The boy who sees without eyes

14-year-old Ben Underwood can deliver a dead-on shot; in foosball, he's a determined competitor; when a video game is going, his fingers fly. And when he is on his skates, he's fearless. For most teenagers, it's nothing remarkable. But Ben is blind.
, Ben uses sound to find his way around. To walk down the street with Ben is to be amazed at what he can see with his "ears."

Ben makes clicking sounds and while walking down a sidewalk can even determine the difference between a fire hydrant and a trash can.

Ben was just 2 years old when cancer claimed his eyes. Both were surgically removed. It was a day of heartbreak for his mother, Aquanetta Gordon.

"And he woke up from that surgery and Ben said, 'Mom, I can't see any more, I can't see any more,'" she recalls. "And I said 'You can't use your eyes but you've got your nose, and your ears and your mouth.'"

From that day on, Ben has used his hearing, his sense of touch, his sense of smell to conquer a world of darkness. And he is good: while going for a walk with Blackstone, Ben deftly stepped around a fallen trash can on the sidewalk.

Somehow, Ben has mastered echolocation. It's the same way dolphins get around, bouncing sound waves to figure out where they are.

On a trip to Sea World a few weeks ago, Ben found that he and the dolphins shared an amazing talent.

Out of the water, it becomes easy to forget that Ben is blind, as Blackstone found out when he was beaten 5-2 in a friendly match of foosball.

Playing video games with his brother Isaiah, in the assault of noise, Ben can figure out everything that's happening just by listening.

How does he manage to compete? "Because they got different voices," Ben explains.

"Nobody is going to tell him that there is an impossibility for him. 'Cause there are none," says his mom.

"This mom ought to be teaching a course on how do you raise a kid who can't see well," says Kaiser-Permanente ophthalmologist Dr. James Ruben.

He says Aquanetta has done exactly the right thing with Ben: never being overprotective and never putting limits on him. "You know, I think the real story here is not, is not his talents, but his attitude. And attitude is what it's really about."

Aquanetta agrees. "We have to give our kids confidence. We give them pride. Empower him with who he is, and be proud of who you are, no matter what!" she says.

"'There's nothing you can't do..." she adds. "And that's the attitude, you know what I'm saying? That's what I want to give him."

Watching him in action, it seems clear that Ben really can do anything

Revolution at the dinner table, no more dog or cat meat on the menu

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2011/07/20117129224537494.html
Revolution at the dinner table, no more dog or cat meat on the menu
A member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposes new legislation to ban eating dog and cat meat. In southern China, such animals are considered a culinary delicacy. Even North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il once ordered takeaway dog meat. Each year, some ten million animals end up as food for human consumption.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – For the first time in Chinese history, a animal rights proposal has been made, which would ban selling, cooking and eating dogs and cats. If adopted, it would make such commerce a criminal offence carrying a maximum 5,000 yuan (US$ 730) fine and 15 days detention.
The proposal’s main advocate is Chang Jiwen, a social law researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He has spearheaded animal welfare legislation for the past 11 years. His 181-clause proposal was presented last September for public consultation.
In an interview with The Mirror, Chang said that over the last four months, he has received a great deal of support, but some people are still unwilling to grasp the concept of animal welfare
He therefore decided to focus on pushing for legislation on torture first, and hoped to be able to pass the draft to the relevant government department for consideration in April.
In recent years, animal welfare has attracted growing attention in mainland China. For instance, the government’s decision to cull stray dogs across the country as a means to combat rabies drew fire from critics. In response, the authorities cited in their defence China’s ancestral traditions and culinary practices. But many others still remember the SARS outbreak caused by eating Masked Palm Civet meat.
"Banning consumption of dogs and cats should not have much impact. Given the improvement in our standard of living, the number of people eating dogs and cats is minimal," Chang said.
Still in southern China, dogs and cats remain a culinary delicacy. Ten million dogs and four million cats are sold as food for human consumption every year.
In Guangzhou, capital of the rich southern province of Guangdong, staff at one of the restaurants known for serving such meats remember North Korean leader Kim Jong-il ordering takeaway dog meat

learn English from song : celine dion the power of the dream

Deep within each heart
There lies a magic spark
That lights the fire of our imagination
And since the dawn of man
The strenght of just "I can"
Has brought together people of all nations

There’s nothing ordinary
In the living of each day
There’s a special part
Every one of us will play

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
As the world gives us its best
To stand apart from all the rest
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

Your mind will take you far
The rest is just pure heart
You’ll find your fate is all your own creation
Every boy and girl
As they come into this world
They bring the gift of hope and inspiration

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

There’s so much strength in all of us
Every woman child and man
It’s the moment that you think you can’t
You’ll discover that you can

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here

The power of the dream
The faith in things unseen
The courage to embrace your fear
No matter where you are
To reach for your own star
To realize the power of the dream