|
 What's Wrong With What I Want?
Hey! This week's session will be dedicated to specific questions starting with “Did you know…”
- …that the well known sweetener, Aspartame, can be considered a form of poison that may lead to methanol toxicity? It is often used in the diet industry with the claim that it can help people lose weight. It is cheap to flavor food with Aspartame because it is 200 times sweeter than regular tea sugar. However, in a recent study, it has been shown that it can lead to cancer in mice. For more studies, see http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html. Diet cola addicts, some gum-chewers and cereal-lovers may wish to do a little research on their ready-made foods that contains Aspartame.
- …that there is a phobia called hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia? It describes those who can handle short words fine, but fear long ones. It must be awful for someone to not be able to tell others what is wrong with them.
- …that after evaluating crime rates, police protection, civil unrest, terrorism risk, kidnapping threats and the geopolitical stability of the world's countries, Forbes magazine ranked the most dangerous countries and warned people to avoid going to these places? The winner is Somalia. The first runner up is Afghanistan and the second is Iraq. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, Zimbabwe and Gaza are all in the top ten! Can you find any reason for the media to create hysteria among Americans and cut the potential tourism revenues for these countries that are especially in need of money? It is hard to find an answer, isn't it?
- …that from 2003 to 2008, the Turkish Treasury has given financial assistance to political parties that amounts to 758 million, 140 thousand and 71 TL? Most of this money was spent during the national elections, where parties were given two times more money for their propaganda. When this huge amount of money is considered, the winners in the elections should be the parties with the most flags and announcements in the streets!
- …that while we were celebrating International Women's Day with flowers, globally, even more 15 to 45 year-old women were dying or become incapacitated, not from cancer, malaria, accidents or war, but due to violence by men? This is one of the most common crimes, yet one that often leads to the lightest punishments. For more information, check out these websites: http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2006/07/wheres_the_real_war_on_terror or www.humanrights.coe.int/equality/Eng/WordDocs/egsvl(98)1%20summary %20plan%20violence.doc
- ...that this is the last bullet for this week? Take care!
Özlem Erdem (IE/IV)
oerdem@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
|
