Tag: United States

  • Celebrating the 15 Percent

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    Daniela
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    In response to the backlash generated by this Cheerios commercial, a beautiful Tumblr blog voices support for interracial families and brings them to the limelight. We Are the 15 Percent showcases a crowd-sourced collection of photos of mixed couples and families, captioned with names and locations. Michael David Murphy and Alyson West created their Tumblr blog,…

  • Philippine National Folk Dance Company Wins Top Award

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    Daniela
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    The world-renowned Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company won the Gold Award in the 14th World Folklore Festival in Buyukcekmece, Istanbul, Turkey, on July 7, 2013, besting dance groups from Brazil, Egypt, Greece, Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Slovenia, Mexico, Hungary, Serbia, North Cyprus, Turkey, and Slovakia. The Bayanihan company, whose name means working together for…

  • Melon Mysticism for Everyone

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    Daniela
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    Affixed to the Manhattan Bridge chain-link fencing above Forsyth Street is a series of artwork. Arc your head upward; there it is. Artist Jen Liu created the five banners, collectively called “Melon Mysticism for Everyone.” Each panel features a watermelon carved into a mandela pattern that is eaten by different animals: goat, horse, chicken, and sheep. Chinatown diversity, the…

  • Trayvon Martin and American Justice, Cont’d.

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    Daniela
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    How do you think the Zimmerman trial would have ended under these circumstances? Elspeth Reeve takes Richard Cohen of the Washington Post to task in her Atlantic Column: Richard Cohen’s column in Tuesday’s Washington Post— arguing that George Zimmerman was right to assume Trayvon Martin was a criminal, because he was a black male—is racist and…

  • Trayvon Martin and American Justice

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    Daniela
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    Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic best describes the underlying societal attitudes and narratives that resulted in the acquittal of George Zimmerman.  My own response is one of impotence and sadness.  I’m so sorry for the parents of Trayvon Martin.  They had to fight to get this trial, endure the criminalization of their 17-year-old son and then…

  • How GMO foods alter organ function and pose a very real health threat to humans

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    Daniela
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    The Health Ranger, Mike Adams, explains how studies in cell research have demonstrated the mechanism by which micro RNA from genetically engineered foods may alter organ function in humans.  I thought the information was salient enough to post.  However, I caution that some of Adam’s Monsanto quotes are taken out of context.  For a more…

  • Here’s Why I Am Such a Huge Fan of Vandana Shiva

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    Daniela
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    Vandana Shiva, physicist and environmental activist. en.wikipedia.org HOMEINTERVIEW THURSDAY, 11 JULY, 2013 | 12:24 WIB Vandana Shiva: Ecology, Economy Come from the Same Root Word   Vandana Shiva is a member of the World Future Council, holder of the 1993 Right Livelihood Award, and a 2003 Time Environmental Hero. In her speech at Deutsche Welle’s…

  • Why Manufacturing is Failing in the US

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    Daniela
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    I came across the following statistics in the Manila Times Today while doing some research on new economic models: Manufacturing in the Phillipines has gone from about 39 percent of GDP in the 1980s to 33 percent in 2010-2012. This was a sharp contrast to Thailand, whose industry to GDP ratio peaked to 44 percent…

  • This Week’s Rant

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    Daniela
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    Howard Schnieder in the Washington Post posits that, with the fall of China’s superstar status, more rapid change in the relations between China and the US may be possible. It’s an informative piece that nevertheless leaves me in a sputtering, almost incoherent rage.  The author notes that “some members of Congress” still worry about  the…

  • Groundwater Depletion Worsening All Over the World

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    Daniela
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    A pioneering new study by University of California scientists says the arid Middle East is rapidly getting drier. They say groundwater depletion in the Tigris-Euphrates-Western Iran region is happening much faster than people expected. Depletion is quickened by farmers who pump water from limited underground aquifers to feed crops. These aquifers will not be replenished,…