Lest We Forget

May 11, 2007

African HIV Vaccine Trial Launch

February 12, 2007

We can only pray that this holds some potential for some lasting impact on the HIV epidemic.

*via my friend Steven at Two Plus Two Makes Five

Aids activists in South AfricaSouth Africa has one of the most severe HIV epidemics in the worldThe first large-scale trial of an HIV vaccine is set to begin in South Africa, it has been announced.

BBC NEWS | Health | African HIV vaccine trial launch

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Water

November 18, 2006

Quite a few months ago, I read a small article about bottled water.  I’ve been looking for it to give a link, and if I find it, i’ll post it.  Anyway, the point of the article was how much pollution that is caused by the whole water industry.  Case in point: the two most popular upscale brands right now are Fiji and Voss (from Norway).  How much exhaust do you think those ships that carry a load of water from the middle of the Pacific is dumping into the atmosphere?  And really . . . there are few things more American than the fact that the water that magically appears in our kitchens isn’t good enough; we feel the need to import better stuff from overseas. 
That being said, I was actually really impressed with Starbucks and their Ethos water project.  I like the fact that they are contributing (albeit a mere 3%) to water projects in Africa.  When i was a kid, i remember watching people hauling their water up the hill we lived on in Jamaica, so this has always been a cause that has been close to my heart.   Yahoo posted a great article, reporting on the UN Human Development Report, that highlights a problem that is worse than AIDS:

More than 2.6 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation and dirty water claims more lives thanAIDS or conflicts, according to the UN’s annual Human Development Report, released in South Africa.

Lack of clean water strengthens poverty trap: UN report - Yahoo! News

My question is: What can we do?  I’d love to start a campaign, urging people to quit buy bottled water and send that money to Africa, but I’m sure there is a better way.  Any ideas? 
 

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A Convenient "Truth”

September 1, 2006

“Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it,” Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film “An Inconvenient Truth”, showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Scientists respond to Gore’s warnings of climate catastrophe

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What He Said

July 24, 2006

Zach Lind has some great thoughts about Bush’s veto of stem cell research, which you should definitely check out.  The President is further emphasizing, IMO, the Republican habit of only caring about people before their birth. 

When commenting on the veto, President Bush said, “This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it.” (emphasis is mine) I wonder if Bush would make the same statement if we replaced the word “medical” with “political” or “milataristic” or “financial”. 

What would that look like?

“This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding political, financial, or militaristic benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it.”

Finding Rhythm » Culture of Life?

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