McCain, Clinton & Obama Unite To Address Darfur

Not since World War II have all the American presidential candidates come together on an international issue. In a joint statement John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama addressed the Darfur situation.

Putting their many differences aside I applaud their unity to stand in solidarity against genocide in Darfur. Ideally that's what politics should be all about.

Solutions for the American Healthcare System

Ok, so I do know that our Health-care system has huge problems but I never really understood what could be the best solutions. Here is a PBS FRONTLINE video that goes around the globe to examine the world's best Health-care systems. Very interesting!

Sincerely,

Bianca

*Plus, if you have the Right to Vote this information is vital to understand what candidate in the 2008 elections will install the policy that best suits you.

Part 1

Part 2

Entertaining Videos: Isabel Allende & Queen Rania

Want to watch some entertaining videos at home tonight? Well, here are some watch-worthy videos of absolutely remarkable women sharing some (often funny!) stories. Enjoy!

This latina, award-winning writer and captivating story-teller, Isabel Allende, discusses Tales of Passions.

Queen Rania at Google's Zeitgeist conference discussing using technology (like this blog) as a tool for cross-cultural connectivity.

Television: Quality Information or Sensationalism & Tabloidism?

What type of TV stations/information are we really attracted to via news report, television programs or online?

I hope to believe that the average audience perfers to watch quality informative tv instead of trash tv. Many tv execs do not agree they say the average viewer is not very educated and what attracts viewers is sensationalism and tabloidism (like tabloid talk shows including Jerry Springer.) Tv execs also believe if the stories are too "foreign" people tune-out because they are not interested in news that does not directly affect them in one degree. This might explain why our average 6pm evening news is only "local news" and why you only see often violent stories (which falls under the "sensationalism" category) within a 50 mile radius from you and often missing the important global news. I beg to differ with tv networks and feel if the story is compelling enough than people will tune in because we are tired of all the trash reality shows like Dr. 90210, Real World or my personal fav, Celebrity Rehab.

I write this blog in hopes that people are compelled and interested in real human stories. Whether if it's a human story about a Tibetan Monk from Cambodia half way around the world or someone in your neighborhood it can in someway help you have a better understanding of love, life and relationships and in the end hopefully it makes you appreciate your own life.

It is a small world and we are all neighbors in this small place called Earth and "whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." A quote by Martin Luther King Jr.
you choose? PBS, CNN, TLC, BBC, Discovery Vrs. MTV, E!, ET, SPIKE

Sincerely,
Bianca Lee

A Mighty Heart Movie

A Mighty Heart by Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

I just rented this DVD this saturday night and really enjoyed it! Mainly because it is a real-life heroic story about Mariane Pearl, wife to journalist Daniel Pearl who was kipnapped and murdered while she was 6 months pregnant. (Not to mention Mariane Pearl has a Cuban mother and lives in Paris, which I can really relate with ;o))

Inside North Korea

Here is a great report on North Korea to better understand the most isolated country in the world.

North Korea was always a great mystery to me until I watched this fantastic report by Christiane Amanpour on CNN world, in my madrid hotel room.

New York Philharmonic in North Korea

I was in utter surprise to find out that the most renowned American orchestra, New York Philharmonic, was commissioned to play in North Korea, the communist state that posses nuclear weapons. My first reaction was to be quite fearful for the musicians safety and after seeing the report on Christiane Amanpour I realized how this moment of real people to people connection between two countries, that not too long ago were battling in the Korean War, was a necessary and long-awaited icebreaker. This moment allowed for the first time, an exchange of art and culture between Americans and North Koreans, in hopes of shedding any previous negative stereotypes and the beginning of better communication.

Sincerely,

Bianca Lee

World Food Crisis

850 million people starving globally

1 billion obese people globally

Have you heard about the World Food Crisis? Well, there is a detrimental food crisis affecting the world. There is a shortage in staple foods that has caused soaring food inflation. A bag of rice raised 50% in 3 months. While this means only some inconveniences for us living on the top of the economic level of the world, meanwhile the poorest of the poor are starving of hunger. This problem disproportionately affects the poorer regions and there have already been food riots in Mexico India, Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt & Paraguay. In some situations people are left malnourished or in violent food riots, in the worst situation they are dieing of hunger.

Causes of the World Food Crisis:

-Higher Fuel Prices

-Biofuels: The amount of land it takes to fill a tank of gas would feed a person for a year. Biofuels takes the corn out of the mouths of the poor and into the gas tanks of the world's rich. This is an a energy hungry planet and the high price we pay for energy has allowed the Biofuel companies pay top dollar to mais (corn) farmers in order to produce energy to fuel our household appliances & cars in the west.

-Bad weather in crop producing area. Because of global warming there were many floods or droughts in regions of India, Thailand, & Australia affecting the agriculural farming.

-A higher demand of meat, (which requires alot of grains to produce) from developing countries such as China & India due to their rapidly growing middle and upper classes who pay top dollar for meat. In most countries meat is a luxury eaten perphaps once a week, in the US & Europe meat is eaten in almost every meal. Essentially us in the western world we are taking the food out of of the belly's of the poor and into the belly's of livestock.

What needs to be done? The main thing that needs to be done is a worldwide effort to develop agriculture. The UN is working on that now and has invested in new crop production.

What we can do? We could avoid wasting food, fuel or energy. I will eat less meat and change my diet to mainly fruits, vegetables, fish, rice, beans & nuts (things that naturally grow from earth). Plant some fruits or veggies in my balcony garden and support the UN world food program by making donation or going to http://www.freerice.com/ to play a vocabulary game that donates rice to help end hunger.

Sincerely,

Bianca Lee