According to estimates, one-third of all money spent on US health care is devoted to unnecessary tests and procedures. In a proactive effort to help stem healthcare spending, nine medical associations have joined a campaign called Choosing Wisely, to educate doctors and patients to use more caution regarding certain procedures.
“More isn’t better,” is the conclusion of the specialty doctors leading the campaign.
Wireless carriers agreed to disable stolen smartphones after pressure from U.S. regulators and a police chief who told the industry “shame on you” for not helping to stem a spike in violent robberies.
It is hoped the agreement, announced yesterday, will eventually deter thieves by simply disabling mobile gear like ipads and iphones making it worthless after it is stolen.
Every day for three years, Xiang Yuncui carried her disabled granddaughter over mountain roads to a Chinese school 3 miles away (5km).
The young girl has cerebral palsy and can’t walk. So every morning the 57-year-old woman has carried her to school, waited for her there, and carried her home again — a grueling two hour trip each way.
(WATCH the video from ITN News)
Every day for the last three years, Xiang Yuncui has carried her disabled granddaughter over mountain roads to a Chinese school 3 miles away (5km).
The young girl has cerebral palsy and can’t walk. So every morning the 57-year-old woman has carried her to school, waited for her there, and carried her home again — a grueling two hour trip each way.
An elaborate Russian dance flash mob that broke out on a wintry public square to the song, Puttin’ on the Ritz, has tallied 4.6 million views on YouTube.
Some commenters think it’s a protest against Putin, while many of the Russian commenters say it’s pro-Putin. No details were provided by the producers when they uploaded the video on Feb. 26.
One thing is certain. It is fun for all who watched and danced to this 83-year-old song written by Russian-born American Jew, Irving Berlin.
A motley crew of diverse Arab, Persian and American comedians is making audiences laugh while unraveling stereotypes at the same time. With their own comedy brand, sold-out worldwide tours, films and television shows, Aron Kader, Maz Jobrani, Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah have built transnational bridges through humor.
Before 9/11, the comedians struggled in a cutthroat environment where club owners, agents and promoters didn’t see the potential of this new-fangled Middle Eastern comedy. But when the media spotlight turned to their countries of origins after 9/11, their work began to generate tremendous interest.
The exponential growth of their comedic output and audience— from the United States to the UAE— led to their global success, culminating in the formation of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour in 2005, a satirical title alluding to the term former president George W. Bush used to describe the countries he believed supported terrorism. (Watch the video clip below)
Their material is based equally on the cultural whimsies and political dilemmas of the Middle East. In a Los Angeles interview I asked if their subject matter was a creative choice or if they felt obligated to be ambassadors of their heritage. Tehran-born, California-raised Maz Jobrani explained that they did not deliberately set out to deconstruct stereotypes about Arabs and Persians. “That’s not why I became a comedian. The moment you do material based on what’s expected, you give up your artistic voice.”
The comedians soon discovered that in difficult times, comedy is a persuasive tool for peace. Jobrani cited a specific example of a man who had a revelation after laughing at the Axis of Evil performances. “He emailed me to say he had hated Middle Easterners after September 11th and that he started to [change his] mind as time went by. He said that seeing the TV special helped in that process.”
During the peak of the Iraq war, however, there were times that Jobrani was heckled by audience members for criticizing the Bush administration. “I took that in stride, as I believed in what I was saying.” In his routine, he emphasises the realities of everyday life in Iran. “On TV they show us angry— burning flags. Just once I wish they would show us baking cookies, because in Iran we do have cookies.”
Dean Obeidallah, co-star of Comedy Central’s The Axis of Evil television special, is a Palestinian Italian from New Jersey who is currently producing a documentary about Arab American comedians, “The Muslims are Coming”. For him, comedy raises socio-political issues in impactful ways. Citing influences like talk show host Jon Stewart and African American comedians Richard Pryor and Chris Rock, he hopes his “comedy dispels some misconceptions Americans harbour about Arabs and Muslims.”
(WATCH a clip from the Axis of Evil Tour in 2005 – some rough language; may not be appropriate for children)
Collaboration with others led Obeidallah to form the Stand up for Peace Tour with Scott Blakeman, who says his Jewish faith compels him to speak out against stereotyping. At the same time, Obeidallah’s Arab Comedy Festival co-founder, Maysoon Zayid, is busy deconstructing myths about the “oppressed Muslim woman, the blood-thirsty Palestinian, and the poor pathetic cripple”. A Palestinian American comedian, she is also an activist for cerebral palsy— a condition she lives and laughs with.
Sarah Palin, Muammar Gaddafi, Iran’s Twitter revolt, Egypt’s uprising, racism, country music and cerebral palsy: no topic is taboo for these comedians as they easily straddle multiple cultures in their comedy routines. “Make it funny, give it levity, use humility so it’s easier to digest and discuss divisive political issues”, said Kader attesting to the ways Middle Eastern American comedians are debunking myths and transcending politics with humour.
This multicultural comedy is nascent but necessary in a world that is rapidly evolving in the way it communicates, entertains and informs.
Sadia Ashraf is a public relations, media, communications and fundraising specialist based in Los Angeles who writes about building bridges and philanthropy. (Originally published by the Common Ground News Service – Reprinted with permission)
WATCH More clips of their comedy on YouTube)
A motley crew of diverse Arab, Persian and American comedians is making audiences laugh while unraveling stereotypes at the same time. With their own comedy brand, sold-out worldwide tours, films and television shows, Aron Kader, Maz Jobrani, Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah have built transnational bridges through humor.
Before 9/11, the comedians struggled in a cutthroat environment where club owners, agents and promoters didn’t see the potential of this new-fangled Middle Eastern comedy. But when the media spotlight turned to their countries of origins after 9/11, their work began to generate tremendous interest.
A Sacramento mosque broke religious barriers today when, for the first time, it allowed a Christian congregation inside to hold Easter services.
The Christian Spiritual Life Center lost its lease one week ago, leaving its parishioners without a place to worship for Easter. That’s when Salam Community Center on College Oak Drive offered its mosque.
London’s homicide rate has fallen steadily over the last decade, dropping 47 percent since 2003. Figures from the Metropolitan Police showed 117 murders recorded in the capital last year, down from 222 in the year 2011.
The drop in London homicides is continuing, with even fewer committed in the last twelve months.
On the third floor of an old meat-packing plant is a humid hothouse filled with rows of greens and sprouts, even exotic white strawberries. Nearby, in large barrels swim dozens of tilapia, fish native to tropical regions.
“The Plant” is a leading example for urban vertical farming using old warehouses, where plants and fish are raised symbiotically, with a closed-loop system that uses all waste toward the production of food. Using “aquaponics”, the water containing fish excrement is used to feed and fertilize the plants, which then filters the water back to the fish through a series of pipes.
One-third of The Plant will hold aquaponic growing systems and the other two-thirds will incubate sustainable food businesses — such as a bakery, beer brewery and mushroom farm — by offering low rent, low energy costs, and a licensed shared kitchen. The Plant will create 125 jobs in Chicago’s economically distressed Back of the Yards neighborhood – but, remarkably, these jobs will require no fossil fuel use. Instead, The Plant will eventually divert over 10,000 tons of food waste from landfills each year to meet all of its heat and power needs.
Funded in part by $1.5 million in grant money from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, The Plant will install an anaerobic digester and a combined heat and power system to operate completely off the grid. By 2015, the completely enclosed, odorless digester will consume 27 tons of food waste a day, including all of the waste produced in the facility and by neighboring food manufacturers. The digester will capture all of the methane from that waste, to provide heat and 400 kWh of electricity.
The Plant is operated under a what’s called a social enterprise model. This means there is a non-profit and for-profit side, but both are aimed at socially and environmentally responsible goals. For more information, visit their website: www.plantchicago.com
(WATCH the great video below, and Read a story about the founders at ABC News)
On the third floor of an old meat-packing plant is a humid hothouse filled with rows of greens and sprouts, even exotic white strawberries. Nearby, in large barrels swim dozens of tilapia, fish native to tropical regions.
“The Plant” is a leading example for urban vertical farming using old warehouses, where plants and fish are raised symbiotically, with a closed-loop system that uses all waste toward the production of food. Using “aquaponics”, the water containing fish excrement is used to feed and fertilize the plants, which then filters the water back to the fish through a series of pipes.
A 17-year-old has invented a mine-sweeping device that can detect land mines based on sound waves, similar to the way piano strings create vibrations in nearby guitars.
Both of Marian Bechtel’s parents are geologists involved with a project developing a holographic radar device for detecting land mines, but her own idea was inspired by her time spent at the piano.
She was rewarded with a $25,000 fellowship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development for her innovative creation.
(READ the story in Fast CoExist)
Through next Saturday, people in Maine’s easternmost county are being urged to think positive and be especially kind as the county celebrates what’s been proclaimed as “Positively Kind Week”.
Washington County commissioners last month signed a proclamation declaring this week as Positively Kind Week, encouraging agencies, businesses, religious organizations and people to kick their kindness levels up a notch.
(What will people do to ramp up their kindness? Let’s hope for an update at the end of the week…)
(READ the AP story from USA Today)
While a British couple was saving for and planning their dream wedding, the groom was suddenly diagnosed with throat cancer. All their income had to be funneled toward medical expenses. They could no longer afford a beautiful wedding.
With her fiance’s health quickly deteriorating, the bride-to-be reached out on Facebook and posted a video on YouTube asking for donations.
She never expected people’s generosity to be so overwhelming.
In just four weeks, donations poured in from friends, family, and complete strangers. Vendors from all over England contributed free services and products to help create a celebration they would never forget.
(READ the story in the UK Sun)
While a British couple was saving for and planning their dream wedding, the groom was suddenly diagnosed with throat cancer. All their income had to be funneled toward medical expenses. They could no longer afford a beautiful wedding.
With her fiance’s health quickly deteriorating, the bride-to-be reached out on Facebook and posted a video on YouTube asking for donations.
She never expected people’s generosity to be so overwhelming.
On a remote lake in Madagascar, a fateful discovery of 22 ducks belonging to a variety thought to be extinct, inspired a group of conservationists to mobilize a last ditch effort to save the species, which had been previously been written off.
This week, as the Madagascar pochard’s only remaining wild population hangs on with just 22 adult birds and a few ducklings surviving, the captive breeding program started in 2009 celebrated a huge success with the birth of 18 new babies.
On a remote lake in Madagascar, a fateful discovery of 22 ducks belonging to a variety thought to be extinct, inspired a group of conservationists to mobilize a last ditch effort to save the species, which had been previously been written off.
This week, as the Madagascar pochard’s only remaining wild population hangs on with just 22 adult birds and a few ducklings surviving, the captive breeding program started in 2009 celebrated a huge success with the birth of 18 new babies.
The First Dog got into the swing of Easter this week by sporting some fetching pink bunny ears on a visit with his mom Michelle Obama to the bedsides of wounded soldiers waiting for medical treatment.
Bo and the First Lady took Easter goodies to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington on Wednesday.
Ontario residents on holiday to the cottage country may think some of the trees are growing on steroids, but they’re actually Bell Canada cellphone towers.
The telecommunications company plans to disguise towers it erects in the Muskoka area to look like trees so they are not such a direct eyesore.
Since 2009 street artist Christiaan Nagel has placed over a hundred giant mushrooms on derelict rooftops around the London’s East End to be enjoyed and photographed by passers-by.
He is one of a growing band of painters, stencilers and sculptors bringing vibrancy to the recession-tattered streets of Britain.
Unauthorized art in public places is booming in austerity Britain, as public funding dries up, businesses struggle and economic uncertainty hits collectors’ pocketbooks.
