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Works Of Hitler And Anne Frank Enter Public Domain

December 24, 2015 0 Art, Books & More

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World War II was one of the most destructive wars in human history. Today, not many people are alive from that era and it’s only from the monuments in the places most affected by the war, do we get a glimpse of those dark times.

Many, however, learn more about the war from the books written at that time. Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf (My Struggles) and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl can be considered as the two sides of the same coin. These two iconic books are instrumental in providing a rather grim view of those times. While one outlines the rather perverted anti-Semitic idealism that led to a state-sponsored genocide, the other, gives a personal account of a young life where hopes are replaced by fear.

These books are now back in the news for a different reason. Both have entered The Public Domain, i.e., they have now joined the ranks of creative works that are available to the public without being subject to copyright or other legal restrictions. Both The Bavarian State, that held the rights for Mein Kampf, and the organization called Anne Frank Fonds, that held the copyright of Anne Frank’s Diary, had to relinquish their rights when these books entered The Public Domain on 1st January 2016, as the original authors have been dead for more than 70 years.

World’s Billionaires Join Governments’ Pledge To Save Earth

November 27, 2015 0 World

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A startling and totally unexpected announcement right at the start of The COP21 World Climate Change Conference, the 12-day climate-change summit that was held in Le Bourget, Paris, has added a much needed financial boost to the environment-saving measures being adopted by many countries in the world today. The summit saw delegates from nearly 200 countries as well as many famous business-philanthropists.

Mission Innovation aims to generate a renewed and recharged interest in the efforts made by countries to develop and implement clean energy sources. The list of high-profile billionaire business moguls who attended the ‘Mission Innovation: Accelerating the Clean Energy Revolution’ meeting at the COP21 includes many eminent and charismatic personalities like:
Microsoft founder Bill Gates,
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg,
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos,
Virgin’s Richard Branson,
LinkedIn’s founder Reid Hoffman
Jack Ma of Alibaba, etc.

The summit also had the presence of powerful world leaders like Barack Obama.

Here, 28 of these billionaires went on to prove that it’s not just their pockets that are full, but so are their hearts. These industry innovators, some of whom have been pioneers in science, technology and business, have decided to give a part of their wealth back to the world. Together, and with the support of 20 countries, they have announced their full support for Mission Innovation. At the summit, Bill Gates led the announcement that they were joining hands to combat climate change by forming a new partnership called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

This consortium hopes to steer more private capital into clean energy research and deployment. By pledging a part of their wealth to this cause, they have paved the way for a boost in the annual spending on clean energy implementation efforts worldwide.

Hopefully, this partnership between the Government and Billionaires will lead to a better, cleaner and healthier Planet Earth.

China Bids Adieu To Its One-Child Policy

October 15, 2015 0 World

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For 35 years, China had been a staunch advocate and ruthless enforcer of one of the world’s most controversial family-planning policies of all time. The One-Child Policy was the crown jewel of China’s communist government. But now, the Chinese Government has decided to revise its policy. They have changed it to a Two-Child Policy, effective from 1st January 2016. This change in policy has left many hailing it as the “end of an era”.

A Bit Of History
China saw an enormous surge in population during the ‘70s. This massive increase had the potential to deplete the natural resources of China. Imagine a country, through which great rivers constantly flow, facing a severe water crisis in the future, caused not by drought, but by a flood of people! The Chinese Government sought to change this bleak future, and thus the Family Planning Policy was officially adopted in 1979. The plan restricted families from having more than one child. Provincial governments imposed fines for violations by collecting a penalty in the form of the “social child-raising fee” from both parents.

Why The Change?
Well, for starters, there’s the social impact. Parents traditionally preferred boys to girls, so the sex-ratio ended up getting skewed. As there was only one child, many Chinese families over-indulged and spoilt them. Also, the burden of looking after the elderly parents and even grandparents fell up the shoulders of these single children. Then, natural calamities, like the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and other disasters robbed many families living in those areas of their sole heirs.

The One-Child Policy has left a mark even in the Chinese economy. Today, China faces a shortage of a young workforce as well as young consumers. The older generation vastly outnumbers the younger one. This has brought about a drastic change in the economy resulting in the formulation of radical economic policies, such as this one.

Thought the two-child norm will not bring about immediate changes, it will definitely have a positive impact in the long-run.