CNN (Continuación)

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia,

"It's a miracle," she told me. "We can now have a baby that won't have Huntington's disease. I thought I'd never be able to have any kids -- because of the disease." Her father had died from this disorder, which results from a gene mutation. She feared that she might have the mutation, too. But she was too scared to undergo testing for it. She also worried that if she had it, she might pass it on to her children.

This disease causes severe neurological and psychiatric problems, and eventual death at around the same age as one's parent died of it -- usually in one's 40s or 50s.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa,

As Washington pundits watch the carnage in Kiev, images of a rapacious Russian President Vladimir Putin, puppet master of Ukraine and of its president, Viktor Yanukovich, stalk the headlines. Putin, the theory goes, is willing to stoke a civil war in order to keep Ukraine from turning to the West.

America's obsession with Putin, however, does not explain the complex realities fueling the uprising in Ukraine, or the uneasy relationship between Putin and Yanukovich. Long before the uprising began, if Yanukovich had carried out real economic and political reform, he would not have been caught between a long-term promise of a closer relationship with Europe and an immediate hand-out from Moscow, and with it the Kremlin's demand that he toughen up and put down the opposition's demonstrations.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesSocial,

Oh, figure skating. Not again. Didn't anyone tell you? The Cold War is over. You are supposed to be reformed.

At the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday, South Korea's Yuna Kim, a 2010 Olympic gold medalist, skated an ethereally beautiful and outwardly perfect long program in the ladies free skating competition. She then lost gold to Russia's Adelina Sotnikova. Few saw that coming.

On paper, Sotnikova had one more triple jump than Kim, including the triple loop, which Kim does not do. Although Sotnikova had an awkward moment on her own double loop, her spins were faster, her jumps higher, and unlike Kim, who looked exhausted at the end of her gorgeous skate, Sotnikova flew across the ice with great speed and then looked like she could do it all again.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa,

After three days of horrifying images from Kiev, February 21 brought tentative good news from the Ukrainian capital. President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders Vitali Klitschko, Oleh Tyahnybok and Arseniy Yatsenyuk concluded an agreement on a political settlement. If it holds, it offers Ukrainians a peaceful path out of the crisis that has gripped their country for the past three months.

But the agreement is fragile. It will encounter opposition from within Ukraine. Indeed, protestors on the Maidan are already calling for Yanukovych's immediate removal. The Russians may try to undermine it. But the United States and European Union must work to make it succeed; it is the best bet that Ukraine now has.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías

One of this week's most astounding stories is Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp, a mobile messaging service that has more than 450 million monthly active users globally. The $19 billion that Facebook will spend on buying WhatsApp created a collective jaw-drop in the tech world.

Sure, the price tag is getting a lot of buzz -- $19 billion is a historically big number for a venture funded company. But what exactly is Facebook getting out of it?

A company just a few years old with less than a billion dollars in revenue and a service that is nearly (but not quite) free.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa,

Viktor Yanukovych is probably doomed -- even if he does not yet know it. He should just step down.

As the embattled Ukrainian President hides in the presidential administration in central Kiev, medical authorities report from 70 to 100 demonstrators have been killed and hundreds wounded. His minister of internal affairs has authorized police units to employ live ammunition. There are also fears that army units are moving on Kiev, the capital city.

These appear to be the desperate measures of a dying regime.

The turning point took place on Tuesday when Yanukovych ordered police units to storm the Maidan -- the area centered on Independence Square that has been occupied by the democratic opposition since late November.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, ,

As the Olympic flame burned above Sochi on Tuesday evening, a scene of mayhem and death exploded a few hundred miles away in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where blazes roared and violent clashes erupted along protesters' barricades.

At least 100 people were killed just on Thursday and hundreds more hospitalized in confrontations pitting government forces against demonstrators opposed to a regime that has strong support from President Vladimir Putin's Russia. It was the deadliest day in the three months since the showdown started.

Between the two spectacles, you can bet Putin's attention focused more sharply on the crisis in Ukraine, which is officially an independent country since 1991 but in reality remains a state over which Moscow exercises enormous influence, infuriating much of Ukraine's population.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

Una semana de manifestaciones en Venezuela. Tres personas asesinadas por arma de fuego, docenas de heridos, docenas más arrestadas y encarceladas. Bandas simpatizantes al régimen intimidan a estudiantes de universidades y escuelas secundarias que protestaban. La pregunta que todos se hacen es: ¿Está el Chavismo finalmente desmoronándose en Venezuela?

Hugo Chávez murió de cáncer hace casi un año, y la pregunta latente sobre Venezuela es cuánto tiempo puede su extraño régimen sobrevivir sin él.

Un país con una población más pequeña que la de Canadá tiene más asesinatos que los Estados Unidos. La inflación supera el 56%. Productos desde el papel higiénico hasta el vino sacramental han desaparecido de las tiendas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Sochi Olympics are ... fabulous

Europa, ,

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people around the world -- and many of their allies -- are protesting the Winter Olympics in Sochi because of Russia's anti-gay law, which basically criminalizes pro-gay speech or propaganda.

As a lesbian, and yes, one who has been known from time to time to propagandize (i.e., write and talk) about how gay people are equal in every sense imaginable to straight folks -- and should be treated as such -- I feel the Russian law is unthinkably inhumane and offensive. And as far as I'm concerned, it's a reason to boycott the Sochi games and ostracize Russia on the world stage in general.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia

Me inscribí como voluntaria para un viaje sin retorno a Marta. Sí, sin retorno.

Mars One, una organización holandesa sin ánimo de lucro, quiere crear el primer asentamiento humano en Marte en las próximas décadas. Yo soy una de las 1.058 personas elegidas de distintas partes del mundo en la segunda fase de selección. En las próximas rondas se reducirán hasta seleccionar a 24 candidatos que se entrenarán durante 10 años para la misión.

Es un proceso muy competitivo. En mi solicitud, destaqué mis fortalezas, como mi capacidad de adaptación, resistencia, curiosidad y dotes de liderazgo. Estoy lista para enfrentar los desafíos de ir al espacio y vivir en Marte.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalSalud Pública,

La Organización Mundial de la Salud hace sonar la alarma: el cáncer se convierte rápidamente en una pandemia global.

En su Reporte Mundial de Cáncer, la agencia de las Naciones Unidas señala que la enfermedad causa una de cada ocho muertes en el mundo. Se estima que 14 millones de personas fueron diagnosticadas con cáncer en 2012 y 22 millones lo serán en 2032.

Los cánceres más comúnmente diagnosticados en el mundo son los de pulmón, mama y colon.

Las causas más comunes de muertes por cáncer en el mundo son el cáncer de pulmón, hígado y estómago. En ciertas áreas de África y Asia, el cáncer cervical es la principal causa de muerte en las mujeres.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalIglesia Católica

Finally. Finally. Finally, a strong important voice in the world, the United Nations, speaks out on behalf of the rights of children and condemns the Vatican and the bishops for crimes of violence, rape and sexual abuse against children by transferring pedophile priests from parish to parish, withholding documents for prosecution and perpetuating an institutional culture of secrecy and shame.

What's truly shameful is that the Catholic Church was not itself that strong and important voice, protecting "the least of these." It's shameful that in spite of Pope Francis' refreshing compassion toward the poor and downtrodden, to date he has not addressed the issue fully.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaReflexionesSocial,

La gente llora la trágica muerte por sobredosis del actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, a quien encontraron el domingo solo en su departamento de Nueva York, con una jeringa en el brazo y unas bolsas de heroína vacías.

Cuando una celebridad querida como Hoffman muere a causa de una sobredosis, la noticia llega a la primera plana. Pero su pérdida nos recuerda que 105 personas mueren a diario en Estados Unidos de una sobredosis de heroína u opiáceos farmacéuticos. Con más de 30.000 muertes al año, las sobredosis accidentales han superado a los incidentes automovilísticos como la principal causa de muerte entre personas de 25 y 64 años.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalTerrorismo Internacional

When even al Qaeda publicly rejects you because you are too brutal, it's likely a reasonable indicator that you are.

A long simmering dispute between "al Qaeda Central," headed by Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the most brutal al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, generally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, surfaced publicly on Monday.

On jihadist websites, al Qaeda's central leadership posted a notice saying ISIS "is not a branch of the al Qaeda group."

It is the first time in its quarter century history that al Qaeda has officially rejected one of its affiliates.

Why did this happen? ISIS and another al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front have been fighting each other in Syria for several weeks now.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

As Russian President Vladimir Putin opens the Winter Olympics in Sochi on February 7, there will be relief hidden behind his characteristically guarded smile. For Putin, the past two years have witnessed a remarkable recovery.

Two years ago, Putin seemed to be on the ropes. Tens of thousands of Muscovites were flooding central squares to protest a parliamentary election they said had been tarnished by massive fraud. His approval ratings were in free fall, having dropped 15 points since December 2010, according to polls from Moscow's Levada Center.

Internationally, Putin was also on the defensive. He appeared to have isolated himself by backing the wrong horse in Syria's civil war.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

Remember Syria's chemical weapons? Yes, those, the ones the Syrian regime agreed to give up after President Obama threatened to bomb.

All of the "priority one" the most dangerous of those weapons, were supposed to be gone by December 31 last year. They're not. Almost all of them -- more than 95% -- are still in Syria despite a commitment by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to get rid of his deadly arsenal.

The deal to remove Syria's stock of WMD was the one tangible accomplishment of the Obama administration's approach to the Middle East's multiple crises. Now that deal looks to be failing, even as red flags also start flying along the path to a deal with Iran.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, ,

I can vividly recall watching my first Olympic Games. Lying on the floor of the Boise, Idaho, home I grew up in, I tuned in each evening to the 1992 Barcelona Games.

I remember the moment when the athletes entered the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies. As I saw Team USA walk in, everyone dressed in stunning outfits, proudly waving our flag, I felt a sense of national pride that I had never known before. I was 9 at the time and completely enchanted by the magic of the Olympic Games.

In a world full of politics and war, here was a moment where everyone could set aside their differences and instead battle on the playing field for the love of competition and national pride.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

Siria necesita muchas cosas en este momento. Una de ellas es George Clooney.

Permítanme explicarles. Como lo dejaron en claro las conversaciones en Ginebra II esta semana, no hay un final a la vista para la sangrienta guerra de tres años en Siria. Mientras tanto, mas de 100.000 personas han muerto, el país está destruido, y millones de sirios han huido de sus casas, la mitad de ellos, niños.

Se trata de la guerra decisiva y la crisis humanitaria de esta década, un hecho que fue puesto de manifiesto por la visita que hice a los refugiados sirios aquí esta semana.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

En unos cuantos terrible segundos, la estrella juvenil Justin Bieber hizo el trabajo de su abogado Roy Black mucho más difícil.

Bieber, quien fue arrestado en Miami Beach el jueves por manejar bajo la influencia del alcohol, resistirse a ser arrestado y manejar sin una licencia válida, decidió que sería una buena idea demostrar sus agallas con el Departamento de Policía de Miami Beach.

De acuerdo a Raymond Martínez, Jefe de la Policía de Miami Beach, durante su arresto Bieber "hizo algunas declaraciones de que había consumido algo de alcohol, y de que había fumado marihuana y consumido medicamentos de prescripción", antes de ponerse al volante de un Lamborghini amarillo.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesSocial

Cyndi Lauper had a hit in the 1980s called "Money Changes Everything." She has a point. It may or may not buy happiness, but money -- especially truckloads of it -- does change things, including endowing the holder of the checkbook with power.

Now, take a teenager and give him that power. What happens?

Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan and the other teen stars that have crashed to earth in a shower of tabloid sparks, may only be doing what a great many teenagers would be doing -- if they could.

There are teenagers like Justin Bieber on every block. But imagine the kid who cuts your lawn suddenly having a net worth of about $130 million.…  Seguir leyendo »