Bono's Special Message on "No Child Born with HIV"

How climate change is affecting Ethiopia

Verizon Gets i-Phone: a much-anticipated alliance between Apple and Verizon

Be careful what you wish for.  So goes the cliché.  But it has happened.  Verizon will offer i-Phone services, starting in February 2011 with its powerful 3G network.  The alliance means consumers will no longer have to stick to AT&T as a sole service provider for i-Phone.  No doubt, Verizon has a bigger clout in telecommunications market share along with speedy networks.  But in the long run, speed and broad access may run into other unseen technological innovation.   Even the debate over net-neutrality issues may need to be examined for the outcome of consumer rights and telecommunication business practices.  Who knows, i-Phone users may very well do not have to just rely on Verizon and AT&T.  A host of other service providers may join in to get a slice of the i-Phone’s market share with a myriad of new service features.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/technology/12phone.html

Courtesy: The New York Times

Around the World: notable places to visit

2011 is a bright indicator of my becoming a traveler.  I will become eligible to apply for the U.S. citizenship which will make it easier for me to travel without the hassle of getting visas.  All I need is passport, cash, and credit card.  And off I will go about seeing the places I have always wanted to see and visit.

The New York Times listed a few notable places to visit around the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html

Courtesy: The New York Times

Why the Internet Is a Great Tool For Totalitarians

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/st_essay_totalitarians/

Courtesy: wired.com

A Son’s Tribute To His Fallen Father

Salmaan Taseer, the fallen progressive and reform-minded politician, died at the hands of his protector, a life snuffed out by a barrage of bullets, leaving a politically chaotic Pakistan unstable and unpredictable. His son, Sherbano Taseer, wrote a tribute to his visionary and gutsy father who hoped for a Pakistan free of fundamentalism and chaos that have inflicted the nation, particularly after 9/11. Political assassination in the Indian subcontinent is not new. Many leaders, from Mahatma Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, have sacrificed their lives to reconcile parting nations, groups, and factions. One can only wonder how many more lives need to be shed to restore peace, harmony, and reconciliation in the region.

Click on the link below to read Mr. Taseer’s tribute to his father.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/opinion/09taseer.html

Courtesy: The New York Times

The Wonder of Rice Husk: an unlikely source of eco-friendly electricity

Hope sometimes lives in most unexpected of places.   For Bihar, India that place is rice husk, which now has become a source of shining light via electricity that 85 percent of the state’s population lacks.  The entrepreneurial zeal of four guys has transformed the poorest state in India into a beacon of innovation.  Who knows, this innovation might soon become the micro-lending of non-grid electricity.  The electricity that is being produced from rice husks has proved to be eco-friendly, cheap, and sustainable.  For 80 rupees per month or about $1.50, villagers now can have electricity they can be proud of and make use of for children’s education and household works.  This innovative technology promises hope particularly for countries like India and in sub-Saharan Africa where the population is largely poor.

Click on the link below to read more on this topic.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/a-light-in-india/

Courtesy: The New York Times