health – Page 8 – Citizen Reporter

bmtv8 Religion versus Wealth

With this vlog I intend to begin a series focused on questions of poverty, religion, education, health and more. Somehow these things are all inter-related, and I’m going to look into the numbers around the world.

This episode deals with Religion versus Wealth. Using the data from PEW’s 2002 study, we can see the level of religiousness in both wealthy and poor countries. But the conclusions don’t come easy, so I’ve got much more work to do.

Watch the Video

PS — Yes, you may notice I make several guesstimates that are somewhat incorrect in this vlog. I was speaking only from memory, so forgive me. The numbers are still there for you to see for yourself, thats the important part.

Canada goes American

From Europe yesterday to Canada today, I just read the details point by point, of the proposed Canadian budget from the new conservative government. Some might wonder, who are not Canadian, why one should pay attention to such details. Personally I admire Canada very much and think it’s a great example of a well grounded and rounded country, in terms of national and international policies. Therefore I always keep a close eye on the developments there, especially with what could be a big turn in how the country is run.

My initial impression of the budget is not all bad. Probably because there are some priorities and traditions in Canada that will not automatically change just because a new party is in charge. I’m referring specifically to childcare and education, both of which seem to get adequate funding and tax-credits within the text of the budget.

On the other hand, there are quite a few signs that alot of the trademark characteristics of the Red Maple Leaf are being abandoned. In terms of the environment, funding that was supposed to go to climate change issues has been diverted to tax credits for mass transit users. And as much as I love trains, buses and trolleys, there are other areas that require attention in order to reduce greenhouse gases. Also in the budget, a significant boost in military spending, which was perhaps inspired by their neighbors to the south. While healthcare receives no new funding to address problem areas. It may not be the end of the world, but there is definitely cause for alarm if you’re like me and you admire the policies and practices that made Canada the admirable nation that it is today.

bm123 Tony Pierce on Blogs, Mental Health, and more.

Ever since the dawn of the blog era, anytime someone commits a terrible crime and they are bloggers, there is always alot of attention given to that persons writing. Some say it should be taken down and destroyed along with the person. While others see a chance for we the people to read and understand for ourselves, through a previously unknown doorway into the mind.
My friend Tony Pierce of busblog, buzznet, and thoughtmechanics, joins me from Los Angeles to discuss the case of Kevin Underwood, blogger who murdered a little girl in Oklahoma, and what his blog might tell us about how this all came about, and maybe how spot the signs that someone needs help, before it is too late.

AudioCommunique #123 (mp3)

Some Links:
Article in the Norman Transcript about the arraignment
Audio from the World Health Report 2001
Music:
Coheed and Cambria – Always and Never
Death Cab for Cutie – Information Travels Faster
Dave Mathews Band – Out of My Hands
Terry Lee Hale – I remember
Bright Eyes – This is the first day of my life

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

In Cold Blog

I’ve not yet read Truman Capote, but I’m going to. Like so many media consumers these days, I had to first see the recent movie about his work on the book “In Cold Blood” to get inspired to read the actual book. Sad but true.

In Cold Blood was about the murder of an entire family in some middle-america, dustbowl state. More specifically, it was about the accused and later convicted killers; their lives, their childhood, everything about them up to and including the crimes and later on death row. Capote was able to gain/buy access to sit with one of the two men everyday for I don’t remember how long. And just based on what I saw in the film, you can see through Capote and for yourself just how human and how fragile and lost these men are. Though some might say it was an act, there’s something very familiar and perhaps even endearing about the one particular guy. And of course this makes for a very grey sort of outlook on things: there you sit talking to someone who killed a whole family, yet there you sit sitting with a very polite, scared, confused, and damaged human being. Naturally many people don’t ever want to hear such a thing, a killer is a killer is a killer is a killer and they are terrible and must get a chair or an injection or gas etc. I’m aware of this reasoning, but clearly I’m not of that opinion.

I present all this to you today because I’ve been reading and re-reading blog posts by Tony Pierce, Emmanuelle, and this other blog I just randomly searched for; all about the blogger from Oklahoma, Kevin Underwood, who recently murdered and planned to eat a 10 year old girl. I’m actually not sure if he’s been convicted yet so I should rephrase that, but it seems the authorities are quite certain about this. So all day long I’ve been reading his blog, which I think everyone should continue to have a right to read. You may not find it exciting. In fact, it’s downright boring. But considering what has happened, I’ve been skimming it looking for real posts where he talks about his feelings and thoughts, and as Tony said in his post – he clearly has a great deal of social anxiety. As you read, you see that he was extremely depressed and went on medication, but then stopped taking it for some reason. He was also constantly tormented with the desire to be close to someone yet the inability to get near anyone. He frequently mentions not feeling like a normal person and the headaches and the extreme boredom with life. – All things you will find in blogs anywhere on the internets. Which is about where I start to think of Truman Capote and In Cold Blood.

There will be no great conclusion to this post, as I’m still pouring over the entries and trying to look behind the words and understand what was going on. I suspect lots of things, including mental illness. Now being mentally ill doesn’t mean you’ll murder a little girl and want to eat her. But can it go that far, that someone becomes psychotic? Judging by his writing, the familiar themes the blog contains, I would say this blog could be his In Cold Blood.

To Be Continued — Im going to consult some mental health experts and report back.

Expats and the elusive Doctors

Check out my doctor’s office! Not Impressed? It’s part of the former hospital that was squatted decades ago. Still not impressed? Well I am.

See I realize many of my readers have lived or do live abroad. Others of you have never lived abroad but you’ve pondered it in your head. Whatever the case, one of the issues that comes up with being an expat is, of course, medical care.

Now right away you start with a strike against you. No matter what work permit or European Union agreement you might have going for you, very often you simply don’t quite get into the system like a regular citizen. Maybe you haven’t filled out the right forms. Maybe you can’t read the right forms to begin with. Medical words are scarey, even in your native tongue, nevermind Dutch. – All this to tell you that despite my almost four years in the Netherlands, I’ve never had a proper doctor.

Until last week.

Using my best friend, the internet, I located my local health centre and noted what documents were necessary. I mentally prepared for any questions they would ask me, cause one of my long running phobias is that I won’t understand and then instead of switching to english, Ill stubbornly pretend I understand, and end up agreeing to an enema or a spinal tap or something.

Since you may be wondering, what’s the big deal – why wait so long to get an MD bm? It’s hard to explain. Mostly it’s this feeling that comes back whenever I have to handle something official, that I’m doing something wrong or committing some crime.

Back to the story–
I walked into the super cool doctors office located in my favorite legalized squat-hospital, and the cutest girl wearing a head scarf greeted me with a smile. After enjoying practicing the pronounciation of my name for a minute, she put me in the computer and voila – I had a doctor and even an appointment to boot. It took four years, but I was going to speak with my very own doctor.

Or so I thought….
(to be continued… insert cliffhanger music and that voiceover guy from Dukes of Hazard)

Oh look.. a blog from South Africa.. or the Netherlands.. or something.

bm105 Health vs Jobs in Western India

In the town of Alang, in the state of Gujarat, India, the ship breaking industry once accounted for half of all the world’s ships that are broken down. It was also once a clean and beautiful beach. Neither is exactly true anymore, and the case of the Clemenceau may become the watershed moment in the history of Alang. Blogger and author Dilip D’Souza of the blog Death Ends Fun talks about his visit to the town and his analysis of what is going on and what the future holds for the workers, the community, and their environment.

AudioCommunique #105 (mp3)

Music:

Dropkick Murphys – Boys on the Docks
Coralie Clement – Indecise
Phil Ochs – Pleasures of the Harbor
Bright Eyes – Ship in a bottle