Paris Syndrome

15  Sep  2012 - A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what's become known as "Paris syndrome". That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations. The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown. Around a million Japanese travel to France every year. Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris - the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre.  The reality can come as a shock. An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures. But for the Japanese - used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger - the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much. This year alone, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock. They are suffering from "Paris syndrome". It was a Japanese psychiatrist working In France, Hiroaki Ota, who first identified the syndrome 20 years ago. On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s with high expectations of what may be their first trip abroad. The Japanese embassy has a 24 hour hotline for those suffering from severe culture shock, and can help find hospital treatment for anyone in need. However, the only permanent cure is to go back to Japan - and never return to Paris.

Falling Men

14 Sep 2012 - Police are investigating whether a man found dead on a west London street was a stowaway who fell from a plane. Just how often does this happen? No-one saw the body fall from the sky on to Portman Avenue.A few neighbours thought they heard something, a thud or a loud bang. But not a soul was around to witness a man hit the pavement of this quiet residential street in Mortlake, south-west London, early on a bright September Sunday. Police say the death is being treated as unexplained. But early media reports all shared the same assumption - that he had stowed away in the landing gear of a plane flying to Heathrow, less than 10 miles away. "He must have come down pretty much vertically to miss the parked cars," says John Taylor, 79, who heard a thump from his home across the street in this placid, affluent suburb. "I expect he was dead already. Poor chap must have been desperate."
It is not the first incident of this kind on the Heathrow flightpath. In 2001, the body of Mohammed Ayaz, a 21-year-old Pakistani, was found in the car park of a branch of Homebase in nearby Richmond. Four years prior to that, another hidden passenger fell from the undercarriage of a plane on to a gasworks close to the store. Dr Stephen Veronneau, of the US Federal Aviation Administration, has identified 96 individuals around the world who have tried to travel in plane wheel wells since 1947. The incidents happened on 85 flights. Veronneau is working on the assumption that the Mortlake fatality was a stowaway. Of these, more than three-quarters have proved fatal.

New Mumbai

22 July 2012 -  Artist and designer Tobias Revell has imagined a future in which the massive city of New Mumbai is powered by energy-generating mushrooms. In his sci-fi "documentary" Revell explains how a futuristic synthetic biology research lab discovers their fungi samples have been stolen by Indian thieves who have quickly learned to adapt the technology for their personal and community needs. An underground market for the magic mushrooms begins to grow, commerce increases, and living conditions begin to improve in a dramatic and environmentally friendly way. Revell's faux documentary explains how the mushrooms grow quickly and begin to harvest the sun, creating energy that provides heat and lighting, like an organic solar panel. They can even be engineered to power a whole building. Some grow strong enough to be used as shelter, parts of building structures, and surfaces to grow local crops. Their porous surfaces also absorb water from the seasonal downpours, which can be collected and used for drinking and bathing. While Revell’s ideas may seem far fetched, they certainly capture the social and economic issues of Mumbai, and present a truly unique solution. The film encourages creative eco-friendly problem solving on a large scale, which may not be too hard to believe in the future.

Tongzhi

21 July 2012 - A newly-published edition of one of China's most authoritative dictionaries has already been criticised by rights campaigners. They complain that it has excluded a definition widely used by homosexuals in China for "gay". The word is "tongzhi", whose primary meaning is "comrade", a form of address beloved of Communists for decades. One of the compilers said they did not want to draw attention to its more colloquial meaning. The newly-revised sixth edition of the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary has 69,000 entries, 13,000 Chinese characters and more than 3,000 new phrases. They include internet slang such as "geili" - meaning awesome - and such non-Chinese expressions as PM2.5, which refers to a pollution indicator for particulate matter. But "tongzhi" - in colloquial Chinese the equivalent of "gay" as in "homosexual" - is not among them. Linguist Jiang Lansheng, one of the compilers of the dictionary, said in a Chinese television interview: "We knew about the usage but we can't include it." "You can use the word whichever way you like, but we won't put it into a standard dictionary because we don't want to promote these things. We don't want to draw attention to these things."

Quote of the Day (32)

19 Feb 2012 - Love this quote / picture which was posted on Facebook. Sorry - I don't know who the photographer is, or where the picture was taken.It could be Haiti, but that's French speaking. It must be West Africa (Liberia?) or Kenya? Zimbabwe? RSA?

Goats Have Accents

19 Feb. 2012 - Pygmy goats can develop "accents" as they grow older, according to scientists. The young animals, known as "kids", are raised in groups or "creches" with goats of a similar age. Researchers found that when young goats mixed in these social groups their calls became more similar. The animals join an elite group of mammals known to adapt a vocal sound in response to the environment that includes humans, bats and whales. Dr Elodie Briefer and Dr Alan McElligott from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of London, UK published their results in the journal Animal Behaviour. In order to test the goats' vocal repertoire they recorded calls at one-week-old and again when they were aged five weeks.

"Five weeks corresponds to the time when, in the wild, they join their social group after spending some time hidden in vegetation to avoid predators," Dr Briefer explained. "We found that genetically-related kids produced similar calls... but the calls of kids raised in the same social groups were also similar to each other, and became more similar as the kids grew older. This suggests that goat kids modify their calls according to their social surroundings, developing similar 'accents'." Young goats live in creches with their siblings and others. Dr Briefer suggested that the social structure of the goats could be the motivator behind the convergence in calls. "This could act as a 'group member badge' allowing them to identify members of the group, differentiate them from members of other groups, and increase group cohesion," she told BBC Nature."This is especially important in goats, because they live in complex social groups that split during the day and come back together at night." Scientists suggest that the ability to modify a sound rather than making calls limited by genetics could be more widespread than previously thought.

No Germs

22  Jan . 2012 - Photographer Ton Koene is in Hong Kong, and I hope he does not mind that I took one of his pictures for my blog. I used to work Ton in MSF, and I admire how has been able to carve out a successful career as a photographer for himself. His book with pictures from Afghanistan is a "must have". It is also very interesting to see how Ton portrays Hong Kong. From his pictures and comments (eg. on Facebook) he seems fascinated by the 'City of Buzz", but he also captures the somewhat awkward and "clean" side of Hong Kong very well. He already posted some beautiful pictures of the concrete jungle and of some of Hog Kong's most eccentric creatures , but I also love this picture, as it so well captures the paranoia for ... well... practically everything 'unclean'. Thanks Ton Koene - and please visit his website www.tonkoene.nl for more eye candy.

Great Picture (37)

22 Jan. 2012 - And another picture that I picked from the Internet. I don't know where this picture was taken, but probably from a military training camp in China (could be Taiwan, Vietnam or even Singapore/Myanmar?). There is a lot to see (... :-) ), but look at the expression on these guys' (boys'?) faces. Some seem to enjoy themselves, others don't care or are simply embarrassed. There are also some guys "passers-by" in the background, who seem to be out for a sunday stroll, which makes the whole setting even more bizar! Great picture.

Great Picture (36)

22 Jan 2012 - Some pictures show us such beautiful landscapes that I wonder if they are photo-shopped or not. But this picture - from the Swiss Torism Board - is suppsed to be real. "Moon over the Alps" - it is truely amazing. Sometimes I miss Europe...

Popcorn

19 Jan 2012 -  A new study suggests that people living along the coast of northern Peru were eating popcorn 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. Researchers say corncobs found at an ancient site in Peru suggest that the inhabitants used them for making flour and popcorn. Scientists from Washington's Natural History Museum say the oldest corncobs they found dated from 4700BC. They are the earliest ever discovered in South America. The curator of New World archaeology at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, Dolores Piperno, says maize was first domesticated in Mexico nearly 9,000 years ago from a wild grass. Ms Piperno says that her team's research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that only a few thousand years later maize arrived in South America, where it evolved into different varieties now common in the Andean regions. Her team discovered the maize in the archaeological sites of Paredones and Huaca Prieta. "This evidence further indicated that in many areas corn arrived before pots did, and that early experimentation with corn as a food was not dependent on the presence of pottery," Ms Piperno explained. She says that at the time, though, maize was not yet an important part of their diet.

Mass Disease

17 Jan. 2012 - It is nothing new, but mass gatherings, such as the London 2012 Olympics, can be a hotbed of diseases from across the world, public health experts have warned. They say it can have consequences for the host nation and for people when they return to their own countries. There are also important issues to consider in handling large numbers of people, they say. A series of reports, in The Lancet infectious disease journal has been highlighting the risks. The theory is that so many people, packed closely together, increases the risk of diseases spreading. Prof Ibrahim Abubakar, from the University of East Anglia, writes that there are risks from diseases already in the host country and from the home countries of the visitors. He highlighted religious or music festivals and major sporting events as mass gatherings which could have a public health risk, such as an influenza outbreak during World Youth Day in 2008 in Australia. One report said increased air travel and the spread of diseases could have "potentially serious implications to health, security, and economic activity worldwide".

2050

13 Jan 2012 - The global research department of HSBC has released a report predicting the rise and fall of the world’s economies in the next 40 years. The world’s top economy in 2050 will be China, followed by the United States. No surprises there – since China’s reforms in the 1980s, economists have said it’s not a question of if, but when, China’s collective economic might will top the U.S. But among the smaller, developing nations, there are several surprises by HSBC prognosticators:
* By 2050, the Philippines will leapfrog 27 places to become the world’s 16^th largest economy.
* Peru’s economy, growing by 5.5% each year, jumping 20 places to 26^th place – ahead of Iran, Columbia and Switzerland. Other strong performers will be Egypt (up 15 places to 20th), Nigeria (up nine places to 37^th), Turkey (up six spots to 12^th), Malaysia (up 17 to 21^st) and the Ukraine (up 19 to 45^th).
* Japan’s working population will contract by a world-top 37% in 2050 – yet HSBC economists predict it will still be toward the top performing economies, dropping only one spot to the 4^th largest economy. India will jump ahead of Japan to 3^rd on the list.
* The big loser in the next 40 years will be advanced economies in Europe, HSBC predicts, who will see their place in the economic pecking order erode as working population dwindles and developing economies climb. Only five European nations will be in the top 20, compared to eight today.  Biggest drop will be felt northern Europe: Denmark to 56^th ( -29), Norway to 48^th ( -22), Sweden to 38^th (-20) and  Finland to 57^th (-19).

Crying Babies

12 Jan. 2012 - New mums should be advised that it is normal for their baby to cry more if they are breastfed, say experts. The Medical Research Council team says this irritability is natural, and although formula-fed babies may appear more content and be easier to pacify, breast is still best. If parents have more realistic expectations more may stick with breastfeeding, they hope. Most UK mums try to breastfeed. Within months the rate drops to a third. The Department of Health recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first six months after birth.
The most common reason given for women to stop breastfeeding is that "Breast milk alone didn't satisfy my baby", which the MRC scientists say reflects their perception of irritability as a negative signal. But they say this crankiness in babies is normal and just their natural way of communicating their needs to their mother and is no cause for alarm. For example, some cries will be down to tiredness not hunger. And the reason formula babies are so serene could well be because they are overfed. Lead investigator Dr Ken Ong said: "Bottle-fed babies may appear more content, but research suggests that these infants may be overnourished and gain weight too quickly. "Our findings are essentially similar to other stages of life; people often find that eating is comforting."
In their study, they asked more than 300 mums to comment on the temperament of their own baby and to state whether they were using breast or bottle. Overall, 137 of the infants were exclusively breastfed, 88 were exclusively bottle-fed, and 91 were fed with a mixture of formula and breast milk. Breastfed babies were deemed to have "more challenging temperaments" and tended to cry more. Rosie Dodds, of the National Childbirth Trust, said the new observations were useful for parents. "Mothers and babies may experience starting to breastfeed as demanding or stressful in this society where bottle-feeding is seen as the norm and breastfeeding is unfamiliar to many new parents. "It would be interesting to compare this with countries where almost all babies are breastfed."We often hear from mothers who say that once both they and their baby got the hang of it, breastfeeding was a breeze."

Cyberworms

8 Jan. 2012 -  I am not into Twitter, but I do Facebook and of course there is this blog. Like many people I frequently serve the internet, and I am sometimes struggling to remember all the different passwords. Buit passwords are important, no vital! BBC reports that a computer worm has stolen 45,000 login credentials from Facebook, according to security experts. The data is believed to have been taken largely from Facebook accounts in the UK and France, according to security firm Seculert. The culprit is a well-known piece of malware - dubbed Ramnit - which has been around since April 2010 and has previously stolen banking details.
Facebook told the BBC that it was looking into the issue. The latest iteration of the worm was discovered in Seculert's labs. "We suspect that the attackers behind Ramnit are using the stolen credentials to login to victims' Facebook accounts and to transmit malicious links to their friends, thereby magnifying the malware's spread even further," said the researchers. "In addition, cybercriminals are taking advantage of the fact that users tend to use the same password in various web-based services to gain remote access to corporate networks," it added. I need to be more careful,.

Supersoldiers

6 Jan 2011 - Ants can be programmed to become "supersoldiers", according to an international team of researchers. All ant colonies are made up of insects of different "castes", including soldiers and workers. This team worked out how to "trick" developing ant larvae to turn into a rare and unusual supersoldier caste.

The breakthrough, the researchers say, reveals that hidden traits could be unlocked in many species.
 Dr Ehab Abouheif from McGill University in Montreal led the team, which found that treating ant larvae with a hormone at a very specific time during their development turned those ants into the giant supersoldiers. The scientists managed to achieve this in two ant species that do not "naturally" have the supersoldier caste as part of their colony. Dr Abouheif and his team studied Pheidole ants - a large group of more than 1,000 related species. Of those, there are just eight that have a so-called supersoldiers, which help protect the colony by blocking the entrance from invaders using their oversized heads.
The idea of attempting to "programme" developing ants to become these giant soldiers was triggered when Dr Abouheif noticed that another common Pheidole ant species, which does not have any supersoldiers in its colony, had a few strangely big-headed colony members. "We were collecting [the ants] on Long Island, New York, and we noticed some monstrous-looking soldiers," Dr Abouheif said. The apparently mutant ants looked just like the rare supersoldier caste of related species, so the scientists set out to find out what had caused them to take that form. "We understand a lot about how these different castes are produced during development of the ant larvae," said Dr Abouheif. Supersoldiers are much larger than worker ants of the same species

When a queen lays eggs, he explained, each egg can develop into a different caste depending on the environment it is in - the temperature it develops at and the nutrition it receives. But the key to "switching" into a specific cast is controlled to a large extent by one chemical inside the eggs, which is called juvenile hormone. "So if you treat any species at the right time in development, just with a hormone, you can induce the development of the supersoldier," explained Dr Abouheif.

One Billion Apps

4 Jan. 2012 - I just bought my first-ever smartphone and started downloading Apps. Little did I know that I contributed to a new record! The BBC reports that for the first time in a single week, more than a billion apps have been downloaded, according to a study. Analytics firm Flurry said 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the last week of December. Activity was buoyed by the facts that many users received new devices for Christmas and firms offered discounted apps over the holiday period. The US was responsible for nearly half of the downloads, followed by China and the UK. With 81 million downloads, the UK easily surpassed Canada (41 million), Germany (40 million) and France (40 million). It was beaten to second spot by China with 99 million downloads. The US was out ahead with 509 million. Flurry thinks this level of download activity will become more standard. "Looking forward to 2012, Flurry expects breaking the one billion download barrier per week will become more commonplace," the firm said. "While [Apple] iOS and [Google] Android growth continues to amaze, the market is still by all measures relatively nascent." Unsurprisingly, Christmas proved a boom time for device makers. Flurry estimated that nearly seven million Android devices and iPhones were activated on Christmas Day. Apple does not disclose such figures but Google confirmed that more than 3.7 million Android devices were activated over the Christmas weekend.

The End of the World

3 Jan 2012 - Stories like these - from the Daily Mail - freak me out. Thousands of dead herring have been discovered washed up on a north Norwegian beach - prompting Doomsday predictors to hail it as another sign the world is set to end. More than 20 tonnes of the fish is currently carpeting the beach of Kvaenes, in Nordreisa, with experts views differing on how they have to be there. One thing is for sure, it will provide welcome ammunition to those believing the Mayan prophecy that 2012 will bring the end of Earth. Jan-Petter Jorgenson, 44, was walking with his doggy Molly when he found the stinky haul. He said: 'People say that something similar happened in the 80s. Maybe the fish have been caught in a deprived oxygen environment, and then died of fresh water?' Experts have said the school could have been trapped by tidal waters after predatory fish - such as coalfish - chased them towards the shoreline.  Another theory is that the fish were washed ashore during a recent storm, or trapped in shallow waters and affected by freshwater from a river that flows into the bay. Jens Christian Holst, of the Institute of Marine Research, said several factors could have come together at once. And he said he hoped they would be able to conduct tests on the dead fish to see if they had died of a disease.  The incident in Norway is not the only mass death mystery over the New Year. On Sunday, 200 blackbirds mysteriously fell from the sky in a small Arkansas town - although officials now believe the birds were targeted by someone with fireworks, experts say. Last month 25 dead horses were discovered at the bottom of a cliff near Glenn Innes, New England. And similarly bizarre and unexplained massacres took place on the opening days of last year, with millions of spot fish washing up in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, more blackbirds dying in Arkansas, and masses of marine life dying in Louisiana bayou.

Legionnaires' Disease

3 Jan. 2012 - Hong Kong's brand-new government headquarters compound is contaminated with a bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, officials have confirmed. Health officials conducted an investigation after a minister was hospitalised with the potentially fatal disease last month. Traces of the bacteria were found to be up to 14 times above acceptable levels. Authorities are now disinfecting the buildings. Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection has been collecting water samples from various sites in the new Central Government Offices after Education Secretary Michael Suen was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease last month. Samples collected from various toilets - including those at the office of Chief Executive Donald Tsang - tested positive for Legionella pneumophila, said a a government statement. Other trouble spots include water taps inside the kitchens of a canteen and the Dining Hall in the Legislative Council Complex. Wong Kwok-hing, a pro-Beijing unionist legislator, has described the news as a "scandal". He says government offices and the legislature should return to their original locations if the situation gets worse, reported local public broadcaster RTHK. However Dr Thomas Tsang, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said there was no need for officials to stay away from the new building. The HK$5.5bn site ($708m; £455m) was officially opened last August by Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang. Back then, most of the site was still undergoing engineering work.  Former legislator and physician Lo Wing-lok blamed a rushed move into the new compound for the presence of the deadly bug

Grim Year Ahead

2 Jan 2012 - It is only the second day of the year, but the optimistic feelings linked to new beginnings are already fading.  European leaders have warned of a difficult year ahead, as many economists predict recession in 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was experiencing its "most severe test in decades" but that Europe was growing closer in the debt crisis. France's President Sarkozy said the crisis was not finished, while Italy's president called for more sacrifices. Growth in Europe has stalled as the debt crisis has forced governments to slash spending.No doubt, these trends will also have a negative impact on growth in Asia and elsewhere. The leaders' new year messages came as leading economists polled by the BBC said they expected a return to recession. The cost of borrowing for some of the eurozone's largest economies, including Italy and Spain, has shot up in recent months as lenders fear governments will not be able to pay back money they have already borrowed. With growth stalled, the pressure is on governments across Europe, not just ones using the single currency, to cut spending in order to meet debt obligations. Fears are now focusing on a potential second credit crunch, triggered by the exposure of banks across Europe to Italy's huge debt. So once more, Happy New Year?

Shrinking Brain

1 Jan. 2012 - Happy 2012. A new year is traditionally a good time for new resolutions, for example to finally go on that diet and loose some weight. researchers have now published results that may increase motivation for the diet die-hards. A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from ageing while junk food has the opposite effect, research suggests. Elderly people with high blood levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids had less brain shrinkage and better mental performance, a neurology study found. Trans fats found in fast foods were linked to lower scores in tests and more shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's. A UK medical charity has called for more work into diet and dementia risk. The best current advice is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, not smoke, take regular exercise and keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check, said Alzheimer's Research UK. Dr Simon Ridley Alzheimer's Research UK. The research looked at nutrients in blood, rather than relying on questionnaires to assess a person's diet. US experts analysed blood samples from 104 healthy people with an average age of 87 who had few known risk factors for Alzheimer's. They found those who had more vitamin B, C, D and E in their blood performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills. People with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids - found mainly in fish - also had high scores. The poorest scores were found in people who had more trans fats in their blood. Trans fats are common in processed foods, including cakes, biscuits and fried foods.

Red Sweatpants

27 Dec 2011 - Shirtless men clad in red sweatpants have been lining up for days in Singapore’s prime shopping district, part of an advertising gimmick revealing not just muscle but also a gradual unpeeling of the city state’s puritanical ways. The feverish reception given the “shirtless greeters” by the Singapore public, both in real life and online, where it has gone viral in social media, signals how the notoriously conservative city-state has been loosening up in recent years, experts said.

A woman poses for photographs with a shirtless model outside a department store in Singapore’s Orchard Road shopping district on December 14, 2011. — Reuters pic

On a recent evening, women stood with the men for pictures, touching them on the chest or receiving a friendly embrace. One even jumped up on a greeter’s back.The men, from the United States, Europe and Asia, are on a mission to drum up excitement for fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F)’s flagship store in Singapore, which opened today, using a campaign also employed overseas. “There’s no way such advertisements that push the envelope slightly would have appeared about 30 years ago,” said M. Thiyagarajan, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s business school who specialises in advertising and public relations. “I think as a society we have moved to a different level. We are far more accepting of such things.” He cited the spread of the Internet, education and overseas travel as factors that have helped open minds in Singapore, which officially is still such a strict society that a ban on sales of chewing gum was renewed last year. Local theatres have recently staged plays exploring traditionally controversial themes such as homosexuality and religion. Gay sex can still lead to a jail term of up to two years, although such laws are rarely enforced.
In October, a performance by French dancer Sylvie Guillem also contained “some scenes of upper body female nudity”. However, conservatives in the city-state are still making their voices heard.
A letter to the editor in a local paper last month complained about naming an orchid after singer Elton John, asking if homosexuality was to be “openly encouraged and endorsed by the government?” In September, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore told A&F to remove a giant billboard showing a naked male torso after some members of the public complained that it was too racy. “It is probably the response of a vocal minority, a storm in a teacup, who would use any occasion, however small, to raise the alarm,” said  Tan Ern Ser, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s sociology department.
The shirtless greeters appear, for now, to be reaping more positive than negative attention.“I think it’s a pretty effective way to publicise the brand leading up to its launch, and I like how it’s an outdoor campaign which has taken its own life online,” said Cathryn Neo, a recruitment consultant. “And I do find them hot.”

Holiday On Ice

26 Dec 2011 - It is still 30 n degrees in Kuala Lumpur, and the BBC said that Amsterdam reported 12 degrees yesterday, but it's Boxing Day and my mind is on skating. Temporary ice rinks have appeared in many European cities, and the British Society of Sports Therapists is reminding people that ice skating can be a dangerous sport. It warned of a risk of serious injury and advised people take precautions. It recommends jogging to warm up and avoiding the mulled wine. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said falling over and bumping into people was part of the fun, but there were safety precautions. The chairman of the society, Prof Graham Smith, told the BBC: "It was not about going 'bah, humbug'. Have fun, but be careful."
He said: "While it is a fun sport it can be very dangerous and should be treated with a large degree of respect, especially as for some, it is something that is done only once or twice a year." By contrast regular skaters learn "how to fall properly". If you fall, he recommends tucking your arms in and rolling - rather than putting you hand out to stop the fall, which could damage the hand or be hit by another skater's blades. He said the hazards were greater for older people.

MAS Advertising?

23 Dec 2011 - I have a simple question: is Malaysia Airlines seriously promoting the slogan 1 Malaysia by offering a discount for multi-racial group travelers? The ad "Malaysia Airlines celebrates the spirit of 1 Malaysia" was posted in the right column of my Facebook page. I do not have the habit of clicking these ads and helping the Facebook Gods to further shape my dodgy profile, but I am always in need of cheap tickets to Europe so ... hey! It seems that MAS goes all political by touching the very sensitive topic of "race" or "ethnicity" in Malaysia by offering a discount for people who travel in groups of three, six or nine, if they belong to different races. One simply has to show the Malaysian passport or ID card to qualify. There is even a word for your travel companions: your muhibbah mates. What to make of this ad?  

Six Stars

23 Dec 2011 - The flag of China is a red field charged in the upper corner nearest the flagpole with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly (the side farthest from the flag pole). The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.. Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag". It is rather amusing that Vietnam blundered by welcoming  Vice President Xi Jinping with a flag with six stars. The official media in Vietnam ignored the mistake, but the internet is buzzing. One person said "Please stop the people who want to turn Vietnam into China's sixth star.". Xi Jinping went to Vietnam to improve relations over some disputed islands in the South China China.
PS Sorry for the poor quality picture ... but it's the only proof I have ...

Self-repair

22 Dec 2011 - I was always recall Stanley Kubrick's master-piece "2001" a Space Odyssey", when I read about developments like this. But researchers have done it again: are we one step closer to computers ruling the world? In any way, self-repairing electronic chips are one step closer, according to a team of US researchers. The group has created a circuit that heals itself when cracked thanks to the release of liquid metal which restores conductivity. The process takes less than an eye blink to bring the circuit back to use. The researchers said that their work could eventually lead to longer-lasting gadgets as well as solving one of the big problems of interplanetary travel. The work was carried out by a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (never heard of the place, but that's where it obviously happens) and is published in the journal Advanced Materials. The process works by exploiting the stress that causes the initial damage in the chips to break open tiny reservoirs of a healing material that fills in the resulting gaps, restoring electrical flow.

Gay Marriage Improves Health

18 Dec.2011 - This from the BBC website ... Legalising same-sex marriage may create a healthier environment for gay men, say US researchers. The number of visits by gay men to health clinics dropped significantly after same-sex unions were allowed in the state Massachusetts. This was regardless of whether the men were in a stable relationship, reported the American Journal of Public Health. A UK HIV charity said there was a clear link between happiness and health. Research has already suggested that gay men are more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts than heterosexual men, and that social exclusion may be partly responsible. Same-sex marriages are legal in six US states, with Massachusetts the first to allow them in 2003.Researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health surveyed the demand for medical and mental health care from 1,211 gay men registered with a particular health clinic in the 12 months prior to the change, and the 12 months afterwards. They found a 13% drop in healthcare visits after the law was enacted. There was a reduction in blood pressure problems, depression and "adjustment disorders", which the authors claimed could be the result of reduced stress. Lesbian women were not included in the study as there were insufficient numbers to give a statistically meaningful result. Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler, who led the study, said: "Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men. "Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions." A spokesman for the Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK-based sexual health and HIV charity, said: "There is a known link between health and happiness. "It's no surprise that people who are treated as second class citizens tend to have low self esteem, which in turn makes them more likely to take risks. "Whether this is drugs, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex, treating gay men unequally has lasting repercussions for their health."

Cluster Bombs

17 Dec 2011 - Initially I was not sure, if this is a true story or not, but it comes from a credible website so let's share. And it's nice to have some positive news from the Middle-East (for a change). Israeli medical researchers say they have developed a new technique for blasting cancer tumours from the inside out which reduces the risk of the disease returning after treatment. Tel Aviv University professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson are about to start clinical trials of a pin-sized radioactive implant that beams short-range alpha radiation from within the tumour.Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which bombards the body with gamma rays from outside, the alpha particles "diffuse inside the tumour, spreading further and further before disintegrating," a university statement quoted Keisari as saying.

"It's like a cluster bomb -- instead of detonating at one point, the atoms continuously disperse and emit alpha particles at increasing distances." The university said that the process takes about 10 days and leaves behind only non-radioactive and non-toxic amounts of lead. "Not only are cancerous cells more reliably destroyed, but in the majority of cases the body develops immunity against the return of the tumour," the statement said.

The wire implant, inserted into the tumour by hypodermic needle, "decays harmlessly in the body," it added. It went on to say that in pre-clinical trials on mice, one group had tumours removed surgically while another was treated with the radioactive wire. "When cells from the tumour were reinjected into the subject, 100 percent of those treated surgically redeveloped their tumour, compared to only 50 percent of those treated with the radioactive wire," it said.

"The researchers have had excellent results with many types of cancer models, including lung, pancreatic, colon, breast, and brain tumours."It added that the procedure would begin clinical trials at Beilinson hospital, near Tel Aviv, "soon."

Navi

16 Dec.2011 - I picked this from the Wires. The U.N.’s top human rights official has urged countries to abolish legal discrimination against gays, including the death penalty for consensual sex. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says governments should also outlaw all forms of abuse based on sexual orientation. Navi Pillay’s appeal came in a report released Thursday to the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council. In June, the Geneva-based body passed a resolution condemning for the first time anti-gay discrimination. It was hailed as historic by the United States, European countries and others, but decried by some African and Muslim nations.

Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen have the death penalty for same-sex relationships on their statute books.

Richard Avedon

13 Dec. 2011 - People like lists - or at least I do. The magazine the "Professional Photographer" published a list with the 100 most influential photographers. At the top spot is Richard Avedon. I had never heard of him (my mistake), so here is what the magazine wrote about him:
Avedon was the epitome of the modern photographer – a charming, sophisticated man-about-town and a photographer who was able to cross photographic genres. It did not matter where he was, which format he chose to work with or who his subject was, the image would be an Avedon image. It would have that unmistakeable elegance and confidence that marked him out, not just as a great photographer but as a highly successful commercial photographer, who was able to create instantly iconic and memorable images. So what’s his influence? His large-format portrait style with the stark white background, his use of two images to tell one portrait story, his use of strobe lights in fashion, the book In The American West? Of course it’s all this and more.Avedon is a photographer whom every photographer should get to know via his books. They cover his whole career and not only chart his own photographic and personal development but also, that of commercial photography over the last half of the twentieth century.

Quite simply he is No.1. www.richardavedon.com

Wallpaper

12 Dec.2011 - They may look like sketches of a madman with too much time on his hands, but this stunning landscape is in fact the labour of love of German artist Heike Weber who uses permanent marker pens to draw on acrylic floors and walls. The artist installation series, called Utopia, has transformed a dull and dreary apartment in Neumunster into a surreal landscape of visual depth and complexity. .

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072479/The-mesmerising-wallpaper-transform-home--created-just-permanent-marker-LOT-time.html#ixzz1gFI2bLs7

Nobel Peace Prize 2011

11 Dec 2011 - I have been quite for some time, but let's pick things up where I left the. It seems appropriate to honor three women who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2011 as a topic for this re-launch of the water-trotter blog. Writing will not be as frequent, but I hope to post regularly.
The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been presented to three women at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. This year's award was won jointly by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian peace activist, and Yemeni pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkol Karman. They were recognized for their "non-violent struggle" for women's safety and for women's rights to participate in peace-building work.Chinese lawyer Liu Xiaobo won in 2010. Each of this year's winners was presented wit

Anti-Advertising

16 Aug 2011 -  A French organic farmer has forked out 3,000 euros (4,300 dollars) for a series of billboard advertisements that denounce the evils of advertising. Twenty-five of the giant ads went up this week across the southwestern town of Agen showing a human brain stuffed with advertising images and carrying the slogan "Advertising is manipulating you - React!" Fifty-six-year-old farmer Pierre Kung explained that he was implementing the martial arts technique of "using the strength of the adversary to floor him. My aim is simply to get people to ask themselves questions. Because we've been brainwashed into thinking that happiness lies in consuming ever more," he told AFP. Kung said he sympathised with but was not a member of an 'anti-advertising' militant group in Paris who attack billboards and other advertising they say blight the landscape and render the population consumerist sheep.

To Understand is not To Condone

13 Aug 2011 - This week will mostly be remembered for the UK riots which started about a week ago. I read a good analysis by journalist Richard Hall on the Al Jazeera website. He writes that the callousness displayed by many of those involved, and the sheer scale of the disturbances, has understandably caused a great deal of anger. As a result, many people have chosen to reject any debate over why these riots are taking place at all. The impression appears to be that the crimes committed were so great and so senseless that to try and understand them is to condone them.

Hall points out that the areas worst affected by looting and rioting are among the most deprived in the country. And that these same areas are the most affected by gangs. It is easy to ignore the voices of those who work with the communities affected by rioting, such as Camila Batmanghelidjh, who has spent decades working with poor and disenfranchised youth. She writes of those looting: "Community, they would say, has nothing to offer them. Instead, for years they have experienced themselves cut adrift from civil society's legitimate structures. Society relies on collaborative behaviour; individuals are held accountable because belonging brings personal benefit." It is easier still to ignore young people who live in areas like Wood Green, interviewed as recently as July, who said after the closure of youth clubs in Haringey: "I used to go to a couple of youth clubs […] now there is just nothing to do. We are just out here with nothing to do. We're just out here getting up to no good." And another, who warned: "There will be riots." It doesn't require a tremendous stretch of the imagination to consider that these things might not be a complete coincidence. Conversely, to say these are the only factors would be wrong, as it has become clear that those rioting were not exclusively young people from the aforementioned communities.

Hall concludes that it should not be so difficult to understand that listening to those who live and work in the communities affected by the riots is not the same as condoning the actions of the rioters. Quite the opposite, it is necessary to prevent the same thing from happening again.  It is possible to condemn those people who have destroyed livelihoods and risked lives, demand they be punished to the full extent of the law, and try to understand what led them to believe these actions were acceptable.It is also possible to believe that poverty, lack of opportunities and the exclusion of certain groups from society are underlying causes to these disturbances - among many others - and to say that they are entirely responsible for their own actions.

We are left with a choice: either we arrest and prosecute everyone involved and carry on as normal until the next riot, or we arrest and prosecute everyone involved and try to address the causes which led to them in the first place.

Breaking and Entering

13 Aug 2011 - Breaking and Entering is a great film which went almost unnoticed. The film is directed by Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella. The film stars Jude Law (whom Minghella directed in Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Juliette Binoche (from The English patient, also by Minghella). In a major supporting role, the fabulous Robin Penn Wright plays Liv, the long-standing girlfriend of Will (Jude Law's character). The world was shocked by the UK riots this week, and Minghella's film is set in a blighted, inner-city neighbourhood of London. Thee fiolm examines an affair which unfolds between a successful architect and Amira, a Bosnian woman – the mother of a troubled teen son – who was widowed by the wwar in former Yugoslavia.Ravi Gavron, in his first major film role, portrays Miro. The role, that of a young traceur, and the burglar to which the film's title partly alludes, requires Gavron to perform several difficult physical feats.Breaking and Entering premièred on September 13, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival and received mainly negative reviews. I loved the movie!

Water-Trotter is on Holiday!!!

Donny Dog

10 June 2011 - It is great to be in London, as it easy to pick up a free newspaper in the morning tube and read the highlights of British news. Like: "A woman sacked as Doncaster Rovers' mascot Donny Dog after posing in her underwear with the costume has been offered her job back." The football club's chairman John Ryan confirmed he had offered Tracy Chandler her job back. Ms Chandler was dismissed by e-mail from the unpaid job after she appeared in the Sunday Sport in her underwear. Mr Ryan said the situation was a "storm in a tea cup", while Ms Chandler insisted the photos were not "seedy". Mr Ryan said: "The Sunday Sport and a mascot designed for children is not an ideal mix. "We were just a bit concerned about the sexualisation of young children, it's a tricky area these days, we're putting it right, maybe it was a mistake. As far as I'm concerned I'm going to put this whole thing to bed and let Tracy get on."

London Tower Bridge

10 June 2011 - This morning I walked over London's Tower Bridge to work. It is inevitably one of the most recognizable bridges in the world. Its Victorian Gothic style stems from a law that forced the designers to create a structure that would be in harmony with the nearby Tower of London. Plans for the Tower Bridge were devised around 1876 when the east of London became extremely crowded and a bridge across the Thames in that area of the city seemed a necessity. It would take another eight years - and lots of discussions about the design - before construction of the bridge started. The bridge, designed by city architect Horace Jones in collaboration with John Wolfe Barry, would eventually be completed in 1894. Five contractors and nearly 450 workers were involved in the construction of the 265 meter long bridge. It took 11,000 tons of steel to build the framework. At the time many people disliked its Victorian Gothic design, but over time the bridge became one of London's most famous symbols. Walking the bridge is a great way to get into the day.

Albanian Criminals

9 June 2011 - London is a dangerous place! The BBC reported that more than 100 dangerous Albanian criminals could be in hiding in the UK, some of them in London it is thought, according to a secret dossier sent to the Scotland Yard by police in the country's capital, Tirana. The head of Interpol there said most of the fugitives are wanted for murder. One of those in hiding was Marash Gjoka, who claimed asylum in the UK pretending to be a refugee from war-torn Kosovo. BBC London has learned that the 48-year-old Albanian national lived in Catford, south east London, with his wife and two teenage sons for more than 10 years, under the assumed name of Mark Toma. To his neighbours he was a quiet, family man who helped them with odd jobs around the house.What they did not know is that Gjoka, one of Albania's most wanted criminals, is accused of shooting dead Tonin Doshi, 33-year-old farmer in May 1999. After an apparent dispute over a piece of land, Gjoka is said to have shot him in the town of Lezhe, northern Albania.

Olympic Tickets

8 June 2011 - I am still in London and the city is already buzzing with news about the Olympics 2012, which will be hosted here. People could recently apply for tickets of the main events, which - surprise, surprise - turned out to be a disaster. One quote: "The ticketing process has been a farce. I applied for 80 tickets across 20 sessions, some I knew I was unlikely to get, but I did also apply for a lot of the minor sports. On Friday my credit card was debited for the cost of one session - £86 which means that only one of my applications has been successful. I don't even know which tickets I have, although I suspect they are for table tennis which I only applied for in the expectation I would be successful in getting tickets for other events over the same weekend. Because of this fiasco I have had to go on the German ticketing site Detour and buy tickets from them, although the choice is now limited, I now have at least some tickets and can start arranging travel and hotels. The UK system is bad because we don't know what tickets we have got. It would have been better not to have applied through the UK system at all. At no stage have they told people how many tickets are available at each price level. Had we known this information we may have considered applying for tickets at a higher price level." Are people just complaining no matter what or is it really surprising that organizations never seem to get the details right?

Bunnies in London

7 June 2011 - The Playboy bunnies return to London! Women's rights groups have slammed Hefner for exploiting women as he re-launches a playboy Club in London. Playboy club in London. Over 100 members of the groups UK Feminista and Object will protest outside the club in Mayfair, which they claim is demeaning to women. Speaking on behalf of the groups, Julia Long told Sky News: "The women see that Playboy are about the exploitation of women. They're about the degradation of women and I think they're rightly angry at the way Playboy is trying to legitimise pornography and bring it into the mainstream. This club is another step in that direction." Hefner, who is 85, is in the UK with his 25-year-old fiance Crystal Harris for the opening. Asked what he thought about the protests he said: "A feminist protest in 2011 to the Playboy Bunnies is lame. Look around you - certain things of a sexual nature are everywhere now." "Playboy and the Playboy clubs were the end of sexism. Women were being held bondage for hundreds of years, owned first by their fathers and then their husbands, Playboy helped to change all that.

Bayswater

7 June 2011 - I am staying in Bayswater, London and I checked what Wikipedia has to say about the area. It says that Bayswater is an area of west London, It has a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre.
Bayswater is one of London's most cosmopolitan areas wherein a diverse local population is augmented by a high concentration of hotels. In addition to the ancestral Britons, there is a significant Arab population, a large Greek community attracted by London's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, many Americans and London's main Brazilian community. The area has attractive streets and garden squares lined with Victorian stucco terraces, mostly now subdivided into flats and boarding houses. The property ranges from very expensive apartments to small studio flats. There are also purpose-built apartment blocks dating from the inter-war period as well as more recent developments, and a large council estate, the 650-flat Hallfield Estate, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and now largely sold off.

iPAD 2

4 June 2011 - A teenager in China has sold one of his kidneys in order to buy an iPad 2, Chinese media report.The 17-year-old, identified only as Little Zheng, told a local TV station he had arranged the sale of the kidney over the internet. The story only came to light after the teenager's mother became suspicious. The case highlights China's black market in organ trafficking. A scarcity of organ donors has led to a flourishing trade. It all started when the high school student saw an online advert offering money to organ donors. Illegal agents organised a trip to the hospital and paid him $3,392 (£2,077) after the operation. With the cash the student bought an iPad 2, as well as a laptop. When his mother noticed the computers and the deep red scar on his body, which was caused by the surgery, Little Zheng confessed. In 2007, Chinese authorities banned organ trafficking and have introduced a voluntary donor scheme to try to combat the trade.

Sherlock Vultures

3 June 2011 - German police are trying out a new weapon in the fight against crime - vultures that can find hidden corpses. Three feathered detectives - called Sherlock, Miss Marple and Columbo - are being trained in Walsrode bird park in northern Germany. The birds' keen eyesight and acute sense of smell might make them as skilful as their fictional namesakes. But worryingly Sherlock sometimes prefers to hunt on foot, rather than scan the ground from above. Police used a piece of shroud from a mortuary for the training exercise, German media report. The vultures are thought to be better than sniffer dogs at finding bodies when a large area has to be searched and the terrain is difficult, for example if it is densely overgrown. But the experiment raises ethical concerns because of the risk that a vulture could start pecking at a dead body, the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper says. This week Miss Marple and Columbo, from a zoo in Austria, joined Sherlock for the exercise in the reserve, north of Hanover. Police are using three birds because the vultures prefer to roam big areas as a group. "The vultures may work much more effectively than sniffer dogs," said a Hanover police officer, Rainer Herrmann. "There's a lot of interest in this. We've had inquiries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland," he said.

Mobile Risk

2 June 2011 - The World Health Organization's cancer research agency says mobile phones are "possibly carcinogenic". A review of evidence suggests an increased risk of a malignant type of brain cancer cannot be ruled out. However, any link is not certain - they concluded that it was "not clearly established that it does cause cancer in humans". A cancer charity said the evidence was too weak to draw strong conclusions from. A group of 31 experts has been meeting in Lyon, France, to review human evidence coming from epidemiological studies. They said they looked at all relevant human studies of people using mobile phones and exposure to electromagnetic fields in their workplace. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) can give mobile phones one of five scientific labels: carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic, not classifiable or not carcinogenic. It concluded that mobiles should be rated as "possibly carcinogenic" because of a possible link with a type of brain cancer - glioma. Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "The WHO's verdict means that there is some evidence linking mobile phones to cancer but it is too weak to draw strong conclusions from.

Dutch Trauma

1 June 2011 - From the BBC: The extradition of Ratko Mladic to the Netherlands for trial on genocide charges is particularly poignant. The Dutch have a special interest in bringing him to justice because of their role - some would call it complicity - in the Srebrenica massacre. More than any other nation, the Netherlands - whose peacekeepers failed to protect Muslim refugees in Srebrenica - has agitated for his arrest. His detention has, therefore, sparked a collective sigh of relief here. But, for some, it has also revived a deep shame that remains in the Dutch conscience. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal called the news of Mladic's arrest "happy and historic". He spoke of "redress" for both the relatives of the victims and the Dutch battalion of UN soldiers (Dutchbat) that proved unable to defend the "safe haven" of Srebrenica. More than 7,000 men and boys were killed there, after it was overrun by Gen Mladic's forces. "Dutchbat suffered too," he added during a TV debate, referring to the disorders that afflict many veterans. Delight over the arrest is still tempered by the collective trauma Dutch society suffered from Dutchbat's failure. The NRC Handelsblad daily warns that Gen Mladic's trial in The Hague will not "close the book on Srebrenica".

Indonesian Maids

31 May 2011 - Indonesia is allowing maids to apply for work in Malaysia for the first time in two years, after ending a long-running row over abuse of workers. The countries signed a deal aimed at improving working conditions for maids, guaranteeing them one day off a week. They will also be allowed to keep their passports, rather than having to give them to their employers. Indonesia banned its citizens from working as maids in June 2009, after allegations of abuse emerged. Last year, a Malaysian woman was jailed for inflicting injuries on her maid using hot water, scissors and a hammer. Indonesian migration minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the deal was part of a long-term plan to protect the rights of workers. "After going through a long negotiation process, we have eventually reached an agreement that is a 'win-win solution', with a number of improvements for the Indonesian worker," he said in a statement. More than one million Indonesians work in Malaysia, most as maids or labourers.

Indian X-Factor

30 May 2011 - Welcome to the global village - the X-factor has reached India. India's version of the X-factor has launched with performances ranging from the amazing to the downright atrocious. But as one of many reality singing shows in India, can the format win over one of the world's largest television audiences? A bad singer is a bad singer, no matter where you are in the world. As contestants took to the stage for the opening auditions for X Factor India, viewers on Sunday night could watch a startling variety of hopefuls, who lived up to the show's trademark mix of the truly talented and truly appalling. What marks out the Indian version of the show is the country's rich and diverse musical heritage, which saw performers try their hand at everything from Bollywood to Bhangra. "We've had everything from 16 Rajasthani folk singers dressed in turbans singing in high-pitched voices to the soft voice of a 70-year-old man who has been brought up with the Bollywood traditions of the 1960s," says Sonu Nigam, one of the judges on the Indian show. With the same theme tune, stage set, categories and editing style, the "look" of X Factor India is almost identical to that of its British predecessor.

Depressed Fathers

30 May 2011 - It is a sad story, but a man in the UK has been acquitted of murdering his six-month-old daughter, after saying he had had post-natal depression. The case of Mark Bruton-Young has put the issue of men who struggle to cope with becoming fathers in the headlines. One out of every seven new mothers has post-natal depression - but, according to the Fatherhood Institute, one out of every 10 fathers are depressed both before and after their baby is born. The peak time for fathers' depression is thought to be between three and six months after the birth. Like women, they can struggle with the huge life changes a baby brings, says Fatherhood Institute research head Adrienne Burgess. "Hormones, lack of sleep, increased responsibility and general life stresses can apply to men just as much to women," she said.  "And if their partner is depressed, then men are more likely to be too." Men and women who have pre-existing mental health problems are more at risk of developing depression after the birth of a child. But a father's depression can begin during pregnancy, when relationships are already changing. Fathers can feel left out while their partner is the focus of increased attention. Association for Post-natal Illness counsellor Liz Wise says: "Women can feel they do things best, like changing a nappy or feeding. But they don't always think about how it could undermine a man's confidence."

Cantagalo

29 May 2011 - High above Rio de Janeiro's beachside neighbourhoods is Cantagalo, one of the many favelas clinging to the city's hillsides.Cantagalo, along with the communities of Pavao and Pavaozinho, is a winding mass of concrete alleyways and stairwells that snake up the hill overlooking the famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. Every day thousands of the favela's residents travel down the hill to work in the homes, shops, hotels and bars of their richer neighbours but the daily migration is one-sided. Many wealthier Rio residents have never set foot in Cantagalo but an ambitious new project in the hillside community is working to change that. Museu de Favela is trying to turn the shantytown, which is home to more than 20,000 people, into a popular destination. Like an art gallery that has exploded on to the streets, the Museu is made up of a series of huge murals covering 20 buildings, all commissioned by local artists. "Samba, capoiera, funk, everything that the elite of Rio de Janeiro enjoy comes from the favela," says Sidney "Tartaruga" Silva, vice-president of the Museu, as he guides visitors up the hill. The project's aim is to reflect the history of this urban community and give a voice to the people who live there.

Fat Risk

 

28 May 2011 - Children who get insufficient sleep at night are more likely to become overweight, according to researchers in New Zealand. A study, published on the BMJ website, followed 244 children between the ages of three and seven. It said more sleep was linked to a lower weight, which could have important public health consequences. UK experts said there was "no harm" in drawing attention to the link between reduced sleep and ill health. The children were seen every six months when their weight, height and body fat were measured. Their sleeping habits and physical-activity levels were recorded at ages three, four and five.The researchers found that those children who had less sleep in their earlier years were at greater risk of having a higher Body Mass Index at age seven. This link continued even when other risk factors, such as gender and physical activity, were accounted for in their research. Suggested reasons for the link include simply having more time to eat and changes to hormones affecting appetite.