Two Aspects of Dust in the News
While the New York Times wonders if "Star's Dust May Hold Clue to New Planet", the Washington Post warns us on the danger of dust storms blowing around our planet. In both cases, dust is the subject of amazing discoveries by scientists. On one hand, a gap in the dust surrounding a star could bring a new understanding on how planets are formed, on the other hand, the dust circulating around earth could be the sign of a grim future.
The film DUST examines the myriad forms and pathways of dust. It pursues dust to the places where it settles and meets the people who contend with it, including scientists-botanists, biologists, meteorologists, and astronomers.Labels: astronomy, environment, public health, scientific discovery
And the Pursuit of Happiness...
In its April issue, The New York Review of Books examines the latest (and numerous) books on happiness as well as articles and essays on the subject.
In HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE?, filmmaker Line Hatland, who admits to not being as happy as she'd like to be, seeks answers to this question by interviewing and showing the work of some of the world's leading researchers on happiness, or "objective well being," including psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists. Labels: anthropology, happiness, health, philosophy, psychology, science
Questionable New Trends in Tourism
On March 9th, 2008, an article in The New York Times titled "Slum Visits: Tourism or Voyeurism?" explored the new trend of "slum tours" in developing countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. This latest offer for adventurous tourists raises questions of voyeurism, exploitation and ethics. Tour operators, however, believe they can create awareness and change people's attitudes towards poverty through these visits. They also claim to be sensitive to the situation and give back to the communities financially through donations, by employing locals and fostering entrepreneurial activities such as the creation and sale of souvenirs.
CAN'T DO IT IN EUROPE portrays another tourism trend related to the desire for "more reality." The film follows a group of international tourists as they visit the mines in Potosi—the poorest city in the poorest nation in Latin America—where Bolivian miners work by hand, just as they did centuries ago, to extract silver from the earth.Labels: ethics, Latin America, poverty, tourism
Monks’ Protest of Chinese Rule in Tibet Ends in Violence
On March 10th, in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, 50 Buddhist monks were arrested by police for organizing a peaceful protest against the religious restrictions applied by the Chinese government. Other protests took place the following days, but on March 14th, what started out as another demonstration in a market place ended in a deadly riot with shops getting ransacked, cars set on fire and at least 10 people killed, as reported by the New York Times. The causes of this violent outcome are still unclear, sources mention that police started beating up the monks thus enraging the Tibetan population, but Chinese authorities have dismissed these claims. This is the largest Tibetan protest against Chinese rule since 1989.
Luc Schaedler’s film, ANGRY MONK, examines the life and work of Gendun Choephel (1903-1951) a legendary figure in Tibet. Choephel was believed to be the reincarnation of a famous Buddhist lama but he eventually turned his back on monastic life and became a fierce critic of his country's religious conservatism, cultural isolationism and reactionary government.
Labels: Asia, Buddhism, human rights, Tibet
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