quote:

Originally posted by 4now:
Teen Faces Surgery for Upside-Down Feet

By KAREN MATTHEWS,
AP
Posted: :25:21

NEW YORK (May 1) - In her 15 years, Jingle Luis has never walked on the bottoms of her feet.





Born in the Philippines, Jingle Luis, 15, has feet that are so clubbed that they twist upside down and backward. She's come to the United States to have corrective surgery. Here, Luis walks Wednesday with crutches in the Children's Hospital of New York's Montefiore Medical Center


Born in the Philippines with feet so clubbed they twist backward and upside down, she uses crutches to hobble on what should be the tops of her feet.

"I can accept it," Jingle said Wednesday in a voice so soft it was barely audible.

But if all goes well, Jingle won't have to accept the condition much longer. She and her mother have journeyed from the Philippines to Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx for surgery Thursday and follow-up treatment that will consist of slowly rotating her feet until she can walk normally.

Her case is more severe than those usually seen by doctors in industrialized countries.

"Generally speaking, with modern technology, it doesn't get to this point," said Dr. Terry Amaral, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who will perform the surgery at Children's Hospital at Montefiore.

Clubfoot is a relatively common deformity, occurring in about one in 1,000 births. Children are usually treated in infancy with casts or braces that gradually bring the feet into correct alignment. The condition becomes harder to treat if it is not corrected early on.

Amaral said Jingle's case was complicated by the fact that her clubfoot was associated with spina bifida, a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings.

He said doctors who saw Jingle as a baby thought that her spina bifida would shorten her life span and prevent her from walking, so they did not treat the clubfoot.


FULL STORY COVERAGE

4Now,

Was Usa Doctors Able To Treat The Deficiency???
Or Not Treated Early Enough??? Because Doctors Of "ELSEWARE" Thought Be More Damaging Than Good?

I Will Have To Research This One! I Have Seen This Treated Before!!!! "REPAIRED WITH MODERN SURGERY"!

Nevermind, I See Treatment Withheld In Early Years Which Could Have Helped.

quote:

Originally posted by ProudUSC:
Hudson, I am very glad to hear that your wife's family was not involved in this tragedy. My prayers are with the victims and their families.

AND

quote:

Posted by 4nowL
Yes Hudson

very sad indeed, and this is good news that your wife's family was not involved. I dont know why I always thought your wife was from japan. My mistake.

AND

quote:

Oh, what a relief, Hudson, thanks God. I'm still grieving for the people of Myanmar amid the insensitivity of their government. And now this in China. I particularly feel for the families of the school kids. Can't imagine seeing off the kids in the morning and not come home ever.

We, my wife and I, want to thank everyone's concern and prayers on this.

And continue the prayers.

Its gotta be tough wondering about whats happening to any relatives over there. It seemed there were smaller quakes in other areas as well. At least they aren't playing politics with it like in Burma.

I found this item so relevant and timely, considering... it could happen to anyone, anywhere, any time.

Where to be during an Earthquake? Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, this guy has a completely reverse opinion. This is very interesting, different from what we were all taught.

Oh boy, is this ever an eye opener! Directly opposite of what we've been taught over the years! I can remember in school being told to, 'duck and cover' or stand in a doorway during an earthquake. This guy's findings are absolutely amazing. I hope we all remember his survival method if we are ever in an earthquake!

Please read this and pass the info along to your family members and friends, it could save their lives someday!

EXCERPT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON: ‘THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles.

It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them.

This space is what I call the 'triangle of life.' The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact - the less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY:

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the door jammed falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the jammed door falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously b um p into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads – horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them. If possible, it is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The f a rther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper. Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly!' In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada, and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

quote:

Originally posted by Hudson:
In case anyone is wondering, my wife's family does not live in the area. This is sad, and lets all pray for the loved ones that are still missing are found alive.

I just caught up with this thread, I am so glad to hear Hudson your wife's family were not involved in this devastating tragedy.

My prayers are with those families who lost a loved one, and the those that have been affected.

I read somewhere that China had a one child rule policy, I didn't realise that was still in force. This is so very sad.

quote:

Originally posted by Sprint_girl07:
I just caught up with this thread, I am so glad to hear Hudson your wife's family were not involved in this devastating tragedy.

My prayers are with those families who lost a loved one, and the those that have been affected.

I read somewhere that China had a one child rule policy, I didn't realise that was still in force. This is so very sad.

Thank you Sprint.

The one child policy is not universal and only affects the Han Chinese. Those who live n rural areas or in certain minority groups are not affected by the policy. What is interesting is that most Chinese, except for the wealthy, were adhering to that policy prior to being enacted. The Chinese are very pragmatic, well at least from what I observed.

Ah thanks for explaining that Hudson.

This is for Brit and Davdah

Swiss man soars above Alps with jet-powered wing
By FRANK JORDANS – 7 hours ago

BEX, Switzerland (AP) — A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.

Yves Rossy's performance in front of the world press capped five years of training and many more years of dreaming.

"This flight was absolutely excellent," the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.

Rossy, 48, had stepped out of the Swiss-built Pilatus Porter aircraft at 7,500 feet and unfolded the rigid eight-foot wings strapped to his back before jumping.

Passing from free fall to a gentle glide, Rossy then triggered four jet turbines and accelerated to 186 miles per hour, about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver. A plane that flew at some distance beside him measured his speed.

The crowd on the mountaintop below gasped and cheered.

Rossy's mother, who was among the spectators, told journalists she felt no fear.

"He knows what he's doing," Paule Rossy said of her son, who now flies commercial planes for Swiss airlines.

Steering with his body, Rossy dived, turned and soared again, performing what appeared to be effortless loops from one side of the Rhone valley to the other. At times he rose 2,600 feet before descending again.

After one last wave to the crowd the rocket man tipped his wings, flipped onto his back and leveled out again, executing a perfect 360-degree roll.

"That was to impress the girls," he later admitted.

Rossy said after Wednesday's five-minute flight, he is ready now for a bigger challenge: crossing the English Channel this year.

The stunt, which will be shown on live television, will test his flying machine to the limit. Rossy said he plans to practice the 22-mile trip by flying between two hot-air balloons.

"I still haven't used the full potential," he said.

Rossy told The Associated Press that one day he also hopes to fly through the Grand Canyon.

To do this, he will have to fit his wings with bigger, more powerful jets to allow for greater maneuverability. The German-built model aircraft engines he currently uses already provide 200 pounds of thrust, enough to allow Rossy and his 120-pound flying suit to climb through the air.

"Physically, it's absolutely no stress," Rossy said. "It's like being on a motorbike."

But on this ride, even the slightest movement can cause problems. Rossy said he has to focus hard on relaxing in the air, because "if you put tension on your body, you start to swing around."

Should things go wrong — and Rossy says they have more times than not — there's always a yellow handle to jettison the wings and unfold the parachute.

"I've had many 'whoops' moments," he said. "My safety is altitude."

Rossy wears a heat-resistant suit similar to that worn by firefighters and racing drivers, to protect him from the heat of the turbines. The cooling effect of the wind and high altitude also prevent him from getting too hot.

Rossy says his form of human flight will remain the reserve of very few for now. The price and effort involved are simply too enormous, he says.

So far Rossy and his sponsors, including the Swiss watch company Hublot, have poured more than $285,000 and countless hours of labor into building the device. He would not estimate how much his device would cost should it ever be brought to market.

But, he believes similar jet-powered wings will one day be more widely available to experienced parachutists ready for the ultimate flying experience.

That is, if they don't mind missing out on the breathtaking panorama above the Swiss Alps.

"I am so concentrated, I don't really enjoy the view," Rossy said.

Thousands flee China quake area over flood fears



By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer May 18th 2008

****HEKOU, China - Two rivers blocked by landslides threatened to flood towns shattered by China's massive earthquake, sending thousands of survivors fleeing Saturday in a region still staggering from the country's worst disaster in 30 years.


A mountain sheared off by the mighty tremor cut the Qingzhu river and swallowed the riverside village of ****hekou whole, entombing an unknown number of people inside a huge mound of brown earth.

Compounding the horror for survivors, a lake rising behind the wall of debris threatens to break its banks and send torrents cascading into villages downstream.

Pannicky residents streamed out of the entire county on the northern edge of the quake zone, spurred on by mobile phone text messages sent en masse by local government officials warning that the water level was rising and people downstream were being evacuated.

In the town of Beichuan, 60 miles to the south, thousands fled as the reports circulated.

Also on Sunday, a "slightly bruised" man was pulled out alive from a collapsed hospital in Beichuan after being trapped for 139 hours after the quake, a state news agency reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Tang Xiong was pulled to safety from the collapsed hospital in Beichuan in the northern part of Sichuan province.

It said Tang "was only slightly bruised and in his right senses" when he was found.

Xinhua also said a second man was rescued from a different building in Beichuan about eight hours before Tang. It said the survivor, Wu Jianping, had been taken to hospital. His condition was not known.

Rescue work had been resumed later in the day and experts were monitoring the river above Beichuan, the People's Daily newspaper said on its web site. The swift exodus underscored the jitters running through the disaster zone. A strong aftershock — the second in two days and measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 5.7 — shook the area early Sunday for 45 seconds, causing people to run into the streets.

In all the devastation wrought by the quake, little looks as bleak as ****hekou.

The road to the village ends in a tangled twist of metal and tar. In the small valley below, the village itself has disappeared when the mountain collapsed. Locals said two other villages further upstream, Ciban and Kangle, had suffered the same fate. The three villages were home to about 300 families, locals said.

Eerie and still, the remaining landscape has few signs of human life — a soiled green floral scarf, a rubber pipe, a log.

"Oh God! I have lost everything," said Wen Xiaoying, 32, whose voice shook as she surveyed the valley below for the first time since returning from far-off Guang**** province where she worked.

She held up one hand as she ticked off the family members that died — her father, her mother, her sister and her brother-in-law — all of them buried somewhere in the muck before her.

"When I saw them the last time, we celebrated together," said Wen, a glimmer of a smile showing through as she remembered happier days. "I didn't expect it would be the last time I saw them."

Su Ciyao trudged over the bend in plastic slippers, carrying a plastic rice bag stuffed with salvaged clothes.

"My village is over there," the 44-year-old said, gesturing to the swollen earth behind him. Asked where his family was, he could only shake his head.

"Only me," he said, and then set off without a backward glance.

Drizzling rain in the valley added to the gloom, and to the fear of carloads of people who clogged the twisting mountain roads as they streamed out of the region.

The government's daily update added another few thousand bodies to the death toll as it continued climbing toward an expected final tally of at least 50,000. Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin said 28,881 deaths have been confirmed so far.

The official Xinhua News Agency, citing regional officials, said more than 10,600 people were known to be still buried almost one week after the 7.9 magnitude quake hit, shattering thousands of buildings in dozens of towns and cities in Sichuan province.

A group of about 15 people surrounded an Associated Press reporter at a gasoline station in Miangyang city Sunday, appealing for help for their village, Xiushui.

"The government is doing nothing to help us," said one man who identified himself only by his surname, Chen. "If I gave you my complete name the government would track me down."

He said Xiushui was about 12 miles from Mianyang, which is north of Chengdu. Chen did not say how many people lived there, handing over a note which said it had been signed "by the people of Xiushui."

"Please go to our village of Xiushui to cover the situation. The government is doing nothing to help us get water or housing," the note said.

More than 200 rescuers from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are searching alongside Chinese soldiers.

More international aid was arriving, with a U.S. Air Force cargo plane loaded with tents, lanterns and 15,000 meals landing Sunday in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu.

"We are extending the helping hand of a friend to you in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake," U.S. Gen. Charles Hooper said.

The number of security forces helping victims rose to almost 150,000, and the government added cash payments to victims to its response.

The government would give $715 in compensation to each family that lost a member in the earthquake, China National Radio reported Saturday on its web site. At a State Council meeting hosted by Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, the government also decided it would also hand out a daily ration of food and $1.40 to survivors, the report said.

Almost a week after the quake struck, rescues were still occurring.

Rescuers pulled at least seven more survivors from collapsed buildings, the last a man saved after 128 hours. Both of his legs had to be amputated. Another, 20-year-old highway worker Jiang Yuhang was pulled free shortly after his mother arrived from a neighboring province.

"I was expecting to see my son's body. I never expected to see him alive," his mother, Long Jinyu, said on state television.

Experts say buried earthquake survivors can last a week or more, depending on factors including the temperature and whether they have water to drink, but that the chances of survival diminish rapidly after the first 24 hours.

Nearly a week after the quake, soldiers who first arrived with little but shovels were better supplied. In the town of Yinghua, rescuers worked through the day, using saws, drills, torches and hands, to free 31-year-old Bian Gengfeng from the wreckage of a six-story chemical factory.

A man rescued from the same site Friday told rescuers that he had been talking with a woman still trapped, setting off Saturday's effort.

"Uncle called me yesterday and said 'mom was alive' and I should come and wait here," said 10-year-old Luo Ting, who watched her mother being rescued.

Xinhua said Russian rescuers had found a 61-year-old woman alive late Saturday after being buried for 127 hours, the first survivor found by foreign workers.

"I express heartfelt thanks to the foreign governments and international friends that have contributed to our quake relief work," Chinese President Hu Jintao was quoted as saying by Xinhua Sunday.

Queen Elizabeth's grandson weds, tabloids fume

LONDON (Reuters) - It has all the ingredients of a proper British royal wedding: romance, tradition, rain, and a gossip magazine feud.

Peter Phillips, 11th in line to the throne, becomes on Saturday the first of Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren to wed, marrying his Canadian bride Autumn Kelly in drizzly weather at a chapel at the queen's Windsor Castle residence near London.

Phillips, 30, is the queen's eldest grandchild and son of Elizabeth's only daughter, Princess Anne.


more...

Should soldier be severly punished for shooting a book?

As I have never been in the military, Davdah or Hudson, ANYBODY please comment if there are current rules that would support this action by military.



Bush Apologizes for Quran Shooting
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA,AP
Posted: 2008-05-20 13:38:43

BAGHDAD (May 20) - President Bush has apologized to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an American sniper's use of a copy of the Quran for target practice, Maliki's office said Tuesday.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush spoke to al-Maliki about the Quran shooting incident during a regularly scheduled videoconference on Monday. She said Bush expressed his "serious concern."


During a videoconference between the two Monday, President Bush expressed "serious concern" about a U.S. staff sergeant's use of a Quran for target practice outside Baghdad May 9.

"He told the prime minister that we take this matter seriously, and he noted that the soldier had been reprimanded and removed from Iraq by his commanders," Perino said.

A statement issued by al-Maliki's office said Al-Maliki told Bush of the "disappointment and anger of the people and government of Iraq over the soldier's disgraceful action," the statement said.

Bush told al-Maliki that the sniper would face trial, it added.

Separately, the statement said an Iraqi Cabinet meeting Tuesday called for the "severest" punishment against the sniper and warned of "grave consequences" if similarly offensive actions were committed in the future.

It also called on commanders of U.S.-led foreign troops in Iraq to educate their soldiers on the need to respect the religious beliefs of Iraqis.

The U.S. military said Sunday it had disciplined the sniper and removed him from Iraq after he was found to have used Islam's holy book for target practice on May 9. The copy of the Quran was found two days later by Iraqis on a firing range in Radwaniyah, west of Baghdad, with 14 bullet holes in it and graffiti written on its pages.

On Saturday, the top American commander in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, and other officers held a formal ceremony apologizing to tribal chiefs in Radwaniyah.

Bush's apology followed similar moves by the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq to placate the Iraqis, apologizing in separate meetings Monday with al-Maliki, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

The U.S. military said Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III paid individual visits to al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, al-Hashemi and al-Mashhadani, both Sunni Arabs — moves underlining the American eagerness to make amends for the incident, particularly among Sunni Arabs who have become key allies in the fight against insurgents.

In their meeting in his office, al-Hashemi, the top Sunni Arab in the government, told Austin that "the feelings of bitterness and anger cannot be eased unless there is a deterrent punishment and real guarantees" such an incident won't be repeated, according to al-Hashemi's office.

Al-Hashemi expressed his appreciation for the visit but asked for a written apology from the U.S. military.

Austin underlined in all three meetings that "the soldier had in fact been removed from Iraq. He assured them that the matter was serious and that we hold our soldiers accountable for their actions," a U.S. military statement said.

Al-Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic Party also issued a tough statement Monday saying that an apology alone was not enough and the U.S. military should impose the "severest punishment" on the soldier to ensure others do not repeat his act.

It's not just a book. It's a religious symbol. And when you have a dipstick taking shots at it in a Muslim country, you're asking for trouble.

It's like a foreigner burning the US flag on our own soil. Except this soldier is viewed as being a member of an "occupying force" in the eyes of more than a few.

He's lucky he got sent home. If the Iraqis got their hands on him, he'd be coming home in a box.

I agree with JC..it was asking for trouble.
Solider should be punished in some way, do you think the soldier would have done the same to the bible or something that meant something religious or patriotic to him?

Unfortunately there have been many incidents where soldiers have taken things a bit too far over there.
Not just US soldiers, allies too. My brother had to reprimand his own men for some things that were not accepted. May sound like justice to some, but it should not be acceptable.

Actually there are a few things that could be interpreted in the UCMJ:

quote:

892. ART. 92. FAILURE TO OBEY ORDER OR REGULATION
Any person subject to this chapter who--
(1) violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation;
(2) having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by any member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order; or
(3) is derelict in the performance of his duties;
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

I'll bet money there's a General Order that says desecration of the Quran is an offense.

quote:

899. ART. 99. MISBEHAVIOR BEFORE THE ENEMY
(3) through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;
shall be punished by death or such punishment as a court- martial may direct.

That one is kind of a reach.

quote:

909. ART. 109. PROPERTY OTHER THAN MILITARY PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES - WASTE, SPOILAGE, OR DESTRUCTION
Any person subject to this chapter who willfully or recklessly wastes, spoils, or otherwise willfully and wrongfully destroys or damages any property other than military property of the United States shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

That one isn't so much of a stretch.

quote:

916. ART. 116. RIOT OR BREACH OF PEACE
Any person subject to this chapter who causes or participates in any riot or breach of the peace shall be punished as a court- martial may direct.
917. ART. 117. PROVOKING SPEECHES OR GESTURES
Any person subject to this chapter who uses provoking or reproachful words or gestures towards any other person subject to this chapter shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

These two could go hand-in-hand.

Realistically, this guy will likely find himself making big rocks into small rocks in Fort Leavenworth for a while.