A £1 House in U.K.
Homes in Stoke-on-Trent which can be bought for just £1
More than 600 people are interested in buying rundown homes in Stoke-on-Trent for £1 each, the city council has said.
Thirty-five derelict homes, mainly two-bedroom terraced properties, will initially be sold off in the Cobridge area, with a further 89 to follow.
Under the £3m project, the local authority is offering loans of up to £30,000 to help complete essential repairs on the houses.
Applications opened for potential buyers on Monday.
People have until 12 May to apply for one.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the initial 35 homes would be randomly allocated to the successful applicants.
The majority are two-bedroom, but there are also a few three-bedroom houses and possibly some flats.
Anyone applying must have lived in the city for the past three years.
Other criteria they must satisfy include:
A joint income of £18,000 to £25,000 a year – £30,000 maximum if they have children
Applicants must have been employed for the past two years
They must not own another property
They must have the right to live permanently in the UK
The new house must be their main home for at least five years
‘Community spirit’
Anyone taking out the £30,000 loan would have to pay it back within 10 years at an interest rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate, which currently stands at 0.5%.
If the house is sold within 10 years, a proportion of any profit must be paid to the council on a sliding scale.
In return for buying the properties, people will be required to renovate them and bring them back into use.
Councillor Janine Bridges, responsible for housing, said the scheme would “see a rundown area of the city transformed”.
She added: “The project will not only benefit the residents who are currently living next door to properties that have been vacant for some time, it will also give families moving into the homes the chance to take their first step on the property ladder.”
The council said it hoped to “build a community spirit” in the area and create “thriving neighbourhoods”.
However, Steph Dunn-Fox, from Stoke-on-Trent-based estate agents findahomeonline.co.uk, said Cobridge was presently an unattractive area for home buyers and was “full of empty homes”.
She said: “I think it’s a great idea in principle and they’re probably thinking it’ll appeal most to first-time buyers.
“It’s the sort of area and offer that could appeal to property developers, but they’re excluded from this.
“It’s difficult – unless you’re from the area, who wants to live on a rundown street, carry out a lot of work and know you have to stay there for at least five years?”
She said she could see a typical terrace house redeveloped in a good condition reaching a maximum of £55,000 to £60,000 on the market.
Last month, Liverpool City Council said more than 2,000 people had been in touch about buying 20 homes there during the week they were on offer for £1.
How To Make Money From Short Stories
Richard Bausch wins $30,000 Rea Award for short stories
NEW YORK - One of the country's top short story writers has won a $30,000 prize.
Richard Bausch, author of eight story collections and winner of numerous other honors, is this year's recipient of the Rea Award for the Short Story.
The prize, announced Thursday, is given for making a "significant contribution" to the art of short story writing. Bausch's books include "Something Is Out There" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." He also has written 11 novels and has been praised for his lyrical style and his insights into a wide a range of people and emotions.
The Rea Award was established in 1986. Previous winners include Eudora Welty, John Updike and Lorrie Moore.
The Sex Top Secrets How To Put You In The mood For Sex
40 Ways That Will Definitely Put You in the Mood for Sex
If you're one of those people who are always and forever in the mood for sex, then well done, you! But other women -- whether it's because they're tired, stressed, or just not into it -- need a bit of inspiration to get the juices flowing. We came up with 40 sexy ways that will put you in the mood for getting it on. There's no way you can make it though the whole list and not have sex on the brain.
1. Wear a super sexy bra and panties under your clothes during the day. By the time you get home you'll be all set for fun.
2. Take a hot bath. Then slip on a silky robe.
3. Slick on minty lip gloss. Anything on your lips will make you feel sexy, and you'll have fresh breath, too.
4. Shave your legs.
5. While you're at it, get a Brazilian bikini wax. Everything is more sensitive without all that hair in the way.
6. Take a 30-minute nap -- completely naked. You'll wake up refreshed and ready to go.
7. Show some skin -- but just a peek.
8. Add "new sex toy" to your shopping list and swing by the sex toy store next time you're out running errands -- just make sure it's the very last one.
9. Sexting isn't just for smarmy politicians. Send your lover a raunchy text message. Wait for a response.
10. "Forget" to wear undies on your next date.
11. Practice good posture to feel confident; sexiness will follow.
12. A little bit of PDA goes a long way.
13. Take a steamy bath. Afterwards, slather rose- or cucumber-scented lotion over your entire body. Either of those aphrodisiac scents will drive you insane.
14. Share one of your steamiest sexual fantasies with your partner; don't be stingy with the details.
15. Rock high heels and a short skirt. Just because.
16. Turn the lights low and light cinnamon- or vanilla-scented candles. Why those particular scents? Try it and see what happens.
17. Read an erotic book. When you get to the part that makes you blush, KEEP GOING.
18. Read the part of your erotic book that makes you blush the most out-loud to your partner.
19. Splurge on a flirty, seductive perfume; spritz your neck, behind your knees, and between your breasts.
20. Instead of stockings, wear thigh highs under your dress held up with a sexy lace garter.
21. Drink a half a glass of red wine -- just enough to help you relax, but not too much to make you drunk.
22. Bright red lipstick works like a charm.
23. Watch a sexy movie. What? Don't know any? Last Tango in Paris or Unfaithful are a good place to start.
24. Masturbate more. But don't go overboard! Find a good balance.
25. Clench your girl parts (i.e. do Kegels).
26. Sign up for a pole dancing or cardio strip-tease class; practice makes perfect!
27. Text your partner a descriptive play-by-play of everything you plan to do to him/her once you are alone.
28. Melt some dark chocolate. Dip strawberries (or other fruit) into the chocolate and feed to your lover. Demand (playfully) he/she do the same for you.
29. "Read up" on new sex positions online. Hey, you have to stay current.
30. Oysters and bubbly wine isn't just a cliche: It really works.
31. Do yoga.
32. Go to a strip club with your girlfriends. Seeing other women be sexy can do wonders for your own sexual self esteem.
33. Watch a Ryan Gosling movie.
34. Flirt with your super hot crush at the gym.
35. Think about sex. Stuck in traffic or in line at the grocery store? Fantasize about what you want your partner to do to you when you get home.
36. Treat yourself to a lingerie shopping trip. Try on a variety of options. Buy the one that makes you feel feminine, fierce, beautiful, and drop-dead sexy.
37. Get a massage.
38. Mentally replay the hottest night you and your partner spent together down to every last dirty detail. Repeat.
39. Tell your lover to take a sexy photo of himself/herself and text it to you during the day.
40. Do #39 for your lover.
The Secrets How To Have The Hottest Sex In Your Life
50 Things You Can Try Tonight to Have the Hottest Sex
In celebration of my latest book, Hot Sex: Over 200 Things You Can Try Tonight, I've decided to round up 50 sexy or sex-filled things that you can do -- easily. Well, depending on the kids and time, and without much prep, to help keep things cayenne-pepper hot in the sexy time department. And I want you to add to the list too, please!
Ready?
1. Kiss like you did before you had ever done anything else.
2. Breathe together, holding and hugging each other while you do it.
3. Eat seductively. Really pay attention to how you lick ice cream or chew meat off a bone.
4. See how long you can stay turned on without taking any of your clothes off.
5. Dry hump with your clothes, or at least your underwear, on.
6. Rub your hair all over his body.
7. For at least one minute, both of you stare into each other's eyes.
8. Set up email accounts using aliases. Then send dirty emails and pictures to that account.
9. Play a game of striptease.
10. Collaborate on a piece of erotic writing or storytelling. You write/recite a paragraph, then your partner does the same. Go back and forth until you finish the story.
11. Buy a pair of nitrile gloves and give your partner a gloved hand job. (Trust me, it feels different.)
12. Wear a mask.
13. Wear a wig.
14. Try a new condom, heck, try the female condom.
15. Use a string of pearls (plastic beads will do just fine), and masturbate his penis.
16. Masturbate him with a banana peel. Try warming it in the microwave for five seconds for warmer, happier times.
17. Use lube. Lots of lube.
18. Use silicone lube and get it on in the shower.
19. Be blindfolded or do the blindfolding.
20. Find three things in the kitchen (like a spatula, wooden spoon, honey) that you can play with sensually.
21. Fingerpaint each other's breasts.
22. Rock around the clit. With your finger, go clockwise from 12 on back, and counterclockwise. See what time feels best.
23. Rent a porn and reenact a scene.
24. Masturbate for each other. Cheer, hoot, and holler for your lover.
25. Read each other an erotic story from a sexy book.
26. Play a board game but change the rules to make them sexy.
27. Try a board game designed to inspire monogamy.
28. Have sex in your car, even if it's parked in the garage.
29. Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles around something or someone.
30. Figure out a new sex position using pillows.
31. Turn on an electric toothbrush ... use them on his, or her, nipples.
32. Use any vibrator ... on him, in the area known as the perineum, between the bum and the balls.
33. Have a sexy chat, either by video or text, and yes, even if you live together, do it from separate rooms.
34. Have a contest to see who can come first, or who can hold out longest.
35. Pick out your partner's outfit and dress them up before you dress them down.
36. Buy a wireless vibrator and go out dancing, and let your husband or boyfriend control the remote.
37. Have sex first thing in the morning.
38. See how high you can bring your sex energy through breathing.
39. Get kinky -- try light spanking or flogging.
40. Try a vibrator built for two.
41. Make love outdoors.
42. Go on a date to a cheap hotel room.
43. Pay your partner for sex.
44. Give, or get, a lap dance.
45. Slow dance like it's the first time, but not that first awkward time. Unless, of course, awkward turns you on.
46. Write down some fantasies and put them in a hat. Then pick out a fantasy and act it out. Include a list of props in your fantasy.
47. Give each other head rubs.
48. Massage each other using a soy-based hot wax candle.
49. Leave the lights on. Get naughty. If you feel extra frisky, leave the blinds open too.
50. Make a meal out of aphrodisiac foods. Feed it to each other, or eat the food off one another.
Orgasm Without Hands
The Hands-Free Orgasm
Is getting off without contact really possible?
Orgasms can be mysterious, mind-blowing, lengthy, elusive or—as we just learned—hands-free.
From Em & Lo comes the tale of a college freshman who attends a "How To Have A Genderless Orgasm" workshop in lieu of his art history class. Led by Barbara Carrellas, author of Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-first Century, the students go through breathing, muscle-contracting and chakra-balancing exercises to reach climax.
"When the instructor gives the command, we’re to breathe 30 quick breaths in unison — it’s an individual exercise, yet we’re working as a group to achieve "orgasm." Heavy breathing, chests heaving, students moaning. Even the normally taciturn ones are sighing audibly. A tingling sensation starts in my lower belly and seems to travel up into my head (like, the head head, where my brain is). The music becomes a loud and powerful tribal chant. People begin to curl over into the fetal position. Climax is achieved!"
Orgasm without sex or masturbation? The mind is a powerful beast, indeed. As the blogger describes, the sensation wasn't exactly like the orgasms he's experienced before: "If this is an orgasm, it’s the strangest one I have ever had. (I’m not entirely convinced)." But, the post-climax serenity he experiences is unlike anything he's ever felt. True to Tantra, the goal of the "genderless orgasm" (for men) is not ejaculation but harnessing and getting pleasure from the body-connecting-with-Earth energy.
Extending or enhancing orgasm seems to be on many a short list; and using the power of the mind and breathing exercises, a G-spot shot or—gulp—Orajel and two condoms, are just some of the ways people are doing it.
The Bulgarian Mystery
Belogradchik, Bulgaria - The Belogradchik Rocks and the Belogradchik Fortress
Danube River Cruise Shore Excursion from the Viking Neptune
The Belogradchik Rocks (Bulgarian: Белоградчишки скали, Belogradchishki skali) are a group of strange shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations located on the western slopes of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) near the town of Belogradchik in northwest Bulgaria. The rocks vary in color from primarily red to yellow; some of the rocks reach up to 200 m in height. Many rocks have fantastic shapes and are associated with interesting legends. They are often named for people or objects they are thought to resemble. The Belogradchik Rocks have been declared a Natural Landmark by the Bulgarian government and are a major tourist attraction in the region.
The Belogradchik Rocks (also spelled Belogradshick or Belogradschik) are one of the natural wonders of Bulgaria. These huge reddish limestone and sandstone rocks tower over the small town of Belogradchik and form part of the walls of the Belogradchik Fortress, which was first built by the Romans about 100 AD.
Danube River cruises in eastern Europe often include a half-day at Belogradchik from Vidin so that passengers can stroll the streets of the town and climb the numerous steps and ladders to the top of the Belogradchik Rock formations. The view from the top is spectacular, and knowing that many of the old steps date back to Roman times makes the walk even more interesting. Those who have mobility problems can still enjoy the Belogradchik rocks and fortress from very near where the coach parks at the entrance to the Belogradchik Fortress.
At first glance, one might think these photos were from the Southwestern part of the USA, until the Roman walls and Bulgarian signage are sighted!
Deported for Being Too Handsome
Crime of Passion: Three Men Forcibly Deported from Saudi Arabia for Being “Too Handsome”
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TV Emirates reported recently that three United Arab Emirates nationals were deported from Saudi Arabia for the crime of being “too handsome.”
This is certainly an uncommon criminal accusation, but one that we can relate to (some of our writers are banned in 26 countries for the opposite reason).
The three men were manning a booth representing the UAE at a cultural event in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh when the Saudi Mutaween (“religious police”) stormed the UAE booth and carried the men off, with women in the crowd presumably fainting left and right due to their sheer handsomeness.
Apparently, the Mutaween feared that women attending the event were likely to “fall in love” with the three men, prompting the arrest and forced deportation.
We can only assume that Brad Pitt is banned entirely from entering the country and that his face is covered by mosaic in all of his films in the Middle Eastern nation.
A Girl Without Bones
New drug gives growth to girl born with no bones
Nurses didn't know a breakthrough drug was on the horizon when they dressed the tiny little girl in a pink outfit for a hospital photographer to take her picture.
It was a photograph for her parents -- an image of solace so they could remember Janelly Martinez-Amador free of tubes. Doctors told them then there was nothing more they could do for a child without bones.
Born with the most severe form of hypophosphatasia -- a genetic disorder that prevents skeletal mineralization -- the girl didn't have the ribs to support breathing. Her parents, Salvador Martinez and Janet Amador of Antioch, were facing the prospect of having to decide whether to continue life-sustaining interventions.
But Janelly held on long enough for a last chance at life. At age 2 years and 8 months, she entered a clinical trial involving an experimental medicine at Monroe Carrel Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Four years later, Janelly can dance.
One of 11 children worldwide enrolled in the clinical trial, she was the runt of the bunch. Her disease was so pronounced she could not move her body. Her bones didn't even show up on X-rays. She was also the youngest and technically didn't meet the trial's 3-year-old age requirement.
But Vanderbilt physicians had been telling Dr. Michael P. Whyte, a metabolic bone disease specialist with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, about Janelly.
Whyte was about to start a clinical trial for a new drug, a biologic enzyme called asfotase alfa, that he wanted to try on toddlers with hypophosphatasia. Although this genetic disorder can cause a wide spectrum of bone loss in people of all ages, patients diagnosed as infants like Janelly have the most severe form. They usually die.
Janelly was diagnosed at about 4 months old.
"We started noticing she wasn't growing as she should at that point, and she wasn't gaining the weight as she should at her age," Martinez said with the aid of a Spanish interpreter.
The baby responded to hugs as if in pain.
Pediatricians thought Janelly might have cancer when they sent her to the Vanderbilt hospital. Vanderbilt diagnosed the severe form of hypophosphatasia -- a rare disorder that occurs in only one of every 100,000 infants.
Complications from the disease worsened to the point that Janelly spent months in the intensive care unit before her first birthday. She had to get a tracheotomy and depend upon a ventilator to live. When her parents brought her home from the hospital, they also took home a ventilator.
They held onto to hope for a cure.
In February 2009, Janelly began treatment with a medicine that had been developed by Canada-based Enobia Pharma Corp. and put on fast-track approval status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because it was an "orphan drug" -- the first possible treatment for a disease. Shriners Hospitals for Children and Enobia, which has since been acquired by Connecticut-based Alexion, funded the clinical trial.
Janelly had a special port surgically inserted in her abdomen so she could receive infusions of this bone-targeting enzyme.
One of the 11 children in the trial started showed skeletal improvements as early as three weeks into treatment. All the others had "striking" skeletal healing by six months -- except for Janelly.
"We were fearful that her bone disease was so terribly severe that it might not work," said Whyte, who had never met Janelly but had read her case history when he enrolled her in the study.
Her parents were the first to notice a change. They saw her gaining muscle control before medical imaging detected bone growth. Doctors initially were discouraged.
"We kept hearing from all the other sites that patients were having significant improvements," said Dr. Jill H. Simmons, a pediatric endocrinologist at Vanderbilt children's hospital. "We kept getting skeletal surveys and seeing no evidence of calcification. We really weren't seeing any improvements in her for six months."
Although no one could see it, the enzyme was sticking like snowflakes falling in darkness.
"We were very concerned when the therapy started that there was no mineral in her bones to target with enzymes," Whyte said. "So, would the enzyme find its way to bone and hook onto something to help her? But apparently -- although you couldn't see the mineral on an X-ray, you didn't see any bones on X-ray -- there was still enough there that the first molecule or enzyme to land did something."
After almost a year of treatment, Janelly finally was able to move all her limbs. After 18 months of treatment, doctors could see ribs forming.
"It was literally within those few weeks that her pulmonologist really started to notice significant improvements and was able to back her off on a ventilator," Simmons said. "It was fascinating how the calcification of those ribs really significantly turned her around."
These days, Janelly darts around in a stroller, sits up to watch television and rolls across the carpet. She dances as gracefully as any ballerina, interpreting the music with hand movements, from her stroller. Although she will soon turn 7, she's still the size of a toddler. Her bones have just begun to grow.
The tracheotomy tube prevents her from talking, but she makes noises and responds to stimuli. She goes to Harris-Hillman Special Education School. The long-term effect on her learning ability from the delay in her physical development remains a mystery.
Janelly recently went back into Vanderbilt to have the port removed from her abdomen. Instead of intravenous infusions, she has grown big enough to receive the enzyme treatment via three shots a week.
This month, Whyte traveled from St. Louis to Nashville, where he met Janelly for the first time.
"Her fingers, can I feel them?" he asked her parents, before caressing Janelly's hands to find the tiny bones.
A Penis On MARS !
Nasa Mars Rover Accidentally Draws Penis On Red Planet
Nasa's $800m Mars Exploration Rovers have accidentally drawn a penis.
The twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It appears that part of the robots' programming involves spinning in tight circles to test nearby terrain and find new routes.
Humorously, depending on your age perhaps, that has the unfortunate consequence of drawing a certain shape on the surface, which when discovered by Reddit essentially crashed Nasa's website.
The image was posted on Nasa's site and appears to be a genuine picture from the Martian surface - albeit one taken at an unfortunate angle.
It's not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
The Most Wanted Secrets How To Have A Stronger Memory
Clenching your fists creates a stronger memory
Need to remember some important facts for that big presentation at work? Clench your right hand while preparing to remember. When giving that talk, ball up your left hand and you’ll call to mind those details, no problem.
That’s the finding from a new study authored by Ruth Propper, an associate professor and director of the cerebral lateralization laboratory at Montclair State University. Propper has long been intrigued by how body movements impact how the brain works. While most people realize that the brain influences the body (the brain tells your arm there is an itch, and you feel it), less is understood about how the body sways the brain.
Past research suggests that clenching our hands can evoke emotions. When people ball up their right hands, for example, the left sides of their brains become more active, causing what’s known as “approach emotions,” feelings such as happiness or excitement. By squeezing the left hand, people engage the right side of the brain, which controls “withdrawal emotions” such as introversion, fear, or anxiety. (It probably seems like these might be less useful, but they come in handy in dangerous situations.)
Propper theorized that if clenching hands impacted feelings, these gestures might influence the brain in other ways.
To learn how hand clenching influenced memory and recall, she asked 51 right- handed subjects to memorize 72 words and randomly assigned each person to one of five hand-clenching groups or a control group that did nothing. Only righties were included because lefties exhibit better episodic memory overall so they’d have an unfair advantage. She found the perfect combination for better memory and recall occurs when a subject clenches his right hand while memorizing and balls up his left hand while trying to recall the memory.
“It is interesting to compare to not clenching at all. It’s almost 15 percent better [to clench right then left] than sitting there,” she says.
While a 15 percent improvement is on the edge of being statistically significant, Propper notes 15 percent can be the difference between an A and a C on test.
Propper admits that more research needs to be conducted on how bodily movements enhance brain function, but she recommends that people try squeezing their hands to aid with memory.
“I would say that it would be worth trying,” Propper says. Take parking your car in the parking lot. “(A)s you park you can clench your right hand and when you are trying to find it, clench your left hand.”
The National Masturbation Day
5 Facts You Didn't Know About Masturbation
According to my mother, women don't masturbate. The fact that I do, and she knows this because she reads what I write and I don't find the need to keep quiet about the subject, is not only upsetting to her but further proof that I "act like a man." A phrase both she and my father have used to describe me on several occasions. My father actually regards it as a compliment, while my mother is hoping her words will kick some sort of conventional ideas of how a lady should act into my brain. No such luck yet, mom.
Despite my mother's thoughts on the subject, women do masturbate. In fact, a lot of them do — and do it often, and it's pleasurable and makes for a better sex life. If you know how to get yourself off, then sex with someone else is that much more satisfying because you're confident with yourself and know your body.
Here are five things that you perhaps didn't know about masturbation. Hopefully these facts will make some of you more open to the subject. Let the climaxing begin!
1. People who have sex regularly masturbate more than those who don't. Weird, right? Well, not really. If you masturbate, you're more likely to be sexually open, and therefore, you know, have sex. Also, as I said above, if you know what you like when you're solo, it will enhance your sexual experience with your partner.
2. More women masturbate than are willing to admit. Actually, this fact shouldn't be very shocking, but perhaps the percentages will astonish you. Most teenagers are already going at it with themselves: Surveys show that before both genders have reached 18, 80 percent of males and 59 percent of females have given masturbation a whirl. As far as people over 18, the numbers get a bit shady. Some research shows that as many as 92 percent of women "admit" to it, while surveys from Kinsey put that percentage anywhere between 50 and 70.
3. Older women masturbate, too. Your sex drive just gets more revved up as you get older. A 2010 Kinsey study found that roughly 30 percent of women in relationships between 60 and 69 years of age had "recently" double-clicked their mouse. For those over 70, "solo masturbation was reported by more than half who were in a non-cohabitating relationship, compared to 12.2 percent among married women."
Killed By Testicles
Woman Kills Man By Squeezing His Testicles
The man on the graphic photo below is a 42-year-old shop owner in the Meilan District of Haikou City, in Hainan, that big island south of mainland China. He is dead. A 41-year-old woman killed him. By squeezing his testicles.
Update: Yes, you can die from extreme testicular pain. Here's the scientific explanation, by urologist and San Diego Sexual Medicine's director Dr. Irwin Goldstein.
According to witnesses talking to China News 24, the woman was riding a scooter and tried to park it in front of the man's shop. She was going to pick up her son, who attends the elementary school in that neighborhood.
The man went out of the shop and told her that she couldn't park her scooter there. She protested and a the shouting match started. After a while they started to fight physically. The woman called her husband and brother, who came to the scene. But things got a lot worse than just a few smacks here and there: the woman grabbed the man's testicles and squeezed them so hard and long that the man shutdown. He collapsed on the ground out of the pain and, worse, he was dead. Yes, people. dead by ballsqueeze.
The paramedics tried to revive him on the spot to no avail. He was rushed to the hospitals, but doctors couldn't do anything for him. I really want to know what the death certificate says. And I really want to know how the hell one can die from ballsqueezing.
The World's Deadliest Prison
Locked Up Abroad Gulag Style! Inside The Unbelievably Harsh Conditions Of Russia’s Labor Camps
Going to the bathroom outside when it’s -4 degrees. Only seeing your children two to four times a year. Bathing just once a week. And vying with dozens of other prisoners one hour a week to use one of two phone booths to call home.
This is just a little insight into the harsh reality of life inside Russian’s modern day labor camps, known under Stalin as gulags.
And these are the conditions that two members of the band Pussy Riot will face when they arrive at two of Russia’s most notorious penal facilities.
In August, a judge convicted Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, of “hooliganism” for performing in a Moscow cathedral.
As the news previously reported, both received a two-year sentence and this week they were put on trains to separate camps in the remote areas of Mordovia and Perm.
Svetlana Bakhmina, a lawyer who spent four years in one such camp after being convicted of embezzlement, reveals the harsh realities of life as
an inmate.
“From the moment you stepped into the train, you were no longer recognized as an equal human being – the system treats you as a second-class person,” she tells the Daily Beast.
“They make you jump out of a prison vehicle into the train’s door. You fly with all your bags over about [a] 3 feet gap while guards with dogs stand on the ground watching you.”
Tolokonnikova will serve her time in the Mordovia colony FGU IK-14 that was once Bakhmina’s home. According to the lawyer, the train journey takes about two days and two nights.
Kept in crowded cages, she says the women are only allowed to use the bathroom twice. The rest of the time they have to improvise.
Bakhmina told BBC News that the facility is like a “tough, Soviet-style camp.” She said: “The inmates were all housed in two big army-style barracks – there were anywhere between 50 and 100 people in each one.
“The barracks were built in the Soviet times – I guess in the 1920s.”
While each barrack is furnished with rows of bunk beds, a nightstand and a stool, the bathroom facilities are dire.
She says: “There is also a toilet but you cannot use it as there is no central sewage system. We used to go outside to the so-called ‘hole’, sometimes when it was -20C [-4 degrees] in the winter.”
Woken at 6 a.m. the women have to exercise outside – even in freezing conditions – before doing their daily chores.
Both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova are moms of young children but communication with loved ones will be limited according to insiders. Inmates can only see their families two to four times a year during three-day visits.
Meanwhile each unit is only given an hour a week to call home. Bakhmina remembers vying with dozens of women to use one of two phone booths to talk to her young sons.
The picture the lawyer presents is a gloomy one – of being locked up with murderers and facing a constant threat of violence.
She says: “The administration was very strict with us – rumors of beatings circled around the colony, although I didn’t witness any personally.
“More often there were fights between the inmates themselves.”
Perhaps the biggest threat the inmates face is a psychological one.
Bakhmina says: “There was no torture…but anyone disobeying the prison rules would be punished by getting sent to ‘shiza’ [Russian abbreviation for ‘schizophrenia’] – a solitary cell.”
Bollywood Sex And Nudity
India's censored kisses to be shown for the first time
A new film festival is to showcase for the first time scenes from Bollywood movies deemed too racy for Indian viewers, including the first attempt at an on-screen kiss, organisers say.
The "Cut-Uncut" festival in New Delhi will feature unedited versions of films which fell foul of the all-powerful Indian censor board that continues to vet movies before their release.
Portrayals of sex, nudity, social unrest and violence can still be kept out of movie halls under India's strict laws that were first drafted in 1952 and later amended in 1983.
In the year of Bollywood's 100-year anniversary, "Cut-Uncut" is being organised by the ministry of information and broadcasting to demonstrate its more open-minded approach, a ministry official said.
"We want to be more liberal, stop enforcing the old rules and instead recognise artistic endeavor," said an official in the ministry, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Until recently, "long kissing scenes, nudity and visuals depicting acts of rebellion against the government" were all censored, he explained.
"With changing times, we want to have a fresh approach. Our aim is to change the old set of censor laws soon."
The festival beginning April 25 will open with a screening of the 1933 classic "Karma" starring Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, whose onscreen kiss was considered the first in a Bollywood film and was deleted at the time.
A 2004 documentary called the Final Solution, which looks at the highly sensitive subject of Hindu-Muslim religious rioting, will also be shown after it was banned for being "highly provocative."
These days Bollywood is awash with sexually suggestive material and scantily-clad leading ladies, but sex remains a taboo and films showing kissing scenes are given an "adult" certificate limiting them to viewers over 18.
The most popular films remain so-called "masala movies", a mix of violence, romance and comedy for mainstream audiences, but there are more and more filmmakers working to reproduce the gritty reality of India on celluloid.
Star director Dibakar Banerjee ran into trouble last year with the censor board over his film "Shanghai".
He had to delete two scenes depicting violence in the political thriller, including a high-caste character murdering a low-caste victim.
"I hated the idea of deleting the most powerful scenes from my movie but, well, I had to chop them otherwise the movie would have never seen the light of day," he said.
"Censorship has the power to kill the spirit of a film. It's high time the government stops dictating what Indians should be watching," he added.
The Secrets Why Women Should Masturbate More Often
4 Reasons Why Women Should Masturbate More Often
While masturbation is a valuable and needed part of a healthy sexuality, it's often the silent party of an individual's sexuality — the part people are often ashamed of. So, I am here to break down some masturbation myths for you. It's too bad that our society encourages shame and guilt about masturbation. However, despite the hush-hush attitude most of us have adopted about the subject, most men do masturbate and will acknowledge it openly amongst their male peers. What A Male Orgasm Feels Like
When it comes to masturbation, women are different. A significantly larger portion of women either don't masturbate or deny it. Well, ladies, here is some information about why masturbation may be good not only for you, but also for your relationships. Here are four reasons why you should masturbate. Happy Ending Massage for Women: One Woman's Tale
1. Masturbation helps us get to know our bodies and our minds. By masturbating, we learn about what turns us on. Mentally, we can tune in to our fantasies to understand the types of things that turn us on during masturbation. While masturbating, do we fantasize about being dominated or being watched? These are clues which help us understand what makes us tick, and in turn, we can begin to understand how to get our needs met by a partner.
Individuals who are having issues with arousal or orgasm can benefit greatly from masturbation and self love, getting to know your body techniques. Ladies, if you are having trouble masturbating, I also suggest experimenting with some toys. Using a vibrator, for example, is a common way for women to learn to achieve orgasm. Investing in a vibrator may be something you want to add into your sexual repertoire. Getting familiar with your body through the use of a vibrator is also a good way to gauge what you like, and can be a fun and exciting thing to introduce to partner sex, as well. The Secret Benefits Of Using A Vibrator [VIDEO]
2. Masturbation has health benefits. Masturbation can relieve tension and stress and can help with the inability to sleep. There is evidence that the chemicals released during orgasm can heal depression. Also, there is a study that suggests that women who masturbate are more likely to be concerned with their sexual health and visit the gynecologist more often. I'm not sure if this last one is altogether true, but I can see the correlation since women who masturbate may be more in-tune with their bodies, and thus, visit the gynecologist more often.
. Indulging in yourself can make you a sexier person. The concept being that a sexually active woman need not masturbate is actually a fallacy. Sex with a partner is great and masturbation is great, too. Why deprive yourself of one because you have the other? It just doesn't make sense. Would you deprive yourself of cake just because you had ice cream? Nope, I didn't think so. In Italy, they eat pizza before they eat pasta. Get my drift? A little indulgence in developing your sexual repertoire will make you a sexier person all around too.
4. Mutual masturbation in partner sex play is great. Mutual masturbation takes the focus away from the need to please each other and can help couples recognize the value of self-pleasure and self-care within a relationship. Not to mention, it helps us get to know each other just a little bit better. Knowing what you like and how to please yourself will make you a better lover, but can be a turn on to a partner, as well. Masturbation is also a great way to avoid risk or worry about pregnancies and STDs. Judge Gives Woman OK To Masturbate At Work
So, go ahead and get to know yourself a little better! Ditch your clothes, take a bath, look at yourself naked in the mirror, put on something sexy and/or just go ahead and touch yourself. You'll be glad you did.
The World's Worst Hotel
Wanted: Ugly people for travel ads
Ugly writer crafts beautiful article calling for honest, realistic travel marketing -- pretty people will not enjoy this
The golf vacation commercials are the worst. All those beaming glad-I-came-here faces. After a shank off the first and a round of 118? Not counting 11 lost balls?
It’s impossible for any real golfer to look that happy.
Beach holiday ads are no better. Everyone perfectly formed, no cellulite or growths.
No one looking like they’ve been born in the normal, mammalian way, like you see on real beaches.
Unreally happy families having a wonderfully elated time at a great price with no sign of disharmony, dysfunction or diarrhea.
Couples staring dreamily through candlelight and walking hand in hand through the moonlit Caribbean surf, with no sign of her shenanigans the day before with the hotel’s beach raker.
And the cruises: photo after photo of laughing faces having a once-in-a-lifetime time over a very small portion of fish. Which looks bigger in a close-up.
No sign of anyone seasick or cabin-bound. No pictures taken at the exact moment the dinner table conversation stalled on the first night: “Why did you come on this cruise?”
“Because we have a high superlative threshold and are easily deceived by advertising copy.”
No hint of anyone being tortured by the crooner with the fire-retardant toupee; by the excessively talkative couple from Winnipeg; the extremely cheerful couple from Wales; the husband who memorizes Android reviews and the wife who collects digitalized photos of her master bedroom.
And pronounces Muscadet Muscadette.
No ad can communicate a real vacation and its petty but enervating frustrations.
And that’s to be expected.
But there are signs that as travelers get savvy to the tricks and illusions of marketers, marketers are now becoming savvy to our savvy.
Ugly, the new pretty
I’m an honorary member of the “Ugly Club of the World.” I received the accolade in the self-nominated ugliest place in the world.
The Club dei Brutti is based in Piobbico in the Marche region of mid-Italy. It has 30,000 members worldwide and hosts an ugly persons’ festival every September.
The town square even has an ugly statue.
Amsterdam’s acclaimed Hans Brinker Budget Hotel has been “proudly disappointing travelers for 40 years.”
Its unashamedly filthy rooms are sold out months in advance through sheer honesty, comic in its frankness and superb negative hyperbole.
Its marketing slogan is: “We can’t get any worse but we try our best.”
It waives liability for gastroenteritis, mental breakdown and even lost limbs.
It boasts a bar serving slightly watered down beer and facilities comparable to a prison. One ad proclaims: “Now even more dogsh*t in the main entrance.”
Another shows a figure collapsed on the ground with its head caught in the hostel’s doors, surrounded by an ever-widening puddle of vomit -- a new and successful style of gushing endorsement.
Is all this clever marketing? Or just simple truth that attracts backpackers on a budget and a bender?
Probably both.
What exactly are they advertising?
Being bombarded by perfect breasts and gorgeous men from every holiday brochure and mortgage maturity leaflet I ever picked up gets to me.
Cruise commercials don’t make me go out and book a cruise. They make me go out and get some dental fixative. The only thing that sticks in my head is the teeth.
Recent surveys suggest we no longer trust celebrity endorsement, especially of beauty products. Scarlett Johannsen before and after? Unlikely.
One poll also revealed that 78% of TV viewers believe the people in laxative ads are really actors faking being constipated. Method actors having it the hardest.
It’s time for ads to use normal people with realistic bodies and facial expressions. Someone not so happy. Someone not very photogenic.
Someone with shoulder hair rather than shoulder-length hair. Someone more like me.
It wouldn’t be a totally original concept.
One of the earliest examples of this kind of inverse marketing/reverse psychology came from an Irish realty agent who wrote straight-talking property descriptions along the refreshingly honest lines of, “The décor is revolting and the lack of insulation has attracted insects. Otherwise, there is nothing much wrong.’”
That was in the 1960s.
It proved a productive hook with people flocking up to see just how bad the houses were.
Copywriters need to bin the superlatives and “We’ve found paradise! Come join us!” approach.
They need to realize there’s no such thing as paradise, especially if other people are there and all the loungers have gone.
As my Ugly Club friends keep telling me: “Us uglies must unite to overcome. We are better and stronger than the beautiful people. And there are far more of us.”
It’s all summed up by the recent Southern Comfort commercial.
An astigmatic, middle-aged potbelly in sea waders and tight trunks that could double as an eye patch waddles contentedly down a beach, accompanied by Odetta’s “Gotta Be Me.”
Perhaps body shape losers may not be flocking to the Barcelona beach where the ad was shot, but its aspirational message is clear.
Don’t hype up. Hype down. To the naked truth. Democratize. Don’t idealize. Tell it like it is. And show it how it is.
Get real.
Perhaps then we might not be so frequently disappointed when we get there.
Piobicco has put itself on the map. Being ugly is its Unique Selling Point. It bills itself as a place ugly people can feel at home.
And it’s effective. They come in their hideous hordes, ramping up the tourism income while battering down the beauty factor.
The Czech Republic has gone the same way.
It sells itself to bad skiers, offering “numerous ravishing sceneries” and flat, snowy places where “you can enjoy the nature while struggling to ski” and meet “not very capable skiers.”
Superbeings and posers are not targeted. So everyone else can have a good time. Hard or soft sell, it works. Because it’s different. And funny. And true.
Have Sex For 106 Mins Per Day
Weird News: Wanna Be Happy? Have Sex For 106 Minutes A Day
We used to just have intercourse for making babies. Then, it must have been at least three or four years ago, we discovered it felt really good AND made you sort of like the person you were trying it with. Before that life was work, work, work. It turns out that even though we're more enlightened about the benefits of sex, we're still not likely doing it enough.
Per Quartz (based on a report from ScienceDirect), the optimal ratio for having a great day is 106 minutes of sex per 36 minutes of work. While it seems like this could very easily be filed away under "Duh, Science," the authors took into account the old law of diminishing returns even in something pleasurable. The authors, Christian Kroll of Jacobs University in Germany and Sebastian Pokutta of Georgia Tech, use a technique called the Day Reconstruction Method to focus on the pleasure derived from each of our daily activities. They then extrapolated the results over a 16-hour day. My experience with both Georgia Tech and Germany makes me wonder if sexual repression doesn't sometimes lead to strikingly obvious discoveries.
Frankly, the results make me realize what a genius Tim Ferriss is. If you couple his Four-Hour Work Week (self-explanatory) with the 15-minute orgasm concepts from his Four-Hour Body, we are rapidly approaching these numbers provided we get busy 4 and 1/3 times a day and toilth on the Sabbath. Those of us who are able to answer emails while we have sex are probably way ahead of the game.
If we are all going to optimally happy, we'll have to employ a number of robots in the industry of genital salve and replacement skin and just pray that they don't kill us with their strong, metal claws.
Good luck striking the new work-life balance to anyone who is not Sting.
The Secret To Happiness - More More SEX !
The secret to happiness? Believing you have more SEX than your neighbours
Major study finds that keeping up with the Joneses in the bedroom is an important source of satisfaction
Researchers compare the happiness effect to income - we want to know we are doing as well as others
We all know people who aren’t happy unless they have a better house, car or job than the neighbours.
Now it seems there’s another way to keep up with the Joneses – in the bedroom.
Believing that they are having more sex than their neighbours is a crucial happiness factor for couples, says Tim Wadsworth, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder
Professor Tim Wadsworth, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, analysed data collected between 1993 and 2006 from the General Social Survey, an opinion poll which has monitored the psyche of American society since 1972.
In total, he studied data collected from 15,386 people.
Since the beginning of the survey, all respondents have been asked whether they are ‘very happy’, ‘pretty happy’ or ‘not too happy’.
After taking factors including income, marital status, health and age into account, respondents who had sex at least two to three times a month were 33 per cent more likely to report a higher level of happiness than those who had no sex during the previous 12 months.
Prof Wadsworth found that people reported steadily higher levels of happiness as they reported steadily more regular sex .
Those who had sex once a week were 44 per cent happier than those had not had sex for a year, whilst those who had sex two to three times a week were 55 per cent more likely to report a higher level of happiness.
But his study, entitled ‘Sex and the Pursuit of Happiness: How Other People’s Sex Lives are Related to Our Sense of Well-Being’, also found that those who were having sex but believed they were having less sex than their peers were unhappier than those who believed they were having as much or more than their peers.
He found that if members of a peer group were having sex two to three times a month but believed their peers were on a once-weekly schedule, their probability of reporting a higher level of happiness fell by about 14 per cent.
He said: ‘There's an overall increase in the sense of wellbeing that comes with having sex more frequently, but there's also this relative aspect to it.
‘Having more sex makes us happy, but thinking that we are having more sex than other people makes us even happier.’
But while income can be guessed from a neighbour's new car, sex is a more clandestine activity.
So how do men and women know how frequently their peers are have sex?
Prof Wadsworth says that the mass media provides people with clues.
Wadsworth noted that magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Men's Health, frequently reported the results of their own or others' sex surveys.
Conversations within friendship groups also suggest how much peers are getting intimate.
‘There is plenty of evidence that information concerning sexual behaviour is learned through discussions within peer groups and friendship networks,’ added Prof Wadsworth.
‘I can't think of a better explanation for why how much sex other people are having would influence a person's happiness.'
He added that, as a species, we tend to worry that we are not measuring up to an ideal.
‘We're usually not looking down [on people] and thinking of ourselves as better off. We're usually looking up and feeling insufficient and inadequate.
The Best FBI Agent
Moment FBI agent struggled to climb over gate... just before men behind him open it and walk through
No obstacles: This FBI agent appeared to struggle for a few seconds while trying to climb over this gate outside a New Jersey home that appeared to be locked shut
Fail: Local news crews zoomed in on the moment, capturing his climb and triumphant jump to the other side, split seconds before it opened up behind him
A blood-pumping raid by the FBI on a New Jersey home turned into the butt of hundreds of online jokes when an agent's dramatic climb over a gate proved far more embarrassing than necessary.
As seen on local news coverage the man struggled to hop over the gate, only for the gate to be easily and instantly flung open by the other agents behind him.
Those entering behind him appeared to have been waiting for him to finish the entire time.
The man gives no turn-around recognition to them, or the gate, but continues marching strong toward the house.
The video appeared in a local NBC news broadcast before it was posted to YouTube by entertained viewers heard snickering in the background.
It's since received more than 600,000 views and more than 1,100 comments.
'This is something I would expect to see in comedy movies. lol,' one YouTube viewer wrote.
'Climbs over fence like a noob. Walks away like a boss,' another wrote.
'Well it's nice to know the FBI can come into our property whenever they feel like it,' another wrote of the agent’s scaling abilities.
Die While Sleeping - Warning !
Sleep Apnea Symptoms: Sneaky Signs You Might Have The Sleep Disorder
Maybe someone has told you your snore is deafening, or you've woken up on more than your fair share of mornings feeling less than refreshed. In those instances, it's probably pretty obvious something's up with your sleep.
But in the case of sleep apnea, a disorder wherein people stop breathing while asleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night, pinpointing the problem can be significantly trickier. These brief periods of breathing cessation don't trigger full alertness, but disrupt sleep enough to leave sufferers groggy in the mornings -- and at risk for a number of more serious health problems, often without even realizing there's a problem.
People with undiagnosed sleep apnea -- which may affect more than 20 million adults, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association -- may go on to develop diabetes or depression, and face an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, among other concerns.
Men over the age of 40 are at an increased risk for sleep apnea. Being overweight also increases your likelihood of developing the condition, as can a family history of the disease, having a large tongue or neck and having allergies, sinus problems or any nasal obstruction, according to WebMD.
Luckily, there are a number of ways to treat sleep apnea, including simple lifestyle measures like losing weight and avoiding alcohol. But all too often a sleep apnea diagnosis is hard to come by. There's no "test" for sleep apnea, and it's not often evident at a doctor's appointment, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. A family member or bed partner is often first to notice the signs, usually snoring or brief periods of no breathing.
But don't leave your health entirely in the hands of the people sleeping around you. Today, in honor of Sleep Apnea Awareness Day, take a moment to familiarize yourself with these more surprising signs that you could have sleep apnea.
A Cat Addicted to MCDonald's
Cat Lives Off McDonald's for a Year
A cat addicted to fast food has been rescued by the SPCA and put on a health plan to help him kick his McDonald's addiction, according to New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz.
The black-and-white tomcat, dubbed Frankie by McDonald's staff and customers, was only a kitten when he was abandoned by his owners. So the cat made his home in the parking lot of a local McDonald's where he would beg for chicken nuggets or fries from cars as they exited the drive-through lane.
But just as the human body can't properly function from a junk food diet, Frankie's couldn't either and the McDonald's staff became concerned for his health.
One day, Jessica Watson, a field officer with the Waikato SPCA and regular McDonald's customer, spotted Frankie. After noting his swollen face, eyelids that wouldn't properly close, and matted coat, she brought him into her care and launched a search for his permanent owners.
"I estimate he has lived in the McDonald's carpark for 12 to 18 months," Watson told Stuff.co.nz. "Everyone knew to keep an eye out for him. You would go through the drive-through and ask for a burger for you and an extra patty for Frankie. He would watch you and trot after the car, wait until you stopped the car and then you would toss him the meat. It was his little routine."
Thankfully, after a few weeks of living inside and eating nutritious food, Frankie's eyes are clear and his coat is shiny. "He wasn't overweight," said Watson, "but McDonald's wouldn't meet the nutritional requirements for a cat. They need very high levels of protein and I wouldn't think takeaways would provide that."
But weaning Frankie off burgers and fries wasn't easy. "When I first took him home he refused to eat anything because it wasn't McDonald's," said Watson. "I seriously considered going back there to get him a burger. I would put pet food down and he would give me a look like, 'What is that?'"
Surprisingly, there are some human foods that cats can eat. According to Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, President of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), while cats should never consume onion, garlic, kelp, grapes, raisins, sugary treats, chocolate, and alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, items such as cheese, meat, vegetables, fish, and eggs can provide protein and other nutrients.
It took a few days but Frankie has quit his fast food habit and consumes water and cat biscuits. And he always asks for seconds. "He's a big, and healthy, eater," said Watson. The silver lining to Frankie's bad habit? Watson suspects that his love of fast food made him less prone to stalk endangered native bird species. "I'd say he loved cheeseburgers far too much to worry about any birds."
Since Frankie's rescue, he's become somewhat of a celebrity. The SPCA is fielding so many requests to adopt him that applicants are being asked to report in person to the offices, where they can complete an "expression of interest" form as part of the selection process.
Keep up the healthy eating, Frankie!
The Federal Top Secrets How To Control Things Through Mind
Cool! Samsung Discover How to Control Gadgets Through the Mind
Samsung researchers collaborate with the University of Texas to create a gadget that can be controlled by the mind. As an experiment, they use a tablet Galaxy Note 10.1.
Innovation is key to the success of technology producers, and that the attempt made Samsung through their new findings. These findings are also expected to change the user experience when using a smartphone or tablet PC.
As a first step, Samsung wants to make an application that allows users to connect with gadgetnya through mind waves. Through this aplilkasi users can play songs, change tracks, open the app, turn off and turn on the tablet, as well as several other functions.
This experiment was successfully carried out by using the wave mind reader. Shaped like a hat, but there EGG electrodes are used to translate the commands of the mind to be executed on the tablet.
"Finding new ways to interact with the gadget is the main objective of this project. Few years ago only a small button that is the only way to control the phone, but now users can use voice, touch, movement, and eye movements to interact with mobile devices, "said Insoo Kim, Samsung engineers who mengagas the project.
Until now the application is still being perfected, and not known about when these innovations can be used by the wider community.
The Sex Secrets How To Become Vivid Stars
Farrah Abraham Brings Her Dad & Daughter to Sex Tape Negotiation
Answer: Your sex tape negotiation. Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
But that's exactly what "Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham did on Sunday when she hit up the offices of Vivid Entertainment to negotiate a possible deal for her sex tape.
Farrah told our photog she is negotiating with two other companies and that she is considering Vivid's offer. She said she only brought her father along "for support" ... but when you check out the video, you can tell how uncomfortable he is about the whole thing.
Our photog also spoke to Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch after the meeting ... and even he thought bringing a young child to a porn office was a bad idea.
At least someone is the voice of reason.
A Worm In Human Eye
Is There A Worm In Your Eye?
When it comes to worms we perceive that it only affects our stomach. If you eat too many sweets, you get worms and then you have to take de-worming medications. However, it is not as simple as that. The fatal tapeworm can also affect your brain and entire central nervous system. Besides, have you ever heard of an eye worm; a worm that infects the eyes?
The dangerous Loa loa worm is one such pest that attacks the eyes. There has been a lot of talk about the Loa loa worm lately, especially after a 20cm long worm was surgically removed from a person's eyes. Dr. Ashley Thomas Mulamoottil, the doctor who recorded this unique surgery says "this is the seventh worm that he has removed in the last one decade and it is also the longest."
Spread Of Loa loa Filariasis "The worm Loa loa was originally found in Africa and has now reached Asia. The mangrove fly or deer fly is believed to be the carrier of this worm. The eggs of the worm enters the human body through small wounds inflicted by the fly. The death of the worm inside the body could be fatal as it could contaminate the blood. The disease is known as microfilariasis or Loa loa infestation (Loiasis)", says Dr. Mulamoottil. Treatment For Loa Loa Worm: The patient can either be put on chemotherapy or the worm can be surgically removed from the eyes. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine yet developed for Loa loa Filariasis. However, if it is detected in time, it is curable.
These are some interesting facts about this strange African eye worm that can grow up to 20cm long.
This Tree Can Sing !
Singing Ringing Tree
One of the most iconic artworks in Lancashire, the fascinating ‘Singing Ringing Tree’ at Crown Point high on the moors above Burnley is one of four Panopticons, part of a project across East Lancashire led by Mid Pennine Arts.
Designed by architects Tonkin-Liu the sculpture resembles a windblown tree; it is constructed from scaffolding poles welded together in concentric circles, the pipes having been tuned to emit a melodious hum as the wind blows through them.
The splendid views over the town to the hills beyond make a visit for a closer inspection of this amazing artwork an absolute must. The sculpture is only a short walk from the carpark and picnic area but if you enjoy longer walks then the best route is the Wayside Arts Trail from Towneley Park; follow its carved Lancashire oak marker posts and bricks including a brick kiln by artist Julie Miles to take a closer look at this incredible landmark.
It is obvious that there is something about Burnley that is attractive to award-winning architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu because they have now returned to design Burnley’s latest public artwork the Rain Bow Gate. Located at the heart of Burnley’s new Knowledge quarter, the design is a bow structure that integrates glass prisms to capture light and create rainbows, evoking a sence of wonder.
The Reasons Why You Shoul Never Bring Condoms To States
'Detained for carrying condoms, sexy undies'
A WOMAN claims she was detained by US border officials three times in two weeks and accused of being a sex worker for having condoms and "racy underwear" in her luggage.
University of British Columbia graduate Clay Nikiforuk (a pseudonym) wrote an article for the Huffington Post about the "baffling" series of events that occurred as she travelled through the US with a married man.
"What do you do when you're detained by powerful officials, everything you say is presumed deceptive, arbitrary 'evidence' is held against you, and you're treated like a moral deviant? And what if it's 2013, you're a woman, and the "evidence" is that you possess condoms?" asked Nikiforuk in a book on the sociology of sexual assault.
Nikiforuk said she was first held by border guards in Vermont in March, where her bag was searched "at least five times". She had approximately eight condoms in her suitcase and underwear.
"I could not help but notice how often my lingerie and 'sexy underwear' were mentioned, how often the condoms they found were looked upon scathingly, and how most of the four male officers' questions pertained to both," she said.
"I was like, 'Yeah, some girls like shoes, I like nice underwear', and then realised it was really not funny. They were taking it very seriously… and looking at my condoms and counting them.
"I was baffled as to why this was any of their business and unsure of what their objective was."
She was eventually granted a limited two-week visa, but she'd missed her bus and plane by that time so had to wait until the next morning to continue her journey.
Two weeks later she alleged Montreal Airport officials took her into a back office and interrogated her about the man she was travelling with.
During the questioning she admitted the man was married and she was planning on sharing a hotel bed with him. Nikiforuk was forced to tell the official that the man's wife "doesn't want to know the details, but she knows" about their affair.
"The next thing I knew he was searching my bags, pulling out condoms and waving them in my face," she said.
"He said: 'I could have you charged with being a working girl! The proof is right here'."
She was asked: "How much is he paying you to go on this trip?". When she answered that she wasn't being paid, she was told off for participating in adultery and let go.
Next came Miami, where she claims she was detained, interrogated, fingerprinted, patted down and "yelled at" for eight hours and asked: "Are you looking to be sexually assaulted?" when she told the official she was writing a book on the sociology of sexual assault.
She has filed a complaint over the incident, claiming she was the victim of a sexist double standard.
US immigration lawyer Steve Goldstein told Canada's Metro News that he's never heard of someone being denied entry to the US because they were carrying condoms.
US Customs and Border Patrol told news.com.au they cannot comment due to privacy laws
"Due to privacy laws, US Customs and Border Protection is prohibited from discussing specific cases or individuals," a US Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson said. "CBP strives to treat all travellers with respect and in a professional manner, preserving the civil rights and civil liberties of all people with whom the officers and agents interact while maintaining the focus of our mission to protect all citizens and visitors in the United States.
"CBP stresses honour and integrity in every aspect of our mission, and the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe."
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