Another example of egregious behavior by insurance companies: After a woman in Florida was raped, her doctor prescribed to her a month's worth of anti-AIDS medicine as a proper precaution. She didn't end up developing an HIV infection. Then, months later when she lost her insurance and was looking for new coverage, she was denied a policy because the HIV medication raised too many health questions. She even explained to the insurance company what the scenario was and why she took the medication. They still denied her the coverage and said they might reconsider in three or more years if she could prove that she still was HIV-free. (Full Story)
"The Founding of a Republic" has set the record for the highest-grossing Chinese film in China's box office history. The movie, which was released to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's rise to power, is about the Chinese civil war and the establishment of the People's Republic of China. But it's no surprise it did so well -- this pro-China film (or propaganda film, as some say) was released on the largest number of movie screens in Chinese history, it had no competition from Hollywood films (well isn't that convenient), it was played during an extended national holiday period, there was massive promotion of the movie (including running a trailer of the film before every movie playing in the country), and they had just about every famous Chinese star in the film (including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Ziyi Zhang; hey, where's Chow Yun Fat!). (Full story)
Now women in Kuwait can obtain a passport without their husband's permission. The highest court in Kuwait overturned a 1962 law requiring a husband's signature to obtain a passport. (Full Story)
Yet another example of the terror and control Al-Shabab is inflicting on the people of Somalia: They ordered two radio stations to stop broadcasts indefinitely. Not that long ago, they told the stations to stop playing music. (Full Story)
Al-Shabab is an Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda, and they currently control most of southern Somalia. They are attempting to overthrow the fragile U.N.-backed government in the capital of Mogadishu. In addition to terrorist attacks, this group also has been carrying out physical punishment on suspected criminals (e.g., amputating robbers) and whipping women in public for wearing bras (which they claim violates Islamic standards).
A joint report by the World Health Organization, the U.N., and the World Bank said that global immunizations have reached a record high. Thanks to the efforts of the GAVI Alliance (a financing partnership among WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and some drugmaker corporations), 106 million million babies under the age of one were vaccinated in 2008. And a record 120 vaccines against a host of diseases became available. Now vaccines reach more than 200 million children in developing countries. Though, there's still more that needs to be done. They reported that 24 million infants (about 20% of the children born each year) did not receive first-year-of-life vaccinations that are common in the wealthiest countries. "The children who missed out typically live in poorly served remote rural areas, deprived urban settings, fragile states and strife-torn regions, mostly in Africa and Asia."
The article also mentioned the problem of how "middle-income countries" are often not eligible for financial assistance from the GAVI Alliance. These countries make too much for assistance, but they don't make enough to readily afford new vaccines. Many people in these countries live on less than $2 a day. More should be done to address this gap. (Full Story)
No wonder Karzai agreed to a run-off election, John Kerry was sent out to talk to him. "After nearly 20 hours of tense, exhausting talks over four days, Sen. John F. Kerry was convinced by midday Tuesday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had accepted the need for a run off." And then when Karzai was still hesitant, Kerry took a long walk (about 3.5 hours) with him and re-stated his case. That's truly how you break someone. At that point I'm sure Karzai was willing to do anything to get Kerry to stop talking. (Full Story)
Obama's response to those crazy conservatives that were glad the U.S. (Chicago) didn't win the bid for the 2016 Olympics, simply because he was promoting it: "Who's against the Olympics? What's up with that?" (Full Story)
A study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that the children of Hispanic immigrants tend to be born healthy and intellectually on-par with other American children, but by the age of two they begin to lag in linguistic and cognitive skills and the gap tends to widen as they get older. They also found that black children and poor white children also lagged behind, suggesting that poverty is a factor in predicting how well a young child's mind develops. Though Hispanic toddlers, especially those from a Mexican background, had the largest drop-off in cognitive scores-- and this couldn't be explained by economic status alone.
One possible explanation for this finding is that a high percentage of Latin American immigrant mothers have less formal schooling than the average native-born, American mother. These mothers also tend to have more children than the average middle-class American family, which means the toddlers get less one-on-one attention from their parents.
The researchers suggest more money should be put into programs that coach parents to stimulate their children with books, drills, and games earlier in the their lives. Fortunately, the Obama administration has been pushing for more money to help prepare infants and toddlers for school; the House recently passed an initiative that would give $8 billion over eight years to states with plans to improve programs serving young children; and the economic stimulus package included $3 billion for Head Start preschools and for the Early Head Start Program (which helps parents to stimulate their child's development). (Full Story)
Interestingly, in the past it used to be common for reporters to cover executions; there were numerous journalists in attendance. But when Texas started increasing the number of executions (executions used to be much less common), less news organizations were able to make the recurring, long drives due to costs. He usually is the only reporter in attendance, and papers usually rely on his stories instead of sending their own reporters. (Full Story)
What an incredibly difficult job. But it seems like he tries to distance himself from the emotional aspect. He seems very matter-of-fact about it, if not sometimes a little cold. He said that he usually chooses the viewing room that the victim's family is in, instead of the viewing room with the inmate's family, partly "because I can get out faster and file the story faster." And "The act is very clinical, almost anticlimactic. When we get into the chamber here in Texas, the inmate already has been strapped to the gurney and the needled is already in his arm."
Though it does seem to have its effects on him. He's had to witness people stare, weep, faint, turn their backs, and even exchange high-fives (in one case) as the inmate is executed. He's particularly haunted by one incident in which an inmate sang "Silent Night" for his last words, and it wasn't even near Christmas. He said he can't hear that song anymore without thinking of that incident.
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