Adam Clare

Chavez Helps America’s poor

Massachusetts officials have worked out a deal with Venezuela that will provide cheap oil for the state’s poor. Hugo Chavez previously offered cheaper oil to poor Americans and Massachusetts is the first state to work out an official program to accommodate Chavez’s offer. The oil is to be sold at 40% below the market rate, the oil is also to be used for heating (not gas for cars).

The Bush administration despises the democratically elected Hugo Chavez, but a Massachusetts congressman said that the cheap oil agreement is “an expression of humanitarianism at its very best”. Talks are currently underway to provide poor people in the Bronx with a similar deal.

Peace in Nepal May Come Sooner

Rebel fighters in Nepal say that they are willing to lay down their arms if the government respects their demands. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist has been fighting the government for many years now (with civilians suffering from the violence) and it looked as if the fighting wouldn’t stop.

The demand that the Communists want is the ability to rejoin the political mainstream through official party status in the Nepal. They believe that, once combine, with the other political parties they can then overthrow the monarchy – the primary goal of the CPN-M.

Canada’s Supreme Court Says NO to Pesticides

The Supreme Court of Canada has thrown out a case that would have challenged the right of municipalities to ban pesticides in their communities.

A pesticide producer tried to challenge legislation passed in Toronto that banned the use of pesticides. This is a major step in Canada since the issue of spraying nature with chemicals as been for the most part ignored. The court’s decision means that wary municipalities can now ban pesticides without fear of a lawsuit.

Meditate and Think Great

Meditation makes your brain bigger and better according to some new research. The act of meditation can increase grey matter in a few regions of your brain. This is a big thing because it is, as far as I know, the first time that meditation can actually impact the physical layout of the brain.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Now Easily Detectable

Canadian researchers have found a new way to easily detect fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Previous attempts to detect FAS have been mired by other factors, for instance it is hard to tell if a child has poor impulse control as a result of FAS or other factors like how they were raised.

The researchers found that doing a series of simple eye-tracking tests that children FAS had a similar patter, while those not diagnosed with FAS did not. Eye-tracking has been used to find other neurological problems, but now it has been applied to FAS with positive results.