Happy Holidays from BenettonTalk!
So it’s time to take a break… just a few days, and we’ll be back at the beginning of January.
We recommend you all (especially the workaholics) to take a break as well, if you can.
Have fun. Relax. Get bored.
Happy Holidays.
Filed Under Events
The coca recipes from Peru’s president
“The coca leaf, from which the drug cocaine is derived, should be used in cooking and salads,” suggested Alan Garcia, the president of Peru. “Coca leaves had many valuable uses, including giving relief from sore throats and colds,” he said.
Filed Under Food, Politics, World Health
The London array wind farm
This is the right time to do something for the earth. The British government has backed plans to construct The London Array, a colossal wind farm in the Thames estuary, 13 miles from the Kent coast. If erected, the silent army (up to 271 turbines) will make a substantial contribution to the UK Government’s renewable energy target of providing 10% of the UK’s electricity from renewable sources by 2010. It would also prevent the emissions of 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Wind energy has the potential to make a significant contribution towards reducing emissions of the greenhouse gases that are believed to contribute to global warming. Environmentally friendly, helpful, useful and beautiful, these turbines are part of the solutions to save the world from disaster (click here to find a way to support wind farms). Come on UK, go for it! Do not deny human progress. Make of The London Array project a sample for the world and another big step for civilization.
Filed Under Environment, Technology
No Bible on board
“No Bible on board, you could upset Muslims”. That’s what a deeply-religious middle-aged stewardess from British Midlands (BMI) has been told by her bosses, since she had to work on a flight directed to Saudi Arabia. “Bring the Koran, instead”, they added.
Filed Under Human Rights
Farewell, Mr. Welby
He died late Wednesday after a doctor sedated him and removed the respirator that had kept him alive for the last nine years. That’s the end of Piergiorgio Welby’s life and of a story the whole Italy – from politicians to teologists, from scientists to common people – has been talking about for three months, since Mr. Welby sent a letter to President Giorgio Napolitano, asking for greater rights for the terminally ill to end their lives. But Welby, 60, an activist for euthanasia, died without the legal clarity he hoped to achieve. Direct forms of euthanasia, such as doctor-assisted suicide, are illegal in Italy and it seems difficult, for the moment, to imagine a switch in the legal situation.
Filed Under Human Rights, World Health
Thumbs down for hi-tech gadgets
“Do more strecthing!” the doctor orders, but instead of talking to a basketball player with reference to his quadriceps, he’s talking to a Playstation maniac, with reference to his fingers. Sore thumbs, intensive pain in the hand tendons, inflamed elbows and stiff shoulders: these could be the diseases of the modern times.
As mobile communication is everywhere, workplace stress increases and hi-tech tools become smaller, more and more people are becoming afflicted from the so-called RSIs - repetitive strain injuries – with some children as young as seven developing symptoms.
It’s not a matter of a technology or another: from Nintendo to the Ipod, doctors say users are at risk. And companies have got this warning: the Wii website urges players to take a break every 15 minutes, while Sony’s Playstation manual asks users to take breaks and be aware of their posture while playing. The secret for avoiding these kind of injuries is, obviously, to know when to stop, which is not easy, especially in the case of children, highly exposed to the videogame addiction.
Read original article on Reuters
Go to the British awareness group RSI Action website
Filed Under Technology, World Health
They cook for you but they are hungry
Five percent of Hispanics in the US regularly go hungry and as many as 20% do not have sufficient access to nutritious food, a US report says. Poverty, lack of resources and awareness about state entitlements are the causes. Hispanics (Spanish-speaking people) are the biggest minority group in the United States and most of them emigrate to the “first world” to find a better quality of life for them and their families, but for some reason they are still hungry. Immigration is a complicated issue in USA, especially when we talk about illegal Latinos (which are not the same than Hispanics) working hard for little money. But even when this amount of dollars is not enough for basics (such as food), is more than what they would get on their own land. Legal or not, they are a strong part of the country and a main piece of its future. A lack of affordable, nutritious food can have devastating health consequences, affecting not only the Latino community but the well-being of the entire nation. Are they victims of the system just trying to survive? Is there a solution for this? What do you think?
Filed Under Food, Human Rights, World Health