If you remember well, there was an email doing rounds about the weird and bizarre ‘tree man’ Dede from Indonesia who suffers from a rare condition of human Papiloma virus. This made him grow warts and his skin remained skin no more, but looked like the bark of trees. The poor chap in fact could not move around and nor could he wear clothes and take care of his personal needs.

An American doctor visited him and decided to put him on a strong dosage of Vitamin A and now he is gradually improving. A heartwarming story, I would like to express my admiration for that doctor who changed the life of this miserable man. It was not so simple though. He had to be put under chemotherapy and grueling surgery to treat the warts and also be given expensive Vitamin A doses. Dede is now a transformed man and to me, he represents hope, a hope that can be oppressive always. I quote my friend Grace who once said hope is the most oppressive and torturous condition ever. Well, I do agree with her completely but with Dede, his hopes in fact made him a stringer person and now he can continue to hope for more.

Unfortunately, hope isn’t always so promising, and most hopes are quashed by oppressive societies, politicians, religions and even science. I would not like to get depressed over the more sinister forces of the world for this moment, and I’d rather share Dede’s happiness and wish him luck. He, is slowly but steadily improving and the doctors hope he will soon be able to live a normal life.

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Via: TheSun

Recently, a 71-year-old man was diagnosed to be pregnant after he complained of abdominal pains in U.K. John Grady Pippen was shocked to get a report saying he was going to be mothering a child very soon. As expected, it turned out that there was a mix up of reports and the hospital later made some statements to save itself from embarrassments. This brings to our notice the fatal flaws existing in hospitals and health industry. There have always been reports of medical documents getting misplaced and patients even being put on chemotherapy after being misdiagnosed.

What I would really like to know is why such incompetence and carelessness exists among medical professionals and also among those who are in the administrative positions in hospitals and clinics, for they are the ones who send out the reports. People who have been misdiagnosed with HIV have been put on AZT, which is as toxic as a medicine can get and it can hasten the process of death. The authorities must be vigilant enough to prevent such grievous mistakes and put the responsible under the scrutiny of law.

Unless punishments are handed out top irresponsible health professionals, innocents shall continue to suffer. It is easy to make a statement on the press or media and apologize for the blunder, however, the damage can’t be undone easily, if it concerns bodily harm to the patient concerned.

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Via: OK

If you had been wondering from where all the heroin of the world comes, it must not be too difficult to guess. It’s from the most troubled nation on earth, Afghanistan. The country depends literally on the money that comes from the sale of homegrown opium and poppy and also the derivatives like heroin and morphine. These narcotics make way to Western Europe through the neighboring Tajikistan.

Just 13 hours ago, many afghan smugglers were killed in a shootout in Tajikistan when they were caught red handed smuggling heroin into Tajikistan’s borders. These drugs after reaching France, Germany and elsewhere, are sold at exorbitant prices. What I fear is that the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan has actually encouraged the Afghan opium farmers to grow more as lawlessness has increased many folds after the Americans have entered.

Only through proper negotiations with the U.N. and afghan government can the drug route and trade be blocked. I wonder how things will go in the near future. Though listening to the news of the smugglers being shot dead isn’t a very pleasant one, it may just have the right thing to do, for the Tajik forces, whose land is being used as a transit for drug delivery to Europe.

Via: AfghanConflictMonitor

Like my many friends, I worry a lot about not having a bulky body and being thin. Most young men and adolescent boys strive to achieve the six-pack abs and bulging biceps and workout hard in gyms and fitness centers. I know people who have consumed so much of protein that their kidneys failed and even had to be hospitalized. What has been touted as a disorder found among only women, eating disorders are increasingly wreaking havoc on men and their physical and mental health.

The pressure to grow bigger and more muscular has made guys consume abnormally large quantities of protein, which causes in renal failure. However, the society still has not recognized this is a problem and has been dismissing it as a fad. In my opinion, media plays a major role in shaping our self-image and how we value our bodies, regardless of our age or gender. Eating disorders are prevalent among men and women of all ages equally. In fact, among men it is far more dangerous as the sufferers do not approach doctors nor do their family members realize it is a psychological disorder, which needs medical attention.

However, anorexia nervosa has fueled enough awareness campaigns and hence families do know if a girl has been starving herself. In a guy’s case, he would eat abnormally large quantities and still remain thin and in a quest to grow bigger, he would fall seriously sick. The media, the society and the peer groups in general have wreaked havoc on susceptible minds.

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Via: GordonMoyes

Robert Mugabe has been one of the most enigmatic and disastrous leaders to ever walk this planet. White farmers have been ousted from their land and have been subjected to heinous treatments under a lawless government. The fact that Mugabe still is in power and that the power sharing business has no value is a matter of great concern to me. What I refuse to accept is that a white man can be killed because his ancestors were bad to the black.

What we are seeing right now is a reverse racism where white people have been subjected to racial attacks in Zimbabwe and South Africa. In fact, many Southern African leaders have supported white killings and many have been killed too. Of course all these incidents are seldom reported because of the so called ‘white man’s guilt’. The guilty must definitely be brought to justice and handed over to law. But the farcical nature of the entire issue is that there is neither any law nor any justice.

I would like to ask the readers which court of justice could try and hang Mugabe and his cronies or the political but terrorist-like Zanu PF that is in fact behind President Robert Mugabe! This is shocking and unacceptable that we continue to watch such incidents take place in a modern and developed society.

Via: TimesOnline

It’s more than shocking when I read Maati Saari’s merciless psychedelic killing spree that took ten of his classmates’ lives and also his own post the massacre. The most horrible part of the whole scene was when he put them on fir post the massacre. The victims have been left beyond recognition due to the results of the severe burns received by the corpses. What dumbfounded me the most is the bold step that he took by uploading a video on YouTube, which shows him shooting at a range. The question is, why couldn’t the Law react to this illegal video on time? Reports validate that this particular video was posted on Finnish social networking site and with circulation it had reached the YouTube.

It seems to me that the Law is washing its hands off and not taking the charged completely on its own, obviously for political issues. But who will control this killing spree which is reported to occur frequently especially in educational institutes. It’s a tough nut to crack, as nothing seems to be conspicuous. Nobody has the precise clues as to why this heinous crime is committed by the school and college students. What stimulates these youngsters to take themselves into this scandalous crime should be the Law’s concern. This merciless crime should be nipped in the bud not by the Law alone but collectively which involves all the citizens.

Educational institutes are no more safe. Acquiring education has equally become as dangerous as facing a troop of army in the battlefield. Who will save the innocent people now? Whose fault is it that the innocent lives have been taken forcefully. Maati Saari killed his ten classmates but who will control this insane crime? How many more Maati Saari are people going to withstand? Acting upon this serious issue at once will perchance ameliorate the safety of the innocent people. It’s time to wake up and be harsh on the concerned people who are responsible for this kind of an unforgiving crime. One must obliterate this crime forever. Can a one person alone do this? Possibly not, so join your hands together and allow no more such a crime to be registered in the history.

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Via: TimesOnline

A lot has been said and done about drug users and addicts. However, we fail to realize that behind all the drug abuse and addiction issues lies a story, a human story that is often untold and seldom heard. Most drug users face not only bias and prejudice but also self-hatred and depression. Lack of proper support groups, social stigma and other problems are enough to make sure a drug user goes ahead and finds solace in the very drugs that have consumed his or her life.

In my opinion, labeling someone who abuses drugs as an addict or a drug abuser must be avoided at any cost and it must be made sure that the addict receives proper detoxification and rehab. However, the interest on the part of the user also matters a lot. A drug user usually suffers from various other mental disorders such as borderline personality disorder, psychosis, depression and others. Finding the root cause of these mental ailments and coming up with a plan to detoxify the person is a better idea than just going ahead with the rehab and detoxification process.

In my opinion, the growing problem of drug usage can only be controlled through awareness campaigns, support systems and timely psychological interventions. Moreover, the society has to be open minded and friendly enough to accept slight deviations in a person.

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Via: ADreamForABetterworld

The news arena is abuzz with Shilpa Shetty playing the host in the Indian version of Big Brother called Big Boss. Don’t worry, I won’t go at length to talk about how the almost forgotten actress got international recognition once the Jade Goody controversy (a lot of newsprint has already gone into that). Well as a part of the perks that came with her ordeal at the show, Shilpa even got invited to one of the royal events in the UK and met the queen herself. Not just that, an honorary doctorate from Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom for Dr Shilpa Shetty was followed by the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award. Well. that is not really my point here though. Many believe that the Big Brother stage is a ‘planned’ drama. In fact, even when Shilpa was just being invited to Big Brother as a participant, people had already predicted who the winner would be. And I must tell you, they weren’t wrong.
This was followed by Shilpa’s kissing incident with Richard Gere which caused a furore against both the actors in India, as the gesture was a li’l too loud for the Indian sensibility. The effect was simple. An almost obscure Shilpa who used to do one non-descript film every two years got roped into a lot of film projects. She suddenly became very popular. I am not here to pin the poor girl down who made viewers across the world sympathise with her as she shared her woes with tears on an international channel almost a year and a half ago. Nor am I saying she is a terrible actress. All I want to imply is that Shilpa did a tremendous job in ‘Phir Milenge’ but only ‘Life in a Metro’ caught attention. Any guess why?
Via rediffmovies

Dog poo is the greatest bane of dog lovers. You love keeping a pet at home and, nothing like keeping man’s best friend doggie dearest. Tending and feeding him is huge delight. Honestly, one doesn’t even mind the tantrums or say the bit about training the pooch. But when it comes to potty troubles, you want to run in the opposite direction from your dog’s poo that moment.

Cleaning it is the greatest punishment mankind inflicted on itself. Not anymore for there is UGODOG, a very useful product for dog lovers. This strange product will not only help you maintain your domestic bliss and cleanliness but also reduce the dog pee pad expenses. It is actually a fitted grate which keeps newspaper or pee pad away from dogs and prevents their paws from getting wet. UGODOG is the trustably the best in comparison with other similar products. Do look up their homepage to see the comparison chart. In fact, UGODOG can even be purchased from their secure online store. On top of all this, the company also gives a 30day money back guarantee on the purchase of UGODOG. What better than this offer, return the product if you don’t like it! Any takers?

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Not much has been written about John Coltrane in the recent past, but that does not mean the man’s music is not taken sincerely anymore. Actually, so much has already been written about Coltrane that there isn’t much left for writers like me to talk about. Hmmm…well, yes there are a few Trane tunes I feel should have got more recognition than they did. His rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Lush Life” is truly the best version ever. Even “Central Park West” is a wonderful tune in its original form though Joe Lovano later topped it. And of course, who can ignore the title cut called “Traneing in” from the 1957 session Coltrane had with pianist Red Garland.
For the uninitiated, John Coltrane and Red Garland were a part of Miles Davis’ quintet in the mid-fifties. But side by side Trane was out of it and spent time woodshedding under Thelonius Monk. Red too headed his own little trio on the side, comprising Paul Chambers and Art Taylor who later joined Davis.
One can actually point at a heap of tracks from John Coltrane’s later career that made him reach great heights. Fans found a new grooviness in them, which was missing, in his early numbers.
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