Saudi sex braggart gets 5 years in jail, 1,000 lashes
Herald News Services
October 8, 2009
A Saudi man whose televised boasts about his sex life outraged the country's conservatives was sentenced to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes on Wednesday, his lawyer said.
Mazen Abdul Jawad, a 32-year-old airline sales clerk, was convicted by a Jeddah court on Sharia law-based charges relating to immoral behaviour, Sulaiman al-Jimaie told AFP.
Three friends who appeared on the show with him were given two-year terms and 300 lashes each, while a cameraman who helped film the episode was sentenced to two months in jail.
Jimaie said they would appeal, insisting that his client was a victim of the Beirut-based LBC satellite TV network, which broadcast the show in which he appeared.
"My client has been presented to the people as a scapegoat to cover up the real culprit, LBC," Jimaie said in a statement after the verdict was announced.
He also said his client's case had been hurt by heavy media coverage that sparked public anger over Abdul Jawad's behaviour.
Abdual Jawad was disappointed by the verdict, Jimaie told AFP, "but he is mostly worried about his mother, who is in her 70s and has heart problems."
He said they are suing LBC and that the case will open next month.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/today ... story.html
*****
Saudi female journalist to be flogged over TV show
Canwest News Service
October 25, 2009 8:04 AMBe the first to post a comment
A Saudi female journalist said a court has ordered her to receive 60 lashes for working at a television network that aired the sexual confessions of a man.
Rozana al-Yami said a judge in the Red Sea coastal town of Jeddah dropped all charges that she had been directly involved with the episode of a program on LBC, a Saudi-owned Lebanese network, in July.
However, Yami said the judge sentenced her to 60 lashes for having been a part-time employee for LBC's Saudi operations. The judge mentioned LBC had lacked the appropriate operating licence.
"It's a punishment for all journalists through me," said Yami.
"They just said the channel was illegal. But the Saudi minister of information himself appeared on LBC a couple of weeks ago."
Saudi judges base their rulings on strict Islamic sharia law, but it was not immediately clear how the judge in this case reached the verdict.
Yami, 22, said she did not know when her sentence would be carried out. She does not plan an appeal, saying she fears she could end up with a harsher sentence.
Her sentencing comes after Saudi airline sales clerk Mazen Abdul Jawad was sentenced to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes for his appearance on the LBC show Bold Red Line, in which he talked about picking up girls and having sex with them.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Saudi+fema ... ostComment
*****
Saudi king pardons female journalist facing 60 lashes
Herald News ServicesOctober 27, 2009
Saudi Arabia's king has pardoned a woman journalist sentenced to 60 lashes for her role in a television program in which a Saudi man spoke about his sexual exploits, a government official said on Monday.
Like many Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia prohibits sexual content on television, newspapers, magazines and books.
A court sentenced Rosana Alyami, 22, on Saturday for helping produce a Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. show in which Mazen Abdul-Jawad spoke about his sexual adventures in the conservative kingdom.
"The king has vindicated me. I am satisfied with the king's order and I accept the decisions of the sovereign," Alyami told Reuters after being informed of the pardon.
Information Ministry spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Hazzaa said the pardon meant the issue would be in the hands of the ministry for possible disciplinary action.
"They will transfer the case to the ministry of information. . . . In this case, the flogging has been dropped."
Earlier this month, Abdul-Jawad was sentenced to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes. Abdul-Jawad spoke openly of his sexual experiences on the talk show, In Bold Red, in July.
Saudi Arabia courts, which implement a strict version of Islamic law, are controlled by clerics who have wide discretion in sentencing.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
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AMAZING STORIES
Piano stairs - Rolighetsteorin.se - The fun theory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&feature=fvw
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From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Kid dies on TV program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuOXaav7qZU&NR=1
Also
check this Hilarious Martial Arts 'Accident'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrpawY6Pk7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuOXaav7qZU&NR=1
Also
check this Hilarious Martial Arts 'Accident'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrpawY6Pk7M
Pilgrims see Qur'an verses on skin of 'miracle' baby
By Amie Ferris-Rotman, ReutersOctober 22, 2009
A pilgrim shows off the leg of Russian "miracle" baby Ali Yakubov.
Photograph by: Amir Amirov, Reuters, Reuters
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 7&sponsor=
A "miracle" baby has brought a kind of mystical hope to people in Russia's mostly Muslim southern fringe who are increasingly desperate in the face of Islamist violence.
Hundreds of pilgrims lined up this week in blazing sunshine to get a glimpse of nine-month-old baby Ali Yakubov, on whose body they say verses from the Qur'an appear and fade every few days.
Pinkish in colour and several centimetres high, the Koranic verse "Be thankful or grateful to Allah" was printed on the infant's right leg in clearly legible Arabic script this week, religious leaders said. Visiting foreign journalists later saw a single letter after the rest had vanished.
"The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace," said Sagid Murtazaliyev, head of the Kizlyar region north of Makhachkala, the Dagestani capital on the Caspian Sea.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
By Amie Ferris-Rotman, ReutersOctober 22, 2009
A pilgrim shows off the leg of Russian "miracle" baby Ali Yakubov.
Photograph by: Amir Amirov, Reuters, Reuters
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 7&sponsor=
A "miracle" baby has brought a kind of mystical hope to people in Russia's mostly Muslim southern fringe who are increasingly desperate in the face of Islamist violence.
Hundreds of pilgrims lined up this week in blazing sunshine to get a glimpse of nine-month-old baby Ali Yakubov, on whose body they say verses from the Qur'an appear and fade every few days.
Pinkish in colour and several centimetres high, the Koranic verse "Be thankful or grateful to Allah" was printed on the infant's right leg in clearly legible Arabic script this week, religious leaders said. Visiting foreign journalists later saw a single letter after the rest had vanished.
"The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace," said Sagid Murtazaliyev, head of the Kizlyar region north of Makhachkala, the Dagestani capital on the Caspian Sea.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion.
Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.
"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.
Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.
"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "
Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.
He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.
"When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath.
"I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'"
When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation.
Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk.
He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges.
"The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.
Reference : http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/new ... ber.mercy/
Watch its video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBk8Yj3xBiI&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmoCjjSNAus&NR=1
Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.
"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.
Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.
"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "
Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.
He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.
"When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath.
"I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'"
When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation.
Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk.
He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges.
"The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.
Reference : http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/new ... ber.mercy/
Watch its video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBk8Yj3xBiI&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmoCjjSNAus&NR=1
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Russians flock to see 'miracle' babykmaherali wrote:Pilgrims see Qur'an verses on skin of 'miracle' baby
By Amie Ferris-Rotman, ReutersOctober 22, 2009
A pilgrim shows off the leg of Russian "miracle" baby Ali Yakubov.
Photograph by: Amir Amirov, Reuters, Reuters
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 7&sponsor=
A "miracle" baby has brought a kind of mystical hope to people in Russia's mostly Muslim southern fringe who are increasingly desperate in the face of Islamist violence.
Hundreds of pilgrims lined up this week in blazing sunshine to get a glimpse of nine-month-old baby Ali Yakubov, on whose body they say verses from the Qur'an appear and fade every few days.
Pinkish in colour and several centimetres high, the Koranic verse "Be thankful or grateful to Allah" was printed on the infant's right leg in clearly legible Arabic script this week, religious leaders said. Visiting foreign journalists later saw a single letter after the rest had vanished.
"The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace," said Sagid Murtazaliyev, head of the Kizlyar region north of Makhachkala, the Dagestani capital on the Caspian Sea.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE7t6wnfx0E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVx2uqtCiG0&NR=1
Malaysia seizes 15,000 Bibles over use of word Allah
Agence France-Presse
October 30, 2009
Malaysian authorities have seized some 15,000 Bibles imported from Indonesia because they use the word "Allah" as a translation for God, which is banned here, a church leader said Thursday.
"The church uses the Bible and it is part of the worshipper's life. There is no reason why it should be confiscated," said Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
"The Bibles are used in the church," he said, dismissing suggestions by Islamic officials that they could be used to help convert Muslims who make up some 60 per cent of the 27 million population.
Shastri said the latest confiscation happened in September, when airport authorities in Sarawak state on Borneo island seized 10,000 copies of the Indonesianlanguage Bibles which feature the disputed word "Allah."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 1&sponsor=
Agence France-Presse
October 30, 2009
Malaysian authorities have seized some 15,000 Bibles imported from Indonesia because they use the word "Allah" as a translation for God, which is banned here, a church leader said Thursday.
"The church uses the Bible and it is part of the worshipper's life. There is no reason why it should be confiscated," said Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
"The Bibles are used in the church," he said, dismissing suggestions by Islamic officials that they could be used to help convert Muslims who make up some 60 per cent of the 27 million population.
Shastri said the latest confiscation happened in September, when airport authorities in Sarawak state on Borneo island seized 10,000 copies of the Indonesianlanguage Bibles which feature the disputed word "Allah."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 1&sponsor=
Senior passes driving test on 950th try
Herald News Services
November 9, 2009
Talk about persistence.
A 68-year-old woman in South Korea has passed the written test for her driving licence after an amazing 950 attempts.
Cha Sa-Soon finally scored the 60 per cent required after sitting the exam nearly every day since April 2005, said officials at the drivers' licensing agency in Jeonju, about 200 kilometres south of Seoul.
Yonhap news agency said Cha had spent more than $4,500 in the process.
But it's not over yet for Cha, who now has to take the road driving part of the test before she can be given a licence.
"I felt so ashamed of myself for failing so many times, but I simply could not give it up," Cha told Yonhap.
"My four children were overjoyed at the news that I finally passed it," she said with pride--and some relief.
"I still have to pass the real driving test, but I think it will be easier for me to pass than the paper test," she said, adding she needed a driver's licence for her vegetable-selling business.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 1&sponsor=
Herald News Services
November 9, 2009
Talk about persistence.
A 68-year-old woman in South Korea has passed the written test for her driving licence after an amazing 950 attempts.
Cha Sa-Soon finally scored the 60 per cent required after sitting the exam nearly every day since April 2005, said officials at the drivers' licensing agency in Jeonju, about 200 kilometres south of Seoul.
Yonhap news agency said Cha had spent more than $4,500 in the process.
But it's not over yet for Cha, who now has to take the road driving part of the test before she can be given a licence.
"I felt so ashamed of myself for failing so many times, but I simply could not give it up," Cha told Yonhap.
"My four children were overjoyed at the news that I finally passed it," she said with pride--and some relief.
"I still have to pass the real driving test, but I think it will be easier for me to pass than the paper test," she said, adding she needed a driver's licence for her vegetable-selling business.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 1&sponsor=
Meet the 10-yr-old who is CEO of two companies and a lecturer!
► Retweet
by ANI on November 11, 2009
in World
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 11 (ANI): A Malay boy, who is only 10 years old, has become the CEO of two companies and a lecturer who charges RM 6,000 per hour.
According to Sin Chew Daily and Nanyang Siang Pau, 10-year-old Adi Putra Abdul Ghani’s mother Serihana Alias operates the two companies, which sell vitamins under the brand Adi.
Adi Putra, who is supposed to be attending Year Four classes at his age, has stopped schooling, and he has now instead been invited to certain local universities to give lectures.
The Perak-born child genius, who moved to Selangor with his family a few years ago, was quoted as saying that he wanted to be a lecturer in Islamic studies.
Serihana said he keeps track of foreign stock markets via the Internet and studies at home.
“He’s interested in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and biology, but not so much in history and politics. He dislikes reading books but loves spending his time browsing the Net for study materials,” the Star Online quoted Serihana as saying.
► Retweet
by ANI on November 11, 2009
in World
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 11 (ANI): A Malay boy, who is only 10 years old, has become the CEO of two companies and a lecturer who charges RM 6,000 per hour.
According to Sin Chew Daily and Nanyang Siang Pau, 10-year-old Adi Putra Abdul Ghani’s mother Serihana Alias operates the two companies, which sell vitamins under the brand Adi.
Adi Putra, who is supposed to be attending Year Four classes at his age, has stopped schooling, and he has now instead been invited to certain local universities to give lectures.
The Perak-born child genius, who moved to Selangor with his family a few years ago, was quoted as saying that he wanted to be a lecturer in Islamic studies.
Serihana said he keeps track of foreign stock markets via the Internet and studies at home.
“He’s interested in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and biology, but not so much in history and politics. He dislikes reading books but loves spending his time browsing the Net for study materials,” the Star Online quoted Serihana as saying.
November 15, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
Triumph of a Dreamer
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Any time anyone tells you that a dream is impossible, any time you’re discouraged by impossible challenges, just mutter this mantra: Tererai Trent.
Of all the people earning university degrees this year, perhaps the most remarkable story belongs to Tererai (pronounced TEH-reh-rye), a middle-aged woman who is one of my heroes. She is celebrating a personal triumph, but she’s also a monument to the aid organizations and individuals who helped her. When you hear that foreign-aid groups just squander money or build dependency, remember that by all odds Tererai should be an illiterate, battered cattle-herd in Zimbabwe and instead — ah, but I’m getting ahead of my story.
Tererai was born in a village in rural Zimbabwe, probably sometime in 1965, and attended elementary school for less than one year. Her father married her off when she was about 11 to a man who beat her regularly. She seemed destined to be one more squandered African asset.
A dozen years passed. Jo Luck, the head of an aid group called Heifer International, passed through the village and told the women there that they should stand up, nurture dreams, change their lives.
Inspired, Tererai scribbled down four absurd goals based on accomplishments she had vaguely heard of among famous Africans. She wrote that she wanted to study abroad, and to earn a B.A., a master’s and a doctorate.
Tererai began to work for Heifer and several Christian organizations as a community organizer. She used the income to take correspondence courses, while saving every penny she could.
In 1998 she was accepted to Oklahoma State University, but she insisted on taking all five of her children with her rather than leave them with her husband. “I couldn’t abandon my kids,” she recalled. “I knew that they might end up getting married off.”
Tererai’s husband eventually agreed that she could take the children to America — as long as he went too. Heifer helped with the plane tickets, Tererai’s mother sold a cow, and neighbors sold goats to help raise money. With $4,000 in cash wrapped in a stocking and tied around her waist, Tererai set off for Oklahoma.
An impossible dream had come true, but it soon looked like a nightmare. Tererai and her family had little money and lived in a ramshackle trailer, shivering and hungry. Her husband refused to do any housework — he was a man! — and coped by beating her.
“There was very little food,” she said. “The kids would come home from school, and they would be hungry.” Tererai found herself eating from trash cans, and she thought about quitting — but felt that doing so would let down other African women.
“I knew that I was getting an opportunity that other women were dying to get,” she recalled. So she struggled on, holding several jobs, taking every class she could, washing and scrubbing, enduring beatings, barely sleeping.
At one point the university tried to expel Tererai for falling behind on tuition payments. A university official, Ron Beer, intervened on her behalf and rallied the faculty and community behind her with donations and support.
“I saw that she had enormous talent,” Dr. Beer said. His church helped with food, Habitat for Humanity provided housing, and a friend at Wal-Mart carefully put expired fruits and vegetables in boxes beside the Dumpster and tipped her off.
Soon afterward, Tererai had her husband deported back to Zimbabwe for beating her, and she earned her B.A. — and started on her M.A. Then her husband returned, now frail and sick with a disease that turned out to be AIDS. Tererai tested negative for H.I.V., and then — feeling sorry for her husband — she took in her former tormentor and nursed him as he grew sicker and eventually died.
Through all this blur of pressures, Tererai excelled at school, pursuing a Ph.D at Western Michigan University and writing a dissertation on AIDS prevention in Africa even as she began working for Heifer as a program evaluator. On top of all that, she was remarried, to Mark Trent, a plant pathologist she had met at Oklahoma State.
Tererai is a reminder of the adage that talent is universal, while opportunity is not. There are still 75 million children who are not attending primary school around the world. We could educate them all for far less than the cost of the proposed military “surge” in Afghanistan.
Each time Tererai accomplished one of those goals that she had written long ago, she checked it off on that old, worn paper. Last month, she ticked off the very last goal, after successfully defending her dissertation. She’ll receive her Ph.D next month, and so a one-time impoverished cattle-herd from Zimbabwe with less than a year of elementary school education will don academic robes and become Dr. Tererai Trent.
I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opini ... nted=print
Op-Ed Columnist
Triumph of a Dreamer
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Any time anyone tells you that a dream is impossible, any time you’re discouraged by impossible challenges, just mutter this mantra: Tererai Trent.
Of all the people earning university degrees this year, perhaps the most remarkable story belongs to Tererai (pronounced TEH-reh-rye), a middle-aged woman who is one of my heroes. She is celebrating a personal triumph, but she’s also a monument to the aid organizations and individuals who helped her. When you hear that foreign-aid groups just squander money or build dependency, remember that by all odds Tererai should be an illiterate, battered cattle-herd in Zimbabwe and instead — ah, but I’m getting ahead of my story.
Tererai was born in a village in rural Zimbabwe, probably sometime in 1965, and attended elementary school for less than one year. Her father married her off when she was about 11 to a man who beat her regularly. She seemed destined to be one more squandered African asset.
A dozen years passed. Jo Luck, the head of an aid group called Heifer International, passed through the village and told the women there that they should stand up, nurture dreams, change their lives.
Inspired, Tererai scribbled down four absurd goals based on accomplishments she had vaguely heard of among famous Africans. She wrote that she wanted to study abroad, and to earn a B.A., a master’s and a doctorate.
Tererai began to work for Heifer and several Christian organizations as a community organizer. She used the income to take correspondence courses, while saving every penny she could.
In 1998 she was accepted to Oklahoma State University, but she insisted on taking all five of her children with her rather than leave them with her husband. “I couldn’t abandon my kids,” she recalled. “I knew that they might end up getting married off.”
Tererai’s husband eventually agreed that she could take the children to America — as long as he went too. Heifer helped with the plane tickets, Tererai’s mother sold a cow, and neighbors sold goats to help raise money. With $4,000 in cash wrapped in a stocking and tied around her waist, Tererai set off for Oklahoma.
An impossible dream had come true, but it soon looked like a nightmare. Tererai and her family had little money and lived in a ramshackle trailer, shivering and hungry. Her husband refused to do any housework — he was a man! — and coped by beating her.
“There was very little food,” she said. “The kids would come home from school, and they would be hungry.” Tererai found herself eating from trash cans, and she thought about quitting — but felt that doing so would let down other African women.
“I knew that I was getting an opportunity that other women were dying to get,” she recalled. So she struggled on, holding several jobs, taking every class she could, washing and scrubbing, enduring beatings, barely sleeping.
At one point the university tried to expel Tererai for falling behind on tuition payments. A university official, Ron Beer, intervened on her behalf and rallied the faculty and community behind her with donations and support.
“I saw that she had enormous talent,” Dr. Beer said. His church helped with food, Habitat for Humanity provided housing, and a friend at Wal-Mart carefully put expired fruits and vegetables in boxes beside the Dumpster and tipped her off.
Soon afterward, Tererai had her husband deported back to Zimbabwe for beating her, and she earned her B.A. — and started on her M.A. Then her husband returned, now frail and sick with a disease that turned out to be AIDS. Tererai tested negative for H.I.V., and then — feeling sorry for her husband — she took in her former tormentor and nursed him as he grew sicker and eventually died.
Through all this blur of pressures, Tererai excelled at school, pursuing a Ph.D at Western Michigan University and writing a dissertation on AIDS prevention in Africa even as she began working for Heifer as a program evaluator. On top of all that, she was remarried, to Mark Trent, a plant pathologist she had met at Oklahoma State.
Tererai is a reminder of the adage that talent is universal, while opportunity is not. There are still 75 million children who are not attending primary school around the world. We could educate them all for far less than the cost of the proposed military “surge” in Afghanistan.
Each time Tererai accomplished one of those goals that she had written long ago, she checked it off on that old, worn paper. Last month, she ticked off the very last goal, after successfully defending her dissertation. She’ll receive her Ph.D next month, and so a one-time impoverished cattle-herd from Zimbabwe with less than a year of elementary school education will don academic robes and become Dr. Tererai Trent.
I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opini ... nted=print
Conscious man mistakenly believed in coma 23years
Canwest News Service
November 24, 2009
A man who literally spent half his life in a coma after a car accident-- but was actually conscious -- has spoken out about the 23 years he was "screaming" to doctors and those around him.
Rom Houben, 46, was left paralyzed after a 1983 accident, but told the U.K.'s Daily Mail that he "dreamed himself away."
Houben, with the aid of a computer he can communicate through, told the newspaper that he screamed, "but there was nothing to hear."
Doctors had said he was in a vegetative state based on testing through the Glasgow Coma Scale, the paper reported, but he repeatedly received incorrect grading through that system. New tests from the University of Liege in Belgium, which has a dedicated team of coma experts, determined he was fully paralyzed, but completely aware of his surroundings.
His story became public after a study was published by the University of Liege outlining his ordeal.
The Daily Mail reported that Houben is likely to spend the rest of his life in hospital, but can freely communicate with friends and family and read books.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 6&sponsor=
Canwest News Service
November 24, 2009
A man who literally spent half his life in a coma after a car accident-- but was actually conscious -- has spoken out about the 23 years he was "screaming" to doctors and those around him.
Rom Houben, 46, was left paralyzed after a 1983 accident, but told the U.K.'s Daily Mail that he "dreamed himself away."
Houben, with the aid of a computer he can communicate through, told the newspaper that he screamed, "but there was nothing to hear."
Doctors had said he was in a vegetative state based on testing through the Glasgow Coma Scale, the paper reported, but he repeatedly received incorrect grading through that system. New tests from the University of Liege in Belgium, which has a dedicated team of coma experts, determined he was fully paralyzed, but completely aware of his surroundings.
His story became public after a study was published by the University of Liege outlining his ordeal.
The Daily Mail reported that Houben is likely to spend the rest of his life in hospital, but can freely communicate with friends and family and read books.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 6&sponsor=
Ritual slaughter for 20,000 buffalo
Agence France-Presse
November 25, 2009
Up to a million Hindu devotees gathered tuesday in a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.
Worshippers came from as far from neighbouring India to attend the two-day Gadhimai festival, which honours the Hindu goddess of power and happens once every five years in southern Nepal.
The crowd rushed to a nearby field where 250 sword-wielding butchers began the mass slaughter of around 20,000 buffalo, brought by devotees.
Animal rights activists have waged a vocal campaign to stop the festival, saying it is cruel.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
Agence France-Presse
November 25, 2009
Up to a million Hindu devotees gathered tuesday in a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.
Worshippers came from as far from neighbouring India to attend the two-day Gadhimai festival, which honours the Hindu goddess of power and happens once every five years in southern Nepal.
The crowd rushed to a nearby field where 250 sword-wielding butchers began the mass slaughter of around 20,000 buffalo, brought by devotees.
Animal rights activists have waged a vocal campaign to stop the festival, saying it is cruel.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Deer dashing through downtown Toronto Tasered
Much of downtown Toronto came to a standstill for hours this morning as Toronto Police, animal services and an emergency task force surrounded and Tasered a wayward deer that ran through the financial district.
After running past office towers and Union Station, the deer eventually took refuge on a grassy patch on the east side of a medical office building at the corner of Chestnut and Edward streets.Around 11 a.m., ETF officers moved their trucks closer to the animal, in an apparent attempt to create a barrier in which to contain it.
They shot the deer with a tranquilizer dart, prompting it to run north, where police were holding a large net. The deer then veered and launched majestically over a strip of yellow police tape.
An officer then jolted the deer with a Taser; it immediately crumpled on the sidewalk.
Photo gallery.
Supt. Hugh Ferguson, unit commander at 52 division, said police got a call at 6:45 a.m. about a wild deer on a patch of grass east of the professional building, which houses medical labs and dental offices, at 123 Edward St.
He said responders included a dozen primary control officers, one unit from the Emergency Task Force, plus two animal control teams and a Dr. Graham Crawshaw, a senior veterinarian from the Toronto Zoo.
"Our goal was first of all not to frighten the animal," said Supt. Ferguson."It was darted with a tranquilizer. At that point it was Tasered immediately. The officers held it to the ground until the tranquilizer took effect. The deer is now on its way back to the wild."
Police had blocked Edward Street from Elizabeth to Centre Street. Yellow police tape surrounds a small patch of grass upon which the brown deer sat behind a hedge, its head sticking up so as to give the about 75 people watching this drama unfold a glimpse of her.
‘‘We're actually watching the deer instead of working,’’ said foreman John Cardoso, part of a crew delivering water to the construction site for the YWCA Elm Centre. ‘‘My honest opinion as a hunter? It wouldn't be standing there.’’
A fellow worker added: ‘‘Come on guys, get 'er done.’’
‘‘I know eh?’’ said another. ‘‘We could have ribs.’’
The deer was bobbing its head, but appeared in no rush to leave the only sliver of green space in this busy sport across from the Toronto Bus Terminal.
Const. Tony Vella said Toronto police received a number of calls about a deer before 7 a.m., first at Union Station, then at York and Bay. Experts from the Toronto Zoo soon arrived on scene.
‘‘The main priority is the safety of the animal and pedestrians," Cont. Vella said before the deer was captured.
Before the morning's entertainment came to a dramatic end, OCAD student Amanda Seebeck, originally from Montreal, said: ‘‘Tellement mignon. She's so cute. I want to hug her.’’
Sympathetic tweets about the doe dominated Twitter, particularly after the animal was Tasered.
"This would never happen in the Disney version," one observer wrote.
Then the jokes began.
"Bear on Bay St. thought deer was brought in for a snack...... stocks plummet," another user wrote.
Photo by Brett Gundlock, National Post
Reference
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... ronto.aspx
Check this video on Youtube based on that Deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeBcCnNmYos
Much of downtown Toronto came to a standstill for hours this morning as Toronto Police, animal services and an emergency task force surrounded and Tasered a wayward deer that ran through the financial district.
After running past office towers and Union Station, the deer eventually took refuge on a grassy patch on the east side of a medical office building at the corner of Chestnut and Edward streets.Around 11 a.m., ETF officers moved their trucks closer to the animal, in an apparent attempt to create a barrier in which to contain it.
They shot the deer with a tranquilizer dart, prompting it to run north, where police were holding a large net. The deer then veered and launched majestically over a strip of yellow police tape.
An officer then jolted the deer with a Taser; it immediately crumpled on the sidewalk.
Photo gallery.
Supt. Hugh Ferguson, unit commander at 52 division, said police got a call at 6:45 a.m. about a wild deer on a patch of grass east of the professional building, which houses medical labs and dental offices, at 123 Edward St.
He said responders included a dozen primary control officers, one unit from the Emergency Task Force, plus two animal control teams and a Dr. Graham Crawshaw, a senior veterinarian from the Toronto Zoo.
"Our goal was first of all not to frighten the animal," said Supt. Ferguson."It was darted with a tranquilizer. At that point it was Tasered immediately. The officers held it to the ground until the tranquilizer took effect. The deer is now on its way back to the wild."
Police had blocked Edward Street from Elizabeth to Centre Street. Yellow police tape surrounds a small patch of grass upon which the brown deer sat behind a hedge, its head sticking up so as to give the about 75 people watching this drama unfold a glimpse of her.
‘‘We're actually watching the deer instead of working,’’ said foreman John Cardoso, part of a crew delivering water to the construction site for the YWCA Elm Centre. ‘‘My honest opinion as a hunter? It wouldn't be standing there.’’
A fellow worker added: ‘‘Come on guys, get 'er done.’’
‘‘I know eh?’’ said another. ‘‘We could have ribs.’’
The deer was bobbing its head, but appeared in no rush to leave the only sliver of green space in this busy sport across from the Toronto Bus Terminal.
Const. Tony Vella said Toronto police received a number of calls about a deer before 7 a.m., first at Union Station, then at York and Bay. Experts from the Toronto Zoo soon arrived on scene.
‘‘The main priority is the safety of the animal and pedestrians," Cont. Vella said before the deer was captured.
Before the morning's entertainment came to a dramatic end, OCAD student Amanda Seebeck, originally from Montreal, said: ‘‘Tellement mignon. She's so cute. I want to hug her.’’
Sympathetic tweets about the doe dominated Twitter, particularly after the animal was Tasered.
"This would never happen in the Disney version," one observer wrote.
Then the jokes began.
"Bear on Bay St. thought deer was brought in for a snack...... stocks plummet," another user wrote.
Photo by Brett Gundlock, National Post
Reference
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... ronto.aspx
Check this video on Youtube based on that Deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeBcCnNmYos
Giant of Lampung touted as tallest man
Agence France-Presse
December 3, 2009
Photo at:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 6&sponsor=
Suparwono, Indonesia's tallest man at nearly nine feet tall, says he eats three kilograms of rice and at least 15 eggs every day.
Photograph by: Supri, Reuters, Agence France-PresseA 25-year-old Indonesian labourer could be a contender for the title of world's tallest man, currently held by Turkish farmer Sultan Kosen, a local archivist said.
Suparwono, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name, stands 2.71 metres (8.89 feet) tall according to unofficial measurements, compared to Kosen's record height of 2.47 metres.
He shot to fame this week after one of his relatives in his home village of Tri Tunggal Jaya, in Sumatra island's southern Lampung province, invited neighbours to take pictures of him. Within days he was appearing on television talk shows in Jakarta as the "Giant of Lampung."
"Our team will name him today as Indonesia's tallest man, breaking a previous record of 2.21 metres," Indonesia's Museum of Records manager Ngadri said.
"We will make some approaches for him to be registered (with Guinness World Records) as the tallest man in the world," he added.
Suparwono said sometimes he felt "proud" of his height but "it also gives me problems because I can't live like normal people", citing the difficulty of fitting into public buses and finding large enough clothes.
"I started to realize my exceptional height when I was 10 years old. At that time, I was already the tallest at my school and in my village," he told AFP between television appearances. "I eat three kilograms (6.61 pounds)of rice every day and at least 15 eggs," he added.
One of five children, he hoped as a teenager to be a basketball star but his body couldn't stand the stress of elite sport, according to his former coach, Willy Winoto.
"After two years of training we found that he was unable to become a national athlete because of his bone problems. His anatomical structure isn't good enough to be an athlete," Winoto said.
Suparwono lives with his parents and earns money doing odd jobs around the village.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Agence France-Presse
December 3, 2009
Photo at:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 6&sponsor=
Suparwono, Indonesia's tallest man at nearly nine feet tall, says he eats three kilograms of rice and at least 15 eggs every day.
Photograph by: Supri, Reuters, Agence France-PresseA 25-year-old Indonesian labourer could be a contender for the title of world's tallest man, currently held by Turkish farmer Sultan Kosen, a local archivist said.
Suparwono, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name, stands 2.71 metres (8.89 feet) tall according to unofficial measurements, compared to Kosen's record height of 2.47 metres.
He shot to fame this week after one of his relatives in his home village of Tri Tunggal Jaya, in Sumatra island's southern Lampung province, invited neighbours to take pictures of him. Within days he was appearing on television talk shows in Jakarta as the "Giant of Lampung."
"Our team will name him today as Indonesia's tallest man, breaking a previous record of 2.21 metres," Indonesia's Museum of Records manager Ngadri said.
"We will make some approaches for him to be registered (with Guinness World Records) as the tallest man in the world," he added.
Suparwono said sometimes he felt "proud" of his height but "it also gives me problems because I can't live like normal people", citing the difficulty of fitting into public buses and finding large enough clothes.
"I started to realize my exceptional height when I was 10 years old. At that time, I was already the tallest at my school and in my village," he told AFP between television appearances. "I eat three kilograms (6.61 pounds)of rice every day and at least 15 eggs," he added.
One of five children, he hoped as a teenager to be a basketball star but his body couldn't stand the stress of elite sport, according to his former coach, Willy Winoto.
"After two years of training we found that he was unable to become a national athlete because of his bone problems. His anatomical structure isn't good enough to be an athlete," Winoto said.
Suparwono lives with his parents and earns money doing odd jobs around the village.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Faizal Khamisa: Story of Perseverance and Positive Attitude
January 9, 2010
Posted by ismailimail in Canada, Health, Ismaili Muslims in the News, North America.
trackback
My name is Faizal Khamisa. I am an Ismaili Muslim from Mississauga, Ontario now 4th year at the University of Western Ontario studying Psychology and serving as campus jamati Mukhisaeb.
My story is that of perseverance. At the age of 16 in 2005, the summer before my grade 12 year, I was diagnosed with a form of cancer that caused me to miss 8 weeks of school consecutively. I was determined to continue my schooling through this illness in the hopes of showing people that obstacles arise, and they force you to continue living your life. Since the diagnoses, I had 2 years of chemotherapy and a number of setbacks. I was forced to have emergency double hip surgery at 18 years old because of the side effects of treatment, as well as shoulder surgery at 19, with all joints on the verge of collapsing.
This illness served as the perfect opportunity to reach out to the Community, especially the many young children I had worked with over the years, and show them through my experience that perseverance and a positive attitude are the most essential keys to your success and future. I tried to show that despite the severity of the situation at hand: you yourself have the ability to make the best from it.
I started my own Inspirational Speaking venture, called In Your Hands Inspirational Speaking (first speech video seen here–> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_35kJEmSr0), and have spread my word to over 5000 people in the last 4 years. I have also started my own motivational website – www.faizalkhamisa.com, hosted a charity soccer challenge in conjunction with the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Canada (www.iyhsoccerchallenge.com), and tried to spread my slogan of “Create A Good Day”.
Essentially, I am not attempting to promote myself, but the message of positive attitude and creating a good day, and I hope this forum can help spread the message through my story.
–
Note from Ismailimail: We found this story of perseverance and human aspirations to be overwhelmingly positive in Faizal’s own words, hence we have shared it as is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_35kJEmSr0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr_qNhnQd68
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2010/0 ... tent=Gmail
January 9, 2010
Posted by ismailimail in Canada, Health, Ismaili Muslims in the News, North America.
trackback
My name is Faizal Khamisa. I am an Ismaili Muslim from Mississauga, Ontario now 4th year at the University of Western Ontario studying Psychology and serving as campus jamati Mukhisaeb.
My story is that of perseverance. At the age of 16 in 2005, the summer before my grade 12 year, I was diagnosed with a form of cancer that caused me to miss 8 weeks of school consecutively. I was determined to continue my schooling through this illness in the hopes of showing people that obstacles arise, and they force you to continue living your life. Since the diagnoses, I had 2 years of chemotherapy and a number of setbacks. I was forced to have emergency double hip surgery at 18 years old because of the side effects of treatment, as well as shoulder surgery at 19, with all joints on the verge of collapsing.
This illness served as the perfect opportunity to reach out to the Community, especially the many young children I had worked with over the years, and show them through my experience that perseverance and a positive attitude are the most essential keys to your success and future. I tried to show that despite the severity of the situation at hand: you yourself have the ability to make the best from it.
I started my own Inspirational Speaking venture, called In Your Hands Inspirational Speaking (first speech video seen here–> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_35kJEmSr0), and have spread my word to over 5000 people in the last 4 years. I have also started my own motivational website – www.faizalkhamisa.com, hosted a charity soccer challenge in conjunction with the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Canada (www.iyhsoccerchallenge.com), and tried to spread my slogan of “Create A Good Day”.
Essentially, I am not attempting to promote myself, but the message of positive attitude and creating a good day, and I hope this forum can help spread the message through my story.
–
Note from Ismailimail: We found this story of perseverance and human aspirations to be overwhelmingly positive in Faizal’s own words, hence we have shared it as is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_35kJEmSr0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr_qNhnQd68
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2010/0 ... tent=Gmail
Woman survives eight days trapped in elevator
Agence France-Presse
January 15, 2010
Police and firefighters in Spain have rescued a woman who spent eight days trapped in the elevator of her apartment building, police said Thursday.
The 35-year-old was found conscious but disoriented and was taken to hospital after she was found in the private elevator in the town of Sitges near the northeastern city of Barcelona, police said.
The police were alerted by relatives in Madrid who had reported her missing, and then heard her cries for help when they visited the building.
Police said it was not clear how the woman, who lived alone, managed to survive for that length of time.
The elevator had apparently stalled due to an electrical fault.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
Agence France-Presse
January 15, 2010
Police and firefighters in Spain have rescued a woman who spent eight days trapped in the elevator of her apartment building, police said Thursday.
The 35-year-old was found conscious but disoriented and was taken to hospital after she was found in the private elevator in the town of Sitges near the northeastern city of Barcelona, police said.
The police were alerted by relatives in Madrid who had reported her missing, and then heard her cries for help when they visited the building.
Police said it was not clear how the woman, who lived alone, managed to survive for that length of time.
The elevator had apparently stalled due to an electrical fault.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
Rare Turkish twins with different fathers trigger divorce
Herald News Services
January 30, 2010
A Turkish man decided to divorce his wife after DNA tests showed he was the father of only one of their twin boys, the mass-circulation Sabah newspaper reported Friday.
Suspicious that his wife had been unfaithful, the security guard from Istanbul, identified only as A.K., had DNA tests performed on the three-year-olds.
The tests established with a 99.99 per cent certainty that he was the father of only one of the boys, Sabah reported, adding that the result was confirmed by a forensic medicine institute on the request of the court handling the divorce case.
The mother, identified as C.K., had maintained a relationship with a lover she had dated before her family forced her to marry A.K., the daily said.
The phenomenon of twins with different fathers -- known scientifically as heteropaternal superfecundation -- is very rare in humans.
It becomes possible in rare circumstances when a woman produces two ova in one menstrual cycle, said Prof. Rusen Aytac, head of the gynecology department at Ankara University's medical faculty.
"And if this woman has sexual intercourse with two different men at short intervals, this can result in a twin pregnancy, with each egg carrying a different genetic material," he said.
A.K. kept the boy he had fathered and disowned the other one, which ended up in a state care institution, Sabah said.
C.K., for her part, has received death threats both from her own and her husband's family and secured a court order preventing relatives from coming within 500 metres of her, the paper added.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Rar ... story.html
Herald News Services
January 30, 2010
A Turkish man decided to divorce his wife after DNA tests showed he was the father of only one of their twin boys, the mass-circulation Sabah newspaper reported Friday.
Suspicious that his wife had been unfaithful, the security guard from Istanbul, identified only as A.K., had DNA tests performed on the three-year-olds.
The tests established with a 99.99 per cent certainty that he was the father of only one of the boys, Sabah reported, adding that the result was confirmed by a forensic medicine institute on the request of the court handling the divorce case.
The mother, identified as C.K., had maintained a relationship with a lover she had dated before her family forced her to marry A.K., the daily said.
The phenomenon of twins with different fathers -- known scientifically as heteropaternal superfecundation -- is very rare in humans.
It becomes possible in rare circumstances when a woman produces two ova in one menstrual cycle, said Prof. Rusen Aytac, head of the gynecology department at Ankara University's medical faculty.
"And if this woman has sexual intercourse with two different men at short intervals, this can result in a twin pregnancy, with each egg carrying a different genetic material," he said.
A.K. kept the boy he had fathered and disowned the other one, which ended up in a state care institution, Sabah said.
C.K., for her part, has received death threats both from her own and her husband's family and secured a court order preventing relatives from coming within 500 metres of her, the paper added.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Rar ... story.html
You Have to see this it's great!!!!
Ukraine's Got Talent, Kseniya Simonova .... She is Beautiful and Amazing!!
Dont miss this amazing Video Clip . . first read it properly..
This video shows the winner of "Ukraine's Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.
The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $130,000.00
She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.
It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears.
She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.
This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.
In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.
The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.
Kseniya Simonova says:
"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."
Please take time out to see this amazing piece of art.
click on the link below -
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg
Ukraine's Got Talent, Kseniya Simonova .... She is Beautiful and Amazing!!
Dont miss this amazing Video Clip . . first read it properly..
This video shows the winner of "Ukraine's Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.
The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $130,000.00
She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.
It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears.
She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.
This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.
In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye.
The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine , resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.
Kseniya Simonova says:
"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."
Please take time out to see this amazing piece of art.
click on the link below -
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/944/
Trial without sight: How one woman's triumph agianst the odds allowed her to give back to society
Imagine swimming 750 metres, then biking 20 kilometres, and finally running 5 kilometres in a span of a few hours. Sounds like an intense physical challenge? How about taking this on without your sense of sight?
Rozina Issani celebrates with fellow members of the Blind Guys Tri Team. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
In July 2009, together with 18 other blind athletes, I competed in the third annual Joe's Team Triathlon at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's (CNIB) camp along the coast of Lake Joseph in Muskoka, Ontario. We had been training since September 2008 with dedicated guides who were there to assist us during each of the three events. Forming the Blind Guys Tri Team, we joined forces with 400 sighted athletes and managed to raise over CAD $625 000 to support cancer research at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, I am now 46-years-old. I arrived in Canada in 1983 with my parents, who hoped that my sight might improve with the advanced medical care available. Although no cure could be found for my blindness, the doctors referred me and my family to CNIB. The training they offered improved my mobility and coordination, enabled me to live without a caregiver and improved the overall quality of my life.
Learning the necessary skills for living independently cultivated a novel sense of confidence within me. I even became adept at banking and cooking. After just two years of training I became a cashier, and a few years later I found another job as a receptionist at the Ontario Trillium Foundation, one of the largest granting foundations in North America. I have now been working with Trillium for more than 18 years.
Rozina Issani and her guide Kate cross the finish line at the third annual Joe's Team Triathlon in Muskoka, Ontario. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
In fall of 2008, CNIB launched their first Triathlon Team for the Blind and I was chosen from across the country to compete in this groundbreaking event. I was driven by a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the generous donations made in support of services for the blind and visually impaired. Through this support, I have been able to overcome my own setbacks, and I now wanted to contribute to improving the lives of others.
Admittedly, the most difficult obstacle during my training was learning to swim. While my fellow athletes — all good swimmers — cheerfully waded into the water during the first trial, I was extremely reluctant to go beyond my waist-deep comfort level. When the coach noticed my hesitation, he handed me a styrofoam board and I "surfed" my way through the swimming segment of the mini-triathlon. It was then that I vowed to take swimming lessons.
Learning such a skill at my age was very difficult, and being unable to see made the quest more trying and frustrating. However, fuelled by a determination that helped me overcome past obstacles, I was ready within six months to join my fellow athletes at the finish line.
Rozina Issani receives a warm embrace from a fellow team member. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
When the day of the triathlon finally arrived, it was thundering and pouring rain, which not only washed out the campgrounds but also dampened our spirits. Miraculously, the sky cleared up just before the race was scheduled to begin. We immediately shifted gears; the moment for which we had been preparing for almost a year had finally arrived.
Jumping right into our wetsuits, we were off — each of us with our guides, transitioning from one event right to the next. Of course, the most difficult segment for me was still the swimming, but with my guide, Kate, I was able to conquer the water. By the time we started running, the sun had dried up the ground.
After a challenging 2 hours and 25 minutes, I triumphantly crossed the finish line. It felt exhilarating! I had accomplished a great feat not only for myself but for the benefit of others as well. Completing the triathlon allowed me to express my gratitude to my wonderful parents, friends and colleagues who showed me unwavering support.
Rozina Issani with her guide, Kate. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
Joe Finley, the founder of Joe's Team, said it best: "Our vision is that blind people take part in the triathlon just like everyone else so they finally have the opportunity to challenge themselves and show everyone who they are."
Trial without sight: How one woman's triumph agianst the odds allowed her to give back to society
Imagine swimming 750 metres, then biking 20 kilometres, and finally running 5 kilometres in a span of a few hours. Sounds like an intense physical challenge? How about taking this on without your sense of sight?
Rozina Issani celebrates with fellow members of the Blind Guys Tri Team. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
In July 2009, together with 18 other blind athletes, I competed in the third annual Joe's Team Triathlon at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's (CNIB) camp along the coast of Lake Joseph in Muskoka, Ontario. We had been training since September 2008 with dedicated guides who were there to assist us during each of the three events. Forming the Blind Guys Tri Team, we joined forces with 400 sighted athletes and managed to raise over CAD $625 000 to support cancer research at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, I am now 46-years-old. I arrived in Canada in 1983 with my parents, who hoped that my sight might improve with the advanced medical care available. Although no cure could be found for my blindness, the doctors referred me and my family to CNIB. The training they offered improved my mobility and coordination, enabled me to live without a caregiver and improved the overall quality of my life.
Learning the necessary skills for living independently cultivated a novel sense of confidence within me. I even became adept at banking and cooking. After just two years of training I became a cashier, and a few years later I found another job as a receptionist at the Ontario Trillium Foundation, one of the largest granting foundations in North America. I have now been working with Trillium for more than 18 years.
Rozina Issani and her guide Kate cross the finish line at the third annual Joe's Team Triathlon in Muskoka, Ontario. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
In fall of 2008, CNIB launched their first Triathlon Team for the Blind and I was chosen from across the country to compete in this groundbreaking event. I was driven by a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the generous donations made in support of services for the blind and visually impaired. Through this support, I have been able to overcome my own setbacks, and I now wanted to contribute to improving the lives of others.
Admittedly, the most difficult obstacle during my training was learning to swim. While my fellow athletes — all good swimmers — cheerfully waded into the water during the first trial, I was extremely reluctant to go beyond my waist-deep comfort level. When the coach noticed my hesitation, he handed me a styrofoam board and I "surfed" my way through the swimming segment of the mini-triathlon. It was then that I vowed to take swimming lessons.
Learning such a skill at my age was very difficult, and being unable to see made the quest more trying and frustrating. However, fuelled by a determination that helped me overcome past obstacles, I was ready within six months to join my fellow athletes at the finish line.
Rozina Issani receives a warm embrace from a fellow team member. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
When the day of the triathlon finally arrived, it was thundering and pouring rain, which not only washed out the campgrounds but also dampened our spirits. Miraculously, the sky cleared up just before the race was scheduled to begin. We immediately shifted gears; the moment for which we had been preparing for almost a year had finally arrived.
Jumping right into our wetsuits, we were off — each of us with our guides, transitioning from one event right to the next. Of course, the most difficult segment for me was still the swimming, but with my guide, Kate, I was able to conquer the water. By the time we started running, the sun had dried up the ground.
After a challenging 2 hours and 25 minutes, I triumphantly crossed the finish line. It felt exhilarating! I had accomplished a great feat not only for myself but for the benefit of others as well. Completing the triathlon allowed me to express my gratitude to my wonderful parents, friends and colleagues who showed me unwavering support.
Rozina Issani with her guide, Kate. Photo: Courtesy of Rozina Issani
Joe Finley, the founder of Joe's Team, said it best: "Our vision is that blind people take part in the triathlon just like everyone else so they finally have the opportunity to challenge themselves and show everyone who they are."
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
The Woman: a parable
By: Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
A man was walking through the marketplace one afternoon when, just as the muezzin began the call to prayer, his eye fell on a woman’s back. She was strangely attractive, though dressed in fulsome black, a veil over head and face, and she now turned to him as if somehow conscious of his over-lingering regard, and gave him a slight but meaningful nod before she rounded the corner into the lane of silk sellers. As if struck by a bolt from heaven, the man was at once drawn, his heart a prisoner of that look, forever. In vain he struggled with his heart, offering it one sound reason after another to go his way—wasn’t it time to pray?—but it was finished: there was nothing but to follow.
He hastened after her, turning into the market of silks, breathing from the exertion of catching up with the woman, who had unexpectedly outpaced him and even now lingered for an instant at the far end of the market, many shops ahead. She turned toward him, and he thought he could see a flash of a mischievious smile from beneath the black muslin of her veil, as she—was it his imagination?—beckoned to him again.
The poor man was beside himself. Who was she? The daughter of a wealthy family? What did she want? He requickened his steps and turned into the lane where she had disappeared. And so she led him, always beyond reach, always tantalizingly ahead, now through the weapons market, now the oil merchants’, now the leather sellers’; farther and farther from where they began. The feeling within him grew rather than decreased. Was she mad? On and on she led, to the very edge of town.
The sun declined and set, and there she was, before him as ever. Now they were come, of all places, to the City of Tombs. Had he been in his normal senses, he would have been afraid, but indeed, he now reflected, stranger places than this had seen a lovers’ tryst.
There were scarcely twenty cubits between them when he saw her look back, and, giving a little start, she skipped down the steps and through the great bronze door of what seemed to be a very old sepulcher. A soberer moment might have seen the man pause, but in his present state, there was no turning back, and he went down the steps and slid in after her.
Inside, as his eyes saw after a moment, there were two flights of steps that led down to a second door, from whence a light shone, and which he equally passed through. He found himself in a large room, somehow unsuspected by the outside world, lit with candles upon its walls. There sat the woman, opposite the door on a pallet of rich stuff in her full black dress, still veiled, reclining on a pillow against the far wall. To the right of the pallet, the man noticed a well set in the floor.
“Lock the door behind you,” she said in a low, husky voice that was almost a whisper, “and bring the key.”
He did as he was told.
She gestured carelessly at the well. “Throw it in.”
A ray of sense seemed to penetrate for a moment the clouds over his understanding, and a bystander, had there been one, might have detected the slightest of pauses.
“Go on,” she said laughingly, “You didn’t hesitate to miss the prayer as you followed me here, did you?”
He said nothing.
“The time for sunset prayer has almost finished as well,” she said with gentle mockery. “Why worry? Go on, throw it in. You want to please me, don’t you?”
He extended his hand over the mouth of the well, and watched as he let the key drop. An uncanny feeling rose from the pit of his stomach as moments passed but no sound came. He felt wonder, then horror, then comprehension.
“It is time to see me,” she said, and she lifted her veil to reveal not the face of a fresh young girl, but of a hideous old crone, all darkness and vice, not a particle of light anywhere in its eldritch lines.
“See me well,” she said. “My name is Dunya, This World. I am your beloved. You spent your time running after me, and now you have caught up with me. In your grave. Welcome, welcome.”
At this she laughed and laughed, until she shook herself into a small mound of fine dust, whose fitful shadows, as the candles went out, returned to the darkness one by one.
Here is the video of that parable about the woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8elNqiQlqPk
By: Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
A man was walking through the marketplace one afternoon when, just as the muezzin began the call to prayer, his eye fell on a woman’s back. She was strangely attractive, though dressed in fulsome black, a veil over head and face, and she now turned to him as if somehow conscious of his over-lingering regard, and gave him a slight but meaningful nod before she rounded the corner into the lane of silk sellers. As if struck by a bolt from heaven, the man was at once drawn, his heart a prisoner of that look, forever. In vain he struggled with his heart, offering it one sound reason after another to go his way—wasn’t it time to pray?—but it was finished: there was nothing but to follow.
He hastened after her, turning into the market of silks, breathing from the exertion of catching up with the woman, who had unexpectedly outpaced him and even now lingered for an instant at the far end of the market, many shops ahead. She turned toward him, and he thought he could see a flash of a mischievious smile from beneath the black muslin of her veil, as she—was it his imagination?—beckoned to him again.
The poor man was beside himself. Who was she? The daughter of a wealthy family? What did she want? He requickened his steps and turned into the lane where she had disappeared. And so she led him, always beyond reach, always tantalizingly ahead, now through the weapons market, now the oil merchants’, now the leather sellers’; farther and farther from where they began. The feeling within him grew rather than decreased. Was she mad? On and on she led, to the very edge of town.
The sun declined and set, and there she was, before him as ever. Now they were come, of all places, to the City of Tombs. Had he been in his normal senses, he would have been afraid, but indeed, he now reflected, stranger places than this had seen a lovers’ tryst.
There were scarcely twenty cubits between them when he saw her look back, and, giving a little start, she skipped down the steps and through the great bronze door of what seemed to be a very old sepulcher. A soberer moment might have seen the man pause, but in his present state, there was no turning back, and he went down the steps and slid in after her.
Inside, as his eyes saw after a moment, there were two flights of steps that led down to a second door, from whence a light shone, and which he equally passed through. He found himself in a large room, somehow unsuspected by the outside world, lit with candles upon its walls. There sat the woman, opposite the door on a pallet of rich stuff in her full black dress, still veiled, reclining on a pillow against the far wall. To the right of the pallet, the man noticed a well set in the floor.
“Lock the door behind you,” she said in a low, husky voice that was almost a whisper, “and bring the key.”
He did as he was told.
She gestured carelessly at the well. “Throw it in.”
A ray of sense seemed to penetrate for a moment the clouds over his understanding, and a bystander, had there been one, might have detected the slightest of pauses.
“Go on,” she said laughingly, “You didn’t hesitate to miss the prayer as you followed me here, did you?”
He said nothing.
“The time for sunset prayer has almost finished as well,” she said with gentle mockery. “Why worry? Go on, throw it in. You want to please me, don’t you?”
He extended his hand over the mouth of the well, and watched as he let the key drop. An uncanny feeling rose from the pit of his stomach as moments passed but no sound came. He felt wonder, then horror, then comprehension.
“It is time to see me,” she said, and she lifted her veil to reveal not the face of a fresh young girl, but of a hideous old crone, all darkness and vice, not a particle of light anywhere in its eldritch lines.
“See me well,” she said. “My name is Dunya, This World. I am your beloved. You spent your time running after me, and now you have caught up with me. In your grave. Welcome, welcome.”
At this she laughed and laughed, until she shook herself into a small mound of fine dust, whose fitful shadows, as the candles went out, returned to the darkness one by one.
Here is the video of that parable about the woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8elNqiQlqPk
Mom gets 15 years for killing 6 babies
Agence France-Presse
March 19, 2010
A court on Thursday sentenced a French mother to 15 years in jail for smothering or strangling to death six of her newborn babies.
Celine Lesage, 38, risked a life jail sentence with no possibility of parole for 18 years for first degree murder. Prosecutors had demanded a 16-year jail term.
Lesage, a petite brunette who has a teenaged son, on Monday admitted before the judge in the Channel town of Coutances to killing the six infants between 1999 and 2007.
"I realize that I killed my babies, the children that I had with my two partners, but it's too difficult," she said during the hearing. "I want to understand but I can't."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 9&sponsor=
Agence France-Presse
March 19, 2010
A court on Thursday sentenced a French mother to 15 years in jail for smothering or strangling to death six of her newborn babies.
Celine Lesage, 38, risked a life jail sentence with no possibility of parole for 18 years for first degree murder. Prosecutors had demanded a 16-year jail term.
Lesage, a petite brunette who has a teenaged son, on Monday admitted before the judge in the Channel town of Coutances to killing the six infants between 1999 and 2007.
"I realize that I killed my babies, the children that I had with my two partners, but it's too difficult," she said during the hearing. "I want to understand but I can't."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 9&sponsor=
Woman won't be caned over beerkmaherali wrote:Beer-drinking model wants public caning
Herald News Services
August 21, 2009
A model who will be caned six times in Malaysia next week for drinking beer appealed Thursday for her punishment to be carried out in public to deter other Muslims.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was also fined the equivalent of $1,500 Cdn last month after she pleaded guilty to drinking alcohol at a hotel nightclub in the eastern state of Pahang last year.
She will be the first woman in the multicultural country to be caned under Islamic law, with the punishment set to be meted out in a female prison.
But the Malaysian mother of two, who lives in neighbouring Singapore, said Thursday she wanted to be caned publicly.
"It will be a more effective way to educate Muslims not to drink if I am caned in public. I want to send this message to other Muslims and I am sincere," Kartika told Agence-France Presse. "I am willing to be caned publicly or in front of a mosque, but the prosecutor has told my dad today that this cannot be done. I also requested for journalists to witness the caning in prison, but it is not allowed."
Kartika said she had the support of her parents and husband to be publicly punished.
Case raises concerns about intolerance in Malaysia
ReutersApril 2, 2010
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will avoid a caning for drinking beer at a hotel two years ago.
Photograph by: AFP-Getty Images, ReutersMalaysia has dropped a caning sentence imposed on a woman for drinking beer, a case that has raised concerns of intolerance in the mainly Muslim country.
Shukarno Mutalib, the father of the 32-year-old woman, told Reuters he had received a letter from Islamic authorities indicating the caning has been replaced by another penalty, but few details had been given.
"I have also been asked to present my daughter before the religious authorities on Friday for her to undergo a 'three-week' punishment, but we do not know yet whether it will be community service or detention," he said.
Islamic affairs officials could not be immediately contacted.
The woman, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, was sentenced to six strokes of the cane and a fine after she was caught drinking beer by Islamic enforcement officials two years ago at a hotel lounge in the central state of Pahang.
In February, three Muslim women were caned for the first time under Islamic laws for having sex out of wedlock.
Malaysia practises a dual-track legal system, with Islamic criminal and family law applicable to Muslims. Non-Muslims, who make up about 45 per cent of Malaysia's 28 million residents, are subject to civil law.
The canings reflect growing conservatism in a country long portraying itself as a moderate Islamic state and have begun to concern investors.
Since taking office in April last year, Prime Minister Najib Razak has pledged political and economic reforms to woo investments and reverse his ruling coalition's historic election losses in 2008.
But ethnic and religious tensions have worsened following a row sparked after a court in December last year allowed Christians to use the word Allah.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will avoid a caning for drinking beer at a hotel two years ago.Photograph by: AFP-Getty Images, Reuters
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 0&sponsor=
Turkish singer sets blind speed record
Reuters
April 3, 2010
Metin Senturk celebrates his Guinness world blind speed record Friday, reaching 292.89 km/h unaccompanied in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Photograph by: Murad Sezer, Reuters, ReutersT urkish pop singer Metin Senturk became the world's fastest unaccompanied blind driver on Friday and said he felt he had danced with death.
Senturk wept as he emerged from a Ferrari F430 at Urfa airport in eastern Turkey to learn from Guinness World Records officials his average speed of 292.89 kilometres per hour broke the previous record of 284 km/h, held by a British bank manager.
"I don't think there are any words to describe this feeling. I am really happy. It was really hard, like a dance with death," said Senturk, who has been blind since age three. Following Senturk in another vehicle was former rally driver Volkan Isik, who guided the blind man by radio.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 5&sponsor=
Reuters
April 3, 2010
Metin Senturk celebrates his Guinness world blind speed record Friday, reaching 292.89 km/h unaccompanied in Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Photograph by: Murad Sezer, Reuters, ReutersT urkish pop singer Metin Senturk became the world's fastest unaccompanied blind driver on Friday and said he felt he had danced with death.
Senturk wept as he emerged from a Ferrari F430 at Urfa airport in eastern Turkey to learn from Guinness World Records officials his average speed of 292.89 kilometres per hour broke the previous record of 284 km/h, held by a British bank manager.
"I don't think there are any words to describe this feeling. I am really happy. It was really hard, like a dance with death," said Senturk, who has been blind since age three. Following Senturk in another vehicle was former rally driver Volkan Isik, who guided the blind man by radio.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 5&sponsor=
Full face transplant 'a success'
By Helen Briggs
Health reporter, BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8639437.stm
Doctors say scars will be concealed
A team of 30 Spanish doctors say they have successfully performed the world's first full face transplant.
A man injured in a shooting accident received the entire facial skin and muscles - including cheekbones, nose, lips and teeth - of a donor.
The man is recovering well after the 22-hour operation, said a spokesperson from Vall d'Hebron University Hospital.
Another 10 face transplants have been carried out around the world, but this is believed to be the most complex.
Hospital spokesperson Bianca Bont told the BBC: "This is the first total face transplant.
"There have been 10 operations of this kind in the world - this is the first to transplant all of the face and some bones of the face."
He had been left unable to breathe, swallow, or talk properly after an accident five years ago.
He was considered for a full face transplant after nine previous operations failed.
A team of 30 experts carried out the operation on 20 March at the hospital in Barcelona.
The man has since seen himself in the mirror and was calm and satisfied, the leader of the medical team, Joan Pere Barret, told a news conference.
'Achievement'
The first partial face transplant was carried out by doctors in Amiens, France, in 2005.
Isabelle Dinoire, a 38-year-old woman who had been mauled by her dog, received a new nose, chin and lips.
Doctors revealed details at a news conference Hospital)
Since then partial face transplants have been carried out in China and the US.
British experts say the Spanish operation may be the most complex yet.
It appears to include more bone and much more of the lower part of the face.
A spokesperson for the UK's Facial Transplantation Research Team, which has ethical permission to carry out a full face transplant, said it was "a tremendous achievement".
"This appears to be the most complex facial transplant operation carried out so far worldwide," he said.
"It once again shows how facial transplantation can help a small number of people who are the most severely facially injured and for whom reconstructive surgery cannot and has not worked."
HOW SURGEONS REBUILT PATIENT'S FACE
1. Patient lost jaw, nose and other parts of his face in shooting accident.
2. Donor's facial skin, muscles, nose, cheekbones, teeth and jawbone used to rebuild patient's face. Metal plates used to support new facial structure, which included reconstructing the roof of the mouth.
3. Donor's nerves, blood vessels and skin connected to patient. Patient will have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life.
Face transplants
Face from dead donor is removed in four hour operation
Veins, arteries, skin, muscles, and bones are taken
The patient is anaesthetised partway through surgery on the donor and any previous skin grafts are removed
The donor face and accompanying blood vessels are stitched to the patient using complex microvascular surgery
The man was operated on in March, but details of the operation have only just been revealed.
Source: Vall D'Hebron Hospital, Barcelona
By Helen Briggs
Health reporter, BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8639437.stm
Doctors say scars will be concealed
A team of 30 Spanish doctors say they have successfully performed the world's first full face transplant.
A man injured in a shooting accident received the entire facial skin and muscles - including cheekbones, nose, lips and teeth - of a donor.
The man is recovering well after the 22-hour operation, said a spokesperson from Vall d'Hebron University Hospital.
Another 10 face transplants have been carried out around the world, but this is believed to be the most complex.
Hospital spokesperson Bianca Bont told the BBC: "This is the first total face transplant.
"There have been 10 operations of this kind in the world - this is the first to transplant all of the face and some bones of the face."
He had been left unable to breathe, swallow, or talk properly after an accident five years ago.
He was considered for a full face transplant after nine previous operations failed.
A team of 30 experts carried out the operation on 20 March at the hospital in Barcelona.
The man has since seen himself in the mirror and was calm and satisfied, the leader of the medical team, Joan Pere Barret, told a news conference.
'Achievement'
The first partial face transplant was carried out by doctors in Amiens, France, in 2005.
Isabelle Dinoire, a 38-year-old woman who had been mauled by her dog, received a new nose, chin and lips.
Doctors revealed details at a news conference Hospital)
Since then partial face transplants have been carried out in China and the US.
British experts say the Spanish operation may be the most complex yet.
It appears to include more bone and much more of the lower part of the face.
A spokesperson for the UK's Facial Transplantation Research Team, which has ethical permission to carry out a full face transplant, said it was "a tremendous achievement".
"This appears to be the most complex facial transplant operation carried out so far worldwide," he said.
"It once again shows how facial transplantation can help a small number of people who are the most severely facially injured and for whom reconstructive surgery cannot and has not worked."
HOW SURGEONS REBUILT PATIENT'S FACE
1. Patient lost jaw, nose and other parts of his face in shooting accident.
2. Donor's facial skin, muscles, nose, cheekbones, teeth and jawbone used to rebuild patient's face. Metal plates used to support new facial structure, which included reconstructing the roof of the mouth.
3. Donor's nerves, blood vessels and skin connected to patient. Patient will have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life.
Face transplants
Face from dead donor is removed in four hour operation
Veins, arteries, skin, muscles, and bones are taken
The patient is anaesthetised partway through surgery on the donor and any previous skin grafts are removed
The donor face and accompanying blood vessels are stitched to the patient using complex microvascular surgery
The man was operated on in March, but details of the operation have only just been revealed.
Source: Vall D'Hebron Hospital, Barcelona
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Re: AMAZING STORIES
TOXIC SEAFOOD WARNING
beware of imported seafoods... many cannot pass minimum food standards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5 ... re=related
beware of imported seafoods... many cannot pass minimum food standards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5 ... re=related
Yogi who doesn't need food or water astounds scientists
Indian holy man didn't eat or drink for 15 days while under researchers' surveillance
By Rajesh Joshi, Agence France-Presse May 11, 2010
AHMEDABAD, India -An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.
Prahlad Jani spent two weeks in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television.
During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.
"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment.
"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."
The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad as part of a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.
The DRDO hopes that the findings, which are set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.
"[Jani's] only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," G. Ilavazahagan, director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, said in a statement.
Jani has since returned home to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his regular routine revolving around yoga and meditation.
He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.
During the 15-day observation, which ended Thursday, the doctors took scans of Jani's organs, brain and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.
"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Shah told reporters at a press conference last week.
Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to come through.
"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," said Shah.
"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Yogi+doesn+ ... z0neDyBIy1
Indian holy man didn't eat or drink for 15 days while under researchers' surveillance
By Rajesh Joshi, Agence France-Presse May 11, 2010
AHMEDABAD, India -An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.
Prahlad Jani spent two weeks in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television.
During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.
"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment.
"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."
The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad as part of a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.
The DRDO hopes that the findings, which are set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.
"[Jani's] only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," G. Ilavazahagan, director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, said in a statement.
Jani has since returned home to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his regular routine revolving around yoga and meditation.
He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.
During the 15-day observation, which ended Thursday, the doctors took scans of Jani's organs, brain and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.
"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Shah told reporters at a press conference last week.
Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to come through.
"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," said Shah.
"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Yogi+doesn+ ... z0neDyBIy1
-
From_Alamut
- Posts: 666
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:22 am
Going nuts in your diet can cut cholesterol: study
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Going nuts in your diet can be good for your health, according to a study published Monday, which showed that eating nuts helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
ADVERTISEMENT
People who ate an average of 67 grams (2.4 ounces) of nuts a day saw a 5.1 percent fall in total cholesterol concentration and a 7.4 percent drop in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) -- sometimes referred to as bad cholesterol -- concentration compared to no-nut eaters, the study showed.
People with high triglyceride levels who ate nuts saw a 10.2 percent fall in those blood lipid levels, said the study, which analyzed data from 25 trials conducted in seven countries, involving 583 men and women aged 19-86 with high or normal cholesterol levels.
All the trial data that were analyzed for the study compared nut-eaters to a control group that did not eat nuts. None of the participants were taking medication to lower their blood lipids.
Researchers led by Dr Joan Sabate of Loma Linda University in California found in the study published Monday in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine that the benefits to health were the same no matter what nut is eaten.
A person's weight and baseline LDL cholesterol levels did, however, influence whatever benefits might be derived from eating nuts.
The higher the starting LDL-C, the greater the cholesterol-lowering effects of nuts, the study found.
And the lower a patient's body mass index -- in other words, if the patient was not overweight or obese -- the greater the effects of nuts on lowering cholesterol levels, the study found, urging more research to determine why nuts are less effective in lowering the blood cholesterol levels of obese people.
A person's diet also played a role in the effect nuts have on blood cholesterol levels.
Consumers of Western diets, which are high in saturated fat, got more benefits from nut-eating than those who already ate a healthy diet, high in monounsaturated olive oil, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables, the study found.
And there's more good news: the data analyzed for the study showed that the benefits of eating nuts remain with us for a long time; that nut consumption appears to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; and, in spite of their high fat content, nuts don't necessarily make us fat.
"Research has shown that frequent nut consumption does not lead to weight gain," said the study.
"Increasing the consumption of nuts as part of an otherwise prudent diet can be expected to favorably affect blood lipid levels... and have the potential to lower coronary heart disease risk," it concluded.
Reference
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100510/h ... holesterol
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Going nuts in your diet can be good for your health, according to a study published Monday, which showed that eating nuts helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
ADVERTISEMENT
People who ate an average of 67 grams (2.4 ounces) of nuts a day saw a 5.1 percent fall in total cholesterol concentration and a 7.4 percent drop in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) -- sometimes referred to as bad cholesterol -- concentration compared to no-nut eaters, the study showed.
People with high triglyceride levels who ate nuts saw a 10.2 percent fall in those blood lipid levels, said the study, which analyzed data from 25 trials conducted in seven countries, involving 583 men and women aged 19-86 with high or normal cholesterol levels.
All the trial data that were analyzed for the study compared nut-eaters to a control group that did not eat nuts. None of the participants were taking medication to lower their blood lipids.
Researchers led by Dr Joan Sabate of Loma Linda University in California found in the study published Monday in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine that the benefits to health were the same no matter what nut is eaten.
A person's weight and baseline LDL cholesterol levels did, however, influence whatever benefits might be derived from eating nuts.
The higher the starting LDL-C, the greater the cholesterol-lowering effects of nuts, the study found.
And the lower a patient's body mass index -- in other words, if the patient was not overweight or obese -- the greater the effects of nuts on lowering cholesterol levels, the study found, urging more research to determine why nuts are less effective in lowering the blood cholesterol levels of obese people.
A person's diet also played a role in the effect nuts have on blood cholesterol levels.
Consumers of Western diets, which are high in saturated fat, got more benefits from nut-eating than those who already ate a healthy diet, high in monounsaturated olive oil, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables, the study found.
And there's more good news: the data analyzed for the study showed that the benefits of eating nuts remain with us for a long time; that nut consumption appears to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; and, in spite of their high fat content, nuts don't necessarily make us fat.
"Research has shown that frequent nut consumption does not lead to weight gain," said the study.
"Increasing the consumption of nuts as part of an otherwise prudent diet can be expected to favorably affect blood lipid levels... and have the potential to lower coronary heart disease risk," it concluded.
Reference
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100510/h ... holesterol
'Miracle' boy sole survivor
Airliner crash in Libya claims 103 lives
By Imed Lamloum, Agence France-Presse May 13, 2010
StoryPhotos ( 2 )
More Images » Rescue workers examine debris from Afriqiyah Airways Flight 8U771, which crashed at Tripoli airport Wednesday killing all but one on board.Photograph by: Ismail Zitouny, Reuters, Agence France-PresseA
Libyan airliner arriving from South Africa disintegrated on landing at Tripoli airport Wednesday, killing 103 people but leaving an eight-year-old boy as the sole survivor, officials said.
Libyan Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan said the dead included nationals of nine countries, but that a full 61 came from the Netherlands, which ordered flags on government buildings flown at half-mast as a mark of respect.
Zidan said the boy who survived was also Dutch, but the Foreign Ministry in The Hague was unable to confirm his nationality.
The boy underwent surgery at a Tripoli hospital where medical staff said his condition was not life-threatening.
"The boy suffered broken legs and was injured in the head," a hospital official told reporters.
Dutch broadcaster NOS, which interrupted normal programming to follow the crash developments, showed footage of the survivor with facial bruises in his hospital bed.
The Dutch daily Telegraaf said the child had been travelling with his parents and an 11-year-old sibling.
EU parliament president Jerzy Buzek described the boy's survival as "truly a miracle."
Last June, a 12-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a Yemeni plane crash off the Comoros.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Mirac ... z0npw9sMb9
****
Bulgarian woman has twins at 62
Herald News ServicesMay 13, 2010
A 62-year-old Bulgarian woman has become the country's oldest first-time mother by giving birth to twins following an embryo transfer, the daily 24 Hours reported on Wednesday.
Krasimira Dimitrova, a psychiatrist from the northern city of Ruse, gave birth by caesarean section on May 5 to twin baby girls, named Mary and Jacqueline, who each weighed less than one kilogram.
Dimitrova told the newspaper in an interview that she was initially impregnated with triplets but doctors decided to remove one of the embryos.
"Age was not an obstacle for me . . . I so much wanted to have children," she said.
Dimitrova, who is soon to retire, said that she was resolved to become pregnant after the authorities refused to let her adopt a child because of her age.
"I would not like to look too much in the future. I hope that the babies will be well," she said.
Georgy Hubchev, the doctor who delivered the babies, told the state BTA news agency that this was only the second case in the world of a successful embryo transfer to a woman aged over 60 resulting in the birth of twins.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 7&sponsor=
Airliner crash in Libya claims 103 lives
By Imed Lamloum, Agence France-Presse May 13, 2010
StoryPhotos ( 2 )
More Images » Rescue workers examine debris from Afriqiyah Airways Flight 8U771, which crashed at Tripoli airport Wednesday killing all but one on board.Photograph by: Ismail Zitouny, Reuters, Agence France-PresseA
Libyan airliner arriving from South Africa disintegrated on landing at Tripoli airport Wednesday, killing 103 people but leaving an eight-year-old boy as the sole survivor, officials said.
Libyan Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan said the dead included nationals of nine countries, but that a full 61 came from the Netherlands, which ordered flags on government buildings flown at half-mast as a mark of respect.
Zidan said the boy who survived was also Dutch, but the Foreign Ministry in The Hague was unable to confirm his nationality.
The boy underwent surgery at a Tripoli hospital where medical staff said his condition was not life-threatening.
"The boy suffered broken legs and was injured in the head," a hospital official told reporters.
Dutch broadcaster NOS, which interrupted normal programming to follow the crash developments, showed footage of the survivor with facial bruises in his hospital bed.
The Dutch daily Telegraaf said the child had been travelling with his parents and an 11-year-old sibling.
EU parliament president Jerzy Buzek described the boy's survival as "truly a miracle."
Last June, a 12-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a Yemeni plane crash off the Comoros.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Mirac ... z0npw9sMb9
****
Bulgarian woman has twins at 62
Herald News ServicesMay 13, 2010
A 62-year-old Bulgarian woman has become the country's oldest first-time mother by giving birth to twins following an embryo transfer, the daily 24 Hours reported on Wednesday.
Krasimira Dimitrova, a psychiatrist from the northern city of Ruse, gave birth by caesarean section on May 5 to twin baby girls, named Mary and Jacqueline, who each weighed less than one kilogram.
Dimitrova told the newspaper in an interview that she was initially impregnated with triplets but doctors decided to remove one of the embryos.
"Age was not an obstacle for me . . . I so much wanted to have children," she said.
Dimitrova, who is soon to retire, said that she was resolved to become pregnant after the authorities refused to let her adopt a child because of her age.
"I would not like to look too much in the future. I hope that the babies will be well," she said.
Georgy Hubchev, the doctor who delivered the babies, told the state BTA news agency that this was only the second case in the world of a successful embryo transfer to a woman aged over 60 resulting in the birth of twins.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 7&sponsor=
'Jungle woman' flees back to forest home
Agence France-Presse
May 29, 2010
Cambodia's "jungle woman," whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has fled back to the jungle, her father and local police said Friday.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 29, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province, about 600 kilometres northeast of the capital, Phnom Penh.
In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging on the ground for pieces of dried rice.
"She must have fled back to the forest on Tuesday evening while she was going to take a bath," Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, told AFP by telephone.
"I and my son are looking for her in the middle forest now," he said, adding that he believed "forest spirits" guided her back to the dense jungle.
Local police chief Ma Vichet said the authorities had also begun a search, but had found no sign of the woman.
"We also believe that she fled back to the jungle," Ma Vichet said.
Immediately after being taken from the jungle in 2007, Rochom P'ngieng could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what her father calls "animal noises."
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl" and since rejoining society she has battled bouts of illness after refusing food.
In December she began speaking normally, instead of making animal-type noises, and helping out around the house, according to her father.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri are some of Cambodia's wildest and most isolated.
Rochom P'ngieng has previously tried to flee back into the jungle but was stopped by her family, her father said.
Photo:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 8&sponsor=
Agence France-Presse
May 29, 2010
Cambodia's "jungle woman," whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has fled back to the jungle, her father and local police said Friday.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 29, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province, about 600 kilometres northeast of the capital, Phnom Penh.
In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging on the ground for pieces of dried rice.
"She must have fled back to the forest on Tuesday evening while she was going to take a bath," Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, told AFP by telephone.
"I and my son are looking for her in the middle forest now," he said, adding that he believed "forest spirits" guided her back to the dense jungle.
Local police chief Ma Vichet said the authorities had also begun a search, but had found no sign of the woman.
"We also believe that she fled back to the jungle," Ma Vichet said.
Immediately after being taken from the jungle in 2007, Rochom P'ngieng could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what her father calls "animal noises."
Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl" and since rejoining society she has battled bouts of illness after refusing food.
In December she began speaking normally, instead of making animal-type noises, and helping out around the house, according to her father.
The jungles of Ratanakkiri are some of Cambodia's wildest and most isolated.
Rochom P'ngieng has previously tried to flee back into the jungle but was stopped by her family, her father said.
Photo:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 8&sponsor=
'Normal bloke' kills 12 in rural England rampage
Agence France-PresseJune 3, 2010
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
A police officer guards the scene of a deadly shooting on Duke Street in Whitehaven, northern England, on Wednesday.
Photograph by: Derek Blair, AFP-Getty Images, Agence France-Presse
F riends and neighbours of Derrick Bird, who killed 12 people on a shooting spree Wednesday in northern England, have expressed shock that a "normal bloke" could wreak such devastation.
But according to one friend, Bird may have planned his killings in advance.
The 52-year-old taxi driver drove through the picturesque Lake District picking off his victims with rifle and a shotgun, witnesses said, in a terrifying rampage that only ended when he turned the gun on himself.
Police do not yet know what motivated the attack.
He had no history of mental illness, according to the local health authorities, but reports suggested a family rift over his mother's will could be to blame.
The Times newspaper reported that Bird's twin brother David was among his victims, as was the family's solicitor, Kevin J. Commons.
Peter Ledder, a friend of Bird's going back 20 years, told the Times that there had been some indication of what he was going to do.
In a conversation at midnight on Tuesday, less than 12 hours before he began his murderous attacks, Bird told him: "I won't see you again."
"He had never said anything like that before. I came into work in the morning and heard what was happening. He must have had it pre-planned," Ledder said.
Several local people expressed shock that the killer was the popular but quiet divorcee who lived alone in the village of Rowrah, who many just knew as Birdy.
He had two grown-up sons, one of whom had recently had his first son.
Michelle Haigh, the landlady at the Hound Inn pub where Bird would regularly pop in for a drink, said: "He was just a normal bloke.
"He was a nice guy, nothing out of the ordinary. He would come into the pub, have a couple of pints, have a chat with his friend and go home. This is not in character with the Derrick Bird we know."
"I have known him for 15 years. He was always pleasant, always had time to say hello," added Ryan Dempsey, 26, a neighbour in Rowrah.
"As far as I'm concerned this is completely out of character. I had never seen him in a bad mood."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Agence France-PresseJune 3, 2010
http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_prin ... 3&sponsor=
A police officer guards the scene of a deadly shooting on Duke Street in Whitehaven, northern England, on Wednesday.
Photograph by: Derek Blair, AFP-Getty Images, Agence France-Presse
F riends and neighbours of Derrick Bird, who killed 12 people on a shooting spree Wednesday in northern England, have expressed shock that a "normal bloke" could wreak such devastation.
But according to one friend, Bird may have planned his killings in advance.
The 52-year-old taxi driver drove through the picturesque Lake District picking off his victims with rifle and a shotgun, witnesses said, in a terrifying rampage that only ended when he turned the gun on himself.
Police do not yet know what motivated the attack.
He had no history of mental illness, according to the local health authorities, but reports suggested a family rift over his mother's will could be to blame.
The Times newspaper reported that Bird's twin brother David was among his victims, as was the family's solicitor, Kevin J. Commons.
Peter Ledder, a friend of Bird's going back 20 years, told the Times that there had been some indication of what he was going to do.
In a conversation at midnight on Tuesday, less than 12 hours before he began his murderous attacks, Bird told him: "I won't see you again."
"He had never said anything like that before. I came into work in the morning and heard what was happening. He must have had it pre-planned," Ledder said.
Several local people expressed shock that the killer was the popular but quiet divorcee who lived alone in the village of Rowrah, who many just knew as Birdy.
He had two grown-up sons, one of whom had recently had his first son.
Michelle Haigh, the landlady at the Hound Inn pub where Bird would regularly pop in for a drink, said: "He was just a normal bloke.
"He was a nice guy, nothing out of the ordinary. He would come into the pub, have a couple of pints, have a chat with his friend and go home. This is not in character with the Derrick Bird we know."
"I have known him for 15 years. He was always pleasant, always had time to say hello," added Ryan Dempsey, 26, a neighbour in Rowrah.
"As far as I'm concerned this is completely out of character. I had never seen him in a bad mood."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald