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Mr. & Mrs. Jonas

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For those of you who don’t know Nick Jonas, who is a 26 year old American singer-songwriter and Priyanka Chopra, who is a 36 year old Indian actress, singer, film producer and philanthropist got married this past weekend.   If you have heard of the controversy to their relationship then you know the two have known each other for almost two years, first meeting at an Oscars after party in 2017. After a few months of dating the buzz of an engagement surfaced the internet when Nick Jonas was seen renting out a Tiffany store to pick out an engagement ring.   The couple blended their cultures and had a Christian ceremony on Saturday December 1 st   followed by a Hindu ceremony the following day in India. Priyanka told People magazine, “we took beautiful traditions that we both grew up with and personalized them in a way that made sense for us. It’s been incredible to find the commonalities between our beliefs and figuring out how to blend them in a respectful and meanin

Chinese Scientist Who Says he Edited Babies’ Genes Defends his Work

Excuse the late blog post from last week but here it is! He Jiankui, who has stated he created the world’s first genetically edited babies, he spoke at the Hong Kong conference on November 28 th . Even though he stated his actions are safe and ethical there are other scientists who are highly skeptical, including a conference organizer called his actions irresponsible.   Dr. He used the gene-editing technique Crispr to alter embryos and then implanted them in the womb of a woman who gave birth to twin girls this month. He made an announcement on Monday of his embryo eiditng which made great noise in the scientific community. At this conference there was critique from Dr. Collins who is the director of the National Institutes of Health, stated “it is profoundly unfortunate that the first apparent application of this powerful technique to the human germline has been carried out so irresponsibly.”   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/world/asia/gene-editing-b

K-Pop band BTS should apologize over Nazi-style hats

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For those who are unfamiliar with BTS they are a boy band who has been one of the biggest bands in South Korea and East Asia for years but their international   fame has skyrocketed this year.   Unfortunately, this article does not put them in a good light because a Jewish human rights group has criticized Korean boy band BTS for wearing headgear that had a Nazi-style symbol.   The Simon Wiesenthal Center posted a statement on its website stating the K-pop group posed in hats displaying the Death’s Head symbol of the SS- the organization that oversaw the Nazi concentration camps. Just last week, BTS were dropped from a planned Japanese TV appearance after a member from the group wore a t-shirt that appeared to celebrate the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. Rabbi Abraham Cooper who’s the center’s associate dean and director of global social action has said the group owed both the “people of Japan and the victims of the Nazism an apology.” On Wednesday, BTS’ management, Big Hit En

Monkey Beach!

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If you like monkeys then Monkey Beach in Phi Phi Island located in Thailand might just be the place for you to visit! Monkey Beach is located on the southwestern side of Tonsai Bay, it is a 150m-long strip of white sand fringed by water. The backside of the beach is a steep limestone cliff covered in vegetation that offers monkeys a comfortable habitat, which is how the beach got its name from.   Monkey Beach is not only known for its monkeys but also for being a great snorkeling spot, who would’ve thought.   If you ever get the chance to visit Monkey beach just make sure not to feed the monkeys or get too close because they are wild animals and it has been common for them to bite or scratch visitors in the past. http://www.phiphi.phuket.com/attractions/monkey-beach.htm