Bihar Flood

India: Bihar floods displace more families and take more lives

Even as increasing amounts of vital humanitarian assistance arrives in Northern India, the swollen Kosi River continues to wreak additional havoc for millions of vulnerable people. According the latest official reports, more than 3.3 million individuals have been directly impacted by unprecedented flooding in a region of India not prone to this kind of disaster. 63 lives have been lost and aid efforts remain hampered by limited access to more than 1,800 impacted villages across 16 districts in Bihar State.

Relief arriving
The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is playing an essential role in relief efforts throughout the affected region, supporting rescues, evacuations and the distribution of relief supplies such as kitchen sets, mosquito nets, and basic food supplies. They have also deployed water and sanitation units that are capable of producing 5,000 litres each per day of clean water for drinking and hygiene purposes. Trained Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers have also been distributing basic medicines and leading health education discussions in temporary camps to help reduce the risk of disease among those displaced by the floods.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is working to coordinate the procurement and delivery of 10,000 tents to affected regions. The IFRC will also support more detailed assessments of emerging humanitarian requirements in an effort to ensure that the longer term needs of displaced persons are met.

A difficult monsoon
"It is important to recognize that, while the situation in Bihar State is the focus of international attention, this year's monsoon has caused additional distress across this nation," said Peter Ophoff, Head of Delegation for the International Federation's office in New Delhi. "Across India, nearly 500,000 homes have been completely destroyed and more than 18 million people have been affected by flooding this year alone. The humanitarian needs are very, very real."

Officials in India are suggesting that flood waters may not fully recede for months to come. Villages that have been submerged may remain unreachable and those who were displaced may depend upon relief organizations for the foreseeable future.

Pearls Story

The formation, valued qualities, and locations of pearls, as well as the art of gathering Pearls

pearl is an animal product secreted by certain shell mollusca, of which one kind live in the sea, and the others in fresh water. Pearls are quite common, but those which have considerable dimensions, joined to a regular form and beautiful reflections, are rare and of high price.

Formed almost exclusively of lime and of an organic matter, the pearl is very easily acted on; as regards resistance, it has nothing in common with precious stones, even those most easily destroyed.

The pearl was dedicated to Venus. It is sacred to love and beauty. In the "marriage of Cupid and Psyche"-a fine engraving upon sardonyx, wherein the figures are enveloped in transparent veils, a work of great difficulty in engraving upon stone-the lovers are united by a string of pearls-emblem of conjugal bonds-by aid of which the god Hymen, bearing a torch, conducts them to the nuptial couch (Fig. 83).

A number of opinions have been expressed upon the origin of the pearl. The ancients poetically ascribed it to a drop of dew falling at morning or evening into the opened shell.

"Brighter the offspring of the morning dew,

The evening yields a duskier birth to view."

It was once a common belief that the pearl was a morbid production of the animal. Above all, it has been thought that it originated in some foreign substance, such as a grain of sand, or an animal parasite, introduced accidentally into the shell. This substance, it was supposed, tortured the animal, which, to free itself from the irritation, covered it with a pearly secretion. Acting on these ideas, the Chinese are said to have obtained pearls artificially, by piercing the shell, and slightly wounding the animal.

There is probably some truth in these hypotheses; but an examination of the pearl under the microscope proves that such modes of formation are not the only ones employed; and even that they do not necessarily enter into the formation of these beautiful productions. Indeed certain pearls show in their interior spherical cavities perfectly empty; and others, which are completely solid to the centre, display in all their parts a regular and continuous texture, without the least trace of any foreign matter.

A pearl of the first quality should possess, above all things, a fine orient, or water. By this expression is meant a pure whiteness, joined to a lively lustre that sparkles in the light. There are pearls, too, which, with a white colour, show a delicate reflection of azure. These are the most highly esteemed.

The second quality of a fine pearl is, that it should be perfectly spherical, or regularly pearshaped.

There are a great number of pearls whose colour has a yellowish tinge. This alone is a mark of inferior quality.

It is very probable that pearls possessing this yellowish shade exist normally in the shell. Tavernier, however, thinks that all pearls are white, and that the yellow tint is induced by putrefied products, resulting from the treatment of the shells in their places of production; the pearl-shells being left in the open air that they may open of themselves after the death of the animal. The work is thus accomplished without any expense, and without risk of breaking the pearls, an accident that occurs very frequently if the shells are opened artificially. In support of his theory Tavernier states a fact, which, if established, would be conclusive; which is, that yellow pearls are never found in shells that have preserved their water.

The shells in which pearls are found belong to several families of the large class of mollusca; but the most important of all is the--

Avicula margaritifera, Bruguiere; Pentadina margaritifera, Lamarck. This species not only produces the pearl, but furnishes to commerce vast quantities of mother-of-pearl of the kind most valued.

There is a prevailing idea that mother-of-pearl and the pearl are of the same nature; and, in consequence of this notion, numberless attempts have been made to obtain artificial pearls by means of little spheres more or less regularly cut out of mother-of-pearl.

The experiment has never been successful. A little serious examination of the subject proves that there is nothing to hope from this method. Even admitting that mother-of-pearl and pearl are the same in composition, which has not been scientifically proved, it is certain that they are not of the same constitution. Mother-of-pearl is much harder, and offers infinitely more resistance to the tools of the lapidary than the pearl. But that which is most important to be remarked is, that in the pearl the constituent layers are concentric, while in the pearls cut out of mother-of-pearl, the layers are more or less parallel.

Figs. 84 and 85 establish perfectly to the eye the complete difference presented in this respect by mother-of-pearl and the pearl.

They show, at the same time, how the light must necessarily undergo very different modifications in the two cases, and why cut mother-of-pearl can never have the same optical effects as the pearl.

Although pearl molluscs exist in all parts of the world, there are but few places where their gathering has become an industry. One of these places was formerly the Red Sea, which, in the time of the Ptolemies, produced an abundance of pearls. But the beds are probably exhausted; at any rate they are no longer worked. The two regions which for a long time have produced the most beautiful pearls are the Persian Gulf, and the Straits of Manaar which separate Ceylon from the peninsula of India.

More recently great quantities of pearl-oysters have been discovered in America, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, upon the coasts of California, and in the vicinity of Panama.

There have been experiments made to determine the time necessary to the development of a pearl. No very certain results have been obtained; but it has been proved that at least two or three years are necessary for the formation of a pearl of any value.

Hitherto the pearl shells have been gathered by divers, who, practising the pursuit from their earliest years, end by being able to stay nearly six minutes without breathing at the bottom of the sea. The prodigious efforts which they are obliged to make, and the considerable pressure to which they are subjected, result in a number of very grave accidents. The bodies, too, of the unhappy beings who devote themselves to this frightful trade, are very quickly covered with sores; and very seldom does a pearl-diver arrive at old age.

The remarkable appliances which render it possible to stay under the water for a long time without much inconvenience have been introduced into the localities where there are pearl fisheries, and will no doubt diminish wonderfully the sad consequences so long inseparable from this deadly trade.

Early Coca Cola Lables

Chinese Foot Binding

Throughout history in all cultures a common ultimate goal is to achieve beauty. Just as all people look different, all people have a different outlook on the question, what is beautiful? For some time in the nineteenth century, in America a definition of beauty included corsets, making women's waists as small as possible. Over time beauty has resulted in a lot of pain and in this instance, resulted in broken ribs and damaged internal organs. Body piercing and tattoos fall under the same category although the consequences are not as severe. Great pain has been suffered for centuries for women to achieve perceived beauty. Probably the most detrimental act was one that approximately one billion women in China have preformed for nearly one thousand years. This act, foot binding, was an attempt to stop the growth of the feet. Foot binding is a bizarre and terrible custom, yet it is hard to understand exactly what foot binding was like with the modern outlook we have today. The reason for women binding their feet went deeper than fashion and reflected the role of women in Chinese society. It was necessary then in China for a woman to have bound feet in order to achieve a good life.

The exact way foot binding started is not fully known. Several legends have been passed down on how foot binding originally started. The most common legend is about the Chinese prince Li Yu in the Sung dynasty (AD 960-1280) (Nadine 2). The prince's concubine, Yao Niang walked so gracefully it appeared as if she was "skimming over the top of golden lilies" (Chinese Foot Binding 2) To follow that, the "lily footed" woman became a model for China. A variation of this legend was that Yao Niang was ordered to bind her feet in the shape of half moons (Nadine 2). She was to do this so that she could perform an early variation of ballet, also called toe dancing for the royal court. This legend is probably the least likely to be true, because women with bound feet could hardly walk, let alone dance. The most likely variation of this particular story is that Yau Niang danced on a platform shaped like a lotus, as well as toe-danced within a six-foot high golden lotus flower (Jackson 28). Many women began to perform this artistic dancing style, and the dance looked best with bound feet. There are so many variations that it is impossible to know which one is true. A whole other legend is about the last Empress of the Shang dynasty. This Empress had a clubbed foot and did not want to be known as having this condition. She asked her husband to make binding feet mandatory for all girls (Chinese Foot Binding 2). By doing so, her deformed foot could now be considered beautiful. The origin of foot binding may not be clear; however the powerful affects feet binding left are apparent.

Once foot binding began, it spread quickly from the north, where it begun, to all parts in China. In the beginning, the custom was practiced only by court dancers, followed by all the women in the court. In 1273, the Mongols took over the Sung dynasty and started the Yuan dynasty. The Mongols supported foot binding for all the women in China (Chinese Girl 2). They supported mainly because it made the women less likely to be able to succeed (Jackson 19). In the mid-1300s, the Ming dynasty took the place of the Yuan dynasty. Foot binding continued to spread from the royalty, to the wealthy (Levy 26). Eventually, all classes of people had their feet bound. Poor people did so in hopes of improving their social status (Cummings 2).

The process of foot binding started for the young girls anywhere from the age of four to six. It was done so early in her life so that the arch did not have much time to develop. The mother who was the one to bind the feet, and usually started the process late in the fall or winter, so the foot would be numb and the pain would not be as severe. The daughters' feet would first be soaked in warm water or animal blood and herbs (Jackson 39). The special potion that was used for this caused any dead flesh to fall off (Levy 12).She would have her toe nails cut as short as possible therefore not allowing them to grow into the foot. After she received a foot massage, the four smallest toes on each foot were broken (Chinese Foot Binding 2) This was not even the worst of the pain. The mother soaked silk or cotton bandages in the same liquid the girl's feet were soaked in. The bandages, which were ten feet long and two inches wide, were wrapped around the smallest toes and pulled tightly to the heel. Every two days, the binding was removed and rebound. This part of the process went on for two years. By this time her feet were three to four inches long. To assure the feet staying small, the ritual continued for at least ten more years (Hwang 1).

The process was very painful; every time the feet were rebound the bandages were pulled tighter. But besides just the pain of the process, there were many after affects that were detrimental to the young girls' health. The pain of the bound feet never stopped. The most common consequence was infection (Hwang 1). There were many ways a girl could get an infection. One was the ball of the foot would fold directly into the heel. A second was that the toenails continued to grow, eventually curling into the skin. This led to flesh rotting off, and sometimes even a toe. The worst part of the process was that the feet would practically die after three years. The feet being dead caused a terrible smell the girl carried with her everywhere (Chinese Footwear 1). Diseases followed infections, and death could even result from foot binding (Hwang 1).

Some girls made it through their youth without having any medical problems; yet the time when most women had health problems due to foot binding was in their later years. The women who had their feet bound were more likely to fall, less able to squat and less able to rise from a sitting position in their older years. The combination of the lower hip bone density, along with the fact women with bound feet were more likely to fall, put these women at an extremely high risk for hip fractures (Ling 1,2). Overall, foot binding had its beauty, yet the consequences were very severe.

Such a painful and crippling tradition could not be completely due the popularity and fashion it had at the time. There were many reasons mothers made the decision to bind their daughters' feet. Men in China in that era would not marry a woman who did not have bound feet. The man's mother was always responsible for making sure the woman he was to` marry had bound feet. If the mother of the man lifted up the woman's dress and discovered "clown feet," she would not allow her son to speak to that woman again. The mother of the man that she loved finding out she does not have bound feet was the most embarrassing thing that could happen to you (Jackson 62). Feet binding also divided men and women and upheld old Chinese beliefs. Foot binding kept women weak, out of power, and dominated by her husband. When women bound their feet, men could dominate more easily and not worry about women taking their power. The process took place so early, the young girl had no choice but to follow her family's order and have her feet bound. She was uneducated and considered foot binding necessary. Also, she was seen as an object to the men, to be observed and look pretty, therefore appealing to men mattered more to the girls than their health. The girl's life went on without having much control over it (Levy 42-46).

Foot binding sounds so terrible but it did not stay popular forever. In the mid-1600s the Manchu’s took over the Yuan dynasty to create the Qing Empire. The Manchu’s were strongly against foot binding. The Qing Empire began to charge people for having daughters with bound feet and prohibiting it in areas they could control. The practiced nevertheless continued. It had become so much part of the Chinese culture and family traditions, that the government could not stop it. The Chinese continued to see foot binding as a beautiful act although it was illegal (Jackson 48).

The nationalist revolution sparked the flame that was to destroy foot binding for good. The practice slowed down considerably from there. In 1911 after the revolution of Sun Yat-Sen, foot binding officially ended aside from a handful of women living in the countryside (Chinese Girl 2).

Foot binding was more than a fashion statement; it was a way of life for about one billion women as well as the men around them. It took much more than laws and protests to bring foot binding to an end. Foot binding had higher consequences, greater appeal, and is more desirable than any other practice women implemented to be beautiful in history. It cannot be seen as a simple fashion statement. It was part of the society, the roots being buried under many parts of Chinese culture. It had roots in making a woman more desirable, marriage ability, and higher social status. Foot binding not only crippled the women who went through the process but as well as crippled women in China for centuries. Being crippled by foot binding, they had such a little role in the government. It was a custom that started out to define beauty but ended up defining the way the society was.

Global Warming

I’ll be talking about Global Warming and how I think it does exist and why some people do not. I used to not believe it but my parents gave me a very good point on how it exists. Like how people think is going to kill us I think it will cause lots and lots of deaths but it depends where you are. If you live in California for example it may not be in very good condition, because lots of things are happening there that never happened and it all has to do with Global Warming. I believe some day it will be covered in sand. I also believe some day no place on earth won’t has enough clean water for every one except on Brazil.
People do not believe in Global Warming because all these things that are happening in the world to people are normal. Who knows they maybe right. Like some non believers on Global Warming say that it is something that happened a long time ago and is coming back. They all say different things.

I wits there were a way to stop Global Warming but there isn’t it is just nature. It also has to do with something that I will not mention because it is religious but what I can say is that all you have to do is live your life normally, and let happen what happens because you can’t stop it. I hope someday people can see a reason why it can exist because of the world’s situation. This is the information I found on ask.com on nature conservancy. Climate change, more commonly known as global warming, is caused by the emission of heat trapping gases produced by vehicles, power plants, industrial processes and deforestation. As these gases build up, they act like a big blanket, over-heating the planet and threatening our health, our economy and our environment.

Research shows that the world has now become hotter than at any time during the past 1000 years. Climate models that project future conditions show that global warming will continue if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase. The information I just gave tells some things on how the climate has been changing commonly. It is a serious thing that people should care it is not that I want to make people to believe in it but to maybe look at it as something that can affect you and the planet. I think people should get more in to reading the articles about global warming so maybe they can find something that they agree so they can be more cautious. To be cautious about what you do like say if someone does not believe in global warming and decides to move into some place that has the strangest climate. They can end up putting their lives at a risk of dieing because of global warming. So all I have to say about that is take responsibility on your actions. If people already almost got close to get injured or hurt by global warming so maybe they can see it does exist.

Many of the places we protect are selected because they provide the proper habitat and climate for unique and important plants or animals. Unfortunately, given global warming, these places may no longer have the right climate for the species or communities that were the reason underlying their selection. This is something I found on ask.com at the nature For example, as the planet warms, Peter’s Mountain mallow in Virginia, or the California gnatcatcher in San Diego County, or wet prairies in Oregon may no longer be able to survive on the same lands where they once flourished.
Scientific research shows that heat-trapping emissions from human activities have caused most of the global warming observed over the past 50 years. In addition to those emissions, the intermingling of highways, human developments, plantations, and farms with nature has enormously circumscribed the options for nature’s response to the current warming. So some of the reasons that are in there are why I started to believe in global warming. They can be reason that can change your mind it kind of changed mine.


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