Monday, December 28, 2015

India wants to buy weapons from Russia while 3,000 Indian children die, per day, of starvation (not enough food)


There is a moral crisis in India that the world is ignoring. As you can see by this article below, 3,000 children do not get enough to eat and are dying due to a lack of food (starvation). That means 1 million Indian children each year are dying of hunger. That is like 10 Hiroshima atomic bomb explosions in India per year.

This is a silent but real tragedy that has to be stopped.


Frankly, I think it is time for the civilized world to demand that India take care of its children before it buys weapons. Seriously, India needs these missiles to protect whom? Its starving children?

Maybe India should just surrender to its enemies and allow foreign countries to take over so these countries can feed the 1 million children who will otherwise starve. I am surprised that Vladimir Putin has not considered secretly invading India since he is such a great humanitarian (that's called sarcasm) and he is really good at invading countries - Ukraine and Syria for example.

By the way, an Indian citizen told me that I do not have the right to criticize India because there is poverty in the USA as well. It is, however, absurd to equate poverty in the USA with poverty in India.

Children are not dying of starvation in the USA. 3,000 die each day in India. Many of our poor people in the USA live in free housing, with free food and free medical care. They have access to free public schools to the age of 18 (and inexpensive public universities afterwards) and they have access to vote for politicians who will help them. There is a way out of poverty in the USA and many take that road each year. It is true, however, that there is still much work to be done.

Here is an article on the purchase of weapons by India. 


Vocabulary from the article:

India cleared purchase - it should be: India has cleared the purchase of.....(news sources often abbreviate headlines). So the government has "Ok'd" the purchase of these missiles from Russia. The government is ready to buy the missiles.

acquisition - obtaining, getting

a council - an official group

the procurement - the obtaining, the getting

charged with - given the responsibility to do something

lukewarm - not eager but not completely not eager; if water is lukewarm it is not hot and not cold,just a little warm. India agreed to buy 154 airplanes from Russia and never did so, therefore Russia does not seem to want to sell these missiles to India.

ballistic and cruise missiles - these are different types of missiles: ballistic missiles are guided by the laws of ballistics (gravity) and cruise missiles are guided by some type of computer system.

simultaneously - at the same time 

allegedly - supposedly

purportedly - supposedly

inducted - ready to go

to deploy - to set up or to put something in place somewhere

to bolster - to strengthen

Sunday, December 13, 2015

An anti-overdose drug will now be available 'over-the-counter' in NY



It seems that many people have been dying due to overdoses of the illegal drug heroin in NY City.

(an 'overdose' is when you take too much of something that can kill you - heroin is an illegal and highly addictive narcotic drug) 

(if a drug is available 'over-the-counter', this means that you do not need a doctor's permission to buy the drug...US pharmacies often have lots of over-the-counter drugs on display that a person can buy, but a doctor's prescription (note) can only be filled by a licensed pharmacist behind a counter)

There is a drug which can be taken if a person feels he/she is dying from an overdose of heroin, and this drug can save the person's life. This drug is called naloxone. 

Until recently only a doctor could provide the medicine directly or a person needed a prescription (a notice that a person could legally buy the medicine from a pharmacy).

Because so many people have been dying, heroin users may now buy the drug naloxone and keep it with them while they are using heroin, in case they lose the ability to breathe (naloxone apparently helps a person breathe again after an overdose, thus saving the person's life).

What do you think about this? Some folks say that by making naloxone easy to get we are encouraging people to use heroin. They argue that if it is safer to take heroin, more young people will now take heroin. Yet, it's true that there has been an increase in the number of young people who are dying from heroin overdoses. Should we allow some young people die in order not to encourage others to try heroin?

An article about this:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/anti-overdose-medication-nyc-pharmacies-article-1.2458390

Vocabulary from the article:

anti - this means to be against something; pro means to be for something

opiates - these are drugs that come from the poppy plant; they are, basically, pain-killers

a pharmacy - a place to buy medication, either over-the-counter or through a doctor's prescription

De Blasio - the mayor (leader) of New York City

sobering - information is sobering if it shocks you; the opposite of sober is drunk

new stats - new statistics,new numbers about something

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http://www.amazon.com/York-Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS