- If
only the world gave a crap, more people in the world would have a place to take
a crap. Instead, commodes remain a luxury that a whopping one-third of the
world’s population does not have access to. That’s
according to a report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, underscoring
the fact that those who live without toilets continue to pollute water sources
and jeopardize public health and safety for millions worldwide. Those factors
contribute to malnutrition and childhood stunting, impairing 161 million
children both physically and mentally every year. "Until everyone has access
to adequate sanitation facilities, the quality of water supplies will be
undermined and too many people will continue to die from waterborne and
water-related diseases," WHO public health department director Dr. Maria
Neira said in a statement. The report’s authors evaluated progress on global
targets set in 2000 for giving everyone access to clean drinking water and
sanitation facilities while simultaneously making progress in combating poverty,
hunger, disease and inequality. Those goals expire this year and having failed
miserably on most of them, the United Nations is leading efforts to come up
with a new set of "sustainable development goals" designed to divvy
up some $2.5 trillion in development funds to be handed out through 2030. In defense
of those fighting to better water access and sanitation, 2.1 billion people have
gained access to better sanitation facilities since 1990, according to the
report. Unfortunately, 2.4 billion people have seen no improvement, including
946 million people still relieving themselves outdoors. India remains the
biggest trouble spot, with more than 640 million people defecating in the open,
and not necessarily due to a lack of facilities. Multiple Indian governments
have pledged to install toilets in every home, but many people remain ignorant of the dangers
of unsanitary practices. It’s a sickening story and one that won't get a new
ending until there is a concerted effort to write one…………
- The issue
isn't whether Guns N' Roses have enough new
material to record "two or three" new albums, but whether any of
those albums will suck less than 2008’s über-disaster “Chinese Democracy.” According
to guitarist Richard Fortus, the past-their-prime metal band have been busy
working on new material to follow up to “Democracy,” an album that should have
been titled “A 400-pound Axl Rose and Anyone He Could Find Willing to Work With
Him.” "So much has been recorded, we could get two or three albums,
seriously," Fortus said. "We sent our files in all directions. We
can't wait to put it out as soon as possible." Of course, “Democracy”
took a decade to actually release and by the point it dropped, it had been drawn
out for so long that there was no way it could live up to expectations. Hell,
it didn’t even meet the expectations for your average New Kids On the Block
album and before anyone buys too much into Fortus’ words, keyboardist Dizzy
Reed was quick to point out that although the band had a wealth of new material
to choose from, they were still unsure about when any new records would be
released. The final say on that, of course, goes to Rose. He’ll let the world
know when he finishes his third bucket of KFC fried chicken of the day and in
the meantime, his band is selling differing stories about the album’s fate and
in the case of guitarist D.J. Ashba, getting into a brawl at a club in Las
Vegas last week. Ashba, who joined the band in 2009 after Robin Finck parted
ways with the group to rejoin Nine Inch Nails, was reportedly in a brawl at Planet
Hollywood when another man objected to his use of an electronic cigarette at a
Romeo Santos show………
- Duuuuude,
the Nutmeg State is about to go herbal. Connecticut, which has been lagging
behind the times with some of the most draconian
drug laws in the United States, is about
to pass the blunt to the left and take a nice big drag from it with legal
changes that will see its laws go from incredibly restrictive to relaxed and
totally chill. The herb will be a lot less illegal going forward beginning this
fall as most drug possession crimes in
the state become misdemeanors instead of felonies. State lawmakers approved
legislation proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on bipartisan votes as part of a
gradual movement in both liberal and conservative states to save hundreds of
millions of dollars by decreasing prison populations. For a smaller state that
still has its share of problems, eliminating a mandatory two-year prison term
for possessing drugs within 1,500 feet of a school not only opens up a wealth
of business opportunities for ganja entrepreneurs, it will help free up prison
cells for those who commit violent crimes. State officials estimate the new law
will save Connecticut about $19 million in prison costs over the next two years
by decreasing the prison population and as everyone knows, if you make your
state more stoner-friendly, you do yourself a big favor because stoners tend to
be on the couch in their mother’s basement getting baked and watching “Beavis
and Butthead” reruns rather than out committing the sort of serious crimes that
will still earn them a trip to the gray bar hotel. This isn't quite on
the level of Washington and Colorado legalizing the hippie lettuce for
recreational use, but it’s a move in the right direction at least………
- Never
has NASCAR been more locked in as the biggest redneck (non)-sport around. As
the rest of the United States slowly stumbles toward the collective realization
that despite any othe connotations it may have, the Confederate flag is first, foremost
and irrevocably a symbol of hate, bigotry and intolerance that must not be
flown anywhere populated by people with souls and an IQ above 17, the sport
that isn't actually a sport is squarely in the middle of the mess. Enter Daytona International Speedway, which will implement a
voluntary flag exchange program this weekend for any fans flying a Confederate
flag during the track's traditional Independence Day race weekend. Any bigger
changes will have to wait, DIS President Joie Chitwood said, because fans had purchased
tickets and the event is so close to happening. Right, because leaving your
hatemonger flag at home or stashing it under the rollout bed of your
tricked-out RV is such a big task. "We want to be inclusive to everyone,
and the last thing you want is for anyone to come to a sporting event and
really not enjoy that experience because of symbols that really represent
things we're not proud of," Chitwood said. “Going forward, we'll really
have to look at where that other flag goes, because it doesn't have a place in
our sport.” Not only does it not have a place in your sport, but it doesn’t have
a place anywhere other than a storage trunk or some dusty back room at a
museum. NASCAR already bans the flag from any official areas of its tracks and
while NASCAR is a non-sport with roots in the South, but the June 17 murder of nine
people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston pushed this issue to the
forefront and now, organizations and governments need to answer for how they
handle it. A voluntary exchange program like this is some guns or pills for
cash exchange at the local police department is weak first step, but still a
first step………
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