individual efforts did not, and could not, stop the massive atrocities being committed in Rwanda or today in the Central African Republic, together, two individuals saved thousands of lives. Just two men, whose only weapons were their courage and a commitment to helping people in their greatest time of need. A Senegalese peacekeeper saving Rwandans, international journalists, and aid workers; and a Togolese Catholic priest saving Muslims. As Father Bernard has put it: “It’s not that we made a specific decision to help Muslims. It’s that our mission is to protect the weakest and most vulnerable.”"



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Church backs Congo protesters, rights group says 42 killed - Yahoo News

Church backs Congo protesters, rights group says 42 killed - Yahoo News:

Over 40 people have been killed in days of protest against President Kabila's attempt to change the constitution so he can run for another term in office. A powerful church group is now siding with the protests. “As anti-government demonstrations in the capital Kinshasa entered their third day, the leader of Congo's Catholics, Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya, strongly criticized any attempt to postpone a presidential election due next year. Opposition supporters took to the streets on Monday to try to derail legislation that would require a national census before the vote. The opposition says the count would take years to organize in a poor nation the size of Western Europe, although the government denies this...In Kinshasa's main Mama Yemo hospital, witnesses said that members of the presidential guard entered a ward where wounded opposition supporters were being treated and opened fire, injuring several people.”

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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Queens of Africa Dolls Outsell Barbie in Nigeria

Queens of Africa Dolls Outsell Barbie in Nigeria: "When Taofick Okoya's daughter told him that she wished she was white, the Nigerian entrepreneur decided to help her fall in love with her natural black beauty. Sensing that her fair-skin worship was due to all of her favorite storybook, cartoon, and toy characters being white, Okoya began to imagine a world where Nigerian girls played with, and looked up to, black characters. 

That was in 2007. Eight years later the Queens of Africa dolls outsell Barbie in Nigeria. Modeled after the three biggest tribes in the country, the dolls each represent a different progressive value meant to empower black girls in their youth and in their careers. Nneka is Igbo and represents love. Azeezah is Hausa and is the queen of peace. In the music video created for the dolls, the Azeezah doll is seen holding a #BringBackOurGirls sign. Finally, Wuraola, the Yoruba doll represents endurance. “Water is soft, this is true, but it can break a rock,” she sings in the “Queens of Africa” song. The dolls are available in various outfits, though the traditional attire is the most popular."



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How a crazy scientist duped America into believing vitamin C cures colds - Vox

How a crazy scientist duped America into believing vitamin C cures colds - Vox: "You wake up with a stuffy nose and your first reaction might be to down a glass of orange juice. Don't bother: everything we know about research shows that mega-doses of vitamin C are absolutely, positively useless at fighting colds. All that extra orange juice will do nothing to shorten your sniffles.

This all leads to the question: how did America get sold on a massive vitamin C myth? Is it vitamin manufacturers, trying to get us to purchase more pills? Has the orange industry tried to dupe us?

Part of it has to do with the fact that vitamin C is rarely harmful, so there's been little impetus to intervene.

"There’s a lot of misinformation out there on vitamin C because it’s safe," says Heather Mangieri, a nutritionist working with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

And part of it traces back to one famous scientist, Linus Pauling, who came to believe that vitamin C could be a cure-all for numerous ailments — and, while he's no longer alive, he's still duping millions of people."



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A sustainable approach for the world's fish supply - News - News & Events

A sustainable approach for the world's fish supply - News - News & Events: "China’s booming aquaculture industry is increasingly dependent on fishmeal made from wild-caught fish, a practice that depletes wild fish stocks. A new study conducted by institutions including Leiden University and Stanford offers a more sustainable path. The study appeared in the journal Science on 9 January.

The researchers propose recycling the waste by-products from seafood processing plants as feed for farm-raised fish. This would provide from one half to two-thirds of the amount of fishmeal currently needed by Chinese fish farms. The study was conducted by a research team led by postdoctoral fellow Ling Cao and Professor Rosamond Naylor from Stanford University. The team also included staff from Leiden University (PhD student Patrik Henriksson) and University of Wollongong, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Ocean University."



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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

BBC News - Richest 1% to own more than rest of world, Oxfam says

BBC News - Richest 1% to own more than rest of world, Oxfam says: "The charity's research shows that the share of the world's wealth owned by the richest 1% increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% last year.

On current trends, Oxfam says it expects the wealthiest 1% to own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016.

The research coincides with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos."



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BBC News - Pope Francis: No Catholic need to breed like 'rabbits'

BBC News - Pope Francis: No Catholic need to breed like 'rabbits': "Speaking to journalists while heading back to Rome from the Philippines on Monday, Pope Francis was asked what he would say to families who had more children than they could afford because the Church forbids artificial contraception.

He replied with an unexpected turn of phrase: "Some people think that - excuse my expression here - that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits."

"No. Parenthood is about being responsible. This is clear."

The Pope said he knew many ways allowed by the Catholic Church that could ensure families only had as many children as they wished."



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Unvaccinated children clusters pop up all over Northern California - SFGate

Unvaccinated children clusters pop up all over Northern California - SFGate: "Physicians say fears of autism linked to vaccinations, fueled by a 1998 research paper that was later debunked, still linger. High profile “antivaxxers,” such as actress Jenny McCarthy, may also sway some parents. Other parents are concerned about the overall safety of giving their babies a lot of vaccinations in a short period of time.
The federal government recommends at least 17 injections during a child’s first two years of life, including hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and the pneumococcal virus.
But the decision not to vaccinate has serious public health consequences. A measles outbreak of more than two dozen cases in California — linked to an unvaccinated visitor at Disneyland last month — has increased the debate around immunizations. Some cases have been reported in Alameda County."



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Measles Outbreak Spreads in California, Other States - NBC News.com

Measles Outbreak Spreads in California, Other States - NBC News.com: "In fact, the widening outbreak coincides with new evidence that clusters of California parents have refused to vaccinate their children — decisions that boost the risk of measles hitting hard in certain towns or cities, pediatricians say.

Researchers checked the immunization records of more than 150,000 children who are members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California — all born between 2000 and 2011, and all covered continuously by that health-care provider, which serves about 40 percent of the insured population in 13 Northern California counties.

The analysis found five residential pockets inside which vaccine refusal rates among parents ranged from 5.5 percent to 13.5 percent between 2010 and 2012. Those areas include a stretch of the East Bay area, from El Cerrito to Alameda, California."



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Monday, January 19, 2015

Belgian, Zimbabwean shot in land protest in Sierra Leone - Yahoo News

Belgian, Zimbabwean shot in land protest in Sierra Leone - Yahoo News: "FREETOWN (Reuters) - A Belgian and a Zimbabwean working for international agribusiness company Socfin Group have been shot during a protest over land rights in Sierra Leone, police said on Saturday.

The Luxembourg-registered company, part of the business empire of the French tycoon Vincent Bollore, is embroiled in a bitter feud with local landowners in the Malen chiefdom where it has its palm oil plantations.

Socfin said the two men were returning from overseeing the extinguishing of a fire at the plantation when they were attacked by people throwing stones and their vehicle was shot at. The two have received medical treatment for injuries and their lives were not at risk.  "



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Belgian, Zimbabwean shot in land protest in Sierra Leone - Yahoo News

Belgian, Zimbabwean shot in land protest in Sierra Leone - Yahoo News: "FREETOWN (Reuters) - A Belgian and a Zimbabwean working for international agribusiness company Socfin Group have been shot during a protest over land rights in Sierra Leone, police said on Saturday.

The Luxembourg-registered company, part of the business empire of the French tycoon Vincent Bollore, is embroiled in a bitter feud with local landowners in the Malen chiefdom where it has its palm oil plantations.

Socfin said the two men were returning from overseeing the extinguishing of a fire at the plantation when they were attacked by people throwing stones and their vehicle was shot at. The two have received medical treatment for injuries and their lives were not at risk.  "



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Friday, January 16, 2015

The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as a hero? | Lindy West | Comment is free | The Guardian

The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as a hero? | Lindy West | Comment is free | The Guardian: "There is no room for the idea that Kyle might have been a good soldier but a bad guy; or a mediocre guy doing a difficult job badly; or a complex guy in a bad war who convinced himself he loved killing to cope with an impossible situation; or a straight-up serial killer exploiting an oppressive system that, yes, also employs lots of well-meaning, often impoverished, non-serial-killer people to do oppressive things over which they have no control. Or that Iraqis might be fully realised human beings with complex inner lives who find joy in food and sunshine and family, and anguish in the murders of their children. Or that you can support your country while thinking critically about its actions and its citizenry. Or that many truths can be true at once.

Always meet your heroes."



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Thursday, January 15, 2015

The TTIP trade deal will throw equality before the law on the corporate bonfire | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian

The TTIP trade deal will throw equality before the law on the corporate bonfire | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian: "The UK government, like that of the US and 13 other EU members, wants to set up a separate judicial system, exclusively for the use of corporations. While the rest of us must take our chances in the courts, corporations across the EU and US will be allowed to sue governments before a tribunal of corporate lawyers. They will be able to challenge the laws they don’t like, and seek massive compensation if these are deemed to affect their “future anticipated profits”. 




I’m talking about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its provisions for “investor-state dispute settlement”. If this sounds incomprehensible, that’s mission accomplished: public understanding is lethal to this attempted corporate coup.



 The TTIP is widely described as a trade agreement. But while in the past trade agreements sought to address protectionism, now they seek to address protection. In other words, once they promoted free trade by removing trade taxes (tariffs); now they promote the interests of transnational capital by downgrading the defence of human health, the natural world, labour rights, and the poor and vulnerable from predatory corporate practices.



The proposed treaty has been described by the eminent professor of governance Colin Crouch as “post-democracy in its purest form”."



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29 Breathtaking Photographs Of The Human Race You (Probably) Haven’t Seen | Natural Cures Not Medicine

29 Breathtaking Photographs Of The Human Race You (Probably) Haven’t Seen | Natural Cures Not Medicine: "“I’M FED UP TO THE EARS WITH OLD MEN DREAMING UP WARS FOR YOUNG MEN TO DIE IN.”

"







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Single-stream schools not Malaysia’s key to unity, says academic - The Malaysian Insider

Single-stream schools not Malaysia’s key to unity, says academic - The Malaysian Insider: "However, Shamsul said that even after 40 years, Malaysia was not actually united, whether in diversity or uniformity, and he doubted unity would be achieved within the next 20 years.

“We have achieved cohesion, where we agree to disagree. But we have not reached unity. We are moving towards it.

“Unity is when people feel that they belong together, where they have a shared history,” said Shamsul."



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Nine charged over Myanmar murders in Penang | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online

Nine charged over Myanmar murders in Penang | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online: "BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 14 ― Nine Myanmar nationals were charged today over the series of murders last year involving the deaths of their fellow countrymen.

The men, aged between 20 and 40 years, were jointly charged first at the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate's Court and then again at the Sessions Court for several offences.



 Bilah Md Ghulam, Mohamad Rafik, Habibullah, Mohd Rafi Shafie, Yassin, Soe Maung Maung, Ali, Hafiz Ahmad and Hussain Swaley were charged at the Magistrate's court with participating in an unlawful assembly and subsequently with the murder of two Myanmar nationals, Myo Aung and another unidentified man.

They allegedly committed the offence sometime between 8pm and 9.30pm on November 23 last year at a house in Kampung Pisang, Cherok Tokun in Bukit Mertajam.

They were charged under Section 149 of the Penal Code for unlawful assembly and Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, which carries the death penalty upon conviction.



 When asked if they understood the charges, which were read out in Bahasa Malaysia, all nine men nodded in agreement. No plea was recorded.

Magistrate Diannee Ningrad Nor Azahar fixed January 30 for mention pending the appointment of an interpreter."



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Divers search AirAsia fuselage found in Java Sea

Divers search AirAsia fuselage found in Java Sea: "Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a statement Wednesday that the country's navy chief told him the plane's fuselage was located by one of the nation's vessels.

Bambang Soelistyo, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue chief, said the section found is 100 feet long and 30 feet wide with a height of 10 feet.

"The fuselage with a wing still attached on it was found in the priority search area and has been confirmed as part of AirAsia plane," he said.

Ng said images taken by a remotely operated vehicle show part of the aircraft's wing and words on the fuselage. Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed happiness at the discovery, saying divers would examine the fuselage Thursday."



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Project Ara

Project Ara: "The smartphone is one of the most empowering and intimate objects in our lives. Yet most of us have little say in how the device is made, what it does, and how it looks. And 5 billion of us don't have one. What if you could make thoughtful choices about exactly what your phone does, and use it as a creative canvas to tell your own story?  

Introducing Project Ara.

Designed exclusively for 6 billion peop"



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Up close with Google's new and improved Project Ara prototype

Up close with Google's new and improved Project Ara prototype: "Customization is obviously a big focus with Ara and the ability to personalize the look of your phone's modules with photos or other designs is admittedly awesome. Google plans to roll out an Ara Configurator app that will allow you to build your own phone before you buy. Shop for the modules you want by specifications and customize the design of each one."



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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

From Poverty to Power » The Economist on the global spread of cash transfers and Jokowi’s flying start in Indonesia

From Poverty to Power » The Economist on the global spread of cash transfers and Jokowi’s flying start in Indonesia: "‘Having trimmed petrol subsidies in November, Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, who is universally known as Jokowi, scrapped them entirely from January 1st. Small subsidies (1,000 rupiah, or eight cents, per litre) will remain in place for diesel, used for public transport and by the country’s millions of fishermen. But for the first time in decades, the price of petrol will reflect global market prices.’

Thinking about this from a theory of change angle, Jokowi seized two brief opportunities – his honeymoon period as a new president, and a slump in global oil prices which allowed him to remove subsidies without prices going through the roof. The move liberates about $16bn a year that previously subsidised the better off at the expense of social transfers (see chart). Another article covers what that cash might be destined for:"



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OPINION: For the Good of Humanity – Towards a Culture of Caring | Inter Press Service

OPINION: For the Good of Humanity – Towards a Culture of Caring | Inter Press Service: "In this column, Andrew MacMillan, former director of the Field Operations Division of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and joint author with Ignacio Trueba of ‘How to End Hunger in Times of Crises’, argues that behind the so-called success of globalisation lie problems that are “taken for granted” and little thought is given to how it can be better managed to serve the interests of people."



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On gay rights, Vietnam is now more progressive than much of the US | GlobalPost

On gay rights, Vietnam is now more progressive than much of the US | GlobalPost: "BANGKOK — US politicians of all stripes are fond of condemning Vietnam’s poor human rights record. As one US Senator from Arkansas puts it, America has a “moral obligation" to stand up to oppression” in the communist nation.

But when it comes to gay rights, conservative US states like Arkansas are actually lagging behind Hanoi.

Vietnam’s communist party abolished a ban on same-sex marriage last week. Unlike states such as Texas — where vindictive politicians want to stop paying any official who certifies a gay wedding — Vietnam’s political class has responded with a collective shrug.

Make no mistake: Vietnam is an authoritarian state. Dissent is criminalized. Critics who blog or protest against the government end up in prison. Human Rights Watch, which points to a “human rights crisis” in Vietnam, has catalogued abuses ranging from rampant bribery to abusive police.

But as long as gay couples refrain from denouncing Vietnam’s communist party, they’re generally left alone."



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Burkina Faso lawmakers give themselves 50-percent pay cut - Yahoo News

Burkina Faso lawmakers give themselves 50-percent pay cut - Yahoo News: "Ouagadougou (AFP) - Lawmakers in Burkina Faso gave themselves a 50-percent pay cut Tuesday, following a public outcry over the "indecent" wages enjoyed by members of the country's interim assembly.

The 90 members of the National Transitional Council, which has governed the west African state since the overthrow of longtime president Blaise Compaore in a popular uprising in October, said they had decided to renounce a top-up payment that doubled their monthly salary of 880,000 CFA (1,340 euros, $1,580).

"We don't want to profit from the revolution. We commit to not betray the memory and sense of sacrifice of our martyrs," the vice-president of the council Honore Nombre said."



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How the data revolution could transform development (but might not) | Devex

How the data revolution could transform development (but might not) | Devex: "New technology brings massive potential. For example, “call data records” from mobile phones identify where the device is and has been, along with its proximity to other devices — letting experts infer, in real-time, where and how many people there are, and where they are probably headed. Such data has been used to track and help combat malaria in Kenya and Namibia, and to identify where Haitians fled to after an earthquake and cholera outbreak in 2010.  But it also brings risks: in the Ebola case, due to complexities and legitimate concerns over privacy, legal issues and the lack of political will to make it happen, this data has not been made available to those seeking to address the crisis. Still, some data geeks are making the most of existing data sets from GIS data to media articles in order to infer behavioural patterns, relationships of trusts and the kinds of questions that really need to be addressed — rather than those we think need to be addressed.

So while the debate on the “data revolution” for development promises much, the fact that many play fast and loose with the latest buzzword is a block to moving forward. Investments in standards and partnerships that leverage the potential while mitigating the risks are required before the revolution runs ahead of any efforts to harness it for good. Thankfully, a recent report commissioned by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has brought welcome attention and clarity to the issue. Despite critique over the framing and consultation periods, this report is a significant step forward."



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Monday, January 12, 2015

10 Lessons Learned From 17 Years Living Overseas | Kathleen Peddicord

10 Lessons Learned From 17 Years Living Overseas | Kathleen Peddicord:



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Foothill College vying to offer new, affordable four-year degree | News | Palo Alto Online |

Foothill College vying to offer new, affordable four-year degree | News | Palo Alto Online |: "Foothill College is in the running to become one of the first California community colleges to offer a four-year bachelor's degree as the result of a bill that took effect Jan. 1.

The bill, which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law in September, allows up to 15 community colleges to offer one baccalaureate degree in select vocational fields, as long as they meet a local workforce need and don't compete with or duplicate any programs already offered at University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campuses. In today's world of increasingly expensive college degrees -- for some prohibitively so — the bill aims to give more Californians access to higher education, and at a more affordable price."



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Google's translation app will soon turn speech into text on the fly

Google's translation app will soon turn speech into text on the fly: "Reportedly, an updated version of the mobile app (coming "soon") will automatically detect speech and translate it right away. All you'd really have to do is hold your phone up with the app running -- important if you'd rather not go through a song-and-dance routine just to find out where the washrooms are."



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Friday, January 9, 2015

#JeSuisAhmed Reminds Us That A French Muslim Died To Protect Free Speech

#JeSuisAhmed Reminds Us That A French Muslim Died To Protect Free Speech: ""It is a snub to the stigmatisation of Islam and a reminder that Muslims in France are not all Islamist radicals,” Casters told the BBC via email. “I only wanted to share my opinion and my state of mind with my close friends and followers ... it seems that many people share my beliefs and did what's necessary to relay it to the masses."

The hashtag took off quickly, with Arab European League leader Dyab Abou Jahjah chiming in."



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