Rachel Chia - Asleep at the wheelchair: Australian man charged with drunk rolling

In Brisbane, Australia - A man found asleep in a motorized wheelchair on a highway has been charged with drunk driving.

Officers noticed the man slumped in the stationary chair about 10A.M Friday on an exit lane near the tourist city of Cairns. Regional traffic Inspector Bob Waters said that cars were swerving to get around him.

The officers tested the breath of the 64-year-old man, who registed a blood alcohol reading of 0.301 - more than six times the legal driving limit. Hence, he was charged with operating a vehicle while drunk and ordered to report to court on July 7.

Although typical vehicles associated with drink driving are cars, trucks and motorbikes, there are also other classes of vehicles subjected to drink-driving laws. These include horses, bicycles and motorized vehicles.


Personal Views:

Although a tad silly, the man ought to have realised the severity of his actions. Despite a motorcycle not being an actual 'vehicle', he was still on the road and controlling his vehicle while he was drunk. This might have cost him his life if others had knocked him out by accident. To prevent such things from happening, we should start actively spreading the message of how drink-driving applies to all sorts of vehicles on the road, not just the usual cars and motorcycles. The message of the consequences of drink-driving should still be spread around to ensure everyone knows the dangers and harm it might cause them.

Rachel Chia - A Child Prostitute at 14, an Aids activist today

Ms Crey Mom, from Cambodia, started working at the age of seven, was abandoned at 10 and was totured into becoming a child prostitute at 14. At 16, she contracted the HIV virus.

Now, at 20, she is an activist and determined to help other Cambodian girls avoid her fate. For many of the Singapore students who attended the World Vision's 30-hour Famine Camp at the Anglo-Chinese School in Barkey Road, she voiced on out the problems of human trafficking and child prostitution which affect Cambodia and other South-east Asian countries.

The World Vision agency has run the camp annually since 1985 to educate and motivate Singapore youths to act on glocal issues such as hunger, poverty, HIV/Aids and the environment. It is estimated that up to 30,000 sex workers are estimated to be below 16 years old and about a fifth of the country's female sex workers are infected with HIV.


Personal Views:

Everyone should play a part and help to prevent such happenings from occuring repeatedly. I think the World Vision agency has an excellent way of spread and educating the message on global issues that affect people these days. With a rise in the numbers of teenagers being hauled into prostitution, the number of HIV-infected people are growing by large numbers daily, and

Rachel Chia - Thai school gets transvestite bathrooms

No longer do Thai teen boys who prefer dressing up as the opposite sex face the dilemma of choosing between the "male" and "female" restrooms in school.

The reason? There is now a "transvestite toilet".

A survey in The Kampang School in northeastern Thailand showed that more than 200 of the school's 2,600 students felt that they were transgender. Henceforth, the school came up with a unisex restroom with a human figure split in half part man in blue and part woman in red emblazoned across the toilet's door with the words "Transvestite Toilet".

The creativity of having a transvestite toilet portrays the country's tolerance of its very visible transgender community. The term describes not only transvestites, but also cross-dressers, transsexuals, and those born with the physical characteristics of both sexes.

The toilet received many positive comments from transgender students and there are plans for even more of such developements.


Personal Views:

"Transvestite Toilets" are an excellent way that the Thais can show their acceptance of a transgender society. Not only will these people finally feel like they are not outcasts, but they will also be highly pleased with the efforts that their country is putting in to make them feel at home. People all around the world will also be able to understand that despite the many types of people in this world - everyone is still human and deserves a chance to be treated normally and respected as an individual. Such an activity also encourages everyone to be more open-minded about today's society and how people and things are constantly evolving. Most of all, with such toilets, students in schools will also feel more comfortable as they do not have to worry about receiving weird looks or getting uncomfortable gestures from the other students.

Rachel Chia - Japan makes robot girlfriend for lonely men

A country known for its creative and quirky inventions, Japan has recently introduced a 15-inch tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command. It is to go on sale in September for around $175 and is targeted at lonely adult men.

The robotic girlfriend, named "EMA", uses her infrared sensors and battery power to pucker up for nearby humans, entering what designers call her 'Love Mode'.

A spokesperson for the maker, Sega Toys, says that EMA will break the steoreotype of robots being strong, tough and battle-ready as 'She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."

EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, also hands out business cards, sings and dances. Sega hopes to sell 10,000 within its first year in the market.


Personal Views:

Firstly, such news certainly allows us to know how much technology has advanced and how creative designers in the world currently are.

I feel that although EMA will be a big hit when it is first released into the market, it will not be able to completely take over the place of actual females as girlfriends. Still, Sega is bound to make a bundle as not only men might buy this gadget, but females as well, as it acts as an interactive figure and provides simple entertainment such as singing and dancing.

The release of a robot girlfriend might also mean the start of bigger, more developed robot productions in the near future and these might possess more abilities and skills of humans. Perhap then, the complete replacement of humans as lovers might be seen as possible.