Thailand Elects First Female Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra

Thailand elected its first female prime minister today, Yingluck Shinawatra, as the ruling Pheu Thai Party claimed a historic victory. This is a significant moment in Thailand's history, to have a woman prime minister. It is a new chapter for Thailand.

Is Yingluck Shinawatra ready to be Thailand's first female prime minister? Unlike her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister in exile overseas, the 44-year-old former beauty queen and businesswoman has no political experience. Many Thai voters are very proud and are in love with Ms. Yingluck's charm and beauty. Meanwhile, others are questioning her ability to lead the country, especially considering the controversial legacy of her brother, Mr. Thaksin.

Mr. Thaksin is in exile overseas due to allegations of corruption. Some media reports also allege that innocent people were killed under his rule. While he was in office, there were allegations that his government committed human rights violations against its own people. Despite these allegations, Mr. Thaksin still runs a multimillion dollar phone company in Thailand. His youngest sister, Ms. Yingluck, was a businesswoman in his telecommunications empire. There is also a belief by some that Ms. Yingluck is as a puppet taking orders from her brother and allowing him to call the shots from overseas.

Despite her brother's history, she is her own woman. Thai residents are making history in their country and the rest of the world. This election creates hope for positive change and women's rights. This is a huge step for Thailand and all Southeast Asian countries. This history marks a new beginning for women and girl empowerment in Thailand. It is interesting that more and more developing countries, such as Costa Rica, have female presidents (Laura Chinchilla), yet the U.S. has never elected a women for president. Should the U.S. elect a woman president for the 2012 election?

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Cervical Cancer Is the 2nd Leading Cause of Death Among Women

Imagine your daughter, sister, or close friend has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 19. She just graduated from high school with so much hope and so many dreams to accomplish. However, now that she discovered the heartbreaking news that she is dying from cancer, those dreams become dim and fade away, as she now has to contemplate how many more years she will live. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death among women globally.

According to Medicine.Net, cervical cancer is a result of "human papillomavirus (HPV) infections (due to) having many sexual partners, smoking, taking birth control pills and engaging in early sexual contact." In other words, habits that many women believe are good life choices, such as taking birth control pills to prevent pregnancy, may be a problem for them. This type of cancer is usually common among women between the ages of 35 to 55 years old. However, most recently, it has been more frequently diagnosed in women under the age of 20. It has even been detected in girls, as young as 11 years old.

Many women cannot feel the symptoms during the early stages of the cancer. In the article, "Top 10 Facts about Cervical Cancer," the author pointed out that women should be on the lookout for bleeding between regular menstrual periods or after sexual intercourse. For many women, once they discover they have cervical cancer, it is too late.

This is an urgent matter for women in regards to health internationally. Doctors are recommending women make appointments for regular pap tests and take two vaccine shots to prevent cervical cancer. However, the shot works best if taken before women become sexually active. The shot is not 100 percent guaranteed to prevent cervical cancer, but it is a strong deterrent.

At the moment, there are only three treatments for women who are already diagnosed. They have the option to have surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Meanwhile, girls and women from all ages are highly recommended to carefully watch their daily habits and take good care of their health. Women need to start caring for their body, mind, and health.

Jon Stewart Plays Soccer with the U.S Women's Team on ‘The Daily Show’

Recently, the Emmy Award winner based in New York City, Jon Stewart, played soccer with the U.S. Women's National Team. Stewart was obsessed with the magical goal that the U.S scored against Brazil; he recreated the biggest play for the U.S. at the 2011 Women's World Cup. Word on the street was that the comedian himself was once a star soccer player in college, until his injuries. It is no wonder; Stewart was so passionate about the game, especially the "injury goal" against Brazil.


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NBC's 'Today Show': Women’s Soccer Team, The New Heroes and Trendsetter

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team may have lost in Germany against Japan for the 2011 Women World Cup in a shoot out. However, upon returning home, they received love and support from Americans. An interview with NBC's Today Show describes their true American spirits. These women are truly the new trendsetter, heroes, and winners in the eyes of Americans, no matter where they are from, their ages, or backgrounds.

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405 Freeway: 'Carmageddon' Changed LA’s Lifestyle...

When it comes to personal lifestyle, everyone has his or her own preference. In some parts of the world, biking miles to get to work or walking a few blocks to get food is considered normal. Meanwhile, in the fast-paced city lifestyle, as can be seen in Los Angeles, residents would rather sit in their cars, get stuck in the congested traffic for hours, and sing to their favorite song on the radio, while not moving an inch on the 405 freeway, than ride their bikes. Society is socially constructed to behave a certain way depending on the surroundings and environment. As far as the 405 freeway Carmageddon experience for LA residents, it changed their lifestyle, well at least for a weekend!


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Green Card Lottery; United States Almost Accidentally Lets in 22,000 Undocumented Immigrants…

To most Americans, winning millions of dollars in the lottery is a dream come true. However, immigrants have a similar dream, but instead of money they want a US Green Card. Millions of international people across the globe each year since 1990 enter to win a green card lottery. The US State Department (DOS) offers an opportunity for potential immigrants to obtain a Green Card, which grants permanent legal residence in the USA. This could be positive or negative depending on which side of the current immigration debate you are on.

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A Romantic Ocean Beach Anniversary; Grunion Style

It was midnight; we were driving from the Temecula area, on our way home to Ocean Beach, from visiting family. I was half asleep with lazy eyes, barley open. I was a little confused, waking up from a nap. I looked over to the driver side; there he was with baby blue eyes, dirty blonde hair and surfer body build, smiling kindly towards me. He said with excitement, "I have a surprise for you sleepy head!" My heart started to race with anticipation. "It is going to change your world," he continued. Just like that I was fully awake and curious of what the surprise might be!

It was 1:00am on a Sunday morning. This particular Sunday is not like any other Sunday; this day marked our one-year anniversary being married. Those baby blue eyes I woke up to are my husbands. We met in Costa Rica six years ago as Peace Corps Volunteers. On this special Sunday, he wanted to surprise me as a way to start out our second year of marriage together. I was excited and determined to find out the surprise, I do not want to miss anything that he had planned.

As our drive ended onto Sunset Cliff Blvd from the 8 west freeway, I thought we were going to head straight to our cottage studio; instead he took a detour towards Dog Beach. I continued to be curious and wonder what could this surprise be since it was passed midnight on a Sunday morning! He pulled up the car and parked. He smiled and repeated, "This is going to change your world." I began to ponder, "How is dog beach going to change my world? What a strange way to start my one-year anniversary celebration!" We got out of the car. I checked out the surroundings. It was full moon with a little light shining on us through the overcase sky. The sound of the waves crushing to the sand was calm, yet powerful, and overshadowed all of the other sounds that were trying to compete against it. I looked around, listened to the nature communicating and thought to myself, "I think I am falling in love with this romantic setting." A moment later, of course, as we were walking towards dog beach, I was a little skeptical. How romantic is dog beach? I continued to wonder, "What is it that my handsome husband has in mind for our one year-anniversary celebration at dog beach?"

As we were walking across the dry sand to the ocean, I noticed people with their flashlights and buckets, screaming and laughing their hearts out. There were between 5 to 10 people that we encountered. My husband stopped and turned over to me and asked with excitement, "Love, do you remember when I told you that there are fishes, the Grunion, that only appear on the beach between March and August during a full moon or a new moon? Well tonight it is your chance to witness the Grunion for the very first time!" I became sad, "Ok, my skeptical side was right! What is it about these fish that makes my husband so happy and excited that he wanted to mark the beginning of our second year of marriage with them?" Since we were already walking to the shore, I'll try to make the best out of the surprise.

We took out our cell phones since we didn't have a flashlight with us. As we approached the water, I noticed little silver fishes flopping their bodies around. It was like they were dancing the fish dance. I walked even closer to the wet sand. The wave crushed into the sand and when it pulled away from the sand, it left thousands of Grunions jumping and flopping around, on and in the sand! My heart beat fast with excitement and my mouth filled with smiles and then I began to laugh with joy. As I turned to my husband, he said, "See, I knew you would like this celebration. This is the beginning of our new year together. Happy anniversary love."

As we ran across the beach to the river mouth of the dog beach, I witnessed thousands of female Grunions digging by flopping their body through the sand making little holes. I asked my husband, "What are they doing?" He smiled and said, "They are mating! The female Grunion buries eggs under the sand more than 3 inches or so while many male Grunion flopped around touching her body of the female Grunion! This is how they make baby Grunion!" I was amazed how these interesting fish mate! There were more than four males Grunion to each female, now that is different!

That night, my husband was right, witnessing Grunion truly changed my world. This was the best one-year anniversary celebration ever! I was fortunate and glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of the development of Grunion along the Ocean Beach river mouth, on a calm summer morning, with my handsome husband, celebrating our one-year anniversary. We were a part of a history; we witnessed a new beginning as thousands of baby Grunions will be coming into this world. It doesn't take much to please me, especially if it is free and it is in our neighborhood.

Watching grunions lay their eggs in the sand is priceless.

Celebrating my one-year anniversary with my beloved, handsome, romantic husband and the grunion is priceless.

Walking on the beach under the moonlight is priceless.

Watching the Grunion was a symbol of the beginning of our second year of marriage as thousands of grunion buried their eggs under the sand so there could be future grunion. Hopefully our second year of married life will be filled with excitement, discovery, hope, surprises and many more experiences and memories to cherish together!

For our one-year get away, we did not need to go far. It was right under our nose the entire time here in our Ocean Beach neighborhood!