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Monday, 11 November 2013

Artist nails his own testicles to the ground in front of horrified tourists......Ouch!


Artist nails his own testicles to the ground in front of horrified tourists

A Russian performance artist was hospitalised Sunday after stripping naked and nailing his testicles to a Red Square cobblestone in protest against the Kremlin's crackdown on political rights.

A video of the graphic action, available on Russian websites, showed artist Pyotr Pavlensky sitting naked outside Lenin's Mausoleum being covered with a blanket by police officers while horrified passersby looked on.
CLICK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO:


The state-run RIA Novosti news agency said Pavlensky was taken to a police station after being treated in a central Moscow clinic.

The Saint Petersburg-based artist said in a statement posted on the Grani.ru website that he was trying to draw attention to Russian society's inaction in the face of the development of a "police state".

Russia marked its annual Police Day holiday on Sunday.

It is not the first time the 29-year-old has resorted to eye-watering methods of protest.

He has previously sewn his lips together to demonstrate against the jailing of two female members of the Pussy Riot punk band who staged an anti-Kremlin performance inside Moscow's main cathedral in 2011.


#huffingtonpost

Black boy who was executed for murder of 2 white girls may be retried 70 years after his death

A 14-YEAR-OLD black boy who was executed for the murder of two white girls could be retried posthumously nearly 70 years after his death.


George Stinney

George Stinney was strapped to an electric chair in South Carolina in 1944 and was the youngest person to be put to death in the US over the past century.

He was accused of killing two girls, aged seven and 11. The teenager reportedly confessed and was convicted by an all-white jury in a trial lasting less than a day. There were no lengthy appeals and he was electrocuted 84 days after the crime took place. The request for a new trial includes sworn statements from two of Stinney's siblings who say he was with them on the day the girls were killed.

Stinney's now elderly sister, Annie Ruffner, who was seven at the time, said she and her brother were grazing their cow when the girls appeared and asked them where they could find maypop flowers. According to Mrs Ruffner, her brother told them he did not know – and the girls left.

The girls' bodies were found the next morning in a ditch. Stinney's confession and the transcript from the trial have since disappeared.



#Irish Independent

Wife of the Enugu State Governor, Clara Chime opens up as she moves out of government house


Wife of the Enugu State Governor, Clara Chime

Mrs. Clara Chime today stated that she was forced to remain as wife of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State.

She said she would have walked away from the marriage during the period Chime was sick and away for five months, but remained on “very compassionate grounds.”

Mrs. Chime said her thinking was that sickness would change the governor’s ways towards her, but stated that he even got worse months after his return from undergoing a cancer treatment abroad.

According to her, on many occasions she attempted to leave, her family members, for pecuniary reasons, insisted she stayed put.

She said even when it was apparent that Chime no longer wanted the marriage, her family wouldn’t let her go.

She made this disclosure through the mobile telephone set of one of her male siblings, about four hours after she eventually packed out from the Governors Lodge.

The sibling declined revealing his identity to The PUNCH, but stated that he was one of the few family members who supported Mrs. Chime’s agitation to quit the marriage.

He said if he revealed his identity, it could cause a stir between him and other family members, who were still holding meetings with members of the Chime family on the matter.

He claimed that the governor had long lost interest in the marriage but held forth because he (Chime) didn’t want any scandal over the issue.

“So, there was no need joining other family members into forcing her to remain in a marriage that he (the governor) was no longer interested in,” said the source.
#punch

10 Dangers of Diet Soda......Drinking just one bottle of diet drink each day is a danger to your health


WITH no calories to worry about, millions of people enjoy a diet soft drink assuming it must be healthier than the full-sugar version and could help them to lose weight.

But they are wrong. Just one small bottle a day could increase your risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease, say US scientists.

The fizzy drinks, packed with artificial sweeteners, are a danger to health and experts warn that they are just as hazardous as their sugary counterparts.



 

HERE ARE 10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE UP DIET SODA:

It confuses your body
Artificial sweeteners have more intense flavor than real sugar, so over time products like diet soda dull our senses to naturally sweet foods like fruit, says Brooke Alpert, RD, author of The Sugar Detox. Even more troubling, these sugar stand-ins have been shown to have the same effect on your body as sugar. "Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain," Alpert says. 
 
It could lead to weight gain, not weight loss
Diet soda is calorie-free, but it won't necessarily help you lose weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that over the course of about a decade, diet soda drinkers had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference compared with non-drinkers. And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500% greater increase. The way artificial sweeteners confuse the body may play a part, but another reason might be psychological, says Minnesota-based dietitian Cassie Bjork. When you know you're not consuming any liquid calories, it might be easier to justify that double cheeseburger or extra slice of pizza.
 
It is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes
Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions (including high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, raised cholesterol, and large waist circumference) that put people at high risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, Bjork explains.
 
It has no nutritional value
When you drink diet soda, you're not taking in any calories—but you're also not swallowing anything that does your body any good, either. The best no-calorie beverage? Plain old water, says Bjork. "Water is essential for many of our bodily processes, so replacing it with diet soda is a negative thing," she says. If it's the fizziness you crave, try sparkling water.
 
Its sweetener is linked to headaches
Early studies on aspartame and anecdotal evidence suggests that this artificial sweetener may trigger headaches in some people. "I have several clients who used to suffer from migraines and pinpointed their cause to diet soda," Bjork says.
 
It'll ruin your smile over time
Excessive soda drinking could leave you looking like a Breaking Bad extra, according to a case study published in the journal General Dentistry. The research compared the mouths of a cocaine-user, a methamphetamine-user, and a habitual diet-soda drinker, and found the same level of tooth erosion in each of them. The culprit here is citric acid, which weakens and destroys tooth enamel over time.
 
It makes drinking more dangerous
Using diet soda as a low-calorie cocktail mixer has the dangerous effect of getting you drunk faster than sugar-sweetened beverages, according to research from Northern Kentucky University. The study revealed that participants who consumed cocktails mixed with diet drinks had a higher breath alcohol concentration than those who drank alcohol blended with sugared beverages. The researchers believe this is because our bloodstream is able to absorb artificial sweetener more quickly than sugar.
 
It is associated with depression
A recent study presented at a the American Academy of Neurology meeting found that over the course of 10 years, people who drank more than four cups or cans of soda a day were 30% more likely to develop depression than those who steered clear of sugary drinks. The correlation held true for both regular and diet drinks, but researchers were sure to note that the risk appeared to be greater for those who primarily drank diet sodas and fruit punches. Although this type of study can't prove cause and effect, its findings are worth considering.
 
It may be bad for your bones
Women over 60 are already at a greater risk for osteoporosis than men, and Tufts University researchers found that drinking soda, including diet soda, compounds the problem. They discovered that female cola drinkers had nearly 4% lower bone mineral density in their hips than women who didn't drink soda. The research even controlled for the participants' calcium and vitamin D intake. Additionally, a 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cola intake (all kinds, not just diet) was associated with low bone-mineral density in women.
 
It may hurt your heart
Just one diet soft drink a day could boost your risk of having a vascular event such as stroke, heart attack, or vascular death, according to researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University. Their study found that diet soda devotees were 43% more likely to have experienced a vascular event than those who drank none. Regular soda drinkers did not appear to have an increased risk of vascular events. Researchers say more studies need to be conducted before definitive conclusions can be made about diet soda's effects on health.


 


#express.co.uk
#abcnews
#health.com

10 Reasons why you are always hungry...and what to do about it



 


We are all guilty of it...mindlessly munching on a bag of pretzels during a reality TV marathon or treating ourselves to a second helping when the first was plenty. But boredom and indulgence aside, why else are we reaching for a snack when we should feel full? Some of it can be blamed on habit, while other triggers have more to do with our body's hunger signals. Check out the list below to find out the most common overeating pitfalls and simple solutions for avoiding these traps.

1. You didn't get enough sleep last night.
Lack of rest stimulates two faux hunger triggers: energy deficiency, to which our natural reaction is to nourish our bodies, and appetite hormone confusion. "When our bodies are drained, levels of leptin—a hormone produced by our fat cells that controls our appetite—decrease, while levels of gherlin—a hormone produced by our stomach that stimulates our appetite—increase," explains American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Karen Ansel, RD. That's two hormones working against you. "Getting eight hours of sleep a night is the easiest thing you can do to prevent overeating." If you do fall short on zzz's, be sure to load up on nourishing, naturally energizing foods—such as fresh fruit, complex carbohydrates and lean proteins—throughout the day to help your body feel satisfied.

2. You're taking medication that causes hunger as a side effect.
If you felt ravenous the last time you were taking an antibiotic to tame an allergic reaction, joint inflammation, acne or a bad cold, the medicine may be to blame. "Medication that contains mild steroids, like prednisone, a corticosteroid, ramp up hunger big time," says Milton Stokes, RD, owner of One Source Nutrition, LLC. "If you've already eaten a normal-size meal, ignore the drug-inflated hunger," says Stokes. Instead, try an oral fix like chewing gum, sipping warm coffee or brushing your teeth, he suggests. If you're on long-term steroid therapy, consult a dietitian to devise an eating plan that will help you feel more satisfied throughout the treatment.

3. You're thirsty or dehydrated.
The symptoms of dehydration (sleepiness, low energy) closely mimic those of being overly hungry, which may lead you to think you need food to increase your energy level, explains Sandon. When you're thirsty, your mouth becomes dry, a symptom that eating will temporarily relieve, notes Sandon. She suggests drinking a tall glass of water or cup of herbal tea before eating and waiting for your body's hunger signals to adjust (about 10 minutes). "Doing so could save hundreds of calories."

4. It's "mealtime."
As creatures of habit, we tend to eat on autopilot. While some regularity is encouraged so that you don't become overly hungry, which could lead to bingeing, it's also important to listen to hunger signals, says Ansel. "Next time you sit down to eat, ask yourself: 'Am I really hungry?' If the answer is 'no,' either eat a smaller portion or put off the meal for an hour—though no longer than that," suggests Ansel. This also applies to situations you associate with eating, like flying. "We've been conditioned to associate an airplane ride with eating," Ansel says. The solution: "Pay attention to timing," recommends Lona Sandon, MEd, RD, assistant professor of nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern. "Know how long the flight is and plan satisfying meals around it." Also, take advantage of the free (hydrating) beverages, she adds, as the enclosed space leads to hunger-causing dehydration.

5. You just worked out.
We are conditioned to feed ourselves after exercising. And, after a particularly strenuous exercise session like a spinning class or interval-training workout, we tend to feel ravenous. But that doesn't mean your body needs extra calories. "It means your body needs a specific kind of nourishment," says Marissa Lippert, RD, a nutrition consultant and dietitian in New York City. Opt for roasted chicken or other lean meats (protein will replenish your muscles) and brown rice or other whole grains (complex carbohydrates take a while to break down) to help your body recover faster and fend off hunger longer.

6. Not enough time has passed since you finished your meal.
You've just eaten lunch only to wonder: "Why am I still hungry?" Before you assume you didn't eat enough, consider that maybe you ate too quickly. "Appetite hormones need time to tell your brain you're full," explains Sandon. To prevent post-meal hunger pangs, keep these pointers in mind: Eat slowly, putting down your fork between bites; choose flavorful and satisfying foods; and include a combination of fat, protein and carbohydrates in every meal. If you're still hungry, try sucking on a mint to ward off your cravings.

7. The women around you are eating.
A joint study out of Duke University and Arizona State University found that women tend to mirror other women's eating habits. "When one overdoes it, the rest often follow along," Ansel confirms. To avoid this copycat effect, Lippert suggests taking a quick minute to reassess your own eating habits—or, if all else fails, grabbing a pal and evacuating the scene of the food. A more permanent fix? Be the one who sets a healthy example for your girlfriends to follow. Their waistlines will thank you! "Just as obesity is contagious, so are healthy habits," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet.

8. You've been drinking alcohol.
It's long been suspected that alcohol contributes to an increased appetite. Though the underlying mechanisms are unknown, a common hypothesis is that it makes food more palatable. What we do know is that alcohol decreases our defenses, which is detrimental to those who restrict their eating, explains Jackson Blatner. Furthermore, "People expect that alcohol will make them eat more, which leads them to unabashedly do so," Sandon adds. The solution? Eat before you order that glass of wine, beer or cocktail. To prevent overeating the next day, especially after a night of heavy drinking, be sure to drink plenty of water to replenish your dehydrated body.

9. You smell or see food.
"We tend to eat with our senses more than our stomachs," says Ansel. When we smell or see food—even if it's in a photo, advertisement or TV show—our mouths water, which stimulates our appetite. Onset factors can include smelling a batch of cupcakes baking, seeing snack food laid out on the counter or watching a cooking show. The clear-cut solution: "Out of sight, out of mind." Leave the room, hide the candy jar, turn off the TV—and the craving to eat will likely subside, says Ansel.

10. You're stressed out.
"Studies show that when people recognize they're stressed, they are more likely to turn to high-fat, salty or sugary foods," says Sandon. "These foods both are comforting and feel good in the mouth," she adds. But it's not all about emotional eating. Sandon notes that your body's chemical reaction to stress could also cause hunger pangs. "Increased levels of the stress hormones cortisol and insulin may be associated with triggering appetite." Either way, appetite control boils down to decision-making.




#womansday.com