2 million female circumcisions each year
Female circumcision? Does this sound kind of bizarre? Well, not for many. Female genital mutilation is widespread in parts of Africa but also in Asia and the Middle East and was legally practiced by doctors in the United States until 1996. Female circumcision typically involves removing the clitoris of a young girl (often practiced without anesthetic) (!!!) for cultural or religious reasons, even though, an international conference on female circumcision funded by the German government and sponsored by top Islamic scholars explains: “female genital mutilation was never mandated in Islam” and there is not really any evidence of this in the Quran.
Filed Under Human Rights
Videogame against AIDS
“Safe City was my town and it’s never been a peaceful place. When Mr. Paradise called me, I became well aware of the serious threat that had descended upon our city and that not many people knew it yet. My duty? Find the unaware and bring their photos to Mr. Paradise. He wants to save them and I won’t fail”.
That’s Joe Condom speaking, a detective-photographer who goes around his city to look those at risk in contracting the AIDS infection. It’s not the beginning of a cyberpunk book but rather a web videogame, that disguises itself as a test to verify what the player knows about AIDS.
Filed Under Media & Society, World Health
Rotating eccentricity
Dubai has artificial islands shaped in the form of the world, the most expensive hotel of the world and all sort of urban eccentricities. The construction of the world’s first rotating skyscraper will start next year and will be completed in 2009. This building will crown the eccentricities of Dubai. When I think about a building that rotates 360 degrees, will be powered by solar energy and will cost enough money to feed nations; I just can ask one question: Why? Why will someone want to live in a rotating building? A rotating restaurant is already a symbol of the past; a rotating building seems to be an extravaganza. At least the energy to rotate is solar; but, still, why? To have a sunny room all day? To have all views all the time? I don’t see it, don’t understand it. Do you?
Filed Under Modern Life
Flying catwalks
Some say that originality doesn’t exist, that everything is just a rehashing of other things. But sometimes an idea can be so original and brilliant that it completely dismantles the “nothing’s original” notion.
Here is one such idea, ladies and gentlemen: Top models, wearing creations by Alex Andriotti, strut down the corridor of a plane in flight, over the Aegean Sea. Genius.
Filed Under Modern Life
Orangutan orphans at school
Not only men need to be helped or rehabilitated in educational structures. Now, also animals do. At least if we consider orangutans as animals, which is not completely true, since they share 97% of our DNA and their name can be literally translated into English as “People of the Forest”. Indeed, for their brilliant intelligence, their expressive eyes and the fact they’ve always enjoyed human company, orangutans have always been seen from indigenous people of Indonesia and Malaysia as men who hide between the trees more than monkeys to get rid of.
Filed Under Environment
Instant pill for male
Varying male contraceptive pills have been in development for a while now, semi-existing, floating about like an urban legend. It’s going to remain that way for some time. With much luck, in about five years time, a dry orgasm pill should be available.
Five hours after consumption, this “instant” pill will take effect, relaxing the sideway muscles of the vas deferens, disabling the sperm flowage. The “dry orgasm approach” has been in development for the past 17 years and began accidentally. Drugs used in treating high blood-pressure and schizophrenia both produced the same affect: no ejaculation amongst male subjects.
Filed Under Modern Life
When Currency Discriminates
The blind people of America have relied on the goodness of a very untrustworthy public, a blind faith if you will, for far too long.
Violating the Rehabilitation Act, an act that prohibits discrimination against disabilities inside government programs, U.S. District Judge, James Robertson, has ordered American currency to be redesigned with consideration.
More than 180 countries use paper currency and the only one to print bills identical in size and color for each denomination is the United States.
Filed Under Human Rights