Action for AIDS: A Singaporean connection

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the activities I enjoyed the most when I lived in Singapore was volunteering for Action for AIDS, the main AIDS organization there. It’s the only organization in Singapore that provides anonymous HIV testing. I wrote articles for their magazine and was a counselor who did intake interviews, signing up people up for an AIDS test if they wanted one–or just answering their questions.

One World AIDS Day, I helped pass out candles to those who came to participate in a candlelight vigil. Back then, there were about 250 people who gathered near Orchard Road for a service that paid tribute to those Singaporeans who had died of AIDS. As a person not from there, I did not feel like an outsider at all. Actually, this was the one place I felt I was engaged in the fabric of Singaporean life. One of my fondest memories was sitting at KFC after a meeting talking with other volunteers while sharing french fries.

Like many large cities, it is easy to live in Singapore and skim across the daily occurances. It is possible to go for weeks without talking to one person outside the realm of the people you have to talk with. This is not a place where people chat it up with strangers while riding on a bus. Observing is more of the norm.

With Action AIDS I belonged. Perhaps, it was because this group of people were also on the outside because of their activities. The Singaporean government had just begun to acknowledge that AIDS had something to do with Singapore, as well as the rest of Asia. In Changi Airport, billboards went up beseaching businessmen to remember their families when they were away. I heard more than a couple stories of women who became infected by a wayward spouse.

So, here it is. Another World’s AIDS Day is almost here. Instead of a candlelight vigil, this year Action for AIDS is sponsoring an AIDS Walk and a Flirt Party on December 2. There are other events listed on the calendar.

I came across this blog by Peter, an American who was living in Singapore at the time of his post. The Singaporean response to AIDS is something he is interested in.

Antarctic tourism booms: environment to suffer?

by Catherine Bodry on

Lonely Planet has been publishing guides to Antarctica for a while now. It’s now a regular stop on the cruise ship circuit. And it’s a popular destination (at least among my peers in Alaska) for seasonal work. As the icy continent becomes more popular, it is also becoming more accessible, and vice versa.

But the AP reports that a spike in tourism hasn’t come with a corresponding peak in regulation. Thus, some worry that catastrophic accidents could result in environmental damage, and fears are especially high after a passenger ship sank near the coast of the South Shetland islands this week.

Antarctica’s biggest problem is that no one is in charge. Seven countries have made claims on the continent, but no one recognizes or enforces them. Therefore, tourism is largely self-regulated, and we all know what can happen when corporations are left unchecked. I envision raw sewage released (Princess Tours received a large fine and a slap on the wrist for dumping raw sewage into Alaska’s Inside Passage), garbage dumped, and, well, general disregard for anything but profits.

Maybe I’m just a naysayer. But I don’t seem to be alone. What do you think?

Tigers in Africa

by Jerry Guo on

A friend of mine, Li Quan, has been raising tigers in Africa. The first thing you should know is that tigers are not found in Africa. The second thing you should know is that she gave up a cushy career in the fashion industry to become a cat conservationist. Both points seem strange. But what’s most bizarre is that her tigers are Chinese. In fact, they’re one of the rarest animals in the world. There’s only 67 South China tigers remaining.

Well, make that 68. Over the weekend, one of her four adult tigers gave birth to a 1.2 kilogram fuzzy ball of a cub. This cub will be sent, along with any others that are born soon, to China, where they will be released into nature reserves. These reserves will be the first of their kind for tiger conservation – and a model of sustainable eco-tourism. You would be able to check out the tigers in their natural habitat.

Of course, you could do that even now. Her tigers are being raised in South Africa’s Free State. They spend their days roaming the safari (kind of, there’s a big fence around them). They hunt antelopes when they’re hungry. And entertain guests who come to check out what is sure the weirdest animal to be found in Africa: a Chinese tiger.

Congrats Li Quan.

Londoner fired for telling it like it is

by Jerry Guo on

There’s been a surprising amount of press over the news that woman who recorded the announcements you hear on the London Underground has been fired for posting spoof messages on her website. The voice-over artist, 36-year-old Emma Clarke, has all of a sudden gained worldwide notoriety, with her website brought down by the sheer amount of traffic from people wanting to download the hilarious spoofs.

You can still find some recordings here. Here are some excerpts:

  • “We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loudly.”
  • “Would the passenger in the red shirt pretending to read the paper but who is actually staring at that woman’s chest please stop. You are not fooling anyone, you filthy pervert.”
  • “Would passengers filling in answers on their Sudokus please accept that they are just crosswords for the unimaginative and are not in any way more impressive just because they contain numbers.

As if to reaffirm her funny take on London stereotypes, the transport administration was too staid to keep her on. Well, ok their statement was surprisingly amusing: “London Underground is sorry to have to announce that further contracts for Miss Clarke are experiencing severe delays,” a spokesman said.

Valley of the Geysers not entirely destroyed

by Neil Woodburn on

Last June we reported the sad news that a landslide wiped out one of Russia’s most outstanding natural attractions: the Valley of the Geysers.

Although hardly known outside of Russia, this amazing valley, located in the heart of Kamchatka, was home to more than 90 active geysers before a mile-wide mudslide buried it forever–or so the reports at the time led us to believe.

Visitors to the scene–accessible only by helicopter–are now reporting that parts of the valley and its heralded geysers have actually survived. Thanks to a very detailed report by Spanishflyer on LiveJournal.com, we can now see for ourselves what was destroyed and what was spared by Mother Nature’s wrath. A combination of satellite and aerial photos as well as digital imagery clearly shows the path of the mudslide, the geysers destroyed, and the flooding which occurred when the nearby river was dammed by the mud.

The result is a severely damaged Valley of the Geysers that looks like it is still an amazing place to visit–albeit extraordinarily expensive to do so.

If you have the time, be sure to check out the website for a depressing feel for how fickle and temporal our natural world can be.