Baby Herbal Soup in China: Truth or Fallacy?

BABY HERBAL SOUP in China?! I don’t know how to react on this kind of horrifying news. I asked my cousin who, for the last month, tried to send me the forwarded message attached with pictures from her Yahoo email account. I tried researching for the authenticity of the information and I’d found supporting facts about this so-called exotic food in China. You'll have to find out if this true or not...a HOAX, in other words.

My exact sentiment about this information is horrible. How on Earth should the government of China allowed this kind of treatment to human fetuses? I can’t even eat my vegetable soup whenever I remember the vivid photos of the procedure of cooking such kind of soup dish documented by local reporter-photographer in one of the town of Canton (pronounced Guangdong), a Chinese place famous for its noodles.

The shocking news circulated in China as early as year 2008.

Baby Herbal Soup

The reasons behind the making of the so-called baby herbal soup is health and sexual stamina. It is an unusual delicacy that is steamed/boiled with chicken meat and mixed with expensive herbs for at least eight hours. It costs about 4,000.00 dollars (or more than a hundred thousand yuan, currency in China. So, only the wealthy or the rich could afford this kind of delicacy.


The Revelation of a Factory Manager

When asked by a reporter, a local factory manager who was already 62 years back then testified that he is a regular customer of the baby herbal soup. He remarried again to a 19-year old woman (now 20) and the soup made his libido or sex prowess alive.

He took the reporter to the restaurant when he was informed by the manager that the “spare rib soup”, code name for baby soup was already available.


The Horrible Reality in China

The one child policy of China brought danger and fears to families who wanted more babies.

One case was stated that there was a couple who had already two daughters and the woman became pregnant again. She had no choice but to abort the third baby which according to the ultrasound was also a girl.`

There are costs or prices for babies according to certain situations. If the baby dies a natural death, the buyer will pay for 6000 yuan. Those aborted ones cost a few hundred yuan. If a couple don’t want to sell their dead baby, the placenta will be a good alternative and be bought for two hundred yuan. (I thought, placenta is also an ingredient for a special soap used by women.)

Reporter's Comment

The reporter who covered this shocking event commented that the concern of Chinese government on health and one child policy backfired on them. The policy emphasizes on having male babies that forced families with female babies to sell them or leave them in an orphanage.

Lost in translation

I cannot read Chinese, much more write it. I understand a few words like Ni hao ma (How are you?) or thank you (shezhen). I don’t know; I’m really bothered by the article made by the local newspaper in Canton.

What happened or existing in that town is really sickening. At least, you already have an idea about what is happening in China nowadays. Exotic or fancy food? I’ll better stick to vegetables and familiar dishes that I know.

Valuable links

I was not the only one who featured this kind of hoax, a revelation that can put a nation to shame because an email scam continues to circulate in many parts of the world everyday.

• http://ethicalmartini.wordpress.com/ Ethical Martini, the name of the blog site featured the title 'Baby Herbal Soup' last June 3, 2008 and updated it last February 4, 2009. Urban legend meets email scam to the fullest!!!
• http://threatinfo.trendmicro.com/ Ba Kut Teh: The China Way of Cooking Hoax also denounces the email scam.
• http://www.charonboat.com/ The site features pictures of gruesome origins, like killings or execution, humiliating the dead ones, suicide, et cetera, including the pictures of the so-called Baby Herbal Soup.

There are about 22, 700 searches regarding the topic: Baby Herbal Soup in China. It was even featured in many television shows and forums, as well, like in Singapore, the rest of Asia, US, Europe and other parts of world. The news was really sensational, that until now, it created too much stirs and fright to those who have seen the pictures.

When a documentary about Zhu Yu and other "transgressive"Chinese artists in the UK way back 2003 was aired on television, people complained in a terribly upset tones.

A channel 4 spokesman still aired the interview with Zhu Yu and his colleagues, although the public reacted negatively about it.

Zhu Yu was heard quoting: "No religion forbids cannibalism."

"Nor can't I find any laws that prevent us from eating people. I took advantage of the space between morality and the law and based my work on it."

Mr. Yu claims to be a Christian and further said that religion plays a major role in his work.

So there. Are there any proof that this hub is true?

Maguindanao link

http://hubpages.com/hub/Tragedy-in-Philippine-Media-cries-for-Justice

I kept on asking myself about the atrocities that are happening in many parts of the world, especially human rights violations. Babies have the right to live. Journalists killed in Maguindanao, Mindanao, Philippines have the right for freedom of expression. Oppressing our basic needs is inhumane.

This is not a hoax anymore.

Picking up the pieces

As if in a song, I've tried composing myself to try to call you. I don't got the nerve to do it. Maybe, I'm paranoid, but your face kept on haunting me, every night, every day. The meaning of the love songs played on the radio didn't seem to affect me anymore. I'm feeling numb, inside and out. The numbness of being alone, without anyone to talk to.
I've tried drowning myself to sleep for the past two months. The hurting feeling was replaced by hallucinations at night because of the booze. I didn't do drugs. The wine and hard liquors I had drank during the dark, cold nights are my friends now. They are my escape to reality; a reality that has no meaning. The emptiness inside of me seemed unfathomable. Whenever I sleep, I felt like dropping, like a weightless feather in an endless black hole. I tried screaming but I cannot hear my voice, my shout. The voiceless shout I uttered will drove me to wake up groggily.
And yet, the house is still empty.
Our relationship is like that of other couples. We started as friends, then went to an intimate stage. We prayed it will last forever, but forever is not a reality. It became a nightmare for both of us. Unguarded moments made us utter harsh remarks. As emotional as you are, you cannot stand my silence. I didn't want to confront you verbally. I want you to think what you've said, what you've done. I believe that in silence, there is more understanding about the things we've done.
Our friends intervened. They didn't know the truth about our separation but, they kept on meddling in our affairs. I cannot stand all the nagging and questioning. They should respect our opinion, yours and mine but they continue.
Ah. woman, I cannot understand you. You get the community involved. What more can I do but to escape and live in solitude. I don't want to hear shouting and harsh words. It will only make the wounds painful.
Even if we become friends again,it will never be the same just like before. There will always be a gap between us. A wall of silence, that is. A barrier that will lead me to another road of uncertainty. Facing the uncertain future will be hard and bumpy because you're not with me.
The plans we made will be erased in my mind. I will have to make a new resolution for a new beginning, just like you'll do. It will be difficult at first but we'll persevere. Everytime we fall, there are always a chance to rise up again.
We'll be in our own separate ways. Although, the love we had was bittersweet; it will be my stepping stone to look for that elusive true love. I know, in my heart, you'll do it, too. To forget me and to save the best for last love that will come to both of us.
The crying, the bitterness...empty room, empty hearts...really our love was not meant to be.

Look and feel good every day

Non-Invasive Beauty Procedures in 2010


It’s there already. Women who are beauty-conscious may already knew these non-invasive beauty procedures (NIBP) for a year or two. For men who are ageing like me, and adding weight and fats in my tummy or stomach, arms or whole body, these can be helpful to at least rejuvenate ourselves this year. It will not require cutting your body parts through surgery or sewing it again just to loose weight and beautify ourselves. It can only be a one-month session or weeks or days only. Mind you, these are the things we should do this year if all hubbers want to look and feel beautiful and handsome inside and out, whatever age bracket we belong. NIBP is both a beauty and weight loose regimen without undergoing our body parts in the doctor’s scalpel.

Diet Injection

Obese patients are the priority and best candidates of this weight loose program. Diet injection is a 30-day treatment involving a 21-injection package. The procedure is on a daily basis with only a day of rest a week. The injection content is called HCG (human chorionic ghonadotropin) that is present in female body during pregnancy period. HCG mobilizes our body fats and converts it into energy source.

When I watched one health television show last Sunday (January 17, 2010) with Dra. Vicky Belo, MD, Cosmetic Surgeon and Beauty Expert as the interviewee, she said that maintenance medication is a no-no during diet injection. It only requires 500-calorie daily diet, no cheating by taking diet pills that can suppress one’s appetite. Daily exercise is also a plus during the session.

Diet injection is best for fats that are inside our body parts, like liver and abdomen, not just in our skin or body flesh. It doesn’t require liposuction or fat removal through this kind of surgical procedure. It is just about diet discipline.

You can loose one pound of weight per day. It takes three days to get out with the effects of HCG. There’s no residual effects like nausea and feeling hungry during the procedure.

Ultrasonic procedures

This refers to the weight loose procedures involving high-frequency sounds. Fat reduction and body contouring are the main purposes of the regimen. Unlike, liposuction and tummy tuck, it doesn’t require sedation of the patient or customer.

Nova Shape - A special ultrasonic instrument will be used by introducing ultrasound frequency or ultrasonic energy into the fatty parts of our body like the belly part of our stomach, hips, thighs and arms. Fats are being broken to small particles due to the induced frequency and excrete it through perspiration, urine and bowel movement. Some patients or customer will tell their doctors that they are having fatty excretes or feces.

Tenor - It involves uni-polar and bipolar radio frequency technology. A 6-8 sessions, once a week will be enough to perm your body flesh for a year. If your face looks young because of this heat and wave procedure, you must also include perming the skin of your body. Fats will be melted by the heat being emitted by the machine and radio waves that will remove it from your body.

Apollo (Multipolar) - It’s a combination of both (Nova Shape and Tenor). Skin tightening treatment and rejuvenation altogether are the best results you will see after undergoing the treatment.

Thermage CPT - This is the best treatment after liposuction. Six perm classes will be required for the patient to undergo. Same procedures will be conducted just like the first 3 mentioned weight loose procedures. Most importantly, it requires no sedation at all.

These non-invasive beauty procedures (NIBP) requires a huge budget for your healthy lifestyle. If you don’t have enough money to go to your favorite beauty center, daily exercise with proper diet will do.

Eighteen years of being a victim of witchcraft

This is a grim situation my brother is fighting nowadays. It began eighteen years ago by trusting other people whom he befriended in the city of Manila here in the Philippines. Fernando, my brother is a victim of barang, a Filipino kind of witchcraft which is rampant in the country. It is derived from the western occultism and dark art of witchcraft that cause too many havocs in so many innocent lives.


My brother finished his college in the early 90s as a mechanic. Eventually, after graduation he was hired by a big multi-national company owned by a well-known personality in the country as a chief mechanic. His role ranged from supervising his people and assembling heavy trucks used for commercial purposes.

Being new in Manila brought him to a boarding house in one of the main cities of the metropolis. The family, composed of the couple, son and daughter, parents in law, lured my brother to live with them without knowing their ulterior motive to enslave him to a kind of witchcraft called barang.

At first, they treated my brother as their eldest son. In return, he gave them all the gratitude he could offer even his weekly wages to support his newfound family in the city. He even brought his landlady to our home in the province. I was irked and disgusted because rumors spread the she is my brother’s woman. She is old enough to be his mother. I asked his landlady why he accompanied my brother when in fact she is a married woman.

The frank words that I uttered to the woman triggered her to abuse the kindness of my brother. My family and I didn’t know that she knows how to use barang or witchcraft.

A year later, we heard the news about the freak accident that my brother encountered while repairing a television set at the woman’s house. It’s raining outside when he adjusted the antennae at the rooftop of the house. The woman’s son was watching my brother when he accidentally grab the main line of electricity. The kid ran for help while he fought for life by resisting the effects of the 3,000 volts of electricity that left him with wounded right hand. His pulse exploded and also his tummy and the back of his upper legs. My mother was very angry at that time. She immediately went to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) while my father was left in the province to tend the farm. The woman claimed that my mother didn’t spent a single cent for the expenses of my brother opposite to the truth that my mother exhausted our resources for the hospital bills. She didn’t even said sorry for what happened to my brother. Even his husband didn’t clear and explained what happened to my brother at their house.

In 1998, when my father was hospitalized at the PGH for lung cancer, the couple who was summoned by my elder sister visited the death bed off my father. They said that they’re not collecting the earnings of my brother whom we thought that he’s in some kind of limbo because he didn’t show any sad emotion like crying when my father died.

A year later, I graduated from culinary school. I was ready to go to Manila for a further training at the seaman’s center and complete my requirements to work overseas on board a merchant vessel. I borrowed P10,000.00 (ten thousand pesos) from my brother. Later, I learnt that it was borrowed by the older woman from a loan shark which she later claimed that it was her own money contrary to the truth that it was my brother’s earnings.

The dark side of barang

This kind of witchcraft is killing my brother slowly. He is experiencing memory lapses and the only thing that he wanted to do everyday is his job as chief mechanic. He don’t even have a clear account of the death of my father in 1998. He don’t even remember that he wore a pair of eyeglasses when he attended the burial. He looked like a 50-year old man when he escaped from the room that his landlady-witch used for her dark and deadly schemes.

Just recently, he quarreled with the old woman when he realized that he acquired bruises and insect bites without actually knowing its cause. He said he see the woman praying whenever he’s awake at night. With all the candles, surrounding his picture and a voodoo doll full of insects (ants, usually) and cement on its head, and small plastic basin full of water, he ignored the eerie environment because someone is always whispering in his ears just to concentrate on his work. He also retold the incident that the old woman gave her a cat as pet. The unusual thing about the cat was it was chained by the woman. The woman said he should take care of it that he did.

Luckily, another woman became his ‘guardian angel’. Not far from his work, he met Melda while he was walking going to his work. Their eyes met and the thing that caught her attention was my brother’s way of dressing (closed-neck flannel long sleeve shirts and a bull cap. Melda own a store which my brother frequently visit. She noticed unusual markings on my brothers arms and face. She told him that he should wear appropriate clothes for the tropical climate of our country. She was horrified of what he saw in my brother’s arms. Aside from insect bites on his arms, she saw bites all over his body. My brother said it didn’t itch a bit, so she didn’t have to worry.

When the old woman knew that he was befriending another woman, she got angry and nearly cut my brother’s right finger. She took care of my brother for nearly a year until the woman discovered. My brother said that he never use the old woman, sexually. Although, he had memory lapses, he claimed that the only thing clear to him is his work.

When my brother decided to seek my sister’s help the first day of the new year, the old woman insisted to accompany him. But my brother declined instead he ask the help of Melda to accompany him to my sister’s house. There, my sister sought the help of our cousin who knows how to oppose the effects of the witchcraft.

The next events when retold  by my brother seemed bizarre to me. The pieces of hardened cement on his head, the white sticky sap of jackfruit on his left arm and many insects (ants, etc.) form his right arm awakened me to the reality that evil deeds are spreading in the world right now!

Aftermath of the curse

My sister immediately sought the help of the local officials at my brother’s place. With the help of Melda, they asked bystanders the whereabouts of the boarding house. The barangay tanod or local guards led them to the abode of the old woman. The door was slightly open when they call the woman. My sister was aghast when they found out in action what the woman was doing. She’s into an actual ritual of barang with all the candles around the picture of my brother! She didn’t recognize my sister but when she saw Melda, the old woman went berserk shouting at the top of her voice that it was Melda’s fault why my brother left her.

At present, my brother’s belongings: clothes, appliances and mechanic’s tools were brought to the barangay hall for clearance. The lupons or elder local judges of the barangay heard the complaints of my sister against the older woman who used to be my brother’s landlady. I said to them to file for theft because the woman didn’t want to return my brother’s ATM (automated teller machine) card. All my brother’s earnings went to the woman and her family. Even, we cannot accuse her and put her to jail because of witchcraft, at least the case for theft or robbery can put her inside the cell.

Furthermore, the old woman was ranting my name because she claimed that she helped me with my training before going overseas which was a blatant lie. How can she have money without having a job? The worst of it, I also experienced the bizarre consequences that my brother felt. When he came home three days after the new year here in he province, we went to the beach for two days to soak our bodies in the seawater. But you will not believe what I’ve found when I felt an itchiness on the left side of my neck: it’s an ant!. There’s no ant crawling on the beach. Where did it came from?

Fighting the ‘barang’

Although, I am skeptic at first, we can fight evil people around us. I we read the Holy Bible, there are many passages in the Books of Old and New Testaments warning us against the minions of the Devil or Satan. Our belief for the Creator of God Almighty should be strengthened, because materialism is apparent nowadays. Most of us are lured into the worldly gains that we often forget that these blessings comes from the Lord.

These evil people can never destroy our physical and spiritual bodies if we surrender ourselves to God. I admit that I was blinded by the material world. I we are strong in our belief to the Creator, evil deeds will never defeat us.

An Inconvenient Truth

I can aptly describe it as a very dirturbing, alarming and shocking truth.

The footages on the videomentary (documentary video) by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore were really the truth about what is really happening in the entire world regarding climate change and global warming.

I've experienced the fury of Hurricane Katrina way back August 28, 2005. I was onboard a commercial vessel, M/V Parthenon of Tsakos Shipping and Trading, S.A. The ship of twenty five crew plus one passenger (the wife of Greek second engineer) were exposed to the pummeling of the Carribean Sea brought about by Katrina's very strong sustained winds. We cannot eat and we already donned our lifejackets in case the ship gave way to the deadly hurricane (category 5). The effects of Katrina was very strong even were already far at a distance of two hundred nautical miles.

Industrial progress around the world have setbacks and one of that is the climate change and its effects:global warming.

As a seafarer, I've seen the effects of too much oil mining and refining in every industrialized country we engaged into, loading and discharging crude oil cargo. Pollution, diseases...you name it and the biggest one global warming.

Alternative energies are already here on earth since time in memoriam. The power of the water, air, and the sun are much better than continue utilizing the blood of the earth, and that is oil. It is more convenient and pollution-free if the government of every country in the world will fully harness its potentials.

 

Hurricane Katrina, August 28, 2005

Again, it will be a better place to live again if government officials, businessmen and capitalists heard our protests and adhere with what the bloggers are doing for this cause.

Chaos at OWWA

I applied for a calamity loan at the OWWA main office in Pasay City, Manila, Philippines last October 9, 2009.

The groundfloor of the office building were crowded with the relatives, husbands, wives or the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) themselves, whether seabased or landbased. It is still happening as of this writing since the aftermath of tropical storm Ondoy (September 26, 2009).

The commotion made by these needy people, including me, were really disturbing since day one of the loan application.

The guards infront of the main lobby of OWWA office will send you to the helpdesks. The frontliners at the helpdesk with the uniformed guards are busy giving an index-like recycled papers so that the applicants will fill in the necessary information needed for the processing of the OWWA contribution verification papers of the overseas workers related to the claimants.

The glitch is that the verification information will still be coming directly from POEA office then be transferred to the online printer in the OWWA processing center.

When the media personnel, particulary in television,came last week you can see the proper processing of  the loan. But when the members of the media left come afternoon, the processing became unruly again.

Recently, the claimants of the calamity loan checks are still arguing because those who applied this week were receiving their checks. Those who applied earlier, two weeks ago were already left behind.

The processing of application per day is being limited to two hundred applicants.

Until now, victims of Ondoy are berating the services given by OWWA personnel because of the unfair practice of loan check releasing.

There was a seaman who told my sister (a wife of my brother-in-law who's working overseas, too) that he still following up his application since October 5th this year but his check is nowhere to be seen.

OWWA personnel told the loan applicants to call the office hotline but when you call for a follow-up, seldom you hear a reply from them.

You really have to go there to see what's happening. There is something wrong with the processing of the applicants and releasing of loan checks. Paging Madam Carmelita Dimzon, the present administrator of OWWA. Ma'am, I think there is something fishy going on regarding this matter.

It's our contribution. We should benefit from it if we need it badly.

Claiming my prize

I've been notified a week ago by my co-Filipino crew from my former shipping principal, Tsakos Shipping & Trading, S.A. under the management of Wallem Philippines that I've won the major prizes of the 2008 Postermaking Contest sponsored by the said Greek company.

We both work at the said shipping company. I work since 2001 until 2008 when an intgrigue forced our crewing manager to transfer me in Viken fleet, also a principal of Wallem.

I don't have any regret because I am more at home with the Filipino crew in my present principal. Other benefits were added including our union's contribution in AMOSUP (Filipino Seafarer's Union) and additional life insurance if ever we encounter an accident.

Now, going back to my issue, my friend said I should claim my monetary prizes because all my winning entries are being posted to all the commercial vessels owned and managed by TST.

It's not very surprising that I've known it already because even I was ousted from the company, I've already got the news about it.

I've already contacted the crewing manager of Tsakos here in the Philippines through text messages but he is still not sending a response. Maybe he's so busy as of this writing.

By the way, the major topic of the contest is about protecting the marine environment. The contest covered the month of January until February last year.

Is it still worthy if I still claim the prize I should have received last year?