Yemeni girl, 12, dies in painful childbirth

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) — A 12-year-old Yemeni girl, who was forced into marriage, died during a painful childbirth that also killed her baby, a children’s rights group said Monday.

Fawziya Ammodi struggled for three days in labor, before dying of severe bleeding at a hospital on Friday, said the Seyaj Organization for the Protection of Children.

“Although the cause of her death was lack of medical care, the real case was the lack of education in Yemen and the fact that child marriages keep happening,” said Seyaj President Ahmed al-Qureshi.

Born into an impoverished family in Hodeidah, Fawziya was forced to drop out of school and married off to a 24-year-old man last year, al-Qureshi said.

Full Article

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Birmingham mayor presents $10,000 check to 14-year-old employee

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford this morning presented the $10,000 check to 14-year-old Raven Hatcher, the city’s youngest employee.

Hatcher, a freshman at Jefferson County International Baccaulaureate School, last year gave a presentation on improving Ensley Park. Her written plan included suggestions such as updating the playground, adding more seating and bringing more activities to the park, including senior citizen and tutorial programs.

The mayor then asked Hatcher to conduct a study detailing problems and solutions for Ensley Park. Hatcher this morning is presenting her report to the council.

“This young lady has detailed problems at the park,” Langford said. “She has done more than some people we have awarded contracts to.”

Full Article from al.com

She seems like a level headed kid, so I don’t think she’s going to blow it at the mall.

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Bag of Randomness

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  • I think it was around this time of year the Sears Wishbook would be delivered in the mail and I would instantly turn to the toy section.
  • I remember in on Cheers episode that Cliff was complaining about work because it was Sears Wishbook delivery day.  I never thought about things from a mailman’s perspective before.
  • From my earliest memory to the day our family left our house in Mineral Wells, we had the same mailman.  As a kid, he use to give us candy when we checked the mail.  It must be nice to be able to become a part of a community’s life just for doing a job.
  • The copy machine, if you really think about it, is a really amazing device.
  • I was reading an article that touches on what the current perception of the GOP, with all the birthers, tea-baggers, and everything else, but his one part stood out:  One veteran GOP official puts it bluntly: “The image of a bunch of white guys booing an African-American president is about as bad as it gets.“
  • I’m not saying any white Republican president never got booed, but that liar shout-out is going to stick in the minds of many minorities, and with our changing demographics where whites will no longer be the majority, it’s the perception of things that will haunt the GOP.  There’s a lot of good people on the right, it’s the the vocal minority that hurts them.
  • Last comment on the liar shout out since it’s now a week old . . . I wish I knew the story behind this picture.  It’s just so well placed, I don’t know how the photographer was able to grab that moment and knew how to focus on that one particular person out of everyone else in that session.  I’m not saying it was planned, maybe it was a high-resolution picture and was cropped.  I dunno.
  • I’m waiting for the far right to jump over Obama for calling Kayne a jackass.
  • I was told that the electricity bill for the Jerrytron costs $600 an hour.
  • I was also told that when the roof is opened, the glass doors at the ends have to be opened at the same time otherwise they will crack because of air pressure.
  • I bet shoelaces carry a lot of germs.
  • Taylor Swift says she sings country music.  If that’s country music coming out of her mouth, then I’m Merle Haggard.
  • “How I Learned to Accept ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance and Stop Losing Elections”
  • The mafia sinks a ship with nuclear waste?
  • It’s been interesting listening to people comment about the Michael Jordon Basketball Hall of Fame speech.
  • One of my coworkers used her flight privileges to fly to Chicago to attend the U2 concert.  She gave me very positive reviews.
  • The other day I was at Target in the mens section and noticed someone returned a package of underwear.  It was discounted of course, but that’s one item I didn’t think a store would accept a return on.  I’ll tell you what, I wouldn’t buy returned underwear.
  • I went out to lunch with CoWorkerBrian at Fernando’s yesterday in Dallas.  He ordered a Dr Pepper, but it didn’t taste right, so he asked the waiter for a Sprite.  The waiter looked at his drink, and then actually took a drink out of the glass, made a face as if it didn’t taste right, smiled, and walked away to get the Sprite.  That whole time CoWorkerBrian kept an eye on the waiter to make sure he got a new glass.
  • Patrick Swayze was referenced in hip-hop more than I thought.
  • Another fun Google tool – Google Fast Flip – What people are reading now.
  • “All you have to do is follow three simple rules.  One, never underestimate your opponent.  Two, take it outside.  And three, be nice.”  Dalton, Roadhouse.
  • Grace
Posted in Personal | 3 Comments