Tall, Thin Ann Ward Wins 'America's Next Top Model'

She may have been taunted for her tall and skinny stature, but Ann Ward's figure proved to be a boon in the modeling world. Wednesday night, Tyra Banks named her the 15th winner of "America's Next Top Model."
"Oh my god!" Ward said in the season finale that aired Wednesday on the CW network. She burst into tears after Banks, the creator and host of "ANTM," revealed her winning photo displayed at the final judging.

"I'm so honored right now," Ward,18, said, "[after hearing] all those comments about being too tall or just being not normal."

Ward defeated 22-year-old Chelsea Hersley to become the new "Top Model." Hersley said she felt "cheated" by Ward's victory, arguing "I feel like I have the whole package, what it takes to be America's Next Top Model and I don't think Ann does."

But Ward was too overwhelmed by her win to worry about her detractors.

"I'm so happy that I can make my parents proud," she said. "I won! I can't believe any of this right now."

Ward was the subject of scrutiny even before the start of the latest "ANTM" installment because of her 6-foot, 2-inch frame and tiny waist. An adult's hands can easily fit all the way around her waist, as judge Miss J. Alexander demonstrated in a trailer released before the beginning of the season.

Upon seeing Ward for the first time, Banks exclaimed, "You have the smallest waist in the world. Look at that waist!"

Following speculation about whether Ward's thinness might negatively influence young "ANTM" viewers, Banks released a statement clarifying that she doesn't condone overly skinny models.

"As a leader in celebrating and promoting healthy body image, I must admit that I regrettably didn't see this clip before it was released to the public," she said. "But on behalf of the Top Model team, these were not the intentions, and we truly apologise for any confusion, anger or disappointment it may have caused."

"I am committed to expanding the definition of beauty which includes ALL shapes, sizes and proportions, from skinny to curvy and everything in between," Banks continued. "During this season of 'Top Model,' you will see that Ann provided another opportunity for me to support a young woman struggling with her own body image issues (she's 6'2?; and is the receiver of countless stares and ridicule). Helping young ladies, like Ann and countless others that have confided in me, furthers and supports my core mission."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/tall-thin-ann-ward-wins-americas-top-model/story?id=12294543&page=1

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The first thing that caught my attention in this article was the jaw-dropping picture. Ann Ward, being astonishingly scraggy because the talk of the town. Even though it was an unintentional video release of Banks exclaiming over her tiny waist, I guess it was one of the "plus" factors resulting in her top in ANTM. This is sure to disappoint many viewers like myself, as this shows that their constant emphasize on healthy body image was sort of a "cover-up", so as to be socially/morally accepted by the public. Ward's body image issues was the "ideal" model type (tall and thin). Hence by accepting Ward, ANTM actually does not display their intension of "expanding the definition of beauty which ALL shapes, sizes and proportions". This whole issue may decrease the number of supporters of ANTM.

UN urges global switch to low-energy lightbulbs

CANCUN - The United Nations on Wednesday urged a global phase-out of old-style lightbulbs and a switch to low-energy lighting that it said would save billions of dollars and combat climate change.

About 40 countries already have programs to switch from incandescent lightbulbs, the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP, said in a report issued on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Cancun.

Generation of electricity for lighting, often from burning fossil fuels, accounts for about 8 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions, it said. A shift to more efficient bulbs would cut electricity demand for lighting by 2 percent.


A review of 100 nations showed huge potential for savings and carbon cuts from a shift to low-energy bulbs, according to a study backed by UNEP and lighting groups Osram and Philips.

Indonesia, for instance, could save US$1 billion (S$1.31 billion) a year and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8 million tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road, it said.

It said Brazil could save US$2 billion a year, Mexico US$900 million, Ukraine US$210 million and South Africa US$280 million. All would also make big cuts in emissions.

"The actual economic benefits could be even higher," said Achim Steiner, head of UNEP, who added a switch to efficient lighting in Indonesia would avoid the need to build several coal-fired power stations costing US$2.5 billion."

"Similar findings come from other country assessments," he added.

He also said the cost calculations did not include health benefits from switching from the use of fossil fuels, including use of kerosene lamps. About 1.8 million deaths a year are linked with indoor air pollution.

"We need to cut the use of kerosene for lighting," Osram's Wolfgang Gregor told a news conference. Low-energy bulbs are more expensive but last far longer than conventional incandescent bulbs.

UNEP cautioned there were drawbacks since the most common low-energy compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFL, contain toxic mercury.

It said that countries needed to ensure safe collection and disposal of the lightbulbs. "This is a central challenge, especially in developing countries," it said.

It said that countries including European Union members, the United States, Canada, Australia, Cuba and the Philippines were working on phase-outs of old-style bulbs.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20101202-250355.html

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All of us have a part to play in protecting our mother Earth. Every day we experience weather changes and world catastrophes caused by global warming, erosion, and other ecological changes the Earth has experienced over the past century. Complete rain forests have been destroyed, never to grow back. The planet is dying – poisoned by all the toxic waste and pollution we have released upon it.
It is time for all of us to do something to save what little is left of the planet’s resources, to try and give back to the Earth all that it has given to us. For our children and their children, we must change our ways so that future generations have a cleaner world where they can breathe unpolluted air and drink clean water. This attitude is called “going green” and it is sweeping the planet like wildfire.
So if we are able to combat climate change and even saving billions of dollars just by phasing-out those old-style lightbulbs and switching to low-energy lighting then why not?

Japan, US begin biggest ever joint military exercises

TOKYO- Japan and the United States launched their biggest ever joint military exercises Friday amid tensions on the Korean peninsula, the Japanese defence ministry said.
The "Keen Sword" drills, which mark the 50th anniversary of the Japanese-US alliance, will continue until December 10, officials said.
The drill was planned before North Korea's artillery barrage of a South Korean island last week but comes just days after a US and South Korean show of military force aimed to deter Pyongyang.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20101203-250553.html

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This military drill will certainly deter North Korea from doing undesirable actions such as the incident a few days back where the South Korean island was bombed. I believe the US, South Korea and Japan should continue to demonstrate their show of power to deter any unwanted aggression from the state through actions such as military drills like this. This will certainly make North Korea think twice if they do intend to invade South Korea. However, the military drills might be over provocative as well which might give North Korea an excuse to cause trouble for its neighbors therefore, the size of the drills should be kept to a limit.
However, with tensing relations between countries in the regions, it is important for them to work together now in order to prevent a possible World War scenario from occurring and besides, with nuclear weapons at work, the ending results will be definitely tens if not hundreds more times devastating. Besides, South Korea, Japan and China are neighbours and they three form a majority of the economic power in Asia. However, China is in the way as it is “baby feeding” North Korea as they believe North Korea to be an important land buffer zone as history have told us, many invasions into China were through the Korean Peninsula.
However, China should give South Korea a chance to prove that it is indeed a worthy and trustable neighbor.

To improve learning, German school allows chewing gum

BERLIN: Few things annoy a teacher more than a pupil chewing gum in class, but a primary school in southern Germany is now actively encouraging them to do so - in order to improve their grades.

"Chewing gum is good for the children's health and improves their cognitive performance," said Wolfgang Ellegast from the education ministry in Bavaria, home to the Volkenschwand school where the pilot project is being run.

"No one is being forced to chew gum," headmaster Hans Dasch told AFP. "But it helps the children concentrate and deal with stress, particularly during written tests."

He added: "The prerequisite for learning with fun is that kids come to school without fear and that they feel happy... Therefore we are encouraging them to chew gum in break and in lessons."

Chewing gum is also good for dental health, particularly after meals when it is not possible for the 70 children aged between six and 10 at the school to brush their teeth, organisers said.

But it is not anarchy. According to a "firm agreement" with teachers, the children must keep their mouths closed while chewing - except for when speaking, of course - and properly dispose of the gum.

To this end, each desk equipped with a special container decorated by the children themselves with bees, ladybirds, snails and the like in partnership with a local artist.

"All the children respect the rules. None of them makes bubbles ... None of them stick their gum on the seats," said the headmaster, who admits he chews gum too, along with several teachers.

"The pupils chew in a very disciplined manner."

-AFP/jl

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/1096785/1/.html

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Eating during classes openly with teachers' permissions is impossible to find in Singapore. But this is not the case in Germany. It is amazing how bubblegum is beneficial not only health wise but also in aid to one's performances. It is even allowed and in fact encouraged in a primary school. By chewing bubblegums during classes, students can stay alert and probably less sleepy when lessons get draggy. Then again, it may seem a distraction to see a class of students chewing away while the teacher teaches. The students are cooperative enough to follow the rules laid and stay disciplined, therefore this is a positive win-win situation. Perhaps Singapore should consider integrating this!

Young South Koreans face midnight ban for online games

SEOUL: South Korea's government is close to adopting a "Cinderella" law to ban youngsters from playing online games past midnight amid growing concerns about Internet addiction, officials said Thursday.

A bill to be submitted to parliament as early as this month will require South Korean online game companies to cut off services at midnight for users registered as younger than 16, the culture and family ministries said.

"The thing about online games is, once you are in it, it is extremely hard to get out of it, especially if you are a young kid," Jo Rin, a ministry official in charge of the law, told AFP.

"A lot of kids play games all night long and have trouble studying at school and going about their normal lives during daytime. We believe the law is necessary to ensure their health and a right to sleep."

The online services would resume at six the following morning, he said, adding there would be a year-long waiting period until the law takes effect so that companies can prepare for it.

The government is also considering requiring companies to limit young users' access to online games to a maximum number of hours a week or a day if parents request this, said Jo.

South Korea is one of the world's most wired societies, but there have been sporadic reports of deaths related to Internet game addiction.

Last month a 15-year-old South Korean boy committed suicide after killing his mother for scolding him over playing computer games too much.

In February a 32-year-old man died after reportedly playing for five days with few breaks.

A month later police arrested a couple accused of leaving their baby daughter to starve to death while they raised a "virtual" child on the Internet. The baby had long been malnourished, an autopsy showed.

The government, which estimates that South Korea has about two million web addicts, is already launching one campaign to combat the affliction.

From next year, it will offer free software to people at risk, to limit the time they spend on the web.

-AFP/ac

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/1096818/1/.html

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Upon seeing this article, I was shocked!
A 15 year-old killed his mother just because his mother scolded him for over playing computer games too much? A 32 years-old man died because he played for 5 days with too little beaks? And couple leaving their daughter to starve to death while they raise a “virtual” child in the internet?
I admit sometimes I did played computer games till about 2-3am in the morning and I was addicted to computers games too. I feel that one day without computer games make my day incomplete. Computer games are like food, oxygen and I cannot live without them.
As we now live in the 21st century, where technology advance beyond imagination, computer games’ graphics now are more vivid and they have very interesting story lines for the gamers. Quoted in the article, "The thing about online games is, once you are in it, it is extremely hard to get out of it, especially if you are a young kid." I find this very true as I experienced it before, when I do not play computer games, I feel sick and uneasy. In the past, once I reached home from school, I will immediately switch on my computer and start playing for at least 2 hours. After having my dinner I will continue playing till midnight, until my mum demand me to go to sleep, then I will go to sleep reluctantly, with my mind still wondering in the virtual world.
Computer games are like drugs, once you started it; it is hard for you to get out of it, and you will go crazy over it. But this does not mean that you cannot say NO to the “drug”, have these two simple things and you are on your way to overcoming the addiction:
Firstly, you need self-control. With self-control, you can limit yourself to a certain number of hours of computer games each day, and will not keep extending your hours of playing computer games.
Secondly, you can have a timetable. Arrange your timetable with doing the top priorities first and put and the least important matter to the last. For example doing homework first and playing computer games before you go to sleep. Limit your timeslots for playing games, and have ample time for sleep.
Using law to limit youngsters from playing computer games after midnight is not the solution for the problem. Children below 16 can register themselves as a 20+ year-old adult and they still can continue playing computer games.
One possible solution is that parents need to educate their children from young that they can only have certain hours of computer games, and too much will only harm the player. Schools can also educate the children about the pros and cons about computer games to make the children realize that computer games can be a distress tool, but over using it can be a drug that will eventually lead to a “slow death”.

Bullying Part of Life for Kids With Asthma

One in Ten Kids Teased Over Condition, Researchers Say

By CRYSTAL PHEND, MedPage Today Senior Staff Writer

Nov. 6, 2010

VANCOUVER -- One in 10 kids with asthma reports bullying or teasing related to the condition; its impact on other aspects of life varies from country to country, researchers found.

Asthma had the worst impact on Canadian children, who were more likely to report feeling sad and to express regret at being unable to participate in sports than were children in other parts of the world, Dr. William D. Carroll of Derbyshire Children's Hospital in Derby, England, and colleagues reported at the CHEST meeting here.

The universal nature of bullying, though, was "really quite startling," Carroll told MedPage Today.

"It's not something as a physician we ask our children," he noted in an interview. "We think kids wouldn't do that, but it appears we're wrong and it is quite common."

The findings overall emphasize the need to talk to pediatric asthma patients about bullying specifically as well as what other impact their disease may be having on their life, he said.

The Room to Breathe study included 1,284 kids with asthma and their parents interviewed by phone in Canada, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Britain and in face-to-face interviews in South Africa. Children ages 8 to 15 were interviewed themselves while parental interviews were used for 4- to 8-year-olds.


Based on symptoms reported in the interview, complete asthma control was achieved by only 15.3 percent of the children overall.

The lack of complete control "may be due to steroid fear of parents or underestimation of the impact of asthma on children," the researchers noted in the presentation.

Carroll said one big message for physicians was the need to have conversations about medications and how they work.

"Lots [of parents] are still worried about side effects," he told MedPage Today.

Perceived asthma severity differed substantially between parents and children. For example, Canadian parents matched their children's opinion in just 46% of cases.

Control of asthma was similar for Canadian kids -- representing North America in the study -- as for the rest of the world.

While it varies from country to country, one in 10 children with asthma have reported bullying related to their condition.

(Getty Images)

However, Canadian children were more likely to say they feel sad and left out than those in other countries, although the number who claimed those feelings was under 20 percent.

But only about 30 percent of Canadian kids with asthma felt "no different" than other kids, whereas elsewhere in the world the rate was about 50 percent.

Asthma also has an impact on family lifestyle, with 66 percent of Canadian parents interviewed reporting changes such as forbidding smoking in the house, removing potential allergens, and avoiding artificial or chemical triggers.

Sports participation was a big complaint worldwide, with about 55 percent of Canadian kids and 45 percent of those in other countries with asthma saying they wished they could play.

The reason for the difference in Canada might be the popularity there of cold weather sports, such as hockey, Carroll suggested, noting, "cold air is a specific trigger for asthma."


Coaches and teachers might be mostly responsible for the restrictions in sports participation, Carroll speculated.

"Parents were telling us they didn't restrict their activity terribly," he explained in the interview.

British kids with asthma showed a "high" rate of participation in sports, he noted.

Demographics and rates of asthma in America are similar to those in Canada and Britain and most of the results likely generalize from those countries to the U.S., Carroll said, although on which side U.S. kids fall on sports participation isn't clear.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AsthmaChildren/bullying-part-life-kids-asthma/story?id=12045965

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Everyone is born uniquely, same goes to those with asthma. To them, they wished they are like normal children, able to run and play around happily, enjoying their childhood. But to them, sports are a big NO NO to them. And hence, they are often left out, bullied by other children. This will lead to them having a sad childhood with no smiles or laughters, just plainly getting bullied. This will change their life at a later stage when they grow up. They will not trust anyone or befriend anyone. Having asthma does not give others the right to bully. Kids with asthma should also be treated like other children and should not be bullied.
Bullying or teasing kids with asthma is outrageously wrong. These kids are victims themselves for contracting asthma unfortunately against their wishes. What if you were the one that have it? Would you like being bullied by others? Most of us would not like that treatment from others. We should all put ourselves in their shoes and consider their feelings. Having already a hard time being restricted in sports participation and losing their freedom, kids with asthma definitely deserve neither the bullying nor stereotyping but our understanding. They are not different from us, therefore all such ridiculous and childish acts must stop.
Since people with asthma are especially prone to attacks during cold weather conditions, it is right for them to be excused from doing sports lest an attack occurs which may possibly be serious or even fatal. Facing such high risks, they should not be discriminated against for not partaking in sports. Discriminations could be due to misunderstandings as those who have never experienced being asthmatic before may not understand what it feels like.
In order to minimize the damage done to the kids with asthma, it is important for schools to teach the children that kids with asthma should be treated like other normal children.
What the schools or teachers could do is to educate their students about asthma; the causes, symptoms and reasons on why they should be excused from taking part in intensive activities.
Videos can also be shown to let the children know the troubles and problems that kids with asthma have to face everyday. Although normal children will never get to know how asthmatic feel, through videos, at least the children will know that kids with asthma also yearn to be like normal children to play and run around freely.
With a more advanced education system, it will lower the percentage of bullying and teasing due to asthma. This is important as bullying or teasing as a child may affect the child significantly throughout his/her life (e.g. demoralise them). Asthma can be managed, hence it shouldn't restrict people suffering from asthma from sports.
Some parents are still worried about the side effects while the rest underestimate the impact of asthma. In order to mend such uncertainties, parents should be let known of asthma as a whole. Only when parents are more aware of asthma and its impacts, will their suffering children be able to have a complete control over the illness. Conversations about medications and how they work can then help heal asthma from the roots.
The word 'children' links to a majority of us playing and running freely in the open field, playing games, sports, and playground — happy and trouble-free. This impression should also be in all children, including kids with problems, like asthma. Bullying and discrimination should not be present. Asthma kids also deserve to have happy and memorable childhoods like everyone else and lead a life with a smile on their faces.