- Navy officer tells why she worked as a prostitute
-
‘I needed the money’
Man sticks by wife who cut off penis
April 11, 2008 - 5:14AM
MANILA - A housewife in the Philippines today cut off her husband’s penis while he was sleeping in their house because she suspected he was having extra marital affairs, a police officer said.
Police officer Rolly Lipata said 37-year-old Lenly Bayabado had long suspected her younger husband’s infidelity, prompting her to cut off his organ.
Lipata said neighbours rushed the screaming victim, 32-year-old Joelito, to a nearby hospital in the Manila suburban city of Pasig after the attack.
Bayabado underwent several hours of operation so his organ could be re-attached, but hospital sources said there was no guarantee he would still be able to perform sexually.
Bayabado denied he was cheating on his wife and said he will not file charges against her because he wants to keep the family intact for the sake of their four children.
DPA
Man sticks by wife who cut off penis - World - BrisbaneTimes
Ginger Thompson, Philip Shenon | April 13, 2008
LIEUTENANT-Commander Rebecca Dickinson made the leap from the enlisted ranks of the US Navy to its officer corps.
At 38, her record included a series of commendation medals and an assignment to the Naval Academy, where she helped teach a leadership course.
But last week, Commander Dickinson acknowledged that money and marital problems had led her to moonlight as a prostitute for Washington’s rich and powerful. Her nervous admissions in courtroom testimony spelled the end of the promising career of an otherwise exemplary officer.
“I needed the money,” said the divorced mother of three who two years ago stopped working for a prostitution ring run by a California businesswoman known as the D.C. Madam.
In a trial that has been expected to expose and embarrass the influential clients of the large sex-for-hire business, the early days have been remarkable for the public humiliation of an accomplished but financially
desperate Navy officer who was paid $US130 per 90-minute session
.
Asked why she walked away from prostitution, Commander Dickinson replied: “It was getting hard to do. I didn’t like it.”
There is no accusation that she was hired by any of the best-known clients of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, who is on trial on charges of running the business, an escort service called Pamela Martin & Associates.
The client list included Republican senator David Vitter, Randall Tobias, who stepped down as deputy secretary of state
after his links to the ring were exposed, and Harlan Ullman, the military affairs scholar who created the Pentagon’s concept known as “shock and awe”.
None of the men have testified. The early witness list has centred on Palfrey’s former employees, including Commander Dickinson, who was asked to give details in exchange for immunity from criminal charges.
NEW YORK TIMES
Nearly one-third smoke while pregnant
By Gill Vowles
April 13, 2008 03:19am
Article from: The Sunday Tasmanian
SMOKING rates among pregnant Tasmanian women are twice the national average and pushing the state’s embattled health system further into crisis, authorities warn.
New State Government figures reveal a shocking 27.6 per cent of Tasmania’s pregnant women smoke - most of them are young and economically disadvantaged.
Describing the problem as a health disaster for the state, public health director Roscoe Taylor said there were large gaps in smoking rates between the rich and the poor.
While 8.3 per cent of private pregnant patients smoked, the rate for public patients was 35.7 per cent.
Dr Taylor said Tasmania had not done nearly enough to curb the problem and a big increase in resourcing of mass-media campaigns and smoking-cessation programs was needed urgently.
QUIT Tasmania director Michael Wilson confirmed yesterday QUIT and the State Government would announce a major initiative against pregnancy smoking on Tuesday.
Dr Taylor warned smoking while pregnant caused life-long health and behavioural problems for the child and placed an additional and preventable burden on the state’s health and education sectors
.
“Every member of the community should be concerned about this because our systems simply cannot sustain these costs,” Dr Taylor said.
"
Children born to smoking mothers are more likely to suffer from asthma, middle-ear infections, meningococcal infections, intellectual impairment and learning difficulties. “The effects are life-long and present as health, behavioural and learning problems
.”
The new figures, compiled late last year, reveal smoking during pregnancy was reported most frequently by patients of the Royal Hobart Hospital (38.2 per cent) and least often at the Launceston General Hospital (26.2 per cent).
It was most prevalent in women aged under 20.
While only 13.5 per cent of pregnant women aged over 40 smoke, a staggering 54 per cent of pregnant women under 20 admit smoking. In the age group 20-24 years, 43.8 per cent of pregnant women smoke.
School bans gay partners at formal in Australia
By Robyn Ironside; April 12, 2008 01:35am
Exclusive school bans gay partners at formal
Say senior students must bring girls
Issue of sexual discrimination arises
ONE of Queensland’s most prestigious boys schools has told final-year students they can’t take their gay partners to the senior formal.
Several students at Churchie - the Anglican Church Grammar School - have made it known they want to escort boyfriends to the June 19 formal, but the
school is insisting they take a member of the opposite sex
.
Churchie headmaster Jonathan Hensman said none of the students had approached him directly, but a staff member had raised the issue on their behalf.
“The senior dinner dance is an opportunity for our young men to escort a young woman in a formal school environment,”
Mr Hensman said.
“We don’t intend to change our practice. As well as being a social occasion, it’s an education forum and to that end the school decides what is appropriate behaviour and what is not.”
Mr Hensman said the issue had not “formally” arisen in the past, that he could recall, but the question was not unexpected given “the changing times”.
“Not all students take their girlfriends. Some take a female friend. It’s about protocols and decorums,”
he said. But Mr Hensman said if any of Churchie’s seniors approached him formally, he would consider taking the request to the school council.
State schools made their own decisions on guidelines for school formals, a Queensland Education spokesman said.
Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Susan Booth said sexuality discrimination was unlawful, and that applied to private and public schools as well as other organisations.
However, Churchie is not alone in
its stand against same-sex couples attending school formals
, with Queensland Catholic Education Executive Director Mike Byrne saying their schools would not allow it either.
Mr Byrne said Catholic schools were committed to modelling behaviours in keeping with the values and principles of a Catholic institution. “As such we would not see it as appropriate for couples in a same-sex relationship to attend an event such as a school formal,” he said.
“Where young people are concerned, there are often matters associated with sexuality and relationships - both heterosexual and homosexual - where schools provide a range of support services for students.”
Although Ms Booth could not comment specifically on the Churchie case because it was “a potential complaint”, the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner said schools should not treat students differently on the basis of their sexuality.
“What we hope is that there can be a discussion about the issue, that’s what happens in the commission, and that’s where we hope the matter can be sorted out.”
The Queensland Education spokesman said schools “consider the Inclusive Education policy when planning a range of activities, including school formals . . . and that requires schools to foster learning environments where all students are valued for their diverse backgrounds”.
Queensland University of Technology School of Justice lecturer Dr Angela Dwyer said Churchie’s stand on the issue of same-sex formal partners would be “devastating” to those involved.
“We’re talking about someone’s identity here. The way that they feel and the way that they express themselves is basically being squashed by the school,” said Dr Dwyer, who is writing a research paper on “How queer young people are policed”.
Another expert on sexuality and education, Iain Hay from the University of Canberra, said it would be very stressful for gay students prepared to come out in front of their peers, to then be told it was “inappropriate”.
Anglican Church Grammar School bans gay partners at formal | NEWS.com.au
Sex for sale as families eat out
Article from: The Sunday Times, PerthNow
Submit comment: Anthony DeCeglie; April 12, 2008 05:00pm
AN
escort agency
is touting for business metres from families dining out in the heart of buys Northbridge. International 300, a 24-hour in-house escort venue, is handing out raunchy business cards close to some of Northbridge’s most popular family restaurants during busy dining hours.
The Sunday Times received several of the cards from a young male about 8.45pm on Friday less than 10m from Valentino Cafe on James St. Other venues nearby include the Dome Cafe and Sorrento Restaurant.
The escort agency’s business cards sport barely dressed females and the words ``
ladies of many nationalities are available
‘’.
Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi told The Sunday Times that handing out the business cards near dining families hurt efforts to clean up Northbridge and make it more family friendly. Ms Scaffidi said she would ask the police and the city’s compliance officers to investigate the matter straightaway.
CCTV cameras also would be used to scrutinise people handing out the cards. “Obviously, it is not a desirable thing to be happening in Northbridge,’’ Ms Scaffidi said. “I do not support the notion of these cards and I will be trying to deter them.''
International 300’s website, promoted on the business cards, says that under WA law it is not permitted to publish the details of the services it provides. However, the website says
services are ``time based’’ at $240 an hour and $160 for 30 minutes
. (
Expenive like hell!!)
A disclaimer on the website reads: “In the interests of your health and ours, only safe sex is practised at International 300. “A law and International 300 require the use of condoms by guests engaged in sexual acts.''
The website claims that International 300 has an exclusive selection of 40 women from Asian, European or Australian backgrounds
.
The Business Improvement Group of Northbridge chairman Paul Afkos said it was despicable that the cards were being distributed near family restaurants.
He said BIGN would not tolerate it. “This sort of act is entirely inappropriate,’’ Mr Afkos said. “Especially at such a short distance from where families are eating. “We are determined to make Northbridge a far cleaner and friendlier place to be. “It is not just for the likes of escort agencies and people who want to binge drink.''
Valentino Cafe owner Bob Smaley said he tried to ignore the cards. International 300 would not comment to The Sunday Times.
Baby born with two faces
April 09, 2008 01:30am
THE parents of an Indian infant girl born with two faces say she is eating and breathing normally despite having two pairs of eyes and lips and two noses.
The one-month-old baby, named Lali, is the first child of factory worker Vinod Kumar and his wife Sushma.
She has caused a sensation, attracting a stream of curious observers and
others who consider her a deity
in the deeply religious Hindu-majority country.
Lali’s extremely rare condition is known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Her facial features are duplicated with the exception of her ears - she has two.
“She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time,” the director of Saifi Hospital, Sabir Ali, said
“She is leading a normal life with no breathing difficulties.''
He said he saw no need for surgery.
Lali’s father said he was apprehensive when he first saw his daughter.
“I had never seen something like this in my life so naturally I was a little scared when I first saw her,” he said.
Her mother, Sushma, told The Hindustan Times her daughter was “just like any other child”.
“Initially we had some problem in accepting the child but now everything is fine,’’ she said.
The family has no plans to consult doctors to check if the girl can receive treatment or corrective surgery.
“The doctor said everything is normal when she was born. So where’s the need to get medical help?” 24-year-old Kumar said.
“She’s fed through one mouth and sucks her thumb with the other. We use whichever mouth is free to feed her.”
Doctors said it was an extremely rare case, with the girl having two skulls joined together, and that separating them was out of the question.
“Since the heads are fused, separating them is not possible,” paediatrician D.K Gupta of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences told The Hindustan Times newspaper.
But doctors said the girl should be examined thoroughly to study the possibility of complications.
“Clearly the child is in no immediate danger but it has to be checked whether the oral and nasal cavity and other passages” are functioning properly, Dr Gupta said.
The case comes just months after Indian doctors performed a rare, marathon surgery to remove the extra limbs of a girl born with four arms and legs.
Two-year-old Lakshmi Tatma’s case captivated the nation last year as domestic and international media focused on her complicated surgery performed in southern Bangalore city in November.
This year, Lakshmi started taking her first steps with the help of a baby walker, delighting her parents and doctors.
Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth
, was born fused to the pelvis of a twin that had stopped developing in her mother’s womb - a condition that occurs once in 50,000 conjoined twin births.
Kumar said he had heard about Lakshmi, but did not want to change anything about his daughter’s features. “Whatever God has given me is acceptable. What can we do about it?” he said.
View the picture here:-
AdelaideNow… Baby born with two faces
Men’s mag runs win-a-divorce competition
Katherine Field | April 14, 2008 - 6:04AM
SYDNEY - First it ran a boob job competition, now a men’s magazine is set to cause outrage again by giving its readers the chance to score a divorce.
Zoo Weekly is inviting men to explain why they deserve an expenses paid split from their partner, promising to take care of it all for the winner - from the legal costs to hooking up the “lucky” bloke with new women.
“The idea is we’re going to try to get this guy out back on the scene and try to set him up with some more suitable girlfriends to have a good time,” the Australian magazine’s editor Paul Merrill said.
“When a marriage fails it’s always sad but what’s even sadder is being stuck under the same roof as someone who’s shagged your best mate or something.
“This is hopefully going to encourage people to see the error of their ways and get out rather than put up with 40 years of misery.”
Asked if the competition could be viewed as encouraging divorce, Merrill said: “You’d have to be pretty nutty to enter a competition to win a divorce if you’re happily married”.
Zoo Weekly drew widespread criticism from academics and plastic surgeons last year when it offered readers a chance to win their girlfriends a boob job by sending in shots of her cleavage.
The competition was branded unethical, inappropriate and in poor taste.
AAP
Contraceptive for men a shot in the arm
April 13, 2008 04:24am
NEW Australian-developed contraceptive jab for men, taken four times a year, has been proven to be just as effective as birth-control pills for women
.
Sydney researchers found the hormonal injection is a quick and reliable method of contraception for up to 95 per cent of males.
Until now, the only effective non-barrier contraceptive for men was a vasectomy, meaning that women tended to take on theresponsibility.
Now there is an alternative - but pharmaceutical companies have shown little interest in making it available to the public.
The new jab works by suppressing sperm output but does not have a permanent effect.
Made up of a combination of the hormones androgen and progestin - mostly testosterone - it needs to be administered every two to three months.
Researchers from the ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital studied 1756 men aged 18 to 51 and found the combined jab was quicker and more effective than an androgen-only version.
Associate Professor Peter Liu, co-author of the integrated analysis study, said he was disappointed pharmaceutical companies had pulled out of the project to develop a commercially available male contraceptive jab.
“I think there’s a real need for it because I see a lot of couples where a female doesn’t want to use or is intolerant to a female contraceptive pill or males who want to delay vasectomy” Professor Liu said.
“There are also couples who say it’s not fair, why should (birth control) be up to the female? I hear that from both partners.”
Research has been hindered by a shortage of government interest and funding.
“My perception is that people want it but it seems to be that somehow that isn’t being heard at a government level,” Professor Liu said.
“No one has really pushed this issue and I don’t know why that is. Sometimes, the Government doesn’t know what the community wants so the community has to tell them.”
The jab is as effective as a vasectomy without the need for surgery or stopping sperm completely, according to the study which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Medical Observer magazine.
“We conclude that androgen-progestin administration can suppress sperm output in a timely fashion to concentrations that are compatible with reliable contraception in most, but not all, men,” the study authors wrote.
“The rate of suppression is comparable to that achieved after vasectomy.”
The World Health Organisation is understood to be planning an international study to test a three-monthly androgen-progestin combination injection for men.
Countries such as
China
, where population growth is exploding, are expected to be among the biggest markets for the new jab.
Jab … the new male contraception injection works by suppressing sperm output but does not have a permanent effect / File photo
Contraceptive for men a shot in the arm | NEWS.com.au
The shot in the arm contraceptive for men … waht a joke, it just supresses the quantum of sperm … dont they know all it need is one , I guess sometimes researchers just want to make a name for themselves. In fact in the article they mention not reliable
Quote:
Originally Posted by
friends123
The shot in the arm contraceptive for men … waht a joke, it just supresses the quantum of sperm … dont they know all it need is one , I guess sometimes researchers just want to make a name for themselves. In fact in the article they mention not reliable
Thank you brother for your comments.
I m not sure about the reliability of the articles from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Medical Observer magazine BUT the same test were apparently undertaken by the ANZAC Research Institute,
University of Sydney
and
Concord Hospital
.
I m not sure I will take that jab…that is for sure!!
The rubber is still the safest and cheapest means for me……