Category Archives: Fail!

No oil hunt in South China Sea without nod: Beijing to Delhi – The Times of India

“Any oil and gas exploration work should get approval first from China,” said a top official of China’s ministry of foreign affairs (MFA). The official added that pending the final settlement of territorial disputes in South China Sea, China would encourage “joint development” in the region.

The official made the remark in reply to a query from TOI in a recent meeting – facilitated by the US-based East-West Center – with a group of international journalists. The meeting took at a time of fresh acrimony between the US and China over Beijing’s reclamation and island building in South China Sea. According to US authorities, China has reclaimed 1,500 acres in the Spratly island chain in the past 5 months alone by dredging sand.

via No oil hunt in South China Sea without nod: Beijing to Delhi – The Times of India.

Behind the Niqab: The (Male) Photographer’s Perspective of Life Through the Veil – Part 1 — BagNews

It’s true that in many countries women wear niqabs without threats of legal punishment or death; however, to assert, as does Ammar, that “for most, the niqab is a choice,” glosses over the ways in which women are compelled by religious tradition, family expectation, or societal convention to adopt a religious practice that is so confining and restrictive, it would never have survived as a requisite sign of religious piety had men been required to participate. The Quran instructs both women and men to “lower their gaze and guard their modesty.” If the goal is reducing the likelihood that men will lust after women, doesn’t it make as much sense for them to use a veil to curtail their own gaze as it does to enshroud women in perpetual darkness?

via Behind the Niqab: The (Male) Photographer’s Perspective of Life Through the Veil – Part 1 — BagNews.

ASIA/INDIA – Street dentists for the poor: a widespread service

Bangalore – A group of non-specialized dentists have organized themselves to work on the streets in some small Indian cities offering very low rates for the poorest people. Ignoring noisy buses and curious onlookers, these street dentists carry out their work undisturbed in Bangladore, although this is not hygienic. There are millions of poor people in the Country who cannot pay for expensive dental treatment. Tools are thoroughly washed in soap and water – but not disinfected. The teeth in all shapes and sizes are made in China and in India from dental cement.
In big cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai, street dentist numbers have dwindled in recent years on growing awareness of contracting HIV/AIDS and other diseases, rising customer income levels, and a surge in dentist graduates. But they still thrive in smaller cities as well as towns, although few perform root canals, fillings or other operations. The Indian Dental Association, a private body of licensed dentists, still does not have figures on qualified dentists in India. It is estimated that each year 30,000 graduates join the profession every year, but India still has only one dentist per 10,000 people in urban areas and about 250,000 in rural areas.
From dentists to shoe shiners, barbers and chefs, street services are an engrained part of life in India, particularly for the poor.

via ASIA/INDIA – Street dentists for the poor: a widespread service.

Evicted under the World Bank’s Watch

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Forcible demolition of 34 Watta homes when court case was ongoing, September 2014. Photograph by Selvaraj Rajasegar.

“We were removed from our homes by force. The Army officers told us that they will bulldoze our houses whether we move out or not. They told us that we can either take these apartments or live on the street”.

via Evicted under the World Bank’s Watch.

Three-quarters of supermarket chickens contaminated with campylobacter

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Tests show Asda worst for potentially lethal bug, but FSA reports signs of progress after naming and shaming retailers

Nearly three-quarters of fresh chickens in supermarkets and butchers are contaminated with the potentially lethal food-poisoning bug campylobacter, according to the final results of a year-long testing programme published by the Food Standards Agency.

The cumulative results for samples taken between February 2014 and February 2015 show that 73% of poultry is contaminated with the bacteria, and 19% of chickens are heavily contaminated.

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via Three-quarters of supermarket chickens contaminated with campylobacter.

Cascada Barba de Abuelo, en el Parque Aitken, en la región de Aysén, en el sur de Chile, donde se ubica una de las mayores reservas de agua dulce del planeta. Pero pese a ello, sus habitantes deben pagar el agua que consumen, tanto para sus necesidades co

IPS Inter Press Service posted a photo:

Cascada Barba de Abuelo, en el Parque Aitken, en la región de Aysén, en el sur de Chile, donde se ubica una de las mayores reservas de agua dulce del planeta. Pero pese a ello, sus habitantes deben pagar el agua que consumen, tanto para sus necesidades co

Cascada Barba de Abuelo, en el Parque Aitken, en la región de Aysén, en el sur de Chile, donde se ubica una de las mayores reservas de agua dulce del planeta. Pero pese a ello, sus habitantes deben pagar el agua que consumen, tanto para sus necesidades como para cultivar sus tierras. Crédito: Marianela Jarroud/IPS

via Cascada Barba de Abuelo, en el Parque Aitken, en la región de Aysén, en el sur de Chile, donde se ubica una de las mayores reservas de agua dulce del planeta. Pero pese a ello, sus habitantes deben pagar el agua que consumen, tanto para sus necesidades co.

Brelo verdict — the system worked (for whites) but more needs to be done to fix police-community relations and in Cleveland police use-of-force: editorial

{System worked – police can over-react and kill people with no consequences, as they always have. This broken system need to be remade to protect the people – all the people!}

Cleveland must move beyond the Michael Brelo verdict to confront the deeper issues of Cleveland police reforms in use-of-force cases that are at issue in ongoing consent decree negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, writes the editorial board.

via Brelo verdict — the system worked but more needs to be done to fix police-community relations and in Cleveland police use-of-force: editorial.