Eight-year-old girl China's youngest lung cancer case

BEIJING (Nov 5, 2013): An eight-year-old girl has become China's youngest lung cancer patient, reports said, with doctors blaming pollution as the direct cause of her illness.
The girl, whose name was not given, lives near a major road in the eastern province of Jiangsu, said Xinhuanet, the website of China's official news agency.
It quoted Jie Fengdong, a doctor at Jiangsu Cancer Hospital in Nanjing, as saying she had been exposed to harmful particles and dust over a long period of time.
Lung cancer cases among children are extremely rare, with the average age for diagnosis at about 70, according to the American Cancer Society.
But the incidence of the disease has skyrocketed in China as the country's rapid development has brought with it deteriorating air quality, particularly in urban areas.
Lung cancer deaths in China have multiplied more than four times over the past 30 years, according to Beijing's health ministry. Cancer is now the leading cause of death in the smog-ridden capital.
The report of the eight-year-old girl's diagnosis comes after choking smog enveloped the northeastern city of Harbin two weeks ago, bringing flights and ground transport to a standstill and forcing schools to shut for several days, with visibility in some areas reduced to less than 50 metres.
At the height of the smog, the city's levels of PM2.5 - the smallest, most dangerous type of airborne particle - reached 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre, 40 times the World Health Organisation's recommended standard.
High levels of PM2.5 have been linked to health problems including lung cancer and heart disease. – AFP

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/873831

Penis ICE-CREAM in Japan

Japan’s penis festival in Kawasaki

The enormous pink penis catches the light as I approach it. There’s no glint of shame as it exposes itself to the crowd. It’s the centre of attention, with throngs of Japanese people pushing to get closer to the engorged phallus. In a country normally so obsessed with decorum, it’s an odd sight.

Well, it would be an odd sight anywhere else in Japan, but this is the annual penis festival – the celebration of manhood that happens under the guise of a religious ceremony at a Shinto shrine. That’s right, blessed be the cocks here in the city of Kawasaki, about half an hour south of Tokyo.

 http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/04/kawasaki-penis-festival-kanamara-matsuri-japan/

 


Before I get to the thrust of the festival (see what I did there?), let’s take a step back for a second. We should pay tribute to the origins of this annual event which is officially called Kanamara Matsuri.
The shrine has been the place for people with penises in their prayers for more than four centuries. In the 1600s, this area was full of prostitutes and they would come here to ask for protection from sexually-transmitted diseases. Over time, people started coming to pray for fertility, long marriages, healthy births… and then (somehow) the penis symbology got twisted (sounds painful) to also represent a successful business and a prosperous life (try telling that to Tiger Woods!).


Now, back to this enormous pink phallus. It’s actually one of three that are the centrepieces of the festival and it’s not even the most important. That honour goes to the slightly smaller (but still quite well-endowed) black iron penis which is housed in a small wooden temple on sticks. As the legend goes, back in ye olde days, a sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated her husband on their wedding night. The iron penis was forged by a blacksmith to break the demon’s teeth and kill it! (Don’t think about this story for too long… in fact, let’s just move on.)

The Kanamara Matsuri Festival

So, back to today, and the official part of the Kanamara Matsuri Festival each year in Kawasaki is the parade through the nearby streets where the three huge altars with the erect idols are carried by groups of worshippers. The footpaths are full of people who crowd around these mobile temples as the bearers chant and sing and shout and sway from side to side. There’s nothing particularly serene about this and it looks more like a Mardi Gras than a spiritual pilgrimage.



In fact, that’s the mood of the whole day. Nothing is taken too seriously. Whatever the origins of this festival, it is now one big party… just one where religion and cocks are mixed together (the Catholics don’t have a monopoly on that!).
Gongs and dongs. There’ll be one line of people waiting to pray inside the shrine right next to another line of people waiting to buy a lollipop in the shape of a penis. The traditional carving of the radishes into phallic shapes happens in one corner and in another are large wooden wangs that you can ride like a horse.


It’s all good fun and the festival staff (honestly, no pun intended) try to make it a fun event by encouraging the crowd to get involved. Because of the reputation it has gathered over the years and the proximity to Tokyo, it’s extremely popular with ex-pats as well and foreigners make up a large part of the crowd.



There’s hardly room to move and you often have to push your way through all the people. But, in honour of the origins, the festival raises money for HIV research so at least it’s a good cause. For one day these penises get to shine. But, hey, it’s tradition, right?

Is this the most spoilt child in Britain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgllLFH8TlU

WATCH: The 11-year-old boy who can talk backwards fluently - and doesn't even break a sweat when transposing 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'

WATCH: The 11-year-old boy who can talk backwards fluently - and doesn't even break a sweat when transposing 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2499431/Meet-10-year-old-Scottish-boy-talk-backwards-fluently.html#ixzz2l3Tv4IbY 

An 11-year-old boy has revealed his talent for speaking backwards in a video posted online by his father.

In the five-minute clip on YouTube, Cameron's father gives him sentences to say backwards. Scottish boy Cameron uses an iPad app that reverses speech to demonstrate his talent.

The app transposes regular speech into backwards speech, but since Cameron is already speaking backwards to begin with the sentences become understandable when played through the app. 

Scroll down for video

Turned around: 11-year-old Cameron from Scotland has picked up the talent of being able to speak backwards

He starts off with the simple sentence of 'My name is Cameron and I live in Scotland', before his dad starts giving him more complex sentences such as: 'I went outside to play on my bike today'.

Cameron was also asked in the video - posted in April 2012 - to say backwards: 'I'm going to Canada for my summer holidays'. He can also count from one to 20 backwards.

 

My 10 year old Son talking backwards fluently

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwl8APA1e5g&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

Pakistan bans science text book on pretext of it provoking 'sexual desire'

LAHORE: The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has banned a science book for Grade VI students of a chain of elite schools for containing material that could provoke " sexual desire".
The text book used by the Lahore Grammar School was banned after authorities received complaints from parents.
"We have banned the book after receiving complaints from parents," provincial education minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad told PTI

 The science book had material that could provoke "sexual desire", which could not be tolerated, he said.
"We will not allow anyone to teach our children with material which is against our social values and religious beliefs," Ahmad said.
An inquiry was underway to ascertain why "objectionable" contents were included in the science book, he said.
The Punjab government also took cognizance of the same school's decision to replace Islamic Studies, a compulsory subject, with Religious Studies in Grade VI.
"The new subject contains material which may mislead and confuse the minds of children," Ahmad said.
"Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan is quite clear about the provision that no Pakistani citizen should be taught a religion other than his own religion - Islam," Ahmad said.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-21/pakistan/42272031_1_sexual-desire-science-book-pakistan

Internet Then and NOW

The lighter side

The lighter side

A little boy was found crying in a supermarket. When asked what was wrong, he told the security guy that he had lost his mum.  
 “What does she look like?” asked the security guy
“I don’t know” sobbed the boy.
A moment later his mother came down the aisle.

 Scroll down

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. 

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin. 

 Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!' 

 Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side. 

Was that important? Absolutely! > Is it really significant? Yes!

 In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. > The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every > Jewish boy knew this tradition. 

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. > > The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.. >

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. 

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished.." 

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

 The folded napkin meant, > "I'm coming back!" 

 Did you know this before? I didn't. Now I know why the priests so meticulously fold the napkins at the altar!

Are Afghan women better off after a decade of war?

By Heather Barr, Special to CNN

March 8, 2012 -- Updated 1052 GMT (1852 HKT)

Editor's note: Heather Barr is the Afghanistan Researcher for Human Rights Watch. She has lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, since 2007.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- When U.S. forces toppled the Taliban government following the 9/11 attacks, there was a global wave of support from people horrified by the plight of Afghan women. Under the Taliban, women had been denied education, banned from medical treatment by male doctors, and publicly executed for "immorality."

The Taliban's fall promised women some basic freedoms and rights. Indeed, over the past 10 years there have been significant improvements for Afghan women and girls. Official restrictions ended on access to education, work, and health care. Millions of girls went to school for the first time. Women joined government, won elected office, and became police officers and even soldiers. A new constitution in 2004 guaranteed women equal rights, and a 2009 law made violence against women a crime.

Heather Barr

Underneath the surface of these changes, however, deep seated problems persist. Women in public life have suffered harassment, threats, and sometimes murder. Forced marriage, underage marriage, and domestic violence are widespread and too widely accepted.

About 400 women and girls are imprisoned at present for the "moral crimes" of sex outside of marriage and simply running away from home, often to flee abuse. While education is more accessible, more than half of girls still don't go to school. Every two hours an Afghan woman dies of pregnancy-related causes.

As the announced departure of international forces in 2014 draws closer, many Afghan women look to the future with fear. They worry that the troop pullout signals the end of interest in Afghanistan, and with it the international commitment to push the Afghan government to promote and protect women's rights. Also likely to decrease is the foreign aid that pays for schools and clinics that have changed many lives. Afghan women fear being abandoned again by the rest of the world, as they were during the Taliban era.

Plans for peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government raise the specter of women's rights being bargained away. If there are no women at the negotiating table, this is even more likely.

This week the fragility of women's rights in Afghanistan has been on full display. The Ulema Council, a government-supported body of religious leaders, issued a statement on several issues, including the recent burning of copies of the Quran at a U.S. military base. The longest part of the statement, however, gave religious guidance on how women should be treated and should behave.

The statement said some good things. It prohibited a traditional practice of giving a girl to another family to resolve a dispute ("baad"). It spoke against forced marriage. It confirmed women's rights to inherit and own property.

On women's duties, however, the statement took a turn for the worse: Women should not travel without a male chaperone. Women should not mix with men while studying, or working, or in public. Women must wear the Islamic hijab. Women are secondary to men.

If this was just the view of conservative religious leaders, it would be discouraging, but just another in a long line of discriminatory statements about women from Afghanistan's male dominated institutions. What caused consternation, however, was the sense that President Hamid Karzai had embraced the statement. In a departure from usual practice, the statement was posted on the Presidential Palace website, distributed to the media by the Palace, and defended by President Karzai at a news conference.

President Karzai has a mixed record on women's rights. He committed Afghanistan to an international convention promising equal rights for women and pushed through by decree the 2009 law making violence against women a crime. He recently spoke out on two high-profile cases of violence against women.

On the other hand, in the run-up to the 2009 presidential election he curried favor with hard-liners by signing the Shia Personal Status Law, which, for Afghanistan's Shia minority, gives a husband the right to withdraw maintenance from his wife, including food, if she refuses to obey sexual demands, grants guardianship of children exclusively to men, and requires women to have permission from their husbands to work. Some women fear that Karzai is using the Ulema Council statement to send a message about what compromises he is ready to make with the Taliban.

With international interest in Afghanistan waning, negotiations with the Taliban in the offing, and Karzai's endorsement of the Ulema Council's statement, Afghan women are more vulnerable than at any time in the past 10 years. Now President Obama and other backers of the Afghan government should make it clear that they will not support any deals that sacrifice women's rights, and press Karzai to make his position clear. The risks for Afghan women are too high to do anything less.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/08/opinion/afghanistan-women-rights-barr

Syrian Refugees Struggle at Zaatari Camp

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/09/world/middleeast/zaatari.html?ref=syria

Syrian Refugees Struggle at Zaatari Camp

About 120,000 Syrians are calling the tents and trailers of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan home, at least for the foreseeable future. Related Article »

Text by JODI RUDOREN, photographs by LYNSEY ADDARIO and video by TAMIR ELTERMAN

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Syrian refugees at a food distribution center at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.

ZAATARI, Jordan – Some 1.3 million Syrians fleeing civil war have flooded surrounding nations. More than 500,000 are in Jordan, perhaps 120,000 of them in the mind- numbing rows of tents and trailers in the overcrowded Zaatari refugee camp. To move out into Jordan’s overwhelmed cities and villages, Syrians need a sponsor guaranteeing financial support. This leaves many stuck in Zaatari, which opened last July, for months, struggling to survive cold nights, dusty days and a diet of dry rations, and with little to do but long for home.

A Makeshift Metropolis Emerges in the Desert

From September to November of last year, Zaatari doubled in size, to 5,000 shelters. It long ago exceeded its planned capacity of 60,000 people. There are now 25,000 dwellings sprawling across five square miles. Aid workers hope to replace all the tents with sturdier mobile-home units by mid-summer. So far, there are 10,000.

Feb. 3, 201318,169 Shelters

DigitalGlobe

SeptemberNovemberJanuaryFebruaryMarchApril

Hope and Uncertainty at the Border Crossing

Most refugees cross the border at night, some after days of trekking led by opposition fighters. But as the rebels have taken control of areas close to the border, more people are crossing during daylight. At Shajarah, a major Jordanian Army registration point along the border, 541 refugees arrived one recent Wednesday. They were given biscuits and juice and spent up to 12 hours crowding around two soldiers in a dimly lighted tent who checked their identification and logged their names by hand.

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

A Syrian father with his two daughters and their belongings shortly after arriving in Jordan through the border crossing at Shajarah. 

“We slept in a bus and we rode in a taxi then from car to car. Half of the trip was walking on rocks and we reached here at 3 a.m. I’m waiting here until God makes it better there.”

Ruqaya Mohammad al-Ahmad brought her two children, Sindra, 7, and Tariq, 3, to Zaatari.

From Tent to Trailer, Waiting to Go Home

In Zaatari, the mobile-home units known as caravans are the most precious commodity, separating those who have little from those who have less. The 200-square-foot caravans, donated by more than half a dozen countries, have windows, floors and doors that lock.

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Zaatari opened as an emergency outpost but now sprawls across five square miles and costs $1 million a day to run.

“It’s so easy. I feel proud because I feel like I help my family by bringing this income.”

Ahmad Ojan, 14, sells cups of hot tea for 15 cents apiece to people waiting at the registration camp and in the open-air market.