moritherapy/asia

A bit of history - growing crops during the time of war.

India has the highest maternal death rate in the world (i.e. women who die in pregnancy or childbirth)

What happened during the Light A Candle For Tibet event? Unfortunately, I wasn't able to participate (was busy having my car towed two nights in a row) but many, many people did. Here is the story of one of them.

Beautiful art (and beautiful site) by Japanese surrealist artist Fuco Ueda

"While most of the Western world fights obesity, Cambodia apparently still has the unique problem of er... stick people. And so, this Weight Gain formula promises to convert your skinny Cambodian children into more fleshy ones, as seen in the rather hilarious illustration. There's still no Macdonalds in Phnom Penh yet, one KFC which according to our friends, does not taste very nice (skinny chickens, perhaps?). There is also the Pizza Company, which is very similar to Pizza Hut, and we had pizza for dinner in Siem Reap. The dinner cost the equivalent of one and a half months salary of a Cambodian teacher."

Malalai Joya, Afghan Member of Parliament. What a fierce woman.

Human Rights Watch said 130 people are still in prison as a result of their roles in the pro-democracy demonstrations, which started in Beijing and spread to several other cities. By freeing them, the group said China could show "the global Olympic audience it is serious about human rights".

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators and their supporters were killed by army tanks and troops in and around Tiananmen Square on June 3 and 4, 1989.

A blog by Canadian outfitter Mountain Equipment Co-Op, an organization committed to ethical sourcing and conservation. This post here is about one of their sources in South India. From the page: "What sets the Anbukani clan apart from other factories I've visited is its commitment to the community and environment. Most of its employees live in semi rural villages where basic health care services are absent. Procedures that come easily to us in the West like inoculations, prenatal supervision, pediatric care or medical services for the aged are largely absent. However, this is changing thanks to a mobile clinic sponsored by the Anbukanis. "