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POPSBaisakhi Day
The Background In the year 1667 Aurungzeb, the Mughal Emperor installed himself as the Emperor of India after annihilating almost all his family opposition. Immediately after gaining power, Aurungzeb embarked on a policy of religious persecution and started the process of Islamization of India. Brahmins became the prime targets of Aurungzeb in this regard as his clerics made him convinced that once the Brahmins accepted Islam the others would follow. Pursuing his agenda, Aurungzeb levied unethical religious taxes against Hindus and shut their temples and places of learning. The Brahmins, particularly those of Kashmir, desperately felt the need for a dynamic leadership to fight this subversion by the Mughal Emperor. They approached Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675), the ninth in the line of Sikh Gurus, who was on the throne of the Sikh religion and asked him for guidance on the issue. During this meeting, Guru Tegh Bahadur's nine-year-old son, Gobind Rai, was sitting beside him. Find
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POPSSherpas cancel plan to spread Hillary ashes on Everest The organisers of Apa's expedition said they decided against the plan after a committee of Sherpas, including Buddhist lamas, advised against it. Apa Sherpa Apa Sherpa has climbed Everest more times than anyone else "The old lamas said that it would be inauspicious to take the ashes to a holy place," said expedition organiser Dawa Steven Sherpa. "There were also concerns that placing Hillary's ashes on the summit could set a precedent, with other people wanting their ashes also to be scattered there," he told AFP news agency. Sir Edmund's ashes will remain at a monastery near Everest where they have been kept since being transferred to Nepal. There are plans to scatter them in a park that is being built to commemorate the mountaineer. He and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the the 8,847m (29,028ft) peak of Everest and the New Zealander kept strong ties with the Sherpa community. He opened a charitable foundation to help the people in the
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POPSAspirin can reduce migraine symptom pain, review says Researchers also found that a combination of aspirin plus an anti-emetic, which stops people feeling sick, was particularly good at reducing the migraine symptoms of nausea and vomiting. However, it did not produce any greater pain relief. Migraine sufferers should consult their GP to get a firm diagnosis of their headache even if over the counter medication is effective Wendy Thomas, The Migraine Trust Co-author of the study, Sheena Derry, who works in pain research at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, said the use of aspirin would not be an effective therapy for everyone with acute migraine attacks. "This is largely down to genetic differences," she said. "Different people respond to different drugs in different ways, and at different times." Researchers say that further studies are needed to establish the effectiveness of aspirin compared with other drugs. Firm diagnosis "We are currently doing reviews of how paracetamol and ibuprofen impact on migraines,
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POPSDoc deficit? Nurses' role may grow in 28 states Those newly insured patients will be looking for doctors and may find nurses instead. The medical establishment is fighting to protect turf. In some statehouses, doctors have shown up in white coats to testify against nurse practitioner bills. The American Medical Association, which supported the national health care overhaul, says a doctor shortage is no reason to put nurses in charge and endanger patients. Nurse practitioners argue there's no danger. They say they're highly trained and as skilled as doctors at diagnosing illness during office visits. They know when to refer the sickest patients to doctor specialists. Plus, they spend more time with patients and charge less. "We're constantly having to prove ourselves," said Chicago nurse practitioner Amanda Cockrell, 32, who tells patients she's just like a doctor "except for the pay." On top of four years in nursing school, Cockrell spent another three years in a nurse practitioner program, much of it working with patien
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POPSMan fined for flying jets without a license Salme lives in Milan and did not show up for his hearing because he feared the media attention, his lawyer Martha Muntjewerf explained to the judge. Acting on a tip from Swedish authorities, police arrested Salme at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in March in the cockpit of a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 shortly before it was to depart from Amsterdam for Ankara, Turkey, carrying 101 passengers. According to police, Salme became visibly nervous when officers asked for his license and tried to show them a different document. Then he asked to depart the plane quickly in order to minimize the disturbance. Slide show Awful airlines An editorial cartoon roundup by Daryl Cagle depicting the trials and tribulations of air travel. more photos On the loading bridge he stripped the wings off his uniform and confessed to police his license was fake. It was based on an outdated Swedish license and contained several spelling errors, Ter Steege said. He said the airline industr
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POPSIndia caste councils back men over 'honour killings' 'Ultimatum' Caste leaders and protesters held a meeting in the town of Kurukshetra in Haryana state. "We will appeal to the government to amend the Hindu Marriage Act," the Times of India website quoted Bhalle Ram, head of Bainiwal village caste council in the state, as saying. "We are giving the Indian government an ultimatum to effect these changes," he said. Protesters are threatening to block the road between the Indian capital, Delhi, and major cities like Chandigarh and Ambala. They say they will appeal against the sentence handed to the six men. Caste leaders say that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings. The young couple - Manoj and Babli - apparently fell into this category. They were kidnapped and killed a month after they eloped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later. Those sentenced to death by the Haryana court last month were all relatives of the gir
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POPSIndia caste councils back men over 'honour killings' 'Ultimatum' Caste leaders and protesters held a meeting in the town of Kurukshetra in Haryana state. "We will appeal to the government to amend the Hindu Marriage Act," the Times of India website quoted Bhalle Ram, head of Bainiwal village caste council in the state, as saying. "We are giving the Indian government an ultimatum to effect these changes," he said. Protesters are threatening to block the road between the Indian capital, Delhi, and major cities like Chandigarh and Ambala. They say they will appeal against the sentence handed to the six men. Caste leaders say that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings. The young couple - Manoj and Babli - apparently fell into this category. They were kidnapped and killed a month after they eloped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later. Those sentenced to death by the Haryana court last month were all relatives of the gir
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POPSIndia's 3G licence bidders bank on big changes While Videocon Telecommunications, S Tel - partly owned by Bahrain Telecommunications - and the Indian arm of Emirati firm Etisalat will bid for only selective zones. The long-awaited auction comes at a time when the telecom market in the country is seeing robust growth in subscriber numbers and operators are involved in a fierce price war to try and capture mobile users. Phone companies are betting that the new services could help boost sales and demand further. But it's not just about making calls, third generation spectrum could open up the market for a whole host of services -like financial services on the phone. Banking on mobiles As he hands out yet another cold drink on a hot summer day in Delhi, 28-year-old Dharmender Kumar constantly has his eye on his mobile phone. Entrepreneur Anand Shrivastav Once 3G is introduced it can exponentially change the way our service operates and it can ease this process of financial inclusion Entrepreneur Anand Shrivastav
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POPSToday is the birthday of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , A True Indian and Human Hero Dr. Ambedkar spent his life fighting against the system of untouchability and the caste system. He is also credited for having sparked the Dalit Buddhist movement. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was also the first Law Minister of India. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1990, India's highest civilian award. The day 14th April is celebrated all over the country as his birthday (Jayanti) and it is also a public holiday. Various Dalit organizations carry out huge processions on this day in the memory of this great soul. On this very day various organizations organize several activities including rally and cultural programs. Dalit Melas are held in various parts of the country. Ambedkar Jayantyi is observed both in government and private organizations. Prayers, meetings and memorial speeches are organized in various state capitals.
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POPSPakistan acid victims rebuild ruined lives There are no reliable national statistics, but campaigners estimate that there may be as many as 150 victims every year. It is an intimate crime - often carried out in the family home, by husbands or in-laws. Manzoor's attack followed a row over doing the dishes. "It was seven o'clock in the morning, and I had just finished making breakfast," she says. "My daughter was crying so I picked her up, but her grandmother said: 'Leave her and wash the dishes.' I told her that I would wash them, and that we had the whole day ahead of us. After this, they started beating me. I was unconscious for four or five days. I woke up in hospital in Lahore." While she lay unconscious, Manzoor was drenched in acid. It devoured her lower lip, neck and shoulders and left her chin fused to her chest. But when she speaks of the in-laws she blames for the attack, there is no bitterness. In spite of her injuries, and her suffering, she says that she has forgiven them. "They are like my own
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POPSDown with the Clown: Why Ronald McDonald Has No Business Talking to Children "Here I am kids. Hey, isn't watching TV fun? Especially when you got delicious McDonald's hamburgers. I know we're going to be friends too cause I like to do everything boys and girls like to do. Especially when it comes to eating those delicious McDonald's hamburgers." It's easy both to wince at how crass this sounds, and to overlook its audacity. With entire TV channels premised on direct marketing to children, it seems impossible that there might have been a time where kids were considered anything other than shorter, louder, more pestering versions of adult consumers. But it wasn't always thus. It took a canny cabal of admen to tap the pockets of a newly affluent generation of youngsters. They wanted to redefine the frontiers of what advertising in television age could be. And they succeeded. Today, the McDonald's corporation boasts that their frontman is more recognizable than Santa Claus. He's the champion of a $32 billion brand. With a wink and a smile, Ronald has charged
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POPSThey Don’t Want Palestinians Damaging the View:” A report from South Hebron Hills We first arrived to a location which became a focus of attention in recent weeks – the lands of Umm Zaytouna, near the village of Tuba (not that you could know, since the road signs only name the Jewish settlements in this area – did we say invisible?). Tuba’s misfortune is its neighbors. About 1km the east and north lie two Israeli settlements – Ma’on and Carmel. We will talk about Carmel later on. The story here is quite simple. The whole land area around Ma’on is either private Palestinian land or “state lands”. This means of the settlers have no ownership rights over them. But, of course this doesn’t concern those whose land ownership is god-given. They don’t want Palestinians damaging the view. But Tuba’s residents need to make a living, and their Shepherds want to feed their herds on the land. When they do, they are expelled by the army – normally by shouting, threatening and sometimes even by taking a goat hostage (yes, that’s right). If the shepherds demand their rights on t
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POPSCall on Gov. Patrick to Sign Devocalization Ban! Update April 14, 2010: Massachusetts House Bill 344, banning devocalization of dogs and cats, is on the governor's desk awaiting his signature. Those with a financial interest in this cruel practice--including breeders--are pressuring Gov. Deval Patrick to veto this humane bill, passed overwhelmingly by the House and Senate. These lobbies are fighting hard to protect profits. It's up to you to protect animals. Without your voice, they have none.If you haven't called the Massachusett Governor's office yet, please do it immediately. If you already have, get others who care about animals to do the same. You can even call before or after business hours. It just takes a minute. WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW 1. CALL 1-888-870-7770 ANY TIME. Press "1" to leave a recorded message. 2. ALSO SEND AN EMAIL to the Governor by clicking on this link (or copy and paste it into your browser), then scrolling down to "EMAIL FORM." http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=Agov3_co
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POPSWith FDA Approval, a Gout Drug Now Costs $5 Instead of Pennies Here come the unintended consequences. While the FDA says it hoped there wouldn’t be a significant run-up in the price of colchicine — sold as Colcrys by URL — the retail cost has soared to more than $5 a bill from the previous pennies a tablet. URL Pharma also sued five makers of manufacturers of colchicine, saying they have been illegally marketing their colchicine products since Colcrys’s approval. One of those makers has settled the matter and stopped production. The other four companies are fighting the lawsuit. URL Pharma says it priced Colcrys in line with other approved, branded drugs used to treat gout pain. It’s also trying to help patients who need financial assistance, including providing a three-months’ supply to low-income patients for $15. Further, URL Pharma says its trials helped make colchicine safer for everyone, noting there wasn’t even a standard dosage for the medicine until the company went through the FDA approval process. “We took bad guidance, even gu
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POPSRetail Clinics: CVS to Double Presence, Walgreens Seeks Partners Meantime, Walgreens’ Take Care Clinic has recently said it’s in “deep discussions” with possible hospital system partners. Joint ventures, franchises and other business models are all on the table, as long as the arrangement is a “winning situation” for both sides, Take Care Chief Executive Peter Miller tells the WSJ. CVS and Walgreens dominate the in-clinic market, with a 72% share of the business, according to a report released last year. The WSJ says operators are attempting to find a way to “overcome the seasonal nature of the business, which has caused some companies to shut clinics outside of flu season.”
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POPSWhen Nursing Is a Team Sport In his new book “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right,” Dr. Atul Gawande argues that health care has evolved to be much more of a team, rather than an individual, effort. In fact, the book is as much about the importance of teamwork as it is about checklists, and he explains near the end, “In a world in which success now requires large enterprises, teams of clinicians, high-risk technologies, and knowledge that outstrips any one person’s abilities, individual autonomy hardly seems the ideal we should aim for.” He’s completely right about how inpatient care is now provided. In teaching hospitals, every patient’s care is managed by a medical team that can include doctors-in-training, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, attending M.D.’s and doctors from other medical specialties. Every team also includes the patient’s nurse, who tries to coordinate the work of the team members. Ancillary staff who often go unremarked are also members of the team: pharmacists, occupa
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POPSSome Indians Find It Tough to Go Home Again “It seemed perfect,” he said recently of the job opportunity. It wasn’t. As Mr. Ayyadurai sees it now, his Western business education met India’s notoriously inefficient, opaque government, and things went downhill from there. Within weeks, he and his boss were at loggerheads. Last month, his job offer was withdrawn. Mr. Ayyadurai has moved back to Boston. In recent years, Mother India has welcomed back tens of thousands of former emigrants and their offspring. When he visited the United States this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally extended an invitation “to all Indian-Americans and nonresident Indians who wish to return home.” But, like Mr. Ayyadurai, many Indians who spent most of their lives in North America and Europe are finding they can’t go home again. About 100,000 “returnees” will move from the United States to India in the next five years, estimates Vivek Wadhwa, a research associate at Harvard University who has studied the topic. These repats, as t
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POPSHoliday Hazards to your Pets Christmas Trees - These create a whole realm of dangers for your pet. Poorly secured trees can fall on rambunctious pets as the run around or try to climb them. Pine needles can cause GI irritation and perforation. Sharp or breakable ornaments should be kept well out of the way of curious mouths and paws. Christmas trees may contain additives and preservatives, which leech into the water and can be toxic if ingested. Tinsel, yarn and ribbon can cause linear foreign bodies (get wrapped up throughout the intestinal tract) and create a blockage and/or possible perforations. Sweets - Holiday candy can cause GI problems and become toxic once ingested. Chocolate is one of the most common causes of toxic reaction in pets. The darker the chocolate the worse it is. Do not place wrapped boxes of chocolate under the tree- dogs can sniff them out. Also be sure to keep the candy dishes covered so playful paws aren't tempted to fish them out. The holidays make it easier for pets to sneak their
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POPSThe Growing Backlash Against Overparenting The mayor of a Connecticut town agreed to chop down three hickory trees on one block after a woman worried that a stray nut might drop into her new swimming pool, where her nut-allergic grandson occasionally swam. A Texas school required parents wanting to help with the second-grade holiday party to have a background check first. Schools auctioned off the right to cut the carpool line and drop a child directly in front of the building — a spot that in other settings is known as handicapped parking. We were so obsessed with our kids' success that parenting turned into a form of product development. Parents demanded that nursery schools offer Mandarin, since it's never too soon to prepare for the competition of a global economy. High school teachers received irate text messages from parents protesting an exam grade before class was even over; college deans described freshmen as "crispies," who arrived at college already burned out, and "teacups," who seemed ready to break at the tiniest
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POPSIndia parliament uproar over Ayodhya mosque report "I am stunned. I was shocked to see that the report has been leaked. I want to know who has leaked the report," senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani said in parliament. "If what is written is correct, the conclusions are false. There was no conspiracy, no planning. I was distressed by the demolition of the mosque." BJP leaders accused the Congress party-led government of "selective leaks" to distract attention from the economy and corruption - and demanded parliament see the report immediately. Home Minister P Chidambaram denied his ministry was behind the "unfortunate" leak. The angry opposition shouted: "No, it's not just unfortunate, it's shameful." Mr Chidambaram said Justice Liberhan's 900-page report was being translated into Hindi. The report is due to be put before parliament on 22 December, along with an "action taken report" by the government. The Indian Express newspaper reported the build-up to the demolition of the mosque had been meticulo
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POPSTwelve million West Africans get yellow fever vaccines Yellow fever is spread through infected mosquitoes and has a wide array of symptoms from nausea and vomiting to kidney failure, jaundice and bleeding. About half those who develop severe symptoms and are untreated die from the disease - about 30,000 people each year worldwide. Local health staff in the target countries will vaccinate nearly 12 million people, as well as giving out vitamin A and de-worming tablets. The World Health Organization says it is not aiming to eliminate yellow fever - there are too many infected mosquitoes in urban areas to make that possible - but to greatly reduce the number of people getting sick with the disease. It wants to finish mass vaccinations in all high-risk African countries by 2015, but warns there is currently a gap in the funding needed to take the programme to the remaining West African countries most affected by yellow fever.
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POPSMorphine 'might spread cancer Cancer Research UK said more tests were needed before any changes in treatment. Dr Patrick Singleton from the University of Chicago told the meeting of experts that in laboratory tests, morphine not only strengthened blood vessels but also appeared to make it easier for cancers to invade other tissues and spread. But he said this could be overcome by a drug - methylnaltrexone or MNTX - developed in the 1980s to prevent morphine-related constipation but only recently approved in the US. It appears to work without interfering with the pain-relieving properties of the opiate. 'Long history' In mice with lung cancer, MNTX inhibited the apparent tumour-promoting effects of opiates, and reduced the spread of cancer in the mice by 90%. "If confirmed clinically, this could change how we do surgical anaesthesia for our cancer patients," said Dr Singleton, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center and principal author of the research. "It also
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POPSParents Are Borrowing From Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer It’s little wonder, then, that some parents, and even a few child therapists, have found themselves taking mental notes from a television personality known for inspiring discipline, order and devotion: Cesar Millan, otherwise known as the Dog Whisperer. The suggestion that the Dog Whisperer is also a Child Whisperer of sorts has popped up — sometimes couched as a joke, but, well, not really — in parents’ forums like blogs, online discussion boards, magazines, Twitter feeds and podcasts. Some parents are starting to take notice. “When we started watching his shows, we had intended to apply his advice toward our dogs,” said Amy Twomey, a blogger on parenthood for The Dallas Morning News who is raising three children under 10 with her husband, Matt. “But we realized a lot of ideas can be used on our kids.” Indeed, Mr. Millan’s advice has replaced a shelf full of books on how to tame an unruly child. “It’s all the same simple concept: how to be the pack leader in your own house,”
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POPSAmazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle Amazon effectively acknowledged that the deletions were a bad idea. “We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers’ devices in these circumstances,” Mr. Herdener said. Customers whose books were deleted indicated that MobileReference, a digital publisher, had sold them. An e-mail message to SoundTells, the company that owns MobileReference, was not immediately returned. Digital books bought for the Kindle are sent to it over a wireless network. Amazon can also use that network to synchronize electronic books between devices — and apparently to make them vanish. An authorized digital edition of “1984” from its American publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, was still available on the Kindle store Friday night, but there was no such version of “Animal Farm.” People who bought the rescinded editions of the books reacted with indignation, while acknowledging the literary ironies involved. “Of all the books to recall,” said Charles Slat
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POPSThe Chinese way of transgenic rice The European discourse of playing God does not play well in Asia; it presupposes the God of Genesis, a creator with a plan, a garden, absolute control and a stable equilibrium of species. And in general the Apocalyptic vision of European political activism has not penetrated beyond small numbers of urban professionals in Asia, where grounds of objection to transgenics have to do with consumer preference and resistance to corporate globalization. China is the case that confounds the discourse; not , but Chinese scientists have been the drivers of transgenic research and development. China showed how public sector investments in transgenics could target specific problems in agriculture without signing away the farm. China is moving aggressively to boost biotechnological research, citing the awesome responsibility of ensuring enough food for its huge population. Anyone paying attention to China's melamine adventures and other product quality issues has
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POPSGive me back my kidney, or pay the consequences! There is neither ethical nor legal justification for demanding the kidney or compensation. An organ donation is a gift. We have specifically prohibited the selling of organs for just this reason. Ethically, we believe that the only acceptable reason for donating an organ to another person is altruism. You give the organ because you want the other person to get it. What happens after that is irrelevant. If you cannot sue to get your kidney back because you now have a medical need for it, you certainly do not have grounds to sue to get it back simply because you are angry with the recipient. This case is not about the commodification of organs, either. No only do we prohibit the selling of organs, but we hold both the donor and recipient harmless in the action. The donor cannot sue the recipient for the costs associated with the donation, and the recipient cannot sue the donor if the donor had an undiagnosed medical problem that was transmitted with the organ. Experts in both law
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POPSAt age 140, lobster to regain his freedom He said a lobster's age can be worked out from how much it weighs, with each pound (453.6 grams) counting for 7 to 10 years. Mr Valenti said it was not uncommon for lobsters to live for more than 100 years but it was rare for them to be caught because they were generally too big for the baskets. The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it found out that the old lobster was in the restaurant's tank when a diner called them. "We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace," said PETA's Ingrid Newkirk.
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