What do you remain?

If you find something precious in the usual life, could you imagine how your life turn into being exciting? I had dreamed finding secret treasures or ancient relics which could be recorded in the real history. This world still is full of mystical unknown things which are waiting their findings.

The BBC News article “Indonesian shell has ‘earliest human engraving’” reports that the zig-zag patterns found on a fossilized shell may be engraved by Homo erectus, although it is not clear whether the patterns were art or symbolic expression for special purpose.

When I first saw Paleolithic stone tools in a prehistoric museum, I wondered how people could find these were tools because it seemed to be difficult to identify tools amongst many regular stones, especially comparing with rubbles. Before they were categorized as tools, they seemed to be just stones.  In this article’s case, the finder is a person who prepared his PhD research and found the pattern after taking digital photos of the shells. The shells already excavated and collected in Java in the 1890s. Nobody noticed the patterns with naked eyes, so it would be a fortune to find a historical evidence if it is confirmed.

The patterns remind me the prehistoric engraved wall cliff which was submerged by building artificial dam in Korea. The engravings were estimated the Bronze Age’s works, which had some patterns of lines and circles. In some case, we see the ideas that developing overrides other priorities for the more economic merits. And also, there are some cases that people intentionally destroy the sites when the sites are found under construction working since if the place have value to research, the construction should hold until finishing excavation. It’s so sad to bury history under the developing purpose putting aside finding new things.

If our species remain some relics 10,000 years later, how many things the future species know about us?

__________

Reference

Indonesian shell has 'earliest human engraving'.(2014, December 4). BBC News Australia. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30324599

End of an era

Although I've studied calligraphy, and can write very well when beautiful writing is my aim, my usual handwriting ever since primary school has been awful, as I suspect students agree when they see my scribbles on the whiteboards at AUA.

According to the article "Finland: Typing takes over as handwriting lessons end" (2014), despite concerns such as a possible "disadvantage [to] children who don't have a computer at home" and an adverse impact on the development of "fine motor skills and brain function" in children, Finland's National Board of Education has decided to replace compulsory cursive writing with typing from 2016.

Although I've never studied palaeography, I've always enjoyed looking on and trying to read our most ancient copies of texts from the past, painstakingly written on papyrus, lambskin, paper or other material by scribes working away to reproduce the ideas of Homer, of Plato, of Lucretius, of Confucius, of Mengtzu and so on for later generations. Not being a palaeographer, my ability to decipher even very old English texts isn't that great, but the texts are often as beautiful to look as their ideas are foundational to the cultures they are a part of.

Despite agreeing that handwriting is a skill of rapidly decreasing value in today's world, I felt a twinge of regret that something that has been taught as a basic skill for students for more than 2,000 years in cultures from China to Rome might now be on the way out. But then I thought about my own habits: apart from scribbling on whiteboards at AUA, I almost never write by hand these days - except to fill out forms at banks and for Thai Immigration. In fact, my annual visa and work permit renewal is almost the only time I ever sign my name these past ten years or so! This worries our personnel officer, because my ability to reproduce my own signature as on my passport (written once every ten years) gets a bit rusty between the annual splurge when I sign it about a hundred times at once - an effort that also puts a strain on the muscles involved, which are clearly a different set to those used when I type, as I'm doing now.

__________

Reference

Finland: Typing takes over as handwriting lessons end. (2014, November 21). BBC News News from Elsewhere. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-30146160

We are all same

Most children want to be treated as adults as they grow up. My daughter is no exception. She doesn't want to listen to me anymore. She insists that she can manage to do anything by herself. She always says " I am 14 years old now. I am grown up.  Just leave me alone!"

The BBC News article"We’re adults, not children, says learning disabled girl band " reports that the gril group whose members all have learning difficluties wants the world to see them as an artist above all. Through their performance, they want to prove everyone that they are capable of a lot more than people think.

I have just finished watching one Korean drama called " Good Doctor"   This drama taught me a lot of things and made me think about human potential.  It is the story about a young man with a developmental disability who struggles to become a good doctor.  Even though he has an exceptional memory and keen spatial skills, his colleagues or patients' parents look down on him because he has the mentality of a ten-year-old boy.  They believed that he was not suitable to become a doctor and tried to ged rid of him.  Two people, his boss and senior, supported  him and encouraged him to keep fighting and never give up.  He made a lot of efforts and was able to overcome his disablity, and in the end, he succeeded in becoming a certified doctor.  This is a ficiton story, but similar things happens in the real world.  All the members in the girl band group always felt they were treated as disabled people rather than just people.  School teachers kept telling them that they could not learn anything and treated them as a child even they reached to the age of 18.  Their parents always believed their potential and there was one more person who was confident enough to invite them to form a group. The name of the band is"The Sisters of Invention" and  those girls want to make a revolution to change pople's view of disabled people.

 I used to have some kind of prejudice towards disabled people just because they were different  from me.  We are all different in the first place.  Everyone has a potencial.  No one has the right to say one is better than the other.  In the last episode of the drama, the young man asked his boss about the definition of a good doctor. He replied that a person who keeps pursuing this question is a good doctor.  As a human, I think I am resposible to keep asking myself to become a better person. What do you think?

__________

Reference

Tracey, E.  (2014, December 1).  We’re adults, not children, says learning disabled girl band. BBC News Ouch. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-30245435

Why banana smuggling is profitable in Tunsia

Banana are the most popluar edible fruit and the cheapest type of fruit in the world. In fact, the banana is not tree but a high herb that grows up 15 metres. They hve various nutrients and are one of the healthiest foods which you can eat. this food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassiam, Manganese and so on. Banana could help ypu to feel happier and it can also prevent some disease such as blood-pressure. Banana are grown in more than 150 countries, they are huge economic and important-export for many countries who rely on the revenue. They are grown for local consumption and the price is very cheap but not in Tunisia. In Thailand, bananas are one kind of fruit eaten by poor people, why? because they are affordable and are available all year road. Thailand doesn't have the same tax issues as Tunisia because the banana are grown inside Thailand and selling, therefore operated within a free market.

According to "Why banana smuggling in profitable in Tunisia" The World Bank said that banana in Tunisia are more expensive than UK about 30% and they were in the top of 10 smuggled goods entering the country from either Algeria or Libya. Algeria, Libya and Tunisia are not grown banana so they are import from across the border and Tunisia has collected 36% the duty on imported banana. Otherwise, government gave a handful of imported-licence to businessmen. It made some businessmen circumvented the tax on banana and also government losing tax revenue and the market has been flooded by smuggled banana. Finally, it becime monopoly trade and expand to the black-marcket.

I think, Tunisians may be not buy bananas and noneed to eat it. Although, banana is the healthiest foods and various nutrition, I will buy other fruits are cheaper than banana and the same nutrition.

__________

Reference

Kottoor, N. (2014, December 3). Why banana smuggling is profitable in Tunisia. BBC News Business. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30277009

"Physical Anthropology" - something you learned about Palaeolithic or Mesolithic cultures

This is one of the Hartmann and Blass's response writing prompts in exercise G. on page 72 of Quest (2014). Write down your ideas. Do not stop writing to refer to the text, to use a dictionary or anything else. Write for ten minutes on the following topic:

• something you learned about Palaeolithic or Mesolithic cultures.

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Palaeolithic stone knives

Venus of Willendorf - 28,000 - 25,000 BC.

"Physical Anthropology" - different motives for producing art

This is one of the Hartmann and Blass's response writing prompts in exercise G. on page 72 of Quest (2014). Write down your ideas. Do not stop writing to refer to the text, to use a dictionary or anything else. Write for ten minutes on the following topic:

• your ideas on the different motives for creating art. 

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lascaux - c. 30,000 BC

Picasso, 1939

"Physical Anthropology" - something you learned about similarities between humans and other primates

This is one of the Hartmann and Blass's response writing prompts in exercise G. on page 72 of Quest (2014). Write down your ideas. Do not stop writing to refer to the text, to use a dictionary or anything else. Write for ten minutes on the following topic:

• something you learned about similarities between humans and other primates.

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

"Physical Anthropology" - animals in captivity producing art

This is one of the Hartmann and Blass's response writing prompts in exercise G. on page 72 of Quest (2014). Write down your ideas. Do not stop writing to refer to the text, to use a dictionary or anything else. Write for ten minutes on the following topic:

• your opinion about animals in captivity producing art. 

__________

Reference

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Growth slows but sustainable wealth

The China's Manufacturing activity is a one of indicators of the Chinese economy; whereas, in November manufacturing sector expansion in china is the lowest in 6 months. This reflects adjustment policies delay of the Chinese government, government should change economical policies from maintain inflation rates to stimulate the economy.

According to “China's manufacturing growth slows again in November” Chinese The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) decrease that indicate the economic growth is still weak therefore the China's central bank cut interest rates down to 2.75% for first time since 2012 in an attempt to revive the economy.

The economic slowdown in China seem worried; that is the lowest growth rate since 2012; however, the economic slowdown is a good chance to reform, restructuring in economy sustainable growth. Throughout 30 years of growth in the Chinese economy has been encouraged by financial subsidizing, China has not think rapid growth will leads to long-term economical affect from economy, environment, social gap to inequality of income to the government debt to public health problems, which are all connected up like dominoes.
Cutting interest rates down cause of many loan low return benefit, create overproduction that is drawback to pollution, resources devastating and long term trading- less consumer less than product.-So if China wants to restrain problems in the future, government should use market price and market mechanisms instead of subsidize that create huge debt - low returns to the government, cutting labor wage down against market prices.

__________

Reference

China's manufacturing growth slows again in November. (2014, December 1). BBC News  Business. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30272091

What will our choice be?

How wonderful it is if I could know before what will happen! So, I can understand why some people like to visit fortune tellers before deciding someting important. Maybe people want to receive certain excuses or reasons for what they are going to do.

In "Controversial DNA test comes to UK", Michelle Roberts and Paul Rincon report that the personal DNA test, which was banned in the US, has been approved for use in the UK, although it still has worries about the reliability for the health decisions's base and company's using personal infomation (2014).

It may be awesome to know that we will have what kinds of diseases in the future. It reminds me of the famous actress Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. After knwoing her high probability of breast cancer, she removed her breasts. In her case, her faulty gene, BRCA1, sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer, but her decision might be difficult as a actress. Acording to Michelle Roberts and Paul rincon, BRCA 1and 2 genes have more strong implication of breast cacer. If the information doesn't have high accuracy of predicting diseases, nobody ignore the results of test based on DNA. The using of not perfect high technology could be a double edged knife. It might create more dangerous hastly decision about our health or might be helpful to prevent genetic diseases. Even if there are problems about whether this method is good or not, current flowing of this technology seems not to be changed.

Someday we might have full information about ourselves which could explain our expected diseases, expected physical chracteristics, expected life spans, and so on. I'm not sure that future world would be good. It seems that people would have more determined life, but we could find a way to adapt to that kind of world, I hope.

__________

Reference

Roberts, M. & Rincon, P. (2014, December 2). Controversial DNA test comes to UK. BBC News Science and Enviroment. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30285581

What next? Banning selfies?

When I saw the headline title "Selfie-stick sellers face fines in South Korea" over my morning coffee this morning, I thought it must be another example of government regulating out of control. Happily, I was wrong.

"Selfie-stick sellers face fines in South Korea" reports that, since they are devices using radio technology, Bluetooth enabled selfie sticks sold in South Korea require an official certification to be sold legally (2014).

As quickly became clear when I read the story, the South Korean government isn't actually acting to protect the innocent public from the threat of being poked in the eye or any similar risk of injury by banning the use of selfie sticks in public. In fact, the story is much less exciting than the promising title.

Experimental selfie -
 not so flattering.

Meanwhile, it's clear that selfies are a big thing - I've even taken the odd one myself. But when I look at them, they do often look very odd, with rather distorted facial features. Perhaps what I need is one of those selfie sticks that I now see on sale even in such upmarket places as Paragon. Consider the supporting evidence in the two photographs here: even allowing for the boring context, the selfie is not flattering. Having another friend take a photograph worked much better when I was at an ordination ceremony a couple of days ago.

I think on the whole it's better to follow my habit of leaving the selfies to the younger generation. Or perhaps I should invest in a high tech selfie stick: I can just see myself first fiddling to attach the phone and then waving the stick around in front of me. That does sound hazardous to innocent passers by.

That looks much better. 

__________

Reference

Selfie-stick sellers face fines in South Korea. (2014, December 1). BBC News Technology. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30274974

China media: Public smoking ban

Cigarette are very addictive and particularly bad for your health over the long term. They are also bad for the health of family members and people around you who breathe in your second hand smoker on a daily basis. Some doctors believe that second hand smokers can be even more damager to health than for the smokers. Some teenage smokers are also more likely to experiment with drugs and other addicitive substances such as alcohol. Therefore, although cigarettes may be considered a less harmful than harder drugs such as Yaba or cocaine which have mild altherating properties, they can be the trigger which leads people to try out these drugs.

According to "public smoking ban" the report said that China has more than 300 million smokers which is the biggest tobacco market in the world. The government has not limited place for smoking, so they can smoke everywhere such as indoor: public place, offices and outdoor area like school hospital hotel restaurant and so on. As a result, today, China has serious air pulltion and many people got serious diseases. For example: emphysema lung cancer. Average per year more than 600,000 people .So, China government realized that public smoking and pollution problems, it want to ban public smoking and every kind of tobacco advertising such as scene in film and TV shows for decreasing the smokers but the policy cannot reduce the smoker. Why? Because China has a big population and before 1949, they have one slogan is " If men don't smoke, they are not  real men." China government does not pray attention to limited the smoking, it was just talking but not doing about controls on smoking, China is a big manufacture cigarettes in the world and it made a lot of income.

I think, China should educate their people about healthy and have a strict rule to prohibit public smoking and will arrange some place for somker.

__________

Reference

China media: Public smoking ban. (2014, November 25). BBC News China. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-30188527

"The most important book in English"?

In an earlier post I conceded that the morally ugly Christian Bible has had a massive influence on the Western world, often harmful. I'm much more in agreement with the slightly more limited claim made in "Shakespeare Folio found in French library".

This BBC News story reports that the damage, including the loss of its title page, to a copy of the first published collection of most of Shakespeare's plays may explain why it had gone unrecognised for 200 years in the rare books section of a library in a small French town, where it was recently discovered by a librarian ("Shakespeare Folio", 2014).

As Carl Sagan has said, if we could have kept only the work of Newton, or Darwin or Shakespeare, we should choose the Shakespeare. Had Newton and Darwin never lived to do their amazing work, those scientific and mathematical discoveries would still have been made. But only Shakespeare could have given us Shakespeare, just as Homer, however many people he might have been, could have given us Homer.

When I first read Shakespeare, it was like learning another language. My first exposure as an innocent child was to Macbeth. And Shakespeare's language, although already modern English, is very different to the English of today: words have different meanings, he uses words not common today, and his spelling is all over the place - I don't think he ever worried about little details like spelling the same word the same way. He sometimes spells travel as "trauaill" and sometimes as "trauel", the former probably for the good reason of suggesting the original word from which comes the word travail. And sometimes we just can't be absolutely sure what word he meant.

But since Macbeth is full of murder, starting with the murder of a king, and ghosts and witches, and fights and plotting and an evil wife who goes insane after a blood thirsty start, Mabeth's queen after he has killed the king who just rewarded him for success in battle, the play does grip despite the language difficulties: the violence, the sex, the wickedness are, as always, powerful attractions, even for innocent children. When I first read Romeo and Juliet, I didn't realise how full of sex the writing is, and the silly English teacher at my Catholic boys school didn't clarify that, which left the play seeming a bit odd - the powerful sexual attraction, the lust, that drives Romeo and his beloved 13 year old (could that be legal today?) to defy their families and then commit suicide is hard to understand when the sex content isn't clear. However, Macbeth has enough without the love between Macbeth and his bloody minded wife to hold the interest and encourage even 13 year old boys to work at the language.

First Folio edition title page
for Anthony and Cleopatra

By the time I got to Antony and Cleopatra some years later in high school, enough exposure had eased the language problems. But even today, Shakespeare is one thing I prefer to read in a paper book version - the Kindle editions are OK, but they can't really handle notes and commentary: that is much better done no a paper version. My preferred edition is the Oxford University Press series, and again the spelling can be a bit weird. For example, Michael Neill, the Oxford editor of Antony and Cleopatra spells Antony as "Anthony" and titles the play "Anthony and Cleopatra", but he does have a good reason: the First Folio edition, an instance of which the BBC News article is about, very clearly has "Anthony", so I think the Oxford editor made a reasonable choice, even though almost every other modern editor spells the leading man's name as "Antony", following the Roman (Latin) spelling. There is no end of controversy over such questions, but neither is there any reason to let such details get in the way of enjoying this great English literature. I agree with the BBC News's reporter that a good case can be made that the First Folio edition of Shakespeare is one of the most important books published in English.

Have you seen or read any of Shakespeare's plays or poetry?

__________

Reference

Shakespeare Folio found in French library. (2014, November 26). BBC News Entertainment & Arts. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30206476

Because of hormone

By nature men are different from women both physical differences and mental differences, these differences bring to different behavior, thinking and attitude.

According to According to BBC News's "Women bosses 'more depressed' than male counterparts" reports that women bosses have more depressed than men bosses because women bosses always deal with stereotypes, prejudice, colleagues and superiors. Her colleagues don’t believe the women whom could be good leaders and her works will be more monitored by their advisers than men’s.

Men and women are different between the body, thinking and behavior due to sexual hormones and brain structure. Women have bigger frontal lobe than men’s. Frontal lobe is related to our thinking this frontal lobe will motivate limbic system that is concerned about controlling emotions and feeling as a result women have more emotion than men. Moreover women’s Cerebral Cortex have more neuronal cells than men’s that make women thinking; even a small thing and usually use more emotional decisions than men. On the other hand men have bigger parietal lobe than women’s, men can solve the stress in the short term and facing problem faster than women.

Plus women have bigger Hippocampus that keep stories memory so women trend to remember more situations and can recall old stories in the past and felling in situations  that make her feel sad or happy easier than men whom only usually remember important stories.
In general women’s brain products serotonin “controlling emotion restrain aggression” more than men’s, usually men look more aggressive and stronger than women. In stressful situations, women’s brain product less serotonin men’s brain doesn’t so our hormones and brain structure are main factor to our depression.

 

__________

Reference

Stephens,P. (2014, November 20). Women bosses 'more depressed' than male counterparts. BBC News Health. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30127275

Women bosses "more depress" than counterparts

In the past, the men are a leader and women are follow men, but now the social has change to women have a role in the economy, social ,and politic etc. It make women more stronger and more depression.

According to "more depressed" The scientists at the University of Texas at Austin interviewed 2800 middle aged men and women in 1993-2004 the aged between 54 to 64. The study said that women have more education and more ability to do job authority, otherwise, these women more strict , aggressive and hard working, but women want to do the work complete, even if they will do overtime and bring the problems go back to home. This is a bad behavior as leaders  So it make them have fewer symptoms of depression than women without job authority. In contrast, men are the same symptoms of depression too, but men are stronger mental and hangout. Especially, men are not responsibility families than women. The weak point of women is more likely than men to display symptoms of depression. From the statistic of scientists that women have 9% increased rate of depressive symptoms than women without authority.

This depression is depend on person and behavior. I think they should exercise for relaxation and healthy.

__________

Reference

Sephens, P. (2014, November 20) Women bosses 'more depressed' than male counterparts. BBC News Health. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30127275

Toys for children

Since se are so accustomed to hear tragic news from around world, police killing a child is not more special than a killing spree in a school or other incidents related with guns. However, these kinds of news always make me gloomy and sad at losing a youn life.

The BBC News article "Tamir Rice shooting: Call for US replica gun law change" reports that a 12-year-old boy was shot by police after pulling out what turned out to be a replica gun, which is promoting calls for the guns to be more clearly marked (2014).

The boy, Tamir Rice, had a replica gun and was shot by police and died. Who is blamed? The producer made a replica gun, the parents paid money for the replica gun, the boy played with the replica gun, and the police shot him. The case is under investigation to clarify what exactly happend, but any explanation cannot resurrect the dead boy.

Why do people made toys looking like real firearms? Toys are just for children's joy and developing. Adults have made toys which resemble real things because the more looking like real things are more expensive. Sometimes we worry about children cannot distinguish a real thing from an imaginable thing, but the article shows that we adults cannot know which one is real in a short time when we have to decide a urgent thing. The good solution for our society is that we throw away all kinds of firearms without concern of whether they are real or not, if we can. However, we know well we cannot. It's sad reality. Then just for toys for children, don't we have a hope having a toy world without replica firearms? 

Reference

Tamir Rice shooting: Call for US relica gun law change. (2014, Novemver 24). BBC News Us and Canada. Retrieved from  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30181338

Art for whose sake?

I was tempted to respond to the appalling shooting by US police of a 12 year old boy yesterday, in the end, the flowers as art won.

According to "Georgia O'Keeffe painting sets auction record for female artist," the surprising sale, as Will Compertz describes it, of a major work by artist Georgia O'Keeffe, although well below the records held by men, has set a new record price for a painting by a female artist (2014).

Although I think other modern artists are better, I have long admired the work of O'Keeffe. Her flowers, however delicate in reality, come across as strong and powerful, whilst remaining representationally accurate. Nonja could never produce an O'Keeffe!

O'Keeffe, G. (1932)
Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1

I do think the work of other modern artists, who are mainly men, which is not my fault, is better art. I particularly like the work of Picasso, and can understand why his work fetches such amazing prices. If I had a spare $100 million, I might even be tempted (I had a lot of spare $100 millions). But whilst I greatly enjoy O'Keeffe's powerful flowers, I don't know that I'd spend $44 million to get my hands on the original Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1. I might pay a lot, but not quite that much. On the other hand, I'm glad that others are paying up and encouraging the further production of great art, and O'Keeffe's art does seem to me to be great.

In a hundred years, it will still be appreciated, along with Picasso and Rembrandt, and probably Francis Bacon, whose Three Studies of Lucien Freud the article cites as being the current world record holder, having sold last year for more than three times the price of O'Keeffe's $44.4 million flowers. I would probably have gone for the Bacon, too, but not at $142 million: has anyone ever matched Picasso's genius?

And hopefully someone else will follow up the stories on the latest horrific shooting by gun carrying cops in the US.

__________

Reference

Georgia O'Keeffe painting sets auction record for female artist. (2014, November 21). BBC News Entertainment & Arts. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30142581

Coke vs fruit juice- which is healthier?

The word of Coke always reminds me of the funny story from my childfood.  My mischievous sister and brother once tried to get me drink a glass of soy sauce which they said it was my favorite beverage Coke.

The article "Call to banish fruit juice from recommended five a day" reports that fruit juices contain as much sugar as Coke.  Since many parents still believe that fruit juices are healthy products to give to their childern, experts adivise them on the applicable amount and the time to take them.
 
I couldn't give up drinking Coke alomost every day until my friend warned me that my bones would start to melt.  As I grew older, I was ready to pay more attention to what are good or healthy things to eat or drink, but I wasn't good enough. when I first read this article, I was quite shocked because I had no doubt that fruit juice as well as fruit is surely good for the health. And I was the one who drink fruit juice almost every day and of course have a stock in the fride. 

I was little confused and at the same time started worrying about the fact I drink fruit juice more frequently here in Bangkok than in Japan.  I  decided to gathrer information on this topic for my own sake since I realized that I was too ignorant about what nutricious food is.  I soon found out fruit juice is linked with diabetes.   Diabetes is the last word I wanted  to hear.  It is an illness that scares me the most because both my father and brother have them. If I continue to have fruit juice, do I also develop diabetes??    Fruit may lower the risk of diabetes while juice may raise it.  Can it be true?   If fruit contains plenty of Vitamin C, Minerals and calcium, why not fruit juice?  According to the artcle "Diabetes experts: 'juices are the worst, you might as well drink Coke..'.", Dr Kaufman says fruit juice is really one of worst things...We might as well drink Coca-Cola.  Sugars are released from fruit when it is juice or blended.  Fruit juice contains no fiber, but a high amount of sugar.  Furthermore, fruit juice is so easy to take. We just need a glass to pour in. We don't have to peel nor cut it. Since it is a liquid, it is easy to have more.  In contrast, eating fruit takes some time because we have to chew it and it cannot be absorbed into the body that quikily.
That means when I drink fruit juice, I am taking so much sugar into my body for a very short time. It sounds really bad for the health. If fruit juice is a kind of sugar water, it may also contribute to tooth decay and weight gain.

After gathering all this information, I wondered whether I should get rid of my fruit juice whose expiry dates are two weeks ahead or not.  There are a lot other unhealthy products such as cakes, doughnuts, ice cream.... Do I eat them every day? No.  I eat them for special occasions.  As for fruit juice, now I have knowledge about it and as long as I am sensible about portion, I guess I don't have to give up drinking them as I did with Coke.  But it might be a better idea to have whole fruits instead of juice.

________

Reference
 

Michelle, R. (2014, November 11).  Call to banish fruit juice from recommended five a day. BBC News Health. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29986012

Elaine, W. (2014, March 27). Diabetes experts: 'juices are the worst, you might as well drink Coke..'.
Retrieved from http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/People/Diabetes-expert-Juices-are-the-worst-you-might-as-well-drink-Coke

Don't touch snow!

When I heard that one of my friends could not come to our lunch appointment because of preparing her children's Christmas costumes, I come to realize we are in winter. My life in Bangkok seems to deprive me of sense of seasons.

In "Why do so many people die shovelling snow?", Jo Jolly reports that around 100 people in the US die shovelling every winter and the reasons are that the shovelling snow raises blood pressure and heart rates; that cold air constricts blood vessels; that cardiac risk are higher in early moring, advising people over the age 55 not to do it (2014).

I was shocked at Jolly's article that there are people who die from shovelling snow. I hae never thought the work is hard enough to kill people. After seeing attached picture to the article, I came to understand the scale of the accumulated snow amouts in the US. It could be a cause of dying. The snowbank's height looks like almost one meter. If people were isolated in the house by snow, they have to make a way to get outside.

When I was a child, my brother and I went around our neighbors to find snowbanks having no way to a house gate to shovel them because we thought it was an exciting job to show our power. The average anual snowfall of Seoul, my hometown, is usually not over 30 centimeters in winter, so it was enough for us to clean them. It's one of my favorite memories about my childhood. By effects of increasing selfish life styles, people didn't want to shovel snow of other places excluding snow in the front of their houses. Some people didn't clean snow even in the front of their houses. So, we came to have a law restirction which imposes fines on people who don't shovel snow in the front of their houses.

The sadder thing is that nowadays children in Korea cannot enjoy snow because of air pollution of China. It is polluting snow and rain, so we are cautioned not to be exposed to snow or rain. Korean moms always warn their children not to touch snow. We might find a contradiction of the phrase 'as pure as the driven snow' in the near future. The industrial development of humans are making harm to humans. What do we have to give up for our convenience?

One of good things in my Bangkok like is that I can get rain on my head without any worry. I miss a clean heavy shower now.   
  

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Reference

Jolly, J.(2014, November 19). Why do so many people die shovelling snow? BBC News Megazine Moniter. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30119410

Immigration reform good for whom

Obama has given importance in immigration reform since he campaigned in 2008. After he was been voted to US president, the immigration reform was ignored due he has given more importance to Health care system. Today he plan about immigration reform seriously.

According to BBC News's "Barack Obama enforces US immigration overhaul," Obama want to reform immigration law by immigrants who has been living illegally in the US apply for work permits even his plan was protested by some American and Republican and Congress. Finally he announced executive orders and bypass congress on immigration reform Amendment.

Even immigration reform policy will not offer citizenship or all of the same benefits as Americans such as Obama care food stamp, this policy will gain many profits to American economic, for example increase GDP, increase the employment wage. Changing illegal labors into legal labors will made national employment wage increase because nowadays many employers employ illegal employee in low wage, plus these illegal employee haven’t paid tax to US government. If these illegal labors become to legal labors and pay tax to government, it will able to increase national government money instead of spending much government money to arresting, imprisonment these illegal labors. Moreover this policy is good for Obama because almost of illegal labors are Latino who is Obama’s voting base, I think this policy was thought as a one of campaigns for his next election.

Although this policy sounds good, Obama passed it without the consent of Congress that is irreverent action to parliament that sound like Obama give more importance to Latino than legal process. Then there are many illegal labors were deported from USA, they don’t have opportunity to become legal labors and coming to USA again is more difficult because border security policy is stronger. They have to live far away from their families in USA; this policy is not fair for them. Does it mean announce amnesty for illegal immigrants who still living in USA now? Why don’t announce amnesty for people who were deported from USA?



Reference
Barack Obama enforces US immigration overhaul. (2014, November 21). BBC News US & Canada. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30136245

Ice cream must be banned for under 18s

Most people now agree that the harm they cause justifies banning cigarettes for those under 18. And we do want to be consistent in our reasoning, don't we?

According to Hugh Pym, reporting on a recent survey in "Obesity 'costing same as smoking'," lost productivity through days off work and lower performance due to obesity related illnesses cost 2.8% of global economic activity (2014). Since it is now more serious than smoking and alcohol harms, the researchers have called for wider steps to be taken to control this mounting socio-economic and personal problem.

If you accept that the harm smoking causes justifies controlling the sales of tobacco, and banning it for children, who are most easily tempted into unhealthy ways, then naturally you will agree that something similar must be done about the serious health harms caused by obesity. Pym reports that the authors also want controls put on adults to help solve the problem, but I think that a lot of people might get upset if governments started to ban, for example, chocolate cake for everyone between the hours of 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM in the way that the Thai government currently bans the sale of alcohol even to adults at those times.

However, children clearly need to be protected from the serious health and other risks that bad diets cause, so the same arguments that support banning the sale and provision of cigarettes and alcohol to children must also apply to other harmful substances, in this case, ice cream, chocolate cake, candy, fatty pork and the like. Most of these have approximately zero nutritional value: they are, just like cigarettes or champagne, things that make the user feel good, whilst offering no substantial benefit and causing much harm. If we believe in liberty of choice and a right to chose our own lifestyle, we cannot stop adults from making unhealthy personal decisions, but children are not mature and they do need to be protected from the dangers of alcohol, cigarettes, and life threatening dietary habits. If their parents fail to act responsibly, it is clearly the state's obligation to intervene to protect innocent children from unnecessary risks. One effective way to do this is by passing laws to control the sale of harmful substances.

It is time to criminalize the sale to children of ice cream, chocolate cake, Pepsi, fatty pork, and other unhealthy foods that offer no significant nutritional value. This must be done to protect our children and to save our society from rapidly growing threat. Don't you agree?

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Reference

Pym, H. (2014, November 20). Obesity 'costing same as smoking'. BBC News Health. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30122015