Letters-17: "“Dysfunctional System”"

There is no doubt that our judicial system is highly inefficient and ineffective (“Just another day”, The Hindu, April 20, 2008). All of us know it very well, some may have had the unfortunate experience of the bitter truth. But who is willing to bring a change? Sense of responsibility and compassion for fellow citizens are rapidly vanishing from our society. Those in responsible positions seldom feel moved by seeing others in distress or being inconvenienced. Rarely do they feel guilty for having failed, for no external compelling reasons, in fulfilling their duties. Fulfillment of selfish interests of material nature and earning wealth by any means have become the primary objectives of life – Dr.Y.P.Joshi, Varanasi, Letter to the Editor, The Hindu, Sunday Magazine, April 27, 2008.

Also read Wikipedia articles on "Judiciary" and "Separation of Powers": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers
Grateful thanks to Dr.Y.P.Joshi, The Hindu and Wikipedia.

S&T Watch-3: “Chicken descended from Dinosaurs!” - AP

Scientists are fleshing out the proof that today’s chicken is descended from the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur.

And, not a surprise, they confirmed a close relationship between mastodons and elephants.

Fossil studies have long suggested that modern birds descended from T.rex, based in similarities in their skeletons. Now, bits of protein obtained from connective tissues in a T.rex fossil shows a relationship to birds including chickens and ostriches, says a report in Friday’s edition of the journal, Science. – AP

Excerpt from “Chicken descended from dinosaurs?” – article published in The Hindu, Madurai, April 26, 2008.

Also read Wikipedia article on "Evolution":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_life
Grateful thanks to AP, The Hindu and Wikipedia.

Health Watch-9: '“India burdened by Heart Disease” – AFP

By 2000, India will carry 60% of the world’s heart disease burden, nearly four times more than its share of the global population, according to a study.

Adding to the burden is a higher incidence of the types of heart disease resulting in serious illness and mortality, and the fact that these conditions strike at an early age, says the study.

Death rates are especially high among the country’s poorest residents, unable to get to hospital quickly in an emergency, or to afford routine treatments and surgery.

Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD), mainly heart attacks and coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of mortality in the world, accounting for 7.1 million deaths in 2001. More than 80% of these were in developing countries.

Researchers have long known that south Asia has the highest level of acute coronary syndromes in the world, but little statistical data were available about treatment and health outcomes. - AFP

Excerpt from The Hindu, Madurai, April 26, 2008

Also read article on "Heart diseases" from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Diseases
Grateful thanks to AFP, The Hindu and Wikipedia.

Eyecatchers-69: Myth about Genetically Modified Crops

“Exposed: the great GM crops myth” by Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor, www.independent.co.uk, Sunday, 20 April 2008

Last week the biggest study of its kind ever conducted - the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development - concluded that GM was not the answer to world hunger.

For the full article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/exposed-the-great-gm-crops-myth-812179.html
Grateful thanks to Geoffrey Lean and www.independent.co.uk
-----------
Related
-----------
About International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
http://www.agassessment.org/index.cfm?Page=About_IAASTD&ItemID=2
IAASTD - Principles & Procedures
http://www.agassessment.org/index.cfm?Page=Principles&ItemID=9
Genetically Modified Food in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food

A Thought for Today : April 6, 2008

'Cactus' by Paolo Nao

fromPublic-Domain-Photos.com
(www.public-domain-photos.com)

Cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, live like crazy today – Napoleon Hill

Eyecatchers-68: "Silent Tsunami" of Hunger!

Ration cards, genetically modified crops, the of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets – These possible solutions to the first global food crisis since World War II – which the World Food Program says already threatens 20 million of the poorest children – are complex, controversial and may fall far short as demand soars.

The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by soaring fuel prices and demand from India and China, has already sparked sometimes violent protests across the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

Josette Sheeran, the WFP’s executive director, in London for a summit on the crisis, said on Tuesday a “silent tsunami” of hunger is sweeping the world’s most desperate nations.

The price of rice has more than doubled in the last five weeks, she said. The World Bank estimates food prices have risen by 83% in three years.

“What we are seeing now is affecting more people on every continent,” Ms Sheeran told a London news conference.

Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister is already under pressure over the price hikes and has launched a major rice growing project. Indonesia’s government needed to revise its annual budget to respond.

Unrest over the food crisis has led to deaths in Cameroon and Haiti, cost Haitian Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis his job, and caused hungry textile workers to clash with police in Bangladesh.

At streetside restaurants in Lome, Togo, even the traditional balls of corn meal or corn dough served with vegetable soup are shrinking. Once as big as a boxer’s fist, the dumplings are now the size of a tennis ball – but cost twice as much.

School feeding projects in Kenya and Cambodia have been scaled back and food aid halved in Tajikistan, said Ms.Sheeran.

Yet while angry street protesters call for immediate action – long term solutions are likely to be slow, costly and complicated, experts warn – AP.

Courtesy: AP and The Hindu, Madurai, April 24, 2008 (“Silent Tsunami” of Hunger Warned)

Also read Wikipedia article on "Hunger": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger
Grateful thanks to AP, The Hindu and Wikipedia.

Eyecatchers-67: "Bio-Fencing or Live Fencing"

The word fencing usually brings to mind along cement wall surrounding a plot of land or barbed steel wires attached to granite pillars around the periphery of the land.

For a variety of reasons, a small farm needs to be fenced. A fence marks the boundary of the farm and keeps away stray animals.

The investment for either constructing a wall or putting up steel wires is quite heavy. Small and marginal farmers cannot invest a huge sum for erecting such a fence.

Instead, Dr.G.Nammalvar, organic scientist, suggests that farmers can grow crops around their lands as a live fence.

“People who go for natural way of farming prefer to have a live fence,” he said. Even if it takes two or three years to complete such a task, the monetary investment is less and the fence becomes a long lasting one.

Usually thorny plants are grown to make a live fence. For example, bushes such as agave and cactus, creepers, and small shrubs (perennial bushes) are the most sought after ones. Besides, trees such as subabul and casuarinas can also be planted as a live fence.

But does not a live fence occupy more space and require care?”

“Yes, to an extent, live fence does occupy some more space than concrete structures, but it also gives us wild vegetables which are more nutritious and medicinal than the regular cultivated crops. This cannot be got from steel wires or concrete walls,” explained Dr.Nammalvar. A perennial bio-fencing with a width of 3 to 4 metres will be a boon to a farm. For example, bamboo can be ideally used as live fence material.

After four or five years, bamboo gives us building material for farm requirements and its leave a good fodder for cattle and goat.

“When we choose plants for bio-fencing it would be wise to choose multi purpose plants. Bio-fencing has one more role to play in the farming.

It can act as a wind breaker. During the summer months, it the dry wind enters the farm the soil moisture is carried away.

“A wind breaker breaks the speed of the wind and reduces the heat. Likewise in the winter season, it blocks the cold winds and saves the crop from damage due to frost, and reduces the damage from cyclones. Tree species such as subabul and casuarinas, if closely planted, will form very good wind breakers.

“The best purpose of having a live fence is that it serves as a shelter belt. This provides shelter for wild animals such as squirrels, rats, mongoose, hares, foxes and birds such as sparrow, cuckoo, mina, peacock and wild chicken,” he explained.

These wild animals help the farmer in plant protection by eating the pests on plants and by adding micro nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and phosphorus.

Also they help in converting organic and inorganic substances into elements needed for the growth of cultivated and uncultivated plants, according to him.

“We should keep in mind that we would not walk into the shelter belt frequently to encourage the wild friends to come and nest inside.

“They will bring seeds of plants from far off places and their excreta brings new kinds of micro organisms to our soil,” said Dr.Nammalvar.

A good example of a live-fence is at Kolunchi, centre for training and research on ecological food production located in Odugampatti village at a distance of 11 kilometers from Keeranur, Pudukkottai district.

It is established and maintained by Kudumbam, a Non-Governmental Organization engaged in LEISA (Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture).

For more information, readers can contact Dr.G.Nammalvar at No.17/9, 5th Cross, Srinivasa Nagar, Thiruvanaikkoil, Tiruchi-620005, Tamil Nadu. Email: nammalvar@gmail.com, mobile: 9442531699.

Courtesy: M.J.Prabhu (‘Role of a live fence in a small farm) and The Hindu, Madurai, April 24, 2008 (Agricutlure).

Also read Wikipedia article on "Fencing": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing
Grateful thanks to Mr.M.J.Prabhu, The Hindu and Wikipedia.

S&T Watch-2: WR104, an unstable binary spiral star system

Astronomer Peter Tuthill warned that the explosion of WR104, an unstable binary spiral star system 8,000 light years away in the Sagittarius constellation, threatens to destroy the planet. A supernova within the system will fire gamma rays along the spiral's polar axis, which, Tuthill discovered, points directly at Earth. "I used to appreciate this spiral just for its beautiful form," he said, "but now I can't help a twinge of feeling that it is uncannily like looking down a rifle barrel."

Courtesy: Christian Lorentzen, Harper’s Weekly Review, March 11, 2008

Also read Wikipedia article on "BINARY STARS":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_stars
Grateful thanks to Mr. Christian Lorentzen, Harper’s Weekly and Wikipedia.

A Thought for Today : April 5, 2008

'Cactus' by Paolo Nao from
Public-Domain-Photos.com

(www.public-domain-photos.com)

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed - Einstein

S&T Watch-1: Surveilance Camera to detect Explosives and Cocaine

ThruVision, a British firm, unveiled a surveillance camera that could be used to detect materials such as explosives or cocaine by distinguishing among the low levels of electromagnetic radiation emitted by all things everywhere.

Courtesy: Christian Lorentzen, Harper’s Weekly Review, March 11, 2008

Grateful thanks to Mr. Christian Lorentzen and Harper’s Weekly.

Health Watch-8: 'Drug-resistant TB on the rise!'

The World Health Organization announced that virtually untreatable drug-resistant tuberculosis could now be found in 45 countries with a half-million new cases each year, and that the highest rate of infection was in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Courtesy: Paul Ford, Harper’s Weekly Review, March 4, 2008

Grateful thanks to Mr.Paul Ford and Harper’s Weekly.

Facts & Figures-28 : "Record Food Grains Output Likely"

India’s total food grains production during the crop year 2007-08 is estimated at 227.32 million tones, which is more than what was achieved the previous year.

Excerpt from ‘Record Foodgrains output likely’ by Vinay Kumar, The Hindu, Madurai, April 23, 2008

Grateful thanks to Mr.Vinay Kumar and The Hindu.

Letters-16: "Shocking and Shameful"

It is shocking and shameful that over 125 farmers have committed suicide in the aftermath of the pompous announcement of loan waiver. There was no decline in the number of farmers’ suicides even after the Prime Minister visited Vidharbha. Why does it not appeal to the policymakers that their gestures are greeted only by withdrawal?

The poor farmers of Vidharbha seem to be twice cursed – by the gross official neglect and by the media euphoria that they are being showered with enormous charity. - S.V.Venugopalan, Chennai

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, April 22, 2008 (Letters to the Editor)
Grateful thanks to Mr.S.V.Venugopalan, Chennai and The Hindu.

Essence of Living

'Cactus' by Paolo Nao from
Public-Domain-Photos.com

Fear of death looms large in the lives of people. It is the fear of losing what we possess and also the fear of the unknown that makes death fearful to most of us. It seems sensible to seek the cover of security that life seems to offer and get involved in the attainments, agendas and desires relevant in this context rather than even think of death.

Swami Mitrananda pointed out in a lecture that the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita emphasizes the essence of intelligent living as a well-designed plan for a rewarding exit from this world. Lord Krishna makes it clear that death is inevitable to one who is born and it is necessary to remove any sense of fear towards the reality of death. Since the Lord assures that those who remember Him at the time of death surely will attain Him, the path for the spiritual seeker is clear – to constantly have thoughts of Him even while engaged in one’s daily duties. When a person dies, the soul attains that state which the mind had been contemplating at the time of death. Our past thoughts and actions determine our present birth and our future is determined by our present way of life. Our desires direct the mind and the body goes in pursuit of those thoughts. If our life is directed towards God, our mind directs us towards thoughts of God. One has to pay attention to these materials while living.

Since Vedanta is difficult to comprehend even when one’s intellectual and physical faculties are intact, it will be well nigh impossible to be grasped at the time of death. So the mind has to be trained to be in contemplation mode during one’s life time through sincere practice. If the lifetime is spent in the pursuit of wealth, one loses the chance to gain to higher knowledge of Vedanta that can win liberation. We get tossed in the finite world.

To get out of this endless cycle, one has to let go of attachments to people, places, possessions, etc. Practising detachment can help one to conquer fear of death, enabling one to face death with peace and no regrets. When desires are transcended, one gains the courage to lose what one has been attached to, even it be a mere pen or a coveted post that had been gained through tremendous effort.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, April 22, 2008 (Religion)
Grateful thanks to Swami Mitranandaji Maharaj and The Hindu for the wonderful article and Paolo Nao and the Public-Domain-Photos.com for freely providing the above photograph.

Mobile Phones could kill more people than smoking and asbestos

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation.

Excerpt from the article, "Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking" by Geoffrey Lean, www.independent.co.uk, Sunday, 30 March 2008

For the full article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/exposed-the-great-gm-crops-myth-812179.html?service=Print

----------

Related

----------

“Mobile phone” from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Human health impacts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone


“Mobile phone radiation and health”, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_health


“Health warning against excessive mobile phone use” - The New Zealand Herald (quoting Reuters), January 3, 2008
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10485110


“Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?” (Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees), By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross, Sunday, 15 April 2007, The Independent,
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/are-mobile-phones-wiping-out-our-bees-444768.html


“Case of the disappearing bees creates a buzz” by Eric Sylvers, International Herald Tribune, April 22, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/wireless23.php


“Mobile Phones and Health”, Independent Expert Group Report on Mobile Phones, (The Stewart Report),
http://www.iegmp.org.uk/report/text.htm

Pollution affects scent of flowers

Researchers in Virginia found due to pollution the scent of floers, which could travel up to 4,000 feet during the 19th century, now travels not even a quarter of that distance.

Courtesy: Paul Ford, Harper’s Weekly Review, April 15, 2008
--------------------------------
Related
---------------------------------

“Key to Scent of Flowers”, Sci Tech, The Hindu, Nov.27, 2003
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/2003/11/27/stories/2003112701001600.htm

“Pollution ‘dulling the scent of flowers’”, Sci Tech, The Hindu, April 20, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/holnus/008200804201550.htm’

“Pollution dulling the scent of flowers”, Financial Express, April 21, 2008
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Pollution-dulling-the-scent-of-flowers/299506/

“Scented Flowers and Foliages”, (Fragrances can have an effect on our emotions and wellbeing)
http://www.flowers.org.uk/flowers/trivia/scent.htm

“Pollution dulling the scent of flowers”, Sci Tech, Eco News, www.zeenews.com (Pollution is endangering the most essential cycles of nature.)
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=437809&sid=ENV&ssid=26

“Pollution stifling flowers’ scents’, Alok Jha, Science Correspondent The Guardian, Monday April 14 2008, (why bees and other pollinating insects are in decline)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/14/pollution.conservation

“Why flowers have lost their scent?”, Wren’s Nest News, Article 19614, posed April 20, 2009 (Pollution is dulling the scent of flowers and impeding some of the most basic processes of nature, disrupting insect life and imperilling food supplies).
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/why-flowers-have-lost-their-scent-812168.html

A Thought for Today : April 4, 2008

'Cactus' by Paolo Nao from

Public-Domain-Photos.com

----------------------------------

You can make a dime dishonestly, but it will cost

you a dollar later on - Unknown

Grateful thanks to Paulo Nao and Public-Domain-Photos.com and the unknown author of the above quotation.

A Thought for Today : April 3, 2008

'Protest' - Photo by Jon Sullivan from

Public-Domain-Photos.com

Manliness should mark man and not faint-heartedness. Determination should reign supreme and not timidity. A good cause should be championed firmly; it should not be shirked with indifference. Man grows in caliber as he utilizes his potentialities for good causes. – Swami Chidbhavananda

-------

Grateful thanks to Jon Sullivan and Public-Domain-Photos.com

Eyecatchers-66: "Embryo Testing"

Parents in Australia were suing an embryo-testing clinic for allowing their child to carry a cancer gene.

Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, January 22, 2008

----------

Related

----------

"Embryo test 'offers parents hope" by Caroline Ryan BBC News, Prague

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5079802.stm

"Should we be able to choose our kids?", By Jeffrey P. Kahn, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director, Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, CNN.com/Health, August 20, 2002 -

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/08/19/ethics.matters/index.html

"Should embryo testing be restricted? " BBC News - Talking Point, November 19, 1999 -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/522749.stm

"Embryo test for 200 diseases", Healthcare Today Magazine - http://www.hc2d.co.uk/content.php?contentId=1068

"Genetic Embryo Testing Video Clip", http://www.infertile.com/media_pages/television/2001-04-xx_ktvi_genetest.htm

"Call to scrutinise embryo testing", David Adam, science correspondent, The Guardian, April 26 2005 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/apr/26/health.science

"Embryo testing could produce babies who might aid sick siblings", News-Medical.Net - http://www.news-medical.net/?id=1220

"Embryo testing prevents rhesus factor disease" by Karen Barlow for The World Today - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1285912.htm

Facts & Figures-27 : "Brain-enhancing Drugs!"

A poll by the science journal "Nature" found that 20 percent of its readers use brain-enhancing drugs.

Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.

-----------

Related:

----------

"One in five admit using brain drugs", James Randerson, The Guardian, Thursday April 10 2008 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/10/medicalresearch.health.

"20 Percent of Scientists Admit Using Brain-Enhancing Drugs -- Do You?" by Alexis Madriga, 'Wired Science', April 09, 2008 - http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/20-of-scientist.html

"Sharper minds" by Melissa Healy, Times Staff Writer " - http://www.nootropics.com/smartdrugs/sharper-minds.html

"Using Brain Enhancing Drugs: Is This "Cheating" ?", ' Leather Head Matters', March 19, 2008 - http://leatherheadblog.com/2008/03/19/brain-enhancing-drugs-is-this-cheating/

"Brain-enhancing drugs", 'Nascent', Nature's blog on web technology and science, http://blogs.nature.com/wp/nascent/2008/02/brainenhancing_drugs_1.html

"Ethical questions regarding use of brain-enhancing drugs debated", University of Cambridge News and Events, December 20, 2007, http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007122002

"More professionals, students using brain performance enhancing drugs", The Dallas Morning News, December 20, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/122107dnnatbraindoping.3761ad89.html