stats: 2 million babies a year die within 24 hours of birth worldwide. 2 million babies die a year within its first month worldwide.
99% (3.96 mil) of all newborn deaths are in developing contries leaving 40,000 to the developed world. the United States ranks 2nd lowest in newborn mortality rate (5 deaths/1,000 births); tied with Hungary, Poland, Malta, and Slovakia.
Melinda Gates says, "All children, no matter where they are born, deserve a healthy start in life."
could you imagine the impact 4 million more healthy babies would have on the world, global economy, Earth? this is where my survival of the fittest philosophy kicks in. if the newborn is not healthy enough to surive its first month, the newborn wasn't meant to be a part of this Earth. sorry. try again later. (as much as i revel in science and technology, my darwinian philosophy sometimes applies to medical advancement and technology as well.)
the report highlights three most influencial areas on newborn health. female education because educated women are more likely to seek health care. use of family planning and contraception. presence of trained birth attendants in case of complications.
let's just think about the situation the United States, the richest country on this planet, is in: second to last place. presence of trained birth attendants: check. education: mmm, considering the U.S. is a "First World" country its citizens could be more educated about prenatal health. family planning/contraception: Mr. Bush's idea of family planning is to just say no, so I would say we aren't doing too well in this category either. i suspect that our society's reluctance to talk about sex and its consequences has a large effect on our performance in newborn and sexual health. what it all comes down to is that pregnant women (and everyone else) need easier access to health care and health education in this country.
i really hope no one is looking to the U.S. to be the guiding light in this area.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
We Are America
briefly thinking over this immigration issue, i'm not quite sure where i stand. i don't pretend to have more than a surface level understanding of the issues or legislations at hand. i do find the idea of singing our national anthem in Spanish inappropriate though. if the idea is to convince the "legal" American public that immigrants are woven into the 'fabric of America' then sing the damn song in English. wouldn't singing in English be so much more symbolic considering most Americans don't know how the entire song goes? besides, not ALL illegal immigrants speak Spanish. you could say, "but Tracy, English isn't even the United States' official language. in fact, the US doesn't have an official language." well, screw that, English is, at the very least, the common language in this country. one that we can all unite under...aw...
the Korean restaurant i work at serves the most authentic Korean food i've found in Chicago, other than way up in koreatown. the current owner, Jun, is also the current chef. unfortunately, it's changing owners; meaning Jun will no longer be chef. we have one kitchen hand, Hector. i walked into the kitchen today and stopped to listen to Jun and Hector talk. they were conversing in a crazy mix of Korean and Spanish and seemed to clearly communicate. Jun learned to cook, make kim chi, and mix sauces all from his mother. And now, Jun is bestowing his Korean cooking knowledge onto Hector in an effort to make sure Hector can keep his job when the new owners come in. and there it is. evidence that illegal immigrants ARE America.
follow me in my thought process. a part of a society's culture is its food. America's food comprises of international influences and foods representing all of the different types of people in it. if you look into the kitchen of America's restaurants, you'll likely find an illegal immigrant, who is most likely Latin American, at the stove. these immigrants learn to cook all of the different types of food served, Chinese, Italian, American, Californian, Korean, Japanese, German, Moroccan, etc. let's take Marina Foods (an Asian grocery store with a restaurant and bakery) on Stevens Creek as an example. the kitchen help are mostly Latino. you can watch them make chow mein, sui mai, noodle soups, dumplings, bbq pork buns, and an assortment of buns that i haven't an inkling of how to make. they even speak enough Mandarin to identify the foods. in the long run, the people that know how to make all of these wonderfully tasting foods are the illegal immigrants!
illegal immigrants make America's food.
food make cultural identity.
illegal immigrants make America's cultural identity!
They ARE America!!
...
of course, this begs the larger question of how to define one's culture or identity. but that's a big fish that i'm not rightly equipped to wrestle. what are cultural identifiers? food? ritual? dance? language? if one learns to make Chinese food, is one now Chinese? if one learns to hula, is one Hawaiian? if one can write in hieroglyphics, is one Egyptian?
the Korean restaurant i work at serves the most authentic Korean food i've found in Chicago, other than way up in koreatown. the current owner, Jun, is also the current chef. unfortunately, it's changing owners; meaning Jun will no longer be chef. we have one kitchen hand, Hector. i walked into the kitchen today and stopped to listen to Jun and Hector talk. they were conversing in a crazy mix of Korean and Spanish and seemed to clearly communicate. Jun learned to cook, make kim chi, and mix sauces all from his mother. And now, Jun is bestowing his Korean cooking knowledge onto Hector in an effort to make sure Hector can keep his job when the new owners come in. and there it is. evidence that illegal immigrants ARE America.
follow me in my thought process. a part of a society's culture is its food. America's food comprises of international influences and foods representing all of the different types of people in it. if you look into the kitchen of America's restaurants, you'll likely find an illegal immigrant, who is most likely Latin American, at the stove. these immigrants learn to cook all of the different types of food served, Chinese, Italian, American, Californian, Korean, Japanese, German, Moroccan, etc. let's take Marina Foods (an Asian grocery store with a restaurant and bakery) on Stevens Creek as an example. the kitchen help are mostly Latino. you can watch them make chow mein, sui mai, noodle soups, dumplings, bbq pork buns, and an assortment of buns that i haven't an inkling of how to make. they even speak enough Mandarin to identify the foods. in the long run, the people that know how to make all of these wonderfully tasting foods are the illegal immigrants!
illegal immigrants make America's food.
food make cultural identity.
illegal immigrants make America's cultural identity!
They ARE America!!
...
of course, this begs the larger question of how to define one's culture or identity. but that's a big fish that i'm not rightly equipped to wrestle. what are cultural identifiers? food? ritual? dance? language? if one learns to make Chinese food, is one now Chinese? if one learns to hula, is one Hawaiian? if one can write in hieroglyphics, is one Egyptian?
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