5:00 AM - April 2, 2009
International -Takeru V. Maeda
On the night of March 28, cities around the globe took part in celebrating Earth Hour. Participating countries spanning from around the world have 'silenced' their lights in homes and landmark areas of major cities. Earth Hour is a campaign to raise public awareness climate
changes and our need to take
action against it.
The
campaign began in 2007 and was conceived in
Saturday
of March.
In
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed
his gratitude for his city
"We are glad to be
able to participate and it's a good reminder that we are in charge of our
destiny," he said.
In
Sydney
The
event's director, Andy Ridley, said to reporters, "It is a very positive,
hopeful campaign. We want
people to think, even if it is for an hour, what they can do to lower their
carbon footprint and
take that beyond the
hour."
To this day, close to 4,000 cities, villages and localities around the world have participated in Earth Hour in support of raising awareness of the climate changes. Many believe that with this short hour of understanding and recognition, the sense of duty and obligation will strengthen and help guide our minds toward working for a better environment for future generations; hopefully, the measure of this global event will open the ears of those who can make a difference.
5:00 AM - March 26, 2009
Takeru V. Maeda
In April, Pope Benedict XVI will pay a planned visit to the Holy Land's Western Wall in he hopes of restoring friendly relations between Judaism and the Catholic Church.
However one of the Jerusalem
"I wouldn't go into a church wearing Jewish symbols," says
Rabinovitch, "out of respect for the place, and I would expect that the Pope
would act the same here."
He continued to quote King Solomon saying that the
for all
people, not just Jews. We welcome this Pope. But he should show respect for
other religions."
On the other hand, rabbi Rabinovitch is facing strong criticism
from Catholics, who claim that the rabbi himself is the one who should be more
respectful for the Pope by not making demands for him to hide the symbol of his
faith. Also, Rabbi Ron Kronish, the director of the Interreligious Coordinating
Council in
This news of rabbi Rabinvotich's demands comes after, what has
long perceived to be, the distress between the two religions, since the days of
Jewish persecution. Months ago, when Pope Benedict lifted the excommunication of
a Holocaust-denying bishop, the Jewish community strongly opposed, straining the
relationship between the two religions
furthermore.
The
removal of his crucifix upon his visit to the wall. In addition,
Regardless of all the tension and buzz surrounding the rabbi's
outspoken demand, many believe that fuss will die out by the time of the Pope's
arrival and with this visit being recognized as one of the most important
religious events in our modern time, the world will hope to find a new peace
between Jews, Muslims and Christians alike
Takeru V. Maeda
5:00 AM - March 19, 2009
In the latest research of
AIDS-fighting medicine, study groups have come up with apossible answer
in the form of a vaginal gel. At the
and according to Ashley T. Haase,
MD, the head of themicrobiology department at UM, the
fight against AIDS has taken a favorable turn.
"The results are very encouraging," said Dr. Haase.
"They point to a novel avenue to prevent sexual transmission of
HIV."
The gel
contains an anti-HIV ingredient known as glycerol monolaurate, or GML, and is
approved by the FDA for
cosmetic and medicine. GML carries the unique trait of blocking the receptors in HIV cells
from transmitting onto T cells (white blood cell), thus, preventing infection. GML can be
naturally found in breast milk.
For research,
scientists conducted experiments by applying the cream on five monkey
test subjects daily,
before finally being exposed to high doses of SIV (monkey version of
HIV) into their
vaginas. Another four rhesus macaque monkeys were given a gel without
the GML and were
exposed to the same amount of SIV.
"We thought if
we could modulate the immune response at the portal entry, we could block sexual transmission," said
Haase. "Colleague" Patrick Schlievert's work with GML showed that it had many
properties that might block HIV expansion and systematic
spread."
By the end of
the experiment the four animals, that weren't given GML, were infected
with the AIDS virus
while the five subjects that were given GML showed no sign of HIV or infection. However, the
experiment was left with a question mark several months after the initial study when one of those
five animals showed signs of infection.
Furthermore,
Dr. Haase suggests that by mixing the GML ingredient with other anti-HIV
agents, a better
medicine should result and perhaps ready for human
experimentation.
Although, Haase
and his colleagues agree that they're not ready for humanexperimentation and hope other teams
of scientists will continue to work for a stronger antidote against AIDS based on this
new gel.
5:00 AM - March 19, 2009
The government in
Afghanistan is taking steps to bring education to more of the nation’s
children, especially girls. The organization One Laptop per Child brought that
goal one step closer when it recently approached the Afghan government with an
offer to help.
One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the proposition that all young learners can be connected to the
outside world, and they propose to provide each one with an efficient and sturdy
laptop. They target those who live in an especially isolated condition as a
result of regional or cultural barriers that limit access.
Historically,
Today, more girls are enrolled in
school than before the Taliban came to power, and young women are seeking admission to
university in greater numbers. Despite the fact that Taliban insurgents continue
their campaign to keep women and girls from schools, the government is pushing
ahead with educational reform.
Although the Taliban were removed
from power in 2001, the change in attitude and the increase in numbers cannot
disguise the fact that the majority of women and girls in
It is a staggering statistic -- 1 in
3 adults around the globe cannot read or write, and internal politics makes the
situation much worse in some countries. The most recent figures provided by
UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) suggest that the literacy rate for
young women between 15 and 24 in
Nearly 1 in 2 of the world's
children live in poverty, without electricity, and hundreds of millions do not
have access to safe drinking water. The people at One Laptop Per Child believe
education is the key to changing those statistics; they have delivered XO
computers to children in locations as widespread as
The current economic situation has
slowed down the rate of financial donations for the program; still, founder
Nicholas Negroponte remains optimistic and dedicated to the cause. Donors are
welcome to help the program succeed through the organization's G1G1 (Give One,
Get One) campaign.
5:00 AM -March 5, 2009
In the wake of stem
cell research, scientists have pointed toward a future
where
cancers can be ridden and body parts, repaired or replaced. However, many have
argued against the practice, specifically for
involving the usage of human embryos, deeming the science "unethical" and a
crime against humanity.
Recently a team of
UK
During its studies,
the group of scientists were able to reprogram the cells by inserting four
genes, which were then removed immediately after the embryonic process was
complete. Before, research on stem cells concentrated mostly on those that were
drawn from embryos, since they have an unlimited magnitude to become any of the
220 types of cells in the human body.
However,
because of its use of human embryos, there have been major debates over its
unethical practice of destroying embryos in the name of
science.
In 2007,
research teams in Japan and the United States were able to genetically alter
skin cells to become pluripotent (the stage in which stem cells can take on any
one of the numbers of cells in the human body), which would provide a new source
of stem cells for use in research.
Despite the
newfound doorway to a potential success, the technique was scrapped and claimed
unsafe for medical use on humans because the viruses it contained, which were
added to help alter the cells, would risk into becoming
cancerous.
In the latest
studies, researchers were able to deliver foreign genes to modify the cells
without the use of viruses in mouse and human cells.
Dr. Keisuke
Kaji, study leader from the
Regenerative
Medicine at the
"It's a step
towards the practical use of reprogrammed cells in medicine, perhaps even
eliminating the need for human embryos as a source of stem cells," he said,
adding that there is more to improve on for greater efficiency of the
process.
Author and
contributor to BBC Two's If...Cloning Could Cure Us,
Josephine
Quintavalle, of
Comment on Reproductive Ethics, expressed her seemingly approved attitude about
the latest study.
"This is
ethical stem cell research at its best, with embryonic-type stem cells derived
successfully from adult tissue without involving human
embryos."
5:00 AM - Februry 19, 2009
Every year throughout the world, couples celebrate the day of St. Valentine to express their love for each other, sharing kisses, special cards, flowers and boxes of sweets and chocolates. But not everyone is happy about this Valentine's Day business; not, it's not the ones who lack a special someone who show the greatest opposition for V-Day--it's Hindu
This year, the Shri Ram Sena vowed to march any couple found publicly kissing and cuddling straight to the temple and to force them to marry right on the spot. And if anyone were to question them or show any resistance, they would remand couples to parents or to sympathetic police.
"Westerners are trying to break up the Indian family system, " said Pramod Muthalik, the Group's leader, who was arrested for a brief time after his group attacked women at a Mangalore pub last month. "giving flowers on the streets, showing affection in public, showering kisses in full public view is wrong. What is the difference between us and animals?"
In India, Valentine's Day was practically unheard of until the 1990's, and many of the young, middle-class have caught on the wordly popular celebration.
The Chief of Delhi Police, Y.S. Dadwal, federal Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury and other offcials have sent out strong warnings to extremists to not break laws.
"Muthalik is nor married; that's why he doesn't respect women," Chowdhury said.
Civilian-clothed police officers were positioned and advised by the Delhi police to be watchful and to prevent any Valentine's violence in shopping centers, while memebers of the Jammu and Kashmir State National Panthers Party said they would throw red chiles at anyone who causes disturbances by trying to be morality police.
"If my parents don't disapprove of V-Day, why do political parties have a problem?" said 22-year-old student Salman Noor, who's sipping coffee in a Delhi crepes eatery next to a display of freshly baked heart-shaped cookies. "What culture are they talking about? We lost our Indian culture back... in ancient times our culture was the Kama Sutra--why didn't anyone stop it back then?"
As a public response in opposition to the Shri Ram Sena's anti-Valentine's Day campagin, feature writer Nisha Susan launched a public campaign on the Facebook social networking site called, the " Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women" where its plan is to put the extremists to shame, partly by getting women to send Muthalik and the Sri Ram Sena pink underwear on Valentine's Day.
Upon reacting to the flooding of pink underwear, Muthalik's said him and his group would send a pink sari to those who sent him underwear.
The threats made by the Sri Ram Sena this year were just the most recent in a series of attacks made by similar groups in the past several years. Many other groups have attacked college students and threatened bars and hotels last year while back in 2006, women garbed in black veils rooted about in shops and destroyed Valentine's Day cards in Srinagar.
"It's not very pleasant when you go to a beach and see people climbing all over each other," said Madhu Kishwar, the founder of the women's rights and pro-democracy group, Manushi Sangathan. She, out of many, believes there is validity in the complaints towards Valentine's Day. "But affection in public is better than violence in public."
However, supporters of the Sri Ram Sena continue to adhere to their extremist religious views, like Asiya Andrabi, who is the head of the Dunkhtaran-e-Millat, or Daughters of the Nation, an extreme Muslim group.
"This will act as a deterrent and people will be scared," she said. " Sometimes there is no option but to use the stick out of sheer love.
 |
|||||
Internet
Television
Feedback?
|
|||||
