Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Syria authorities 'agree to talks'
Syria has agreed to take part in Moscow-mediated talks on solving the country’s crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today, calling on the Syrian opposition to join the planned negotiations.
However, a senior member of the Syrian opposition council said that no invitation had been received from Moscow and that it would be refused anyway.
Moscow, a permanent United Nations Security Council member with veto powers, has offered to host the talks in an effort to end the bloodshed since protests began 10 months ago against president Bashar al-Assad.
“We have received a positive response from the Syrian authorities to our call (to hold talks in Moscow),” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website www.mid.ru.
“We hope … that the Syrian opposition will agree to that in the next few days, putting the interests of the Syrian people above all other concerns.”
U.S. Arms Sales to Bahrain: 4 Questions for the Obama Administration
1. Why was the arms sale kept secret from the public?
Josh Rogin at Foreign Policy leaked the news of the arms sale on Friday. He also reported that U.S. arms sales under $1 million don’t have to be publicly disclosed. So the Obama administration didn’t publicly mention it. But why? At a time when the Bahraini government continues to crack down on protesters, why did the Obama administration keep the contents of this arms sale — or multiple arms sales – secret?
2. What is in the arms sale?
U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that the arms sale “includes spare parts,” arms for Bahrain’s “external defense”, and that “none of these items can be used against protesters.” But the last time the U.S. State Department said that arms were being sold to Bahrain for “external defense” – the arms package contained humvees. This came after the Bahraini government had already used tanks to surround a hospital where wounded protestors had been treated. The public needs to know what the Obama administration is selling to Bahrain. Ammunition? Replacement parts for ships? Vehicles to transport soldiers? Landing gear for cargo planes? Tanks?
3. How many secret arms sales are there?
In his above mentioned piece, Rogin implied that the Obama administration could hypothetically turn the suspended $53 million arms sale into 53 or more separate arms sales under $1 million each — and that none of them would have to be reported. Is that what is happening? How many unreported U.S. arms sales to Bahrain are happening now — or are slated to happen in the future?
4. How does this secret arms sale square with the President’s State of the Union address?
In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama referred to the “wave of change” in the Middle East. He also described what U.S. foreign policy would be: “We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings –- men and women; Christians, Muslims and Jews.”
It remains to be seen what is in this latest arms sale (or sales) to Bahrain. But at a time when Bahrainis are experiencing human rights violations at home, it doesn’t look good to be handing their government additional military equipment.
Respect gay rights, UN's Ban tells African leaders
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in an unusually outspoken declaration on Sunday, told African leaders they must respect gay rights, an issue that is controversial in many African states.
“One form of discrimination ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long has been discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Ban said at an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital.
“It prompted governments to treat people as second-class citizens or even criminals,” he added.
Homosexuality is outlawed in most African countries and discrimination against gays and lesbians is rife on the continent, with South Africa being the only country that recognises gay rights and same-sex marriage, at least on paper.
However, previous external criticism of restrictions imposed on homosexuals has attracted angry responses from African leaders, who claim it is alien to their culture.
Senegal police 'shot anti-Wade protesters' in Podor
Police shot and killed two people in Senegal during protests over a decision by the Constitutional Council that President Abdoulaye Wade could seek a third term, witnesses have said.
A 60-year-old woman and a teenage boy died as police broke up the protests in the northern town of Podor, they say.
Senegal’s constitution has a two-term limit but officials ruled this does not include Mr Wade’s first term, which began before the clause was adopted.
Elections are due on 26 February.
Love of a Dog or Cat Helps Women Cope With HIV/AIDS
ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) — A spoonful of medicine goes down a lot easier if there is a dog or cat around. Having pets is helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and managing their chronic illness, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.
Sex, Beer & Politics: Riddles Reveal Life of Ancient Mesopotamians
Millennia before modern-day Americans made fun of their politicians or cracked crude jokes over a cold one, people in ancient Mesopotamia were doing much the same thing.
The evidence of sex, politics and beer-drinking comes from a newly translated tablet, dating back more than 3,500 years, which reveals a series of riddles.
The text is fragmentary in parts and appears to have been written by an inexperienced hand, possibly a student. The researchers aren’t sure where the tablet originates, though they suspect its scribe lived in the southern part of Mesopotamia, near the Persian Gulf.
DIY smear test works for cervical cancer
A do-it-yourself smear test could enable millions of women in poorer countries to head off cervical cancer.
Eighty-five per cent of cervical cancer cases occur in developing countries, where screening for pre-cancerous changes is rare due to difficulties in obtaining samples and a shortage of cytologists to interpret them. Testing for DNA from the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the disease is an alternative method. A kit created by Qiagen of Gaithersburg, Maryland, enables women to take their own cell sample, which is then posted to a lab.
Peering from a decoy, a hunter lifts his head above the water of the Indus River. The Indus is the primary source of freshwater for most of Pakistan, a fast-growing nation of more than 170 million people.
Photograph by Randy Olson, National Geographic
Rape, corruption in camps blight lives of Somali
“Three armed men in government uniform came into the camp. The strongest one shone a powerful torch in my eyes, he strangled me and then raped me in front of my crying kids,” she said.
Mohamed, a widow, said she waited for sunrise before making her way to a nearby clinic only to be told there were no doctors.
“Later the camp leaders brought me some painkillers. Now I’m OK but I do not know what diseases I caught from the rape. I have nowhere to go for a check-up,” Mohamed said. “We live in these makeshift shelters. We have no aid agency or government to protect us at night. We are at God’s mercy.”
Isak also said rape was common in her camp.
“They rape even mothers at gunpoint at night — and we are threatened to death should we disclose it,” she said. “The makeshift shelters have no lockable doors, so these men just come in at night and lie on you.”
The value of disease eradication is very high because VPD elimination is a global public good: once a VPD is eliminated, everyone benefits from it. This also brings in the incentives to free ride, given the nonrivalrous and nonexclusive nature of global public goods. The economic and humanitarian benefits of vaccination are evident; but so are the economic limits of achieving elimination.” Love Thy Neighbor(s): The Need for Herd Immunity
Janet Liang needs bone marrow match. Now.
On August 24, 2009, Janet Liang was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She was 22.
Now, she’s 25, and she has two months to find a bone marrow donor match.
Fuck cancer. Cancer is the worst.
If you haven’t already joined the National Marrow Donor Registry, please consider doing so.
