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demmiblue

demmiblue's Journal
demmiblue's Journal
May 30, 2015

A policy of non-discrimination (pet rescue story).

Source: The Dodo

Sue found herself at a high-kill shelter, sick and alone. Thanks to the care and dedication of people who volunteer their time, she had an army of angels looking out for her well-being.



Coastal German Shepherd Rescue was asked to help and, shepherd or not, we knew this girl didn't have much time and quickly said "yes." Sue was rescued and immediately taken to the vet.

<snip>



More: https://www.thedodo.com/pneumonia-dog-rescue-1102573785.html


P.S. she was adopted.

May 28, 2015

Inside L’Oreal’s Plan to 3-D Print Human Skin

Source: Wired



L’Oreal makes cosmetics and hair color. It also makes skin. Human skin, created in a lab, so it can test its products without using people or animals. Now it’s talking about printing the stuff, using 3-D bioprinters that will spit out dollops of skin into nickel-sized petri dishes.

The idea is to produce skin more quickly and easily using what is essentially an assembly line developed with Organovo, a San Diego bioprinting company. Such a technique would allow the French cosmetics company to do more accurate testing, but it also has medical applications—particularly in burn care.

Treating severe burns typically involves grafting a healthy patch of skin taken from elsewhere on the body. But large burns present a problem. That has researchers at Wake Forest experimenting with a treatment method that involves applying a small number of healthy skin cells onto the injury and letting them grow organically over the wound. 3-D-bioprinted skin potentially could be produced faster, provided Organovo can successfully replicate the cell structure of human epidermis.

L’Oreal already has a massive lab in Lyon, France, to produce its patented skin, called Episkin, from incubated skin cells donated by surgery patients. The cells grow in a collagen culture before being exposed to air and UV light to mimic the effects of aging. Organovo pioneered the process of bioprinting human tissues, most notably creating a 3-D-printed liver system. Both parties benefit from the partnership: L’Oreal gets Organovo’s speed and expertise, and Organovo gets funding and access to L’Oreal’s comprehensive knowledge of skin, acquired through many years and over $1 billion in research and development.


Read more: http://www.wired.com/2015/05/inside-loreals-plan-3-d-print-human-skin/
May 28, 2015

This California teen’s feminist yearbook quote is basically the best thing on the Internet today

Source: Raw Story



A California teen managed to make a statement on three political issues in one witty high school yearbook quote.

Caitlyn Cannon, who recently graduated from Oak Hills High School, became a social media star after reshaping a quote she found on Tumblr to advocate for LGBT, gender, and wage equality.

“I need feminism because I intend on marrying rich and I can’t do that if my wife and I are making .75 cent for every dollar a man makes,” Cannon said in her senior quote.

A good friend shared a photo of Caitlyn and her quote on Twitter, and the image was shared nearly 6,000 times.


Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/this-california-teens-feminist-yearbook-quote-is-basically-the-best-thing-on-the-internet-today/

Heh!
May 27, 2015

The Meninists Strike Again

Source: Daily Mail (Yea, I know)

A man from Austin, Texas, had a great comeback for a Twitter account that mocked him for crying on his wedding day.

Adam Harris' wedding photographer captured his emotional reaction to seeing his wife walk down the aisle in a heartwarming series of images, but when the pictures found their way online, one 'meninist', or ‘anti-feminist’ Twitter account poked fun at the couple, questioning 23-year-old Adam's sincerity.

Posting three images of Adam tearing up at the sight of his wife, along with one of the bride, Tisa, in her wedding gown, the person behind the crude Twitter account commented: ‘He's thinking about all the side hoes he has to give up [sic].'



<snip>




More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3097870/Man-hits-anti-feminist-Twitter-account-crude-joke-touching-image-crying-wedding.html

Coincidentally, President Obama blocked their twitter account!
May 24, 2015

More Than 900 Workers Have Already Died Building Qatar’s World Cup Infrastructure

Source: Smithsonian



In 2022, Qatar will host the World Cup. The host city has already made some waves with its stadium shaped like a certain body part. But what you might not know is that, since 2012, about 900 workers have died while working on infrastructure in Qatar, in a building boom anticipating the World Cup.*

Last month, the Guardian reported that over 400 Nepalese migrant workers had already died at building sites. Between 2010 and 2012 more than 700 workers from India lost their lives working on construction sites in Qatar, too. A report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) says that if conditions don’t get any better, by the time the World Cup kicks off, at least 4,000 migrant workers will have died on the job.

For comparison, 25 construction workers died during the preparations for Sochi. Only six workers have died during construction for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that starts this summer. Only eleven men died during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s. By all measures, the death count in Qatar is extreme.

Robert Booth at the Guardian explains why Qatar is so unusual:

Workers described forced labour in 50C (122F) heat, employers who retain salaries for several months and passports making it impossible for them to leave and being denied free drinking water. The investigation found sickness is endemic among workers living in overcrowded and insanitary conditions and hunger has been reported. Thirty Nepalese construction workers took refuge in the their country's embassy and subsequently left the country, after they claimed they received no pay.


Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/over-900-workers-have-already-died-building-qatars-world-cup-facilities-180950088/?no-ist

I have no clue as to how and why Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup. Modern day slavery, indeed.
May 23, 2015

Dive Into ‘Infinity’ With Dizzying Views of A Colossal Cave (interactive tour)

Source: National Geographic



Son Doong is one of the world's largest caves, with enormous chambers that can comfortably fit a 747 airplane or an entire New York City block full of 40-story buildings. Its mammoth chambers extend so far that explorers have called Son Doong an "infinite cave." And with an amazing new digital tour, you can plunge below ground to see it yourself without ever leaving the country.

Pictures have offered stunning peeks into the cave, which is located in central Vietnam's Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, since explorers discovered it in 2009 with the help of a local guide. But the attention of curious sightseers is a double-edged sword; planned construction projects to make the cave more accessible to tourists could harm the formation's unique environment.

Photojournalist Martin Edström hopes to bring the cave to as many people as possible. He also wanted to document Son Doong in its relatively untouched state, just in case those construction plans go through. So he set out with a team in January 2015 to build a virtual tour of this roughly 2.5-mile-long (four kilometers) cave.

Digital "tourists" can mouse through 360° panoramic views of key sections of Son Doong on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer (see above). Some of the largest passageways are about 300 feet (91.4 meters) wide and over 600 feet (182.9 meters) high.


Read more/View interactive tour: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150520-infinity-cave-son-doong-vietnam-virtual-tour-photography-conservation/

Amazing and awe-inspiring!
May 22, 2015

Mom Fights School Policy That Says Girls “Must” Wear T-Shirts at Pool

Source: Babble



When your child brings home a form from school for you to sign, do you gloss over it, mindlessly scribble your signature, and go about your business? I don’t know about you, but I’m guilty as charged.

Jennifer Smith is different. The Indiana mom is proclaiming victory after flagging something in her son’s school permission slip she felt could ultimately prove harmful to elementary school girls — a dress code requirement for a sixth-grade pool party. The form, a picture of which Smith posted to a Facebook feminist group, included a stipulation that all girls wear non-white T-shirts over their swimsuits. No similar requirement was targeted at boys, unless you count a “No Speedos” rule.

It’s just the latest in a recent string of stories about parents or students being outraged over dress codes for female pupils. But Smith’s experience could prove encouraging for anyone disturbed by apparent gender inequality in school dress codes — Smith’s complaints brought about change within days and she didn’t even have to stage protests to make it happen.

<snip>

But Smith fired back with academic research to justify her concerns. She wrote:

… I am not sure if you are aware of the emotional hardship that is caused by [telling] young girls their bodies are inappropriate and must be covered. According to Siegel (1999), “negative feelings about their bodies account for the higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology and lower self-esteem among girls” (p.163). As you are aware adolescence is a very confusing time and can also be detrimental to girl’s emotional wellbeing. Setting one standard for half of the student body only promotes the idea that girls bodies are naturally shameful, and helps to send a very damaging message of “you are reasonable for others thoughts, feelings, and actions” that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.


Read more: http://www.babble.com/parenting/mom-fights-school-policy-that-says-girls-must-wear-t-shirts-at-pool/


As a parent of a son, she took it upon herself to speak up for the girls in her son's class/grade. What a great role model for all the children involved. That is one kick-ass woman!
May 22, 2015

The Man and the Dog (organ donation PSA)




P.S. Also, adopt a rescue animal! Both are among the greatest gifts we can give both ourselves and others.

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