Madeline runs the half-marathon for UNICEF’s Syrian refugee crisis appeal

Madeline

Sponsor Madeline who is running the Cheltenham Circular Challenge for UNICEF UK because 650,000 misplaced Syrian children need our help.

Madeline’s story

Visit the Just Giving page

The continued violence in Syria is taking an extreme toll on children and their families. Many schools have closed while health centres have either become too dangerous for families to reach, or been closed down by the Assad government.

SEED; Support and Education for Eating Disorders

The video highlights a charity catwalk show in which I modelled and helped organise last year, for a local eating disorder charity. The event was designed to raise awareness of the diversity of those that suffer from eating disorders. The underlying message was to love the shape you are. This show is an annual event and is held at The University of Central Lancashire by Shelly Perry who is the Director and Founder of SEED. I would highly recommend the service for anyone who feels they might benfit from it for it’s professional and compassionate approach to treatment.

Eating disorders (ED’s) are characterised by a pronounced disturbance in eating behaviour and the negative self-attributions (with regards to image) that promote such a disturbance. Often ED’s manifest in people who believe they are overweight when actually they are not. The everyday activities of ED symptomatics can be negatively affected by their condition such as struggling in their professional and personal lives due to the intrusive nature of thoughts related to the condition. ED’s can have numerous causes, including issues of family attachment, self-esteem and negative life events to name only a few.

Classified ED’s include: Anorexia Nervosa (AN; disorder with calorie restriction, binge eating or purging in order to remain at a below optimum weight), Bulimia Nervosa (BN; calorie purging and non-purging, with a lack of control over eating to maintain a below optimal weight) which are more prevalent in but not limited to women and Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS; where criteria in the previous descriptions are not met entirely but there is enough evidence to indicate the presence of a disorder) (DSM-IV, 2000).

The criteria for ED’s are not rigid with regards to some disorders, as indicated by the presence of EDNOS, and there are also other disorders that can be seen as co-morbid with ED’s such as: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, executive dysfunction and more. Further conditions involving eating disturbances include: Muscle Dysmorphia (MD, bigorexia, reverse anorexia, the adonis complex), which is a subtype of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, in which sufferers seek to increase they’re weight (specifically they’re lean muscle mass) due to the perception that they are small despite well developed musculature in many cases. Eating disturbances in MD, however, need not be a core component of the disorder in some cases. MD is found most frequently in males but is not restricted to males only.

If you feel you identify with anything in my post, please feel free to contact any of the organisations listed below. If you are concerned about a family member with regards to ED’s please contact the relevant organisations or your GP for support and advice as to how to approach the subject with your loved ones.

Related links

SEED Support and Education for Eating Disorders

Men get eating disorders too

Obese, Skinny or Perfect; Some things you might not know about Genetics and Obesity

Research into Cognitive function in males and females with symptoms of muscle dysmophia

Male body image article

Serial killer elephants; psychology and the animal

An elephant I photographed in Kenya 2008

A documentary on channel 5 highlights problems including abnormal behavioural psychology in male Bull elephants in India. The elephant, normally docile and grand appearing to slowly lumber around impressive in it’s sheer presence, I remember seeing them when I worked in Kenya. Elephants can apparently become less of a grand, gentle herbivore of the plains and more of a serial killer at the mercy of their own psychology. Researchers in an Indian reserve came across multiple corpses of male and female elephants and after finding that there was no disease present, no poaching or any other cause of death concluded that other Bull elephants had murdered them.

The behaviour of these elephants seems to have been due to a number of factors. Initially it was assumed that sexual frustration (one was observed masturbating) was driving the elephants to kill their prospective partners until a male was found dead. They continued to suspect this, however,  knowing that males can and do kill each other (although rarely) due to testosterone levels that can be up to 60 times greater in an elephant in musk (mating season). They also reviewed evidence from a historical case where elephants in musk killed their females and also attempted to rape Rhinos before killing them.

We want equality, but a little more than you!

Cases of the Religious communities feeling as if they’re the victims of prejudice abound in the western world. You know, the 5 billion or so believers that constitute the majority of the world’s population yet constantly act like a down trodden minority when challenged on anything. Is it any wonder when people try to cling to their antiquated opinions in an increasingly enlightened (allow for geography here) world, expecting not to be challenged that they feel persecuted when they are? Current cases just show that these beliefs held for Millenia aren’t compatible with an evolving psychology and adaptive understanding of what constitutes a Human Right.

Bangladesh arrests atheist bloggers

 Credit; Euronews

For those concerned with recent events in Bangladesh with regards to the suppression of free expression and prosecution of atheist bloggers. Below is a letter I have sent to the High Commission of Bangladesh in order to help raise awareness of these events and others across the world. These individuals need our help to protect their freedom of expression and right not to believe. If you feel moved by or feel that such a struggle represents your views I implore you to take action in any way available to you such as sending a letter to their ambassadors or joining a local protest. The International Humanist and Ethical Union can provide resources for such a letter writing campaign. It is only through our action that the values of a free democratic secular society can be protected.

In a galaxy far, far away, there was an offended Lego minority…..

Credit; Lego franchise

“Austria’s Turkish community claimed a victory in its fight against Danish toy giant Lego yesterday after the firm agreed to withdraw a Star Wars toy set featuring a mosque-like building inhabited by an obese, hookah–smoking alien, following complaints that it was anti-Muslim” – The independent.

Suppose they should be taking action against the entire Star Wars franchise too? It’s ludicrous. This is what you get when countries and people endulge the nonsense and buckle to pressure from the hyper-sensitive community on anything but it’s especially dangerous when applied to Islam. Salman Rushdie, the Danish Cartoons, Sam Bacile’s movie, all resulted in this hyper offence taking over nothing more than art, total drivel in the case of Bacile’s film though. The results being an offer of money, in public to murder Rushdie, and actual murders in the cases of the cartoons and the film as well as acts of social and political intimidation.

Feminist or pacifist; violence against women and responsibility

Sharia Law and middle Class Feminism

Disclaimer; Graphic content from the outset

This article on feminism by Anne Marie Waters highlights the conflicting opinions that some people have when they pursue a just cause, in this case women’s rights. It is an all too familiar position for some and is definitely apparent when talking to the crowd that want to be seen to represent the cause but don’t. Anne states that “A feminist stands up for women because they are women, not because they are white, middle class, English speaking, Christian, atheist, Jew or Muslim – but because they are women. A feminist opposes all violence against women because they are women. Feminists oppose the rape of women, because they are women. Feminists oppose these all the time and for all women.” It is hard to see anything to argue with here, it’s direct to the point and encapsulates the essence of the movement and rightfully so, at least until cultural values come into it.

It happens many times, human rights abuse is marginalised, excused and ignored for fear of offending a cultural value and being branded intolerant. Perhaps it is reasonable to be intolerant of the intolerant when they perpetrate abuse though? The moment culture or religion comes into a debate on women’s rights (perhaps human rights is better), or any human abuse, the focus undergoes a paradigm shift that is easy to see even before the hypocrite howls. It becomes the fault of men (half of the human race) as many naive feminists will tell you but never the fault of the belief system or the opinions and ideas that go hand in hand with it. The conversation then mutates and becomes a competition of who can appear to be the most convivial and accepting of other cultures moral absolutism.

An evening with Dinesh Singh - "Belief in Science and Belief in God: One Scientist's Response to the "New Atheism" Challenge from a Bahá'i Faith Perspective

Reblogged from Benjamin Collingwood:

It has been a while since Glen (@CarriganGlen) and I attended Dr. Singh's lecture organised by the Preston Faith Forum. The UCLan lecture room was speckled with people. As we entered we were greeted warmly by the organisers. Some of the Bahá'i Faith, (which I will come too later) others of the multi-faith forum based here in Preston. I was apprehensive, as I always am at such events, as the saccharin sweetness of the religious seems to signal some impending offer of spiritual salvation from my sad, soulless, existence.

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An evening with Dinesh Singh – “Belief in Science and Belief in God: One Scientist’s Response to the “New Atheism” Challenge from a Bahá’i Faith Perspective.

On the Bus off the bus; Christian anti-gay banners cause offence

Credit; Jon Worth, BHA, PA

Last night I attended the Law Ball at the University of Central Lancashire which was a respectable and interesting affair. One guest speaker announced that Lawyers need to have a moral compass when practicing which elicited a slight giggle from those lawyers and aspiring legal professionals in the audience due to the irony of the comment.

Today Mrs Justice Lang defended Boris Johnson’s ban on anti-gay banners  ruling that Dr Mike Davidson’s anti-homosexuality adverts reading “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!” for display on London buses “cause grave offence” to those who were gay and was perceived as homophobic. This could “increasing the risk of prejudice and homophobic attacks”. 

Take a seat: UCL Islamic V Atheist debate

Reblogged from Homo economicus' Weblog:

You may have already heard about this, especially if following on Twitter (which 1/5 of you dear readers do). The debate 9 March at University College London (UCL), which Professor Lawrence Krauss took part in on the atheist side, was organised by the Islamic and Education Research Academy (iERA) which provided for segregated seating by gender and mixed seating.

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