Thursday, April 7, 2011

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Health - the Role of the State - Living With Aids # 470

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Health - the Role of the State - Living With Aids # 470:

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"Almost 90% of some African countries' health budgets are funded through donor finances. Yet, African leaders accept that health is a critical component for the survival of their countries. At a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, one decade ago they promised to increase their budget allocations for health to 15%. For many countries, health budgets have increased to about 12% since then. A human rights activist from Zambia, Daniel Libati, says leaders have shown their political will to take health seriously, but cautions that political will on its own does not pay for health.

'The political will should be able to be matched with the need that's on the ground and that matching comes in as far as resources are concerned. We look at the resources which our government itself is actually contributing to antiretrovirals and TB drugs, compare it to what our co-operating partners, that is, the donors are contributing, you come and realise that the co-operating partners are putting more into the basket than our government', Libati says.

South Africa is one of the countries that are not yet spending 15% of their health budgets on health."

Three Central Jersey events aim to relieve stress, improve health | MyCentralJersey.com | MyCentralJersey.com

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Expos scheduled in Edison, Bridgewater; forum in Secaucus

2:14 AM, Apr. 8, 2011 |
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Vikas Chawla, founder of the Metuchen chapter of Art of Living, leads a class in stress-relieving breathing exercises. Chawla will present Art of Living's Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Saturday at the Meadowlands Expo Center, Secaucus. The upcoming event is one of three in Central Jersey dedicated to healing the body, mind and spirit. / FILE PHOTO

Written by

BOB MAKIN
STAFF WRITER

FILED UNDER
News

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Enjoy the following events designed to unite and improve the mind, body and spirit:

Mind Body Spirit Expo, 4 to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, New Jersey Convention Center, 97 Sunfield Ave., Edison. $7-$30, discounts available. 215-627-0102, www.mindbodyspiritexpo.com

Meditation & Yoga 2011 Forum with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Metuchen-based Art of Living, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Meadowlands Expo Center, 355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus. $65 for half day, $99 for full day. 732-738-4457,
http://us.artofliving.org/nj

Be The Change Mind, Body, Spirit Expo, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 16, Days Inn, 1260 Route 22 East, Bridgewater. $8, $5 with food donation to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. 908-722-8600, www.mindbodyspiritexpo2011.info

CENTRAL JERSEY — Stress is a killer, according to the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health.

The medical research agency of the U.S. Department of Health has linked stress to heart disease and cancer, the country's most frequent causes of death, as well as chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis.

Three coming events are designed to link the body, mind and spirit in a way that will relieve stress and increase health, organizers said. They are:

Mind Body Spirit Expo, April 8-10, New Jersey Convention Center, Edison

Meditation & Yoga 2011 Forum with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living, Saturday, Meadowlands Expo Center, Secaucus

Be The Change Mind Body Spirit Expo, April 16, Days Inn, Bridgewater.

The Mind Body Spirit Expo in Edison will feature sessions and talks with:

Deeprok Chopra, the best-selling new-age author who will address practical ways to experience higher consciousness, transformation and healing

Doreen Virtue, an expert on angels and angel therapy

Medium Lisa Williams

Kevin Trudeau, a natural healer and author of "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About.''

But Anne Khoury, owner-organizer of Mind Body Spirit Expo, said she is most excited about presenting Braco for the second time in the United States. Braco is a Croatian who draws thousands throughout Europe and Japan who seek his healing gaze, Khoury said.

"Braco doesn't speak, physically touch people or perform any complicated physical actions,'' Khoury said. "All he does is silently gaze at an audience for five to eight minutes. More than 200,000 come to see him each year for help with severe
illnesses, health problems and personal life issues.''

Khoury said she was skeptical when she first presented Braco in October in Philadelphia. She said he didn't have much impact on her because she is very healthy, but she did see an impact on many others in the crowd of 3,000.

"When he gazed my way, I saw this light coming out of his eyes,'' Khoury said. "Then he did it again, and I saw it again but more diminished. The energy this guy emanates affected the whole show. When I talked to people, everybody said they experienced different things. One person said she had a backache that was not bothering her as much. Some felt peaceful and didn't feel troubled anymore.''

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Bob Makin covers Edison, Highland Park and Metuchen. Contact him at 732-565-7319, bmakin@njpressmedia.com andwww.twitter.com/reporterbmakin

Cities said most at risk in climate change

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Cities said most at risk in climate change

Thursday, April 07, 2011 6:34 PM

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Apr. 7, 2011 (United Press International) -- Fast-growing urban areas worldwide, especially in developing countries, will suffer (OOTC:WLVTQ) disproportionately from impacts of changing climate, a U.S. researcher says.

An examination of urban policies by Patricia Romero Lankao at the National Center for Atmospheric Research says cities worldwide are failing to take necessary steps to protect residents even though billions of urban dwellers are vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise and other changes associated with warming temperatures, an NCAR release said Thursday.

"Climate change is a deeply local issue and poses profound threats to the growing cities of the world," Lankao says. "But too few cities are developing effective strategies to safeguard their residents."

Most cities are also failing to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that affect the atmosphere, she says.

Scientists say they are increasingly concerned about the potential impacts of climate change on cities, now home to more than half the world's population.

Their locations and dense construction patterns often place their populations at greater risk from natural disasters, they say, including those expected to worsen with climate change.

"What is at stake, of course, is the very existence of many human institutions, and the safety and well-being of masses of humans," Lankao says.

(Source: UPI )
(Source: Quotemedia)

Intercultural dialogue vital for world peace, says Khoja

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Apr 8, 2011 00:29 Updated: Apr 8, 2011 00:29

BAKU: Saudi Arabia on Thursday stressed the increasing need for intercultural dialogue to maintain peace and stability around world.

“Dialogue has become a pressing need to sustain peace even within geographical borders of a country,” Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said while addressing the three-day World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in the Azerbaijan capital Baku.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva also attended the forum in Gulustan palace, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The forum is organized by the government of Azerbaijan in collaboration with UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the Council of Europe, and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).

“Escalation of clashes and conflicts in many parts of the globe shows that intercultural dialogue is an imperative for a world where the values of truth, goodness and aesthetics reign supreme,” Khoja said. “The Islamic civilization initiated a universal humanitarian culture thriving on tolerance and openness.”

He said Saudi Arabia with its Islamic values considers itself a partner in the promotion of global peace and maps out the contours of a world of stability, security and peace and above all respect for diverse national cultures.

The minister also recounted the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to initiate and propagate the concept of dialogue among various cultures and religions.

“The king made his call for interfaith dialogue from Makkah, and then establish a global dialogue with the participation of various religions,” he said.

The Saudi delegation to the forum is the largest in terms of participants.

ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri in his address to the forum said intercultural dialogue and bonding people of diverse cultures are among the priorities of his organization. “This forum can be a new beginning for intercultural dialogue,” Al-Tuwaijri said.

Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat Marc Scheuer said holding such an event in Baku was significant. “One should not be afraid of diversities in the modern world,” Scheuer said, noting that diversity is the lifestyle of the people in the age of globalization.

Participants include global leaders and public figures, heads of international organizations, heads of state and ministers of culture and cultural ambassadors, among others.

The forum is organized within a framework outlined at a conference of ministers responsible for culture in Europe and neighboring regions in December 2008.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

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Ozone layer faces record loss over Arctic - Yahoo! News

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Ozone layer faces record loss over Arctic

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press – Tue Apr 5, 5:47 am ET

GENEVA – The depletion of the ozone layer shielding Earth from damaging ultraviolet rays has reached an unprecedented low over the Arctic this spring because of harmful chemicals and a cold winter, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday.

The Earth's fragile ozone layer in the Arctic region has suffered a loss of about 40 percent from the start of winter until late March, exceeding the previous seasonal loss of about 30 percent, the World Meteorological Organization said.

The Geneva-based agency blamed the loss on a buildup of ozone-eating chemicals once widely used as coolants and fire retardants in a variety of appliances and on very cold temperatures in the stratosphere, the second major layer of the Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere.

Arctic ozone conditions vary more than the seasonal ozone "hole" that forms high in the stratosphere near the South Pole each winter and spring, and the temperatures are always warmer than over Antarctica.

Because of changing weather and temperatures some Arctic winters experience almost no ozone loss while others with exceptionally cold stratospheric conditions can occasionally lead to substantial ozone depletion, U.N. scientists say.

This year the Arctic winter was warmer than average at ground level, but colder in the stratosphere than normal Arctic winters. U.N. officials say the latest losses — unprecedented, but not entirely unexpected — were detected in observations from the ground and from balloons and satellites over the Arctic.

Atmospheric scientists who are concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first.

Ozone scientists have said that significant Arctic ozone depletion is possible in the case of a cold and stable Arctic stratospheric winter. Ozone losses occur over the polar regions when temperatures drop below -78 degrees Celsius (-108 Fahrenheit), when clouds form in the stratosphere.

Average temperatures in January range from about -40 to 0 C (-40 to 32 F), while average temperatures in July range from about -10 to 10 C (14 to 50 F).

"The Arctic stratosphere continues to be vulnerable to ozone destruction caused by ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities," said WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. "The degree of ozone loss experienced in any particular winter depends on the meteorological conditions."

The loss comes despite the U.N. ozone treaty, known as the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which has resulted in cutbacks in ozone-damaging chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons, halons and other, that were used in the making of refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers and even hairspray.

The 196-nation ozone treaty encourages industries to use replacement chemicals less damaging to ozone, the atmospheric layer that helps protect against the sun's most harmful rays.

But because these compounds have long atmospheric lifetimes, it takes decades for their concentrations to subside to pre-1980 levels as was agreed in the Montreal Protocol.

U.N. officials project the ozone layer outside the polar regions will recover to pre-1980 levels sometime between 2030 and 2040.