MikeLigalig.com

Hmm, looking at the boy's expression, one is reminded of Seamus Heaney's "Lightenings viii":


The annals say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise
Were all at prayers inside the oratory
A ship appeared above them in the air.

The anchor dragged along behind so deep
It hooked itself into the altar rails
And then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill,

A crewman shinned and grappled down the rope
And struggled to release it. But in vain.
'This man can't bear our life here and will drown,'

The abbot said, 'unless we help him.' So
They did, the freed ship sailed, and the man climbed back
Out of the marvellous as he had known it.

Ah, the child is father of the man...

Cat Stormtroopers

What you can do to prevent the catpocalypse

We don't have to let the cat out of the bag. The two biggest things we can do to prevent a catpocalypse from continuing to wipe out troubled wildlife are spaying and neutering our cats and keeping our cats indoors. Yes, our feline friends love spending time outside. Unfortunately for your neighborhood birds, mostly what they love to do is hunt. Predation is natural. Predation on the scale of the current cat population is a problem, as any birdwatcher in New Zealand with happily tell you.

We often feel overwhelmed in the face of environmental challenges. This one, at least, should be avoidable. Barring large-scale disasters that force cat owners to abandon their pets or a sudden species-specific event that wipes out all humanity, it is safe to say that for the time being this secret cat army is safely locked away, content to knead, pounce on our feet and otherwise cause lovable mayhem in our lives.

For the sake of the environment, let's try and keep it that way.

What you can do to prevent the catpocalypse

We don't have to let the cat out of the bag. The two biggest things we can do to prevent a catpocalypse from continuing to wipe out troubled wildlife are spaying and neutering our cats and keeping our cats indoors. Yes, our feline friends love spending time outside. Unfortunately for your neighborhood birds, mostly what they love to do is hunt. Predation is natural. Predation on the scale of the current cat population is a problem, as any birdwatcher in New Zealand with happily tell you.

We often feel overwhelmed in the face of environmental challenges. This one, at least, should be avoidable. Barring large-scale disasters that force cat owners to abandon their pets or a sudden species-specific event that wipes out all humanity, it is safe to say that for the time being this secret cat army is safely locked away, content to knead, pounce on our feet and otherwise cause lovable mayhem in our lives.

For the sake of the environment, let's try and keep it that way.

The catpocalypse is already here

Cat lovers can feel superior about one thing at least. Cats are far better hunters than dogs. They are so efficient, in fact, that scientists conclude they are responsible for 33 bird extinctions, especially in areas where there are no natural predators and that cats are the leading cause of bird and small mammal fatalities in the U.S. To put it into perspective, cats kill an estimated 1.3 to 4 billion birds and up to 22 billion mammals annually. We can't blame feral cats for these statistics. Our cuddly indoor/outdoor kitty friends are just as culpable.

To make things more ecologically destabilizing, uncontrolled cat populations push other animals like raccoons and foxes out of their niches. In our current climactic crisis, this sort of destabilization is highly damaging to already struggling ecosystems.

A secret cat army

Our cute and cuddly kitties are actually killing machines. Perfected by millions of years of evolution, cats are some of nature's most efficient hunters. In his book The World Without Us, an entertaining and well-researched read about what would happen if humanity disappeared today, Alan Weisman hypothesizes that cats are one of the most devastating impacts we will leave on the planet.

Here's why. There are roughly 600 million cats in the world. The AVMA estimates that approximately 70 million pet cats live in the U.S. Feral cat populations are harder to assess, but some scientists think there are around 60 million feral cats in the U.S. alone. That is a lot of cats, and they are already up to no good.

The catpocalypse is coming, and it's far scarier than zombies
http://www.sheknows.com/
12 hours ago

by Anna Burke





We feed them. House them. Love them. And we might also be breeding a secret cat army.

Humans spend a lot of time thinking about the end of the world. There's the zombie apocalypse to prepare for, the looming robot apocalypse that Hollywood loves to dramatize, global warming, and then, of course, epic natural disasters like tsunamis and giant asteroids that theoretically could happen, but probably won't.

Meanwhile, humans are paving the way for a much more disturbing event: the catpocalypse.

He he, yogaininsik na pud ang singkit...

Hmm, the author must have had, at the back of his mind (or somewhere in his alimentary canal), the fear of losing weight via loose bowels...

Hmm, tune-wise, I'll place my bet on this one...

For more graphic photos of hand injuries, you may wish to check the following:


http://www.unboundedmedicine.com/images/firecracker1.jpg

http://i29.tinypic.com/2z6va7o.jpg

http://www.doctorgrabow.com/uploads/gallery/injury4.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QmKgqeYKrXE/ThHGeHaqZ6I/AAAAAAAAATs/6x4EZg2KeKw/s1600/fireworks+hand.jpg

Ni KRIS C. SIALANA


PADAYONG nakigbugno sa kamatayon ang usa ka ulitawo human kini gipusil sa wala mailang suspetsado kagahapon mga alas 2:15 sa kaadlawon samtang nangaligo diha sa LTO crossing sa Bulua ning siyudad sa Cagayan de Oro.

Kritikal ang biktima nga nailang si Alvin Obsomia, 23, ulitawo, lumolupyo sa Iponan ning siyudad.

Nilanding ang ulitawo sa Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) ning siyudad human nakaangkon og samad pinusilan sa iyang likod, hinungdan nga talandugon ang kahimtang niini.

Gikabutyag nga samtang nangaligo ang biktima kauban ang mga barkada niini, giingong nalingaw kini nga nag-estoryahanay ug grabe ang pagpangatawa.

Gidugang pa nga namatikdang nasuko ang laing grupo nga anaa niadtong tungora ug nanglakaw apan wala kini magdahom sa dihang nibalik ang usa niini ug kalit nga gipusil ang nahisgutang biktima sa wala matuki kung unsa nga klase sa armas ang gigamit.

Sa pagsulat niini nga balita, pabilin pa nga anaa sa talandugon nga kahimtang ang ulitawo samtang gawasnon pa ang suspetsado, kinsa daling misibat human sa maong insidente.


Gipatik sa mantalaang Superbalita Cagayan de Oro Enero 12, 2016.

Motorboating

The placement of one's face, specifically the mouth, into the area between a well-endowed woman's breasts, followed by a rapid shaking of the face in a side-to-side motion accompanied by yelling. The resulting sound that is created sounds similar to an outboard boat motor. -- http://www.urbandictionary.com/


motorboating ‎(uncountable)

1. The act of travelling in a motorboat.

2' (slang) The act of placing one's head between a woman's breasts and making the sound of a motorboat with one's lips whilst moving the head from side to side. -- https://en.wiktionary.org/

Gikpoy kay gikang yogalukso-lukso...

“He is quite belligerent,” says Jason Tuvey, a Middle East economist at Capital Economics. But Tuvey, like many other analysts, has been impressed by Prince Mohammed’s grasp of the often maddeningly complex problems that bedevil the kingdom’s economy. “On the economic front he has done very well. He has shifted policy and he should be commended for that,” Tuvey says.

Where the good in his impetuous nature may come undone is over the growing struggle with Iran for regional hegemony. When MbS announced the formation of a council of 34 Muslim nations in mid-December to combat terrorism, he clearly had Iran in mind. The Iranians have strongly backed the beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, both directly and through Hezbollah, a militia trained and armed over the years by Iran. The Saudis are determined to see Assad defeated before any Syrian peace talks commence.

Now, with the Saudis executing the senior Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a tit-for-tat battle is escalating. The Iranians allowed the sacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and the Saudis together with other Gulf Co-operation council (GCC) states withdrew their ambassadors in retaliation. The apparent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Sanaa has further ratcheted up tensions.

In a widely circulated letter last summer, enemies within the ruling family decried the arrogance of the young prince, even going so far as to call for his ousting along with his father and Mohammed bin Nayef. But those calls have led nowhere and MbS continues to ride a crest of popular support in Saudi Arabia. The question remains, though, how far his impetuous nature will take him in the conflict with Iran.

It is not outside the realm of possibility that this brilliant, brash young man casting himself in his grandfather’s mould as a Sunni warrior may be weighing up the options, may be thinking of a military strike against Shia Iran â€" a frightening thought in a region already riven by sectarian war.

But the same zeal with which he is pursuing economic reforms has also led Saudi Arabia into a messy war in neighbouring Yemen. Last March, he launched an aerial campaign against rebel Houthi forces that had run the Saudi-installed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi out of the country. Decades of Saudi caution were thrown to the wind as MbS presided over Operation Decisive Storm.

It must have seemed a very good idea at the time: the young, ambitious son of an aged king leading a war against a rebellion in a troubled southern neighbour. That the rebellion was supported by Iran made the adventure even more attractive. The Saudi military was bristling with new weapons â€" billions of dollars’ worth. MbS had a powerful older rival in the Interior Minister and wanted to prove his mettle both to his rival and his own supporters. The plan was to win a quick, decisive victory to confirm his stature as a military leader, placing him in the same league as his grandfather Ibn Saud, the great warrior king and founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

MbS ignored the fact that the Houthis were a useful buffer against the real threat to the House of Saud, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He seemed, too, to have overlooked that the tenacious Houthis had embarrassed the Saudis in a border war just a few years previously. That was in 2009, when they seized the Saudi Red Sea port of Jizan and left only after a substantial payment of some $70m (£48m).

Thus far Operation Decisive Storm has proved anything but. The war has dragged on for close to a year, causing infinite misery to the people of Yemen. In intense aerial bombardments, much of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed while the Houthis remain defiantly in control of the capital Sanaa and most of the north. In the south, AQAP has had an open field. Undeterred, MbS has vowed to carry on, determined to bomb the Houthis to the negotiating table.

Every step of the way, Prince Mohammed has been with his father , who took his favoured son with him as he rose in the hierarchy of the House of Saud. Within the Saudi religious and business elite it was well understood that if you wanted to see the father you had to go through the son.

Critics claim he has amassed a vast fortune, but it is power, not money, that drives the prince. When Salman ascended the Saudi throne in January 2015, he was already ailing and relying heavily on his son. Aged 79, the King is reported to be suffering from dementia and able to concentrate for only a few hours in a day. As his father’s gatekeeper, MbS is the real power in the kingdom.

That power was dramatically increased in the first few months of Salman’s rule. Prince Mohammed was appointed Defence Minister; put in charge of Aramco, the national energy company; made the head of a powerful new body, the Council for Economic and Development Affairs with oversight over every ministry; and put in charge of the kingdom’s public investment fund. He was named deputy Crown Prince but ensured ascendancy over his rival Mohammed bin Nayef, the Crown Prince and Interior Minister, by absorbing the latter’s royal court into that of the King’s.

Impatient with bureaucracy, MbS has been quick to make his mark by demanding that ministries define and deliver key performance indicators on a monthly basis, unheard of in a sclerotic economic system defined by patronage, crony capitalism and corruption. His sudden early morning visits to ministries demanding to see the books is rapidly becoming the stuff of legend, startling sleepy Riyadh into action and capturing the admiration of young Saudis. “He is very popular with the youth. He works hard, he has a plan for economic reform and he is open to them. He understands them,” enthused one businessman.

That counts, because 70 per cent of the Saudi population is under 30 and youth unemployment is running high, with some estimates putting it at between 20 and 25 per cent.

The most dangerous man in the world?
Saudi Arabia’s defence minister is aggressive and ambitious â€" and his enemies within and without are in his sights
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Bill Law @billlaw49
19 hours  ago
   
   
When Mohammed bin Salman was just 12 he began sitting in on meetings led by his father Salman, the then governor of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Province. Some 17 years later, at 29 and already the world’s youngest defence minister, he plunged his country into a brutal war in Yemen with no end in sight.

Now the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is jousting dangerously with its regional foe Iran, led by a man seemingly in a big hurry to become the Middle East’s most powerful leader.

Prince Mohammed was still in his early teens when he began trading in shares and property. And when he ran into a scrape or two, his father was able to take care of things. Unlike his older half-brothers, MbS, as he is known, did not go abroad to university, choosing to remain in Riyadh where he attended King Saud University, graduating in law. Associates considered him an earnest young man who neither smoked nor drank and had no interest in partying.

In 2011, his father became deputy Crown Prince and secured the prized Ministry of Defence, with its vast budget and lucrative weapons contracts. MbS, as a private adviser, ran the royal court with a decisive hand after his father was named Crown Prince in 2012.

Because some may find all this hard to believe, I also research skeptical doctors who were convinced by their patients reporting verifiable observations while outside their lifeless bodies. The corroborative evidence of details reported has been chronicled in academic journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet. "Imagine Heaven" explores all these experiences in great detail, so that by the end of the book, you feel like you’ve been there.

Ironically, some Christians have dismissed NDEs as tales of hallucination or the last flicker of a dying brain. However, I believe most of these are divine experiencesâ€"gifts from Godâ€"pointing us to the hope of Heaven as detailed throughout scripture.

This hope is something we can grab hold of today as we review our lives and set goals for the new year--to change the way we view and live our lives, to love other people and make a difference in their lives, as we set our sights on our futures in Heaven.


John Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of "Imagine Heaven" and the founding pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas. To explore more, visit ImagineHeaven.net.

Around the globe, people encounter a brilliant Person of Light, brighter than the sun, yet not difficult to look at in Heaven. People intuitively know he is God and say he exudes an unconditional love unlike anything experienced on earth. He knows their every thought and motive, yet they feel so at home with him, they never want to leave. The biblical writers Daniel, Paul, John, and others also describe this same Person of Light (Daniel 10:4-6, Acts 9:3-5, Revelation 1).

In the presence of God, many people experience a life reviewâ€"a panoramic, three-dimensional re-living of their entire life in an instant. Every thought, motive, and action is laid bare, and they experience the profound way their actions affected others. In the presence of unconditional love, they see all the good and evil, cause and effect, and they realize it is love that matters most to God. This is consistent with the teachings of Moses and Jesus, who say that loving God first and loving people second sums up all the commandments (Matthew 22:36-40).

People report that when they clinically died, they found themselves above their bodies in a new body. They felt more alive than they had ever felt beforeâ€"not only with five senses, but more like 50 senses. They describe the spiritual body outlined in scripture (I Corinthians 15, Philippians 3:20-21).

Additionally, many met loved ones previously deceased, reminding us of the great reunion Jesus promised to his close friends in John 14.

People often describe a place of exquisite beauty, not unlike the earth, with mountains, forests, flowers, and streams, yet alive in new dimensions of time and spaceâ€"illuminated by a light that radiates life and love. Even a few NDErs who were blind from birth also “see” the same exquisite beauty. They describe this same mystical light that doesn’t shine on, but out of, everything, affirming the Bible’s explanation that there is no sun or moon in Heaven, but the glory of God is its light (Revelation 21:23-24).

By Pastor John Burke  Published January 08, 2016 
FoxNews.com


The Bible has always claimed that Heaven is real, and now thousands who have died and returned believe it too.

After researching nearly 1,000 accounts of people who died, were resuscitated, and lived to report a near death experience (NDE) of the afterlife, I wrote my book "Imagine Heaven." In it, I showcase 120 stories that illustrate the commonalities of these accounts, correlating them with an in-depth look at the Bible’s picture of Heaven. What results is an exhilarating, imaginative journey into the life to comeâ€"an encouraging perspective for us all as we enter into a new year.

When I examined the similarities of the actual NDE reports across ages and cultures, they affirm each other and scripture. These are accounts told by surgeons, college professors, commercial airline pilots, bank presidentsâ€"people who have nothing to gain, but credibility to lose. Their experiences align with reports from around the globe, from children, even from blind people who claim to “see” this same awe-inspiring picture of Heaven.

Miyembro sa Lost (Weight) Command...

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
January 7, 2016


The short-term questions about North Korea's alleged nuclear test are important. Has there been a real test? What does this mean for the regime's position? Is Kim Jong Un still trying to consolidate power by pandering to the hardliners of his regime? How will China react?

All of these are important questions. But all of them distract from the fundamental issue anyone must address to discuss North Korea seriously: It's not a question of if North Korea will collapse, but when.

The regime cannot go on indefinitely. It is astonishingly corrupt and criminal. Even if it wanted to, it probably couldn't manage a China-style policy of opening up its economy to raise people's standards of living while maintaining an authoritarian government to prevent societal collapse. The technocratic know-how simply isn't there. And the only thing holding the regime together is absolute fear, and the total brain-washing of the population â€" brainwashing which is slowly dissolving as, inevitably, mobile phones and media, including Bibles, seep into the country.

When it does eventually collapse, it will be a humanitarian disaster on a scale perhaps not seen since World War II. North Korea's people are famished. To say that alcoholism is rampant is an understatement.

Millions of refugees will stream over the borders. On one side, there's China and Russia, who aren't exactly global models of efficiency and humanitarianism. South Korea is a highly-advanced economy â€" indeed, in some areas, more advanced than the U.S. â€" but it's still a small nation ill-prepared to cope with the collapse of its similar-sized neighbor.

Ni JEEPY P. COMPIO


TUNGOD wala gitagad ang anak nga pasyente, usa ka amahan ang way kahadlok nga midunggab sa doktor ug nurse sa Southern Philippines Medical Center gamit ang syringe [injection] alas 2:30 sa hapon niadtong Martes.

Ang biktimang doktor giilang si Donna Jean Pojol Subaldo, doctor clerk sa Emergency Room sa Trauma Surgery Department Station, samtang ang nurse mao si Lea Pauya Elica, Auxiliary Nurse sa ER Section.

Sa inisyal nga imbestigasyon ni Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Abelardo Manubag, imbestigador sa Buhangin Police Section, nasayran nga ang doktor ug nurse okupado sa pag-atiman sa ubang pasyente nga unang miabot sa emergency room.

Giingong miduol sa doktor ug nurse ang suspek nga si Jesus Dayondon Manalo, 41, minyo, laborer, nagpuyo sa Purok 2, Gravahan, Barangay Matina Crossing tungod gusto niining unahon og atiman ang iyang 9-anyos nga anak nga dunay daghang samad ug bun-og sa kalawasan human nabanggaan.

Sa pag-atubang sa amahan nga mihangyo sa doktor ug nurse, giingong wa kini natagad dayon maong nasuko ug mikuha og injection nga iyang nakita sa la mesa sa doktor.

Sa iyang kalagot, kalit niyang giduslak ang syringe nga dunay dako nga dagom sa liog sa doktor ug nurse hinungdan nga nataop ang syringe.

Dali dayong gisikop si Manalo sa mga sekyu sa maong ospital ug gidala ug gipaslak sa prisohan.


Gipatik sa mantalaang Superbalita Davao Enero 07, 2016.

This way, monkeys!

“The eye mask„

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Last reviewed: Tuesday 23 June 2015


Two new studies conclude that low protein intake may hold the key to a long and healthy life, at least until old age. They also emphasize the need to examine not only calories when deciding what constitutes a healthy diet, but also where those calories come from - such as whether protein is animal or plant-based.

Another key finding is the suggestion that while a high-protein diet may in the short term help people lose weight and body fat, in the long term it may harm health and reduce lifespan.

Both studies are published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The first study was led by Valter Longo, a professor at the University of Southern California, who counts longevity and cell biology among his areas of expertise.

He and his colleagues showed that high protein consumption is linked to increased risk of cancer, diabetes and death in middle-aged adults, although this was not the case for older adults who may benefit from moderate protein consumption. Also, the effect is much reduced when the protein comes from plant sources.

The second study was led by Stephen Simpson, a professor at the University of Sydney in Australia, whose group works at the interface of physiology, ecology, and behavior. From studying mice, he and his fellow authors concluded that diets low in protein and high in carbohydrates are linked to the longest lifespans.

Both studies suggest it is not just calories, but also diet composition - particularly in terms of amount and type of protein - that may determine the length and health of a lifespan.


More at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273533.php

And now, adding insult to (love and) injury, a happy bovine photobombing a hapless equine...

Whoa! What is that?

Dog owners ‘fleeced’ in poodle scam


Thousands of people have been ‘fleeced’ into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles.

Entire flocks of lambs were shipped over from the UK and Australia to Japan by an internet company and marketed as the latest ‘must have’ accessory.

But the scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her ‘poodle’ didn’t bark and refused to eat dog food.

Like hundreds of Metro.co.uk readers, we also think this has a whiff of the ‘urban myth’ about it â€" but hey, it’s a good story.

Maiko Kawakami, who starred in the Japanese thriller Violent Cop, showed photographs of her pet on a television talk show only to be told it wasn’t a dog â€" but was in fact a lamb.

The discovery prompted hundreds of women to contact the police with similar problems and the authorities believe as many as 2,000 people have been conned.

‘We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company was selling sheep as poodles,’ a police spokesman told The Sun.

‘Sadly, we think there is more than one company operating in this way.

‘The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas â€" Britain and Australia.’

Poodles are famously used by the rich and glamourous on the continent but are extremely rare in Japan, with many people having little idea what they look like.

The company, which translates as Poodles as Pets, sold the ‘poodles’ for £630, about half the cost of a normal poodle but is now understood to have been shut down. -- http://metro.co.uk/2007/04/26/dog-owners-fleeced-in-poodle-scam-306046/#ixzz3wGAA259r

Mao ba? Luyloy man gud iyang mata, morag gikan gahilak kay gipugos og pakuyog.

Gustav Mahler (7 July 1860 â€" 18 May 1911) was an Austrian late-Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 his compositions were rediscovered and championed by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century. --Wiki

http://www.theguardian.com/
Katie Allen
Friday 1 January 2016


A further slowdown in China’s vast manufacturing sector has intensified worries about the year ahead for the world’s second largest economy.

The latest in a string of downbeat reports from showed that activity at China’s factor has cooled in December for the fifth month running, as overseas demand for Chinese goods continued to fall.

Against the backdrop of a faltering global economy, turmoil in the country’s stock markets and overcapacity in factories, Chinese economic growth has slowed markedly. The country’s central bank expects growth in 2015 to be the slowest for a quarter of a century.

Bwahaha!

Opkors pa jud. Uric will indeed be exorcised by my bumper grapefruit yield.





Alas, poor Uric!

Very funny...

Si Bugsay na, oi.

Dia ko mag-part-time ani nga branch...

Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 â€" 11 December 1964) was a Viennese-born socialite and composer. She became the wife, successively, of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel, as well as the consort of several other prominent men. Musically active from her teens, she was the composer of at least seventeen songs for voice and piano. In later years her salon became part of the artistic scene, first in Vienna, then in Los Angeles. --Wiki

I will follow you...

Pwede baya pud handwashing. Medyo lisod lang...

He he, opkors. Right after napundar ang ahong pineapple plantation sa San Francisco, Camotes.

West Hartford Schools Superintendent Thomas Moore told Yahoo Parenting he intends to reevaluate all school forms for the next batch of incoming parents. “This question has been on our questionnaire for at least 20 years, and thousands of people have filled it out and not noticed it or brought it up. The best I can say is that the question was put on years ago so that we could identify any possible trauma,” Moore says. “But I’ve asked principals and teachers if they’ve referred to it, and they said they didn’t even really know the question was there. So we are going to review all our forms, and questions that don’t seem to help us get to know kids or educate kids will be changed or eliminated.”

Moore says he was glad that Paiuk pointed out the question, as even he â€" as a parent to two students in the district â€" hadn’t particularly noticed it. “Discussions with parents are important to me, and the last thing I want to do is make people feel their first tie-in with our school is in any way intrusive,” he says. “I don’t believe it was anything nefarious when the question was first asked. But did it ever have any real utility? Maybe it did, but it doesn’t now, so there’s no reason to have it anymore.”

Though Paiuk has still not filled out the form, and says she refuses to do so, her son will still be attending kindergarten at Aiken Elementary in the fall. “This isn’t even about my son,” she says. “It’s about mothers and it’s about privacy and it’s about looking at what you’re filling out and thinking about who it’s going to. If you want to fill out these kinds of questions, fine, but think about it.”


Yahoo Parenting has chosen this story, originally published on July 1, as an example of one of our best of 2015.

Paiuk says she wanted to speak out about the question at the April meeting but was hesitant to make a stink before her son had even entered the school. “The teachers were there and they were checking out the parents as much as we were them,” she says.

A few days later, Paiuk, who wrote about the incident in a recent New York Times essay, called the school district and was told by a nurse that if there were any birth traumas â€" like the umbilical cord being wrapped around a child’s neck or an emergency C-section â€" they needed to know. That way, if the child presented with any issues at school, teachers or administrators could refer to the form. “I thought it was BS,” Paiuk says. “Yes, birth trauma can result in developmental delays or disability, but that can happen through vaginal birth or a C-section. And if there are delays or disabilities, shouldn’t that be diagnosed by a doctor, not an administrator? Wouldn’t it be crazy if I thought something was wrong with your child and went back and looked at a form and said ‘Oh, it’s because she had a C-section’?”

Paiuk was directed to the school’s outside medical adviser, who said the form had been used for at least 20 years and that Paiuk’s was the first complaint he’d received. “Let’s say it was added 30 years ago, there weren’t that many C-sections then, so maybe it might have been indicative of a birth trauma,” Paiuk says. “You might have been able to justify the question 30 years ago. But now there’s such a higher rate of C-sections that it’s not immediately indicative of birth trauma or developmental delay. The fact that this has continued for all these years just tells me that people are blindly filling out forms these days.”

While it’s not unusual for schools to require information about incoming students, the questions asked on those admission forms are not universal. Still, Paiuk says she’s heard from mothers in other states who’ve been asked to answer the same question, and have complied.

http://news.yahoo.com/t
By Rachel Bertsche
13 hours ago


The mother of an incoming kindergartner in Connecticut has persuaded officials to revise their school forms after speaking out about a question that she says got too personal. The inquiry: “Type of birth: Vaginal__ Cesarean__.”

Cara Paiuk was at an introductory event for her son’s upcoming kindergarten class at Aiken Elementary School in West Hartford when she and her husband were handed a packet of forms to fill out. As her husband began to answer questions, Paiuk says she noticed one particularly alarming request for information. The question, in a section about “birth history,” asked whether her son was delivered vaginally or via C-section. “I ripped it out of his hands and said, ‘You can’t answer that, it’s none of their business,’” Paiuk tells Yahoo Parenting. “This is kindergarten, and they want to know about my vagina! I don’t understand â€" there’s no correlation between the two for me.”


This school form, which Cara Paiuk refused to fill out, asks all parents of incoming kindergartners about the child’s type of birth. (Photo: Cara Paiuk)