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By Kate Loveys

Many have long suspected their diligent recycling may not actually be worth the effort.

And these extraordinary pictures seem to back up their very fears.

Residents of this cul-de-sac had clearly taken the time to sort their glass, cans, plastic and paper recycling into separate boxes.

The scheme was brought in last summer when the council in Croydon, South London, introduced fortnightly collections.

Tipping point: The worker is shown to tip all three, sorted bins into one container before consigning it all to landfill

So residents were understandably furious when a binman tipped the recycling box contents into a wheelie bin which was then dumped into the back of a dustcart.

And to add insult to injury, the vehicle boasted a sign stating: 'My next stop is landfill! Think before you throw.'

The shocking sequence was caught on camera by Darren Bagshaw, 37, who claims the binmen have carried out the same routine for the past three months.

Mr Bagshaw said: 'Regardless of their excuses we are still forced to make sure that we separate our rubbish.

"It takes a lot of time and it makes me really mad to think that it's pointless.

'Why on earth should we bother to do it when they just lump it all together again?

'It stinks of hypocrisy just like our bins stink in the summer because the council insists on fortnightly collections.'

Mr Bagshaw, a photographer, and his photography student girlfriend Charlotte Shaw, used to have their rubbish collected by a lorry with separate compartments for different waste and recycling.

They initially assumed the new system was a one-off but complained after it went on for months.

Last night Doretta Cocks, from the Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection, insisted: 'At the very least the council is setting a bad example.

'It has imposed fortnightly collections but it clearly can't properly deal with them, whilst expecting householders to abide by their rules for no apparent reason.'

Committed: A council worker empties bottles at a recycling centre. The Government has pledged to recycle 40 per cent of household waste by 2011

And shadow local government minister Bob Neill said: 'Across the country there is evidence that recycling collections are going in landfill.

'This must be tackled otherwise it will undermine public confidence.'

Croydon Council contracts Veolia Environnement to collect waste and recycling.

Malcolm Kendall, head of recycling and waste management at the council, admitted the signage on the lorry was misleading.

However he claimed its contents did not end up in a landfill, but were separated again at a recycling centre.

He said the binmen had swapped to a smaller lorry without separate compartments after problems with traffic and parked cars in Mr Bagshaw's cul-de-sac.

The smaller lorries were solely used for domestic waste until three months ago. Two of them are now used to collect recyclables from around 50 narrow roads in the area.

Mr Kendall said: 'Veolia has a outlet for a guaranteed small amount of this type of mixed recycling and we can assure residents that all their dry recyclables are sent to a recycling processing facility.'

Earlier this week, the council wrote to local residents seeking to assure them that their recycling did not end up on a landfill.

The letter states: 'I have now arranged for the landfill signage to be removed from both of the narrow access vehicles used by Veolia so as to avoid any further confusion to yourselves or other residents elsewhere.'

Councils across Britain are committed to recycling 40 per cent of household waste by 2011.

(Clearwisdom.net) (By a correspondent from Hunan Province)  Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Yu Yong was previously employed by Hunan Province Eighth Water Power Bureau. He quit his job, and worked as a handyman repairing water power equipment.

In December 2005, he explained to people the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution, and passed out informational materials. He was reported for doing this, and arrested. The police ransacked his home, took his home appliances that were newly purchased before his wedding, as well as his older brother's computer and printer. Local officer Chen Yibin (also appointed as a 610 Office agent) and Chen Yiming, Changsha County 610 Office chair, harassed his family multiple times, threatened them, and tried to extort several thousand yuan from them.

In May 2006, Mr. Yu was sent to Xinkaipu Forced Labor Camp for a one year term. During his incarceration, he firmly held onto his faith, did not give in , and was thus cruelly tortured and injected with unknown drugs. He developed high blood pressure, with a systolic reading of 200 mm.

In May 2007, he was released, but was very weak. His wife did not work, his aging mother was ill, and he had a six year-old daughter, so he worked in Ningxiang County to support the family.

On August 3, 2008, Changsha County 610 Office agents detained him in Changsha County Detention Center, using the excuse of "Olympic safety." After that, Mr. Yu felt sick and depressed. He died during his sleep on the night of February 15, 2009, at home. His face, ears, and feet were purple, causing his family to suspect that one of the unknown drugs he was injected with had killed him. But they dared not take any action to investigate.

Antonín Leopold Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of Romantic music, who employed the idioms and melodies of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. His works include operas, symphonic, choral and chamber music. His best-known works include his New World Symphony, the Slavonic Dances, "American" String Quartet, and Cello Concerto in B minor.

October 13, 2009

China's leaders meant for the celebrations on Oct. 1 to remind the world of their country's growing power and importance. But the 60th anniversary of the communist revolution, which Nina Hachigian wrote about in her Sept. 30 Times Op-Ed article, should also remind us of something else: The Chinese Communist Party is still very much an authoritarian regime whose nature remains quite the same as when Mao Tse-tung brutalized the nation.

I should know. About four months ago, my mother, Yao-Hua Li, and sister, Yi-Bo Zhang, were abducted by Chinese police officers simply because of their spiritual beliefs.

Just as millions of Chinese citizens did in the 1990s, my family embraced the Buddhist spiritual discipline of Falun Gong. The practice combines meditation and a moral philosophy based on the principles of truth, compassion and tolerance. It enabled my mother to find relief from severe back pains and gave us all a more positive outlook on life.

The Chinese Communist Party, however, viewed the growing spiritual movement as a threat and banned the Falun Gong faith in 1999. Since then, international observers have reported that more than 100,000 Falun Gong adherents have been sent to forced-labor camps, and thousands have been tortured (many to death) because they refused to recant their beliefs.

Though I had feared that my family members in China could be victimized under this persecution, I had assumed they were safe. After all, my mother has Hong Kong residency, and my sister was a successful financial manager with a well-known international corporation. I thought this would give them some level of protection.

I was wrong.

On June 4, exactly 20 years to the day after the massacre at Tiananmen Square, my mother and sister were taken from their home in Shanghai and sent to jail for no other reason than the fact that they practice the Falun Gong faith. They still haven't been charged with a crime or brought to trial (even if they do get a trial, it would be a farce). I searched high and low in Shanghai, a city of more than 20 million people, and I could not find one lawyer with the courage to take their case.

Their fate will be determined by the local 610 Office, a Gestapo-like organization charged with persecuting Falun Gong adherents.
My family is not alone in our suffering. According to the U.S. State Department's 2008 country report on human rights, Falun Gong adherents are estimated to make up as much as half of China's labor camp population. They also account for two-thirds of the torture cases in China, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.

All around the world, people and governments look to the United States for leadership on human rights. This is precisely why lawmakers and business leaders need to keep the countless number of people such as my mother and sister in mind when engaging with China's leaders.

The values of human rights and freedom are not just American values; they are universal. A relationship can only be healthy and long-lasting when it is built on shared values, not just shared interests, which are temporary and ever-changing.

This is why I am very thankful that 77 members of Congress, including California Reps. Maxine Waters, Ed Royce, Darrell Issa, Duncan D. Hunter, Dana Rohrabacher and Adam Schiff, have co-sponsored HR 605, which recognizes the ongoing persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calls for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison and torture its practitioners.
The resolution is being reviewed by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is chaired by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village). There are millions of people suffering persecution in China, not just my family and not just Falun Gong adherents. Every single one of them would join me in my hope for Congress to pass this resolution.

After his trip to China in August, Berman described Chinese officials as being "very open" to expanding human rights in their country. For the sake of my family and so many others, I hope he supports HR 605 and takes advantage of the openness to which he attests. My mother and sister are waiting.

Name: Yang Xiaojing (杨小晶)
Gender: Female
Age: 45
Address: Beijing
Occupation: Computing Office of Beijing Power Facility Design Institute (北京供电豕计院计算机室)
Date of Death: October 1, 2009
Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 27, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: A hotel located in Liuliqiao Community, Fengtai District, Beijing (丰台六里桥一家旅馆)
City: Beijing
Persecution Suffered: Electric Shock, Sleep Deprivation, Forced Labor, Brainwashing, Illegal Sentencing, Forced Injections/Drug Administration, Beatings, Hung Up, Imprisonment, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Rape, Sexual Assault, Force-Feedings, Extortion, Fired from Workplace, Physical Restraint, Mental Hospital, Home Ransacked, Interrogation, Detention

(Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Beijing) At 6 a.m. on October 1, 2009, after being long term harassed, threatened, and cruelly persecuted, Ms. Yang Xiaojing died while her husband Mr. Cao Dong remains in Gansu Province Prison located in Tianshui City.

Wedding photo of Mr. Cao Dong and Ms. Yang Xiaojing

(Wikipedia)

Visual arts of the United States refers to the history of painting and visual art in the United States. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, artists primarily painted landscapes and portraits in a realistic style. A parallel development taking shape in rural America was the American craft movement, which began as a reaction to the industrial revolution. Developments in modern art in Europe came to America from exhibitions in New York City such as the Armory Show in 1913. Previously American Artists had based the majority of their work on Western Painting and European Arts. After World War II, New York replaced Paris as the center of the art world. Since then many American Movements have shaped Modern and Post Modern art. Art in the United States today covers a huge range of styles.

Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863, Hudson River School

Eighteenth century

After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which marked the official beginning of the American national identity, the new nation needed a history, and part of that history would be expressed visually. Most of early American art (from the late 18th century through the early 19th century) consists of history painting and portraits. Painters such as Gilbert Stuart made portraits of the newly elected government officials, while John Singleton Copley was painting emblematic portraits for the increasingly prosperous merchant class, and painters such as John Trumbull were making large battle scenes of the Revolutionary War.

Nineteenth century

(Clearwisdom.net) (By a correspondent from Hebei Province) Mr. Wang Deliang was a kind person. He began cultivating Falun Dafa in the Fall of 1996, after he retired. He disciplined himself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion- Forbearance, upgraded his mind nature, and his severe bronchitis and prostatitis were cured. He was almost 70 years old, but looked as if he was in his fifties.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, Mr. Wang told people about the benefits of Falun Dafa, and he exposed the facts about the persecution. Local government, police, community and neighborhood administrators, and the 610 Office began observing him closely, and they frequently harassed and threatened him.

On October 25, 2001, police ransacked Mr. Wang's home, arrested him and his wife, and took their possessions and cash. Officers Zhao Jin'guo, Kang Xin, and Wang Chengzhong brutally beat Mr. Wang, who was as old as their fathers. They stepped on his head, beat, spit-on, shocked him with a electric baton, and extorted 1,000 yuan without providing a receipt. All of this was done to try to get him to give up his belief. These officers used the cash to eat out on that night.

The police officers took Mr. Wang to be detained in the Zhangjiakou City Detention Center after he was held in police custody at the station for a week. Mr. Wang endured 386 days of inhumane torture while in detention, and was sentenced to three years in prison, with four years of parole.

Upon returning home, local 610 Office agents constantly harassed Mr. Wang's family, and threatened them to not leave their home. Before the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, community and neighborhood administrators with local police arrested Mr. Wang Deliang and his wife, and took them to the Zhangjiakou City Legal Education Center located in the City Drug Rehabilitation Center. No legal procedures were followed, and the couple was detained for more than two months. During those two months, the guards were very vicious. Often the food provided was found to contain mouse feces, and the couple was often starved. This unreasonable two months of detention caused Mr. Wang to become sick with stomach cancer, and he died.

During the past ten years of persecution, Mr. Wang was subjected to unthinkable mistreatment, both physical and mental. Even while he was in the hospital, Wang Wancai, the neighborhood CCP secretary, called him and tried to get his personal ID, allegedly for "security for the 60^th National Day celebration." He threatened Mr. Wang, warning him not to leave his home.

Name: Jiang Ruihong (姜瑞虹)
Gender: Female
Age: 68
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Retired Administrator of Dalian City Textile Bureau
Date of Death: September 16, 2009
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 11, 2009
Most recent place of detention: Dalian City Forced Labor Camp (大连教养院)
City: Dalian
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: Forced Labor, Beatings, Torture, Physical Restraint, Home Ransacked, Interrogation, Detention

(Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Liaoning Province) After Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Jiang Ruihong attended Master Li Hongzhi's second lecture series in Dalian City in July 1994, the more than a dozen diseases that she had disappeared, among them high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney infection, and arthritis. She did not take any medication for the 15 years after she started cultivation. She changed from a sick woman to an optimistic, healthy person; however, during the persecution, she was arrested three times. She died as a result of the persecution on September 16, 2009.

The first time she was arrested, in October 2000, Ms. Jiang went to Beijing to validate Falun Dafa; she was detained and her home was ransacked. Police sent her to serve two years of forced labor in Dalian City Labor Camp. She refused to wear a name tag at the labor camp, and was brutally beaten by guards. She was released on medical parole after her blood pressure was measured at higher than 200 mmHg.

The second arrest was on February 25, 2002. She and her husband were both arrested while posting truth clarifying materials. They were taken into custody for 24 hours and held in the local police station. They were deprived of their right to eat and drink, and the police tied them each to an Iron Chair. Police officers took Ms. Jiang to Dalian City Labor Camp.

The third arrest took place at 2 p.m. on March 11, 2009. Ms. Jiang went to visit her sister-in-law (also a practitioner) with her husband. Only 10 minutes after their arrival, more than twenty officers stormed into the room. They arrested the couple.

Although the old couple was released on the same night, Ms. Jiang appeared to be ill afterwards. She could not lie down to sleep, and felt short of breath. After 15 days, she had stomach problems, and could not eat until the beginning of May; by this time she had already lost 25 pounds. Since May, she had not been able to walk normally, and was short of breath. At 4:30 p.m. on September 9, 2009, she fell down when she tried to pick up the phone, lost her ability to speak, and appeared to have had a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital, but the attempted rescue was in vain. She died at 7 a.m. on September 16, 2009.

Ms. Li Fengmei Dies as a Result of Persecution in Tianjin, China 

Ms. Li Fengmei, 60, lived in the Tanggu District in Tianjin City. She began cultivating Falun Gong in 1996, and her severe stomach disease was cured soon after. She benefited from the practice both mentally and physically. After the persecution started in 1999, she firmly believed that Falun Gong had been wronged. She went to Beijing to tell the government how she had benefited from practicing Falun Gong, but local police arrested her and took her back to her hometown. They detained her for 15 days in the Tanggu District Detention Center.

At the beginning of 2001, local police arrested her and took her to be brainwashed for one month in a brainwashing center located in the Tanggu District Drug Rehabilitation Center.

In April 2005, police arrested her again while she was talking to people about Falun Gong and sentenced her to 18 months of forced labor. She was imprisoned in the Banqiao Forced Labor Camp, where she suffered from severe abdominal edema. She was released for medical treatment after a few months.

In 2007, police arrested her again and detained her in the Tanggu District Detention Center. Ms. Li Fengmei passed away on August 30, 2009.

Mr. Zhu Zhijun Dies in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China 

Mr. Zhu Zhijun, 73, lived in the Hanyang District in Wuhan City. At the end of 1999, after the persecution began, the Erqiao Community Administration and 610 Office agents arrested Mr. Zhu and locked him up for four years in Qinduankou Prison. He was mentally and physically harmed while in prison. Even after he returned home, local agents kept monitoring and harassing him. He passed away on May 1, 2009.

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By Lucy Taylor

Us women are more egocentric and narcissistic than we ever used to be, according to extensive research by two leading psychologists.

More of us have huge expectations of ourselves, our lives and everyone in them. We think the universe resolves around us, with a deluded sense of our own fabulousness, and believe we are cleverer, more talented and more attractive than we actually are.

We have trouble accepting criticism and extending empathy because we are so preoccupied with ourselves.

Got it all: Actresses Kim Cattrall (left to right), Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis on location for the new movie 'Sex and the City 2'

Am I making you angry by telling you this? It figures. Narcissistic or egotistical women do have an overwhelming sense of entitlement and arrogance.

Of course, I joke, but researchers say there is growing evidence of an epidemic of ego-itis everywhere.

Once a traditionally male syndrome, narcissism generally begins at home and in schools, where children are praised excessively, often spoiled rotten and given the relentless message that they are 'special'.

Psychology professors Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell analysed studies on 37,000 college students in 2006.

In a survey, 30 per cent of them said they believed they should get good grades simply for turning up.

And it's not just about how intelligent they think they are. In the workplace, in friendships, even in motherhood, the pervading culture seems to have become one of competitiveness, superiority and one-upmanship.

But the sphere in which the signs of self-obsession are perhaps most obvious, and the consequences most immediately felt, is the dating one.

In a recent magazine article, four women in their late 20s and 30s shared their thoughts about why they were still single. A 39-year-old beauty director claimed to be too independent for a relationship.

A 38-year-old music agent attributed her single status to the fact she was an alpha female - independent, feisty, strong-minded, high-achieving and intimidating.

Mirror, mirror: Are woman increasingly believing that the universe revolves around them?

She pointed out that she owned a gorgeous flat with gorgeous things in it, had a nice car, was a member of a fancy gym and wore designer dresses. 'I do what I like, when I like,' she said.

She'd been told, and appears to believe, that she's too successful and too well-educated for most men.

The third woman, a 30-year- old arts writer and curator, has been having too much fun to settle down.

Another, a 29-year-old, said she was too picky. She was looking for a guy who is (just) tall enough. And (just about) good-looking enough (but not too good-looking so that she'd play second fiddle).

He needs to be successful, solvent and driven. He must also be long on genuinely good jokes, with a decent sideline in bad ones that only she finds funny.

He needs to 'speak good restaurant', to have no special dietary requirements and to always be discerning without ever being fussy.

Me, me, me: The workplace is one area where women can develop an over-inflated view of themselves

He needs to be clever without ever making her feel stupid. He needs to 'get' but not 'know' fashion...and so the list went on.

She concluded that she would rather eat wasps than share her Sunday with anyone who fails to measure up to her idea of Mr Perfect.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having high expectations. But being delusional and having a totally unrealistic blueprint are an altogether different matter.

And they often go hand in hand with acute ego-itis. As Margot Medhurt knows only too well.

She is the founder of Yours Sincerely, an Edinburgh-based personal dating and introduction agency for professionals. She has almost 30 years' experience in the industry and has noticed a significant rise in this phenomenon in recent years.

'It used to be that most women who joined a dating agency had a pretty good idea of where they stood in the eligibility stakes,' she said. 'But in the past few years, I've noticed that there are a significant number of women who don't.

'They tend to be in their 30s, and there is a wide discrepancy between how they perceive themselves and how others see them.

'They are often very plain, but see themselves as being absolutely fabulous, exceptional people.

'They invariably reject every guy's profile I send them. But if a guy rejects their profile, there is all hell to pay. There is disbelief. They are really saying: "I'm so fabulous. How dare he turn me down?"

'In the past few years, I've noticed a real sense of entitlement among this small group of women. The idea that a guy might not find them as amazing as they find themselves doesn't enter their head.

'They often become indignant and angry towards me, demanding to know why a guy dared to turn them down. Most people simply accept the facts of the dating game: some people will find you attractive and others won't, in the same way that you'll be drawn to some but not others.

'These women, however, are unable to get their heads around the fact that the rest of the world might not share the distorted, inflated view they have of themselves.'

She said she had a eureka moment when she read a recent article about the rise in narcissism among women.

According to the American research, there has been a 67 per cent increase in it over the past two decades, mainly among women.

An estimated ten per cent of the population suffers from narcissism as a full-blown personality disorder.

The symptoms include: a grandiose sense of self-importance; the belief that he or she is special or unique and in some way better - either intellectually or physically - than others; a requirement for excessive admiration; a sense of entitlement, whether to fame, fortune, success and happiness or simply to special treatment; enviousness of others or a belief that others are envious of him or her; an inability to empathise; an inability to admit a mistake; and haughty behaviour or attitude.

Food for thought: One woman said she would not share time with a man unless he was her ideal of Mr Perfect

What researchers have also identified, and are far more worried about, is what has been described as 'normal' narcissism - a cultural shift that has seen even non-narcissistic people seduced by the emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance and celebrity worship.

The researchers believe our culture brings out narcissistic behaviour in almost all of us.

They blame the internet (where 'fame' is a click away), reality television (where the lure of fame without talent is most prevalent), easy credit (which enables people to buy far beyond their ability to pay), celebrity worship, our highly consumerist, competitive and individualistic society, and a generation of indulgent parents who have raised their children to think they're special, amazing and perfect.

According to Twenge, this focus on self-admiration has caused a cultural flight from reality to the land of grandiose fantasy.

We have phony rich people (who actually have massive mortgages and piles of debt), phony beauty (via plastic surgery), phony celebrities (via reality TV and YouTube), phony genius students (with grade inflation) and phony friends (with the social networking explosion).

'I had noticed this trend, but wasn't really sure what it was all about,' says Margaret Medhurt.

'However, when I read that article and thought about the unrealistic expectations and sense of entitlement among some of the women, it really struck a chord.

'One of the cases that brought it home to me involved a 38-year-old businesswoman.

'I knew there were going to be problems right away. As soon as someone joins the agency, we get things moving very quickly - but this wasn't quick enough for this woman.

'She wanted a date immediately. The first man I sent her profile to declined an introduction and she was extremely cross. She couldn't accept it and she couldn't even be polite about it.

'In three weeks, three men turned her down. I explained that it takes time to meet someone but she just got angrier and angrier. She was demanding to know why these guys did this. I was trying to get the balance right - between being honest with her and being tactful.

'I think, ultimately, she had a very flawed perception of herself. And she almost couldn't bear that it was being challenged. It was as if she couldn't deal with the fact that some guys didn't think she was amazing - and she left.'

Men, traditionally regarded as the more self-centred of the species and the rogues of the mating game, are left scratching their heads and pondering Freud's famous question: what do women want?

David Baxter (not his real name) is a 40-year-old management consultant. Previously married for nine years, he joined a dating agency in the summer.

He says he's not perfect, but is told he's an eligible and pleasant guy with a lot to offer.

'I've had three successive dates recently with ladies in the late 30s to early 40s age bracket that have left me dumbfounded,' he said. 

'I've never come across such massive egos, such arrogance and lack of basic courtesy.

'It was as if these particular dates were a forum for them to tell me how exceptional they were. One told me repeatedly how many young guys at the gym asked her out; another was very artificial.

'You sensed that they absolutely worshipped themselves, though none of them was drop-dead gorgeous or had amazing personalities, jobs or anything else to set them apart and elevate themselves into some superior position.

'I also thought it was quite telling that none of them had ever been married, engaged or had recently - or perhaps ever - been in a long-term relationship.

'I got the feeling that these women were living in a Sex And The City-inspired fantasy world. I also sensed that nobody would ever be good enough for them.

'They seem to be looking for something that doesn't exist: Mr Perfect, or perhaps some larger-than-life, dashingly handsome and unattainable character such as that portrayed by Mr Big. Nothing else will do.'

Despite his recent experience, David still considers himself lucky.

'I'm still positive about the whole thing, but I have friends who are not so optimistic and it's evident that encounters with these sort of women seriously erode their self-confidence, which is a real shame. There are a lot of genuine, decent guys out there who are getting a rough deal.'

Neil Hay is a 32-year-old former professional golfer-turned-financial consultant who lives on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

After taking some time out following the death of his mother, he joined a dating agency almost a year ago.

'It's made me terribly cynical, not just about the way women are, but also about what on earth it is that they are looking for in a guy,' he said.

'Of course, we all have standards and preferences. There's nothing wrong with that. But most of us are also realistic. We know that Cheryl Cole is out of our league.

'I had been hoping to meet someone who was quite nice-looking, with a good personality, someone to go for dinner and to the cinema and have a decent conversation with. But I'm left feeling that this isn't what women are looking for.

'It's as if they want to be swept off their feet right from the first date, as if they're waiting for someone like Brad Pitt or George Clooney. They're not interested in a regular, normal, decent guy. That's not good enough for them.

'I spent three hours on a date with one woman. I thought we got on brilliantly, but then she said she didn't want to meet again.

'This has happened a few times. It makes me think that if you don't live up to their perfect fantasy, then that's it. It's game over before you've even had any chance to begin to get to know each other.

'It does dent your confidence. I'm left thinking either that there's something wrong with me or that I'll just never be whatever it is that these women are looking for.

'I know there are a lot of single women who say things like they're too independent, too feisty, too confident or too successful for men. Or they claim that men are intimidated by strong, intelligent and independent women.

'But this is simply not the case. I think they just tell themselves this. It's a way of rationalising things. It's as if it's easier for them to believe their own myths than to face reality - that they are completely ordinary.'

Name: Tang Yi (汤毅)
Gender: Male
Age: 46
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Bridge Engineer of Fifth Company under China Railroad 11^th Bureau
Date of Death: September 22, 2009
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 2, 2008
Most recent place of detention: Xishanping Forced Labor Camp (西山坪劳教所)
City: Chongqing
Persecution Suffered: Forced Labor, Brainwashing, Beatings, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Force-Feedings, Extortion, Fired from Workplace, Home Ransacked, Interrogation, Detention

(Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Chongqing City) Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Tang Yi had a master's degree from the Southwest Transportation University. He began practicing Falun Dafa in 1995. After the persecution started in July 1999, his employer put him under house arrest for two months. He went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in October 1999. He was detained for 15 days, during which time his work unit dismissed him. Prior to that, his work unit also canceled Mr. Tang's promotion to a high-level engineer, which was previously approved. In order to support his family, he had no choice but to leave home and work at odd jobs. His mother, 69, who came from the countryside, depended on Mr. Tang for support, since she did not have an income.

Mr. Tang went back to Chongqing City and was arrested by police while eating in a restaurant in May 2001. He was sentenced to three years of forced labor and brutally tortured in the Chongqing City Xishanping Forced Labor Camp. He was detained in a small cell for three months (1) in May 2002, where guards and prisoners brutally force-fed him. Before October 1, 2002, he shouted righteous words on the prison grounds, and was locked in a strict control cell. He was repeatedly beaten and cruelly tortured by prison guards and prisoners who were assigned to monitor him. He became disabled from the brutal torture, and developed pneumothorax, tuberculosis, chest abscess, and bone tuberculosis. In 2003 he became incapacitated and incontinent, and had to depend on the assistance of others. Nevertheless, the forced labor camp would not release him. After his mother visited many government officials to request her son's release, Mr. Tang was finally allowed to be released on probation for medical treatment. Mr. Tang's health improved and he no longer faced death after his mother spent two years taking care of him at home.

Mr. Tang Yi

Mr. Tang then went to work in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province. On May 2, 2008, he was intercepted by police while taking a train from Guiyang back to Chongqing. The police searched his bag and found a copy of the book Zhuan Falun, a notebook computer, four CD's, and about six hundred yuan in cash. As a result, he was taken to the Hangzhou City, Zjejiang Province Railway Police Station by train on May 4, 2008, and detained in Hangzhou Railroad Detention Center from May 5 to 27, 2008.

On May 20, 2008, the police station in Hangzhou City sent three police officers to Chongqing City. Officers from Mr. Tang's local police station, the Xinqiao Police Station, and another officer from the Shapingba District 610 Office forced Mr. Tang's mother to lead them to her home. They ransacked her home and took pictures, yet they could not find anything they were looking for. The officers from Hangzhou City opted not to penalize Mr. Tang due to insufficient evidence, and ordered the Xinqiao Police Station to take Mr. Tang back to Chongqing City. On May 28, 2008 officers from the Xinqiao Police Station took Mr. Tang from Hangzhou back to Chongqing.

The Xinqiao Police Station, Shapingba District 610 Office, Chongqing City Forced Labor Committee, and the 610 Office sent Mr. Tang directly to the Baihelin Detention Center in the Shapingba District. On June 5, 2008 they sentenced him to serve two years of forced labor in the 2^nd Team of the 7^th Ward in the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp in Chongqing City.

Mr. Tang started a hunger strike on May 2, 2008, and refused to wear a name tag, a prison uniform, or undergo force feeding through a tube. He had already been brutally persecuted for a long time before, and became extremely weak and emaciated, with his weight dropping from 175 lbs. to about 110 lbs. He couldn't lift his right arm, which constantly oozed pus and bled from his injuries. His body was completely disfigured, and he looked terrible He was weak and could no longer take care of himself, and he needed assistance to walk.

They had been force-feeding Mr. Tang through a tube, since he had been on a hunger strike for months, which caused him to pass out repeatedly, and his health gradually deteriorated. Guards often pushed and held him down on the floor. They dragged him on the floor back and forth, which caused dislocation of his joints. Drug addicted prisoners would conduct force-feeding while slapping him, punching him, and holding him down on a very dirty floor. This resulted in Mr. Tang bleeding all the time. At a meeting held at the end of July 2008, Mr. Tang shouted "Falun Dafa is good", for which he was cruelly beaten again.

In November 2008, the camp administration notified his family to pick him up since they were afraid to take responsibility for his life. Mr. Tang died on the morning of September 22, 2009.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

By Daily Mail Reporter

A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.

Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a  village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs.

The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy.

Hair-raising: Science student Milan Karki with his innovative solar panel made with human hair while a friend holds a light bulb above his head

'First I wanted to provide electricity for my home, then my village. Now I am thinking for the whole world,' said Milan, who attends school in the capital, Kathmandu.

The hair replaces silicon, a pricey component typically used in solar panels, and means the panels can be produced at a low cost for those with no access to power, he explained.

In Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, many rural areas lack access to electricity and even in areas connected to power lines, users face shortages of up to 16 hours a day.

Milan and four classmates initially made the solar panel as an experiment but the teens are convinced it has wide applicability and commercial viability.

Close shave:  Milan (second from right) demonstrates his solar panel in a tiny barber shop in Kathmandu

'I'm trying to produce commercially and distribute to the districts. We've already sent a couple out to the districts to test for feasibility,' he said.

The solar panel, which produces 9 V (18 W) of energy, costs around £23 to make from raw materials.

But if they were mass-produced, Milan says they could be sold for less than half that price, which could make them a quarter of the price of those already on the market.

Melanin, a pigment that gives hair its colour, is light sensitive and also acts as a type of conductor. Because hair is far cheaper than silicon the appliance is less costly.

Hair today: A detailed shot shows the human hair used as an alternative to silicon

The solar panel can charge a mobile phone or a pack of batteries capable of providing light all evening.

Milan began his quest to create electricity when he was a boy living in Khotang, a remote district of Nepal completely unconnected to electricity. According to him, villagers were skeptical of his invention at first.

'They believe in superstitions, they don't believe in science. But now they believe,' he said.

Cost effective: The solar-hair panel is estimated to be four times cheaper than an industrial made solar panel of comparable capacity

He first tried to use water currents hydro power  on a small scale, but said the experiment became too expensive.

'I searched for new, other renewable, affordable sources. People in these places are living the life of the stone age even in the 21st century,' he said.

Milan, whose hero is the inventor Thomas Eddison, describes himself as lucky because his family could afford for him to receive a proper education while many other villagers are forced to work from an early age. Most of those from his village are illiterate.

He was originally inspired after reading a book by physicist Stephen Hawking, which discussed ways of creating static energy from hair.

It's got the power: A digital multimeter shows the voltage generated by the innovative panel

'I realised that Melanin was one of the factors in conversion of energy,' he said.

Half a kilo of hair can be bought for only 16p in Nepal and lasts a few months, whereas a pack of batteries would cost 50p and last a few nights.

People can replace the hair easily themselves, says Milan, meaning his solar panels need little servicing.

Three years after first coming up with the idea, Milan says the idea is more important than ever because of the crucial need for renewable energies in the face of finite power sources and global warming.

'Slowly, natural resources are degrading so it is necessary to think about the future," he said.

'One day we will be in a great crisis regarding this fuel so it is a good thing to do today.

'This is an easy solution for the crisis we are having today. We have begun the long walk to save the planet.'

(Clearwisdom.net) (By a correspondent from Shandong Province) In order to force Falun Dafa practitioners into giving up their practice, guards at the Shandong Province First Women's Labor Camp and Shandong Province Men's Labor Camp use very cruel torture methods.

The guards at the Women's Labor Camp hang female practitioners in the form of a cross by their handcuffs, with their feet barely touching the floor. Practitioners who are menstruating are not allowed to use sanitary products, nor use the restroom. The practitioners are given very little food each day, just enough to barely sustain them from dying. When urine spills on the floor, the guards and criminal prisoners use practitioners' clothing to wipe the floor, then force practitioners to wear the wet and dirty clothing. Many practitioners have been tortured in a similar ways for multiple-month durations. They are in imminent danger.

The guards at the men's labor camp tie practitioners' penises with ropes. This blocks the urine flow, causing the entire body to swell. It is extremely painful.

We are calling on all people of justicice to stop such inhuman tortures.

(Wikipedia)

Gandhara Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE.

Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. It is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western traditions.

The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250 BCE- 130 BCE), located in today’s Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BCE-10 BCE). Under the Indo-Greeks and then the Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of Gandhara, in today’s northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of Mathura, and then the Hindu art of the Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the Tarim Basin, and ultimately the arts of China, Korea, and Japan.

The Titan Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, Hadda.

Heracles depiction of Vajrapani as the protector of the Buddha, 2nd century Gandhara, British Museum.

Artistic model

Greco-Buddhist art depicts the life of the Buddha in a visual manner, probably by incorporating the real-life models and concepts which were available to the artists of the period.

The Bodhisattvas are depicted as bare-chested and jewelled Indian princes, and the Buddhas as Greek kings wearing the light toga-like himation. The buildings in which they are depicted incorporate Greek style, with the ubiquitous Indo-Corinthian capitals and Greek decorative scrolls. Surrounding deities form a pantheon of Greek (Atlas, Herakles) and Indian gods (Indra).

Stylistic evolution

Stylistically, Greco-Buddhist art started by being extremely fine and realistic, as apparent on the standing Buddhas, with "a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes the best Greek work" (Boardman). It then lost this sophisticated realism, becoming progressively more symbolic and decorative over the centuries.

The Buddhist gods Pancika (left) and Hariti (right), 3rd century CE, Takht-i Bahi, Gandhara, British Museum.

Gandhara Poseidon (Ancient Orient Museum)

Maitreya, with Kushan devotee couple. 2nd century Gandhara.

A Buddha in Kamakura (Japan) (1252), reminiscent of Greco-Buddhist influences.

Bodhisattva Lokesvara, Cambodia 12th century.

Cultural significance of Greco-Buddhist art

Beyond stylistic elements which spread throughout Asia for close to a millennium, the main contribution of Greco-Buddhist art to the Buddhist faith may be in the Greek-inspired idealistic realism which helped describe in a visual and immediately understandable manner the state of personal bliss and enlightenment proposed by Buddhism. The communication of deeply human approach of the Buddhist faith, and its accessibility to all have probably benefited from the Greco-Buddhist artistic syncretism.

Name: Feng Gang (冯刚)
Gender: Male
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: August 14, 2009
Date of most recent arrest: July 4, 2009
Most recent place of detention: Dalian City Detention Center (大连看守所)
City: Dalian
Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: Forced Labor, Home Ransacked, Interrogation, Detention

(Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Dalian City) On July 4, 2009 at around noon, Falun Dafa practitioners Mr. Feng Gang, his wife Ms. Wang Juan, and twelve others were arrested at the home of practitioner Ms. Shi Guixiang by officers from the Huanghe Road Police Station, which is under the jurisdiction of the Xigang District Police Department in Dalian City. They were detained at the Dalian Detention Center. Afterwards the police took Mr. Feng's house key and ransacked his home. They stole a laptop, books and other personal belongings.

Police officer Li Hongqiao interrogated Mr. Feng repeatedly during his detention. On August 10, 2009, Mr. Feng was in a life-threatening condition. The guard at the Dalian Detention Center said that Mr. Feng was not to die at the detention center, and that the Domestic Security Division would deal with it. Three Dalian City Domestic Security agents then came and took Mr. Feng to the Military No. 210 Hospital in Dalian.

According to the hospital examination, Mr. Feng's gallbladder was swollen to the size of two fists. He could not eat or drink in case the gallbladder might explode. The doctor told the person from the National Security Team that he was in critical condition and he must be operated on immediately. The Domestic Security agents said that it was not necessary to operate that day and that the doctor could wait until the next day, after Mr. Feng Gang was released from detention. Hence, Mr. Feng would have to pay all the expenses. The doctor did not agree and said the patient would die if the surgery was put off until the next day. The three agents had to pay a deposit of four thousand yuan, and they left quickly thereafter.

Mr. Feng told the doctor that he could not undergo the surgery since his wife was also detained, and he could not afford the cost. The doctor had sympathy for him. Mr. Feng wrote a statement to the doctor declaring that after his discharge, the hospital would not be responsible for his life or death. The doctor gave him fifty yuan from the deposit so that he could take a taxi home.

On August 12, 2009, Mr. Feng's family members learned that he was home, so they went to visit him the next day. When they knocked on the door nobody answered. Mr. Feng had disappeared again. It was said that he went to a supermarket after going home and was arrested again.

On August 14, 2009, members of Mr. Feng's family went to the Dalian City Domestic Security Division to request his release. The staff said that all of the police officers were out, but they insisted on seeing an officer. After a long period of time, one officer showed up and said, "You have to talk to the person who arrested him." Mr. Feng's family members went to the police station on Huanghe Road. They saw Li Hongqiao, who was in charge, and asked him where Mr. Feng was. Li Hongqiao did not answer the question directly and said that Mr. Feng had either died or would die in a few days. Mr. Feng's family members said that they wanted to see the body if he was dead. Li Hongqiao then said that Mr. Feng was not dead.

Mr. Feng's family members said to Li Hongqiao, "Since Mr. Feng Gang is seriously ill, he should be taken care of by his wife, Ms. Wang Juan." Li Hongqiao said that Ms. Wang had been sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. After being persecuted for more than one month, Ms. Wang had become emaciated and lost her appetite. She also had symptoms of heart disease and hepatitis.

On August 17, 2009, Mr. Feng's family members went to the police station to request his release. Li Hongqiao showed a statement that Mr. Feng was released on the condition that he would serve his term outside of prison. The date on the statement was August 10, 2009, the same day Mr. Feng was taken to the No. 210 Hospital, but it was not signed by Mr. Feng. They asked Li Hongqiao why there was no signature. Li said that he had refused to sign.

On August 19, 2009, Ms. Wang's family members were informed by phone from the Police Station at Huanghe Road that Ms. Wang had been sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, and she would be detained there for one and a half years.

On September 16, 2009, Mr. Feng's family reported him missing to the Fuguo Street Police Station located in the Shahekou District. Officers told them Mr. Feng had died on August 14, 2009, and his body had undergone an autopsy at the Shahekou District Police Department. They asked the family to go to that department to have his body cremated.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

By Jenny Hope

Broccoli is high in sulforaphane, which helps to keep arteries unclogged

This probably still won't encourage children to eat it, but the many healthy properties of broccoli include preventing a heart attack or stroke, say researchers.

A chemical found in the vegetable boosts the body's defence system to keep arteries unclogged.

Cauliflower, sprouts and cabbage can also keep the blood flowing freely.

They all contain sulforaphane, along with rocket, kale and pak choi, but broccoli contains the highest levels.

The discovery by scientists at Imperial College London could finally crack the code to using the vital vegetable ingredient in treating heart patients.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: 'As well as adding evidence to support the importance of eating "five a day", the biochemistry revealed in this research could lead to more targeted dietary or medical approaches to prevent or lessen disease that leads to heart attacks and strokes.'

The researchers found bent or branched arteries are more susceptible to disease because they lack a protein called Nrf2.

In contrast, straight sections of artery are protected by the protein, which prevents cells becoming inflamed, an early indication for the development of heart disease.

The researchers discovered that Nrf2 was disabled by a protein in the bent or branched areas of arteries, stifling its protective properties.

But sulforaphane reactivated Nrf2 in these at-risk regions of the arteries, restoring the ability of the arteries to look after themselves.

The researchers believe the chemical could help these trouble spots remain disease-free for longer.

The findings, from a study of mice, are published in the journal Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

In their next phase of research, investigators will find out whether using sulforaphane as a treatment can reduce the progression of disease.

Dr Paul Evans, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, who led the research team, said 'We found that the innermost layer of cells at branches and bends of arteries lack the active form of Nrf2, which may explain why they are prone to inflammation and disease. 

'Treatment with the natural compound sulforaphane reduced inflammation at the high-risk areas by 'switching on' Nrf2.

'Sulforaphane is found naturally in broccoli, so our next steps include testing whether simply eating broccoli, or other vegetables in their ‘family’, has the same protective effect.

'We also need to see if the compound can reduce the progression of disease in affected arteries.'

The health effects of broccoli are already recognised - along with the characteristically bitter taste that puts off so many children and the former US president George Bush.

Studies have shown a chemical in the vegetable boosts DNA repair i cells and may stop them becoming cancerous.

Other evidence suggests eating broccoli helps reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels.

By a correspondent in China

(Clearwisdom.net) One torture method being used by the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong practitioners is called the "wooden clamp." The clamp is about 50 to 80 cm (20-31 inches) long, 30 to 50 cm (12-20 inches) wide, and 10 to 15 cm (4-6 inches) thick and weighs about 20 to 60 kilograms (44-132 lb.). There are two holes in the middle of the clamp for the feet. The victim wearing the clamp has a difficult time moving around and has to crawl into bed, and usually has to sit or lie down, since standing can cause the feet to hurt and be injured. Without help, a person wearing the clamp can't even go to eat or to the bathroom. When getting out of bed and going to the bathroom, the clamp not only presses on the feet and heels, causing extreme pain, but the edge of it gets caught by the bed, preventing the person from getting back into bed. At night, the person is not able to turn over. In winter, a quilt is too short to cover the victim's feet. In summer, the person is not able to take his or her pants off.

In one instance when a practitioner was tortured with the clamp, it was early spring and the weather was still cold. The guards took away his quilt so he froze at night and could not even curl up. He needed other practitioners to help him get to meals or to the restroom. While he was enduring the pain involved in wearing the "wooden clamp," the guards continued forcing him to do hard labor and beat him when he refused. After wearing the clamp for a month, he lost all the hair on his feet, developed many rashes in that area, and lost 18 pounds. Even when the clamp was later removed, for a long period of time he was unable to climb into bed.

An even worse form of this torture is called "crawling with the wooden clamp." The guard puts the clamp on the person and orders him to crawl on a concrete floor. If he stops, the guard hits his back with a two-inch-wide baton. In an hour the person's fingers, toenails, and knees are all bleeding profusely, while his back is bruised from the beating.