SELF-HARMING TEENAGERS, NEW STUDY

RADIOLOGISTS IDENTIFY AND TREAT PATIENTS
WITH DISTURBING SELF-INJURY BEHAVIOR

www.news.softpedia.com - Self-embedding is when objects are used to puncture the skin or are embedded into the wound. It can be detected with ultrasounds and treated with a minimally-invasive procedure, and “this is a new way for radiologists to impact public and mental health,” according to the study’s senior author, William E. Shiels II, DO, chairman of the Department of Radiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. A new study published in the journal Radiology, says interventional pediatric radiologists managed to remove 76 embedded foreign objects (metal, wood, glass, plastic, graphite, stone and crayon) which have been present from 2 days-time to an unknown number of years, by using ultrasound and/or fluoroscopic guidance. X-rays only detect metal objects so the ultrasound guidance method is the only one that can find wood, crayons and plastic embedded during injuries to the arms, feet, ankles, hands and necks of the adolescents. The most severe case was a 18-year-old patient that had repetitive behavior and had self-embedded 35 objects over a period of two years, including staples, a cotter pin, a comb tooth and nail polish wands.

All removals were made through small incisions that left little or no scaring at all, e! Science News reports. Self-injury or self-harming is when someone intentionally harms his or her body, without having suicidal intentions. This phenomenon is more of a disturbing trend among teenagers, especially girls, and it is suspected that one in five high school students has attempted this practice at least once. The most common forms of self-harming are cutting the skin, bruising, burning, hair pulling, braking bones or even swallowing toxic substances. Early detection and removal of these foreign bodies are key steps for these teenagers to engage in effective therapy and interrupt their cycle of self-harm.


Self-injury or self-harming is when someone intentionally harms his or her body, without having suicidal intentions. Ultrasound detected small fragments of plastic and wood which were removed from the body of the teenagers. All of us - not only young people - need to understand that species of life (lower or higher) are just manifestations of the various types of consciousness, then we have to take care of this valuable human body, because with it we can inquire about God.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Evolution is the means by which the Supreme Lord gradually brings in the living entity to a total consciousness. And the culmination of the evolution of the soul is the human form of life, in which one has the opportunity to understand, through the instructions of the Vedas, which are parts and spiritual parts of God, the Supreme Soul and thus end cycle of birth and death and return to the spiritual abode. However, if you spoil your life to neglect their spiritual development, you have to descend again to animal and be subject again to the process of evolution. ... And the most complete authoritative information about God and His creation is in the Vedas themselves, whose main job is the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita which explains both theistic and scientifically on the creation of the universe and the origin of species, and given precise instructions on how to complete the evolutionary process to become aware of God in this human form of life.

Boletín Inbound Yoga :
“The Vedic Vision of Evolution” - “The Perfect Plan”
Radha Charan d.d. - info@yogainbound.org
http://www.yogainbound.org/boletin_inbound/octubre31/

INMATES IN JAIL FILMED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

PARAGUAY BREAKS UP CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY RING INSIDE PRISON

ASUNCION (AFP) - The director of the largest prison in Paraguay has been suspended after child pornography believed to have been shot there was found on a computer in the jail. Authorities broke up a child pornography ring that made sexually explicit films inside the national penitentiary with youths who passed as relatives of inmates, prosecutors said. Prosecutor Teresa Martinez said two inmates and a third person who was on parole were implicated in the ring. “In two cellbocks there were sets where explicit sex was filmed. There were machines and connections to download them to the Internet. They had film and digital cameras,” Martinez said. “The actors came and went as relatives of the inmates,” she said. She said there was no way prison officials were not aware of what was going on, and said they were under investigation. “What is scandalous is that this was done inside the penitentiary. They brought the victims into the prison. They abused them and filmed it,” she said.

The investigation was launched after two underaged girls and a third who was 19 years old said they were contacted by prison inmates through Facebook and their homes located through Google Earth, the prosecutor said. “They threatened to kill their mother, rape a sister, hurt their families after first making contact with them through Facebook and later finding their homes through Google Earth,” Martinez said. Prison director Julio Acevedo said underage girls were not allowed to visit prisoners without adult supervision. He said computer systems used in the prison were set to block all but educational information, but he acknowledged that inmates could have penetrated the system’s security codes.

Prosecutors say a room featured in the videos was inside the prison. They believe underage girls in the videos were befriended by convicts over the internet and then blackmailed into visiting them in jail, where they were abused and filmed. Pornography is an addiction. The will to transcend one's addiction must involve a willingness to acknowledges one's weakness and then seek help from the Supreme Lord.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

From the vantage point of the metaphysical considerations of the Gita, enjoyment of pornography is seen as the excessive influence of rajas and tamas in which one is deluded about the nature of the field and its knower. The social and moral implication of the influences of rajas and tamas are described in chapters 16, 17, and 18. Excessive influence of these two ultimately cause suffering. Knowing this, one can understand that pornography involves considerable violence - violence to oneself and others. ... How would you feel if one of the teen porn girls was your daughter, sister, or niece? They are all someone’s daughter, sister, or niece. How do you think their parents feel, seeing their children involved in the pornography industry? Knowledge of the fact that you are instrumental in perpetuating their involvement in this should help you realize just how ugly you become when you implicate yourself in pornography, whether it is on the Internet or elsewhere. It is a violent activity with violent results.

Śrīla Bhakti Vedanta Tripurari Mahārāja :
“Kuruksetra War: Myth, History, or Lila?”
“Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari”
Śrī Caitanya Sanga - Vol. III, N° 3 – January 23, 2001.
http://swami.org/
http://swami.org/pages/sanga/current.php

EVACUATIONS AS TYPHOON HITS TAIWAN

TYPHOON FANAPI BATTERS TAIWAN
CAUSES FLOODING AND STRONG WINDS

(UKPA) - Thousands of residents were evacuated as a powerful typhoon struck Taiwan, flooding the southern part of the island, crippling transport and shutting off power. Typhoon Fanapi was the first major storm to strike the island this year. It later reached Fujian province in mainland China after crossing Taiwan with peak winds of 102 mph. Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said as much as 44 inches of rain had been dumped in southern Taiwan by early on Monday- with more to come. TV images showed water submerging streets and first floors of buildings. Military vehicles entered inundated areas to help trapped residents in the southern part of the island, including Taiwan’s second largest city Kaohsiung Schools and offices were closed. Officials evacuated 10,000 residents from remote areas vulnerable to landslides, half of them in the southern part of the island. They said 107 people were injured. Some were cut by broken glass and others hurt when they fell off motorcycles in strong winds.

Taiwan’s China Airlines suspended all international departures from Kaohsiung. All of Taiwan’s domestic air and rail service was halted. Taiwan’s government has deployed thousands of emergency workers and military personnel throughout the island to try to mitigate damage, mindful of the estimated 700 deaths caused by Typhoon Morakot last year. In eastern China, officials said 186,000 people had been evacuated. “Fanapi is the strongest typhoon to hit Fujian in 2010 and we should prepare for the worst,” said Sun Chunlan, Communist Party chief of Fujian, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Typhoon 'Fanapi' hit Taiwan on Sunday, causing floods, leaving three dead, more than 100 injured, forcing schools to close and suspend industrial activities. The Taiwan authorities feared further damage by the crossing of 'Fanapi', but its effects have been much lower than those caused by typhoon 'Morakot' in August 2009 that left at least 700 dead. The chanting of the Holy Names can relieve us from the danger and huge miseries of this world.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

“This is foolishness,” said the scientist. “Not only foolishness, it is absolutely great foolishness. I know all the scientific reasoning about the natural systems of this world.” While this conversation was going a huge typhoon appeared on the horizon with giant black clouds. ... The boat began to rock dangerously in the middle of the now turbulent river. The scientist became very afraid due the fierceness of the storm, and he shouted “O boatman! Please do something to save us! I have so many responsibilities with my family! Please boatman, speak to me! Save your boat and save our lives!” - Boatman: “Oh scientist, I don’t know how I can save this boat from this powerful typhoon. But, we have two ways to save our lives; either by swimming to shore, or by the Grace of God. You don’t know how to swim, so let’s both pray to God, Krishna together”… “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” The scientist and the boatman both chanted from their hearts the Holy-Names and gradually the boat reached the bank of the river.

Śrīla Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Mahārāja :
“The Pious Boatman and the Proud Scientist”
http://www.gopinathmath.ru/katha
http://www.bvml.org/SBBBM/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bodhayan/

U.N. MEET’S FOCUS ON POVERTY

“2010 STAND UP, TAKE ACTION”
GLOBAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST POVERTY

(AFP) - The world’s conflicts, crises and diplomatic dramas - from stumbling efforts to cut poverty to Iran’s nuclear drive and Pakistan’s flood disaster - will be debated and disputed by global leaders from Monday at the annual U.N. summit. Presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and China’s Premier Wen Jiabao will be among about 140 Heads of State and Government attending a Millennium Development Goals (MDG) summit and then the U.N. General Assembly. World leaders will have a hard time convincing doubtful aid agencies that they are serious about meeting the eight big development goals that were set at the Millennium summit in 2000 with a target date of 2015. They will try at a review summit from Monday to Wednesday. Targets such as cutting abject poverty by half, child under-five mortality by two thirds, halting the spread of AIDS and empowering women are all looking too ambitious, according to experts. But none of the leaders is yet admitting defeat.

The “Stand up, Take action, End poverty” is a campaign co-ordinated globally by the UN Millennium Development Campaign and Global Call to Action Against Poverty. “I know there is scepticism but this MDG is a promise, a blueprint, by the world leaders to lift billions of people out of poverty. This must be met and delivered,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told AFP in an interview ahead of the summit. “World leaders are heading toward an extraordinary collective failure unless they deliver an urgent rescue package to get the MDGs back on track, ensuring that nobody goes to be hungry and even the poorest can take their children to a doctor when they are sick,” said Oxfam spokeswoman Emma Seery.


For the poor of the world, global economic and financial crisis has been heightened in recent times due to rising food and fuel prices, plus the loss of jobs that led to a decline in money remittances from overseas which workers usually send to their homes, plus the fact that many of them are being expelled from the countries where they had gone to seek work. Poverty is cruel but the worst poverty is the lack of love and compassion towards others.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

From Madre Teresa’s tender voice emerged the words of her heart: “The greatest problem in this world is hunger. Not hunger of the stomach but hunger of the heart. All over the world both the rich and the poor are suffering. They are lonely, starving for love.” Her gaze opened Radhanath Swami’s heart to her every word. “Only God’s love can satisfy the hunger of the heart. There is no other solution.” She waved her hand in dismissal of her own work as meager. “Feeding the stomachs of the poor is not so difficult. Feeding the starving hearts of humanity with God’s love - that is the great challenge. You see, our hearts must be pure to give that love.” Her dedication to the mission of Jesus Christ was like an ocean, her every expression like a wave in that ocean. She continued, “Poverty is not only lack of a piece of clothing, but a lack of human dignity and the beautiful virtue of purity. Poverty is a lack of respect for one another.”

Śrīla Radhanath Swami Mahārāja :
“Radhanath Swami Meets Mother Teresa”
http://www.radhanath-swami.net/
http://www.radhanath-swami.info/Radhanath_Swami_Meets_Mother_Teresa.php
http://radhanathswami.blogspot.com/2010/06/secret-of-mother-teresas-enthusiasm-to.html

POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS MADE HISTORY

BENEDICT XVI FIRST PONTIFF TO
STEP FOOT INSIDE LAMBETH PALACE

www.telegraph.co.uk - Pope Benedict XVI joined Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams for the highly-symbolic ecumenical service at Westminster Abbey. In what marked the first visit by any pope to the Abbey, the pontiff was presented to the Rev Dr Jane Hedges, canon steward of Westminster Abbey. The campaigner for women bishops joined a gathering of the Abbey’s chapter to greet the Pope as he arrived for the hour-long prayer service. Dr Hedges was also one of those leading prayers during the service, praying for the Queen, Government, elected representatives and community leaders. The introduction of women bishops in the Church of England, which moved a step closer this summer, has been opposed by the Vatican as a ‘‘break with apostolic tradition’’ and a ‘‘further obstacle’’ to any efforts at dialogue between the two churches. To add to the tensions, in July the Vatican listed the attempted ordination of a woman, just as sexual abuse of a child by a priest, as one of the gravest crimes for the Catholic Church.

Members of the 2,000-strong congregation started arriving at the Abbey hours before the service. Among their number were representatives from all churches in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The Pope spoke of the need for Christians to talk about their faith even though society had become “increasingly indifferent or even hostile”, and also about the successful efforts to unite the Christian communities since the Edinburgh Conference’s appeal for Christian unity 100 years ago. “In a society which has become increasingly indifferent or even hostile to the Christian message, we are all the more compelled to give a joyful and convincing account of the hope that is within us and to present the Risen Lord as the response to the deepest questions and spiritual aspirations of the men and women of our time.”

The Ecumenial Celebration at Westminster Abbey "reminded of how greatly the Christian faith shaped the unity and culture of Europe and the heart and spirit of the English people," the Pope said. As Vaishnavas, we must mantain nice relationships with other religious people and always be lovingly and generously disposed towards all others.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The interreligious ecumenical development in the world is very positive. But it requires a lot of rethinking. For example, a big picture of devotees doing harināma was hanging in a Catholic monastery in Rome, showing their respect for the activities of the Vaishnavas. All these apparently open-minded approaches nevertheless, are interrupted by sectarian backlashes that easily get dangerous if we do not maintain very nice relationships with the other religions. ... The fact that today on interreligious forums the transcendental truth on Vaishnavism can be exposed and will be listened to by serious practitioners of other religions, is a revolutionary platform. Of course it also means that we must be ready to listen to their theological understandings. Practically there are interreligious forums all over the world now. It would be nice if the Vaishnavas make contact and participate in their functions ... needless to say, such devotees should be well prepared and unconditionally friendly.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Vishva Vaishnava Raj Sabha - WVA”
“A Study about the Past, Present & Future of the World Vaishnava Association”
“What is the purpose of the Interreligious Communication Committee?”
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php
http://www.vina.cc/stories/BRHATMRDANGA/2002/12/wva_book.html

SMOKING BANS HELP CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA

SMOKING BANS HELP CURB
KIDS’ SEVERE ASTHMA ATTACKS

ATLANTA - New research shows that smoking bans spare many children with asthma from being hospitalized, a finding that suggests smoke-free laws have even greater health benefits than previously believed. Other studies have charted the decline in adult heart attack rates after smoking bans were adopted. The new study, conducted in Scotland, looked at asthma-related hospitalizations of kids, which fell 13 percent a year after smoking was barred in 2006 from workplaces and public buildings, including bars and restaurants. Before the ban, admissions had been rising 5 percent a year in Scotland, which has a notoriously poor health record among European countries. Earlier U.S. studies, in Arizona and Kentucky, reached similar conclusions. But this was the largest study of its kind - and offered the strongest case that smoking bans can bring immediate health improvements for many people.

About 40 percent of American children who go to hospitals because of asthma attacks live with smokers. “The effects of smoke-free laws are way bigger than you would expect,” said Stanton Glantz, a University of California-San Francisco researcher who specializes in the health effects of smoking. Cigarette smoke is a trigger for asthma attacks. So researchers reasoned that tracking severe cases was perhaps the best way to measure a smoking ban’s immediate effect on children. Smoking bans have become increasingly common in the United States, where 35 states and the District of Columbia have laws that bar smoking in workplaces or restaurants and bars, or both. And more than 3,100 cities and towns have their own restrictions, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

“Acute asthma is the tip of the iceberg,” more easily tracked than less severe breathing problems, ear infections and other problems seen in children that have been linked to a caregiver’s smoking, said Terry Pechacek of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office on smoking and health. Smoking is one of the unwanted things which are known as anarthas. If you simply chant the Holy Names, Krsna Himself will cleanse away your anarthas.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

There is still these anarthas in the heart and these anarthas are acting as magnets and they are attracting raja-guna and tamo-guna to cover us because when I have an anartha, when I have something unwanted, means it is illusory and I can’t get something illusory fulfilled if I am in the light of the truth by definition. ... Everyone here has experience of giving up some anartha and finding, “Why didn’t I do that a long time ago? It is wonderful!” You feel clean and refreshed like you just took a bath in a clear lake. ... So to get that courage that we can submit ourselves one has to develop some attachment to Krishna. One has to meditate on how wonderful Krishna is, how charming he is, how beautiful He is, how strong He is. Here we have descriptions of Him in the material world on how powerful He is. And if you can’t do that meditate on Him in water and light, gravity. How wonderful He is and after a while you will think, “I will do anything to get Him, whatever it takes. Kill me on the battlefield or whatever.”

Śrīmati Urmila devi dasi :
Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir
Class on the Srimad-Bhagavatam - Verse: 3.33.3
Date: February 24th, 2010
http://urmila.me.uk/
http://www.prabhupada.org/krishna/?cat=204
http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8218#more-8947

MALE HAIR MICRO-TRANSPLANT

HAIR IMPLANTS, THE BOOM
MALE COSMETIC SURGERY

www.elpais.com - 80% of men who consult a surgeon seeking to reverse baldness, the natural results obtained, and the now affordable costs generated a strong increase in demand of this type of surgery. 50% of men age 50 have some degree of baldness. This can manifest itself in different forms: prominent entries, receding hair line above it (the front of the forehead) and loss of hair on the back, forming a “ring” in which the scalp is visible. “Hair loss is due to androgenetic (hereditary) causes in more than 90% of cases - though not all have the same sensitivity to this genetic inheritance. The other 10% of cases of hair loss has various causes: from extreme stress to hair burns or injury to the scalp,” said the specialist in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Roberto Martinez Rinaldi. What was once taboo, is now a widespread and accessible option that allows reversing a process which seems to be irreversible by other ways. Today, a middle class man can access this type of surgery. The implants are becoming more natural and it is now nearly impossible to detect who has opted for this method of surgery.

The specialist said “out of the search for a more youthful appearance, there is now a strong social pressure to those who suffer from baldness. This has a clear psychological impact on the person. In recent years the man was progressively losing their time to openly discuss their possible step under the knife for aesthetic. In fact, liposuction and facial surgery are becoming more common currency. Currently, 80% of male patients who go under the knife are subject to micro-transplant hair,” said the doctor. Nowadays the cost of capillary is lower and due to the refinement of surgical micro-follicular techniques, the demand has increased.


The ‘boom’ of the implant capillary to reverse baldness is mainly because in recent times man growing concern to improve their physical appearance and for that resort to cosmetic surgery, hair implants, makeup and shoes with heels, among many other things. All this emphasizes the attachment to the material covering of the spirit soul and so the conceited man goes away from the path of spiritual progress.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education and attractive personal beauty. All materialistic men are mad after possessing all these material opulences, and this is known as the advancement of material civilization. But the result is that by possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly, "O Govinda, O Krishna." It is said in the śāstras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. ... The principle of life should be to decrease the degree of material intoxication which leads one to be more and more illusioned about the aim of life. Grossly illusioned persons are quite unfit for entrance into the kingdom of God.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam”
Purport in Canto 1 - Chapter 8 - Verse 26.

McDONALD’S TARGETED IN US HEALTH AD

UNHAPPY MEALS: ‘I WAS LOVIN’ IT’
TELEVISION AD ENRAGES McDONALD’S

NEW YORK (AFP) - In a television advert that could kill your appetite, an overweight, middle-aged man is seen lying dead in a morgue holding a half-eaten hamburger as a woman weeps over the linen-clad body. McDonald’s ubiquitous golden arches then trace the dead man’s feet with the text “I was lovin’ it,” a stinging pun on the fast-food chain’s long-running slogan “I’m lovin’ it.” A voiceover says, “high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian.” Produced by Washington-based health lobby Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), the commercial is set to be aired in Washington DC during the popular The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Thursday. This PCRM, a non-profit research organisation that promotes preventive medicine, is launching the ad on local television in the US capital in a direct attack on McDonald’s - the world’s largest restaurant chain - and other fast food outlets. They said the commercial will air in other US cities with high rates of heart disease over the following months.

Even the first lady, Michelle Obama, is leading a campaign to encourage physical fitness and improved diets, particularly among American children, a third of whom are overweight. The PCRM said its survey showed that Washington has more McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC outlets per square mile than eight other cities with similar population sizes. But the ad enraged McDonald’s. “This commercial is outrageous, misleading and unfair to all consumers. McDonald’s trusts our customers to put such outlandish propaganda in perspective, and to make food and lifestyle choices that are right for them,” spokeswoman Bridget Coffing said. McDonald’s has nevertheless seen its earnings grow in recent months despite the global economic crunch, as it has wheeled out a range of alternatives to its famous burgers.

McDonald's fast food is graphically linked to health problems in this ad from a doctors' group urging viewers: 'Tonight, make it vegetarian '. Despite the world’s biggest restaurant chain is furious over the ad, studies show that people who consume fast food are at a higher risk for obesity, a contributing factor to heart disease. We must learn to maintain and restore health through proper nutrition according to the needs of each one.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The ideal diet is the one which is healthy balanced and vegetarian, suitable to our body and our particular way to be and that is consistent with the climate in which we live. The energy released from digested food should be of high quality, in order to form new healthy cells, to feel happy, active and energetic. ... There is no universal balanced diet, as it should be adapted mainly to the characteristics of each individual, but the vegetarian diet strictly excludes meat, eggs and fish. It is high in fiber, low in cholesterol and saturated fats and low in nitrogen and uric acid. The vegetarian diet prevents all types of physical, mental and spiritual illness. This diet consists of pure, simple, fresh and natural food. Simple meals aid the digestion and assimilation of foods and this promotes health. Eating freshly picked food, coming from nature of fertile lands (preferably organic food, free of chemicals and pesticides), and having high level of prana, help us to gain a better contribution to our nutritional needs.

Yoga Inbound :
“Health Inbound”
“Nutrition Inbound - Ideal Diet”
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/salud-inbound
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/salud-inbound/21-nutricion-inbound/39-dieta-ideal