LATIN AMERICAN MIGRANT MONEY

                        The amount of money sent home by migrant workers to their families in Latin America

hás reached more than $62bn. According to the Inter-American Investiment Bank, the figure could reach $100bn in four years’ time. This report from Duncan Kennedy:

                        Money from migrant workers now exceeds the combined total of all direct foreign aid to Latin America

– sixty-two-point-three billion dollars. Twenty-three billion dollars of that was sent back to México, mostly from workers living in the United States. I now along with oil and tourism as Mexico’s biggest foreign currency earner.

                        The Inter-American Development Bank, which supports the region with aid and other help, says the remittances, as they´re known, will increase by about fifteen percent a year during the next four years, topping one-hundred billion dollars by 2010. The bank describes the money as a very effective poverty reduction programme because it keeps between eight and ten million families above the poverty line. But it says it also means the economies of the region are not generating enough jobs to keep workers from leaving in the first place. Another problem is that as much of the money is sent back in small amounts, it´s difficult to track. The average is between a hundred and a hundred-and-fifty dollars a month. That in turn makes it an unpredictable source of revenue for governments to tap into. The bank says it wants people to get away from what it calls cash to cash flows and into account to account transfers but the bank says the recent crackdown on illegal immigrants by the American authorities could hinder efforts to get migrants to use Banks.

(Duncan Kennedy, BBC, México City)

(UFRS)

DRIVEN BY CARS

         It's 2050 and one American passion has withstood the test of time: we like to drive. You decide to hit the road. First, you unplug your car from your house. That's right - your car's fuel cells (those hydrogen-powered devices) turn out enough electricy for your home and your car.

         You settle into the driver's seat and grasp the joystick (steering wheels and pedals are history). All movements of the car - accelerating, turning, braking - are controlled by a joystick familiar to anyone brought up on computer games. You drive in traffic with absolute confidence. Your car is programmed with radar to sense a crash before it happens and activate the brakers.

        

         An alarm sounds. The sensor in the instrument panel has checked the pupils of your eyes and decided you are getting sleepy. You pull over into the "sleep lane". You lay a route on your satellite-guided navigation system, switch the autopilot on and climb into the back seat for a sleep. The car, reading computer chips in the road, takes over the driving.

         This is not science fiction. Automakers are spending billions researching all these futuristic features. General Motors has tried out an "intelligent highway" in California that allows cars to drive on autopilot. Daimler Chrysler fits prototype cars with joystick and many drivers operate them better than steering wheels. Every carmaker is rushing to replace the internal combustion engine with fuel cells. Satellite navigation systems are already on the road. Soon your car will be driving you.

APOSTILA DO CURSO OBJETIVO - VESTIBULARES - 2012.

 

UFRJ

HUNGER IN INDIA

            A recent report which evaluates how developing countries tackle hunger is sharply critical of India.  Despite being one of the world’s emerging economies,  there are 30 million more hungry people in lndia than  there were in the 1990s.  India may be one of the world’s fastest growing economies but the benefit of its growing prosperity is  not reaching everyone. According to the Action Aid report, 46% of its children are malnourished and the number of people growing hungry is increasing instead  of coming down.  lt’s not that lndia doesn’t grow enough food - in fact it’s a major exporter of farm produce, The problem is that many people, especially poor communities, cannot access it for a variety of reasons, induding rising food prices and poor distribution.  Government schemes, such as mondatory school meals, have not been effectively implemented across the country. And large-scale migration of people seeking work or displaced by large development schemes, such as dams or industrial projects, is adding to the problem. lnvoriably women and children are the most vulnerable.

            But there are some positive signs. A landmark rural jobs programme launched four years ago is showing some signs of success in battling poverty. Analysts say it now needs to be persisted with and spread out to more parts of the country.

                                                                  Sanjoy Majumder, BBC News, Delhi

  

UNESP

Don´t Give “A-OK” Sign in Tunisia – it´s a Death Threat

        Forming a circle with your thumb and forefinger means “A-Ok” in America. But do this in Tunisia and you could be in hot water – because there it menas “I´ll kill you!”

         Our “A-OK” sign also means “warthless” or  “zero” in France... and if you make this gesture in Japan, the Japanese will think you´re begging for money.

         Common gestures mean surprisingly different things in diferent cultures, according to world-famous antropologist Desmond Morris, author of the book “Manwatching”.

         “Sometimes when you´re making a normal, unconcious gesture you can get yourself in trouble if you don´t know  what you´re doing”, warns Morris.

         “During conversation it´s common for people to touch or pull at an earbole. But be careful about doing that in Italy – because if you´re talking to a man you´re making a big sexual insult.”

         Shaking your head from sirde to side means “no” in the U.S. But it means “yes” in Bulgaria and parts of Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.

         Different cultures also have their own gesture for the same thought, Morris added.

         For example, we signify a beautiful girl by making an exagggrtsted outline of the female figure with our hands. In Greece, however, a man gently strokes a cheek with one hand.

UFPA

FAMILY

TEARS FOR A DEER

                        It´s got na adorable hare, a gangly fawn and one of the most disturbing death scenes in the history of animation. We´re referring, of course, to the 1942 classic “Bambi” in which the hero loses his mom to the sharp crack of a hunting rifle. With the film just out on DVD, parents will be wondering how to cope with the inevitable question: “Mom, are you going to die?” Dr. Michel Cohen, author of “The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent,” notes that not all kids will be upset by the fil. In other cases, the angst may not emerge for a week or two. Seth Aronson, a child psychologist at New York´s William Alanson White Institute, suggests explaining that Bambi´s mom didn´t die a natural death and that most people live until they´re very old. Another Idea is to watch the film with your kids safely snuggled in your lap. He also theorizes that Disney offs characters like the dad in “The Lion King” because “it leaves the hero to fend for himself, became resilient and overcome obstacles.” Try telling that to Simba.

                                                                                                (Newsweek)

Your Cat Will Thrill to the Great Indoors

         There is truly no place like home for your cat…

         WHERE HE CAN PLAY a safe game of cat and “mouse”, play hide-and-sock without getting lost, perch on a sunny window seat and make fun of the neighbor’s dog, snooze, stretch, have a little snack – all from the comfort of home. The fact is cats enjoy much safer, longer, healthier lives as indoor pets. They make better neighbors and great companions. And they don’t roam around, dodging cars or adding to the already tragic problems of cat overpopulation. So if you want to do what’s best for your feline friend, don’t put him outdoors to have fun. Instead, put more fun indoors for your cat. If you want to know more, just write to us or visit www.safecat.org.

KEEP YOUR CAT SAFE

(Environmental Magazine)

PROF.JAMIL A. JUNIOR