FEAST OR FAMINE

Wednesday August 28 was the 50 th anniversary of the March on Washington. More specifically, it was the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” in 1963 when an estimated 250,000 supporters of civil rights marched through The Mall in Washington DC. It was also the day when Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave the iconic “I have a dream” speech—the last speech of the day. Yesterday, the day was commemorated when President Barack Obama, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and members of Martin Luther King’s family stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC to address thousands who came to remember. Just as it was in 1963, from the beginning of the march at 11 a.m. to the last speech of the day at 3 p.m., the commemorative march commenced with the ringing of a bell and ended with a speech by President Obama at the corresponding times. The 1963 march was considered a turning point in civil rights in America, leading to the signing of t...

Spacewalking is dangerous, even during the easiest times. But when a complication occurs, space is the loneliest, most dangerous place to be. I talian astronaut, Major Luca Parmitano, was on his second spacewalk on July 16, 2013, just a week after his first. Working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Parmitano was on a scheduled spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) with American astronaut Christopher Cassidy when the incident occurred. Parmitano’s helmet began filling with water. Connected to the ISS only by a cable, the water sloshes around his head. He describes it as “a really awful sensation” – and he shakes his head to try to release the water. It doesn’t work, and only makes the situation worse. By now the upper part of his helmet is full of water (in space the water sits on the ceiling of the helmet). He can’t see because the water is covering his eyes. Then it covers his nose. He is about to drown in space. ...

In 2007 a report announced a level of lead in lipsticks. A Poison Kiss, the title of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, was the first of its kind to come to the public’s attention. The United States Food and Drug Administration published an extensive follow-up in 2011. Its findings revealed traces of lead in 400 lipsticks (The Global Edition of the New York Times, August 21, 2013). Both the FDA and the cosmetics industry insist that levels of lead in lipstick pose no real or unusual health risks to users. The levels are too small to be a safety issue, they say. However, lead tends to accumulate in the body, say researchers at the Boston University Medical Center. Researchers also note that some users re-apply lipstick, glosses and balms as much as 24 times a day. A new study has found that many brands of lipstick contain as many as eight other metals, such as cadmium and aluminium. Researchers don’t yet know what happens if these metals are ingeste...

When mosquitoes buzz around your ear, is it better to apply repellent for prevention, or hope you don’t get bitten? Or is better to feel the bite and scratch it? Or is rubbing the itch better than scratching, so that the bites don’t become infected?   And do insects bite or sting? A bite is from the insects’s mouth parts and stings are usually from a sharp protruding part of the insect or animal piercing a person’s skin, such as a barb. Mosquitoes, fleas, bed bugs and mites bite, but scorpions, bees, and wasps sting. A bite usually causes itching, but stings cause pain. The saliva, excretions, secretions and venom from the mouth parts of insects can cause a range of symptoms and condtions. Apart from itchiness, insect bites can cause lumps, redness, hypersensitivity and allergies, diseases, shock, and even death. Some bites don’t produce symptoms until days later. So it’s better not to get bitten in the first place, right? But insect repellents contain chemica...

The last major heatwave in Paris was in 2003 which killed almost 15,000 people across Europe in the first three weeks of August. So with the temperatures rising in the French capital at the beginning of August, authorities were taking precautions. The French Ministry of Health is issuing advice on how to stay cool in the heat. Electronic billboards with warnings in French, English, German and other languages are advertising the current temperature and tips for beating the heat. Temperatures in the first week of August were over 30C and while they were not as high as the 43C temperatures of Germany and southern France, the heat was unexpected. Heat can be deadly, especially for the young, aged, and vulnerable. The Health & Wellbeing magazine (January 11, 2013) indicated that heat alone kills more Australians that road accidents. Figures from the government’s Climate Change Health Risk Assessment show that thermal extremes currently contribute to 1,121 deaths a yea...

Mushroom-growing businesses are a good choice, says the Nepal Agriculture Research Council. While farming may seem a less than ideal business for people with degrees, more and more graduates are seeing the potential for well-researched marketable agriculture. And mushroom-farming is one of the businesses making sense to people looking to work for themselves on the farm. In Australia, the indoor mushroom-growing market is highly scientific in terms of equipment, fertilizer, and growing conditions – much of which is computerized. Some ultra-modern equipment is not produced in Australia and is only available in Europe. In fact, farmers can check the growth of their mushrooms by iPhone or computer from anywhere in the world. Majestic Mushrooms near Canberra in Australia grows button mushrooms and Swiss brown mushrooms in laboratory-type sheds that look like aircraft hangers. The highest shelves need a stepladder on wheels to reach them. Everything is “clinically effici...

International Youth Day is held annually on August 12. This year the theme is “Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward.” Since 1999, International Youth Day highlights awareness of youth from 10-24 years. Activities will take place on the day, and throughout the week. Following on from International Youth Day is a film festival dedicated to youth issues. The International Crime and Punishment Film Festival is on again in Istanbul from 13-19 September. The third ICAPFF is being held under chair Adem Sozuer, Dean of the Istanbul University School of Law. In 2013 the theme is “Child(ish) Justice.” Last year the theme of the Film Festival was “Violence and Discrimination against Women.” Around 150 films from around the world will be shown in Istanbul’s movie theatres during the week in September to participate in the Film Festival. A series of panel discussions with prominent Turkish and foreign academics, film-makers, and participants from the business an...

Canberra, the capital of Australia, has doubled its population in five years from 2006 to 2011, according to the federal government’s State of Australian Cities report published in July 2013. The main reason for the population increase was the rise in young men, under 24 years of age, moving to Canberra for work. The report maintains that the population of Canberra grew by 9.6% between 2006 and 2011, compared with 4.4% growth between 2001 and 2006. Domestic migration and a high birth rate were the main factors for the increase of 418,292 residents. Of the domestic migration to Canberra, 82% were men. The attraction in Canberra for young men include the high proportion of people employed in public administration, a high percentage of men in full-time positions, a high percentage of people with a university degree, and an earning salary more than the average Australian. Canberra had the highest proportion of people employed in public administration of all of ...

The ancient city of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is undergoing a massive, but gradual, facelift.   Built between the 9 th and 12 th centuries, Angkor Wat was a major city until 1431 when it was invaded by Ayutthayans and subsequently abandoned. Forgotten for centuries, it was rediscovered in the 1860s by French explorer Henri Mouhot. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and attracts more than two million visitors a year. A French organization, Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient, commenced renovations at the site from 1907 until 1970, clearing forests, repairing foundations, and installing drains to protect it from water damage. The major cause of decomposition is due to water absorption and weathering. The conservation team also coated at-risk areas in water-resistant acrylic resin to minimise water damage. Work was halted during the 1967-1975 Cambodian Civil War. In 1993 UNESCO and a team of conservationists from Japan, Germany, and Ind...

A discovery about Angkor Wat in the impenetrable jungles of Cambodia reveals more than the ruins of a lost cityscape. Archaeologists believed that the ruins of the city Mahendraparvata was concealed beneath the jungle canopy (The Times, June 19, 2013). Most research has assumed that the area around the existing temples, famous symbols of the opulence and power of the Khmer empire, was urbanised in an unstructured manner. Recent computer images taken from above reveal an intricate and meticulously planned network of roads, canals, and building foundations that have been hidden for centuries beneath the dense trees. The discovery, which researchers describe as “jaw-dropping” may change the way historians have viewed the wealthy Khmer empire of South East Asia of the 12 th century. The new sightings establish Angkor Wat as the centrepiece of an even larger and more complex and intricate metropolis than first thought. The computer images show that the hidden city was not...