Document 6495335

07
Siberians Discovered America
Sept. 25, 2010
Russian scientists say the earliest settlers of America were Siberians who
went there through the current Far East region.
Society
How to Take Care
Of Our Families
hat did researchers see
when they spied on every
living, breathing moment
of 32 families for four days straight?
Fights, bribes, hugs, eye rolls, and
some amazing truths about how we
can all live more happily together.
Researches found that getting a
glimpse into the lives of other families gives us a unique perspective on
how to better take care of our own.
Use what they learned to calm
stress and create joy in your house,
Red Book reported.
1. Low-stress couples don’t divvy
up the chores. “Surprisingly, it didn’t
matter how evenly couples split up
the chores,” says lead researcher
Tami Kremer-Sadlik, Ph.D., director of research at UCLA’s Center on
the Everyday Lives of Families. “We
found that both spouses were happier
when both felt like they were working toward the same goal, regardless
of who did more” (and women did
more across the board). Know that
just talking about your joint mission
for the family can eliminate much of
the “keeping score” conflict.
2. Low-stress families find small
moments of togetherness. “I think a
lot of us have this idea that we need
to create big moments of togetherness, but we saw so many times that
families had opportunities to connect
throughout the day that they weren’t
aware of,” Kremer-Sadlik says. “I remember one moment when a daughter and mom were folding laundry,
and the daughter stuck her foot in a
sock and challenged her mom to find
her foot among the pile of laundry,”
she recalls. “It was a loving moment
of laughing and playing around in the
midst of daily life.”
Family Dynamic
3. Low-stress parents are role
models--not pals. Treating your
partner with respect is not only good
for your marriage-- it also actually
affects the whole family dynamic.
“When spouses showed patience and
support, as opposed to being impatient, sarcastic, or critical, their children were more respectful toward
them, and the smoother the households ran,” Kremer-Sadlik says of
her findings from a previous study.
“Their mini goals throughout the
day, such as getting dinner on the table or finishing homework, ran more
smoothly and more pleasantly.”
4. Low-stress moms make dinner
from scratch. Believe it or not, using
processed convenience foods for dinner doesn’t actually save you cooking
time. That’s what really surprised 39year-old mom and researcher Margaret Beck, whose focus for the study
was food preparation. “All the families spent roughly one hour preparing dinner, whether they used processed foods or fresh ingredients,” she
says. And if you want your children
to eat what’s on the table: “The kids
who assisted in the food preparation
always ate what was served,” Beck
says.
5. Low-stress moms take five
minutes of me time. There’s a secret
to being fully present and enjoying
family life after a demanding day at
work: “The findings suggested that
when women unwound alone for 5 or
10 minutes, it set a positive tone for
the rest of the night,” says researcher
Shu-wen Wang, who helped review
more than 1,540 hours of footage.
6. Low-stress families watch TV
together. If you feel guilty every time
your family plops in front a television after a long day rather than doing something more interactive, don’t
sweat it. “Families who watched
TV together showed many bonding
behaviors,” Campos, one of the researchers involved in the study says.
7. Low-stress families embrace
daily rituals. “I used to believe that
spontaneity and excitement were
what kept couples connected, but
it’s truly the routine and continuity
that set the foundation for making
family relationships thrive,” Wang
says. “Whether it was a couple sitting down at the end of the day with
a cup of coffee or parents reading a
bedtime story to their children, these
little moments are what make family
life so comforting and kept couples
close.”
Cow Politics in India
Life for 42-year-old Ashok Malik, a hardline Hindu activist who lives on the outskirts of New Delhi, is dedicated to one cause: stopping the slaughter of cows.
Malik’s cow protection team of 30 men is trained to
chase trucks transporting cows and raid slaughter houses
with the police to nab those selling beef in the Indian
capital.
Over the years, a majority of Indian states, including
the New Delhi area, have passed controversial slaughter
laws which make killing local cows illegal.
The animal is known by Hindus as “Kamdhenu”, that
which fulfils human needs, and it has a central place in
religious rituals as well as free rein to roam in streets -scenes familiar to anyone who has visited India.
“I have saved over 7,000 cows in the last 15 years
from being butchered,” Malik told AFP proudly.
He and his fellow activists are affiliated to India’s
main opposition, the right-wing Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the driving force behind
the spread and hardening of cow rights legislation across
the country.
The Other View
Critics say the law deliberately targets Muslims, who
tend to be the butchers, fuelling religious tensions that
explode periodically in India with deadly consequences.
Early this year, violence erupted in the hilly state of
Himachal Pradesh when a Muslim butcher killed a cow
in a fit of rage after it had failed to give milk for more
than three years.
Hindu protesters damaged two mosques in response,
setting the doors of one of them on fire.
The law allows police to search houses, shops and
warehouses and arrest anyone who stores, sells or consumes beef from Indian cows. Offenders face jail terms
of up to seven years and fines of 50,000 rupees (1,000
US dollars).
“Over the years, the BJP has pushed cow protection as
an integral part of their political agenda by including it in
their manifesto,” said B.K. Gandhi, a political analyst at
the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New
Delhi.
The ruling left-leaning Congress, however, rejects the
BJP pitch for votes via cow politics.
Every year, young BJP workers are chosen to be a part
of the Gau Raksha Samiti (Cow Protection Committee),
where they are trained to gather information about butcheries and conduct surprise raids.
German Schools Use Dogs to Boost Pupils’ Grades
After rescuing stranded people in mountains and hilly
terrain and guiding the blind, dogs are now being used in
German schools to boost performance in the classroom.
Despite a grainy, grey September morning, the mood
is upbeat in a class in Karlsruhe in southwestern Germany: and that’s largely because Paula--a six year-old
Golden Retriever--is here, AFP reported.
“Paula, come here,” the students cry out one by one
as she brings them question papers strewn on the floor.
The papers have cork caps so that the canine can access
them easily.
Each student pats Paula when she fetches them a paper
and rewards her with a croquette.
“Its a pleasure to go to the blackboard, even for math,”
said Meryem, a 12-year-old.
“We are all responsible for the dog,” added Sergen,
13.
“We cannot disturb her when she is in her corner, we
cannot throw things on the floor because she might eat
Call for
o Distracted
D
Driving
Driv
r
Label on Cell Phoness
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he wants warning labels on mobile phones to get the message to Americans
that cell phones can become deadly distractions if used while
driving.
“We’re going to work with our friends in the technology
industry to maybe think about, when you go in to buy your
phone, maybe there’s a big warning label on the box: ‘Do not
use this device while you’re driving,’” LaHood said.
LaHood spoke at the opening of the second US summit on
distracted driving, an “epidemic” that killed thousands and
injured nearly half a million on US roads last year, AFP reported.
The number of deaths and injuries blamed on distracted
driving has fallen slightly from 5,870 in 2008 to around 5,500
last year thanks to greater awareness of the problem, legal
bans, and stiffer punishments, LaHood said.
Since last year, 12 more states have passed laws banning
text messaging while driving, bringing the total number of
states with such bans to 30.
Active People Less
Prone to Heart Failure
Low-stress families find small moments of togetherness.
W
News in Brief
them and we have to see that there is always water in her
bowl,” he added.
Parents Skeptical
Some parents were skeptical at the start, said teacher
Bettina Brecht who has been bringing her dog to the
classroom for the past five years.
“Some would ask whether their children would learn
anything at school and others were scared their children
would be bitten.”
But Paula has convinced the doubters, she said.
“A dog breaks the ice between teacher and pupil,”
Brecht said, adding that she had also helped boost the
students’ confidence.
Dogs are being brought into some German schools
since the end of the 1990s and there are about 120 institutions welcoming canines. They range from primary
schools right up to high schools, said Lydia Agsten.
Agsten, who teaches handicapped children at a special
facility near Dortmund, however said the figure was an
estimate as this phenomenon was not officially recognized in the German educational system.
But some say there is no clear link between canine
presence and better grades.
Individuals involved in a moderate amount of physical activity on the job or during their spare time are at a lower risk of
developing heart failure, a new study says.
Previous studies have reported the influence of being physically active during the time off on the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
According to the study published in the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology, increasing the level of physical activity either at work or during the leisure time is associated with a considerable decline in the risk of developing heart
failure, Press TV reported.
While moderate levels of occupational activity are needed
to reduce the chance of heart conditions in women, men need
to get involved in high levels of such activity to achieve such
a goal.
Walking or biking to work can also reduce the risk of heart
failure, particularly in women, the study found.
Paris Fountain Puts
Fizz Into Tap Water
Eco-conscious Parisians can now get their sparkling water
free and in unlimited supply at a new public drinking fountain
installed by city authorities, which aims to wean consumers
off bottled water and onto tap.
Unveiled in the Jardin de Reuilly park in the east of the city
by publicly owned water company Eau de Paris, the fountain
injects carbon dioxide into regular tap water to make it bubbly,
and chills it before delivering it to consumers,
Reuters reported.
Separate faucets also provide a still version
of the beverage, both refrigerated and unrefrigerated, and again pumped directly from
the city’s own public water supply.
“Our aim is to boost the image of Paris tap
water,” said Philippe Burguiere, spokesman
for Eau de Paris.
“We want to show that we’re proud of it, that it’s totally
safe, and that it’s ecological as there’s no oil involved, no
waste and no packaging,” he said.
The French are the world’s eighth biggest consumers of bottled water, downing an average of 128 liters (28 Imp gallons)
each of the still or sparkling beverage in 2009, according to
statistics from the Earth Policy Institute.
That generated over 262,000 tons of plastic waste, while
just making the bottles consumed close to 4.5 million barrels
of crude oil equivalent.
Growing Demand for Chinese
Luxury Funerals
Demand for luxury funerals is booming in Southeast Asia,
driven by the rising ranks of the wealthy in the region.
From $100,000 gold-plated caskets to million dollar burial
plots, a growing number of the rich are making the passage
to the afterlife with the best that money can buy, Reuters reported.
“Our clients tell us their loved ones deserve the best in life
and in death,” said Au Kok Huei, the group chief operating
officer of Malaysia’s NV Multi Corporation Berhad, Southeast Asia’s sole listed bereavement services
provider.
The company offers a range of funeral
services and runs cemeteries and columbariums in six countries--Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Taiwan.
Its 100,000 clients are mainly ethnic Chinese who make up more than 40 million of
Southeast Asia’s population. Muslims make up the majority
of the population in the region, but lavish funerals are frowned
upon by religion.
Company officials said demand for luxury funerals among
the ethnic Chinese has been growing especially in Indonesia,
which has a small but affluent Chinese community and in Singapore, where the company runs a $22 million columbarium.