Author Archives: Fono

About Fono

David explores the internet in a way that most people don’t: he examines how other people interact with the internet. Currently he is pursuing his MA and has been published in quite a few scholarly journals. David thinks the internet can be used for good and/or evil, hoping that (like in the movies) good will be victorious in the end.

No Pain, Mo’ Gain

This month’s Scientific American contains an article about how testing chemicals for human safety is becoming both more effective, and less dependent on animal suffering. From the article:

Safety testing of household, agricultural and other chemicals as well as medical products traditionally uses many millions of animals every year in protocols that are often painful. New methods involving cell and tissue cultures, noninvasive imaging, or plain statistics are greatly reducing the need for, and the suffering involved in, animal testing. The new toxicology is more rigorously based on scientific evidence and can save time and money.

For more information, check out the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing.

Chinese-Canadians Get Payback

Back in 1885, the Canadian government put a $500 headtax on Chinese immigrants entering the country (an amount equivalent to 2 years’ salary), after workers were no longer needed for the railway. This was later replaced with a ban of Chinese immigrants altogether, which wasn’t fully repealed until 1967.

However, the Canadian government has now agreed to compensate descendents of these immigrants.

Faster, Better HIV Tests

Physicians in Canada are now able to purchase a 60-second HIV testing machine. Previously, individuals wanting to be tested for the disease had to wait 2-3 weeks to get the results from provincial laboratories. Now, it’s as simple as a trip to the doctor’s office.

Meanwhile, the US FDA is considering approving a do-it-yourself home HIV test. This is good to hear, because 1 in 4 AIDS patients in the US don’t know they have it!

Denver chills out, smokes a bowl

Residents of Denver recently voted to legalize possession of marijuana in the amount of 1 oz or less. That’s legalize, mind you, not just decriminalize. 54% of voters were in favour of the ordinance.
Is this good weed?
The main argument by those in support was that marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol, as far as recreational drug use goes.

Drug offenders in the US are generally charged under state or federal laws, so this measure may have no real official meaning; but Denver police will presumably not feel too compelled to make any arrests on the matter.